For the Good of the Nation

Recent critics have cast doubt on the traditional interpretation of Heinrich von Kleist's Die Hermannsschlacht as an anomalous excursion into rabid nationalism, and have acknowledged the importance to the drama's action of the Thusnelda sub-plot (cf. Burckhardt, Sammons, Miller, Michelsen, Reeve, Zons). This article will offer further supporting evidence for this view and will show how Hermann's manipulation of Thusnelda reveals ironically qualifying elements in Kleist's portrayal of his national hero, thus indicating an ambiguity in the play's nationalistic message. This ambiguity results from the drama's use of the imagery of cutting as applied to women and women's bodies as a means of unifying the nation and thus realizing the ultimate goals of the male state. Though the play appears to present Hermann as the ideal hero in his role as a military leader, his national heroism is undermined in the scenes in which he acts as Thusnelda's husband. The analysis will focus on Hermann's use of brutal and bestial metaphors in his dialogues with Thusnelda, and on her resulting transformation from a complacent and passive wife into an aggressive attacker who aims her vengeance at the Roman enemy, Ventidius. Of central importance is the role Hermann's metaphoric language plays in transforming Thusnelda into a Volksheldin – a participant in the defeat of the Romans –, as well as his literal enactment of these metaphors in the ritual dissection of the body of Hally, the German virgin who is sacrificed for the sake of national unity. Hermann's treatment of Hally demonstrates his shift from metaphoric to literal destruction of the female body for the good of the nation. The analysis will reveal the way in which Kleist's Hermann falls sho rt of fulfilling the ideals traditionally ascribed to the German military hero, calling into question the unique brand of militant nationalism that pervaded Germany in the years following the French Revolution (cf. Hiebel, Michelsen, Miller, Peyman, Ryan, Schmidt). It aims to demonstrate as well the manner in which imagery of victimization and actual mutilation serves to

Ancient history · Art · Battlefield · European Cultural and National Identity · German Colonialism and Identity Studies · German History and Society · German Literature and Culture Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · History · Philosophy · Psychology

• Spirited Women Heroes. Major Female Characters in the Dramas of Goethe, Schiller and Kleist

  Eva Dessau Bernhardt, Julie D Prandi•The German Quarterly•1987

  Add to list

• Die Hermannsschlacht

  William C Reeve•The Germanic Review Literature…•1988

  Add to list