Ghosts of the Past in A. Stifter’s Story ‘Die drei Schmiede ihres Schicksals’

Abstract

The article examines how the Gothic tradition is presented in Biedermeier literature. Basing on Kant’s idea of transcendence of the good, literature often links ghost stories with the themes of fate and moral responsibility. Otherworldly images appear as the personification of vice, guilt, and crime. The literary work under analysis is the story Die drei Schmiede ihres Schicksals by A. Stifter, in which the author consciously uses imagery that is recognizable to the reader. The paper shows how a parody is developed at the level of the aesthetic solution of scenes with the White Lady: midnight, cold, a red moon reflected in the flame of the fireplace in the red room. On the other hand, elements of polemic with the Gothic tradition can be noted: the geometric correctness of the room, the even breathing of the girl seized by somnambulism, the absence of a scary backstory, and the benevolence of the ghost. The encounter with the ghost and the subsequent scandal, ending in a duel and a wedding, look like a set of coincidences and a fatal confluence of circumstances. But for Stifter, fate is only a consequence of a person’s actions, so it is logical to turn to the past of the heroes who found themselves on the threshold of events changing their fate. The story of the three heroes unfolds in the past, thus showing the impossibility of ‘cheating fate’ and, on the other hand, demonstrating how the heroes’ decisions direct and propel events. An even more distant ‘ghost of the past’ is the unhappy childhood, the loss of family, and the lack of childhood attachments – all these having shaped the heroes’ personalities. Finally, the most distant timeline is revealed through the ancient models and ideas of Stoicism, absorbed during education. All the three characters strive to minimize any influence that could bring chaos into their lives and accept what they cannot fix: illness (Rosalyn), obligations as a friend and forced participation in the celebration (Erwin), the rules of life in a monastery (Leander).