The son of Hagar

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Popular edition 1930

The son of Hagar is a socially critical homeland novel by the Silesian writer Paul Keller (1873-1932), which was first published in 1907.

In this novel, in which Paul Keller reached the peak of his artistic work, the socially critical accusation is combined with the author's Christian confidence. The book is humorous in the description of some characters and written with a wink about the weaknesses of people, but also full of poetry in the descriptions of nature and the visions in which the deceased mother Roberts or at the end of the book Christ himself appears. Paul Keller appeals to the reader's feeling with his cozy presentation and knows how to move, entertain and also make people think.

The book, which was successful with the public, has been reprinted again and again since its publication and was also made into a film.

content

The novel is set in the small Silesian town of Teichau around 1900. Four hiking musicians appear here, to whom the local doctor and chief officer Dr. Friedlieb, who is socially committed and energetic, speaks to his conscience, to give up their homeless existence and to settle in the village. He gives each of them a job, each according to their abilities. One of the musicians, Robert Winter, tells him his fate and the reason why he ended up on the street. He is the illegitimate son of Martha Hellmich, who bled to death all by herself in a field without help when he was born. The unknown father didn't care about his mother or son, Robert hates him because he blames him for his botched life. When the innkeeper Hartmann, who was also present, heard the name Hellmich and the circumstances of Robert's birth, he was deeply shocked. He has to realize that this is his own son. Hartmann had a relationship with Martha, but then married a woman who was wealthy and ran the inn with her and a son Berthold and a daughter Christel. He does not have the courage to face the facts and initially refuses to accept Robert as a servant, as Dr. Friedlieb wants to arrange this. But the old servant Gottlieb Peukert, who knows about the old story, threatens to tell Hartmann everything if he doesn't at least partially make up for his guilt by getting Robert off the street and giving him a job in the house. Hartmann gives in, even after his daughter Christel also learns that Robert is her brother and also stands up for him. Only these three people know about the secret, Robert himself has no idea.

Against the resistance of the woman, Robert now lives with the Hartmanns. Christel treats him very kindly, buys him a few things and makes his life as easy as possible. Robert misunderstood her friendliness and believes that she is in love with him. But he himself has fallen in love with Lore, an orphaned niece of Hartmann's who also lives in the house. She enchants with her cheerful nature, but is still young and carefree, does not want to commit herself through marriage and still enjoy her life. At a village festival she gets involved with a postal assistant from the city and it comes as it should. She becomes pregnant, but the man doesn't want to marry her, at least not yet. Hartmann, who had noticed that Robert likes Lore, has planned to marry the two off and provide them with some money, which he could have done well with Robert. This plan is now in vain, the woman chases Lore out of the house. Robert, who loves Lore and is now immensely disappointed, is also reminded of his own fate. With a heavy heart he accompanies Lore into town and talks to the child's father. After he has realized that this is not a bad person and he wants to take Lore, he brings him a sum of money from Hartmann so that the two can start an existence. Before that, Robert saved Lore from despair and going into the water.

After Hartmann suffered a stroke and can no longer look after Robert because of his illness, and after Lore's departure, Roberts' life in Hartmann's house becomes more and more difficult. Christel, in an attempt to dispel Robert's suspicion that she was in love with him, reveals her love for Dr. Friedlieb, who, in her opinion, is not interested in her. Conversely, Friedlieb is also in love with Christel, but precisely because of his age does not dare to reveal himself to her. When the two finally get together and get married, Robert loses Christel, the last person who made his existence worth living for him. Mrs. Hartmann and her stupid son Berthold make Robert's life hell.

By a strange coincidence, Robert finally learns that he is Hartmann's son. He was the guest of the old Hellmich couple and discovered the name Martha Hellmich and her date of birth in their house Bible. Earlier he had accidentally opened the passage from the first book of Moses, by the by Abraham outcast Hagar their son and Ismael says. The Hellmichs are his grandparents, they didn't know what had happened to their missing daughter and were still hoping for a sign of life from her. Now they find out that their daughter has died. Robert is deeply affected. He was grateful to Hartmann because he was always good to him, on the other hand Hartmann is precisely that unknown, hated father who had his life on his conscience. He can no longer stay in his house, in which he was not satisfied, but where he only received alms. There is an ugly violent clash with Mrs. Hartmann and he leaves Teichau with some money that his grandparents have given him.

His former musician friends, who had long since left Teichau and would have liked to have accepted Robert as the fourth man in their group, recognize that Robert has changed completely. After a short time he separated from them again and hired himself out as a factory worker in the city. He is full of strife and hatred. A lung disease becomes noticeable and in the hospital he overhears a conversation from the doctors, from which it emerges that he only has a short time to live. Robert decides to see Lore one last time and travels to see her. At this meeting he learns that she loved Robert, not her husband. With this awareness and terminally ill, ready and able to forgive, he returns to Teichau. But he no longer reaches the houses of the village, but collapses with a hemorrhage on the edge of the village in a field, similar to how his mother once bled to death in a field. Jesus Christ appears to the dying in a vision and promises him a comforting destiny in his kingdom.

expenditure

  • The son of Hagar . Munich: Allgemeine Verlagsgesellschaft, 1907
  • The son of Hagar . Breslau: Bergstadtverlag, 1915
  • The son of Hagar . Popular edition. Breslau: Bergstadtverlag, 1930
  • The son of Hagar . Berlin: German Book Community, 1935
  • The son of Hagar . Paperback edition. Munich: Goldmann, 1954
  • The son of Hagar . Munich: Bergstadtverlag, around 1956
  • The son of Hagar . Munich: Bergstadtverlag, 1986

Translations

Italian

  • Il figlio di agar . Milan: Is. di propaganda libraria, 1945

Dutch

  • De Zoon van Hagar . Leuven: De Vlaamsche Bockenhalle, 1925

Czech

  • Agarin syn . Trnava: Spolak sv. Vojtecha, 1948
  • Hagařin syn . Prague: Orel, 1932

Film adaptations

literature