Yareah Magazine

Goethe and America PDF Print E-mail
  
Friday, 01 May 2009 00:00

 
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xNppngg-A-w/Sbko0ABocMI/AAAAAAAAAqc/3z_SH9Mwyxc/s320/445px-Ilmenau_Markt_Goethedenkmal.jpg
 http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_xNppngg-A-w/Sbko_AhMMUI/AAAAAAAAAqk/hu9cWi-jRPQ/s400/1700GerEm3.jpg

Elisabeth Powers

http://www.yareah.com/images/bandera1_p.gifIn Romantic times, America was a land to dream and to think of freedom. Here, Elisabeth Powers analyzes the relationship between Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) and this New World.

Goethe and America.

The other day, Ellis Shookman, of the German department at Dartmouth, was speaking at the Columbia University Seminar on 18th-Century European Culture, of which I am chair. His topic: "Attitudes toward America in Christoph Martin Wieland's  Journal "Der Teutsche Merkur" in the Years 1775 to 1807." These were the years in which we were forming into a nation, and the Germans seem to have been very interested in what was going on here.  I tried to get Ellis to speak at the Seminar in October, in the month before the U.S. presidential election, but his teaching schedule didn't allow him to get to New York before now.

In Goethe's early drama Stella, Lucie says that her father died on a business trip to America. In truth, he abandoned his wife and daughter, but America was apparently deemed far enough to prevent people from inquiring more closely. In Poetry and Truth, Goethe wrote that America was "the El Dorado of those who found themselves discommoded by their immediate situation" (das Eldorado derjenigen, die in ihrer augenblicklichen Lage sich bedrängt fanden). (I couldn't help myself using that word "discommoded"; actually, bedrängt means "pressured.")

Goethe of course followed contemporary political events, as I indicated in an earlier writing about his interest in the Greek wars of independence. America's war of independence presented an alternative to the events of the French Revolution, and in Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship Lothario plans social and political reforms that will lead to a nonviolent transition from feudalism. The Journeyman Years features an emigration to America to found a utopian colony. (The map shows areas of highest 18th-century German emigration.) My recent essay in Arion on William Wetmore Story has much to say about Goethe and relations between the "Old" and "New" world.

Many Americans visited Goethe in Weimar, but one of the most important mediators of Goethe's influence in the U.S. was the phenomenal Margaret Fuller. She translated Eckermann's conversations and wrote many essays on Goethe (and also of German Romantic literature) for The Dial.

The image of Goethe on a park bench in not from the U.S., though it reminds me of many such contemporary urban sculptures. It is by Klaus Glutting and can be found in Ilmenau.Read more:

http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/goethe.htm

 

 foto E. Powers
Bio:

Elizabeth Powers (aka "Goethe Girl") is a Goethe scholar who loves making Goethe known to as many people as possible. She is currently at work on a study of his concept of "world literature," but the blog allows her to think about other aspects of his life and work as well. She also writes on literary matters for various magazines and has published two detective novels. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, a physicist, who has taught her everything she knows about science. The blog link is http://goethetc.blogspot.com
Trackback(0)
Comments (28)Add Comment
0
cheap chi flat iron
written by cheap chi flat iron, July 31, 2009
we provide a chi hair iron service.
0
...
written by csy211, November 21, 2009
while the others lie in the Rift Valley towards Kenya. The unforeseeable wild landscapes are surely the main attraction of these parks, where many of the animal species are protected, and some of them are endemic to the area. wow gold
0
...
written by csy211, November 21, 2009
Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves, and the ruby slippers Judy Garland wore in the Wizard of Oz are set among didactic displays tracing the country's development.metin2 yang kaufendofus kamas
0
...
written by csy211, November 21, 2009
Bedrock below the ocean bottom keeps a lid on oil reservoirs, but it's not an impermeable cap. Small cracks allow petroleum and methane to bubble to the surface. Once there, everquest 2 platinumeq2 platinum
0
wow gold
written by wow gold, December 03, 2009
~~_~~ buy wow goldon cheap wow gold !
0
watches
written by watches, December 03, 2009
0
louis vuitton
written by handbags, December 03, 2009
cheap buy louis vuitton,is also louis vuitton!
0
watches
written by watches, December 03, 2009
0
ugg boots
written by ugg boots, December 03, 2009
news ugg boots ! news ugg boots !
0
watches
written by watches, December 03, 2009
buy cheap replica watches, the rolex watches!
0
fast gold world of
written by fast gold world of, December 12, 2009
You can play this game withfast gold world
0
...
written by gigi, December 23, 2009
The origin of Nike Dunks life has been a subject Nike Dunks of speculation in all Nike Dunk known cultures. In the modern era Nike Air Max, this question has been considered in terms Air Max Shoes of a scientific Air Max 90 framework. Lord Buddha’s’ Nike Dunk Low explanation of the origin of Nike Dunk High the Universe, compatible with the modern Nike Air Force 1 scientific explanation. Buddha described Air Force 1 Shoes the origin of the Universe and life in the Aganna Sutta 2500 years ago. According to Buddha’s explanation the universe being destroyed and then re-evolving into its present form over Air Max 95 a period of millions of years.
0
classic cardy boots
written by classic cardy boots, December 29, 2009
classic cardy boots

ugg cardy grey

ugg boots chocolate
0
ghd hair straighteners
written by ghd hair straighteners, December 29, 2009
ghd straighteners

ghd hair straighteners

ghd iv styler
0
online ugg boots
written by http://www.sell-ugg.net, December 30, 2009
"Besides youth, Islamic centers across the country have to
online ugg boots concentrate more on health, domestic sell ugg violence and children education," he insists.
"I believe there is a lot to be done."
0
online ugg boots
written by http://www.sell-ugg.net, December 30, 2009
All three were charged with Trademark Counterfeiting and one was online ugg boots also charged with Criminal Possession of Stolen Property and Criminal Possession of a Weapon. The three arrested were: Adel A. Abdulmajid, 25, and Abdullah A. Hassan, 54, both sell ugg from Buffalo and Hussein Ali, 18, from Lackawanna.
0
...
written by Last Chaos Gold, December 30, 2009
1 Runescape Money
2 Runescape Money
3 Runescape Money
4 Runescape Money
5 Runescape Money
6 [link=http://http://www.vgsgame.com/runescape-c-3.html]Runescape Money[/link]
0
http://www.dunk2u.com
written by cheap ugg boots, January 02, 2010
It is my ugg outlet store great pleasure to visit your website and to enjoy your excellent post here. I like that very much.I can feel that you paid much attention for those articles, as all of them make sense and are very useful. Thanks so much for sharing. I can be very good reader&listener if you are same searching for all to be good.
Appreciate ultra boots for your time!
Merry Christmas & New Year!
0
warcraft gold
written by warcraft gold, January 20, 2010
I can say so: each gamer want to buy wow gold to promote their character level easily, more warcraft gold they own, more items they can buy in game.
0
Re
written by JenifferIO, January 24, 2010
I guess, essay writing services make custom essay about this topic. So, this is a possibility to buy an essay to get good success.
0
swiss watches
written by Rolex replica, February 02, 2010
replica Cartier replica Cartier, replica Omega replica Omega
0
buy NosTale Gold
written by buy NosTale Gold, February 06, 2010
All gamers want to buy NosTale Gold to promote their character level easily, more NosTale money they own, more items they can buy in game.
0
world of warcraft gold
written by world of warcraft gold, February 07, 2010
For a new buy wow gold player has just entered the game spend. First of all, realize the cheap wow gold is useful to the each new player.
0
ugg boots
written by ugg boots, February 08, 2010
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along.ugg I thought I would leave my first comment. ugg boots I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.Nice blog.
0
MH Gold
written by MH Gold, February 11, 2010
More MH Gold gamers own, more items they can buy in game. While we provide you Martial Heroes money, surely you can get them at cheap prices.
0
...
written by ds dstt card, March 09, 2010
0
buy dragonnest gold
written by buy dragonnest gold, March 13, 2010
There are many dragonnest online gold shops where you can buy dragonnest gold.
0
...
written by gdfg, March 13, 2010
For a new shaiya2 gold player has just entered the game spend. First of all, realize the shaiya2 online gold is useful to the each new player.

Write comment

busy
Last Updated ( Sunday, 26 April 2009 16:58 )
 

Next Issue / Próximo número

English A new Yareah was born on February: we are searching for writers and collaborators.
bandera  española Una nueva Yareah nació en Febrero: buscamos escritores y colaboradores.

We have redesigned the site and we have added new categories like opinions and movies. Now, you can directly send us your news. You just need to register, to answer the e-mail and... to publish your own news, texts or photos!
We are receiving articles, poems, reviews and short fiction and we would like to invite you to participate in this new moment for Yareah: the arts and literature magazine.

At the end of the month, we will select the most interesting pieces to make the pdf-magazine. On April, it will be titled: To Be or not to Be.
We hope you enjoy our new site and you participate in this new idea for the future.

Everybody is welcome.

Estamos recibiendo artículos, poemas, críticas y cuentos y queremos invitaros a participar en esta nueva época de Yareah, la revista de arte y literatura.
Ahora puedes enviarnos directamente tus propias noticias. Sólo necesitas registrarte, responder al email y... ¡publicar tus propias noticias, textos o fotos!
Al final del mes, seleccionaremos los textos más interesantes para confeccionar el pdf de la revista. En abril, se titulará: Ser o no Ser.
Esperamos que disfrutes en la nueva página y te atrevas a participar en ella.
Todos sois bienvenidos.

Write on Yareah / Escribir en Yareah

English The next issue of Yareah Magazine will talk about smoking, smoke and smokers.

We will receive articles from today to the 20th of February and we will publish them into the digital issue. The best of them will be published on the magazine and PDF the 1st of March.

Please, register first and you will be able to send us the articles in your user section.

You can send them too by email: \n yareahmagazine@gmail.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

bandera española El próximo número de Yareah Magazine hablará de humo, fumadores y tabaco.

Recibiremos artículos desde hoy hasta el 20 de febrero y los publicaremos en la edición digital. Los mejores serán publicados en la revista y el DPF el 1 de Marzo.

Por favor, regístrense primero y envíenos los artículos a través de la sección usuario.

También pueden mandar los artículos por email a: \n yareahmagazine@gmail.com

Acceso usuarios / Login Form



Facebookfans