Die schwarze Spinne
'The Black Spider' by Franz Karl Basler-Kopp
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| Author | Jeremias Gotthelf |
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| Original title | Die Schwarze Spinne |
| Translator | HM Waidson (1989) Susan Bernofsky (2013) |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | German |
| Genre | Allegory, horror, Biedermeier |
| Published | 1842 |
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.
The novella begins with a christening 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 into it. At her inquiry, the grandfather tells the story of the post.
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, in the form of a wild hunter, offered to 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 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.
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Wikipedia