Chapter III
The Ugly Woman? Kleist's Kunigunde as
The Tragic Heroine
Introduction
I wish to offer a new reading of Heinrich von Kleist's 1810
drama Das Kathchen von Heilbronn; oder die Feuer Probe. Many readings
maintain Kathchen to be the undisputed heroine, an idea perpetuated by
Kleist's contemporaries. In a recent article, Gert Ueding maintains
Kathchen's significance lies in her functionality: she, according to this
reading, frees the Graf from the Labyrinth "einer in sich verkehrten
Bilder- und Scheinwelt"(Ueding). And yet this supposition does so to the
detriment of the figure of Kunigunde whom Ueding perceives as a
"Kunstprodukt" (Ueding). In contrast to this reading, I propose that the
actual heroine, a tragic one at that, is Kunigunde.
Ostensibly, the play focuses on Kathchen, a commoner, and her
triumph over the witch-like Kunigunde for the love of the Graf vom
Strahl. At first glance, it would seem Kleist provides a paragon of virtue
in the figure of Kathchen. While Kunigunde is constantly attacked for her
artificiality, which most critics perceive as the just cause for her
downfall, she provides a unique example of female independence.
Further, she is derided for her purported ugliness, yet the only true proof
of her mosaic artificiality stems from a rejected suitor and her rival,
Kathchen. The only verifiable assertion about her looks suggests that she
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