Opposites attract, but when it concerns a marriage of opposites, the question is how long the partners can manage to stay together. "Irretrievable" (Unwiederbringlich) is the story of such a failed marriage, by Theodor Fontane, one of Germany’s greatest novelists. Fontane shows deftly how a couple can slowly drift apart, until one day they find themselves in a situation from which there is no return, although they never wished for this alienation. And then the husband takes a step from which there really is no way back...
The novel takes place in the years 1859-1861 in Holstein (today the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany), which at that time was a Duchy governed by Denmark – it would after a short war be incorporated into Prussia in 1866. The fact that Holstein is part of Denmark means that the protagonist Count Helmuth Holk also has to serve at the Danish court in Copenhagen.
The novel takes place in the years 1859-1861 in Holstein (today the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of Germany), which at that time was a Duchy governed by Denmark – it would after a short war be incorporated into Prussia in 1866. The fact that Holstein is part of Denmark means that the protagonist Count Helmuth Holk also has to serve at the Danish court in Copenhagen.
[Flensburger Fjord]
Count Helmuth Holk and his wife Christine live with their two children in a lonely but beautiful castle on the Flensburg Fjord (the westernmost inlet of the Baltic Sea, forming part of the border between Germany to the south and Denmark to the north), a house they have built themselves. Christine is portrayed as a pious woman of high moral standards, but Holk as a rather fun-loving man, who, although he admires his wife, also suffers under her strictness. Fontane shows how their marriage is slowly falling apart as they have less and less in common. Holk wants to invest in an agricultural enterprise on his estate, but his wife wants to use the same money for building a mausoleum, demonstrating how much she is occupied already by concern for the next world. They also differ about the education of their children, Christine wants them to go to strict boarding schools, Helmuth wants to continue educating them at home.
As happens every year, Holk is summoned to the Danish court for a few months, to serve the Danish princess. In contrast to previous stays in the Danish capital, his mission this time becomes a danger to his marriage. In the past, the temporary separation always led to a reawakening of love between Christine and Holk, but this time, in the various women Holk meets in Copenhagen, he only sees qualities he admires and which are lacking in his wife. The reason is of course that husband and wife have already drifted apart. At first, the seductive Brigitte Hansen, the daughter of his landlady, attracts his attention, but soon after that he meets the young and intelligent companion of the princess, Ebba von Rosenberg, who flirts violently with him.
At the end of the year, the group around the Danish princess spends a few weeks at Frederiksborg Castle. First a skating expedition of Holk and Ebba ends in a dangerous situation, as they are too infatuated with each other to watch the quality of the ice; next, when they do indeed spend the night together (if you correctly interpret the suggestions by Fontane), a devastating fire happens to break out in the castle. Holk can save Ebba, but their dramatic flight together over the castle roof becomes the object of countless rumors.
Holk decides to divorce his wife and marry Ebba. He returns impulsively home to tell his wife, without having talked the matter over with Elba. The self-righteousness attitude of Christine tips the balance and the couple decides to separate. Back in Copenhagen, however, Ebba just laughs at Holk’s marriage proposal: she was not serious and although the term “one night stand” still had to be invented, has only flirted with him – the serious country squire has completely misunderstood the playful attitude of the worldly court lady.
As happens every year, Holk is summoned to the Danish court for a few months, to serve the Danish princess. In contrast to previous stays in the Danish capital, his mission this time becomes a danger to his marriage. In the past, the temporary separation always led to a reawakening of love between Christine and Holk, but this time, in the various women Holk meets in Copenhagen, he only sees qualities he admires and which are lacking in his wife. The reason is of course that husband and wife have already drifted apart. At first, the seductive Brigitte Hansen, the daughter of his landlady, attracts his attention, but soon after that he meets the young and intelligent companion of the princess, Ebba von Rosenberg, who flirts violently with him.
At the end of the year, the group around the Danish princess spends a few weeks at Frederiksborg Castle. First a skating expedition of Holk and Ebba ends in a dangerous situation, as they are too infatuated with each other to watch the quality of the ice; next, when they do indeed spend the night together (if you correctly interpret the suggestions by Fontane), a devastating fire happens to break out in the castle. Holk can save Ebba, but their dramatic flight together over the castle roof becomes the object of countless rumors.
Holk decides to divorce his wife and marry Ebba. He returns impulsively home to tell his wife, without having talked the matter over with Elba. The self-righteousness attitude of Christine tips the balance and the couple decides to separate. Back in Copenhagen, however, Ebba just laughs at Holk’s marriage proposal: she was not serious and although the term “one night stand” still had to be invented, has only flirted with him – the serious country squire has completely misunderstood the playful attitude of the worldly court lady.
[Frederiksborg Castle]
Holk is exposed to social ridicule and leaves on a long trip. Finally, his brother-in-law convinces him to remarry Christine and, surprisingly, a second wedding is celebrated, but as we already suspected, the couple cannot return to the original “status quo.” Too much has happened, not only Holk’s infidelity, but also their drifting apart, to make a way back possible. Love has been irretrievably lost. A few months after the apparent reconciliation, Christine commits suicide by drowning herself in the sea.
Like Effi Briest, Irretrievable is a nuanced novel, told in the characters’ own words and through their conversations (as well as through what they don’t say). Fontane shows how they turn their back not only on each other but also on their own true feelings, until the situation of the marriage has indeed become “irretrievable.”