WHY EXACTLY KLEIST?
He could have been our younger brother. Yet he belonged to the generation of our great-great grandfathers, since he lived almost 200 years ago. If someone asked me why Kleist can have an effect today, I would say because he can be read as if the two hundred years’ difference did not exist. (László Márton, 1999)
Kleist’s readers glimpse themselves in the mirror and behind the door: their body, desires and all that they have locked in to sustain life. And as Kleist was one of the great importunate men, so this view is unpleasant. Doors and mirrors are stronger than everything else. They cannot be broken and cannot be avoided. However, seeing, which they make extremely difficult, and the promising spectacle, which they make so attractive, result in you being broken. (Gábor Schein, 1999)
From time to time Heinrich von Kleist’s life and oeuvre has had a stimulating effect on Hungarian literature and theatre. The exhibition, staged in cooperation with the Frankfurt an der Oder Kleist Museum, aims to present the principle stages of Kleist’s reception in Hungary and their achievements, and to enable a closer understanding of the interest in him. At the same time, the exhibition would also like to help those who are still acquainting themselves with Kleist’s universe by presenting the crucial stations of his eventful life. In addition, the aim is to clarify his prime motives, with their dramatic and experimental character.
Accompanying the exhibition is a bilingual catalogue, which can be purchased in the museum shop.
Open until: 16. October 2016.
