“The Marquise of O” By Kleist Response Paper

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Date “The Marquise of O” By Kleist Response Paper Summary Kleist, the author of the novel “The Marquise of O,” depicts an account of a young Italian widow, Marquise. Basically, anagnorisis is one of the prevailing aspects of the literature piece. Anagnorisis refers to a moment in a plot of a story that involves a protagonist identifying their nature and discovering the fate of others, thus leading in the resolution of a narrative. For instance, Marquise attempts to resolve the issue of her child’s paternity after becoming pregnant. She uses the search for her unborn child’s father to provide social commentary. In most instances, anagnorisis occurs during the climax part of a story. Marquise’s lack of consent about her pregnancy is a catalyst for the opinions that relate to her current status in the society and presumptions of the identity of her father’s kid. The novel Marquise of O is an interesting narrative of the various dramatic anagnorisis of a woman, who becomes pregnant without her consent (p. 284). An incident is an outstanding form of anagnorisis since it leads to transformation and Marquise changing her decision on marrying the Count. Conversely, the entire narrative is based on an experiment with the reader’s imaginations through the theme and plot. Accordingly, the scene of pregnancy is affectively changed to foreclose an opening of formal literature work. In the novel, Klein explains Marquise’s reaction after receiving news that the Count is dead, which forms another example of anagnorisis. The protagonist becomes upset about not having a chance to thank her rescuer. In fact, she even feels strange and collapses without any explanation. Fortunately, reports about Count’s death turn out to be false as he appears in the house and asks for her hand in marriage. However, Marquise is reluctant in accepting the proposal since she had resolved not to get married. Besides, the family members suggest that the two need more time to know each other better (Kleist and David p. 289). However, the Count insists that he wants to marry Marquise and even decides to dine with Colonel’s family in anticipation of convincing them that he wants to marry Marquise. Thoughts Regarding the Story Most parts of Kleist’s novel reveals anagnorisis as a common incident in literature. The author reveals incidents of sexual exploitation that are prevalent in the contemporary world. Therefore, it is easy to yoke the piece of literature with various incidents in the modern world. The theme of rape in the novel stands as one of the formal issues against women and girls. In the case study of the novel, a group of soldiers attempts to rape Marquise in a confusion during Napoleonic Wars when Russian forces are focused on overrunning Citadel. Luckily, a commander of the attack, the Count, saves Marquise and reunites her with the daughter. Arguably, every moment of dramatic anagnorisis influences a shift of understanding between the characters and readers as well. In the narrative, Marquise realized that it is the Count, who rescued her from being a rape victim. Howe...