Spyri followed the literary conventions of the late nineteenth century in a number of ways. She depicted an invalid and an orphan in many of her stories, Heidi included. These stock characters were expected to serve the didactic purpose of depicting death as a "release from earthly misery" and to help convey a spiritual message. Spyri's books manage to be both didactic and imaginative. She has been compared favorably to other noted writers of her time: to Louisa May Alcott for her development of female characters, to Robert Louis Stevenson for her setting and plot, and to Hans Christian Andersen for her treatment of death and spirituality.

Interspersed in the narrative of Spyri's story are frequent lyrical passages.

These convey Heidi's overwhelming joy at being alive and at the beauty of the world around her. Light imagery prevails throughout the story, as manifested in the dazzling...