...1 EFFI BRIEST Theodor Fontane 1895 TRANSLATED AND ABRIDGED BY WILLIAM A. COOPER, A.M. Associate Professor of German, Leland Stanford Jr. University CHAPTER I 2 CHAPTER I In front of the old manor house occupied by the von Briest family since the days of Elector George William, the bright sunshine was pouring down upon the village road, at the quiet hour of noon. The wing of the mansion looking toward the garden and park cast its broad shadow over a white and green checkered tile walk and extended out over a large round bed, with a sundial in its centre and a border of Indian shot and rhubarb. Some twenty paces further, and parallel to the wing of the house, there ran a churchyard wall, entirely covered with a small-leaved ivy, except at the place where an opening had been made for a little white iron gate. Behind this arose the shingled tower of Hohen-Cremmen, whose weather vane glistened in the sunshine, having only recently been regilded. The front of the house, the wing, and the churchyard wall formed, so to speak, a horseshoe, inclosing a small ornamental garden, at the open side of which was seen a pond, with a small footbridge and a tied-up boat. Close by was a swing, with its crossboard hanging from two ropes at either end, and its frame posts beginning to lean to one side. Between the pond and the circular bed stood a clump of giant plane trees, half hiding the swing. The terrace in front of the manor house, with its tubbed aloe plants and a few garden chairs...
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...Rachel Mases Period 3 Formal Essay: Effi Briest The classic novel, Effi Briest, by Theodor Fontane follows a young woman’s journey through an arranged marriage, exposed infidelity, and guilt-ridden hardship. Effi Briest, a seventeen-year- old living in nineteenth century Germany, struggles through loneliness, depression, fear, and diminishing health through her planned marriage to a nobleman, Baron Geert von Innstetten, as well as after the troubled marriage comes to an end. Throughout the novel, several metaphors are used to emphasize the underlying hardships Effi faces, including the “Chinaman” ghost, Effi’s diminishing health, and the shooting stars. In her husband’s grandiloquent residence, Effi is continuously tormented by a spectral “Chinaman”, believed to be the ghost of a deceased servant who once served in the old home. She consistently discusses the ghost with others as it begins to consume her thoughts and is constantly fearful of the old house along with its dusty, dark corners and eerie, unexplainable creaking. The Chinaman is used in the novel as a metaphor for two aspects of Effi’s acquired life through her marriage to Innstetten: the overwhelming fear and loneliness she now faces as the wife of an ambitious man of the government, and the creeping thoughts of infidelity that ultimately transform into physical actions. Effi becomes exceedingly distressed by what she believes to be the presence of the Chinaman’s spirit, and seeks comfort and support...
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...no surprise that Effi Briest, the ambitious wife of a successful baron, is ostracized after her youthful affair in the novel Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane. While justifications for the former women's actions are convoluted and debatable, Effi Briest's reason for her infidelity is clear and straight forward: the suppression of imagination. Upper-middle class women of Imperial Germany were constantly constrained by social expectations and cultural standards. Creativity was not encouraged or fostered. Without an outlet, Effi of course jumps at the chance to interrupt the monotonous, boring hours of her lonely marriage with the dangerous dreams of a higher romance. On the surface, it may be difficult to understand why Effi risks her 'perfect' marriage for an affair with Major Crampas. The novel begins with admiration for the distinguished Baron von Innstetten, whom Effi quickly marries, and continues to shower with high praise. Innstetten is “very dashing” (9) and the “Bismark thinks highly of him, and the Kaiser too,” (9). Her beau is not only good looking, but extremely respected and raising on the social ladder. For an aristocrat such as Effi, Innstetten fits the mold of an ideal husband. The young 17-year-old is truly living like a “princess” (42), with “something to spoil [her] wherever [she] look[s]” (37). After their honeymoon and experiencing his comfortable lifestyle, Effi “[realizes] what a distinguished marriage [she has] made,” (40). Inarguably, Effi has made the best...
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