Danton's death

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Data
Title: Danton's death
Original language: German
Author: Georg Buechner
Publishing year: 1835
Premiere: January 5, 1902
Place of premiere: Belle Alliance Theater in Berlin
Place and time of the action: March 24 to April 5, 1794
persons
Performance at the Deutsches Theater in 1981

Danton's death is a four- act drama by Georg Büchner . It was written from mid-January to mid-February 1835. In the same year a version edited by Karl Gutzkow appeared in the literary sheet of Eduard Duller's Phönix. Spring newspaper for Germany and a book version with the subtitle Dramatic Pictures from France's Reign of Terror, created by Duller to appease censorship, published by Johann David Sauerländer . The piece is the only one of Büchner's dramas that was published during his lifetime - albeit in a heavily censored version. The world premiere did not take place until January 5, 1902 in the Belle Alliance Theater in Berlin as a production by the Neue Freie Volksbühne association , as the play was considered unplayable for a long time. There is also an opera version composed by Gottfried von Eine .

Historical background

The French Revolution forms the historical background of the play , so that at least a rough overview of the course of the revolution and an understanding of the political groups acting in it and the conflicts that arise between them are necessary for an understanding of the drama. The actual plot of the drama only covers a short period of time from March 24th to April 5th, 1794, thus a climax of the so-called reign of terror , into which the revolution had culminated.

In order to understand the drama, it is important to understand the conflict between the various political factions, which had become increasingly hostile in the course of the revolution. Initially, the more moderate Girondins , also known as the “Valley Party”, held the majority in the National Assembly . They were ready to cooperate with the king. Another faction, the Jacobins , also known as the “Mountain Party”, strove for a far more radical change in society and called for the introduction of a republic. The Jacobin leaders were mainly Robespierre , Marat and Danton , the latter - in contrast to Robespierre - belonging to the Jacobin section of the Cordeliers , whose leaders included Chaumette , Desmoulins and Hébert . The latter, in turn, headed a radical left faction (the Hébertists ) who demanded the abolition of property and religion and thus overshot the goal of the other Jacobins. Despite their majority, the Girondins were unable to assert themselves against the Jacobins and public opinion; they could neither prevent the arrest of the king nor the setting up of a "provisional executive council" to disempower the assembly, nor the September murders of over a thousand prisoners (2/3 criminals-1/3 political, especially royalists) suggested by Marat and tolerated by Danton as Minister of Justice . After the execution of Louis XVI on January 21, 1793 at the instigation of the National Convention . At the request of Danton, the so-called welfare committee was formed on April 6th , which from then on exercised executive power in the state. A revolutionary tribunal, which had been set up on March 10, 1793, took over jurisdiction, particularly with regard to the "political offenses" of the accused. Acquittal or death were the only options; the total number of those executed during the reign of terror is estimated at 40,000.

In the spring of 1793 there were uprisings of the Girondins in the départements , which were suppressed and followed by the arrest and execution of 32 leading Girondin convent members. Internal and external threats (serious economic problems, famines, uprisings by the royalists and Girondists , internal disagreements among the revolutionary forces, war against Austria and Prussia) exacerbated the situation in the republic. The initially provisional government made up of the National Convention and the Welfare Committee remained in power after the Convention refused to adopt a democratic constitution.

In July 1793, the Jacobin Marat was murdered by Charlotte Corday . In the same month Danton was removed from the welfare committee, against Robespierre and later also Collot d'Herbois and Billaud-Varenne were elected to the committee. The Welfare Committee and the National Convention now publicly admitted to the "reign of terror", the wave of executions (including other Girondists, but also the former Queen Marie-Antoinette ) continued.

When a corruption affair became known, suspicions fell on several supporters of Dantons and also on himself. In November 1793 Danton and the Vieux Cordelier - the magazine Camille Desmoulins' - demanded an end to the reign of terror, which Robespierre declined resolutely. Instead, Robespierre had Hébert and his followers arrested and executed on March 24, 1794.

This is where the plot of Büchner's drama begins. After both the moderate Girondins and the radical Hébertists have been eliminated, only the Dantonists (or indulgents ) , who are to be regarded as more moderate in the new political landscape, stand in the way with their call for an end to the reign of terror. The confrontation between these two groups within the Jacobins can no longer be resolved by a conversation between Danton and Robespierre on March 19, 1794; with the consent of the Convention, Robespierre has Danton and his confidants (Desmoulins, Lacroix, Philippeau and others) arrested and brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal on the night of March 30th to 31st; they will be executed on April 5th. Büchner no longer shows the further course of the revolution; the subsequent fall of Robespierre and his guillotination on July 28, 1794 are only hinted at in anticipation of Danton's.

In large parts of the drama, Büchner sticks to historical templates and sources, almost a sixth of the text consists of literal or only slightly changed historical quotations, which, however, are often torn out of context by being integrated into the drama: “Overall, it's that selective, critical adaptation of the sources and historical elements of the discourse, which give the text the claim to reality of a 'historical painting' and at the same time its status as a counterfactor of historiography. "

The most noticeable deviations from the actual historical circumstances concern the characters of Julie (Danton's wife in the drama) and Lucile (Camille Desmoulins' wife), whose fates Büchner radically describes for reasons of dramaturgy, especially in the case of Julie. Danton's real wife (Sebastienne-Louise Gely) did not commit suicide, but outlived her husband (and Georg Büchner himself) by decades, remarried in 1797 and only died in 1856.

Literary era

Büchner's work can be attributed to Vormärz , the years before the March Revolution of 1848. The aim of the politically liberal-oriented poets at this time was to turn literature from a fake existence turned away from reality into an effective organ of social life, which primarily had to serve political and social renewal (“Its highest task is history how they really come to come as close as possible. His book must be neither moral nor immoral ... "(Letter from Georg Büchner, July 28, 1835). They were opponents of romanticism and political restoration . They fought against convention, feudalism and absolutism , stood up for freedom of speech, for the emancipation of the individual, including women and Jews, and for a democratic constitution. They created a poetry of tendencies and times, that is, a poem that deals with the problems of the time and engages in liberal political ideas. Georg Büchner takes the view that “the dramatic poet is bound to reality. His job is to get as close as possible to the actual story, and by creating it a second time, to transport his readers into another time Critically opposes idealism of its time.

contents

1st act

In the first act of the drama, three interest groups within the revolution are presented, whose goals and visions are different, often even opposing (Dantonists, Robespierrists and the people). The two leaders of the revolution, Danton and Robespierre, have different views on the progress of the revolution. Danton - who as a new rich and influential citizen counts among the winners of the revolution - is portrayed as a decadent bon vivant in the first scene, who spends his time playing cards and in brothels. The political ideas of the Dantonists, however, are liberal and tolerant, they not only demand an end to the reign of terror , but also a liberal state:

“The revolution must stop and the republic must begin. In our state principles, law must take the place of duty, well-being in place of virtue, and self-defense in place of punishment. Everyone must assert himself and be able to enforce his nature. He may be reasonable or unreasonable, educated or uneducated, good or bad, that is none of the government's business. " (Hérault, I, 1)

However, it is already clear in the following scene how utopian these demands are. The reader or viewer witnesses a tragic-comic scene in which a drunken citizen complains in anger and desperation that his daughter has to prostitute herself in order to be able to support her family. Here the situation of the common people becomes clear, which is far removed from the “self-realization” and the “life of pleasure” of the decadent Dantonists and who has always been hungry. In this scene the third party appears in the form of Robespierre, whom the people give the admiring nicknames “the virtuous” and “the incorruptible”. Unlike the Dantonists, he sees the need of the people without being able to remedy it; he propagates revolutionary virtue, that is, complete personal altruism and surrender to the cause of the revolution. Accordingly, a frightening fanaticism is already evident in his first speech; his response to popular hunger is reduced to a call for more violence and tougher action; he wants to establish a "virtuous state" with the help of blood rule through the guillotine . A collision between the irreconcilable positions of Danton's and Robespierre's supporters already seems inevitable. Here not only two drafts of the state but also two revolutionary demands collide: How much freedom can be sacrificed to equality, how much equality can be sacrificed to freedom? After Legendre cheekily proclaimed the counter-revolution at the Convention, Robespierre gave a lively speech through which he won the National Convention for a continuation or even intensification of the reign of terror. The Dantonists fear for their safety. At the request of his friends, Danton agrees to a meeting with Robespierre, but it is unsuccessful. Robespierre, however, morally upset by Danton, thereupon, under pressure from St. Just, resolves the death of Danton and his followers, convincing himself of the necessity that this is the only way to save the revolution.

2nd act

After Danton accepts his arrest (II, 3) and regards the revolution he had started as a failure (II, 2), his allies urge him to act (II, 1) or at least to flee from the Jacobins, which he initially tackles . However, he is eaten away by world fatigue, fatalism and resignation and cannot motivate himself to act; Moreover, he does not want to leave France [II, 1: "Do you take the fatherland with you by the soles of your shoes?" ]. Beyond all of his resignation, there is also a belief in his influence and popularity; the belief that the Convention would not dare to take action against him and his group [ "You will not dare" ]. Danton confides in his wife Julie his pangs of conscience because of the September murders, which he inactively tolerated as Minister of Justice , but she can at least superficially convince him of the necessity of his action; he again falls into a historical fatalism. A parallel to Robespierre's conflict of conscience clearly emerges in this scene. After Danton's arrest (6th scene) by Simon and civil soldiers, Robespierre justifies his arrest; This time it is a radical speech by Saint-Just , Robespierre's right-hand man, who carried away the National Convention and made him approve of Danton's arrest. The second act ends with a turbulent scene in the convent in which the Dantonists plead for their defense, but this is rejected by Saint-Just, who is enthusiastically celebrated by the convention together with Robespierre. Finally, the MEPs vote together on the Marseillaise .

In the second act, Büchner's art criticism also flows into the drama; In a dialogue between Camille Desmoulins and Danton, he has the characters ridiculed for the fact that people admire the flat, one-dimensional and highly artificial plays while they despise reality, the masterful creation in its complexity. This view of art is quite programmatic for Büchner's work, in which he tries again and again to depict the world in all its diversity and all its facets - beautiful as well as unsightly. This can be seen, among other things, in the language used in the dramas; Already in Danton's death he lets his characters speak in a language that was at the time too sexually offensive and morally indecent, but which Büchner defends as realistic.

3rd act

In apparent contrast to this is the first scene of Act 3, which takes place in the dungeon of the Palais Luxembourg , where the prisoners philosophize about life, death and immortality in view of their impending execution. Ultimately, however, their conversations only turn in circles and thus merely caricature the absurdity of some of the then common proofs of God (III, 1). Danton knew of the imminent arrest, but did not express this to his followers because he has a certain longing for death due to his nihilistic worldview. Fouquier and Herman decide to only appoint jury members who are loyal to the line, so they will not follow Danton's argument (2nd scene). Danton is brought before the Revolutionary Tribunal. The mood is divided at first, but Danton reminds the convention and the people present of his revolutionary merits with rhetorical skill and thus wins new sympathies (4th scene). Less enthusiastic about Danton's newly flourishing will to live are his followers, who realize that a more passionate commitment from Danton's earlier would have saved them from prison and thus inevitable death. In scene 7, however, he begins to doubt his nihilistic worldview when he begins to fight harder for his life, and thus contradicts his worldview, nihilism and fatalism. When Danton then (9th scene) pleads in a last passionate appeal for more truth and justice and against Robespierre and his bloody goings-on, the mood tilts in Danton's favor, so that the meeting is unceremoniously in order not to let his influence become even stronger dissolves. The members of the welfare committee discuss the course of the negotiation. By denouncing a prisoner, Danton is brought into connection with an alleged plot, which gives reason for the process to be carried out quickly without having to listen to Danton any further. Not only Robespierre's eloquence but also a corrupt tribunal finally sealed the fate of the Dantonists.

Significantly, Büchner once again inserts a “folk scene” into the plot, which shows how fluctuating the favor of the masses is. Although Danton's speeches convince many, his luxurious and decadent way of life speaks a different language, which stands in stark contrast to both the poverty of the people and the humble and (apparently) moral way of life of Robespierre. The third act ends with cheers for Robespierre and calls for Danton's execution.

4th act

Danton and his supporters are sentenced to death. Danton and his friend Camille Desmoulins exchange thoughts about life and death (IV, 3). Danton's wife Julie poisoned herself in her house after promising her husband that she would remain bondage beyond death. She dies an effortless and gentle death on behalf of her husband; it is a so-called act of love because it is strong enough beyond death. Julie wants to accompany her husband to death. The people are curious and mocking when the condemned are led to the scaffold . When Lucile Desmoulins, who wanders through the city, hears of her husband's execution, she sets off for the guillotine on Revolution Square. Once there, she made a desperate decision: To stay with her husband in death, she shouted “Long live the King!” And thus pronounced her own death sentence: an approaching vigilante patrol arrested her.
It is precisely in this act that Büchner deviates most clearly from his sources; Allusions to Shakespeare become clear.

Person overview

Georg Danton: Georg Danton, the protagonist of the drama, is portrayed as a self-confident and self-confident personality. This facade begins to crack, however, when the reader learns of Danton's dark past, which is particularly marked by the September murders for which Danton was responsible as attorney general at the time. During this time, thousands of opponents of the republic, especially aristocrats, were executed. Although from a legal point of view, Danton cannot be assigned any guilt, he has been plagued by moral doubts and remorse, which are mainly expressed in the form of nightmares (II, 5). This attitude also explains his sudden rethinking with regard to the revolution, which is why, as leader of the counter-revolution, he wants to fight the reign of terror and steer the revolution in a moderate direction.

In addition, he is not a self-contained character, as his three worldviews in particular are contradicting themselves. On the one hand, he is a staunch fatalist and therefore of the opinion that fate controls people and is therefore responsible for everything bad in the world, such as Danton's actions during the September murders. On the other hand, he also finds a way out of his guilt in nihilism, since this, like everything else, will dissolve into nothing after death. His longing for death, which is often recognizable in drama, also blows from there. Since he can expect neither hope in the hereafter nor in this world, he takes refuge in Epicureanism, the aim of which is to enjoy life to the full as an individual. This Epicureanism is also the reason for Danton's numerous grisette visits. Although he loves his wife Julie from the bottom of his heart ("I love you like the grave.", I, 1), this does not prevent him from satisfying his sexual urges with other women. In this context, however, he knows how to differentiate between physical and emotional love. Julie is ultimately the reason for his rethinking (III, 7) when he decides not to want to die, as he would have to leave her forever.

Robespierre: He recognizes the need of the people, is admired by the people and referred to as the “virtuous” and “incorruptible”. However, he himself does not always act virtuously, which is already visible at the beginning of the drama in the conversation between Robespierre and Danton ("Is there nothing in you that you do not sometimes say quietly, secretly: you lie, you lie !?" , I, 6). Robespierre is accused of killing people only to distract from the existing need. He portrays himself as a man with a social conscience and at the same time denounces Danton's addiction to pleasure in order to convince the people of himself and his virtuous state. Other revolutionaries refer to his politics as a reign of terror, whereas he sees horror as a legitimate means of realizing his revolutionary plans. ("Vice must be punished, virtue must rule through terror", I, 6).

Legendre: Deputy of the National Convention (Dantonist)

Camille Desmoulins: Deputy of the National Convention (Dantonist), lawyer, journalist, former schoolmate of Robespierre, now best friend and supporter of Danton

Lucile Desmoulins: wife of Camille Desmoulins, follows Camille until death, sacrificing herself with the sentence: "Long live the King" (IV, 9)

Hérault-Séchelles: Deputy of the National Convention (Dantonist)

Lacroix: Deputy of the National Convention (Dantonist)

Philippeau: Deputy of the National Convention (Dantonist)

St. Just: Member of the Welfare Committee, major supporter and executive of Robespierre

Barère: Member of the Welfare Committee

Collot d'Herbois: Member of the Committee on Welfare

Billaud-Varennes: Member of the Welfare Committee

Julie: Danton's wife, poisoned herself to die with Danton and accompany him to death

Marion: Prostitute

Paris: Danton's friend

Chaumette: Procurator of the parish council

Dillon: A general

Fouquier-Tinville: Public Prosecutor

Herman: President of the Revolutionary Tribunal

Dumas: President of the Revolutionary Tribunal

Simon: prompter

Rosalie: Prostitute

Adelaide: prostitute

The dramatic shape in Danton's death

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Büchner's anti-idealistic understanding of art: life and development instead of stylization leads to the fact that he writes the drama in an open form . The variety of locations and people characterizes the confusion of a chaotic time of upheaval, the French Revolution . The 13 days of the dramatic plot also do not form a time continuum ; instead, individual situations are shown alternately. Furthermore, from the introduction of the revolutionary parties to the execution of the Dantonists, a general course of action emerges. The independence of the parts affects acts, scenes and parts of scenes. The tension of a purposeful course of action is not intended.

interpretation

Using the example of the Jacobin dictatorship of 1793/94, Georg Büchner demonstrates the turning of originally liberal ideals into cynical means of arbitrary rule and "questions the subject's possibilities of action in the face of a destructive historical dynamic that is becoming independent" ( historical fatalism ). With his play he tries to draw attention to the grievances of his time in Germany based on the Jacobin dictatorship then ruling during the final phase of the French Revolution and to move the people to take action against the monarchy. So far, Büchner research has not systematically examined the inner connection between eros and violence , which is thematized in all of Georg Büchner's works. The literary scholar Reinhold Grimm first drew attention to this in 1979 in text and criticism, Georg Büchner . A continuation of this discourse can be found in Georg Büchner Yearbook 11 (2005–2008).

reception

Gottfried von Eine wrote an opera after Danton's death , which was premiered in 1947 at the Salzburg Festival .

Radio plays, readings, performance recordings

Film adaptations

expenditure

  • Works and letters. Munich edition. Edited by Karl Pörnbacher, Gerhard Schaub, Hans-Joachim Simm, Edda Ziegler. 8th edition. Hanser, Munich 2001 [1. Ed. 1980], ISBN 3-423-12374-5 , pp. 67-133. [Reading edition with very brief commentary; various paperback editions.]
  • Writings and letters. Documents. Edited by Henri Poschmann with collabor. by Rosemarie Poschmann. Vol. 1. (= Library of German Classics. Volume 84). Deutscher Klassiker Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-618-60090-9 , pp. 11-90 (text), 426-583 (commentary). [Reading edition with extensive commentary.]
  • All works and writings. Vol. 3 in 4 volumes: Danton's death. Marburg edition. Edited by Burghard Dedner and Thomas Michael Mayer. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2000, ISBN 3-534-14520-8 . [Historical-critical edition with commentary volume.]
  • Danton's death. A drama. (= RUB . No. 6060). Reclam, Stuttgart 2002 [u. ö.], ISBN 978-3-15-006060-5 . [School edition in new spelling based on the historical-critical edition.]
  • Danton's death. A play, with materials, selected by Hans Ulrich Staiger. Klett , Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-12-352435-6 . [School edition.]
  • Danton's death. A drama. [Ed. by F. Bruckner and K. Sternelle.] (= reading books . Volume 113). Hamburger Reading Books, Husum 2008. [School edition in new spelling with annotations, some letters from Büchner and an afterword.]

literature

Brief orientations

Reading aids

  • Gerald Funk: Explanations and documents of Georg Büchner Danton's death, based on the historically critical Marburg edition. (= RUB . No. 16034). Reclam, Stuttgart 2000 [u. ö.].
  • Wilhelm Große: Reading key for student Georg Büchner Danton's death. (= RUB . No. 15344). Reclam, Stuttgart 2005.
  • Arnd Beise: Georg Büchner Danton's death. (= Schroedel Interpretations. Volume 17). Schroedel, Braunschweig 2011.
  • Hansjürgen Popp: Reading aids Georg Büchner Danton's death. Klett , Stuttgart 2013, ISBN 978-3-12-923073-2 .
  • Beate Herfurth-Uber: "Danton's death, hearing & learning, knowledge compact in 80 minutes", with key scenes from a production at the Plauen-Zwickau theater, interviews with the historian Prof. Axel Kuhn and the director Matthias Thieme. MultiSkript Verlag, 2010, ISBN 978-3-9812218-7-9 . Audio CD
  • Alfred Behrmann / Joachim Wohlleben : Georg Büchner : Dantons death. A drama analysis . 1980.

Others

  • Karl Eibl: "Ergo beaten to death". Limits of knowledge and violence in Büchner's 'Dantons Tod' and 'Woyzeck'. In: Euphorion 75 (1981), pp. 411-429.
  • Gerhard P. Knapp: Georg Büchner. 3rd Edition. Metzler, Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-476-13159-9 .
  • Riitta Pohjola-Skarp: Danton's death by Georg Büchner. Revolutionary drama as tragedy . Peter Lang Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2014, ISBN 978-3-631-65600-6 .

See also

Web links

Wikiquote: Danton's Death  - Quotes
Wikisource: Georg Büchner  - Sources and full texts
Commons : Dantons Tod  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frédéric Bluche: September 1792. Logiques d'un massacre. Paris, Robert Laffont, 1986, pp. 100/102
  2. ^ Gerhard P. Knapp: Georg Büchner. Metzler , Stuttgart 2000, p. 99.
  3. ↑ Uwe Schütte: The Poetics of the Extreme. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2006, ISBN 978-3-525-20845-8 , p. 195. Restricted preview in the Google book search
  4. ↑ Compare the letter to the parents of January 1, 1836 and July 28, 1835; in the Woyzeck this trait can be found even more strongly through the choice of the main characters and the dialect they speak.
  5. ↑ Tanja van Hoorn: [work article] Dantons death . In: Heinz Ludwig Arnold (Ed.): Kindlers Literature Lexicon . 3rd, completely revised edition. 18 vols. Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2009, ISBN 978-3-476-04000-8 , vol. 3, 268f., Here 268.
  6. ^ BR radio play Pool - Büchner, Dantons Tod
  7. ^ Danton Tod (1963) in the Internet Movie Database