Heidi

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 1881

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-13

Chapters 14-19

Chapters 20-23

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Symbols & Motifs

Hats

Hats are not just a way to keep one’s head warm or to make a fashion statement. Hats can symbolize social status and a character’s personal expression. When Dete returns to take Heidi to Frankfurt, she is wearing a fancy new hat with a feather. Desiring to make a new start in life and impress her new employers, Dete’s hat symbolizes her yearning to break out of her social class and for people to view her as a person with status. Grandfather does not put up much of a fight to keep Heidi, but he does say, “I don’t want to see her with a feather in her hat” (63). Grandfather doesn’t want Heidi to become like Dete, who only cares about how others see her based on her clothing. He fears Heidi’s time in the city will corrupt her with materialism, just as it has Dete.

When Heidi dons her simple straw hat, Dete says, “It’s pretty shabby, but it’ll have to do” (63). Later, Rottenmeier also judges Heidi’s hat as ragged and inferior. Heidi’s straw hat symbolizes her character. It is simple and made of natural materials and ideal for rugged outdoor life. While in Frankfurt, with the help of Sebastian, Heidi safeguards her straw hat, just as she protects her hope of returning home. By keeping her hat, she can hold onto a part of herself and a part of her previous life while living in a place where everyone wants her to change, but she holds tightly to the values Grandfather has instilled in her and longs for the day when she can wear her beloved hat again.

As she packs to leave Frankfurt, Heidi carefully removes her hat from its hiding place. On her way up to the mountain, she stops at Grannie’s and changes out of the new clothes Clara gifted her, including a new hat with a feather. Heidi symbolically sheds her new clothing and dresses appropriately for her reunion with Grandfather in a simple shift and her straw hat. She reflects on Grandfather’s own interpretation of hats, thinking, “She had never forgotten her grandfather saying that he would not like to see her in a hat with a feather, and that was why she had taken such care of the old one, for she had always counted on going back to him” (162). In true Heidi fashion, she doesn’t waste the valuable hat but instead gifts it to Bridget, who can sell it or donate it to someone in need. Heidi’s straw hat emblemizes the love of her unpretentious life on the mountain with Grandfather, where she does not need a fancy wardrobe.

The Fir Trees

Alpine fir trees are a hardy species that must adapt to thrive in higher elevations with rocky soil and withstand harsh winter weather. In Heidi, the fir trees not only awe the young protagonist with their majesty and beauty, but they also come to symbolize safety and spirituality. Heidi’s spiritual connection to the mountain landscape begins with the trees: “The strange music in the tree tops had a special fascination for her and she could not stay indoors when she heard it” (42). Enchanted by their distinctive rustling sound, their mystery draws her from the inside out into nature to commune with the trees.

While trapped in the flat in Frankfurt, Heidi mistakes the sound of the wagon wheels on the street as the fir trees and experiences that same hypnotic draw to the outside, but is saddened to find there are no trees at all in the city. Even when she climbs to the highest point in the town, she still cannot see them. For Heidi, the trees not only symbolize her connection to nature, but they epitomize stability and permanence in an ever-changing world. She may not know what her future holds, but she can count on the trees remaining stout and stable on the mountainside of her home.

When Clara arrives for her visit, the trees mesmerize her, and she spends her days resting under their umbrage as her body and mind begin to heal. Clara’s point of view solidifies the symbolism of the power of the trees as she observes them: “Clara had never in her life seen anything like these tall old trees, with their straight trunks, and long thick branches sweeping almost to the ground” (243). The author uses the trees as a reminder of the humbling and awe-inspiring power of nature and as a grounding, comforting presence in the characters’ lives.

In the Christian tradition, evergreen trees symbolize eternal life and salvation. Just as Grandfather uses trees to shape and create something new from something old, faith can transform a person into a new creation. Though the evergreen trees may experience harsh conditions, they continue to thrive and provide. Highlighting the theme of faith and spirituality, the author uses the trees to symbolize a person’s ability to experience renewal and growth, even in difficult seasons of life. Heidi suffers in Frankfurt, yet she also learns to read and gains new friends in Clara and Grandmamma.

Even Herr Sesemann recognizes the significance of the trees: “He went on from there with a new heart, and it was not long before he sees the hut with the three fir trees” (279). For Heidi, the trees represent her theology of faith in that life may not always be easy or kind, but a person can learn to thrive even in the harshest of conditions and reach their branches high with hope in God for the future.

Goats

Goats are playful animals who have child-like mannerisms and movements. Even their young are called “kids,” and they serve as delightful set pieces in Spyri’s provincial narrative but also symbolize the characters’ rustic lifestyle. For Peter, herding the goats from the villagers and taking them up to the pasture is his job. The goats are his only true companions until Heidi comes along, but he sees them more as a responsibility than as friends. Goats can be stubborn, and though Peter sometimes must discipline the goats, when his temper flares, he begins to resemble the rebellious creatures.

Aside from their impish antics, their tiny bodies, soft fur, and harmless natures make them ideal pets for the children: “It was usually children who answered the call-not even the youngest was afraid of these gentle goats” (10). Heidi predictably takes to them immediately and even tells Grandfather that she doesn’t need her clothes because, “I want to be able to run about like the goats do” (18). Heidi is not just drawn to the goats for their adorable nature, but she is attracted to their innate sense of freedom, which she longs to have. Just as the goats playfully explore the mountainside munching grass and tumbling over one another, Heidi yearns to bask in the innocence of her childhood in the beauty of nature’s playground.

The goats not only symbolize childlike freedom but also provide much-needed sustenance for the characters, and their milk represents a healing force of nature. Goat’s milk is rich in essential nutrients, as well as being the closest match to a human mother’s breast milk. More easily digestible than cow’s milk, it is universally tolerated and can be a good source of nutrition when food is scarce. The rugged Alpine landscape is not ideal for harvesting crops, and thus the goat’s milk and cheese become a valuable source of nutrition for Grandfather and Heidi. When she arrives at his hut weary and broken-hearted, the first thing Grandfather offers Heidi is a cup of milk. While she spends the day with Peter, Grandfather instructs the boy to prioritize getting her enough milk to drink. Though their diet doesn’t contain a wide variety of foods, Heidi grows healthy and strong on the steady staple of goat milk.

Clara also falls in love with the goat companions, but their milk strengthens her body and works like medicine to heal her withered limbs. In Frankfurt, Clara has access to the finest foods and lily-white rolls, but it is the rustic fare of the mountains that aids in her taking her first steps. The goats exemplify the ultimate pure connection to the natural world, as they take in grass fueled by the sun to produce milk, which in turn nourishes the humans. It is an elegant circle of life that sublimely ties earth, animal, and man together. Spyri uses goats to enliven and energize her fictional landscape and to serve as symbols of the simple yet satisfying pastoral lifestyle.