A Divided Heart and Other Stories

"A Divided Heart and Other Stories" by Paul Heyse is a collection of short stories written in the late 19th century. The primary narrative, "A Divided Heart," explores themes of love, fidelity, and emotional complexity as it follows a protagonist embroiled in a psychological conflict between his affection for his wife and the unexpected feelings that arise for another woman. The stories are characterized by their introspective examination of relationships and the intricacies of human emotions. At the start of "A Divided Heart," the protagonist is leaving a gathering of friends, feeling out of place despite the jovial atmosphere. He encounters L., a reflective man whose somber reminiscences about his deceased wife stir up deeper discussions about love, marriage, and the duality of human passions. Through their dialogue, L. reflects on his past love, contrasting it with current feelings of longing and emotional struggle. The opening segment sets the tone for the unfolding narrative, hinting at the protagonist's impending conflict as he grapples with his affections, showcasing both the vitality and the complications inherent in intimate relationships. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Paul Johann Ludwig von Heyse was a German writer and translator. A member of two important literary societies, the Tunnel über der Spree in Berlin and Die Krokodile in Munich, he wrote novels, poetry, 177 short stories, and about sixty dramas. The sum of Heyse's many and varied productions made him a dominant figure among German men of letters. He was awarded the 1910 Nobel Prize in Literature "as a tribute to the consummate artistry, permeated with idealism, which he has demonstrated during his long productive career as a lyric poet, dramatist, novelist and writer of world-renowned short stories." Wirsen, one of the Nobel judges, said that "Germany has not had a greater literary genius since Goethe." Heyse is the fifth oldest laureate in literature, after Alice Munro, Jaroslav Seifert, Theodor Mommsen and Doris Lessing.