Editing Wilhelm Busch (section)

===''Saint Antonius of Padua'' and ''Helen Who Couldn't Help It''===
[[File:Busch Werke v2 p 142.jpg|thumb|right|Two scenes from ''Monsieur Jacques à Paris während der Belagerung von 1870'']]
In ''Saint Antonius of Padua'' (Der Heilige Antonius von Padua) Busch challenges Catholic belief. It was released by the publisher Moritz Schauenburg at the time [[Pope Pius IX]] proclaimed the [[dogma]] of [[papal infallibility]] that was harshly criticized by Protestants.<ref>Wessing, pp. 92–93</ref> The publisher's works were heavily scrutinized or censored,<ref>Weissweiler, p. 168</ref> and the [[state's attorney]] in [[Offenburg]] charged Schauenberg with "vilification of religion and offending public decency through indecent writings"&nbsp;– a decision which affected Busch.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 166–167</ref> Scenes of Antonius accompanied by a pig being admitted to heaven, and the devil being shown as a half-naked ballet dancer seducing Antonius, were deemed controversial. The district court of Düsseldorf subsequently banned ''Saint Antonius''. Schauenburg was acquitted on 27 March 1871 in Offenburg, but in Austria distribution of the satire was prohibited until 1902.<ref>Weissweiler, pp. 169–172</ref> Schauenburg refused to publish further Busch satires to avoid future accusations.<ref>Wessling, p. 100</ref>

Busch's following work, ''Helen Who Couldn't Help It'' (Die fromme Helene), was published by Otto Friedrich Bassermann, a friend whom Busch met in Munich. ''Helen Who Couldn't Help It'', which was soon translated into other European languages, satirizes religious hypocrisy and dubious morality:<ref>Wessling, p. 106</ref><ref>Arndt, p. 56</ref>
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<poem>
Ein guter Mensch gibt gerne acht,
Ob auch der andre was Böses macht;
Und strebt durch häufige Belehrung
Nach seiner Beß'rung und Bekehrung
</poem>
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<poem>
A saintly person likes to labor
For the correction of his neighbor,
And sees, through frequent admonition,
To his improvement through contrition.

Or: A good person likes to pay attention,
if the other has evil intention,
and strives by frequent didactic incursion,
after his improvement and conversion.
</poem>
{{Col-end}}
Many details from ''Helen Who Couldn't Help It'' criticize the way of life of the Kesslers. Johanna Kessler was married to a much older man and entrusted her children to governesses and tutors, while she played an active role in the social life of Frankfurt.<ref>Arndt, p. 42</ref>
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<poem>
Schweigen will ich vom Theater
Wie von da, des Abends spät,
Schöne Mutter, alter Vater
Arm in Arm nach Hause geht

Zwar man zeuget viele Kinder,
Doch man denket nichts dabei.
Und die Kinder werden Sünder,
Wenn's den Eltern einerlei.
</poem>
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<poem>
Then again, the pen would rather
Spare the Stage, whose thrills excite
Handsome mother, honest father,
As they amble home at night

Couples couple and redouble
With a blithe and thoughtless air,
But the children get in trouble
If the parents do not care.
</poem>
{{Col-end}}
The character of Mr. Schmock&nbsp;– the name based on the [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] insult "[[Schmuck (pejorative)|schmuck]]"&nbsp;– shows similarities with Johanna Kessler's husband, who was uninterested in art and culture.<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 194">Weissweiler, p. 194</ref>

In the second part of ''Helen Who Couldn't Help It'' Busch attacks [[pilgrimage|Catholic pilgrimages]]. The childless Helen goes on a pilgrimage, accompanied by her cousin and Catholic priest Franz. The pilgrimage is successful, as later Helen gives birth to twins, who resemble Helen and Franz. Franz is later killed by a jealous valet, Jean, for his interest in female kitchen staff. The now widowed Helen is left with only a rosary, prayer book, and alcohol. Drunk, she falls into a burning oil lamp. Finally, Nolte coins a moral phrase, echoing the philosophy of Schopenhauer:<ref>Kraus, p. 64</ref><ref>Arndt, p. 64</ref>
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<poem>
Das Gute&nbsp;— dieser Satz steht fest&nbsp;—
Ist stets das Böse, was man läßt!
</poem>
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<poem>
The good (I am convinced, for one)
Is but the bad, one leaves undone.
</poem>
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''Pater Filucius'' (Father Filucius) is the only illustrated satire of this period suggested by the publisher. Also aimed at anti-Catholic taste and buyers, it criticizes the [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit Order]]. Kraus felt it was the weakest of all three anti-clerical works.<ref>Kraus, p. 66</ref> Some satires refer to contemporary events, such as ''Monsieur Jacques à Paris during the Siege of 1870'' (Monsieur Jacques à Paris während der Belagerung von 1870). Busch biographer Michaela Diers declares the story "tasteless work, drawing on anti-French emotions and mocking the misery of French people in Paris, which is occupied by Prussian troops".<ref>Diers, pp. 90–91</ref> It depicts an increasingly desperate French citizen who at first eats a mouse during the [[Franco-Prussian War|German siege]], then amputates his dog's tail to cook it, and finally invents an explosion pill which kills his dog and two fellow citizens.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 177</ref> Weissweiler believes that Busch wrote with irony.<ref name="Weissweiler, p. 138"/> In ''Eginhard and Emma'' (1864), a fictional family story that takes place in the [[Charlemagne]] era, he criticizes the [[Holy Roman Empire]] and calls for a German empire in its place; in ''The Birthday or the Particularists'' (Der Geburtstag oder die Partikularisten) he satirizes the anti-[[Prussia]]n sentiments of his Hanover countrymen.<ref>Weissweiler, p. 179</ref>