Die Leute von Seldwyla, Vol. 1

Die Leute von Seldwyla, Volume 1, is the first volume of Gottfried Keller’s celebrated cycle of stories set in the imaginary Swiss town of Seldwyla. The first five stories of the cycle were originally published in 1856, with a substantially expanded second volume appearing in 1874 and 1875. The cycle is one of the central works of nineteenth century German language realist fiction.

Seldwyla is an imaginary small Swiss town that Keller invented to serve as the setting for stories about the foibles, ambitions, and small dramas of provincial Swiss life. The town has its own characteristic spirit. Its inhabitants are described as cheerful and improvident, given to grand schemes that usually come to nothing and to enthusiasms that quickly burn themselves out.

The first volume contains five stories. Pankraz der Schmoller follows the rebellious young Pankraz from his unhappy boyhood through his years of travel and adventure to his eventual return. Romeo und Julia auf dem Dorfe, the most famous of all the Seldwyla stories, transposes the Romeo and Juliet plot into a Swiss village setting with two feuding farming families and their doomed young lovers, and is one of the great achievements of nineteenth century German prose. Frau Regel Amrain und ihr Jüngster follows a strong willed widow raising her son in difficult circumstances. Die drei gerechten Kammacher tells the story of three comb makers competing absurdly for the same young woman. Spiegel das Kätzchen is a fairy tale about a clever cat and a foolish wizard.

The stories vary considerably in tone. What unifies them is Keller’s particular voice, warm and ironic at the same time, sympathetic to his characters even when he is making fun of them.