bells,asifsomeone had announced thatarescuer,ahelper,atrue friend was near.“Fe r-
dinand Lassalle,”they shouted and pressed closer to theyoung man,“is it true then,Fer-
dinand Lassalle is among us, he whomthe people in Berlin idolize, in whose chestaheart
beats for us,Ferdinand Lassalle is with us?”“He is withyou!”answeredthe youngman
straightening up with pride,“Oh, ifyouonlyknew how muchyour trust honors me,
how it fortifies me with powers of steel.Yes, IamFerdinand Lassalle, and hereupon the
bodyofthis dyinggirl [...]Itake this solemn oath. Listento me, all ofyouwho stand around
me, and remind me ofmy vowshouldIeverfalter,Iswear, fromthis dayforward,to stand
unwaveringlywith the people and their cause.”²⁵After this dramaticmoment of personal and politicalradicalization, the novel re-
counts several unrelated adventure and romancestories. Time and again Las-
salle returns andrepeatsthis transformative moment in various unexpected set-
tings. In accordancewith the conventions of the historical novel, his political
significanceisestablished through meetingswith Heinrich Heine,Ferdinand
Freiligrath, and OttovonBismarck. Meanwhile his inner struggles arerecognized
through the women in his life, CountessvonHatzfeldt,HelenevonDönniges,
and, inacameo appearance, SophievonSontzeff. TheVormärzyears place
him inBerlin at the center of political life, admired by influential women and
courted by powerful men.“But even in this wealthy, magnificent environment,”
the narrator assures hisreaders,“Lassalle had not forgotten foramoment that
he belonged to the people and thatitwas his mission to challengeand reduce
the rights of thosewith whom he now associated.”(FL,164)Alittle later,Las-
salle and the countess are riding through town in acarriagewhen they suddenly
find themselvessurroundedbyanangrymob. Once again, he announceshimself
to the people, and once again,“the flingingofLassalleswords into the exci’ ted
masses”producesastate of collective frenzy:
First it was completely still. But then it flew from mouthto mouth.“Have youheard, it is
Lassalle,Ferdinand Lassalle, our Lassalle.”And“our Lassalle”thundered throughthe air,
“our Lassalle”shouted from every mouth, and thosewhojustbeforehad facedthe count-
ess with hostility now pressed towardhim and wantedto shakehis hand.“LongliveLas-
salle,”they cried,“long live our protector and our savior.”(FL,220–221).Heinrich Büttner,Ferdinand Lassalle, der Helddes Volkes oder:UmLiebe getödtet! Socialer
Roman. Nach Briefen,Acten undAngabennaherVerwandter Lassalle’s,3vols (Berlin:Friedrichs,
1892),14–15.Hereafter quoted in parentheses in the textasFL.Onlyafew copies of this novel
have survivedinthe archives, including one in the GünterKosch collection of colportage novels
housed in the Deutsche LiteraturarchivinMarbach;Iam grateful toJessica Plummer for drawing
my attention to thisrare find.
Ferdinand Lassalle,the First SocialistCelebrity 131