Novalis
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| Born: | May 2, 1772 Oberwiederstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany |
|---|---|
| Died: | March 25, 1801) Weißenfels, Germany |
| Occupation(s): | Prose writer, mystic, philosopher |
| Influenced: | Hermann Hesse, George MacDonald, Waleter Pater |
"Novalis" (May 2, 1772 – March 25, 1801) was an author and philosopher of early German Romanticism. His real name was Georg Philipp "Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg".
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[edit] Biography
Friedrich von Hardenberg was born in 1772 on the château Oberwiederstedt located in the Harz mountains (current Saxony-Anhalt). The parental residence was rather a manor than a real château.
Novalis descended from ancient, Low German nobility. In the different lines of the family, many important, influential magistrates and ministry officials can be found, for example the Prussian chancellor Karl August von Hardenberg (1750-1822), who is known because of the Stein-Hardenbergschen reforms.
Beside an oil painting, a christening cap, which is commonly assigned to Novalis, is the only artefact that is left of him. In the church in Wiederstedt he was christened Georg Philipp Friedrich. Novalis spent his childhood on the family estate and used it as starting point for his travels into the Harz mountains.
Novalis’ father, the estate owner and saline manager Heinrich Ulrich Erasmus Freiherr von Hardenberg (1738-1814), was a strictly pietistic man. Due to his experiences in the past, he had become a member of the Morovian (Herrnhuter) sect. In his second marriage, Novalis’ father was married to Auguste Bernhardine von Hardenberg, née Bölzig (1749-1818), who gave birth to eleven children. Their second child had been Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg, who later on named himself Novalis.
At first Novalis was taught by private tutors. Amongst others by Christian Daniel Erhard Schmid (1762-1812), whom he met again at the beginning of his university education. Novalis attended the Luther grammar school in Eisleben, where he acquired skills in rhetoric and ancient literature, which were common parts of the education of this time.
From his twelfth year on, Novalis was in charge of his uncle Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Hardenberg at the château Lucklum.
Novalis studied law from 1790 to 1794 at Jena (where he was attended by his former private teacher Christian Daniel Erhard Schmid), Leipzig, and Wittenberg. He passed his exams with distinction. During his studies he attended Schiller’s lecture courses on history and befriended Schiller during his (Schiller’s) illness. Furthermore he met Goethe, Herder, and Jean Paul, and he became friends with Ludwig Tieck, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and the brothers Friedrich und August Wilhelm Schlegel.
In October 1794 Novalis – contrary to his plans – did not become a civil servant but worked as actuary for August Coelestin Just, who was not only his boss, but also his friend and later on his biographer. During this time Novalis met the young Sophie von Kühn (1783-1797). On the 15th March 1795 he became engaged to her. In the following January, Novalis was appointed auditor to the directorate of the saline in Weißenfels. The early and cruel death of his fiancée in March 1797 had a deep impact on him.
In the period 1795-1796 Novalis concerned himself with the scientific doctrine of Johann Gottlieb Fichte, which had a great influence on his world view. He not only read Fichte’s philosophies, but also developed the concepts further. He transformed Fichte’s Nicht-Ich (German "not I") to a Du ("you"), an equal subject to the Ich ("I"). This was the starting point for his Liebesreligion ("religion of love").
A few months later he entered the Mining Academy of Freiberg in Saxony, a leading academy concerning science in this time, to study geology under professor Abraham Gottlob Werner (1750-1817). He soon befriended him. During his studies in Freiberg he learned about mining, mathematics, chemistry and other subjects. Furthermore he had to undergo a lot of practical schooling in the mines. This schooling was a family tradition.
In 1798 his first fragments were published in the Athenäum, a magazine edited by the brothers Friedrich and August Wilhelm Schlegel, who were also part of the early Romanticism. The title of Novalis’ first publication was Blüthenstaub, this is also the first appearance of his pseudonym "Novalis".
In December 1798 Novalis became engaged for the second time. His fiancée was Julie von Charpentier (1788-1811), a daughter of Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Toussaint von Charpentier, a professor in Freiberg.
Since Pentecost 1799 Novalis worked again in the directorate of the saline. In December of the same year he became assessor of the saline and member of the directorate of the saline. In July 1799 Novalis became acquainted with Ludwig Tieck, in late autumn of the same year he met other authors of the so called "Jenaer Romanticism".
The next year, on the 6th December 1800, the 28-year-old Hardenberg was appointed "Supernumerar-Amtshauptmann" for the Thuringian District, a position which can be compared to a magistrate of today.
After August 1800 Hardenberg suffered from incurable tuberculosis, which made the further practise of his profession impossible. On the 25th March 1801 he died in Weißenfels. After his death he was buried on the old cemetery in Weißenfels.
Novalis lived to see only the publication of the Blüthenstaub-Fragmente, Glaube und Liebe oder der König und die Königin, and Hymnen an die Nacht. His unfinished novels Heinrich von Ofterdingen and Die Lehrlinge zu Sais, as well as his political speech Europa were published posthumously by his friends Ludwig Tieck and Friedrich Schlegel.
[edit] Writing
Novalis, who had great knowledge in science, law, philosophy, politics and political economy, started writing quite early. He left an astonishing abundance of notes on the above mentioned fields of knowledge and already his early work shows that he was very educated and well read. His later works are closely connected to his studies and his profession. Novalis collected everything that he had learned, reflected upon it and drew connections in the sense of an encyclopaedic overview on art and science. These notes from the years 1798/1799 are called Allgemeines Brouillon.
Together with Friedrich Schlegel, Novalis developed the fragment as a literary form of art. The core of Hardenberg’s literary works is the quest for the connection of science and poetry, and the result was supposed to be a "progressive universal utopia”. Furthermore he was convinced that philosophy and the higher-ranking poetry have to be in a continual interrelation.
The fact that the romantic fragment is the adequate form for a depiction of the "progressive universal utopia”, can be seen especially from the success of this new genre in its later reception.
Novalis’ whole works are based upon an idea of education ("Wir sind auf einer Mißion: Zur Bildung der Erde sind wir berufen”). It has to be made clear that everything is in a continual state of process. It is the same with humans, who always try to approach an earlier – hypothetically assumed – condition, which is characterised by harmony between the human and nature.
This idea of the romantic universal utopia can be seen clearly in the romantic triad. This theoretical structure always shows the recipient that the described moment is exactly the moment (kairos) in which the future is decided. These frequently mentioned critical points correspond with the artist’s feeling for the present, which Novalis shares with many other contemporaries of his time. Therefore a triadic structure can be found in most of his works. This means that there are three corresponding structural elements which are written different concerning the content and the form.
Hardenberg’s intensive study of the works of Jakob Böhme, since 1800, has had a verifiable influence on his own writing.
A mystical world view, a high standard of education and the frequently perceivable pietistic influences are combined in Hardenberg’s attempt to reach a new concept of Christendom, faith, and God. Furthermore he always tries to adjust these with his transcendental philosophy. This can be seen in the Geistliche Lieder (published 1802), which soon became incorporated into Lutheran hymn-books.
Novalis influenced, among others, the theologian George MacDonald, who translated his Hymns to the Night in 1897. More recently, Novalis, as well as the Early Romantic (Frühromantik) movement as a whole, has been recognized as constituting a separate philosophical school, as opposed to simply a literary movement.
[edit] Poetry
In August 1800, eight months after completion, the revised edition of the Hymnen an die Nacht was published in the Athenaeum. They are often considered to be the climax of Novalis’ lyrical works and the most important poetry of the German early Romanticism.
The six hymns contain many elements which can be understood as autobiographical. Even though a lyrical "I", rather than Novalis himself, is the speaker, there are many relationships between the hymns and Hardenberg’s experiences from 1797-1800.
The topic is the romantic interpretation of life and death, the threshold of which is symbolised by the night. Life and death are – according to Novalis – developed into entwined concepts. So in the end death is the romantic principle of life.
Influences of the contemporary literature of that time can be proven. The metaphors of the hymns are closely connected to the books Novalis had read at about the time of his writing of the hymns. These are prominently Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet (in the translation by A.W.Schlegel, 1797) and Jean Paul’s Unsichtbare Loge (1793).
The Hymnen an die Nacht display a universal religion with an intermediary. This concept is based on the idea that there is always a third party between a human and God. This intermediary can either be Jesus – as in Christian Mythology – or the dead beloved as in the hymns. These works consist of three times two hymns. These three components can be structured according to the following principle: in each case the first hymn shows, with the help of the Romantic triad, the development from an assumed happy life on earth through a painful era of alienation to salvation in the eternal night. The following hymn tells of the awakening from this vision and the longing for a return to it.
Continually the pairs of hymns increase and with each step show a higher level of experience and knowledge.
[edit] Prose
The novel fragments Heinrich von Ofterdingen and Die Lehrlinge zu Sais clearly reflect the idea of describing a universal world harmony with the help of poetry. The novel Heinrich von Ofterdingen contains the "blue flower", a symbol that became an emblem for the whole of German Romanticism. Originally the novel was supposed to be an answer to Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister, a work that Novalis had read with enthusiasm but later on judged as being highly unpoetical. He disliked the victory of the economical over the poetic.
The speech called Die Christenheit oder Europa was written in 1799, but was first published in 1826. It is a poetical, cultural-historical speech with a focus on a political utopia with regard to the Middle Ages. In this text Novalis tries to develop a new Europe which is based on a new poetical Christendom which shall lead to unity and freedom. He got the inspiration for this text from Schleiermacher’s Über die Religion (1799).
[edit] Influence
Walter Pater includes Novalis's quote, "Philosophirn ist delphlegmatisiren, vivificiren" in his conclusion to The Renaissance: Studies in Art and Literature. In additon, his poetry and writings were an influence on Herman Hesse. Hesse initially published his novel Demian under the name Emil Sinclair, who was a friend of Novalis.
Novalis was also a huge influence on George MacDonald, and so indirectly on the whole modern fantasy genre.
[edit] Novalis in print
Novalis' works were originally issued in two volumes by his friends Ludwig Tieck and Friedrich Schlegel (2 vols. 1802; a third volume was added in 1846).
Editions of Novalis' collected works have since been compiled by C. Meisner and Bruno Wille (1898), by E. Heilborn (3 vols., 1901), and by J. Minor (3 vols., 1907). Heinrich von Ofterdingen was published separately by J. Schmidt in 1876.
Novalis's Correspondence was edited by J. M. Raich in 1880. See R. Haym Die romantische Schule (Berlin, 1870); A. Schubart, Novalis' Leben, Dichten und Denken (1887); C. Busse, Novalis' Lyrik (1898); J. Bing, Friedrich von Hardenberg (Hamburg, 1899), E. Heilborn, Friedrich von Hardenberg (Berlin, 1901).
[edit] Novalis in English
Several of Novalis' philosophical works have been recently translated into English.
- Novalis: Philosophical Writings, trans. and ed. Margaret Mahoney Stoljar, State University of New York Press, 1997. This volume contains several of Novalis' works, including Pollen or Miscellaneous Observations, one of the few complete works published in his lifetime (though it was altered for publication by Friedrich Schlegel); Logological Fragments I and II; Monologue, a long fragment on language; Faith and Love or The King and Queen, a collection of political fragments also published during his lifetime; On Goethe; selections from his unfinished encyclopedia, Allgemeine Broullion or General Draft; and his essay Christendom or Europe. '
- Fichte Studies, trans. Jane Kneller, Cambridge University Press: 2003. This translation is part of the Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy Series.
- Classic and Romantic German Aesthetics, ed. Jay Bernstein, Cambridge University Press, 2003. This book is in the same series, the Fichte-Studies and contains a very good selection of fragments, plus it includes Novalis' Dialogues. Also in this collection are fragments by Schlegel and Hölderlin.
- Henry von Ofterdingen, trans. Palmer Hilty, Waveland Press: 1990.
- The Novices of Sais, trans. by Ralph Manheim, Archipelago Books: 2005. This translation was originally published in 1949. This edition includes illustrations by Paul Klee. The Novices of Sais contains the fairy tale "Hyacinth and Rose Petal."
[edit] External links
- Novalis: Hymns to The Night - a translation of the work by George MacDonald
- Novalis Online - including a few English translations and essays on and by Novalis
- Oberwiederstedt Manor, birthplace of Novalis - formerly the Internation Novalis Society.Tthe rest of the site is in German, but more pages are due to be translated soon
- Aquarium: Friedrich von Hardenberg im Internet - another German site
[edit] Secondary literature
- The Cambridge Companion to German Idealism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000.
- Behler, Ernst. German Romantic Literary Theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Beiser, Frederick. German Idealism. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2002
- Krell, David Farrell. Contagion. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998.
- Kuzniar, Alice. Delayed Endings. Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 1987
- Lacoue-Labarthe, Phillipe and Jean-Luc Nancy. The Literary Absolute. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1988. (Note: This book does not discuss Novalis exclusively, but discusses the Early Romantic movement as a whole.)
- Molnár, Geza von. Novalis' "Fichte Studies"
- O’Brien, Wm. Arctander, Novalis: Signs of Revolution. Durham: Duke University Press, 1997.
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