Poverty, wealth, humans and animals

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Poverty, wealth, humans and animals is a dramatic play in 4 acts by Hans Henny Jahnn .

content

In the life of the lonely Norwegian farmer Manao Vinje, who only loves his horse, three very different female characters will play a role. When he sets out to get married, there is the quiet, selfless and self-sacrificing maid Sofia on the one hand, and the rich, domineering and possessive Anna on the other. Disappointed that the farmer is engaged to Sofia, she manages to use intrigue and violence to bring the rival to prison innocently. Then she conquers Vinje, who only finds out much later what actually happened and is reconciled with Sofia. Both move to the remote north of the country. When Sofia dies, Anna expects him to return to her. But Vinje moves to the high mountains with Jytte, an elf girl, a reincarnation of his beloved horse in human form, which Sofia replaces for him.

History of origin

The first version was created in Switzerland in 1933. The original title was Poverty and Wealth, Man and Animal . When Jahnn discovered that the deletion of the first "and" resulted in the word "poverty" from the first letters, he changed the title. The play was not included in the repertoire of German theaters on the grounds that it was not patriotic enough. Jahnn tried to have it performed in Denmark, the writer Valdemar Rørdam translated it, but it was never performed there. In the years 1935–1945 Jahnn wrote a second version, which was performed in 1948. It consists of 4 acts, each act has three scenes.

Performances

The world premiere took place on June 25, 1948 at the same time in Hamburg in the Deutsches Schauspielhaus and in Wuppertal at the Wuppertaler Bühnen . There were other productions in 1950 at the Zurich Schauspielhaus , in Darmstadt (1951), Münster (1969), Berlin (1993), Hamburg (1994) and in 1997/98 at the State Theater in Mainz and in 2001/2002 under the direction of Konstanze Lauterbach in Bremen and 2004 at the Deutsches Theater Berlin . In 2009 Deutschlandradio Kultur broadcast a radio play version.

Literary interpretation

Jahnn had lived in exile in Norway during the First World War, which is reflected in the settings of his novel Perrudja and in the play of poverty, wealth, people and animals . Both works deal with the subject of fleeing the problems of the world into the seclusion of the mountains, and the horse plays an essential role. In poverty. Above all, the female figures come to the fore for wealth, people and animals . Jytte is portrayed as an ideal figure because she unites the good qualities (loving kindness and strength) of Sofia and Anna in her person; At the same time, however, she is also a mythical, ambiguous creature, just like some fairytale figures - for example the troll Yngve - appear. Ultimately, Jytte connects everything: poverty, wealth, people and animals. Jahnn also sees the play as a defense of the animal's existence.

reception

The Hamburg premiere, at which Bernhard Minetti played Manao Vinje, took place in front of a select audience: the mayor, regional bishop, the entire Senate and representatives of the military government were among them. The criticism was very different. Some thought the piece was a failure, the Hamburger Tagesspiegel, on the other hand, wrote of a work "of breathtaking depth and density", which some of the audience was unable to follow. The Wuppertal and Zurich performances (1950 under Leonard Steckel ) received contradicting reviews. But to this day, the play has repeatedly attracted directors to staging, since the material allows many varieties.

Quote

Manao:

“Anna is supposed to appear before the judge. Let your slanderer apologize. "

Sofia:

"What do I win? What will change in my existence? To feel sorry for me? Wash off the dirt they put me on? The memory of the abysses into which I was thrust will not be taken from me. "

literature

Text output

  • Weismann, Munich 1948 (The first edition was almost completely pulped again due to some errors; a second improved version was published in 1948.)
  • Contained in: Hans Henny Jahnn: Works and Diaries. Vol. 5, Dramas. Part 2 . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1974
  • Contained in: Hans Henny Jahnn: Works. Vol. 7. Dramas II . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1993. ISBN 978-3-455-03837-8
  • There is a Bern German version by Rudolf Stalder on video and DVD. 1995

Secondary literature

  • Thomas Freeman: Hans Henny Jahnn. A biography . Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1986, ISBN 3-455-08608-X .
  • Walter Blohm: The extra-real characters in Hans Henny Jahnn's dramas . Lüdke, Hamburg 1971.
  • Siegfried Kienzle: Poverty, wealth, humans and animals . In: Lexicon of World Literature in Characteristics and Brief Interpretations , Stuttgart 1968
  • Walter Muschg: Hans Henny Jahnn . In: Walter Muschg, pamphlet and confession . Olten 1968
  • Georg Hensel : Domesticated Hans Henny Jahnn . In: Darmstädter Echo from March 14, 1951
  • Ernst Kreuder : World melancholy. A drama and its audience . In: The time of January 6, 1949

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Thomas Freeman: Hans Henny Jahnn. A biography . S. 316. Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1986. ISBN 3-455-08608-X
  2. ^ Sabine Neumann, Horst Schwartz: Bornholm . Dumont, Cologne 1997. ISBN 3770135326
  3. ↑ http://www.dradio.de/dkultur/sendung/hoerspiel/1041327/
  4. ^ Otto Hermann: Poverty, wealth, humans and animals . In: Hamburger Tagesspiegel from July 4, 1948
  5. ↑ page 84, 1948 edition

Web links