“Ich liebte Frankreich wie eine zweite Heimat.” Neue Studien zu Stefan Zweig / “J’aimais la France comme ma seconde patrie.” Actualité(s) de Stefan Zweig ed. by Régine Battiston and Klemens Renoldner, and: Zweigs England ed. by Rüdiger Görner and Klemens Renoldner
2016; German Studies Association; Volume: 39; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/gsr.2016.0038
ISSN2164-8646
Autores ResumoReviewed by: “Ich liebte Frankreich wie eine zweite Heimat.” Neue Studien zu Stefan Zweig / “J’aimais la France comme ma seconde patrie.” Actualité(s) de Stefan Zweig ed. by Régine Battiston and Klemens Renoldner, and: Zweigs England ed. by Rüdiger Görner and Klemens Renoldner Marleen Rensen “Ich liebte Frankreich wie eine zweite Heimat.” Neue Studien zu Stefan Zweig / “J’aimais la France comme ma seconde patrie.” Actualité(s) de Stefan Zweig. Edited by Régine Battiston and Klemens Renoldner. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2011. Pp. 272. Paper €38.80. ISBN 978-3826044878. Zweigs England. Edited by Rüdiger Görner and Klemens Renoldner. Würzburg: Königshausen & Neumann, 2015. Pp. 210. Paper €29.80. ISBN 978-3826055348 The past decade has seen a remarkable renewal of interest in Stefan Zweig (1881– 1942). Apart from the countless new editions and translations of his works, the current revival is reflected in the appearance of new biographies, a comic book on the last days of his life, theater adaptations of novellas, and the film Grand Budapest Hotel that is inspired by Zweig. Moreover, the renewed attention reaches beyond the domains of popular culture into the academic world. The Stefan Zweig Centre in Salzburg, which opened in 2008, has contributed to this trend by organizing international conferences and publishing a series of studies that intends to provide fresh perspectives on the life and work of the Jewish-Austrian writer. Two bilingual edited volumes are reviewed here, focusing on France and England. As both publications are concerned with Zweig’s relations to other cultures and countries in Europe as well, they are closely connected. A central issue in the volume on France is the enduring fascination for Zweig among French readers. In the introduction, Régine Battiston and Klemens Renoldner point out that the Austrian writer has always been more popular in France than in German-speaking countries. The French have loved Zweig ever since the first translations of his works appeared in the 1920s, and he still ranks among the most popular translated authors today. No doubt, his Francophilia provides a clue to this popularity. Zweig had an excellent command of the French language and passionately loved French literature. Throughout the years, he translated French poetry and prose into German and he devoted numerous studies to prominent figures, such as Honoré de Balzac and Joseph Fouché. Moreover, Zweig visited Paris regularly and he maintained friendships with Léon Bazlagette, Romain Rolland, Jules Romains, and many others. [End Page 405] Because the French capital represented to him an enormous freedom and joy, he called it “the city of eternal youth.” Zweig’s love of France may have made French readers receptive to his work, yet beyond this the volume seeks additional explanations for his success. In her chapter, biographer Catherine Sauvat states that the French reading public is foremost seduced by the evocative power of his narratives. Whether it is the Schachnovelle, the biography of Marie Antoinette or his memoir Die Welt von Gestern—to mention the most popular books in France—he captivates the reader with dramatic stories that focus on individuals at crucial moments in their lives. Michel Reffet, who seems to agree with Sauvat that Zweig’s narrative style is especially appreciated in France, studies his writing technique in more depth. In his opinion, Zweig’s entire oeuvre is permeated with a mode of telling stories that is grounded in the form of the novella. Among the other contributions, the chapter by Régine Battiston, who focuses entirely on the reception of this “mythical author in France,” is of special interest. Concentrating on the themes and topics in his work, she explains that French readers—among them many women—are fascinated by the female heroines in Zweig’s novellas. Especially valued is his insight in the inner lives of women who suffer from moral and sexual conflicts in bourgeois society. Nostalgia is another theme in Zweig’s work that appeals to readers in France. Like Sauvat, Battiston notices that they are fascinated by the mythical image of fin-de-siècle Vienna, symbolizing a lost world and epoch. Literary taste, however, cannot fully explain why Zweig is appreciated...
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