Immensee (novella)

Immensee (1849 and 1851) is a novella by German author Theodor Storm. It was the work that made him famous and remains to this day one of his most widely read.

Immensee was first published in Biernatzki's Volksbuch in December 1849 when the author was well known regionally, but with the revised edition 1851, he became famous all over Germany and then the world. By the time of his death in 1888, it saw 33 editions in 17 languages. Storm revised it using some comments from his friend Tyco Mommsen and republished it in 1851 in Sommergeschichten und Lieder and finally as a single work edition in 1852. The first English translation appeared in 1858 in Henry Colburn's New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal with a second version first appearing in the USA in 1863. It was Storm's best selling work and remains to this day one of his most widely read, along with The Rider on the White Horse and Pole Poppenspäler.

On the surface it is a simple love story divided into ten scenes as framed by the remembrances of Reinhardt as an old man thinking back to his youth, his childhood love for Elisabeth, and his friend Erich who ends up marrying her. The story thus takes place over the course of an entire life. It is autobiographical to some degree with echoes of Storm's own life. The novel is richly symbolic. Wiebke Strehl said that "Growing interest on the part of twentieth-century literary scholars indicate that there is much more to this story than meets the eye." Other critics have countered it is crudely symbolic and overly sentimental.

From their early childhood on, the protagonists Reinhard Werner and Elisabeth (no last name mentioned) have been close friends. Reinhard, who's five years older than Elisabeth, impresses her by writing fairy tales on slips of paper for her. Without Elisabeth knowing, Reinhard additionally keeps a vellum-bound book in which he composes poems about his life experiences.

Despite his young age, Reinhard is sure that he wants to spend his whole life with Elisabeth. Neither a new school, nor his new male friends can change this. He reveals his childhood dream of a life together in India to Elisabeth. After a moment of hesitation, 5-year old Elisabeth approves to his future plans.

At the age of seventeen, the moment of separation from Elisabeth comes inescapably closer. Although he will pursue his education in town, Reinhard promises to continue writing fairy tales for her and send them by letter to his mother. She is delighted about this idea for she cannot imagine a life without Reinhard.

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