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Adalbert Stifter







Adalbert Stifter

Born in Oberplan in Bohemia (now Horní Planá , Czech Republic ), he was educated at the ''Gymnasium'' at Kremsmünster , and went to the University Of Vienna in 1826 to study Law . In 1828 he fell in love with Fanny Greipl , but after a relationship lasting five years, her parents forbade further correspondence, a loss from which he never recovered. In 1835 he became engaged to Amalia Mohaupt , and they married in 1837 , but the marriage was not a happy one.

Instead of becoming a state official, he became a Tutor to the aristocrats of Vienna, and was highly regarded as such. His students included Princess Maria Anna Von Schwarzenberg and Richard Metternich , son of Klemens Wenzel Von Metternich . He also made some money from selling paintings, and published his first story, "Der Condor", in 1840 . An immediate success, it inaugurated a steady writing career.

Stifter visited Linz in 1848 , and moved there permanently a year later, where he became Editor of the '' Linzer Zeitung '' and the '' Wiener Bote ''. In 1850 he was appointed supervisor of elementary schools for Upper Austria .

His health began to decline in 1854 , and he became seriously ill in 1863 (the exact disease is unknown). In deep depression, he slashed his neck with a razor on the night of 25 January 1868 and died a few days later.

Stifter's work is characterized by the pursuit of beauty; his characters strive to be moral, and move in gorgeous landscapes luxuriously described. Evil, cruelty, and suffering rarely appear, and the outlook is relentlessly optimistic. Although perhaps one-dimensional compared to his more famous and realistic contemporaries, his visions of ideal worlds are reminiscent of Fantasy .

The majority of his works are long stories or short novels, many of which were published in multiple versions, sometimes radically changed.

'' Witiko '' is a Historical Novel set in the 12th century, a strange work panned by many critics, but praised by Hermann Hesse and Thomas Mann .


WORKS




REFERENCES


  • , 1974)

  • Eric Blackall : ''Adalbert Stifter: A Critical Study'' (1948)

  • Kurt Palm : ''Suppe Taube Spargel sehr sehr gut'' (about Stifter's excessive eating habits) (ISBN 3854093136)



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