The meaning of the title of the novel by H. Bell “The eyes of a clown”
German writer H. Belle belongs to the generation of writers who declared themselves immediately after the end of World War II. He was a member of “Group 47”. These prose writers gave voice to the “silent generation” singed by the fire of fascism, on whose side they involuntarily turned out, the fire of guilt before humanity.
Belle was a Führer soldier for six years. Therefore, he has, throughout his life, carried responsibility for the crimes of the Hitlerite Wehrmacht.
In all Bell’s novels, along with the anti-war, anti-fascist theme, the theme of man’s relationship to religion arises. Belle himself was a believer, a Catholic, but his understanding of religion was always different from the church one. For him, faith is not a system of church bans in the service of the state, but a way of uniting people. This topic was especially acute in the novel “The Eyes of the Clown.”
We find the hero of Hans Schnir’s novel
Once, contrary to the will of the parents, Hans chose the profession of a clown, which means he voluntarily embarked on the path of outrage. He is the son of very wealthy parents. But at the same time, the lie, stinginess, pharisaism that surrounded the boy since childhood, disgust him. He can never forgive the mother of the fact that in 1945, when everything was almost over, she quietly sent her eldest daughter Henrietta, a beautiful and clever girl, to her death. In order not to look like a “defeatist” in the eyes
Hans is not just a professional artisan, he is a philosopher, his pantomimes for the evil of the day are not just funny, but they make people think, peer into the world around them. Hans does not tolerate criticism and talk about art, believing that the artist’s job is creativity.
Hans is indignant at the pharisaism of Catholics, who say that living with a woman without marrying is a sin. This statement takes away from him Maria, who in her youth was ready to follow her beloved even to the end of the world. A true Catholic and a convinced atheist spent five years lovingly loving each other, until the prelate Sommerville, Kinel and others intervened. Hans is an honest and pure person, he sees all the lies and meanness of Catholics. All of them welcome the return of Mary to the bosom of the church, and Hans sees her departure as a betrayal. After all, all that he achieved in life, was made under the sign of Mary, with her admired participation. Maria is gone, the contract for performances is broken. All friends are ready to go on about the Catholic group to break the hero. They rush to take revenge on him – for moral freedom, for unwillingness and inability to play by the rules,
Hans Schnir is a descendant of ironic and evil Shakespearian jesters. Only they were allowed to tell the truth at the foot of the throne. They looked at their masters unbiasedly and did not flatter them. These were the rules of the game. But Hans Schnir does not recognize the superiority of those who bought expensive tickets for his performances. They can not tame him – rather he will sing in the streets, collecting alms in an old hat. And he will not give up for his well-fed life the right to look at the world with his own eyes – the eyes of a free clown.
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