Poil de carotte

Poil de carotte (Eng. carrots or carrot head hair ) is a novel by French writer Jules Renard, which was published in 1894.

In German translation he first appeared in 1946 as a red fox. Story of a strange family and a difficult child and with an altered in mother's son and title in a new translation in 1987.

Action

In 48 short episodic sections of the childhood of the red-haired Poil de Carotte is plucked. There is no idyllic childhood of the middle of the fin de siècle, prevail in the security and love, but a horrible Nebeneinanderherleben in the family Lepic. In this case, the boy suffers from extremely under the hatred of one's own mother, who abused him physically and mentally, the indifference of the father and the selfishness of his siblings.

From this displacement situation out it compensates the interplay between the longing for love and aggression in lies, cruelty and resignation. In his distress he wonders whether he should commit suicide, it displaces, however, since the only two friends he has, a cat and a dog that would make this not sufficient. Only when he is making a suicide attempt, his father noticed his anguish and makes a pact with him.

Classification

Jules Renard tried doing linguistically accurate the child's character and complexity of mind mapping. Renard's work is considered unmasking oppressive child's education.

Expenditure

• Jules Renard: red fox. Story of a strange family and a difficult child. Translated from the French by Walter Widmer, illustrations by Henry Strub, Classen, Zurich 1946, 200 pp.
• Jules Renard: red fox. Story of a strange family and a difficult child. Translated from the French by Walter Widmer, illustrations by Henry Strub, lever Verlag, Baden -Baden, 1946 ( licensed edition of Werner Classen Verlag, Zurich )
• Jules Renard: red fox. Translated from French into German and with an afterword by Walter Widmer, Rowohlt, Reinbek 1964, 137 pp.
• Jules Renard: Mother son. Newly translated by Heidrun Hemje - Oltmanns. With an afterword by Vincenzo Orlando, Manholt, Bremen, 1987, 167 pp., ISBN 3-924903-60-3
• Jules Renard: Mother son. Newly translated by Heidrun Hemje - Oltmanns. With an afterword by Vincenzo Orlando, dtv, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-423-02211-6

Review

" The childhood image of this novel clearly contributes antirousseauistische trains by representing the child as innocent beings or in the sense of Victor Hugo as enfant en sucre ( Renard ). The dissecting views of the author not only reveals the suffering that is inflicted children, but also the predictability and cruelty of children towards weaker ( Poil de Carotte torturing a cat, denounced a teacher who annoys a blind man ). Due to family circumstances learns Poil de Carotte even to hide his true feelings and the hypocrisy and deceitfulness to use. His intellectual talent ( writing poetry, developing their own philosophy) is neither recognized as his need for affection (...). Renard called his work also an autobiographical dream. "

Filming

The fabric of the novel served five times as a basis for adaptation. Up to the date last TV series adaptation, a Canadian production, there were all French productions, with Julien Duvivier the fabric even filmed twice.