Effi briest 1895 by theodor fontane looks at adultery and fallen women in mid19thcentury germany. Her death forms a rather symmetrical ending that matches the novels start. Effi briest tells the story of a young prussian girl in the 1880s, who marries a rising politician incapable of love, loses everything in the aftermath of a brief affair, and makes peace with leaving too brief a life early. Effi briest is an 1895 realist novel written by german novelist and poet theodor fontane. It has been filmed at least six times, most famously by rainer werner fassbinder. Innstetten is the 38year old husband who has married effi. Effi briest 1896, theodore fontanes realist novel, tells the story of seventeen year old effi, her arranged marriage to a much older man, her youthful, almost innocent, mistake of being seduced into adultery, and her tragic fall from grace and from her position in. He published the first of his novels, for which he is best known today, only at age 58 after a career as a journalist. Romantic anarchist at the film society of lincoln center in effi briest both the 1974 film by rainer werner fassbinder and the 1895 theodor fontane novel on which the movie is closely basedan inexperienced young woman is married off to a man who cannot love. Effi briest project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. It is, in fact, the only novel i have read during my teens, my twenties, my thirties and now my forties. Visualizing the railway space in fontanes effi briest.
Effi briest is neither long nor labyrinthine but it is a masterpiece all the same. The setting of theodor fontanes novel effi briest 18995 is the fictional small town of kessin in farther pomerania then part of the german reich. Buy effi briest study guide by ebook online at lulu. Plot summary chapters characters objectsplaces themes style quotes. Effi briest is the seventeenyearold eponymous heroine of the novel. She soon bears a daughter, annie, and hires the lapsed catholic roswitha to look after her. In his novels frau jenny treibel, irrungen, wirrungen, and effi briest 1894, he found his very own tone, he wrote about insights into the lives of the nobility as well as the common man. Effi briest, who is attracted by social status, moves to the fictional pomeranian port of kessin loosely modeled on swinemunde. Kapitel quellen symbolik im ersten kapitel effi briest effi briest charaktere autor. Message or theme of the novel which characters are we led to admire. After that, her life takes a turn for the worse, as she loses her innocence and her childlike freespiritedness.
With julia jentsch, heike warmuth, mirko lang, ludwig blochberger. Rainer werner fassbinders adaptation of a late 19thcentury novel by theodor fontane is an austere period piece that may be the least characteristic of the german directors films. The story was influenced by fontanes own family history. You can also read the full text online using our ereader. Published in book form in 1895, effi briest marks both a watershed and a climax in the poetic realism of literature. Effi briest is the generally likeable seventeenyear old daughter of an upper class family. Seventeenyearold, freespirited effi briest lives happily in the quiet prussian town of hohencremmen. Buy theodor fontane ebooks to read online or download in pdf or epub on your pc, tablet or mobile device. Considered to be fontanes greatest novel, effi briest is a humane, unsentimental portrait of a young woman torn between her duties as a wife and mother and the instincts of her heart.
There is not much in the way of plot because you imagine things wont end well but from the very first page you are deeply moved by the unraveling of effis fate. Effi briest fontane effi briest 1977 rotten tomatoes. Effi briest study guide contains a biography of theodor fontane, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Later, effi is seen talking to some of the other teenage girls outside her house about when baron instetten was younger. The french riviera must have been full of fallen society ladies in exile, whiling away their. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more. With approximately sixteen trips, the railway is a constant and central presence in the novel. Effi subscribes to these values and is thus a willing victim, despite her playfulness, her love of danger and her impatience with many social conventions.
Effi briest 1974 directed by rainer werner fassbinder. Fassbinders exquisitely subtle rendition of fontanes great novel of 1896. Upon his wifes death, bovary married an attractive young woman named emma roualt, the daughter of one of his patients. We have performed multiple tests on its full text of approximately 99,141, crunched all the numbers for you and present the results below. His achievement in this regard was later described as poetic realism. Visualizing the railway space in fontanes effi briest by. Effi is lonely when her husband is away on business. To which country does farther pomerania nowadays belong. It was written by theodor fontane, published in 1896. Whats the difference between effi briest the book and effi briest the movie. In effi briest theodor fontane depicts an ossified society in which maintaining ones social position and the outward appearance of honor are allimportant. It tells the tragic story of a young prussian girl named effi briest, who marries a german aristocrat who is twentyone years her senior.
Effi briest 1895 is an impressive work of prussian realism and its definitely classed as a tragic novel, one may argue one of the best to come out of the 19th century. Theodor fontane simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Differences between effi briest book vs movie page 1. Free kindle book and epub digitized and proofread by project gutenberg. It can be thematically compared to other novels on 19th century marriage from a female perspective, such as anna karenina and madame bovary, which are also adultery tragedies. Unfortunately, neither the barons family nor anyone in the secluded town she now calls home accept effi. Ein mann im alter ihrer mutter, ein politisch strebsamer landrat hochsten ansehens. It tells the tragic story of a young prussian girl named effi briest, who marries a german aristocrat who. Effi is offered the chance to go to menton, but refuses. Theodor fontane, effi briest the setting place hohen cremmen. Effi briest is available for free download at the internet archive this article related to a german tv movie is a stub.
Effi briest is a subtlywritten examination of the rigidity and hypocrisy of the value system among the prussian nobility. The effi briest community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by. Along with effi briest, fontane is remembered for frau jenny treibel 1892, an ironic criticism of middleclass hypocrisy and smallmindedness. His novels irrungen, wirrungen trials and tribulations, 1888, frau jenny treibel 1892 and effi briest 189495 yielded insights into the lives of the nobility and the commoners. Speaking of the chinaman, do you understand the story innstetten tells effi. In 1919 thomas mann said that if one had to reduce ones library to six novels, effi briest would have to be one of them. Download effi briest theodor fontane pdf genial ebooks. If you enjoyed effi briest you may like leo tolstoys anna karenina, also available in penguin classics. The story is simple enough, hardly unique, and been done with similarities many times over since.
Librivox recording of effi briest, by theodor fontane, read by a group of librivox volunteers. Effi briest 1895, the literary focus of this project, is an especially effective example of the technomythic mixture, and the humanitiesbased mapping tool, neatline, helps illustrate the unique dynamic. Nov 30, 2000 but years later, when effi has almost forgotten her affair, the secret returns to haunt her, with fatal consequences. And yet at the moment effi briest looks so much like a gothic novel, like it can go in 100 directions but fontane chooses the mundane adultery plot. The film begins with effi briest using a swing set in her familys back yard, where her mother, louise briest, comments on her wild nature, saying that she has an aerial spirit. Effi briest theodor fontane welcome to the finest german novel of the 19th century. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of effi briest by theodor fontane.
German novelist, thomas mann, said that if he could only have six novels on his bookshelf, effi briest would be one of them. Effi briest taking their cue from effi briest s mother, who, directly following effi s marriage to innstetten, characterizes her daughter as iiberhaupt ein ganz eigenes gemisch, critics have, as a matter of course, stressed the apparent contradictions in effi s character. This summary of effi briest includes a complete plot overview spoilers included. The plight of 17yearold effi hanna schygulla forced into a socially advantageous marriage with a much older man is touchingly depicted, but what really interests fassbinder is the novelists complex attitude to the society of his day. Download the ebook effi briest theodor fontane in pdf or epub format and read it directly on your mobile phone, computer or any device. Synopsis plot hanna schygulla stars in this bleak fassbinder drama as effi briest, a tomboyish seventeen yearold german girl living with her parents.
Because of her husbands constant traveling, effi finds companionship with major crampas ulli lommel, a charismatic womanizer. The effi briest community note includes chapterbychapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. Inhalt fakten charaktere inhalt frauenrolle gesellschaftskritik symbolik im 1. Effi briest by theodor fontane free ebook project gutenberg. Effi briest is an unusual novel for its time because it is from the perspective of a woman, causing it to be put in a similar literary category as anna karenina by leo tolstoy. Its one of the great classic novels of german literature, and standard reading in schools. To be fair to fontane, the book was never aimed at a young adult audience, and many of the aforementioned criticisms are completely intentional on his part effi s boredom and uneventful married life are a major plot point and integral to her character arc, and the unflattering portrayal of the aristocracy and military class is a very. Book summary he made a marriage of convenience with a woman older than himself. Nov 30, 2000 theodor fontane 181998 was a german novelist and potitical reporter. Theodor fontane erschienen 1896 gesellschaftsroman geschichtlicher hintergrund.
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