The Disinherited Mind: Essays in Modern German Literature and Thought

388 Pages·1975·17.796 MB·English

by  Erich Heller

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The Disinherited Mind
wv
Jede dumpfe Umkehr der Welt hat solche Enterbte,
denen das Friihere nicht und noch nicht das Ndchste
gehort.
[Each torpid turn of the world has such disinherited chil-
- dren,
to whom no longer what’s been, and not yet what's com-
ing, belongs.]
RILKE
Yet I felt no certainty about anything, demanding from
every single moment a new confirmation of my existence _
. in truth, a disinherited son.
FRANZ KAFKA
cae in M ee German
Literature and Thought
A Harvest Book
Ua
BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Thomas Mann—The Ironic German
The Artist’s Journey into the Interior
and other Essays
Copyright © 1975 by Erich Heller
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, in-
cluding photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
Harvest edition published by arrangement with Bowes & Bowes Ltd.,
London
The essay “Yeats and Nietzsche: Reflections on a Poet’s Marginal Notes”
is reprinted by permission of Encounter, copyright © 1969 by Encounter,
Ltd.; quotes from the following poems by William Butler Yeats are re-
printed by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., from Collected
Poems by William Butler Yeats: from “Meru,” copyright 1934 by Mac-
millan Publishing Co., Inc., renewed © 1962 by Bertha Georgie Yeats;
from “Sailing to Byzantium” and “Among School Children,” copyright
1928 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., renewed © 1956 by Georgie
Yeats; from “The Second Coming” and “Michael Robartes and the
Dancer,” copyright 1924 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., renewed
1952 by Bertha Georgie Yeats; from “The Phases of the Moon,” copyright
1919 by Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., renewed 1947 by Bertha Georgie
Yeats; from “The Withering of the Boughs” and “Under the Moon.” The
essay “Zarathustra’s Three Metamorphoses” is reprinted by permission of
Salmagundi and was the annual Salmagundi lecture, delivered at Skid-
more College, April 20, 1972.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Heller, Erich, date
The disinherited mind.
(A Harvest book, HB 305)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. German literature—19th century—Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Ger-
man literature—20th century—Addresses, essays, lectures. 3. Literature—
Philosophy. I. Title.
PT343.H47 1975 830’.9'31 74-19104
‘ISBN 0-15-626100-6
First Harvest edition 1975
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The number of friends, colleagues, and pupils who,
through conversations, questions, and criticisms, have
helped me in writing this book is too large for individual
acknowledgments. They will easily recognize their share
and, I hope, be sure of my gratitude.
The essay ‘Rilke and Nietzsche’ owes much to the
late Professor Eudo C. Mason. Indeed, it was his book
Der Zopf des Miinchhausen and the ensuing correspond-
ence with its author that gave the essay its direction. The
knowledge that my conclusions would be different from
his had not deterred this eminent scholar and interpreter
of Rilke from generously supplying me with much infor-
‘mation and material.