The portrayal of childhood in German fiction from Keller to Carossa

Abstract

The middle of the 19th century marks a stage in the development of childhood portrayal in German literature. But to take Keller as a starting point rather than Gotthelf, is to recognize in the former the deliberate selectiveness of the artist, and the importance given by him to the whole period of childhood. The wealth of present-day literature dealing with children and childhood would seem to make the drawing of any line of demarcation something of an arbitrary matter. Yet the name of Carossa not only establishes a link with Keller in the poetic interpretation of childhood, but points to a culmination of artistic achievement within our own times.