Jean Paul (Johann Paul Friedrich Richter)

born Wunsiedel, March 21, 1763; died Bayreuth, Nov 14, 1825

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German Romantic novelist and poet.

Jean Paul is best known for his humorous novels and stories, including Titan (1802), his unfinished Flegeljahre (1804), and also for his Vorschule der Aesthetik (1804, 2nd enlarged edn 1813).

Jean Paul and Schenker

Schenker cited the Vorschule der Aesthetik in his diary for the first time in 1911 (OJ 1/10, p. 130; also 142, 160, and many later occasions). He regarded him as a staunch upholder of Germanity, and listed him among the greatest German writers, as, for example, when in his "Von der Sendung des deutschen Genies" (The Mission of German Genius), the lead article of Der Tonwille, Heft 1 (1921), he criticized certain German intellectuals, "whose unprincipledness it served to make out a quintessentially German poet such as Goethe, Jean Paul, Hölderlin, etc., as just the opposite" (p. 5, Eng. trans. p. 6; also ibid p. 18/17–18). Schenker cited his works several times in the "Miscellany" sections of his periodicals.

Contributor:

  • Marko Deisinger, with Ian Bent

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Correspondence

  • OJ 6/5, [1] Handwritten double letter from Heinrich Schenker and Jenny Kornfeld to Moriz Violin, dated August 18, 1911

    Heinrich and Jenny Kornfeld are in the Sulden Valley, Tyrol. Heinrich writes about his planned refutation of the theories of Hugo Riemann and the need to establish his own theories in Germany; — and about separate accommodation arrangements for Jenny. Jenny writes more somberly about the coming autumn and its difficulties.

  • OJ 15/16, [22] Handwritten letter from Weisse to Schenker, dated July 7, 1914

    Weisse reports that he is engrossed in reading Jean-Paul, is resting, practising piano, and studying Brahms's Second Symphony.

  • WSLB 303 Handwritten letter from Schenker to Hertzka (UE), dated June 12, 1919

    Schenker promises to send Hans Weisse to see Hertzka. In reacting unfavorably to Hertzka's suggestions that the Foreword to Die letzten fünf Sonaten von Beethoven, Op. 111 be discarded for its second edition, Schenker puts up a stout defense of his use of polemic in his writings, contending that art, life, and politics are inextricably interconnected. He claims that his pronouncements on politics now will prove correct in the long run. His sole concern is with the truth; he is not interested in pandering to his readers.

  • OJ 10/1, [45] Handwritten letter from Dahms to Schenker, dated September 26, 1919

    Dahms responds to Schenker's letter (non-extant). He reflects on Prussian militarism. He declares that there is no such things as "military genius"; Germany was as guilty as the Entente Powers for the war; soldiers were treated as slaves by their officers, with Wilhelm II bearing the ultimate guilt. He rejects all political parties. England does not treat its people as Germany does. He believes only in the German spirit, which he regards as the spirit of the world. He cannot wait to leave Germany, and wants only to immerse himself in Schenker's work.

  • OJ 15/16, [42] Handwritten letter from Weisse to Schenker, dated July 11, 1920

    Weisse wishes Schenker an enjoyable summer holiday, and looks forward to visiting him. He inquires about the possibility of moving into Reisnerstraße 38, in the event that the Schenkers move elsewhere, and informs his teacher about the organization of a lecture series at the Vienna Urania. He concludes with some remarks about literary works, Wedekind's Schloß Wetterstein and Jean Paul's Levana.

  • OJ 15/16, [43] Handwritten letter from Weisse to Schenker, dated July 19, 1920

    Weisse reports his arrival for the summer in Ischl, and the grave illness that has befallen his grandfather there. He sends Schenker three excerpts from Jean Paul's review of Mme. de Staël's "On Germany" (1810), which he expects his teacher will find useful as cultural and political ammunition against the French.

  • OJ 8/4, [12] Handwritten postcard from Schenker to Moriz Violin, undated [June 17, 1922]

    Schenker explains why the "Miscellanea" is missing from Tonwille 2; he likens Hertzka's heavy-handedness to Prince Metternich's police-state tactics.

  • DLA 69.930/11 Handwritten letter from Schenker to Halm, dated November 2, 1922

    Schenker acknowledges receipt of two booklets on youth and the new republic, returns them, comments on them critically: idealistic German democrats desire maximal remuneration with minimal work; illustrates point by difficulties with maids in Schenker household; German democrats naively overestimate social and intellectual status of non-German commoners (French, British, American); Schenker decries cosmopolitanism and those Germans who advocate individuality at the expense of society; Schenker praises the fascists as countering communism and social leveling, compares Mussolini's Italy favorably with present-day Germany.

  • OJ 5/45, [3] Copy, in Jeanette Schenker's hand, of a letter from Schenker to Weisse, dated September 12, 1923

    Schenker explains his behavior a few days before, in reply to Weisse’s letter of September 7, and his implicit displeasure at his pupil's lengthy trip to Italy in the summer.

Diaries