Where Gotzkowsky Gets Disappointed

The Merchant of Berlin by Luise Mühlbach
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This novel by the 19th century German author Louise Mühlbach tells part of the life story of a real merchant from the 1700s in Berlin. It is a novel--this is fiction--but the factual heart of this is based on his own autobiography. I liked it and thought it worked pretty well as a novel.

[The antisemitism is open, though, and unrepentant. Many readers will find it disqualifying, even when taking into account the time and social conditions it was written under. I am sympathetic to that perspective, but I'll proceed as if it's possible to forgive long-dead writers for their bigotry, or at least temporarily ignore it.]

The story follows the contours of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens. Here we have a rich merchant who treats his workers well, supports his city, is generous with his money, and is beloved--at the beginning. Timon started the same. Gotzkowsky uses his money and influence to protect Berlin when it is invaded by the Russians, personally cosigning a huge ransom for the city if they would not destroy the place. He intercedes for journalists, other merchants, and the residents of the Jewish quarter, all of whom were going to be beaten or impoverished, and after the Russians leave the whole city celebrates their hero. But near the end of the novel--as in Timon of Athens--reversals beyond his control make him unable to pay his debts, including the ransom owed to the Russians. All those he had helped refused to help him, just as Athens refused to help Timon. He ends bankrupt. (Timon goes off into the wilderness and curses humanity from that point on. Gotzkowsky doesn't go that far, though he's pretty mad.)

There is more to the book, including his daughter's love story and some other subplots, and it's entertaining in that old historical novel way. The business and financing stuff reminded me of similar events in The Count of Monte Cristo, which I must confess to not completely understanding... But it reads pretty fast and actually has a pretty happy ending. I thought.

Half the point in reading a novel like this (for me) is learning about the time and place, in this case how people lived in Berlin in the 1700s, what their world was like. I found that interesting. And the theme of a principled, generous man being forgotten by all those he had benefitted is as timely now as ever. Timon regretted all his generosity and hated all men for the rest of his life; Gotzkowsky celebrated keeping his honor even in poverty. That's probably a better way to react.

Some readers will enjoy this. Cautiously recommended.

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