The Clown: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Clown: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the complexities of the protagonist, Hans Schnier, a professional clown navigating a world that often feels alien to him. At twenty-seven, Hans is the son of a wealthy industrialist but starkly contrasts the typical expectations of his background. He embodies the spirit of an artist—spontaneous, creative, and sensitive—yet struggles against societal norms and familial pressures, particularly from his father, Alfons Schnier, who represents traditional values and expectations.
The narrative also explores the life of Marie Derkum, whom Hans considers his wife despite their lack of legal ties. Marie's character, rooted in trust and a desire for societal acceptance, ultimately leads her to abandon Hans for a more conventional life with Prelate Züpfner. This departure deepens Hans's isolation, pushing him into a cycle of despair and alcohol.
Supporting characters like Hans's mother, Mrs. Schnier, and his brother, Leo, further illuminate the familial tensions and differing worldviews that shape his identity. Through these interactions, the story reflects on themes of acceptance, loss, and the struggle for authenticity in a rapidly changing society. Overall, the exploration of these characters provides a poignant look at the tension between individual desires and societal expectations.
The Clown: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Heinrich Böll
First published: Ansichten eines Clowns, 1963 (English translation, 1965)
Genre: Novel
Locale: Bonn, Germany
Plot: Psychological realism
Time: 1945–1960
Hans Schnier (shneer), a professional clown. All events in this first-person novel are seen through the eyes of Hans, the twenty-seven-year-old son of a wealthy industrialist. He is not, however, the typical son of a rich businessman. As a youth, he showed little aptitude for school, and he has never had any interest in business. Instead, Hans has the character traits and temperament of an artist: He is spontaneous, impulsive, creative, naïve, and innocent, and he cannot feign feelings that he does not possess. Nor can he, as someone once urged him, “be a man.” To “be a man,” he would have to become like everyone else, which he cannot and will not do. Similarly, he cannot act on his father's criticism that he lacks the very quality that makes a man a man: the ability to accept a situation. Hans, unlike most of his friends and acquaintances, does not want to accept the past and gloss it over, nor does he want to be merely swept along by the new tide of democracy. These qualities make him a misfit and an outsider. The loss of Marie destroys his primary link to the real world. Without her, he turns more and more to drink and ends up alone, playing his guitar and singing for a few coins from passersby at the train station.
Marie Derkum (DEHR-kuhm), the young woman whom Hans considers to be his wife, although they are not legally married. Sweet, trusting, and religious, Marie is in many ways the antithesis of Hans: She is from a very poor background, performed well in school, and is a devout Catholic. In time, her desire to return to the good graces of the church and to have a conventional, church-sanctioned marriage overcomes her love of Hans, and she leaves him to marry Prelate Züpfner.
Alfons Schnier, the director of a coal-mining company and father of Hans. When Hans was growing up, his mother was the dominant personality in the family. Hans also has vivid memories of his father, such as how he courageously defended Hans when, as a boy of about ten, he called Herbert Kalick a “Nazi swine.” Schnier is now a handsome, distinguished-looking man in his sixties who has recently discovered that he has a talent as a television talk-show guest. He offers his son financial assistance, but only on the condition that Hans take formal training from the best teacher. Hans does not accept his father's offer.
Mrs. Schnier, Hans's mother, a homemaker and socialite. Hans considers her to be stupid, stingy, and hypocritical. During the war, she was a staunch racist and a fanatical German nationalist. She even sent her only daughter, sixteen-year-old Henrietta, to fight (and die) on the home front. Now Mrs. Schnier is president of the Executive Committee of the Societies for the Reconciliation of Racial Differences. Hans has never forgiven his mother for the death of his beloved sister, and he has not seen her since he left home to live with Marie and become a professional clown, more than five years earlier.
Heribert Züpfner (HEHR-ih-behrt ZEWPF-nehr), a Catholic prelate, about the same age as Hans. Züpfner, who as a youth was kind to Hans and occasionally went out with Marie, is one of several prominent young Catholics among Hans and Marie's friends, including Sommerwild and Kinkel. By convincing Marie to leave Hans for him, he shatters Hans's world.
Herbert Kalick (HEHR-behrt KAH-lihk), a recent recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit for his work in spreading democratic ideas among young people. When he was a youth of fourteen, Kalick, while serving as the leader of Hans's Hitler Youth group, was responsible for the death of one small boy and for the persecution of another lad who could not prove his Aryan background. Now a shining light in the new democratic movement, Kalick has recently invited Hans to his house to ask forgiveness for his past mistakes. Hans, however, cannot forgive and strikes him before leaving without accepting the offer of reconciliation.
Leo Schnier, Hans's younger brother, who became a Catholic and is now a seminary student. He is generous, undemanding, and generally supportive of his brother.
Martin Derkum, Marie's father, a not very successful shopkeeper. He is an intellectual and thought by many to be a Communist. Kind, generous, and not the typical chameleon of the times, changing with each new situation, he is one of the few men Hans respects.