Das Wechselbälgchen

Zitha has been struck by fate. She is the illegitimate child of a peasant maid, mentally challenged and physically deformed. The people in the village, who are as Catholic as they are superstitious, have a simple explanation for the girl's sad fate: Evil spirits have stolen the unfortunate maid's child after birth and instead substituted a cursed girl. A changeling, as known from legends and ghost stories of the Alpine regions. It is said that she will bring misfortune to the entire village. Thus, the collective madness takes its course, against which even the love of the mother cannot prevail. Eventually, the girl’s life is even threatened. Christine Lavant vividly describes the exclusion of a vulnerable individual from the village community. The story, published posthumously in 1998, stands out as well.