"What a strange invention marriage is!" wrote Kierkegaard. "Is it the expression of that inexplicable erotic sentiment, that concordant elective affinity of souls, or is it a duty or a partnership...or is it a little of all that?" Like Kierkegaard a few decades later, many of Germany's most influential thinkers at the turn of the eighteenth century wondered about the nature of marriage but rejected the easy answers provided by biology and theology. In "Uncivil Unions", Adrian Daub presents a truly interdisciplinary look at the story of a generation of philosophers, poets, and intellectuals who turned away from theology, reason, common sense, and empirical observation to provide a purely metaphysical justification of marriage. Through close readings of philosophers like Fichte and Schlegel, and novelists like Sophie Mereau and Jean Paul, Daub charts the development of this new concept of marriage with an insightful blend of philosophy, cultural studies, and theory. The author delves deeply into the lives and work of the romantic and idealist poets and thinkers whose beliefs about marriage continue to shape ideas about gender, marriage, and sex to the present day.

About the Author
Adrian Daub is assistant professor of German studies at Stanford University. He is the author of a German-language book on four-hand piano playing in the nineteenth century.

Reviews
"Is it philosophy or political theory or literary analysis? Is it history of ideas or gender studies or cultural studies? I am convinced that this is an utterly original, brilliantly insightful, and scrupulously argued contribution to all of these areas. I cannot think of any text that treats this period with this kind of richness. A powerful, sound, and insightful work." (Richard T. Eldridge, Swarthmore College)"



Book Information
ISBN 9780226136936
Author Adrian Daub
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 624g
Dimensions(mm) 24mm * 16mm * 3mm