the life and works of sascha schneider - ETD - Louisiana State ...

CHAPTER TWO – GERMAN LITERATURE AND ILLUSTRATIONS:
SASCHA SCHNEIDER AND KARL MAY
One of the most important social connections in Sascha Schneider’s life was that
which he made with the fiction writer Karl May. May was considerably older that
Schneider, being born on February 25, 1842, the fifth of seven children. He came from a
humble background, his father a weaver and his mother a professional midwife. For the
entirety of his childhood until age ten he was a sickly child, nearly blind until undergoing
an operation to correct his vision. His medical anomalies likened him to Schneider who
suffered from spinal issues. Due to his weakened state, May found himself lost in the
penny-dreadfuls stories such as Himlo Hinlini. 28
These folktales sparked an interest in
storytelling that would affect May for the rest of his life. They were reinforced by the
tall-tells his grandmother told him as a child of her own “adventure-filled” life. Through
the short fables and his grandmother’s stories, May learned how to create tales of his own
which often landed him in trouble.
From his early teenage years until his twenties May found himself in mishaps
frequently, even seeing jail time for theft, insurance fraud, and impersonating a police
detective. 29
Whilst in jail, he read adventure novels and travelogues voraciously.
Luckily for May, he was given the task of prison librarian, allowing him to become
familiar with much of the literature of day. He found the collection stocked with books
by James Fennimore Cooper, a well-known adventure writer. He was also able to find
literature on Apache lore, and gleaned other stories of Native Americans from
encyclopedias. Some scholars, such as Jeffery Sammons, even suggested that May read
28
Himlo Hinlini translates to “The Noble Robber Chief”.
29
Christopher Frayling, Spaghetti Westers: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May
to Sergio Leone (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, 1981), 103-121.
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