
In the sun‑drenched fields of the old Weimar countryside, the water‑encircled Kapellendorf stands as a quiet witness to the lives that swirl around it. The story opens with two teenagers, Leonore and Klemés, perched in a crumbling garden, trading cigarettes and restless thoughts about the looming ceremony of confirmation. Their banter reveals the tension between youthful spontaneity and the strict expectations of a small, tradition‑bound community.
Through vivid descriptions of the baroque castle, the whispering poplars, and the scent of thyme on the summer wind, the narrative paints a portrait of a world on the brink of change. As Leonore grapples with ideas of marriage, duty, and personal freedom, the novel gently explores the clash between individual desire and the roles imposed by family and clergy. The first act invites listeners into a tender, introspective portrait of adolescence, set against a richly textured rural backdrop.
Language
de
Duration
~4 hours (275K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Germany: Georg Müller, 1908.
Credits
The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)
Release date
2023-03-15
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1873–1943
A German writer, poet, and painter, she built a wide-ranging career in the early 20th century and became known for novels and stories that often drew on rural life, history, and strong emotional currents. Her life and work also carry the shadows of wartime loss, giving her story an added poignancy.
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