[Heinrich Hoffmann's Der Struwwelpeter (1845/1859): a parody on the romantic cult of childhood].

Abstract

This article analyzes the cultural dynamics of the construction and deconstruction of childhood images, by means of a case study of Heinrich Hoffmann's classic picture book, Der Struwwelpeter (1845/1859). Childhood images are the joint product of sciences (especially anthropology, pedagogy and developmental psychology) and arts (especially painting, photography and (children's) literature). These images are historically variable, because childhood is the permanent target of idealization and demystification. This article interprets Der Struwwelpeter as a demystication of Romantic idealizations of childhood as propounded by Romantic Naturphilosophie and, more specifically, the pedagogy of Friedrich Fröbel (1772-1852). In my view, this picture book satirizes the developmentalism and the pastoryl idyll which informed the Romantic image of childhood, through its verbal and visual components. As I argue at length, this satire directly bears upon leading scientific and political controversies of Hoffmann's time.