Kleist's Kaleidoscopic Irony in Betrothal in Santo Domingo

Abstract

This article presents an analysis of Kleists last novella, Betrothal in Santo Domingo. Instead of concentrating our attention on the sentimental plot, our approach will focus on the first third of the text, which prepares the development of the passionate love between the European official Gustav and the mestice girl Toni. A few historical and biographical aspects referring to the time when Kleist wrote this novella will illuminate Kleists artful use of irony and his subtle dramatization of highly complex feelings and thoughts. A critical presentation of the bibliography gives a synthetic picture of Kleist-studies in the past decades.