The Marquise of O and Other Stories (The Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Heinrich von Kleist (Author), David Luke (Translator), Nigel Reeves (Translator, Introduction) "IN Santiago, the capital of the kingdom of Chile, at the moment of the great earthquake of 1647 in which many thousands lost their lives,..." (more)
Key Phrases: seagull pond, Herr Friedrich, Herr Strömli, Don Fernando (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In The Marquise of O-, a virtuous widow finds herself unaccountably pregnant. And although the baffled Marquise has no idea when this happened, she must prove her innocence to her doubting family and discover whether the perpetrator is an assailant or lover. Michael Kohlhaas depicts an honourable man who feels compelled to violate the law in his search for justice, while other tales explore the singular realm of the uncanny, such as The Beggarwoman of Locarno, in which an old woman's ghost drives a heartless nobleman to madness, and St Cecilia, which portrays four brothers possessed by an uncontrollable religious mania. The stories collected in this volume reflect the preoccupations of Heinrich von Kleist (1777-1811) with the deceptiveness of human nature and the unpredictability of the physical world.

Language Notes
Text: English, German (translation)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (September 28, 1978)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140443592
• ISBN-13: 978-0140443592
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #79,349 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What in the world is wrong with the world?, September 15, 2002

By	C. C Chrappa (us) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I absolutely refuse to believe that I am the first person to review this book. It being one of the most innovative and (truly) groundbreaking collection of short stories in the German literary canon, and influencing massively such big shots (probably with lots more reviews) as Kafka and Deleuze, you will forgive a little cognitive dissonance on my part. So, that being noted, I'll just reiterate what all the other reviewers have already said:
Kleist balances on a fragile strand of (in)sanity that slides lengthwise throughout these stories, not a one of them failing to reinvent the wheel--not only formally but substantively, as it behooves us readers to admit on the double. Don't let the cover fool you either... I did, for a long time, and there should be a dead lady's freaked-out ghost surrounded by three brothers with empty eyes, chanting the 'gloria in excelsis,' all backed by a burning castle with mutilated horses. I'm referring specifically to three stories in this collection---and only three---but there are far more mind-benders, crude and massive explosions of language, and just ouright amazing plots to all of them, that my skimpy comments can do no sort of justice to them. But that's o.k., because you can look at all the other reviewers for more informative responses.
Truly disturbing, truly maddening, truly genius. Kleist notoriously blew his brains out in 1811, after shooting another woman in an altogether fitting (yes, fitting...read and see why) suicide pact formed by Kleist in order to stick one last finger up at the world that had robbed him of his "lifeplan" as a rational youth. The world, that is, responsible for his "madness" (yeah right) and these stories, which clearly many of us have taken great pleasure in absorbing. The world, responsible for his funked up play Penthilesia, which Goethe avoided like the plauge, and for which Kleist had to be physically restrained from challenging the man to a duel.
If so many people hadn't reviewed this already, I tell you, I may have agreed with him about this absurd world. Thank God he was wrong!

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Dark Horse of German Literature, January 24, 2008

By	C. Robert Broerse "Buchlieber" (North Vancouver, B.C.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kleist is the great, dark shadow of the German literary world. Born into a military Prussian family, he chose a literary career over the glory, order and ritual of his ancestors. He became a poet instead of an officer. He wandered from city to city, in search of a home, of solitude, a place to cultivate himself and his literary talents. He worried his friends with his demonic thoughts on suicide. He had a morose character and yet he was equally passionate. Stefan Zweig suggested he suffered from being continually extreme in everything he did, "always the superlative".

This collection of stories is not to be dismissed. "Michael Kohlhaas" is perhaps the quintessential piece; a tale of revenge and the price of vengeance, it is a universal story, appealing to our earthly desire for an "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth". Kleist creates a world of corruption of conflict. The reader wants revenge for the protagonist but how far can one man go to attain justice? What does he lose, what does he gain?

"The Earthquake in Chile" is another disturbing tale. In the wake of a natural disaster, we learn nothing changes the minds and mindsets of people. The earth shakes but the evil of humankind remains deeply rooted.

"The Betrothal in Santo Domingo" - One could see it as the companion piece to the above. In a world of war and rebellion, who can one trust?

"The Beggarwoman of Locarno" is perhaps the most subtle and haunting of ghost stories. Not only does it revel in the mysterious but it is a morality tale revealing the foibles and flaws of a darkened human spirit.

Kleist never became a high ranking officer in the Prussian military but he saw the world falling apart all around him. His stories are a reflection of the dark times he witnessed within his time and within his psyche.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of the best short stories of all time - KLEISTIAN, February 12, 2008

By	A. Rubenstein - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

These stories by Heinrich Von Kleist give great meaning to the adjective "Kleistian".

His prose is almost poetry and every sentence can be a roller coaster of intensity: from the Duke who in the matter of a line or two, goes from being on top of the world, to an arrow "pierc[ing] him just below the breastbone"; from Jeronimo Rugera who is a just about to hang himself in a Chilean prison until a whole city shakes in an earthquake and his fate changes forever. From the Justice of Michael Kohlhaas, to the thieves and miscreants who conspire against the church of St. Cecilia, who are brought to their knees by the power of the organ- these are stories of fate.

And that fate comes swiftly and blindsides the reader with confounding emotions and a new insight into a world turned upside down. This work was probably a product of Heinrich Von Kleist's own life of highs and lows, and the brilliance in between.

Buy the book, read these stories, you will come away spinning... but enlightened.