Finally got it done last night: I finished re-reading Jeremias Gotthelf's second novel, Leiden und Freuden eines Schulmeisters (The Sorrows and Joys of a Schoolteacher). It totals about 775 pages, in two volumes, so it was an undertaking.
Gotthelf, a pastor, was deeply committed to the cause of educational reform, and the novel is not only literature but also social criticism. It constitutes an extended plea to improve the conditions of schools and teachers. In rural Switzerland in the early 19th century, teachers were paid very poorly, they received little training, and the homes they were provided to live in--adjoining their schools (sometimes in the same building)--were often in poor condition, like the schools themselves. The local farmers often regarded the schools as of little value, sending their children only when they weren't needed on the farm. They were uninterested in education beyond the minimum of some reading and writing, basic sums, and catechetical memorization.
Gotthelf believed that education was essential for both moral and political reasons: moral, in order to develop the child's spiritual and intellectual capacities; political, in order to produce capable democratic citizens. So in this second novel he takes up arms in defense of under-resourced teachers and schools.
The last 100 pages or so drag a bit, I admit, as Gotthelf treats us to extended discussions of educational theory and of the politics of education reform in the canton of Bern during the 1830's. But the portrayal of the teacher Peter Käser and his wife Mädeli--a woman of great patience and strength, the real anchor of the household, who like so many of Gotthelf's female characters outshines her husband--is moving and compelling.
Onward to the next book!
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