Der Hungerpastor

Hungerpastor, Der, the first of W. Raabe's longer novels, written in 1862-3, and published in 1864. Raabe gives it a motto from Sophocles: ‘Nicht mitzuhassen, mitzulieben bin ich da’ (Antigone, l. 523). Der Hungerpastor tells of the birth, childhood, youth, and manhood of Hans Unwirrsch, the poor cobbler's son, whose manifold hungers are eventually satisfied in ministering as a pastor to the material and spiritual hunger of a remote village on the Baltic coast.

Hans is born late into his parents' hitherto childless marriage; his father dies not long after his birth, and he is brought up by his mother, who works long hours as a washerwoman, and by an aunt, Base Schlotterbeck, aided by lengthy, and often superfluous, advice from his guardian, Oheim Niklas Grünebaum. Hans's father and the consumptive teacher of the pauper school, Lehrer Silberlöffel, both incorporate the hunger for knowledge in Hans's early childhood. Hans forms a friendship with Moses Freudenstein, the son of a Jewish pawnbroker, and the two boys progress through the classical school and enter the university. Though the friendship persists for some time, it becomes apparent that their outlooks are divergent. Hans is a dreamer, and a kind and dutiful son; Moses, a sharp-eyed materialist. Soon after graduating Hans learns that his mother is dying. On the journey home he makes the passing acquaintance of Lt. Rudolf Götz and his orphaned niece, Franziska, who are later to play an important part in his story, and he hears sinister references to Moses's conduct.

After burying his mother, Hans, now a pastor but without a living, becomes a private tutor. He is successful and happy with the first family, that of a country squire, but has to leave when a rich relative takes a dislike to him. The second post, with an industrialist, is tolerable but comes to an end when, at a time of bread riots, Hans shows strong sympathies with the workers. His third post is obtained for him by Lt. Götz, who has seen an advertisement inserted by Hans, and recommends him to his civil servant brother, Theodor Götz, in Berlin, in the naïve expectation that Hans can act as a protector to Franziska, now living in the family of Geheimer Rat Götz. Here all is outwardly decorous, but the house is ruled by the proud and tyrannical wife; the Geheimer Rat is a nonentity at home, and the daughter, Cleophea, is in open opposition to her mother. Soon Moses Freudenstein appears in Berlin, now known as Dr. Théophile Stein and as a popular lecturer, especially to female audiences. He insinuates himself with Hans's reluctant assistance into the house of the Geheimer Rat, captivates the hostess, and presently elopes with Cleophea. In the shock of this event Hans and Franziska Götz discover their love for each other. After the Stein-Freudenstein catastrophe, Hans is dismissed, and loses contact with Franziska when he returns to Neustadt to bury Base Schlotterbeck and Oheim Grünebaum. On his return he traces Lt. Götz at the house of a genial and eccentric squire, Colonel Bullau, at Grunzenow on the Baltic, and sets out with their encouragement to find and fetch Franziska. This Hans achieves. He is betrothed to Franziska, abandons his early dreams of farreaching influence and activity, contenting himself with the prospect of succeeding Pastor Tillenius in the parish of Grunzenow. On the day of his wedding, a burning ship is sighted. The passengers and crew are rescued, and among the former is a disillusioned and repentant Cleophea, who dies in Franziska's care a few months later.

Der Hungerpastor was Raabe's first real success. He himself termed it ‘nicht nur ein deutches Volksbuch, sondern das deutsche Volksbuch’. Hans is seen as an epitome of the German soul in his fundamental goodness, dreamy unpracticality, and aspiration for the heights. The novel suffers, however, from the sharp black-and-white delineation, especially in the unrelieved evil of the Jew, Moses Freudenstein, and in the bitter caricature of proud gentility (Frau Götz). All the warmth and humanity are devoted to Hans and his friends, among whom is a rich gallery of eccentrics, in particular Base Schlotterbeck with her gift of second sight, Oheim Grünebaum with his convoluted epistolary and oratorical style, Lt. Götz, and Colonel Bullau.