SOURCE: "The Allure of Beauty in Stifter's Brigitta," in Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. LXXXI, No. 1, January, 1982, pp. 47-54.

In the following excerpt, Sjögren explores themes of aesthetics and eroticism in "Brigitta."

Stifter's "Brigitta," which appeared first in 1844, and was revised for inclusion in the Studien of 1847, introduces the problem of beauty and ugliness in the first sentences, with the observation that in human relationships there are mysteries, such as the charismatic attraction of certain individuals not necessarily beautiful. Thereafter, this theme is temporarily replaced by the theme of character development and ethical achievement, as Stephan Murai, Brigitta, and the narrator all strive after the "Ziel" of self-fulfillment through service to land and countrymen. The interplay and conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical forces lend this tale its peculiar tension and opacity.

Halfway through the narrative, in a flashback introducing the child Brigitta, the...