Goethe,
Johann Wolfgang von. Wilhelm
Meister’s Apprenticeship. 1796.
Trans. Eric Blackall. New York: Suhrkamp, 1989. Quotation from
book 4, chapter
13, pp. 145-6
"'Just
to think clearly
about this young man, this son of a prince,' Wilhelm went on to
say. 'Visualize
his position, and observe him when he learns that his father's
spirit is
abroad. Stand by him when, in that terrible night, the venerable
ghost appears
before his eyes. He is overcome by intense horror, speaks to the
spirit, sees
it beckon him, follows, and hears-the terrible accusation of his
uncle
continues to ring in his ears, with its challenge to seek
revenge, and that
repeated urgent cry: 'Remember me!' </p. 145> <p.
146>
'And
when the ghost has vanished,
what do we see standing before us? A young hero thirsting for
revenge? A prince
by birth, happy to be charged with unseating the usurper of his
throne? Not at
all! Amazement and sadness descend on this lonely spirit; he
becomes bitter at
the smiling villains, swears not to forget his departed father,
and ends with a
heavy sigh: "The time is out of joint; O cursed spite! That ever
I was
born to set it right!"
'In
these words, so I believe,
lies the key to Hamlet's whole behavior, and it is clear to me
what Shakespeare
has set out to portray: a heavy deed placed on a soul which is
not adequate to
cope with it. And it is in this sense that I find the whole play
constructed.
An oak tree planted in a precious pot which should only have
held delicate
flowers. The roots spread out, the vessel is shattered.
'A
fine, pure, noble and highly
moral person, but devoid of that emotional strength that
characterizes a hero,
goes to pieces beneath a burden that it can neither support nor
cast off. Every
obligation is sacred to him, but this one is too heavy. The
impossible is
demanded of him-not the impossible in any absolute sense, but
what is
impossible for him. How he twists and turns, trembles, advances
and retreats,
always being reminded, always reminding himself, and finally
almost losing sight
of his goal, yet without ever regaining happiness!'"