The Martyrdom of Piotr O Hey
The Martyrdom of Piotr O Hey is a play by the Polish writer Sławomir Mrożek from 1959. The German edition was published in 1964 under the title The Martyrium of Peter O Hey . Alternative spellings of the name in the title are Piotr O´ Hey or Piotr Ohey .
content
Piotr just wants to sit in the armchair to read his newspaper in peace, while his wife keeps reproaching him expressing her dissatisfaction. His children, a daughter and two sons, also disturb his peace.
Then suddenly a man appears who introduces himself as an official. He was instructed by the state to warn the family that a dangerous tiger has taken up residence in the bathroom. As soon as this official has disappeared, a tax officer appears who collects a "tiger tax" from Piotr. Since he now has a tiger, he has something from him too, even if it is only the negative feeling of fear; taxes are due for this. The tax officer is replaced by a scientist who specializes in observing bathroom tigers, but who is actually having fun in the next room with Piotr's wife and later daughter. Meanwhile, a ringmaster appears who explains to Piotr that his tiger as a sensation is of the greatest importance for his circus and thus for art in general. He persuades him to allow circus performances in his apartment. A teacher, who can only be heard as a voice from the off, leads school children through the apartment and explains the biotope of the bathroom tiger to them. A Siberian hunter seems to be the only one who doesn't expect anything from Piotr. Waiting in silence, he stands in his living room, and only when Piotr speaks to him does he offer to follow him into the freedom of the Russian steppe. Only with him does Piotr enthusiastically agree, but only he does not follow. Finally, Piotr and his wife are visited by a State Secretary in the bedroom . He explains to the two that a diplomatic crisis must be averted. A state guest, a maharajah , is so bored that relations between the two states are threatened. The only attraction that can still be offered to the state guest is the hunt for the tiger in the bathroom. Piotr also agrees to this after the State Secretary threatened him with police measures in the interests of the state if he should refuse. However, the tiger does not appear, which angered the Maharajah even more and exacerbated the crisis.
At the end of the day, everyone involved is on stage. They all agree that Piotr should lie in the bathtub as bait for the tiger. Piotr also meets this expectation. You can see him entering the bathroom and hear shooting behind the door. After everyone has looked through the keyhole into the bathroom, those involved are affected. Without actually saying it, the viewer suspects that Piotr fell victim to either the tiger or the maharajah.
theme
The piece can be understood as a surreal farce or social satire. It shows people in the field of tension between different social expectations and requirements. The wife stands for the intimate relationship with the partner, the children for the family, the civil servants and the teacher for the state and its different goals, the circus director for art, the researcher for science and the state secretary for politics. Piotr sacrifices himself to all of them against his will by submitting to them, while he agrees but does not comply with the hunter's request to follow him to freedom.
The play makes it clear in a humorous way that a person who meets all social requirements just to have his peace of mind will ultimately die.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Martyrium of Piotr O Hey in the catalog of Diogenes Verlag ( Memento of the original from August 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
