''The Golem'' (original German title: ''Der Golem'') is a novel written by

Gustav Meyrink Gustav Meyrink (19 January 1868 – 4 December 1932) was the pseudonym of Gustav Meyer, an Austrian author, novelist, dramatist, translator, and banker, most famous for his novel ''The Golem (Meyrink novel), The Golem''. He has been described as ...

between 1907 and 1914. First published in serial form from December 1913 to August 1914 in the periodical '' Die Weißen Blätter'', ''The Golem'' was published in book form in 1915 by Kurt Wolff, Leipzig. ''The Golem'' was Meyrink's first novel. It sold over 200,000 copies in 1915. It became his most popular and successful literary work, and is generally described as the most "accessible" of his full-length novels. It was first translated into English in 1928. The novel has an anonymous narrator, who has a visionary dream. It explores the theme of the

unreliable narrator In literature, film, and other such arts, an unreliable narrator is a narrator who cannot be trusted, one whose credibility is compromised. They can be found in a wide range from children to mature characters. While unreliable narrators are al ...

. The narrator is somehow able to chronicle the life of the

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmithing, goldsmithing, stone setting, engraving, ...

Athanasius Pernath by assuming Pernath's identity.

Plot

The novel centers on the life of Athanasius Pernath, a jeweler and art restorer who lives in the

ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. But his story is experienced by an anonymous narrator, who, during a visionary dream, assumes Pernath's identity thirty years before. This dream was perhaps induced because he inadvertently swapped his hat with the real (old) Pernath's. While the novel is generally focused on Pernath's own musings and adventures, it also chronicles the lives, the characters, and the interactions of his friends and neighbors. The Golem, though rarely seen, is central to the novel as a representative of the ghetto's own spirit and consciousness, brought to life by the suffering and misery that its inhabitants have endured over the centuries. The story itself has a disjointed and often elliptical feel, as it was originally published in serial form and is intended to convey the mystical associations and interests that the author himself was exploring at the time. The reality of the narrator's experiences is often called into question, as some of them may simply be dreams or

hallucinations A hallucination is a perception in the absence of an external stimulus that has the compelling sense of reality. They are distinguishable from several related phenomena, such as dreaming ( REM sleep), which does not involve wakefulness; pse ...

, and others may be

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of h ...

or transcendent events that are taking place outside the "real" world. Similarly, it is revealed over the course of the book that Pernath apparently suffered from a

mental breakdown A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...

on at least one occasion, but has no memory of any such event; he is also unable to remember his childhood and most of his youth, a fact that may or may not be attributable to his previous breakdown. His mental stability is constantly called into question by his friends and neighbors, and the reader is left to wonder whether anything that has taken place in the narrative actually happened.

Main characters

* Athanasius Pernath: the ostensible protagonist, a jeweler who resides in the ghetto of Prague * The Golem: while connected with the Golem legend of Rabbi Judah Loew, the Golem is cast as a sort of

gestalt Gestalt may refer to: Psychology * Gestalt psychology, a school of psychology * Gestalt therapy Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasizes Responsibility assumption, personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's exp ...

entity, a physical manifestation of the ghetto's inhabitants' collective psyche, as well as of the ghetto's own "self". * Schemajah Hillel: a wise and gentle Jewish neighbor of Pernath, learned in the Torah and Talmud; serves as a protector and instructor for Pernath as the jeweler begins to walk the path of mysticism. * Miriam: Hillel's compassionate and noble daughter. * Aaron Wassertrum: another of Pernath's neighbors, this one a junk dealer and possibly a murderer. He is the antithesis of Hillel, embodying all of the then-popular negative stereotypes surrounding Jews. * Rosina: a 14-year-old red-haired prostitute and neighbor of Pernath, apparently a relation of Wassertrum though no one is ever able to determine what kind; described by Pernath as repulsive, but figures prominently as the object of men's desires and is promiscuous. * Innocence Charousek: a consumptive, poverty-stricken student consumed with hatred for Wassertrum and his son, Dr. Wassory. * Zwakh: a puppeteer; Pernath's friend and landlord. * Amadeus Laponder: Pernath's cellmate in prison. He is a

somnambulist Sleepwalking, also known as somnambulism or noctambulism, is a phenomenon of combined sleep and wakefulness. It is classified as a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. It occurs during the slow wave stage of sleep, in a state of l ...

who in his sleep assumes the role of various people of the ghetto, allowing Pernath to communicate with the outside world. * Dr. Savioli: a wealthy neighbor of Pernath's who rents a room in the ghetto from Zwakh; there he carries on illicit affairs with married women.

Minor characters

*The Regiment, a local criminal organization *Dr. Wassory *Angelina

Reception

In his "

Supernatural Horror in Literature "Supernatural Horror in Literature" is a 28,000-word essay by American writer H. P. Lovecraft, surveying the development and achievements of horror fiction as the field stood in the 1920s and 30s. The essay was researched and written between Nove ...

" essay,

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

said the novel is one of the "best examples" of Jewish folklore–inspired

weird fiction Weird fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction originating in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Weird fiction either eschews or radically reinterprets traditional antagonists of supernatural horror fiction, such as ghosts, vampires, ...

. Also, in a letter, he called it, " e most magnificent weird thing I've come across in aeons!"

Dave Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time record for most Hug ...

reviewed ''The Golem'' for ''

White Dwarf A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...

'' #80, and stated that "It's the sort of nightmare you might have after an evening of too much lobster and Kafka. Very strange." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' writer David Barnett said in his article about the novel that it is "one of the most absorbing, atmospheric and mind-boggling slices of fantasy ever committed to print," and " century after its first publication, ''The Golem'' endures as a piece of modernist fantasy that deserves to take its place alongside Kafka."

English translations

Since ''The Golem'' was first published in German, there have been at least three translations into English: * Madge Pemberton (1928): First published by Houghton Mifflin Co. and

Victor Gollancz Ltd Victor Gollancz Ltd () was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century and continues to publish science fiction and fantasy titles as an imprint of Orion Publishing Group. Gollancz was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz, an ...

. Published by Mudra in 1972. Published by

Dover Publications Dover Publications, also known as Dover Books, is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward and Blanche Cirker. It primarily reissues books that are out of print from their original publishers. These are often, but not always, book ...

in 1976. Published by Dedalus Ltd in 1985. Published by

Centipede Press Centipede Press is an American independent book and periodical publisher focusing on horror, weird tales, crime narratives, science fiction, gothic novels, fantasy art, and studies of literature, music and film. Its earliest imprints were Cocytus ...

in 2012. * Mike Mitchell (1995): First published by Ariadne Press. Published by Dedalus Ltd in 2000. Published by

Tartarus Press Tartarus Press is an independent book publisher in Coverdale in North Yorkshire, England.

in 2004. Published by

Folio Society The Folio Society is an independent London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it became an employee ownership trust in 2021. It produces illustrated hardback fine press edit ...

in 2010. * Isabel Cole (2007): Published by Vitalis. The Dover Publications edition was edited by

E. F. Bleiler Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...

, who made some alterations to Pemberton's translation.

Adaptation for film and theatre

The novel was the basis for the following movies: *''

Golem A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

'', directed by

Piotr Szulkin Piotr Szulkin (; 26 April 1950 – 3 August 2018) was a Polish film director and writer. He directed over thirty films, both Polish and international productions. He was a recipient of "Best Science fiction, Science Fiction Film Director" at Euro ...

, made in 1979, released in 1980. *''Le Golem'' (1967), film for television directed by Jean Kerchbron The novel was adapted for the theatre by Daniel Flint, and received a world premiere in 2013.

References

Sources * Matei Chihaia: ''Der Golem-Effekt. Orientierung und phantastische Immersion im Zeitalter des Kinos'' transcript, Bielefeld 2011

External links

Meyrink's original text in German (''Der Golem'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Golem, The 1915 debut novels 1915 Austrian novels 1915 speculative fiction novels 1915 German-language novels 1910s horror novels Debut horror novels Austrian speculative fiction novels German horror novels Dark fantasy novels Weird fiction novels Jewish novels Novels set in Prague Novels about legendary creatures Novels about spirit possession Novels about dreams Novels with unreliable narrators Golem Novels first published in serial form Works originally published in German magazines Works originally published in literary magazines Austrian novels adapted into films Horror novels adapted into films Austrian novels adapted into television shows Austrian novels adapted into plays Novels by Gustav Meyrink