Cassandra is most famous in Greek mythology for possessing the gift of prophecy but this unique gift came with one problem: no one ever believes her true predictions. This was a wonderful and multi-layered retelling of the Trojan War through the eyes of Cassandra, the seer cursed to have no one believe her prophecies. The way the the author depicts the madness and visions did not help. Uncommonly good collectible and rare books from uncommonly good booksellers May 1st 1988 I have a distinct memory of first translating the Agamemnon and how difficult Aeschylus’s Greek is to unpack. All the familiar characters and key actions are remembered. Christa Wolf’s novel about the aftermath of the Trojan War begins with the titular protagonist awaiting her execution. End of World War II (1945)-- use of… Translation of: Kassandra and Voraussetzungen einer Erzählung Cassandra -- Conditions of a narrative : Cassandra. But as I'd never read anything on the subject before, I just thought, what the heck, give it a go. 1980 Neuerzählung durch Christa Wolf Christa Wolfs When she predicts the future her friends and family treat her as nothing more than a babbling and a raving mad woman. As an East German citizen, she’s one of the few privileged to be able to travel outside of the DDR and the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War. Her best-known novels included “Der geteilte Himmel” (“Divided Heaven,” 1963), addressing the divisions of Germany, and “Kassandra” (“Cassandra,” 1983), which depicted the Trojan War. Kassandra, an album by Christa Wolf on Spotify We and our partners use cookies to personalize your experience, to show you ads based on your interests, and for measurement and analytics purposes. Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays by Christa Wolf, translated by Jan Van Heurck, presents the fall of Troy and its aftermath through the first-person point of view of Cassandra, a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, the king and queen of Troy. Fascinated she pursued Fascinated she pursued Cassandra, the daughter of the Trojan King Priam and his wife Hecuba, a priestess who had to sacrifice her virginity and who could foresee the future but whose foretelling nobody would believe. The belief that Troy won't fall helps to dupe the Trojans into bringing the famous gift horse inside the city's walls. While I admit the book is an interesting look and study on the re-imagining of a character, as a piece of fiction it fails in many ways. Here's a good summary of this book: "the ramblings of a disorganized mind". Welcome back. Start by marking “Cassandra: A Novel and Four Essays” as Want to Read: Error rating book. Can there be spoilers about the matter of Troy? Free shipping for many products! This was a lesson plan I developed for Christa Wolf's novella Cassandra, which I was tasked with teaching during a graduate course on Greek Tragedy and its Legacy. Konflikte mit Machthabern Kassandra sieht wirklichen Verhältnisse der Gegenwart → Kerker Veränderung von Kassandra→ Unabhängigkeit Männer zu mächtig → keine Durchsetzung mehr möglich griechischer Mythos aus Antike um 1200 v. Chr. “I had gone back to being myself. Removing this book will also remove your associated ratings, reviews, and reading sessions. If I'm honest, it doesn't really interest me. She finds herself spending time in the forest in a kind of utopian/feminist/egalitarian community where people have created a space between all of the killing and dying. When she predicts the future her friends and family treat her as nothi. Can there be spoilers in a book about a Woman who could see the future but was never believed? Her encounter with Cassandra began as she begins to read Aeschylus’s ‘Oresteia’ upon waiting for her flight to Greece at Berlin Schoenefeld airport. Christa Wolf hat ihre eigene Kassandra erfunden, an einem unbestimmten Ort zu einer unbestimmten Zeit: eine am Ende gescheiterte Heldin, die sich gegen die Gewalt der Diktatur und die Macht der Männer auflehnt, nur ihrer eigenen Überzeugung verpflichtet. In this telling, Cassandra transforms from a privileged and unaware royal daughter to rebellious witness who refuses to go along with the false rhetoric of war that her own family is perpetrating. But my self did not exist,”, “I did not like the thing in me which he had been able to seduce.”, Alternative cover for earlier printing with same ISBN, A Speculative Fiction Expert’s Year of Escapist Reading. The story has no over-arching structure, more a series of random thoughts and anecdotes loosely linked together by a time period. So many thought-provoking sentences and passages - will definitely reread this one. I've read most of the essays, which I found interesting. Home » Germany » Christa Wolf » Kassandra (Cassandra). Written as a result of the author's Greek travels and studies, Published Kupte knihu Kassandra (Christa Wolf) s 15 % slevou za 241 Kč v ověřeném obchodě. Christa Wolf’s Cassandra Background: Wolf published Cassandra in 1983, one of the tensest years of the Cold War. The novel itself is gripping, and it alone probably would have been five stars from me. Christa Wolf's stream-of-consciousness account of the mythological Cassandra, imprisoned and waiting to be executed by the vengeful Clytemnestra, is a fascinating study of an ancient world, of patriarchy, and of a universal humanity. The story is incredible and moving and is a perfect example of good literature that is very political in some ways. "Cassandra" is a re-imagining of the Trojan War, as recounted by King Priam's daughter, Cassandra, a priestess whose destiny is to be able to predict the future, but never to be believed. Cassandra is most famous in Greek mythology for possessing the gift of prophecy but this unique gift came with one problem: no one ever believes her true predictions. Her best-known novels included “Der geteilte Himmel” (“Divided Heaven,” 1963), addressing the divisions of Germany, and “Kassandra” (“Cassandra,” 1983), which depicted the Trojan War. Mythos und Recht, Poetik und Politik in Christa Wolfs Kassandra-Projekt (Cold War, Gendered: Myth and Law, Poetics and Politics in Christa Wolf's Kassandra Project) (October 31, 2019). she deals with issues of allegiances / truth / speaking truth to power that is probably not too far from wolf's historical context and maybe that's why wolf fell for her so fast. Phenomenally speaks on themes of privilege, complicity, and the police state that resonate very strongly today, in addition to giving a unique and female twist to the mythology. So I'm leaving this unfinished. In this volume, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf retells the story of the fall of Troy, but from the point of view of the woman whose visionary powers earned her contempt and scorn. ... on the composition of Kassandra, Wolf’s acquaintance with Girard pos tdates the . A … The essays attempt to give a reader an insight into the author's working process, but these fail too for much the same reason: they don't necessarily show the reader how the author developed her novella, and also have no definitive s. While I admit the book is an interesting look and study on the re-imagining of a character, as a piece of fiction it fails in many ways. As a citizen of East Germany and a committed socialist, Christa Wolf managed to keep a critical distance from the communist regime. tbh idk if you needed all of them there. ), Krise(n) der Moderne. Abstract: Novel retells the story of the fall of Troy from Cassandra's point of view. User-contributed reviews This is so difficult to get through, and I have the balls to say that it's the writer's fault for not writing it well. The brief novel is accompanied by four essays that show the author traveling to Greece to do research, then returning to East Berlin to mull over what a woman's voice should say to a male-centric civilization hell bent on destruction, regardless of whether anyone listens. This paper argues that, while broad continuities in Wolf's concerns are obvious, the shift from monologue in Kassandra to a polyphony of voices in Medea is symptomatic of subtle, yet important shifts in her approach to myth and her understanding of history. I loved the imaginative language of this novel and Cassandra's perspective on her own struggles and mistakes. ngl, i didn't Really finish the book bc i didn't get through all of wolf's essays. To see what your friends thought of this book, Because we're so well-acquainted with those characters and their relationships to the gods, their motivations and the lessons learned from the destruction of Troy, for me the novel was the least interesting part of the book. [ since despite Wollstoncraft's best efforts I remain unreformed, [ and one really has to be careful not to catch one's horns on the low ceilings, [ which foolishly I didn't make a note of, "Cassandra" is a re-imagining of the Trojan War, as recounted by King Priam's daughter, Cassandra, a priestess whose destiny is to be able to predict the future, but never to be believed. Kassandra is een roman uit 1983 van de Duitse schrijfster Christa Wolf.De roman gaat over de Trojaanse Oorlog geschreven vanuit het perspectief van de mythologische figuur Cassandra.. Volgens Wolf is het idee voor Kassandra per toeval ontstaan, tijdens een reis naar Griekenland.Wolf woonde destijds in de Duitse Democratische Republiek en had als een van de weinige DDR-auteurs de … It has since been translated into a number of languages. I'm not the biggest lover of historical fiction, especially going this far back in time, and although I admired Wolf's writing and her feminist, antiwar message here, Greek mythology isn't something that I'm likely to return to any time soon. [Christa Wolf; Jan van Heurck] -- 'Cassandra is fierce and feverish poetry that engages with the ancient stories while also charting its own path. What she gives us as answer is this book made up of a historical novel and 4 essays about the character and her aspects as woman and myth. I'm less impressed with the narrative, which is nowhere near as good as Medea. ?Cassandra, Cassandra da? Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. She finds herself spending time in the forest in a kind of utopian/feminist/egalitarian community where people have created a space between all of the killing and dying. I see merit in fragmented scenes and stream-of-consciousness writing, but had this not been required of me to read, I would've burnt it. A difficult and different book. An important book for the consideration of how women are represented in literature (and culture at large). Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of. Less easy than Medea, I had to struggle with a dense prose and a unchronologic and sometimes eerie narrative. Skipped the essays, I’m sure they’re great, but personally, I don’t need, nor want to read the genesis of how the story came about. die Vergessenen voneinander wissen. Kerine Wint is a software engineering graduate with more love for books than for computers. Get this from a library! [ that she couldn't continue to love him if he is going to become a 'hero' and a survivor-at-all-costs which she equates with the faction who have taken power and made her father the King a puppet. Kassandra (Audio Download): Christa Wolf, Christa Wolf, Der Audio Verlag: Amazon.com.au: Audible Social, political events and upheavals all around the world in the early 1980’s led authors to be sensitive about these issues and to contribute with their works. It is an interesting look at politics and creation. Mit ihrem Ringen um Autonomie legt sie Zeugnis ab von weiblicher Erfahrung in der Geschichte. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for KASSANDRA By Christa Wolf at the best online prices at eBay! ?Christa Wolf, Voraussetzungen einer Erz?hlung: Kassandra Forgotten people know about each other. there's also always a lot to be said abt cassandra as the ultimate figure for women who aren't listened to. Cassandra (German: Kassandra) is a 1983 novel by the German author Christa Wolf. by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Adapted from the novel by Christa Wolf and set against the backdrop of the mythological story of Trojan War, Kassandra tells the timeless story of the struggle between men and women, the will of the masses and the individual and the destructive force of war, where in the end she chooses autonomy over life. Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law & International Law (MPIL) Research Paper No. A priestess of Apollo, she asks the god for the gift of prophecy, which he grants, but when she refuses his advances he punishes her by ordaining that her prophecies won't be bel. In Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, Cassandra says that she agreed to have sex with the God Apollo in exchange for the gift of prophecy, but when she went back on her promise and refused the Sun God’s advances, Apollo made sure that her prophecies would never be believed. another one i largely abandoned during the quarter and didn't finish until now—essays were better than the novel because the novel is all ideas, & the ideas are more compellingly and urgently expressed in the essays. Reviews. . Complete summary of Christa Wolf's The Quest for Christa T.. eNotes plot summaries cover all the significant action of The Quest for Christa T.. I'm not the biggest lover of historical fiction, especially going this far back in time, and although I admired Wolf's writing and her feminist, antiwar message here, Greek mythology isn't something that I'm likely to return to any time soon. A priestess of Apollo, she asks the god for the gift of prophecy, which he grants, but when she refuses his advances he punishes her by ordaining that her prophecies won't be believed, though they're always correct. Wolf's story of Cassandra draws on several different veins of the Troy myth as well as references the Cold War. also had no idea the eighties felt so apocalyptic. While the narrative style of the novel is not my favorite style, the story does eventually become engrossing. As an East German citizen, she’s one of the few privileged to be able to travel outside of the DDR and the Iron Curtain at the height of the Cold War. Kassandra by Christa Wolf, Christa Wolf, C. Wolf, 1984, Farrar, Straus, Giroux edition, in English With music streaming on Deezer you can discover more than 56 million tracks, create your own playlists, and share your favourite tracks with your friends. Last Reviewed on June 19, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Her encounter with Cassandra began as she begins to read Aeschylus’s ‘Oresteia’ upon waiting for her flight to Greece at Berlin Schoenefeld airport. In 1980, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf took a trip to Greece along with her husband, Gerhard. it's pretty apocalyptic right now too but no one is so grave about it. Mit dem antiken Stoff ist die DDR-Gegenwart der Autorin Christa Wolf verflochten: Ob es um den Aufbau eines Spitzelsystems, um das Wettrüsten oder um Kriegspropaganda geht, stets schimmert der Ost-West-Konflikt durch. Christa Wolf hüpft in den Zeiten umher aber das macht nichts, denn so fügt sich die Geschichte langsam zusammen und es passt auch, da Kassandra ja kurz vorm Sterben ist und sich nochmals an alles erinnert, was sie erlebt hat. Published August 18th 2008 by Suhrkamp (first published 1983. It has since been translated into a number of languages. there's also always a lot t. ngl, i didn't Really finish the book bc i didn't get through all of wolf's essays. When Christa Wolf's Medea: Stimmen appeared in 1996, some critics accused the work of being little more than a pale repetition of the earlier Kassandra project. In the process she explores women's relationship to the ‘Word'—that is, to language in general, and to the religious myths and histories which have defined women and their place in society. The story has no over-arching structure, more a series of random thoughts and anecdotes loosely linked together by a time period. Cassandra. This text is an imaginative repositioning of the classical tragic figure Cassandra. Christa Wolf tells us this book began with a question: Who was Cassandra before anyone wrote about her? Yes, it's confusing for the first 30 pages or so but as the puzzle pieces start to slide together, you'll quickly see that it's definitely worth it. "Kassandra and the Wolf by Karapanou, Margarita " In this telling, Cassandra transforms from a privileged and unaware royal daughter to rebellious witness who refuses to go along with the false rhetoric of war that her own family is perpetrating. In Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, Cassandra says that she agreed to have sex with the God Apollo in exchange for the gift of prophecy, but when she went back on her promise and refused the Sun God’s advances, Apollo made sure that her prophecies would never be believed. Christa Wolf deconstructs and reconstructs the Cassandra myth in a work which combines novel, travel writing, lectures and letters to a friend. Christa Wolf: Kassandra (Cassandra) Wolf’s novel is a retelling of the story of Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam of Troy and his wife, Hecuba, who was granted the gift of prophecy by Apollo because of her beauty but, when she would not return his love, he spat in her mouth, which resulted in no-one believing her prophecies. As we know, the Iliad calls her the loveliest daughter of Priam, king of Troy. 2019-21, Kempter and Engelbrecht (eds. i love her. the part i really enjoyed (n was here for in the first place) was the 'novel': cassandra's monologue in her final living hours, reflecting on her life / the war in troy. In the time since I have read the essays, though that has taken a good deal of time. tbh idk if you needed all of them there. Christa Wolf has written an excellent book that deals with the issues of the East/West German divide in an Ancient Greek setting. Außerdem zeigt es die Rolle der Frau als Objekt und wie Kassandra mit dieser Rolle umgeht! Christa Wolf has written an excellent book that deals with the issues of the East/West German divide in an Ancient Greek setting. Her best-known novels included “Der geteilte Himmel” (“Divided Heaven,” 1963), addressing the divisions of Germany, and “Kassandra” (“Cassandra,” 1983), which depicted the Trojan War. The novel tells this old story through Cassandra. It is told in a stream-of-consciousness style as Cassandra is held prisoner in Mycenae. As an avid reader, writer, and fan of all things... To see what your friends thought of this book. Swiss composer Michael Jarrell has adapted the novel for speaker and instrumental ensemble, and his piece has been performed frequently. Find Kassandra by Wolf, Christa at Biblio. the part i really enjoyed (n was here for in the first place) was the 'novel': cassandra's monologue in her final living hours, reflecting on her life / the war in troy. Während Kassandra, die Seherin, auf dem Beutewagen des Agamemnon sitzt, überdenkt sie noch einmal ihr Leben. The travel report continues, and the trail is followed ; 3. From a Women's Studies point-of-view, this novel has a multitude of well-known female 'characters' from Greek mythology and Wolf has many new takes on what are considered the core facts of these myths. Deeply moved by the novel part of this book. Although Wolf's archaeological understanding of myth and the problems this raises remain unchanged, the focus has shifted from the … Responsibility: by Christa Wolf ; translated from the German by Jan van Heurck. Share - "Kassandra and the Wolf by Karapanou, Margarita ". The rest, as they say.... After Troy has been sacked, we learn from Aeschylus's The Oresteia that Cassandra's taken by Agamemnon back to Argos as part of his spoils from the war. Those years during which peace was the most popular topic,but when two super powers were seemingly in a competition of armament were the years of highest risk of a third world war. There have been delays. This work deals with the well known story of the Trojan War but through the first person viewpoint of Cassandra, the most famous of the Trojan royal family's many daughters, who was doomed to prophecy the fall of the city but to never be believed. Novelist, short-story writer, essayist, critic, journalist, and film dramatist Christa Wolf was a citizen of East Germany and a committed socialist, and managed to keep a critical distance from the communist regime. please sign up There is a definite feminist slant to the retelling and I liked the emphasis on the lives of those left behind and those sacrificed in the name of the great "heroes" but the book didn't altogether work for me, mainly due to the style of writing, I think. This edition includes four essay that give depth and feeling to the novel. Novelist, short-story writer, essayist, critic, journalist, and film dramatist Christa Wolf was a citizen of East Germany and a committed socialist, and managed to keep a critical distance from the communist regime. The essays attempt to give a reader an insight into the author's working process, but these fail too for much the same reason: they don't necessarily show the reader how the author developed her novella, and also have no definitive structure in the writing. According to Greek mythology, Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo after she promised to become his consort. She wrote in her accompanying essay, “Before Cassandra opens her mouth we have learned: The war against Troy is over.” And furthermore, “Whose side is Aeschylus on, really?”. she deals with issues of allegiances / truth / speaking truth to power that is probably not too far from wolf's historical context and maybe that's why wolf fell for her so fast. 1. Refresh and try again. My oh my. But the parts in the narrative in which Cassandra is speaking were a nice break because oftentimes she just rants and raves; the various “oi” and “oimoi” noises she makes are a welcome respite from the complex grammatical structures of Aeschylus’s sentences. We’d love your help. The selected item is out of stock. I expected to find the Cassandra narrative more interesting than the non-fiction commentary, but was surprised. Listen to Kassandra by Christa Wolf on Deezer. During a trip to Greece with her husband in the early 1980s, Christa Wolf (1929-2011) began reading Aeschylus The Oresteia during a flight delay. If I'm honest, it doesn't really. Filled with passionate and startling insight into human nature.' Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. It is told in a stream-of-consciousness style as Cassandra is held prisoner in Mycenae and she pieces together what has happened in the lead up to the fall of Troy. Christa Wolf tells us this book began with a question: Who was Cassandra before anyone wrote about her? male propaganda, but Christa Wolf intends her rea ders to r ecognise, through the . I read, skimmed, and skipped ahead, so a page number is difficult to identify. Prolistujte stránky knihy, přečtěte si recenze čtenářů, nechte si doporučit … Travel report, about the accidental surfacing and gradual fabrication of a literary personage ; 2. The story is incredible and moving and is a perfe. As we know, the Iliad calls her the loveliest daughter of Priam, king of Troy. This text is an imaginative repositioning of the classical tragic figure Cassandra. Be the first to ask a question about Cassandra. Kassandra by Christa Wolf, Christa Wolf, C. Wolf, unknown edition, At the same time, it’s fascinating to read the certainty with which Wolf asserts an irreconcilable double-Germany less than a decade before the collapse of The Wall. In Kassandra greift Christa Wolf auf einen Mythos des abendländischen Patriarchats zurück, den Trojanischen Krieg. It is below, under the line break. In 1982 she was awarded a guest lectureship at the University of Frankfurt, where in May she delivered a series of five "Lectures on Poetics" relating to her Greek travels and studies. What she gives us as answer is this book made up of a historical novel and 4 essays about the character and her aspects as woman and myth. Abandoning two books in one day? ‘Cassandra’ is the second Christa Wolf novel that I decided to read for Christa Wolf week which is part of this year’s German Literature Month. Kassandra beruht auf der Geschichte der trojanischen Königstocher, von der Aischylos in der Orestie berichtet. Rather disappointed after her other works that I've read. Word Count: 269. By using our website and our services, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy . She wrote in her accompanying essay, “Before Cassandra opens her mouth we have learned, In 1980, the distinguished East German writer Christa Wolf took a trip to Greece along with her husband, Gerhard.