Schuld und Erlösung in Traugott Teutschs Erzählung „Der Wortmann“

Abstract In his tale „Der Wortmann“, the Transylvanian-German author Traugott Teutsch tells the story of Peter Emerich, an influent man in his community, who is keen on getting rich and climbing up the social ladder, while preserving the image of an honest person. The article follows through different stages the evolution of his mindset up to the point where he repents of his past actions, tries to make amends for some of his mistakes and decides to lead an unselfish life of faithful service to the community. Guilt, repentance and redemption are some of the main topics followed in this article, which constituted also some of the founding stones of the Transylvanian-German collective mentality.