Beware of Pity (1938)

Before the First World War, Hofmiller, a young Austrian officer from a modest background, finds himself stationed in a town where he knows few people. He scores an invitation to the home of the richest local family and, at the end of the evening, realises he has not spent time with their attractive daughter, Edith. He invites her to dance, but realises – to everyone’s horror – that she is sitting in a wheelchair and can’t even stand. The worst faux pas imaginable, and he flees. But he is given another chance, which he eagerly accepts. To be nice he starts spending more and more time with the family, focusing on Edith, keeping her company – keeping himself company too. Relationships seem almost balanced at first. She’s sweet, if a bit over-eager for his attention. It is the father, though, who compels Hofmiller to involve himself more, to help find treatment for her condition, to lie to her about its effectiveness, to let her believe she has a chance of recovery. It’s all, of course, in the name of keeping her happy. Hofmiller’s eagerness to please, Edith’s father’s eagerness to please – beyond what is practical or real – subtly becomes a ticking bomb of anxiety. Where it naturally leads is to Hofmiller’s proposal of marriage. A good soldier, he will do everything he can. Devastation everywhere. ( )

the story of a young woman who is a paraplegic as the result of a horse riding accident. and she come to know an officer who has cheered her up after she have been depressed after she knew that she has no hope for her recovery.......
very sad story ( )

The more I read Zweig the more I like his writings. This particular one is a great novel I think. It has a strange beginning- strange because the narrative of the first few pages is ignored in the rest of the novel. It starts as a conversation that a character has with what he thought was a war hero (hero of Austrian army in the 1st world war). The "hero" starts narrating his story and that takes the rest of the book- Zweig never returns to the original character who listened to the story. Kind of strange I thought.

Nonetheless, the bulk of the story is great. Deals with the feelings and anguish of the young lieutenant who gets involved with a wealthy family, particularly with the crippled daughter, out of pity for the young girl. It's a fascinating novel following up on the sentimental dilemmas that the lieutenant has. At the beginning he is taken away by the fact that the family is treating him not as a soldier but as a real human being. His feelings and thoughts are appreciated by them. As the story evolves he is almost carrying two lives- one with the wealthy family, the Kekesfalvas, and the other with his fellow officers in the barracks who know very little about his doings with the Kekesfalvas, other than he apparently eats there every night and treats him well.

But as time goes, he realizes that he is driven by pity for the young girl. Also, the young girl has fallen in love with him, a feeling that he can't correspond. So he is torn by these feelings - loyalty to the family, but also repugnance to himself for taking advantage of them.

This is a great moral story. What is the duty of us humans? Do we only seek our own self-satisfaction or do we sacrifice for others? Especially for those less fortunate who have been dealt an unfair hand. ( )

Stefan Zweig's treatise on the dark nature of pity is a fantastic read for several reasons. The plot is a page turner with deeply developed characters such as the narrator, Anton Hofmiller, an Austrian cavalry officer who struggles with the inner voices of pity, honor, and self-indulgence. There is Edith von Kekesfalva the beautiful, tempestuous lame girl whose ambivalence about her plight is the cause of the undoing of multiple characters and Doctor Condor, the physician who espouses fascinating ideas about the medical profession in general and Edith in particular. Those are just three of the characters! The use of language is marvelous, which means that all three of my personal criteria for outstanding literature, plot, character, and language, have been met and then some! 350 pages flew by! ( )

It is May 1914 and young Lieutenant Hofmiller is stationed in Austria with the Imperial Uhlans (cavalry). His daily routine consists of drills, the mess hall and card games until one day he sees a beautiful woman passing through town. This woman is Ilona, niece of Herr von Kekesfalva who is the wealthiest man in the district. Hofmiller manages to procure an invitation to dinner at the Kekesfalva estate and is able to luxuriate in fine food, wine and company. Late in the evening he approaches the daughter of the house, Edith, and asks her to dance. Edith stands, holding onto a table and appears to have some sort of fit – she shakes, and sobs uncontrollably. Realising, too late, that Edith is a “cripple”, Hofmiller heads for the door and leaves. The following day he sends flowers by way of apology and here his life takes a turn.
Hofmiller is welcomed into the Kekesfalva home, taking tea daily with Edith and Ilona. He thoroughly enjoys his friendship with the two young women and their affluent lifestyle is a bonus. Further, he feels sorry for Edith and hopes that his visits bring her some cheer. (These days Edith would be a woman who walks with the aid of crutches. She could have a career, children and even swim in the Paralympics. In Hofmiller’s time, however, she is a “wretched creature” and he sometimes finds her “grotesque”.)
Of course the novel’s title bears a warning. Hofmiller becomes a slave to his pity for Edith. He both relishes his capacity for pity and is also tormented by it. Although I was prepared for some type of misfortune, I couldn’t be certain until the very end how that might manifest itself.
What makes Beware of Pity such an excellent novel is the vividness of Zweig’s writing. Everything – people, places, events and emotions – are skilfully depicted. Zweig’s ability to evoke feelings in the reader is masterful. I was enthralled. I was as delighted and as tortured as Hofmiller and I loved every minute of it. ( )