This paper attempts to provide a synthetic characteristic of the reception modes of Cathedral of Cologne predominating in poetry from c. 1800 to the early 20th century. The paper discusses the three basic reception modes of the Gothic – as a sacred place, as a natural style, as the German national style. The unfinished Cologne Cathedral was perceived after the Napoleonic wars as a symbol of the former glory of the German Nation. However, as the works on the completion of the building were progressing, the nostalgia about the past was gradually replaced by the national pride, which is visible in the metaphors used: in the second half of the 19th century we can observe the growing popularity of the “geological” similes (the cathedral as a mountain or rock), whose purpose is not only to reflect the “naturalness” and size of the Cologne church, but also the power of the nation which built it.
The article focuses on “The Mines of Falun”, a short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann, and it specifically undertakes investigating the rhetorical tension between the expressed and the unexpressed. The trigger for the true inception of the plot of the story emerges by dint of the death of Elis Fröbom’s mother; this bereavement precipitates in the hero the development and articulation of self-damning death wish. Such a verbal commitment is at long last contrapuntally mirrored in a life-affirming counter-spell: the confession of his love for lover Ulla. This act of uncasting the previous spell materializes shortly before Elis descends into the innards of a mine only to meet his death there. The tension between verbal expression and silence also constitutes a significant dimension of the chthonic vision of a hero who in turn lends himself exquisitely to interpreting the enigma of the whole story.
PL
Der Artikel widmet sich der rhetorischen Spannung zwischen dem Ausgesprochenen und dem Unausgesprochenen in der Erzählung „Die Bergwerke zu Falun“ von E.T.A. Hoffmann. Die eigentliche Handlung nimmt ihren Lauf mit der Selbstverdammnis, die der Protagonist, Elis Fröbom, nach dem Tod seiner Mutter ausspricht. Dieser verbale Akt wird durch einen das Leben bejahenden „Gegenzauber“, d.i. die Liebeserklärung gegenüber Ulla, erst an dem Tag ausgeglichen, an dem Elis im Bergwerk stirbt. Die Spannung zwischen Schweigen und Reden stellt auch ein wesentliches Element in der unterirdischen Vision des Protagonisten dar, der eine Schlüsselbedeutung für die Interpretation des Werkes zukommt.
JavaScript is turned off in your web browser. Turn it on to take full advantage of this site, then refresh the page.