Heinrich von Kleist, Die Verlobung in St. Domingo [The Betrothal in St. Domingo]

Sean Allan (University of St Andrews)
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Heinrich von Kleist’s novella

Die Verlobung in St. Domingo

[

The Betrothal in Santo Domingo

] was first published in 1811 under the title of

Die Verlobung

[

The Betrothal

] in August Kuhn’s literary periodical

Der Freimüthige

. It was subsequently included in the second volume of Kleist’s stories –

Erzählungen. Von Heinrich von Kleist. Zweiter Teil –

published towards the end of that same year.

Kleist’s novella is set on the island of Santo Domingo during the black uprising of 1803 against the white plantation owners and the Napoleonic forces sent by the National Convent to restore slavery. The story begins with an account of how Congo Hoango – a former slave who had been granted his freedom by his master, M. Villeneuve – had immediately joined the black revolutionaries and

1279 words

Citation: Allan, Sean. "Die Verlobung in St. Domingo". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 April 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13122, accessed 19 March 2024.]

13122 Die Verlobung in St. Domingo 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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