What a baffling story this is! It reminds me of the 'problem plays' of Shakespeare where women, and sometimes men, are wronged, abused, thrust out of their home and/or family... and yet, somehow, the tale orchestrates a happy ending of reconciliations and redemption.

In tone, this reads like a fable rather than anything more naturalistic, and the abundance of indirect speech contributes to the slightly fairy tale air of the whole thing. The translation feels adept, without jarring moments.

But really the pleasure comes from pondering what Kleist is up to here: is this supposed to be an allegory of the triumph of civility over barbarity? (It is, after all, set during the Napoleonic Wars). Or something about unbridled male sexuality being 'tamed' within bourgeoise conventions of the marriage contract?

I'm still not sure - and while it doesn't travel well in a culture of #MeToo, it's a story where rape seems to be symbol rather than visceral reality. And how weird the final reconciliation of father and daughter...

Yes, baffling - but intriguing!