The Image of the Peasant Woman in Selected Works of Berthold Auerbach and Jeremias Gotthelf

THE IMAGE OF THE PEASANT WOMAN IN SELECTED WORKS OF BERTHOLD AUERBACH AND JEREMIAS GOTTHELF By MARY BERNICE SHINNORS B.A., The University of Ulster, 1984 Dip.Ed., Queen's University of Belfast, 1985 M.A., University College London, 1986 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF GERMANIC STUDIES We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 1992 © Mary Bernice Shinnors, 1992 In presenting this thesis in a partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of GERMANIC STUDIES The University of British Columbia 1873 East Mall Vancouver, B.C. Canada V6T 1W5 Date: April 30. 1992 ABSTRACT This dissertation seeks to achieve three objectives: (1) to draw attention to the genre of the "Dorfgeschichte," (2) to examine "Dorfgeschichten" which were highly acclaimed in nineteenth century Germany, but are dismissed by literary scholarship today, (3) and most importantly, to adjust decades of inveterate and misleading critical responses with regard to the writers Berthold Auerbach and Jeremias Gotthelf. Although Auerbach's Schwarzwalder Dorfgeschichten were received with great enthusiasm by the literati in nineteenth century Germany, his contribution to the genre is diminished by literary critics and historians today. Some, such as Hermann Boeschenstein, claim that the author "was merely ... sugar-coating the realities of peasant life, while having no real contacts with it." On the other hand, although the majority of Gotthelfs shorter narrative works receive little scholarly attention, the consensus of critical opinion in regard to the author is that he possessed an "unexcelled insight into the peasant's inner life." On the basis of my close analysis of Auerbach's and Gotthelfs respective texts: Schwarzwalder Dorfgeschichten (1843-1854), and Kleinere Erzahlunaen (1838-1852), I conclude that literary conunentators and historians alike have, consistently, and it appears without independent reevaluation of the authors' writings, driven Auerbach and Gotthelf into two oversimplified categories. The focus of my dissertation, with particular reference to the constellation of female characters in the works of both authors, is to dispute the aforementioned, misguided critical responses. In the case of Auerbach, I contend that the allegation that the writer sugar-coated his peasants in order to appeal to popular taste is a distorted, indeed a false critical evaluation. I hope to have demonstrated that, contrary to prevalent opinion, the depiction of the woman in Auerbach's works is far from idyllic and sentimental, and, when compared to the historical, social and cultural sources which treat this period, represents a convincing and realistic portrait of the nineteenth century peasant woman. Likewise, I have endaevoured to show that Gotthelj's portrayal of the woman is not as realistic as the critics purport, for instead of presenting the average nineteenth century peasant woman, the latter emerges as a mere composite of extreme good or evil qualities. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Objective 3 "Dorfgeschichte" as Genre 18 Some Reflections on Feminist Writings 2 6 CHAPTER ONE - GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND: AN HISTORICAL, CULTURAL OVERVIEW OF THE WOMAN IN THE COURSE OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY 43 CHAPTER TWO - THE PEASANT WOMAN AND HER BACKGROUND DURING THE 1800s 85 CHAPTER THREE - REDISCOVERING A FORGOTTEN LITERARY PIONEER 109 Auerbach's Women: Young and Old 110 Daughters, Fathers, Lovers 135 Marriage: For better or for worse 165 Rich and Poor: A Study of the Peasant Woman 175 Page CHAPTER FOUR - REEVALUATING AN ESTEEMED LITERARY FIGURE 203 Women as Negative Examples 204 Gotthelfs Exceptional Women: "Saints and Paragons" 256 "Demons and Rejects" 270 CONCLUSION - SUMMARY OF FINDINGS 290 BIBLIOGRAPHY 308 APPENDIX I - BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES: BERTHOLD AUERBACH 336 JEREMIAS GOTTHELF 341 APPENDIX II - SYNOPSIS OF WORKS: CHAPTER THREE 346 CHAPTER FOUR 355 APPENDIX III - SOME COMMENTS ON THE CRITICS 364 GLOSSARY - TERMS USED IN CHAPTER FOUR 374 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Heartfelt thanks to Professor Marketa Goetz-Stankiewicz for her invaluable guidance, and for the many inspiring discussions, which made the writing of this dissertation such a rewarding and enjoyable experience. I also wish to thank Mikael for his constant faith, support and encouragement. INTRODUCTION The opening section of my dissertation is divided into three parts of unequal length: introduction, chapter one and chapter two. The first segment of the introduction - Statement of Objective - establishes the context for my analysis. The remaining portions of the introduction are composed of a brief comment on the genre of the "Dorfgeschichte", and a selective survey of feminist criticism. I should note, in this connection, that my own discussion of the literary texts, in chapters three and four, is kept in traditional literary terms, although as will be observed, I examine some areas which are of concern to feminist criticism. Chapters one and two are an historical, cultural overview of the woman in Germany and Switzerland during the nineteenth century. While the above inter-connected perspectives (feminist criticism and the historical, cultural) could not be closely, and obviously, integrated into my analysis of Auerbach's and Gotthelfs texts, it was essential to have investigated these perspectives, and to have them indirectly reflected in my dissertation for the following reasons: the knowledge which their study yielded enabled me to gain a more astute understanding of the literary texts in question. and helped me mould the material for the main focus of my dissertation, which is an attempt to rectify the misguided critical responses in respect to Auerbach and Gotthelf, as discussed in the following section. STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVE When the first volume of Berthold Auerbach's Schwarzwâlder Dorfgeschichten appeared in 1843, it was hailed by the writer, Gustav Freytag, "als ^Erlosung' von der oden Salonliteratur"-*- and acknowledged "als Verbindung von 'hoher' und 'Volksliteratur' zur Nationalliteratur.At approximately the same time, Jeremias Gotthelf was being recognized as "the first and greatest exponent of peasant fiction in German literature."'^ Literary historians and critics alike have long hackled over the issue as to who the "real founders" of the "Dorfgeschichte" were. Regardless of the "victor" the reception which the writers of the "Dorfgeschichte" received was overwhelming, as H.A. Glaser, the literary historian, points out: "Die Literaturkritik war begeistert, das Publikum nahm die neue Kost begierig auf, und Ferdinand Freiligrath sah in den Geschichten den Beginn einer neuen, am Leben gewonnenen Dichtung" (1980, 186). Gustav Freytag, Gesammelte Aufsatze (Leipzig: Hirzel, 1888) 45. 2 Karl Gutzkow, Beitràge zur Geschichte der neuesten Literatur (Stuttgart: Balz, 1836) 22. ^ E.K. Bennett, A History of the German Novelle (Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1934) 213. The achievements wrought by the writers of the "Dorfgeschichte" were also significant: "Die Dorfgeschichten-Schreiber traten erfolgreich gegen den Salonroman auf, zeigten dafi auch im Bauernleben Poésie und Philosophie zu finden sind, und schufen Edelnaturen im Bauernkittel, die den adelstolzen Salonmenschen ebenbiirtig waren."'^ Hermann Boeschenstein credits both Gotthelf and Auerbach, in particular, with evoking widespread interest in the genre: "With the impetus given by Gotthelf and Auerbach regional writing began to spread over the whole of Germany, Austria and Switzerland" (1969, 83). Given such recognition, at home and abroad, it is noteworthy in the case of Auerbach that his contribution to the "Dorfgeschichte" should be virtually forgotten by scholars and literary commentators today. It is difficult, for instance, to find a complete collection of his Schwarzwâlder Dorfgeschichten (1843-1854) . In the research report, which I conducted prior to the submission of my dissertation proposal, I could only obtain, in total, three critical texts from the numerous libraries I consulted in Canada, the U.S.A. and the United Kingdom. Furthermore, I consulted the Library of Congress Catalog (International) from 1950 to the present, but I could not uncover a single text on Auerbach in that period. Brief reference is made to the author in texts, such as Die ^ Jiirgen Hein, Dorfgeschichte (Stuttgart: Metzler, 1976) 67. deutsche Novelle im 19. Jahrhundert (1970) by Josef Kunz, which deal specifically with the "Novelle" or "Dorfgeschichte" and in some literary histories, but having studied numerous such texts, I found that information pertinent to Auerbach was at best paltry. In addition, I undertook a thorough search of dissertation theses to see what was available on Auerbach's work - the findings were minuscule. Among them are: Jahresverzeichnis der deutschen Hochschulschriften (1889 - present), Gesamtverzeichnis osterreichischer Dissertationen (genesis - present), the List of

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