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The Wild Child: The Unsolved Mystery of Kaspar Hauser (Free Press Paperbacks) Kindle Edition
Kept in a dungeon for his entire childhood, Kaspar Hauser appeared in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1828 at age sixteen, barely able to walk or talk. When he was killed in 1833, his true identity and the motives for his unsolved murder became the subjects of intense speculation. This provocative essay sheds new light on this mystery and delves into fundamental questions about the long-term effects of child abuse.
Previously published as Lost Prince
Praise for The Wild Child
“A valuable introduction to a timeless and fascinating mystery involving child abuse and murder. . . . Masson’s examination will introduce many American readers to one of the great case studies of extreme cruelty and deprivation, and of the remarkable human capacity for adaptability.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A stunning piece of detective work.” —Publishers Weekly
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherTouchstone
- Publication dateMay 11, 2010
- File size2888 KB
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Product details
- ASIN : B003LL3K7U
- Publisher : Touchstone; 1st Free Press Paperbacks ed edition (May 11, 2010)
- Publication date : May 11, 2010
- Language : English
- File size : 2888 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 345 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #137,066 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #24 in Historical German Biographies
- #24 in 19th Century World History
- #41 in Historical Germany Biographies
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
Masson has had at least four lives: first as a boy raised to become a "spiritual leader" (see his denunciation of such a life in My Father's Guru). While in the middle of his disillusion, he became a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. At the same time he trained to become a Freudian analyst. Upon graduation he became Projects Director of the Freud Archives, and was scheduled to move into Freud's house in London when fate intervened: Masson found documents which seemed to show that Freud was right in believing that many women had been sexually abused as children, and that he was wrong to give up this belief, perhaps impelled by societal displeasure at his discoveries. Saying this publicly turned Masson into a psychoanalytic pariah, and he gave up both his professorship and his analytic career to delve into the far more fascinating world of animal emotions. Two of his books, WHEN ELEPHANTS WEEP and DOGS NEVER LIE ABOUT LOVE, were New York Times best-sellers. He became vegetarian as a result of his research, and later, when he looked into the feelings of farm animals, he became even stricter, and no longer eats or uses any animal product (vegan). Harpercollins published his book: THE DOG WHO COULDN'T STOP LOVING: HOW DOGS HAVE CAPTURED OUR HEARTS FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. He subsequently published a book about becoming vegan: THE FACE ON YOUR PLATE: THE TRUTH ABOUT FOOD. His book BEASTS: WHAT ANIMALS CAN TEACH US ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF GOOD AND EVIL is about the us/them divide. He lived on a beach in New Zealand with his two sons, Ilan and Manu, and his German wife, Leila, a pediatrician who works with children on the autistic spectrum (using the bio-medical approach), Benjy, a golden lab, and three cats for 14 years. They moved to Europe (Malaga and Berlin) and are now living in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. They often travel to the States to see their grandchild, and Europe to see Leila's family. Jeff has just signed a contract with St. Martin's to write about the death of dogs (and other animals we consider family).
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Just to sum it up a little bit, Kaspar Hauser was a boy who seemed to appear out of nowhere one day in Nuremberg, Germany in the 1800's. He had with him a letter (that essentially said he had been given to the writer as a baby, but could no longer be afforded & that he should become a soldier, and it ended on a very eerie note, "if you can't keep him, kill him or hang him up a chimney"-), a packet of gold dust, and some prayer cards.
He could barely walk, couldn't speak, but a few words (he kept repeating "I want to be a calvaryman!" and "Horse!") and he was visibly in a lot of pain.
Turns out he had been held in a dungeon for all of his life, fed only bread and water, and had no human contact whatsoever.
The author mentioned how so many people are fascinated by feral children, because of the notion that nature could, in itself, take care of us and also because it poses so many questions... questions like, "Do we feel emotion differently because we are taught language?" and "Is our happiness based upon comparison?" - in other words, do we have the capacity to be unhappy with a situation if we know no different?
I think that's what struck me most about this mystery. Beyond the obvious fact that it's pretty amazing that to this day, there is still debate about whether or not he was a prince - a baby switched at birth, robbed of his crown and subjected to a childhood of confinement and solitude, it just fascinates me that Kaspar stated multiple times and in his own writing that because he knew no different, he was never unhappy or angry with his situation. He was given 2 horses to play with in his dungeon and once in the real world, he couldn't differentiate between inanimate objects and living things. Of course, his vision was also altered because of his years spent in darkness, as well as all of his senses... taste, smell, etc.
Also, despite being what some might consider a "feral child", he was kind, gentle, and innocent from the time he entered "real life" until his death. Upon his attempted murder, he was quoted as saying "You kill me before I understand what life is" -- such a profound statement from a young man who had no human contact to speak of. It really makes you think...
Anyway, the story just captivates me for some reason and probably always will. I guess it's the dorky historian in me! As for the book itself, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I know a lot of other reviewers said it was heavy and too psychological, but I really liked that about it. The author is obviously extremely passionate about Hauser and the mysteries surrounding him, and the writing (and of course, the research!) really reflected that. It was very detailed and just what I was looking for.
The only criticism I have is that the ending was a little bit abrupt. It ended with some thoughts about feral children and though that directly relates to Hauser, I felt like it would have been better if it ended on a more personal note, something that really summed up and reflected upon his story.
What may not be as interesting to some readers is the material on child abuse which Masson includes in the Introduction, but with Masson's background as former head of the Freud archives and an author on psychotherapy its inclusion is understandable. However readers interested primarily in the historical aspects of the case shouldn't find this material too distracting.
Mason is careful to distinguish between fact and supposition. Anytime he is stating his opinion he tells you. All-in-all I found this a very good introduction to Kaspar Hauser studies.