that more apparent than in the philosophical treatises of Friedrich von
Schiller. Schiller discusses at length the potential benefits of beauty in
terms of his aesthetic project, one he believes can be realized on a social
level. His point of departure is the current barbaric state of man and the
necessity of using humanity's current "rohen Geschmack" (Schiller
1982), to advance its education. This concession makes possible a
positive valuation of ugliness.
Schiller's philosophical works also function as a bridge between
aesthetics and the social order. This connection appears distinctly in his
1786/92 novella Der Verbrecher aus verlorener Ehre, which presents an
example of the positive potential of ugliness. He recounts the plight of an
impoverished and ugly Christian Wolf, his rise to notoriety as the robber
Sonnenwirt and subsequent capture. Loosely based on the factual life
and execution of the robber Friedrich Schwan, Schiller learned of this
material from his friend and teacher Jacob Friedrich von Abel, who
published his own version in 1787. In contrast to Abel's version,
however, Schiller offers a social commentary in which he shows how
social prejudice against ugliness generates criminality. Schiller attempts,
in turn, to show that true virtue lies in the soul, not in physiognomic
characteristics.
With this in mind, my focus is twofold. I propose that the
differences between Schiller and Abel's versions of the Sonnenwirt
material illuminate the intentions of Schiller's novella: the intersection
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