the enchanter

OKAY, FINALLY, here's the last journal on Gertrude.

Chapter 7

In this chapter, the focus shifts from Kunn to Gertrude and Muoth, with Kunn being more of an observer of their marriage, quite different from the autobiographical tone in which he has been telling the story so far.

The attentive manner in which Kunn treats Gertrude is admirable, and I am sorry for Gertrude that she has pushed herself into the kind of marriage she and Muoth have.

Also, Kunn finally succeeds in establishing a more affectionate and ingenuous relationship with his mother, as he solves the conflict between his mother and Miss Shniebel. The tone in which Kunn recalls the very event on which he sedates the Shniebel woman’s arrogant manner before his mother is very humorous; he compares the woman to “the dragon” which he has to slay, with derisively detailed and comical descriptions about the sitting-room where they have the conversation. This incident leads Kunn’s mother to have confidence in Kunn, and they become quite close afterwards, and she even makes a shy attempt to have a better understanding about her son’s music:

‘My dear,’ said my mother later, ‘you settled that very well.
Thank you very much. Won’t you play me something from your
opera?’ I did not get as far as that, but a barrier had been broken
down and a new relationship began to be established between
the old lady and me. (p. 124)

Kunn finds a “small attractive house” where he and his mother will settle in. The vision of Kunn setting up a small household with his mother after his “long spell of being homeless” and the warm and happy image of a family that is briefly hinted at, create a general light-heartedness through the early part of the chapter. As well, Teiser’s sister Brigget and Kunn become notably close, and a passage describing one of their nightly gatherings at the beginning of September, contains many beautiful similes representing her personality:

Brigget sat down by the piano; above my music I could see
her head and her thick plaited fair hair, the top of which
gleamed like gold in the candlelight. Her brother stood beside
me and played the first violin part. It was simple, lyrical music,
which softly pined and faded away like a summer evening,
neither happy nor sad, but which hovered in the mood of an
evening that is ending, like a could glowing at sunset.
The Teisers liked this short piece, particularly Brigitte. She
rarely said anything about my music, but quietly maintained a
kind of girlish awe towards me, regarding me with admiration,
for she considered me to be a great maestro. Today she took
courage and expressed her particular pleasure. She looked at me
frankly with her light blue eyes and nodded so that the light
glimmered on her blonde plaits. She was very pretty, almost
beautiful. (p.128)

Whether the relationship between Kunn and the pleasant and shy Brigget will develop into a romantic one remains to be seen, but I can see the two of them creating a peaceful, happy home together, and hope this becomes true through the remainder of the story.

Kunn’s newly gained maturity seems to have tranquilized his agonized and tumultuous mind, for he says that his “life proceeded peacefully; the undercurrents no longer forced their way to the surface.”(p.127) He also mentions that he is working on a Mass, and that his music is now more simple and more peaceful and its aim is “to soothe, not to excite.”(p.127)

In the midst of all this comfort and modest happiness, Kunn finally manages to write to Gertrude at Munich for the first time. Gertrude only replies with a short note, and Muoth does not write. Kunn feels anxious, not able to trust his friend Muoth, “self-willed melancholy man, who was accustomed to giving way to his moods and never made sacrifices for anyone, who was carried away by powerful urges and who, in more thoughtful hours, saw his whole life as a tragedy.”(p.127)

The image of Muoth and Gertrude’s house is a paradoxical one. The small house on “an almost rural by-road” gives Kunn an ironic impression of being comfortable and prosperous; the bare, autumnal-looking amongst which the house stands, however, do not give such an optimistic atmosphere: “Yellow maple leaves lay on both sides of the road, swept into heaps.”(p.129) The description of Gertrude’s voice, which has become more mature and more confident, also contradicts Kunn’s worries. However, Gertrude and Muoth are depicted as unnaturally polite and cool towards each other, and Kunn notes that “only Gertrude’s strength of character and superior nature made it possible for her to mask this coolness with a polite and dignified veneer.”(p.131)

I like the way Kunn describes the different reactions and excitement of the people around him as the premiere of his opera draws closer. Kunn talks about the singers participating in the production, and the conductor, Teiser and Muoth in short descriptive sentences, which conjure up a mental image of the hectic and exciting last minute moments before a performance.

Chapter 8 & 9(last)

The opera results in a great success, but Kunn appears unconcerned about the whole matter. After speaking of what he describes as “many undesirable and also some amusing consequences” of his success, he says all of it “did not belong to my real life, which later, as in the past, remained detached, and has changed very little since then. All that remains is for me to tell you of the turn of events of my closest friends.”(p.139) Is it Kunn’s caring nature that constantly worries about his friends’ marriage, or is it Kunn’s still remaining adoration for Gertrude that he cannot let go?

The last chapter solely focuses on the destruction of Gertrude and Muoth’s marriage. It feels rather awkward that their marriage has not been so much talked about in the previous chapters, and is now so rapidly breaking down. But then, it has been mentioned that Gertrude never told anyone, not even her own father, about the problems that were going on between Muoth and herself, being such a dignified and lofty woman that she is. Now the suffering has become more than she can bear, the truth of their marriage starts to come out. It is painful to see how much she has changed in the process, and she seems to have grown over her years to a very old woman. The following passage summarizes the process through which the relationship between Muoth and Gertrude has been destroyed:

None of us knew how terribly these two fine people suffered
in secret. I do not think that they ever stopped loving each other,
but deep down in their nature they did not belong to one another;
they only drew closer through passion and in the intoxication of
exalted hours. A calm acceptance of life and a tacit understanding
of his own nature were things that Muoth had never known and
Gertrude could only be patient with and regret his outbursts and
depressions, his swift changes of moods, his continual desire for
self-forgetfulness and intoxication, but she could not change or live
with them. So they loved each other and yet were never quite close
to each other, and while he saw himself cheated of his secret hope
of finding peace and happiness through Gertrude, she realized and
suffered in the knowledge that her good intentions and sacrifices were
in vain, and that she could not comfort him and save him from himself.
Thus they both had their secret dream and dearest with shattered.
They could only remain together by making sacrifices and showing
forbearance, and it was brave of them to do this.(p.140)

The cause of the breakdown of the marriage is only explained in such an abstract, philosophical way as the above, and I wish there had been more detailed explanation about how the two passionate lovers have lost their love and finally have arrived at the point where they only add to each other’s sufferings. Maybe it was obvious from the beginning that they could not be together and please each other, as the ‘night’ and the ‘bright sun’ can never mingle with each other. Has Muoth beaten Gertrude as he has so often done in the past, with every woman that became involved with him? If he desired to find peace and happiness through Gertrude, he would not, should not have done so; I shall be only amazed to see how selfish a human being can be to feel “cheated of his secret hope of finding peace and happiness” through his marriage, if he had been doing just the opposite to destroy himself and the one that loves him so much.

The story stays in the true and thoughtful tone to the end, such as when Kuhn never does overcome his feelings for Gertrude, and he frankly admits this, but at the same time restricts his thoughts that are described as “forbidden paths”. I find the ending of the story rather dissatisfying. After all the suspense and excitement that have been building up, it abruptly finishes with Muoth committing suicide. Also, compared to the lengthy previous chapters, the last chapter is extremely short.

Question 5: Why does Muoth commit suicide? What do you think Muoth’s death symbolizes? Answer with reference to the comments on life and youth made by the characters in this story.

Muoth commits suicide after he and Gertrude stay separately for two months. Muoth feels hopelessly depressed for two foremost reasons: that his hope to find peace and comfort through his marriage has been shattered, and that he has failed to love Gertrude and make her happy.

However, not every man would have reacted the same way as Muoth. He mentions in an earlier chapter that he thought youth was the most difficult time of life (p.89). According to Kuhn’s father, one feels and thinks in such a way because one’s egotism has not ended yet, because one only thinks of oneself and is too preoccupied with one’s own pains and sufferings that there is no room to care for others. This ends as the person gets married and has a family, in most cases, but Muoth is one of the few that fails to give up his love for himself. He does not make any sacrifices, and only feels even more lonely and agonized because he never feels content and peaceful, while the very reason is the fact that he cannot love anyone.