Heidi

Grandfather, called “Uncle Alp” by those in the village (some translations use “Alm-Uncle,” which refers to his home on an alm, or mountain pasture), is a complex character who undergoes a complete transformation by the end of the novel through his relationship with his granddaughter, Heidi. At first, Grandfather is an unapproachable recluse who is set in his ways and prefers the solitude of his mountain hut to the judgmental stares of the townspeople. His appearance is off-putting to others: “He looks so wild with those bristling grey eyebrows and that dreadful beard. He’s not the sort of person one would want to meet alone on the mountain” (3). However, despite his rough exterior, Heidi does not judge or reject him, and as he lovingly cares for her needs and becomes fiercely protective of her, he reveals the softer side of his nature.

Grandfather is deeply connected to his mountain home and shares his love of goats and woodworking with Heidi by gently inviting her into his world and the bucolic rhythms of Alpine life. Following in her example of altruism, he breaks his rule of solitude and not only visits Grannie but repairs her entire house over the course of a summer. Though Heidi breaks through his tough exterior, when the pastor visits and insists that Heidi attend school and suggests Grandfather move back to town, his old curmudgeonly ways return, and the pastor frustratingly leaves in a huff.

As the narrative progresses, so does the complexity of Grandfather’s character, and the reader learns there is a solid reason for Grandfather’s peevish solitude. Grandfather’s younger brother was a wastrel and squandered the family fortune, leading to their parents’ early deaths. Seeking to escape his grief and the shame brought upon his family, Grandfather ran away to Naples and joined the army. He married and had a son, but his decision to return home and live on the mountain made him the village pariah. The loss of his wife and later his son brings him immense grief, and he retreats from the world and his pain into the shadow and comfort of the mountains.

After Heidi returns from Frankfurt, Grandfather repents of his bitterness and reinstates himself in the community and into the hearts of the townsfolk. When Clara visits, he demonstrates his capacity for tenderness goes beyond just caring for Heidi, and he reveals the source of his empathy and that his pain is residual trauma from his military service:

[H]is thoughts had traveled swiftly back to the time when he was a soldier, and had brought his captain off the battlefield so badly wounded that he spent the rest of his days on a couch, hardly able to move. No one but Uncle Alp was allowed near him, and he had looked after him till he died (242).

Grandfather serves as an example of a misunderstood person and represents the value of not judging someone solely based on their appearance and how they live. Through his transformation, the author asserts the redemptive and transformative capacity of sacrificial love and acceptance.

Peter is a local goatherd who travels up and down the mountain each day to collect the villagers’ goats and shepherds them into the higher pastures to graze. At first, he appears to be a solitary figure much like Uncle Alp. “[G]oats were his only companions” (10), and when he asks Peter to watch over Heidi, the young boy is reluctant. However, when he sees how little she knows about mountain life, Peter uses his experience and knowledge to teach Heidi about her unfamiliar surroundings. He allows her to befriend the goats, who become her companions as well as an important source of nutrition, all of which helps Heidi more easily acclimate to her new life.

The more time Peter spends with Heidi, the more he enjoys her presence, and as their friendship develops, Peter invites Heidi to meet his family. Though her relationship with Peter gives her a friend her own age, Heidi’s befriending of Peter’s Grannie will become a transformative relationship in her life. Heidi becomes a comforting companion for the elderly blind woman, and Grannie teaches Heidi about faith and perseverance through difficult times.

Though the author does not outrightly label Peter as poor, descriptions of his insatiable hunger and the portrait of his crumbling home reveal that his family is destitute and relies on him to help support his family. Heidi proves to be a positive force for good in his life by becoming a friend to his grandmother, but Heidi also teaches Peter about fortitude and overcoming his fear of learning to read. After struggling to become literate and convincing himself it is a lost cause, Peter’s school attendance slips, and he appears to give up on education. When Heidi returns from Frankfurt, she resolves to impart her new literacy skills to Peter. Through her encouragement and firm guidance, Peter finally learns to read, and a new world opens to him. His mother declares, “Now Peter has learnt to read, there’s no knowing what he may do!” (230).

Peter’s one fault is his stubborn, hot-headed temper, and when Heidi’s friends from Frankfurt begin to visit and pull her attention away from him, he becomes jealous and bitter. Grandfather is patient with him and mentors him by encouraging him to stay in school and inviting him to dine with him and Heidi, often ensuring he is eating enough. Still, Peter sulks and swings his shepherding staff about, exorcising his anger whenever Heidi forgoes spending the day with him. Even when Peter does the unthinkable and destroys Clara’s chair, Grandfather chooses to believe the best in him and does not immediately confront him. When he confesses to Grandmamma, her response embodies the principles of the prodigal son parable when she offers him mercy and even gives him money in return for his repentance.

Frau Rottenmeier is the Sesemann’s housekeeper and the main antagonist in the narrative. She is a strict, domineering woman who takes her role in managing household affairs very seriously. Deeply committed to rules and order and “a worthy but very disagreeable person” (69), she sees the children as menaces instead of humans who need care and compassion.

Rottenmeier, with her autological name, disdains Heidi from the moment she meets her and criticizes her common name, clothing, and lack of formal education. Quick to punish Heidi’s innocent ignorance of social rules and societal standards, Rottenmeier’s lack of empathy and warmth intensifies Heidi’s sadness. Spyri uses Rottenmeier to embody the stereotypical adult villain in children’s books who seeks to squash any spark of imagination or whimsy that could threaten her disciplined system. However, despite her cruelty, Heidi’s bright light shines through and lights up the Sesemann home with laughter and excitement.

Heidi’s untamed spirit of adventure, paired with her unfamiliarity with upper-class precepts, brings many humorous moments to the narrative and unintentionally makes a fool of Rottenmeier and her tyrannical rule. Rooms crawl with kittens and tortoises, tablescapes go crashing to the floor, and street performers entertain Clara when she is supposed to be studying, and Rottenmeier must escape to her room to recover: “[S]he felt quite worn out with all she had been through of anxiety and annoyance, anger and fright” (96).

Though she tries, Rottenmeier cannot stifle the joy Heidi brings to Clara and the entire household. Sadly, once Rottenmeier identifies Heidi’s weakness, her homesickness, she exploits it and exacerbates her suffering by forbidding her from crying. Emoting through tears is a normal and healthy response from children to sadness or suffering, yet Rottenmeier has no empathy for the tormented child. The absence of mountains, fresh air, and trees makes Frankfurt a miserable place for Heidi, and Rottenmeier’s heartlessness worsens her physical and emotional distress.