Caliban over Setebos is a short story by Arno Schmidt. It was first published in 1964 as the conclusion of the ten stories in the volume Kühe in Halbtrauer. It tells how the poet Georg Düsterhenn travels to a Lower Saxony village to see his childhood sweetheart again. However, he feels repulsed by her, observes lesbian group sex on his nightly departure and narrowly escapes the angry women who have discovered him. These burlesque adventures are depicted against the backdrop of the ancient Orpheus myth. There are numerous other allusions to ancient myths as well as to works by Robert Burns, Robert Browning, James Joyce and others. The text is an example of Schmidt's psychoanalytic-oriented etymological theory, developed shortly before. It is considered "the literary masterpiece" among Schmidt's shorter works.[1]
- ^ Peter Habermehl: Orfeus in Niedersaxn. Arno Schmidts Erzählung «Caliban über Setebos». In: Antike und Abendland 53 (2007), p. 191.