Catholic Thought discussion

As the Goodreads blurb on Rock Crystal says, it’s the simplest of stories. Two siblings travel over a mountain ridge to their grandparent’s home on the morning of Christmas Eve, spend the day, and are sent off onto their journey home in time before dark set. On their journey back, an unexpected snow fall ensues and obscures their path, which causes the two children to get lost. They spend the night in the elements, survive, and continue to look for their way and are rescued by a search party Christmas Day. (Sorry if I ruined the suspense.)

And while the story is simple, there are a number of things going on that add complexity. Without those complexities it wouldn’t be much of a story; it would be an anecdote. We can get into those complexities as we go along. The schedule for this read is this week was the week we read and the next two weeks were set aside for discussion. Since there are no fixed divisions in the story—it reads straight through without any chapters—I figured we could try to hold to discussing the first half of the story the first discussion week and the second half the second week. If you have any general thoughts for this reading week, please feel free to post here in the “Background” folder. I’ll create a discussion folder next week.

Though there are no fixed divisions within the story, there are some natural divisions. There is a lengthy expository section, part of which describes the Austrian locale, part of which describes the towns and townsfolk in the setting, and part of which describes the children’s parents and their maternal grandparents, and the relationships between them. That all adds into the complexity.

There are two translations available, one by Lee M. Hollander and one by the combined duo of Elizabeth Mayer and Marianne Moore. I read the Mayer and Moore translation. Though the Hollander translation is supposedly in the public domain, I couldn’t find it online. However Libravox has an audio version available free. I checked it out and it sounds pretty good. My edition has 76 pages with the introduction, but it reads faster than that. I read it in two or three sittings, which amounted to about three hours. I enjoyed, so much so I intend to read it again this week.

I read this last week in about an hour or so. I will be away from internet connection next week, so won't be able to join the conversation until I return New Year's weekend. Initial thoughts, I found the descriptions beautiful; I could see and feel the environment. But, I did not pick up on the complexities. So I am looking forward to having the discussion point those out to me.

On line text in Hollander translation is available on Gutenberg, if anyone needs it:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12573...

Galicius wrote: "On line text in Hollander translation is available on Gutenberg, if anyone needs it:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12573..."

Oh thank you Galicius. I looked but for some reason I couldn't find it.

Irene wrote: "I read this last week in about an hour or so. "

Wow! that is fast reading, it took me at least three times as long - and I read it in my native German. But then I've always been a slower reader. :)

The novella Rock Crystal was part of a collection of novellas Adalbert Stifter published in 1853. All the novellas are named after a stone, and the collection is called Bunte Steine - Colorful Stones. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a translation into English of the entire collection.

Granit - Granite
Kalkstein - Limestone
Turmalin - Tourmaline
Bergkristall - Rock Crystal
Katzensilber - Mica
Bergmilch - Calcit

Kerstin wrote: "The novella Rock Crystal was part of a collection of novellas Adalbert Stifter published in 1853. All the novellas are named after a stone, and the collection is called Bunte Steine..."

That is interesting. I did not find that out in any of my research. Was there a particular reason or theme for coordinating stories around different stones?

In the preface he writes that he has always had a fascination with stones, and even as a child collected them. He writes, "even now I have some stones in my pocket." There is a hint that Stifter intended to write more stories under this theme, " Because there are an infinite number of stones, I can't predict how big this collection is going to be."

Kerstin wrote: "The novella Rock Crystal was part of a collection of novellas Adalbert Stifter published in 1853. All the novellas are named after a stone, and the collection is called Bunte Steine..."

Kerstin, could there be a Biblical connection with the stones? I was not aware until I searched, but there are a couple of places in the Bible where stones are prominent. For instance, from the Book of Revelations:

"And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;
The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst." (Rev. 21:19-20)

I can't imagine how it connects to the story, there are those blue rocks the children come across.

Oh I almost forgot, here's a link on it:
http://www.rickety.us/2011/02/the-twe...

I thought one way to approach this luminous little book is to see it as a reconciliation of opposites: at its most basic, cold and warmth (with warmth's many varieties of meaning); beauty and danger; the familiar and the strange; isolation and community; and, most importantly, of being lost and then found.

In the Introduction W.H. Auden mentions that Adalbert Stifter was a landscape painter and this is borne out by the story: has any writer ever described scenery with a more painterly eye?

Frrances, I appreciate your pointing out of the resolution of opposites. I totally agree with you that Stifter paints with his pen.

Manny wrote: "Kerstin, could there be a Biblical connection with the stones? I was not aware until I searched, but there are a couple of places in the Bible where stones are prominent."

It sounds intriguing, but I don't think there is a connection. In a short foreword of German e-reproduction of "Bunte Steine" they state that each of the short stories were originally published in various journals under different titles between 1843 - 1848. 'Rock Chrystal' had the title 'Holy Eve'. Later, in 1853, they were published together and each story given the title of a rock based on Stifter's passion for collecting rocks for which he himself wrote the foreword.

Manny wrote: "there are those blue rocks the children come across."

Oh! Where is that? I recall the glacier with it's blue ice but not blue stones.

Stifter is an author of the Biedermeier period. The time between the Napoleonic wars and the revolutions of 1848. During this time people were so tired of the upheavals of war and turned back to home and hearth, enjoying the little things in life. It was not unlike the 1950s where people fatigued from World War II cherished the idylls of domestic life. These periods are made fun of a lot, but I think we underestimate how deep the yearnings for peace and normalcy are after traumatic periods in history and the hightend awareness of right and wrong that accompanies them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biederm...

On a related note: I really need to read The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us about America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny soon. It analyses recurring periods in history.

Kristin: it’s not too late to read it. We have another week of discussion left and you can read it in two or three hours, depending how fast you read. Do feel better. You’ll be in my prayers.

Kerstin: I’ll look for the blue stones tonight. I could swear that’s what it said.

Did I get my Kerstin/Kristin right? ;)

Thank you all, I will start Rock Crystal as soon as I finish one other book I am reading tonight!

Kerstin, that social contextualization is interesting. I wonder if Stifter was trying to draw some analogy between society lost in the cold of war and hatred finding their way back to community and civility with the lost children on this barren mountain of ice.

That Biedermeier period is really fascinating Kerstin. I doubt any of we Americans would have even been aware of such a nuance to European history. I had not known.

By the way, I could not find the blue rocks on my second reading. I guess I blurred the blue ice with the rocks. Blue is definitely an important color to the story and i will offer something on that as I put together some more of my thoughts on the work.

We have the rest of the week of discussion.