Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
“Why do grown-ups think it's easier for children to bear secrets than the truth?”
We’re back with our first children’s classic in translation—Inkheart, a story within a story including one that centers on a man with a wicked heart “as black as ink.” We got swept up in this thrilling and potent tale about the power of stories and imagination and cannot wait to hear your thoughts.
Given the tonal shift from other classics we’ve read this semester, we couldn’t help but get curious about how this sweeping fantasy felt darker compared to its contemporaries. What are common German traditions in storytelling, and how do these stories written for children connect to the stylistic choices of Funke’s work?
A Brief History of German Storytelling
Some of our favorite fairy tales are derivatives from the work of the Brother’s Grimm, including ”Cinderella,” “Hansel and Gretel,” and “Snow White,” but these Germanic tales do not have snappy musical numbers and happy endings like their Hollywood counterparts. In Grimm’s version of Cinderella, both stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to fit in the glass slipper, and at Cinderella’s wedding, the stepsisters try to win Cinderella’s favor only to have their eyes gouged out by doves.
Another popular German children’s story with international recognition is a book called Der Struwwelpeter, or Slovenly Peter for the U.S. edition translated by Mark Twain. Described by scholars as being a “darkly humorous” tales of morals, Slovenly Peter does not soften its tone for children’s sake. Children lose thumbs for refusing to stop sucking on them, and in another cautionary tale, a young girl’s life goes up in flames for playing with matches. We don’t plan on purchasing a copy of Struwwelpeter to read with our kids before bed anytime soon.
The German tradition of storytelling was also greatly affected by the propagandizing of children’s literature with anti-Semitic stories beginning around 1919 well into WWII. These stories, along with children’s toys made during this era, created the “normalization” of targeting and dehumanizing Jews. In an article with Smithsonian Mag, Louise Mirrer, president of the New-York Historical Society shares, “The strongest manifestation of anti-Semitism…is in the children’s books. Anti-Semitism really has to be introduced at the earliest possible moment in the education of German children.”
Germany’s dark past is one reason why Funke herself shied away from aligning her own work with the German tradition. In an interview leading up to the arrival of the Inkheart film adaptation, Funke shares, “The Nazis sullied our tradition of fantasy storytelling. They misused the Nibelungen, our sagas and myths. A black hole has been there since then…Many reject fantastic irrationality, because the Third Reich exploited emotions and irrationality.”
Despite the complications of fantasy in the German tradition, one thing was clear—how to craft the villain of Inkheart: “Fascism found its way into Inkheart because I wanted to create villains: real villains, not some superhuman demons. I thought about what I perceive as evil. That happens to be totalitarianism and political violence.” Totalitarian power plays an important role in Inkheart’s world-building, and this historical connection is a sobering reminder that stories do not exist in creative vacuums; they are born from the realities of our very real world.
To hear our thoughts on this powerful tale, make sure to listen to our latest episode wherever you get your podcasts.
What it Takes to Make a Book—Literally
In Inkheart, Meggie’s father Mo is a book binder, which is laborious and artistic work. If you’ve ever been curious just how a manuscript becomes a printed tome to sell, check out this video and watch the process for yourself.
Join the Discussion
Inkheart is our Classics Club book club selection for the month of May, and we’d love to see you in our nerdy crew on Patreon. There’s lots of great benefits to joining our community of nerdy readers, including tomorrow’s Office Hours, a dedicated time for our Patreon members to ask us anything. Our spring Office Hours event will take place May 10th at 7 pm EST on Zoom.
Ready to join? Head over to patreon.org/novelpairings to sign up today. Discounts for annual subscriptions are now available.
Final Words
Readers, thanks for joining us on this journey to read and think more thoughtfully about children’s classic lit. We hope you enjoyed today’s podcast and our connecting thoughts and links in today’s newsletter. We’d love to continue the conversation below in the comments, so leave us your thoughts and insights.
And—get ready to topple those TBRs. We’ll be back next next week with a super buzzy episode on our anticipated Summer 2023 book releases!
Chelsey & Sara