Little Herr Friedemann (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Mann
- First Published: 1897
- Type of Plot: Symbolist
- Time of Work: The 1890's
- Setting: Lubeck, Germany
- Principal Characters: Johannes Friedemann, Frau Gerda von Rinnlingen, Friederike, Henriette, Pfiffi Friedemann, Colonel von Rinnlingen
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Suffering, Art or artists, Emotions, Women, Fate or fatalism, Dwarfs
- Locales: Lubeck, Germany
The Story
Johannes Friedemann, as a month-old infant in Lubeck, had taken a bad fall while in the care of his drunken nurse. As a result, he is destined to live out his life as a hunchback and a dwarf. Remarkably so, Friedemann as a young adult has made an accommodation with his plight. At sixteen he had fallen in love with a blond girl his age, but one summer afternoon he saw her embracing and kissing a boy while hiding behind a jasmine bush. Friedemann made an instant vow: “Never again will I let myself in for any of it. To the others it brings joy and happiness, for me it...
[The entire page is 1809 words long]
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