Mystical success story – Gustav Meyrink writer
Hello reader, today I am Gustav Meyrink the writer again. I was accused of doing black magic in banking. Unprovable, you know. My back hurt and I used tantra yoga to warm up my spinal column, but there were rumors that I was warming up something else. With such a train of gossip, it became clear that career growth in the field of banking would be slow, like the maturation of the White cedar. For you to understand, this variety of conifers grows only 10 cm in 155 years. So I was looking for ways to make money by putting all my time and effort into it. And this is the story of how I finally accepted the fact that I, Gustav Meyrink, is a writer.
Relationships can be complex not only between people, but also between people and cities
Gustav Meyrink Prague writer
1883 I moved to Prague and lived here for 20 years. It is a city with a special rhythm and a special heartbeat. If you are ever in Prague, in no case do not go to tourist places. Go where your feet take you if you want to get to know the city, feel its mood and spirit.
As for me, we have a special relationship with this city. The narration of my iconic works takes place here: In The Golem, In Walpurgis Night, In The West Window Angel. Yes, there was more about Prague in the story "The Pilot".
Why this particular city?
I would say that I enjoyed listening to his silence. If you do not understand what I mean, then go to Rome or any other European city. Close your eyes to hear the selected city. At such a moment, if you can see and hear, as I, Gustav Meyrink the writer, could, you can hear the layers. They make noise, flicker – this is a layering of epochs. But in Rome, for example, there are too many of them … What can not be said about Prague.
Prague is provincial. But is this a defect? This is only geography and territorial affiliation. Here, look what I managed to record when I listened to the city:
“Not everyone can hear and feel my pulse. It is deep in stone pavements, in bridge piers, in the air… Yes. It's an elusive pulse. Therefore, many tourists here, as if immersed in a nap. They think I'm dreaming. But it's not. And even bright people here, who see and know that I am awake, fall into the trap of their own prejudices, that nothing happens in small provincial towns, and the eccentricities of tourists and guests go unnoticed.
Everyone knows where Gustav Meyrink is a writer, there is mysticism
But strange things have always accompanied me. Last time, I already mentioned that after the failed suicide, I became a lot like I lived. And as a banker, and as a yoga practitioner, and as a father … Researchers, probably due to the density of events and the unusual nature of the very attempt to die, this moment is considered the starting point for everything mysterious and incomprehensible.
“Life after death?"..yes, I read the pamphlet. Nothing outstanding. But it's iconic. Honestly, I myself after that went into mysticism and theosophy with my head. And even practiced yoga.
Gustav Meyrink writer and yogi
Here, by the way, there is no mysticism. I have had back pain since I was young. I mean, I'm in pain all the time. Of course, now, “after life”, there are no problems with this. But during the years of my life, in order to alleviate this condition, I was constantly engaged in certain types of gymnastics.
Gradually came to yoga. And here, as you know, it is difficult to limit yourself to physical exercises only. Where yoga begins, there is an interest in both theosophy and philosophy. This interest leads me to study tantra yoga and techniques, with the help of which I, in fact, tried to just warm up the spinal column.
I, Gustav Meyrink, writer – I am not a psychologist
But now, in the 21st century, you like to mix all sorts of fairy tales with medicine. And call it, for example, psychosomatics. In the language of psychosomatics, the back is responsible for enduring, enduring. Do you think I succeeded?
What does this “survive” refer to? Who didn't succeed? Neither you nor I know their stories. By the way, mine, as you know now, is also almost forgotten. So maybe this psychosomatics of yours suggests that Gustav Meyrink, the writer, did not survive. Or is Gustav Meyrink a banker? Gustav Meyrink prisoner?
Gustav Meyrink is a writer looking for ways to make money
If I were only a writer, I would not be of interest as a person. But I, Gustav Meyrink the writer, in addition to my literary activity and mysticism, was actively interested in banking. I needed money. And who doesn't? There you are. Probably needed too. What are you doing to earn more?
If you work as a cook, you are always full. If you are a banker, you always have money. So I thought. And trained as a banker in 1883.
As a matter of fact, I, a little-known cult mystic of the 19th century, actually started out as a banker. In 1889, together with Christian Morgenstern, the nephew of the famous poet, we opened the Mayer & Morgenstern banking house.
My banking and criminal cases
At first, banking was more or less successful. But, I must admit, Prague treated me, so to speak, in a specific way … and the city had reasons for that. I confess now…
Let me remind the reader that I, Gustav Meyrink, the writer is a bastard. That is, an illegitimate son. This left its mark on my name and on the attitude of the public towards me in provincial Prague. Besides, I behaved not very provincially. Against the background of gray stone streets and heavy clouds that often carry full-flowing rains, I stood out.
Magic dandy banker
I dressed very fashionably. I enjoyed life. I didn't hide it all. What irritated people, provincial customs especially. But more than the gloss of a dandy, my passion for mysticism “cut the ear” to society.
Banker mystic and prisoner
The dullness of the landscapes in Prague was somehow reassuring. Yes, if you have never known it, open the photo, even if only the Charles Bridge. And now, imagine against the background of this bridge a bright young man who in every possible way emphasizes his wealth and does not hide his hobbies with something not entirely clear, mysterious and, perhaps, witchcraft …
There is nothing surprising in the fact that society immediately "conceived", "nurtured" and "raised" a whole horde of rumors that Gustav Meyrink uses witchcraft to make things in his banking house go uphill.
The consequences of such "flashy" behavior were also not long in coming and the reaction of the authorities. When the rumor found "ground under its feet" and for the society of the city of Prague already looked like an indisputable fact, I received a response from the city. The city blamed me. Groundless. It's like accusing some of you in the 21st century of using or holding cryptocurrencies.
In the 19th century, everything was not so technologically advanced. But we didn't get bored either. For example, I often shot myself in duels. History knows few cases, because I have learned to get out of these stories without victims. Often they were provoked by my origin, and this is not a reason for death. What do you think?
duel without casualties
Once, One of the officers (his name has been erased by history) reminded me – the banker – of my unworthy origin in the very form that logically follows in a duel. I, once again defending my name, accepted the challenge and fired with the officer. But everyone stays alive.
And yet, they wrote a somehow useless denunciation against me in every sense
In 1902. Some Olich. Also, like the duel, by and large the story did not end with anything serious. But it was reflected in my name as a banker and in the affairs of the banking house.
I was accused of doing "black magic in banking"! Can you imagine? Probably, you have such statements – these are the headlines of the yellow press, and nothing more. And then that was the reason.
Because the system didn't work very well, I was imprisoned for two and a half months. Then I was acquitted, because this type of denunciation is difficult to put into facts and prove anything. For lack of corpus delicti. I was released. But, as you understand, I did not receive compensation for false accusations, as well as for denigrating the name of the banking house. Confidence in the financial environment has fallen. So I decided to leave Prague.
From the Golem Author: He was accused of doing black magic in banking. Was acquitted, but banking in Prague was difficult to continue. His confidence has dropped. This is how Gustav Meyrink the writer was finally formed. But the money was still not enough.
When things don't go well in business, literature becomes an outlet. That's how it happened to me
At the beginning of the 2000s, my small satirical writings were published in the German magazine Simplicissimus, but under a different name – Meiring. This is my mother's last name. As for the stories, unlike my larger works, here I liked to joke caustically.
I, Gustav Meyrink the writer – now finally
I chose the path of the writer. In Vienna, I released a new collection called "Orchid, Strange Stories" and even managed to live here.
May 8, 1905 Another wedding. My precious wife is Philamina Burt. 1906 Birth of a daughter. 1908 This is son. I continued my writing career. I even managed to travel.
But, along with my success in writing, I never forgot that this activity is not a craft that can earn a living, and at the same time raise children and provide for them and a wife.
I made money with translations, for example, until the end of my life
The most famous:
- Five volumes of works by Charles Dickens;
- Tibetan Book of the Dead.
So never give up. Look for opportunities. Do not get upset for a long time and do not feed rumors and stories that destroy your life with your attention. Travel more and exercise your imagination more often. Use it for something worthwhile.
Now I will tell you how I used it during my lifetime.
Moving to Sternberg
In 1911 my family and I moved to Sternberg. This is a modern suburb of Munich. After renting a house by the lake, I continued to write and translate.
The success of "Golem"
In 1915 I wrote the book The Golem. Thanks to her, modest fame is gained. And if among the readers there were few patient and observant, then among the directors, there were daredevils who were engaged in the adaptation of this story.
By the way, do you know who the Golem is? Translated from Hebrew, "Golem" is an unfinished detail that has not yet been filled with content.
Note from the Golem, who writes for Meyrink: Meyrink likes to add things to his works that pass from one time to another, and are conduits. Thanks to these things, a person can observe what is happening in these times, or communicate with people from those times.
Gustav Meyrink writer:
Idea of my story Golem
The action takes place in Prague. The narrator, on behalf of whom the narration is being conducted, finds the Hat and after that begins to have strange dreams. The hero begins to look for the owner of the hat and finds it. It turns out to be a stone cutter and restorer who lived many years ago in Prague in the Jewish Ghetto.
The bottom line: Once every few decades, the Golem comes to life and executes commands that someone writes on a piece of paper and puts the Golem in the lips.
The Golem idea itself is curious. For example, I wouldn't be writing this article for you now if I didn't know how to make a Golem.
The fate of the "Golem" in recent times
The work was translated into Russian by a Soviet translator, literary critic David Isaakovich Vygotsky.
Screen adaptations of Golem
The Golem became so popular that in 1915 the German director Paul Wegener made a five-minute film dedicated to it.
But this is only a modest start. in 1917 the film "The Golem and the Dancer" appears, and in 1920 the feature film "The Golem: How He Came into the World"
The idea of a Golem, an animated clay “doodle”, was accepted by the Europeans and attracted by its unusualness. Films about the Golem have been filmed more than once. The theme has spread in different countries. And even in your computer games there are many characters, the prototypes of which were my Golem. That's all for today. I liked living after death. And you? Are you able to turn all situations to your advantage in life?
A little secret for those who are experiencing difficulties: if you don't know how to solve a task, entrust it to the Golem .. although you already have automation and bots for this.