Kristen Jacobsen and Cindy Brewer, German and Russian Department

Introduction

Although the German colonial period only lasted for a relatively brief time, from the late nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth century, this period spawned a large body of fiction written by missionaries. Many missions had serial newsletters, in which were published fictional stories intended to promote interest in conversion efforts and garner financial support. Many of these stories were specifically directed to children. Many of these same stories also contain native characters who are cruel, savage, and, in some instances, satanic. This presents a common contradiction found in missionary literature: how do missionaries promote saving the “lost souls” of the natives whilst simultaneously horrifying audiences by demonizing those they mean to save?

Methodology

The purpose of my paper was to explore possible reasons for the savage depictions of natives in mission fiction, specifically in stories written for children. In my work with Dr. Brewer, I had catalogued a large body of such texts. I selected six of these texts that contained the best examples of demonized natives, that represented both Protestant and Catholic missions, and that were published over the course of the entire colonial period. They are “Alin, das Chinesenkind”; “Die Menschenfresser”; “Noschintela, das Kaffermädchen”, all of which were published anonymously; “Ein Fall aus Tausenden“ by Hanna Rheim; “Der Findling von Hong Kong” and “Miao, der kleine Bonze” by Anton Huonder.

Results

A close-reading of each of the six texts revealed a common narrative structure between them. Each story features a cruel native adult (or multiple adults) who do harm to a native child. These adults may be parents, husbands, or members of another tribe. This native child is then orphaned in some way, allowing them to be taken in by missionaries and baptized. Because of the similar construction of each text, I classified them as a subgenre of missionary literature, which I called gefährdete Heidenkindergeschichten, or stories about imperiled heathen children.

Discussion

As previously stated, the purpose of my paper was to offer an explanation for the demonization of natives in missionary fiction. The common trope of the cultural figure, often someone of authority in the native child’s life, is used as a representative of all that is evil and strange in the culture. In this way, the missionary authors can impress upon readers the unnatural and ungodly state of the heathens, from which the natives must be saved. As representatives of the culture itself, these authority figures bring only pain and misery to the native children in the stories. For example, in “Der Findling von Hon Kong”, the cultural figure kidnaps a small Chinese boy from the mission and uses him as live bait for catching leeches, a Chinese delicacy. By using this trope of the savage adult natives, missionary authors are able to portray the culture in a negative light without alienating the readers from the native child, who is eventually saved by Western culture.

However, before the child can be rescued, it first must be orphaned, usually through the death of these authoritative, cultural figures. This marks a break between the child and his or her native society; freed from all familial and cultural ties, the orphan possesses limitless potential, particularly as a convert. Examined from a Post-colonial perspective, this serves to reinforce European codes in a way that is unique to missionary literature, namely by excluding other peoples from baptism and salvation until they cast off their native culture and conform to white, Western ideals. It is interesting to note that, in nearly every text, the cultural figure dies at the hand of their own people rather than by an act of God or Westerners. This implies that these cultures are self-destructive and makes the removal of the native children imperative to their salvation.

Although these gefährdete Heidenkindergeschichten focus on rescuing children, that does not mean that the missionary authors believed that only children were capable of being saved; rather, the children in these stories serve as representatives for their entire race. Indeed, missionary authors could use children as the ideal representatives of the native people, as it was common for Europeans to view other races as younger siblings rather than cultural and intellectual equals. The interpretation of other races as children is further reinforced by the view of Europeans as a paternal influence. A common trope in gefährdete Heidenkindergeschichten is that of the European rescuer; this is generally an older, white, male missionary who cares for the orphaned child. The kindly and fatherly appearance of the European character idealizes the view of Europe as a kind of parent, bringing civilization and Western values to the ignorant world. It stands to reason that if the fatherly, white rescuer represents the paternal Europeans, then the endangered children are used by the missionary authors to represent their respective races.

Conclusion

By utilizing the trope of a cultural figure, missionary authors are able to portray the savage and demonic characteristics of the heathen culture without tarnishing the image of the child destined for conversion. Put into danger by the culture, the child must be orphaned, freeing it of all societal influences and allowing it to be easily integrated into the European culture. This pattern, however, does not apply only to individual children but to all members of their race. By freeing themselves of their heathen culture, they can be taken in by the paternal Europeans like little children and be saved. By using this narrative structure, missionary authors are able to at once horrify readers with the savagery of the natives, while at the same time garnering sympathy in the hopes of receiving financial support as well.