Dye lewynne stalte groß iamer

Abstract

From the beginning of Herzog Herpin the young protagonist seems to be chosen for the extraordinary as he is separated from his parents right after his birth and must survive in the wilderness. This is accomplished by getting him involved in relationships with animals or otherworldly figures. Guarded by three fairies and a lion, the protagonist of this infancy story experiences motherhood not from his biological mother. Motherhood is rather attributed to several different figures that look after him. Thus a multidimensional matrix of care-relationships emerges that is characterized by the interacting categories of gender, species, descent, religion, age and social positioning. The paper explores them as forms of emotionalization between animals and humans in text-image-arrangements of three versions of the Herzog Herpin by applying theoretical concepts of the Cultural Animal Studies.