The characters are split into the "bad" characters, who represent hypocrisy and excessive concern with outward appearances, and the "good" characters, who live honestly and authentically, full of love for God, nature and other people, embodying the virtues of humility and simplicity.
The "bad" characters include minor characters such as Heidi's Aunt Dete and the housekeeper Fraulein Rottenmeier.
The "good" characters are more important and central: they include Heidi and Alm-uncle, her grandfather, who has tried to live a more geographically isolated life to escape society's hypocrisy. Others include characters, major or minor, whose physical or outward disabilities only magnify their inner goodness, such as Peter's blind grandmother and the "crippled" (or, as we would say, disabled) Clara Sesemann.
Peter stands out as a "mixed" character. He can be lazy and jealous, but he is loyal and wedded to the simple life. He is the one character to undergo personal transformation, learning to rely more on prayer and to become more forgiving.
The protagonist is Heidi, a Swiss girl who lives with her aunt, Dete (also called "Detie"), in the mountains. Her aunt regards Heidi as an imposition, as she has to raise Heidi after her sister and brother-in-law die. Dete takes Heidi to live with Heidi's grandfather, Alm-Uncle, who is the father of Heidi's father. Her grandfather lives in Dorfli, where he maintains his distance from others and grazes livestock ("Alm" refers to the mountain ranges where he grazes his flock). Alm-Uncle grows to love Heidi, and she also gets to know Peter, a goatherd, and Peter's blind grandmother, Bridget (also called "Grannie").
Heidi later goes to Frankfurt to work as a companion to Clara Sesemann (spelled "Klara" in German), a sick girl who can't walk and who lives with her father, Mr. Sesemann. Heidi charms Clara with her friendliness and country manners. Fraulein Rottenmeier, Clara's housekeeper, is a strict woman who dislikes Heidi. Doctor Classen diagnoses Heidi with homesickness and sends her home to the mountains.
No comments:
Post a Comment