Heidi
Heidi (/ˈhaɪdi/;
German: [ˈhaɪdi]) is a work of children's fiction
published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri,
originally published in two parts as Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and
Learning[1]
(German: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre)
and Heidi: How She Used What She Learned[2]
(German: Heidi kann brauchen, was es gelernt hat).[3]
It is a novel about the events in the life of a young girl in her paternal
grandfather's care in the Swiss Alps. It was written as a book "for children
and those who love children" (as quoted from its subtitle).
Heidi is one of the best-selling books ever written and is among
the best-known works of Swiss literature.[4][5]
Plot
Heidi[6] is an orphaned
girl initially raised by her maternal aunt Dete in Maienfeld,
Switzerland after the early deaths of her parents, Tobias and Adelheid (Dete's
brother-in-law and sister). When some people ask Dete to come to the city and
be their maid, Dete takes 5-year-old Heidi to her paternal grandfather's house,
up the mountain from the Dörfli
('small village' in Swiss German). He has been at odds with the villagers and
embittered against God for years and lives in seclusion on the alm, which has earned him the nickname 'The
Alm-Uncle'. He briefly resents Heidi's arrival, but the girl's evident
intelligence and cheerful yet unaffected demeanor soon earn his genuine, if
reserved, affection. Heidi enthusiastically befriends her new neighbours, young
Peter the goatherd,
his mother, Brigitte, and his blind maternal grandmother. With each season that
passes, the mountaintop inhabitants, especially Peter and the grandmother, grow
more attached to Heidi, and she to them.
Three years later, Dete returns to take Heidi to Frankfurt
to be a hired lady's companion to a wealthy girl named Clara
Sesemann, who is unable to walk and regarded as an invalid.
Clara is charmed by Heidi's simple friendliness and her descriptions of life on
the Alm, and delights in all the funny mishaps brought about by the naïve
Heidi's lack of experience with city life. However, the Sesemanns' strict
housekeeper, Fräulein Rottenmeier, views the household
disruptions as wanton misbehaviour, and places Heidi under more and more
restraint. Soon, Heidi becomes terribly homesick
and grows alarmingly pale and thin. Her one diversion is learning to read and
write, motivated by her desire to go home and read to Peter's blind grandmother
from her beloved book of hymns. Clara's kindly paternal grandmother comes to
visit the children and becomes a friend to Heidi. She teaches Heidi that she
can always seek relief from misery by praying to God.
After months pass, the Frankfurt household is
brought near hysteria by nightly sightings of what appears to be a ghost wandering around
near the front door. When Clara's father and his friend, Clara's doctor, keep
awake one night to find out what is causing the disturbances, they see that the
"ghost" is actually just Heidi, who's sleepwalking
in her white nightgown.
The doctor sees that Heidi is under a great deal of stress, and warns Mr.
Sesemann that Heidi's condition may worsen if she is not sent back to her
mountain home immediately. The very next day, a joyous Heidi returns to the
Alm, where she teaches her grandfather the lessons that Clara's grandmother
taught her about the comfort of prayer and reassures him that it's never too
late to turn back to God. Her simple lesson prompts her grandfather to descend
to the village and attend a church service
for the first time in years, marking an end to his seclusion. He is heartily
welcomed back by the church pastor and the villagers.
Heidi and Clara continue to keep in touch and
exchange letters. A visit by the doctor to Heidi leads him to eagerly recommend
that Clara visit Heidi, feeling assured that the fresh mountain air and the
wholesome companionship will do her good. Clara makes the journey the next
season and spends a wonderful summer with Heidi, becoming stronger on goat's milk
and fresh mountain air. But Peter, who grows jealous of Heidi's and Clara's friendship,
pushes her empty wheelchair down the mountain to its destruction, although he
is soon wracked with guilt about what he did and ultimately confesses to it.
Without her wheelchair, Clara has no choice but to learn to walk; she attempts
to do so and is gradually successful. She is not very strong, often relying on
Heidi or the grandfather to stay standing and not collapse, but it marks an end
to her time as a lonely, shut-in invalid. Her grandmother and father are amazed
and overcome with joy to see Clara walking again. The Sesemann family promises
to provide permanent care for Heidi, if there ever comes a time when her
grandfather is no longer able to do so.
Translations
English: Thirteen English translations
were done between 1882 and 1959, by British and American translators: Louise
Brooks, Helen B. Dole, H.A. Melcon, Helene S. White, Marian Edwardes, Elisabeth
P. Stork, Mabel Abbott, Philip Schuyler Allen, Shirley Watkins, M. Rosenbaum,
Eileen Hall, and Joy Law.[7]
Adaptations
Film and television
About 25 film or television productions of the
original story have been made. The Heidi films were popular far and
wide, becoming a huge hit, and the Japanese animated series became iconic in
several countries around the world. The only incarnation of the
Japanese-produced animated TV series to reach the English language was a dubbed
feature-length compilation movie using the most pivotal episodes of the
television series, released on video in the United States in 1985. Although the
original book describes Heidi as having dark, curly hair, she is usually
portrayed as blonde.
Versions of the story include:
- Heidi, a 1937 motion picture which starred Shirley Temple in the title role.
- Heidi, a 1952 film in Swiss German and German, directed by Luigi Comencini, starring Elsbeth Sigmund (filmed on location in Switzerland), and followed by a sequel, Heidi and Peter, in 1955, directed by Franz Schnyder, also starring Ms. Sigmund.
- Heidemarie S'Waisechind vo Engelberg, 1956 film of Austria directed by Hermann Kugelstadt
- A Gift for Heidi (1958), by George Templeton.
- Heidi (1959), music by Clay Warnick, adapted by William Friedberg with Neil Simon.
- Heidi a six-part 1959 BBC TV series starring Sara O'Connor in the title role, with Mark Dignam as her grandfather and Lesley Judd as Clara.[8]
- Heidi, a 1965 Austrian film, directed by Werner Jacobs.
- Heidi, a 1968 television film which starred Jennifer Edwards with Maximilian Schell and Michael Redgrave. This was the version that became infamous for interrupting an American football game that was broadcast the same day (November 17) on NBC. The game between the Oakland Raiders and the New York Jets was cut off a few minutes before the end of the game when it looked like the Jets were going to win. However, after the cut off, the Raiders made a comeback and beat the Jets with TV viewers on the east coast missing the conclusion. TV channels displayed the final score (Oakland winning 43-32) during the movie, further enraging football fans. This incident led to a policy of not ending coverage of football games until after their conclusion. The game has gone down in pro football lore as "The Heidi Game."
- Heidi (Disneyland Storyteller Record) a 1968 old time radio style adaptation of the story by Disneyland Records, with music by Camarata, recorded in London and starring Brenda Dunnich, John Witty and introducing (to American audiences) Ysanne Churchman as Heidi.
- Heidi, Girl of the Alps, a 1974 Japanese anime series directed by Isao Takahata for Zuiyo Eizo (later, Nippon Animation), dubbed into various languages. Compiled into an English-dubbed movie entitled The Story of Heidi.
- Heidi, a 1974 BBC adaptation starring Emma Blake.
- Heidi, a 1978 26-episode Swiss/German television series, starring Katia Polletin as the protagonist, which was dubbed into various languages, including English.
- The New Adventures of Heidi (1978), directed by Ralph Senensky.
- Heidi: La marveilleuse histoire d'une fille de la montagne(2 record set). Story read by actress Irène Vidy, Heidi theme song sung by Tony Schmitt. Milan Entertainment, a product of Activ-Records, Altendorf, Schwyz Switzerland, 1980. (SLP 77)
- Heidi's Song, a 1982 American animated film produced by Hanna-Barbera.
- Climb a Tall Mountain, a Christian film from 1987 that uses the story's characters to illustrate a message about the importance of love and forgiveness,
- Courage Mountain, a 1990 American adventure drama film and serves as a sequel to Johanna Spyri's novel Heidi, directed by Christopher Leitch.
- Heidi, a two-part American television miniseries from 1993, starring Noley Thornton as Heidi. Co-stars included Jane Seymour as Miss Rottenmeier, Jason Robards as Grandfather and Lexi Randall as Clara.
- Heidi, a 1995 animated film.
- Heidi, a 2005 animated film.
- Heidi, a 2005 British live action film directed by Paul Marcus.
- Heidi 4 Paws, a comedic 2008 adaptation featuring talking dogs with the voice of Angela Lansbury.
- Heidi, a CGI remake of the 1974 anime series developed in 2015, made by Studio 100 Animation, the same makers of Maya the Bee.[9]
- Heidi, a 2015 Swiss live action film directed by Alain Gsponer.
- Heidi, bienvenida a casa, a 2017 telenovela from Argentina.
Theatre
A stage musical adaptation of Heidi with
book and lyrics by Francois Toerien, music by Mynie Grové and additional lyrics
by Esther von Waltsleben, premiered in South Africa at the Klein Karoo National
Arts Festival in 2016. Directed by Toerien with musical direction by Dawid
Boverhoff, the production starred Tobie Cronjé (Miss Rottenmeier), Dawid
Minnaar (Mr Sesemann), Albert Maritz (Grandfather), Ilse Klink (Aunt Detie),
Karli Heine (Heidi), Lynelle Kenned (Clara), Dean Balie (Peter), Jill Middlekop
and Marlo Minnaar. Puppets for the production were created by Hansie Visagie.[10]
A stage musical adaptation of Heidi of the
Mountain (music and lyrics by Claude Watt, book by Claude and Margaret
Watt) was performed in Sidney, BC, Canada by Mountain Dream Productions,
premiering in 2007 at the Charlie White Theatre, and has been performed again
several times since then.[11]
The 2007 production starred Claude Watt (Grandfather), Margaret Watt (Frau
Rottenmeier), Rianne Craig (Heidi) and Katrina Brindle (Clara).
Computer games
There have been two Heidi computer games released
for mobile devices, with the most recent being Heidi: Mountain Adventures. Both
games are based on the Studio 100 TV series of 2015 and are aimed at young
children, with educational elements and a series of mini-games.[12][13]
Heidiland
Heidiland, named after the Heidi books, is
an important tourist area in Switzerland, popular especially with Japanese and
Korean tourists.[14]
Maienfeld
is the center of what is called Heidiland; one of the villages, formerly called
Oberrofels,[15]
is actually renamed "Heididorf".[16]
Heidiland is located in an area called Bündner Herrschaft;
it is criticized as being a "laughable, infantile cliche"[14]
and "a more vivid example of hyperreality."[17]
Sequels
The five sequel books, Heidi and Her Friends,
Heidi Grows Up,
Heidi's Children, Heidi grand-mère 1941
(Heidi as grandmother) and Au Pays de Heidi 1952 (In Heidi's
land), were neither written nor endorsed by Spyri, but were adapted from
her other works by her French translator, Charles Tritten in the 1930s, many
years after she died.[18][19][20][21]
There are some major differences between the
original Heidi and the Tritten sequels. These include;
- Heidi, the original story by Spyri, shows the simple life of Heidi imbued with a deep love of children and childhood. Spyri mentioned that the work was "for children and those who love children". The sequels portray Heidi in a different manner, as she grows up and gets married.
- Heidi in the first book, Heidi, is described as having, "short, black curly hair", when she is around five to eight years of age. In Heidi Grows Up, when she is fourteen, her hair is long, straight and fair.
- In some English editions of Heidi the names of the goats are translated into English (Little Swan and Little Bear), while other editions use their original Swiss-German names, Schwanli and Baerli. In Heidi Grows Up only the names Schwanli and Baerli are used.
In 1990, screenwriters Weaver Webb and Fred &
Mark Brogger, and director Christopher Leitch, produced Courage Mountain,
starring Charlie Sheen and Juliette Caton as Heidi.
Billed as a sequel to Spyri's story, the film is anachronistic in that it
depicts Heidi as a teenager during World War I, despite the fact that the
original novel (where Heidi is only five years old) was published in 1881.
Basis for Heidi
In April 2010, a Swiss professorial candidate,
Peter Buettner, uncovered a book written in 1830 by the German author Hermann
Adam von Kamp. The 1830 story is titled "Adelaide: The Girl from the
Alps" (German: Adelaide, das Mädchen vom Alpengebirge).[22]
The two stories share many similarities in plot line and imagery.[23]
Spyri biographer Regine Schindler said it was entirely possible that Spyri may
have been familiar with the story as she grew up in a literate household with
many books.
Reception
The book has been criticised, even in its day,
for its religiously conservative positions,[24] and later for
black-and-white character portrayals and an idealization of pastoral life.[25]
In Japan, since its first Japanese translation in
1906, the book has been influential upon the general, stereotypical image of
Switzerland for the Japanese, especially its tourists, many visiting the
Heidi's Village park.
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