The Rudolf Steiner Archive

3. On the Mystery in Goethe’s Riddle Fairy Tales in “Conversations of German Emigrants”

Article in the “Chronik des Wiener Goethe-Vereins” dated December 15, 1891

Goethe Evening

[ 1 ] On this day, Dr. Rudolf Steiner (who is currently working on the publication of a selection of Goethe’s scientific writings for the major Weimar Goethe Edition at the Goethe Archive in Weimar) gave a lecture on “The Mystery in Goethe’s Riddle Fairy Tales in Conversations of German Emigrants.”

[ 2 ] Following a brief introduction by the speaker on the relationship between the “fairy tale” and the narrative of which it forms the conclusion, and a reference to the fact that Goethe’s worldview and philosophy of life are symbolically represented in it, Miss Adrienne Kola of the Imperial and Royal Hofburg Theater recited the “fairy tale” in a truly artistic manner, so that despite the simplicity inherent in this rendition, not only the mysterious, mystical thread running through the entire piece but also the numerous individual highlights to which the performance rises were perfectly conveyed. One could tell from Miss Kola’s recitation where one should particularly direct one’s attention when interpreting the “Fairy Tale.”

[ 3 ] Dr. Steiner then concluded his reflections with a recitation. The “fairy tale” presents, in Goethe’s style, the solution to the very same problem that Schiller also attempted to address in his Letters on the Aesthetic Education of Man at that time: How does a human being, governed by the laws of nature and sensory existence, attain that highest state in which he can partake of full, unrestricted freedom? Schiller undertook to solve this problem through philosophical inquiry, while Goethe presented it in a vivid image imbued with rich poetic content. The blissful state that a human being will attain when full freedom is his own is presented to us as the marriage of a young man to the beautiful lily, the queen of the realm of freedom. The young man reigns, endowed with the three highest gifts that can belong to a human being: wisdom, piety, and strength. The temple from which he governs the new realm rises above a river that, before that highest human goal is attained, separates the realm of freedom from that of natural necessity, sensual desire, and passion. This river represents the state, custom, law, and justice—which prevent those not yet prepared for freedom from seizing it before they can understand and make use of it. Only at certain moments is it possible for a person to set foot in that longed-for land. At noon, when the green serpent coils across the river and serves as a bridge, and in the evening, at twilight, when the shadow of a great giant stretches across the river. The serpent represents human selflessness and self-denial. Only in those moments when all selfish desires fall silent, when a person selflessly loses himself in the objective world, is he worthy of freedom and also partakes of it. Opposite the snake are the so-called will-o’-the-wisps. They feed on gold, that is, (in the “fairy tale”) the symbol of wisdom. But they cannot digest it and cast it aside again as worthless metal. The will-o’-the-wisps are the symbol of human self-centeredness, which turns into selfishness and accepts the gold of wisdom not for the sake of wisdom itself, but only to shine and flaunt it. This refers to false prophets, demagogues, and teachers who lack a genuine love of knowledge. From their mouths, wisdom is an empty, meaningless phrase. But even when perceived as such by a receptive mind, it becomes imbued with inner life and leads to the highest culture. The gold that the will-o’-the-wisps cast out is consumed by the serpent and makes its body glow, so that in the space it now illuminates, the light of the highest knowledge—symbolized by the old man with the lamp—also shines. Only where receptivity is shown toward this light—that is, in a space where another light already exists—does it shine. The giant represents blind arbitrariness, the raw force of nature, which does not lead people into the realm of freedom through its own value and efficacy, but through those means that happen to join them by chance, without any inner necessity. This element, bestowed upon man solely by external natural force, is symbolized by the shadow—which man, after all, does not cast upon himself. When the time comes—that is, when man has realized that he must not merely renounce himself for a moment, but that selflessness must become his true nature and essence—then a state of complete bliss will dawn. Then the serpent will not merely lie across the river for a brief time, but will sacrifice itself and form a lasting bridge from the realm of nature to that of freedom. The travelers now move freely back and forth; that is, they move equally well in both realms; they ennoble their natural inclinations through freedom, and they perform acts of freedom as if they were to occur by the force of nature. Thus, a state of humanity is attained that Schiller sought to achieve through the realization of his aesthetic society.

[ 4 ] During the lecture, Dr. Steiner, with the permission of Prof. Dr. Suphans, director of the Goethe and Schiller Archive, shared three interpretations of the “fairy tale” held in that archive, which originated from Goethe’s circle of friends and were recorded by the poet himself in 1816.