A Debate on the Conflict Between Two Spheres of Influence in Tieck’s “Runenberg”

The story “Runenberg” was first released in 1802 and then again in 1812 as part of Tieck’s anthology of short stories. This book, which is omnisciently told in the third person, presents the reader with a conundrum and a sense of doubt regarding the veracity of the events described in the tale. Tieck was regarded as a leading figure in Romanticism and one of the first academics to exhibit sentimental zeal for pre-Renaissance German art. The story revolves around a young man named Christian who decides to abandon his family and pursue his dream of becoming a hunter rather than a peasant gardener like his father. Ultimately, he meets Der Fremde who tells Christian of a treasure to be found in the mountains. He wanders off with the stranger as promised by King of Gaia, a pagan figure. His father tries to stop him but to no avail (Tieck 1804, p.91). His family falls apart after he leaves. In fact, his father dies years later while Elisabeth (his wife) marries a cruel drunk. After years passed, he returns home only to find Elisabeth and his daughter whom did not recognize her. He was rejected and this made him devastated. Faced with grief, he returns to Waldweib (Tieck 1804, p.98). Tieck’s tale illustrates the topics of paganism, Christianity, dark grotto and solitude within the community. The paper seeks to explain how Tieck’s “Runenberg” deals with conflict between two spheres of magic and spiritual influence.

The key overtones noted in the article is a relationship Christianity and paganism. The narration is a representation of institutionalized aspects of spirituality. He aims to mystify readers through his blissful and unsettling way in which the story is set. Ludwig’s relationship with Christian denominations can be labelled as convoluted. Being a Lutheran, Tieck was attracted to Catholicism. This history and way of life is also reflected in Tieck’s Runenberg. The subsequent paragraphs further elaborates this issue.

Conflict and contrast can be related to the differing life that Christian lived; between seduction to sensual pleasure, search of Christian absolution and return to darkness of sensuality. He is caught between plants (Christianity) and stones (Paganism) and in the end he is trapped in the world of stone. The main conflict compares whether he succumbed to this despairing tragedy or did he realize his true Christian calling. He lost his chance of a happy life due his extraordinary life with an otherworldly goddess. More so, he choose mountains over his home and own free will. In the end, the demonic power overpowered him (Mahoney 2004, p.28).

The world of plants is depicted by his father’s devotion to the blossoming of young Elizabeth. In contrast, the world of stone is represented by Christian’s desire for the mountains and the beautiful figure in the mountains. Therefore, it is concluded that the world of stone is eternal and infinite. The use of nature in the article is a representation of a long process of spiritualization. Although Tieck appears to use Schelling’s model, Christian falls in finitude and contingency. Instead of a path of freedom, putrefaction and self-consciousness, he chooses to follow the eternity of stone. For him, all living nature are an enfeebling inorganic.

Another conflict is the heteronomous compulsion and resolution of religious imagery. Europe during the 18th and 19th century was founded on Christian belief. Myths of religion existed and they sought their belief in reason. Reason is not used to alter myths but rather to explain Christianity in reasonable terms. Similarly, Christianity and paganism is explained in this article due to its contrast between deism and non-belief. Deism is simply the belief for a single God.

The conflict deals with a push and pull between taming nature and being drawn to the mountains. The concept is an examination of interrelation between man, nature and supernatural elements. Much talks revolve around unnatural space, downward motion and magical potential. Apparently he goes into the caves and sees a beautiful woman who surprisingly dressed before him; singing songs related to precious stones and power. Later he falls asleep and when he remembers the Tafel that he left behind and begins to wander.

An important comparison on spiritual influence is derived from the distinction between the mountains and the plain, by use of religious imagery. This is illustrated by the overt religious imagery used in the story. For instance, he uses the unsubtly name, Christian. Another common explanation that can be related to spiritual influence is his acceptance of the supernatural. He makes use of visions, dreams and mythological beings. It shows acceptance magic and unnatural beings as shown in the possessing force that demonically inhabits Christian (Kern 92). More so, Christian grew in the plain and found it unbearable and therefore the felt the compulsion to repeatedly go in the woods. The textual oscillation between certainty and uncertainty seeks to establish a certain a certain philosophical or religious purpose. He demonstrates a certain understanding of religious dogma (Tieck 1804, p.70).

Tieck’s own personal belief is depicted in ”Runenberg.” He focused on a personal experience on divine intervention. He held the belief that restriction to ecclesiastical doctrines limits a personal confrontation with nature. His writings agree that that God’s true book nurtured an understanding of an all-engrossing spirituality. The narrative is a fictional representations of how Tieck is dissatisfied with the Orthodox way of life. This explanation is also bolstered by his association with Jena romantics and aesthetics-based religion. Specifically, Tieck’s tale is reflection monotheistic Judeo-Christian view of reality. He however questions Orthodoxy’s religious culture and beliefs that their practices are quite questionable.

There is a huge push and pull between Christianity and paganism in Tieck Runeberg’s article. First and foremost, the name Runenberg is aligned with paganism. The article states that Christian descends to hell to meet Waldweib and was seduced by riches buried in the earth (Tieck 1804, p.74). At the same time, he has a spiritual awakening in the church, a sanctuary associated with upward verticality and heavenward motion. More so, paganism and controversy is demonstrated in a rather Freudian manner as shown by Christian going into the mountain through the tunnel which leads him to his first sexual awakening. Waldweib is depicted a highly sexualized figure. However, Christian’s attempt to entertain sexual being is aborted and he magically finds himself outside and disoriented. The journey into the mountain and exit with the lessons learnt are described using allegory. For instance, the mountains and the experiences represent adolescence and sexual maturation. More so, venturing into the wilderness is forbidden to humans and it is considered as a taboo. The technical in conjunction of supernatural is illustrated by the riches, mystery and cultivated civilization.

Another central theme and problem facing any reader of this novel is the interpretation of mountain realm. Conflict between two spheres of influence arises when Christian chooses to believe in the supernatural happenings in the mountains as opposed to his local church. According to Tieck (1804), the mountains are associated daemonic and destructive forces that entice Christian to go insane. Equally, realm is represented in a higher world of poetry and fantasy especially in depicting reality and truth (Tieck 1804, p.84). There are radically differing readings that support this argument. As Christian tries to leave the lowlands for the mountains, he considers taking the responsibility to become a huntsman. As he went down this path, he feels rather lonely and afraid and therefore he considers uprooting a mandrake. In the process, a stranger appears and as they talk, the next he realizes is that he was reeling at the bottom of the Runenberg, where he usually goes to church. Also, his farm is prosperous for its abundance and therefore a stranger noted this unsurprising blessing. For that reason, she stops over to rest for a day. When she was leaving, she left with him for the mountains. Extreme intellectual uncertainty and magical influence is a key feature of Tieck’s ‘Runenberg.” After abandoning his family, Christian descends to madness and wanders to the mountains and cohabits with an ugly old woman whom he believes is beautiful. According to Christian, this ugly old woman is a beautiful creature. His family disagrees but Tieck does not give real evidence that this is what that really happens. At the end of the story, Christian argues that he found true happiness. More so, he argues that he found real communion with divine happenings that are found in the mountains, as opposed to his town church. The two spheres of influence is also elaborated by Christian’s conflict with himself regarding his dilemma between his farm life and mountain life. He struggles with madness and attempts to write off the tablet after his dream that did not come to reality.

Evil is an artifact about religion. When the woman gives this tablet to Christian, she says, ”Take this to remember me by (Tieck 1804, p.98).” More so, the gold that he gave to Christian is associated with evil. Notably, Christian describes the gold as ”blood-red.” This points out Tieck’s dimension of reality of body and blood. He seeks to pass the message that Christian’s communion with the mountains is a curse especially after he abandons his family.

In the first place, there is a clear apparitions that explains the use of mortals. The woman is described as strong, earnest and yet enraptured. Christian’s state of mind after seeing her was somewhat changed in an unnatural manner. It is related to biblical parallels and allusions. This tale is an interesting depiction of how we feel and other worldly encounters known to man since the beginning. There is also a state of uncertainty about the status of reality as shown from Tieck’s explanation of Christiana’s dream (Tieck 1804, p.87). Therefore, the reader does not know what is really going on make it an account of supernatural nature. More so, there are remarkable parallels and dissimilarity with typical elements that are usually shown in real life.

The ‘tablet’ is an item usually associated with demons, especially in ancient literature. It is usually used to either vanish or change something or someone. Also, in this case, the gold is depicted to have a sinister power, while the tablet is considered as a curse to Christian. The hero of the story is wasted because he is neither killed nor blessed, but rather, he is left with an encounter that changed his life forever.

Magic can be influenced by the mysterious woman and the strangers who posed as shape shifters. These supernatural beings are a further representation of two worlds; paganism and Christianity. Christian sees Maja which is a deceptive realm of a lien world. Also, a subterranean world with minerals and cold crystals is symbolic of otherworldly forces made described through mines and shafts. More so, a cold crystal world often describes visionary encounters. The subject of spirituality is also defined by Tieck’s use of metaphoric realism especially in his description of haunted places. He very well uses this tool in describing the archetypes in the dark forest. He uses realism to describe the character’s journey which sometimes gives the reader a cold shiver. For instance he notes: ”Let us go, that the shadows of the mountains may be soon outs of view… these torrents gurgling down into their caverns.” Not only does the mountain put Christian on a magic spell, but it is also elaborated to reflect a certain power over his family. It shows the reader how our lives are influence by hidden factors and strong uncontrolled forces (Tieck 1804, p.84).

Also, the subject of conflict and spiritual influence is symbolically represented by the misery he faces after abandoning his family. When he leaves, his family loses all the money, livestock continued to falter, crops withered, debtors failed to pay their debts, among other things. This is seen as another form of punishment on Christian leaving them. The belief or spiritual impact of Christian’s remarrying is perhaps a sort of punishment from God. Furthermore, in the tale, we can make sense of mystical forces and their influence on earth (Mahoney 2004, p.70). For instance, the story helps us learn about the secrets of the mountains and the ‘dark forest.’ It makes us imagine the kind of rituals that may have taken place in the mountain. It is also related to the biblical description of mountains as sanctuaries. Tieck’s ”Runenberg” is usually misunderstood by critics because they pick out one point from the story and ignores another. The tablet can still be a representative of the dream object. That is, the whole story could exist somewhere between dreams and reality. It therefore goes without saying that if Christian found happiness in the mountains away from Western religion, perhaps it quite apparent that true selfhood can be found away from religion. Too much reliance is put to religion; which should not be the case according to Mahoney (2004, p.90)

The crags of mountains are depicted to evoke fear. The mountain is a realm of Christian’s death wish. This can also be interpreted as his a symbol of Christian’s unconsciousness before meeting the woman in the mountain. Otherworldly experience is seen to happen somewhere between inner and outer works of reality. This article by Runenberg is a paradox as it influences the reader both psychologically and objectively. This paragraph illustrates how the subject of magic is explained in the document. After Christian completed the story, the stranger points to the magic mountain of Runes and he referred it to a place where you could discover constant wonders and find ancient friends. In the central narrative, Tieck masterfully blends mysterious mineral world with sexual imagery. During the twilight of the moon, Christian finds his way to Runenberg where he watches through a window. There he sees a majestic woman undressing in a crystalline hall. The young hunter is later handed a magic stone tablet with gem tablets arranged in a wondrous shape. Magic is illustrated when he touches the tablet. An incomprehensible formation of jewels penetrate him make his whole apparition disappear. This leaves Christian stumbling down the mountain leaving him in a state of mental and physical exhaustion.

The two spheres of influence is also explained by contrasting wilderness and civilization, and its relation with the spirit of ancient mineral realm. This is strengthened by juxtaposition of the two different women that he met. One of them undresses before Christian while he was in the Rune Mountain. She is described as a woman of supernatural beauty; with long wavy hair and limbs so powerful that they appeared to be curved out of a marble. The other woman is the one that he met in church when he reached the safety of the Christian community (Mahoney 2004, p.90). The woman was described as slender and blond and her blue eyes represented pervasive gentleness. This contrast is symbolic for the subject under discussion; Paganism v Christianity.

Conclusion

The paper is a discussion of how Tieck interprets his fairy tale and the ambivalent symbols that discuss spiritual influence of his writings. There a number of views about how the book uses mysticism, Christianity and paganism. Spiritual influence is perfected by competence, character, courage, consideration and more importantly communication. In this case, women are depicted as components of spiritual influence and their impact are noted in Tieck’s Ruenberg. A large portion of the review discusses conflict between two spiritual influence; Paganism and Christianity.

References

Mahoney, D. F. (2004). The literature of German romanticism. Rochester, NY, Camden House.

Tieck, L. (1804). The Runenberg. Tieck’s collection of tales Phantasus (Part 1).