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Heinrich Hoffmann (1809-1894) - pseudonyms Reimerich Kinderlieb, Heinrich Kinderlieb, Peter Struwwel, Heulalius von Heulenburg, Polykarpus Gastfenger, and Zwiebel | |
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German physician and writer who is best known for Der Struwwelpeter (1845, Shockhead Peter or Slovenly Peter), the story of a boy, who had bad manners. Hoffmann's didactic tales were written against all today's politically correct principles – relying on "black pedagogy" (schwarze pedagogik) they were meant to scare children when they behave badly and break the rules of their parents. Der Struwwelpeter has been translated into some 30 languages and it has deeply influenced children's literature. Maurice Sendak, one of the most famous children's books illustrators, have stated about its drawings: "Graphically it is one of the most beautiful books in the world." See this frowsy "cratur" Heinrich Hoffmann was born in Frankfurt am Main, the son Philipp Jacob Hoffmann, an architect, and Marianne Caroline (Lausberg) Hoffmann. Although literature was his first interest, on his father's request he acquired a degree in medicine. After studies at universities of Heidelberg, Halle, and Paris, he graduated in 1833, and worked then as a general practitioner and in a free clinic in his birth town. During this period he also wrote many poems. In 1840 he married Therese Donner, the daughter of a hat manufacturer. Between 1844 and 1851 Hoffmann taugh anatomy. From 1851 until his retirement in 1888 he was the director of the state mental hospital in Frankfurt am Main. During these 37 year he improved the psychiatric treatment of the patients, and started raising fund for a new hospital, which was built between 1859 and 1864 outside the city. For a period he was a member of Freemasons but resigned because of their anti-Jewish opinions. At the age of 33 Hoffmann published his first book, Gedichte. His next work, Die Mondzügler, was a play that mocked Hegel's philosophy. The story of Slovenly Peter was born in 1844, when Hoffmann wanted to buy a book for his son Carl as a Christmas gift, but did not find anything suitable. (Carl Hoffmann died at age 27 in Peru of yellow fever.) His first version of the story included five poems with a picture of Slovenly Peter or Peter the Slob, who did not want to comb his hair and cut his nails. He had used the character before when dealing with his small patients, who behaved in inappropriate ways. The contemporary children's books Hoffmann described as "altogether to enlightened and rational, falsely naive, unchildlike, untruthful, artificial". When Hoffmann's friends and patients, reading the book in the waiting room, encouraged him to publish the work, it came out in 1845 under the title Lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder mit 15 schön kolorirten Tafeln für Kinder von 3-6 Jahren. The name Struwwelpeter was no original part of the title, but added for the third German edition. In the original edition the anarchist hero appeared anonymously at the back of the book. It was not until the fifth edition, when the book was printed under Hoffmann's own name. Hoffmann illustrated himself the first edition, under the influence of a Russian children's book, Stepka-Rastrepka (1849). Many considered Hoffmann's pictures better. The first edition of 1,500 copies was sold out within a few weeks. Hoffmann's story was soon translated into several languages – among others into Finnish in 1869. The depiction of "the civilizing process" of children in Der Struwwelpeter is educational in the best tradition of macabre humour: thumbs are cut away with big scissors for sucking one's thumbs, small faults are punished by death, and in the story of 'Little Pauline' a girl who plays with matches burns into ashes. It has been claimed that Pauline's story was based on a true incident. "So she burnt with all her clothes, / And arms and hands, and eyes and nose; / Till she had nothing more to lose / Except her little scarlet shoes; And nothing else but these were found / Among her ashes on the ground." Suppen-Kaspar refuses to touch his soup and screams: "O take the nasty soup away! / I won't have any soup today." Eventually he wastes away, dying on the fifth day. Hoffmann's disillusioned view of children's behavior was not exactly in tune with the prevailing cult of innocence, which had been adopted from the writings of Rousseau. Thus Hoffmann's work undermined doctrines of children's psychology, but it was not until Freud, when the myth of innocence was completely destroyed. The Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren continued Hoffmann's anarchistic tradition in children's books, but her world famous Pippi Longstockings is unconventional in a positive way. Hoffmann's Slovenly Peter has also offered much ideas for political satire or parody. It has been speculated that one of Hoffmann's models for his troublemaker was Karl Marx. Under the name Peter Struwwel he published in the revolutionary year of 1848 Handbüchlein für Wühler (Little handbook for disturbers). During World War II appeared Struwwelhitler, a nazi story book by Doktor Schrecklichkeit by Robert and Philip Spence (ca 1942). In the 1960s in Germany Slovenly Peter was a rioting student in Der Struwwelpeter neu frisiert oder lästige Ge-schichten und dolle Bilder für Bürger bis 100 Jahre by Eckart and Rainer Hachfeld (1969). The Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been called as Straw Peter Syndrom, although Slovenly Peter is not actually hyperactive. Additional symptoms were described in two other tales: 'The Story of Johnny Look-in-the Air' mentions inattention and 'The Story of Cruel Frederick' describes dissocial behaviour. Attention deficits and hyperacticity are depicted in 'The Story of Fidgety Philip.' Hoffmann also published poetry, humor, and satire, several other children's books, and writings on medicine and psychiatry. Besuch bei Frau Sonne was drawn in 1871-72 but this book did not appear until 1924. Hoffmann's König Nußknacker und der arme Reinhold (1851) has been very popular in Germany; it was the author's own favorite work. Hoffmann died on September 20, 1894. For further reading: Sticks and Stones: The Troublesome Success of Children's Literature from Slovenly Peter to Harry Potter by Jack David Zipes (2000); Das "Irrenschloss" des Heinrich Hoffmann by Helmut Siefert (1998); Heinrich Hoffmann und Der Struwwelpeter: eine Bibliographie der Sekundaerliteratur, ed. by Walter Sauer (1998); Heinrich Hoffmann by Roland Hoede (1994); Der Struwwelperter polyglott, publ. by Walter Sauer (1984); Struwwelpeter-Hoffmann: Texte, Bilder, Dokumentation, Katalog, ed. by G.H. Herzog & H. Siefert (1978); Dr Heinrich Hoffmann's Struwwelpeter by M.L. Könneker (1977); Der Struwwelpeter, un analogue graphique et narratif des machines de tortures et de persécution pédagogiques au XIXème siècle, ed. by Boris Eizykman (1979); Psykoanalytische Schriften zur Literatur und Kunst by Georg Groddeck (1964); Der Struwwelpeter und andere Original-Manuskripte des Struwwelpeter-Hoffmann, ed. by F. Wilhelm Arntz (1954); Der Struwwelpeter und Sein Vater by G.A.E. Bogeng (1939); "Struwwelpeter-Hoffmann" erzählt aus seinem Leben, ed. by Eduard Hessenberg (1926) - Museum: Heinrich-Hoffmann-Museum: Schubertstrasse 20, 6000 Frankfurt am Main. In Finnish: Suomalaisista lähteistä parhaimpiin kuuluu Jörö-Jukka ja sen historia, toim. Markus Brummer-Korvekontion (1991) Selected works:
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