Mental anxiety: the reality of being resisted is a thorn in my heart.

The author of this book, Zweig, was an Austrian writer before World War II. He was born into a wealthy Jewish family. He was famous for his poems in college, and then he became a hot playwright. Because of his Jewish identity and anti-fascist writing tendency, he was banned by fascism, and he turned to writing short stories and achieved great success. Among them, 24 Hours in a Woman's Life, Letter from an Unknown Woman, Invisible Treasure and many other short stories vividly, profoundly and richly depict psychology with passionate words, and become world-famous short stories. Zweig is also the most translated and read German novelist. Desperate for the situation in Europe, he committed suicide with his second wife in Brazil on 1942.

Anxiety of the Mind is his only novel. The novel describes the story of a young girl who refused to accept the fact that her legs were disabled, met and fell in love with a compassionate young officer, and committed suicide after being rejected by the officer.

This paper intends to outline its contents from four aspects and further analyze the life enlightenment brought by this book.

The first part: I met Edith, a disabled girl, for the first time and became a hospitable frequent visitor of the local rich family.

At the beginning of this book, the theme of sympathy in the novel is put forward, and the process of how I know the protagonist and hear the story is introduced with a frame structure. I was born in a small bureaucratic family. I am poor because I have many children. I was sent to the military camp since I was a child. After graduating from military school, with the support of rich relatives, I was able to become a cavalry officer stationed near the border.

Because I was born in a poor family, life in the garrison town was boring. I met a beautiful young lady while killing time in a pub. A pharmacist friend introduced me to this family. This young lady is the niece of a rich local aristocrat. She likes to make friends with military officers and introduced me to this family.

I was invited to the dinner party of the noble family, intoxicated with exquisite food and rich wine, and danced with the beautiful niece and other beautiful female guests of the noble family, completely ignoring the noble daughter (Edith) and her disabled legs. At the end of the dance, I remember inviting the host's daughter to dance according to the etiquette, which made the daughter who couldn't dance feel ashamed and blushed. I was embarrassed and left in a panic.

When I got home, I began to imagine the ridicule of my friends in the army and the whole city knowing this embarrassing stupid thing. The next morning, I finally decided to spend a lot of money on flowers to apologize to Edith. The girl's family invited me to visit again. In my anxiety, I accepted the invitation and immediately visited Edith's family and had a pleasant conversation with Edith and his cousin. Edith's father explained to me the painful and anxious life after her disability and her healthy and happy life in the past. I escaped from this ominous mansion for the first time.

On the second day of practice, I felt strong sympathy for Edith and the happiness I could bring her. Once again, I was invited to dinner and had a drink with a lieutenant colonel of the Ministry of National Defense and a local rich man who might help me. When I left, the old man touched my shoulder and gave me a warm welcome. I have the consciousness of helping others. I visit Edith's family every day, talking and laughing with Edith and his cousin. Cousin said that she was engaged and would not get married until Edith's illness got better or better. I guess the old man promised her a dowry.

I alienated my friends in the army because of my daily visits. One rainy night, before I went back to my residence, I walked into the pub frequented by my friends. My friends laughed at me and found the gold cigarette case that Edith's sisters gave me, which made me wonder why I visited every day. The next day after work, I deliberately didn't visit Edith's family and went to the pub to play cards to kill time. I ran into Elliot's cousin when I went out, and I lied that I didn't come.

In this part, I became a frequent visitor to Edith's house. Why? Hit it off. Because the elderly need him, add a little spice to the anxious and boring life of the disabled daughter, and release the depressed family atmosphere brought by her daughter ... Perhaps, because he has been interested in making friends with young officers in the past, he deliberately narrowed the distance with me. Now, in just a few weeks, I have almost become a member of this wealthy family, and my hobbies and needs have been carefully prepared and taken care of. I need it too. A poor boy who was born in poverty and nobody cared, because of a little sympathy, became a close member of a rich family and became the focus of attention. It goes without saying that he is flattered by his happiness and intoxication. Where can he care? What happened and why?

The second part is the great hope brought by the new therapy

I met Edith's cousin in the street and promised to visit the next day. I went to the luxurious observation deck with elevator built by the old man because of his daughter's disability, and I had a panoramic view of the surrounding scenery. I walked up the stairs, observed Edith who was sleeping, and felt her pain and misfortune. Edith woke up and asked me why I came to see her every day, hoping that I would stop lying and cheating in the future. They were honest with each other, and Edith became happy and went for massage therapy. The old man told me about his daughter's treatment, introduced Dr. condor who treated her in detail, and praised him as a responsible and good doctor who reassured patients. At the beginning of his business, he promised the patient that he could cure a woman's blindness, but in the end he failed to cure her. In order to be responsible for her, he married this older woman. Finally, the old man asked me to ask the doctor if Edith's illness could be cured. I saw that the old man's extremely weak mental state was tortured by his daughter's illness and promised to help. Having dinner with the doctor at night, the doctor noticed the change of Edith.

After dinner, I sent the doctor to the station. The doctor told me about the old man's past and Edith's current treatment, as well as the new methods he planned to try.

It turned out that the old man was born in a poor Jewish family. He became an intermediary in the spirit of diligence and thrift, and people had certain property in middle age. On a business trip by train, I heard the person next to me mention that an heiress was cheated out of most of her property. He acted quickly and prepared to buy rare porcelain at a low price to make a small fortune. Only to find that the heiress is a timid middle-aged woman who knows nothing. So he took the opportunity to buy the heiress's mansion at the price of 1/3, not just porcelain. The heiress with millions of property now has only 200,000 pounds left, which is enough for her to live in peace for the rest of her life. The heiress has no doubt about his enthusiasm and kindness. Out of guilt, before he left, he asked her where she was going and found that she had only one distant relative to go. So he proposed to her, who was no longer young, and they were happy after marriage. However, a few years after Edith was born, his wife fell ill. In order not to disturb her busy husband, she kept it from him, so that she was hopeless soon. Later, my daughter was disabled because of infection. From then on, the old man no longer took money seriously, just to give his family the best.

I told the old man what the doctor thought of the new treatment. The old man told Edith that they almost took it as a fact and were in high spirits. They decided to travel in a luxurious antique carriage with four drivers. When you meet a farmer's wedding on the road, you should be a distinguished guest. The party is full of enthusiasm and goes back to their homes.

When I got home, I received a telegram from the doctor asking me to discuss the new treatment in detail. As it turns out, the new treatment method is completely unsuitable for Edith's condition. The doctor decided to tell Edith's family the truth. I couldn't bear to see Edith suddenly fall into despair and pain, which discouraged the doctor's idea. I hoped to try a new treatment when she was in high spirits, and promised the doctor that if she failed, she would take responsibility. Finally, the doctor decided to send Edith to a nursing home in Switzerland for new treatment.

I read this story in the night of 100 1 and felt trapped by the old man. Edith asked me to visit her in a nursing home in the future, but I refused, causing an uproar. Edith realized her gaffe and apologized to me. I excused myself and went to the bed to say goodbye to her. Edith, like a child, asked for a good night kiss. When I kissed her on the forehead, she pulled hard and forced a French kiss. I finally realized her love, and I couldn't accept it. I ran away from Edith's house for the second time.

In the second part, I saw that the old man was anxious and miserable because of his daughter's illness, and he was exhausted. Out of sympathy, I promised to ask the doctor about the future progress of Edith's illness for him, and told the old man about the new treatment that the doctor planned to know. The old man told the news to his daughter again, and the two accepted and celebrated the possible hope as a fact, and regarded this faint hope as all the hopes of life.

Part three? I couldn't accept Edith's love, publicly denied the fact of engagement, and Edith committed suicide.

Edith wrote to express her strong love to me. I am too busy receiving a distinguished military guest, Balinkay, to answer Edith. During the drill, I was reprimanded by my superiors. I decided to quit my job and asked Balinkay to help me find a job. Balinkay promised to help me. I decided to go to Vienna to say goodbye to the doctor and break my promise to Edith. I found the doctor's consulting room and residence, but the doctor didn't come home after a visit. While waiting, I saw the old and ugly blind girl married him because of the doctor's responsibility, and saw his clinic and home showing poverty everywhere. Although the income he only earned from treating Edith is enough for him to live a good life, it is obvious that all this is because of his dedication to poor patients. Out of concern for her husband's health, the blind woman expressed dissatisfaction with the selfless efforts made by doctors for patients. I have been very touched, and I waited for a long time to see the doctor who came home late from a house call. At the doctor's suggestion, I decided to stay and continue to help Edith until she went to Switzerland for recuperation in a few days.

Edith and I had an affair for four days. Sensitive Edith was angered by my words and decided to postpone going to the nursing home. I was depressed and desperate and tamed my friend's fierce horse. The old man knelt down to me for his daughter. I made a false promise on the condition of recovery, because I knew she would never recover (on the contrary, if she did, who wouldn't want to marry a healthy and rich daughter).

I went to see Edith, and Edith said that she would try her best to cure my sick leg. If it is not cured, she will commit suicide and will never drag me down again. In a good atmosphere, I kissed her in public, which meant they were engaged. Edith put an engagement ring on me at the beautiful and happy dinner party. I am intoxicated with the glory of God again, because all the happiness and light come from me. When I left, the old man said goodbye to me again and again, which made me flinch. Edith put down her cane and walked towards me with difficulty. No one could stop him. In the last step, Edith put down her crutches and hugged me with open arms, but she lost her balance and fell to the ground. I don't think I should help her, but I chickened out instinctively. This completely hurt Edith's self-esteem. In my panic, I fled this mansion for the third and last time.

I don't want to go back to my residence, stay in a shop in the suburbs and fall asleep, dreaming that I brought Edith home with a disability and was laughed at by my family. Then I went to the pub in the city where my friends often go. My friends asked me if I was engaged to Edith, because the pharmacist said so, and I publicly denied the engagement.

When I got back to my apartment, I was worried that the whole city already knew about my engagement and then publicly denied it. I felt my honor was damaged and decided to commit suicide. Before committing suicide, I met the major's boss, an honest, rigid and compassionate officer from a peasant background. He saw my abnormality and learned that I wanted to commit suicide. I reported my experience to him. The major thought it was a trivial matter, and he would tell the soldiers present who heard me deny the engagement not to spread it around, so that no more people would know about it and my reputation would be saved. Besides, he sent me far away, which got rid of Edith's engagement troubles.

Before dawn the next day, I took military books and orderlies to other places to take office. I thought a lot on the train and decided to accept Edith's love. The train passed Vienna and stayed for two hours. I went to see the doctor, who was not in. I wrote a message, hoping that he could see Edith and convey my heart. When I arrived at the new garrison hotel, I waited for the doctor's call, but I didn't get any reply. I sent Edith a telegram indicating my intention. On the fourth day, it was found that due to the outbreak of world war 1, the telegram was not sent successfully and was returned.

Finally, I waited for a call from Dr. Condor: he didn't come home all night because of a house call, so he couldn't get my information in time and went to see Edith. After I left, my friends in the army called the pharmacist and accused him of fabricating facts. The humiliated pharmacist angrily went to Edith's house the next day to make a scene. When Edith heard everything, she quietly asked her cousin to push her to the high platform and excuse her cousin. When my cousin went back to see her, she had fallen to the ground from the observation deck and was still alive. She died in the hospital that night. His father died a few days later. I went to war to die, but I won the medal of hero, which represents the highest honor.

In the third part, the causes of Edith's anxiety and anger have changed from her past illness to her desire for love. My indecision and dishonesty led to her suicide. If we put all our hopes on others or a miracle, but we can't handle ourselves well, it will only accelerate our sinking and destruction. A little trouble from outside will also become a sword to kill people.

? Part four: How did the tragedy happen? Did my sympathy kill her?

It is said that when writing this book, the author named the book "Compassion Killing" in a letter to Freud, but in the end he didn't use this name, which must be well thought out.

Just as sympathy is everywhere in this book, so is the anxiety of the mind. It is because of my restless mind that I fled again and again after the incident, constantly imagining all kinds of disastrous and terrible consequences, but then doing nothing; Edith's anxiety is exposed to rage again and again, in passionate courtship letters, and in short messages asking for burning letters in the future; Edith's father is teetering on his life in the anxiety and pain caused by his daughter's disability and careful torture. The doctor said that their family was very difficult, just because he hoped the doctor could give them a reassuring "promise"; If the doctor gives them a reassuring promise, They will certainly demand more urgently. ........................................................................................................................................... In contrast with them, Dr. Condor and his ugly blind wife have a peaceful and quiet heart, and they can still respect and support each other in their extremely unequal marriage. Even if you live in poverty and take care of patients, you are not knocked down by life.

Even I can see that the old man has been anxious about his daughter's illness to the point of dying, but Edith has never expressed her concern for her father, just paying attention to his illness and love, and is keen to focus all her attention on herself. If she thought of her old father, how could she kill herself? Love is the emotion we live by. Immature people think that getting love is happiness, but they don't know that giving love is also a kind of luck. Giving love often brings us burden and pain, but it can often prevent the destruction of wrong passion and save people's hearts.

Why are they so anxious? Is it the disease itself? No, it's their feelings and views on the disease. From the works of other contemporary European and American writers, we can know that many people who have lost one or two legs are still alive, and some of them even have to wait on others or do farm work.

The second time I visited Edith, when the old man introduced me to Edith, it was obvious that they never thought about the possibility that Edith would never stand up. "Just wait for her to get better or recover ..." After several years of paralysis, the family didn't accept the status quo at all, and even didn't even think about it, especially Edith herself. She knew that her family was very careful with her, but instead of responding with understanding and consideration, she was angry, as if her family owed her. It is strange for a person to be in such rage and pain for a long time without consuming himself. How is her character formed? Family education, of course. A family that broke out from poverty and oppression, middle-aged and elderly people have children, and the way of love is to spoil and spoil, which is the root of her character defect.

What about the old man? Although according to the current standards, it can be regarded as sitting on hundreds of millions of wealth, but the possibility of life is completely pinned on her daughter, but this spoiled daughter has never taken her old father to heart. He tried his best to save his daughter by marriage, but he accelerated the destruction of her and himself.

As for me in the story, I was even more critical by the author. This is a typical man who can only share joys and sorrows. Every time I enjoy food, wine and other people's attention and love, I am in a fog, intoxicated with it. Once I encounter a little embarrassment or possible harm, I panic, feel at a loss and have to escape. Whether it's escaping from the manor again and again, or going to resign, trying to commit suicide, and finally going to garrison in other places, or even participating in World War I, it's an escape strategy.

There are actually three contrasts about sympathy and anxiety in the book. One is put forward at the beginning of the novel, that is, Dr. Condor and I, one is responsible sympathy, and the other is just to get rid of mental anxiety.

In fact, there is also a kind of sympathy, that is, the author used a lot of space to introduce the old man's past experience and met and married his wife. Out of sympathy and guilt, the old man married the heiress who was cheated of huge wealth. After marriage, they lived a happy life and had a daughter Edith. The heiress lived with a rich marquise Hou for many years. The old lady left all her property because she didn't want it to fall into the hands of unrelated relatives, but she was extremely insulted, slandered and trampled on before her death, which made her lose her will. As a companion of a nobleman, she traveled all over the world and went in and out of high positions, but she couldn't seek medical advice for herself, so she died early. It's really hard to blame her husband who loved her.

The story of her and her husband can also be seen as a preview of her daughter's story: this lack of self-will directly translates into her paralyzed legs being unable to move freely. They put everything on a man, and when they meet a responsible man (father), they can only have a short happy time and can't bear the storms of life; When I meet someone who can only share weal and woe, I will die directly.

It is worth noting that in three incidents of sympathy, men have the responsibility to give themselves. From the sympathy for the unequal marriage of the condor heroes, we know that it is unfair to the man who sacrificed himself. Therefore, whether this kind of responsible and thorough sympathy is appropriate deserves our further consideration. Although the theme of sympathy runs through the whole beginning and end, at the end, I declare that only Dr. Condor is qualified to judge me. The only exception is worthy of a saint.

I think maybe this is why Zweig changed the original title to Anxiety of the Mind. Sympathy killing, such as the title of a book, has a sense of anger and is likely to be an event that inspires writers to create; And the anxiety of the soul, a restless heart, is the internal main cause of the tragedy. The two topics provided in the title and the opening paragraph are very important to us. As for which is more important and which is less important, it may not be that important.