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Re: Werther and Verne

From: Ralf Tauchmann <ralf.tauchmann~at~t-online.de>
Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 16:30:28 +0100
To: jvf~at~math.technion.ac.il

Christian Sánchez schrieb:
> I'm reading "The Sorrows of the Young Werther" by Goethe and I reached this
> paragraph:
>
> 'My grandmother used to tell me the story of the magnetic mountain: the ships
> that came too close suddenly lost every piece of metal: the nails flew
> toward the mountain, and the unfortunate men sank among the planks that
> crumbled.'
>
> This fragment made me recall the magnetic mountain of "Le Sphinx des glaces"
> (A Mystery at the Antarctic Ices).
>
> So did Verne read "Werther"? Did he work the magnetic mountain out
> independently? Or was the story known by everyone?
>
> Regards,
>
> Christian Sánchez
> chvsanchez~at~arnet.com.ar
> Rosario, Argentina

Dear Christian,

This is the original German wording of the passage you quote:

"Meine Großmutter hatte ein Märchen vom Magnetenberg. Die Schiffe, die zu nahe
kamen, wurden auf einmal alles Eisenwerks beraubt, die Nägel flogen dem Berge
zu, und die armen Elenden scheiterten zwischen den übereinanderstürzenden
Brettern."

Although Goethe is quoted by Verne e.g. in "Captain Grant", it is more likely
that the two authors know the magnetic mountain from a common source : the
Thousand and One Nights (in English better known as the Arabian Nights). The
first European translation (1704-1717) was the French one by Antoine Galland and
started a strong orientalism movement in the Occident. Most (if not all) of the
European translations in the 18th century (Werther is largely autobiographic)
were based on the French text. The magnetic mountain (in German: "Magnetberg" -
1838-65 translation) is the "Black Mountain" in the English translation (by
Andrew Lang, 1841, available in the Gutenberg library). Here is the passage:

"Story of the Third Calendar, Son of a King"

...

"At noon next day, as the pilot had foretold, we were so near to the
Black Mountain that we saw all the nails and iron fly out of the ships
and dash themselves against the mountain with a horrible noise.
A moment after the vessels fell asunder and sank, the crews with them.
I alone managed to grasp a floating plank, and was driven ashore
by the wind, without even a scratch..."

Kind regards

Ralf Tauchmann
(Radebeul, Germany)
Received on Mon 13 Dec 1999 - 17:32:31 IST

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