Sartor Resartus · Chapter
Getting Under Way explained
Teufelsdröckh reflects on the challenges of finding one's true vocation after leaving university.
What happens
Teufelsdröckh reflects on the challenges of finding one's true vocation after leaving university. He describes the difficulty of discovering one's inward and outward capabilities, the necessity of hunger in forcing a choice, and his own rejection of a prescribed legal profession. He finds himself adrift in a world that offers no clear guidance, struggling with both external obstacles and internal confusion, as he begins his solitary journey toward self-realization.
Themes in this chapter
The Nature of Work and Duty
Teufelsdröckh explores the necessity of work and the difficulty of finding one's true calling, contrasting mechanical 'Bread-studies' with authentic vocation.
The Heroic and Individual Self
The chapter emphasizes the individual's struggle against external constraints and internal confusion, framing Teufelsdröckh's journey as a heroic monodrama.
Historical and Social Transformation
The text references the shift from Feudalism to Industrialism, and the role of the 'Thinking Man' in challenging the 'Time-Prince' and reshaping society.
Characters to notice
- Diogenes Teufelsdröckh
The autobiographer, reflecting on his post-university struggles, his rejection of the legal profession, and his sense of being a 'visible Temporary Figure' with spiritual and physical forces.
- The Editor
The compiler who presents and comments on Teufelsdröckh's autobiographical fragments, interpreting his situation and character.
- Herr Hofrath Heuschrecke
Mentioned indirectly as the provider of the biographical documents; his role is implied in the editorial framing.
- Frau Gräfinn
The noble lady of the Zähdarm house, who gathered literary and artistic 'fringing' for aristocratic society, and with whom Teufelsdröckh had some connection.
Key passages
“Not what I Have, but what I Do is my Kingdom.”
A person's true domain is defined by their actions, not their possessions.
Teufelsdröckh articulates a core principle of active self-realization over passive accumulation.
“The Universe was as a mighty Sphinx-riddle, which I knew so little of, yet must rede, or be devoured.”
Life presented itself as an overwhelming enigma that he had to solve in order to survive.
Highlights Teufelsdröckh's existential struggle and the pressure to find meaning.
“Our whole terrestrial being is based on Time, and built of Time; it is wholly a Movement, a Time-impulse; Time is the author of it, the material of it.”
All of human existence is fundamentally temporal and dynamic, shaped and constituted by time itself.
Reflects Teufelsdröckh's philosophical meditation on the inescapable nature of time and change.