Essay: National Socialist Themes in The Dwarf

In America, there was Doctor Seuss to mock the Axis powers throughout the Second World War. His comics were not only straight forward, but very to the point and filled with hilarious syllogisms. Although not as direct and straightforward, Stockholm based author Par Lagerkvist embodied this same sly sense of humor performed by Doctor Seuss in his authoring. The Dwarf is essentially a parallel of the political relationship between Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. This becomes evident by examining the relationship between the Dwarf and the Prince as the Dwarf is revealed to have a fanatical obsession for the Prince. It is through the Dwarf’s obsession with the Prince’s personal life, his ideals about the dwarf race and his inability to recognize his true stature among the Royal Court that this will be displayed.
The Dwarf is a story that follows a literal dwarf through his life in Italy. The Dwarf is a member of a royal family’s entertainment court, meaning he performs menial tasks such as serving food, providing entertainment and things of that nature. We never learn the name of the Dwarf, but we do know he is deeply troubled as well as oblivious from very early on when he says, “Most Dwarfs are buffoons. They have to make jokes and play trick to make their masters and the guests laugh. I have never demeaned myself like that. Nobody has ever suggested that I should,” (Lagerkvist, 5). When viewed in context, it becomes apparent that this Dwarf is unable to firmly grasp his role, as he is essentially a court jester. There are various instances throughout the book where he is demeaned, even though he claims to be aware of their true perception of him. This is seen when the court wishes to watch a communion ceremony and the Dwarf mocks this by disrupting things when he throws the communion wine. He is punished, but he does not see it this way. Another example is when the Prince brings along the Dwarf, with a tiny suit of armor and all, to a battle. The Dwarf proceeds to kill a fleeing child, but believes it is another dwarf, which fuels his ego more despite the fact that he was there as a joke. However, this underestimation will be examined again, revealing its true significance.
The Dwarf sees himself as something much more than a simple source of entertainment. Instead he sees himself as a dwarf that shares no characteristics of a common dwarf who actually possesses a heightened level of perception. That alone is hilarious, but digressions must be avoided. It is revealed the Dwarf has no interest in procreation of any type, not even just for the enjoyment of; he says it is something that they do not need and he is also castrated. On one instance, the court offers him a female dwarf, which triggers him to reveal his true thoughts on the race itself. He says, “We belong to that race (human) and at the same time we stand outside of it. We are guests on a visit. Ancient Wizened Guests on a visit that has lasted for thousands of years,” (Lagerkvist, 98). This view shows that the Dwarf believes he is apart of an ancient race. This separates him from the rest of humanity and it seems as if he believes this is were his heightened sense of perception came from. Despite this proposed confidence, the Dwarf is most likely wildly insecure. One could infer that the inferiority he feels is the root of his sentiment. He states on one occasion that his face is more wrinkled than others because he has not grown to the same size, but if he were to that he would be just as attractive. These insecurities and belief of an ancient race seem all too familiar.
The Dwarf appears to use the Prince as his basis for measuring his own life. This is very unrealistic for obvious reasons. For example, when he is placed in a suit of armor he chooses to compare himself to the Prince by saying their equipment is the same, just the Prince has full sized gear. He sees the Prince as the ideal leader indisputably and wants nothing more than to be exactly him. On numerous occasions, he states the Prince needs his him, which is ludicrous considering his position. This belief often shifts though as the Dwarf believed himself to be a threat to the Prince’s marriage. The Dwarf was commonly around the women for company, but on one occasion the Princess asked the Dwarf if he loved her, (Lagerkvist, 10). He misinterpreted this statement and began to wonder if the Prince knew she felt this way. This shows he sort of begins to question the Prince’s authority. It’s also very clear he believes he and the Prince are secretly on the same page and share a bond. This is shown very literally when the Dwarf poisons Don Riccardo, who had been sleeping with the Prince’s wife. The Dwarf recalls the event by saying, “When I say the Prince looking at me I met his eyes with serenity,” (Lagerkvist, 148). It shows that he believes the Prince knew of his intentions, which could not be more false. Why would the Prince suspect this lowly creature of murdering someone of power? This further confirms the disillusion in the Dwarf’s mind. His acts do not stop there. He also reveals a relationship between the Prince’s Daughter and a rival’s son due to the Dwarf’s manipulation. This results in the death of the young man by the hands of the angry prince. So he essentially begins to influence his decisions through deceit and secretive action. That being said, he idolizes the Prince, yet he becomes enraged with his pitfalls.
So far, this analysis has shown the relationship between the Dwarf and the Prince. The Prince is a powerful, established leader whom the Dwarf admires greatly and aspires to be. The Dwarf is a lowly, disillusioned person that has a belief in an ancient race who wants nothing more than to acquire power. This is basically the early relationship between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini. Following the First World War, a defeated Germany did not have much to be proud of. Their economy was in shambles and they had no strong leadership, the country was very much so in disarray. Their remaining soldiers returned to a land of disgrace and the overall confidence level had plummeted. Their neighbor to the south, Italy, had created a government that made people very confident in their country. This ideology was called Nationalism and it centered around one powerful autocratic leader. This powerful leader was named Benito Mussolini. His country had risen from the ashes and was now one of the more successful countries in Europe. A lowly Gefreiter, which is basically the second level of promotion in the military, named Adolf Hitler returned to Germany to see this disgrace. He began idolizing the ideals of Mussolini and preaching them to other downtrodden war veterans. He became obsessed with the Italian leader’s ideas, much like the Dwarf was obsessed with the Prince’s. This admiration ranged from his fondness of the strong central government to the propaganda and even to the state police. The main thing he liked was the grand speeches that Mussolini used to give, the similarities between the two is very evident. Eventually, through years of manipulation and imitation, Hitler not only rose to a similar place of power, but also surpassed him. This is similar to when the Princess is killed by the Dwarf, the Prince underestimated the Dwarf and eventually the Dwarf had done enough behind his back to heavily influence the Prince’s life. This relationship also proved to be the demise of Mussolini who inadvertently began to do as Hitler wished and found himself in a lower place of power as a result.
This interpretation of The Dwarf was derived from the book’s developing relationship between the Dwarf and the Prince. When the relationship between them and the relationship between Hitler/Mussolini is examined, multiple parallels become apparent. Both are based around a lowly underestimated creature using deception and manipulation to achieve their goal of gaining power through the idolization of a powerful leader. This book delivers a powerful message of not underestimating people. Despite the way people look, they can be capable of anything.