Pole Poppenspäler

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Cover of the first book edition

Pole Poppenspäler (Paul Puppenspieler) is a novella by Theodor Storm . The work, published in 1874, is one of Storm's best-known works for a young audience, along with “ Der kleine Häwelmann ”.

The novella was first printed in 1874 in the fourth volume of the Leipzig magazine " Deutsche Jugend ", illustrated by Carl Offterdinger . In 1875 it was published as a book together with the novella " Waldwinkel " by G. Westermann in Braunschweig.

Theodor Storm (1886)

backgrounds

Storm wrote the novella at the request of the German youth magazine. Personal memories go into the story, especially, as Storm wrote to his parents on February 8, 1864, an experience of Storm's eldest son Hans. He had fed the family of a " gypsy " who had been innocently arrested on suspicion of theft in their parents' house and then successfully supported the placement of the poor in the city's poor house.

Chapters from Gottfried Keller's novel “ Der Grüne Heinrich ” are given as further models . The model for the puppet show “ Faust's Hell Journey” is an adaptation by Karl Simrock . Storm's encounter with a puppeteer in Berchtesgaden in 1872 is said to have inspired the figure of the Pole Poppenspäler .

The old Schützenhof in Husum (scene of the novella)

The cities of Husum and Heiligenstadt can be recognized as the setting for the story .

Structure of the novella

As is often the case with Storm, the novella “Pole Poppenspäler” is conceived as a frame story . A narrator tells how he was a welcome guest in the house of the art turner and mechanic Paul Paulsen as a teenager. While Paulsen is described as a “typical Frieze ”, his wife “appears brown and delicately built, her language has an unmistakably southern German sound. My mother used to say of her that her black eyes could burn out a lake ”. The nickname “Pole Poppenspäler” coincidentally falls in the family home of the narrator for the respected citizen Paulsen. The next time he visits the Paulsen family, the narrator asks about the origin of the name. The real narration begins.

The story of Paul and Lisei Paulsen, geb. Tendler, in turn, is divided into two parts: the story of childhood, when Lisei comes to town with her puppeteer parents and meets Paul, and the story of the young adults Paul and Lisei, who happen to find each other and start their families against all convention.

In the epilogue of the recurring frame narrative, the family story is then concluded, the identity of Ms. Paulsen with the puppeteer Lisei and the origin of the nickname become clear. The novella closes the celebration of the wedding anniversary of the old Paulsens.

content

Framework story

A first-person narrator reports on the art turner and mechanic Paul Paulsen, a Frisian, and his wife Lisei, who comes from southern Germany. With this Paulsen, a recognized deputy citizen of his city, the narrator received lessons in art turning as a schoolboy. The nickname “Pole Poppenspäler” coincidentally falls in the family home of the narrator for the respected citizen Paulsen. The next time he visits the Paulsen couple on the occasion of their wedding anniversary, the narrator asks about the origin of the name. The old master Paulsen reacts annoyed at first, but then tells his story.

Internal act: childhood

Paul Paulsen lived in the same house as his parents' house as a child. One day in September a horse cart comes into town. They are the “mechanic and puppeteer” Joseph Tendler from Munich, his wife and daughter Lisei, nine years old, black-haired and pretty. The traveling people find cheap accommodation under the roof in the inn opposite.

Fascinated by the life of the showman, Paul uses an opportunity to help Lisei with her shopping. As a thank you, he receives a ticket for the puppet theater play by "Count Palatine Siegfried and St. Genofeva".

The presentation of the puppet show in the full hall of the rifle house impresses the boy so much that he can no longer pay attention at school and dreams of marionette theater at night. For the next piece, “Faust's Journey to Hell”, he asks his father to pay the entrance fee. On the day of the performance, he sneaks up to the shooting range and finds Lisei there alone. He would love to see the puppets. In particular, the artistically made Kasper ("Wurstl") has done it to him right into his dreams. Although Lisei's parents have strictly forbidden it, she fulfills Paul's wish and leads him backstage to the puppets.

Paul can't keep his hands off the puppy. He plays with the figure until the mechanics “crack”. He conceals the damage that is only noticeable during the evening performance. A reserve casper, with less perfect mechanics, has to step in. But while the performance is still in full swing, just when Faust is fetched by the devil and the voice of God proclaims the verdict: “In aeternum damnatus es”, Paul hears Liseis sobbing from under the audience. She fears lashes from her hard and strict mother because of her offense. The children therefore decide to stay in the theater. For a while the parents can be heard cleaning up and turning off the lights. Then it becomes quiet, the children stay behind, huddled together and bedded on blankets in the empty doll's box. There they are later found by the concerned families. Thereupon Paul takes Lisei in protection from the impending punishment and confesses to his mistake. The parents also come to an agreement and Paul's father succeeds in repairing Tendler's Kasper. Afterwards, “Das Mutterl” is also very friendly to Paul and always greets him very friendly, even when he goes to the “Puppenspiel” for free.

The time of Tendler's guest performance is a happy time together for the children Paul and Lisei, but one October day the showmen dismantle and move on. The stage in Paul's city will never come again.

Internal action: finding again

Twelve years later, Paul Paulsen is a journeyman in Central Germany during his traveling years. The widow of a master craftsman took him in instead of her son. On a bitterly cold January Sunday, the two of them watch a desperate young woman demanding entry to prison in vain. Paul takes care of the young woman: She is his Lisei! The mother died a long time ago. Yesterday the father was thrown in prison on suspicion of theft. Paul again takes care of the family. After father Tendler has recovered from his hurt and illness, it is time to say goodbye again. The thought of losing sight of Lisei again for twelve years - or perhaps for life - is unbearable for Paul:

"It was as if I heard my mother's voice say: 'Hold this hand tight and return with it, and you will have your home again.'"

Paul then asks for Lisei's hand and the two of them return - together with Joseph Tendler, who gives up the life of the traveling artist after the shock of the arrest - to Paul's hometown, where he takes over the father's workshop. Paul and Lisei oppose the gossip and talk about the improper connection. It has long been clear to the young first-person narrator and spellbound listener that Ms. Master Paulsen is that Lisei. Paulsen ends the story:

Internal plot: The end of the family story

A wedding is held in silence, the Paulsen's business is thriving. The talk of the people stops. But old father Tendler lacks his beloved theater. A stage is set up, a piece rehearsed. The premiere is to begin. But times have changed, the audience is more demanding and can no longer be entertained by puppet shows. The mob disturbs the performance, the performance has to be stopped.

The next day the front door was smeared with chalk, “Pole Poppenspäler” was written on it, Paul Paulsen's nickname for a while, until he finally defended himself and “got a trump card”. The old tender sells his puppets in the face of the hurt he has experienced, but has to experience the renewed humiliation that the street boys are now playing with them. The old man cannot survive this blow. He gets sick and dies, although Paul tries to buy the dolls back. Some, especially Kasper, remain missing for the time being.

At the old Tendler's funeral, an object is thrown over the cemetery wall into the open grave: the puppet lies on the puppeteer's coffin. He is left in the grave and buried with his puppeteer.

Framework story

The general plot is resumed with the celebration of the wedding anniversary, Lisei Paulsen calls her husband and the young guest to the table: "There were wonderful people, Paulsen and his puppeteer Lisei."

For interpretation

Artist and citizen

The novella “Pole Poppenspäler” thrives on the contrast between the fate of an artist and the bourgeois world. The artist (in the person of the old tenders), "too good for this world", fails in times of social upheaval, which his art no longer appreciates. He owes it to the generosity of his descendants, bourgeois in the idyll, that he can end his life in peace and carefree.

In the marriage of Paul and Lisei, the bourgeois craftsman and the daughter of the artists from the "traveling people", the tension between artist and citizen is harmoniously dissolved. But even in the harmony the decline of the artistic is indicated: The beloved son steps in the footsteps of his father Paulsen, at the time of the story he is on a journey as a journeyman.

Intended as a book for young people, soon regarded as a bestseller for young people, the conflict in this novella Storms is only hinted at. In 1875, one year after the publication of the "Pole Poppenspäler", Thomas Mann was born, in whose work the contrast between artist and citizen played a decisive role.

Storm's novella in the Nazi film

Attempts by the National Socialists to use Theodor Storm's novellas for propaganda purposes have failed. The film adaptation of “ Der Schimmelreiter ” could still be bent with difficulty in line with the “ blood and soil ” ideology.

Work on the color film “ The Puppeteer ” was discontinued in April 1945 due to the end of the Nazi dictatorship. - Due to its openness to the foreign and its understanding of the love of the protagonists, the novella is a lesson in warmth and tolerance.

Storm's protagonists never leave room for the mob. His people often act against social coercion and enforce their personal happiness against the conventions of the environment. Violence, disorder and strife in the form of the "black Schmidt" and his sons are clearly rejected.

Film adaptations

1935

“Pole Poppenspäler”, Germany 1935. Directed by Curt Oertel. First performance: December 1935. Copy: Federal Archives, Berlin

1944/45

"The Puppeteer", filmed in Germany 1944/45, unfinished. Director: Alfred Braun, Book: Veit Harlan , Alfred Braun ;; see: The Puppeteer (unfinished)

1954

"Pole Poppenspäler", GDR 1954, played in the FRG under the title "Dorf in der Heimat" .; World premiere: December 25, 1954, Berlin / Ost (Babylon); March 16, 1956, FRG; see: Pole Poppenspäler (film)

1968

“Pole Poppenspäler”, FRG 1968 Director: Günther Anders World premiere: December 24, 1968; on ZDF

1985

A film about Theodor Storm, not about individual novels, with the title "Storm, the Schimmelreiter". Director: Claudia Holldack . Actors: Erland Josephson as the old Theodor Storm, Till Topf as the young Theodor Storm. Music: Thilo von Westernhagen

1988

TV adaptation by Bayerischer Rundfunk , production. 70 min. Book, directed by Guy Kubli. Cinematography by Albrecht Schinnerer, Frank Jessenberger. Spokesman for Paul: Uwe Friedrichsen . Faithful representation of the novella. First broadcast on December 25, 1989 by ARD

Radio plays

Adaptation as a picture book

Secondary literature

Web links

Wikisource: Pole Poppenspäler  - Sources and full texts

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dieter Meister: Travel educates, but to Huus is best - reference to Theodor Storm's visit to Berchtesgaden; Berchtesgadener Anzeiger from 3./4. March 2001
  2. ^ Film from 1944/45: The Puppeteer. In: www.deutscher-tonfilm.de. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007 ; accessed on January 12, 2015 .
  3. ^ Film from 1954: Pole Poppenspäler. In: www.deutscher-tonfilm.de. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007 ; accessed on January 12, 2015 .
  4. ↑ Pre-school and elementary school
  5. ↑ last print edition of this KE volume, then only as an e-book . Editions until 2000: Author Gerd Eversberg
  6. ↑ for grades 5 - 7