Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane

First published: 1895 (English translation, 1914)

Type of work: Novel

Type of plot: Domestic realism

Time of plot: Second half of the nineteenth century

Locale: Germany

Principal characters

• Effi von Briest, the only child of the Briest family
• Frau von Briest, her mother
• Ritterschaftsrat von Briest, her father
• Baron von Innstetten, Effi’s husband and a government official in Kessin
• Annie, Effi’s daughter
• Major von Crampas, the district commander in Kessin
• Roswitha, Effi’s maid

The Story:

Effi von Briest is sixteen years old when her mother cheerfully announces that Baron von Innstetten has asked for her hand in marriage. Effi had seen Innstetten only once, but she knows he had wanted to marry her mother years before. During a time when Baron von Innstetten was absent for a long period, her mother married Effi’s father, Ritterschaftsrat von Briest, for he seemed too good a match to give up. Since then Innstetten has become a government official with a promising future.

Half an hour earlier, Effi was sitting on a swing enjoying her happy childhood. Now she is to be a bride, and in a few weeks, she will be the wife of an important government official. After the excitement of the preparations, the wedding, and a honeymoon trip to Italy, the couple arrives in Kessin, a small town on the Baltic Sea. At first, Effi finds her new surroundings interesting, but soon she begins to feel uncomfortable in the strange house, which was formerly owned by a seafaring captain; his relics and souvenirs give the place a bizarre character. A stuffed shark, stories about the captain’s mysterious Chinese servant, and a mentally ill maidservant, who sits in the kitchen with a black chicken on her lap, give Effi nightmares, and she claims that she hears noises in an unoccupied upstairs room. Innstetten is considerate toward his young wife and never fails to show his devotion. A practical man, however, he pays no attention to Effi’s tales of supernatural happenings in the house. He is convinced that his wife’s childish imagination will soon calm down.

After having paid the obligatory social visits to the local aristocracy, Effi realizes that she will not find friends in that circle. The first friend she makes is the town apothecary. Her second friend is Roswitha, her maid, whom she meets in the graveyard where the girl is grieving for the loss of her former mistress. Effi is pregnant and needs a maid. Once she learns that Roswitha is Catholic, she is convinced that Roswitha’s faith will conquer the unexplained noises in the house. Roswitha never hears ghosts, and her straightforward manner is a relief from the formal stiffness of Effi’s social world. The birth of her daughter, Annie, gives Effi new activities, but she continues to be bored in Kessin.

The new military commander in Kessin, Major von Crampas, is another addition to Effi’s social world. The major’s carefree behavior and witty conversation are quite a contrast to the well-disciplined and formal Innstetten, but the two men respect each other and become friends. Crampas often visits the Innstetten home, and he and Effi ride horses along the seashore and participate in community plays. Effi soon realizes the danger of this situation and tries to avoid him. During a sleigh ride, Crampas oversteps the boundaries of friendship.

One day, Innstetten informs Effi that he has been promoted to a new post in a Berlin ministry, a position that will take them to Berlin. Effi is happy to leave the strange house, the boring people, and above all Crampas, for their relationship, although they keep it secret, increasingly burdens her conscience. Innstetten notices Effi’s great joy when he tells her about the transfer to Berlin, and he feels guilty for not having considered leaving sooner.

In Berlin, Innstetten makes a special effort to provide her with a cheerful house and an enjoyable social life. Though Innstetten’s duties at the ministry keep them from spending much time together, the years in Berlin are happy ones until Effi is sent to a spa at Ems to recuperate after an illness. Innstetten and Annie remain in Berlin. One day, when Annie falls and cuts her forehead, Roswitha searches through Effi’s belongings to find a bandage. When Innstetten thereupon tries to restore order in Effi’s room, he finds a bundle of love letters from Crampas, written six years earlier. Innstetten does what he considers his duty regardless of his personal feelings: He calls a friend to make the necessary arrangements for a duel with Crampas. Although his friend points out that the letters are more than six years old, Innstetten, who would prefer to pardon Effi, decides to go through with the duel because he feels the insult to his honor is not diminished by time. The two men fight near Kessin, and Crampas is fatally shot.

While these events take place, Effi is still in the Rhine country, wondering why Innstetten’s daily letters have ceased. Finally, a letter from her mother informs her of the duel and of the pending divorce. Innstetten is given custody of Annie. The Briest family is willing to assist Effi financially, but it refuses to allow her to return home. Heartbroken, she goes back to Berlin, where she lives in a small apartment, a social outcast. Only Roswitha remains faithful to her.

Effi’s health declines. Once she accidentally sees Annie leaving school, but she avoids meeting the child. Finally, moved by a desire to see her daughter again, Effi requests legal permission to have Annie visit her. When Annie arrives at the apartment, however, she gives only evasive and well-rehearsed answers. Discouraged, Effi sends the child home without the hope of seeing her again. Soon after this, Effi’s health declines severely. Her doctor reports her condition to her parents, hinting that their continued rejection could mean her death. When she is finally permitted to return home, her health does improve. Aside from her parents and the local minister, however, Effi has no friends or social intercourse. Roswitha, concerned for her mistress’s loneliness, writes to Innstetten asking him to give Effi the family dog. Innstetten is glad to fulfill her desire. He is extremely successful in the ministry, but none of his promotions lessens the pain in his heart, for he still loves Effi.

After a beautiful summer at her parents’ home, Effi dies. In her last conversation with her mother, she asks Frau von Briest to tell Innstetten that he did the only correct thing possible for him. She wants to die as Effi Briest, for she did not honor her married name.

Bibliography

Chambers, Helen. The Changing Image of Theodor Fontane. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1997. Chambers charts the critical reception of Fontane’s work from contemporary reviews published when his work first appeared through critical pieces published in the 1990’s. She focuses on criticism published since 1980, including feminist and psychoanalytic interpretations of his work. Includes a chapter on Fontane and the realistic novel, as well as notes and a bibliography.

Craig, Gordon Alexander. Theodor Fontane: Literature and History in the Bismarck Reich. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Craig places Fontane within the context of historical events, authors, and the literature published in nineteenth century Prussia. The book contains chapters on the historical novels and the novels of society, as well as a bibliography and index.

Doebeling, Marion, ed. New Approaches to Theodor Fontane: Cultural Codes in Flux. New York: Camden House, 2000. Eight essays examine Fontane’s realist approach to literature and explore the difficulty and ultimate impossibility of a true mirroring of realism. Includes bibliography and index.

Greenberg, Valerie D. “The Resistance of Effi Briest: An (Un)told Tale.” PMLA 103, no. 5 (October, 1988): 770-782. A revisionist interpretation of the novel as Effi’s struggle for liberation. A close reading of Effi’s last remarks to her mother reveals that each point can be read in opposition to its surface meaning.

Subiotto, Frances M. “The Ghost in Effi Briest.” Forum for Modern Language Studies 21 (1985): 137-150. Analyzes the ghost as a metaphor for all that is absent: suitable living quarters, action, love, and opportunities for women in Prussian society. Sees Effi Briest as a paradigm of the solitary state of the individual.

Tucker, Brian. “Performing Boredom in Effi Briest: On the Effects of Narrative Speed.” German Quarterly 80, no. 2 (Spring, 2007): 185-200. Argues that when Fontane depicts boredom in the novel, he imposes boredom upon the reader by deliberately slowing the pace of the narrative.

Turner, David. “Theodor Fontane: Effi Briest.” In The Monster in the Mirror, edited by D. A. Williams. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978. Examines Effi Briest in the context of contemporary European literature. Discusses what makes Fontane’s treatment of the subject matter realistic, as well as his accurate detail and skillful use of leitmotifs and symbols.

Wansink, Susan. Female Victims and Oppressors in Novels by Theodor Fontane and François Mauriac. New York: Peter Lang, 1998. An interesting combination of literary and cultural criticism. Situates Fontane in his time while also reading Effi Briest and other novels as complex studies of the interaction between characters and societal norms. Includes notes and bibliography.

Zwiebel, William L. Theodor Fontane. New York: Twayne, 1992. Contains a concise summary of important critical observations on the genesis of Effi Briest, the four narrative sections, the role of predestination, Fontane’s criticism of Prussian society, and the function of the ghost.