inf by it ayy Aug Aust 4 writes 1 fiend about interes econ Crimes of Probaiity Even asa chil, Annette won Droste-Hilsof? (197-1848) was capsvated by the tory about ehe unsolved murder of a local Jewish adesman in 1760 Which celta in her grandparents howehold in Wesphabia Her inerest in this sory deepened when, in 1818, her uncle publihed “Geschiche eines AlgirerSklaen (Story ofa Algerian Save) which he presented asa doc entry account of ths mpsterious historical facent Almost rwenty-five yan ter and after reading and rereading her uncle’ account, Droste Hilioff transformed the historical ease into shat was ro become one of the tmont widely ad and most offen interpreted novelks ofthe 19th centry The fl version of Die uence (1843; Te Jo's Beck Tie) vas the result of mero das and revisions that bespeak the authors deep, prduring fscina ‘om withthe enigmatic link between a mand, he fight of che sspect, and Hs suicide after a twenty-eightyear absence for the scene. Although the toot of this fixeinaion may hive been atypical chikthood este for crime and Tuspems, Droste-Hilshofs senility develope itinto a profound examina tion of univers questions of morality and religous bli. What began in her ‘Sildhood a cteumstantal ingrest i a ale abe crime and punishment ind subnequenly earned nto a cial examination of the uth value of her tele’ published account culsnated in 3 ighly complex work of literate, which, we its core examines the uncertain relsenship berween truch and Fetion law and order, justice and the wade of udgmenss The unsolved musder cae serves Droste-HilshfTas the sating point for her inguin into the artanment of eath and justice ina society tha is depicted ss cousupe ant morally bankrupt. ls The Jw’ Bea Te, ce athor ports fer own immediate socio-hiorial environment Longstanding legal confits tesa the landed gentry (to which Droste ander fay belonged) andthe Tural population regarding propery right to the surrounding forests have turned this provincial Wesphaban backwater ino s community torn by si The propery confics play out within snzelisble, effective judicial insti ‘Gon andthe villages are offen driven to ace ofwolence and revenge. In this ‘vironment, oth the Foresters, whore ek 6 t protect the legal rights of the landed gentry agaust less poaching onthe fords Fores, and the Jews it ~~ who are excluded fom any civic righs, become the targes ofa common lw aggresion aginst outsides. The disputed forest, symbol ofthe harsh socio- ‘conomic dion in the rogion, becomes the sage fra series of suspicious teas ‘Without any indication of cause of death, the corpse of Hermann Merge, the impoverished father ofthe story's protagonist, Friedtich, found in che woods. Within an interval of several years, the asin bodies of the forster Brandis and ofthe Jewish wader Aaron are discovered. The series of desths concludes twenty-nine yea ater with the apparent suicide by hanging ofa perion who could be either Friedrich or his double Johannes. Although Friedrich is considered the main suspect n the murder of Brandis and Aaron, he can never be proven guy beyond a reatonable doubt de to unconvincing and contradic evidence, Insad of resolving the mystery by presenting « truth atained through crf investigation andthe coherent reconstruction of vents, Te Jeu Bach Tie testifies to the unatainaiity of such seth tn the Brandis case, the hearings lad to neither tal nor veric. Inthe death of Aazon, Friedrich’ light and sce stand infra legally tained confesion of azul and its punishment. Inthe end, the exe Tet open andthe iste of Whether riedich is dhe perpetitor of che crimes of the vsti of eteum Stns evidence remsine unresolved Indeed, the unesoled question about ruth complicates the generic align sent of Tie J’ Bech Tie with the crime genre—an aigument that Droste= Hiokhod? herself inated when she gave an ety dat ofthe novella che tle dich Mey, cine Criminlehihte de 18, Jhandens (Fredich Moet, Aa Century Chin Sor). Cres have ao pointed co strking smite wich te collection of famous criminal eases by Frangois Gayot de Peal (1734~ 1743: Causes eset intnsant) and Friedrich Schiller’ novella Der Ui Ine aus veriener Eee (The Criminal Due 10 Leet Hono. The ambiguous ext, however, suggest tha the question story of The Jew Bech Tie adit of genre here might be more complex, “The yea 1640 t0 1842 mat « period of unprecedented creativity in Droste-Hilthof Ife Te was then that she voice afer years of rein hieved an independent retary ed personal rections due 10 her status a5 woman of noble birth and 2 sil uneeresin spl Her Iriel prodacton sad enly eubts determination and her own sisi signature With the com pletion ofthe cycle of religions poetry Dar Geis Jo (The Spiritual Yu and the compostion of her nes balla well as experiments with verse no- las, Droste-Hulshoff seemed to have found both the form and content that define her mow famous works Driven by a fundamental and panfal eis of ith, Droste-Hulthoff pon ders in these works existential conditions of humanity and their interdepen dence with soc, polite, and economic circumstances, Inher view, moral secured by astong fath in 4 Gedogiven order but depend instead on sebitary Socal structures and venal human pasions. The problem of moral continegency—of the loa, soil, and cultural detertirants of moraty—informs Droste-Hulhots entire trary work atthe time The Jews Back Tee poe lished. By turing to the eration ofthe crime gear forthe mani plo of her Famous novels, she employs one more literary ven 6 explore the base ‘question of howto achieve justice snd rath when they ae no longer gan sith and ae obscured by deception and vengefulnes, Droste-Hulshotfoviginly planned eo integrate the crime story into a teed by a strong Wesphlia, Upo the ring of fend, howere her fio sent woe Pulsed under the now fannie Die uence, which war choses op the polisher ne Dre Hilo Her onginal i Ei Sue shone A Poa of Md fen wntsinus pha) i serves as subtle and refers vo de former ethnograghi project. Pats ofthe in complete Wesphals project ere published posthumous Bel =u Lande sf dn Lande (tH in Land and Couns). By setting het no= rll in a Wesphala that originally had been pan of » sociocultural dy, Droste-Hilof is able ro investigate the hermeneutic question of truth in ‘hee areas of the crime, her clr home and her own text. Tie Jas Bech Te denies its reader easy understanding ofits subject, rater The moment this work received crits! atention especialy ari ‘was included in the intlential Deasher Novels mon Novell) edived by Paal Heyee and Hermann Kure—the malude of posible interpretations became obvious. broad consents about the novellas Droper generic home has newer been reached: the novela can be consi cred neither an example of Deeshice (village al) the main represent ‘ve ofthe mid-rodh century novella, nr ofthe eay reais or Bedermeier novell. ty tcanny obscute features do oe perm suc easy categorization Too muliayered teat and eoo opaque snatative, The es Bech Tre cont: ually disppoins the critic's wish for wnequivocalterpretive solutions, Be cause of 15 disquieting open-endednes, contemporary scholarship has ex pressed discontent with interpretations cha read tis novell exchsvely a Esheran allegory of ign and metaphysis gun nd ponent or ab Seger of scaetion and ination ted een schol hs used on he cbcurty ote mie andthe anguoes stra he Flo the hermenewtieobacl cent to bh he theme of the tex and When the ln ofthe mano eke term the ci psig jue of ane town stating Pieri Meng pe the who abains the unexpected news bu ee reader, almost sorept tious. is notified ofthe moto that informs the etre mrratve and mot ‘ates its enigmatic structure. By sipping the sentence “Le vai ee pas tow jours vaemblabe” (The true not alas true-seeming) fom Liat Potque (The An of Poy) by Nicolas Despréaux Boilenu (1836-1711) iat this leer, Droste-Hilhoffaiculates an epitemologieal prem that her text in end Jes variacons deems unsakable, namely to draw a definite distinction be preen the er aed the prob “The mystery ofa murder ese affonds Dre Hulshof occasion for eect= ing on a Fundamentally shake confidence in the basic component of our be= Ie system Inher view che mystery of sdeciperable clus, combined with, the senses brutairy of murder, contione ws with the Bis of our rational tundersaning and aces to the world. Whe the ethical sphere of aw and Prnishment io longer governed by univer criteria of truth bue is crcum- “cobed by merely probable sgn istead, shen the world, Droste-Hilshof cesar lows al firm contours and takes on ghosdy appearances “Thus the world of The Jews Bach Tie dsoves into inconclaive cls, hinsy and allaions unable to support fixed sdentses or guaranteed mean ing. The tspetry of characters populated by phantoms and dovbles whose invubstantal being is apy called "Ntemana” (nobody) he rues of esa and motive are consanly upset by the eruption of superstition and the logic ff semblance and correspondences. Examples canbe found inthe incom prchensible exchanges between Friedrich and Brand, or Fred tnother which, ater than helping to explain the subsequenc murders, confuse the reader with their non sequiturs aud lave wide open the question of Friedeichs posible motive, the plasubiity of is avalvementin Brands’ kl ich and his 1g. of Brand’ role i the ileal raiding of the forest. Droste-Hulihot?s narrative technique forces the rador ino che role of 3 ‘ruc information, Thus i remains uncle whether the mysterious family ties between Friedrich, his double Johannes, and his uncle Simon—who seiking resemblance alo with Johannes sugges 4 Geher-son connection Indicate their comply in the crimes again the forest. Equally unclear are the circumstances of Johannes Friedrich lease from Turkish bondage afer rventy-ight yeas andthe utr confounding information about the ed on Jraracterized by 4 conspicuous withholding or disguising of snd place ofthe murderous incidents, The tk of combining clues missing information grows een mone dificul when Drose-Hilhof emp Sees he significance of singular objects tein pieces of evidence. Thus, the Ton! first ead Johannes Niemand’s posesion of alver buttons a sentimmenal ‘memorabia aban fom Friedrich, only to interpret deir meaning ter as tvidence identifying Johannes as Friedrich. Hoth interprentions could be ther fle or valid, Sometimes designated "Indniensi a czcumstantal syle sin the legal term “circumstantial evidence”), Droste-HikhoF's narrative das the reader into thevortex of semiotic byrnth that peemanenel leads stay and distracts judgment by attaching probable significance to any obec te perion thus declaring true significance nl and void. Wichout the gid nce ofa norzator, the readers skedto rau the evidence ad evaluate charse ters who feign documentary authority or authentic speech In Drowte-Hilsho cate, remains unclear whether the Tac of rable «riers for util communication precipitates a criss of fith or whether heCommunity Rather than initing a rigiousdscusion of mery wer fe Senge equ caons fom bth te Ne ad tt OM Tease po invoke he iil don of serps n tej nee an er Ciera rf es comely poy ons ety a Geran wor for bask and bcc ace, Bch and erasing on the tue user of eh ol mor oie “Ts the Hebrew nscpcon hen othe boc Bech tee sens Drone Huol prs atthe ead othe tat quo eb Sphere wo Al cede in ch sry skew eter a rl ot Chived judi documens and Aaron is memorized wih avenge n= ict mode ei by «wart ha sured diy decomposoon, Lie athe rede oft in hs tn howe ne err fh se nd Foe tutons th lod ofthe manor has shorn hs unl power of deevng by being in ncn The Geran prophet East Bach apy cled thse “cs x machina jdt Sing n Dove actbuce a Era Rib nd Winfied Pew 3 s04, Fey Karl Marc and eich Engel write Th Mans of te Commu Pay weeks bef the our of Eope-wide revolutions The Reinenton of a Gewe Since its publication in 1848, The Manto of the Communist Paty has achieved a degree of effacy rivaled perhaps only by the Bible and the Quan Ia his preface othe English edison of 1888, Friedrich Engels could boas that the Manto had become “the mos international production of all Sociale literature, the common platform acknowledged by millions of workingmen fiom Siberia to Ciforni (Mong, 135-136). From che time ofits origina pearance, it went chrough roughly 544 editions and was talated into ‘hireyfive languages: afer 1017, an explosion of new editions an tansaion, propelled the Manco the status of» global besselle The Manso fame and notoriety have not aways sured close attention to ts particular argument and syle, Eventhough the Manso demands the violent overthrow of exiting bourgeois capitalism, ie may come 1 surpie £0 some how positively Marx and Engels speak about both the bourgesie and the capa system. The celebrate capris as a genuinely revolution ary force that did sway with inherited privil ge and national i-inerse. Through capitalism, Marx say in his famous formula, “all that i solid mls into at” (g2)2 slogan shat as been ised to define the mood of moder, nity more generally. Modernity connec goods, people, ad ideas around the ‘word, bringing about what we now cll globalization, However even though ‘Mats and Engels accord recognition tothe achievements ofthe bourgeois they alto make clear tha they se thes achievement as a double-edged sword Capitan did avay with outmoded privilege uti need for workers willing ‘o abor for nnimal wages hs ereted unprecedented user and vo inegie table clases che capa bougeois cls and the industrial proletariat While ‘eaitonal artisans, procected by thir guid, the authors expan, owned the tools oftheir ade, indsriaization pas these tool i the hands of factory owners anal obs the workers of every ast sted of independence. There alway waa clas of the poor and dseffanchised, but captain eat 4 ew con tkion of dependence and anew clas the indus proleariat. ‘What distinguishes the Mnf from other texts that merely bemoan the lot ofthe urban poor or hope fra rear to more natural modes of prod Yin ia lack of nostalgia for preinduserial times, Eatly roth-century reformers and socialists, such as SaineSimon and Chatles Fourier, dreame up work ‘withous exploitation, and occasionally they set up sna enclves to keep the ‘evolutionary forces of capitan t bay. Marx and Engels abel these predecer. sors “stopian soci” and dedicate che ls thind ofthe Manijeteto cms ing what hey se as thei Faas What the ewo authors share with these wo Plans and with che growing fictional iterature depicting the misery of th proletariat their compas forthe exploited, Bus they insist a better word TE