Monkey Business in Goethe's Faust, Die Wahlverwandtschaften, and Science

HARVEY DUNKLE Monkey Business in Goethe's Faust, Die Wahlverwandtschaften, and Science Alwin binder has summed up the history of criticism of the scene "Hexenküche."1 He points out that interpretations of what arouses Faust's libido run the gamut of textual possibilities: the witch's brew, the magic mirror, physical rejuvenation, and simply the lifting of inhibitions. He also devotes twenty pages to an analysis of the Hexeneinmaleins but overlooks Kathryn Levedahl's plausible interpretation of the chant, according to which Faust's age is reduced from 55 to 26 with the ironic loss of one of the anticipated thirty years.2 But perhaps the strangest thing about studies of the scene is that so much has been said about rejuvenation and the Hexeneinmaleins while no one has paid attention to the monkeys, although Goethe's association of a northern witch with sub-Saharan monkeys3 has psychological significance which becomes even more apparent in conjunction with his scientific studies and his references to monkeys in the Wahlverwandtschaften. Furthermore, "Auerbachs Keller" and "Hexenk üche" together portray Mephisto's efforts to lead Faust into forms of debauchery in descending order from the drunken revelry of students to association with still lower forms of human behavior practiced by the witch and the monkeys. Goethe's speculation on the uncertain degree of difference between the human race and animals is suggested also by Eckermann's reference to the Bestialität der Trinkenden portrayed by Delacroix and by Goethe's admiration of Delacroix's lithographs on scenes from Faust as expressive of his own ideas.4 After Faust has ignored the drunken revelry in "Auerbachs Keller," he also exhibits total disinterest in everything about the witch's kitchen except the 124 GOETHE SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA magic mirror, while Mephisto enjoys bantering with the monkeys and the witch. This division of the scene into separate actions requires an examination of Goethe's reference to Unsinn, which has either deterred critics from taking the scene seriously or has caused them to reach far and wide for mysterious concepts not warranted by the text. Goethe's frequently quoted statement about Unsinn appears in a letter of 4 December 1827 in reply to one from Zelter written between 23 and 27 November.5 The letters discuss several unrelated items, one of which concerns a former student of Zelter's who had inquired of him why two distichs of the Xenien had appeared in separate editions of both Goethe's and SchUler's poems. Goethe responded: Deine Korrespondentin aus Sanssouci mag ein liebenswürdiges Mädchen sein, eine wahre Deutsche ist sie zugleich. Diese Nation weiß durchaus nichts zurechtzulegen, durchaus stolpern sie über Strohhalmen .... Ebenso quälen sie sich und mich mit den "Weissagungen des Bakis," früher mit dem "Hexeneinmaleins" und so manchem andern Unsinn, den man dem schlichten Menschenverstände anzueignen gedenkt. Suchten sie doch die psychischsittlich -ästhetischen Rätsel, die in meinen Werken mit freigebigen Händen ausgestreut sind, sich anzueignen und sich in ihren Lebensrätseln dadurch aufzuklären! Doch viele tun es ja, und wir wollen nicht zürnen, daß es nicht immer und überall geschieht.6 Two ironies emerge here. First, nothing in Zelter's letter suggests an allusion to Faust; therefore Goethe's expression of irritation in general about unwanted questions gratuitously mentions the Hexeneinmaleins as only one illustration of the problem. Secondly, although his tormentors apparently bothered him about that detaU rather than the rest of the scene, his use of the word Unsinn has deflected attention from the scene except for the idea of rejuvenation. Earlier in the same year Goethe had mentioned the Hexeneinmaleins to illustrate to Eckermann meaningless writing comparable to some statements found in a book by H.F.W. Hinrichs on ancient tragedy: "Es gibt aber in seinem Buche nicht wenige Stellen, bei denen der Gedanke nicht rückt und fortschreitet, und wobei sich die dunkele Sprache immer auf demselbigen Fleck und immer in demselbigen Kreise bewegt, völlig so, wie das Einmaleins der Hexe in meinem Faust."7 Goethe states here that Unsinn applies to contexts so unclear as to convey no meaning, but the word requires more attention. The Grimm Deutsches W...