«Natur und Glück sind im Wettstreit». Wilhelm Heinses Neapelbild: eine Harmonie zwischen Natur und Kultur?

Abstract

While Wilhelm Heinse’s trip to Italy is justly considered a major event in his life and a significant component of his aesthetic thought, his brief stay in Naples may not appear determinant. In both his essays and fiction, nevertheless, Heinse does mythologize the city – in contradiction to the socio-political critique to be found in many Aufklärung travel narratives. Firstly, he praises Naples for its conjunction of both Edenic and destructive nature, as well as its inhabitants’ spontaneous adaptation to undomesticated elements. Secondly, in his novel Hildegard von Hohenthal, which he draws from his knowledge of the great composers of late opera seria he reactivates the musical myth of the «Neapolitan school».