Why I Still Love "Heidi" by Johanna Spyri, Six Years On

A book about the healing powers of nature and love

I was in the Alps over the winter break, and the beautiful landscapes reminded me of the great books set in these mountains. Two of my favorite stories when I was younger were Heidi and The Sound of Music. Heidi has been one of my favorite books since my dad first read it to me when I was 5, and I’ve re-read it several times since. The story of the naive little girl giving so much to the people around her is just so touching. Back then, it was just a great story about friendship to me, but today I know it is more: it’s a story about the healing powers of nature and love.

From perfect nature to the city and back

Heidi is a young orphan who is brought to live with her grandfather, a grumpy recluse in a mountain hut high up in the Swiss Alps. Soon enough, Heidi’s natural kindness softens Grandfather into a caring if still a little rough (in a good way) person. Heidi also befriends Peter, a local goatherd, with whom she enjoys the beautiful nature around them. You could say she’s very happy.

This all changes when Heidi’s aunt comes to take her away from all she loves, into the big, noisy city of Frankfurt. She’s brought to stay with Clara, a wealthy but lonely girl a little older than Heidi. Clara lost her mother and fell so sick that she lost her ability to walk and has to be in a wheelchair. They get on very well but for Heidi the change is too much: she misses the Alps and the people she loves so much. In one telling moment, she climbs a church tower in Frankfurt hoping to see the Alps on the horizon (she also picks up a few kittens in the church and gets into trouble with Clara’s strict caretaker, Mrs. Rottenmeier). Halfway through the book, Heidi suffers from such severe homesickness that she must return to the mountains where she recovers quickly.

But Clara is upset by Heidi’s sudden departure and her condition worsens. Her grandmother and her doctor decide that a visit to Heidi in the mountains might help her. Reunited with Heidi, Clara enjoys the simple but beautiful mountain life and nature. Her friendship with Heidi only grows. But in a twist, Heidi’s jealous friend Peter, the goatherd, destroys Clara’s wheelchair. It turns out to be a blessing in disguise: After a period of Grandfather carrying Clara around the mountain, she suddenly stands up in a touching scene where she wants to chase a beautiful butterfly. With Heidi’s help, she learns to walk again, little by little.

Why I still love Heidi six years on

During my trip to the Alps, I wondered why I still love this book so much after all this time. I re-read some books, but this one I have come back to numerous times. Today I see that the power of love and nature are beautiful themes that are everywhere in this story. In the beginning, Heidi’s kindness softens Grandfather. Later in Frankfurt, Heidi misses and loves her Grandfather and the mountains so much that she become sick, but her return to nature heals her immediately. This is an example of both a love of nature and just love. But the themes of nature and love are not just Heidi’s. Clara loves Heidi so much that she follows her to nature. And when she is in nature, it helps her heal. The beautiful mountains and Heidi’s love even make her walk again, and it is clear that it has to do with trust (love) and “the fresh mountain air” (nature).

But in the end, what I love most about this book is that heartwarming feeling you get from the friendship between the two girls. The whole book just feels so perfect. And I share Heidi’s love of the Alps. Below is a picture that I took on my trip followed by a picture I took two summers ago. I mean, looking at them, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t the perfect setting for literature, and that this place doesn’t have healing powers!