Denn wer die Weiber hasst, wie kann der leben? (review)

Goethe Yearbook 277 Curran says, "Enthusiasm for Shakespeare formed a significant moment in the history of the German theater and WUhelm's attitude is a reflection of this phenomenon " (134). Curran's book has many uses. Anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship will enjoy reading this text Ui tandem with Curran's commentary. A student learning German wUl be weU advised to read a chapter of Curran, then a chapter of Goethe in German instead of working with a translation. The brain wUl get a better workout, and more wUl be learned. Advanced students, meaning aU of us, wiU find a wealth of research suggestions throughout the text and in the bibUography. Curran's book is a treasure for the teacher looking for ways to open up Goethe's text in multiple directions as the semester rolls along. I am grateful to have this commentary ready at hand on the shelf next to Goethe's novel, and we should aU be grateful to Curran for helping to keep this important work aUve in the EngUsh-speaking world. George Washington University Robert Combs Brigitte Kohn, "Denn wer die Weiber hasst, wie kann der leben?" Die WeibUchkeitskonzeption in Goethes Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahren im Kontext von Sprach- und Ausdruckstheorie des ausgehenden 18. Jahrhunderts. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2001. 461 pp. This imposing volume embodies German scholarship in every sense of the word. It is an ambitious undertaking by an accurate, insightful reader who brings a wealth of expertise and dedication to the task. The book faUs into two distinct halves. The first one (201 pp.) is an exposition of theoretical frameworks for the second part of the text: an exhaustive analysis of the female characters Ui Goethe's Lehrjahre. The discussion is richly textured with footnotes of exceptional interest and rests on a bibUography containing almost exclusively reUable German language Uterary/phUosophical sources, primary and secondary. The author more than meets the terms of the book's title by relating to Goethe's own perspective the ideas of such Goethe contemporaries as Lavater, Lichtenberg, Spinoza, Leibniz, Schüler, Friedrich Schlegel, Rahel Varnhagen and many others. Representative section headings in the first part of the book include: "EUibUdungskraft und WeibUchkeit im Bezugsfeld von Körperausdruck und Sprache," or "Zur Theorie des Imaginären von CorneUus Castoriadis," "Die Positionierung des Körpers innerhalb der Diskursivität—zur Diskussion um Judith Butler," "Zur Semiotik der Sprachursprungserzählungen: Vico, Herder, Hamann, Rousseau und Moritz," and finaUy "Goethes Erkenntnis- und Sprachtheorie ." These discussions alone would recommend the text to a wide readership . But the book goes weU beyond its demonstrable framework by explaining, primarily Ui the second part, how twentieth-century thinkers, including Freud, Foucault, Simone de Beauvoir, JuUe Kristeva, and others might view themes, characters, and situations simUar to those described Ui this novel. The author discusses each female character in the Lehrjahre Ui exhaustive detaU. This includes the "schöne Seele" and Sperata. Since these are hardly unexplored themes, it is remarkable that she brings so many perspectives to the text, including the findings of recognized German scholars. She adds even further avenues for exploration Ui lengthy footnotes. Perhaps it is inevitable that someone so interested in every facet of the Lehrjahre also includes interpretations of the widest range of topics suggested by the functions of women in the text. Thus, the book is reaUy a compendious and fairly complete consideration of the subject, albeit from the author's point of view. 278 Book Reviews Among the most interesting insights revealed by this close reading of the text are a clear explanation of Mariane's enduring influence on the title character , a wide-ranging discussion of puppets and marionettes, an interpretation over several chapters of the results of female subservience Ui Goethe's time, a fine reading of the Bekenntnisse, and a nuanced discussion of the meaning of male versus female clothing, particularly focusing on uniforms, NataUe's overcoat and the male clothing that denotes some of Therese's pragmatic functions Ui the latter part of the novel. A concrete example of the texture of this book can be offered by means of an illustration from the chapter on AureUe. The...