The Luck of the Weissensteiners (The Three Nations Trilogy) by Christoph Fischer Page B
Authors: Christoph Fischer
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accompany her to the markets in Bratislava. These outings were mainly functional to Johanna and showed more trust in Greta’s abilities than personal favouritism as such but they still represented a step forward in their relationship. The two women never took the opportunity to go and see Greta’s family because time was always scarce. Greta knew her companion well enough to not tempt fate by suggesting a detour to the workshop on Gajova and Johanna noticed and appreciated her restraint on that account.
On one of the colder evenings that autumn she finally allowed the young mother and child to jo in the rest of the Winkelmeier family in the big living room where, on such occasions, a big fire would be lit. This was a massive gesture. When Karl had been born, Johanna had argued that it would be too hot in there for the little boy and the room would be too crowded. All that time she had made the young family stay in their own room where there was no fire. When in a really generous mood she had sometimes offered them to stay in the kitchen where there still might be some heat left from the cooking. Through her hard work and her humble and quiet attitude, Greta had proven herself worthy to be included and to fill the gap that the recent departures had created. The old concerns about heat and space were no longer an issue and Johanna started to spoil her little Karl. The boy had grown quickly and now looked the spitting image of the handsome Wilhelm, a prime specimen of the adorable Winkelmeiers.
Johanna 's own family had brought her up in a very strict way and her mother, in particular, had never failed to point out any mistakes the young Johanna made, resulting in the poor girl feeling very inferior and having little self-worth, a feeling that remained into her later life; she was never even aware of how attractive she was until Benedikt came along and courted her.
Whenever a boy had shown interest in her daughter before, she had laughed it off as a fluke or a prank. That was until she herself almost fell in love with the dashing Benedikt. She could not believe that her daughter could end up with such a strong and masculine handsome suitor. She was full of praise for Benedikt and in no uncertain terms told Johanna that she would be lucky if she could keep such a fine man. When Benedikt asked for Johanna's hand in marriage the young girl was overwhelmed and happy.
His choosing her instantly repaired some of her self-esteem issues. Instead of feeling inferior, she swayed to the other extreme, looking down on other men and women who, in her view, could not live up to the high physical standards of her husband and herself but there was something about Wilhelm that she adored completely. It had taken her a while to see through his quiet exterior and see his potential, but now she was a sworn admirer. He may not be as strong as her Benedikt but he was masculine in many other ways; a quiet authority, a leader and he was also the most attractive of all the boys. He would be the one to carry on the good looks of the Winkelmeier men.
Even his brothers looked passable compared to Gunther, her own son. If she was completely honest with herself, Johanna much preferred Wilhelm and she would even rather had Ludwig or Bernhard for a son in place of Gunter, the soft weakling with the crooked nose. Her daughters all had inherited Johanna's own pretty looks, but Gunter was not much to look at all. He had ended up with the features of Johanna’s old father, whose most valued quality had been the possession of huge amounts of land - the only reason why Johanna's mother had been attracted to him at all. Later in life, after years of having to make do, this had pushed her to find satisfaction for her physical needs elsewhere. The resulting scandals were yet another reason for Johanna to distance herself from her own family and desperately wanting to feel as one of the Winkelmeiers.
Johanna gradually gave the young couple more freedom and
On one of the colder evenings that autumn she finally allowed the young mother and child to jo in the rest of the Winkelmeier family in the big living room where, on such occasions, a big fire would be lit. This was a massive gesture. When Karl had been born, Johanna had argued that it would be too hot in there for the little boy and the room would be too crowded. All that time she had made the young family stay in their own room where there was no fire. When in a really generous mood she had sometimes offered them to stay in the kitchen where there still might be some heat left from the cooking. Through her hard work and her humble and quiet attitude, Greta had proven herself worthy to be included and to fill the gap that the recent departures had created. The old concerns about heat and space were no longer an issue and Johanna started to spoil her little Karl. The boy had grown quickly and now looked the spitting image of the handsome Wilhelm, a prime specimen of the adorable Winkelmeiers.
Johanna 's own family had brought her up in a very strict way and her mother, in particular, had never failed to point out any mistakes the young Johanna made, resulting in the poor girl feeling very inferior and having little self-worth, a feeling that remained into her later life; she was never even aware of how attractive she was until Benedikt came along and courted her.
Whenever a boy had shown interest in her daughter before, she had laughed it off as a fluke or a prank. That was until she herself almost fell in love with the dashing Benedikt. She could not believe that her daughter could end up with such a strong and masculine handsome suitor. She was full of praise for Benedikt and in no uncertain terms told Johanna that she would be lucky if she could keep such a fine man. When Benedikt asked for Johanna's hand in marriage the young girl was overwhelmed and happy.
His choosing her instantly repaired some of her self-esteem issues. Instead of feeling inferior, she swayed to the other extreme, looking down on other men and women who, in her view, could not live up to the high physical standards of her husband and herself but there was something about Wilhelm that she adored completely. It had taken her a while to see through his quiet exterior and see his potential, but now she was a sworn admirer. He may not be as strong as her Benedikt but he was masculine in many other ways; a quiet authority, a leader and he was also the most attractive of all the boys. He would be the one to carry on the good looks of the Winkelmeier men.
Even his brothers looked passable compared to Gunther, her own son. If she was completely honest with herself, Johanna much preferred Wilhelm and she would even rather had Ludwig or Bernhard for a son in place of Gunter, the soft weakling with the crooked nose. Her daughters all had inherited Johanna's own pretty looks, but Gunter was not much to look at all. He had ended up with the features of Johanna’s old father, whose most valued quality had been the possession of huge amounts of land - the only reason why Johanna's mother had been attracted to him at all. Later in life, after years of having to make do, this had pushed her to find satisfaction for her physical needs elsewhere. The resulting scandals were yet another reason for Johanna to distance herself from her own family and desperately wanting to feel as one of the Winkelmeiers.
Johanna gradually gave the young couple more freedom and
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