The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Raabe, Wilhelm

RAABE,, Wilhelm, German novelist and poet: b. Eschershausen, duchy of Brunswick, 8 Sept. 1831: d. 15 Nov. 1910, in the city of Braunschweig. After attending the gymnasia in Holzminden and Wolfenbüttel, he entered a book store as apprentice in 1849. He used this opportunity for wide reading and enriched himself with the tales and folklore of his own and other countries. In 1855 he entered the University of Berlin to study the humanities. In the autumn of 1856 appeared his first book, &lsquo;Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse,&rsquo; under the pseudonym Jakob Corvinus. The book, which contains sketches of life among

the German bourgeoisie, was very successful and Raabe became well known. Being thus encouraged he gave up his studies and devoted himself entirely to literary work. From 1862 to 1870 he lived in Stuttgart. Then he again returned to Braunschweig and remained active until the end of the century, publishing upwards of 30 novels and a number of short stories and sketches.

His life work may be divided into three periods. During the first he wrote with a light touch, producing a series of pictures of German life from the abundance of his imagination and experience, among which are &lsquo;Die Chronik der Sperlingsgasse&rsquo; (1856), &lsquo;Die Kinder von Finkenrode&rsquo; (1859) and &lsquo;Unser Herrgotts Kanzlei&rsquo; (1862). The influence of the pessimism of Schopenhauer is evident during the second period. Representative works of this period are &lsquo;Der Hungerpastor&rsquo; (1864), &lsquo;Abu Telfan&rsquo; (1867), and &lsquo;Der Schüd derump&rsquo; (1870). These three works are sometimes referred to as a trilogy. While they are independent of each other in substance, they do represent a distinct epoch in the life of Raabe.

During the third period of the novelist's life his works no longer show this pessimistic strain. A genial humor pervades them, though they frequently deal with serious subjects. &lsquo;Horacker&rsquo; (1876) perhaps best represents this tendency. &lsquo;Der Dräumling&rsquo; (1872), and &lsquo;Deutscher Mondschein&rsquo; (1873), also come under this head. Of his numerous later works &lsquo;Das Odfeld&rsquo; (1889) and &lsquo;Die Akten des Vogelsangs&rsquo; (1895) seem to be most read.

Raabe has been continually gaining in the estimation of the German people. This was especially shown at the celebration of his 70th birthday in 1901. He is perhaps the most distinctly German of modern novelists and story writers. There is hardly a situation in the life of the average German that has not been portrayed by Raabe. His early works were influenced to some extent by Jean Paul. Later he also shows evidences of having read Dickens and Thackeray. In 1911 a selection of Raabe's poems was published. Consult Brandes, W., &lsquo;Wilhelm Raabe&rsquo; (Wolfenbüttel and Berlin 1906); Gerber, Paul, &lsquo;Wilhelm Raabe, Eine Würdigung seiner Dichtungen&rsquo; (Leipzig 1897); &lsquo;Gesammelte Erzählungen&rsquo; (2d ed., Berlin 1901); Spiero, H., &lsquo;Wilhelm Raabe&rsquo; (Bielefeld 1911).