Introduction: Between the surface and the depths
Water and stone: The end of life and sacrifice in Goethe's Elective affinities and Ebner-Eschenbach's Beyond atonement
The wide sea of light: Hidden order and works of love in Stifter's early writing
Flumen publicum: The imitation of right and the recognition of rite in Keller's A village Romeo and Juliet
A faint wake: Atonement and afterward in Storm's late works
Epilogue: Ophelia and the boatman.