Crime and justice in Theodor Fontane's novel Unterm Birnbaum

Theodor Fontane, in a letter to his editor, says that his murder mystery Unterm Birnbaum is a story preached from the pulpit about God's justice and the order of His world. The theme of the work, then, is that crime must be punished. To date, no critical work has sought to investigate how this theme is presented in the novel. Peter Demetz mentions the work's circular structure and states that Fontane has the criminal return to the scene of the crime, but does not pursue this concept in depth. A careful study shows how the author presents the concept of justice in this novel.

Fontane uses a circular plan throughout this work, having the main characters re-experience attitudes, places, and beliefs. It is through his main characters that Fontane presents his theme. He carefully provides them with backgrounds, personalities, and situations that highlight the points he wishes to make. He supports these main characters with a complete and wel 1-described cast of secondary figures.

In Unterm Birnbaum, Fontane reiterates the nineteenth-century literary theme of bringing the criminal to justice, but with an original twist: here it is God, rather than man, who dispenses the justice. With this work, Fontane raises the mystery novel to the level of art.