The Brief Compass: The Nineteenth-Century German Novelle by Roger Paulin (review)

1 14Rocky Mountain Review The author's summary may, on the contrary, overstate the comprehensiveness of his study. Elsewhere he does make it clearer that the book contributes to a number of discussions: on the metaphysics of personaUty and personation, on the psychology of masked performance, on the anthropology of certain rituals and of certain forms of religious art, on relations among a complex series of myths and images involving theriomorphic and mixomorphic figures, and on cultural-ideological relations between East and West in prehistoric times. Consequently, persons interested in any of these subjects will find something of value, though perhaps more in the juxtaposition of other fields' data and/or interpretations to those of their own than in any bold new insight, and may well be inspired to make further connections, even to extrapolate Napier's argument. Furthermore, Rodney Needham's foreword acknowledges the omission of the Chinese t'ao-t'ieh type from the geographical survey of monster "masks"; and it is obvious even to a classicist that the imagery and symbolism of the lion could be taken much further chronologically in both Western Asia and in Europe (e.g., into the Romanesque and Gothic periods, Napier's dichotomy between Christian monotheism and polytheism notwithstanding). The book itself is handsomely presented, with well reproduced frontispiece and 104 plates, all black and white; and without more than two or three minor typos and other slips. Its bibliography appears to be up to date and certainly is, like the book itself, uniquely wide-ranging. Its price ($40) reduces the likelihood of the book's purchase by individuals, who may choose to consult the copy that every respectable college library must surely acquire. VICTOR CASTELLANI University of Denver ROGER PAULIN. The Brief Compass: The Nineteenth-Century German Novelle. New York: Clarendon Press, 1985. 169 p. This compact, handy study of the nineteenth-century German Novelle contains a select bibliography, preliminary remarks about purpose and scope, and nine chapters spanning the history of the Novelle, Shakespearean themes in the Novelle, theories of the Novelle, and finally, the case of Theodor Storm. It offers a useful appendix containing selected statements on the theory and practice of the Novelle: from famiUar ones like Goethe's Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten, to lesser known ones like Martin Heinrich Riehl's Novelle und Sonate (1885). It concludes with endnotes to chapters, an index to twenty Novellen terms and concepts, and finally, an index of names and titles. AU this seems much for 169 pages to cover, but Paulin organizes his material clearly in short, manageable chapters and writes about the Novelle with grace and wit. Paulin's main interest concerns the novella's journey from Italy via Spain (novela) and France (nouvelle) to Germany (Novelle). While the novela, novella, and nouvelle retain certain constants that testify to their origin — "entertainment," "moral," "unusual" (16) — the Novelle follows a different path. As the short prose narrative takes hold in Germany, it is first practiced by lesser known writers, but gradually gains respectability with contributions by Wieland and Goethe. Tieck's renewal of Volksbücher and Kunstmärchen and Kleist's tragic vision blaze new paths. They are Book Reviews115 joined by theoreticians, notably the brothers Schlegel, who throw their authority behind prose, the novel, and the Novelle (32), which they designate as the most appropriate medium for all kinds of human experience (33). It is not surprising, therefore, that before the nineteenth century is well under way, the Novelle has become probably the most popular literary form in Germany (58). In catering to new tastes, writers belonging to the Biedermeier period make the Novelle inclusive: it treats the fantastic, the idyllic, the reflective, the detective story. In effect, any short piece of prose can claim to be a Novelle. One reason for this may be that most prose narratives reached a broad audience in the ever popular kterary Almanachs (publisher's yearbook) among whose contributors are listed even the greatest masters: Stifter, Droste, Mörike Gotthelf, Grillparzer. By now, the sheer number of Novellen published makes one thing clear: rules are thrown to the four winds, "nobody seemed to know what a Novelle was and nobody seemed to care" (62...