The Withered Ones

Weiss, Ernst, 1882-1940Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 48K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Die Verdorrten by Ernst WeissAuthor: Weiss, Ernst, 1882-1940,Language: German, Class: PT: Language and Literatures: Germanic, Scandinavian, and Icelandic literatures, Release Date: Dec 19, 2010

Editor's review

Die Verdorrten is a novella by the German-born writer Ernst Weiss, and this edition is the original German text, released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. Weiss first studied medicine before turning to literature, and his works often dissect, in an unsparing manner, the psychology and fate of individuals under duress; this novella likewise continues his attention to the darker side of human nature. The story revolves around figures who have been "withered" by life; the narration is restrained yet full of tension, with descriptions of setting interwoven with interior monologue, creating an oppressive atmosphere that nonetheless invites reflection. For readers who want to encounter a non-mainstream voice in early twentieth-century German-language literature, this short work is a good entry point: it lacks the dramatic plotting of some contemporary works, but it excels in the density of mood and symbol. Readers are advised not to rush after plot but to attend to the pauses in dialogue and to details of description; read alongside Weiss's biography and the German-language literary context of the time, the symptoms of the age in his writing become more apparent. Because it is the original German text, some command of German is needed beforehand, or one easily gets lost in the long sentences.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers with intermediate to advanced German reading ability who want to encounter original German-language literature
Researchers interested in early twentieth-century German fiction and psychological depiction
Literature lovers who enjoy short works with an oppressive atmosphere and serious themes

Not a good fit for

Beginning learners with weak German who cannot read the original text smoothly
General readers who prefer light entertainment or strong-plot, fast-paced stories
Beginners who need systematic literary-historical annotation and detailed introductions

Reading tips

First read through without worrying about full comprehension, grasping the character relationships and overall atmosphere, then go back to close-read key passages.
Keep pen and paper at hand to note recurring images and character actions; they are the clues to understanding the theme of "withering."
While reading, consult Weiss's biography and the early twentieth-century German literary context to help situate the work historically.
If German reading proves difficult, first consult a reliable translation for comparison, then return to the original to appreciate its linguistic rhythm.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book the original German text? What level of German is needed?

This is the original German text released by Project Gutenberg, with no Chinese annotation or translation. A German reading ability of at least B2 is recommended, sufficient to handle long sentences and literary expression; for beginners the difficulty is considerable, and it is better to start with a translation to grasp the content.

Is Die Verdorrten suitable for a literature course assignment?

It can serve as supplementary reading for early twentieth-century German short fiction, especially for discussing psychological depiction and symbolic technique. But this is a public-domain e-book without scholarly annotation or introduction; if the assignment requires detailed background material, you will need to supplement it with relevant literary histories and studies of the author.

Why is this book described as having an "oppressive atmosphere"?

Weiss's narratives often focus on the spiritual exhaustion of characters in adversity; the language is restrained, the scenes bleak, and the plot advances slowly and heavily. This oppressiveness comes from a sustained gaze at the darker side of human nature and the symptoms of the age, not from gore or horror, and suits readers who can accept a serious literary register.

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About the author

Weiss, Ernst, 1882-1940 Author · Austrian · 1882–1940

Ernst Weiss (1882–1940) was an Austrian writer born in Brno. His representative work is Die Verdorrten, and he also wrote The Rowing Boat and The Witness. His life was closely bound up with the upheavals of early twentieth-century Central Europe; during the Nazi period he was forced into exile and finally took his own life in Paris in 1940. Because public information is limited, the details of his life are difficult to set out at length, but his surviving works suggest a focus on the predicament and fate of individuals amid drastic historical change, written in the introspective and austere vein characteristic of Central European modern literature. Though his output was small, Weiss left a distinctive mark through his portrayal of marginal human states, and his exile and early death have come to epitomize the fate of intellectuals in that era.