Although she still retains some of the original’s flaws, she is more far more caring and has lost the roughness in manners and behavior which define her anime predecessor. And, in the final episode, she is able to apologize to Heidi’s grandfather for having taken Heidi away from him (Nakajima, Takahata, 1974: episode 39). As regards Frau Sesemann, Clara’s grandmother, she would deserve a chapter of her own, since her transformation from the page to the screen is very revealing and ideologically loaded: in Spyri’s novels, she is, as has been noted before, the person responsible for “converting” Heidi by teaching her how to pray. In both animated versions, the religious content is silenced3, but Frau Sesemann is still a mentor for Heidi, since she not only teaches her how to read but also inspires in the child a love of reading and learning and thus becomes Rottenmeier’s pedagogical counterpart.
3.1 Characterization of the figure of Fräulein Rottenmeier in Spyri’s novels
The analysis of the figure of Rottenmeier will be conducted on the basis of both (a) linguistic and (b) audiovisual features. The literary characterization of Fräulein Rottenmeier in Spyri’s text will be examined by observing stylistic markers on three levels (as in Culpeper, 2001): what the narrator says about her, what other characters say or how they react around her, and her own utterances and behaviors.
The first description we read of this figure in Spyri’s novel, portrays her as a weighty and solemn being:
Die letztere saß sehr aufrecht an einem kleinen Arbeitstisch und stickte. Sie hatte eine geheimnisvolle Hülle um sich, einen großen Kragen oder Halbmantel, welcher der Persönlichkeit einen feierlichen Anstrich verlieh, der noch erhöht wurde durch eine Art von hochgebauter Kuppel, die sie auf dem Kopfe trug. Fräulein Rottenmeier war schon seit mehreren Jahren, seitdem die Dame des Hauses gestorben war, im Hause Sesemann, führte die Wirtschaft und hatte die Oberaufsicht über das ganze Dienstpersonal. (my italics, Spyri, 1978: 47–48)
This description of Rottenmeier as an imposing figure, who observes others from a distance with a good deal of arrogance and superiority is underlined not only in the narrative descriptions, but also through the utterances by Rottenmeier herself and by the characters who surround her. Her positioning on a higher plane, which reflects both her haughtiness and her lack of empathy, is evident from the first encounter: to present themselves for the first time to Rottenmeier, Dete and Heidi must climb a flight of stairs (Spyri, 1978: 48) and the lady’s immediate reactions to the girl are proof of her coldness and authoritarian attitude: “forschend das Kind ansehend” (Spyri, 1978: 48) or “sich langsam erhebend” (Spyri, 1978: 48). In the narrative, Rottenmeier rules over the domestic space of the Sesemann house and also sets the timetable in the home. She, thus, controls time and space and hence other people’s actions. Indeed, on more than one occasion, she becomes the obstacle that prevents other characters from moving within the space, whether leaving or entering the house or moving freely around its rooms (Spyri, 1978: 71, 73 and 126).
She is essentially a repressive figure, who hinders any sign of development in the two children under her tutelage. She confines Clara to the idea of womanhood which she herself believes in and does not allow her to expand her interests or to behave like a child of her age. Bound as she is to her wheelchair, Clara is also tied to Fräulein Rottenmeier’s very peculiar understanding of childhood. On the other hand, Heidi, who is likewise exposed to Rottenmeier’s suppressive manner, tries to shield herself from the latter’s attempts to mold her: not only does the governess try to prevent Heidi from reading when she sees that books trigger in the child very vivid emotions (Spyri, 1978: 89), but neither does she allow her to show any happiness or sorrow: as Heidi herself admits to Herr Sesemann, “[weinen] darf man nicht, Fräulein Rottenmeier hat es verboten” (Spyri, 1978: 99). It seems as though Fräulein Rottenmeier, in all her bleakness and severity, cannot let others experience joy or sadness.
The gravity of the character stands in contrast to her almost neurotic reactions at the most insignificant details, which are also supported by a behavior that reveals her need to control herself and to suppress her own emotions:
Jetzt kam Fräulein Rottenmeier wieder ins Zimmer zurück; sie hatte die Dete nicht mehr zurückrufen können und war sichtlich aufgeregt darüber, denn sie hatte dieser eigentlich gar nicht einlässlich sagen können, was alles nicht nach Abrede sei bei dem Kinde, und da sie nicht wusste, was nun zu tun sei, um ihren Schritt rückgängig zu machen, war sie um so aufgeregter, denn sie selbst hatte die ganze Sache angestiftet. Sie lief nun von Studierzimmer ins Esszimmer hinüber, und von da wieder zurück, und kehrte dann unmittelbar wieder um und fuhr hier den Sebastian an, den seine runden Augen eben nachdenklich über den gedeckten Tisch gleiten ließ, um zu sehen, ob sein Werk keinen Mangel habe […] Mit diesen Worten fuhr Fräulein Rottenmeier an Sebastian vorbei und rief nach der Tinette, mit so wenig einladendem Ton, dass die Jungfer Tinette noch mit viel kleineren Schritten herantrippelte als sonst gewöhnlich und sich mit so spöttischen Gesicht hinstellte, dass selbst Fräulein Rottenmeier nicht wagte, sie anzufahren; um so mehr schlug ihr die Aufregung nach innen.
“Das Zimmer der Angekommenen ist in Ordnung zu bringen, Tinette”, sagte die Dame mit schwer errungener Ruhe; “es liegt alles bereit, nehmen Sie noch den Staub von den Möbeln weg.“ (Spyri, 1978: 53)
Similar descriptions follow (“mit strengem Gesicht … mit tiefem Seufzer … im grossen Ärger rufend” [Spyri, 1978: 55]) and they all contribute to outlining the portrait of this figure: stern, uptight and emotionally repressed. Such uptightness is also revealed in the description of her non-verbal communication, with Rottenmeier perpetually wringing her hands and clenching her fists (Spyri, 1978: 59, 71). Besides those gestures, other traits help define the repressed personality of this character, above all her incapacity to express her own feelings or let others express theirs: “‘Es ist genug’, wollte Fräulein Rottenmeier rufen; aber vor Aufregung tönte ihre Stimme gar nicht mehr” (Spyri, 1978: 65) and immediately after “Fräulein Rottenmeier saß weiß vor Entrüstung da und konnte erst keine Worte für ihre Empfindungen finden” (Spyri, 1978: 69).
As mentioned above, through their utterances and gestures, the rest of the characters in the novel also support this definition of Rottenmeier’s personality. Sebastian, the butler, for instance, often refers to her using irony (Spyri, 1978: 60) or direct criticism. He describes her as being ready to explode “Fräulein Rottenmeier sieht aus wie eine geladene Kanone” (Spyri, 1978: 65) or refers to her as “die furchtsame Dame” and goes on laughing (Spyri, 1978: 1978: 66): “Sebastian ging gleich an die Arbeit und kicherte beständig vor sich hin, den er dachte: ‘Das wird noch was absetzen!‘ und der Sebastian sah es nicht ungern, wenn Fräulein Rottenmeier ein wenig in Aufregung geriet” (Spyri, 1978: 66). Sebastian’s perception of Rottenmeier is strengthened by Clara’s father, who is clearly aware of the animosity between his two employees: “Es war Herr Sesemann nicht entgangen, dass Sebastian und Fräulein Rottenmeier sich nicht eben mit Zuneigung betrachteten” (Spyri, 1978: 94).
One of the most memorable episodes in the first novel involves the appearance of a “ghost” in the Sesemann house. During a couple of nights, the whole household is in search of whatever or whoever may be the cause of noises that are heard during the night: The source of the racket turns out to be Heidi’s sleep-walking, but Rottenmeier is positively convinced that an ancestor of the Sesemann family has come back to his home in search of something and her irrationality causes amusement among the servants and Herr Sesemann. This contrast in her personality – her being so strict and her belief in the imaginary – make her appear unreliable and fickle and underline the negative perception of the figure.
At the end of the first novel (Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre), Heidi needs to return to Switzerland. She suffers from a depression that is leading to anorexia1 and Doctor Classen, the family doctor, orders that she immediately returns to her grandfather and breathes the “heimatliche Bergluft” (Spyri, 1978: 99) again. Rottenmeier is happy to see Heidi go back to her mountain
