Novalis and the Problem of Romanticism Author(s): Frederick Hiebel Source: Monatshefte, Vol. 39, No. 8 (Dec.

, 1947), pp. 515-523 Published by: University of Wisconsin Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30164617 . Accessed: 21/07/2013 14:47
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NOVALIS AND THE PROBLEMOF ROMANTICISM

Rutgers University In considering Novalis and the problem of romanticism we have to divide our contemplation into three parts: first we have to look at the change of the meaning of the concept romanticism in general, then we have to recognize the use of the words "romanticising" (romantisieren) and romantic (romantisch) coined and formed by Novalis; finally we are challenged to comprehend the work and life of Novalis as an indivisible entity, independent of the early romanticists and to some extent different from them. Wilhelm Dilthey in his Novalis essay (1865),' through which he introduced the scholarly research about Friedrich von Hardenberg, urged us already eighty years ago to free ourselves from the "abuse which has been perpetrated for more than half a century upon the word romanticism and to get rid of it entirely." Dilthey introduced the concept of the generation into the history of literature and ushered in a method of research which was taken over by Rudolf Haym in characterising the Romantic School.2 From then on research of romanticism grew into unprecedented proportions and Julius Petersen, sixty years after the Novalis essay by Dilthey, stated in his book Wesensbestimmung der Romantik:3 "Die moderne Geistesgeschichte, die dem Vorbilde und den Anregungen Wilhelm Diltheys folgt, hat ihre Wurzeln in der Romantik." Petersen suggested to call the aim and purpose of our modern literary history after a changed term of Friedrich Schlegel "progressive Universalwissenschaft." In explaining the concept of romanticism Petersen points to the facts of "BewuBl3tseinssteigerung" and "magisches Selbstvertrauen" as fundamentals of the consciousness of romanticists while Fritz Strich introduced in his Deutsche Klassik und Romantik the term "Entgrenzung" as the essential trend and attitude of the romantic mind. Petersen b divided the main research of romanticism into three the ethnological section (A. Sauer, J. Nadler, E. Bertram) which groups: dealt with the geographical-racial concept of the "Ostliche Bewegung;" the ideological group which followed the research of R. Unger, Fr.

Schneider,O. Walzel, H. A. Korff and saw romanticismin fundamental opposition to enlightenmentand rationalism. The third part which is characterised by works like those by Fritz Strich in his connection with
1 Wilhelm Dilthey: Novalis, essay in PreuBische Jahrbiicher 1865, now in the 8. Auflage,Leipzig 1922. book: Das Erlebnisund die Dichbtung,
2

R. Haym: Die Romantische Schule, 187o. a Julius Petersen: Wesensbestimmungder deutschen Romantik, eine Einfiihrung in die moderne Literaturwissenschaft, Leipzig 1926,p. 7.

und Romantik, SFritz Strich:DeutscheKlassik 3. Aufl., MiinchenL928. a J. Petersenop. cit.

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Wb1fflin'sand Worringer's doctrines of history of art revolves around aesthetic questions of style-problems. Romanticism finally occupied ' and Karl also the mindsof philosophers like N. Hartmann," E. Spranger Jaspers.8 Among American scholarsR. M. Wernaer'sbook on romanticism standsout. "Romanticism is the cultivationof the free world of the spirit in art and life. And this free world of the spirit had its well springs in man'sheart always."" Or at another place Wernaer wrote: "Classicism is foundedon duty; romanticism on love."1' Yet becomingafraidof using these generalitieshe decided: "To be entirely accurate,we should have to of Wackenroder... Tieck... Novalis... school speakof a romanticism meansmerely that a numberof individualwriters came together."12 made a more recent contributionto the problem Gode-von Aesch'3a which is pubof romanticismin his very elaboratedoctoral dissertation, lished under the title Natural science in German romanticism.' He avoided abstractonesidednessand stated: "The idea that romanticismis a living process rather than a static achievementhas its origin with the romanticiststhemselves. 'Life,' said Hardenberg,'is like colors, sounds, force etc. and the romanticiststudies life as the painter, musician,mechanic studies color, sound, or force. The careful study of life makes
the romanticist'."'5

article"Romantikund romanFranz Schulz dealt in his remarkable 1s with tisch als literarhistorische Terminologien und Begriffsbildungen" the question that none of the leading romanticistscalled themselves as such nor used the term Romantic School for their movement. "His (Novalis) writing can prove that he used the concept romanticismon the one hand in a historical and general sense and on the other hand and magic meaning... There is no exception among with a metaphysical the membersof the early RomanticSchool: romanticismand romanticas namesand terms of their faction did not enter their mind." Under the guidance of Franz Schulz, R. Ullmann and H. Gotthard dealt with this
"

Nicolai Hartmann: Die Philosophie des deutschen Idealismus, Berlin

1923,

S.

186 f.

? Eduard Spranger: Psychologie des Jugendalters, Leipzig

s Karl Jaspers: Psychologie der Weltanschauungen, Berlin 1919. Robert M. Wernaer: Romanticism and the Romantic School in Germany, New York 19xo. M. Wernaer, op. Cit. p. 7. R. 1x ibid. p.7. 12 ibid. P. 55. "s A.G.F. Gode-von Aesch: Natural science in German romanticism, Columbia University Press, New York 1941. 14 ibid. p.s. 15 ibid. p. 5. Franz Schultz: "Romantikund romantisch als literarhistorischeTerminologien und Begriffsbildungen,"Deutsche Viertelsjahrsschriftfiir Literaturwissenschaftund Geistesgeschichte, (I924), pp. 349-66. 17 ibid, pp. 349 ff.

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Novalis

517

In the same direction suggestion in an exhaustivedouble dissertation.18 Kurt May '9 leads us with an article,arrivingat the result that in Novalis

the originof romanticism doesnot seemto contradict classicism as antider als Versuchzur Steigerung thesisversusthesis,"sondern erscheint
Klassik in einem h6heren Ausgleich, einer Synthese zwischen ihr und einem Gegensatz, der fiir sich gar nicht realisiertist. Oder ist das nun Romantiknicht mehr?" On the basis of this recent criticism in regard to a definition of the term romanticismwe come to further investigationsconcerning Novalis' concept of romanticism.Contraryto Franz Schulz, however, we shall be able to find a central point among the variousstatementsof Friedrichvon Hardenberg'sfragmentarythoughts. from which This centralpoint is the verb "romanticise" (romantisieren) Novalis derived the adjective "romantic"(romantisch). Then, but less frequently, he used the term "the romantic" (das Romantische). He started with the verb romanticiseor romanticising(romantisieren)and therefore our researchhas to begin with an examinationof this term.
The fundamental sentence is: "Die Welt muB romantisiert werden. So findet man den urspriiunglichen Sinn wieder. Romantisieren ist nichts als eine qualitative Potenzierung. Das niedere Selbst wird mit einem besseren Selbst in dieser Operation identifiziert. So wie wir selbst eine solche qualitative Potenzreihe sind. Diese Operation ist noch ganz unbekannt. Indem ich dem Gemeinen einen hohen Sinn, dem Gewihnlichen ein geheimnisvolles Ansehen, dem Bekannten die Wiirde des Unbekannten, dem Endlichen einen unendlichen Schein gebe, so romantisiere ich." 20 Another fragment reads: "Romantisieren iihnlich dem Algebraisieren." 21 Or: "Absolutierung - Universalisierung - Klassifikation des individuellen Moments, der individuellen Situation etc. ist das eigentliche Wesen des Romantisierens. Vide Meister. Mairchen."22 Novalis used the verb "romantisieren" (romanticise) in pointing to an activity of the mind. He did not coin a noun as an abstract concept, the words "Romantik" or "Romantische Schule" did not occur in his writings. He interpreted the verb romanticising with many words, comparisons and metaphors and we must follow him in his mental journey if we want to understand his term. Romanticise is a process of the soul rather than a state of mind. It is connected with the poet's activity to
is Richard Ullmann und Helene Gotthard: Geschichte des Begriffs Romantisch in Deutschland (Germanische Studien, Heft 50) Berlin 1927. xoKurt May: Weltbild und innere Form der Klassik und Romantik im Wilhelm Meister und Heinrich von Ofterdingen, in: "Romantik Forschungen," Deutsche Viertelsjahrschrift fiir Literaturwissenschaft,Buchreihe, 16. Band, Max Niemeyer, Halle 1929, pp. 185 ft. 20 NovaliS Schriften, ed. by Paul Kluckhohn and Richard Samuel, four vols., Meyers Klassiker Ausgaben, BibliographischesInstitut, Leipzig I929 quoted Novalis (KI.) 11/355. 21 Novalis (Kl.) III/63. 22 Novalis (KI.) III/75.

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find the way back to the origin, i.e. the original meaning or sense. In Novalis' mind it means the true state of being naive as the original, greatest poets and artists were. It means also to find back to the world of the true myth and fable, which stands at the origin of every truly creative art in which the fairy-tale reveals the higher truth. Therefore we read in the fragment after the word "das eigentliche Wesen des Romantisierens" the remarks:" Vide Meister. Mirchen." Novalis points to Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister and to the fairy-story Das Mdrchen at the end of the Unterbaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderter,23 these two works which exercised the greatest influence upon the mind of Novalis in the years 1795 and 1796 before the death of Sophie von Kiihn (March 1797) and accompanied him through the years which followed the soul-shaking experience of the death of his bride through which Friedrich von Hardenberg ultimately became the poet Novalis. The above mentioned fragments, concerning romanticising (romantisieren) are to be found in Vorarbeiten zu neuen Fragmentensammlungen.24 Paul Kluckhohn, the editor of the last textual critical edition of Novalis Schriften puts the first mentioned fragment Die Welt muf romantisiert Iwerden25 to a group of fragments which were written between Februaryand May 1798.26 The two later mentioned fragmentary thoughts27 appear in the so-called Das allgemeine Brouillon, 1798-99 and were written either in the second half of the year 1798 or in the early part of 1799. Thus they reaffirm his ideas and mention the application to Goethe's Meister and Mirchen. Novalis was certainly conscious of the difficulty in describing or defining his term romanticising. Therefore he avoided any strict or harsh definition but he rather points to a process of various actions. "Romantisieren ist nichts als eine qualitative Potenzierung." 28 He used this word "qualitative Potenzierung potentialising qualitatively) as a mathematical term of raising to a higher power, because he wished to say it as precisely and exactly as possible what he meant in speaking of finding back the original meaning, that operation, through which our lower Self can be identified with the better Self. He understands the mind of man as capable of raising to a higher power, yet he confessed in the next following

sentence, that this operation is not yet known. This "not yet known"
means, of course, that now - through Novalis. - it will be known more

which followedthatstatement are the poetic andmore. Thesesentences or prospectus of the poetry of Novalis. It is not unessential program to note that the last sentenceswere also written in the form of the
23

Weimar

Das Miirchen, GoethesNaturphilosophie als Kunstwerk, See Camilla Lucerna,

ThomasCarlyleto Eckermann: "To me it seemsone of the noblestPoemsor for manyages;inexhaustible in meaning, produced deeperevery new time Prophecies I look into it." (Goethe Jahrb.XXIV, I2). 2* Novalis (KI.) II/3x1 ft. a5ibid. II/335. 26 ibid. II/312. 2T ibid. TII/57ff. 28
ibid. II/335.

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first person: "I romanticise, while I am giving a high meaning to the common, profane, vulgar; while I am giving a mysterious appearance to the ordinary or customary, an infinite radiance to the finite." There cannot be found a more precise description to the aim of Novalis' poetry than his thoughts about romanticising. They are the key for an understanding of his life, character and destiny as well as of his work. In another fragment the verb romanticise occurs in the form of the present participle" romantisierend" and it is most revealing for character and destiny of his life. It reads: "Der Tod ist das romantisierende Prinzip unseres Lebens. Der Tod-, das Leben +. Durch den Tod wird das Leben verstirkt. "(III/287) This is the philosophical reflection upon the death-experience of Sophie von Kiihn. If this sentence were written by anybody else among the early romantics we could easily comprehend this thought as an intellectual game of analogies. These words, written by Novalis, are autobiographical confessions of primary importance. Here the word "romantisierend" means metamorphosing, uplifting and glorifying. The death of Sophie became this romantising principle which aroused the "miraculous." When this experience became stronger and firmer within the mind of Novalis, particularly after 1798, in the two last years of his life, he became more and more aware of the shortcomings of Goethe's Meister and he exclaimed:" Das Romantische geht darin zugrunde - auch die Naturpoesie, das Wunderbare."29 In another passage he said: "Sch6in, romantisch, harmonisch sind nur Teilausdriicke des Poetischen." 30 Or: "Die Kunst zu lieben ist immer romantisch gewesen."31 He explains the adjective romantic through different verbs, time and again: "Die Kunst auf eine angenehme Art zu befremden, einen Gegenstand fremd zu machen und doch bekannt und anziehend, das ist die romantische Poetik." 32 Romanticising as the process of finding the way back to the original state of life creates the realm of the true fairy tale and he proclaimed: "Alles ist ein Miirchen." 33 Shortly before his last illness, on June I8, I8oo, he wrote to Friedrich Schlegel about his Mairchen in Heinrich yon Ofterdingen: "Das Unbekanntheilige, die Vesta in Sophien, die Vermischung des Romantischen aller Zeiten . . . so betrachte nun mein Miirchen." 34 This statement appears like a sumtotal of his reflections upon romanticising as the inner sanctum of his poetic work. Let us now look at his novel Heinrich yon Ofterdingen in regard to the use of the adjective "romantic" which occurs in various passages several times. One should notice, however, how the word romantic appears in the whole structure of the sentences, not only the fact that it appears.
29 8o 31 32 84

ibid. III/324.
ibid. III/342.

ibid. III/371. ibid. III/349. ibid. I/4oo. ** ibid. IV/343.

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Novalis used the word romantic,for instance,in mentioningold belongings of the house: "Zogdas Geheimnisder Natur und die Entstehungihrer Korper den ahnenden Geist an, so erh6hte die seltnere Kunst ihrer die romantische Ferne aus der mansie erhielt... die Neigung Bearbeitung, 35 The same verb zu diesen stummenGefihrten des Lebens." "erh6hen" in the adjective: "Eine h6here Macht schien den (lifting up) reappeared Knoten schneller 1lsen zu wollen und brachte sie unter sonderbaren Lage."36"Siebeschriebdie romantischen Umstiindenin dieseromantische Schbnheitender fruchtbarenarabischen Gegenden .. wie Kolonien des Land der das romantischeMorgenland,hat Paradieses."37 "Das Poesie, Wehmut begriil3t." euch mit seiner siiMen "B"Auf einer Anhohe erblickLand."39 Or in regard to war and soldiers: Die ten sie ein romantisches Leute glaubensich fiir irgendeinenarmseligenBesitz schlagenzu miissen, und merkennicht daBsie der romantischeGeist aufregt."40 And similarly expressed: "Todeslust ist Kriegergeist. RomantischesLeben des Kriegers." 41 Finally one of the most importantpassagesin the second part of Heinrich von Ofterdingenreads in connection with conscience: "Das Gewissen erscheintmir wie der Geist des Weltgedichtes, wie der Zufall des unendlich verinderlichen der ewigen romantischenZusammenkunft Gesamtlebens."42 with an abstractconcept would be To define the term romanticising contrary to the intention of Novalis. Defining means to set down to finite limits. Romanticisingin the sense of Novalis points towards the infinite and unlimited. A definition clarifies a concept of an object. Romanticisingis the description of an inner process. This process includes: findingthe way back to the original,giving the world the radiance of the distant,the magic,the absolute,the universaland the transcendental. It creates the true fairy tale, unfolds the miraculous,develops the true power of love which is in its deepest sense equal to the power of magic, and death. It stengthens life, glorifies the human mind, metamorphosis it is linked up with the Unknown, Sophia,the higher world, the home of poetry and the heaven in which the voice of conscience is rooted. All in all expressedby Novalis in his most precise fragment: Romanticising is to raise qualitativelyto a higher power, to identify the lower with the better Self... An activity, unknown as yet. To be sure, that sounds complicated; it appears as a multitude of verboseterms which can easily misleadto contradictionsand misinterpretations. And yet, rightly understood,on the solid basis of the data and facts of Novalis' life and works, it can guide us into the inner sanctum of the ideas of romanticism. Novalis did not only theorize about this function of raising to higher power of the qualities of the soul, what Julius Petersen called in characterising the concept of romanticism
ibid. I/Io9. 36 ibid. I/127. ibid. I/x14. as ibid. I/187.
39
40 41

ibid. I/202.

ibid. I/i88. ibid ibid. 1/245. ibid. I/235.

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and "MagischesSelbstvertrauen," but he exper"Bewuatseinssteigerung" ienced it as a mystic and revealedit as a poet. The definite proof of his experiences are his writings. The works of Novalis are a world of fragments,but not a fragmentof a world. They are a whole becausethey are centered around an individuality who raised his faculties of the soul qualitativelyto a higher power. Novalis called this in philosophical terms "magic idealism." The magic idealismof Novalis is but a fragment like all his other writings,yet it is the most significantexpressionof the world-conception of the early romanticist. In fact, it was the most obvious attempt to overcome Kant's dogma of the limits to knowledge " Siegbert Elkuss" opened a fruitful discussionabout the position of the early romanticists to Kant. He showed that all of them began to think with Kant, but that they all graduallyovercameand contradictedhim. German romanticism was an unanimousprotest against enlightenmentas a whole and against Kant'sphilosophyin particular.From this point of view there is hardly a divergence of opinion from R. Ungers45 Hamann und die Aufklidrung to H. A. Korffs Geist der Goethezeit46and Paul Kluckhohnstated in his book on romanticism: '7 "In der Tat, lag darin ein wesentlich Neues, das die Romantikeriiber die Stiirmerund Dringer und auch iiber Herder darin,daBsie durch die Schule Kantsund Fichtes hindurchhinausfiihrte, gangen waren" and he added in speaking of Goethe as the antipode of 48 Kant: "Wesentlich ist das: die Romantiker waren Goetheaner." for an understanding of the problem Two factors are indispensable in generaland of the magic idealismof Novalis in particuof romanticism lar: the struggle againstKant and the venerationfor Goethe. The developmentof Novalis's mind startedwith the study of Kant
under Reinhold in Jena (1790/91), continued with the ardent discipleship of Fichte (since 1794) and culminatedin his own magic idealism

(from 1797 on). Novalis called the whole Kantian method onesided49 and he characterizedhis mentality as "Advokatengeist."In regard to Kant'smain problem of his Theory of Knowledge, his question,wether there is a synthetic judgment a priori possible outside of the realm of Genie? wie ist es mathematics he exclaimed:"Gibt es ein mathematisches m6glich? Genie ist das synthetisierendePrinzip, das Genie macht das bekannt- das Bekannteunbekanntetc. Kurz es ist das moralisierende transsubstantiierende Prinzip." 60
Kant: Critique of Pure Reason. 44Siegbert Flkuss: Zur Beurteilung der Romantik und zur Kritik ihrer Erforschung, Hist. Bibl., 39. Bd., herausg. v. F. Schultz, Miinchen 1918. 45R. Unger: Hamann und die Aufklirung, Studien zur Vorgeschichte der Romantik, 191 . 46Hermann August Korff: Geist der Goetheseit Versuch einer ideelleen Literaturgeschichte,Leipzig 1930. Entwicklung der klassisch-romantischen " Paul Kluckhohn, Die deutsche Romantik, Leipzig 1924, p. I8. 48 ibid.p. 23. K.) II/306. SNovalis

Unm6gliche m6glich -

das Mdgliche unmaglich -

das Unbekannte

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Novalis' magic idealismasked the fundamentalquestion: is there a knowledge of the supersensiblepossible, "gibt es noch autersinnliche Erkenntnis?" "Nach Kant bezieht sich reine Mathematik und reine Naturwissenschaftauf die Formen der EuBerenSinnlichkeit. Welche Wissenschaftbezieht sich denn auf die Formen der innerenSinnlichkeit? ist noch ein andrerWeg offen, Gibt es noch auBersinnliche Erkennmtnis? und zu anderenWesen zu gelangen oder aus sich selbst herauszugehen 5 von ihnen affiziertzu werden?" The answerto this questionis given throughlife and work of Novalis. Novalis victorious struggle againstKant went parallelwith the approach to the world of Goethe. Novalis did not only call Goethe "denStatthalter des poetischen Geistes auf Erden"52 but he recognised him also as the foremost physicist of his time and he became the first interpreter of Goethe's Miirchen,which A. W. Schlegel called the loveliest fairy tale which ever fell from heavenof phantasyto the dry earth." The Miirchen was enthusiastically received by all romanticistsand made a lasting imon pression Novalis.53He never found a reason to modify his judgment as he did in regard to Wilhelm Meister. On the or change his appraisal who tried contrary, he became the first among the legion of interpreters to unriddle the enigma of Goethe's tale. TheMirchen was publishedin Schiller'sHoren in 1795 and written at the very beginning of the friendshipwith Schiller who wrote at that time his Briefe zur aesthetischen Erziehungdes Menschen. Schiller'scon(particularlythe latter, as cept of the "schaneSeele"and the "Spieltrieb" in his Lettersaboutthe aestheticeducationof man) came nearest expressed to the world of Goethe and was most distantto the philosophy of Kant. In fact, Schiller'sconcept of the "SchbneSeele" and his Spieltrieb"repelled Kan't categoricalimperativein a similarway as Novalis' magic idealwith its theory of the limitsto knowledge. ism excludedKantsagnosticism because he found Novalis received Goethe's Miirchenso enthusiastically as the in it the of way to find back to expressed principle romanticising, the original, this raising to higher power, this identifying of the lower with the better Self. Goethe's Marchen was the dream of the romanticist, who, like the young man in Goethe's tale, ventured across the bridge to the realm of the white lily. To find the bridge between the world of matter and that of spirit, between the lower and the better of Goethe's Miirchen. The buildSelf is the content of the imaginations is of this and crossing bridge "romanticising."The time is at hand ing "Es ist an der Zeit" was the solemn call of this for process romanticising: subterranean in the which sounded temple of Goethe's tale. And "Es ist an der Zeit" became the title of a poem of Novalis which he wrote in immediateresponseto Goethe's Miirchen.
so ibid. III/25. 51 ibid. II/304. 52 ibid. II/41.
5s

ibid. II/327, m/129,

145.

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steht nun die Briicke, der maichtigeSchatten erinnert "Glainzend Nur an die Zeit noch, es ruht ewig der Tempel nun hier. Zeichen der Willkiir Giotzenvon Stein und Metallmit furchtbaren Sind gestiirztund wir sehn dort nur ein liebendesPaarAn der Umarmungerkenntein jeder die alten Dynasten, Kennt den Steuermann, kennt wieder die gliickliche Zeit."" In considering Novalis and the problem of romanticismwe look now finally at him as an entity, independentof the early romanticists.

from them. His It is striking to see how andto what extenthe differed
concept of love as magic path from the lower to the better Self was alien to the other romanticists. His experiencewith Sophie von Kiihn, the very center of his life and destiny, had no resemblanceto anyone of a future form of an interamong the romanticists. His visualisation confessionalChristianitywas not understood. He aimed at an inner reformation while others converted to Catholicism. He hoped for the golden age to come while others indulged in reviving the past. He was the only one among the early romanticists who was employed in an office and worked as a citizen for his country 65even though his health was so soon to be undermined.This fact throws light upon the versatilityof his genius,throughwhich he differedfrom all the romanticists.As the poet of the Hymns to the Night he looked at the Dionysiac depths. As natural scientisthe followed Goethe, as a mystic he loved Jacob Boehme and as at the Saltworksin Weissenminer and chemist,as "assessor mineralogist, the sober world of fels" he dealt with business-experience. Novalis is in fact "the key to the Romantic School," that the "psychology of the Romanticmovementcan best be studied." 58 Novalis was the purest embodimentof romantichumanityas a type of man who will come in the future, for "Die Welt muB romantisiertwerden . . .
romantisieren ist nichts als eine qualitative Potenzierung ... diese Opera-

tion ist noch ganz unbekannt." "7 Novalis, who tried to realisethis "unknown operation,"was a forerunner. Recognition of the world of this romanticistis in constantgrowth. Among the Germanshe is one of their noblest examples of Christiancosmopolitanism. Yet the very day for the Western world has still to come on which he will appear"as a man
of the most indisputable talents ..
.

a whole unexpected world of thoughts

where the deepestquestionsawait us" as Thomas Carlyle 58 saw him more than a hundred years ago: a genius of eternal youthfulnesslike Shelley, Mozart or Raffael.
"' ibid. 1/35I.

Romantik Friedrich von Hardenbergs, a*R. Samuel:Der beruflicheWerdegang

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