Bewildering Stories introduces and welcomes...

Achim von Arnim

The author is one of the major figures in German Romanticism. He served in the military against Napoleon. With Clemens Brentano, the brother of his wife, Bettina, he collected folk tales and legends in the three volumes of Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

“Madame de Saverne” (Die Frau von Saverne) depicts a relatively wealthy provincial lady who is swept up in a “cult of personality” around the French king Louis XVI. In light of the date of the story, the messianic figure might well be Napoleon, but readers may infer that Madame de Saverne’s idol worship is a feature typical of populism not only in the 18th and 19th centuries but in the 20th century as well as our own. Madame de Saverne is ultimately disillusioned not by the king, whom she never sees despite her ambition and efforts, but by the king’s inabiliity to protect her from his cynical and conniving subjects in the capital.

Achim von Arnim’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Achim von Arnim. We’re glad to have you with us.