Amok (novella)

Amok
AuthorStefan Zweig
Original titleDer Amokläufer
LanguageGerman
GenreFiction
Publication date
1922
Publication placeAustria

Amok is a novella by the Austrian author Stefan Zweig. First printed in the newspaper Neue Freie Presse in 1922, Amok appeared shortly afterwards in the collection of novellas Amok: Novellas of a Passion. As Zweig was fascinated and influenced by Sigmund Freud's work, Amok includes clear psychoanalytic elements. It deals with an extreme obsession, which leads the protagonist to sacrifice his professional and private life and, eventually, to commit suicide.

The title of the novella comes from the Indonesian-origin term "amok", which was uncommon in those days. It refers to people who attack the enemy in supposedly blind anger and try to kill the enemy as well as anyone else in their way, randomly, without taking into consideration any danger. The actual title is Der Amokläufer an apparent High German neologism from the Indonesian original and the basis of "running amok".

In the novella, as in Moonbeam Alley, Zweig brings the altruistic concerns of the protagonist into the forefront.[1]

Plot

The nameless first-person narrator travels from India to Europe on the ocean liner Oceania in 1912. One night, during a walk on deck, he meets a man who, disturbed and scared, avoids any social contact on the ship. The following night the narrator meets this man again. Although intimidated at first, the man soon begins to trust the narrator and tells him his story.

A physician from Leipzig, he moved to Indonesia seven years earlier to practise medicine in a small and remote village. After some time, the solitude depresses him more and more and he felt “like a spider in its web, motionless for months already.” One day, a white woman, “the first white woman in years,” appears unexpectedly and fascinates him with her haughty and distant nature—something he never experienced with the reverent and submissive indigenous women. In the course of their conversation it becomes clear that the woman, an Englishwoman and wife of a Dutch merchant, has come to see him for a discreet abortion, for which she is willing to pay a large amount of money. However the doctor, struck by a sudden passion, does not want the money. Instead he tells her to ask him for the abortion and suggests that she should visit him again outside his office hours. She refuses and storms out. The obsession seizes the doctor more and more: like a homicidal maniac, he follows the woman to her house, scaring her and making her even more distant. As she does not want her pregnancy to become public, she eventually confides in an indigenous healer. The procedure fails and the woman dies in agony.

In her death throes, she makes the doctor promise to do everything possible to ensure that neither her husband nor anyone else would learn the truth about her cause of death. From then on, the doctor is obsessed with fulfilling the woman’s last wish. He issues a falsified death certificate and when the dead woman’s husband has her transferred to Europe with the cruiser Oceania, the doctor, too, leaves Indonesia on the same liner—sacrificing his career and pension. He wants to prevent further investigations on her cause of death at all costs. On board, he hides from all the other passengers and only leaves his cabin at night in order to avoid meeting the widower.

When the first person narrator offers to help the doctor, the latter categorically turns down the offer, disappearing to be never heard of again. Only at the arrival in Naples, the narrator learns about a mysterious accident that happened while the cargo was being discharged: when the lead coffin with the woman’s remains was being unloaded, the doctor threw himself onto the coffin that was fastened to ropes, thereby dragging both the coffin and him down to the bottom of the sea. Neither could the person running amok be saved nor could the coffin be recovered.

Adaptations

The novel has been adapted five times for film:

Films

References

  1. ^ Howard M. Sachar (29 October 2014). The Assassination of Europe, 1918-1942: A Political History. University of Toronto Press. p. 400. ISBN 978-1-4426-0918-1.
  2. ^ a b c Larcati, Arturo (2018). Stefan-Zweig-Handbuch : Leben - Werk - Wirkung. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter. p. 962. ISBN 9783110304152.

Read other articles:

Piet MondrianPiet Mondrian pada tahun 1899LahirPieter Cornelis Mondriaan(1872-03-07)7 Maret 1872Amersfoort, BelandaMeninggal1 Februari 1944(1944-02-01) (umur 71)Manhattan, New York, Amerika SerikatKebangsaanBelandaPendidikanRijksakademieDikenal atasSeni lukisGerakan politikde Stijl Pieter Cornelis Piet Mondriaan atau dikenal sebagai Piet Mondrian setelah 1906 (pelafalan dalam bahasa Belanda: [ˈpiːt ˈmɔndriaːn] atau [ˈmɔndriɔn]; 7 Maret 1872 – 1 Fe...

 

ملعب سان باولومعلومات عامةأسماء سابقة ملعب ديل سولي (1959 - 1963) ملعب سان باولو (1963 - 2020)الاسم الكامل ملعب دييغو أرماندو مارادوناسمّي باسم دييغو مارادونا[1] الاستعمال ملعب كرة قدم athletics stadium (en) العنوان via Jacopo de Gennaro, I-80125 Napoli (بالإيطالية)[2] المنطقة الإدارية نابولي البلد  �...

 

Study of hardware and software systems that have a real-time constraint Not to be confused with Real-time communication or Real-time clock, closely related technologies that are also often abbreviated to RTC. This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) Real-time computing (RTC) is the comput...

Toni Kukoč Kukoč alla Benetton Treviso nella stagione 1992-1993 Nazionalità  Jugoslavia (1968-1991) Croazia (dal 1991) Altezza 207 cm Peso 87 kg Pallacanestro Ruolo Ala piccola / ala grande Termine carriera 2006 Hall of fame Naismith Hall of Fame (2021)FIBA Hall of Fame (2017) Carriera Squadre di club 1985-1991 Jugoplastika1991-1993 Pall. Treviso51 (1.015)1993-2000 Chicago Bulls436 (6.148)2000-2001 Philadelphia 76ers80 (784)2001-2002 Atlanta Ha...

 

American baseball player Baseball player Rick KrivdaKrivda in 2016PitcherBorn: (1970-01-19) January 19, 1970 (age 54)McKeesport, Pennsylvania, U.S.Batted: RightThrew: LeftMLB debutJuly 7, 1995, for the Baltimore OriolesLast MLB appearanceSeptember 8, 1998, for the Cincinnati RedsMLB statisticsWin–loss record11–16Earned run average5.57Strikeouts165 Teams Baltimore Orioles (1995–1997) Cleveland Indians (1998) Cincinnati Reds (1998) Medals Men’s basebal...

 

Vetrallacomune Vetralla – Veduta LocalizzazioneStato Italia Regione Lazio Provincia Viterbo AmministrazioneSindacoSandrino Aquilani (lista civica) dal 4-10-2021 TerritorioCoordinate42°18′38″N 12°04′45″E / 42.310556°N 12.079167°E42.310556; 12.079167 (Vetralla)Coordinate: 42°18′38″N 12°04′45″E / 42.310556°N 12.079167°E42.310556; 12.079167 (Vetralla) Altitudine300 m s.l.m. Superficie113,77 km² Abi...

СелоТатарское Ходяшевотат. Татар Тау Иле 55°49′33″ с. ш. 49°49′21″ в. д.HGЯO Страна  Россия Субъект Федерации Татарстан Муниципальный район Пестречинский Сельское поселение Татарско-Ходяшевское История и география Первое упоминание 1602-1603 годы[1] Прежние назв...

 

Artikel ini bukan mengenai Kalender Tiongkok. Sebuah kalender yang memperingati tahun pertama Republik serta pemilihan Sun Yat-sen sebagai Presiden sementara. Kalender Republik Tiongkok (Hanzi tradisional: 民國紀元; Hanzi sederhana: 民国纪元; Pinyin: Mínguó Jìyuán; Wade–Giles: Min2-kuo2 Chi4-yüan2) adalah metode penomoran tahun yang saat ini digunakan di Taiwan dan wilayah lain di bawah kendali Republik Tiongkok. Kalender ini digunakan di Tiongkok daratan dari 1...

 

American TV series or program The Batman/Tarzan Adventure HourScreen captureBased onBatmanby Bob KaneBill FingerTarzanby Edgar Rice BurroughsStarringAdam WestBurt WardRobert RidgelyCountry of originUnited StatesProductionExecutive producersNorm PrescottLou ScheimerRunning timeOne hourProduction companyFilmationOriginal releaseNetworkCBSReleaseSeptember 10, 1977 (1977-09-10) –September 2, 1978 (1978-09-02)RelatedTarzan, Lord of the JungleThe New Adventures of BatmanTarzan and...

Ancient pre-Iranian civilization between 2700 and 539 BC For other uses, see Elam (disambiguation). ElamHaltamti𒁹𒄬𒆷𒁶𒋾Map showing the area of the Elamite Empire (in orange) and the neighboring areas. The approximate Bronze Age extension of the Persian Gulf is shown.Alternative namesElamites, SusianaGeographical rangeIran 29°54′N 52°24′E / 29.900°N 52.400°E / 29.900; 52.400PeriodPre-IranicDates3200–539 BCPreceded byProto-ElamiteFollowed byAchaeme...

 

British soldier and politician (1860–1949) Colonel The Right HonourableThe Earl of LucanGCVO KBE CB TD PC DLThe Earl of Lucan, c. 1896Member of Parliament for ChertseyIn office6 July 1904 – 8 January 1906Preceded byJohn Arthur FylerSucceeded byFrancis MarnhamConservative Chief Whip in the House of LordsIn office1929–1940Preceded byThe Earl of PlymouthSucceeded byThe Lord Templemore Personal detailsBorn13 December 1860Died20 April 1949(1949-04-20) (aged ...

 

British writer and Actress Meera SyalCBE FRSLSyal at the 7th Asian Awards in 2017BornFeroza Syal (1961-06-27) 27 June 1961 (age 62)Wolverhampton, EnglandEducationQueen Mary's High SchoolAlma materUniversity of ManchesterOccupation(s)Comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, actressYears active1983–presentSpouses Shekhar Bhatia ​ ​(m. 1989; div. 2002)​ Sanjeev Bhaskar ​(m. 2005)​Children2 ...

شافهاوزن    علم شعار الاسم الرسمي (بالألمانية العليا السويسرية: Schaffhausen)‏    الإحداثيات 47°41′48″N 8°38′02″E / 47.69653°N 8.63386°E / 47.69653; 8.63386   [1] تقسيم إداري  البلد سويسرا[2][3]  التقسيم الأعلى شافهوزن  عاصمة لـ شافهوزن  خصائص جغرافية ...

 

مجلدمعلومات عامةصنف فرعي من فهرسfile system object (en) جزء من hierarchical file system (en) virtual file system (en) بنية الدليل جانب من جوانب نظام تشغيل يحتوي على file system object (en) نوع الوسائط inode/directory[1]x-directory/normal[2] تعديل - تعديل مصدري - تعديل ويكي بيانات لقطة لموجه اوامر ويندوز يعرض أسماء الملفات في دل�...

 

American college football rivalry Rice–Texas football rivalry Rice Owls Texas Longhorns First meetingOctober 17, 1914Texas 41, Rice 0Latest meetingSeptember 2, 2023Texas 37, Rice 10Next meetingTBAStatisticsMeetings total97All-time seriesTexas leads, 75–21–1[1]Largest victoryTexas, 59–0 (1915)Longest win streakTexas, 28 (1966–1993)Current win streakTexas, 16 (1995–present) 300km200miles Texas Rice  Locations of Rice and TexasThe Rice–Texas football rivalry is an Ameri...

Bagley-class destroyer For other ships of the same name, see USS Jarvis. USS Jarvis off the Puget Sound Navy Yard, circa December 1937 History United States NameJarvis NamesakeJames C. Jarvis BuilderPuget Sound Navy Yard Laid down21 August 1935 Launched6 May 1937 Commissioned27 October 1937 FateSunk by Japanese aircraft off Guadalcanal 9 August 1942. General characteristics Class and typeBagley-class destroyer Displacement2,325 tons (full), 1,500 tons (light) Length341 ft 8 in (104....

 

J. Stuart Blackton, 1912 James Stuart Blackton (5 Januari 1875 – 13 Agustus 1941) (biasanya dikenal sebagai J. Stuart Blackton) adalah seorang produser film Inggris Amerika yang dianggap sebagai bapak animasi Amerika Gerakan berhenti dan teknik menggambar animasi digunakan dalam film-filmnya. Ia juga seorang sutradara film bisu, dan pendiri Vitagraph Studios. Karier Blackton lahir di Sheffield, Yorkshire, Inggris, dan berimigrasi dengan keluarganya ke AS pada usia 10 tahun. Ia bekerja sebag...

 

この記事には参考文献や外部リンクの一覧が含まれていますが、脚注による参照が不十分であるため、情報源が依然不明確です。 適切な位置に脚注を追加して、記事の信頼性向上にご協力ください。(2023年1月) Karabinek-granatnik wzór 1960 銃口アダプター・空砲用マガジン・銃床パッドを装着し、ガスバルブを閉じた状態のwz. 1960Karabinek-granatnik wzór 1960種類 軍用小銃 / 擲弾...

В статье не хватает ссылок на источники (см. рекомендации по поиску). Информация должна быть проверяема, иначе она может быть удалена. Вы можете отредактировать статью, добавив ссылки на авторитетные источники в виде сносок. (4 декабря 2023) Педагогический институт Тихоокеа�...

 

دوري جبل طارق لكرة القدم 2013–14 تفاصيل الموسم دوري جبل طارق لكرة القدم  النسخة 115  البلد المملكة المتحدة  التاريخ بداية:7 أكتوبر 2013  نهاية:7 مايو 2014  المنظم اتحاد جبل طارق لكرة القدم  البطل نادي لينكولن ريد إيمبس  مباريات ملعوبة 56   عدد المشاركين 8   دوري ج...