'Den kindern erzählt'? Hebel's Biblische geschichten in the hands of Ernst Johann and Emily Anderson

Abstract

The Biblische Geschichten occupy a slightly peculiar position — at once central and marginal — in Hebel's æuvre. This article sets out to illuminate the nature of this text by focusing on Ernst Johann's 1959 edition and Emily Anderson's 1961 translation. In examining what is missing — but also what is retained — in either, it sheds light on the structure of the text and the attitude of mind it implies; on issues of voice and audience, and hence on the relationship between this text and its more famous predecessor, the Schatzkästlein; and on questions of language and style, especially the relationship between this text and the Lutheran bible. It also seeks to correct some misunderstandings about, and to demonstrate extraordinary quality of, this late masterpiece.