Bambi, a Life in the Woods



Bambi, a Life in the Woods (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) is a 1923 Austrian novel written by Felix Salten and published by Ullstein Verlag. Salten published a sequel, Bambi's Children in 1939. The novel traces the life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father and experience about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest.

Heavily modified from the original novel, Disney's 1942 film adaptation, Bambi, severely downplays the naturalistic and environmental elements found in the novel, giving it a lighter, friendlier feeling.


 * An Aesop: Faline's brother Gobo (who is exclusive to the novel) appears to have been killed by a hunter in the same winter Bambi's mother died only to return some time later as a full grown deer, and it turns out a human family had saved his life. (He was dying of starvation by the time he was taken away.) But as a result he had lost his fear of humans. The next time the hunters came to the woods, Gobo was the first to go. This is basically Felix Salten's commentary on keeping wild animals like deer as pets.
 * Angry Hunting Dog: The hunting dogs are considered traitors to their own kind.
 * Carnivore Confusion: Salten addresses it in the novel.
 * Coming of Age Story
 * Humans Are Cthulhu: Averted. The book treats humans as just another thing deer have to worry about. If they're bastards, it's only because they've broken the "rules" with their guns.
 * Never Say "Die": The Great Prince says "Your mother can't be with you any longer. Can't you stay by yourself? Shame on you!" as a way of making Bambi brace up and realize he has to fend for himself now.