Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig

After reaching to finishing line of Wolf Hall and recently completing The Luminaries, I wanted a break. I wanted to read a classic, perhaps something of its time rather than a pastiche of a much-loved era.

Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig with its ill-fated Austrian author and its historical context seemed like the perfect book for me - plus I had watched Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel earlier in the week.

The foreword by Nicholas Lezard in this particular edition was the perfect introduction to the book and supplied much hype to the story - which by the way is encased by a frame narration (one of the things Wes Andersson borrowed for his film). 

The story itself is a tale of emotional blackmail and provides so much ammo for a Freud/Nietzsche workshop I could hear the literary theory critics jumping with glee.

Hofmiller, a young cavalry officer, makes a social faux-pas when he is invited to the mansion of a rich estate-owner. He upsets the disabled daughter of his host by asking her to dance and a series of events unfold which ‘ties’ the young man to the family.

The book is a story of agency, military indoctrination and a satire on the social protocols of the time. There are some farcical treats in Stefan Zweig writing which had me laughing and pointed to why Wes Andersson was attracted to the author’s work.

However, I must say I found the character of Edith, the “crippled”* daughter, very annoying.

One of the things I detest in any literature from a bygone era is hysterical female characters – you know the type who faint, cry, shriek or tremble and can’t pull themselves out of their emotional dilemma and basically get a grip.

Unfortunately Edith in her melodramatic ways did quite a lot of this which promoted me to commit the cardinal sin of skipping some pages until she had left the scene.

The Translater’s Afterword although was very interesting and provided an interesting reflection on Beware of Pity’s historical relevance. 

*I also don’t like the use of the word “crippled” to describe characters who are in some way handicapped.