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Bunte Steine #2
Kalkstein
Kalkstein ist eine Erzählung Adalbert Stifters aus der Sammlung Bunte Steine.
Es wird die scheinbar authentische Begegnung des Erzählers mit einem armen Prediger berichtet. Der Erzähler gelangt in seiner Tätigkeit als Landvermesser in eine karge Gegend, in der der Prediger sein Dasein fristet. Im Ansehen seiner Umwelt gilt dieser als geiziger Eigenbrötler, bis sich nach seinem Tod herausstellt, dass sein bescheidenes Leben einzig dem Zweck galt, Geld zur Gründung einer Schule zu sparen, um den Kindern einer abgelegenen Ortschaft den weiten und gefahrvollen Schulweg zu erleichtern.
Es wird die scheinbar authentische Begegnung des Erzählers mit einem armen Prediger berichtet. Der Erzähler gelangt in seiner Tätigkeit als Landvermesser in eine karge Gegend, in der der Prediger sein Dasein fristet. Im Ansehen seiner Umwelt gilt dieser als geiziger Eigenbrötler, bis sich nach seinem Tod herausstellt, dass sein bescheidenes Leben einzig dem Zweck galt, Geld zur Gründung einer Schule zu sparen, um den Kindern einer abgelegenen Ortschaft den weiten und gefahrvollen Schulweg zu erleichtern.
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About the author
Adalbert Stifter
464 books85 followersAdalbert Stifter was an Austrian writer, poet, painter, and pedagogue. He was especially notable for the vivid natural landscapes depicted in his writing, and has long been popular in the German-speaking world, while almost entirely unknown to English readers.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 7, 2020
English: Limestone and Other Stories
This novella has all the typical Biedermeier ingredients: It's slow, full of appreciation for natural events and detailed descriptions of average people in a rural setting, and it it's preachy as hell. Stifter - rather unknown in the English speaking world, but an influential classic in German-language literature - tells the story of a land surveyor (hello, Kafka's The Castle) who comes to an Austrian village in an area dominated by limestone formations (hence the title; the story is also part of Stifter's "Colourful Stones" cycle). There, he gets to know a priest who lives in poverty, which leads to some people calling the man of God stingy - until he passes away and people find out why he saved the little money he earned.
The story is of course very simple and drenched in pedagogical impetus, but Stifter shines in his quiet descriptions that are more or less the star of his literary output: There are multiple digressions, there is descriptiveness galore and we witness a relentless pursuit of beauty in the choice of words that might make some readers long for a little unruly disturbance.
So while this isn't typically my kind of literature, I can appreciate what Stifter does here and I can see why people like Rainer Maria Rilke are deeply indebted to his achievements.
This novella has all the typical Biedermeier ingredients: It's slow, full of appreciation for natural events and detailed descriptions of average people in a rural setting, and it it's preachy as hell. Stifter - rather unknown in the English speaking world, but an influential classic in German-language literature - tells the story of a land surveyor (hello, Kafka's The Castle) who comes to an Austrian village in an area dominated by limestone formations (hence the title; the story is also part of Stifter's "Colourful Stones" cycle). There, he gets to know a priest who lives in poverty, which leads to some people calling the man of God stingy - until he passes away and people find out why he saved the little money he earned.
The story is of course very simple and drenched in pedagogical impetus, but Stifter shines in his quiet descriptions that are more or less the star of his literary output: There are multiple digressions, there is descriptiveness galore and we witness a relentless pursuit of beauty in the choice of words that might make some readers long for a little unruly disturbance.
So while this isn't typically my kind of literature, I can appreciate what Stifter does here and I can see why people like Rainer Maria Rilke are deeply indebted to his achievements.
November 21, 2018
This is a rather atmospheric short story by Adalbert Stifter. It takes place in a very desolate and poor Karst region (dominated by Limestone formations - hence the title "Kalkstein"). The story centers on the friendship a visiting surveyor and the resident priest form.
In the beginning the philosophical question is asked about the spiritual gifts, "Geistesgaben," each person has, and how they are distributed among people. The German term "Geistesgaben," given the context, is used in the meaning of what today we would call "gifted," and as I read it I asked myself the question as to why he would use the word "Geist" (spirit)? There must be a purpose.
So here we are in this desolate region with nothing much to offer and wonder, how this introduction fits within the larger context of the story. The priest lives a very austere life even by the standards of his poverty-stricken flock. Yet he does it cheerfully and without pretenses. He is a bit of an enigma, and as the story unfolds we get to know him, and lastly his deeper aspirations - his fruit-bearing gift is revealed.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." John 12:24
In the beginning the philosophical question is asked about the spiritual gifts, "Geistesgaben," each person has, and how they are distributed among people. The German term "Geistesgaben," given the context, is used in the meaning of what today we would call "gifted," and as I read it I asked myself the question as to why he would use the word "Geist" (spirit)? There must be a purpose.
So here we are in this desolate region with nothing much to offer and wonder, how this introduction fits within the larger context of the story. The priest lives a very austere life even by the standards of his poverty-stricken flock. Yet he does it cheerfully and without pretenses. He is a bit of an enigma, and as the story unfolds we get to know him, and lastly his deeper aspirations - his fruit-bearing gift is revealed.
"Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit." John 12:24
May 26, 2022
Di Stifter amo, e continuo ad amare, la semplicità disarmante.
È tutto privo di artifizi - la natura, i paesaggi, la vita - ma così pregno di magico fascino.
È tutto privo di artifizi - la natura, i paesaggi, la vita - ma così pregno di magico fascino.
January 10, 2024
2.75 stars. Needed to read it for uni, ended up enjoying it more than I thought. Nevertheless, it was really slow.
April 27, 2019
Lettura non troppo impegnativa, ottima se si vuole un libro leggero
December 7, 2023
Bro wtf, Ich musste am Ende so lachen 😭. Außerdem: wenn ich mir noch einmal zwanzig Seiten zu einer Outfitbeschreibung von einem Pfarrer antuen muss, breche ich mein Studium ab
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews