German 354

Next, in week 5, we read “Undine”, a story written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué about a Knight who falls in love with a water being known as Undine, and once they are married, she becomes a mortal woman. In the end, the knight chooses another woman instead of Undine, and she is sent back into the water and ultimately forced to kill the knight. This story relates to many other themes we have discussed throughout the course. First, it touches on Judith Butler’s ideas of objectifying women. Undine is spoken of in terms of her beauty throughout the entire story. The author references her childish behavior at times, but, ultimately, the main descriptor of Undine is her attractiveness. Judith Butler, a feminist thinker whom we studied earlier, discusses how objectifying the female body is a problem we face in our society. Another theorist who influenced the motifs of “Undine” is Paracelsus. Paracelsus speaks of water creatures called Nymphs, who are very similar to humans, except for one critical difference; the nymphs do not have mortal souls like humans. They must marry a man to gain a mortal soul and become human. Paracelsus describes nymphs as very temperamental and even says that when they become upset they return to water. Fouqué describes Undine as temperamental at first, but, once she is married, she becomes domesticated and falls in line with many of the patriarchal ideas of women we have seen in history. Fouqué’s “Undine” was heavily influenced by Paracelsus, but deviated from his thoughts when portraying the post-marriage water creature.