Jeremias Gotthelf – författare

Genom Jeremias Gotthelfs "Den svarta spindeln" (1842) flödar överraskningsmomenten ohejdat och hans uppfinningsrikedom verkar vara så gott som obegränsad. Berättelsen böljar fram från stora frodiga bondekalas innanför starka timmerväggar, där borden dignar av mäktiga gyllene brödkakor, köttstycken i mängd, tunga kannor med vin och massor av grädde till fasansfulla skräckscener som stegras till rena helvetesskildringar. I denna novell vidgas författarens annars ganska jordnära perspektiv genom mytiska och skakande existentiella motiv till något högdramatiskt och den lilla byn blir skådeplats för kampen mellan gott och ont: allt detta inramat av det storslagna schweiziska bergslandskapet. Rent formellt räknas Jeremias Gotthelf (1797–1854) till den litterära epoken Biedermeier, som präglas av ett intresse för eller ett fokus på det ”lilla livet” med familjen och hembygden i centrum och tonen är ofta lågmäld och samtidigt innerlig. Det är förvisso sant att hans verk har en rad egenskaper som sammanfaller med dem som var typiska för Biedermeiertiden, men hans röst är mer passionerad och existentiellt intensivare än de flesta andras och han driver realismen i skildringarna längre än många. "Den svarta spindeln" är ett ypperligt exempel på detta.

Die Schwarze Spinne is a religious allegory about morals and religious living in the mid-nineteenth century, written by Jeremias Gotthelf. This work is an interlinear translation of Gotthelf's Die Schwarze Spinne with introductions to both the author and the work itself.In a small Swiss community, a baptism is the backdrop for a village elder to tell the story of his family and their life and death struggle with the devil himself. The elder relates the story of a knight and his ill treatment of the farmers of the area. The knight's inhuman demands upon the peasants bring about unforeseen consequences, which lead to the decimation of the village and, ultimately, the knight's own death. The plague released through a pact with the devil, the black spider, haunts the village for hundreds of years and must be fought with religious piety, courage, and devotion to traditional values. It is when one forgets God and his commandments that the black spider is at its most deadly.A true tale of morality written by a pastor in 1842, The Black Spider serves as a warning to those who, according to Gotthelf, go against the will of God.

Die Schwarze Spinne is a religious allegory about morals and religious living in the mid-nineteenth century, written by Jeremias Gotthelf. This work is an interlinear translation of Gotthelf''s Die Schwarze Spinne with introductions to both the author and the work itself.In a small Swiss community, a baptism is the backdrop for a village elder to tell the story of his family and their life and death struggle with the devil himself. The elder relates the story of a knight and his ill treatment of the farmers of the area. The knight''s inhuman demands upon the peasants bring about unforeseen consequences, which lead to the decimation of the village and, ultimately, the knight''s own death. The plague released through a pact with the devil, the black spider, haunts the village for hundreds of years and must be fought with religious piety, courage, and devotion to traditional values. It is when one forgets God and his commandments that the black spider is at its most deadly.A true tale of morality written by a pastor in 1842, The Black Spider serves as a warning to those who, according to Gotthelf, go against the will of God.