The Adventurous Simplicissimus · Chapter
XIX: How Simplicissimus Was Captured by Hanau and Hanau by Simplicissimus explained
Simplicissimus, after feeding on wheat, travels to Gelnhausen and finds it devastated with dead bodies.
What happens
Simplicissimus, after feeding on wheat, travels to Gelnhausen and finds it devastated with dead bodies. He then proceeds to the fortress of Hanau, where he is captured by sentries. His bizarre appearance—unkempt hair, patched hermit's coat, iron chains, wooden shoes—causes a stir. He is searched by an androgynous officer who confiscates his birch-bark prayer book and the hermit's letter, then is taken to the Governor.
Themes in this chapter
Innocence and Experience
Simplicissimus's naive confusion about the officer's gender and his simple inability to grasp the horrors of war highlight his innocence.
Deception and Appearance
The officer's ambiguous gender and Simplicissimus's own monstrous appearance lead to mistaken identities and varied interpretations by onlookers.
War and Destruction
The desolation of Gelnhausen with dead bodies and the military capture at Hanau underscore the war's brutal impact.
Characters to notice
- Simplicissimus
Captured at Hanau; described in his wild, patched hermit's garb and chains; confused by the officer's appearance.
- The Governor
The Governor of Hanau, to whom Simplicissimus is led after being searched; his portrait of Simplicissimus is mentioned.
- The Hermit
His birch-bark prayer book and farewell letter are taken from Simplicissimus by the officer.
Key passages
“When ’twas day I fed myself again with wheat, and thereafter betook myself to Gelnhausen, and there I found the gates open and partly burnt, yet half barricaded with dung. So I went in, but was ware of no living creature there. Indeed the streets were strewn here and there with dead, some of whom were stripped to their shirts, some stark naked.”
At daybreak, Simplicissimus ate more wheat and then went to Gelnhausen, where he found the gates open and partially burned, blocked with dung. Inside, he saw no living people, only corpses scattered in the streets, some half-clothed, some completely naked.
Depicts the aftermath of a surprise attack by Imperialists on Weimar's troops.
“Now must I first describe to the reader my wonderful dress at that time, before I tell him how I fared further. For my clothing and behaviour were altogether so strange, astonishing, and uncouth, that the governor had my picture painted.”
Before continuing, the narrator insists on describing his bizarre outfit, which was so peculiar that the governor ordered a painting of him.
Highlights the extraordinary nature of Simplicissimus's appearance.
“I knew not if it were he or she: for he wore his hair and beard French fashion, with long tails hanging down on each side like horsetails, and his beard was so miserably handled and mutilated that between mouth and nose there were but a few hairs... So I thought, if this be a man he should have a proper beard, since the rogue is not so young as he pretends: but if a woman, why hath the old witch so much stubble round her mouth?”
Simplicissimus could not tell if the officer was male or female due to the French-style hair and sparse beard, leading him to wonder if it was a man with a poor beard or a woman with stubble.
Shows Simplicissimus's confusion about gender and fashion.