Title: Uncertain Sound: On the Writing of Sound in Kleist’s Tale “Das Bettelweib von Locarno”

Abstract: This paper examines the representation of sound in Heinrich von Kleist’s Novelle “The Beggar Woman of Locarno,” a work by the prominent German author around the year 1800, and explores the paradoxical experiences and the questioning of reality contained in the Novelle. The inexplicable recurrence of sounds in the Novelle seemingly embodies the will of the old woman, enacting a successful act of revenge on the Marquis. However, this sound, oscillating between clarity and ambiguity, reality and illusion, reflects a chaotic unpredictable world of contingency. By weaving the enigma of this violent and incomprehensible sound, this Novelle reveals the author’s reflections on the existential predicament faced by individuals after the concept of reality has been questioned.

Keywords:: Heinrich von Kleist, “Das Bettelweib von Locarno,” sound, existential predicament

Author: Juexu Chen, Ph.D. Candidate, Foreign Studies College, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, China.

DOI: 10.19967/j.cnki.flc.2024.03.003