Hedwig’s Uneasy Vigil

William Tell (P. G. Wodehouse Edition)

This thread follows Hedwig’s practical concern for her husband and sons as William Tell’s patriotism and appetite for danger draw the family toward crisis.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Mountain Household A Mountain Household from "William Tell". A Mountain Household Family routine Hedwig shares a home with William Tell and their sons, Walter and William.

A Mountain Household from "William Tell". A Mountain Household Family routine Hedwig shares a home with William Tell and their sons, Walter and William.

A Mountain Household Family routine Hedwig shares a home with William Tell and their sons, Walter and William. Different priorities She wants the boys to help at home, while Tell encourages their martial practice and hunting. Their ordinary disagreements foreshadow the risks brought into domestic life by politics.

Warning Her Husband Warning Her Husband from "William Tell". Warning Her Husband A mother’s suspicion Hedwig senses that William Tell and her father are involved in a plot against Hermann Gessler.

Warning Her Husband from "William Tell". Warning Her Husband A mother’s suspicion Hedwig senses that William Tell and her father are involved in a plot against Hermann Gessler.

Warning Her Husband A mother’s suspicion Hedwig senses that William Tell and her father are involved in a plot against Hermann Gessler. A forecast of danger She warns Tell that Gessler bears him a grudge and asks him to stay away from town. Her concern proves perceptive, though Tell keeps his promise to go.

Walter Goes Along Walter Goes Along from "William Tell". Walter Goes Along A son’s eagerness Walter cries because his father had promised to take him to town, and he has saved pocket money for the trip.

Walter Goes Along from "William Tell". Walter Goes Along A son’s eagerness Walter cries because his father had promised to take him to town, and he has saved pocket money for the trip.

Walter Goes Along A son’s eagerness Walter cries because his father had promised to take him to town, and he has saved pocket money for the trip. A mother’s reluctant consent Hedwig objects, but Tell allows Walter to come while William stays behind. Her ordinary family decision places one son directly in the path of Gessler’s cruelty.

The News of the Apple The News of the Apple from "William Tell". The News of the Apple A son at risk Hedwig is absent when Hermann Gessler demands that William Tell shoot at an apple placed on Walter’s head.

The News of the Apple from "William Tell". The News of the Apple A son at risk Hedwig is absent when Hermann Gessler demands that William Tell shoot at an apple placed on Walter’s head.

The News of the Apple A son at risk Hedwig is absent when Hermann Gessler demands that William Tell shoot at an apple placed on Walter’s head. Family danger made public Walter’s courage and Tell’s anguish unfold before the crowd, while the absent mother’s earlier warnings gain weight. The ordeal turns a political contest into a family emergency.

Home After the Revolution Home After the Revolution from "William Tell". Home After the Revolution Return to family life William Tell retires to his home and lives happily with Hedwig and their two sons.

Home After the Revolution from "William Tell". Home After the Revolution Return to family life William Tell retires to his home and lives happily with Hedwig and their two sons.

Home After the Revolution Return to family life William Tell retires to his home and lives happily with Hedwig and their two sons. A legacy passed on The sons become nearly as skilled with the crossbow as their father. The ending restores domestic peace while leaving the family’s experience inseparable from public struggle.

Before the town crisis

The morning William Tell leaves for town

Just before Tell departs for town

During the meadow challenge

After Switzerland becomes free