The Black Spider
Encyclopedia
The Black Spider is a novella
by the Swiss writer Jeremias Gotthelf
written in 1842. Set in an idyllic frame story
, old legends are worked into a Christian
-humanist
allegory
about ideas of good and evil. Though the novel is initially divided, what is originally the internal story, later spills over into the frame story as well. The story is characterized by its complex narrative structure, its conservative Christian motifs and symbolism, and its precise descriptions of the social dynamics of the village.
party at a farm, during the course of which a few of the guests in front of the house go for a walk. It catches the godmother
's eye that although the house is newly built, an old, black post is built in. At her inquiry, the grandfather tells the story of the post.
At this dire moment, the devil
, in the form of a wild hunter, offered assist them with the replanting. As payment he wanted an unbaptized child. The farmers initially refused. However, Christine, a farmer's wife who had come to the valley from Lindau
on Lake Constance
, was opposed to the fatalism of men of the village and was ready to fight against the outrageous demands of von Stoffeln. After the initial refusal, everything began to go wrong with the project. Finally, Christine convinced the farmers to accept the bargain believing that they could escape it by baptizing every child at immediately at birth. The pact was sealed when the hunter gives her a kiss on the cheek. The hunter used his demonic powers to instill in the kiss a curse which would ensure his payment.
The task of moving the trees suddenly became very easy and was quickly completed. When the child was born, the pastor saved it by baptizing it immediately, but Christine then felt a burning pain on her cheek, exactly where the hunter had kissed her. A black mark appeared, which grew into the shape of a black spider. After the next newborn child was baptized, a storm broke out and many small spiders emerged from the burst mark on Christine's face. In the village, the calamity spread, and cattle died in their stalls. Thus the devil reminded them of his contract.
Christine and the farmers decided to sacrifice the next newborn, and the plague on the cattle ceased. When the birth came, Christine tried to steal it in order to give it to the devil, but the priest sprinkled it with holy water before she was able. Christine transformed into a spider, struck the priest and killed him. Then she began to terrorize the valley, killing both people and animals, including von Stoffeln and his knights. One night, the mother of a child who had been attacked grabbed the spider, stuck it in a hole in a window post she had prepared, and plugged the hole up. The woman also died from touching the spider, but peace and quiet returned to the valley.
After the grandfather finished the story, the guests, now afraid of the house, returned reluctantly to the table. The grandfather therefore feels obligated to finish the story:
The grandfather ends his story on that note, and the christening celebration continues jovially until late in the night. The novella ends with a hint that God is watching over everything.
era and sensibility. Thomas Mann
wrote of it in his The Genesis of Doctor Faustus that Gotthelf "often touched the Homeric" and that he admired The Black Spider "like no other piece of world literature."
The novella's depictions of a town led astray in difficult times by a headstrong leader and the morality of collective guilt, gave it renewed relevance in the post-World War II era. Scholars and critics have also focused on the gender norms that emerge from the story. Christine's role as the headstrong and independent woman leads to the first introduction of the spider. Then the farmhand, who is browbeaten by his overbearing wife and mother releases it again.
The Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister
wrote a one act opera
based on the story in 1936, which was first performed as a radio opera. In 1949 a staged version was put on conducted by Silvio Varviso
. Then in 1983, Swiss director Mark Rissi directed a film based on the novel. The story was also the basis for a 1983 opera by Judith Weir
.
The novella has been translated into English in a number of versions and numerous other languages.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
by the Swiss writer Jeremias Gotthelf
Jeremias Gotthelf
Albert Bitzius , Swiss novelist, best known by his pen name of Jeremias Gotthelf, was born at Murten, where his father was pastor.In 1804 the home was moved to Utzenstorf, a village in the Bernese Emmental...
written in 1842. Set in an idyllic frame story
Frame story
A frame story is a literary technique that sometimes serves as a companion piece to a story within a story, whereby an introductory or main narrative is presented, at least in part, for the purpose of setting the stage either for a more emphasized second narrative or for a set of shorter stories...
, old legends are worked into a Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
-humanist
Humanism
Humanism is an approach in study, philosophy, world view or practice that focuses on human values and concerns. In philosophy and social science, humanism is a perspective which affirms some notion of human nature, and is contrasted with anti-humanism....
allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
about ideas of good and evil. Though the novel is initially divided, what is originally the internal story, later spills over into the frame story as well. The story is characterized by its complex narrative structure, its conservative Christian motifs and symbolism, and its precise descriptions of the social dynamics of the village.
Plot
The novella begins with a christeningChristening
Christening is a naming ceremony associated with:*Baptism*Infant baptism*Ship naming and launching...
party at a farm, during the course of which a few of the guests in front of the house go for a walk. It catches the godmother
Godmother
A godmother is a female godparent in the Christian tradition.Godmother may also refer to:*A female arranged to be legal guardian of a child if untimely demise is met by the parents...
's eye that although the house is newly built, an old, black post is built in. At her inquiry, the grandfather tells the story of the post.
First internal narrative
The grandfather tells how a few centuries before, the village had been ruled by the Teutonic Knight Hans von Stoffeln, who worked the farmers of the village very hard. Von Stoffeln, a hard and aggressive man, relentlessly collected on the tax obligations of his serfs. His unpredictability inspired fear among the peasants, and he would brook no contradiction; any criticism of him inspired such harsh retaliation that the farmers submitted weakly to his will. Von Stoffeln demanded ever more ludicrous tasks, the last of which was the replanting of trees from a distant mountain to form a shaded path on his estate. He demanded this job be done in such a short period that the peasants could not possibly do it without forgoing their own harvest and going hungry.At this dire moment, the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
, in the form of a wild hunter, offered assist them with the replanting. As payment he wanted an unbaptized child. The farmers initially refused. However, Christine, a farmer's wife who had come to the valley from Lindau
Lindau
Lindau is a Bavarian town and an island on the eastern side of Lake Constance, the Bodensee. It is the capital of the Landkreis or rural district of Lindau. The historic city of Lindau is located on an island which is connected with the mainland by bridge and railway.- History :The name Lindau was...
on Lake Constance
Lake Constance
Lake Constance is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee , the Untersee , and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps...
, was opposed to the fatalism of men of the village and was ready to fight against the outrageous demands of von Stoffeln. After the initial refusal, everything began to go wrong with the project. Finally, Christine convinced the farmers to accept the bargain believing that they could escape it by baptizing every child at immediately at birth. The pact was sealed when the hunter gives her a kiss on the cheek. The hunter used his demonic powers to instill in the kiss a curse which would ensure his payment.
The task of moving the trees suddenly became very easy and was quickly completed. When the child was born, the pastor saved it by baptizing it immediately, but Christine then felt a burning pain on her cheek, exactly where the hunter had kissed her. A black mark appeared, which grew into the shape of a black spider. After the next newborn child was baptized, a storm broke out and many small spiders emerged from the burst mark on Christine's face. In the village, the calamity spread, and cattle died in their stalls. Thus the devil reminded them of his contract.
Christine and the farmers decided to sacrifice the next newborn, and the plague on the cattle ceased. When the birth came, Christine tried to steal it in order to give it to the devil, but the priest sprinkled it with holy water before she was able. Christine transformed into a spider, struck the priest and killed him. Then she began to terrorize the valley, killing both people and animals, including von Stoffeln and his knights. One night, the mother of a child who had been attacked grabbed the spider, stuck it in a hole in a window post she had prepared, and plugged the hole up. The woman also died from touching the spider, but peace and quiet returned to the valley.
After the grandfather finished the story, the guests, now afraid of the house, returned reluctantly to the table. The grandfather therefore feels obligated to finish the story:
Second internal narrative
In the following centuries, the people of the valley initially led god-fearing lives, but over time many fell again into godless behavior. Finally, though, a malicious farmhand releases the spider, which kills almost all the inhabitants of the village. At the next birth, Christen, the master of the farmhand who released the spider, saves the child from the devil, captures the spider and returns it to its old prison. He pays for this service with his life, but he dies in "God's Peace." In the valley, peace and god-fearing are once again the order of the day. Although the house was rebuilt several times, the post was always put back in in order to preserve the old blessing. When the latest house was built, the grandfather integrated the old window post into it.The grandfather ends his story on that note, and the christening celebration continues jovially until late in the night. The novella ends with a hint that God is watching over everything.
Reception and Criticism
The Black Spider is Gotthelf's best known work. At first little noticed, the story is now considered by many critics to be among the masterworks of the German BiedermeierBiedermeier
In Central Europe, the Biedermeier era refers to the middle-class sensibilities of the historical period between 1815, the year of the Congress of Vienna at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and 1848, the year of the European revolutions...
era and sensibility. Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann
Thomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
wrote of it in his The Genesis of Doctor Faustus that Gotthelf "often touched the Homeric" and that he admired The Black Spider "like no other piece of world literature."
The novella's depictions of a town led astray in difficult times by a headstrong leader and the morality of collective guilt, gave it renewed relevance in the post-World War II era. Scholars and critics have also focused on the gender norms that emerge from the story. Christine's role as the headstrong and independent woman leads to the first introduction of the spider. Then the farmhand, who is browbeaten by his overbearing wife and mother releases it again.
The Swiss composer Heinrich Sutermeister
Heinrich Sutermeister
Heinrich Sutermeister was a Swiss opera composer.-Life and career:During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid 1930s, he devoted his life to...
wrote a one act opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
based on the story in 1936, which was first performed as a radio opera. In 1949 a staged version was put on conducted by Silvio Varviso
Silvio Varviso
Silvio Varviso was a Swiss conductor who spent most of his career devoted to conducting operas. He began his conducting career working in minor opera houses in Switzerland in the mid 1940s. He became the principal conductor of the opera house in Basel in 1956 where he served for six years...
. Then in 1983, Swiss director Mark Rissi directed a film based on the novel. The story was also the basis for a 1983 opera by Judith Weir
Judith Weir
Judith Weir CBE, is a British composer.-Biography:Her music has been appreciated by audiences and critics alike. She trained with John Tavener while still at school and subsequently with Robin Holloway at King's College, Cambridge, graduating in 1976...
.
The novella has been translated into English in a number of versions and numerous other languages.
External links
- http://books.google.com/books?id=R_rKKLF-BoQC&pg=PA133&lpg=PA133&dq=the+black+spider+gotthelf&source=bl&ots=HCZxfPsYeY&sig=LYmPZNbVhN6q8SH6CH7eDs-J5yI&hl=en&ei=aFt_TqHYN4ru0gGg0PH2Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=9&sqi=2&ved=0CGIQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=the%20black%20spider%20gotthelf&f=falseThe Black Spider in German Novellas of Realism edited by Jeffrey L. Sammons at Google Books]
- The Black Spider at Project Gutenberg (German)
- Free Audio book from Librivox (German)