Theodor Fontane and the Prussian Aristocracy

Abstract

The Prussian aristocracy has always been a subject of much controversy. The predominant attitude concerning this aristocracy, especially in recent years, is that they were a group of arrogant, intolerant, uncultured, and crude militarists. This paper is an attempt to re-examine and re-evaluate the Prussian nobility of the late nineteenth century. It deals with how the writer Theodor Fontane saw society at this time.