Stefan Zweig's "Beware of Pity"

I have just read "Beware of Pity," a full length novel of Stefan Zweig, an Austrian of Jewish descent, who became one of Germany's famous writers. The novel explores the disastrous consequences of sentimental and insincere pity. The setting is pre-World War I, and the main protagonist, Lt. Anton Hofmiller, a handsome young cavalry officer, is posted in a provincial Hungarian town. Bored with provincial life, he is fortunate to be invited to a soiree held in the mansion of the town's richest man. Hofmiller enjoys himself immensely in Herr Kekesfalva's party, but in his desire to show his gratefulness, he commits the ultimate social blunder: inviting the host's crippled daughter Edith for a dance. To correct his error, he befriends Edith but his shallow sympathy for her, arouses hopes for a romantic relationship. Hofmiller does nothing to dispel these false hopes, and Edith's disappointment leads her to suicide.

To be quite frank, the first parts of the novel were a bit of a drag, but its plot catches on and compels you to read it throughout. In my honest opinion, though Hofmiller did not necessarily develop a romantic attachment to Edith, he did feel a certain closeness to her. Yet, in some respects, I felt that it was Edith's fault--she read too much from Hofmiller's closeness and misinterpreted the situation. It is easy to assume that because of her illness, Edith was desperate to fall in love and experience its joys. Desperation to gain what is unattainable often leads us to do things that would ultimately lead to our own tragical unraveling.