Der politische Mörike und seine radikalen Freunde Von Ulrich Gaier und Monika Küble (review)

With their monograph, Gaier and Küble provide a meticulously researched new reading of Eduard Mörike's works. Their interpretations stand in stark contrast to the contemporary and prevailing image of Mörike as a prime example of an unphilosophical and apolitical idyllist of the Biedermeier era (198, 251). As they demonstrate, Mörike's œuvre must be read "zweischichtig"—on one level, "märchenhaft idyllisch," and on the other, "hochpolitisch satirisch" (7). Their ability to successfully re-read Mörike is anchored in their extensive knowledge of the contexts—geographical, historical, political, philosophical, and biographical—in which Mörike wrote. Thus, their monograph challenges Mörike scholars and graduate students to re-examine his work through the multifaceted lens they provide and to re-position Mörike within the literary canon.

The authors first situate Mörike within the context of the history of Württemberg. They discuss the unique history of this state that had "nach der englischen Magna Charta das erste Grundgesetz einer konstitutionellen Monarchie in Europa" (12). This gave the state parliament a much greater say in "Steuer-, Finanz- und Außenpolitik" (12), thus limiting the powers of the monarch. However, this also led to "der ständige Kampf mit den württembergischen Fürsten um das 'alte gute Recht,'" as Uhland termed it (9). Mörike experienced this "battle" firsthand when in 1815 he went to live with his uncle, Eberhard Friedrich von Georgii, Obertribunalrat in Stuttgart. It was here that Mörike heard many debates regarding the political situation and the desire of so-called Altrechtler who believed in the constitutional monarchy and wanted to re-affirm this history through a contract with King Wilhelm I of Württemberg, not a constitution dictated to them by the king (29). It was in this environment that Mörike developed a political consciousness skeptical of the motives of the Württemberg monarchs and that embraced democratic freedoms. Mörike's thinking was reinforced and expanded when he attended university in Tübingen. As Gaier and Küble document, it was here that he became close with his—as they call them—"radical friends," among them Ludwig Amandus Bauer, David Friedrich Strauß, Friedrich Theodor Vischer, and Wilhelm Friedrich Waiblinger (51). Short biographies of these friends and other influential figures in Mörike's life are included at the end of the monograph (252–304).

The main body of the monograph analyzes "Mörikes politisch-literarisches Versteckspiel" in his poetry, fiction, dramas, and letters (29). This game of "hide-andseek" was necessitated because Mörike's brother was imprisoned in 1819 for being too overtly democratic in his thinking. Mörike and his family not only had to pay his brother's prison expenses, they also faced closer scrutiny from the court of Wilhelm I of Württemberg. Additionally, for most of Mörike's life, censorship laws were very strict, and the state police threatened overtly political thinkers who opposed the status quo with imprisonment (184).

For each of the works discussed, Mörike's methods of disguising his critique, particularly critique of King Friedrich (reign 1806–1816) and King Wilhelm I (reign 1816–1864), are revealed. Time and again, the authors show that Mörike's use of places, people, time, and colors must be read on multiple levels. Indeed, Mörike's narrator often invites his readers to do exactly that (108, 165). Mörike, who was extremely familiar with the geography of Württemberg due to his numerous journeys on foot, creates imaginary maps that (when one shared this knowledge or, as in the case of the authors, takes the time to "walk in Mörike's shoes") align with real maps (112). As for his characters, Mörike uses wordplay with their names, historical details, and/or details from his own life or that of his friends to...