Vier sonntägliche Strassen

Stefan George's acquaintance with Ida Coblenz ranks as a central experience in his life and had profound impact upon his works. This study first reviews earlier research and the implausible psychological constellation formed by Stefan George, Ida Coblenz, and Richard Dehmel. It then shows how the experience defines the thematic unity of three prose works: «Sonntage auf meinem Land», «Der kindliche Kalender», and «Tage und Taten». The chapter «Darkness and Despair» compares «Tage und Taten» with Hesiod's «Erga kai Hemerai» and investigates George's use of statuary and colors and his manipulation of time and space. «Answers and Ambiguity», the final chapter, traces the record of the friendship with Ida Coblenz in «Das Jahr der Seele», the «Traurige Tänze», and the «Hängende Gärten» and discusses George's varying and often contradictory stances in these works and in the prose.