The Demise Of The 'New Man': An Analysis Of Late German Expressionism

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Content This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received ® 8-17,046 WEBB, Benjim an Daniel, 1942- THE DEMISE OF THE "NEW MAN": AN ANALYSIS OF LATE GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM. [P ortions of Text in German], U niversity of Southern C alifornia, P h.D ., 1968 Language and L iterature, m odem University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan Copyright © by Benjiman Daniel Webb 1968 THE DEMISE OF THE "NEW MAN" AN ANALYSIS OF LATE GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM by Benjiman Daniel Webb A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (German) June 1968 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA S 0 0 0 7 This dissertation, written by . under the direction of hi,s... Dissertation Com mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by the Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF P H ILO SO P H Y Dean Date.... ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I should like to acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Dr. Charles E. Long of Memphis State University, who pro vided the initial motivation for this study, and to Pro fessors John M. Spalek, Harold von Hofe, and Herbert Stahl of the University of Southern California, who rendered in valuable assistance in bringing the study to its final form. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Chapter I. INTRODUCTION: DISILLUSIONMENT AND THE Gats. Schauspiel in drei Akten Nebeneinander. Volksstuck 1923 in funf Akten Wahnschaffe. BESma Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus Per Geschlaaene. Schauspiel in drei Aufzugen Die Fahrt nach Ornlid. Ejn Drama ypfegr, Auswanderern in drei Aufzugen Palme oder Per GekrSnkte. Eine Komodie in_ftin.f Akten Per ewige Traum. Eine ypWP.flie Per entfesselte Wotan. Eine Komodie Juarez und Maximilian. Dramatische Historie in drei Phasen und dreizehn Bildern "NEW MAN" 1 II. THE PLAYS 11 III. SECONDARY CHARACTERS 121; The Women in the Plays The Realistic Counterpart of the "New Man" Chapter Page IV. THE DEMISE OF THE "NEW MAN" AS SEEN THROUGH DRAMATIC FORM AND STRUCTURE...................232 V. CONCLUSION.......................................247 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................. 252 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION: DISILLUSIONMENT AND THE "NEW MAN" In 1908 Oskar Kokoschka's play Morder Hoffnung der Frauen signalled the beginning of Expressionism on the Ger man stage.^ In the ensuing ten years the movement was damned and applauded, flourished briefly and died as sud- S dertly as it had begun— and the death of the expressionistic ideals left few tears in any eyes. With reference to Expressionism, Kurt Pinthus says of his anthology Mensch- heitsdammeruna which he compiled in 1919: "Unsere Zeit und According to H. F. Garten, the works of Kokoschka are not expressionistic drama in the full sense of the term: "It is characteristic of the close interrelation between Expressionism in art and in literature that among the pio neers of expressionistic drama were Oskar Kokoschka . . . and Ernst Barlach. . . . Kokoschka's Morderr Hoffnung der Frauen . . . was probably the first attempt at drama in the expressionistic manner." But "it is in the single work of a young author that we have the first expressionistic drama in the full sense of the term— Der Bet tier (1912) . . .by Reinhard Johannes Sorge." Modern German Drama (New York, 1959), pp. 108, 115. 1 2 Dichtung kritisch betrachtend, muS ich einsehen, dafi die 'Menschheitsdeimmerung' nicht nur ein geschlossenes, sondern ein abgeschlossenes, abschliefiendes Dokument dieser Epoche 2 ist." Thus by implication Pinthus felt that Expressionism had died by the time he compiled his anthology. Also as early as 1920 Rene Schickele wrote of the expressionistic period of German literature as "die gute alte Zeit": Es ist, vor etwa zehn Jahren, zu einer doppelten Revolte gegen den Naturalismus und den Xsthetizismus gekommen, die damals unbestritten herrschten, das hat man den deutschen Expressionismus genannt. . . . Es war die gute alte Zeit.^ And Kasimir Edschmid expressed the same feeling in the same year. He wrote of Expressionism as a thing of the past which had outlived any purpose it may have had: Was vor zehn Jahren anfing, den Burger heftig zu ver- wirren, hat in der weniger gottgesegneten Gegenwart des Jahres Neunzehnhundertzwanzig nicht eirimal das Riihrende mehr der Sensation. Es haben sich in der Zwischenzeit seit dem Untergang des Rekordschiffes "Titanic" dem U-Boot-Krieg und den Burgerschlachten zu vielen Sensa- tionen in der Peripherie des deutschen heimatlichen ^"Nachklang, " Menschheitsdammeruncr; Ein Dokument des Expressionismus (Berlin, 1966), p. 33. 3"Wie verhalt es sich mit dem Expressionismus," Ex- pressionismus: Der Kampf urn eine literarische Bewegung. ed. Paul Raabe (Munchen, 1965), pp. 177-178. 3 Bodens ereignet. Was damals als Gebarde kuhn schien, ist heute Gewohnheit. Der VorstoB von vorgestern ist die Allure von gestern und das Gahnen von heute gewor- den .4 Thus it was apparently a movement of the times and had passed accordingly. However, with specific reference to the drama, the death of expressionistic ideals was not expressed in terms of endearment or boredom. In 1921 Iwan Goll declared in his essay "Der Expressionismus stirbt": Das nackte Leben ist besser, will sagen: wahrer als du. Beweiss deine Weltanschauung hat nirgends gesiegt, Du hast nicht einem von sechzig Millionen das Leben gerettet. "Der Mensch ist gut": eine Phrase. "Aber in tausend Jahren vielleicht."^ Thus Expressionism had not only died in the drama; it had left its former advocates completely disillusioned. The key to this disillusionment lies in the line: "Deine 4"Stand des Expressionismus," Expressionismus: Der Kampf urn eine literarische Beweguncr. ed. Paul Raabe, p. 173. Cf. also Hans Rothe's article "Theater. Es begann mit Sorge und endete mit Unruh," Expressionismus: Aufzeichnuncen und Erinnerunaen der Zeitaenossen. ed. Paul Raabe (Olten and Freiburg am Breisgau, 1965), p. 238, where he says that Ex pressionism had already come to an end when he became resi dent director of the Leipziger Schauspielhaus in 1920. 5"Der Expressionismus stirbt," Expressionismus: Der Kampf um eine literarische Beweoung. ed. Paul Raabe, p. 181. Weltanschauung hat nirgends gesiegt." Goll is obviously addressing his fellow Expressionists here, but there is something more. From the next line, "Du hast nicht einem von sechzig Millionen das Leben gerettet," it is clear that Goll is referring to a specific point in the Expressionists' "Weltanschauung": the concept of the "New Man." And in a later essay the same idea is again stated by Goll: Welche passionelle Tat? Eifersucht: ridikul. Hafi: unmoglich seit "der Mensch ist gut." Aha: das revo- lutionare Drama? Gibt es nicht. Es kann heute nur eine wirtschaftliche Revolution gelten, keine des Muts und des Herzens! Das Wortchen "rot" ist sogar schon kitschig geworden. Arbeiter in einer Strafie vor Maschinengeweh- ren, totaler Unsinn! Lenin war ein diplomatischer Ge- duldspieler. Was geht der den Dramatiker an, der einen Heros brauchtl Toller ist groB im Gefangnis, zeitungs- langweilig auf der Buhne. Es kann heute kein Drama creben! Die Menschen stehen viel zu tief dazu, sind viel zu unmoralisch, zu weich, zu verantwortungslos, zu schnell zum KompromiB bereit.6 Again and again Goll's point of departure is the idea that people simply cannot measure up to the idealism of the "New Man" which the early Expressionists had preached; his pessi mism and disillusionment are seen very clearly in his ref erence to people as being "too immoral, too weak, too 6"Es gibt kein Drama mehr," Li teratur-Revolution 1910- 1925j ed. Paul Portner ([Neuwied am Rhein], [i960]), I, 391. 5 irresponsible." Thus Goll regards the death of Expression ism in drama as the result of the failure of the "New Man" to achieve its purpose: "Du hast nicht einem von sechzig Millionen das Leben gerettet." Although the "New Man" will be discussed in detail in the following analyses of ten selected works, at this point there will be given a brief definition of the term "New Man," the intellectual-turned-leader who wished to save man kind and for that purpose was "willing to sacrifice himself 7 for mankind and thus is akin to . . . Christ." According 8 to Soergel and Hohoff, Georg Kaiser's Die Burger von Ca- 9 lais, written m 1913, provides us with the classic example of the expressionistic ideal of the "New Man."’ * ’ 0 ^Walter H. Sokel, The Writer in Extremis (Stanford, Calif., 1959), p. 172. 8"'Die Burger-ven Calais'"(1913) . . . wurde 1917 aufgefuhrt und gilt als dramatisches Hauptwerk des Expres sionismus und seines Authors, als das f>rama vom 'neuen Menschen'." Albert Soergel and Curt Hohoff, Dichtung und Dichter der Zeit (Dusseldorf, 1964), II, 261. ^Bamberg and Wiesbaden, 1963. ^OEustache de Saint-Pierre is not only chosen by Sokel for his discussion of the 'New Man" but also serves as the model for the expressionistic hero in Paul Edward Wyler's Der "neue Mensch" im Drama des Expressionismus (Stanford, 1943). The city of Calais, besieged and virtually defeated by the English army, has been offered the English terms for surrender: the citizens may spare themselves, their town and its newly constructed harbor if they will send six citi zens of Calais to be executed as token sacrifices for the whole town; the death of these six will satisfy Edward III of England, and he will make peace with the city.'*''1 ' Duquesclins, the Constable of France, urges the people to fight on to save their honor, but Eustache de Saint-Pierre, the main character, implores them to think not only of the present, but of the future and of the new harbor which should outlast them all: Nun legt sich euer Werk auf euch— nun begehrt es nach euch mit dem starksten Anspruch. Sein Gelingen befiehlt euch mit dem hartesten Fron. Nun versammelt eure Krafte . . . nun faSt den eigensten Gedanken. Euer grofites Werk wird eure tiefste Pflicht. Ihr mlifit es schutzen— mit alien Sinnen— mit alien Taten.... Ihr wollt euer Werk zerstoren— um diesen, der aus der Stunde kommt und mit der Stunde versinkt? — Ist der Tag mehr als alle Zeit?12 •^One of Kaiser's critics suggests that Kaiser "antici pates the decision before the German people towards the end of the war of 1914-1918: whether to fight on to utter de struction or save something of their country by surrender." B. J. Kenworthy, "The Myth of the New Man," Georg Kaiser (Oxford, 1957), pp. 22-102. •^Kaiser, pp. 18-19. Eustache's appeal convinces the people and in rapid succes sion six volunteers, one more than is required by the Eng lish, stand beside Eustache. The first act then ends with the decision to choose by lot the one of the seven men who will be excused from his vow to sacrifice himself for the city and people of Calais. Thus in Eustache we see the individual who will lead the others to their own destruction in order to stop the needless destruction of life and prop erty for "honor's" sake: the "New Man." The drawing of lots takes place in a setting which is reminiscent of the Last Supper where Eustache takes the place of Christ. Eustache has arranged that all six volun teers draw balls of the same color. Since none of the six— on seeing that they all have the same color ball— withdraws j his vow voluntarily, this proves the sincerity of each one for the undertaking. Eustache leaves them with a second suggestion for the elimination of the seventh member: they should meet in the center of the market place on the next morning; the last one to arrive would be the one who will be: released from his vow. On the next day all six volunteers meet at the market place and wait; everyone is there except Eustache; they begin to accuse him of treachery and are about to go to drag Eustache from his home when his father brings the body of his dead son to join the other six. Through his death Eustache, the "New Man," wished to give the others the courage to remain true to their vow: "Sie mussen sich eilen— wenn Sie mir folgen wollen— Ich bin vorausgegangenI— " (p. 75). The "New Man" has willingly sacrificed himself in order to show the others the path by which they will go from "darkness into the light": Der Vater Eustache de Saint-Pierres: Schreitet hinaus— in das Licht— aus dieser Nacht. Die hohe Helle ist angebrochen— das Dunkel ist verstreut. . . . Ich komme aus dieser Nacht— und gehe in keine Nacht mehr. Meine Augen sind offen— ich schliefte sie nicht mehr. Meine blinden Augen sind gut, urn es nicht mehr zu verlieren: — ich habe den neuen Menschen gesehen— in dieser Nacht ist er geboren! (pp. 77-78) Thus Kaiser proclaims the birth of the "New Man" in the death of this "intellectual-turned-leader" who wished to save "Calais and its harbor, the symbol not only of the fruit of the communal effort of its citizens, but also of the wider and more prosperous life that it opens to them 13 here on earth." It was this ideal that the later expres sionists such as Goll recoiled from. The disenchantment with the idea of the "New Man" which is reflected in the two excerpts from Goll can also be seen •^Kenworthy, p. 34. in many of the later expressionistic plays by many writers. It is the aim of this work to investigate several selected plays to determine in what ways the demise of the "New Man" is shown. 14 Prom the dramas chosen for this work it is clear that the authors Georg Kaiser, Rolf Lauckner, Wilhelm Schmidt- bonn, Paul Kornfeld, Ernst Toller and Franz Werfel show the demise of the "New Man" in two basic ways: in dramatic 15 content and m dramatic form and structure. There are two ways in which the dramatists show the demise of the "New Man" through dramatic content: he is shown as a victim of his own self-deception who does not realize that he has gone astray somewhere (such as the Cap tain in Gats) or as one who realizes that he has gone astray, but whose understanding comes too late to correct the error (such as Josef Wacholder in Der Geschlacene). •^This is not to imply that the ten representative dramas used here exhaust the subject by any means. For example, among the plays not included are the satires of Sternheim and Brecht. • * - 5The terms "dramatic form and structure" refer to the physical form in which the play is written; they have noth ing to do with the expressionistic ideal of the "New Man." This ideal is included exclusively under the term "dramatic content." There are some dramas in which these two situations are demonstrated in one character (such as Reini Wahnschaffe in Lauckner's Wahnschaffe). CHAPTER II THE PLAYS Gats. Schauspiel in drei Akten In Georg Kaiser's Gats,^ the Captain has just returned secretly from an expedition charged with finding a place where the surplus of population may be relocated, and the problem of over-population can be relieved. He tells of a fabulous place he has found: Ein Reich der Menschlichkeit offnete sich meinen Fragen, mit denen ich auf Erklarung drang. Kein HaS— kein Streit— kein Krieg bei diesem Volk, das ohne Gesetz ist— weil es sich liebt. Weil einer dem andern mit der Begierde des Menschen nach dem Menschen begegnet— wenn er ihn trifft. Wenn in sein Alleinsein der seltene Nachste tritt— und das Wunder der Mensch, der sich dir zeigt, bleibt. Niemals wird es entheiligt— denn kein Zuviel entwiirdigt die Zahl der Einwohner. Mit groftem Anspruch einfach lebt dies Volk, das nach dem Ertrag des Bodens, der es nahrt, sich abzahlt! (p. 31) In this one speech Kaiser has depicted one who fits the ^Potsdam, 1925. 11 12 requirements of a "New Man": the Captain wants to help man kind solve its problems and live together in peace and happiness. He has gone to great trouble to bring back the little wooden container of dust called gats. a mysterious substance which, when taken internally, prevents conception. However, it is immediately apparent that the Captain has overlooked one of the prime concerns of the "New Man": his gats may well solve the problem of over-population eventu ally, but he has failed in his task of finding immediate relief for the situation, which, according to Ludwig Rubi- ner, is to be one of the prime concerns: Mit unserer Geburt bekamen wir die Gabe, die Welt zu Sndern. Andern wir I Ja, bessern wir, ganz simpel. Irgendwo hohnt ein quietistischer Idiot: "Weltver- besserer!" 0 Preundel . . . Seien wir Weltverbesse- rer, alle . . . Es geht nur urn unsere kleine Erde. Es geht urn die gegenwartigste Gegenwart . . It could well be said that the Captain has totally disre garded "die gegenwartigste Gegenwart." More indirectly, Kaiser sheds doubt on the Captain's character by telling that the Captain has abandoned the band of men who accom panied him on his expedition (cf. n. 11, this chapter). In the second act of the play the Captain, who is 2Per Mensch in der Mitte (Berlin, 1917), pp. 110-111. 13 firmly supported by his Secretary, must convince his people that oats is the proper and acceptable solution for over population. In a series of speeches he explains to them: "Land ist Luge . . . Kein Land fur euch . . . vergeBt den Traum: er schickt den Spuk und den Todl" and "Euch kommt das Paradies . . . Die Qual des Wegs miindet in Qual des Zuviel. Vernichtet das Zuviel— es kann euch gelingen!" and "... opfert jetzt, was sich lohnt schon morgen und uber- morgen: vergeBt das Kind— erlebt euch selbstl!" Each time his pleas are met with increasingly hostile comments from the settlers, who do not want to be deprived of their "fu ture." The Second Settler says: Es gibt einen Lohn, der sich am Ende schuttet. Fallt er nicht auf unsre Hande— in unsrer Kinder Taschen wird er sich sammeln. Man soil nicht den Mut verlieren— die Zeit ordnet alles. Ich bin bereit auf Stroh zu kampie- ren und faules Gemtise zu essen— ich werde den Hunger nicht fuhlen und keinen elenden Tod sterben: mit Kind und Kinderskindern wandre ich weiter in die Zeit, die einmal das Gluck bringtl!3 To him a child is a symbol of hope in the future. To the Third Settler, the child also becomes a symbol of "redemp tion," the means by which she can be "purified": Ich bin Prau. Ich bin in Lumpen und Unrat gewachsen— 3Kaiser, Gats, p. 63. 14 ich bin von Mannern gebraucht und geschlagen. Bin ich ein wildes Tier, das seine Brut friftt?! . . . Ich bin besudelt wie zehntausend unter euch sitzen. Ich bin vom Menschen ein Rest, den man mit Ekel beruhrt. Soil ich den Rest noch verschleudern? Ein Kind wird mich reinigen. Wer gibt es her und stofit sich selbst in den Sumpf? Nicht ich— nicht ihr, die meine verlorenen Schwes.ter sind. Ich wurde mich mit Bissen von Zahnen strauben— kampfen fur die Frucht meines Schofces, die meinen beleidigten Leib erneuert: fur mein Kindi I (pp. 64-65) Thus the Captain has asked the people to give up their fu ture children, but his pragmatic suggestions are unworkable because of the people's emotions? they do not want to be deprived of what they see as their only hope for the future and their own redemption. The anger of the people toward the Captain is climaxed by the shooting of the "New Man" and a subsequent riot in the arena. Throughout the act Kaiser has carefully depicted the Captain as one who is honestly attempting to help man kind, but who can promise a hope for survival only, at the expense of the natural instinct to bear or sire children. Although the Captain's solution seems sufficiently practi cal, his formulation is based on self-interest, which Rubi- ner calls "original sin" for Expressionists: Wir haben die Erbsiinde, sie heiBt heute fur uns: Iso lation; sie ist Insichsein, Einzelner sein, Seele sein. Nehmender sein. Wir haben aber auch die Erbliebe. Und die ist: Geben; Schopfer sein; Genosse, Mitmensch, 15 . 4 Kamerad, Bruder sem. In Rubiner's terms, the Captain is asking the people to commit the "Erbsiinde" in his plea: "vergeBt das Kind— erlebt euch selbstll" In the third act, the Captain has gone into hiding with his Secretary. He is recuperating from the gunshot wound and biding his time until he can once again openly advocate the use of gats. which has meanwhile been declared illegal. As the act begins, the Secretary is ordered by the landlady to marry the Captain or move away with him. They agree to be married. Although she loves him, he does not reciprocate her feeling; he agrees to the marriage because such an arrangement would be more convenient for them. Without knowing it, the Secretary drinks the wine in which the Cap tain has dropped his supply of gats; he defends this act again in the name of his love for mankind: Sollte ich zogern? Sollte ich mich mir selbst unter- schlagen? Sollte ich meine groBe Liebe zu den Menschen vergessen? Wer liebe sie, wenn er sie stort? ... Mein Sohn konnte geraten wie einer vom Schlage der Hei- lande— ich will ihn zerstoren im Mutterleib vor seinem Keim. So bin ich ein echter Heifer der Menschheit— ich beweise es mit Taten, die alle Worte entwerten11!!5 ^Rubiner, p. 180. ^Kaiser, Gats. p. 99. 16 Even though his son could be a "savior," the Captain will not allow his birth. He reveals himself to be a man who will sacrifice his own future, represented by his son who will never be born. He does this because he loves mankind so much, but simultaneously he is willing to deprive the world of a "savior" because of his stubborn adherence to a "mission" which no one will accept. Even the Secretary no longer gives her support to the Captain and his endeavors; she is outraged when she hears what he has done with the gats: Horen Sie nicht?— : ich will— mein Kind!!!! • « • # • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Mein Kindi II! Verstehen Sie nicht?— : mein— mein— mein Kind!!!! Wer sind Sie?? Was reden Sie?? — Mein Kind— will ich— aus meinem Schofi— ein Kind— das ich will— das ich fasse mit Handen— das ich halte an meiner Brust!1 Ich bin seine Mutter!! Sonst nichts— nichts— nichts weiter als seine Mutter I!11 Ein Narr sind Sie: ein Weib will Mutter wer den— und kostet es Kind und ihr das Leben!!!! (pp. 100-101) She calls the police, who arrest the "criminal" Captain, and thus the play ends. Even the one who had sworn to stand by him under all circumstances could not forgive him for having destroyed her ability to fulfill her natural drive to bear children, and to the very end the Captain believes that he is acting only in the best interests of mankind. 17 Therefore, the "New Man" has gone from leader of his people to fugitive from justice in the course of the play. He has held to a "mission" based on self-interest, and even his most faithful ally ultimately loses faith in him because of his disregard for her desires. Consequently he is seen as a helpless, pathetic victim of his own self-deception, his "mission," who cannot see that his plans for mankind are unrealistic. Even though no one is willing to accept his plan, he insists to the very end that his answer is the only answer. In other words, he has ceased to be an active per son, but feels that passivity and self-interest will give the answer. In conclusion, one is again referred to Rubiner by way of contrast: • Ausgangspunkt ist: Das Leben im Unbedingten. Ziel ist: Das Leben in Unmittelbarkeit. Weg ist: Das Leben in Intensitat . . And these conditions clearly exclude a passive and selfish approach. Nebeneinander. Volksstuck 1923 in funf Akten The second of Georg Kaiser's dramas to be considered 6Rubiner, p. 5. Cf. also n. 11, this chapter. 18 7 here is Nebeneinander. written two years before Gats. While this drama is a good vehicle for exposing the weakness of the "New Man," it also contrasts the fictitious* world of 0 Gats (a "Utopia in reverse" ) with the very real world of the Pawnbroker, the "hero" of Nebeneinander. This use of the "New Man" in a realistic setting is the most effective device used by those expressionists whose dramas reflect the disillusionment in the "New Man." For example, Brecht's Baal also shows the contrast between the "New Man" and the real world. Baal, the poet, is the expressionistic "non conformist" who is a "parody and refutation of the romantic ^Nebeneinander. Volksstuck 1923 in fiinf Akten (Pots dam, 1923). Although the significance of the title of this play will not be treated exhaustively in the present study, it is in order to mention that the word "Nebeneinander" has many implications. For example, throughout the play there are three separate plots "side by side"; each character is paired with another character "side by side": Pawnbroker and Daughter, Franz and Luise, Otto Neumann and the Sister, and finally the Pawnbroker and Daughter commit suicide "side by side." Important also is the ironic connotation that we live "nebeneinander" but not "miteinander," not sharing and understanding. ®This term is used advisedly in connection with Gats: Kaiser is not as pessimistic as George Orwell in 1984 or Aldous Huxley in Brave New World. However, there is an atmosphere of "distant future" and "discontent" in Gats (as seen also in Gasr Zweiter Teil by Kaiser) and, therefore, the reference to the "Utopia in reverse" of both Orwell and Huxley. 19 9 concept of the poet's martyrdom in the philistine world." And this "poet's martyrdom in the philistine world" may also be seen in Nebeneinander (as well as in the remaining eight plays in this study), but it is not the harsh, relentless parody that Brecht's Baal is. Of the three plots in Nebeneinander the only one to be considered at length here is the story of the Pawnbroker and his Daughter. The story of Otto Neumann is related only indirectly to our discussion. The play begins with the Pawnbroker's having bought a1 dinner jacket and vest from Otto Neumann, who has used the fictitious name "0. Niemann" on his pawn ticket (the sig nificance of this fictitious name will be shown later). While cleaning the jacket, the Pawnbroker spills the con tainer of cleaning solvent over it, and upon inspecting the extent of the absorption of the benzine, he finds a letter in the pocket. The letter is addressed to a woman called Lu who is threatening to commit suicide if she does not hear from the man called "Otto N." Since the cleaning solvent Q Sokel also refers to him as the "beatnik of genius." Walter H. Sokel, Anthology of German Expressionist Drama; A Prelude to the Absurd (Garden City, New York, 1963), p. xxvi. 20 has removed the name and address on the envelope, the Pawn broker now sets out on an errand of mercy to find the man so that he can mail the letter and prevent the suicide. That the Pawnbroker looks upon his errand as a moral duty may be seen from his comments to his daughter: Wir mussen uns auf den Weg machen. Ich werde ihm seinen Brief zustellen— . . . . Jetzt mutet es mich fast wie ein glucklicher Zufall an: dafi der Frack fleckig war— ich zur Sauberung schritt— und mich versahl — Was hatte sonst aus dieser Nachlafiigkeit des Briefschreibers ent- stehen konnen? . . . Mit meiner Schuld von Ausloschung der Schrift? . . . Sprich es aus: TodschlagI ----So kann es einen Menschen uberfallen— mitten im Alltag— man weifi nicht wozu: zur Sunde— oder zur Er leuchtung? 10 Thus the Pawnbroker is a "New Man,"and he has a "mis sion." However, by means of the last lines: "So kann es einen Menschen uberfallen— mitten im Alltag— man weift nicht wozu: zur Sunde— oder zur Erleuchtung" one may infer that the Pawnbroker is, perhaps, as anxious about himself ("Mit meiner Schuld . . .") as about Lu's fate; this idea was •*-°Kaiser, Nebeneinander. p. 19. This sensation of "uberfallen sein" is also experienced by other Kaiser char acters: Kassierer, Krehler and perhaps others. Man is thrown into a situation in which he is tested and frequently fails. •*--k)ne is referred here again to Rubiner: "Damit hat jeder von uns die Verantwortung fur jeden Menschen der gan- zen Mit-Erde auf sich genommen. Jeder von uns die Verant wortung fur jeden andernl" (p. 91). 21 introduced in Gats and is slowly developed by Kaiser in Nebeneinander and culminates in Act IV. In the meantime, Otto Neumann has, indeed, sent a copy of the same letter to Lu, and it is clear that she has no intentions of committing suicide. During the course of the play she meets, falls in love with and is married to Franz Kruger. At the end of the first act Otto Neumann is intro duced, and one is at once impressed by his callous attitude toward life: . . . Ich wechsle haufig den Aufenthalt— jede Stadt hat ihr Gretchen— auf dem Bahnhof ist's aus. Auch rein ge- fuhlsmaBig fur mich. . . . In Berlin bin ich beinahe hangen geblieben. Urn ein Haar hatte ich ein Menschleben auf dem Gewissen . . . Das keusche Kind heiBt Luise . . . Fertig: sie kredenzte mir ihre Jungfernschaft. So was schafft immer Komplikationen. Ich vermeide eigentlich derartige Eroberungen— aber der Fall brachte es nun mit sich.12 Besides a comparison to Brecht's Baal,.one is also reminded of Iwan Goll's statement in the "Introduction." The second act begins with what the Pawnbroker believes is a race against time. He and his Daughter have gone to the address given by "0. Niemann" on the pawn ticket. 12Kaiser, Nebeneinander. pp. 28-29. 22 In speaking to the Proprietress of the Pension Elvira, the Pawnbroker encounters a person who reminds us of Neumann through her "immoral, weak and irresponsible" character. This can be seen in her answers to the Pawnbroker's ques tions about "0. Niemann" and in her callous disinterest in the "Lu-Neumann" affair. When the Pawnbroker explains to her what has happened to the letter and why it is important to find "0. Niemann," the Proprietress replies: "So kommt der Brief nicht an. Das passiert mit vielen Briefen. Es geht dabei nichts Wesentliches verloren!" (p. 40). So that she will not underestimate the importance of the letter and his "mission," the Pawnbroker insists that a human life may depend on- the letter: "Das soil mit andern Briefen der Fall sein— diesmal sinkt ein Mensch ins GrabI" (p. 40). After she has read the letter, the Proprietress cannot agree with the gravity of the situation as indicated by Kaiser's stage directions (emphasis mine): "(stutzt— lachelt— liest)--- Lu wird sich den Hals nicht abschneiden— und wenn sie zehn Jahre auf Antwort wartetl" (p. 41). And after the Pawn broker leaves, the Proprietress admits to her servant that she did, indeed, know "O. Niemann": Seine [Neuraann-Niemanns] Handschrift mit jedem Ipunktl Ihm die Krote auf den Hals hetzen! Hat ihr natiirlich auch Niemann gesagt! . . . Noch am morgen seine reizende 23 Ansichtskarte— wo er jetzt wohnt— ! (p. 45) Her cynicism, indifference, and lies make her one of Goll's "immoral, weak and irresponsible" characters. The irony of the encounter between the Pawnbroker and the Proprietress is expressed by the Proprietress herself. After the Pawnbroker insists that "Herr Otto Niemann" must be found at all costs, the Proprietress replies simply: "Um einen Liebesbrief?" (p. 42). For it is apparent that he has taken a simple love letter, written during an irrational moment, and elevated it into a symbol for his "mission"; that is, by returning it to Lu (thereby "saving" her), he will have symbolically done his part to save mankind. The Pawnbroker insists: "Ich stehe mit Zufall ver- schuldet zwischen zwei Untaten: Niemann zum Morder zu machen und zum Opfer Lul1 . . ." (p. 42). By use of the two expressions "mit Zufall" and_"verschuldet" doubts are cast on the "mission" of the "New Man." It is no longer an altruistic desire to "save" someone else. He feels that he has been forced into a situation from which he must extri cate himself for his own sake, not Lu's. Garten expresses it this way: "The moral challenge was now confined to a single individual who sought, not to convert mankind, but to save his own soul . . . Its ultimate message is 24 frustration" (p. 175). The frustration which Garten mentions is shown by Kaiser in this act by means of the pun on "Neumann" and "Niemann": "Neumann=neuer Mann" and "Niemann=niemand." The Pawnbroker sounds almost ludicrous when he says: "Es mufi ein gewaltiger Appar[a]t fsicl in Bewegung gesetzt wer- den, urn Niemann zu finden" and "Mein Teil ist Niemann zu finden" (pp. 36, 42). The play on the words "Niemann" and "niemand" is fairly clear. It is not certain that Kaiser intended the play on "Neumann" and "neuer Mann" here; how ever, the result would still be the same frustration be cause the character of Neumann is the direct antipode of the "New Man." In Act III the Pawnbroker, who is still searching for "Niemann," is accused of stealing a topcoat and is taken to jail. Although this act is of little consequence in a study of "dramatic content," it does serve to show that the 13 Pawnbroker is essentially a pacific character. When accused of theft unjustly, he does or says nothing in his own defense. Also the previously mentioned "self-interest" 1 3Cf. Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, pp. 165-166 for a discussion of the significance of passive expressionistic heroes such as the Pawnbroker. 25 is again reflected in his line: "Wir gehen mit— es ist der Weg, auf den mich ein Fingerzeig weist— laBt uns beei- 14 len1 1" In the fourth act it is finally verbalized and made clear that the Pawnbroker has been searching for "Niemann" in order "to save his own soul": "Wenn ich Lu nicht finde— habe ich sie ermordet" and "Sie durfen mich doch nicht wider meinen Willen zum Morder machen" (pp. 104, 110). Thus Kaiser's "New Man" is motivated more by selfish interest in this "errand of mercy" than by altruism. As in the three previous acts, the Pawnbroker encoun ters another disinterested person in the Commissar. As did the Proprietress, the Commissar dismisses the letter: Daruber lassen Sie sich keine grauen Haare mehr wachsen. Liebestragodien zahlen nach soviel Dutzenden— wenn uns jede in Harnisch bringen wollte— du lieber Gott mach's halblangi (p. 109) The essence of the entire play then is stated by the Daughter in Act V just before she and the Pawnbroker commit suicide by gas: "— Ich erlebe wie du deine Enttauschung " (p. 132). There is not only the disappointment of the Pawn broker himself in others, but his final speech is also 14Kaiser, Nebeneinander. p. 78. 26 steeped in self-deception? at no point does he realize that he was, perhaps, searching for Lu in order to prevent him self from becoming a "murderer," not to prevent her suicide, as such. Therefore, Kaiser depicts the Pawnbroker as a "New Man" who has gone astray in pursuit of his selfish mission, but does not know how or where, just as the Captain • ^ 4- 1 5 xn f i a t s . . The last speech of the play is again reminiscent of Brecht. Here the Baal-like Neumann is referred to as "der Typ, der durchkommt," a hard-boiled, robust person not troubled by conscience or sentimentality; this is a very common feature of even the later characters by Brecht. Wahnschaffe. Drama 16 In Rolf Lauckner's Wahnschaffe we encounter not only the disillusionment in the failure of the "New Man" as seen in dramatic content, but also a reaction against the •^That this was his intention is stated by Kaiser in his essay about writing dramas: "Only this single extreme display of acumen is demanded: to stop when you see the end. He who drags on past fruitfulness forfeits his life." Cf. Sokel, Anthology of German Expressionist Drama, p. 13. ^Berlin, 1920. This drama by Lauckner is not to be confused with the novel of the same name by Jakob Wasser- mann. 27 expressionistic style in general. Although it will not be discussed at length here, it is in order to mention a few of the stylistic differences between early and late ex pressionistic dramas. In his book about painting in the period after Expres sionism Franz Roh offers a helpful schematic diagram of expressionistic and post-expressionistic features in art 17 which can be adapted to a literary study as well. For example, under "Expressionismus" in his diagram Roh lists the following characteristics: ekstatische Gegenstande, summarisch, wie unbehauenes Gestein, gegen die Bildrander arbeitend, urtumlich, etc. With no change one could de scribe Kokoschka's Hiob or Sorge's Der Bettler or even Kai ser's Gas trilogy with these same terms. Under "Nachex- ! pressionismus" Rohi lists respectively: niichterne Gegen stande, durchfiihrend, wie blank gemachtes Metall, in den Bildrandern festsitzend, kultiviert, etc. Kaiser's Gats is a curious mixture of these two categories; that is, it has the "ekstatische Gegenstande (Charaktere)," but it is "durchfiihrend"; Nebeneinander can be more closely described 1 7Nach-Expressionismus . Maqischer Realismus (Leipzig, 1925), pp. 119-120. 28 by the "Nachexpressionismus" features, and the remaining eight plays in this study fall by and large into the second category ("Nachexpressionismus"). Garten lists basically Roh's points of difference in different words: Formally, these plays were realistic, depicting a well- defined milieu. But spiritually they were still under the spell of Expressionism; their characters were still types, and their aim was to convey a message. However, there were no more revolutionary meetings, no more im passioned exhortations by an inspired prophet, (p. 175) Such a play is Wahnschaffe. Wahnschaffe deals basically with the poet as the "New Man," and it is clear that Lauckner is in total disagreement with Rubiner, who maintains that the poet must be a politi cian as well; he must become involved in politics: Storer ist ein privater Ehrentitel, Zerstorer ein reli- gioser Begriff, untrennbar heute von Schopfer. Und darum ist es gut, daB die Literatur in die Politik sprengt . . . Wir freuen uns uber Jeden, der einen Moment lang die ganze Entwicklungssituation der Zivilisation vor dem Geiste als chaotischen Brei erweist. . . . Herrlich, wer die Kontinuitat stort. Hohnungen gegen Gewohnun- gen . . . Der Dichter wirkt tausendmal starker als der Politiker, der im Moment vielleicht fetter effektuiert. . . . Er soli wissen, daB er ein Erzieher ist, auch ohne die Umstande eines solchen zu machen. "Der Dichter," therefore, is to be "der Fuhter." That Lauckner maintains the opposite is stated in the "Vorspiel" to Wahnschaffe; "Es gibt, . . . im Leben nichts Schwereres, als die Kunst, grofte Kunst, in sich zu haben und einfach aus dem Mangel an Gelegenheit, sie von sich zu geben, zugrunde zu gehen! . . ." (p. 17). For this speech by Tibertius sums up what is to happen to Wahnschaffe in the subsequent five acts of the play. We first meet Wahnschaffe as a rather successful, but unhappy and dissatisfied dramatist-poet. In the "Vorpsiel" he decides to follow the line as dictated by Rubiner above; "Ich warte so lage ja schon nur auf Gele genheit, mich davon [der Dichtung] zu befreien! . . . Nicht Dichter, Heifer will ich seinl Ich will mich nicht an fremden Wunden berauschen, ich will sie heilenl ..." (p. 28). Lauckner, as Kaiser, emphasizes the fact that this "New Man" Wahnschaffe is set against a realistic background; with the clever and obvious pun "Wahn schaffe WirklichkeitI" and the final stage direction "(Beide [Wahnschaffe and Gotz von Magedanz] verschwinden ins Dunkel)" the "Vorspiel" comes to an end, and the play begins. Our "hero" has found a ^Rubiner, pp. 22, 27, 29. 30 "mission." As the first act of this long play opens, Wahnschaffe has forsaken poetry and the drama in order to be a doctor in accordance with the goal he has set for himself: "Heifer 19 will ich seinl" As a new "Heifer" of mankind, he wants to help his friend Gotz von Magedanz, who has been disin herited, to learn to "stand upright" so that the latter's family will accept him; however, Wahnschaffe fails in this first task: "Gotz von Magedanz: Mein Jungel Ich blieb so gern! . . . Aber jetzt ist's zu spati — Ihr seid ja schuld, dafi ich fort muSl — Ihr habt mich fett gemacht, verwohnt, 20 auf die Beine gestellt ..." This failure to achieve his goal is regarded more realistically by Wahnschaffe than by the Captain in Gats or the Pawnbroker in Nebeneinander: "Ich bilde mir ja auch nicht ein, daS ich allein die Welt verbessern werdel" (p. 45). The act ends with his decision to devote his undivided attention to the patients in the clinic. •^One can easily see from the speeches that Lauckner intends to show that Wahnschaffe cannot completely divorce himself from his ability as a poet; Wahnschaffe's speeches are written in perfect rhyme and meter 1 20Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 44. 31 Act II shows Wahnschaffe in a thoroughly disillusioned state; he has been treating the old man Leffevre, but the latter is obviously dying of terminal cancer, and the dis heartening effect of this knowledge on Wanhschaffe is shown in such statements as: "Mein Gotti Ich wollte Leben auf- bauen! . . . Zu sterben lernt man hier und nicht zu lebeni . . . Schmerz ist hier Wesenl" (pp. 85-86). Despite Wahn- shcaffe's earlier optimistic pronouncement, "Wir Xrzte kon- nen von unheilbar uberhaupt nicht sprechen," the old man soon dies. On hearing the news, Wahnschaffe slashes the veins in his wrists in an awkward but serious attempt to commit suicide. Wahnschaffe's desperate act reminds us here again of Kaiser's assertion: "Only this single extreme display of acumen is demanded: to stop when you see the end. He who drags on past fruitfulness forfeits his life"; Wahnschaffe could not "stop" even though he knew Lefevre would die, and the poet-turned-physician did, indeed, "drag on past fruitfulness" and tried to "forfeit his life" sub sequently. Also it is apparent that Reini Wahnschaffe realizes that something has gone wrong somehow and some where, but he does not know exactly how or where,, as evi denced by his attempt at suicide. Before he dies, Lefevre wishes to help Wahnschaffe by telling him: 32 Helfen? Helft Euch selbst zuerstl . . . Geht in die Welti Lernt ein paar Wunden Euch am Leibe schmerzen, dann werd't Ihr merken, daB das Helfen schwer, und anders anfangt als in Krankenstuben1 (p. 98) This advice forms the basis for the remainder of the play, for now Wahnschaffe believes that after he has gone out into the world and had experiences his personal disillusionment and frustration will be ended. In the third act Wahnschaffe has recovered from the blow of Lefevre's death. He has found a new "mission": the Communist Ideal, but from the very beginning there is a negative note when he says: "Das ist schwierig fur einen, 21 der nur helfen will . . . Der kein System hat" (p. 132). ^^-Throughout Acts I-IV, one is left with the strange feeling that Lauckner is using some actual Expressionist dramatist as his model for Wahnschaffe; perhaps Rubiner him self or, less probably, Ernst Toller. For example, on p. 132 Wahnschaffe says: "Das ist ja das Schwerel Das Elend bleibtl . . . Die einen sagen Schutzzoll, die anderen Mili- tarismus. Die dritten Aristokratenwirtschaft. Die vierten Beamtenhierarchie, Staatsform und was weiB ich . . . Jeder meint mit seiner gegenteiligen Menschenordnung das Elend zu beheben, — und das Elend sitzt allenthalben! . . . Das ist schwierig fur einen, der nur helfen will . . . Der kein System hat ..." This same idea is reflected by Toller in his Eine Jugend in Deutschland (Amsterdam, 1933) in the chapters dealing with the "Spartakus" movement. Were it not for the fact that "Wahnschaffe" is killed at the end of the play, there would seem to be some connection between Lauck ner 's character and Toller (Toller did not even figuratively "die" after the uprising). On the basis of his having studied medicine and having written lyrics and having been active in the "Spartakus" movement, there is a strong 33 He admits that he has no "system" for his new "mission"; nevertheless, he embarks on it with the same zeal he showed for his first "mission." Inspired by Professor Freymuthel, one of the leaders of the revolution, Wahnschaffe has a new goal: to help the working class by means of the Communist Ideal. A second foreboding note is sounded by Dr. Gideon: "Ich habe das grofite Zutrauen zu Ihrer Weltanschauung . . . Aber Sie lei- 22 den noch zu stark an dem Junglingsfieber unsrer Zeit ..." And as expected, when the revolution does begin, the "Jung- i lingsfieber unsrer Zeit" is burning so hotly in him that Wahnschaffe cannot understand the slowness with which the uprising is proceeding: Und nun der Anfang... Ist der Anfang so? Unfeierlich, im Alltag eingeflacht?... Vergangenheit und Plan, die sind das LebenI Im Werden ist das grofite Werk gering, 2 3 Und ewig stehst du, und enttauscht— daneben! (p. 173) Therefore, we see Wahnschaffe disappointed a second time, tendency toward Johannes R. Becher, who "died" literarily after the Communist uprising in Bavaria. A further study of this would be very interesting. 2 2 Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 160. 2%Tote the use of rhyme and meter by one who claims to have "forsaken" such things. 34 and again he senses that he has lost his sense of direction even though he admitted earlier that he had no "system" as a guide, and once again he cannot exactly see how or where he went astray— even though he speaks in rhyme and meter, the poet-turned-politician cannot understand his disappoint ment. Although Act IV shows Wahnschaffe preaching the Commu nist doctrine in front of the theater he has "forsaken," the act contains no other "dramatic content" for the present study. As already mentioned (cf. n. 19, this chapter), Lauckner obviously intends to show with this Act that Wahn schaffe cannot divorce himself from poetry and the drama as easily as he would like. In Act V the "Junglingsfieber" is now raging inside Wahnschaffe, and he goes out to join the rebels ("Burger- soldaten"). He is so overcome by the sight of bodies ("Man stofit auf Tote im Bezirk der Schlacht") that he again con templates taking his own life, but he decides that that is a cowardly way out. In scene iii, the revolution he has 24 advocated has left him totally disillusioned, and for the / ^4Fritz Martini justifiably maintains that Wahnschaffe is definitely anti-materialistic (Communistic) in tone. Deutsche Literaturgeschichte (Stuttgart, i960), p. 557. 35 third time he knows that something is wrong, but he does not know what it is. Finally, he is stabbed by two maraud ing members of the revolutionary army. As he lies dying in his sister's arms, Wahnschaffe suddenly realizes how and where he went wrong; he realizes that he can become a poet again— but now it is too late. Thus we have seen in Wahnschaffe a "New Man" who de sires to be a doctor so that he may help mankind, but who is suffering from the "youthful fever of the times." His first "mission" is a failure. His second "mission" is a pursuit of the Communist Ideal, but this likewise meets with defeat. He is consequently disillusioned by his self- deception. But there is also another feature which was not seen in either Gats or Nebeneinander; the "hero" realizes— too late— where he went wrong. Der Sturz des Anostels Paulus Disillusionment and disappointment in the "New Man" and his failure in reality have been the underlying themes of the three dramas discussed up to this point. The Cap tain, the Pawnbroker and Wahnschaffe all had their missions in life, and all three failed. Emil Utitz explains these failures partially in this manner; 36 Die sittliche Aufgabe des Menschen laftt sich nicht rechtfertigen, wenn wir uns bloS fur die eine der beiden Seiten entscheiden. Ja noch weiter: die sachliche Ein- stellung wird aufgehoben, tritt man blofi triebhaft oder emotional an die Dinge heran, oder versucht man sie blofl zu zerdenken. Und schliefilich wird so der Mensch urn sein eigentlichstes Leben betrogen . . .^5 In all the previous dramas the "New Man" has exhibited the 26 one-sidedness which Utitz mentions, but it i s ., perhaps, 27 Rolf Lauckner's Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus which shows this feature most clearly. The "Apostle" Paul Schumann is not unlike Reini Wahn schaffe of the previous play. They are both young, unhappy and dissatisfied poets; they both have a mission in life: Reini Wahnschaffe, to help mankind in its misery, and Paul Schumann, to help mankind "find" God. The "hero" of Wahn schaffe feels "liberated" by having decided to forsake poetry and drama; Paul Schumann believes that his poetic talent singles him out for things greater than just being a poet or a successful barber: 25Pie Uberwindung des Expressionismus. g h f l r a J s . t g y p j , p - gische Studien zur Kultur der Gecenwart (Stuttgart, 1927), p. 92. f 2^Cf. Utitz' discussion of "die schone Seele" in this respect. 2 ?Berlin, 1918. 37 28 Ich wache! Ich wache tausendfach In die Nacht und den Atem der Sterne! Ich rausche am tonenden Wort hin— Auf der Zunge das Herz. Im Herzen aber ein Bild von Gott Aus den Gewolben der Ewigkeitl. . . Noch dunkle Spur— Und doch vom Feuer her! Bin ich nun Dichter— nur?— Bin ich mehr! ? . . . ^ 9 The allusions to the biblical Paul are many. For exam ple, one can feel in the above speech that Paul Schumann sees "the inspirational light of God" just as did the his torical Saul on the road to Damascus. And just as the biblical Paul who "preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God" (Acts 9:20), so does Paul Schumann preach God (but not Christ) to the masses. It was. said of Saul of Tarsus that "all that heard him were amazed" (Acts 9:21), and, of course, the same statement is made at the ^®Note the similarity of this speech to that of the Chrysalis in Karl and Josef Sapek's The Insect Comedy or The World We Live In. trans. not given (New York, 1922). For example, on p. 36: Chrysalis: I am being born. . . . Listen! Let the whole world listen! The moment is here when I— when I— Vagrant: What?— Chrysalis: Nothing. I don't know yet. I only know I want to do something great. Of course, the Chrysalis is finally "born," flutters around the flame for a few seconds and dies— unspectacularly— as all moths do. p g Lauckner. Der Sturz. p. 15. 38 beginning of the play by Frau Winter about Paul Schumann, the barber-poet. In Der Sturz des Anostels Paulus Lauckner has created a character who is a strange blend of Eastern and Western features. That is, Lauckner shows the "Apostle" Paul as an Indian who calls himself "Pal Schou." Thus there is the 30 Christian Paul who preaches Buddhism. Rubiner's discus sion of Martin Buber's concepts of "motorischer" and "senso- rischer Mensch" clarifies some of the issues Lauckner raises: Die Voraussetzungen seien zwei . . . Menschentypen . . . Der "motorische Mensch" und der "sensorische Mensch" benannt. Der sensorische Mensch sei im Abendlander zu finden, im Europaer, . . . dieser aufnimmt und daraus die Welt findet. Sein Gegensatz, der motorische Mensch, trage unter der Drucke einer Idee seine Welt in die Umwelt hinein. Der motorische Mensch sei der orienta- lische Mensch. In Wahrheit sind die ersten Voraussetzungen fur den handelnden Menschen: Glaubigkeit. Wissen um das Abso lute (Gott). Kenntnis der Aufierung des Absoluten in der Welt (Geist). Unbedingtes Durchengensein von dem Kriterium: Wert. Und vor allem: der handelnde Mensch ist ein offentlicher Mensch, kein Privatwesen . . . Man kann ihn . . . auch "motorisch" nennen.3! 30The influence of Buddhism on twentieth-century German literature has been strong. Several writers of the expres sionistic period (for example, Franz Werfel) have treated it as a subject matter. 3-4lubiner, pp. 114-115. 39 It is as if Lauckner had taken the trouble to characterize his Paul point by point from the above quotation, for Paul is, indeed, a "motorischer Mensch." 32 In the first scene of the play the "hero" is intro duced as one who feels that he is destined for great things (cf. nn. 28 and 29, this chapter), but in a vastly different way than, for example, Sorge's Beggar. The Beggar is a young man in an unreal environment, and he is presented in a positive light; he will not prostitute himself or his ideals, and Sorge characterizes him in such a manner that his "mission" is credible and feasible. Paul is also a young man with a "mission," but there is no longer the un real world for his environment or the sympathetic author; Paul's refusal to prostitute himself and his ideals in the world of reality borders on megalomania; he compares himself to St. Paul out of his exaggerated sense of self-importance. In speaking of himself to the sleeping Dogcatcher Czibulka, Paul reveals this by a reference again to the Bible: 3^This drama is a "Stationsdrama" in that there are no act divisions; it is written in a series of loose, but se quential scenes. Note the difference, for example, between Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus in its quasi-expressionistic structure and the rigid, conventional structure of Wahn schaffe. 40 ; . . . Er schlafti — Und ahnt nicht, daft man ihn einmal den "grofien Hundefanger" nennen wirdl — "Er teilte ihm das Lager— und Speise und Trank— und er erkannte ihn nicht1" — Der arme Hundefanger!3 3 Then Paul reveals that he will masquerade as an Indian who calls himself "Pal Schou." It seems that Lauckner intro duces this at a very appropriate time in order to show the "New Man" as a megalomaniac who does, indeed, prostitute himself by deliberately pretending to be something else than he really is. The first scene then ends with this rather negative picture of a man who believes himself to be someone great, but who is willing to deceive others and— more im portantly— himself in pursuing his "higher station"; the tragedy of the situation, as we shall see, lies in the fact that Paul Schumann comes to believe his pretense and self- deception and cannot distinguish between fact and fantasy. The second scene is used by Lauckner to establish the fact that Schumann is a good barber, who wishes to be more than a good barber. Just as Sapek's Chrysalis (cf. n. 28, this chapter), Schumann knows that he wants to be something more, and the fact that he looks like an Indian makes up his mind to assume the disguise. In this scene it is also 33Lauckner, Der Sturz. p. 14. 41 established that Schumann is excessively serious (as was Wahnschaffe) about his "mission" in life. This conviction of self-importance and lack of humor are also common devices •for showing the demise of the "New Man." It is significant that comedies in Expressionism appear only after the move ment has begun to die, and are almost always parodies on the movement itself. This feature can be seen later in Korn- feId1s comedy Palme oder Der Gekrankte. for example. The next scene of consequence is scene v. In the in terim between scenes i and v, Paul Schumann has completely forsaken his profession as a barber and devoted himself to the healing of the "spiritually ill" (cf. scene iii). This total devotion to his mission is a feature common to the four "New Men" discussed so far. In scene v Schumann is attracted to a church by the music coming from it. Though dressed as an Indian, he carefully crosses himself (be- kreuzigt sich sorgfaltig) and says: "Die Mystik dieser Gottes-Schauhauser ist verschlungen, wie ein Marchen Buddhas I" (p. 63). Thus Paul is like Wahnschaffe in this respect: Wahnschaffe renounced the drama and poetry for himself, but it was only self-deception (cf. pp. 29 and 33 above); Paul Schumann, likewise, denounces Christ and advo cates following Buddha, but Lauckner*s stage direction 42 indicates that Paul is only deceiving himself. Furthermore, in the ensuing conversation between Paul Schumann and the Chaplain, one notices that Paul speaks in a circle which 34 revolves around his conviction that "Gott ist Geist." For example, he says: — Die Kirchen werden schliefien, sage ich Ihnen. Die Lehre wird alles wegfegen, was jetzt noch ist an Glau- ben und Unglauben. Das steht bevor, Priesterll Wir— wissen— die Verbindung— mit— Gott11 . . . Gott— ist— Geist11 Horen Sie— Gott ist Geist1^5 And in this same scene one can see the "one-sidedness" which Utitz mentions (cf. nn. 25 and 26, this chapter); Schumann feels that music is sensual and, therefore, makes one spiri tually ill: "Musik, die krank macht und rein vom Fleisch. . . . Was uns hindert Ihm gleich zu sein, ist logisch not- wendig der Korper. Wir mussen den Leib besiegen! — Das 36 Fleisch nur trennt uns von Gotti" (pp. 63, 74). Paul has clearly become a one-sided character who has forsaken the physical completely in favor of the spiritual. This can 3^Note Rubiner's statement: "Im ubrigen gibt es noch den Geist, den Geist, den Geist" (p. 26). 35Lauckner, Der Sturz. p. 74. S^That this conviction is again self-deception is seen in Schumann's eventual marriage and siring of a son. 43 also be seen in the next scene. Here "Pal Schou" gives his reason for having arbitrarily chosen India as his homeland: Wer kann sagen, woher er istl . . . Indien ist die.Hei- mat der Menschen. Indien ist die Wiege der Erkenntnis des Geistes, der Abkehr von der Sunde des Korpers. Vor- bild unsI . . . Wer kann sagen, woher er stammtl (pp. 95-96) In the comparison of Schumann and the Chaplain one can see that Schumann seems unsure of himself; at times he talks nonsense: Nicht ganz! Und auch nicht halb. Denn das Halbe ist ohne das Ganze nicht moglich und deshalb muB das Ganze halb bleibenl3? Kaplan: 9 • Paul Schumann: Ich will sageny so unbedingt zweifelsfrei liegt die Sache leider nicht. Ob Schlafen Gottesdienst ist? . . . Kaplan: Sie denken wohl zu viel in diese einfachen Dinge hin- ein. (p. 67) At other times he is antagonistic toward the Chaplain: Ich danke, nein! Aber wenn ich Sie in mein Haus bitten darfl . . . Ich habe zahlreiche Anhanger. (flusternd) Ich will Ihnen etwas anvertrauen. In unseren Tagen ist viel zusammengebrochen, nicht wahr? . . . (pp. 72-73) Meanwhile, Lauckner portrays the Chaplain as a benevolent, 3?One could compare this thought to Rilke's poem "Das Roseninnere"; however, in the context of Lauckner's play the speech has little meaning in itself. 44 self-controlled person throughout the sceney that is, the Chaplain is shown as someone who is confident in his beliefs and thereby shows Paul Schumann's insecurity. At the end of this scene Paul is shown once again as the megalomaniac who compares himself to Jesus Christ al though he maintains that he is a Buddhist from India. It is important to note at this point that Schumann is begin ning to show signs of a persecution complex (as evidenced also by his unfounded attack on the Chaplain), and this feeling becomes more and more pronounced down to the very end of the play. Erika has become ill, and Hedwig asks "Pal Schou" to help pray for the little girl. Hedwig is so convinced of "Pal Schou's" ability that she, at his suggestion, refuses to allow a doctor to see her daughter. Scene ix reveals that Erika has died, and "Pal Schou" has been arrested in connection with her death and sent to an asylum for obser vation. In the asylum both the Young Doctor and Professor Simson feel that Schumann is mentally ills Es macht mir eigentlich nicht den Eindruck, als ob er simuliert. . . . viel eher, dafi er unter momentaner Gemutsbewegung leidet— und nun selbst nicht recht weiB, 45 38 ob er krank ist . . . (p. 118) He is apparently well enough to be imprisoned, for later he speaks of having spent some time in jail. In scene x Lauckner shows the "New Man" Paul Schumann as one who senses that he has gone wrong somewhere, but does not know where. In any case, he refuses to accept responsi bility for Erika's death: "Ich habe sein Auge gesehen iiber dem kleinen Bettchenl Es mufl ein Irrtum vorliegen" (p. 132). Thus the pattern as stated in the "Introduction" is exhibited once again. In the following-'scene Paul and Hedwig have been mar ried, and she is working as his secretary. This fact is significant because Paul had previously maintained that the physical part of life must be denied. One can also see here a close connection between Gats and Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus. In Gats there was the Captain and his faithful secretary who finally was forced to desert her "leader." In Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus there is Paul and his faithful; wife-secretary Hedwig who finally is forced to abandon him. In the case of the Secretary in Gats, the breaking point 38Note in this scene the way that Paul is so confused about his name and identity. Obviously he has come to be lieve his own pretense and self-deception. 46 comes when the Captain deprives her of her future children. In the case of the wife-secretary in Per Sturz des Aoostels Paulus. the breaking point comes when Paul deprives her of her God: Dein lieber Gott? Du machst dich ja selbst zum lieben Gotti Aber der laBt sich nicht verspotten und mifi- handeln— das sag ich dirl Mit deinem lieben Gott habe ich nichts zu tunl — Ich bin christlich getauft und blieb bei meiner Kirche! . . . (p. 153) And she leaves. Again he senses that something has gone wrong, but he does not know where, and he avoids feeling responsible for it. Over a period of time between scenes ix and xi his popularity has rapidly waned, and with Hed- wig's leaving he is now completely alone, but he rational izes this by comparing himself to Christ: "Jesus war auch 39 alleinl — und ohne Weibl . . ." (p. 155). In scene xii Paul Schumann is living with the Dog- catcher Czibulka again— as when the play began. He has not learned from his experiences, and he feels that many people are still waiting for him to lead them to God: "Meine Er- kenntnis ist gewachsen in dieser Zeit der Priifung. — Ich 3^It is interesting to note that from scene ix until the end of the play there is nothing more of "Pal Schou" or Buddhism mentioned. 47 weifi, dafi viele, viele Menschen auf mich wartenl" (p. 161). This feeling is obviously just a fantasy. It is apparent throughout the entire scene that he can no longer distin guish between fact and fantasy. He has also abandoned the pretense of being an Indian, but as a result of his earlier self-deception he has come to believe that he . i s . an Apostle (emphasis mine): Es gibt Hunderte— ach, Tausende, die . . . mich zum Apostel ausrufen wollen. . . . Jaf du hast immer nicht geglaubtr als ich dir sacte. wer ich bin! — Damals hieltest du mich fur einen Haarschneider. (p. 162) It is ironic that he is now an organ-grinder (note his reference in scene v to music as something which causes spiritual illness), and when Czibulka mentions this fact to Schumann, the latter does not seem to understand him: (Ganz unten vom Hof herauf tont ein Leierkasten, der "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" spielt) Paul Schumann: Pssstll! (Sie lauschen) Was ist das? Czibulka: Na, — das ist auch so einer wie du . . . Paul Schumann: So . . . wie . . . ich? . . . (pp. 163-164) In this last scene the comparisons to the biblical Paul also become prominent again. For example, at the beginning of the scene one is strongly reminded of Chapter 4 of Paul's 48 40 First Epistle to the Corinthians (emphasis mine): 9. For I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it were appointed to death: For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 11. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; ... And this is exactly the situation for Paul Schumann. The Apostle Paul tells of the troubles he has had in founding the Church; his mission has been costly to him. Paul Schu mann has encountered the same problems in trying to estab lish his Oriental cult. Also Paul tells Czibulka that Hed wig has asked to come back to her husband several times (apparently another fantasy), but Paul claims that he wishes to have nothing more to do with his wife; St. Paul, like wise, says in I Corinthians 7:7-8: 7. For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that. 8 . I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. The ending of Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus is rather 4°As mentioned previously, these few citings here and on pp. 36 and 37 do not exhaust the connections between St. Paul and Lauckner's Apostle Paul, but an extensive discus sion of these is not within the limits of the present study. 49 : ambiguous. Paul has received a package containing items which belong to his son. With tears in his eyes he says: "Ich werde das alles dem Hundefanger schenken!" (p. 173). If one recalls the beginning of the play where Paul feels that Czibulka will be famous because he lived with the "Apostle," then it would seem that Paul finally realizes that he has only been deceiving himself and that he has gained absolutely nothing during the intervening years ex cept a package of memorabilia from a son he has never seen. If that be the case, then Lauckner has shown the demise of this "New Man" by portraying him as one who realizes where he went wrong, although the realization comes too late, as was the case with Wahnschaffe. The second possibility is to accept the words literally (it is. the Christmas season). However, the stage directions imply that a definite meaning is attached by Lauckner to the last sentence, thus weakening the second possibility con siderably. If, however, this possibility was Lauckner's intention, then he has shown the demise of the "New Man" by portraying him as one who never quite realizes where he went wrong, as was the case with both Gats and Nebeneinan- 50 Der Geschlaqene. Schauspiel in drei Aufzucren Up to this point we have seen the demise of the "New Man" shown in two different ways: he has been shown as a helpless victim of his own self-deception who does not realize where he has gone wrong, and as one who realizes his errors, but not until it is too late to correct them. In Kaiser's two plays the former method was seen exclusive ly: in Lauckner's two plays there was a consistent use of both methods simultaneously in that the "heroes" are shown first as victims of their own self-deception and finally as "heroes" who realize their errors too late. With Wilhelm 41 Schmidtbonn's Der Geschlaqene. however, we encounter a play which makes use of the second method only. Der Geschlaqene. as were the previous plays (with the exception of Gats), is set against a realistic background; it is a play which deals with a pilot who was wounded in the war and is now returning home. Of all the plays in this study Der Geschlaqene seems dated because it lacks the "timeless" quality evident in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. But for the fact that "der Geschlagene," Josef Wacholder, ^Der Geschlaqene. Schauspiel in drei Aufziiqen (Miin- chen, 1919). 51 42 has been blinded in the war, one could dismiss this as an outdated "Heimkehrer" drama. At the beginning of the play Schmidtbonn introduces an idea which is expanded and forms the basis of the play: the "New Man," Josef Wacholder, in his attempts to help mankind has somehow gone astray (has become "blind"), but unlike the other "New Men" discussed so far, Wacholder's words suggest that he does know where he went astray: Elisa: Ach, du bist doch im Flugzeug immer hoch uber uns andern geflogen? Wacholder (nun blind): Allzu hoch. Allzu hoch. Ich habe gesehen Walder, Flus- se, Meere. Aber die Gesichter der Menschen habe ich nicht gesehen . . ,4 3 It will be helpful to refer to Rubiner's definition of "Erbsunde" for expressionists: "Wir haben die Erbsunde. sie heifit heute fur uns: Isolation; sie ist Insichsein, Einzelner sein, Seele sein" (p. 180). It is apparent from 4^0ne should note the similarity here between Schmidt bonn 's Josef Wacholder and Wolfgang Borchert's Beckmann in Draufien vor der Tiir. Wacholder, of course, has been blinded in the war, and Beckmann, although not physically blinded, wears a gas mask which hinders his "vision." However, at the ends of the respective plays Wacholder learns to "see" again through his blindness, but Beckmann cannot remove his gas mask. 4 3 Schmidtbonn, p. 13. 52 Wacholder's confession that he has committed the "arch-sin" by losing sight of the faces of humanity. Thus while this play seems on the surface to be a "Heimkehrer" drama, its real theme is a criticism of the ideals of the "New Man." In the previous studies it was shown that the "New Men" were victims of their own delusions and that their ideals became delusions partly because others were "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible"— especially in the case of the Captain and Pawnbroker and, to a certain extent, in the case of Wahnschaffe and Paul Schumann. In the case of Josef Wacholder , Schmidtbonn soon makes it clear that although others may have been "too immoral, too weak, too irrespon sible," it was, indeed, Wacholder, the "New Man," who has just as great a share in these faults. This is first im plied by Wacholder himself, who says in terms of self contempt : Wie? Du willst in Wahrheit in einem Haus mit mir blei- ben? Nicht einsam sitz ich? LaB mich stehn ungestutzt. Meine Brust— Raum! Einatmen die Welt. Neues Leben. Ein neuer Mensch . . . Soli es Gluck sein, daB Vogel von meiner Hand Korner fressen? . . . Und wenn deine Kieselsteine in Unordnung geraten, und wenn iiber deinen Wegrand hinausgetreten wirdi hangt ein Schild ans Gar- tentor, ruft herbei alle Hungernden, Muden, Bedruckten, Verzweifelten, die Bruder. (pp. 34-35) Self-pity rings in almost every word which Schmidtbonn's "New Man" says. Of course, previously the "New Men" had deluded themselves, but none registered such complete resig nation and self-contempt at such an early point in the play. The Captain in Gats maintained the soundness of his plan right to the very end of the play; likewise, it was only at the end of Nebeneinander that the Pawnbroker expressed his disappointment and resignation; toward the end of Wahn- schaffe. there is a feeling of resignation at several points, but none so steeped in bitterness as is the case with Josef Wacholder; in fact, Reini Wahnschaffe expresses relief rather than resignation, and finally in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus the final stage direction is possibly the only comparable feeling of resignation and disappointment in a previous play. Thus, in a manner of speaking, Der Ge schlaqene begins where the previous plays ended. Moreover, no previous play in this study made use of the isolated term "ein neuer Mensch" in a context of such contempt and ridi cule. Besides the implication above by Josef Wacholder, the same criticism of the "New Man" himself is stated by Josef's brother David; . . . Du hast nicht das Recht, auch wenn du blind bist, andere zu kranken, alles von andern zu verlangen. Auch ich— wenn noch jemand auBer dir Ich sagen darf— bin 54 krank. Krank, auch wenn ich einhergehe. Krank von dieser Welt. Ich habe es zu keinem Beruf gebracht wie du . . .44 By the allegation that the "New Man" has made "illness" his "profession," it is established that Schmidtbonn criticizes not others. but the "New Man" himself. The implication is that the ideal of the "New Man" has failed only in that the "New Man" could not live up to his own goals regardless of other people. The second act of the play revolves around several themes used in earlier expressionistic plays. An allusion to a concept popularized in Der Bettler is seen in the Mother's statement to Wacholder's wife: "Sein Stolz. Er flirchtet immer noch, daft dein Gefuhl nur Mitleid sei. Er 45 will kein Geschenk. Er kann kein Bettler sein." Here, as in the first act, there are repeated references to Josef's "Stolz," his use of "ich," and the fact that he can only speak of himself (cf. n. 44, this chapter); this is again in direct contrast to Rubiner's words: "wir haben aber auch ^Schmidtbonn, pp. 40-41. Compare this speech to that of Dr. Gideon where he tells Wahnschaffe that he is suffer ing severely from the "Junglingsfieber unsrer Zeit"; cf. p. 33 and n. 22, this chapter. 45schmidtbonn, p. 42. 55 die Erbliebe. Und die ist: Geben; Schopfer sein; Genosse, 46 Mitmensch, Kamerad, Bruder sein." In the plays discussed previously the woman-mother concept was prominent (but not discussed at length in the present study). In Der Geschlaqene it appears also. Just as the Secretary in Gats wished to bear a child for the sake of the "New Man" and, thereby, humanity, so does Josef Wacholder's wife Elisa wish to bear a child for the sake of her husband: Wenn ich ihm erst ein Kind gebaren werdel Damit sich einst das gleiche Schicksal an mir erfullt. Darum empfindest du Abneigung gegen mich, weil ich in den Kreis der Mutter noch nicht eingetreten bin.^7 In contrast to the idealistic secretary of Gats. Elisa wishes to have a child only in order to save her marriage, 48 which is threatened by the jealousy of her blind husband. Just as the Captain prevented the secretary from conceiving by means of his gats, Josef prevents Elisa from conceiving by means of his figurative aats: his indifference and 46Rubiner, p # 180. Cf. n. 38, this chapter. 47Schmidtbonn, p. 45. 4®The pun is intentional, for Wacholder is not only physically blind, but he is also blind to the fact that his wife genuinely loves him. 56 disinterest in her. In words which could well have been said by the Secretary, Elisa accuses Josef: Du hast mich verraten. Du hast dich fur einen andern ausgegeben. Hast du dich nicht fur einen andern aus- gegeben? Wacholder: Piir einen andern ausgegeben? Elisa: Ja. Du bist nicht Brautigam geblieben. Schon am Hochzeitstag hast du mich verraten. Als deine Hande noch dabei waren, mich auszukleiden— da hast du dich schon in einen Fremden verwandelt.49 Another idea here which recurs in expressionistic 50 plays is anti-intellectualism. While the two plays by Kaiser contain no reference to this, in Wahnschaffe it can be seen by implication in the way that Reini wishes to divorce himself from poetry. In Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus the anti-intellectualism can be seen-^-again by im plication— in Paul Schumann's attack on the Chaplain. In Per Geschlaqene. on the other hand, it becomes an overt idea. Out of his jealousy and distrust of his brother, Josef Wacholder says to the little boy: Schmidtbonn, p. 93. These ideas of "betrayal" and "transformation into a stranger" can also be seen, for exam ple, in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. p. 153. 5°Sokel discusses this at length in The Writer in Extremis. pp. 85-104. 57 Das ist mein Bruder. Er ist durch zu viele Bucher in tiefe Gedanken geraten, verstehst du? Er konnte sich verirren auf den Wegen, verstehst du das, und nicht heimfinden. Darum mufi man auf ihn achtgeben. Willst du das tun? Willst du immer darauf merken, zu welcher Stunde er geht, auf welchen Baumstamm oder Glasfleck er sich hinsetzt, welchen Weg er zuruckkommt? Aber er darf dich nicht wahrnehmen. (p. 49) It is clear from the last line that fraternal devotion is not the reason for his concern; rather, the reason is that "David thinks too much." This idea of anti-intellectualism is given a negative aspect in that Schmidtbonn depicts his "New Man" Josef as a suspicious egotist, filled with self- pity and delusion. Emil Utitz gives a reason for this feeling of anti- intellectualism. In speaking specifically of Wedekind's Liebestrank. Utitz says: . . . Der Mensch ist ein entartetes Tier, weil er seine Triebe verkummern lafit, weil er ein einziges Organ— das Gehirn— uberwuchern lafit. . . . Er traue nur seinem Korper, und er wird sicherer beraten sein als vom dunnen Intellekt . . . (p. 58) Of course, since Josef cannot trust his own senses, it would seem that Schmidtbonn is trying to point out the fact that Wacholder has no choice? he must trust his intellect, and yet he refuses to do this. Therefore, the "hero" is seen as a pathetic, pitiful egotist who fights against his only choice. 58 In the third act of the play the predominant theme once again becomes the fact that Josef Wacholder had lost sight of humanity: Elisa: . . . Du warst blind, solange du Augen hattest . . ; Geschopf, bemitleidenswert, verkauft an das Gespenst deiner Maschine.Deine Maschine? Hat sie dich hin- ausgetragen uber andere? Aber sie hat dir dafur das Blut ausgetrunken . . . Denn du warst doch kein Mensch mehr . . . (p. 94) To these accusations Josef can only reply: "Meine Sache war, die Welt weiter zu bringen" (p. 95). However, by com paring him to a beggar Elisa gives the central thought of the play; she says to her husband, the "Weltverbesserer": "Ach, der Bettler, dessen Bild einmal in mich stiirzte, als du im Mantel vorbeigingst— er hat die Welt weitergebracht als du. Denn er hat Herzen angerufen ..." (p. 95). The play ends with the reconciliation of Josef and Elisa and Josef's realization (". . . Lafi mich jetzt stehen allein . . .") that he must trust his intellect ("Glaube"): Ein Mensch wie schlecht, dafi ich nicht glauben konnte an Liebel Mutter, . . . wie uber Stufen geleite mich zu Elisa . . . LaB mich jetzt stehen allein . . . Habe ich je gezweifelt? Wie leicht ist Glaube... (p. 105) 5^The airplane in which and by means of which he was blinded— literally and figuratively. 59 Thus in the previous plays there was a regular progres sion: the idealistic hero finds a mission in life; he pur sues that mission, and is left totally disillusioned. In Der Geschlaqene another progression begins where the first ended: the idealistic hero is totally disillusioned; he realizes that it was he who aborted whatever mission he may have had in life, and he, no longer the idealist, is recon ciled finally to himself and others. The second play by Schmidtbonn is one which returns to the familiar pattern of the "New Man" who finds his "mis sion" in life, but goes astray in his pursuit of that mis sion . fii£_gah£i= ^^£h_Q££li4s===^iS==2Esmi_aDiiE! 52 Garten refers to Schmidtbonn.' s Die Fahrt nach CO JgModern German Drama, p. 174. According to Garten, such "Sudsee" or escapist literature as Die Fahrt nach Orplid was motivated primarily by the economic situation in Europe following the first World War. Die Fahrt nach Orplid belongs to this group according to its external form; that it is a play primarily concerning the "New Man" and his failure will be shown in the body of the paper. Of course, there are plays from the early 1920's which are motivated by a reaction to the economic situation; for example, Die Schauspieler by Wilhelm Schmidtbonn, Improvisationen im Juni by Max Mohr or even Die Kassette by Carl Sternheim. Cf. Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, pp. 158-159, for a discussion of "Sudsee" literature under the slogan "Neue Sachlichkeit." 53 Orplid as just another play from the so-called "Siidsee- 54 Literatur," and both Garten (p. 86) and Otto Man dismiss it as a story which deals with emigrants who are going to Peru in order to escape war-ravished Europe. Such a dis missal overlooks the significance of the title and Schmidt- 55 bonn's use of the name of Morike's mysterious island. Just as James Hilton's novel Lost Horizons cannot be dis missed as merely a story of a journey to Tibet, in James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific (adapted by Oscar Hammerstein for the stage under the title South Pacific) one must not confuse "Bali Ha'i" with an island on any map; both "Shangri-la" and "Bali Ha'i" are imaginary utopias where life is eternal and boundlessly happy. The Captain in Kaiser's Gats found such a paradise, and, of course, Mori ke's "Orplid" is such a place. Therefore, Schmidtbonn im plies more by his title than a mere voyage to Peru; while the ship may be sailing to Peru, the main character is I 53Berlin, 1922. S^Geschichte des deutschen Dramas (Stuttgart, 1963), p. 540. 55Eduard Morike, Samtliche Werke. ed. Herbert G. Gop- fert (Munchen, 1958), pp. 64-73. 61 56 searching for "Orplid." And like the Captain in fiats., Orphal is shown as a "New Man" who is searching for a utopia. With the beginning of the first act Frau Orphal tells of her husband's plans for his family and the future of mankind: Frau Orphal: Er dient nicht mir. Er dient nicht sich. Er dient seinem Plan, der ihn uber das Meer treibt. Sanna: Er liebt seinen Plan, nicht uns. Frau Orphal: Wir sind sein Plan. Um uns zu retten, hat er alles aufgegeben, was bisher sein Leben war.67 The "Plan" is to move to the wilds of Peru and to build there a civilization which knows "no hate— no strife— no 58 war; a civilization where everyone loves everyone else." There can be no doubt that Orphal is a "New Man," similar to the Captain in Gats. The difference between them lies in the fact that the Captain1s paradise is plausible because of the unrealistic setting of the entire play; Orphal's 66xt is obvious that Schmidtbonn had to use the name of a country which was far from Germany, and the allusive and mysterious sound of "Orplid" served his purpose. 57Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. pp. 6-7. 68Kaiser, Gats. p. 31. Cf. n. 11, Chap. I. 62 paradise is less credible in contrast to the real background of a ship, crowded with bickering emigrants. On board the ship there is a group of twenty people who are being led to a "new life and a new land" by a man named Hall. In terms which are reminiscent of the Captain 59 in Gats (p. 63) Hall says: "Dieselben, denen ich geant- wortet habe: 'Alles Ungluck kommt von der Uberfulle an 60 Menschen' ..." Unlike the Captain, Hall realizes that what he has promised the twenty is an impossibility; Hall bases the hopelessness of what he has promised to do on the fact that people are "too immoral, too weak, too irrespon sible" : Aber alle die Augen da, statt sich zu erweitern, haben sich nur noch mehr verkleinert, vim das Mifitrauen oder vielmehr die eigene bose Absicht besser zu verstecken. Ist es darum notig gewesen, aus Europa zu entfliehen? Diese Menschen haben Europa nicht hinter sich gelassen . . . Sie werden Europa uberall hintragen, wohin sie kommen. Diese Menschen— hier auf dem Schiff schon haben sie sich bestohlen. Sie werden sich blutig schlagen . . . Urn mich selbst zu retten, was kann ich anderes tun, als beim ersten Schritt aufs Land mich davon zu machen? (p. 9) Hall asks Orphal to assume the leadership of the group of 59Cf. n. 13, Chap. I. 60Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 9. emigrants, but Orphal declines: "Ich lehne jede Pflicht gegen Menschen ab" (p. 14). Yet he does not decline without qualification: "Neue Menschen mufltet ihr werden, aber dazu 61 seid ihr zu alt. Dazu mufitet ihr Kinder sein" (p. 14). Once again there is a close similarity between the Captain and Orphal. Both men are seeking to improve mankind, but both men are attempting long-range improvements; just as the Captain was willing to forget and thereby sacrifice the men on his expedition, so is Orphal willing "to relinquish any responsibility" for the people on the ship because they would hinder his "Plan." This contrasts with Rubiner, who says: "Seien wir Weltverbesserer, alle . . . Es geht nur urn unsere kleine Erde. Es geht urn die gegenwartigste Gegen- 62 wart" (pp. 110-111). Just as the Captain lost sight of "die gegenwartigste Gegenwart," so does Orphal overlook it. Toward the end of the first act there is an encounter 6 3 between Orphal and the Young Man, who wishes to claim ^•4tote the irony here when Orphal says that the others are too old, for they are actually younger than he. ®^Cf. n. 2, this chapter. ®3The "New Men" in all previous plays have been young men, but in this play Orphal is presumably very old; the Young Man is not a "New Man"; he is apparently interested in finding happiness only for himself and Sanna. Prom the mood. 64 Orphal's daughter Sanna. He cannot understand Orphal's desire to escape from the real world into a dream world, and he feels that Orphal considers Peru to be the "Orplid" of 64 Morike's "Gesang Weylas" (emphasis mine): Junger Mensch: "Du bist Orplid, mein Land, das ferne leuchtet". — Der Vers eines Dichters. Orphal: Warum ferne? Ans Ufer steigeni In das Leuchten hinein. Junger Mensch: Orplid ist nicht mehr Orolidf sowie man den Fu6 darauf- setzt. Orphal: Das sagen die Dichter. Es fehlt ihnen an Mut. Nicht sagen, tun I65 By means of the stage directions and action which take place during and immediately following this encounter, it is clear that Schmidtbonn is not sympathetic with Orphal's idealistic dream. At several points prior to the discussion of "Orplid" there were references to the fact that Orphal has taken his wife along even though she is physically unable to make such a long, tiring trip; by overlooking "the most of the play, and the apparent realistic point of view of the Young Man, it is obvious that Schmidtbonn's sympathy lies with this character, not Orphal. ^Morike, p. 73. 65Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 19. immediate present," he feels that if he can just arrive at his imaginary destination, his wife will regain her health entirely. However, while the Young Man and Orphal are dis cussing "Orplid," Frau Orphal dies. It is apparent that this "New Man" has erred in pursuit of his "mission," but he cannot recognize his error. At the end of the act it is significant that the Young Man feels compelled to save Sanna from her would-be "savior": "Auch die Tochter muBt Du noch 66 herausgeben. Ich rette die Tochter" (p. 21). This feel ing is the result not of an abstract desire to aid mankind, but of the real desire to help a beautiful young woman who might otherwise unwillingly spend the rest of her life in solitude. In the second act Orphal begins to exhibit a trait which has been consistent in all the previous "New Men": megalomania. The captain of the ship refuses to allow Orphal to take the body of Frau Orphal off the ship— it is illegal to do this— but Orphal says to him: "In meinen Dingen bin ich selbst Kapitan, hoher als Sie!" (p. 21). Also, in telling Sanna what he expects of his daughter and her imaginary suitor, it becomes apparent that Orphal's ®^Cf. n. 88, this chapter. 66 interest lies more in himself, although he claims his in terest is in humanity: . . . von einem solchen allein will ich Enkel, ... ein Geschlecht, das nicht Unrecht will, nicht Gewalt, nicht Krieg. Neue Menschen, schon, stolz, frei, vor- wartsschreitend in der Seele.8? Ein solches Geschlecht wird in diesem Tal hochwachsen, aus dir, aus mir. Ich werde der Stammvater sein. Ich . . . Aber jetzt mein letztes Gestandnis: auch nicht urn die Enkel handelt es sich im letzten Grunde. Sondern um die Menschheit,88 In the same speech Orphal admits to Sanna that his goal is a dream, but he hopes somehow to make it reality: Furchte nicht, dafi ich ein Phantast bin . . . Wenn alle beklagen das verlorene Paradies: kann es nicht ge- schaffen werden neu? Mufi Traum Traum bleiben? (p. 37) Although Sanna is willing to acknowledge that her father's goal is a grand and noble idea (compare her feelings in this respect to the Sister1s in Wahnschaffe or the Daughter's in Nebeneinander), the second act ends with the Young Man's convincing her that Orphal's "dream must remain a dream." In the third act Orphal refers to his destination now 8^Compare Orphal's dream-paradise to that of the Cap tain in Gats, p. 31. Note also that "Seele sein" is a point in Rubiner's definition of "Erbsunde": "... sie heifit heute fur uns: Isolation; . . . Insichsein, Einzelner sein, Seele sein ..." Cf. n. 4 and p. 51, this chapter. 88Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 37. 67 as the imaginary island "Orplid" itself; he has come to believe his own self-deception: that he, an old man, can move into a wilderness and build a real civilization out of a dream; he does not seem to realize the magnitude of the task he is setting for himself, his daughter and the daugh ter 's imaginary suitor. It is the Young Man who states the theme of Schmidt- bonn's play. While trying to convince Sanna to leave with r< him, he says (emphasis mine): "Jedenfalls fahre ich zu keinem leichteren Kampf uber das Wasser als Ihr Vater. Er will neue Menschen machen. Ich will ein neuer Mensch wer- 69 den" (p. 52). At this point Sanna sees that she must go with the Young Man. She finally realizes that her father‘s dream can never become reality ("Orplid ist nicht mehr Orplid, sowie man den Fufi daraufsetzt"), and she also realizes that his ultimate drive is not humanity, but ego: Vater, . . . Du hast einem Traum zu viel Platz gelas- sen . . . Spiel nicht mit mir. Mach mich nicht zu einer Puppe in Deinem Spiel. Dein Tal? Mein Herz! Dein Plan? Ich! Ich! Ich! Achte mich, dafi ich mein eige- nes Leben fuhren will. (pp. 54-55) Thus Sanna is similar to the women in the other plays. She 69Cf. n. 87, this chapter. 68 feels a natural drive to be a woman and mother just as the Secretary in Gats; she also feels the need to exercise her own intellect just as Hedwig in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. In any case, she can no longer participate in her father's self-delusion; therefore, she and the Young Man leave surreptitiously during the night. After discovering that Sanna has left him, Orphal seems now to have become insane. He does realize that he cannot fulfill his mission alone, but he refuses to give up his idea (just as the Captain in Gats). He decides to win over all the children on the ship: "Ich werde wie der Ratten- fanger im MSrchen, sie vielleicht davonfiihren. Heimlich, in einer Nacht. In mein Tal" (p. 59). Tyrol, Orphal's former partner in Germany, prays for God to help Orphal; however, Orphal says— just before he dies: "Ich helfe Gott!" (p. 159). This is notably similar to Paul Schumann's attitude in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. and the play ends with the fact that the "New Man" is still convinced of the soundness of his "divine mission"— just as the Captain, the Pawnbroker; and Paul Schumann. Schmidtbonn has created a central character who ful fills the requirements for the expressionistic ideal of the "New Man." As seen from previous plays, this "New Man" goes; 69 astray in pursuing his mission, but he never realizes how or where; he becomes a victim of his own self-deception and megalomania. Therefore, Die Fahrt nach Orplid is not merely a story of a group of emigrants on their way to Peru; its main theme is a criticism of the expressionists' ideal; the "New Man." A new method is introduced in the next two plays to be discussed here; comedy. Garten says this of comedy in Ex pressionism: The oppressive gloom pervading most plays of the early twenties was occasionally relieved by comedy. Through out the whole range of expressionistic drama, we do not find a single, genuine comedy. Expressionism was by its very nature averse to a comic interpretation of life . . . It is only with the return to a more realis tic drama that we meet the first attempts at comedy— some by the very writers who had been the champions of Expressionism, (p. 176) In Paul Kornfeld's Palme oder Der Gekrankte and Der ewicre Traum the "New Man" becomes a comic character worthy of ridicule. Ridicule of this ideal was, of course, a prime factor in Der Geschlagene, but humor was precluded because of the seriousness of the situation. In Palme oder Der 70 Gekrankte. for example, the main character Palme is in 70Palme oder Der Gekrankte; Eine Komodie in funf Akten (Berlin, 1924). 70 many respects similar to Josef Wacholder in Per Geschlaaene; both men are first introduced as disillusioned "heroes." Kornfeld implies by his title that the poet Palme is "ill"; this can be seen in Josef Wacholder also where David says that Josef has made "illness his profession" (cf. n. 44, this chapter). Yet there is a distinct difference between the tragic Wacholder and the comic Palme. Freud gives an explanation for that difference; Parody and travesty achieve the degradation of some thing exalted in another way; by destroying the unity that exists between people's characters as we know them and their speeches and actions, by replacing either the exalted figures or their utterances by inferior ones.71 Josef Wacholder, as a "New Man," is not "degraded" either by "destroying the unity that exists between his character as we know it [rather, his character is revealed to us] and his speeches and actions" or "by replacing either the ex alted figure [the "New Man" ] or his utterances by inferior ^Sigmund Freud, "Jokes and the Comic," trans. James Strachey, ComeflYi Meaning and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan (San Francisco, 1965), p. 257. Otto Mann apparently agrees with this definition when he writes this with reference to the comic hero; "Wir schatzen bei ihm 'seine iibrigen guten Eigenschaften, wie wir sie schatzen sollen; ja ohne sie wurden wir nicht einmal uber seine Zerstreuung lachen kon- nen'." Deutsche Literaturaeschichte (Gutersloh, 1964), p. 247. 71 ones." He is a "New Man" who went astray, but during the play he is made to realize his errors; therefore, there is no parody or "degradation" of the "hero's" character by the author; rather, self-degradation seems to be an integral part of his character— the logical consequence of his feel ings of failure and disillusionment. Thus it could be said that Schmidtbonn's play is a subjective criticism of the "New Man." On the other hand, Palme— as will be shown later — shows the "degradation" of the "New Man" by Kornfeld's use of both of Freud's points; lack of unity between the char acter of the "New Man" and his speeches and action, and replacement of the exalted figure by an inferior one. Thus Kornfeld's play is a parody and an objective criticism of the "New Man."^ Palme Oder Per Gekrankte. Eine Komodie in funf Akten The theme of this play is stated at the beginning of the first act by Clara; ^2^hat a parody (comedy) is an objective expression of doubt concerning a subject is also implied by Durrenmatt; "Die Komodie schafft Distanz. . . . die Komodie sei der Aus- druck der Verzweiflung ..." Friedrich DUrrenmatt, Thea ter probleme (Zurich, 1955), pp. 46-48. 72 Nichts mehr von Krieg und Revolution und Welterlosung! Lafit uns bescheiden sein und uns anderen, kleineren Dingen zuwenden— s einen Menschen betrachten, eine Seele, einen Narren, laBt uns ein wenig spielen, ein wenig schauen, und wenn wir konnen, ein wenig lachen oder lacheIn.^ 3 Kornfeld's purpose for this speech becomes apparent after the introduction of the "hero" Palme: "... einen Menschen betrachten, eine Seele, einen Narren ..." for one is immediately impressed by Palme's exaggerated feelings of persecution which have no basis in fact. He is a pompous young man who detects an insult in every greeting and smile. Although his character is so distorted from that which one expects of a "New Man," there is enough evidence to prove that a parody of this expressionistic ideal was Kornfeld's intention? for example, there are references to Palme as a "sensitive poet," and although this is not a sufficient criterion to make him a "New Man," it is a trait which one commonly finds in "New Men" (cf. n. 18, this chapter). Also, at other points throughout the play Palme says things which seem to be the sentiments of a "New Man." For ^3Kornfeld, Palme, p. 7. On the basis of this speech Martini feels that this play belongs to that literary move ment, "die neue Sachlichkeit," which superseded Expression ism (Garten, p. 101). In a sense, at least half of the plays in this study could be classified as belonging to "neue Sachlichkeit." Martini, p. 527. 73 instance, he says to Clara's daughter Helenes Wohin kamen wir, wenn kein Mensch seine Meinung und Gesinnung aufiern durfte? . . . Ich liebe nicht die Menschen, die umfallen beim ersten Hauch, der sie an- weht. Denn diese mafilose Empfindsamkeit ist nichts als eine Krankheitl (pp. 54-55) Later he says to himself: Was soil ich noch in einer Welt, in der ein Mensch den andern haftt und ihn vertilgen willl MordI tiberall Mord, in jedes Menschen Herz, in alien Gedanken aller Menschen MordI Sie sehen den andern hungern und gehen vorbei, sie sehen den Menschen erniedrigt und speien noch auf ihn, sie sehen den andern entrechtet und nehmen ihm noch das letzte . . . (pp. 87-88)^ Although these speeches are not indicative of Palme's char acter (in the first speech quoted he is essentially de scribing himself, but he fails to realize it), they prove that Kornfeld intended him to be a parody of the "New Man" specifically. The story in the first act revolves around Palme's persecution complex and the fact that he can get along with no one in the family except Clara. Helene, of course, ^Compare what Kornfeld is saying here to Goll's essay "Es gibt kein Drama mehr" (cf. n. 6, Chap. I) and to the final speech of the Pawnbroker in Kaiser's Nebeneinander as well as to Hall's speech in Die Fahrt nach Orplid (cf. p. 62 above). An interesting parallel exists between this speech and Brecht's song "Denn wovon lebt der Mensch" from Die Dreiaroschenoper. 74 cannot bear him, and he, in turn, considers her stupid be cause of her three suitors, for he feels they are insulting snobs, and this reflects on Helene; their "insults" exist only in his imagination, however. Clara, on the other hand, treats him as a child and is very patient with his sensi tivity: Ein Kind? Ich bete, dafi Du es seist. Denn willst Du so bleiben, wie Du bist? Immer klagend, immer klagend; da& Du Dich in den Wind stellst und klagst: es weht, daB Du Dich auf den Gletschen stellst und klagst: mich friert? (p. 23) Yet it is apparent that even Clara's patience is wearing thin: "Genugi Schweig still und gehl Oder wach auf!" (p. 24). Thus Palme, the "New Man," has succeeded in alienating himself from everyone, and he refuses to assume responsi bility for this alienation: "Diese Menschen! Wirklich, bei Gott, auf der ganzen Welt tun die Menschen nichts anderes als dariiber nachdenken: wie kranke ich den Palme?" (p. 27). Again we are reminded of Josef Wacholder, "der Geschlagene," whose brother accuses him of "making others ill." Although Palme feels that the others are making him ill, it is quite the contrary. The act closes on a humorous note which shows the extent of his sensitivity; throughout the act Palme has been upset about something the children said to him when he 75 arrived at the train station: "Wie grausam sind doch die Menschen schon als ganze kleine Kinder I' . Was haben sie gerufen? Ach jal Hopplal haben sie gerufen ... 0 mein Gott, mein Gotti" (p. 27). The second act is basically the same as the first. Palme is introduced to each of Helene's suitors individu ally. In each case Palme finds a personal insult in the most casual and insignificant things. For example, Palme and Plempe, the second suitor, are introduced; Plempe watches very carefully what he says so that Palme will have no cause to feel angered or insulted. Yet Plempe, as Quinke before him, uses a seemingly innocent term that infuriates Palme: Plempe: Nun denn, so lassen wir gleichsam uber uns die Friedens- palme wedelnl Palme: Friedenspalme? Mit meinem Namen spielen Sie nicht, Herr Plempe1 Plempe: 0 bitte, verzeihen Siel Palme: Ich mag's nicht leidenl Plempe: 0 bitte, ein harmloser Scherzl Palme: Harmlos? Der Name eines Menschen ist mit ihm verwach- sen, und wer den einen.hohnt, verhohnt den andern! Kann man das harmlos nennen? (pp. 43-44) The third suitor, Kimmich, decides to say nothing at all to 76 Palme, thereby giving the "hero" no chance to feel insulted. However, Palme— in a perfectly consistent manner— says: "Doch dieses Schweigen ist verdachtig!" (p. 47). This act ends with Palme's reading Helene's letter of apology to him; he even distorts her salutation "Mein lieber, guter Freund" into a personal insult. With Act III it seems that Palme has suddenly recovered from "certain death" (caused by Helene's "insulting" salu tation); miraculously he no longer believes that everyone is his enemy because he realizes finally that Helene's letter contained "kein einziges Schimpfwort, kein Spott, kein Hohn, keine Beleidigung" (p. 67). But the recovery is short lived. Clara's brother Lauberjahn wants Helene for himself; therefore, he devises a plan and enlists the aid of Helene's suitors. Since Helene has decided she will not accept any of her three suitors, Palme is the last obstacle in Lauber jahn 's path; his plan is for the four of them to insult Palme so much that he will commit suicide. With the beginning of the fourth act Lauberjahn's plan has apparently been successful because Palme is, indeed, contemplating suicide; he thinks of himself as a martyr: r-- Clara: Welch Mitieid I Wir wolien zu erforsehen suchen, ob Du sterben darfst und sollst aus Mitleid mit der Welt— ? 77 Palme: Ja, mein Erbarmen mit der Menschheitl . . . DuIce [et] decorum est pro patria moril (pp. 88, 91) Clara finally opens his eyes (at least temporarily) by ex plaining to him the futility of his supersensitivity: "In welcher Welt lebst Du? Die Menschen sind kleiner und schwacherf als Du denkstr und hassen nicht. Auch Dich has- sen sie nicht" (p. 91). Like Josef Wacholder, Palme appar ently sees by this where he has gone astray. In the fifth act he is entirely changed: everyone is reconciled with everyone else. Jesting insults are exchanged by all, but suddenly the "transformation" comes to an end; someone calls Palme "Dattelbaum" and the situation returns to what it had been in Acts I and II. After that insult Palme leaves Clara's house; the three rejected suitors, puzzled by Palme's transformation and re-transformation, leave also. The play then closes with Lauberjahn's speech where he fan cies himself to be the only one for Helene. In conclusion, Palme Oder Der Gekrankte is a play which deals with the death of the ideal of the "New Man.", It is a parody— the first in this study— which depicts a self- centered "hero" whose persecution complex is grotesquely exaggerated. The author's method of depicting the demise of this "New Man" is similar to that method used by 78 Schmidtbonn in Per Geschlaqene more than to that method used in the first four plays of this study; that is, the "hero" is first disillusioned; he tries to find out where he has erred, and after discovering this, he is reconciled to him self and others. The difference between Palme and Josef Wacholder lies, of course, in the fact that Josef's recon ciliation was permanent, and Palme's was not. According to Henri Bergson, "it would be idle to at tempt to derive every comic effect from one simple formu- 75 la"; and this holds true of Kornfeld's two plays here. The comic effect in Palme Oder Der Gekrankte is derived (predominantly, but not solely) from a parody, as defined by Freud, of the "New Man." On the other hand, there is no 76 isolated character in Der ewicre Traum who can be construed to be a "New Man"; therefore, if Kornfeld is attempting to "degrade" (cf. n. 71, this chapter) or "cast doubt" (cf. n. 72) on this expressionistic ideal by means of comedy, then the comic effect does not lie in a parody of a specific 75"Laughter," trans. Fred Rothwell, Comedy; Meaning and Form, p. 474. 76Berlin, 1922. 79 | "hero"; it must lie somewhere else. Although Freud's defi nition of "unmasking" (p. 258) could explain the comic ef fect in Der ewicre Traum. Bergson's concept of "inversion" is more applicable: Picture to yourself certain characters in a certain sit uation; if you reverse the situation and invert the roles, you obtain a comic scene . . . There is no. neces sity, however, for both the identical scenes to be played before us. We may be shown only one, provided the other is really in our minds . . .77 The "certain characters" are a group of men and women who have joined together in a club; the object of their club is to bring about somehow "eine allgemeine Wohlfahrt aller Menschen und eine absolute, unumstoBliche Gerechtigkeit auf 78 der Erde." We see in this group a parody of the "New Man" in each individual character, but they are all so far re moved from Sorge's Beggar or even Kaiser's Captain or Pawn broker that it is impossible to point out any one in par ticular. Thus the group as a whole is to be considered a 79 gathering of "New Men" because of their goals. 77Ludwig Jekels, "On the Psychology of Comedy," trans. I. Jarosy, Jr., Comedv: Meaning and Form, p. 267. 7®Kornfeld, Der ewiae Traum. p. 9. 79Garten says that Der ewiae Traum (he uses the title Der groBe Traum) "sets out to ridicule the Utopian 80 The "certain situation" of Bergson's definition is the result of a suggestion brought up during the club meeting. Although most of the club members argue about anything and everything— note how they argue about whether to pass the piece of paper from right to left or from left to right; it is the basis for a heated debate 1— in their search to attain "the general welfare of all mankind and absolute justice," Prachtig does manage to make a "concrete" suggestion (cf. n. 79, this chapter); Ich habe gesagt; eine allgemeine Wohlfchrt aller Men schen und eine absolute, unumstofiliche Gerechtigkeit kann auf der Erde nur erreicht werden, wenn— ? wenn der Begriff der Familie verschwunden istl Wir haben namlich konstatiert, daft alles Ungliick auf der Welt herriiht vom— ? vom Egoismus der Menschen . . . daft der eigentliche Herd des Egoismus die Familie ist. (p. 9) aspirations of the revolutionary era" (p. 176). One could be more specific and say that this play sets out to ridicule the Communist cells and different groups who, along with their selfishness and ridiculous suggestions, tried to gain political control during the "Spartakus" rebellion. For example, in Eine Jugend in Deutschland Toller mentions sev eral suggestions which were given to him during the rebel lion; the old man who suggested to Toller that toilet tissue; was the cause of the world's problems sounds no more ridicu-i lous than does Prachtig, for instance, in Der ewige Traum. 80Although this suggestion is an exaggeration, it is similar in effect to the Captain's plan in Gats. One can also see the same ideas in Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984; however, in Der ewige Traum destruction of the family unit is only a suggestion; in Brave New World This suggestion then forms the plot for the remainder of the play; Kornfeld reverses .the situation and depicts what happens after polygamy or destruction of the family unit has 81 become the norm. But before the end of the first scene, Kornfeld inserts a negative note which expresses disappoint ment in what these "Weltverbesserer" are attempting to do; in answer to the question about why he has been crying throughout the meeting, Schmiedt replies: "Ich weiB nicht . . .; Sie werden die Welt erlosen, ja, ja, Sie werden die 82 Welt erlosen, aber ich weiB nicht— ich muB weinen." The first stage is darkened (although the club members remain), and the second stage, the world of the future, is lighted. The first step in Prachtig's plan to destroy the and 1984 it has become "reality." ®^Like Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. this play is a so-called "Stationsdrama" (cf. n. 32, this chapter); it has a quasi-expressionistic structure in that there are no act divisions; the scenes are generally indicated by the term "Verwandlung." The play takes place on two stages; one stage is devoted to the club meeting; the other stage is where the "imaginary" sequences are enacted. S^Der ewige Traum. p. 29. Schmiedt's crying conveys the same feeling as that expressed by the Vagrant in dapek's Insect Plav. p. 75: "Dead [the Chrysalis-Moth]I How pale it is, and oh, God, how beautifull Why must it die? What is this fearful lack of meaning?" 82 family unit is in progress: the indoctrination of a group of girls to the fact that their only purpose and function in life is to have children, but the State will rear the chil dren— the mother may only bear them. With the "Verwand- lung," the scene change, it is shown that the people of the future are fighting against the social order; instead of polygamy and destruction of the family unit, they seek a society where monogamy and the family are the standard. Thus we see the "inversion" as defined by Bergson, for the people of the future are fighting for the very things that Prachtig is fighting against. The "hero" of the world of 83 the future is Carolus. Carolus is similar to Wahnschaffe in that he too apparently suffers from "der Jiinglingsfieber der Zeit"; it is seen when Carolus tells his friends: "Das nachste Mai? 1st das dein Trost? Warten? WartenI Immer 84 noch warten! Und bis dahin? ..." Yet unlike Wahn schaffe, Carolus is not a "New Man"; like the Young Man in Die Fahrt nach Orolid, he clearly states that his only in terest lies in being married to just the one girl— Anna— and 88Kornfeld's choice of this name is significant because "Carolus" is a Germanic term for "freeman." 84Kornfeld, Der ewige Traum. p. 38. 83 in their living together as a unit: Und wenn ich mich in eine Hohle verkriechen und Gras fressen miifite, so wuflte ich doch, dafi auf demselben Stuck Erde ein Wesen sitzt, mit dem ich's teile. Ich weifi nicht, wie ihr denkt, ich aber fiihle mich reiner und starker. Und das— : ich will die Welt nicht verandern, aber ich spure: wenn uber alle Menschen ein solches Wunder kame, die Welt ware lichter und schoner und reicher an allem Schonen und Menschlichen. (pp. 51-52) On the basis of his outspoken, "revolutionary" ideas Carolus becomes the unwilling "leader" of the young rebels. He is arrested because of his "anti-social" ideas, and an "Irren- arzt" attempts to heal Carolus by trying to arouse his in terest in women other than Anna, but the doctor's "therapy" is in vain? he decides that Carolus is suffering from a rare disease known as "pathologische Monogamie." Carolus is committed subsequently to an asylum, and Anna is imprisoned. As a break in the Carolus-Anna affair, Kornfeld intro duces a "Verwandlung" which is very significant for our study. In the "Verwandlung Zimmer, Franz, Mastyx, Saurus, Heinrich, Spatz, Quietsch, Bunzl" Heinrich, one of the young i rebels, tells Mastyx that poets should stay out of politics? the political situation can only improve after the experi enced politicians have improved themselves. The position of the poet in politics, according to Rubiner and the early 84 Expressionists such as Sorge and Toller, however, was dia metrically opposed to this; as shown in the discussion of Wahnschaffe. Rubiner considers "der Dichter" to be "der Fiihrer." In the next "Verwandlung" Carolus and Anna have been released from their respective confines. Together, they attend a mass meeting which ironically reminds us of the mass meetings depicted in the earlier plays Gats and Wahn schaffe . The young rebels are screaming slogans which are parodies of the early expressionistic slogans; "Also, nicht die soziale Frage ist die erste Frage, sondern die sexuelle Fragei" (p. 74) and "Vor allem, als Erstes, Wichtigstes und GroBtes verlange ich die Losung der sozialen Fragei" (p. 85 74). Kornfeld is ridiculing these slogans by means of Bergson's "inversion" theory of comedy, and the author's sympathy lies clearly with Carolus and Anna, who— like the Young Man and Sanna in Die Fahrt nach Orplid— wish to have no part in this meeting or its endeavors. The last "Verwandlung" shows the complete "inversion" of the "certain situation" of Bergson's definition. We now 850ne is also referred to Utitz, pp. 58-60, for a dis cussion of the "sex question" in Expressionism. 85 see a meeting of the people of the future; they have joined together in a club, and their club meeting is an exact repetition of the "real" club meeting with which the play began. At the "real" club meeting there was a negative implication in Schmiedt's inexplicable crying, but at the "imaginary" club meeting the negative note is not implied; it is expressed in terms of bitter disillusionment by Carolus: . . . Aus der alten Zeit in die neue Zeit ist ja nur ein kleiner Schritt . . . Journalisten, Schriftsteller, Dichter mit Freiheitsdramen, Romanciers mit Epen, be- titelt: Menschlichkeit— Manner von Welt, die wissen, was sich schickt, und Damen, die ahnen, was man morgen wird sagen miissen— die sind der Mund, der Schnabel und das Maul der neuen ZeitI . . . (p. 82)88 The stage of the "imaginary" world fades out with this pes simistic message, and the stage of the "real" world is lighted (there is a tendency to use the word "enlightened"). The "real" club meeting ends without their accomplishing anything. Kornfeld has created in this play an "inversion" comedy which at times is humorous and at times ironic, but at all times its message is one of ridicule and scorn for those who 88It could be said that Carolus becomes Kornfeld's spokesman in this speech. 86 would attempt to solve the problems of mankind. Kornfeld satirizes those individuals we have seen in Gats or Neben- einander. or the group of individuals in Der ewige Traum. who would subject mankind to standards which are unaccept able to one or more humans (such as Carolus— "Freeman"— and Anna). In the previous studies we have seen criticisms of the "New Man" presented in two ways: in the plays of Kaiser and Lauckner and Schmidtbonn1s Die Fahrt nach Orolid the "New Man" was depicted as a helpless victim of his own self- deception; Sokel expresses it in terms of "activism": But by extending love to the whole world, the activist overshot his mark and missed reality after all . . . The activist had only shifted his fantasies of self- glorification and superhuman status to mankind . . . He tried to cure the world in order to cure himself. This turned out to be the wrong procedure.8? These features characterize every one of the "heroes" in the five plays mentioned: the Captain, who felt his plan was the only way to save humanity; the Pawnbroker, who had to save Lu in order to prevent himself from becoming a 8?The Writer in Extremis, p. 218. For a working defi nition of "activism" see ibid.. p. 146. 87 ! "murderer"; Wahnschaffe, who was blinded to his talents by his exaggerated sense of altruism; Paul Schumann, who felt his "god" was the only savior for mankind, and finally En gineer Orphal, who wanted to be the ancestral father of a race of "new" people. The second method of criticism was seen in Schmidt- bonn's Der Geschlaaene; in this play Josef realized that "he had only shifted his fantasies of self-glorification and superhuman status to mankind" (cf. note 87, this chapter); he, too, realized that his "activism" had "turned out to be the wrong procedure" (cf. n. 87). This method of criticism could also be seen in Kornfeld's two plays; however, the use of comedy— thereby creating an objective distance— gave an objective view of this now ludicrous creation; the "New Man." In the first method of criticism the characters were "helpless" because they were all firmly convinced of their "missions," and their convictions were depicted subjectively as grand and noble ideas, but contrary to reality. There is; a certain amount of sympathy created for these men by the respective authors. In the second method of criticism "der Geschlagene" is also a helpless victim of his own self- deception in the beginning, but as events progress, he comes- 88 :to realize that his ideas were ignoble and contrary to reality. As mentioned above, he is likewise presented sub jectively as a "New Man" who finally learns how to correct 88 his mistakes. With the introduction of comic effects the "helpless victim" becomes a "ridiculous fool." Although Kornfeld criticizes his "New Men" by means of the second method of criticism, he creates sympathy for them at no point. The next play to be discussed here is also a comedy; Ernst 89 Toller's Der entfesselte Wotan shows the "New Man" as a "ridiculous fool," but Toller makes use of the first method of criticism: the "hero" who goes astray. This is the first time that we see the "New Man's" actions objectively; 88He is the type of character, to whom Kornfeld, as quoted in Sokel, refers: "Woe to individuals and woe to the world, if a person makes the whole world his concern, not because the limited sphere of his personal life has become too confining for him, but because he is ignorant of it, or scorns it, or thinks the happenings in it unimportant and insignificant . . . Whatever such a person will do, it can only be disastrous." The Writer in Extremis, pp. 217-218. 89Potsdam, 1923. For a similar treatment of the "New Man" as one who goes astray for his own interests, see Rachel Crothers' comedy Susan and God: Screenplay of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, photoplay "Susan and God" by Anita Loos, copyright 1940 by Loew's Inc. Its subject mat ter is remarkably similar to that of Lauckner's Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. that is, he arbitrarily sets out on his "mission" for purely selfish reasons, not for an overpowering love of mankind. Wotan, as a "New Man," is the exact opposite of those "New Men" characterized by Sokel: "The 'new man' cares nothing for name or fame because these erect barriers between man and man, and no one can be human in isolation" (cf. pp. 14 and 51 above where Rubiner defines "Isolation" as a feature 90 of the "Erbsunde"). As we shall see, Wotan's only inter ests are "name and fame." Before a study of the dramatic content in Toller's play, it would be in order to mention the dramatic form. Of the previous plays only a few were not written in a con ventional act-scene form. Der Sturz des Aoostels Paulus and Der ewiae Traum were "Stationsdramen," but their structure was otherwise not distinguished from the standard dramatic structure. With Der entfesselte Wotan there is an interest ing use of musical terms in place of numbered acts. The play according to act designations is a four-movement sym phony with an introductory impromptu: Wotanisches Im promptu, Allegro, Andante, Scherzo (furioso) and Rondo Finale. The following study will be discussed within the ^^Sokel, The Writer in Extremis. p. 158. 90 framework of these musical terms. Wotanisches Impromptu in Walhall This "prelude" to Toller's "symphony" serves as a musi cal prelude to introduce the theme of the work. It begins as the god Wotan rides out onto the stage on his "fire- breathing black horse." With a lasso he ropes the "hero" of the play, Wilhelm Dietrich Wotan, and pulls him onto the stage also? Wilhelm Dietrich is dressed as a Norseman. Wotan's introduction of Wilhelm Dietrich is remarkable for its bitterness: Driick eine Krone dir aufs Haupt, Und jedes Volk, das eben lachelnd deiner spottet, Rutscht bauchlings in gebuhrender Distanz, Briillt Heil! und Hoch! Knallt auf die treuen Mannerbruste Und lechzt nach deinem huldvoll bidden Blick. However, the theme of the "symphony" is this: "Was einst Tragodie, werd zur Posse, / Was einst gekrummtes Leid, werd zum Gelachter, / Spiel du, ein Epigone deiner selbst, / Dein majestatisch Spiel" (p. 8). Thus in precise terms Toller is saying what was implied by Kornfeld in both Palme oder Der Gekrankte and Der ewiae Traum: what was once a tragedy ®-^Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 7. is now a farce, for all one has to do is glorify himself ("Druck eine Krone dir aufs Haupt") and the people will fall at his feet. Why does one of "the champions of Expressionism" (cf. p. 69 above) reverse his point of view and condemn what he had once championed? The answer lies in Toller's experi ences before and during the "Spartakus" rebellion. In Eine Jugend in Deutschland Toller tells how his fellow revolu tionaries did not seem to understand his goals: Sie hatten sich abgefunden mit dem biirgerlich juste Milieu, ihr Ideal war die Ueberwindung des Proletariers durch den kleinen gehobenen Burger. Ihnen fehlte das Vertrauen zu der Lehre, die sie verkiindet hatten, das Vertrauen zum Volk, das ihnen vertraute.92 His disillusionment seems even more bitter in a letter to Henri Barbusse (the letter was confiscated by the prison officials and is consequently not dated): "Heute ist die Revolution in Deutschland niedergeschlagen. Barbarei, moralische und geistige Verkommenheit, Luge, Heuchelei und 93 Schiebertum feiern Triumphe." This letter, written in 92Ernst Toller: Prosa. Briefer Dramen. Gedichte. ed. Kurt Hiller (Reinbek bei Hamburg, 1961), p. 99. 93"Briefe," Prosar Briefer Dramen. Gedichte. p. 217. Compare this statement to Goll's feelings in the essay "Es gibt kein Drama mehr" (cf. n. 6, Chap. I). 92 April or May of 1922— thus just before the writing of this play— and the passage from Toller's autobiography clarify the "Wotanisches Impromptu" of Der entfesselte Wotan; its theme or purpose is to show that people will follow any "kleinen gehobenen Burger" as long as he will glorify him- 94 self so that they may share in his glory. Allegro As the first movement of a symphony, the "Allegro" must be written in "sonata form"; that is, it will contain a statement, development and recapitulation of the theme of the symphony. The statement of the theme of this "symphony" is given by the "Fremder Herr"; Dieses Erlebnis liiftet noch einmal mit satanischem Ge- lachter die Fratze EuropasI . . . Ich kehre Ihrem Land den zernarbten RuckenI . . . Mich ekelt vor diesem Land, das dem Untergang seinen klaffenden Schofi gegen Gold mark feilbietet und an Sintflutorgien geil sich kuppelt. . . . ekelhafter E u r o p a e r . 9 5 Therefore, this is consistent with the sentiment expressed in the "Wotanisches Impromptu." t With this theme of disillusionment in mind Toller then ^That this "glory" is "das Paradies auf Erden" will be discussed later. 95Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 11. 93 creates his "New Man," and with this creation one is singu larly impressed by the similarity of Wilhelm Dietrich Wotan to Lauckner's Paul Schumann. Wotan is a barber, and that was Paul Schumann's profession; Wotan reads constantly ("Um 8 Uhr: Ich lese. Um 9 Uhr: Ich lese. Den ganzen Tag: Ich lese. Und auch die ganze Nacht: Ich lese" [p. 11]), and so did Schumann ("Er [Schumann] wird sich verriickt ge- 96 lesen haben"); in fact, both men neglect their work in order to read. Unlike Lauckner, however, Toller presents an unsympathetic "New Man" from the beginning; Wotan spends all his money on books: "Jeden Pfennig zu Krause 1 Was sollen dir Romanel Romane schreiben Leute, die ehrlich Handwerk 97 scheuen . . .," and consequently Wotan and his wife are indebted and without credit. By comparison, Paul Schumann saves his money conscientiously. Wotan's characteristic irresponsibility plays an important role in the ensuing events of the play. In the previous comedies the comic effects were pro duced by means of parody (Palme) and "inversion" (Der ewiae : Traum); in Der entfesselte Wotan a third device is used to ^Lauckner, Per Sturz des Aoostels Paulus. p. 25. 9^Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 12. 94 produce the comic effect: caricature, which Freud defines in this way: Caricature, as is well known, brings about degradation by emphasizing in the general impression given by the exalted object a single trait which is comic in itself but was bound to be overlooked so long as it was only perceivable in the general picture. (p. 257) Wotan's "single trait" seems to be that he feels himself destined to be something greater than a barber. For exam ple, he tells his wife: Ein Mann hiefi Noahl Ein andrer wird Wotan heifieni . . . Rettung ballt sichl Gnade choralt! Wir wandern ausI . . . Mariechen, in Europa wohnt kein Gott nicht mehr . . . Ich heifie Wilhelm Dietrich Wotan. (p. 13)®® Paul Schumann also felt he was destined to be someone great er than a barber, but he was presented as a "helpless vic tim" of his own self-deception; Wotan, on the other hand, is depicted as the irresponsible, "ridiculous fool" by Toller's use of comedy; that is, Wotan is consciously and willingly deceiving himself. The second feature of the "sonata form" is the develop ment of the theme which was stated by the "Fremder Herr." ®®Also compare this to Capek's Chrysalis-Moth who knew that it wanted to do something great, but was unsure of what precisely (cf. n. 28, this chapter). 95 In his fancies of self-glorification Wotan takes up the same idea: "Ich weiB, Europa stinkt. . . . Am 15. verlaBt der Auswandererdampfer Hamburg . . . 0 Urwald . . . 0 Erde . . . Weib, Europa zieht uber den Ozean" (pp. 12-13). This is the basis for Wotan's "mission": Eine Auswanderer-KommanditgesellschaftI Eine Auswanderer- AktiengesellschaftI Eine Auswanderer-Genossenschaft1 Genossenschaft, . . . ein Melos, wie Wiener Walzerl Mariechen, man wird mich bestiirmenl . . . Tausende werden Aufnahme in meine Arche heischenl Ich kenne meine Mis- sionl (p. 14)" He now has his mission: "Ich werde Europa retten in Brasi- lieni" (p. 15).^^ He will go to Brazil, build a farm for Europeans who wish to turn their backs on Europe (cf. the discussion of Schmidtbonn's Die Fahrt nach Orolid). Thus, without financial backing, he sets up the "Buro der Genos senschaft fur brasilianische Auswanderer" in his barber "cf. pp. 46-47 above where the self-deluded Paul Schumann feels that "thousands" are also waiting for him to lead them. lOOwotan speaks of himself and his future followers as "Passagiere ins Paradies" (cf. n. 94, this chapter). Toller is obviously showing his "hero" as an irresponsible dreamer, for Toller says in a letter dated 13 June 1923 to Stefan Zweig (emphasis mine): "Das Absolut-Gute, das 'Paradies auf Erden' wird kein Gesellschaftssystem schaffen, es handelt sich einzig darum, fur das relativ beste, das der Mensch finden und verwirklichen kann, zu kampfen." Toller, "Brie- fe," p. 229. 96 shop. In every case his "noble" dreams are accented by his irresponsibility and desire for personal glory? he has no money, but he ignores that fact. He has no co-workers, but that does not bother him. He faces possible action by the police, but he dares them to act against him.^^ He is so completely convinced of himself and his "mission" that he can claim that the Brazilian government has already given him an "Urwald" for development and then follow that state ment with (in all seriousness): "Log je iftein mannlicher Mund?" (p. 18). At the end of the "Allegro" Wotan enlists both Schleim and von Wolfblitz to help in the administration of the new society. The final feature of the "sonata form" is a re capitulation of the main theme. Toller accomplishes this by depicting his "New Man" as the "ekelhafter Europaer" men tioned by the "Fremder Herr." This is shown by the fact that Wotan does not speak of "paradise" or "humanity" or a "mission" to Mariechen; he speaks of "die delikatesten Dinge. Zum Beispiel als Vorspeise: Alligatorensuppe" (p. 101In this respect he is to be compared to Orphal in Die Fahrt nach Orolid (cf. p. 65 above). Just as Orphal be lieves he is beyond the jurisdiction of the ship's captain, so does Wotan believe he is beyond the jurisdiction of the civil authorities. 22). Although Wotan claims that he wants to leave Europe, he says at the end of the first acts "Ich gedenke in dieser Nacht einen jungen Wotan zu zeugen!" (p. 23). That is, he expresses what Hall said in Die Fahrt nach Orplid (p. 9): "Diese Menschen haben Europa nicht hinter sich gelassen . . . Sie werden Europa uberall hintragen, wohin sie kom- 102 men." But Hall is speaking of others; Wotan, of himself. Andante An indefinite amount of time has passed between the "Allegro" and this "movement." People are clamoring to hear Wotan now, just as they clamored to hear Paul Schumann. Wotan is preparing for a mass meeting with his followers. However, there is a noticeable change in him; he seems to want to avoid everyone. While Schleim and von Wolfblitz argue about what clothes Wotan should wear ("Ihr Korps- general will den Diktator, die Seele der Frauen will Exoti- sches. Herr Wotan soil sich gestreifte Hosen, Gehrockweste und gebugelte Wasche anziehen, dariiber aber soil er den 103 indischen Kaftan werfen'! ), Wotan seems reluctant to be 102Cf. p. 58 above. 103Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan, p. 25. 98 the "dictator" or the "exotic thing": "Meine Herren, lassen Sie mich zurucktreten ins Dunkel . . . Meine Herren, ich bin krank" (p. 26). By means of a dream scene on stage Toller presents visually the "transformation" that has taken place in Wotan. As long as the Brazilian expedition was a dream without any prospects of becoming reality, Wotan apparently had no doubts. In the dream-sequence Wotan appears as a barber-pioneer in the jungles of Brazil? he is blessed by "priest" Schleim. Natives attack from the jungle, but they stand in awe of Wotan. They erect a throne to him, and the natives, now bound by chains, lead virgins to him. Then suddenly the situation changes, and Wotan, bound in chains, stands before a native who is sitting on the throne. Wotan has been disillusioned because he feels himself chained to a daydream-become-nightmare? his dream now has prospects of becoming reality, and he is frightened by it. Moreover, Schleim and von Wolfblitz have obviously taken full control of the "dream"? they make the decisions and tell Wotan what he must do and say. Schleim and von Wolfblitz exemplify the disappointment Toller felt in his fellow revolutionaries. Note the irony when Schleim says (emphasis mine): "In meinem Arrangement auch fur Menschliches vorgesorgt" (p. 26) . 99 The scene changes, and we see Wotan once again; he is living in en elegant hotel suite. It is in this setting that he finally admits to Schleim and von Wolfblitz that he has no money for the expedition and no letter from the Brazilian government— not even a personal letter from a Brazilian relative. However, the three of them manage to 104 obtain financial backing from two wealthy men. In this second "movement" there are several significant similarities between Wotan and other "New Men." The most outstanding similarity, once again, is to Paul Schumann. Lauckner created a mixture of East and West in the Buddhist "Apostle Paul." Toller has created the same mixture in his character. Wotan is dressed in an Indian costume in this act; at the same time there are numerous references to him as "Jesus" and "der Heiland." At the end of Der Sturz des Anostels Paulus the "hero" feels that no one understands him; one can see this in Wotan also: "Die Zeit verstand l°4one of the two men is a Jewish banker, and the fact that he is Jewish excludes him from participation in the expedition; but when he offers financial backing Wotan de clares that he is "eine Ausnahme unter den Judenl" The question of anti-Semitism is an important theme in Der ent- fesselte Wotan: however. it is only vaguely related to the demise of the "New Man" and is not treated in this study. 100 105 mich nicht." Finally, Paul Schumann felt he had been chosen by God to save mankind; Wotan is under the same de lusion: "Ich fiihle, wie ich begnadet bin. Wie ich berufen ward, der Welt das Heil zu bringen" (p. 38). The act closes with Wotan's declaration: "Die Welt wird gelb und grun werden vor Neidlil" (p. 38). This state ment is consistent with the sentiments of the other "New Men" in this study who were primarily motivated by ego, but up to this point no "New Man" had expressed the thought. Scherzo Furioso— Rondo Finale In these two final symphonic movements which form the last act of the play Wotan suffers essentially the same dis illusionment that Paul Schumann experienced; he has become a victim of his own self-deception to the extent that he cannot distinguish between dream and reality. As the last act begins we hear that Countess Gallig has offered Wotan three million gold notes if he will consent to marry her. Although Wotan is not anxioup to dissolve his marriage to Mariechen, Schleim ("Betrachten Sie [Wotan] mich als ihr Gewissen. Als Ihr zweites Ich") (p. 45) convinces him that 105Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 31. 101 a marriage between Wotan and Countess Gallig is the only way to save the financially troubled expedition, and Wotan is "too weak" to resist Schleim's suggestions. During the interview with the American Reporter Wotan's self-deception becomes obvious. For example, the Reporter asks Wotan about his plans; Wotan replies, in part: Darum entschloB ich mich, die Reinen, die Schlichten, die Unverdorbenen zu sammeln und sie trockenen FuBes zu fuhren uber den Ozean ins gelobte Land. Mein Herr, ich werde die kleine Schar . . . retten. (p. 50) It is ironic that he should say this just after agreeing to dissolve his marriage for the sake of money. The words "Reinen," "Schlichten," and "Unverdorbenen," therefore, become meaningless. In this speech Toller's caricature has "progressed" from the irresponsible daydreamer to a victim of his own daydreams; he apparently failed to understand the significance of his dream in the second act. Wotan seems similar to Paul Schumann once again when the Reporter asks about Wotan's former profession. Schumann seemed insulted that people failed to recognize him as an "Apostle" instead of what he was: a barber (cf. p. 47 above). Wotan's answer to the Reporter's question is remarkably similar to Schu mann's reaction: Verleumdungt Schamlose Verleumdungl Weil einmal! 102 einmal vor fiinfzehn Jahren, Gottes dunkle Wege mich in Not fiihrten, mich zwangen, niedere Dienste zu verrichten. . . . Ich werde die Welt nicht enttauschen. (p. 52) The time has come for Wotan to act at this point; he commands that a telegram be sent to Brazil with an ultima tum: either the Brazilian government must grant him an "Urwald" for his expedition, or he will declare war on Bra zil. This clash of daydream and reality proves to be the "Sturz" of this would-be "savior of mankind," for the masses suddenly turn against him. What began as the idea of an irresponsible barber has left a bitterly disillusioned "New Man." Earlier in the last act of the play, Wotan had re ferred to martyrs as "die kleinen Lumpen" (p. 50). At the end of the play he feels he is a misunderstood martyr: Undankbares Verratervolkl Geopfert hab ich mich fur dieses Volk I . . . Ich werde leiden. Ein Martyrer wird fur seine Idee leiden. Auch Jesus von Nazareth litt. Auch Bismarck litt. Wann je hat die Menschheit ihren Retter verstanden? (pp. 59-60)^06 The "symphony" ends. Wotan, a caricature of the "New Man," follows the familiar pattern seen in previous studies. He arbitrarily chooses a "mission" in life, pursues that l°6There is an uncanny similarity between the charac ter Wotan and the historical figure Adolf Hitler as seen in Mein Kamof. 103 "mission," and is left a disillusioned megalomaniac who does not seem to be able to understand just how or where he went astray. Although Toller labeled his play a "comedy," it is hardly a humorous farce like Kornfeld's two plays. It is a "tragi-comedy" which is pervaded by what Garten describes as an "oppressive gloom" (p. 176). Irony and caricature are the devices by which Toller expresses disillusionment with the "New Man"— an ideal he had once championed. By an ob jective development of his characters Toller shows the same disappointment one could see in Lauckner's subjective study Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. The two playwrights Lauckner and Toller wrote plays with remarkably similar plots and "heroes," yet Toller's play is pervaded by a more "oppres sive gloom" than Lauckner's. There are several reasons for the difference in the moods created by the two plays. Lauckner was only distantly associated with "activist" Expressionism and was never considered an advocate of the "activist" ideals, specifically the "New Man"; one cannot subsequently consider him to be a disillusioned Expression ist himself. Toller was an integral part of the Activist movement; he was an active advocate of the "activist" ideals, specifically the "New Man," and his disillusionment 104 with those ideals forms a large part of his autobiography. Therefore, as a disillusioned Expressionist who is writing about a disillusioned "New Man," Toller would seem to be more critical than Lauckner, and that criticism is more bitter because of the biographical background. There is another reason for the difference in the moods of the two plays, and that reason is completely independent of any biographical information. Lauckner constructed his play within the framework of Christian mythology; Toller used Germanic mythology as his frame of reference. Within Christian mythology the role of pessimism and fatalism seems to be removed or significantly weakened because the Chris- 107 tian can look forward to a "heaven of eternal joy" de spite the fact that people may be "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible." Within Germanic mythology, however, pessimism and fatalism are the bases of a religion in which heroism is the criterion, "and heroism depends on lost 108 causes." The "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible" 109 people will conquer ultimately because fate decrees xt. •*-°^Edith Hamilton, Mythology; Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes (New York, 1942), p. 301. 108Hamilton, p. 300. 109 For a complete discussion of this see Hamxlton, pp. 105 in drei Phrasen und dreizehn Bildern The final play in this study is the story of a "New Man" who goes astray through self-delusion and does not realize his "crime" until it is too late. This play is more closely related in mood to those at the beginning of the study because comedy is not used in it in order to cast the "New Man" in a negative light. Unlike the "New Men" in Palme Oder Der Gekrankte. Der ewige Traum or Der entfesselte Wotan. the "New Man" in Franz Werfel's Juarez und Maximili an’ *'' ^ is a character for whom the author creates a certain amount of sympathy; he is not "ridiculous," but "misguided," and one is compelled to admire him because he is a "good person" who wishes to do "good," but who realizes too late that "der Wille zur Gute ist Gute noch nicht."^^^ In the first "Picture" (scene) of the first "Phase" (act), Juarez of Mexico is introduced indirectly; that is, people on stage speak of him and see him, but he is never once seen by the audience. It is made clear that Juarez 300-302. H°Berlin, 1924. Hlwerfel, p. 178. 106 is not to be considered a "New Man." For example, Rubiner calls "Isolation . . . Insichsein, Einzelner sein" (p. 180) the "Erbsunde" for the expressionistic ideal, the "New Man." This is precisely the image given of Juarez: "Der Burger- 112 prasident wahrt seine Einsamkeit." Also this character is in marked contrast to that ideal which Werfel himself had advocated at the outset of his career: "Mein einziger 113 Wunsch ist dir, oh Mensch, verwandt zu sein!" for Juarez is always alone except when he is conferring with his gen erals. Everything he does is based on sound reason: "Don 114 Juarez ist die schlichte Vernunft selbstl"; and this is to be construed as a positive evaluation by the author, for immediately following a comment about Juarez' cryptic, but coldly calculated strategic moves, there is a reference to Maximilian's government as if it were an "illness": Clark . . . er [Juarez] aber gibt die Chancen aus der Hand, raumt ohne Kampf das Hafenfort, lafit die Tur fur Louis Napoleons Rothosen-Pack frei und fur diesen eingebilde- ten Habsburger1 Elizea (immer arbeitend) ^••^Werfel, p. 11. 113pranz Werfel, Der Weltfreund (Leipzig, 1918). H 4WerfelT Juarez und Maximilian, p. 27. 107 Krankheiten mufi man reifen lassen. (p. 12) By contrast, Juarez is depicted as a benevolent force which will destroy the "illness" after it has reached its climax? conversely, by implication Maximilian himself is cast in a negative light. With this idea in mind the first "Picture" ends, and the second begins with the introduction of Maxi milian of Austria. The predominant image of Maximilian created in this "Picture" is the image of a man who is guided not by reason, as is Juarez, but by a fervent desire to love and to be loved by everyone. When he hears that Juarez has retreated to the north Maximilian is not overjoyed at the apparent (but misleading) military victory? instead, he seems dis couraged because Juarez does not come to him: Plotzlich habe ich das Mysterium der christlichen Feindesliebe verstanden. . . . Ich liebte Juarez. . . . Sein Tag ist vorbei . . . Warum kommt er nicht . . .? Er flieht, und ich wiirde ihn in die Arme schlieBen . . . (pp. 38-39) Thus it is obvious that Maximilian thinks that his feeling of love for Juarez will dispel the political enmity that exists between them? moreover, Maximilian feels that his love for Juarez justifies and rectifies the illegal means by which Maximilian came to power in Mexico? this becomes 108 apparent from the conversation between Maximilian and his close friend Herzfeld from Austria: Herzfeld Eure Majestat wissen so gut wie ich, daft dieses Plebis- zit durch klerikale Umtriebe und durch Brutalitat fran- zosischer Platzkommandanten zustande kam. . . . Kann etwas Gutes auf Rechenfehler errichtet werden? Maximilian Jeder Geniestreich ist ein glucklicher Rechenfehler. Alle Erkenntnisse, Taten, Siege der Geschichte, was sind sie anderes als durch Erfolg sanktionierte Rechen fehler?! (p. 40) At this point there emerges another aspect of Maximilian's character; it is a quality found in the character of every "New Man" studied up to this point: megalomania and the feeling that he is not subject to man's law: Ich sehe hier keinen Rechenfehler. . . . Ich kenne mein hoheres Recht, die Aufgabe, die in mir wohnt. Recht und Unrecht, das sind politische Nuancen. Man muB das Gute oktroyieren . . . (p. 41) Thus Maximilian, like other "New Men," has his "mission": to pursue "das Gute," and, like other "New Men," he feels that the end will justify the means even though his very presence and power in Mexico are based on "Rechenfehler." The Empress Charlotte introduces in this "Picture" another element which has become familiar as one of the causes for the demise of the "New Man." In terms which remind one of Goll's statements that "Die Menschen sind 109 . . . viel zu unmoralisch, zu weich, zu verantwortungs- 115 los," Charlotte tells her husband that people are not as great as he thinks they are: "Mein Gotti Ich? ... Du siehst uns groft. Wir Menschen aber sind raffiniert und zwecksuchtig. An dir, Kind, kann man nur schuldig wer- . . 1 1 6 den." Therefore, in the second "Picture" Maximilian is de picted as a "New Man" who has a "mission" in life: to pur sue "das Gute" for the Mexican Indians (and thereby for humanity), but who simultaneously is willing to overlook the "klerikale Umtriebe" and "Brutalitat franzosischer Platz kommandanten" by means of which he came to power. As the "Picture" ends, one is left with Charlotte's comment that Maximilian is deluding himself if he feels that people are "grofi" and will do everything in their power to attain "das Gute" for mankind, as he is doing. * In the next "Picture" Maximilian meets with his council to discuss the immediate initiation of reforms to improve the Indians' lot. This scene is an example of the "raffi- nierte" and "zwecksuchtige" people whom Charlotte mentioned. H S g o I I j " e s gibt kein Drama mehr," p. 391. 116Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 45. 110 Just as during the council meeting at the beginning of Per ewicre Traum. these councillors are interested primarily in themselves. Lares wants his own rights guaranteed before he will consider the Indians' problems; his final comment is characteristic of those people whom Goll indicts as being "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible": Im gegenwartigen Augenblick wurde ein Indianergesetz nicht vorteilhaft wirken. Wir Kreolen sind schlieBlich die somma gente des Landes, und unsere eigenen Privi- legien sind vor dem Indianer Juarez nicht sicher. Humanitat? Jal Aber spaterl (p. 55) There is a significant difference here between Maximilian and his councillors and Eustache de Saint-Pierre and his six volunteers. Eustache led the way and was followed faith fully by his six volunteers— even in the face of death. Maximilian's eight councillors think they have prospects of victory over Juarez' forces, but they are divided by dissent and by their refusal to follow Maximilian's suggestions; it is apparent that each councillor wants to obtain not some abstract concept such as "das Gute," but some concrete i selfish goal. Despite Maximilian's pleas for assistance in the problems facing Mexico's Indians, the councillors accom plish absolutely nothing, and the meeting itself is dis solved in an uproar when cannon shots erupt just ten leagues! Ill from the palace. At the end of the first "Phase" Bazaine, the Marshal of France, and his friend Pierron present to Maximilian a de cree which is designed to destroy the renewed offensive taken by Juarez' troops in the civil war. The decree de clares an instant and dishonorable death for those who bear arms against Maximilian's government. At first, Maximilian will not sign the decree: Marschall Bazaine1 Manner meines Ranges sind die Be- gliicker Oder Martyrer ihrer Volker, nicht ihre Morder. . . . Habe ich mich noch immer nicht verstandlich ge- macht. Ich bin kein Casar, kein Diktator, kein Usurpa- tor! Ich will nicht mich. ich will nicht meine Macht. Ich bin aus uraltem, langst gesattigtem Geschlecht. Der legitime Herrscher ist der Stellvertreter der welt- lichen Liebe Gottes. Guten Wiliens mufi er sein. . . . Ich soil Menschen toten, weil sie eine Gesinnung haben?I (pp. 66-67) Nevertheless, at the end of the scene Maximilian changes his mind and signs the decree because Juarez has hurt his pride; at the beginning of the play there is mention of a signed photograph which Maximilian had sent to Juarez; now at the end of the first "Phase" Juarez returns the photograph with out a word of reply. Feeling insulted, Maximilian signs the decree. We can see the emotional approach of Maximilian (who signs a decree which will ultimately mean death for thousands) to affairs of state in comparison to the cool, 112 calculated approach of Juarez which we saw at the beginning of the play. It is apparent that Werfel intends to show Juarez to be a man of reason, in contrast to Maximilian, the expressionistic man of emotion. It is also apparent that• Werfel intends to cast this "emotional New Man" in a nega tive light. In the second "Phase" of the drama Herzfeld reiterates what he mentioned at the beginning of the play: Maximilian cannot possibly hope for success in his endeavors because his very presence in Mexico is based on "klerikale Umtriebe" and "Brutalitat franzosischer Platzkommandanten"; therefore, the main reason for Maximilian's current lack of popularity is not because he signed the decree, but because he assumed control of Mexico "unter falschen Voraussetzungen" (p. 82). Maximilian alone is held responsible for the decree which Bazaine and Pierron drafted. Consequently the Emperor is disgusted with himself for having signed the decree; he no longer alludes to a "hoheres Recht"; rather, he feels that he can no longer live because he has betrayed himself and his mission. He blames himself for the deplorable massacre which resulted from his decree. It is Charlotte who reas sures and encourages her husband by offering to go to Europe to plead with their royal relatives for military and 113 financial assistance in the war against Juarez. Although Maximilian realizes that such a step means the sacrifice of his already mentally unstable wife: "Dich soil ich aufop- fern, in Gefahr, Erniedrigung, Krieg schicken?! Deinen armen geliebten Korper, Deine wehen Nerven aufliefern1?" (p. 91), he makes no attempt to stop her. The sixth scene reveals that Maximilian in his striving for an unrealistic abstract goal has unwittingly become the dupe of others. This is stated first by Riva Palacio: "Er last sich vom Geldpack ins Land locken, entwickelt soziale Heilandsprogramme und beschaftigt die Henker" (p. 94), and again by Porfirio Diaz: "Ich kampfe nicht gegen Maximilian, der ein Opfer seiner Geburt und Eurer Schurkerei ist" (p. 102). In the beginning of the seventh "Picture" Maximilian reveals that his wife is suffering from a severe persecution complex, and that she has been committed to the care of a psychiatrist in Europe. Not only has Charlotte lost all contact with reality, but her mission to Europe has been a total failure. It is obvious that Maximilian's rule is doomed to defeat, but he refuses to face this fact, and when Herzfeld pleads with him to leave while he still has a chance, pride seems to blind him to reality: 114 Und Du glaubst wirklich, ich werde als interessanter Bankrotteur nach Osterreich zuriickkehren? Die hohnische Tadellosigkeit soil ich ertragen, mit der mein Bruder mich tolerieren wird? Das glaubst Du von mir? (p. Ill) For the first time Maximilian states that he cannot leave now for his own sake; he shows the same basic self-interest which was the motivating force for other "New Men" before him, such as the Captain in Gats and Orphal in Die Fahrt nach Orolid. This idea is again stated in the eighth scene by Porfirio Diaz, who says to Maximilian: Sie haben die Freiheits-Doktrin unseres Kontinents ver- letzt, die rechtmafiige Regierung an ihrer hohen Pflicht behindert. Ohne Grund und allgemeinen Nutzen. Nur urn Ihren hochmutigen Namen zu verklaren und den grenzen- und sinnlosesten Ehrgeiz zu sattigen. Ihr Werk ist auf absurder Selbsttauschung und grausamer Luge gebaut. (P. 126) One is reminded here of Sokel's discussion of the "New Man" as a helpless victim of his own self-deception: This revolt [activism] was to unite the lonely intellec tual with his fellow men and return to him the sense of reality for which he craved. But by extending love to the whole world, the activist overshot his mark and missed reality after all . . . The activist had been deluded when he assumed himself cured of his narcis sism . . .; he tried to cure the world in order to cure himself. - ^ 7 Therefore, Maximilian's love for mankind, the excuse for all 1 1 7Soke1, The Writer in Extremis, p. 218. 115 his actions, was essentially an "absurd self-deception and terrible lie," and Maximilian himself is slowly beginning to realize that fact. But he still cannot understand why people object to his coming to power. He feels that as long as he wants "das Gute" for everyone, he is justified in doing anything to achieve that goal. Kornfeld, as quoted by Sokel, concurs (cf. n. 8 8 , this chapter): Woe to individuals and woe to the world, if a person makes the whole world his concern, not because the lim ited sphere of his personal life has become too con fining for him, but because he is ignorant of it, or scorns it, or thinks the happenings in it unimportant and insignificant . . . Whatever such a person will do, it can only be disastrous. (pp. 217-218) And admittedly Maximilian has dismissed as unimportant the means by which he came to power in Mexico. Also at this point we are reminded of a statement made by Georg Kaiser: "Only this single extreme display of acu men is demanded: to stop when you see the end. He who 118 drags on past fruitfulness forfeits his life." There can be no doubt in Maximilian's mind that he will be defeated, and yet he "drags on past fruitfulness," and this seals his l end. •^®As quoted in Sokel, Anthology of German Expression- istic Drama, p. 13. Cf. n. 15, this chapter. 116 Thus at the end of the second act Maximilian is a "New Man" who has gone astray somehow, but he does not know ex actly how. Yet in the face of total defeat he can now par tially admit to himself and others that his exaggerated sense of altruism was, perhaps, motivated by feelings of self-interest. The third and last "Phase" begins with an idea which Charlotte introduced in the first "Phase": "Wir Menschen 119 aber sind raffiniert und zwecksuchtig." Maximilian is in the field with his soldiers. While talking with his men, he recognizes for the first time the apathy which his troops feel toward his noble goal. Yapitan's words express their sentiments: (mit leichter Verachtlichkeit) Krieg! FriedenI? Was nutzt das? Maximilian Wir wollen ein gliickliches Leben fur Mexiko schaffen. Yapitan Leben?! Gut! Nichtleben?! Gut! Was liegt daran? (p. 140) In Yapitan, the typical royalist "patriot," we see Goll's "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible" person who is fighting not for Maximilian's cause, "das Gute," but because ^••^Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 46. 117 the army offers him a living of sorts. Even the faithful Lopez falls into Goll's familiar category, for it is he who betrays his emperor. When asked why he betrayed Maximilian, Lopez can find no answer. In the eleventh scene Maximilian has been captured and condemned to death. His friends Herzfeld and Princess Salm plead with the influential Porfirio Diaz to intercede with Juarez in Maximilian's behalf. In reply, Diaz refers— as he did in the sixth "Picture" (p. 113 above)— to Maximilian as the dupe of others: Subjektive Unschuld hebt weder das Naturgesetz, noch auch das gottliche und menschliche auf. Ware Ihr Freund reifer, klarer gewesen, hatte er beizeiten erkannt, daft er das Opfer eines wolliistigen Spekulanten und einiger feudaler Desperados werden muB. Nun ist er das OpferI (P. 167) For Diaz the death of Maximilian is an inevitable step in the ultimate defeat of the monarch who came to Mexico with a dream to save the Mexican Indians, but who signed a decree which meant death for several thousand Indians: i Der Apostel aber, der. "schone Mensch" erlaBt das Dekret vom dritten Oktober. Mehrere tausend Mexikaner werden hingeschlachtet. . . . Es tut mir leid, daB Prinz Maxi milian ein hoherer Mensch ist. Doch er muB mit dieser Gesellschaft fallen, der er rettungslos angehort und 118 120 ware er ein Christus'. (pp. 169-170) .That is, Maximilian claimed to have the mission of procuring "das Gute" for the Mexican Indians, but all he accomplished was the massacre which followed his decree. In the twelfth and last "Picture" of the third "Phase" Maximilian himself realizes that this is where his guilt lies, and he confess es: "the will to goodness is not goodness." Because he accomplished nothing really, his altruism was "unwahr" (emphasis mine): Ich bin schuldig . . . Und daB ich es bin, gibt mir neue Ruhe. . . . Jetzt als vollkommen befreiter Mensch ohne Stand und Vorurteil weiB ich es: Schuld ist: seinen Taten nicht gewachsen sein! MiBerfolg ist Schuld! Der Wille zur Giite ist Gute noch nicht. Meine Konstruktion einer radikalen Monarchie war un wahr. Also muB der Fehler, die Luge in meinem Wesen liegen. Schuld! (pp. 177-178) As Maximilian is led out to be executed, he seems to be calm for the first time in the play. His peace of mind, which he had not known since his arrival in Mexico, comes from the realization that he has gone astray in pursuing his goal and from knowing where he went astray. Now he reminds one 1 2 0This speech, in particular, and this play, in gener al, could easily be construed to be an indictment by Werfel of those Expressionists who encouraged and participated in the revolutionary uprisings after World War I. 119 of Wahnschaffe in that they both realized too late where they had erred and that both "New Men" experienced a feeling of relief as a result of this realization. The present chapter shows two methods of depicting the demise of the "New Man" in expressionistic dramas in de tailed discussions of the "heroes" of ten representative plays. The first and predominant method is used in Kaiser 1s Gats and Nebeneinander. Lauckner's Wahnschaffe and Per Sturg des Aoostels Paulus. Schmidtbonn's Die Fahrt nach Ornlid and Werfel's Juarez und Maximilian. In these six plays the "New Men" all pursue a goal for the sake of mankind, but in their pursuit they become victims of their own self-deception. Of the "New Men" in these plays, only two realize where they went astray, but by the time they realize this, it is too late to correct their mistakes: Wahnschaffe and Maximilian and, perhaps, also Paul Schumann. The remaining "New Men," Orphal, the Pawnbroker and the Captain, .go to their destruc tion convinced that they have pursued their respective mis sions only to save mankind or to improve man's life, and they never realize how or where they went astray. This method of depicting the demise of the "New Man" was also seen in the comedies Kornfeld's Der ewjge Traum 120 and Toller's Per entfesselte Wotan. The use of comedy it self was shown to be another way of showing the fall of the "New Man." When he is placed into the realistic background of a comedy, the "New Man" becomes a ridiculous fool who is a victim of his own self-deception. The second major method for depicting the demise of the "New Man" was seen in Schmidtbonn's war drama Per Geschla- aene and in Kornfeld's comedy Palme oder Per Gekrankte. In the second instance the "New Man" realizes that he has gone astray in the pursuit of his goals; he is able to abandon the "mission" to which he is dedicated, and he attempts to rectify the errors he committed in the name of his "mission" (although Palme's attempt to do that is short-lived). Un like the eight previous "New Men" who did not realize where they erred, Josef Wacholder and Palme are able to temper their selfish idealism with reality. CHAPTER III SECONDARY CHARACTERS The Women in the Plavs The concept of "woman," as an entity separate from man, played a significant part in German expressionistic drama. Prom the very beginning with Kokoschka's Morder Hoffnung derj Frauen the role of woman was prominent and equal to that of man, not subordinate or superior to it. In Kokoschka's one- act drama the interaction of man and woman is in the form of a "battle of the sexes." In this coordinate interaction one can also see the "essence of Expressionism" itself: Already the essence of Expressionism is dimly percep tible: the two main characters [The Man and The Woman] attain, through pain and suffering, a higher and purer level of existence.^ For in this "battle of the sexes" one opponent is not seek ing to destroy the other; on the contrary, together they \ •'•Garten, pp. 108-109 . 121 are seeking to attain "a higher and purer level of exis tence" by means of each other. In this manner each one will come to know the true meaning of love (that "higher and purer level of existence") and will experience in himself a "resurrection" as a result of that knowledge. The woman was necessary to the "New Man," who sought the "rebirth" or "resurrection" of mankind through love, not only for a com plete understanding of love, but also in a more literal sense: only the woman could give birth to a race of "New Men" which the activist Expressionists advocated. Without a woman the "New Man" would become hopelessly sterile. Thus the woman fulfilled a two-part role in Expressionism generally and in the ideal of the "New Man" specifically: she was the means by which the "New Man" could subjugate his ego and thereby learn to love others fully, and she was to be the mother of the race of "New Men." An example of such a woman from early Expressionism is the Girl in Sorge's Per Bettler. The Girl, who has been abandoned by her lover, is on the verge of committing sui cide; she feels this is the last resort for her and her illegitimate child. However, she overhears the plans of the Beggar for his communal theater; she is given the courage by these grand plans to live not only for herself, but for her child also. The Beggar and the Girl eventually becpme 2 lovers. The Girl wants to give away her child because it was not fathered by the Beggar; nevertheless, the Beggar persuades her to keep it; he feels that the "welfare of another human being takes precedence over their own self- indulgent love; no happiness can grow from selfish pas- 3 sion." It is significant that the Girl conceives a child by the Beggar only after she agrees to keep her first child; by this display of "humility" she has become "worthy" of the Beggar; now the two can begin to ascend to that "higher and purer level of existence," love. Thus the unborn child 4 represents their arrival at a point of unselfish love. Now the Beggar can stop working at the factory and become an artist once again; he has learned to love completely— as witnessed by the unborn baby. Through the Girl he has p As Sokel mentions, love in the activist sense is only vaguely related to physical love: "'Poets are lovers,' says the First Critic at the beginning of the play fDer Bettler 1. 'lovers of the world and limitlessly addicted to their love.' But this love is quite different from the sexual frenzy of the vitalist. It is free of sensuous self-grati fication, so free that it almost ceases to be physical." The Writer in Extremis, p. 148. 3Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 148. ^Garten, p. 116, speaks of their union at this point as "a sort of unio mystica." 124 'learned to give of himself, to lose himself in his love of the Girl? once he has learned through her the meaning of love, then he can-again become the reforming dramatist who will plan "his theater to be a place of pilgrimage where the sick of heart will find a cure, the desperate gain new hope, 5 and the broken in spirit be comforted." Therefore, Sorge's Girl illustrates well the function of woman in the activist concept of the "New Man." When Expressionism began to wane on the stage, and the former activists became disillusioned with their ideal, the 6 "New Man," they changed his image. He was no longer shown as an unselfish "Weltverbesserer," but as the victim of his own self-deception. Also through the unaltered image of woman the disillusioned playwright could show the demise of ^Sokel, The Writer in Extremis. p. 148. 6With specific reference to Georg Kaiser, Sokel gives 1920 as the year in which Kaiser changed the image of his "New Men": "Kaiser was never to regain his social optimism of 1919. All the dramas of his late Expressionist period, following Gas II [1920], are deeply pessimistic, cynical and hopeless. Cf. particularly Nebeneinander (1923), . . . and Gats (1925)." The Writer in Extremis, p. 201. That date is consistent with all the plays in this study with the excep tion of Lauckner's Per Stur.z des Anostels Paulus (1918) and Per Geschlagene (1919). Pespite the two exceptions, how ever, one may justifiably say that the image of the "New Man" began to change around 1920. 125 his ideal in terms of frustration and sterility. She was no longer the means by which the "New Man" found love. It was shown in the last chapter that the "New Men" were, for the most part, unable to love in the sense of Sorge's Beggary that is, they could not love self-lessly. Although, every "New Man" claimed to be motivated by a sense of altruism and love for mankind, in every case it was shown that selfish reasons underlie his actions. Nevertheless, in the case of the nine women to be discussed here, the majority of them are loyal to their "New Men" and share their dreams up to a point, but ultimately become frustrated and disillusioned. The nine women in this study do not function as the mother of the "New Man"; rather, the relationship between woman and "New Man" becomes static and sterile; in three cases the relationship is actually filial or fraternal. We can see the inability of the "New Man" to create a new world for mankind symbolized by his sexual impotence. From the ten plays in this study the following women will be discussed in relationship to the "New Man" in each plays the Secretary in Gats. the Daughter in Nebeneinander. Elsbeth, Wahnschaffe's sister in Wahnschaffe. Hedwig, Paul Schumann's wife in Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus. Elise, Josef Wacholder's wife in Per Geschlagene. Sanna, Orphal's 126 I daughter in Die Fahrt nach Orplid. Helene in Palme Oder Per Gekrankte. Marie, Wotan's wife in Per entfesselte Wotan. and 7 the Empress Charlotte in Juarez und Maximilian. The Secretary in Gats does not seem to believe the Captain at first when he tells her of his "Paradise." She does riot understand exactly what "Paradise" he has discov ered, but she is willing to accept his "discovery" because of her faith in him: "— Ich glaube— an Sie I . . . Ich— will g Ihnen dienen bis an den Tod meines Lebensi" Later in the first act she professes her love for the Captain— and through him her love for humanity— to the Male Secretary: Sekretarin Sie durfen nicht bleiben— weil Sie nicht lieben! Sekretar Lieben sie den Kapitan? Sekretarin Mit ihm die Menschheit. (p. 18) Kaiser's Secretary is similar to Sorge’s Girl. Be cause of her great love for her "New Man" and his plans for ^Der ewiae Traum will not be considered here because ithere is no one figure which can represent woman in it. Of course, this fact itself could be construed to be a device for showing the sterility of the "New Man" and his goals, but in this study only "concrete" women will be discussed. 8Kaiser, Gats. p. 13. | 127 humanity she swears to stand by him and support him; she is willing to love all mankind "mit ihm." The implication here is that "through him" she will learn to love mankind; yet there is another implication connected with the word "mit." She is also implying that together they can learn to love mankind; that is, she will not only learn to love mankind "through him," but he will, likewise, learn to love mankind "through her.” In the second act the Secretary "proves" her love for the Captain. She spurns the Male Secretary by saying: "Ich gehore dem Kapitan, das wissen Sie. Ich wiederhole meinen Schwur hier auf offner Tribune!" (p. 41). The reason for rejecting the Male Secretary is that she has come to believe in the Captain's dreams as much as he: Das ist ein Leib— das ist ein Willen, der ihn belebt. Keiner bedenkt mehr, was sonst ihn stachelte. Es ist beim Kapitan kein andrer Gedanke als aller— es ist bei den Kontrollern kein andrer Gedanke als aller— es ist bei alien Siedlern kein andrer Gedanke als aller— nur Sie Sekretar stehen beiseite und warte auf Ihren Vorteill (p. 42) | But just before the mass meeting begins the Male Secretary warns her of disillusionment in the Captain's "Paradise": Sie [Sekretarin] werden heftiger leben wollen, nachdem Sie von dieser Prucht am Baum der Erkenntnis gekostet haben— und am Tor empfange ich Sie, wenn Sie das Para- dies verlassen rnussen, in das Sie jetzt gefiihrt werden i 128 ! sollen. (p. 43) Criticism and disapproval of the Captain's "Paradise" be comes the dominant issue during the meeting of the Settlers. The animosity toward the Captain's dream grows into a riot in which he is shot. Only the Secretary remains to help the wounded Captain. In the third act it is obvious that the Secretary and the Captain have not reached that point of unselfish love which the Beggar and the Girl attained. This is conceded by the Secretary herself when the Landlady challenges her claims of love for the Captain's work: Zimmervermieterin Seit wann konnen sich Zimmerherren, die hier unter- kriechen, Sekretarinnen halten? Sekretarin stockend Ich tue es aus Liebe zur Sache-- Zimmervermieterin — von der Sie keine Silbe verstehenl Sekretarin verstummt (p. 77) The Secretary's silence at this particular moment betrays her growing frustration and disillusionment. Yet the fact that they have lived together and have never become lovers (cf. p. 123 and n. 2, this chapter) does not mean that the Secretary has failed her purpose deliberately; on the con trary, she has consistently sought to do anything and to 129 make any sacrifice for her "New Man" and his work. The basis for the Secretary's frustration and disillusionment lies in the Captain's inability to give of himself; unlike the Beggar, the Captain has not yet learned to subjugate his ego to the point of accepting and returning the Secretary's offers of love— either on a spiritual or a physical plane. This can be seen in the fact that they still address each other as "Sie" even though they have lived together for quite some time in the same apartment. Later in the third act the Secretary reaffirms her feelings of love for him. It is significant that the Cap tain can tell her how much he needs her, but the only time he uses the word "love" it is in reference to himself (em phasis mine): Sekretarin umschlingt ihn— kufit ihn Kapitan . -------Liebst du mich? Sekretarin Dich— dich vom ersten Tage an! Kapitan Ich glaube es gleich— ich weifi schon: ich konnte keine Stunde leben— ohne dich! (p. 85) They have decided to be married, and for the moment the Secretary can conceal her frustration and disillusionment, and seek consolation in the fact that although her "New Man" 130 failed to learn from her the true meaning of love, she can still become the mother of his children: "Mir ist die herr- lichste Aufgabe befohlen— ich will gehorchen demutig und mit ganzem Leibei!" (p. 90). The Secretary reminds the reader of an earlier female character of Kaiser: the Daughter in Gas. When, at the end of Gas. the Billionaire's Son de scribes his vision of the "New Man" to the Daughter, she is so overwhelmed that she falls to her knees and exclaims: 9 "Ich will ihn gebaren!" The Secretary, like the Daughter in Gas. also wants to be the mother of the "New Man": Jetzt gestehe ich es, wo wir vermahlt sind. tJber dich hinaus— liebe ich den Menschen, der kommen solll . . . Du sollst nicht verzweifeln. Du sollst wieder glauben an Menschen. An einen, der ist wie du— der sich urn alle sorgt und nicht mehr gekreuzigt wird. Dein Sohn soil kommen— ich will ihn dir gebaren1 1^° However, without her knowledge the Captain has put cats in her wine, and as a result she becomes permanently sterile. As long as she had prospects of becoming the Captain's wife as well as the mother of his children, she could conceal her frustration and disillusionment. Now she can no longer 9Georg Kaiser, Gas. Schauspiel in funf Akten (Berlin, 1918), p. 118. •*-°Kaiser, Gats, pp. 97-98. 131 cling to the hope of having children, and the frustration and disillusionment take control of her. She turns the "criminal" Captain over to the police. Kaiser reveals his disillusionment with the "New Man" in Gats not only by depicting him as the victim of his own self-deception, but also by showing him to be impotent in his relationship to a woman. The expressionistic woman, through whom the "New Man" was to find the true meaning of love and with whom he was to father the race of "New Men," literally expresses on stage the frustration and disillu sionment the author felt for the ideal he had once advo cated. By means of this man-woman relationship the Captain was shown to be a selfish egotist instead of an altruistic "Weltverbesserer," who never really learned the true meaning of love, the primal drive behind the activist's "New Man." In the discussions of the eight remaining women it will be shown that Kaiser's use of secondary characters for depict ing the demise of the "New Man" was consistent with other dramatists... In Nebeneinander the Pawnbroker's Daughter functions as the expressionistic woman, although her role as such is not as clearly defined as that of the Secretary in Gats. First of all, there is an obvious difference between the Daughter's relationship to the Pawnbroker and the Secre tary's relationship to the Captain. As the expressionistic woman, the Daughter should be the means by which the Pawn broker learns the true meaning of love. Because the rela tionship in the play is that between a father (the "New Man") and his daughter, she seems to be fulfilling merely a filial obligation. At the beginning of Nebeneinander the Daughter is aware of the importance of the letter which the Pawnbroker has found, but she does not show the same concern as her father. In this respect, she is similar to the Sec retary in Gats; initially they are both skeptical of the "mission" of their respective "New Men," but out of devotion to them the women support the cause. The Secretary gives aid because she loves the Captain as a woman, while the Daughter gives her aid because she must obey her father. The purpose behind Kaiser's use of this father-daughter relationship instead of a man-woman relationship in Neben einander will be shown later. Just as the Secretary in Gats was an agent who reflected another character's feelings of frustration and disillusionment in the "New Man" on stage, so does the Daughter serve this purpose in Nebeneinander. Prom the very nature of the relationship itself sterility and frustration are generally inherent (cf. p. 137 and 133 n. 1 2 below concerning possible incestuous overtones), and it will be shown that this case is no exception. In the second act of the play the Pawnbroker and the Daughter are searching for "0. Niemann" in order to return the letter to him. It is quite apparent that this "mission" for her is required by filial obedience; it is not an act of will evoked by love. The Secretary claimed she loved the Captain's work, but the Daughter here makes no such claim. She says to the Proprietress of the Pension Elvira; "Mein Vater wiinscht— . It is noteworthy that she says "my father wishes— " instead of "we wish— ." Clearly she does not consider this to be her "mission" also. In the next act she again expresses her doubt (though she faithfully accom panies him on his search): "Die Hoffnung ist so gering!" (p. 6 6 ). And when the Pawnbroker tells her that "nur der Zufall schafft Klarheit," (p. 6 6 ) her answer, "Ich glaube nicht daran" (p. 6 6 ), can be taken as referring to her father's "mission," for it is also the result of an acci dent . The Daughter's frustration is also seen at the end of the third act; they have been erroneously arrested for having stolen a coat in the cloakroom of the casino "0 . 1^Kaiser, Nebeneinander. p. 37. 134 Niemann" used to frequent. The Daughter did not want to go to the casino at all, but she obediently accompanied her father there. After they are arrested, she attempts to ex plain the mistake, but she is insulted, abused and ridiculed by the two Gentlemen. When the Pawnbroker (who makes no attempt to protect his daughter) is questioned, he refuses to say or do anything in his own defense; it is frustration which causes her to plead with him: "Sage die Wahrheitl" (p. 78). At this point Kaiser has created a situation which is similar to that of Gats. In both cases the "New Man" is unable to love another human being unselfishly; the Captain cannot accept and reciprocate the Secretary's love, and the Pawnbroker cannot reciprocate even filial devotion, this "obligatory" love. While the Daughter intercedes in her father1s behalf in order to save him from physical harm, he does nothing when the two Gentlemen begin to abuse her. In other words, Kaiser shows the demise of the "New Man" in Gats indirectly by means of the relationship between the Captain and the Secretary, and in Nebeneinander by means of the relationship between the Pawnbroker and the Daughter. Yet the picture of the "New Man" becomes more pessimistic here than in Gats because the Pawnbroker cannot even 135 reciprocate the most basic, "mechanical" love: the love of a parent for his child. In the last act the Daughter's frustration and disillu sionment reach a climax. As a result of his encounter with the police, the Pawnbroker's shop has been closed because of alleged illegal practices. The Daughter feels he should complain against the unjust charges; he should fight for himself and his daughter as he fought to "save" Lu: "Du muBt— die Welt anrufen— !!" (p. 131). But the Pawnbroker is too exhausted from the Lu-Neumann affair to begin a new struggle. She too loses the will to continue: "Ich weiB— keinen Ausweg . . . Schon jetzt— bin ich kraftlos ..." (p. 132). She has been frustrated both by the apathy of strangers and by the ineffectiveness of her father, the "New Man." At this point she expresses the feeling that she was not really included in his "mission"; she can only share in his disillusionment (emphasis mine): "— Ich erlebe wie du deine Enttauschung " (p. 132). Then they commit suicide together. In Nebeneinander we have seen how Kaiser indirectly depicts the demise of the "New Man" by means of his rela tionship to a woman. Although the Daughter was supposed to be the means by which the Pawnbroker was to learn the true 136 meaning of unselfish love, it is clear that he did not re spond to the most basic form of love. In every case the Daughter showed filial devotion and love for her father, but she obviously became frustrated and disillusioned with the "New Man" who would "save" mankind. As stated earlier, the expressionistic woman serves a two-fold purpose: through her the "New Man" can learn to love unselfishly and through her the race of "New Men" can be born. In the former role, the Daughter has already been sufficiently discussed. In the latter role, however, there are several interesting implications. First of all, Kai ser' s use of a parent-child relationship has a more pessi mistic effect than the use of the man-woman relationship in Gats. The father-daughter relationship is sterile and frustrating by its very nature. In Gats. until the very end of the play, there was at least a possibility that the Sec retary could become the mother of the race of "New Men"; by clinging to this hope she could control her frustration and disillusionment. On the other hand, the Daughter does not have this support, and her frustration and disillusionment cause her to commit suicide with her father. There may also be incestuous overtones implied here, but Kaiser does not fully develop that theme in this play. However, incest is 137 :a dominant theme in Kaiser's Der Protagonist (1920), written three years before Nebeneinander. and Zweimal Oliver (1925), written two years after Nebeneinander and in the same year as Gats; therefore, the implication is apparently intention al. The idea of incest in Nebeneinander is reflected in the Pawnbroker's inability to subjugate his ego in order to love another human being unselfishly, for there is a close con nection between narcissism and incest, as Sokel points out; Incestuous love . . . is an obvious correlative of the narcissistic element in much of Expressionism. The connection between narcissism and incestuous passion is pointed out clearly in Rene Schickele's autobiographical novel Der Fremde.-*-2 The next woman to be discussed is Reini Wahnschaffe's sister Elsbeth in Lauckner's Wahnschaffe. In Gats there was a man-woman relationship between the "New Man" and his "heroine"; in Nebeneinander. a father-daughter relationship; in Wahnschaffe a third relationship is introduced: brother- sister. As in the two previous plays by Kaiser, Lauckner also uses the relationship of a "New Man" to a woman in order to demonstrate his frustration and disillusionment in the former ideal. 12The Writer in Extremis, p. 129. 138 Although in the previous plays the women were skeptical of the "missions" of their "New Men," we have seen that in Gats the Secretary supported and believed in the Captain because she loved him7 in Nebeneinander the Daughter sup ported the Pawnbroker because of her filial obligation to him; in Wahnschaffe Elsbeth plays an essentially protective role; since she cannot persuade him to abandon his "mis sion," she will go with him to shield and protect him. This fact is established at the beginning of the first act when Wahnschaffe asks his sister: "Was wurdest du sagen, wenn 13 ich ein ganzes Jahr verreiste?" To this question she un hesitatingly replies: "Nichts. Ich kam mit" (p. 35). At first she does not believe he will really embark on his "mission" to become a doctor who will save mankind: "Du hast ja schon oft deinen Glauben umgewechselt . . . Ich habe das Gefuhl, dieser wird auch noch nicht der letzte sein" (p. 40). But like the Secretary and the Daughter before her, Elsbeth does offer to aid her "New Man" in the pursuit of his mission. In the second scene of the first act Elsbeth is dressed as a nurse, and it becomes apparent that she has become her brother's assistant. It also becomes apparent at • * - 3Lauckner, Wahnschaf fe. p. 35. this early point in the play that she is beginning to feel frustrated and disillusioned; as she removes her nurse's habit, she laments the fact that she is growing old, and with specific reference to her nurse's uniform she sounds bitter: Leicht und aus Seide du [her nurse's cap], . . Doch keine Kronenlast Brennt wohl auf Haupt und Hals So tief im Fleische, als Was du verschlossen hast, Schwer und von Leide . . . Alle Tracht und SichverschlieSen, Hingeneigt zu fremden Klagen, Ist doch nur ein Wundentragen Und ein eignes Tranenfliefien, Das sich bangt, und ohne Sagen, Schwesterlich sich auszugiefienl . . . (pp. 60-61) Yet she is anxious about her brother's welfare and for this reason she will stay with him and help him. Elsbeth is more removed from the expressionistic woman than either the Secretary or the Daughter. AS the expres sionistic woman, Elsbeth should be the means by which Wahn- schaffe learns to love unselfishly, but he cannot even re spond to her fraternal love and concern for his welfare, and in this respect he is similar to the Pawnbroker in Neben einander who could not reciprocate the filial devotion of his daughter. Wahnschaffe selfishly accepts Elsbeth's 140 fraternal love and uses it to his advantage, but he does not return such a feeling. Consequently, Elsbeth has become frustrated and disillusioned with her brother and his "mis sion." In bitter terms she resents the fact that since she is compelled to stay with her brother, who needs her as sistance and protection, she has not yet been able to find a man who would accept and reciprocate her love. In Neben einander there were distinct (apparently deliberate) inces tuous overtones in the relationship between the Pawnbroker and his Daughter? in Wahnschaffe the relationship is com pletely sterile. The sister's frustration is heightened by the fact that Reini has absolutely no such feelings--even fraternal— for her or anyone else: Das bezieht sich doch alles, was du sagst, nur auf das Liebesleben . . . Geist, Arbeit hangt ja sehr eng bei euch [Frauen ] damit zusammen, aber kann sich doch wohl auch selbstandig nebenher entwickeln . . . (p. 68) Thus in the first act of Wahnschaffe Lauckner has shown frustration and disillusionment with the "New Man," Reini Wahnschaffe, by means of the character Elsbeth. Through her reactions and statements Wahnschaffe turns out to be a char acter who claims to love mankind, but who cannot show love even to a devoted sister. In the first scene of Act II Elsbeth admits to Reini 141 that she is frustrated with him? he is now fighting against all hope to save the life of a man who is dying of terminal cancer. In his efforts to help the patient Reini has broken many promises to his sister, and he is beginning to treat her as if she were a stranger; it is frustration and dis illusionment with him in his hopeless struggle that cause her to tell him (emphasis mine): Du hast so fremde Worte . . . Es kommt mir vor, als ob wir uns seit Monaten nicht mehr gesehen haben, obgleich wir uns doch taglich sprechen. . . . Ist denn hier noch nicht elend genug? . . . Nein? MuBt Du das biBchen Frohlichkeit auch noch zerstoren, das aus unserm Zusammen- gehn iibrig blieb? . . . Ich will dir sagen, es kommt die Zeit. wo -iedes Leben zu arm ist. als daB wir mit unserer Liebe so viel waaen konnten' . . . RuheSiehst du, du hast dich so danach gebangt! . . . Ich wuBte ja, daB du enttauscht werden wiirdestl (pp. 85-86) It is clear that she is losing patience with him, but he is dependent on her, and she concludes that she cannot abandon him. After the patient has died, Reini loses his determina tion to pursue his goal, as Elsbeth predicted he would. She remains with him out of fraternal devotion to her "sick” brother. However, she does realize that he has selfishly involved her in his life to the point that she can lead no life of her own: "Nun hast du mich doch wirklich ganz in deine traurigen Gedanken eingesponnen ..." (p. 112). At this point Elsbeth is similar to the Secretary in Gats; as 142 ilong as the Secretary was still able to bear children, her frustration and disillusionment were controllable. Like wise, as long as Elsbeth can hope that Reini will realize he is simply "fighting windmills," she can control her frustra tion and disillusionment. She says: Und wir? . . . MuB es denn immer brennend in hellen Feuern stehn? . . . Es gibt so viele Wege, wo niemals Schlaf hinfallt, — hor ich die Stimme klagen: Irgendwo ist Krieg in der Welt'. . . . DaB er doch einen fande, der ihm die Wache halt! . . . Ich kuB deine kranken Hande . . . (p. 113) » After this speech Elsbeth disappears from the stage for two whole acts. The reason for her disappearance is relatively clear. As the expressionistic woman, Elsbeth was supposed to teach Reini how to love others completely. Since she is the only woman with whom he comes into contact, she is ob viously the only means by which he can learn unselfish love. At the beginning they were rather close, but after he dis covered his first "mission," he began to ignore her; and in his second "mission," he completely lost sight of her. Therefore, Lauckner, like Kaiser, has shown the demise of the "New Man" indirectly by showing the relationship of Reini to his sister, for he has shown that the "altruistic New Man" first disregarded and then overlooked entirely the means by which he could learn to love unselfishly: his 143 sister. In the last act of the play one can see immediately that frustration and disillusionment with Reini, the "New Man," have seized control of Elsbeth. She cannot condone his participation in the revolution, "der Mord," which is raging in the streets. .Throughout the play he has slowly withdrawn more and more from his sister and the love she offers him; in this act he rejects her consciously for the first time: "Ich Narr, vor einer Frau von Gott zu sprechen . . ." (p. 236). Not only was he unable to see love in the unselfish sacrifices she made in order to stay with him and help him, but now he expressly refuses to learn from her. Out of anger and frustration she says to him: "Schweigl Wohin treibst du? . . . Du versundigst dich, wenn gegen mich nicht, gegen deinen Freund [Gotz von Magedanz]" (p. 236). Reini leaves in anger to join the rebels in the street. Despite his apparent failure to learn unselfish love from her and despite the frustration and disillusionment he has caused her, she— unlike the Secretary in Gats— can still forgive him: "Er leidet tief mit jedem Traurigen. . . . Er will doch das bestei" (pp. 245-246). Lauckner has shown in Wahnschaffe the demise of the "New Man" both directly and indirectly. Directly, the "New ; 144' i Man" becomes the helpless victim of his own self-deception. Indirectly, the "New Man" is shown in his relationship to a woman to be a sterile, unloving creation who claims to love mankind, but who in reality cannot love unselfishly. Reini Wahnschaffe1s relationship to his sister demonstrated his inability to accept and reciprocate the fraternal love shown to him by his sister; in fact, he not only rejected her completely, but he felt that "Geist" and "Arbeit" could be accomplished without physical love at all. This latter fact also shows the futile sterility involved with this "New Man" and his goals. The second of Lauckner's women, Hedwig in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. is also similar to Kaiser's Secretary in Gats. That is, Hedwig and Paul Schumann have a man-woman relationship, just as the Secretary and the Captain have a man-woman relationship. Hedwig is, perhaps, a more "con ventional" expressionistic woman than Elsbeth Wahnschaffe because she can satisfy the two functions of the expression istic woman. In the beginning of her association with Paul Schumann, Hedwig exhibits a feature which has been common to all the women so far discussed: she is skeptical of the "mission" of her "New Man." She is clearly unsure of Paul's ability 145 to help her sick daughter Erika. She prays for the child only because the "fascinating Indian" has ordered her to pray, not because she believes the prayers will help the chiId: Hedwig Doch'. Seitdem du es befohlen hast, hab ich inuner . . . Paul Schumann Seitdem du erkannt hast I Hedwig Ja! Seitdem ich erkannt habe.^ When Paul offers to pray for the child personally,' Hedwig is delighted that he will do so, but she does not believe in him completely because she is afraid that her husband will find out about it. Yet although she is skeptical about Paul's "mission," she is nevertheless willing.to trust and believe in him because she, as a woman, loves him, as a man: Hedwig sieht ihn auf sich zukommen und schliefrt die Augen verlangend. Er kufit sie auf die Stirn. Sie umklammert ihn fest. Dull Ich bin ja so unglucklich!1 . . . (p. 103) Thus Hedwig is similar to the Secretary in Gats. Out of a feeling of love for Paul Schumann she will support and assist him in his "mission." At first, she is optimistic •^Lauckner, Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus. p. 101. about his ability to cure Erika through prayers: "Wir wol- len ihn [der Widersacher] gemeinsam iiberwinden" (p. 115). Hedwig is willing to become the means by which Paul will learn to subjugate his ego and consequently love others un selfishly, but it is clear from previous discussions— pri marily the discussion of the Secretary in Gats— that Hedwig is used to show that only frustration and disillusionment result from belief in the "New Man." When Hedwig reappears in the eleventh scene, she is beginning to show feelings of frustration and disillusion ment; she is now both the wife and secretary of Paul. He, like the Captain, has fallen into disrepute; the Captain had to go into hiding because it was illegal to advocate the use of gats: Paul Schumann has gone into seclusion because he had to serve a prison term as a result of Erika's death. Hedwig works to the point of exhaustion for Paul, and it is clear that he is willing to accept her love and use it to his advantage, but he has not been able to reciprocate that love unselfishly, and this is the reason for Hedwig's frus tration and disillusionment. Obviously it is becoming increasingly difficult for her to hide her true feelings. When Paul says that his day will come soon and then their problems will be over, frustration 147 is the motivation for her reply: "Wenn wir es nur so lange aushalten! . . (p. 146). That he has never been able to reciprocate her love is also implied when she says: "Die Sorgen, die ich habe,— und ich habe ja nun einmal fur dich mitzusorgen als Frau— die sind doch vielleicht groBer als du denkst! ..." (p. 147). At this point Paul is similar to Reini Wahnschaffe, who was not only unable to love unself ishly, but who alienated himself consciously from the sole means— his sister— by which he could learn to love. Paul, likewise, decides to break with his wife. It is this last display of lack of consideration which causes the frustra tion and disillusionment to gain control of her: Ja! Meine Sorge urns tagliche Brotl ■ — Aber nicht fur michi Fur dich, Paul! Fur dich!! Ich bitte dich— hor auf! Ich kann das heute nicht mehr vertragen! — Du trampelst auf mir herum wie auf einem Stuck Holz und verlangst, dafi ich das als richtig emp- findeI Irrsinn! Wahnsinn! Verbrechenl — Sie haben dich ja schon im Irrenhause gehabt! Und im Gefangnisl — Ich habe dich geliebt. Damit bastal Und dann hab ich Mit- leid mit dir gehabt, damit du nicht ganz unter die Rader kommst— oder ins Zuchthaus! — Hab die Nachte lang ge- sessen und die Bucher nachgeschrieben und gehungert und gefroren— ohne einen Dank— ohne einmal ein freundliches Wort! . . . (pp. 147, 149, 153) Hedwig says in so many words what every woman thus far in this study has suggested. Through love— fraternal, filial or sexual— the women have supported and aided the "New Men." 148 However, frustration and disillusionment have transformed that love to pity in every case, as Hedwig says. Hedwig shows on stage the frustration and disillusion ment which have resulted from her faith and love for the "New Man" and his "mission." As the expressionistic woman, she was the means by which Paul could learn to love unself ishly, but through Paul's relationship to her Lauckner clearly shows the "New Man" as one who not only is unable to learn the true meaning of love, but who even alienates him self from the sole means by which he could learn this. Also Hedwig, as the expressionistic woman, could function as the mother of the race of "New Men." In previous plays the failure of the expressionistic woman in this capacity was a device for showing the sterility of the "New Man." In Gats the Captain, the "New Man," was the very means by which the Secretary became sterile; in Nebeneinander the father- daughter relationship was sterile despite the incestuous overtones. In Wahnschaffe the association between Reini and Elsbeth is completely sterile, without any hint of incest. The situation in Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus is different, however. In contrast to the Secretary and the Captain in Gatsj Hedwig and Paul Schumann do have a child, a son. Paul considers the son, "Jojo," to be a "New Man" (emphasis 149 mine): "Jojo, mein Sohn, ist gewachsen! . . . Ich habe ihn Johannes Joachim genanntl . . . Johannes, damit er mein Wort weiter traae' Und Joachim, . . . dafi er stark werde— wie ein Bauml" (p. 172). In early activist Expressionism the birth of the "New Man" was regarded optimistically as a great event which would benefit all mankind. However, in Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus the birth of the "New Man," Johanrfes Joachim Schumann, is treated negatively; this is accomplished by means of irony. Throughout the play Paul Schumann was depicted as a victim of his own self-deception, and in his relationship to others he was depicted as a self ish man who was not capable of loving another person; there fore, he himself is presented in a negative light. Like wise, the birth of "Jojo" is shown in a negative light when Paul says that "Jojo" will "spread the word" of his father. By means of Paul's relationship to Hedwig, Lauckner is able to portray pessimistically the birth of the "New Man"— which had been heralded earlier in an optimistic manner as the only hope for the future. It was mentioned in the last chapter that Per Geschla- aene. as a drama of the "New Man," begins at the point where the previous plays have all ended; in the two dramas by Kaiser and the two by Lauckner there was the consistent 150 pattern of disillusionment for the "New Man": he finds his "mission," pursues it, and becomes disillusioned through his own self-deception. In the present chapter it has been established that the women in the plays up to this point have followed a parallel pattern of disillusionment: each vows to help her "New Man" pursue his goal, but eventually becomes frustrated and disillusioned by his inability to love unselfishly. With respect to the "New Man," Per Ge- schlaaene shows the "New Man" as a disillusioned "hero" at the beginning, and through the play he is slowly able to see where he went astray in pursuing his "mission." Like wise, it will be shown that the development of the woman in this play is parallel; that is, in the beginning she is frustrated and disillusioned by the "New Man," but as she gradually teaches him the true meaning of love, they ulti mately arrive at the "higher and purer level of existence." In Schmidtbonn's Per Geschlagene the expressionistic woman is Elisa, Josef Wacholder's wife. When she hears that her wounded husband is returning from the war, she is not happy: "Kam er zuruck wie sonst, nach Sieg, mit fremden Augen— ich gestehe dir: leicht ware er abzuwarten gewesen ... I Aber er kommt mit Wunden, gedemiitigt, voll Trauer" (p. 7). Thus she feels pity for him, and for this reason 151 she pledges herself to care for him. Hedwig in Per Sturz des Aoostels Paulus admitted to Paul that she loved him no longer, but pitied him, only at the end of the play. At the beginning of Per Geschlaqene this is already apparent. It is not stated exactly why Elisa's love for Josef began to die, but she alludes to his "profession": Friiher hat dir ja auch dein Beruf zu alien solchen Ge- danken keine Zeit gelassen. . . . Aber du hast doch deinem Beruf mit solcher Unermiidlichkeit angehangen. (pp. 12-13) In the first act she refers to the earlier days when he was a pilot, and it is unmistakably implied that her love for him did, indeed, begin to die during those days: Ich liebe dich wie vorher. Nein, mehr als vorher. Ja, fast mochte auch ich nicht mehr wiinschen, dafi du Augen hattest, so sehr fiihle auch ich, wie wir jetzt mehr zusammenwachsen werden als jemals. (pp. 31, 35) Therefore, by the end of the first act of Per Geschlaqene Elisa has been depicted as a woman who once showed great love for her husband. With her the pattern begins with disillusionment and frustration. She failed once to teach him the true meaning of love because his "profession" took all his time? now she will try once again to -show him how ......152 : to love unselfishly since he is completely dependent on her. In view of what has been shown in the four previous discussions, Schmidtbonn's purpose here is clear. Previous ly Kaiser and Lauckner showed by means of the women in their plays that frustration and disillusionment result from be lief in the "New Man." Schmidtbonn begins with this assump tion as his basis? and by means of Elisa he will show that the "New Man" can recognize where he went astray and can rectify his mistake. Also in the second act there enters a second important theme: sterility of the "New Man." In Per Geschlaqene Elisa is childless? although she feels that a child would help Josef learn to love her unselfishly, she has remained barren throughout their marriage. The reasons for her bar renness will be discussed later. The second act ends with Josef's accusation that Elisa has been unfaithful to him. Unlike the Secretary in Gats who sought revenge on the Captain for the things he did to her, Elisa seeks no revenge for Josef's accusation: Verhor mich. Wenn du mich schuldlos gefunden hast, werde ich nicht umgekehrt mich zum Richter machen uber dich— also fiirchte nichts. (p. 62) Her patience reminds, one of Elsbeth in Wahnschaffe. Elsbeth! 153 hoped that Reini would realize that he had gone astray in pursuit of his "mission," and in that hope she retained her patience with him. Elisa's plea for a "trial" is made for the same reason. This is her purpose when she says: "Nun fange ich an zu hoffen, f dalb ich doch noch besitzen werde" (p. 64). In the last act Elisa has her "trial" where she must defend herself against charges of infidelity. At first it appears that Josef's charges are true. She tells Josef: Als ich safi im Garten . . . , wuchs aus den Buchstaben deines Briefes ein Gesicht auf. So deutlich, dafi ich zitterte und zu einem Busch fliichtete und die Augen hinein versteckte. Dein Gesicht? Nicht dein Gesicht, das Gesicht Davids 1 (p. 89) Later she even admits that she had had erotic desires for David: Als er stand vor meinem Bett und die Hand hielt auf meine Brust— Josef, ich habe nicht geschlafen, ich habe nur die Augen zugehalten, als ob ich schliefe. Als er fortging . . . , habe ich in mein Kissen gebetet, dafi er in der nachsten Nacht wieder da stehn mochte. (p. 90) Therefore, Josef's charges against her are valid by her own admission, but when Josef exclaims "Allzu gut gesehnI Ich habe vorausgesehn. Ich habe-die Zukunft gesehn" (p. 91), she says to him something which begins to shift the guilt for her infidelity away from herself and onto Josef himself:; „ .....................154 ; Schlecht gesehni Wie schlecht gesehn1 Ich habe nicht aufgehort dich zu lieben. . . . Habe ich dich verraten? Du hast mich verraten. . . . Jetzt, Wahrheitsucher, wirst du Wahrheit horen mehr, als du erwartet hast. Blinder, wirst du sehend gemacht. Jetzt wirst du horen, warum alles so geschehen ist. Jetzt erst fangt mein Gestandnis an. Jetzt, Menschenentdecker, werde ich dir Menschen zeigen. Jetzt, Anklager, wirst du angeklagt. (p. 92) Josef, the "New Man," becomes the "defendant" in the "trial" where he had initially been the "plaintiff." As Elisa begins to explain and enumerate the "acts of treason" committed against her by Josef, the "New Man," it becomes apparent that he forced her into the relationship with David; that is, Josef ceased to love Elisa, and she turned to David, but only in order to find Josef: "Nie habe ich aufgehort, im Bruder dich zu suchen" (p. 97). The reasons I for her need to "supplement" her husband's love were the familiar frustration and disillusionment which have been seen in every woman thus far studied. Even on their wedding night it was apparent that Josef did not really love Elisa. She tells him what Hedwig might have said to Paul Schumann: ' "Du hast dich fur einen andern ausgegeben . . . Du bist nicht Brautigam geblieben . . . Von fremden Dingen hast du gesprochen die erste Nacht . . . Von Ruhm hast du gespro- chen" (p. 93). Later she explains more precisely: Wenn ich dir entgegenlief nach glucklicher Landung und ! 155 dein gerettetes Gesicht in meine Hande rifl, nahmst du nicht meine Liebe fur Lob? Warst du nicht bemuht, deine Ohren von mein.en Handen frei zu halten, tom nur nichts zu verlieren vom Beifall der Menge? (p. 94) In other words, he did not reciprocate her love; he used it to magnify his own ego. Consequently, Josef had ceased to be a "Kampfer" in her eyes. Earlier in the play Elisa had mentioned the fact that a baby could change the relationship between them. During her "testimony" at the "trial," however, the real cause of her barrenness is brought out: the indifference of her husband: "Im Bett neben dir, wie lag ich, ein Stuck dieser Erde, und mufite frieren" (p. 96) Therefore, Josef was unable to love Elisa unselfishly despite his claims of love for mankind; he was also sterile and unproductive, for he had lost all interest in Elisa; she became the means by which he could flatter his ego, not father the race of "New Men." At the beginning the woman, Elisa, has been frustrated and disillusioned by her rela tionship to her husband, the "New Man"; her marriage to j Josef has proved sterile in both a literal and figurative sense. However, throughout the course of the play Josef is made to "see" through his blindness; that is, he is made to i realize that he has gone astray in his relationship to I.................................................. 156 ; .others. Ultimately he does, indeed, understand that frus tration and disillusionment were the feelings he gave in return for love, and he is made to realize this by means of his wife. In Schmidtbonn's Die Fahrt nach Ornlid there is a re turn to the standard pattern of disillusionment for the "New Man": mission, pursuit of mission, disillusionmenty that is, by means of the woman the "New Man" becomes a sterile "hero" who is incapable of unselfish love. In this play two women are used to show the "New Man" in this negative light. As in Kaiser's Gats. Lauckner's Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus and Schmidtbonn1s Per Geschlaqene. the wife of the "New Man" is used in order to show him as a selfish, sterile "hero," and as in Kaiser's Nebeneinander. the daughter Sanna is used for the same purpose. But by way of contrast, Sanna, unlike the Daughter in Nebeneinander. does not commit suicide."^ •^The optimism implied in this difference is sufficient to isolate Die Fahrt nach Ornlid from the five previous plays, with the single exception of Schmidtbonn's Per Ge schlaqene. which also ends optimistically. It is interest ing that of the ten plays in this study only three are op timistic at their conclusions: the two plays by Schmidtbonn and a play to be discussed later, Werfel's Juarez und Maxi- i milian. Perhaps there is some connection here between the optimism and the fact that Werfel and Schmidtbonn were both j In the first act of Die Fahrt nach Orplid the two women, Frau Orphal and Sanna, contrast sharply with the women before them. In this play there are two points of view. Frau Orphal, the sick old wife of the "New Man," be lieves in her husband's "mission" implicitly: "Er dient nicht mir. Er dient nicht sich. Er dient seinem Plan, der 16 ihn uber das Meer treibt." She has faith in his "plan," and later speaks of it not only in terms of service to some abstract idea, but in terms of salvation and personal sac rifice: "Wir sind sein Plan. Um uns zu retten, hat er alles aufgegeben, was bisher sein Leben war" (p. 7). Thus it is not just Frau Orphal's love which binds her to him, but genuine faith in his "plan." This fact seems to break the consistency in the pattern of the woman's relationship to the "New Man." Nevertheless, she is a device used by Schmidtbonn in order to show the two features of her husband familiar to us from earlier examples. The sterility of the primarily novelists, or at least they were not primarily dramatists, whereas the plays with the pessimistic conclu sions were written by Kaiser, Lauckner, Kornfeld and Toller — all primarily dramatists. One could perhaps conclude from this that the dramatists were particularly disillusioned with the "New Man." Schmidtbonn. pje Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 6. 158 "New Man" is clearly indicated by the fact that Orphal's wife is too old to bear more children. The question of Orphal's inability to love his wife unselfishly and through her to learn the true meaning of love is not so clear. In the previous plays the women them selves spoke lines which proved this inability of the "New Man" beyond any doubt; yet there are no such lines by Frau Orphal in Die Fahrt nach Orplid. One must rely on implica tion and dramatic situation. Orphal knew before he left Germany that his wife's health was dangerously poor; never theless, he insisted that she make the trip. For the sake of his "plan" he is willing to sacrifice her life. This conclusion is verified at the end of the first act where Orphal and the Young Man are discussing Orphal's unrealistic goal; during their argument Frau Orphal dies. Her death serves to accent the Young Man's arguments against Orphal's pipe-dreams. Thus, once again, the failure of the "New Man" is illustrated through his relationship to the woman. Sanna, Orphal's daughter, brings out the deficiencies of the "New Man" much more directly. Unlike her mother, Sanna refuses to believe in her father's "mission": "Er liebt seinen Plan, nicht uns" (p. 7). Like the Daughter in Nebeneinander. she agrees to join her father in his search 159 for "Orplid" only out of her sense of filial obligation. As Orphal explains his "mission" to Sanna, it is clear that his "love" for her depends only on her usefulness to his goal: Der aber, dem Du bestimmt bist: ich sehe ihn ttber das Feld gehen, blondes Haar, nackte Brust . . . Von einem solchen allein will ich Enkel. Denn jetzt mufi ich Dir gestehen: nicht um Dich handelt es sich hier. Sondern um die Enkel. Ein neues Geschlecht wird aufwachsen . . . Ein solches Geschlecht wird in diesem Tal hochwachsen, aus dir, aus mir. Ich werde der Stammvater sein. (pp. 36-37) Orphal, like all "New Men" in this study, is willing to take her love and assistance, which are evoked more from filial devotion than from genuine belief in his "mission," and use them to flatter his own ego. It should also be noted at this point that Orphal has no desire to be the father of the race of "New Men"? the "father" will be Sanna's imaginary suitor. In this respect, Orphal reminds one of the Captain in Gats; in both cases the "New Men" are voluntarily sterile, and this sterility is used by the author of each play to show the futility of the former expressionistic ideal in general. In terms which remind one of the Secretary, Elsbeth, Hedwig or even Elisa before her, Sanna says in the last act that she can no longer support him in the pursuit of his 160 "mission"— even out of a sense of filial obligations . . ich kniee, Vater . . . Spiel nicht mit mir. Mach mich nicht zu einer Puppe in Deinem Spiel. Dein Tal? Mein Herzl Dein Plan? IchI Ichl Ich! Achte mich, dafi ich mein eignes Leben fuhren will" (p. 55). Like Hedwig in Der Sturz des Aoostels Paulus. Sanna leaves in order to lead her own life, free of the selfish "plan" of her father, the "New Man." Thus Schmidtbonn indirectly depicts the demise of the "New Man" in Die Fahrt nach Orplid by means of the two wom en, Frau Orphal and Sanna. Through them the "hero" is shown to be a sterile man who is incapable of loving another per son completely; like the Pawnbroker in Nebeneinander. he is even unable to show unselfish love to his own daughter. To him she is simply the means by which his dream can become a "reality." Up to this point, then, the function of the woman within each individual play has been this: by means of her the author has shown a figure who expresses on stage the frustration and disillusionment which the author himself felt in his former ideal, the "New Man." As the expression istic woman, the woman in each play was to serve in two roles: she was supposed to be the means by which her "New Man" learns the true meaning of love;., .that is, he learns to : 161 subjugate his ego through her. It has been shown in the past six discussions that no "New Man" has been able to learn this lesson; with the possible exception of Frau Orphal, the love offered by every woman has been taken and used to his advantage by the "New Man," but he has not re ciprocated that love. Also as the expressionistic woman, the woman in each play was to serve as the mother of the race of "New Men," but with the single exception of Paul Schumann, the "New Man" has proved himself to be sterile. Therefore, the demise of the "New Man" has been shown in directly in this chapter by means of his relationship to a woman; that is, his demise is not depicted directly by means of his own self-deception, as was shown in Chapter II, but it is shown indirectly by means of another character's reac tions to him and his "mission." Through his relationship to another character he is shown to be a selfish, sterile creation. Although the character of the woman herself is slightly altered, her function in the two comedies to be discussed next remains essentially the same. In Palme oder Der Gekrankte the "hero" Palme is a paro dy of the "New Man." He is a hypersensitive individual who contradicts everything he says; he says that a person should not be too sensitive about what other people say of him, yet; 162 j it was shown in the second chapter that Palme is driven almost to the point of committing suicide because.of some innocent remarks which he considers to be insults. The woman in Palme's life, Helene, is a partial parody of the expressionistic concept of "woman." The term "partial paro-: dy" is used because Helene resembles the six women discussed up to now more than Palme resembles the "New Men." Palme is so far removed from the ideal of the "New Man" that it was difficult to identify him as such. In the case of Helene, it is not so difficult to show that she serves at least one of the two functions of the expressionistic woman: she does; make an attempt to teach him the true meaning of love. How ever, she does not qualify as the mother of the race of "New Men"; in fact, she and Palme are still practically children themselves, barely of age to be married. Also Palme states in no uncertain terms that he feels nothing but hatred for children. In the first act of the comedy one is impressed pri marily by Helene's fickle attitude. She differs from the six previous women in that she cannot decide whom she loves; whenever she thinks of Kimmich, for example, he becomes her best friend; whenever her thoughts turn to Quinke, he takes Kimmich's place in her heart, and the same is true for 163 | Plempe. Sometimes all three are on her mind; then she tells Palme: "Jal Herr Quinke, Herr Kimmich und Herr Plempe sind 17 meine drei besten Freundei" Yet she does have an interest in Palme also; this is revealed when she says to her uncle Lauberjahn: "Nein, wie viele Manner mich lieben! Quinke, Kimmich, Plempe— und jetzt noch Palme" (p. 10). This co quettish pride also makes her different from the other six women. Previously the six women were closely involved in the life and work of the "New Man." When they became frus trated and disillusioned, it was a major catastrophe which affected their whole way of life. In the case of Helene any frustration and disillusionment she may eventually feel for her "New Man," Palme, will be as brief and superficial as her "love" for him. In the next act Palme argues with each of Helene's three suitors, and each one leaves in anger. Although Helene thinks that this means the end of her life, she promises her mother, Clara, that she will forgive Palme and try to understand his sensitivity. Moreover, Clara is sure that the three suitors of her daughter will return. The conversation between Helene and her mother is very important •^Kornfeld, Palme oder Der Gekrankte. p. 17. 164 now, and through this discussion of marriage one can get an idea of Helene's concept of love. Helene's choice of a husband is made primarily on the basis of his sense of humor; to this Clara soberly replies: "Moge Gott Dich seg- nen mit einem gottlichern Gelachter, wie er Dir das mensch- liche gegeben hat'. Doch dieses ist kein Band, das zwei Menschen fesselt" (p. 50). Then Helene equates love (lie- ben) with habit (sich aewohnen): "Ich konnte mir sehr wohl denken, daft ich bald von einem von ihnen sage: ich liebe ihn, und mich an ihn gewohne" (p. 51). Clara also denies this habit as a criterion for choosing a prospective hus band: Man gewohnt sich und geht eine Stufe hinunter, man ge wohnt sich weiter und steigt weiter herab, und wenn man sich ganz gewohnt hat, ist man auch ganz unten ange- langt . . . Und wer weift, wann man dann wieder herauf- steigt. . . ; Es geht nicht um eine lustige Feier, mit der eine Gewohnheit eingeleitet wird. Das Unendliche, daft zwei Menschen Hand in Hand in die Ewigkeit hiniiber- gehen, ist eine unendliche. Heiterkeit, eine unendlich frohliche Melodie, zu der die ernstesten Damonen in der Menschen Brust ihre tiefe Begleitung spielen. (p. 51) In conclusion, Clara gives Helene only one criterion for selecting a husband— he must love her: Wir sind armselige Geschopfe und brauchen die Liebe der andern. Und wenn ein Gott kame, der mich zu sich nehmen wollte, ohne mich zu lieben, ich wurde ihm entfliehen und eher zu jenem Mann gehen, der kein Gott ist, sondern ein kleiner Mensch, der vielleicht taglich da unten 165 irgendwohin zur Arbeit geht und am Abend miide zuriick- kommt, am Morgen, nachdem er Abschied genommen, und am Abend sich nach mir sehnend. (p. 51) The idea expressed by Clara in this passage applies to the; women studied before who realized too late that their "god" did not love them. Hedwig in Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus did not flee from her idol, i.e., the "New Man," who came to her? rather, she left her husband, the "little person" who nevertheless loved her, in order to go with the "New Man." The result for her was frustration and disillusionment. This is the lesson which Clara is now trying to give Helene? if she is married without love, the admiration for her "god" will turn to disenchantment. The second act thus ends with Helene's letter to Palme which she has sent in order to reconcile their disagreement over her suitors. In the third act Helene has decided to choose one of her three suitors. Following her mother's advice, she will have a serious conversation with each of them and will choose the one who is "most intellectually inspiring" (der > ! Geistreichste). Each suitor is eliminated one by one, and Helene's final choice is Palme because he seems to love her truly: "... eben sprach er hier, als wiirde er mich rasend liebenl" (p. 81). Therefore, Helene offers her love to Palme, the "New Man," and by this act intends to teach him 166 how to love unselfishly. In the next act it seems as if her show of affection for him may, indeed, have achieved its purpose: Helene, vielerlei ist das Gluck, das die Frauen uns geben konnen, mannigfaltig wie das Gluck der Erdel . . . Wie anders schon ist jede anderel Eine zu lieben, und es ist ein Ziel des Lebens, ihrer wert zu seinl . . . Und sie zu fassen und zu fiihlen: sie ist, sie atmet, lebt als Mensch, als Mensch wie ich, und doch nicht so wie ich, und deshalb mein ew'ger Wunsch und anderer Teil! (p. 97) Apparently he is becoming aware of the "higher and purer level of existence" to which Helene, as the expressionistic woman, will be able to lead him through her love. However, in the last act he reverts back to the Palme he was before Helene's show of affection. Just before he leaves Clara's home, he says: "Alles ware an ders gewesen, wenn Du mich geliebt hattest. . . . Niemand liebt michi . . ." (pp. 115-116). Since Helene's feel ings for him were genuine, and since Clara had never given him any reason to doubt her love, his outburst at the end of the play can only be considered a criticism of himself. He cannot love them; therefore, he must condemn them to hide his own fault; in fact, it was shown in Chapter II that this was a consistent feature of his character: he condemned his 167 18 own faults by accusing others of those faults. Thus Helene in Palme oder Der Gekrankte reminds one only vaguely of the six previously discussed women. Never theless, to a certain degree she is a device used by Korn- feld to show that Palme, the "New Man," is unable to love another human. In Toller's Der entfesselte Wotan Marie is even more distantly removed from the expressionistic woman than Helene. She is little more than a minor figure in Wotan's life. Just as Wotan was shown to be a caricature of the "New Man," so it seems to be Toller's intention to make Marie a caricature of the expressionistic woman. In con trast to the seven previous women (excluding Frau Orphal, who was a minor character), Marie is not an independent character who is attracted to her "New Man" out of love for l8For an interesting parallel to the story of Palme and his own realization of his inability to love, compare So kel's discussions of Heinrich Mann's character Mario Mal- volto in the short story "Pippo Spano" and Sternheim's char-; acter Scarron in the comedy Die Hose. All three characters, Palme, Malvolto and Scarron, are "cheats" in matters of love. Sokel could well have been talking of Palme when he says this about Scarron: ",p. . the man . . . cannot feel deeply and genuinely enough to engage in a human relation ship" (p. 122). Sokel, "The Impotence of the Heart," The Writer in Extremis, pp. 119-137. 168 him; when the play begins, they are already married. Pre viously only one other couple has been married at the be ginning of a play: Josef and Elisa Wacholder. If one com pares Marie and Elisa, then the first apparent difference is Marietotal lack of communication with Wotan, while Elisa and Josef slowly come to understand each other. Unlike Elisa, Marie is interested in herself more than her husband; that is, Elisa could at first control the frustration and disillusionment caused by her husband because she felt com passion for his injury. Marie is unable to conceal her feelings at the beginning of the play: Wotan, mach mich nicht unglucklich. Jeden Pfennig zu Krause! Was sollen dir Romanel . . . Aber meine Ehre gab ich dir ohne Pfand. Unbefleckt verliefi ich vor dreizehn Jahren. . . . Der Mann bringt mich ins Grab! . . . Ach du . . . siehst nicht, wie mir die Hande zittern vor Mattigkeit. Glaubst, der Backer leiht mir noch? Oder der Fleischer? Heute fruh drohte der Haus- wirt mit dem Gerichtsvollzieher: Zahlen wir nicht die Miete, miissen wir ziehen zum ersten . . We can see clearly the lack of communication between Marie ^Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 12. Of the ten plays in this study, this is the only one which casts the expressionistic woman in a definitely negative light. Marie is full of self-pity, and this has not been a feature seen in other women up to this point. Elsbeth did not like the fact that she was so inextricably involved in Reini's life, ; but she maintained her self-control and cooperated with him until he himself dissolved their relationship. Marie is the! only woman presented as a whining nagger. i 169 and her "New Man." For example, when Marie tells her hus band that they have been threatened with eviction if they do not pay their rent, Wotan replies: "Ich weifi, Europa stinkt" (p. 12). It is obvious that he is not listening to Marie at all, for this answer has nothing to do with Marie's complaint; rather, it is related to Wotan's conversation with the Foreign Gentleman. In the second act of the play, the "Andante," Toller shows the isolation of Wotan from Marie symbolically. Marie does not appear in the dream sequence where Wotan is first presented as the "master" of his dream of a Brazilian "primal forest" and then as its "slave"; one only hears her voice as she calls in vain for her husband; he does not answer her. Unlike the other women in this study, she can hardly teach her "New Man" how to love unselfishly, for she is more interested in her own welfare. In one respect Marie is similar to Helene in Palme oder Per Gekrankte. Helene was able to satisfy one function of the expressionistic woman: under the tutelage of her motheri she was willing to offer love to Palme. Yet there was no doubt that she was not able to function as the mother of the race of "New Men." Likewise, Marie in Der entfesselte Wotan; has been shown to be unable to fulfill one function of the 1 i 170 expressionistic woman: even if she were able to offer un selfish love to Wotan, the lack of communication between them would prevent his learning how to love from her. How ever, Marie does function as the mother of the race of "New Men." It is significant that Wotan chooses the name Bra- sileus for his unborn child, for the child, as the coming "New Man," represents an unrealistic dream based upon a fantasy. The birth of this child is regarded as pessimis tically as was the birth of Paul Schumann's son. Because such a negative picture is given of Paul Schumann it also casts his son in a similar light when Paul says that his son will carry on his father's work. The same situation occurs in Per entfesselte Wotan. The picture of Wotan, created throughout the play, is definitely negative, and the birth of his "Crown Prince" becomes pessimistic in the eyes of the readers when Wotan says at the end: "Ich habe eine Mission! Europa kann nicht untergehen, solange Wotans leben!!!" (p. 61). That is, Wotan feels his unborn son will continue the work already begun by Wotan himself. t Therefore, Toller's Per entfesselte Wotan depicts the expressionistic woman in a much different way from the man ner in which she is depicted in the previous eight plays (excluding Kornfeld's Per ewige Traum). Although Marie 171 ; herself is a caricature of the expressionistic woman, she is still a device; this is accomplished by showing that Wotan and Marie cannot communicate with each other even though they are married. Marie is also the mother of a "New Man," but the birth of their child is seen in a pessimistic light. Thus by means of the woman in his life the demise of the "New Man" is shown indirectly. The last woman to be discussed here is the Empress Charlotte in Werfel's Juarez und Maximilian. Charlotte is a more "conventional" character than either Helene or Marie in the two comedies; she reminds one of the Secretary in Gats because of the steadfast faith she has in her husband, the "New Man," and at the same time of Elsbeth in Wahn- schaffe because she understands, perhaps better than her husband, the problems in executing Maximilian's reforms in Mexico. Her love is expressed when she says to Maximilian: 20 "Alles, was Du anruhrst, wird rein." Her attitude toward him, in fact, is very similar to the manner in which the Secretary and Hedwig before her worshipped the Captain and | i Paul Schumann respectively as— in Clara's terms— "gods." She realizes that people are not as good as he thinks they 20Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 44. ; ............................ ~........ 172 ! ! - ; are, and this may cause him trouble later. She tells him: . . . Ich bin nichts, ich bin gar nichts. . . . Mein Gotti Ich? Ich Arme, ich Leere, ich Fruchtlose? Du siehst uns groB. Wir Menschen aber sind raffiniert und zwecksuchtig . . . (pp. 43-45) As the expressionistic woman, Charlotte is supposed to be the means by which Maximilian learns the true meaning of unselfish love. It is clear that she has been able to teach Maximilian how to love, at least to a certain degree, for he admits to her: Du hast das Wahrhaft-Schopferische in mir erweckt. Ja, schau mich nur anl Es sind Tranen. Die guten Strome meines Herzens wollen in die Welt. Dir danke ich die Liebe, die in mir ist. (p. 44) This is the first and only instance in the ten plays in this study where the "New Man" concedes that he has learned to 21 love through the woman. In the first "Phase" Charlotte is presented as a woman who cannot have children. By her own admission she is barren: Es ist ein sehr guter Plan, den kleinen Iturbide zu adoptieren. Du muBt einen erklarten Nachfo.lger bekommen. ^Josef Wacholder is excluded from consideration here because he ceased to be a "New Man" in pursuit of a "mis sion." It was only after he ceased to be a "New Man" that he learned how to love. 173 ! Das bindet die Nation fester an Diehl Und . . . und wenn Du eigene Kinder haben willst, mein lieber Schatz, dann schick mich fort . . Therefore Charlotte, as the expressionistic woman, has apparently been successful in teaching her husband, the "New Man," how to love unselfishly. Yet there is a difference between Maximilian and Charlotte and Sorge's Beggar and the Girl. The Beggar and the Girl together arrived at a "higher and purer level of existence" by means of each other's love; Maximilian and Charlotte have reached no such "higher and purer level of existence" together. Also she cannot satisfy her role as the mother of the "New Man," and she is obvi ously unhappy about that. Although Maximilian himself is not physically sterile, nevertheless he is sterile in effect V because he has chosen and married a barren woman. Thus he has apparently learned to love unselfishly from his wife, but by means of her he is sterile— as all other "New Men" before him. In the second "Phase" Charlotte reminds one of Elsbeth Wahnschaffe once again in that she pleads with Maximilian to; think of himself; Elsbeth had also implored her brother Reini to pursue his "mission" with moderation. Although it 22Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 48. 174 ! was contrary to what she felt was in her best interests, Elsbeth remained with Reini and watched him go to his de struction because of his lack of moderation. Now Charlotte ■ warns Maximilian of the dangers before him: Erkenn ihn [Napoleon]! Juarez ist nur Dein Peind. Er aber Dein Antiprinzipl Er will das Reine abschaffen, damit man ihn adorierel Er hat Dich nur erhoben, um Dich fallen zu lassen. Du muBt ruiniert sein, damit er leben kann, der aimable Menschenverderber ... (p. 8 6 ) But Maximilian, as Reini Wahnschaffe before him, dismisses her warnings: "Ich tauge nicht fur seine schmutzigen Ge- schafte" (p. 87). At this point Charlotte begins to differ : from Elsbeth and begins to resemble the Secretary in Gats. That is, Charlotte, unlike Elsbeth, cannot stand on the side and watch Maximilian go to his predictable end. Like the Secretary, Charlotte does so love her "New Man" that she will not desert him in the face of overwhelming opposition: | Ich bin eine Frau, ich liebe Dich, den Menschen! . . . Ich werde Dich rettenl . . . Ich gehe fur Dich nach Europal . . . Ich, die Kaiserin, mit meinem Gefolgel Ich will Dein Licht in der Hand tragen . . . Aber mein Bruder herrscht in Brussel. Ich kehre mit einem Korps > zuruck. In den Vatikan dringe ich ein . . . Als Bett- lerin mit nackten FiiBen und als donnernde Gerechtigkeit stehe ich vor jeder Tur. Fur Dich! ... (pp. 89-90) Therefore she, the Empress, is willing to make the sacrifice for him of becoming a "beggar" in Europe. It is now clear ; 175 that Maximilian has not really learned to love unselfishly from her; at the beginning he claimed she taught him the true meaning of love, but at the end of the fifth "Picture" he is willing to sacrifice her to his selfish dream of a i Habsburg empire in the New World. He knows that Charlotte is becoming mentally unstable, but he does not make a genu ine effort to stop her planned trip. At the beginning Charlotte seemed strangely unhappy in comparison to Maxi milian's ecstatic love for everyone; now at the end of the fifth "Picture" she herself clarifies this earlier unhappi ness, for one is given the impression that she has known or : felt all the time that she would eventually be sacrificed. Because of her love for him she is willing to accept her downfall if it will help him: "Verbrechen!? Mannerdumm- heiten'. Verbrechen, wenn ich den Hals des Teufels wiirgen kann, damit Du, damit Du triumphierst!" (p. 91). Not only has she, as the expressionistic woman, failed in her role i as the mother of the "New Man," but it is apparent now that ! I Charlotte has also failed to teach her "New Man" to love unselfishly. After the fifth "Picture" Charlotte does not appear on stage again, but through reports of her journey to Europe itj i i is at once clear that she has become insane. For example, ; 176 1 Dr. Basch describes the reasons for Charlotte’s "persecution complex" (for which she has been detained in Europe so that she can be treated by a psychiatrist): Ihre Majestat hat Wochen und Monate unsaglicher Erre- gungen iiberstanden: Das Refus Napoleons, der abgelehnte Empfang bei ihrem Bruder, die Kalte Wiens, die Unerbitt- lichkeit des Papstes1 Bei diesen furchtbaren Emotionen, welche Forderung an Denkarbeit und geistige Kraft'. (p. 105) Thus Dr. Basch calls her illness a "persecution complex," but in most other women discussed in this chapter, this "persecution complex" was shown to be frustration and dis illusionment which resulted from faith in a "New Man" and his "mission." The important role of women in nine of the ten plays in this study has been discussed, and one is led to the con clusion that the woman is a device used by the dramatist to show that the "New Man" was a sterile "Weltverbesserer" who was unable to love unselfishly. Thus the woman in the plays is used to show the demise of the "New Man" indirectly. The; i demise of the "New Man" is shown directly by him himself when he goes astray in pursuit of his "mission" and falls victim to his own self-deception, and the demise of the "New Man" is shown indirectly by another character with whom he comes into contact; when she becomes frustrated and dis 177 ; illusioned with her "New Man" and his "mission," these, in turn, reflect a general opinion about the former expression istic (activist) ideal. In seven of the nine plays discussed there was a con sistent pattern to the frustration and disillusionment of the woman; the women in the two comedies Palme Oder Der Gekrankte and Der entfesselte Wotan deviate significantly from this pattern. First of all, the expressionistic woman is bound to her "New Man" out of love for him as a man, not out of belief in his "mission." In Wahnschaffe Elsbeth was bound to her "New Man," Reini, by fraternal love and devo tion; in Nebeneinander and Die Fahrt nach Orplid the Secre tary and Sanna are bound to their respective "New Men," the Captain and Orphal, by filial love and devotion; in Gats. Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus. Der Geschlaaene and Juarez und Maximilian the women are married to their respective "New Men." Through the love which they feel for the "New Man" the women agree to help him pursue his goal. Conse quently, the women become frustrated and disillusioned with I the man who claims to love mankind, but who cannot love another human being. In Palme oder Der Gekrankte and Der entfesselte Wotan the women, Helene and Marie, never reach the point of frustration and disillusionment with their "New; 178 | Men." In both cases the woman is not bound to the "New Man"; out of a feeling of love for him. Helene admits to her mother that she is not quite sure what love is, and Marie is: a selfish woman who could hardly teach another how to love. Through the interaction of man and woman in the nine plays (including the two comedies) it was shown that in every case the "New Man" was unable to subjugate his ego and learn the true meaning of love. In only one case did a man in the nine plays learn unselfish love from his wife: Josef Wacholder in Der Geschlacene. but he was no longer a "New Man" with a "mission." In fact, as long as he had his : "mission," that is, as long as he was a "New Man," he was incapable of unselfish love. The sterility— both physical and spiritual— of the for mer expressionistic (activist) ideal, the "New Man," was also depicted by means of this interaction between man and woman in seven of the nine plays. In Nebeneinander and Die Fahrt nach Orplid there was a father-daughter relationship i between the "New Man" and the expressionistic woman; de- j spite the incestuous overtones in Nebeneinander the rela tionship was sterile in both cases. In Wahnschaffe the "New Man" and his expressionistic woman were connected in a brother-sister relationship; again such a relationship is 179 inherently sterile. In Gats. Der Geschlacrene. Palme Oder Der Gekrankte and Juarez und Maximilian the "New Man" shared a man-woman (in every case except in Palme oder Der Ge krankte it was a husband-wife relationship) relationship with the expressionistic woman; in all four plays the "New Man" was either consciously sterile (Gats. Juarez und Maxi milian) or unconsciously sterile (Der Geschlaaene. Palme oder Der Gekrankte). The "New Man" was not sterile in only two plays; in both Der Sturz des Aoostels Paulus and Der A entfesselte Wotan the "New Man" and his wife have a child. In both cases the birth of that child, the future "New Man," is seen in a pessimistic light. Thus the women in the nine plays under consideration here have been shown to be devices for depicting indirectly the demise of the "New Man." By means of the woman the "New Man" was seen as both sterile and incapable of loving un selfishly. The Realistic Counterpart of the "New Man" In addition to the expressionistic woman there is another character through whom the demise of the "New Man" can be shown indirectly: the realistic counterpart of the "New Man." Sokel alludes to such characters when he says: 180 "Alienation from the world amounts to alienation from the poet's 'deepest self'; conversely, man can be real and essential only in active contact with 'the day' and with 23 'reality.'" For it was shown earlier that the "New Man" has, indeed, alienated himself from the world; he has become an ideal which Utitz labels— in a negative sense— "the purely spiritual": Freiheit hat aber auch der rein Geistige nur, soweit er sich einkapselt in der stillen Welt seiner Gedanken. Im Augenblicke, wo die Gedanken Tat und Handlung werden sollen, fiihlt er seine Ohnmacht gegeniiber der "wirkli- chen" Welt, oder er muft Mut und Willen, Energie und Kraft zu Hilfe rufen, also Machte, die an sich dem rein Geistigen nicht ohne wexteres verhaftet sxnd. ^ The "New Man" isolated himself from others and retreated to a world of thoughts and ideas. He became a sterile man who was incapable of loving another person, although his "mis sion" was allegedly motivated by his love for mankind; this "love for mankind" has been shown to be the result of ego tism more than altruism. The demise of this "purely 2 3 Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 160. Unfortunate ly, Sokel does not develop this idea any further than to make a few more comments in his chapter "The Impotence of the Heart," and those comments are in specific reference to Theobald Maske in Sternheim's Die Hose (pp. 121-123). 2^Utitz, Die Uberwinduna des Expressionismus. p. 90. 181 ‘ i spiritual" activist ideal was depicted by the "New Man" him self; his own frustration and disillusionment in people who are "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible" showed his demise directly. Also by means of the woman in his life, the "New Man" was shown to have been a selfish egotist, and his failure is shown indirectly by this interaction with a woman. Through her the author could show that frustration and disillusionment result from faith in the "New Man" and his "mission." Also by the consistent use of the third character, the realistic counterpart, the "New Man" could be shown to be a failure; that is, a character did not have to be a "New Man" in order to be able to love another person unselfishly. This is essentially the function of the realistic counter part of the "New Man" in the majority of the plays discussed here. The realistic counterpart of the "New Man" is "in active contact with 'the day' and with 'reality,'" and al though he has no "mission," he is nevertheless successful j in his relationship to others because of his firm grasp on "the day" and "reality." This chapter will be a discussion ; of the following realistic counterparts of the "New Man": the Male Secretary in Gats. Otto Neumann in Nebeneinander T Gotz von Magedanz in Wahnschaffe. Czibulka in Der Sturz des ; ! 182 ! Anostels Paulus. David Wacholder in Der Geschlagene. the Young Man in Die Fahrt nach Orplid. Lauberjahn in Palme oder 25 Der Gekrankte. and Herzfeld in Juarez und Maximilian. When the Male Secretary in Gats is introduced, it is clear that he and the Captain are complete opposites. This difference is shown in two ways: the Male Secretary's reac tion to the Captain's "mission" and the Male Secretary's personal feelings for the Secretary. With respect to the Captain's "mission," the Male Sec retary is as skeptical initially as the Secretary before him, but because he has no feelings of love for the Captain,: his objectivity is not hindered. For example, the Secretary swore to help the Captain convince the Settlers to accept his "paradise" despite her skepticism, but the Male Secre tary is not blinded to reality by love, and his skepticism remains unchanged. By means of his objective distance from ^There Can be no such character isolated in Kornfeld'si Der ewiqe Traum and Toller's Der entfesselte Wotan? in Der ewiae Traum the "New Man" is seen as a group and there is no corresponding group which can cast him in a negative light by means of their more realistic outlook on life. In Tol ler's "comedy" the lack of such a character was. probably a means of depicting the "New Man" more pessimistically; that is, without the realistic counterpart of the "New Man" one might be led to think that in Toller's opinion no one has a grasp on reality. 182 ! the Captain, the Male Secretary can see that the Captain's "mission" is doomed to failure because it is unrealistic: the Captain requires an unrealistic sacrifice from mankind, and consequently the Male Secretary labels the Captain's feelings "hatred" and not "love": "Der Kapitan haBt die 26 Menschheit . . . Weil er Unmogliches verlangt." Later in the first act the Male Secretary refers to the Captain as a prophet who promises everything because he can accomplish nothing in reality. It should be noted that the Male Sec retary assumes a neutral position in the Captain's desire to convince the Settlers to accept his plan: Er scheut die Kosten andrer nicht . . . SchlieBlich wird immer das Paradies aufgebaut. Mit kleinen Verlockungen fangt man an— hakt der Koder, zieht man mehr— und wer lafit noch locker? Keiner widersteht der Versuchung. Der Liebegott wird zum Narren, wenn er sich zu pathetisch inthronisiert. Vom Kapitan zu ihm ist ein weiter Schritt — und da er nicht einmal ein vollkommener Narr sein kann, stempelt er sich zum Hallunken. So stellt sich mir der Kapitan dieser Weltsiedlungsunion dar— wie alle Prophe- ten, die alles verheiSen, weil sie nichts erfiillen kon- nen. Mit dieser Verurteilung will ich dem Volk, das ihn richtet, kein Zugestandnis machen. Ich interessiere mich fur keine Partei, ich schau zu— und warte. (p. 19) Therefore, the Male Secretary is different from his female counterpart in this one respect: the Secretary loses her 26Kaiser, Gats, p. 18. 184 ! I l "contact with 'the day1 and with 'reality”’; her personal feelings for the Captain cause her to swear to assist and promote his "mission," and she is consequently frustrated and disillusioned by her faith in him. On the contrary, the; i Male Secretary is able to retain an objective view of the unrealistic dream of the Captain; he is not like the "purely spiritual" one who loses himself "in the quiet world of his thoughts." Thus the "New Man" went astray in pursuit of his "mis sion." He became frustrated and disillusioned, and now, by comparison with his realistic counterpart, the "New Man" is depicted as a dreamer who promises everything because he can accomplish nothing in reality. In the case of the Male Secretary's personal feelings for the Secretary there is another significant difference between him and the Captain. When the Captain returns un expectedly from his expedition, he finds a firm supporter i for his "paradise" in the Secretary, but love is clearly the! i basis for her support because she swears to help him even i before he has explained to her precisely what he has dis- j covered. At no time does the Captain reciprocate the Sec- I retary's love; it is clear that he is interested in her only! because she can promote his unrealistic dream: j j 185.j — Ich brauche eine Stimme, die zuredet. Die erste Stimme, die hier zu mir spricht, will ich gewinnen. Es ist kleinlich— doch notwendig. Stimmen Sie zu— blind- lings und unumwunden? (p. 13) To him she is merely an assenting voice. It is apparent from the very beginning that the Male Secretary loves her as! a woman. When he finds her in the glass tower, he says to her: ". . .da meine Neugierde darauf bestand zu wissen, mit wem Sie hier Umgang haben, kam ich. Ich sehe Sie al- lein . . ." (p. 15). One can see at once the difference in the Captain's greeting and the Male Secretary's greeting; the former talks only of his "paradise"; the latter, talks primarily of his love for her. The Male Secretary, unlike the Captain, also expresses concern for the Secretary's personal safety. The Male Secretary has come to the glass tower to see why the light has been turned on, for tradi tionally the white light in the glass tower is the emergency signal for a convocation of the Settlers. The Captain has asked the Secretary to wait alone in the tower until all the' i Settlers have gathered, but the Male Secretary senses that her presence there places her in danger: Sie machen das Lager rebellisch, und getSuscht wird man sich an Ihnen rachen. . . . Aus Sorge fur Sie losche ich auf blau. . . . Weil Sie Gefahr laufen mindestens ge- ♦ i steinigt zu werden, wenn Sie nach dem Lichtalarm nicht mehr als den Schatten des Kapitans prasentieren konnen. \ (pp. 15-16) " 186 When the guards arrive to see why the light has been turned on, the Male Secretary, unlike the Captain, tries to protect her by pretending that he, not she, had seen the Captain. In the second act the Male Secretary once again pro fesses his love for the Secretary, but she is blinded by her love for her "New Man," the Captain. At this point Kaiser emphasizes the fact that the Male Secretary is not to be jconsidered a "New Man"; the Male Secretary wants the Secre tary because he loves her, not because her love can be used ; to promote some unrealistic dream he may have. The Male Secretary has no desire to "save" mankind; he wants only to obtain his happiness, which is the Secretary in this case: Sekretarin . . . Es ist beim Kapitan kein andrer Gedanken als aller . . . — nur Sie stehen beiseite und warten auf Ihren Vorteill Sekretar Weil ich an den Triumph des privaten Schicksals glaube. (p. 41) Also at the end of the play the Male Secretary makes it clear again that his happiness is dependent on the Secre tary; even though she may not love him, he will be content just to be near her: In Ihre Dienste trete ich. Sie konnen kaumi einen Haus- burschen entbehren. Es sind Wege uber die StraBe zu laufen— ich koche— ich scheure den FuBboden— ich bin an alien Ecken und Enden unentbehrlich. Wo ist die Kuche? : ' ' ’ ’.. 187 ... ich koirane. nur zum Vorschein, wenn ich gerufen werde. (p. 91) Finally, the Secretary— out of frustration and disillusion ment with the Captain, the "New*Man"~does accept the Male Secretary's love, which remained steadfast throughout the play. Therefore, the Male Secretary is used as a means of showing that "by extending love to the whole world, the 27 activist overshot his mark and missed reality after all." By means of his realistic counterpart the "New Man" is de picted as an idealistic dreamer who is incapable of unself ish love, who seeks to "save" mankind in order to "save" 28 himself. In contrast to the expressionistic woman, the realistic counterpart of the "New Man" does not experience frustration and disillusionment for two reasons. First of all, he maintains an objective distance from the "New Man"; unlike the expressionistic woman, he is not compelled to believe blindly in the "mission" of the "New Man." He does not lose "contact with 'the day1 and with 'reality.'" In the second place, the realistic counterpart of the "New Man" 2 7 Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 218. ^ The Writer in Extremis. p. 218. 188 t is able to subjugate his ego to the point that he can love t at least one other human being unselfishly; because he does 'have a grip on reality, he does not "extend love to the iwhole world," and consequently he does not "overshoot his I I mark." i I In Nebeneinander the realistic counterpart of the "New Mari" is Otto Neumann. Like the Male Secretary before him Neumann is a device to show objectively that the Pawnbroker 'loses "contact with 'the day' and with 'reality'" in pursu ing his "mission." Neumann is interested in his own fate, !not in "saving" mankind. Neumann and the Male Secretary are different in one significant point; Neumann does not claim j to love anyone: "... Die letzte Achtung verliert man vor [dem bessern Geschlecht, wenn man die schiere Hure in jedem i • ■ 29 ^eibsbild entdeckt ..." Thus Otto Neumann is not suit able for showing the inability of the Pawnbroker to love unselfishly. Nevertheless, Kaiser has created these two ;different characters, the Male Secretary as well as Otto I Neumann, as devices to show the "New Man" in comparison to ja more realistic character. In the first act of the play Neumann reminds one of ^9Kaiser, Nebeneinander. p. 29. 189 i what Kaiser himself said: "Only this single extreme display of acumen is demanded: to stop when you see the end. He I 3Q who drags on past fruitfulness forfeits his life." That is, Kaiser advises one to retain a realistic outlook on life, to retain."contact with 'the day' and with 'reality,'" |and Neumann expresses the same idea when he says: Das Geld ging mir aus— nicht urn des Madels willen, das j war billig— verbluffend anspruchslos— nur Herztone. Die Moneten wurden diinner— das Geschaft warf nichts mehr ab-- die Situation war erschopft— ich konnte abdampfen . . . i I Therefore, he "stopped when he saw the end," and one can interpret that to be a firm grasp on reality. Neumann's ; i I"contact with 'the day' and with 'reality'" begins to con trast sharply with the Pawnbroker's :exaggerated excitement over Lu's threat to commit suicide. Neumann says in the I lletter which the Pawnbroker has found that suicide is a foolish step: "... somit hoffe ich dich pflichtmafiig von leinem ebenso schweren wie torichten Schritt gehalten zu haben ..." (p. 30). Of course, Neumann and Lu are realis- i tic in their approach to the ended love affair; they have j | 3 0 Sokel, Anthology of German Expressionistic Drama, p. 13. Cf. n. 15, Chap. II. 31Kaiser, NgbsagjnamfeK., P. 29. 190 both accepted the fact that their affair has run its course, and each has gone in search of his own "privates Schicksal." Jonly the Pawnbroker "drags on past fruitfulness" in his un- t realistic search for "0. Niemann." t | In the second act there are two more statements which jshow that Neumann is more realistic in comparison to the I :Pawnbroker. First of all. Neumann has devised a new scheme jto make money; Borsig and his Sister will aid Neumann in the |scheme. When he begins to explain his idea, the Sister re- i i marks: "... mich interessiert Herrn Neumanns Sachlich- |keit" (p. 57). The term "Sachlichkeit" ("matter-of-fact- : i ness") to describe Neumann's attitude is strategically ! placed at this point, for it shows succinctly the contrast i ibetween the realistic "schemer," Neumann, and the unrealis- I I |tic "New Man," the Pawnbroker, whose attitude may best be described by the term "ecstatic." Also at the end of the act Neumann is contrasted with the Pawnbroker when Neumann 1 tells Borsig: "Ach was: hier wird nicht mit Gefiihlen ge- arbeitet— in Geschaften eiskalt!" (p. 59). For it was shown jjust before this scene that the Pawnbroker has closed his shop indefinitely while he searches for "Niemann." Neumann ; is "ice-cold" in his (business) relationships to others, but the Pawnbroker is emotional in connection with his business affairs. In the subsequent acts of the play the difference be- • tween the Pawnbroker and Neumann is made apparent more through situation than by any particular speech. In Act III •the Pawnbroker is arrested, but Neumann's scheme begins to ] jbe successful. In Act IV the Pawnbroker is brought before ! jthe Commissar, and the "New Man's" misfortune becomes worse; I jconversely, Neumann's scheme is becoming more and more sue- | jcessful. In the last act the.Pawnbroker and the Daughter I jcommit suicide together, while Otto Neumann's scheme has i |become a resounding success. The last speech of the play ; . i isummarizes the ultimate difference between the emotional, i j jecstatic "New Man," the Pawnbroker, and his "ice-cold," |"matter-of-fact (sachlich)" counterpart, Otto Neumann (em- [ jphasis mine): Das hat Ellbogen— dieser Neumann. Wie sich das unter I dem Frack spannt— phanomenal. Das ist der Typf der ! durchkommt. Wenn wir alle in Dreck und Speck verrecken, pfeift das noch die Wacht am Rhein mit vollen Backen ! . . . (p. 145) Therefore, by implication the "New Man" is doomed to fail ure, while his realistic counterpart is "the type who will succeed." Like the Male Secretary, Neumann is able to re- jtain "contact with 'the day' and with 'reality,'" and 192 consequently both the Male Secretary and Neumann achieve i their primary goals. On the other hand, the "New Man" in i each case lost his touch with reality; in Kaiser's terms, j jthe "New Men" in both plays went "on past fruitfulness" and forfeited their lives to an unrealistic dream, motivated by I jegotism. Neumann is a device used by Kaiser to show the I i jfailure of the ideal which he had once championed. I Gotz von Magedanz is the realistic counterpart of Reini jWahnschaffe in Lauckner's Wahnschaffe. Like the Male Secre- I jtary and Otto Neumann before him, Gotz von Magedanz is used to show the "New.Man" in comparison to a character who has ja firm grasp on reality and to show that the "New Man" is i junable to love another human being unselfishly. ! In the Vorspiel to the play it is established beyond a doubt that Gotz von Magedanz is the more realistic of the i ;two characters; this becomes evident as Wahnschaffe, the ipoet, discusses "reality" with Gotz von Magedanz, the aero nautical engineer. Gotz tells Reini that the artist— to use I iSokel's expression— "overshoots his mark": Wenn ich mir heute erlauben darf, Ihnen das zu sagen,— wir trafen uns gestern nicht— die, die sich's leichter machen als Siel— Ich hab das hier gelerntl Man antizi- I piert die Wirklichkeit und schafft mit unreifen Gedanken und Gefuhlen Kunstformeln, indem man die Menschen auf die Kopfe stellt Oder in Interjektionen reden lafct. Man treibt Ekstase als Mode-Sport, aber steigert nicht___ 193 ! 32 j das Leben zur Kunst . . . iThat is, the artist loses "contact with ‘the day' and with reality'" in his work. The character which Gotz von Mage- jdanz was describing was seen in both the Captain and the Pawnbroker; and later in the Prologue Gotz implies that Reini himself will also be such a persons Nun, leben Sie wohll Ich wiinsche Ihnen Erfolg heute abend. Und leben Sie— wirklichl Ich glaube fast, Sie sind ausersehn fur dieses Kreuz. Sie generalisieren wie die anderen! Hirnmilch statt j Herzblutl Sie dichten Schmerz und fiihlen Lust dabeil | Wo anders aber rast die Wirklichkeit und leidet in einem. j dem der Hunger im Gedarm beiSt, mehr als tausend Bande j grofier Dramen wissenl (pp. 26, 27^-28) ' iGotz von Magedanz does not lose contact with reality; on the contrary, he condemns those who lose sight of reality, j i those who "go on past fruitfulness." Also he implies that I Reini Wahnschaffe is one of those "New Men" who lose sight of reality and consequently go astray in pursuit of their t "mission." j i In the first act emphasis is placed on the theme which j j was introduced in the Prologue; Gotz von Magedanz tells his j friend Reini Wahnschaffe that Reini's ecstatic approach to his "mission" has caused the "New Man" to lose contact with ; 3 0 Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 24. 194 |"the day" and with reality: I j . . . Komm mit! Ich wiirde dich einfach zwingen, lagen die Verhaltnisse klarer! . . . Hattest soviel von einer ! grofien Reisel ... Du brennst jetzt zwischen Buchern ab, sag ich dir! tibertrieben! Wie alles, was du tust! . . . Erfahrung hab ich, nicht wahr? Spater ist das Menschenkennenlernen eine Affare. Heute, geradeaus und ohne Pflicht noch zu wirken ... Du teilst dich mit und alles wachst dir zu! . . . (pp. 42-43) |Not only does Gotz von Magedanz tell him that he has gone to lextremes (". . . tibertrieben! Wie alles, was du tust! i. . .") in seeking his goal, but Gotz also tells his friend ithat he has consequently gone astray in pursuing his "mis- { sion": "Sehr frommer Wunschi — Ich glaube, du verlaufst jdich jetzt aber in Bezug auf die Abmessung des Elends" (p. ] j |45). Therefore, Gotz is trying to explain to the "New Man" I I Iwhat. he must do in order not to alienate himself from the j |world of reality: he must not withdraw into the silent world of his own thoughts and become a "purely spiritual 33 Man." However, Reini refuses to accept Gotz' advice, and in this way the realistic counterpart becomes a device to I jdepict indirectly the demise of the "New Man." Gotz von Magedanz is also used to show that the "New Man" is incapable of unselfish love. For example, Gotz , 3 3Utitz, Die tiberwinduna des Expressionismus. p. 90. Cf. n. 24, p. 180. ........ 195 professes his love for Elsbeth by begging her to forbid him jto leave: "Darf ich nicht [abwandern]? Mufi ich bleiben? jsefiehlst du? . . . Befiehll Ein Worti Wahrhaftig, mein I jganzes Leben stell ich auf den Kopf! Ich breche jeden Vor- GStz is similar to the secretary WHO . ! | . jsought his "privates Schicksal" in the Secretary herself. i jLike the Male Secretary, Gotz professes his love for another iperson, and this fact, in turn, places the "New Man" in a i ' inegative light. In other words, Wahnschaffe claims to love I lall mankind, but throughout the play he never subjugates his i lego to the point that he can express love for another per- ison— not even fraternal love for his sister. On the other i I ! jhand, Gotz von Magedanz does not claim to love all mankind; i !he is no "New Man," but h<e is able to express unselfish love i I Ifor another (". . . Ich breche jeden Vorsatz . . ."). Thus i Gotz, as the realistic counterpart of the "New Men" in Gats and Nebeneinander. is not interested in "saving" mankind; -rather, he is interested in finding his own "privates i ISchicksal" which lies in Elsbeth Wahnschaffe. In the fourth act Gotz and Reini meet once again after ja long period of time. During the intervening years (the 34Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 50. 196 exact amount of time is never stated, but it was probably two or three years) Gotz has taken his planned journey, and now upon his return he has become master of his family's estate; that is, he has become a member of the social class i against which Reini Wahnschaffe is leading his "Burgersol- daten." Although the two friends have changed over the intervening space of time, it is apparent that the "New Man" lhas not changed in one respect: Wahnschaffe is no more "in. i Sactive contact with 'the day' and with 'reality'" now than ! ihe was at the beginning of the play. Gotz tells him: "Du j llerntest, merk ich, nichts . . . und merk ich doch, wie sich jdas alte Bild in dir entschleiert . . (p. 196). At this ! Ipoint it is also emphasized again that Reini is incapable of i ! 'unselfish love. As the act ends, the "New Man" tells Gotz: I j"Sagt ich? . . . Auf einmal fiihl ich: ganz zuletzt / Geht jes doch immer wieder nur um [uns ] zwei!" (p. 197). Gotz' reply shows that Wahnschaffe has even forgotten his assist- jant, his sister Elsbeth, who has worked so unselfishly for ; jher brother in his pursuit of both his "missions": "Um jdreil Wenn sich schon nichts geandert hat . . . Griifi deine i I iSchwester! . . ." (p. 197). i j In the civil disorders and rioting that are taking i ‘ place death has become .a common occurrence in the streets, 197 ■but Wahnschaffe refuses to accept responsibility for the deaths which his "Biirgersoldaten" have caused: Gotz von Magedanz Noch einmal warn ich!...Zukunft, beiden uns Verborgen, lafi verhangti Nur was bis jetzt Gewesen...unterwegs...hierher!...Wie willst du Den Tod bezahlen, den du schon gerufen?I... ! Wahnschaffe Ich rief nicht Tod I Ich rufe gegen Tranen! Gotz von Magedanz Die Ernte hat begonnenl Sieh dich urn! | ....Du stehst im Ziel | Mit deinem Trauntj Wahnschaffe! Andre, die Die Wege nuchtern gehn... (pp. 239-240) Therefore, Reini has gone astray in pursuing his "dream"; he has alienated himself from the world of reality. This alienation from the world of reality has been expressed by j i the realistic counterpart in both words and situation; not t jonly does Gotz tell Reini that he is losing contact with I |"the day" and reality, but this fact is also implied when one compares the realistic Gotz to the dreamer Wahnschaffe. In the fifth act Gotz also tells Elsbeth once again that he loves her: i | Elsbeth Kufl mich nichtI... Ich bin so voll von Schwache, dafc ich's litte! i Nun reifit er sie an sich und kiiflt sie ■ Gotz von Magedanz Und ich so voll von Liebe, daS ich's tat... (p. 251) 198 The significance of these lines lies in the fact that Wahn schaffe told his sister just before he left to join his band I of rebels: "Auch keine Schwester will ich jetzt mehr habenl i . . ." (p. 241). One can see that Wahnschaffe has never learned to subjugate his ego to the point that he can recip- ! locate even the fraternal love his sister so unselfishly I i offers him, and that Gotz, who is not a "New Man," is capa ble of unselfish love. i | Therefore, it has been shown that the realistic counter- i part of the "New Man" in Wahnschaffe is a means by which the I i demise of the former activist ideal is depicted indirectly. I Through Gotz von Magedanz it is made clear that Reini Wahn- i Schaffe has lost touch with reality in pursuit of his dream. In this respect Gotz von Magedanz serves the same function i I I as both the Male Secretary in Gats and Otto Neumann in Nebeneinander. Also Gotz is a means by which it can be shown— through objective comparison— that Reini Wahnschaffe is incapable of unselfish love. Gotz, like the Male Secre- l | jtary before him, seeks not to "save" mankind, but to find his "privates Schicksal"; in both cases that "private fate" revolves around their love for a woman. On the other hand, the "New Man" makes no concrete profession of love at any time in either Gats or Wahnschaffe. That is, it is shown 199 by means of the realistic counterpart that Reini is a Idreamer, motivated by egotism; he is seen to be Utitz' "purely spiritual one" when compared with his realistic counterpart. In Lauckner.'s Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus the realis tic counterpart of the "New Man," Paul Schumann, is the dog- catcher Emil Czibulka. Although his actual time on stage is relatively short, Czibulka's role is nevertheless important; by means of the dogcatcher it is shown objectively that Paul Schumann has lost contact with reality. Thus Czibulka's ! (function is consistent with that of the Male Secretary^ Otto j Neumann, and Gotz von Magedanz; by means of the dogcatcher j ! i ICzibulka the demise of the "New Man" is depicted indirectly. Czibulka reminds one of Gotz von Magedanz because of the importance Gotz placed on acquiring practical experience jin relation to others. It was for that very purpose that 'Gotz left Reini and Elsbeth Wahnschaffe; when he returned i I later, he felt that he had learned much from his practical experiences, while Reini had learned nothing in his isola tion (cf. p. 196 above). In the first scene of Per Sturz I Ides Apostels Paulus Czibulka is likewise presented as an lolder, more experienced man; for instance, the dogcatcher jtells Paul Schumanns "Was soil ich denn da viel sagen? . . . 200 . |lch denk mir mein Teil. Du bist noch so jungl Komm erst i 35 mal in die Vierzigl ..." Not only is he older than i |schumann, but he has also experienced many things in his jforty years, and he has learned from these experiences; that I i j jis clearly implied when he tells Pauls "Ich habe mir auch I mal was anderes gedacht, als hinter den lausigen Viechern herzulaufen . . ." (p. 12). Thus Czibulka is a man who has i maintained a firm grip on reality by means of his practical [experiences; Gotz von Magedanz is a similar type, but there l | jis a difference between them. When Gotz advises Reini Wahn- { jschaffe to go with him, Reini's refusal is not surprising; i he and Gotz are approximately the same age, and there is no ! reason for Reini to assume that Gotz is the "wiser" of the l i ( two. On the contrary, Czibulka's age is important in Per iSturz des Apostels Paulus because Czibulka is offering Paul j Schumann the benefit of his years of experience; when Paul refuses to take Czibulka's advice, this does show that Paul has isolated himself from the real world and enclosed him- i self "within the quiet world of his own thoughts" where the opinions of others are of no importance. Therefore, Lauck ner has created a situation in which a comparison of the one 35Lauckner, Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus. p. 9. 201 character with the other shows that one character, the 'realistic counterpart, is "in active contact with 'the day' and with 'reality'" while the other character, the "New Man," has alienated himself from the real world. i i ! In the first scene there are two points where Czibulka I i jis presented through dialogue, not situation, as a realistic | Iman, and Paul Schuamnn is seen as an unrealistic dreamer. jThis difference is implied when the two are discussing mir- jacles; for example, Czibulka reminds one of all the realis- ! i jtic counterparts thus far discussed when he says to Schu- j •mann: "Du kannst ja ganz recht haben— aber, ich glaub's jnicht! Jeder soil glauben, was er will— aber wenn das j jstimmt, dann mufit es ja noch immer Wunder gebehl" (p. 9). | Like the Male Secretary in Gats. Czibulka is objective about ! jthe "mission" of the "New Man." On the other hand, Paul j » Schumann reminds one of the other "New Men" before him when ;he replies: Das sagen sie nun alle. Die kleinsten Kinder sagen das, j und zeigen auf die biblische Geschichte. — Die Wunder'. I — Ich sage dir, es gibt Wunder 1 Mehr als friiher! An jedem Tag tausend! Unter jedem Tisch sitzt eins! Unter jedem Betti . . . (p. 10) jLike Reini Wahnschaffe, Paul Schumann has enfolded himself within his own ecstatic world, apart from reality; he is 202 obviously the type who will not be able "to stop when the i end is in sight," but he will evidently "drag on past fruit fulness." Czibulka's realistic approach to life then is contrasted to Paul Schumann's world where "thousands of miracles happen every day." The difference between Czibulka i and Schumann can also be seen in the fact that Czibulka is a dogcatcher, and he can accept this position even though it I i ! is not a "noble" profession: "Ich bin Hundefanger beim 1 I Tierschutzverein— und ich glaub's nicht [daB wir falsch sind, sehen und horen ] ..." (p. 10). Paul Schumann, on the other hand, cannot accept the fact that he is "merely" j ja barber; he seems to think that he must be more than a j I barber because he seeks to find God: ". . .Gott ist Geisti | — Du wurdest dich wundern, was ich alles im Kopf habe. Wenn jich jetzt vielleicht auch bloB Friseur bin" (p. 10). Lauckner makes use of Czibulka again in a later scene to show that Paul Schumann1s withdrawal from the world of reality is complete. In scene v, Schumann has his confron tation with the Chaplain; after Paul leaves the chapel, he meets Czibulka, whom he presumably has not seen for a long j [time. At the beginning of the scene it was clear that Paul i |and the Chaplain were talking a£ each other, but there was | ja total lack of communication between the "Apostle" and the 203 Chaplain? Paul was out of touch with reality. Now when the jtwo old friends, Czibulka and his former roommate Paul, meet, one is impressed again by the fact that Czibulka talks to Schumann, but the latter does not seem to understand any thing his friend is saying, just as he was unable to under stand anything the Chaplain was saying; Paul is unable to regain contact with the real world. This situation is simi- Jlar to the situation in Wahnschaffe where the two old . Jfriends, Gotz von Magedanz and Reini Wahnschaffe, meet again i jafter a long period of time; Paul and Czibulka, like Gotz i |and Reini, are alienated from each other, and in both cases this alienation of the "New Man" from his realistic counter- ipart is a device used by Lauckner (and by Kaiser in Gats) to show that the "New Man's" loss of contact with "the day" and j reality has progressed to the point that even an old friend cannot help the "New Man" regain that contact. For example, Czibulka and Paul shared a room together before Paul became j j the "apostle" Pal Schou; Czibulka knows that Paul's "apos- i i i jtleship" originated as a game of pretense. Thus when Paul jsays to Czibulka: "... Ich heile Schmerzen, sammele i Seelen und bei allem such ich noch den geraden Weg zum lie- ben Gott," (p. 78) Czibulka reacts to Paul's "mission" now i jexactly as he reacted when it was still a fantasy, real 204 only in Paul's "quiet world of his own thoughts": "Du bist limmer noch so komisch, was? . . (p. 78). The "apostle's" reply to this remark makes it clear beyond any doubt that | jhis alienation from the world of reality is complete? unreal j [fantasy has become reality for him: "So komisch wie Herr I jJesus Christ am Kreuzl" (p. 79). | In the last scene of the play Paul Schumann has once [again come to live with the dogcatcher Emil Czibulka. Al- ! i [though the "apostle" Paul has experienced only disillusion- i ! I |ment and frustration in pursuit of his "mission," it is [nevertheless clear that he has still been unable to re establish contact with "the day" and reality; although his ! I ["mission" has become a total failure, he is still engrossed |in the "quiet world of his own thoughts;" The extent of [Paul's alienation from the world of reality can be seen i when Czibulka says to him (like a father to a naughty child): In der Kalte mit so 'nem braunen Hemde rumziehen i Da muB man sich ja den Tod holenl . . . Das macht sich ja ! nicht bezahltl Glaub doch nicht, daB sie dir deswegen auch nur 'n Groschen mehr gebeni . . . (p. 159) As in the fifth scene, Paul does not fully comprehend what Czibulka is saying, for he replies to the Dogcatcher: "Ach, ilafi das bittel Das verstehst du nicht . . . Immer, als ob 205 das Orgelspielen mein Beruf ist. . . . Ich bin eben nicht, i was ich scheine . . ." (pp. 159-160). Thus the realistic Czibulka is merely suggesting how Paul may have caught his cold; Paul, on the other hand, cannot comprehend the fact that in reality he is catching cold; he must relate every thing to his dream world where there apparently is no room for the common cold. At the end of the scene, Czibulka i i (finally loses patience with his friend's inability to dis tinguish reality from fantasy,. Paul hears an organ-grinder I I playing "Stilie Nacht, heilige Nacht" in the street below (them; he cannot understand why that tune is being played, I (since it is still two days before Christmas. Czibulka1s i j (explanation of why the organ-grinder is playing that par- j jticular tune is obviously intended to be more than a mere explanation; it becomes a plea to the "New Man" to be real istic, to forget his fantasies and accept himself for what ihe is: a barber-turned-organ-grinder: I j i Weil er schlau istI Schlauer als du, Apostel! Weil j er 'nen Kopp hat! -Der hat sich seine Orgelwalzen | friih genug besorgt. Da geben die Leute was, siehst du! | So mufi man's aber auch machenl Und nicht mit:'nem i braunen Hemde!--- ! Ja, ja!— 'n Kopp gehort eben auch zum Orgeldrehen! I . . . Und zu Kaisers Geburtstag da mu&t du "Heil dir im ( Siegerkranz" . . . und . . . "Bei ihrem schwer erkrankten Kinde, da sitzt die Mutter" . . . siehst du, das zum Totensonntag.Oder so . . . du wirst das ja nie lernen! I Ich sollte mal mit der Orgel rumziehen! . . . Ich 206 sag dir, ich wiirde . . . (p. 166) I . • Czibulka expresses in this speech precisely what other real istic counterparts in the three previous plays have only i implied. There is a parallel in the words of the Male Sec retary, who says that the Captain's plans for the Settlers reveal hatred more than love for mankind because those plans are so unrealistic, or one can see the same idea when Otto 'Neumann says in Nebeneinander that one must be. "ice cold" in business dealings with others; even Gotz von Magedanz ex presses a similar feeling when he warns Wahnschaffe that the | j"New Man" will eventually have to face reality and assume j ■ i responsibility for the deaths he has caused. Czibulka, the Idogcatcher, is telling Paul Schumann, the "apostle," that j"man can be real and essential only in active contact with I*the day' and with 'reality.'" Therefore, Emil Czibulka serves the same function in Per Sturz des Apostels Paulus that the other realistic ! Counterparts served in their respective dramas; that is, by i I means of Czibulka, Paul Schumann was depicted as an unreal- i j istic dreamer who was engrossed in his own private world i | 3 6 Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 160. Cf. n. 23, this chapter. | 207 jaway from reality. On the other hand, Czibulka does re semble Otto Neumann more than the Male Secretary in Gats and ! I |Gotz von Magedanz in Wahnschaffe in one significant respect: (previously the Male Secretary and Gotz von Magedanz were used not only to show that the "New Man" in each case had lost contact with reality, but through them the "New Man's" inability to love unselfishly could be demonstrated. How- i ever, Czibulka and Otto Neumann are used only to show that the "New Man" has alienated himself from the. world of real ity; they are not used specifically to show the "New Man's" i (inability to love unselfishly. Thus the demise of the "New i i 'Man" is depicted indirectly by means of his realistic i (counterpart, for through the latter character it has been consistently shown that the "New Man" has lost touch with (reality; he is no longer a "real and essential"; person. In iSchmidtbonn's Der Geschlacene the realistic counterpart of (the "New Man" is used not only to show that the "New Man" i (does not have a firm grip on reality, but also, like the (Male Secretary and Gotz von Magedanz before him, to show by objective comparison that the "New Man" is incapable of un- I (selfish love. In the previous plays the realistic counterparts have (assumed a "wait and see" attitude toward the "mission" of 208 the "New Man"— with the exception of Nebeneinander. where there is no sustained direct contact between the "New Man" and his realistic counterpart. This attitude essentially differentiates the function of the realistic counterpart from the function of the woman in the life of the "New Man." jThat is, the woman is compelled to support the "New Man" in pursuit of his "mission" because she loves him; through her it has been shown that only frustration and disillusionment ! Iresult from belief in the "New Man." The realistic counter- i jpart, on the contrary, has consistently maintained an ob jective distance from the "New Man"; through him it has been ishown that only frustration and disillusionment result from ! i . ! such faith in the "New Man" and his "mission." In the jprevious plays— with the exception of Nebeneinander— there |was a consistent pattern in the way the realistic counter- ipart reacted to the "mission" of the "New Man": initially i he adopted a "wait and see" attitude with the apparent hope I 'that the "New Man" would realize that he had lost contact iwith reality; finally the realistic counterpart lost pa- jtience and pleaded with the "New Man" to forget his dream world, to be realistic; in the three previous plays where |this was the case, the pleas were all in vain. In Der Ge- ; schlaoene the familiar pattern changes; the realistic 209 counterpart of the "New Man" has already lost patience at jthe very beginning of the play. i i In the first act David Wacholder, the realistic coun- | i terpart, has clearly lost patience with his brother Josef, the "New Man." The blind Josef has been "sickened" by the - pursuit of his "mission," and David's impatience with him is evident when he says of his brother: "Dankt dem Himmel, i i !daS er ihm Stimme gelassen hat anzuklagen. . . . Er ist ein I 37 jkrankes Kind ..." David pleads with the "New Man" to jcease clinging to an unrealistic dreamy however, David, like | jGotz von Magedanz and Emil Czibulka before him, is pleading i iin vain: ; ! i . . . Wenn wir uns auch ein wenig fremd geworden waren die letzten Jahre, ja, um immer die Wahrheit zu sagen, uns wohl einer den anderen zu meiden suchten: jetzt, | denke ich, ist jede Schrank zwischen uns gefallen. . . . I Dein Ungluck . . . ist doch Grund genug, daB wir ver- suchen, uns mehr zu werden. . . . Wahrhaftig, wir wollen darum ringen, daB es anders wird zwischen uns. Josef Wacholder Ich habe um wichtigere Dinge zu ringen. Nimm es mir nicht iibel: spater vielleicht, spater vielleicht . . . (pp. 36-38) Apparently Josef is not able to re-establish contact with "the day" and reality. The conversation here between Josef 3^Schmidtbonn, Der Geschlacene. pp. 18, 21. 210 and David reminds one of the conversations which Paul Schu mann had with both the Chaplain and the dogcatcher Czibulka. ■Josef Wacholder is also such a character; when his brother Italks of realistic things, of "the day" and reality, Josef can only allude briefly to some vague "more important things." Even though he has been "sickened" by his unreal istic "mission," he is compelled to pursue it further be- i I jcause he no longer has a. grip on reality. The act closes ! I with David'a plea for his brother to cease making others i | j"ill"; that is, his unrealistic "mission" is figuratively a' '"disease" which is able to "infect" others (such as Josef's j jWife Elisa, as was shown earlier) and make them "sick" also:j I | . . . Du hast nicht das Recht, auch wenn du blind bist, J andere zu kranken, alles von andern zu verlangen. Auch j ich— wenn noch jemand auBer dir Ich sagen darf— bin j krank . . . Ich habe es zu keinem Beruf gebracht wie du, j obwohl du mich oft einen leichtfertigen Menschen schal- test . . . (pp. 40-41) I jThus Josef has lost "contact with 'the day' and with 'real- j jity'" in the pursuit of his "mission"; he has become frus trated and disillusioned as a result of his alienation from jthe real world, and now his brother pleads with him to "see" i i ithrough his blindness that his "illness" is making others "ill" also. In the second act David once again refers to Josef's 211 "illness": "Unbekiimmerte Menschen um dich, die deine ikranken Einfalle nicht schwer nehmen: das wird dich am I jehesten heilen" (p. 54). This thought reminds one of the Male Secretary in Gats when he tells the Secretary that the I I fcaptain's love for mankind is actually hatred because he i jasks too much of the Settlers (cf. David's statement above: I j". . . andere zu kranken, alles von anderen zu verlangen j . . ."); eventually the Secretary will become disillusioned j 'and frustrated— "ill"— with the Captain's love/hatred, and ! he, the Male Secretary, will be there to help her recover i I jfrom her "illness"; that is, the Male Secretary will be the |"unbekummerter Mensch" whom David mentions. Also in Act II David Wacholder is used to show by means i jof objective comparison that his brother Josef, the "New | ; Man," is incapable of unselfish love. This is accomplished by showing that David, who is no "New Man," by his own ad mission (". . . Ich habe es [Krankheit/Mission ] zu keinem Beruf gebracht wie du . . ."), is able to love Elisa un- i I selfishly^ whereas the "New Man" is not capable of such a i feeling for his own wife. We can sense David's true feel ings for Elisa when he hears that Josef has accused her of 'infidelity; he tells his brother, the "New Man": f [ Das ist Wahrheit, was die Mutter sagt? Das tust du_______ 212 deiner Frau an? . . . Unmensch, glaubst du, well du ein Unglucklicher bist, andern Menschen ungestraft das Schlimmste antun zu diirfen? . . . (pp. 70-71) t • |In his desire to protect Elisa, David Wacholder reminds one I once again of the Male Secretary in Gats; on several occa sions the Male Secretary interceded in the Secretary's be- | half when it was apparent that the Captain had no interest | in her welfare. Here Josef Wacholder accuses his wife of I 'infidelity, and David is compelled to take her side. j j In the third act David not only implies that he loves i Elisa, but he admits it quite frankly to his brother: | Bruder, allzu sehr Mensch war ich. Ein Mensch mit Au- I gen. Ich sah, dafi deine Frau schon war. . . . Ich hatte j ! ja Zeit zu sehn. Wohlgefuhl hatte ja Zeit Versuchung zu j j werden. Fluche mir, dafi ich meine Augen nicht abwaridte, | | als ich sah, wie schon deine Frau war. (p. 85) j And later he says: i Was nutzt es dir zu wissen, dafi ich manchmal lag im Garten hingeworfen und ihren Namen atmete in die Erde? Dafi ich, ein Kind, angriff Gras, weil sie zu beruhren mir verwehrt war? Dafi ich trank, ein Irrsinniger, mit meinem Mund den Stein, auf den ihr Schuh getreten war? Ein Geheiligterl . . . (p. 8 6 ) While his vision was perfect, Josef was not able to see his ) i wife realistically, that is, as a beautiful woman; rather, •she was to him merely a "co-fighter" in the pursuit of his "mission," which was motivated by ego. On the contrary, 213 David "had time to see" her; he was not blinded to the I reality of her existence and beauty by some vague "mission" i jor by "more important things." The Ifoung Man is the realistic counterpart of the "New Man" in Schmidtbonn's Die Fahrt nach Ornlid. As in the i majority of the previous cases discussed, the realistic i j (counterpart again serves a twofold function in this play; I through him it will be shown, first, that the "New Man" is f ian unrealistic "Weltverbesserer" and, second, that he is t i I jincapable of loving another unselfishly. Thus the Young Man jis a device to show indirectly— that is, objectively— the ; i 'demise of the "New Man." Even the name of this character is! 'significant, for it represents a break with activist tradi tion. Before the "recoil" against the "Messianic hope of 38 1 1917 and 1918," the "New Man" was predominanly character ized as a young man who was struggling against the older generation; for example, in Sorge's Der Bettler or Hasen- ! clever's Der Sohn or Bronnen's Vatermord the "New Man" is iconsistently a young man who is fighting against his own ! jfather as a representative of the older generation; these (young men "rebelled against their Fathers in the name of the I OQ Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 192. 214 39 future and for the sake of their own unborn children." Even in Hanns Johst's Der iunge Mensch the situation is ;essentially the same; here the "New Man" rebels against his teacher as the representative of the older generation. In Die Fahrt nach Orolid Schmidtbonn has reversed the situa tion; the Young Man is fighting against Orphal, the repre-' sentative of the older generation, but the roles of the jYoung Man and Orphal are not the same as they were before J the "recoil": the Young Man is not a "New Man" at all; he jis fighting against the unrealistic "New Man" who has become ia representative of the older generation. In this respect, | 'Schmidtbonn has created in the play the exact antithesis of ; j ithe earlier activist pattern of "New Man" (a young man who I j (represents the rebellious youth) against the older genera- I ition. Furthermore, Die Fahrt nach Orplid could be consid- j i |ered for this reason to be the "classic" drama from this study for showing the demise of the "New Man"— subjectively, j jas has already been shown in the preceding discussion of jOrphal himself and the women in his life, and objectively, i jas will be shown now by means of the realistic counterpart, the Young Man. I oq Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 217. j ” ' ‘ 215 In the first act it is clearly established that the Young Man is more firmly bound to the world of reality than I Jorphal. For example, Orphal*s sole purpose in making his i journey is to find a place where the race of "New Men" may be created. The Young Man is skeptical of the "paradise" i I Orphal is seeking, just as the realistic counterparts have | been skeptical of the "paradise" of the "New Man" in the jprevious studies: I ] Junger Mensch "Du bist Orplid, mein Land, das ferne leuchtet." — Der Vers eines Dichters. Orphal ; Warum ferne? Ans Ufer steigenl In das Leuchten hinein. Junger Mensch | Orplid ist nicht mehr Orplid, sowie man den Fufl darauf- setzt.^ j [Thus the Young Man is not obligated to believe in the "mis- i jsion" of the "New Man" out of filial devotion (like Orphal*s i ’ daughter Sanna) or any other form of love; he can maintain a distance from .Orphal*s unrealistic "mission." From his objective vantage point the Young Man can see that Orphal's search for a "paradise" in South America is an unrealistic jpipe-dream which is beyond the realm of possibility. The j Young Man consequently is a device to show that Orphal has ^°Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 19. 216 completely lost contact with "the day" and reality; Orphal t I |is searching for "Orplid" only for the selfish purpose of I becoming there the ancestral father of the race of "New Men." In the first act the Young Man also shows by comparison that Orphal, the "New Man," is incapable of unselfish love. I i [After he has heard the details of Orphal's "mission," the i [Young Man replies; "Auch die Tochter mufit Du noch heraus- j j geben. Ich rette die Tochter" (p. 21). The "New Man" was 41 i"extending love to the whole world," but his feelings were • only "fantasies of self-glorification and superhuman sta- i 42 jtus"; He wanted to find a "paradise" in order to found a i ■ • race of "New Men," but by the Young Man's comment it is made Llear that the "Weltverbesserer" Orphal is incapable of ! [unselfish love for his daughter; to him she is only the 1 means by which he can become the ancestral father of his dream-race. Similarly, the Male Secretary in Gats tells the 'Secretary that the Captain is a philosopher who promises everything because he can accomplish nothing in reality (cf. i p. 183 above), for he realizes that she will ultimately be j t 4 ^Sokel, The Writer in ExtremisT p. 218. i • 42Tfre writer in Extremis, p. 218. 217 frustrated and disillusioned through her faith in the "New Man" (cf. p. 127 above); the same idea is expressed here by the Young Man, who feels that Sanna's life will be "wasted" i if she goes with her father. Orphal's "paradise" is an im possibility, and Sanna will become frustrated and disillu sioned ultimately. The Young Man decides to "save" Sanna, not mankind, by convincing her to leave her father. The Young Man states the theme of Die Fahrt nach Orplid when he tells Sanna: "Jedenfalls fahre ich zu keinem leich- teren Kampf uber das Wasser als Ihr Vater. Er will neue 43 Menschen machen. Ich will neuer Mensch werden." For this I I sentiment reveals the Young Man's realistic approach to t life; unlike Orphal, he will not "overshoot his mark and miss reality after all." On the contrary, Orphal's inabil ity to retain "contact with 'the day' and with 'reality'" I ( ; causes him to refuse to accept responsibility for what his |generation has done in Europe; he condemns what has occurred iin his homeland, but he refuses to acknowledge any responsi- i I jbility for it. Instead, the Young Man clearly blames Or phal, the "New Man," and his generation for having created jthe circumstances which now force people to migrate to other | ! AQ Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orplid. p. 52. 218 parts of the world: "Doch. Sie klage ich an. Ihre Genera tion klage. ich an. Ihr habt die Welt so gemacht" (p. 51). Therefore, Schmidtbonn has created in Die Fahrt nach Orplid the exact antithesis of the "New Man" in the charac ter of the realistic counterpart; it is no longer the Young 44 Man who suffers from the "Junglingsfieber unserer Zeit"; irather, the older Orphal, the "New Man," has fallen victim i ■to that "fever." The Young Man, who is the antithesis of t ithe "New Man," is also a device by means of which it has i i been shown that Orphal is incapable of unselfish love— even i I for his own daughter, who was to him only the means through I ! which his ego could be flattered. The Young Man had no de- I ! I t sire to "save" mankind out of a feeling of love or altruism; he could confess love, unselfish love, for just one other person, Sanna. Thus Orphal, extending his love to all man- ! i kind, overshot his mark in doing so and missed reality after iall. The Young Man never allows himself to be blinded by ! ! jaltruism (which is actually motivated by ego); at all times j i !he seems to maintain "contact with 'the day' and with 're- jality. 1" i | In Kornfeld's Palme oder Der Gekrankte the realistic ^Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 160. Cf. p. 33 above. 219 counterpart of the "New Man" is Martin Lauberjahn, who again differs from the previous realistic counterparts. Lauber jahn is more realistic than the "New Man," but his realism is closely related to egotism. He tells Palme: "Mein Ich! 45 Was ist da mehr zu sagen? Mein Ich!" However, this 46 "realistic egotism" of Lauberjahn is nevertheless a device jused by Kornfeld to show that Palme is an unrealistic fool; | Kornfeld also implies by means of Lauberjahn that Palme, the i j"New Man," is incapable of love, but this idea is not as jwell defined as in Gats. Wahnschaffe. Der Geschlacrene or Die i I iFahrt nach Orplid. Lauberjahn reminds one in the first act of the Male Secretary in Gats. The Male Secretary warned the Secretary f against becoming involved with the Captain's "mission," for j |he could see that she would be disillusioned. Likewise, j jLauberjahn warns his sister Clara to avoid Palme: Ich [bin] Dein alterer Bruder und einziger mannlicher j Anverwandter1 Und als dieser sowohl, wie als jener sage | ich Dir: hute Dich vor diesem Menschen! hiite Dich I 4 5Kornfeld, Palme oder Der Gekrankta. p. 110. i j 46S o k e 1 paraphrases Kornfeld himself on this subject: !"Kornfeld even goes so far as to welcome a certain realistic egotism' as a wholesome antidote to that blind and cata- Istrophic altruism." Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 218. 220 47 vor Palme 1 48 The realistic counterpart implies that Palme is a "sick" ban who is so far removed from the world of reality that he is incomprehensible to others; in other words, the "New Man" professes love for mankind, but no one can really understand him, and he, in turn, becomes a fools "Er ist ein Mensch, den man nicht verstehen kann, und solche Menschen hasse ich 49 und nenne sie Narren." Therefore, Lauberjahn is pre sented as a character who is in contact with reality; he is a realistic egotist who is contrasted sharply with the "New Man." Palme, on the other hand, is a character who is so i 9 ’ alienated from the world of reality that he gives the im- i pression of being "ill." In the second act Lauberjahn implies that Palme, the j"New Man," is suffering from the "Junglingsfieber unserer | jZeit" when he says this in reference to Palme: "Sturmische 1 jJugendl" (p. 39). Palme, who is presently living in his I !"stormy youth," has had his misunderstandings with Helene's ! ! j 4 7Kornfeld, Palme oder Per Gekrankte. p. 7. i I 4®In this respect see the previous discussions of Wahn- Ischaffe and Per Geschlaaene where the realistic counterpart |on several occasions calls the "New Man" "ill." | Ag I_______Kornfeld, Pajjne oder Per Gekrankte. p. 8 . ____________ 221 three suitors? he has been "insulted" by the suitors, one i (after the other. But he does not really hear what others i say to him? rather, he is confined to "the quiet world of his own thoughts," and it is these thoughts he hears. In this respect, one is reminded of both Paul Schumann in Per Sturz des Anostels Paulus. who was unable to communicate with either the Chaplain or Czibulka, and Josef Wacholder in Per Geschlaaene. who was "blind" to others as long as he was a "New Man." | Lauberjahn also reminds one here of other realistic i • (counterparts when he pleads with Palme to be realistic in his relationship to others, to regain contact with the world i outside "the quiet world of his own thoughts": Nun, Palme, und wollen Sie nicht mitgehen? Kommen Sie! Versohnen Sie sich! Warum sollten so prachtige junge Menschen nicht Freunde sein? Kommen Sie! Seien_Sie ! kein Stacheligel mehr— 1 . . . Kein Brummbar meter--! ! (p. 48) IThat is, Lauberjahn is telling Palme to accept himself for (what he is just as Czibulka implored Paul Schumann to accept i (himself as a simple organ-grinder, not as an "apostle." | I Both Palme and Paul Schumann fancy themselves to be "New i ;Men," but Lauberjahn and Czibulka plead with them to drop i I (this fantasy and accept themselves as "'petty' people" in jSokel's terms: _____ __ __ __________ ___ 222 The Expressionist theoretician and dramatist Paul Korn- feld, too, regrets that the German Revolution of 1918 did not contain a greater number of "petty" people who, instead of thinking of universal and absolute goals, would have applied themselves to a merely proper and conscientious behavior in their personal affairs.5 0 However^ it is evident from Palme's reaction to Lauberjahn's 51 suggestion ("Wollen Sie mich irrsinnig machen?" ) that he cannot be a realistic character who displays "proper and conscientious behavior in his personal affairs." In Act III Lauberjahn warns Clara against Palme once again; in terms which are rather strong (for comic effect, apparently) Helene's uncle again is vaguely similar to the Male Secretary in Gats when he tells Claras Sollen wir glucklich sein, weil er nicht auch uns . . . mit dem Tode bedroht hat? Wie? Wenn das Gewitter unser Haus in Brand gesteckt hat und dann voriibergezogen ist, sollen wir dann jubeln, dafi es uns nicht auch getotet hat? (p. 61) i Although his speech is exaggerated, it nevertheless shows jthat Lauberjahn has a more realistic outlook on life then Palme, who does not realize the effect he has had on Clara's household. I Also in this act Lauberjahn says something which 5 0Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 217. 5 ^KornfeId. Palme oder Per Gekrankte. p. 49. 223 separates him from other realistic counterparts (except 0. Neumann in Nebeneinander. who had no sustained, direct contact with the "New Man"). Previously the realistic I counterparts have been skeptical of the "New Man" in pursuit of his "mission," but in the majority of cases the men have attempted to aid the "New Man" in adjusting to the real world even though such an adjustment seemed to be impos- jsible. In Palme oder Per Gekrankte. on the other hand, i jLauberjahn is not willing to help Palme re-establish contact I I - with reality, for he feels that Palme will never."recover" from his "illness": "An seine Gesundung glaube ich nicht. i j lEiner bleibt, wie er ist" (p. 65). Consequently, Lauberjahn i is even more realistic than the other counterparts because he, unlike the others, realizes that Palme is hopelessly ! "ill." I In the last act of the play Lauberjahn's realistic I approach to life is again emphasized. With Palme "reality" ! Iwas only what he created in his mind; he could not distin- [ i Iguish between what was real and what was the product of his jimagination. In the case of Lauberjahn this is not true at all. Lauberjahn tells his sister: So mag er uns dankbar sein, da6 wir erzieherisch auf ihn gewirkt haben! Ich habe mir immer geschmeichelt, i daft das ein Vorzug meiner Person sei, und Du weiflt es 224 ja, daB ich eine Zeitlang den Plan hatte, Lehrer— j Erzieher zu werden. (p. 102) ! That is, he may have had his fantasy ("flattered himself") about becoming a teacher, but he does not confuse this erst while dream with reality, as the verb tense proves (". . . daB ich eine Zeitlang den Plan hatte . . ."). Also, later in the act the unrealistic attitude of Palme is shown again | by comparison with Lauberjahn's attitude when he says this to his sister about Palme: "... Fast ist er ein anderer geworden! Fast ist nichtsi Fast ist nur ein AugenblickL I |. . ." (p. 116). ( i Lauberjahn is a device by means of which Kornfeld shows jthat the "New Man" has no "contact with 'the day' and with I i !'reality.'" He is also a device by means of which it is i jshown that Palme is incapable of love for another. For i I example, Palme was unable to express love for Helene; on t jthe contrary, Lauberjahn, who has desired his niece from •the beginning, is able to express a form of love for her, i ' • ' 'based on his ego: "... Denn manchmal scheint es mir, als i i t •hatte ich die Liebe erfunden, und als ware ich der einzige I I jMann, der richtig— lieben kann! ..." (p. 118) In Werfel's Juarez und Maximilian the realistic counter- ipart of the "New Man" is Herzfeld. At the beginning of 225 Werfel's drama Maximilian hears of Juarez' "retreat" to the north, and he is evidently ecstatic about his "victory" over the republican forces. The Emperor's ecstasy reminds one of i the emotional outbursts of the previous "New Men" when he tells his old friend Herzfeld: "Gott! Das ist zu viel'. 52 Das ist der Sieg! Herzfeld! Das ist der Siegl" The re serve of Herzfeld's reply: "Ich habe diese Wendung nicht erwartet" (p. 37) instantly reminds one of the realistic counterparts who have initially expressed skepticism toward ithe "mission" of the "New Man." Herzfeld, like the other ! jrealistic counterparts before him, not only implies a "wait i I land see" attitude here, but also his pessimism is obvious ( j Iwhen he tells Maximilian: "Irgend etwas beunruhigt mich an dieser 'Flucht'. Das Nachdrangen der Generale war nicht jeben groSartig. . . . Warum zieht sich Juarez zuriick? Wer begreift das?" (p. 38). Thus when one compares Maximilian's iecstatic attitude with Herzfeld's frankly skeptical atti- i i jtude, Maximilian is seen as an unrealistic dreamer who will i j iaccept Juarez' strategic retreat as a defensive retreat be- |cause he wishes it to be so. Herzfeld, unlike Maximilian, i { I is not so involved in the "mission" that he fails to be 5 2Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 37. 226 objective about Juarez' deceptive military strategy. Herzfeld not only serves to expose Maximilian as an unrealistic dreamer. Maximilian feels that he controls the "legitimate" government of Mexico because his government was approved by a popular plebiscite; however, Herzfeld makes it clear that Maximilian cannot distinguish fact from fantasy, for the "popular plebiscite" was hardly a free election. In other words, the "legitimacy" of Maximilian's government exists only in "the quiet world" of the Emperor's own mind: Das sind Traume. Er muB den Kaiser vernichten . . . Weil er Kaiser ist. Er ist vom Volk erwahlter Prasident. . . . Eure Majestat wissen so gut wie ich, daB dieses | Plebiszit durch klerikale Umtriebe und durch Brutalitat j franzosischer Platzkommandanten zustande kam. . . . Ich j habe schon in Miramar gewarnt. Kann etwas Gutes auf Rechenfehler errichtet werden? (pp. 39-40) | In the second "Phase" Maximilian has already signed the i 'decree, and a massacre of the peasants has resulted. Of course, Maximilian feels the decree itself is the reason for |the sudden unfavorable turn of events and cannot see any lother causes for the misfortune. Herzfeld, on the other i i lhand, is realistic because he recognizes the true causes: j I j Der arme Kaiser! Was kann er tun? Die konservativen i Generale haben das Dekret. Die Blutrache ist frei. Ich I konnte mich erwiirgen, daB ich die Intrigue der Pranzosen nicht durchschaut habe. . . . Bazaine muBte den Kaiser kompromittieren, um seinen Ruckzug moralisch zu decken. I Jiies ist das Dekret. Er hat die Zielscheibe allgemeinen 227 Unwillens errichtet. Alles, alles fallt nun dem Kaiser zur Last. . . . Die Schuld beginnt schon mit der Kron- annahme unter falschen Voraussetzungen. . . . (p. 82) Thus Maximilian places the blame for the misfortune on the fact that he signed the decree; however, Herzfeld places the responsibility for the failure of the monarchy (as did j 'charlotte) on the intrigues of the French and on the fact that Maximilian accepted the "crown under false pretexts." i j ■ i 'To Herzfeld the decree is apparently only a secondary cause I |for the trouble. i i In the seventh "Picture" one is reminded of a discus- ! |sion between Paul Schumann and Emil Czibulka when Maximilian i |and Herzfeld discuss whether Maximilian should leave Mexico. ;In Der Sturz des Apostels Paulus Czibulka implored Schumann i ! (to return from "the quiet world of his own thoughts" and to ! ;re-establish contact with "the day" and reality, but Schu mann was unable to accomplish this during the last scene of the play. Likewise, Herzfeld implores Maximilian to leave Mexico for his own sake, but he pleads in vains Herzfeld j . . . Ich beschwore Eure Majestat an Ihr Heil zu denken. Maximilian Ich habe an das Heil Mexikos zu denken. Herzfeld Mexiko mufi sich allein helfen. Maximilian Ich bin sein Kaiser! 228 Herzfeld Fur mich sind Sie Erzherzog von SsterreichI (p. 107) i Just.as Paul Schumann was unable to accept himself as merely an organ-grinder, so is Maximilian unable to accept himself for what he is in reality: the powerless puppet of a great er, less scrupulous emperor: "HerzfeldI Du hast mich nie verstandenl" (p. 108). In Kaiser's terms, Maximilian cannot stop when he sees the end; rather, he goes on past fruitful ness to his destruction because he is "blind" to reality, j Maximilian's obstinacy in the face of insurmountable I ‘ ’ I opposition is also seen in the eleventh "Picture" where the lEmperor's alienation from the world of reality is contrasted | |to Herzfeld's acceptance of facts. For example, the defeat of the monarchy has become a fact in reality although Maxi milian could not accept it: "Ruhig, Briider! Es ist nichts i j jverloren! . . ." (p. 163). Herzfeld, on the contrary, de- iplores Maximilian's arrest and sentence to death, but he jultimately accepts the outcome of the Emperor's venture in I _ Mexico? that is, he stops when he sees the end and does not I '• |go on past fruitfulness: i i j I Ich schwore den heiligsten Zeugeneid: Maximilian hat I im guten Glauben gehandelt. Man hat ihn umworben, rucksichtslos zur Kronannahme gedrangt. . . . Trotz alledem zog der Edle in hochster Gewissenhaftigkeit noch internationale Rechtsexperten heran. . . . Die I ganze offizielle Welt sagte Ja! . . . Lassen wir alle Sophistic beiseitel Tatsachenl Die Repub lik hat ge- siegt. (pp. 167, 169) In the last "Picture" of the play. Herzfeld is again depicted i jas a realistic character who can accept the situation simply because it is real. . Herzfeld tries every possible way to have his friend's death sentence revoked; yet after it be- j comes clear to him that the sentence will not be changed, he I remains rational. He does not fall victim to hysteria in an j effort to have the Emperor released; this can be seen when Princess Salm threatens to shoot herself before Maximilian's coffin, for Herzfeld cautions her to retain a grip on real ity: ; i j Das sind hysterische Phantasien. . . . Er [Maximilian] I wurde diesen Unsinn verabscheuen. Hilft ihm Ihre [Prin- ! zessin Salm] Rache und niitzt es ihm etwas, daB man Sie j lynchen wird? (p. 188) s Throughout the play Herzfeld has remained loyal to his friend and Emperor, but he never loses sight of reality. At the beginning of the play Herzfeld's skepticism toward the i / i i "mission" of the "New Man" was seen in his stand on the (question of Maximilian's "legitimacy"; he loved his friend, but he was not blind to the fact that the Emperor's govern ment was "illegitimate": "... Der Stoff seiner Gestal- tungslust war Irrtum. Er traumte von Legitimitat und blieb 230 der illegitimste Mensch des Lebens" (p. 191). j j In conclusion, the present chapter has been a discus- i Ision of the significant secondary characters through whom the demise of the "New Man" has been demonstrated indirect ly, that is, by objective comparison. By means of the "New Man's" interaction with a woman he was "to attain . . . a 53 higher and purer level of existence"; in other words, by means of the woman in his life he was supposed to learn to I i |subjugate his ego to the point that he could love another i jperson unselfishly. We have seen that the "New Man's" [interaction with a woman is a consistent device used by the jrespective authors to prove that the "New Man" was incapable |of unselfish love, that he professed love for all mankind, i S ;but in his direct relationship to others he "overshot his i i mark" and became a sterile dreamer who caused others to be j frustrated and disillusioned. In addition to the woman in the "New Man's" life, there is the consistent use of another secondary character to show the demise of the "New Man" indirectly. In the majority of |the plays under consideration here there has been a so -called "realistic counterpart" of the "New Man." He is a i 53Garten, p. 109. 231 54 character who is "real and essential" because he is "in active contact with 'the day' and with 'reality.'" On the contrary, when one compares the realistic counterpart to the "New Man," the latter is seen as an unrealistic (ster ile) "Weltverbesserer" who is alienated from the world of reality; that is, by objective comparison with the realistic I ■ (counterpart the "New Man" becomes Utitz' "purely spiritual" j (man or Kaiser's "philosopher" who promises everything be- i cause in reality he can accomplish nothing. i I | ! i 54Sokel. The Writer in Extremis, p. 160. CHAPTER IV THE DEMISE OF THE "NEW MAN" AS SEEN THROUGH DRAMATIC FORM AND STRUCTURE In the preceding chapters emphasis was placed on the dramatic content of the individual plays. In the discus sions of both the "New Man" himself (Chapter II) and the jcharacters with whom he comes into contact (Chapter III) we j [were more interested in the contents of that character's I | jspeech than in the manner in which he says his speech. In i i i i this chapter the emphasis will be placed on the latter. That is, this chapter will be a brief analysis of the dra- i matic form and structure. i ! "In the late Expressionism of Werfel, . . . Kornfeld" |as well as Kaiser, Lauckner, Schmidtbonn and Toller "the return to the . . . strain of conservative objectivity be came more and more marked."^ The reaction against the i I i , ! Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 221. 232 233 excesses of early Expressionism was manifested primarily in the rebellion against style. Initially, the drama was characterized by the "ecstatic cry": ". . . the dialogue was reduced to bare exclamations; the ecstatic cry was the 2 ultimate mark of expressionist diction." Sokel describes it in the same manner when he writes: "The style . . . tends to be jerky and hectic. It consists of abrupt excla- I I 3 jmations and sentence fragments ..." This can be illus- ! trated by a random selection from Kaiser's Gas which Garten 4 and others call the "model of the expressionist style": ! Schreiber auf die Tribune oeiagt LaSt ihn nicht sprechen1! LaSt ihn nicht herauf! I Steht dicht macht nicht Platz1 I Rennt aus der Halle I I--- Rennt zum Werk! 1----Rennt und saubert den Schutt--- richtet die Geriiste--baut das Werki 1 Hort ihn nicht -Hort ihn nicht I'.------Hort ihn nicht! I--- Rennt! !---Rennt! !-----Rennt! 1 ich renne voranli--- an meinen Tisch!!---- ich schreibell ich schreibe!! ich schreibe!!^ i The Expressionists apparently came to the realization that j jthere was an inherent danger involved in the "ecstatic cry," i i I I i | ^Garten, p. 105. i | 3The Writer in Extremis, p. 19. j ^Garten, p. 156. ; 5Kaiser, Gas. pp. 89-90. 234 for it caused confusion for the spectator or readers "Al though vivid and striking, it [the style] threatens to be come incoherent and distracted by random associations which g confuse the reader and lead the author astray." With this "counter-revolution" against the "revolutionary form" of early Expressionism in view, the Expressionists were led "back to the great tradition of German and Western litera ture and [they] re-established the link with the conserva- 7 tive idealism of German middle-class culture." The full i range of the rebellion against the "revolutionary form" of early Expressionism might best be comprehended if one com pares Franz Roh1s diagram, contrasting the features of "Expressionismus" to those of "Nachexpressionismus" (cf. p. 27, n. 17 above): I t | Schema8 Expressionismus Nachexpressionismus Ekstatische Gegenstande Nuchterne Gegenstande I i i 8 Soke1, The Writer in Extremis, p. 19. 7The Writer in Extremis. p. 221. 8Franz Roh, Nach-Expressionismus. pp. 119-120. This is jreminiscent of the famous categories developed by Heinrich iWolfflin in his Kunsthistorische Grundbecriffe (Munchen, 11915). Expressionismus. Viel religiose Vorwiirfe Objekt unterdriickend Rhythmisierend Erregend Ausschweifend Dynamisch Laut Summarisch Vordergriindig (Nahbild) j Nach vorn treibend i i GroBformig Monumental Warm | Dicke Farbsubstanz Aufrauhend | Wie unbehauenes Gestein i i | ArbeitsprozeB (Faktur) | spiiren las send I | Expressive Deformierung I der Objekte Diagonalreich (in Schragen) oft spitzwinklig 235 Nachexpressionismus Sehr wenig religiose Vor- wiirfe Objekt verdeutlichend Darstellend Vertiefend Eher streng, purihtisah . Statisch Still Durchfiihrend Vorder- und hintergriindig (Nahbild und Fernbild) Auch zuriickfliehend GroSformig und vielspaltig Miniaturartig Kiihl, bis kalt i Diinne Farbschicht Glattend, vertrieben Wie blank gemachtes Metall Arbeitsprozefi austilgend (reine Objektivation) Harmonische Reinigung der Gegenstande Eher rechtwinklig, dem Rahmen parallel — — ------------------------- Expressionismus. Gegen die Bildrander arbeitend Urtiimlich The dramatists realized that their "ekstatische Gegenstande" and the "ecstatic cry" were "like a tantrum forcing atten tion, a desperate attempt to relate to society, but on the 9 terms of the self, not on the terms of the group." Thus one is led once again to the "New Man" specifi cally who has been shown in previous chapters to be the ecstatic subject who is motivated.not by general altruism, but by selfish interests. He is a character who speaks in i I ("jerky and hectic . . . exclamations and fragments" while I others around him speak in more rational tones. In other words, after the rebellion against the revolutionary form | !of early Expressionism began, the "ecstatic cry" became a I (device to show the "New Man" in a negative light; the former jideal continued to speak in "exclamations and fragments'," i i I iand this manner of speech suggested the demise of the "New I I jMan." I j i ( 9Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 20. 236 Nachexpr.ess ionigmus* In ihnen festsitzend Kultiviert 237 In Kaiser's Gats the device is not so obvious because the style of the play adheres to the earlier revolutionary form, but in Nebeneinander the dramatic form is indeed a method for. showing the demise of the "New Man." In Chapter III it was shown that in comparison to the realistic coun terpart the Pawnbroker was an ecstatic crusader motivated primarily by ego; this was seen through a comparison of what each one says in relation to other people. Nevertheless, the "New Man" can also be seen as an ecstatic character by the very form of .his speech. For example, he reveals his "mission" to his daughter and one is impressed by the j"abrupt exclamations and sentence fragments": I 1 ! J Wir miissen uns auf den Weg machen. . . . Was hatte sonst ! aus dieser Nachlassigkeit des Briefschreibers entstehen j konnen? Frage dich das I------und frage dich weiter: wie | hatte es mich verstrickt, wenn du mich nicht berateri | hattest, wie ich den Briefschreiber ausfindig mache? Mit meiner Schuld von Ausloschung der Schrift? Sprich es aus: Todschlag!---------- So kann es einen Menschen iiber- fallen— mitten im Alltag— man weiB nicht wozu: zur Sunde ! ----oder zur Erleuchtung?I | Throughout the play the Pawnbroker speaks in this manner— even as he is dying. The other characters speak in complete ! . . sentences, free of compound punctuation marks and numerous 10Kaiser, Nebeneinander. p. 19 238 dashes. The ecstatic outbursts. of the Pawnbroker are con spicuous by their isolation. Therefore, the demise of the "New Man" is shown by means of dramatic form and structure; !he is a character who represents old principles which have been abandoned; he is as outdated as his manner of speech. In both Wahnschaffe and Der Sturz .des Anostels Paulus Lauckner depicts the "New Man" in a similar light. Wahn- schaffe is shown as a character out of touch with reality i |not only in comparison with his counterpart, but also by the manner of his speech itself. The following passage is noticeably similar to those quoted from Kaiser; it contains the emphatic exclamations and fragments which "threaten to become incoherent and distracted . . mullt Die Stille herrscht! . . . Aber man fiihlt— sie bleibt nicht1 . . . M^n hat Angst vor dieser Revolution der Stille1 . . . Wenn das der Umsturz istI . . . Als ob Geister miteinander ringen . . . Wer leitet diese laut- | lose Organisation? . . . ^ 2 i i jln context the speech shows Wahnschaffe's loss of contact j With reality, and in form Lauckner reveals Wahnschaffe as a | Irepresentative of an outdated ideal. I -^Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 19. j j 12Lauckner, Wahnschaffe. p. 200. r ™ ' • 2 3 9 ' t ! . ! Lauckner also uses the same device to show that Paul } Schumann was an ecstatic character whose emphatic exclama- i jtions are so disconnected that they "confuse.the reader"? in Paul's conversation with*..the Chaplain he distracts the reader by "his random associations": Nicht ganz! Und auch nicht halb. Denn das Halbe ist ohne das Ganze nicht moglich und deshalb muB das Ganze halb bleiben! . . . Ich will sagen; so unbedingt zwei- felsfrei liegt die Sache leider nicht. Ob Schlafen Gottesdienst ist? . . . Ware einer, der die einmal zu Ende dachte1^3 Therefore, Paul Schumann is an ecstatic "New Man" as indi- I icated by his manner of speech, and it is precisely this J manner of speech which shows the demise of the "New Man." In Schmidtbonn's two dramas Der Geschlagene and Die Fahrt nach Orolid the demise of the "New Man" can be seen once again by means of the dramatic form and structure. In the previous chapters it was shown that Josef Wacholder in Der Geschlaaene was a selfish "Weltverbesserer" motivated by ego rather than altruism. In the following speech, for j I example, one can see the "ecstatic cry" which Sokel calls j 14 : a "tantrum forcing attention": j | I | •^Lauckner, Der Sturz des Anostels Paulus. p. 67. 14The Writer in Extremis, p. 19. 240 Gut gesehnl Wie gut gesehnl Traum habe ich gesehn. Wunsch habe ich gesehnl Ungeborenes im SchoB entdeckt. Sagt ihr noch, daB ein Blinder nicht sehen kann? Gut gesehnl Wie gut gesehn I**-5 By means of this "ecstatic cry" the author can show that his "hero," in contrast with the other characters around him, speaks in a manner which is representative of early Expres sionism— against which Schmidtbonn was rebelling. I | Orphal from Die Fahrt nach Orolid is likewise a selfish i hero who— in Sokel's terms— makes a desperate attempt to relate to society by seeking his dream-world, but he makes l Jthe attempt ultimately for the edification of his own ego. I He, too, speaks in a manner against which late Expressionism ! i j jrevolted. In the following speech one does not see as many i jdashes and punctuation marks as in the earlier examples, but i jthe "ecstatic cry" is nevertheless unmistakable: i i I 1 . . . eine grofie Krankheit ist die Stadt. Die Menschen dort: von Gespenstern gepeitscht. Der aber, dem Du ; bestimmt bist: ich sehe.ihn iiber das Feld gehen, blondes i Haar, nackte Brust. Frei, nicht Herr iiber ihm, nicht Knecht unter ihm. Ohne Gier, denn hier gibt es keine Eile. Mit der Ruhe des Himmels geht er iiber das Feld, j Aber nicht ein Ackerer, unwissend, dumpf. Nein, alles, was Menschen Schones gedacht haben, in seiner Stirn.^® 1 5Schmidtbonn, Der Geschlacrene. p. 91. 16Schmidtbonn, Die Fahrt nach Orolid. p. 36. 241 Although there are few "abrupt exclamations and sentence I I jfragments" in this passage, it does tend "to become inco herent and distracted by random associations which confuse the reader" such as the reference to Sarnia's imaginary suitor who must have in his head "everything which humans jhave thought beautiful." The last sentence of the passage means essentially nothing because of its ambiguity, and yet I jit does mean that Orphal is an ecstatic "New Man" who no i jlonger commands the respect he once enjoyed in early Ex pressionism. Once his ecstatic approach was the character- i j jistic feature of the former activist ideal; now it is a i i method of showing the demise of the "New Man." Like the Pawnbroker, Wahnschaffe, Paul Schumann and Josef Wacholder | before him, Orphal is shown to be a representative of an outdated ideal who speaks in a speech pattern which had been ! ! abandoned; he is still uttering "ecstatic cries" after oth ers have become disillusioned from the failure of the "ec- ! static cry" to convince people to accept the "mission" of i Ithe "New Man." i In the plays by Schmidtbonn the "ecstatic cry" did not jrely so much on numerous dashes and compound punctuation marks as in the case of Kaiser's plays and— to a small de gree— Lauckner's dramas. In the case of Kornfeld there is 242 a return to this physical accentuation of the "ecstatic cry," In Palme oder Der Gekrankte Kornfeld makes ample use of punctuation marks not only to show the demise of the "New i i iMan," but he actually creates a comic effect. The exaggera tion by Palme in the following passage is not so very dif ferent from the exaggerations made by other "New Men" whose speech has been discussed up to this point; however, the. humor derives largely from the fact that Palme, unlike the I |"New Men" before him, carries his exaggeration of a minor I |incident to the extreme: i I Pfui! — 0 mein Gott, o mein Gotti Ich muB nachdenken. Was war es noch? Ich bin nur glucklich, wenn ich allein j l bin, weil ich so ungliicklich bin. Ich muB immer nur mit mir selbst sprechen. — Und dann, gleich, als ich ankam— die Kinder auf dem BahnhofI Was haben sie nur gerufen— ? ! Wie grausam sind doch die Menschen schon als ganze kleine i KinderII Was haben sie gerufen? Ach jal Hopplal — i Hopplal haben sie gerufen1 Hoppla, Hopplal 0 mein Gott, i mein GottI^ i The manner of Palme's speech.ji-s a trait which had been aban doned. When he speaks in this manner he becomes humorous to j jail except himself. i In Der ewige Traum the "ecstatic cry" is once again i i jseen as a device for showing the demise of the "New Man." 17Kornfeld, Palme oder Der Gekrankte. p. 27. 243 At the beginning of the play the members of the "real" club 1 all speak in a manner characteristic of the "New Man" in early Expressionism. As in Palme oder Der Gekrankte. there is a significant return to the physical punctuation in Der ewiae Traum. The "ecstatic cry" can be seen, for example, t . in a speech by Prachtig: Ich habe gesagts eine allgemeine Wohlfahrt aller Menschen und eine absolute, unumstofiliche Gerechtigkeit kann auf der Erde nur erreicht werden, wenn— ? wenn der Begriff der Familie verschwunden ist! Wir haben namlich konsta- tiert, daft alles Ungliick auf der Welt herruht vom— ? vom Egoismus der Menschen. . . . jOr when someone else exclaims: "Individualismus? Sozialis- mus? Expressionismus? Alles Dreck!" (p. 11). At a time j when Expressionists were rebelling against the excesses of early Expressionism and the revolutionary form, this use of the old pattern shows the demise of the "New Man." The third comedy in this study is Toller's Der ent- ifesselte Wotan. As in the two preceding comedies by Korn- i i |feld, Der entfesselte Wotan uses the "ecstatic cry" in order i |to depict the "New Man" as an outdated ideal who has caused jonly frustration and disillusionment for those who showed t Jfaith in him. His exclamations and exaggerations remind one •^^ornfeld, Der ewige Traum. p. 9. 244 again of Sokel's statement: "Its very bellowing and scream- I 19 ling is like a tantrum forcing attention ..." For exam ple, the following passage by Wotan is undoubtedly an "ec- ! I static cry": Ich schreibe an die brasilianische Regierungl Ich lasse j mir einen Urwald zur Rodung iibergeben! Ich griinde eine I Farm! . . . Ich werbe an: alle, die es ernst nehmen! | Die Europa den narbigen Riicken kehren wollen! Heute noch I setzte ich ein Inserat in die Zeitung! Ich lasse Plakate drucken! Ich halte Versammlungen ab! . . I Thus Wotan is also depicted as an ecstatic character; in early Expressionism his ecstatic outbursts would have gone unnoticed as the typical mode of speech, but as a drama jfrom late Expressionism the uncontrolled exclamations are •used by Toller, as well as by Kaiser, Lauckner, Schmidtbonn 'and Kornfeld before him, to show the demise of the "New j itlan." i t The last play in the study is Werfel's Juarez und Maxi milian; it is constructed in a perhaps more conventional j Imanner than any of the previous plays because it is divided i (into three acts ("Phases") which are, in turn, divided into I ja number of scenes ("Pictures"). Such a structure reminds. 19The Writer in Extremis, p. 20. ^Toller, Der entfesselte Wotan. p. 17. 245 one of Roh's diagram which was given earlier, for Werfel's "dramatic history" is to be classified point for point under "Nachexpressionismus." Nevertheless, the speech of the "New Man" Maximilian is .characterized by the "ecstatic cry," but it is no longer identified by the uncontrolled outbursts, punctuated by numerous dashes, question marks and exclama tion points; the language is more natural than that of the three preceding plays. Yet it still tends "to become in coherent and distracted by random associations": I Einen Blitz lang versteht man alles . . . Nur ein Bild I . . . Es entweicht . . . Ein Berg . . . Ich komme naher ! . . . Eine Pyramide . . . Menschen, auf und ab in roten Talaren . . . Tragen Aktentaschen, Schreibtafeln . . . Uralte, urweise Tiergesichter . . . Und ganz oben, ganz steif Juarez . . . Juarez . . . Jetzt endlich ist er mir | erschienen . . . Aber ich furchte mich nicht . . . Ich j atme . . . Ich singe . . . Nein, neinl So nicht, so war's nicht1 1^^ Werfel's Maximilian is an ecstatic hero who is outdated by | ihis very presence in Mexico; he wanted to be a "schoner i j jMensch" who would teach others to love in an age of dicta- I I torships. This is demonstrated not only by the statements i !of other characters in the play, but also in Maximilian's ! jmanner of speech. He talks like a "New Man" in an age when 21Werfel, Juarez und Maximilian, p. 182. 246 "New Men" are no longer accepted. By means of the selected passages taken from the plays i one can see the significance of the dramatic form and struc ture in late Expressionism. It is a device to reveal the demise of the "New Man." Although there was a "return to 22 . . . conservative objectivity" in late Expressionism in both form and content (labelled by some as "neue Sachlich- I ! . keit"), the "New Man" continued to speak in the old "stan- i i jdard" pattern against which the late Expressionists were j rebelling. In early Expressionism the "ecstatic cry" was inconspicuous because it was only one small part of the ["revolutionary form." However, in late Expressionism the j dramas took on a form which is basically described by Franz Roh as "Nachexpressionismus" and the "ecstatic cry" became i I jconspicuous by its isolation; it designated a character who i ! |was as outdated as his manner of speech. j ^Sokel, The Writer in Extremis, p. 221. CHAPTER V CONCLUSION The "New Man" was an activist ideal which caused frus tration and disillusionment for its former advocates. Ini- i jtially, he was considered to be the only hope for the war- torn world; activist Expressionism called for the birth of the "New Man." Ultimately, however, the ideal became a source of frustration and disillusionment; not only were people "too immoral, too weak, too irresponsible" to accept the tremendous sacrifice demanded by the "New Man," but the former ideal himself was subjected to a re-evaluation, and i ! Sconsequently the dramatists realized that their "hero" was i t ;in reality an unrealistic dreamer who was motivated by ego, jnot altruism, and who was incapable of unselfish love— a 1 sine qua non of activism. Those who once called for his birth in drama reversed their position and began to depict jhis demise. The purpose of this study has been an investi- l jgation of the various methods of depicting the demise of \ ; ( ' ! 247 248 the "New Man." In the first chapter the two basic methods of depicting the demise subjectively were shown by detailed discussions of ten "New Men" from a representative selection of plays from late Expressionism. The predominant method here was to show the "New Man" as a helpless victim of his own self- deception; he goes astray in pursuit of his "mission" to "save" mankind, but never realizes how or where he went astray. In pursuing his "mission" the "New Man" fails to see that he is motivated more by ego than by a genuine love for mankind. The second method of depicting the demise of the "New Man" subjectively was seen in the two plays, Schmidtbonn1s Per Geschlagene and Kornfeld's Palme oder Per Gekrankte. By the use of this method the former activist I ideal realizes that he has gone astray in pursuit of his I |"mission," and with this realization he can reconcile him self with others. In the next two chapters the demise of the "New Man" was shown objectively. In Chapter III he was shown in his relationship to others, specifically in relation to the woman in his life and in relation to his realistic counter part. In Chapter IV his demise was seen objectively in the i I ifact that his very manner of speech belonged to a form 249 against which the Expressionists were rebelling. In the majority of the plays under consideration the woman in the life of the "New Man" was a device for showing the demise of the former ideal. The women offer to help their "New Man" in pursuit of his "mission" because they are bound to him out of love for him himself, not his goal. Consequently, the women become frustrated and disillusioned with the man who claims to love mankind, but who in reality i cannot love another human being. By his interaction with a jwoman it can be seen that the "New Man" is unable to sub- i 'jugate his ego and learn the true meaning of love. Also by ! means of the women in the plays we can see that the former "hero" is in reality a sterile dreamer, and in the cases where he is not sterile the birth of the future "New Man" is [seen in a decidedly negative light. j ! j In addition to the woman there is another character i jthrough whom the demise of the former ideal can be seen ob- i ! jjectively: the realistic counterpart of the "New Man." By i means of this character one can see through objective com- ! I jparison that the "New Man" is a "purely spiritual" dreamer |Who has lost contact with reality; he is shown as a "philos- jopher" who can promise everything because he can accomplish t • • | nothing concrete. The realistic counterpart was also used— 250 again by objective comparison--to show that the "New Man" was incapable of unselfish love. In several cases in the ten plays the realistic counterpart professes love for the woman who is closely associated with the "New Man." On the contrary, the "New Man" does not make such a profession of love for an individual; he is apparently "blinded" by his "love" for mankind. In the last chapter it was shown that the late Expres sionists also used dramatic form and structure to depict the i demise of the "New Man" objectively. After the dramatists ! 'of late Expressionism had returned to a more conventional f i idramatic form, they still characterized the "New Man" by his | "ecstatic cry"; in other words, by his pattern of speech the "New Man" was shown to be as outdated as the "ecstatic cry" of early Expressionism. | The demise of the "New Man" has been shown both subjec tively and objectively. He began as the only hope for the i world, but in the short period of ten years he had produced jonly frustration and disillusionment. Goll summarizes it I : jthuss "... deine Weltanschauung hat nirgends gesiegt. <Du i 1 {hast nicht einem von sechzig Millionen das Leben gerettet." I s , x"Der Expressionismus stirbt," p. 181. I BIBLIOGRAPHY 251 BIBLIOGRAPHY Bergson, Henri. "Laughter," trans. Fred Rothwell. In Comedvr Meaning and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan. San Francisco: Chandler Book Co., 1965. £apek, Karl and Josef Capek. The Insect Comedy or The World We Live In. New York: Samuel French Inc., 1922. Corrigan, Robert W., ed. Comedv: Meaning and Form. San Francisco: Chandler Book Co., 1965. Crothers, Rachel. Susan and God. Screenplay of the Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Studios. Photoplay "Susan and God" by Anita Loos. Copyright 1940 by Loew's Inc. Denkler, Horst. Drama des Expressionismus. Munich: Wil helm Fink Verlag, 1967. Durrenmatt, Friedrich. Theaterprobleme. Zurich: Verlag der Arche, 1955. Edschmid, Kasimir. "Stand des Expressionismus." In Ex pressionismus: Per Kampf urn eine literarische Bewe- auna. ed. Paul Raabe. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1965. __________: _______ . ttber den Expressionismus in der Li ter a- tur und die neue Dichtunq. Berlin: Erich ReiB Verlag, 1919. j Freud, Sigmund. "Jokes and the Comic," trans. James Stra- chey. In Comedv: Meaning and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan. San Francisco: Chandler Book Co., 1965. 252 253 Preyhan, May. Das Drama der Gegenwart. Berlin: E. S. Mittler & Sohn, 1922. Friedmann, Hermann and Otto Mann. Expressionismus. Ge- stalten einer literarischen Bewecmng. Heidelberg: Wolfgang Rothe, 1956. Garten, H. F. Modern German Drama. New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1959. Goll, Iwan. "Es gibt kein Drama mehr." In Literatur Revo lution 1910-1925. ed. Paul Partner. Darmstadt: Her mann Luchterhand Verlag, 1960. __________ . "Der Expressionismus stirbt." In Expressionis mus:__Der Kampf urn eine literarische Bewegung. ed. Paul Raabe. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1965. Guthke, Karl S. Geschichte und Poetik der deutschen Tragi- komodie. Gottingen: Vandenhoek & Ruprecht, 1961. I 1 jHamilton, Edith. Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and i Heroes. New York: The New American Library, 1942. j Jekels, Ludwig. "On the Psychology of Comedy," trans. I. Jarosy Jr. In Comedv: Meaning and Form, ed. Robert W. Corrigan. San Francisco: Chandler Book Co., 1965. Kaiser, Georg. Die Burger von Calais. Bamberg and Wies baden: Bayerisches Verlagsanstalt, 1963. _____________ . Gas. Schauspiel in funf Akten. Berlin: I S. 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Leipzig: Kurt Wolff Ver- j lag, 1912. i • ' Wolfflin, Heinrich. Kunsthistorische Grundbegriffe. Munich: F. Bruckmann, 1915. Wyler, Paul Edward. Der Mneue Mensch1 1 im Drama des Expres sionismus . Palo Alto, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1943.

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Creator Webb, Benjiman Daniel (author)

Core Title The Demise Of The 'New Man': An Analysis Of Late German Expressionism

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Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program German

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Language English

Advisor Spalek, John M. (committee chair), Stahl, Herbert M. (committee member), Von Hofe, Harold (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-631979

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