Jürgen Hubert@juergen_hubert@mementomori.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 12. How does the morality of the characters you write differ from your own?
Well, the folk tales I translate are firmly embedded in the cultural norms of 19th century German peasantry.
So there are some major values dissonances between what they believe and what I believe. An incomplete list of beliefs of such times that I find offensive:
- Children born out of marriage are something shameful
- People who commit suicides should not be buried in hallowed grounds, but outside the communities such as on gallows' hills and other places where the worst of sinners are buried
- Everything will be fine once Germany gets an Emperor again (this was a common sentiment from 1815 to 1871)
- Parents should beat their children in order to enforce discipline
- Beauty equals goodliness, ugliness equals evil (sadly, this doesn't seem to have changed much)
- Dying young and destitute is okay as long as you immediately enter Heaven afterwards
- Baptism is required to enter Heaven, and thus infants who die during childbirth without a midwife giving them an emergency baptism will not go to Heaven
- It is okay to physically abuse disabled infants, because they are really changelings and doing so will get the spirits bring your real infant back
And don't get me started on the very blatant #antisemitism ...