Die Verlobung in St. Domingo

by Heinrich von Kleist

Haiti war um 1800 als bedeutender Zuckerproduzent ein Zentrum der Auseinandersetzungen zwischen Gro�britannien und Frankreich. Der sehr w�tende und erfolgreiche Sklavenaufstand auf der Insel war ein ungewohnter Schock f�r die Kolonialm�chte, deren ganzes Gesch�ftsmodell auf Sklaverei beruhte - wie sonst soll man als bev�lkerungsm��ig eher kleine europ�ische Mittelmacht den halben Erdball beherrschen und bewirtschaften? Gr�ls-Verlag (Edition Werke der Weltliteratur)

Genres: Classics, German Literature, Fiction, Short Stories, Literature, Germany, Novella

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1811

About the author

The dramatist, writer, lyricist, and publicist Heinrich von Kleist was born in Frankfurt an der Oder in 1777. Upon his father's early death in 1788 when he was ten, he was sent to the house of the preacher S. Cartel and attended the French Gymnasium. In 1792, Kleist entered the guard regiment in Potsdam and took part in the Rhein campaign against France in 1796. Kleist voluntarily resigned from army service in 1799 and until 1800 studied philosophy, physics, mathematics, and political science at Viadrina University in Frankfurt an der Oder. He went to Berlin early in the year 1800 and penned his drama "Die Familie Ghonorez". Kleist, who tended to irrationalism and was often tormented by a longing for death, then lit out restlessly through Germany, France, and Switzerland.

After several physical and nervous breakdowns, in which he even burned the manuscript of one of his dramas, Heinrich von Kleist reentered the Prussian army in 1804, working in Berlin and Königsberg. There he wrote "Amphitryon" and "Penthesilea."

After being discharged in 1807, Kleist was apprehended on suspicion of being a spy. After this he went to Dresden, where he edited the art journal "Phoebus" with Adam Müller and completed the comedy "The Broken Pitcher" ("Der zerbrochene Krug") and the folk play "Katchen von Heilbronn" ("Das Käthchen von Heilbronn").

Back in Berlin, the one time Rousseau devotee had become a bitter opponent of Napoleon. In 1811, he finished "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg." Finding himself again in financial and personal difficulties, Heinrich von Kleist, together with his lover, the terminally ill Henriette Vogel, committed suicide near the Wannsee in Berlin in 1811.

[From http://www.heinrich-von-kleist.com/]

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uma trágica história de amor com um final descrito com tão exagerado dramatismo que se torna cómico. Quem é que aguenta sem rir ao ler sobre um matulão a puxar os cabelos, a desfalecer e a cair no colo do homem do lado e sobre cadáveres transportados no ombro, tipo saco de batatas?

[Gerhard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die Erzählung hat von Anfang an eine Kraft und einen Sog, der mich wieder einmal von Kleist überzeugt hat.

[Carlos Natálio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primeiro livro de Kleist que leio e não posso esconder a minha semi-desilusão. Pequena narrativa trágica, tom romântico, acerca de uma adolescente branca que se apaixona por Gustav, um general de origem suíça, pertencente ao exército francês. O cenário é Port-au-Prince, na Ilha de São Domingos, no início do século XIX, aquando da revolta dos negros contra os brancos. Não está aqui em causa a demonização rácica - isso seria, uma leitura aburguesadamente contemporânea - mas sim a forma como a narrativa parece correr para um twist que manche o final feliz, uma infelicidade trágica, tão à maneira do Romantismo literário. Tudo é rápido, como um pequeno fait diver da história, sem tempo para grandes envolvimentos com as personagens.  

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would never have read this book, except for the fact that it is relevant to my studies – it was a very upsetting read, although fascinating from a purely literary perspective.

This is where I struggle to rate the book. On the one hand, it is a story full of things to analyse – presentations of race, gender and miscommunication, themes of light and dark (amongst other things) and a powerful amount of foreshadowing. And yet it was incredibly problematic; it is one thing to encounter racism within the narrative, but quite another to hear it in the voice of the author.

I do not recommend this book for pleasure. It is typical of colonial literature and, both due to the objectification of Toni and the problematic belief (implied throughout) that slaves are somehow ‘ungrateful’ towards their white owners, is repulsive.

And yet it is important to understand the literature that has shaped our views, and engage with texts that horrify us. In order to avoid the mistakes of the past we must take an uncomfortable look at the attitudes that were accepted, and thus avoid making the same mistakes in the future.

I have given this book two stars, not because there are any ideas in it which I agree with, but because I read it for a very specific purpose, and found this translation to be readable and helpful to my studies. But I have no intention to engage with the text in any other context than my studies, because it breaks my heart that such a thing could ever be deemed acceptable.

[Ellie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extrem rassistische Novelle, äußerst ungewohnt, so oft das N-Wort und andere rassistische Bezeichnungen beiläufig zu lesen. Über den historischen Hintergrund weiß ich zu wenig, um zu wissen, was akkurat abgebildet wurde. Auch, wenn man sicherlich wissenschaftlich argumentieren kann, dass Kleist hier einen differenzierten Standpunkt zu diesem Befreiungskrieg einnimmt, liest es sich zunächst so wie eine Reduktion auf den Kampf zwischen Schwarzen und Weißen. Die Figur Toni, die ein schwarzes und ein weißes Elternteil hat und somit 'zwischen den Fronten' steht, als Protest gegen dieses binäre Denken zu sehen, ist für mich etwas weit hergeholt bzw. zu schwach. Außerdem: Warum müssen literarische Frauenfiguren des 18./19. Jh. sich so häufig in 0,5 Sekunden verlieben und daraufhin ihr gesamtes Leben für einen dahergelaufenen Typen aufgeben?

[anika · Rating 1 out of 5]

ich hab jeden einzelnen (sowieso zu langen) satz in diesem buch gehasst. wenn ich könnte, würde ich 0 sterne geben

[Emilie Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this one! It was short but so much action happened!

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

Das ist das rassistischste, was ich seit langem gelesen habe. Wäre es nicht für die Uni gewesen, hätte ich es nach 2 Seiten gegen die Wand gepfeffert.

[Andrea · Rating 1 out of 5]

In den Interpretationen dieses Textes wird viel von Komplexität gesprochen. Aber interpretieren wollen wir ja hier nicht, sondern sagen, ob es sich um ein goodread handelt. Deshalb: Diese Novelle ist sehr spannend, aber aus heutiger Perspektive ganz fürchterlich zu lesen! Eigentlich ist sie sogar unerträglich. Der Rassismus wird keineswegs überwunden, sondern lodert fröhlich vor sich hin. Toni als Versöhnerin zwischen Schwarz und Weiß? Das kann ja gar nicht funktionieren: Ihr werden nur edle Gefühle zugesprochen, weil sie "halb weiß" ist, sie selbst sieht sich sogar als "ganz weiß"- alle schwarzen Figuren in der Novelle hingegen sind durchweg negativ gezeichnet. Rassistisch sein kann jeder. Subversiv ist anders.

[Paige Bounds · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very racist and honestly a little boring.

[Ⰰⱃⰿⰰⱀⰴ Ⱆⰾⰴⰵⱃⰻⰽⱁ Ⱅⰵⱄⰾⰰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drugarice i drugovi,
Iliri svih orijentacija i rodova,
Bionički nadopunjeni narode i dinaridski 100% organski ljudovi,
Čika Vava baca još jedan kratkosvrt!
Pozdrav vjernom čitateljstvu sa Sri Lanke, iz Marseillea te s Neptuna!
Danas sam, na mulu u osvit sutona, pročitao jednu novelu od romantičarskog kulera von Kleista.
Naslov novele jest "Zaruke u San Domingu".
Prosveta
Beograd, 1964.
Izdanje ove knjige posjeduje cijeli niz von Kleistovih tekstualnih cvjetova. Cjelokupna knjiga je napisana na ćirilici te mogu, s ponosom, reći da sam savladao jako kvalitetno to istočnoilirsko pismo.
Za mozak je baš kul čitati nešto na ćirilici. Ako imate mozak.
U jezičnom pogledu von Kleist je jako jednostavan, minimalan, ali i tečan. U tom smislu se razlikuje od svojih suvremenika; Hoffmanna i Novalisa.
U istočnoilirskom prijevodu zanimljiv mi je njihov standardni oblik "protivrečan", u značenju proturječan. Kako se komšije drže korijenskog pravopisa, bar u tom primjeru.
Radnja novele se odigrava na otoku Hispaniola, točnije u današnjem Haitiju, u jeku Haićanske revolucije, dakle 1790-ih godina. Ako niste čuli za tu prvu, tako široko organiziranu, antiimperijalističku revoluciju bacite se s vlastita balkona.
Žarište radnje je ljubav bijelca i mulatkinje. Crna rasa je prikazana negativno, kao krvožedna i zabludjela gomila. Von Kleist progovara o masakru nad bijelcima, koji se odista i dogodio, no što su sve radili crnoj rasi je li takvo što i očekivano, poput odnosa Bleiburga i Jasenovca. Ili ipak ne? Von Kleist ne progovara o tome svjesno, niti aktivistički, već je navedeno moje dvadesetprvostoljetno iščitavanje.
Ono, kad urbani Jugoslaven susretne von Kleista.
Četvorka radi nesretnog kraja, u smislu toga da je nesretni kraj podignuo ocjenu. Nesretni kraj nema veze s time da je lik bijelac, a ona mulatkinja, već s bajronovskom demonštinom glavnog lika.
Ženska (mulatkinja) nije lika (bijelca) u početku ni šljivila pol posto, no kasnije je promijenila mišljenje. Prijelaz njezinih čuvstava se odigrava prebrzo i neuvjerljivo. Ili ipak ne, ta riječ je o noveli, a ne romanu?!
Ova novela ne nudi neke topose orijentalizma, već se pronalazi uporište u psihološkom, unutarnjem, stanju likova. Time diže letvicu vlastite kulosti.
Von Kleista valja čitati; http://sun.zkzd.hr/cgi-bin/unilib.cgi.... Našijenci ga mogu čitati ili na njemačkom, ili na ćirilici.
Jebemti prevoditelje koji nisu von Kleista preveli na naški. Iako rekoh da mi je baš drago čitati na ćirilici, no sramota je za jednu kulturu da nema prevedenog Kleista, a što je najgore, guglajte koliko su Byrona preveli.
P.S.
Poslušajte novi spot Keny Arkane!
Nema veze nikakve s von Kleistom, no, eto, iskorištavam ovu mrežu. I svoje interdimenzionalno čitateljstvo na njoj.
Marseille je pravi ritam Mediterana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L44zx...

[vici:) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5☆
Ich bin ehrlich, ich hab das Buch nur gelesen, weil es Pflichtlektüre war. Dass es mich so mitnimmt und fesselt, hab ich nicht erwartet. Der beschriebene Konflikt ist super spannend und man denkt auch in Momenten darüber nach, in denen man nicht liest und die Liebesgeschichte hatte keinen Grund so zu hitten. Das Ende hat mich total auseinander genommen.

[Lily · Rating 3 out of 5]

mein herz ist mir in die hose gerutscht beim plottwist - eine schrecklich tragische geschichte des rassismus

[Iulia★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

j'ai perdu deux semaines de ma vie

[Isabell Gebhardt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Habe das Buch zum Anlass genommen, mich genauer über die Geschichte Haitis zu informieren. Schrecklich, aber ich bin froh, nun mehr zu wissen.

[Lukas Rupp · Rating 2 out of 5]

Der historische Kontext ist hierbei um einiges spannender und wichtiger als die (aus heutiger perspektive politisch sehr problematische) Geschichte selbst, auch wenn diese mit einem dramatischen Ende zu überzeugen vermag und gar mit dem eigenen tragischen Lebensende von Kleist übereinstimmt.

St. Domingo war die ehemalige Kolonie Frankreichs, welche man heute unter dem Namen Haiti kennt (benannt nach den Ureinwohner:innen des Landes). 1804 erreichte das Land die Unabhängigkeit nach blutigen Kämpfen gegen die Kolonialmacht und wurde somit zur ersten Schwarzen Republik der Erde. Doch die Schäden und Gräueltaten, welche Frankreich verursachte, waren irreversibel und wirken bis heute nach. Bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhundert wurden über 1 Million Sklav:innen aus Afrika nach Haiti verschleppt, um unter menschenunwürdigen Verhältnissen auf Zucker- und Kaffeeplantagen zu schuften. Jährlich starben dabei 5-10% Menschen auf den Plantagen. Frankreich hatte nach der Unabhängigkeitserklärung auch noch die Dreistigkeit, Haiti zu drohen, das Land zurückzuerobern, wenn nicht die Summe von 150 Millionen Francs bezahlt werden würde. Dies, weil man befürchtete, Haiti könnte als Vorbild für andere unterdrückte Kolonien dienen. Der damalige Präsident Haitis wollte ein erneutes Gemetzel verhindern und willigte ein. Dadurch wurde Haiti zum 'postkolonialen Schuldnerstaat'. 1888 wurde die letzte Rate nach Frankreich überwiesen. Bei jeder Transaktion fielen Gebühren an, von der die damals kleine Bank CIC (heute Crédit Mutuel) enorm profitierte. Die New York Times berechnete kürzlich, dass Haiti heute ein 6x so grosses BIP hätte, ohne die postkoloniale Ausbeutung durch Frankreich. In Zahlen ausgedrückt, müsste Frankreich theoretisch 21'685'135'571 Dollar an Haiti überweisen, um seine Schuld zu begleichen. Bis heute bleibt dies ungeschehen.

Quelle: https://www.woz.ch/2327/kaffee/repara...

Literaturkanon von Marcel Reich-Ranicki
55/180

[onomomosei · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Black characters are barbarians and monsters, acting egregiously towards some slightly imperfect white enslavers. Kleists opinion is very thinly veiled in self-rightous declarations of supposed morality of his white characters. The rest don’t even get to be human.

The notion of “yeah, we may have done some bad things, but nothing justifies this” is as ridiculous as it is revealing. Toni is the Pepsi that’s supposed to mend the two sides or see her family for their radicalisation. Her white side giving her some common sense and humanity.
I guess “iTs A BoOk Of ItS TIme”, but I’m always so surprised of how unempathetic and ignorant “intellectuals” can be and buy into the dehumanisation of POC. Empathy is nothing new.
Whack

[Stefan Türmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mal abgesehen davon, dass auch in dieser Novelle Autor und Erzählerstimme nicht identisch sind: Sie ist deutlich komplexer und damit tragischer als einige hier in ihren Rezensionen nahelegen. Kleist griff ein Thema auf, das aktuell war, und über das er wenig Verlässliches gewusst haben dürfte. Es ist aber keine Reportage, sondern ein fiktives Stück, in der das Romeo-und-Julia-Thema originell verarbeitet wurde. Was wird aus der Liebe in Zeiten kolonialer Konflikte? Dabei kommen die Weißen nicht grundsätzlich gut bei weg und nicht alle Schwarzen sind durchweg böse. Ja, und die Pointe? Ein vielleicht etwas gewollter, aber höchst effektvoller, hollywoodmäßiger Twist, der auf eine tiefere Wahrheit verweist.

[Margarida Ler por aí...]

Acredito que Santo Domingo do título não se refere à cidade de Santo Domingo, hoje capital da República Dominicana, mas sim a Saint-Domingue, nome da colónia francesa na ilha de Hispaniola, dividida actualmente entre o Haiti e a República Dominicana.

A verdade é que Heinrich von Kleist nunca esteve em Santo Domingo. Nem em Port-au-Prince. Nem na ilha de Hispaniola. Sendo assim, podemos duvidar da localização, ou mesmo da existência, de alguns dos locais referidos na obra.

Continuar a ler aqui: https://lerporai.com/ler-por-ai-no-ha...

Ler por aí...
Livros e leituras para viajar

[Egor xS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dans ce récit, la guerre de races entre les noirs et les blancs est imaginée dans sa violence extrême. Nulle part ailleurs dans la littérature ai-je rencontré tel un affect de la haine raciale prononcé et pervers.

[Labby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Racist as all hell and a lenient verdict because of "historical context" is utterly unwarranted.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for one of my classes at university. I liked the drama of the story, and the fact that it didn't take long to read. It raises a lot of questions about that period in history.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5

[Andreas Lukas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lustig aber ernst

[Literalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wie traurig ..

[Dorothee · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a sad story

[Hendrik]

Not sure how to rate this one...interesting read by one of my favourite German authors, yet also highly troubling in terms of the portrayal of race and gender.

[jomoony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man Kleist du machst mich fertig was schreibst du hier auch für einen rassitischen Stuss zusammen

[Aviana Irrer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for a German Lit class in Germany, and WHOOO WEEEE was it a wild ride.

I describe this book as "Romeo and Juliet meets a Race War" with a horrible age gap romance and incredibly racist under and overtones. It is hard to tell if these opinions are of that of the unreliable narrator, or the author himself, while at times it feels so comical that you have to believe the author is writing political commentary on race relations of the time.

The story head-on tackles the "benevolent slave master" trope, showing that the main characters slave master acted "against the customs of the country" by granting him a higher status job, his own house, and a housekeeper. However, it is this unreliable narration that reveals more about the racial conflicts and politics of the time. When the narrator ranks the Black characters lower than the white ones because of their reaction to the injustice they experienced as slaves, he shows that the white man fails to consider the very human reactions to the horrors of slavery. And it is this style of white ignorance that allows racism to persist even today. This white ignorance is further emphasized by the narrator when he says that the Congo Hoango “set fire to the entire plantation, to which the heirs living in Port-au-Prince could have made a claim”.

As an American, this sentiment of racist whites is very familiar. During the protests against the murder of George Floyd, many buildings and businesses were destroyed. While it is still disputed who started the fire, it is easy to say, from a simple (white) perspective, that the destruction of buildings is wrong. However, it was also these white people who said that the murder of George Floyd was not wrong. Some even argue that it was right. The similarity between this modern racist white perspective and the narrator's perspective is that both consider property more valuable than Black lives, just as the modern racist is able to ignore hundreds of years of systematic oppression that the narrator in this story knows nothing of the horrors and inhumanity of slavery. Instead of reflecting on why Congo Hoango killed his master, the narrator speaks instead of the plantation's financial loss, which is lamentable. He reveals that he sympathizes more with the white family than with Congo Hoango, and that Congo Hoango's inhumane act was vain and vindictive, NOT a reasonable reaction to the gross dehumanization of slavery.

We see signs of MORE racial conflict in this period again when Gustav first arrives at Congo Hoango's house. Before Gustav introduces himself and asks for help, he shouts, "Are you a Negro?" (Kleist). For a modern reader, this line is almost comical. This man is in the dark, dangerous wilderness of St. Dominica, where all sorts of animals could attack him. But for him, it is clear that the most dangerous thing is not an animal, but a human being who does not have the same skin as he does. Even Bebekan finds this absurd, and she says, "Well, you must be a white man to prefer looking into the face of this pitch-black night rather than a Negro woman!" (Kleist).

Now, getting to the twisted love story which is the center of this book. Throughout the story, Gustav rejects Toni's blackness as a means to justify his attraction to her. Later in the story, there is a scene in which Toni washes Gustav's feet in an act of servitude. We, as readers, see how Gustav denies Toni's Blackness to justify his attraction to her when he describes her washing his feet. He explains,
"Her hair, swelling in dark curls, had rolled down onto her young breasts as she knelt; a touch of exceptional grace played around her lips and over her long eyelashes that protruded above her lowered eyes; he would have sworn, except for the color, which he found offensive, that he had never seen anything more beautiful" (Kleist) Although the narrator describes Toni as "yellowish" (Kleist), Toni is still "too black" for Gustav. Like the unreliable narrator, however, Gustav contradicts himself when he asks Toni if ​​she is engaged. In doing so, he implies that he wants to marry her. They have a flirtatious exchange, and Gustav tells another story. This story is about his dead fiancée, whom he believes to be like Toni. Gustav does this to make Toni feel guilty in case she ever cheated on him. The story works, and Toni feels genuinely bad. She begins to cry, and Gustav comforts her. He gives Toni a small cross, calling it a gift for the bride. The shift between their conversation and their engagement is very stark. By comparing Toni to his dead white fiancée, Gustav replaces Marianne with Toni. And in doing so, he rejects her blackness.

All in all, this story is an emotional whirlwind full of whiplash for the modern reader, and in my opinion, should be taught from a more critical lense, if taught at all. The horrific racism in the main characters nameing (I mean, Congo Hoango? be forreal) as well as the aggressions sprinkled throughout the story leave me thinking this is a book better left in the past, and only talked about when speaking on how racism, and interracial relationships were viewed at this time.

[Anna Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️