Gustav Meyrink: biography, creativity, film adaptations of works

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One of the most famous writers at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries - Gustav Meyrink. Expressionist and translator, who received worldwide recognition thanks to the novel "The Golem". Many researchers rightly call it one of the first bestsellers of the 20th century.

Childhood and youth

The future great writer was born in Vienna in 1868. His father, Minister Carl von Hemmingen, was not married to actress Maria Meyer, so Gustav was born illegitimate. By the way, Meyer is his real name, he took the pseudonym Meyrink later.

Biographers note an interesting detail: the expressionist writer was born on January 19 on the same day as the famous American mystic author, American Edgar Allan Poe. They have played similar roles in their countries' literary history.

Gustav Meyrink spent his childhood with his mother. Being an actress, she often went on tour, so his childhood was spent in constant traveling. I had to study in several cities - Hamburg, Munich, Prague. Meyrink's researchers note that the relationship with the mother was cool. That is why, according to many literary critics, demonic female images were so popular in his work.

Prague period

In 1883 Meyrink came to Prague. Here he graduated from the Trade Academy and received the profession of a banker. In this city, Gustav Meyrink spent two decades, repeatedly depicting him in his works. Prague is not only a background for him, but also one of the main characters in several novels, for example, The Golem, Walpurgis Night, West Window Angel.

Here, one of the key events in the writer's life took place, biographers note. Details about him can be found in the story "The Pilot", published after his death. In 1892, Meyrink tried to commit suicide, experiencing a deep spiritual crisis. He climbed onto the table, picked up a pistol and was about to shoot, when someone slipped a small book under the door - "Life after death." At that time, he refused to try to part with his life. In general, mystical coincidences played a big role both in his life and in his works.

Meyrink became interested in studying Theosophy, Kabbalism, the mystical teachings of the East, and practiced yoga. The latter helped him cope not only with spiritual, but also with physical problems. The writer suffered from back pain all his life.

Banking

In 1889, Gustav Meyrink took up finance in earnest. Together with his partner Christian Morgenstern, he founded the Mayer and Morgenstern bank. At first, things were going uphill, but the writer did not work too hard in banking, paying more attention to the life of a social dandy.

The origin of the writer was repeatedly pointed out, because of this, he even fought a duel with one officer. In 1892, he married, almost immediately became disillusioned with marriage, but divorced only in 1905 due to legal delays and the persistence of his wife.

The fact that the banking business is developing very badly, it became apparent in 1902, when Meyrink was prosecuted for the use of spiritualism and witchcraft in banking operations. He spent almost 3 months in prison. The accusations were recognized as slander, but this case still had a negative impact on his financial career.

At the beginning of the literary path

Meyrink began his creative career in 1903 with short satirical stories. They already showed an interest in mysticism. During this period, Gustav actively collaborated with the Prague neo-romantics. In the spring, his first book, The Hot Soldier and Other Stories, is published, and a little later, a collection of short stories, Orchid. Strange Stories.

In 1905 he made a second marriage - with Philomina Bernt. They travel, start publishing a satirical magazine. In 1908, the third collection of short stories, Wax Figures, was published. It is not possible to feed the family with literary work, so Meyrink starts translating. In a short period he manages to translate 5 volumes of Charles Dickens. Meyrink is engaged in translations until the end of his life, including paying great attention to the occulttexts.

Roman "The Golem"

In 1915, the author's most famous novel, The Golem, was published. Meyrink immediately receives European fame. The work is based on the legend of a Jewish rabbi who created a clay monster and brought it to life with the help of Kabbalistic texts.

The action takes place in Prague. The narrator, whose name remains unknown, somehow finds the hat of a certain Athanasius Pernath. After that, the hero begins to have strange dreams, as if he is the same Pernath. He is trying to find the owner of the headgear. As a result, he learns that this is a stone cutter and restorer who lived many years ago in Prague, in the Jewish ghetto.

The novel was a resounding success around the world, leaving a record circulation of 100,000 copies at the time. The popularity of the work was not hindered even by the First World War that broke out at that time, and the fact that works that did not praise weapons were not successful in Austria-Hungary at that time.

From German into Russian "Golem" was translated by the famous Soviet translator David Vygodsky in the 20-30s.

The first resounding success provided Meyrink with the popularity of subsequent novels, but they were not released in such a large circulation. "Green Face" was released in 40 thousand copies.

Success in movies

After the release of the novel "The Golem", adaptations of Meyrink's books became popular. The first to transfer this topic to the big screen was the German film director PaulWegener in 1915. It is worth noting that only the original legend connects them with Meyrink's novel. Although it is possible that it was this book that inspired the cinematographer. The role of the Golem was played by Wegener himself. As a result, he created a whole trilogy about the clay man. In 1917, the painting "The Golem and the Dancer", and in 1920 "The Golem: How He Came into the World". Unfortunately, the very first film is still considered lost. Only about 4 minutes of an hour of screen time survived. But thanks to Wegener, the Golem has become a recognizable cinematic icon.

The adaptations of Meyrink's books don't stop there. In 1936, the film "Golem" was released in Czechoslovakia. Meyrink praised the work of director Julien Duvivier. In 1967, the novel was filmed almost verbatim by the French director Jean Kershborn. In 1979, Polish cinematographer Piotr Shulkin turned to the same topic.

"Green Face" and "Walpurgis Night"

On the wave of success, several more works by such an author as Gustav Meyrink are coming out: "The Green Face" and "Walpurgis Night". In the third novel of the Austrian impressionist, the action again takes place in Prague, during the First World War. "Walpurgis Night" is written in a grotesque form, it again has a lot of mysticism, esotericism. The author is ironic about the Austrian burghers and officials.

In the center of the story are two pairs of characters. The imperial physician with his mistress, a prostitute who fell into poverty, and the young musician Ottakar,in love with the niece of Countess Zahradka, whose illegitimate son he himself is.

The main action takes place on Walpurgis Night, when, according to legend, the usual rules cease to operate, the door between our world and the other world opens a little. With the help of this metaphor, Gustav Meyrink, whose biography is closely connected with the First World War, tries to explain all the horrors of war and future revolutions.

The climax is a bloody battle, as if descended from the canvases of the Hussite wars. Later, the researchers considered "Walpurgis Night" as a kind of warning. The fact is that exactly one year later, nationalist uprisings took place in Prague, which were severely suppressed by the imperial army.

In Russia, "Walpurgis Night" became popular back in the 20s. Many literary scholars even believe that Archibald Archibaldovich from Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, the director of the Griboedov's house restaurant, is written off from Mr. Bzdinke, the owner of the Green Frog tavern near Meyrink.

Meyrink's novels

In 1921, Meyrink publishes the novel The White Dominican, which did not receive wide success with the public, and in 1927 he released his last major work, The Angel of the West Window. At first, critics reacted coldly to him, the translation into Russian appeared only in 1992 thanks to Vladimir Kryukov.

The action of the novel unfolds simultaneously in several semantic layers. Before us is Vienna in the 1920s. The central character of the story is a follower and descendant of John Dee, who really existedWelsh scientist and alchemist of the 16th century. The writings of an ancestor fall into his hands. Their reading is interspersed with important events in the protagonist's personal life. All this is symbolic and correlates with the biography of John Dee himself.

Influence of Russian literature is felt in this novel. Some characters go back to the characters of Dostoevsky and Andrei Bely.

Signs of Meyrink style

Features of Meyrink's style can be clearly seen in his latest novel. In its center is the alchemical symbol of sacred marriage. There are two beginnings - male and female, which seek to reunite into a single whole in the main character. All this is reminiscent of the teachings of Carl Jung on the psychoanalytic interpretation of the symbolism of the alchemists. The work contains a large number of references to alchemy, cabalism and tantric teachings.

Death of a writer

Gustav Meyrink, whose books are still popular, has passed away at the age of 64. His death is closely connected with the tragedy of his son Fortunatus. In the winter of 1932, a 24-year-old young man was seriously injured while skiing and was confined to a wheelchair for life. The young man could not bear it and committed suicide. At the same age that his father tried to do it, but Meyrink Sr. was then saved by a mysterious brochure.

The writer outlived his son by about 6 months. On December 4, 1932, he died suddenly. It happened in the small Bavarian town of Starnberg. They buried him next to his son. On the grave of Meyrink there is a white tombstone with an inscription in Latin vivo, which means"live".

Meyrink was banned in Russia for a long time, especially during the Soviet era. After the collapse of the USSR, most of his works were translated into Russian and published.