SOURCE: "The Foundling," "The Duel," "The Beggarwoman of Cocarno" and "St. Cecilia, or the Power of Music," in The Major Works of Heinrich von Kleist, New Directions Books, 1975, pp. 114-17, 152-59, 249-51.

Helbling is a Swiss-born American educator and critic. In the essay below, he analyzes the theme of artifice in "The Foundling, " the anguish inherent in "St. Cecilia, or the Power of Music, " and "The Beggarwoman of Locarno, " and ambiguous aspects of "The Duel, "

"the Foundling"

It has been surmised that this Novelle is one of Kleist's earlier works, conceived sometime in 1805-6, and that it underwent considerable revision before it was finally published in volume two of his Erzählungen (1811). But it is equally plausible that he wrote it specifically for the purpose of amplifying the contents of the second tome, for which he apparently accepted a publishing contract before he had composed all of the...