Green Henry
SynopsisPlot
The story of young Henry, who struggles to fulfill his ambitions to become a successful painter and is torn between the gentle Anna and the proud and sensual Judith, is one of the most outstanding and personal Bildungsroman written in the German language. Composed between 1846 and 1855, Keller's poetic, semi-autobiographical novel draws on the author's own youth, artistic studies and development as a man, as well as providing a comprehensive portrait of his country and his times.
Story
About this book
Green Henry follows a young man named Heinrich Lee, nicknamed for the green clothing his mother dresses him in, as he pursues a career as a painter. Written by Swiss author Gottfried Keller and composed between 1846 and 1855, the novel draws heavily on Keller's own youth and artistic training. It is a Bildungsroman, a German literary term for a novel that traces a character's formation from childhood into adulthood. Heinrich's path takes him from rural Switzerland to the art world, where his talent and ambition collide with practical reality.
The story also tracks Heinrich's attachments to two women: Anna, who is gentle and reserved, and Judith, who is proud and physically vivid. These relationships pull him in different directions and reflect broader tensions in his character between idealism and experience. Keller uses Heinrich's personal struggles to build a wider portrait of Swiss society and its values during the mid-nineteenth century.
Keller revised the novel significantly, producing a second version in the 1870s and 1880s that changed the narrative perspective from third person to first person and altered key elements of the plot. Both versions remain in print. The book is semi-autobiographical, and Keller, like his character, studied painting before turning to writing.
