Wilhelm Busch; a humorous critic of his time Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Engel-Stevens, Michael, 1915- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 03/10/2021 22:04:12 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/319491 m i M E I M BUSCH, A HUMOROUS . CRITIC OF HIS T1HE . > • . MieHa©l. E^el"Stevens / . A 3?tiesis SiiUmit%e& ;to tiie Faculty" of the. v; : ’ ' 'B1HAEMEH$: OF OER1AH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements ■; For the Degree of v;:tv V- M SfSR . OF- A IES:: ■: v-.v.-'t-.: ' v ; ■ • • . In the Graduate College ' . : . UHlYiSRSITT OF ARIZOHA: ; 1960 STATi&IENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: D^J. Woloshin Instructor in German The author wishes to express his gratitude to Iho Wdloshini, Ihf tructor in G-erman at the University of Arizonaforhisscholarly guidanceand' ::assistanee i n vthe ■xra?iting of this thesis0 Mr@ Do • Woloshin8 s encouragement s eohstrnctive . critieism : ahh' snpDort heig^d't this . study to completion® ;• TAB'XiE OF OOHTEM'S .GEAPTER ' , ' Page I • lixTTRODUCTIOE . ... A » . 1 , II HIS TIME . .. V . , . / 9 XIII THE- SPIESSBHERO-ER: AMD; 'THE • : " ; X PROFESSIplS . ::I, . : 22 . IV THE CLERGY . I . .. , . 59 V CULTURE . .. » . , I . „ . , . 55 VI COHCLUSIOH X X . ...... .. , . 78 BIBLIOGRAPHY : . X . X ' .. , X X , .. 86 CHAPTER I IHTROPUCTIOH Sei ein braver Bledermann5 Range tn.ecb.tig an an lobenS Und du .wirst. von uns sodann ■ G-erne mit empor geb.oben® f/ie 5 dn zieb.st ein scbiefes Maul?. Willst nicb.t5 dass dicb. andre adeln? 3Sas denn sei mir nur nieht faul Und verlege: dicb. aufs Tadeln* . , ■ Geltj das 1st ein Hocbgenuss, Scbwebs.t du so mit Woblgefalien . Als ein 'sel?ger Kritikus. Hocberbaben ueber alien® •L The objective of tbis tbesis is to examine Tfilbelm'Bnscb as a critic of; bis time® Tbis study makes no pretense of being a discovery of any new aspects of Buscb’s, writings, However, it is hoped that it will constitute a contribution to a better understanding of Busch1 s works by interpreting them in such a manner as to furnish adequate evidence that Busch was not of primary importance as the writer of Max und Moritz and othert-Kindergescblcbten but that his primary importance was as a htanorous critic of his time« Upon closer examination we will discover that bis works.are not only permeated with humor but that they also contain 1 Wilhelm Busch» Wilhelm Bus oh -Cdsamtausgabe, ed> Otto HoedeIke (Munich,"1958) , V, 2lTo • a serious analysis of nineteenth century society. We . - s-jmil focus our attention on those of his .writings • that - provihe an understanding of his criticism of his contemporaries ' and. of hims elf e In this way we will reach a more accurate appraisal of this man® ih i : if''::'' ' J ^ ' ■: V: . The works to be examined in this study are: Eritik des Herzens^ Maler Elecksel, Balduin Ba'ehlamm, Bduards Traumj, Ton mir ueber mich5 Die fromme Helene • 'Max-und Moritz,, Bater Filucius3 Per heillge Antonius von Paduas - Ehopp-Trllogie and Die -Bartikularisten. • : In order to evaluate and describe this artistVs work without bias, it will be necessary to lay aside ■ preconceived ideas-. and to investigate the reliability v • o f his. satirical descriptions * The. question may arise - , as to whether there.was no virtue at all to he found in Busch8s environmentc. ' -tine might also wonder whether. 'Busch8 s. preoccupation with his contemporaries8 cunning, egotism, envy, hypocrisy and’vice is merely, ah indication of his own pessimistic concept of life» , tif course, Busch8 s criticism of his,society is of - necessity a one­ sided and slanted portrayal Of those traits of his feilows which, lent themselves to .humorous presentation^ This does not mean that only those aspects of his society which were 'generally'considered worthy of blame were ■ at tacked by the satirist.8 S sharp wit« He satirized . any conditions which .lent themselves to satire. Many :of. his own. traits were open to the same criticisms vrhich he made of his fellow men^ His many human failings'will become obvious as we turn to a brief study of his life» .Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch was born at Wiedensahlg Hannover on April 15, 1832 as the first of seveno His father had a small.general store in that tiny village ® At the age of nine Wilhelm moved to the ' • V, : v:-/ : ... V "h- .. ^ home of his uncleP Pastor JHLeine in Ebergoetzen® Ihe pastor became his teacher and exerted, considerable. ■ influence on himo' His uncle1s writings and studies in the field of,apiculture .impressed young Busch to such an extent.that he continued his study of this subject and latdr became a recognized authority in this particular fieldo He began to read;extensively at the age of thirteen and made a superficial' acquaintance of Immanuel Eant's Eritik der reinen' Vernunft« In September, 1847 he 'entered the lechnische Hochschule in Hannover in order to become a mechahical engineer« After four years at that institution Busch realized that his inclinations were not in the field of mathematics and decided to take up; painting at the. academy In Duesseldorf e v.... ' Ih the spring of 1852 he moved to Antwerp . because he found the academy inadequate = \, For'"the first time in his life he had an opportunity to study the works of, the great Flemish masters« Concerning the effects' of. these artists oh him Busch wrote In his autobiography r?on mir meber mioM:'- ■ ' ■ , '::- :" ' " " ■: / ■ Ijare goettliche Leichtlgkeit der Darstellung ■ ;i: ■ malerischer -tiinfaelle 5, verbunden mit, . stofflicii - • .' jmvelenbaftem/Re% z 5 diese Unbefangenhelt elnes . - guten--G-eYirissenss 'welcbes iniclits' zu veptusclien "v brauebt 1 diese Farbenmusikj, worin man alle Stizmnen ; klar burobJaoert} vom G-rundbass herauf,, haben fuer ■ : - iimaei’;^me ine biebe,. Be?mndb^mg gewonneru-^ - . ■ / He was so Overwhelmed by the art of the old masters that' he belieyed there was only one goal worth striving for« -Von diesem iage an. datiere sich. die bestimmtere - , Gestaltnng. me ine s Charakters als Mens oh nnd' galerl : '2 s . sei'mein zweiter'Gebiirtstagln3 ' ; . ' ■ • In the year 1855 he,became gravely ill with . ':. : typhoid: anBhnetiiniied. home.' As ' soon as, he. had recovered, he went to Munich- because,one of his friends had decided ' to continue, at the academy there , . « ,e nWir gingen nach Muenchen, wo . wir , das - Malen- verlernten, - das wir in Antwerpen gelerntihditen^ = : ;:;V . ■ ! : :h In. the year 185.9 one of Busch' s caricatures / . : was published in D ie Fllegenden Blaetter for the first ■ time», .His. .Muenchener Bilderbogen, published"by,Q . Braun in the year 186b, made. him . extremely popular because of hi genial wit and humor . The publication of. th© - ■ h :' j g 'lbldi,' p^ :y5:=:.;: '': ; , : ;;: - : ■ ^ Hans Balserh Es 1st all.erlei Sichtbares drin, , . (Hudolstadt., 195.6.}:, p» 54o. \ . ' . ; ; dy - : ^' ibide : -.1 - ' '-..l:.; ;i ■ > : :v; ' v ';' ■ ; : 5 Bildergeschichten beginning with Max nnd Moritz contributed considerably to iiis growing fame. It is / ■ interesting to note that the Verlag von ■Riciiter in > Dresden refused. Max und Eoritz because of the doubtful sales potential of the book. The editor of the Muenefaener Bllderbogen,.however, immediately saw the possibilities. of Max und Moritz and accepted the mantis crip to Max und , Horltz was published in the' year 1865 and has survived many historical crises, trends and political currents anddls'still widely read, d : Bus'eh used up the rather meager financial rewards' for his work in a very short time and moved to : Frankfurt in' the year 1867 to the home of his younger ■ brother# Dr. Otto 'Busch# who gradually "infected" the author of Max; und Merits: with his' 'enthusiasm for Schopenhauer» ' V' 'h ' . 1 ' d ' ; Analysts' of Vilhelm' Bus eh. have wondered whether Buschis reluctance to; itdrry'was caused by the influence ’ of Schopenhauer ’s philosophy. Apparently he was- at.. ! first •hesitant - to marry, the girl he • loved because of financial Insecurity.: ;!t;Spaeter als ■ ich pekuniaer in der Lage gewesen waere b u heir at en# war das Mae dehen# ;:; das Ich llebteanderwelts 'verhelratet. f;!6 An improved financial, status .came after, the publication of .Der heillge 5 Ibid..# ' pr'72. Antohius j, (1870), Die fromme Helene,, (1872) and Pater ■ ■ Plluelus, (1872), ail of which lllimlnated In;very outspoken fashion his stand in the second Kulturkarapf in Germany. The trilogy Tobias Ihiopp, (1876) and the other Bildergeschiehten were, also well received by the phblic. The new popular acclaim induced Busch to make his abode in se eluded Sledensahl where he painted for recreation. Bdt until'years after his death did Busch8s industry as a painter become known, and even his most intimate friends were unaware of his tremendous output, both quantitatively and; qualitatively<, Some of Busch’s critics had suspected him of not .having written the verses himself, .but only having furnished the ^illustrations”.