Résumé
Résumé de Engelhart Ratgeber
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
Readers who love an inward, absorbing story of growing up, with rich pictures of old German towns, and who care about friendship, ambition, family sorrow and the longing of a young person to become himself.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
Engelhart Ratgeber is a coming-of-age novel by Jakob Wassermann, who died in 1934. It follows one boy from his first memory, a fire in a Franconian street, through school, a family in decline, and a young man's search for work, friends and a purpose. The setting is the German empire of the late nineteenth century, with its cities, barracks, offices and taverns.
Engelhart is a Jewish merchant's son with a restless inner life. He sees visions, tells stories and feels everything too deeply, while those around him ask only whether he is useful. The book gives you his childhood scenes, his first loves, his friendships and his failures. It shows how a gifted, shy and sometimes dishonest boy is shaped by a harsh father, a cold stepmother, rigid teachers and rich relatives.
Wassermann writes with close attention to the weather, the light and the small gestures of people. You will meet a large cast, from a rope maker grandfather to a drunken lieutenant, and you will hear a fairy tale Engelhart invents for his little brother. Let us begin with the child who loves fire and flees the sound of a slaughtered pig.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A child of fire, fear and fantasyFree
- 2Small injustices and a first sense of death
- 3Summer in Gunzenhausen and the word Jew
- 4A mother's illness and a changed home
- 5Cruelty at home and the friend in the woods
- 6Summer love, a fire and a sentence of exile
- 7Vienna, Würzburg and the barracks
- 8The cellar circle, a friend and a cold employer
- 9What the story is about
- 10How the book is told
Point clé 1 sur 10
A child of fire, fear and fantasy
The novel opens with Engelhart's earliest memory. His mother sits at a window, and the boy sees a tall column of fire at the end of the street. The next day he sets a toy house alight in a courtyard and is beaten for it. From the first page he is a child who is thrilled and frightened by the same things.
His home sits above a tavern. Fights break out at night, and every week a pig is slaughtered in the building. The death shriek terrifies him so much that he hides his head in a wardrobe full of clothes. The family soon moves to Theatergasse. A wedding trip to Karlstadt follows, where he meets his cousin Esmee, a dark eyed girl who laughs at his boasting.
His father, Mr. Ratgeber, travels most of the year as a small trader. He is full of plans and hopes that never quite succeed, and he wants his son to drink from the wellspring of knowledge. He sends the boy early to a preparatory class under old Herschkamm, a fat little teacher who rages with a feather duster and yet strolls gently with his sister on Sundays. Engelhart soon learns to play pranks with the other boys.
The maid Ketti, who comes from Heilbronn, tells him folk tales by the stove at dusk. They feed an idea that he is of royal birth and that adventures wait for him. An old cousin named Zederholz tells him each Sunday that he is a luminary, and the boy takes the word as praise. He grows proud and unbearable to his brother and sister.
His mother, Agathe, is called the most beautiful woman in Franconia. She is quiet, sad and troubled by dark thoughts, and she cannot counter his fantasies. His parents love him in their ways, yet each is shut inside private disappointment. This opening part shows a boy whose inner world is richer than the home around him, and shows how early the gap begins.
That’s 1 of 10 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Questions about Engelhart Ratgeber
What is Engelhart Ratgeber about?
It follows a sensitive Jewish boy in Franconia from his first memories to early adulthood. He faces a stern father, a cold stepmother, rigid schools, army life and uncertain friendships while searching for a purpose and for understanding.
Who is Justin Schildknecht in the novel?
He is a shy, restless draftsman from Nuremberg who becomes Engelhart's closest friend. He urges Engelhart to leave a destructive circle and to trust himself, yet his own fears and money troubles shape their bond.
What is the story of Jackele Cat-Fur?
It is a fairy tale Engelhart tells his brother Abel about a shepherd boy who loses his geese and chooses a bleeding heart over riches and knowledge. It mirrors the whole novel's theme of feeling against practical life.
Is Engelhart Ratgeber a true story, and when is it set?
It is a novel, though it draws on the world the author knew. It is set in Bavarian and Austrian towns in the later nineteenth century, with details of schools, barracks, offices and Jewish family life.
Is Engelhart Ratgeber easy to read?
Its chapters follow a clear path through one life, from childhood to young manhood. Short scenes, lively minor characters, a fairy tale and many letters keep the reading varied and absorbing.