The experiment (Brecht)
The experiment is a story by the German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht . It is part of the calendar stories .
Emergence
Brecht wrote the story in 1939 in Danish exile in connection with his studies of the play of Galileo's life , to which there are some parallels. The story was initially called The Stable Boy , but was later changed to The Experiment because Brecht wanted to emphasize the scientific method. The story was first published in Calendar Stories in 1949.
action
The story is about a stable boy who is in the service of the philosopher and humanist Sir Francis Bacon and who helps him with an experiment.
At the time of history, Francis Bacon is already an old and frail man who lives in seclusion on his country estate and has turned to science. When a valuable horse falls ill, Bacon becomes aware of the stable boy's power of observation, who reports to him twice a day. From then on, Bacon wants the stable boy close by so that he can do tasks for him. He talks to him about experiments and teaches him that one always has to observe natural processes closely in order to be able to describe them afterwards.
On a winter's day, the stable boy is out on a sledge with bacon. As they drive back to the courtyard, the carriage driver accidentally runs over a chicken. Although Bacon has been sick for a long time, he gets out of the sled into the cold, stuffs the chicken with snow and takes it with him. The boy is instructed by Bacon to fill the chicken with new snow every day and then to report to Bacon.
After getting off the sled, the condition of bacon worsened very much. Doctors in droves come from the capital to take care of bacon. The stable boy is no longer allowed near Bacon. Regardless, he continues the experiment. Ultimately, Bacon dies. The stable boy wants to confide his result of the experiment to the doctors, but the discovery is ignored.
On the way to Bacon's funeral, the stable boy tries to tell his grandmother about the experiment and that the chicken is still good and edible. However, she believes the meat is spoiled and poisonous. The stable boy, however, is convinced that the experiment was successful; so he decides not to go to the funeral and instead cook the chicken to see if it is poisonous or not.
shape
The story is written in the form of a prose . The story is told from the narrator's perspective.
interpretation
Rejection of new knowledge
Although the experiment was likely successful and freezing food is a well known method of preservation these days, no one in history would believe the stable boy. Neither the common people, such as the stable boy's grandmother, nor the educated doctors believed the stable boy. At that time, only those of high standing had the power and ability to convince the common people of an idea or invention. Brecht therefore wants to warn against such a social structure with his story.
Marxism
In the experiment, Brecht repeatedly refers to the values of Marxism and naturalism . For example, there is Francis Bacon, who spent his final years learning as much as possible from nature. In addition, the empirical investigation is often referred to in history. One should observe nature closely in order to learn from it. Sometimes you have to stand up against the majority when you have to prove a new knowledge, because often many people hold on to the old and reject new inventions. This was also the case in history, for only Bacon and the stable boy went carefully through life, observing nature and trying to explain it. Other people, such as the grandmother or the doctors, did not want to know about the new discovery, because it would change the old order and they did not want that.
Effect / reception
According to Egon Ecker, Brecht wanted the story to change people's political perspective and bring them closer to the Marxist way of thinking by motivating people to doubt given circumstances. This does not only have to be in science, it can also be used in other areas of life, for example in politics.
swell
- ↑ Bertolt Brecht, Denise scratch Meier: Calendar stories. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2013, p. 183
- ^ Egon Ecker: Explanations to Bertolt Brecht, Calendar Stories. Bange, Hollfeld / Obfr. 1984, p. 31
- ↑ Bertolt Brecht, Denise scratch Meier: Calendar stories. Suhrkamp, Berlin 2013, pp. 34–46
- ^ Egon Ecker: Explanations to Bertolt Brecht, Calendar Stories. Bange, Hollfeld / Obfr. 1984, pp. 36-37