A "real" novel. The framework consists of a man who meets the main character, who was a hero in the first world war. The time is 1937, and both the outer narrator & the main character believe that war is coming. They leave a party together and the main character tells his story to the outer narrator (I don't know what else to call him), who claims responsibility for casting the story into a coherent narrative and then the vast majority of the book is the story told by the main character. It is a sad story, about how he was a young man touched by pity for a crippled girl, and was drawn into actions & relationships he didn't choose & didn't know how to handle because of the pity that he felt for her & her family. It also talks a lot about how an individual has difficulty standing against the dominant ideas of his cultural group. The main character takes responsibility for his failings, but maybe the doctor was asking too much of such a young & unformed man. It is very well done.

"Beware of Pity" opens with a definition of the two types of pity:

“One, the weak and sentimental kind, which is really no more than the heart’s impatience to be rid as quickly as possible of the painful emotion aroused by the sight of another’s unhappiness, that pity which is not compassion, but only an instinctive desire to fortify one’s own soul against the sufferings of another; and the other, the only kind that counts, the unsentimental but creative kind, which knows what it is about and is determined to hold out, in patience and forbearance, to the very limit of its strength and even beyond.”

Illustrating this premise is perhaps the main theme of the story. I was immediately drawn into this novel, published in 1939; the only novel to be written by Zweig. It is suffused with modern psychological analyses – the pitfalls of unguarded emotions, misdirected sympathy, manipulation, obsession, love and shame.

It tells the story of a 25 year old Austro-Hungarian soldier who is drawn into a supportive relationship with a partially crippled 17 year old. However, the girl become enamoured with the soldier and so proceeds a story of unrequited love. The protagonist is pulled into her dysfunctional family unit and falls prey to their expectations and manipulations. What he sees as mainly a dutiful task, driven by pity for the girl, gets him ensnared into an ever-tightening noose of unwanted commitment. The novel travels at a suspenseful pace and is full of character sketches that contrast, highlight and contribute the protagonist’s dilemma.

Despite the modern themes, there is a formality, an old-fashioned Victorian manner to speech, and frequent references to God and Duty that are absent in the modern novel form. This aspect of the novel started to irritate me about one third of the way through, until I realized the era in which it was written. Because of its modern themes, I was thrown off by this dated formality. Unlike the novels of the nineteenth century which focus on exterior events, "Beware of Pity" deals with inner turmoil and the psychic conflict that the characters, particularly the protagonist, face throughout.

Many examples of self-sacrificing behaviour of the other characters are laid before the protagonist, who is often tormented and obsessed by his actions. The protagonist’s behaviour is particularly contrasted with the measured empathetic, morally superior behaviour of the doctor.

“The man whose pity had not, like mine, been murderous weakness but selfless, self-sacrificing strength; the only man who could judge me, the only man before whom I need to feel ashamed”.

A striking and perhaps dating aspect of the story is the partially paralysed character of Edith, who is portrayed as a hysterical, coddled and manipulative teenager. I just wanted to shake her and wished that she displayed more compassion and ‘inner turmoil’ for her own behaviour toward her family and friends. Annoying, but perhaps a stereotypical view of the upper class female at that time in history. Bring on the smelling salts.

There is so much to analyse, contemplate and cogitate over in this wonderful story. It is hard to believe that it slid into relative obscurity over the next 70 years or so. Highly recommended and not to be missed. ( )

http://www.thehouseofblogs.com/Cultur... ( )

I came to this book with some trepidation, firstly because it looked rather long and dense (long is fine, but long and dense maybe not) and secondly because the topic of a mistaken love affair is not really up my street. However, it was the January choice of my book group, so I had to read it. Within a few pages I was hooked. The novel, set in the Austro-Hungarian empire in the early part of the 20th century, tells the story of a young second lieutenant who finds himself embroiled in a relationship with a partly paralysed 17 year old girl. Her family encourage the relationship and it is only when it is too late that he discovers the girl's love for him and also the impossibility of breaking her heart at a time she is about to embark on a new course of medical treatment, so she can get better "just for him". The novel is not just about love, it is about obsession, guilt, and the way the expectations of others can so easily dominate our choices so that we act as others expect us rather than as we want to. It is interesting to view this story in the light of modern assertiveness training, because all the way through the reader can see that Toni, the young officer, is subjugating his own needs for the needs of someone to whom he has no obligations whatsoever - he is in fact ruled only by her fantasies and the expectations of her father and sister.

The novel is remarkably suspenseful because the plot unfolds gradually and at each stage the reader cringes as the net of this sick love slowly ensnares him. It is full of strong characters: the doctor who treats the young woman and slowly enveigles Toni in her treatment regime; the old brutal colonel who turns out to be more wise than the other characters; the girls father who's whole life is a quest for his daughter's well-being. Different aspects of these characters are revealed as the novel slowly travels towards its inevitable conclusion and each one has a unique role in the ensnarement and ultimate release of the young officer.

The novel is beautifully produced by Pushkin press - the clear typeface, fine paper and strong cover makes this a pleasure to read. Alas, this is Zweig's only novel and I was left thirsting for more from this fine writer. ( )