Stefan George

Stefan George was the most significant lyric poet of German symbolism and the spiritual center of a circle of friends and disciples who understood themselves as "secret Germany" at the turn of the century. Kauffmann depicts George's life and work, attempting to do justice to a multifaceted personality that has either been glorified in earlier biographies as a poetic "seer" and "leader" of the circle or unmasked as a charismatic figure driven by homosexual inclinations and pedophilic desires. The image that George himself stylized of a life entirely dedicated to a poetic mission is relativized through the analysis of various human relationships, from his deep roots in his family from Bingen to close friendships, such as with Albert Verwey and Friedrich Gundolf.