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The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage
In �The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage,” a man’s passion for a woman is shared—rather inconveniently—by his son, and both declare themselves her suitors. The woman struggles to escape their pursuits by implying a rather indelicate state of affairs. Her ploy works, and the resultant chaos and confusion for father and son create a brilliantly comic ending. Also included are �Who is the Betrayer?” in which a man’s nocturnal monologues reveal rather more than he would wish, and a third tale where erotic infidelity and inadvertent revelation are shown to go hand in hand.
- GenresFiction
72 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 2008
1 person is currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
13.4k books7,040 followersA master of poetry, drama, and the novel, German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe spent 50 years on his two-part dramatic poem
Faust
, published in 1808 and 1832, also conducted scientific research in various fields, notably botany, and held several governmental positions.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters... and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Works span the fields of literature, theology, and humanism.
People laud this magnum opus as one of the peaks of world literature. Other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther .
With this key figure of German literature, the movement of Weimar classicism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries coincided with Enlightenment, sentimentality (Empfindsamkeit), Sturm und Drang, and Romanticism. The author of the scientific text Theory of Colours , he influenced Darwin with his focus on plant morphology. He also long served as the privy councilor ("Geheimrat") of the duchy of Weimar.
Goethe took great interest in the literatures of England, France, Italy, classical Greece, Persia, and Arabia and originated the concept of Weltliteratur ("world literature"). Despite his major, virtually immeasurable influence on German philosophy especially on the generation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling, he expressly and decidedly refrained from practicing philosophy in the rarefied sense.
Influence spread across Europe, and for the next century, his works inspired much music, drama, poetry and philosophy. Many persons consider Goethe the most important writer in the German language and one of the most important thinkers in western culture as well. Early in his career, however, he wondered about painting, perhaps his true vocation; late in his life, he expressed the expectation that people ultimately would remember his work in optics.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
August 24, 2021
I do enjoy Goethe! The only reason I put this down was because I lost it. I recently found it in a purse that I no longer use. I only had a few pages left, so, read ✔
August 28, 2017
This Hesperus Classics edition brings together three short stories taken from Goethe's late, sprawling "novel" of sorts - Wilhelm Meisters Wanderjahre oder Die Entsagenden . They are tales linked by themes of passion, betrayal and renunciation but the mood is far removed from the melodrama of The Sorrows of Young Werther or the gothic hues of Faust. This is Goethe at his most light-hearted even though one should not expect any farcical laughs.
Take the title story. A mysterious young woman turns up at the household of a respectable widower who lives with his sister and son. Soon, both father and son fall for the stranger, until she has to come up with a pretext to justify her departure. The situation gives rise to wry comedy, but there are darker undercurrents at play. Who is this woman? What is her past? Where is she heading to? Is she really a madwoman? These are all narrative threads which are tantalisingly left unresolved, making this story feel more like a parable or allegory than a simple tale. In its own way, it is the unlikely precursor of The Accidentalor Pasolini's Teorema
In "Who is the Traitor" the protagonist Lucidor is torn between his betrothed Julia and her sister Lucinde. For a while this feels like "Werther" territory until the story's uplifting (albeit thought provoking) denouement.
The collection ends with "Not too far!" - an account of a birthday party gone wrong, which becomes the symbol of an unravelling marriage.
In his Foreword to the volume, author Lewis Crofts introduces the stories in the context of Goethe's own love affairs. On the other hand, Andrew Piper, the translator of the title-story, provides an introduction of a philosophical bent, seeing in Goethe's late works and their emphasis on "adultery" both a reflection of changing social norms and of the idea of the act of translation as one of "betrayal". "Who is the Traitor" and "Not too Far" are translated by Jonathan Katz.
Take the title story. A mysterious young woman turns up at the household of a respectable widower who lives with his sister and son. Soon, both father and son fall for the stranger, until she has to come up with a pretext to justify her departure. The situation gives rise to wry comedy, but there are darker undercurrents at play. Who is this woman? What is her past? Where is she heading to? Is she really a madwoman? These are all narrative threads which are tantalisingly left unresolved, making this story feel more like a parable or allegory than a simple tale. In its own way, it is the unlikely precursor of The Accidentalor Pasolini's Teorema
In "Who is the Traitor" the protagonist Lucidor is torn between his betrothed Julia and her sister Lucinde. For a while this feels like "Werther" territory until the story's uplifting (albeit thought provoking) denouement.
The collection ends with "Not too far!" - an account of a birthday party gone wrong, which becomes the symbol of an unravelling marriage.
In his Foreword to the volume, author Lewis Crofts introduces the stories in the context of Goethe's own love affairs. On the other hand, Andrew Piper, the translator of the title-story, provides an introduction of a philosophical bent, seeing in Goethe's late works and their emphasis on "adultery" both a reflection of changing social norms and of the idea of the act of translation as one of "betrayal". "Who is the Traitor" and "Not too Far" are translated by Jonathan Katz.
August 14, 2017
The stories had their charms. I just found myself a little bored. Though this was from Goethe's Classical period and I find anything too far past his "Sturm und Drang" period less interesting in general. I did enjoy this line in the first story though, "he who is not considerate, considerate of the plight of a defenceless woman will one day be the victim of a inconsiderate women." I feel that is good theme for the whole collection.
July 4, 2018
Three very short novellas from Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, comprising of just seventy pages in all. The descriptive writing is impeccable, but I found the tales rather dated, and they didn't really float my boat. In fact, if this collection were not so brief I may have abandoned ship at some point.
Of the three stories 'Who is the traitor?' held my attention the most. 'The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage' served its purpose, as a sample of this great German writer's work.
Of the three stories 'Who is the traitor?' held my attention the most. 'The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage' served its purpose, as a sample of this great German writer's work.
June 11, 2019
Pleasantly surprised by The Sorrows of Young Werther, I was eager to move on and also explore this collection of (the inside cover calls them novellas? But they seem too short. Novellettes?) Only to find what expectations had held me back from reading Goethe in the first place 00 the passage of time and changing conventions made some allusions baffling to the point of utter opaqueness, dry narration, etc. For instance, I missed so much in the title story that it was largely incomprehensible to me. The last story, "Not too far!" was fine, just not particularly exciting. The story I enjoyed the most was "Who is the Traitor?" which was a bit Austen-like with its familial obligations meets mis-matched love and well-intentioned secrets.
The book itself is lovely enough with its French flaps that I am halfway inclined to keep it, but I think it is time to release this book to the wild.
The book itself is lovely enough with its French flaps that I am halfway inclined to keep it, but I think it is time to release this book to the wild.
April 25, 2016
The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, translated by Jonathan Ned Katz and Andrew Piper with foreword by Lewis Crofts is a collection of three short stories. In The Madwoman on a Pilgrimage Herr von Revanne is madly and passionately smitten by a pligrimess, a woman of great beauty and even greater mystery. His passion is shared by his son, and both seek her hand in marriage. She escapes them both by a devious and comic ploy. In Who Is the Traitor? Lucidor is the victim of ironic betrayal due to his own nocturnal mumblings. In Not Too Far infidelity, masquerade and an inadvertent carriage accident reveal treachery and deceit. Goethe is listed among the world’s greatest writers. Perhaps I should read more of his work because, based on the limited evidence from reading these three stories, I’m not sure why he is so well regarded.
September 2, 2015
I have been reading Goethe's work lately and found this a rather different, yet just as interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews