Der Schimmelreiter: Novelle

Von Theodor Storm

Der Schimmelreiter", den Storm noch kurz vor seinem Tod vollendete, ist die herausragendste Novelle des Dichters. In ihr zeigt Theodor Storm den Aufstieg des Hauke Haien zum Deichgrafen. Dieser will seine Fähigkeiten durch den Bau eines neuartigen Deiches unter Beweis stellen, weil es heißt, er habe die Position nur seiner Frau zu verdanken. Spannungen und der Kampf mit seiner Umwelt lassen Hauke Haien schließlich zugrunde gehen: Als er eine schwache Stelle im Deich nicht genügend absichert, ertrinkt bei einer Sturmflut zuerst seine Frau mit dem Kind. Daraufhin stürzt er sich mit seinem Schimmel an der durchbrochenen Stelle des Deiches ins Meer, um seine Schuld zu tilgen. Wie schon in seinen früheren Novellen ist Storm auch in dieser "hinreißenden Symphonie der Meeresstimmen" (E. Schmidt) von dem Problem der persönlichen Schuld abgerückt.

Ein Nachwort und ausführliche Anmerkungen helfen dem Leser.

• Sprache: Deutsch
• Herausgeber: Hamburger Lesehefte
• Erscheinungsdatum: 14. Apr. 2020
• ISBN: 9783872916044

Rezensionen für Der Schimmelreiter

[edwinbcn · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

I was completely determined not (!) to reread Der Schimmelreiter which is included in the selection of novellas by Theodor Storm, but in the end, I did. I first read Der Schimmelreiter in 1999. They same happened last year, while reading the Norton edition of selected tales by Henry James (not yet finished reading). Despite my determination not to reread, I reread Daisy Miller and The Aspern Papers, anyway. Obviously all without the least regret. They are all masterpieces.Theodor Storm's Der Schimmelreiter, in English translated apparently as The rider on the white horse and as The dykemaster, is probably his best. Some of Storm's other novellas, for instance Aquis submersus and Zur Chronik von Grieshuus have a somewhat complex narrative structure, and seem to have some lack of focus on the plot, but Der Schimmelreiter is crystal clear, and does not suffer from those impairments. Whereas in the other two novellas the plot consists of different manuscripts related within the framework of a narrator, Der Schimmelreiter is more straightforwardly narrated by one speaker （the schoolmaster) and with minor interruptions. Although the story includes some description of the main character's youth, the main events of the story have the main focus, and the story line leads to a climax. Like the other novellas, the sory is set more than a hundred years in the past.Like many other works from the same period, the novella contains some Gothic elements. Published in 1888, Der Schimmelreiter belongs to the German literary epoch known as Realism (Realismus), but set in the 18th Century the main motive of the novella is the Enlightenment. The novella creates a stark contrast between the world of superstition and scientific progress.Der Schimmelreiter is a very exciting tale, and a real page turner. It is also very dramatic. Although set in a distant past, it is more modern than Storm's other novellas, giving it a more enduring quality. Like many of Storm's other novellas, Der Schimmelreiter is set in northwest Germany, and much of the vocabulary, concepts of dike building and related vocabulary and the background to the superstition and the general atmosphere of the book will strongly appeal to Dutch readers.Highly recommended.

[starbox_2 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

First encountered Theodor Storm in my teens, in his beautiful poem "Schliesse mir die Augen beide" (I want that on my gravestone!)These short stories all have a real Storm feel to them...all set in his native Schleswig Holstein, a sense of almost a fairy tale setting...which can be lovely (beautiful young women, flower filled gardens) but simultaneously VERY eerie...but in a kind of uncertain way. There is, too, a brooding melancholy...regrets, sad recollections.The title story wasn't my favourite, though it is considered one of the author's finest. It's a vey hard to analyse tale....a clever, dogged, determined local rises from obscurity to become overseer of dike building on the wild N Frisian coast. But is he a good guy (devoted to preserving the land; almost a Christ-like figure) or in league with the devil? ; (proud; at odds with his fellow men)...

[thefallingalice · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

Hauke Haien lebt in einem Ort nahe eines Deiches. Als er heranwächst und sowohl er, als auch sein Vater seinen Müßiggang leid sind, ersucht er den Deichgrafen um eine Anstellung. Der Deichgraf versteht nicht viel von Zahlen und Berechnungen und da Hauke ein kluger Bursche ist, lässt er ihn für sich arbeiten. So steigt er immer weiter in der Gunst des Grafen und als dieser schließlich stirbt, übernimmt Hauke schließlich seinen Posten und vermählt sich mit seiner Tochter Elke. Doch die geistige Überlegenheit des neuen Deichgrafen stößt der Gemeinde bitter auf und schon bald zeigen sie ihrem neuen Herrn gegenüber Widerstand. Doch Haukes Gedanken sind voll der Idee eines neuen Deiches. Des Öfteren wurde jedoch ein weißes Pferd inmitten der Fluten gesichtet. Als Hauke Haien eines Tages mit einem eben solchen Pferd auf seinen Hof kommt, geht ein Flüstern um.Die Novelle beginnt mit einer Einleitung des Erzählers, hier wohl der Autor selbst – Theodor Storm. Er berichtet dem Leser wie er zu dieser Erzählung gelangt ist.Die Rahmenhandlung umfasst die Geschichte eines Reisenden, der bei einem Ritt auf dem Deich den Schimmelreiter zu sehen glaubte. Er findet einen Gasthof und wird dort vom anwesenden Schulmeister in die Geschichte des Schimmelreiters eingeweiht.Hier beginnt die Geschichte um den jungen Hauke Haine, der heranwächst und die Deichgrafschaft übernimmt und sich dabei vielen Hindernissen und Anfeindungen entgegenstellen muss. Doch seine Frau Elke gibt ihm Kraft, denn sie steht in jeder Lebenssituation hinter ihm.Für den modernen Leser ist die Novelle etwas schwerfällig verfasst. Die Sprache des Autor von 1888 ist ein wenig gewöhnungsbedürftig, dennoch positiv zu bewerten, da dadurch das Leben der damaligen Zeit viel näher ist. Und hat man sich erst einmal daran gewöhnt, geht das Lesen leicht von der Hand. Hauke und Elke sind zwei sehr sympathisch gezeichnete Figuren. Hauke wirkt obsessiv gegenüber der Arbeit an einem Deich, während Elke die ruhige Hand im Hintergrund ist, die ihren Ehemann immer wieder auffängt und verteidigt.Das Lesen begann erst sehr langsam und schwer, steigerte sich jedoch zum Ende.

[thorold_1 · Bewertung: 4 von 5 Sternen]

This is another of those books that tends to get dismissed as a “school text” - I'm sure that's why it took me so long to get around to reading it. And it's a shame, because it's a great story, and you can read it quite comfortably in a couple of evenings. Preferably stormy winter evenings, of course.The Frisian atmosphere, with plenty of dikes and storms and seagulls, is exactly what you'd expect, but it's a bit of a surprise to discover that it's a reflection on the conflict between conservative superstition and enlightened scientific progress cast in - of all things - the hackneyed format of a Romantic ghost story, complete with a stormbound traveller, a lonely country inn, and an indigenous storyteller. A nice touch, with plenty of scope for irony. Thomas Hardy eat your heart out...

[kakadoo202 · Bewertung: 3 von 5 Sternen]

finally read it. easier to read than expected. a little bit spooky and mysterious. you dont really know what happens with the schimmelreiter and his family. how did their lives end?

[dazzyj_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Easily the best book I have read about dikes in 18th century Frisia. That flippancy aside, this is a brilliant evocation of: the power of nature, the importance to identity of work, small town politics, and familial love, all wrapped up in a gripping climax. A condensed master class in how to write great literature. The English translation is not bad, with only a few clunky passages.

[surreality_1 · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Plot: The life of the central character, with a few side plots to introduce other characters. Uncomplicated and streamlined. Characters: Most attention goes to the central character. Side characters are sparsely sketched. An interesting touch is that animals are given characters just like other side characters. Style: The language is at times hard to read, with numerous words that have gone out of use in German by now. Complex sentence structure that demands attention. The scenes are short, for the most part. What is interesting is the double frame narrative. Plus: The constant build-up of the eerie atmosphere. Minus: The legend could have gotten a bit more attention at the end. Summary: Absolute classic and an excellent read.

[lizzysiddal · Bewertung: 5 von 5 Sternen]

Theodor Storm (1817-1888) began his career as a lyric poet. He eventually turned to prose and the novella became his preferred medium. His poetic gift lent itself well to the form, enabling him to evoke mood, landscape and character with simple yet lyric majesty. He is the prime artisan of poetic realism.Many of his novella are set in the past yet the tales are often enclosed within the framework of his own contemporary times. This simple yet effective technique enables Storm to explore the often conflicting viewpoints of the narrator with the main characters of his tale, to examine shifting historical perspectives and, ultimately the transcience of life. Der Schimmelreiter (The Dykemaster) is recognised as his masterpiece and is definitely one of the cornerstones of 19th Century German Literature. I have just indulged myself reading the wonderful translation by Denis Jackson, published by Angel Clasics. It's a translation which does justice to Storm's prose - it reads as though it were an original English text.Quoting from the blurb on the cover:"The Dykemaster is a tale of a visionary young north Friesian Deichgraf of the 18th centruy, creator of a new form of dyke. The short-sighted and self-seeking community with which he is at odds turns him into a phantom, seen riding his grey along the dyke whenever the sea threatens to break through. The rationalistic storyteller, in a highly sophisticated narrative structure, belongs to a later age, and what he relates is a veiled critique of the dyke officials of his own day.The eerie west Schleswig-Holstein coast, with its vast, hallucinatory tidal flats, hushed polders and terrifying North Sea, is the setting for a tale which grips from first page to last with its dynamic tensions and shifts of focus, mood and pace. Storm's dense narrative further invites the reader to ask whether progress is possible, how the historical record is established , what parts are played by the rational and the irrational in human existence."All that in just 117 pages! Simply magnificent.