The brave little maid of Goldau

Description

Notre costume by Eugène Marsan is a collection of cultural essays written in the early 20th century. The book explores clothing as a social language, considering how dress, taste, and fashion mirror identity, morality, and modern life. Set in a Swiss village beneath Mount Rossberg, the story follows the Bernstein family—Kaspar, his wife Josepha, their children Heinrich, Gretchen, and baby Fritz—and their young maid, Franziska Ulrich. After an ominously wet season, a catastrophic landslide buries their home; Josepha and the baby perish, while Gretchen and Franziska are trapped. In the darkness, Franziska calms the injured child by telling a comforting tale until Kaspar, guided by Gretchen’s faint cry, digs them out—first rescuing Gretchen and then, with help, the unconscious Franziska. Nursed by a kind neighbor, both recover, and Franziska devotes the following years to keeping the home and raising the children. She even refuses a suitor, Karl Schultzer, to honor her promise to care for Gretchen. When Gretchen grows up and marries, Franziska finally accepts Karl’s renewed proposal. An epilogue contrasts the scarred mountainside with the valley’s quiet renewal, echoing the evening bells that once steadied Franziska through the night. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Subjects

• Historical fiction
• Switzerland -- Social life and customs -- 19th century -- Fiction
• Goldau, Switzerland Landslide, 1806 -- Fiction
• PS