Escolar Documentos
Profissional Documentos
Cultura Documentos
398
LANDWEHR: Roth
steins two paradigms for the novel. At first
reading, the decline of the empire appears to
be the result of an inevitable historical destiny, the teleological design of a realist novel
that consists of a linear cause-and-effect sequence of events. The narrators intrusive
commentary, however, calls attention to authorial manipulation of the narrative that is
so pervasive in German Romantic, modernist, and postmodernist prose. The narrator
subverts the illusion of an inherent order, often depicted as fate in nineteenth-century
fiction, through self-reflexive commentary
on the storytelling process that fictionalizes
events through the techniques of mimesis
and verisimilitude, which create meaning.
Both this questioning of an intrinsic order
and the allusions to an arbitrary aesthetic
one in Roths novel underscore arts dubious
role in imposing order onto a chaotic world.
Specifically, cyclical, repetitive aesthetic
patterns and the leitmotif, a prevalent technique in music, subvert the novels linear
plot and mimetic function. The ritual of performing the Radetzkymarsch, an obvious
reference to the novel itself, and the parodic
repetitions of the initial rescue scene at Solverino together with additional leitmotifs
call attention to the works aesthetic structure, yet simultaneously expose the precariousness of the entire fictional enterprise of
creating order and meaning through language. The emptiness of von Trottas formulaic letters to his father, for example, calls
into question languages ability to convey/
create meaning and implicitly shifts the burden of producing meaning onto the reader.
399
digm is undermined.7 First, the initial chapter depicts the aesthetic retelling of the Kaisers (fictional) rescue and questions the reliability of historical narrative. Second, irony
and the narrators commentary refer to the
difficulty of depicting plausible heroes in a
world that no longer allows for heroism, and
this draws attention to the issue of verisimilitude in creating a realist effect. Both elements
stress the inadequacy of an anachronistic novelistic form for depicting twentieth-century reality, a central theme in the novel.
The embellished schoolbook version of
Franz Josephs rescue serves as a paradigm
for the novel itself. The hero, the Ritter der
Wahrheit, protests to a government bureaucrat that the heroic narrative distorts
the truth. The notary responds by stating
that historical events must be presented in
such a way that children understand them:
Alle historischen Taten, sagte der Notar,
werden fr den Schulgebrauch anders dargestellt. [] Die Kinder brauchen Beispiele,
die sie begreifen, die sich ihnen einprgen.8
This transformation, a fictonalization of an
impulsive gesture into a colorful, heroic deed
makes the event more accessible and meaningful to readers. The metamorphosis of historical fact into fiction emphasizes the
texts fictional nature. The schoolbook episode exposes the illusion of truthfulness by
serving as a self-reflexive commentary on
the novel. The childrens version distorts the
facts to fashion a historical hero out of a
simple man and serves as a microcosm of the
novel by calling attention to the process of
fictionalization. The episode underscores a
conflict between mimesis and verisimilitude
inherent in realist works. If mimesis concerns itself with accurately portraying the
past, then verisimilitude deals with the present as readers decide what is plausible. As
Lilian Furst has observed in All is True: The
Claims and Strategies of Realist Fiction, the
appearance of truth resides in the response
it evokes and reading a realist narrative is a
submission to an act of persuasion, the aim
of which is to convert readers to the belief
that all is true.9 Marshall Brown argues
400
that realism cannot be localized in any single element common to realistic novels, but
rather is the novels impact on readers.10
Although Roths work presents a credible, seemingly realistic portrait of the waning years of the Hapsburg empire through
vivid detail, gestures, and dialogue, his narrator calls attention to this persuasive act,
and to the transformation of that reality into
a plausible plot for skeptical 1930s European
readers. Thus, he discusses the plausibility
of characters behavior and explains the mores of the times. These intrusions underscore
the works fictionality, which entails a balancing act between an accurate portrayal of
the past (mimesis) and the transmutation of
the past into a credible, relevant and engaging plot (verisimilitude). The initial chapter
also questions its very medium, language, to
capture the past. If the storybook version
manages to portray the heroic rescue, albeit through exaggeration and distortion of
detail, then everyday language is unable to
depict the heroic moment.11 The hero cannot
explain to his father in an ordinary letter the
extraordinary circumstances of the rescue:
Wie aber sollte man jetzt, [] die gesetzmssige, fr ein ganzes Soldatenleben berechnete Form der Briefe ndern und zwischen die normierten Stze ungewhnliche Mitteilungen von ungewhnlich
gewordenen Verhltnissen rcken, die
man selbst kaum begriffen hatte? (R 9)
Fall 2003
LANDWEHR: Roth
attempt to save his men in battle calls to
mind the Emperors rescue, but ends in dismal failure. The narrator himself remarks
that his death is inappropriate for a childrens reader, that it is not the stuff of legends:
So einfach und zur Behandlung in Lesebchern fr die kaiser-und kniglichen
sterreichischen Volks-und Brgerschulen ungeeignet war das Ende des Enkels
des Helden von Solferino. Der Leutnant
Trotta starb nicht mit der Waffe, sondern
mit zwei Wassereimern in der Hand.
(R 391)
401
402
Fall 2003
of the rescue: a second can save a life and produce a hero. His peers regard Trotta as a
hero; a modern reader may view him as
merely lucky. As Friedrich Drrenmatt
notes in his study of ancient Greek tragedy
and modern drama, the difference between
causality and contingency, fate and chance,
is one of perspective.15
The ironic portrayal of Carl Josephs belief that a malevolent force, not his own mistakes, causes his demise also undermines a
fatalistic interpretation of the events. The
weak anti-hero blames fate rather than poor
judgment for his crises. He denies any involvement with Demants wife and responsibility for his death in a duel defending his
wifes honor (R 120). He regards his confrontation with the moneylender Kapturak as resulting from the insidious machinations of
fate rather than his imprudent accumulation of debt.16 The brushworkers strike
graphically depicts the gulf between his interpretation of events and reality. He initially believes that destiny, not social injustice, triggers these demonstrations:
Fr ihn hatte das Schicksal diese politischen Demonstrationen vorbereitet. []
Er glaubte jetzt genau zu wissen, dass ein
tckisch berechnendes Schicksal besonderer Art ihm zuerst den Urlaub beschert
hatte, um ihn hierauf zu vernichten. (R
248)
LANDWEHR: Roth
Trottas claim after Demants burial that
nothing could have been done (Nein, es war
nichts zu machen! [R 149]) reveals the
characters blindness and depicts Demants
tragic end as avoidable and absurd.
Northrop Frye argues that by stressing
its heros humanity, irony
minimizes the sense of ritual inevitability
in tragedy, supplies social and psychological explanations for catastrophe, and makes as much as possible of human misery
seem in Thoreaus phrase, superfluous
and evitable. (237)
403
404
Fall 2003
LANDWEHR: Roth
Verloren sind wir []. Wir sind, sage ich,
die Letzten einer Welt, in der Gott noch
die Majestten begnadet und Verrckte
wie ich Gold machen. [] dies ist die Zeit
der Elektrizitt, nicht der Alchimie. []
Nicht mehr Gold! [] Durch Nitroglyzerin und Elektrizitt werden wir zugrunde
gehen! (R197)
405
into separate nations. As the prophetic Chojnicki observes: Sie [die Monarchie] zerfllt,
sie ist schon verfallen (R 195)! Bermans
claim that the confusion of the social order is
the implicit corollary to the meaninglessness
of speech in Fontanes Irrungen, Wirrungen
applies equally to Roths work (149). The
portraits loss of its communicative role mirrors the loss of meaning provoked by social
upheaval. This Sprachkrise or crisis of language pervasive in the works of Roths contemporaries such as Hugo von Hofmannsthals Der Schwierige evokes the meaningless void left after the empires collapse.
406
practice in his novel Bebuquin oder die Dilettanten des Wunders. Among the various
avant-garde techniques he employs is the
spatial construction of compositional elements in the work through the logical selfreflexion of leitmotifs (Donahue 428).
The creation of an aesthetic order
through leitmotifs, a modernist trait ubiquitous in Thomas Manns novels, plays a central role in Roths work as well. Pivotal
events such as Demants duel, Carl Josephs
confrontation with the striking workers, and
his death on the battlefield comprise ironic
references to or parodic repetitions of the initial heroic act. These variations of the original event create a self-referential aesthetic
design that counters the linear, teleological
one of realist writing and endows the fictional events with an artistic order. Repetitive use of the Radetzkymarsch and the rain
leitmotif, among others, reflects the circular
structure of Einsteins new literary form
that is subordinate to musical law.29 Moreover, rituals that bestow meaning onto the
characters lives such as Trottas habitual
walks and meals, and the letter writing mirror this circular aesthetic design. However,
just as the characters eventually discover the
emptiness of the rituals, so, too, do the readers detect the void behind the aesthetic stratagems and are forced to confront their own
role in the production of meaning.
Further analysis of references to the portrait reveal the readers central role in the
creation of meaning. Although art has lost its
mimetic function, some scenes suggest that
the crisis of meaning may result from the
viewers own subjective reaction to art. Ones
frame of reference appears to determine the
success or failure in discovering truth. The
elder Trottas perception of the portrait as a
chaotic mass of dabs of paint reflects his belief that his life has lost meaning. He has just
written his son a letter in which he has relinquished his paternal authority: Da er nun
aber mit diesem Brief die Befehlsgewalt ber
seinen Sohn niederlegte, schien es ihm, dass
sein ganzes Leben wenig Sinn mehr htte
[] (R 294). Immediately afterwards, he
Fall 2003
The characters experiences of the portrait mirror the readers subjective relationship to Roths work. If a characters worldview influences his perception of the portrait, the readers preconceptions direct their
reading of the text. Roths narrator discusses
the readers role as an interpreter of the narrative, when he states that a change in perspective, whether one views a figure with
modern eyes or not, creates a noble or ridiculous character. A contemporary reader might
find Trottas obsession with honor absurd:
LANDWEHR: Roth
Heutzutage sind die Begriffe von Standesehre und Familienehre und persnlicher Ehre, in denen der Herr von Trotta
lebte, berreste unglaubwrdiger und
kindischer Legenden, wie es uns manchmal scheint. (R 324)
Heroism or absurdity, tragedy or irony, meaning or meaninglessness are in the eyes of the
reader.
The leitmotif of blindness, both literal and
symbolic, suggests the subjective nature of
meaning. The pervasive references to and
toying with the notions of blindness and clarity suggest that meaning is imposed upon reality by the viewer. Carl Joseph and his peers,
especially Dr. Demant, are blind to their circumstances. Literally and metaphorically
nearsighted, Demant refuses to confront his
wifes infidelity: he removes his glasses to
clean them and is enveloped in einen wohltuenden Nebel through which he sees the
bearer of bad news in a blur (R 99). Yet, when
faced with death in the duel, Demant acquires sudden clarity, both literally and symbolically. Although he is not wearing his
glasses, the familiar fog does not arrive
and he inexplicably kills his opponent: Aber
alles blieb deutlich, als ob der Regimentsarzt
nie kurzsichtig gewesen wre (R 134). Near
death, he gains insight into the absurdity of
the honor code and his army career. Meaning
or lack of it depends on ones perception of reality.
Similarly, the narrator invites the reader
to be a partner in the aesthetic enterprise of
creating meaning. Sharing observations and
opinions with the reader encourages him/her
to engage actively in creating meaning according to Einsteins paradigm for modern
art which entails a new relationship between
artwork and recipient. In Totalitt (1914)
Einstein asserts that art is not concerned
with objects (mimesis) but with shaping perceptions: Gegenstand der Kunst sind nicht
Objekte, sondern das gestaltete Sehen.30 He
links art with cognition (Kunsterkenntnis) and states that the act of cognition involves reconstructing ones worldview: Der
Erkenntnisakt, die Umbildung der Weltvor-
407
408
Radetzkymarsch, Kulturpessimismus
und Erzhlform: Studien zu Joseph Roths Leben und Werk, ed. Fritz Hackert (Bern: Herbert
Lang, 1967) 148; Georg Lukcs defines Roth as
a Schriftsteller-Realist who accurately depicts the social decay of Hapsburg culture.
Claudio Magris also notes that Roth questions
the form of the 19th-century novel: Bereits in
Radetzkymarsch hatte Roth brigens das anachronistische Paradoxon eines Romans des 19.
Jahrhunderts geschaffen, der die Absurdheit
und die Unwirklichkeit derselben Formen darstellt, auf denen er beruht (7576). Die Verschollenen Annalen. Historische Regression
und epische Totalitt in der Erzhlkunst Jo-
Fall 2003
LANDWEHR: Roth
Studies 16 (1986): 30210. Georg Lukcs, The
Historical Novel, trans. Hannah and Stanley
Mitchell (New York: Humanities Press, 1965).
8 Joseph Roth, Radetzkymarsch (Mnchen:
Deutscher Taschenbuch, 1995) 16. Subsequent
references will be provided parenthetically and
abbreviated R.
9 All is True: The Claims and Strategies of Realist Fiction (Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1995) 26.
See also Robert C. Holub, Reflections of Realism: Paradox, Norm, and Ideology in Nineteenth-Century German Prose (Detroit: Wayne
State UP, 1991).
10 Marshall Brown, The Logic of Realism: A
Hegelian Approach, PMLA 96 (1981): 22441.
11 Eric Santner also notes that the heros entry
into the realm of history and his loss of a sense
of roots is accompanied by a loss of contact to
ones mother tongue. Geschlossenheit, Geschichte und Welt in Joseph Roths Radetzkymarsch, Bulletin of the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association 36 (1982): 4559;
here 5051.
12 Northrop Frye claims that as the ironic element increases, the heroic decreases (221)
and as a rule, the dingier the hero, the sharper
the irony (210). Anatomy of Criticism: Four
Essays (1973; Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1957) 221. For an analysis of irony in
Roths works see Celine Mathew, Ambivalence
and Irony in the Works of Joseph Roth, European University Studies 686 (Frankfurt/M.:
Peter Lang, 1984). See esp. 13550.
13 Fictions of Romantic Irony (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard UP, 1984).
14 Ein grausamer Wille der Geschichte hat
mein altes Vaterland, die sterreichisch-ungarische Monarchie, zertrmmert. [] Ich habe
die Tugenden und die Vorzge dieses Vaterlands geliebt, und ich liebe heute, da es verstorben und verloren ist, auch noch seine Fehler und Schwchen. Deren hatte es viele. Es hat
sie durch seinen Tod gebsst. David Bronson,
Joseph Roth: Eine Biographie (Cologne: Kiepenheuer und Witsch, 1974) 400. Further references to this work will be cited parenthetically as Roth.
15 Friedrich Drrenmatt, Theaterprobleme (Zrich: Arche, 1955) 37.
16 Er glaubte, die tckische Schliche einer
finsteren Macht zu erkennen, [] und allmhlich sah er auch alle dsteren Ereignisse seines
Lebens in einen dsteren Zusammenhang gefgt
409
und abhngig von irgendeinem gewaltigen, gehssigen, unsichtbaren Drahtzieher, dessen Ziel
es war, den Leutnant zu vernichten (R 313).
17 Magris explores the rains function as a leitmotif of impending disaster in Eine Welt von
GesternEin Mythos von Heute, Der Habsburgische Mythos in der sterreichschen Literatur (Salzburg: Otto Mller, 1966) 23965;
here, 260.
18 Bronson notes: Nach Roths Auffassung
fhlt sich der Mensch mit Hilfe der Technik
Meister der Dinge, aber immer gibt es etwas
Hintergrndiges, das sich nicht nach Menschenregeln richtet und alle Menschenplne zunichte
macht (Roth 21617).
19 Philip Manger, The Radetzky March: Joseph Roth and the Habsburg Myth, The Viennese Enlightenment, ed. Mark Francis. (New
York: St. Martins Press, 1985) 4062. See esp.
5861.
20 Mythologies, trans., Jonathan Cape Ltd.,
(1957 Editions du Seuil, Paris: Farrar, Strauss
and Giraux, 1986) 131.
21 Philip Manger notes that Roth thematicises myth by showing... how myth originates
and how, by manipulating historical data and
hence distorting reality, the establishment exploits myth as an instrument of power, an ideological-propagandistic tool for indoctrination
and cementing existing social structures (48).
22 In Radetzkymarsch, Lukcs observes that
Graf Chojnicki expresses Roths views (148).
See Joseph Beug, Joseph Roths Literarische
Selbstportrts, Irish Studies in Modern Austrian Literature, ed. G. J. Carr and Edna Sagarro (Dublin: Trinity College, 1982) 5175.
23 Robert Holub, Reflections of Realism (47).
Realism became a popular term in France after
a controversial painting exhibition by Courbet
in 1855. See also: Ren Wellek, The Concept of
Realism in Literary Scholarship, Neophilologus 45 (1961) 4.
24 Doch in der nchsten Generation verliert
diese bildhafte Wirklichkeit auch ihre reprsentative Funktion, das Bild ist kein Kommunikationsvermittler mehr, in einem Prozess
der Zersetzung droht es schliesslich seine Gegenstndlichkeit zu verlieren (68).
25 Reidel-Schrewe discusses these dual perspectives and arts inability to bridge the gap
between past and present, between the object
of the portrait and the viewer, to convey meaning (69).
410
Fall 2003