R IL K E A N D T H E OUTC AS TS O F
RI L KE A N D T HE O UT C A S TS O F
‘ M A LT E L AUR IDS B RIGGE’
‘ M ALTE L AU RID S B RI GG E’
by Agnieszka Klimek
by Agnieszka Klimek
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910) is the only novel by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In this novel the narrator, who is the only distinct character, describes his experiences in Paris. Arriving in this city as the only descendant of an aristocratic Danish family, Malte sets himself the task of becoming a poet but the Paris that Malte discovers is not the city of artistic elegance as described by Walter Benjamin in the Arcades Project. It is not even a city of artistic extravaganza as depicted by Charles Baudelaire in his poems. The Paris that Malte discovers is a city of dirt, poverty and sickness. Shocked by his discovery Malte needs to learn how to cope with Paris before he learns how to become a poet. In the first entry to his notebooks (11 September, Rue Toullier ) Malte describes his first encounter with the city. Malte sees Paris through its hospitals, through its streets which are full of dirt and noisy automobiles. His senses are fully alert, but cannot bear the smell and the sound of the city. Malte’s disgust with Paris is so strong that even a baby or a pregnant woman repels him. Most of all Malte hates the fact that in Paris he is anonymous. Malte fears that deprived of his identity he will no longer be able to defend himself against these horrifying images of the city . It has often been suggested that the main issue of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge is how Malte experiences Paris. In The Cambridge Companion to Rilke Huyssen argues that Malte’s experiences in Paris result in a deep crisis of subjectivity from which he cannot recover. In The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel Pike argues that the city as experienced by Malte was to shape the form of the modern novel. In his Introduction to The Beginning of Terror: A Psychological Study of Rainer Maria Rilke Kleinbard linked Malte’s Parisian experiences to that of Rilke,
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910) is the only novel by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In this novel the narrator, who is the only distinct character, describes his experiences in Paris. Arriving in this city as the only descendant of an aristocratic Danish family, Malte sets himself the task of becoming a poet but the Paris that Malte discovers is not the city of artistic elegance as described by Walter Benjamin in the Arcades Project. It is not even a city of artistic extravaganza as depicted by Charles Baudelaire in his poems. The Paris that Malte discovers is a city of dirt, poverty and sickness. Shocked by his discovery Malte needs to learn how to cope with Paris before he learns how to become a poet. In the first entry to his notebooks (11 September, Rue Toullier ) Malte describes his first encounter with the city. Malte sees Paris through its hospitals, through its streets which are full of dirt and noisy automobiles. His senses are fully alert, but cannot bear the smell and the sound of the city. Malte’s disgust with Paris is so strong that even a baby or a pregnant woman repels him. Most of all Malte hates the fact that in Paris he is anonymous. Malte fears that deprived of his identity he will no longer be able to defend himself against these horrifying images of the city . It has often been suggested that the main issue of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge is how Malte experiences Paris. In The Cambridge Companion to Rilke Huyssen argues that Malte’s experiences in Paris result in a deep crisis of subjectivity from which he cannot recover. In The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel Pike argues that the city as experienced by Malte was to shape the form of the modern novel. In his Introduction to The Beginning of Terror: A Psychological Study of Rainer Maria Rilke Kleinbard linked Malte’s Parisian experiences to that of Rilke,
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R IL K E A N D T H E OUTC AS TS O F
RI L KE A N D T HE O UT C A S TS O F
‘ M A LT E L AUR IDS B RIGGE’
‘ M ALTE L AU RID S B RI GG E’
by Agnieszka Klimek
by Agnieszka Klimek
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910) is the only novel by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In this novel the narrator, who is the only distinct character, describes his experiences in Paris. Arriving in this city as the only descendant of an aristocratic Danish family, Malte sets himself the task of becoming a poet but the Paris that Malte discovers is not the city of artistic elegance as described by Walter Benjamin in the Arcades Project. It is not even a city of artistic extravaganza as depicted by Charles Baudelaire in his poems. The Paris that Malte discovers is a city of dirt, poverty and sickness. Shocked by his discovery Malte needs to learn how to cope with Paris before he learns how to become a poet. In the first entry to his notebooks (11 September, Rue Toullier ) Malte describes his first encounter with the city. Malte sees Paris through its hospitals, through its streets which are full of dirt and noisy automobiles. His senses are fully alert, but cannot bear the smell and the sound of the city. Malte’s disgust with Paris is so strong that even a baby or a pregnant woman repels him. Most of all Malte hates the fact that in Paris he is anonymous. Malte fears that deprived of his identity he will no longer be able to defend himself against these horrifying images of the city . It has often been suggested that the main issue of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge is how Malte experiences Paris. In The Cambridge Companion to Rilke Huyssen argues that Malte’s experiences in Paris result in a deep crisis of subjectivity from which he cannot recover. In The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel Pike argues that the city as experienced by Malte was to shape the form of the modern novel. In his Introduction to The Beginning of Terror: A Psychological Study of Rainer Maria Rilke Kleinbard linked Malte’s Parisian experiences to that of Rilke,
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (1910) is the only novel by the Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. In this novel the narrator, who is the only distinct character, describes his experiences in Paris. Arriving in this city as the only descendant of an aristocratic Danish family, Malte sets himself the task of becoming a poet but the Paris that Malte discovers is not the city of artistic elegance as described by Walter Benjamin in the Arcades Project. It is not even a city of artistic extravaganza as depicted by Charles Baudelaire in his poems. The Paris that Malte discovers is a city of dirt, poverty and sickness. Shocked by his discovery Malte needs to learn how to cope with Paris before he learns how to become a poet. In the first entry to his notebooks (11 September, Rue Toullier ) Malte describes his first encounter with the city. Malte sees Paris through its hospitals, through its streets which are full of dirt and noisy automobiles. His senses are fully alert, but cannot bear the smell and the sound of the city. Malte’s disgust with Paris is so strong that even a baby or a pregnant woman repels him. Most of all Malte hates the fact that in Paris he is anonymous. Malte fears that deprived of his identity he will no longer be able to defend himself against these horrifying images of the city . It has often been suggested that the main issue of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge is how Malte experiences Paris. In The Cambridge Companion to Rilke Huyssen argues that Malte’s experiences in Paris result in a deep crisis of subjectivity from which he cannot recover. In The Cambridge Companion to the Modern German Novel Pike argues that the city as experienced by Malte was to shape the form of the modern novel. In his Introduction to The Beginning of Terror: A Psychological Study of Rainer Maria Rilke Kleinbard linked Malte’s Parisian experiences to that of Rilke,
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