The pupil, the school fox and the garden owner

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L'Écolier, le pedant et le maître d'un jardin

The pupil, the school fox and the garden owner (French: L'Écolier, le Pédant et le Maître d'un jardin ) is the fifth fable in the ninth book of the collection of fables by Jean de La Fontaine , published in 1678.

The fable tells of a child who climbs up the trees in a strange orchard and whose owner complains to his schoolmaster about it. The schoolmaster then brings his entire school class to the orchard to teach them, but while he is talking to his protégé, the other children completely devastate the garden (note on the title: a school fox is a scholar who takes little things too seriously ).

analysis

In this fable, La Fontaine uses a particularly straightforward narrative tone, whereby at first glance it appears as if there is no ambivalence between the narrator and his message, and shows how irony collides with morality here too . The poet begins by openly rebuking the student and his teacher, and that the schoolmaster's behavior and his poorly judged pedantry produce the opposite of the desired effect. As for the child, his behavior is beyond salvation - it is simply a "bête" (meaning fool or animal) that will never get better. The fable ends with a pessimistic morality directed at the owner of the orchard, who is implicitly accused of trying to control the child and seeking the help of the pedant: you can't do anything against such people, you have to just endure them. Although the poet expresses his rejection of the pedant and the child, the tone of the poem gives a completely different impression. The story is told in a lively, humorous way, and the cheerful narrative keeps the protagonists from appearing uncomfortable, however unfortunate their behavior. For example, the way teachers destroy a child's natural good mind is described as “privilege”. The teacher's arrival with the children is described as a procession , and the pedant, in his wisdom, made matters worse by bringing these poorly educated youngsters with him.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Jean de La Fontaine (translated by Ernst Dohm ): Lafontaine's fables. Pp. 158–159 , accessed July 5, 2020 .
  2. ↑ Duden | School fox | Spelling, meaning, definition, origin. Retrieved July 5, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Maya Slater: The Craft of La Fontaine . Associated University Presses , 2001, ISBN 978-0-8386-3920-7 , pp. 179–180 ( google.de [accessed July 5, 2020]).