Heidi
Alm-Uncle
Heidi's grandfather
A gruff, lonely man who lives alone high above the village. He is stern with grown-ups, and tender with his granddaughter.
Alm-Uncle lives in a rough hut under three fir trees, high above Dörfli. The villagers say he has a terrible temper and that something drove him from the valley, and he wants nothing to do with them. When Dete brings Heidi and tells him to do his duty, he orders her to go away.
His hardness is only on the surface. Within minutes he is looking after Heidi: he gives her a linen sheet for her hay bed, toasts cheese for her supper and climbs the ladder at night to check that she is asleep. He is proud, but he is also gentle. He has little patience for fuss, and he keeps his promises quietly rather than announcing them.
“It is the sun saying goodnight to the mountains.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Alm-Uncle repairs the roof and shutters of Peter's grandmother's cottage, which no one expected of him. When the Pastor asks him to send Heidi to school in the village, he refuses, and when Dete takes Heidi to Frankfurt, he tells her never to show her face again.
After Heidi comes home, she reads him the Prodigal Son, and he falls to his knees in prayer. On Sunday he dresses in his best coat and goes down to church with her. The Pastor welcomes him back and the villagers crowd around. He welcomes Dr. Classen to the mountain, offers him comfort, and catches Clara in his arms when she walks to him.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
