Zusammenfassung
Zusammenfassung von Das Heimchen am Herd
Für wen es gedacht ist
For readers who enjoy Dickens at his most tender, Christmas stories, and fireside fairy tales of love and trust. A warm choice for anyone seeking a quick introduction to his humour and feeling.
Worum es in diesem Buch geht
The Cricket on the Hearth is a short Christmas story by Charles Dickens, first published in December 1845. It was the third of his Christmas books, written after A Christmas Carol and The Chimes, and it sold in great numbers in time for the holiday. Dickens calls it a fairy tale of home, and it is one. A small insect, a kettle and a fireside spirit all take part in the tale of an ordinary English household.
The story follows a carrier named John Peerybingle, his young wife Dot, and the people whose lives touch theirs. A poor toymaker, his blind daughter and a bitter employer all come into the tale. Love is tested, and so is trust. You get a warm, funny and sometimes anxious picture of what makes a house a home. Let us begin where Dickens begins, with a kettle that starts to sing and a cricket that answers it.
In dieser Zusammenfassung
- 1A kettle sings and a cricket answersFree
- 2Tackleton the toymaker hates joy
- 3Caleb Plummer tells a loving lie
- 4Doubt creeps into a happy house
- 5What a home is really made of
- 6How Dickens tells a fireside fairy tale
Punkt 1 von 6
A kettle sings and a cricket answers
The story opens in a small, cheerful kitchen. A kettle is boiling on the fire, and it begins to sing. A cricket living by the hearth begins to chirp in reply, and soon the two are in a friendly contest of sound. Dickens writes this scene with great play and humour, and it tells us at once that this house is a happy one.
The house belongs to John Peerybingle, a carrier. He drives a cart along the roads, carrying parcels and messages from place to place. He is a big, slow, kind man, much older than his wife. His wife is Mary, whom everyone calls Dot because she is so small and neat. They have a new baby, and a young nursemaid named Tilly Slowboy helps in the house. Tilly is clumsy and well meaning, and she keeps knocking the baby against doors and furniture.
When John comes home on a cold evening, the whole room seems to lift. Dot hurries to meet him, the baby is held up for him to see, and the cricket chirps louder as if to welcome him. Dickens treats the cricket as the spirit of the house, a small voice that stands for peace and goodwill. John himself has little to say about it, but he feels its comfort.
On this journey home, John has also brought a passenger. He is an old, deaf stranger who needs a bed, and John offers him a room. The stranger is quiet and odd, and he stays on. He is the first small knot in an otherwise smooth thread, and the reader begins to wonder who he really is.
All this happens in the opening chapter, called the First Chirp. Dickens uses it to set out what is at stake. A loving home is warm and fragile at once, and the story will test it.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
- Nothing to pay today · Renews every year
- We email you before you pay
- Cancel online in two clicks
Who’s who
- John Peerybingle
- John is a kindly carrier who shares a cheerful household with his young wife Dot and their baby.
- Dot Peerybingle
- Dot is John's lively young wife, a devoted mother and a friend of May Fielding.
- Caleb Plummer
- Caleb is Tackleton's poorly paid toymaker, who shields his blind daughter Bertha from their difficult circumstances.
- Bertha Plummer
- Bertha is Caleb's blind daughter, whose understanding of their surroundings depends on her father's comforting descriptions.
- Mr Tackleton
- Mr Tackleton is Caleb's sour employer, a toymaker engaged to the much younger May Fielding.
- May Fielding
- May is Dot's young friend and Tackleton's intended bride, with little apparent say in their proposed marriage.
- Tilly Slowboy
- Tilly is the Peerybingles' devoted but clumsy nursemaid, responsible for looking after John and Dot's baby.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 33,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 2 h 10 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 10 other languages
Questions about Das Heimchen am Herd
What is The Cricket on the Hearth about?
It is about a carrier named John Peerybingle, his young wife Dot, and the people whose lives touch theirs. It looks at love, trust, honesty and the warmth that makes a house a home.
When was The Cricket on the Hearth written?
Dickens wrote it in 1845 and published it that December as his third Christmas book. It is fiction, but it draws on the ordinary English home life and Christmas customs of his own time.
What does the cricket symbolise in the story?
The cricket stands for the spirit of a happy home, a small, steady voice of peace and goodwill. Its chirp marks each chapter and reminds the characters what they have at stake.
Is The Cricket on the Hearth a good place to start with Dickens?
Yes. It is short, easy to follow and full of his humour and feeling. It lacks the huge cast of his longer novels, so it gives a quick taste of his style.
Who are Caleb and Bertha Plummer?
Caleb is a poor toymaker and Bertha is his blind daughter. He describes their life to her as far better than it is, out of love, and this lie is a key part of the story.