Hofmannsthal's development is nothing if not complex. Technical difficulties and philosophical difficulties echo one another, breed one another, and confuse one another; every form, every achievement, every completed text, reveals new problems. I have already simplified the situation considerably by leaving narrative out of consideration, and by postponing until Part III a discussion of the more publicly conceived theatrical works, the festival plays and musical plays. In the present chapter, I will discuss an attempt on Hofmannsthal's own part to simplify his situation and justify to himself his continuing in the poetic–intellectual career that had been made problematic in Chandos and the tragedies.

By a cryptic “inner dating,” Hofmannsthal suggests that “Die Briefe des Zurückgekehrten” must be thought of in relation to the Chandos letter; but neither this feature of the text nor the idea of “the heightened moment” justifies Kobel's assertion that “The emigrant, who has lived eighteen years overseas and now returns to Germany, undergoes experiences similar to Lord Chandos’” (p. 157). Kobel quotes the following to substantiate his point: