Household Tales · Chapter
Old Hildebrand explained
A peasant's wife conspires with the village parson to spend a day together by tricking the peasant into a pilgrimage.
What happens
A peasant's wife conspires with the village parson to spend a day together by tricking the peasant into a pilgrimage. The peasant's gossip reveals the deception, and the peasant hides in an egg-basket to catch them in the act, ultimately driving the parson away.
Themes in this chapter
Jealousy and Envy
The parson's desire for the peasant's wife and the peasant's jealousy upon discovering the deception drive the plot.
Promises and Their Consequences
The parson's promise of healing through pilgrimage is a ruse that backfires when the peasant learns the truth.
Characters to notice
- the peasant
The husband who is tricked into going on a pilgrimage, but later discovers the deception.
- the peasant's wife
The wife who feigns illness to spend the day with the parson.
- the parson
The village parson who schemes to be alone with the peasant's wife.
- the gossip
The egg-merchant who reveals the parson's trick and helps the peasant catch them.
Key passages
“I’ve sent my husband away from me To the Göckerli hill in Italy.”
The wife sings that she has tricked her husband into going on a pilgrimage.
This song reveals the wife's complicity in the parson's scheme.
“I wish ’twas a year before he came back, I’d never ask him for the laurel-leaf sack.”
The parson sings that he hopes the husband stays away for a long time.
The parson's song shows his desire to continue the affair uninterrupted.
“What art thou doing, my Hildebrand dear, There on the bench by the stove so near?”
The gossip sings to the hidden peasant, asking what he is doing there.
This song signals the peasant's presence and sets up the confrontation.
“All singing I ever shall hate from this day, And here in this basket no longer I’ll stay.”
The peasant sings that he will hate singing from now on and emerges from the basket.
The peasant's song marks his decision to end the deception and confront the parson.