The Governess and Other Stories

by Stefan Zweig, Anthea Bell (Translator)

These four stories illustrate the wide range of Zweig's subject matter dating from quite early in his career as a writer of fiction (The Governess, rooted in a world of strict Edwardian morality), to late (Did He Do It?, almost an English detective story set near Bath, where Zweig lived in exile). In addition The Miracles of Life, set in 16th-century Antwerp during the time of Protestant iconoclasm, and Downfall of a Heart both address the theme of anti-Semitism.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, German Literature

240 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 2011

About the author

Stefan Zweig was one of the world's most famous writers during the 1920s and 1930s, especially in the U.S., South America, and Europe. He produced novels, plays, biographies, and journalist pieces. Among his most famous works are Beware of Pity, Letter from an Unknown Woman, and Mary, Queen of Scotland and the Isles. He and his second wife committed suicide in 1942.
Zweig studied in Austria, France, and Germany before settling in Salzburg in 1913. In 1934, driven into exile by the Nazis, he emigrated to England and then, in 1940, to Brazil by way of New York. Finding only growing loneliness and disillusionment in their new surroundings, he and his second wife committed suicide.
Zweig's interest in psychology and the teachings of Sigmund Freud led to his most characteristic work, the subtle portrayal of character. Zweig's essays include studies of Honoré de Balzac, Charles Dickens, and Fyodor Dostoevsky (Drei Meister, 1920; Three Masters) and of Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist, and Friedrich Nietzsche (Der Kampf mit dem Dämon, 1925; Master Builders). He achieved popularity with Sternstunden der Menschheit (1928; The Tide of Fortune), five historical portraits in miniature. He wrote full-scale, intuitive rather than objective, biographies of the French statesman Joseph Fouché (1929), Mary Stuart (1935), and others. His stories include those in Verwirrung der Gefühle (1925; Conflicts). He also wrote a psychological novel, Ungeduld des Herzens (1938; Beware of Pity), and translated works of Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, and Emile Verhaeren.
Most recently, his works provided the inspiration for 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Reviews

[Rowena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars There’s no denying that Zweig is a brilliant writer. So many passages of this book were wonderfully eloquent and poetic. However, they were missing a little something to me, they didn’t quite hold me. As always, he went into the psychology of his characters, one character being a dog in actual fact, and he shows us characters who are very human, who are very odd. But somehow I wasn’t able to quite connect with these stories, except perhaps the titular one.

[Milfmaster420 · Rating 5 out of 5]

dope

[Emer Tannam · Rating 2 out of 5]

extremely well-written, as always, but a little dull. And I am unconvinced by a story in which the villain is a dog!

[Ostap Bender · Rating 2 out of 5]

A rare letdown from Pushkin Press. This book includes four short stories from Austrian author Stefan Zweig: ‘Did He Do It?’ (1935-40), ‘The Miracles of Life’ (1903), ‘Downfall of the Heart’ (1927), and ‘The Governess’ (1907). At his best, he writes with fluidity about fervent emotions, and the collection starts strong with at least the beginning and most of ‘Did He Do It?’, about a couple who have retired to the English countryside and soon have an immoderate, excessive neighbor. We know from the first paragraph that a murder has taken place, and Zweig clever keeps us wondering who it’s referring to, though the ending is a bit of a let down. The real downfall of the collection, however, is the next story, ‘The Miracles of Life’, which is not only overwrought in its description of pious devotion, but also far too long. ‘Downfall of the Heart’ and ‘The Governess’ are both more interesting in their descriptions of the suddenness of girls and young women growing up, but feel abrupt, and there isn’t enough nuance in the emotions that are stirred up in them and their family members.

Just this quote, on animals:
“The glance of an animal in great need can be a more penetrating, I might even say a more speaking look than the glance of a human being, for we put most of our feelings and thoughts into the words with which we communicate, while an animal, incapable of speech, expresses feelings only with its eyes.”

[Mikey J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of stories though, at nearly a hundred pages, I'm not sure if The Miracles of Life isn't a novella. The Governess is reminiscent of Burning Secret (highly recommended) in that it deals with children discovering the fact that adults aren't to be trusted. Zweig has really become one of my favorite writers over the last few years, and I'm saddened that I only have a few stories remaining in regards to his fiction output. If you haven't read him, this would be a fine place to start.

[Jay.FB · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe I chose the wrong book of Zweig to start with. The short stories wasn’t that bad, but it took me a long time to finish them and at times -if I’m being honest- I was bored.

But this is not the end. Zweig and I will meet again.

[David Tutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting mix of stories which have been translated into English.

[Borderless · Rating 5 out of 5]

Barbara

[Катерина Майковська]

The Governess: nice, scary, makes you angry, but in the very end, it falls into describing the same idea with different words for half a page.

It is interesting how a basic and common plot gets a fresh read due to interesting focal characters — the story of the governess through the eyes of young girls under her care. The way girls feel confused and isolated sheds light on the strict and oppressive morals of that time.

[Roger Short · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compilation of novellas. The first, Did he Do It? is a kind of whodunnit story set in England and very much in Zweig's style of providing insights into human nature. The Miracles of Life is set in Antwerp during the Renaissance period and delves into the conflicts between religious beliefs, art, love art and possession, in particular the reformed stray son who attempts to reconcile his earlier wayward life in Italy by commissioning a work of art in memory of his parents. The final two stories The Downfall of the Heart and The Governess relate to disillusionment in relationships. The former relates to a wealthy yet frugal businessman and his relationship with his materialistic wife and especially his frivolous daughter whom he considers to have betrayed him. The latter, The Governess, is a relatively straight forward story of the prejudices of the early period of the last century. The governess of two girls becomes pregnant and the suspected father is a nephew of the wealthy family. Again a study in human behaviour, ethics and false moral standards.