'Effi Briest' by Theodore Fontane

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews the novel 'Effi Briest' by Theodore Fontane, a poignant portrait of 19th century Prussian society. According to the paper, the novel highlights the conflict between the social selves of Effi Briest and Innstetten, and the roles they feel they are forced to play in a repressive 19th century society.

From the Paper:

"Her marriage's cruel reality is very different from the romantic tales she spun as a child. This illustrates how false constructions encouraged in the minds of young girls to shield them from the truth of marriage. Before marrying, Effi thinks mainly of her trousseau, not the potential stresses of a new life away from her home. "Effi in front of the wing at the work-table on which the pile of linen and underwear constantly grew," thinks of clothes, not of her husband. (10) But Innstetten is not the dashing officer he was when he courted Effi's mother. Rather, he has become a workaholic. Life has changed him and coarsened him, making him more focused on money, pride, ambition, and principles. He is more interested in what society thinks of his union than how his wife feels. Also, his desire for marriage has a great deal to do with his career ambitions. He chose Effi partly because he assumes that she is like her mother, the woman he fell in love with many years ago. He cannot see Effi for herself, as she truly is as a human being.
Innstetten is not a bad man, nor uncouth, as another character describes him, he is not a "careerist, he's not that, he's too dignified for that, but he's ambitious for promotion." (25) His ambition has much to do with his desire for social esteem and correctness as it does with money. But there is little to do for Effi in his hometown Kessin, especially as in her eyes her older husband seems cold and reserved, preoccupied with things she can little understand."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Fontane, Theodore. Effi Briest. Originally Published 1895. New York: Penguin Classics, 2001.

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