''The Post Office Girl'' (german: Rausch der Verwandlung, which roughly means ''The Intoxication of Transformation'') is a novel by the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

writer Stefan Zweig. It tells the story of Christine Hoflehner, a female post-office clerk in a small town near

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, during the poverty-stricken years following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The book was published posthumously in 1982.

Plot

Christine is an Austrian public servant in a post-office job in a poverty-stricken city near

St. Pölten ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

. She is a blonde woman whose mother is sick and whose father had died during World War I. One day, Christine receives an obscure telegram and sends it to her sickly mother. Upon reading more closely the telegram, Christine's mother is overcome by happiness by discovering that a few unknown relatives from America, Christine's aunt (Claire) and uncle, would take her on an upper-class trip to

Pontresina Pontresina ( rm, Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sarisinam'' in 1137 and ''de Ponte Sar ...

, Switzerland. Christine is reluctant to go at first, but she concedes. Arriving in Switzerland, she is stunned by her relative poverty compared to the inhabitants and people from the bourgeois Hotel. She feels excluded due to her humble and troubling origins. Claire, her aunt from America, decides to transform her into a socialite and to make her more elegant in order to better fit the bourgeoise society in which she currently is. Christine changes her name, dresses and manner. She feels happier than she ever has during those few weeks, enjoying them frenetically. Nevertheless, her humble origins are eventually discovered by some, and Christine cannot stay there, triggering Claire to cancel their trip and return to America. Christine returns to her home in Austria, feeling beaten down and nostalgic for her time spent at the hotel in Switzerland. After comparing her past trip to her current location, an impoverished post-World War I Austrian city and her current job, she falls into a deep depression and feels wholly unhappy and discontented both with her job and life. Eventually, she meets Ferdinand, a friend of a poor relative of hers who had fought in

, and had been taken as a prisoner of war to Siberia. He is also in poverty and has lost all that he had by the war. After a few dates and casual encounters, they realize and share a deep depression, and eventually decide to commit suicide together, reluctant to do it alone. After Christine takes care of tying loose ends in her workplace in preparation for their joint suicide, she is then met by Ferdinand to go to the location where they have decided to commit the suicidal act. However, as Ferdinand takes a look at Christine's workplace, he notices a large amount of cash which he could steal. After some deliberation on the matter, Ferdinand realizes he need not kill himself if he can escape poverty through the stealing of government money from Christine's workplace. They then agree to postpone the suicide. After contemplating more on the matter, Ferdinand comes up with an elaborate plan to commit the theft and then proposes it to Christine. Christine is reluctant at first, but after delicate elaboration, agrees to the commitment of the robbery.

Reception

Lorna Bradbury of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' wrote in 2009: "''The Post Office Girl'' is a fine novel – and an excellent place to start if you are new to this great Austrian novelist. It is a powerful social history, describing in moving detail the social impact of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and the extreme poverty in which so many people were forced to live. ... Zweig succeeded in taking the most complex concepts of

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: + . is a set of theories and therapeutic techniques"What is psychoanalysis? Of course, one is supposed to answer that it is many things — a theory, a research method, a therapy, a body of knowledge. In what might b ...

and bringing them vividly to life."

John Banville William John Banville (born 8 December 1945) is an Irish novelist, short story writer, adapter of dramas and screenwriter. Though he has been described as "the heir to Proust, via Nabokov", Banville himself maintains that W. B. Yeats and Henry ...

reviewed the book in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'': "''The Post Office Girl'' is fierce, sad, moving and, ultimately, frightening. True, it is over-written – Simenon would have done it better, in half the space – but it is also hypnotic in its downward spiral into tragedy."

In popular culture

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. His films are known for their eccentricity and unique visual and narrative styles. They often contain themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Cited by ...

admitted to basing ''

The Grand Budapest Hotel ''The Grand Budapest Hotel'' is a 2014 comedy-drama film written and directed by Wes Anderson. Ralph Fiennes leads a seventeen-actor ensemble cast as Monsieur Gustave H., famed concierge of a twentieth-century mountainside resort in the fiction ...

'' on ''The Post Office Girl'' and ''

Beware of Pity ''Beware of Pity'' is a 1946 British romantic drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Lilli Palmer, Albert Lieven and Cedric Hardwicke. It is based on the novel of the same name by Stefan Zweig. A paraplegic young baroness mistakes co ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Post Office Girl, The 1982 novels Austrian novels German-language novels Novels by Stefan Zweig Novels published posthumously S. Fischer Verlag books

Plot

Reception

In popular culture

See also

References