Ben Steinhauser, Alicia Mahoney, Jose Garcia, Maria Carrillo
Professor Kazia L. Estrada
English 1301-175
19 February 2016
#Devil2Bearskin1
In devil
dealing, two souls are lost despite a desperate soldier’s struggle.
“Bearskin” is the story of a man that makes a deal with the devil due to his desperate circumstances. New Historicism will be applied to the version by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. New Historicism considers the historical context of the story and that of the author(s).
In this version of Bearskin, the soldier is a volunteer as the story states that he “enlisted.” He is described as being brave, so he embodies the best of qualities to have in a soldier. During a time of war, a soldier is important, but when there is no war a soldier is useless and a burden on society. This is because the soldier only knows how to fight. The story states that his parents are dead. This may have been added to the story by the authors because their father died when they were young. They were therefore forced to provide for their family. The soldier then asks his brothers for help, but they refuse their brother’s request. The brothers are described as “hardhearted.” This would not have been considered the Christian thing to do. The Grimms had a strict Lutheran upbringing and maintained a lifelong religious faith. If this had been an über-capitalistic society then the brothers’ actions would have been deemed right.
In his desolation, the soldier wanders a wasteland until he comes upon a circle of trees. The circle of trees represents protection and shelter. He takes refuge under the trees, and in his despair, comes to accept his fate - death. It is at this point the Devil makes his appearance. The Christian audience knows this to be the Devil because of his “hideous horse’s foot.” The Devil is known by Christians to be evil, but powerful. The Devil asks the soldier if he would be interested in making a deal, to which the soldier responds “[I]f it does not endanger my salvation.” Salvation would refer to the Christian belief of Heaven and reflects the soldier’s faith. The soldier does not wish to ruin his chance at eternal life by making the deal. This shows the focus of the authors on Christian living. The soldier says that he does not wish to endanger his salvation, but in desperation he makes the deal anyway. The original audience would find the illicit deal made by the soldier with the Devil very compelling. It would have ensnared them in the story. The Devil’s deal requires the soldier to ignore his hygiene. He is also forbidden to say the Lord’s prayer. Therefore, it must be assumed that this is also a sacrifice. The Devil gives his green jacket to the soldier. By this gift along with the bearskin, the soldier is transformed into Bearskin. The green color of the jacket represents rebirth and progress. However, it also symbolizes envy and greed.
Bearskin, with his newfound power – money, gives generously to the poor. He does this so they will pray that he not die. The people of the story are prejudiced towards persons due to their looks and/or smell. But Bearskin’s money acts almost as an equalizer. They are able to tolerate him because of it. In direct juxtaposition to how his brothers treated him, Bearskin pays an old man’s debts and gives him a bagful of money without expecting anything in return. As opposed to his brothers’ hardheartedness, Bearskin is described as having a “compassionate heart.” This also fits with the Christian notion of charity, one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.
The old man in return for Bearskin’s generosity offers him the hand of one of his beautiful daughters. When they meet the daughters one of them speaks of a shaved bear that “was wearing a hussar’s fur.” A hussar would have been a cavalryman of the time period and region of the authors. The youngest daughter accepts the marriage out of obligation to her father. Women of the authors’ time had little power. The men in their lives had almost total control over them, first their fathers and brothers and then their husbands. Hereafter, the daughter dresses in black, a symbolic color of mourning, as she believed that her life is over and she will have no future happiness.
Bearskin, meanwhile, continued to travel and do good deeds. He remained generous and his Christian charity is noted. After seven years, his journey was complete, Bearskin returned to the circle of trees; he had come full circle. A circle can represent an embryo. Bearskin is to be reborn. The devil cleaned him up. Where before he looked like a brave soldier, the man now is “much better looking than he had ever been before.” This implies that he is no longer just a former soldier. He is now a better man.
The hero of the story buys new clothes and a carriage pulled by white horses. The color white represents cleanliness and purity. For the first time in years the man is clean. When this occurs, one is reminded of the proverb “cleanliness is next to godliness.” White horses represent warrior heroes and triumph over evil. In the Book of Revelation, Christ rides atop a white horse at the head of an army come to pass judgment on the world. The man is about to do the same thing in the story.
When he comes to the house of the old man the two oldest daughters now serve him where before they ran from him and rejected him. This reemphasizes how important looks were to the people and serves as a warning to the pitfalls of vanity. He reveals himself to the youngest daughter with the words: “I am your betrothed bridegroom, whom you saw as Bearskin. Through God's grace I have regained my human form and have become clean again.” He says this but it was not God that transformed him, it was the Devil. The other two daughters after hearing this commit suicide. They probably did this because, as females, their sole purpose in life was to serve. They first served their father, and as they grew older they were required to get married and have children. They had very few choices. So when they failed to obtain the rich, handsome husband, who had originally been offered to them, they ended their own lives. They also probably feared the constant reminder of their failures if they had continued living as spinsters when invariably they would be compared to their younger sister. In the American society of today, rejecting someone based on appearances alone is usually considered wrong. However this is far less wrong than having to marry someone because of some obligation or perceived duty.
The Grimm brothers may have had a special connection with this story because of their own struggles with money and class. As children they were well off and had private tutors and servants. But that abruptly ended with the death of their father. Subsequently, they struggled to support their family for a large part of their lives. They also struggled with class power. They were denied admission to school because of their class. Once accepted to a school they had to pay their own way, while students from higher social classes received stipends. Christian elements are seen throughout the Bearskin story. Religious faith was important to the Grimm brothers and their audience. To better understand the story knowledge of Christianity is required.
Works
Cited
Ashliman, D.L. “Bearskin and other folktales of type 361.” Univeristy of Pittsburgh, 24 October 2013. Web. 15 Feb 2016.
