Max Rychner’s dissertation and his mentor’s response
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In Switzerland, Max Rychner, a literary critic and editor, dedicated the copy of his doctoral dissertation to his advisor, Emil Ermatinger, revealing details of their academic relationship.
Rychner, active from the mid-20th century, led the cultural section of the Zurich magazine “Tat” and published work by authors like Paul Celan and Paul Valéry. He also championed emerging intellectuals such as Walter Benjamin and Peter Szondi, and in 1950 joined the German Academy for Language and Literature.
Rychner’s dissertation, a study of the liberal literary historian Georg Gottfried Gervinus, demonstrated a concise and pointed writing style influenced by Friedrich Nietzsche. A handwritten dedication within the dissertation copy shows Rychner thanking Ermatinger as a “Wegleiter”, a coined term suggesting guidance beyond just the dissertation itself, and indicating thoughtful appreciation. However, Ermatinger did not fully read Rychner’s completed work.
Books of the time often left the printing press with uncut pages, requiring the first reader to open them with a paperknife. Ermatinger only cut the pages up to the end of the dissertation’s preface, implying he was primarily interested in the acknowledgement and did not feel the need to revisit Rychner’s arguments. This suggests Rychner, having received guidance, was then expected to forge his own path.
