Sleepwalker: a Dream
by P
About This Novel
The story takes place in 1888, which is also known as the "Year of the Three Emperors" in Germany. Although Wilhelm II, the last emperor of the Second German Empire, flaunted his reform after ascending the throne, he actually clung to the old tradition of autocratic monarchy. Correspondingly, the novel's protagonist Joachim, who was born in a traditional Junker family, was also influenced by old and new forces, wandering between tradition and modernity. According to the Junker tradition that "the eldest son inherits the family business and the youngest son must join the army", Joachim was forcibly sent to Kulm Military Academy by his parents when he was ten years old, and he has been homeless since then. Twenty years later, when he became a lieutenant, he fell in love with Ruzena, a waitress whom he met by chance. However, after his brother Helmut, the intended heir to the manor, died in a duel with a Polish landowner, he faced a major life decision: inheriting his father's inheritance, taking over the manor, and proposing to the baron's daughter Elizabeth. However, during the decision-making process, sharp conflicts arose between father and son, which eventually led to his father's mental breakdown.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Rating
Community(0)
