A new building under rubble

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A new building under rubble. Post-Thirty Years War novel is a historical novel by Carl Beyer , first published in 1896. The fifth edition appeared in 1925.

content

As a young man, Peter Gruwel returns with his mother from Rostock to the war-torn town of Laage . Although the town and the surrounding villages - Klein Lantow plays a role - was completely reduced to rubble by the Swedish troops, the mill on the Recknitz Bridge has already been put back into operation. The residents are the miller's widow Anna Klausen and her uncle, the sergeant Achim Karak. Peter Gruwel, who is portrayed as a headstrong, strong and extremely righteous character, immediately falls in love with the Mullerswittwe. She can be persuaded by the sergeant and the seedy maid Doratie Winters - a loss lady of the marauding army - to make fun of the stupid-looking Peter and to fake an engagement. Unlike the mill residents, Peter takes the engagement seriously. After he has fulfilled all the conditions - pledge, learn to read and write - he enforces the marriage with ecclesiastical and judicial compulsion. Finally he moves into the mill as the new miller.

Anna and Peter only gradually find each other, their happiness is exposed to tough tests: Doratie tries several times to win Peter over for herself. When she fails with all her wealth, she hires a band of robbers to raid the mill. This gang, whose robber's nest is in Klein-Lantow, does not attack the mill because it shies away from the resistance of the former soldier Karak and the powerful miller, but Doratie herself. Achim Karak and Peter Gruwel put the gang to flight and take prisoners. The now alarmed citizens of Laager consider the miller himself the robber. They have long viewed his isolation critically and envied his growing prosperity. Intrigues of the stingy sexton do their part. Angry citizens storm the mill and beat the miller half to death. Only after the arrival of the mayor Johannes Bülow and the pastor do they refrain from looting the household effects. When the misunderstanding is cleared up, the ostracism of the miller turns into respect. Like his ancestors, he will soon be the mayor and mayor of the town. The forced marriage between the beautiful but reluctant Anna and Peter Gruwel grows into a love affair in the end.

criticism

Main characters like Achim Karak and Anna Klausen go through an inner process of purification, not least under the influence of moral support institutions like the church. This also applies to secondary characters such as the sexton and Doratie. The kind, peasant pastor may correspond to Beyer's own professional ideal. Peter Gruwel, on the other hand, is always portrayed as positive and straightforward. While the urban history scenario is convincing, the psychological figure guidance at Carl Beyer seems a bit wooden. As with other novels from his pen, the parsonage morale prevails in the end: the good wins.

expenditure

  • A new building under rubble. Post-Thirty Years War novel. Bahn, Schwerin 1896. 2nd edition: 1902. 3rd edition: 1923. 5th edition: 1925.

literature

  • Dirk Frontzek: The image of history in Carl Beyer's literary work. Master thesis. University of Rostock 2007.