«The Pale Rider» is a novella from Theodore Stormthat a year 1888 was published in the magazine «Deutsche Rundschau». Storm’s novella deals with that biography of the fictitious dike master Hauke Haien. The work consists of written traditions, oral narratives as well as regional legends and takes place in a village on the North Sea coast North Friesland.
are legends short, culture-specific narrativeswritten in prose or verse.
«The White Horseman» – Synopsis
The story of Hauke Haien is told in «Der Schimmelreiter». This narrative is integrated as an internal plot in two frame narratives and has three different narrators.
Under the section «Structure and Language» you will find detailed information about the plot structure and the different narrators in «Der Schimmelreiter».
The story begins with one review one first-person narratoradhering to one report remembered, which he used to read at his great-grandmother’s house. In this story, a Traveller in the 1820s his relatives on the North Sea coast. This traveler is the second first-person narrator the novella. On the way he meets one during a strong storm Rider on a white horsewhich shortly afterwards disappears into the sea.
The first-person narrator is at the same time teller and acting character a story. Readers experience the first-person narrator as independent personwhich depicts the events that you have experienced yourself.
in one Inn in the village behind the dyke, where the traveler saw the rider on the white horse, he finally reports on his experience. A retired schoolmaster then tells the traveler the story of the gray rider, which is also the life story of Hauke Haien. The schoolmaster is him third teller in the novel.
The young Hauke Haien
Hauke grows as the son of a simple, North Frisian farmer Tede Haien on. Hauke is a intelligent child and has been interested in this since he was a little boy Arithmetic and geometry. to children his age he hardly finds connection.
A dike is a artificial damthe to flood protection was built on the coast.
Hauke is often prompted by his father to work with the cart on the dike. He spends a lot of time on the dike and watches the sea. Hauke was already a child of that dikewhich is supposed to protect the village from storm surges, and the Fascinated by the development of new dyke shapes. Hauke notices that the old Dyke not stable enough is to withstand a flood and so he thinks up new models for the dyke out and decides to do it myself later dikemaster to become.
A dikemaster assumes responsibility for conservation and monitoring the dikes.
servant of the dikemaster
In its youth Hauke also shows one cruel side of himself when, in a fit of rage, he kills an old woman’s Angora cat named Trien’ Jans. Trien, who therefore curses him.
The Turkish Angora cat is considered the mother of long-haired cats as it is one of the oldest cat breeds with a long coat. Today, white or blue-grey long-haired cats are also generally referred to as Angora cats.
At the age of 18, Hauke’s father finally gives Hauke as little servant in the service of Dikemaster Tede Volkerts. Hauke points out to the dike manager some possibilities for improvement on the dike there.
He also works his way into the administrative tasks and helps Tede Volkerts with the arithmetic work. While the dikemaster praises him for it, the employee is Ole Peters jealous on the eager Hauke, especially since he now has to do the menial tasks. He therefore tries to give Hauke particularly difficult physical tasks, whereupon Elkethe daughter of the dikemasterwho is just as enthusiastic about arithmetic, defends Hauke and saves him from the hard work.
Hauke and Elke find each other right from the start liking each other and eventually bond at a traditional winter festival. Ole Peters, on the other hand, is rejected by Elke and instead marries Vollina Harders, the daughter of the dike commissioner, shortly afterwards. Hauke also takes over the post from Ole Petersthan this his quit work.
successor to the dikemaster
as Hauke’s father dies, this Hauke leaves a small fortune. He hopes that Hauke will be able to realize his dream of taking over the post of dike commissioner from Tede Volkerts. Um really dikemaster but Hauke has neither enough possessions nor enough followers in the village to become one. as Tede Volkerts diesElke Hauke finally wants to marry, whereby Hauke acquires enough possessions and actually becomes dikemasters appointed becomes.
as new dike manager can Hauke Haien be Implement plans for the dike. However, the construction work, which Hauke and Elke are doing with great zeal, leads to a simultaneous increase Tensions between Hauke and the villagers. That also takes care of Ole Peters, who becomes a wealthy man after his marriage and works as a dike commissioner. Ole intrigued against Hauke and spread bad rumors about him in the village. Hauke’s harshness and strict manner in particular are not welcome in the village community, which is why Hauke, who is not particularly sociable anyway, keeps pushing himself distanced from the village community.
The gray horse and the daughter Wienke
Hauke buys a stranger one emaciated mold and bring him to the village. The people in the village are scared because they believe that the mold is the Resurrection of a horse’s skeleton from the moor be. Thanks to Hauke’s care, the gray soon turned into a stately horse, with which Hauke developed a close bond.
Elke brings them common daughter Wienke to the world. After the birth, Elke became seriously ill childbed fever and narrowly escapes death. When Wienke is a few years old, it turns out that she intellectually handicapped is, after which she is looked after by Trien’ Jans.
Danger! In «Der Schimmelreiter», Theodor Storm uses a politically incorrect term for Wienke’s learning difficulties, which is no longer used today. In this declaration you will find discrimination-sensitive terms instead.
Trien’, who always had a good relationship with Elke despite her problems with Hauke, then moves to Hauke and Elke’s farm and also becomes reconciled with Hauke. Despite the problems, the Love between Hauke and Elke even stronger.
Completion of the dyke construction
Of the Construction of the new dike however, is nearing completion. A superstition states that something living must be buried between the dikes. But when Hauke saves the dog that was intended for this purpose, they turn themselves in Villagers finally against him. Nevertheless, the construction of the dyke is completed and Hauke Haien is dismissed by the Oberdeichgrafen and the authorities praised for his work.
Damage to the old dike
Shortly after completion of the dike construction Hauke falls ill and floats in risk of death. When he was in the spring damaged spots on the old dike finds out he wants theirs initiate repairs. However, weakened by his illness, he is not able to enforce this in the village. In the meantime, Ole Peters, as the dyke representative, only arranges superficial fastening measures of the dyke, which greatly worries Hauke. In 1756 Trien’ Jans died and prophesied on her deathbed that the dike would break.
The storm surge
At the November 1, 1756 it comes to one storm surge, which terrifies the village. Ole Peters suggests piercing the new dike to relieve the old dike and prevent worse. But Hauke rides out to the dyke with his white horse and forbids this project, since the new «Hauke-Haien-Koog»which was named after Hauke, would be flooded as a result.
A Koog is a piece of land that was gained through the construction of a dyke.
The strong storm causes the old dike indeed breaks and the floods flood the plains. Hauke realizes that his wrong decision is responsible for this. The water masses flood the old Koog and the village. Hauke’s family tries to meet him with a car, but she sink in the tide and die. After Hauke witnessed this accident becomes, he falls himself and his mold into the water and commits with it suicide.
End of the report from the schoolmaster
Of the Schulmeister finishes his story about Hauke Haien and praises Hauke’s dyke, which in contrast to the old dyke is still there today. Since Hauke never received thanks for his work in his life, he is still said to be ghostly appearance on his white horse see riding. The traveler sets out again in the direction of the coast in daylight and rides away over the dike.
«The Pale Rider» – Characterization of the people
In the novella «Der Schimmelreiter» one plays variety of characters a role. The following section gives you an overview of the most important characters and their relationships to each other.
Hauke Haien
- is his estimated year of birth 1715
- is about 16 years old at the beginning of the story.
- is early fascinated by dikes and spends his free time there.
- has a strong mathematical and technical understanding.
- dreams of becoming a dike master.
- works as little servant at a dike engineer.
- falls in love with Elke, the daughter of the dike master.
- becomes with Elke’s support new dike manager.
- is obsessed from working on the dike.
- is confident in himself strives for recognition.
- Has high standards, making him unpopular in the village.
- buy one Moldwhich can only be ridden by him.
- loses the support of the village.
- leads one close relationship with Elke and to his intellectually disabled daughter Wienke.
- blames himself for the collapse of the dike.
- kills himself, by riding the waves.
Elke Volkerts
- is the daughter of the dikemaster.
- is very religious.
- grows up without a mother.
- falls in love with Hauke and marry him.
- defends Hauke against Ole Peters.
- supports Hauke unconditionally at his work.
- gives birth to Wienke.
- seriously ill with childbed fever.
- loves Wienke and Hauke dearly.
- brings the superstitious old Trien’ into the house.
- dies with Wienke in the floods.
Ole Peters
- is Hauke’s opponent.
- is the son of a day laborer.
- works as foreman at the dike manager.
- is a hard worker.
- is jealous of Hauke and frequently bullies him.
- tries in vain to win over Elke, marries Vollina Harders instead
- takes over the office of dike representative.
- intrigued against Hauke and turns the village community against him.
- can understand the needs of the villagers better than Hauke.
Tede Haien
- is Hauke’s father.
- is a single parent.
- is a smallholder with few cattle.
- is very intelligent.
- be posed Life back for Haukewhen he recognizes his talent.
- gets Hauke to work for the dike manager and encourages him in becoming a dikemaster.
- leaves him a little money and land so that Hauke can become a dikemaster.
Tede Volkert
- is Elkes Father.
- is big farmer and dikemaster.
- is a comfortable and good-natured, but not an intelligent man.
- is with his Office overwhelmed and in need of assistence.
- recognizes Hauke’s talent.
- is very traditional and would not have supported the marriage of Hauke and Elke during their lifetime.
Trien’ Jans
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is a old woman.
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used to work for…