Graf von Loeben and the Legend of Lorelei: From "Modern Philology" vol. 13 (1915)Porterfield, Allen Wilson
General
Graf von Loeben and the Legend of Lorelei: From "Modern Philology" vol. 13 (1915)
Porterfield, Allen Wilson
Legends -- Germany; Loeben, Otto Heinrich, Graf von, 1786-1825
In "Das Märchen von dem Rhein und dem Müller Radlauf,"[92] Loreley is
portrayed in a sevenfold capacity, as it were: seven archways lead to
seven doors that open onto seven stairways that lead to a large hall
in which Frau Lureley sits on a sevenfold throne with seven crowns
upon her head and her seven daughters around her. This makes
interesting reading for children, but Brentano did not lose sight of
adults, including those who like to speculate as to the origin of the
legend. He says: "Sie [Lorelei] ist eine Tochter der Phantasie,
welches eine berühmte Eigenschaft ist, die bei Erschaffung der Welt
mitarbeitete und das Allerbeste dabei that; als sie unter der Arbeit
ein schönes Lied sang, hörte sie es immer wiederholen und fand endlich
den Wiederhall, einen schönen Jüngling in einem Felsen sitzen, mit dem
sie sich verheiratete und mit ihm die Frau Lureley erzeugte; sie
hatten auch noch viele andere Kinder, zum Beispiel: die Echo, den
Akkord, den Reim, deren Nachkommen sich noch auf der Welt
herumtreiben."
Just as Frau Lureley closes the first _Märchen_, so does she begin the
second: "Von dem Hause Staarenberg und den Ahnen des Müllers
Radlauf."[93] Here she creates, or motivates, the other characters.
Her seven daughters appear with her, as follows: Herzeleid,
Liebesleid, Liebeseid, Liebesneid, Liebesfreud, Reu und Leid, and
Mildigkeit. She reappears then with her seven daughters at the close
of the _Märchen_, and each sings a beautiful song, while Frau Lureley,
the mother of Radlauf, proves to be a most beneficent creature.
Imaginative as Brentano was, he rarely rose to such heights as in this
and the next, "Märchen vom Murmelthier,"[94] in which Frau Lureley
continues her great work of love and kindness. She rights all wrongs,
rewards the just, corrects the unjust, and leads a most remarkable
life whether among the poor on land or in her element in the water.
All of which is poles removed from Loeben's saga, though he knew these
_Märchen_,[95] for they were written when Brentano was his intimate
friend.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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