Works of Thomas Hardy discussion

The Schreckhorn

Aloof, as if a thing of mood and whim;
Now that its spare and desolate figure gleams
Upon my nearing vision, less it seems
A looming Alp-height than a guise of him
Who scaled its horn with ventured life and limb,
Drawn on by vague imaginings, maybe,
Of semblance to his personality
In its quaint glooms, keen lights, and rugged trim.

At his last change, when Life's dull coils unwind,
Will he, in old love, hitherward escape,
And the eternal essence of his mind
Enter this silent adamantine shape,
And his low voicing haunt its slipping snows
When dawn that calls the climber dyes them rose?

(With thoughts of Leslie Stephen, June 1897)

Hardy first wrote "The Schreckhorn" when he and his wife toured Europe in 1897. He associated the sight of the mountain with the personality of his editor, Leslie Stephen. This tribute first appeared in F.W. Maitland's The Life and Letters of Leslie Stephen in 1906, two years after Stephen's death.

It was later published in Hardy's "Satires of Circumstances: Lyrics and Reveries" in 1914.

Schreckhorn in the Alps

The Schreckhorn is a mountain in the Bernese Alps in western Switzerland. The first ascent was on August 16, 1861 by Leslie Stephen, Ulrich Kaufmann, Christian Michel, Peter Michel, and their guides.



From Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schreck...

There is some wonderful information about Leslie Stephen in Ronald Turnbull's mountaineering substack from Jan 15, 2025: " Leslie Stephen climbs Mont Blanc."

https://aboutmountains.substack.com/p...

Sir Leslie Stephen

Leslie Stephen (1832-1904) was an avid mountaineer who wrote a book about his experiences in the Alps, The Playground of Europe. After a loss of faith, he renounced Anglican orders, but continued his interest in philosophy. He worked in journalism and editorship, and was the editor of the "Cornhill Magazine" when he met Hardy. The architecture firm that Hardy was associated with was located in the same building where the Alpine Club met. Stephen oversaw the publication of Far From the Madding Crowd, and The Hand of Ethelberta which established Hardy as a novelist.

Stephen was the editor of the Dictionary Of National Biography, Volume 1 as well as many critical studies and books on philosophy. He was knighted in 1902.

Virginia Woolf

Leslie Stephen was also the father of Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell. When Woolf wrote To the Lighthouse, she based the personality of the character Mr Ramsey, the father and philosophy professor, on her father.

Virginia Woolf wrote Hardy on January 17, 1915: "That poem, and the reminiscences you contributed to Professor Maitland's life of him, remain in my mind as incomparably the truest and most imaginative portrait of him in existence." (The letter is located in the Dorset County Museum.)

This is fascinating! Thanks Connie. When I saw the title I thought of the German word "schreck" meaning fright or terror. And "horn" the famous Matterhorn (mountain).

I'm linking it in our list, but need to read this more closely tomorrow as it's late now.

When we read Far From the Madding Crowd I shared quite a lot about Leslie Stephen's overseeing and contributions to it.

He was a very hands-on editor who had been so impressed with Thomas Hardy's early pieces that he asked him to write a serial novel for "The Cornhill Magazine" anonymously. Thomas Hardy wasn't keen at first, doubting his skill as a novelist and wanting to concentrate on poetry, but the letters between them show how encouraging Leslie Stephen was. They also show where he acted as a tough editor, when Thomas Hardy had written parts that Leslie Stephen knew the middleclass readership of "The Cornhill Magazine" would be shocked by.

If you search in the field on the right for Leslie Stephen, these posts should come up. It was partly due to his initial belief that we have all these wonderful novels by Thomas Hardy - who was mistaken for George Eliot by critics after the first episodes of Far From the Madding Crowd.

I'm stunned that Thomas Hardy thought this mountain would reflect Leslie Stephen's personality; that's quite a compliment. I like the poem very much.

"the eternal essence of his mind
Enter this silent adamantine shape,
And his low voicing haunt its slipping snows"

"Adamantine" is a word I associate with rocks and gemstones. In that context it means a specific shine or lustre resembling a diamond. Otherwise it means unbreakable - and of course this can refer to a person's strong will too! I love this metaphor ... is it for the mountain or the personality? Snow-covered mountains like this do have a brilliant glassy shine.

Thanks Connie for sharing this particularly interesting poem.

Jean,, thanks for all the information and the second meaning of adamantine. I was thinking of Leslie Stephen as being strong willed or stubborn, but he certainly was a gem too. I read Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse this year so this poem called to me. Stephen's support was so instrumental in shaping Hardy's career.

Thank you, Connie and Jean, for the commentary to this poem, which make it have so much more meaning for me. I thought it a wonderful comparison between the mountain and the man, even before I read your explanations. I also would only have grasped the single meaning of adamantine.

What a wonderful poem to pick, Connie. I knew about Leslie Stephens as Hardy's editor and as Virginia Woolf's father, but I didn't know about his skills as a mountaineer. What an accomplishment to be the first to climb a mountain. I can't even imagine what that must be like. But I think Hardy grasped it very well with this poem.

At his last change, when Life's dull coils unwind,
Will he, in old love, hitherward escape,

Hardy imagines Stephens spirit will escape its body and reside in the mountain (his old love) presumably forever. And even "haunt" it - when the sun sets (or dyes), Stephens spirit rises to haunt the snow. Its really a beautifully constructed poem. I didn't grasp the meaning until I read through the comments and followed the links Connie provided.

No wonder Virginia Woolf loved the "Satires of Circumstance" poems. What a lovely tribute to her father.

Sara wrote: "Thank you, Connie and Jean, for the commentary to this poem, which make it have so much more meaning for me. I thought it a wonderful comparison between the mountain and the man, even before I read..."

Thanks for your comments, Sara. Leslie Stephen must have been a "larger than life" man with his tall stature, deep voice, and so many talents.

Bridget wrote: "What a wonderful poem to pick, Connie. I knew about Leslie Stephens as Hardy's editor and as Virginia Woolf's father, but I didn't know about his skills as a mountaineer. What an accomplishment to ..."

I love that you brought out the haunting quality of the poem, Bridget. I imagine you remember Leslie Stephen from your excellent summaries of Hardy's biography.

Leslie Stephen's first wife was William Makepeace Thackeray's sister, Harriet. So there are so many literary connections to Leslie Stephen.

Thank you all for your comments and explanations. Emotionally, I loved this story but I couldn't fully feel it until I read your comments and read the Wikipedia entry about Leslie Stephen.

Pamela wrote: "Thank you all for your comments and explanations. Emotionally, I loved this story but I couldn't fully feel it until I read your comments and read the Wikipedia entry about Leslie Stephen."

Leslie Stephen was an amazing man, and Hardy was lucky to have met him at just the right time in his career. Thanks for commenting, Pamela.