The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge
Encyclopedia
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge was Rainer Maria Rilke
's only novel
. It was written while Rilke lived in Paris
, and was published in 1910
. The novel is semi-autobiographical, and is written in an expressionistic
style. The work was inspired by Sigbjørn Obstfelder
's work A Priest's Diary and Jens Peter Jacobsen
's second novel Niels Lyhne of 1880, which traces the fate of an atheist in a merciless world. The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge addresses existential
themes - the quest for individuality, the significance of death, and reflection on the experience of time as death approaches. Heavily influenced by the writings of Nietzsche
, Rilke also incorporated the impressionistic techniques of artists such as Rodin
and Cézanne
. Using these techniques, Rilke conjures up images of the industrial revolution
and the age of scientific progress that are suffused with anxiety and alienation.
The book was first issued in English under the title Journal of My Other Self.
Rainer Maria Rilke
René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke , better known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was a Bohemian–Austrian poet. He is considered one of the most significant poets in the German language...
's only novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
. It was written while Rilke lived in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and was published in 1910
1910 in literature
The year 1910 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*April - Halley's comet reappears , and Mark Twain dies on April 21, 1910, the day following the comet's perihelion. In his biography, Twain had written, "I came in with Halley's comet in 1835. It's coming again...
. The novel is semi-autobiographical, and is written in an expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
style. The work was inspired by Sigbjørn Obstfelder
Sigbjørn Obstfelder
Sigbjørn Obstfelder , was a Norwegian writer.Primarily known as a writer of poetry, Obstfelder's debut collection of poems from 1893, Digte , is usually credited as one of the earliest examples of modernism in Norwegian literature...
's work A Priest's Diary and Jens Peter Jacobsen
Jens Peter Jacobsen
Jens Peter Jacobsen was a Danish novelist, poet, and scientist, in Denmark often just written as "J. P. Jacobsen" and pronounced "I. P. Jacobsen"...
's second novel Niels Lyhne of 1880, which traces the fate of an atheist in a merciless world. The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge addresses existential
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
themes - the quest for individuality, the significance of death, and reflection on the experience of time as death approaches. Heavily influenced by the writings of Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
, Rilke also incorporated the impressionistic techniques of artists such as Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
and Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
. Using these techniques, Rilke conjures up images of the industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
and the age of scientific progress that are suffused with anxiety and alienation.
The book was first issued in English under the title Journal of My Other Self.
See also
- Le Mondes 100 Books of the CenturyLe Monde's 100 Books of the CenturyThe 100 Books of the Century is a grading of the books considered as the hundred best of the 20th century, drawn up in the spring of 1999 through a poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde....