Zeit und ihre Nutzung im Werk Georg Büchners. Eine Untersuchung zeitgenössischer Quellen by Daniela Bravin (review)

Daniela Bravin’s monograph addresses the texts and intellectual influences that shaped Georg Büchner’s notion of time. Bravin defines time not in transcendental idealist or phenomenological terms, such as one might find in Kant or Heidegger, but in moral terms, specifically, in terms of nineteenth-century bourgeois and Christian conceptions of how one should use one’s time.

The first main section of her book—nearly a third of the text—treats Büchner’s school years in Darmstadt and discusses in detail the books used in his religious instruction, first at the “Privat-Erziehungs- und Unterrichtsanstalt” of Dr. Carl Weitershausen and then at the Darmstädter Gymnasium. Bravin highlights conceptions of eternity, immortality, and ephemerality and how these were used to instill in the young students a bourgeois work ethic that would shun idleness. She traces the sources for these teachings not only to traditional Judeo-Christian doctrine, but also to classical sources such as Ovid, Seneca, Cicero, Pliny, and Theophrastus.

Bravin is not the first to analyze Büchner’s school years—one thinks, for example, of Gerhard Schaub’s pioneering work on the influence on Büchner of rhetorical instruction at Darmstadt. But Bravin is the first to offer both an in-depth engagement with Büchner’s readings from his religion classes and an analysis of how these might have affected both his worldview and his literary production.

The second main section traces the function of time in Büchner’s works, including his writing during his school years, his three dramas, and the narrative “Lenz,” but not his pamphlet “Der Hessische Landbote.” A majority of this analysis focuses on specific characters from his texts (Lenz, the Captain in Woyzeck, Marion, Lena, and Lucille), and to what extent they are “Zeitfiguren,” figures who either embody or contradict a bourgeois conception of time.

The third and fourth main sections address work, idleness, and pleasure in relation to both time and to a bourgeois morality that stresses industry and productivity. Here Bravin finds sources for Büchner’s representations of work and boredom in Tieck, and for his idealized notions of timeless pleasure (as represented by Italy) in both Epicurean thought and in contemporary travel narratives about the Lazzaroni in Naples.

Bravin offers a wide-reaching analysis of Büchner’s likely influences and his contemporary texts. Her readings of Büchner presume “dass die im Schulunterricht vermittelten Inhalte durch Büchner hinsichtlich ihres ideologischen Charakters kritisch hinterfragt werden und er sie entsprechend in seinem Werk darstellt, ihre Facetten beleuchtet, sie persifliert und ironisch bricht” (10). Ultimately, Bravin asserts that Büchner’s representations of time, its use, and of work and pleasure all point to a negative assessment of these aspects of existence as framed by bourgeois morality: “Büchner interessieren die Abgründe, die Widersprüche, die ideologische Vereinnahmung durch die Obrigkeit in Hinblick auf Zeit und ihre Nutzung” (294).

Bravin’s recognition of Büchner’s pessimism towards all things bourgeois conforms to a lengthy tradition of Büchner scholarship. Her unique contribution lies less in this recognition and more in her meticulous discussion of texts that Büchner scholars had previously neglected. She has both drawn on and gone beyond the detailed source material provided in the recent Marburg edition of Büchner’s works to produce new, insightful, and persuasive Quellenforschung. As such, her study expands our knowledge of Bücher and represents a significant and welcome addition to Büchner scholarship.

As with most Quellenforschung, Bravin’s research relies on a degree of conjecture and speculation when definitive proof of citation or influence is not available. Yet such conjecture can be provocative and intriguing, as is evident not only in her detailed discussions of texts from religion courses, but also in her impressive assessment of contemporaneous German narratives of travel to Italy. These narratives are seldom referenced in Büchner scholarship...