Beware of Pity
By Stefan Zweig
Actuel, 9781922491169, October 2020, 340pp.

The Short of It:

A strange, interesting read.

The Rest of It:

In 1913, Hofmiller, an Austro-Hungarian cavalry officer stationed at the edge of the empire, is invited to a party at the home of a rich local landowner, a world away from the dreary routine of the barracks. The surroundings are glamorous, wine flows freely, and the exhilarated young Hofmiller asks his host’s lovely daughter for a dance, only to discover that sickness has left her painfully crippled. It is a minor blunder that will destroy his life, as pity and guilt gradually implicate him in a well-meaning but tragically wrongheaded plot to restore the unhappy invalid to health.

This delicate blunder completely ruins Hofmiller. His innocent invitation to dance is repeated in his head over and over again. He sees the stricken look of the girl as she reveals the current state of her legs. After such a faux pas, and his desire to be included in the lives these people lead, he finds himself trying to please Edith any way he can, until he realizes that her only reason for living, is the love she has for him. There is no reciprocation in this regard.

My club chose this book for this month’s meeting and it is indeed very interesting and I feel that there will be plenty to discuss. It reads like a high brow soap opera and I don’t mean that in a negative way. It’s very episodic and dramatic and Edith is quite the femme fatale. as well as Daddy’s “little” girl. She is a young woman who is not used to being told “No”. What she wants, she usually gets so the push/pull of Hofmiller’s relationship with her is one that completely absorbs his every thought.

How can Hofmiller remain in good standing with Edith’s father, and the good Dr. Condor when he cares not one iota for the girl? Why does he even feel it necessary?

Pity. It’s all about pity. The title of the book makes it very clear. Pity can cause you to do all sorts of foolish things. It affects the way you make decisions but others use it to manipulate those around them. Manipulation, guilt, pity, grief. All topics for discussion. Edith is a frustrating character, but in her defense, she is promised over and over again that the next treatment will do the trick. She hangs onto hope because those around her continue to stoke the fire.

I found this book to be rather entertaining, if not a tad exhausting. Much of it was very fast paced. Hofmiller running here, and there and then back again. His interactions with other soldiers, providing a much needed break. All of it interspersed with parties and gatherings and dinners.

I enjoyed the writing very much. We get to know each character’s intentions quite well. I will say also that one part of the story took me by surprise and it changed my outlook on many things. Lots of food for thought.

Source: Borrowed
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