Caesar and his legionnaire

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Caesar and his legionnaire is a story by Bertolt Brecht . The story was written by him in 1942 and first printed as part of Brecht's calendar stories . The story takes place in the Roman Empire and is about Caesar's fall.

The narrative is divided into two chapters, titled Caesar and Caesar's Legionnaire . Both parts tell the same story, namely that of Gaius Julius Caesar and his decline. The first chapter tells the story from the point of view of the general Caesar. The second part is about the same event from the point of view of Titus Rarus, an employee of Caesar.

Emergence

The story was initially intended to serve as a concept for a film for Brecht . This film was originally supposed to be called "Caesar's Last Days". It's unclear whether that film existed or whether it just wasn't released. Brecht based his story on old historical writings and thus conveys a very realistic story. Brecht wrote "Caesar and his Legionnaire" in 1942 when he was in exile in America . The text was first printed in 1949, in the first edition of the calendar history.

content

The story tells the fall of Caesar from two perspectives. On the one hand she does this from the perspective of Gaius Julius Caesar, on the other hand from the perspective of Titus Rarus, a secretary and close confidante of Caesar. The story takes place around 44 BC. And is told in an authorial and personal narrative style (see typological model of the narrative situations ). It reflects Brecht's strong affection for Marxism and also deals with social inequality and war, which is a main theme in most of Bertolt Brecht's calendar stories.

Caesar

At the beginning of the story, Caesar plans to attack the east. He is sure that the people no longer want to wage war with him. The days of his dictatorship are numbered and Caesar is increasingly realizing this. But Caesar's will not be deterred from carrying out his plan. When he receives a dossier with the names of the people who rebel against him and are planning a conspiracy, he is unwilling to open it. Caesar's fear of discovering a familiar name prevails. Brutus , a dear friend of Caesar, is also on this list and tells Cleopatra that Caesar will read this dossier at a later date. Cleopatra calms down Brutus and mobilizes her forces.

Meanwhile, Caesar has constant visions of his death. He suspects that he will die and he also knows that he can no longer flee to Alexandria . On the way to the morning riding lesson, a flash of thought struck him. If the Senate and the city are against him, why doesn't he turn to the people again? He, whom the people once lay at his feet and adored, could end the dictatorship himself and abdicate. He goes home with renewed confidence.

In Cleopatra and Brutus, Caesar's new confidence triggers different thoughts. You worry and tell yourself that Caesar must have read the dossier.

After a speech by Caesar in which he reveals his abdication, he sends his secretary Titus Rarus out to investigate the mood in the city. This secretary does not return for a long time and Caesar worries about his head.

When Cleopatra can no longer stand the tension as it is, she decides to visit Caesar. She later leaves Caesar's palace unsatisfied and Caesar himself goes to his secretaries to secretly abandon the new constitution. Rarus is still not back from his mission and Caesar decides to go to a dog race to catch the mood for himself. Since people rarely or never saw him face to face, he is not afraid of being recognized. Unfortunately, the people who sit next to him in the arena are secret police and so he goes home furiously without any new information.

His secretary greets him in front of the house and tells him that nobody wants to negotiate. Caesar has no other choice and he sees no other way than to get Carpo, a simple construction worker whom the people trust, out of prison in order to give him the task of measuring the mood of the people. When Caesar tells the old man his plans about the “new order” and the planned democracy , Carpo remains silent and undone and is ultimately sent back to his hole.

In front of his palace, Caesar is no longer recognized by his new guards. They are negroes who do not understand the Latin language and are therefore more difficult to stir up. That night Caesar slept badly and the next morning he learned that Rarus had been murdered and the dossier had disappeared. The palace is no longer safe. Caesar travels to Cleopatra out of sheer desperation. Once there, he discovers with horror that she is not at home and he has to travel back. The gates of his palace are open and the guards have withdrawn. Caesar goes to the Senate and is received there. After a few ceremonies, Caesar is given something to read. This is the moment when they attacked him and it happened to Caesar.

Caesar's legionnaire

This perspective is based on Terentius Scaper and his daughter Lucilia. On March 13, 44, Terentius and his family set off for Rome , where his daughter lives with her fiancé, Titus Rarus. On this way they meet soldiers again and again, which corroborates the rumor of an impending war. Once in Rome, Terentius wants to visit his son-in-law at Caesar's palace. After a long search, he finds him and blames him for having been expropriated from their home and ending up on the street. Titus defends himself and promises to help them. At this very moment, Caesar enters the room and asks Rarus for help. He is the only one Caesar can trust. Scaper and his daughter return to their village satisfied, because they see Caesar's appearance as a good sign and want to inform their family. Titus Rarus is sent on a secret mission to visit a mysterious Spanish banker and ask him about the resistance to Caesar. Rarus receives the notorious dossier from this banker and when he wants to deliver it to Caesar and asks for money for his fiancée, he is interrogated by Caesar's guards. They know nothing of a secret mission and Rarus is released.

During all this time, Rarus has never appeared at Lucilia. She is sad and worried for her life because she and her family urgently need 300 sesterces to live. She decides to earn the money herself from Pompilius, the tenant and the debtor, and is successful with it. She does this by selling her beautiful body for money and thus earns the money she needs for food and gives it to her father. Rarus, her fiancé, cannot accept this and tears the money out of Scaper's hands, but asserts that he will get the money himself and bring it back.

When Rarus does not bring the money the next morning, Scaper gets angry and no longer believes in Rarus' promise. Early in the morning Caesar gave him the job of scouting out the population's attitude towards democracy. He therefore writes to Lucilia and her family that a big event is imminent and the money will come soon. The family is beside themselves with joy. Rarus finds out that the politicians no longer have confidence in Caesar's actions and he advises him to flee. Rarus wants to help Caesar escape and provides ox carts for him to drive to Alexandria. He bribed border guards with the 300 sesterces that were intended for scapers so that they would let Caesar pass when he escaped at night. Later, Rarus Scaper confesses everything and asks him for help. Scaper is supposed to pick up Caesar at the palace at midnight. Scaper is lenient and promises to do so.

When Rarus has finished his assignment and wants to return to his fiancée, he notices that he is being followed. Two men have been following him since morning. He sends Lucilia to her mother and tries to get rid of the pursuers. He rushes back to Caesar's palace and takes out the dossier with the names of the conspirators. It was still unopened when he opens the dossier and he finds the names of many of Caesar's friends, such as Brutus and Cassius. He is sure that he will have to show Caesar to get him to flee. Caesar's new guards do not let him go with the papyrus and block his way. On the way back to his room, Rarus notices that he is being followed again and locks himself in his room. Rarus will be killed that fateful night.

Scaper is ready with the ox cart from midnight, but Caesar does not appear. On the morning of March 15, Caesar was told of Rarus's death and that the dossier had disappeared. Caesar is then murdered in the Senate session and the old Scaper goes back to his family and so it comes that the debt of the 300 sesterces was never paid.

shape

The text is a narrative based on ancient historical writings. It is told in 2 parts. Both parts deal with the same event, the fall of Caesar. The first part tells the story from the perspective of Caesar. This part is told from Caesar's personal point of view. In the second part, the same event is described from the point of view of his secretary Rarus. Here, however, an authorial narrative perspective is chosen. Looking at the two narratives together gives the impression that there are two separate stories that only have the main theme in common. Either of the two stories could make sense on its own, and it's interesting to experience the main theme twice. The story of Caesar and his legionnaire is not a classic tale. The story repeatedly experiences leaps in time and often changes the setting.

interpretation

horse riding

When Caesar rides, he has the brilliant idea of ​​a democracy. Regardless of how the horse is led while riding and the reins are taken in hand, the horse always has its own will and does what it thinks is good. This is clearly a parallel to the people. Something can be forced upon the people. If they do not want to, there will be riots. If the people are given too much freedom, they do what they want and are uncontrollable.

Dog racing

When Caesar attended the dog race, his project was unsuccessful. He's betting on a specific dog. This one never wins as long as Caesar is in the arena. After leaving the arena, his dog wins the race. It can be suggested that it would be better without Caesar and if he is present, only disagreements arise, as with the spectators in the arena.

Caesar

Caesar is a symbol of impermanence. Although he won many battles and conquered a lot of new land, he was defeated in the end. He suspects his downfall early and wants to prevent it. His opponents, the people, the city and the senate are too strong.

Cleopatra

The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra VII (the Great) lived in Rome from 46-44 BC . You and Caesar were lovers. The relationship was not just a love affair, but was shaped by the political and lordship claims of the two. There is no historical evidence as to whether Cleopatra was involved in the conspiracy. After Caesar's murder, she returned to Egypt .

dossier

Caesar never opens the dossier. He's too scared to read familiar names. It stands as a sign of deceit and betrayal. If Caesar had read it, he might not have died. This would have cost a lot of strength and so Caesar would have turned himself into a traitor.

Effect / reception

The rise and fall of Caesar can be seen in Caesar and his legionnaire . Caesar becomes ruler of Rome and achieves much fame. There is something bad associated with success. Caesar's lust for power is both his rise and his downfall. From this it can be concluded that power cannot achieve anything in the longer term. So Caesar is a man of great power, someone who increases social inequality and does not want to change anything in any way. According to Brecht's ideology , that of Marxism , everyone should have the same amount of power.

So it is clear from the start that Caesar will die in Brecht's story. Caesar's behavior is very special. He behaves irrationally and sometimes tries to keep his power with strange deeds. This shows that he is controlled by his will and not his mind. This explains why he is looking for help from Cleopatra or why he wants to introduce a democracy. He does all this to stay in power, which leads him directly to his doom.

Social inequality plays an important role in history. The Scaper family owes 300 sesterces and is a tremendous sum for them. For Caesar, however, this money means very little and yet she does not pay. Although it is never mentioned how high Caesar's fortune is, it can be guessed that he is very rich but, out of greed, has nothing to do with others. According to Marxism, greed leads to ruin every time and this becomes visible again in Brecht's story. Social equality is heightened when at the end of the story guilt still exists and this is likely to have negative consequences for the Scaper family.

In Caesar and his legionnaire, Brecht criticizes the social order then and now. For him it is not okay for ordinary citizens to suffer and for rulers to have a good life for it. In relation to today's world, this means that our politicians and rulers must not enjoy themselves at the expense of their fellow men. Brecht calls on the reader to do something about inequality. This request reflects the image of self-thinking. People should not only rely on others and always form and enforce their own opinion. This view has much to do with the days when people relied on empty promises and thought nothing. Another extreme example would be Hitler's rise before World War II . History is a good example that dictatorship cannot go or function well. Caesar, the dictator, gains power. Ultimately, this is his downfall. Everyone should have the same amount of power so that a good social order can rule. So history is a reflection of what will happen when power is unevenly distributed.

bibliography

literature

  • Haselbach, Karlheinz. 1990. Bertolt Brecht: Calendar Stories. Oldenbourg Verlag GmbH. Munich
  • Müller, Klaus-Detlef. 1980. Brecht commentary on narrative prose. Winkler. Munich.
  • Bahners, Klaus and Evensberg, Gerd and Poppe, Reiner. 1984. Explanation on Bertolt Brecht calendar stories. C.Bange publishing house. Hollfeld.
  • Payrhuber, Franz-Josef. 1995. Bertolt Brecht. Philipp Reclame. Stuttgart.

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