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| Format | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Creator | Donaldson, Randall P. |
| Title | Robert Reitzel (1849-1898) and his German American Periodical "Der arme Teufel." Dissertation |
| Dissertation Note (type -- academic institution) | The John Hopkins University |
| Date | 1976 |
| Extent of Work | 352 pp. |
| Abstract | Robert Reitzel published a weekly journal known as "Der arme Teufel" in Detroit from 6 December 1884 until his death on 31 March 1898. During thirteen years and four months as editor, Reitzel used "Der arme Teufel" as a forum for his frequently unorthodox, occasionally radical views. His outspokenness soon earned him both a reputation as a liberal and some degree of notoriety in the German-American community. Despite his controversial nature, however, Reitzel attracted a devoted circle of readers who enjoyed "Der arme Teufel" not so much for the radical theories it propounded as for its considerable attention to literary matters. Indeed, Reitzel commented extensively on numerous German and world authors and reprinted recent stories and poems in almost every issue. In addition, he frequently contributed his own original prose sketches. Moreover, all he wrote was marked by a highly personal and vivacious style which charmed many readers and brought Reitzel the reputation of the best prose stylist in nineteenth-century German-America. There have been three previous scholarly investigations of Reitzel. Two attempt a description of the man and his journal, devoting approximately equal attention to his radical social tendencies, his reviews of literature, and his original composition. The third summarizes Reitzel's opinion of every author he mentioned in the course of 696 issues of "Der arme Teufel." Each of the three studies places particular emphasis on the charm of Reitzel's personality and the highly individualistic nature of his opinions. All give some attention to his discussions of literature, but none advances beyond a very basic assessment of Reitzel's writings. The present study aims to broaden the scholarly view of Robert Reitzel by examining his comments on literature as well as his original prose and evaluating them specifically in the context of German-American literature. In order to understand Reitzel in terms of his German-American environment, the character of German-American society as it existed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century must first be determined. Knowledge of the history of the German element in America is, however, incomplete. The first chapter of this study examines the literature on the history of the Germans in America in an attempt to ascertain what is presently known and to correlate the factual data of older works with the insights of more recent investigations into the history of immigration. The second chapter undertakes to describe German-American society as it existed in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and to place Robert Reitzel and "Der arme Teufel" in the environment thus defined. The remaining two chapters scrutinize Reitzel's literary activities more specifically. The third chapter examines the literary reviews which appeared in the "Arme Teufel" in order to determine the character of Reitzel's remarks as well as the depth of his perception, and the fourth chapter is devoted to the broader questions of Reitzel's artistic purpose and the stylistic means he employs to achieve his aims. The results of the entire study indicate that Robert Reitzel was probably unique in his generation, for in the columns of "Der arme Teufel" he developed a highly individualistic style which enabled him to introduce a basically conservative German-American audience to some of the finest examples of literary art, including works so new or controversial that they were available practically nowhere else. Moreover, he drew upon his experience as a German living in America in all that he wrote. Thus Reitzel's contributions to his journal did not exhibit the generally provincial, largely imitative character which frequently was the hall mark of German-American literature, and through his efforts "Der arme Teufel" became a truly original cultural product of the society created by the German immigrants to the United States. |
| Notes | UMI, printed in 1988. Book, in MadCat. |
| Call Number | MKI PT3919 R35 Z526 1976a; shelved with MKI dissertations |
| MKI Terms | Reitzel, Robert, 1849-1898/ Literary criticism/ Periodicals, German-American |