Das Gemeindekind (Their Pavel)

Ebner-Eschenbach’s masterpiece, a novel about a boy left to the uncertain mercy of a Moravian village after his father is hanged for murder. Pavel grows up despised, half-wild, and seemingly destined for destruction, but the novel traces his slow, stubborn fight toward something better.

Why Read This

Das Gemeindekind is Ebner-Eschenbach at her most ambitious. She takes the setting she knew best, the still-feudal villages of Moravia, and builds a story that examines poverty, prejudice, and the possibility of self-transformation without a shred of false comfort. Pavel is not redeemed by kindness or luck. He redeems himself, inch by inch, against a community that has already written him off.

The novel is also a sharp portrait of class. Ebner-Eschenbach, herself a baroness, writes about the rural poor with an intimacy and respect that avoids both condescension and romanticizing. She understands how poverty shapes character without excusing cruelty.

What to Expect

A realist novel with psychological depth, set in a vividly drawn Moravian village. The pace is measured, the prose exact, and the emotional payoff genuine. Note that the English translation (published under the title Their Pavel) is not widely available, so readers comfortable with German may prefer the original Reclam edition.