The Flute Miracle as a Turning-Point in Keller's Der grüne Heinrich

Desperate prayers for immediate rescue from unpleasant situations are abundant in Gottfried Keller's novel Der grune Heinrich. Although they are concentrated in the early childhood episodes, equally urgent pleas for divine intervention recur sporadically during Heinrich Lee's boyhood and adolescence. 1 None of these, however, receives as much detailed description or is as carefully integrated into both the narrative and thematic structure of the novel as is the call for help made by the hungry and weak art student on the fourth morning of his starvation in Munich. This crisis and its extraordinary resolution are the last example in the novel of Heinrich's turning to prayer to solve his problems. Like the earlier plea that brought Romer and the opportunity for serious artistic study, the successful resolution of this second major crisis takes on a great significance for Heinrich and is designated a miracle. 2

Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Cartography · Flute · Geography · Literature · Miracle · Narrative · Period (music · Plea · Political science · Prayer · Psychoanalysis · Romer · Theology · Turning point · German Literature and Culture Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · History · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religious studies · Themes in Literature Analysis · Religious Studies