Wilhelm Raabe
Wilhelm Raabe (1831–1910) was a prominent German novelist known for his contributions to the literary movement of realism, alongside contemporaries such as Gottfried Keller and Theodor Storm. Born in Eschershausen, Raabe’s upbringing was influenced by a family deeply engaged in literature and history. His educational journey was unconventional, as he faced interruptions and ultimately withdrew from formal schooling, which shaped his critical outlook on established educational norms. Raabe's writing career began in earnest after he published his first significant work, *Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse*, in 1856 under the pseudonym Jakob Corvinus.
His most productive years were spent in Braunschweig, where he created notable works such as *Horacker*, *Pfisters Mühle*, and *Tubby Schaumann*, the latter of which explores themes of social isolation and the human struggle against materialism. Raabe's style is characterized by multiple perspectives and a slow narrative pace, revealing a complex view of rural life that juxtaposes idyllic appearances with underlying human flaws. Despite his innovative approach, Raabe often felt that his experimental techniques went unrecognized during his lifetime. Although his works are less known in the English-speaking world due to a lack of translations, recent reevaluations are beginning to appreciate his nuanced perspectives on everyday life and social criticism, making him a significant figure in 19th-century German literature.
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Subject Terms
Wilhelm Raabe
German novelist
- Born: September 8, 1831
- Place of birth: Eschershausen, Duchy of Brunswick (now Eschershausen, Germany)
- Died: November 15, 1910
- Place of death: Braunschweig, Germany
Biography
Wilhelm Raabe is a major figure in German realism, along with such writers as Gottfried Keller and Theodor Storm. Born in the small town of Eschershausen in the Duchy of Brunswick, then part of the German Confederation, Raabe was raised in Holzminden, where his grandfather, postmaster and local historian August Heinrich Raabe, had a great influence on him. His father worked for the judiciary and maintained a large personal library, from which Raabe read.
When his father was transferred to Stadtoldendorf in 1842, the lack of a Gymnasium (high school) meant that Raabe had to take private instruction. The experience developed in him a resistance to all formal schooling. In 1845, after the death of his father, Raabe’s mother moved the family to Wolfenbuttel, where she had relatives. Raabe withdrew from school in 1849 and was sent to Magdeburg as an apprentice to a bookseller. His work gave him ample opportunity to read, but his attempt to pass the Abitur, or university entrance examination, failed. In 1854 he attended the University of Berlin as a nonmatriculated student and began writing Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse (The chronicle of Sparrow Alley, 1856), which was completed in 1855 and published the next year, under the pseudonym Jakob Corvinus, to some favorable reviews.
Raabe returned to Wolfenbuttel in 1856, met editor Adolf Glaser, traveled some, and attended the theater. In 1862 he married Bertha Leiste and moved to Stuttgart, where he enjoyed the more stimulating cultural environment and was able to publish several novels in installments. Because of their favoring of a united Germany under Prussia, Raabe and his wife felt somewhat alienated from his pro-Austria friends. Thus, in 1870, in spite of the war mobilization, Raabe moved his family to Braunschweig.
Raabe’s time in Braunschweig, from 1870 to 1898, was extremely productive. He wrote some of his most important works during that period, including Horacker (1876; English translation, 1983), Pfisters Mühle (Pfister’s mill, 1884), Das Odfeld (1888; The Odin Field, 2001), and Stopfkuchen (1891; Tubby Schaumann, 1983). His income from writing was sufficient to support his family. He completed Die Akten des Vogelsangs (1896; The Birdsong Papers, 2013) in 1895 and then wrote Hastenbeck (1899), a historical novel. On his seventieth birthday he was honored by the city of Braunschweig and by the Universities of Tübingen and Göttingen. He died on November 15, 1910. His final novel, Altershausen, was left unfinished, and was posthumously published in this form in 1911.
During his lifetime, Raabe was disappointed that his use of experimental style with multiple perspectives was not understood and that the satire inherent in his work was missed. He was praised for his humor, his themes showing traditional values, and his descriptions of everyday life, but critics often failed to notice his social criticism.
Tubby Schaumann, arguably Raabe’s finest novel, is representative of his writing. Focused on the story of outsider Heinrich Schaumann, cruelly called “Stopfkuchen” (literally “stuff cake”), or “Tubby” in the English version, by his schoolmates, the novel depicts Schaumann as a young man who, like Raabe, was a failure in school. Schaumann, however, develops his talents and goes on to achieve his dream: ownership of a farm, which serves as his fortress. The narration is slow and rambling, but the characters and society are revealed one step at a time until the idealization of the rural town (and its postman) are shown to be an illusion. Criticism of society is embodied in Raabe’s theme of the isolation of the individual and unjust accusations. His use of first-person narrative and reminiscences gave rise to the interrelated perspectives that are characteristic of his mature work.
Raabe’s characters must find a way to survive in a world formed by the Industrial Revolution, a world where materialism seems to dominate and displace humane action. Some cannot survive, such as Antonie in Die Leute aus dem Walde (The people from the forest, 1863), but others, such as Schönow in Villa Schönow (1884) and the title character in Tubby Schaumann, demonstrate human dignity and are able to live according to their own values of love, friendship, honesty, and genuine kindness. Raabe’s reality is only superficially idyllic; rustic environments may look pastoral, but they invariably hide human weakness, such as the meanness evidenced in Tubby Schaumann and the gossip and rumor of Horacker. Human suffering, rather than history, is viewed as the enduring, progressive force.
Raabe’s position as a major nineteenth-century novelist of the German realist period (1850–90) has not always been recognized, and a lack of translations of his work has made him less known, or perhaps even unknown, to the English-speaking public. However, some critics have begun a reevaluation of his works, recognizing a more complex view of the world that goes beyond a mere capturing of German regionalism. Modern readers who are accustomed to the techniques of twentieth-century narrative will find Raabe’s multiple perspectives accessible and may especially respond to his themes of isolation and disillusionment.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse, 1856 (dated 1857; as Jakob Corvinus)
Ein Frühling, 1857
Der Junker von Denow, 1859 (novella)
Der Kinder von Finkenrode, 1859
Wer kann es wenden?, 1860 (novella)
Der heilige Born, 1861
Die schwarze Galeere, 1861 (novella; The Black Galley, 1937)
Nach dem großen Kriege, 1861
Unseres Herrgotts kanzlei, 1862 (novella)
Das letzte Recht, 1862 (novella)
Die Leute aus dem Walde, 1863
Der Hungerpastor, 1864 (The Hunger-Pastor, 1885)
Drei Federn, 1865
Else von der Tanne, 1865 (novella)
Die Gänse von Bützow, 1866 (novella)
Sankt Thomas, 1866 (novella; St. Thomas, in German Novellas of Realism, 1989)
Im Siegeskranze, 1866 (novella)
Abu Telfan; oder, Die Heimkehr vom Mondgebirge, 1867 (Abu Telfan; or, The Return from the Mountains of the Moon, 1881)
Else von der Tanne, 1869 (novella; Elsa of the Fir; or, Sir Friedemann Leutenbacher, 1943; Else von der Tanne (Elsa of the Forest), 1972)
Der Schüdderump, 1870
Der Marsch nach Hause, 1870
Des Reiches Krone, 1870 (novella)
Der Dräumling, 1872 (novella)
Christoph Pechlin, 1873
Meister Autor, 1873 (dated 1874)
Zum wilden Mann, 1874 (novella; At the Sign of the Wild Man, 2012)
Eulenpfingsten, 1875 (novella)
Frau Salome, 1875 (novella)
Höxter und Corvey, 1875 (novella; Höxter and Corvey, 2012)
Vom alten Proteus, 1876
Horacker, 1876 (English translation in Novels: Wilhelm Raabe, 1983)
Die Innerste, 1876 (novella)
Wunnigel, 1878
Deutscher Adel, 1879
Alte Nester, 1879
Das Horn von Wanza, 1880 (novella)
Fabian und Sebastian, 1882
Prinzessin Fisch, 1883
Pfisters Mühle, 1884 (novella)
Villa Schönow, 1884
Unruhige Gäste, 1885
Im alten Eisen, 1887
Das Odfeld, 1888 (The Odin Field: A Story, 2001)
Der Lar, 1889
Stopfkuchen: Eine See- und Mordgeschichte, 1891 (Tubby Schaumann: A Tale of Murder and the High Seas, in Novels: Wilhelm Raabe, 1983)
Gutmanns Reisen, 1892
Kloster Lugau, 1894 (novella)
Die Akten des Vogelsangs, 1896 (The Birdsong Papers, 2013)
Hastenbeck, 1899
Altershausen, 1911 (incomplete)
Bibliography
Arnds, Peter O. Wilhelm Raabe’s Der Hungerpastor and Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield: Intertextuality of Two Bildungsromane. Peter Lang, 1997. A comparative study. Includes bibliography and index.
Daemmrich, Horst S. Wilhelm Raabe. Twayne Publishers, 1981. A helpful orientation to Raabe’s life and works.
Sammons, Jeffrey L. The Shifting Fortunes of Wilhelm Raabe: A History of Criticism as a Cautionary Tale. Camden House, 1992. Describes critical reactions to Raabe’s work and the author’s disappointment that his social criticism was largely overlooked.
Sammons, Jeffrey L. Wilhelm Raabe: The Fiction of the Alternative Community. Princeton UP, 1987. Includes an extensive bibliography.