The ruby

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The ruby is the name of a fairy tale story by Friedrich Hebbel , which is available in two versions: as a fairy tale story (1837, published 1843) and as a “fairy tale comedy” in three acts (1849). The drama version was premiered on November 21, 1849 in the Vienna Hofburgtheater and appeared in print in 1851. It is dedicated to Gustav Kühne , with whom Hebbel exchanged letters about the creation of the piece.

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Novel version

In the market in Baghdad, the young Turk Assad discovers a ruby , which has a mysterious attraction for him. The jeweler declares the gemstone unsaleable and wants to give Assad a ring instead, but the young man rejects this and steals the stone without further ado. However, he is caught on the run and immediately brought before the kadi , who sentenced him to death for the theft. Assad accepts his fate, but asks to be allowed to hold the ruby ​​in his hands until the sentence is carried out. Immediately before the execution, however, Assad is miraculously kidnapped to a distant place by a mysterious old man. Assad now learns that the stone is actually the grave of an enchanted princess and that its red color comes from her blood. The old man explains how the princess can be temporarily freed from her spell, then he disappears. At midnight, Assad performs the magic described, and he actually succeeds in waking the beautiful princess. When asked if he could finally redeem her, she replied that no one could do this because this task was far too easy. Then it solidifies again in the ruby. - A year later, Assad meets an old man who praises the beauty of the ruby ​​that happened to be seen. He reveals himself to be the Sultan who has been searching for his missing daughter for a long time. He wants to buy the stone from Assad, because it reminded him strangely of his daughter. Assad refuses and throws the stone into the river so as not to let it fall into the wrong hands. Immediately afterwards the princess reappears: Assad unconsciously released the spell by voluntarily giving away the ruby ​​instead of selfishly keeping it to himself like all previous owners. The Sultan gratefully gives him his daughter to wife and declares him heir to his kingdom.

Edits

The fairy tale was adapted by the composer Eugen d'Albert for the opera Der Rubin (1893). Albert Jenny set it to music as the fairy tale opera Der Rubin (1938) for the school stage.

expenditure

literature

  • Axel Friedrichs: Hebbel's "Diamant" and "Rubin": a contribution to the question of the romantic comedy. 1929.
  • Carsten Kretschmann: Being and having. For the configuration of Hebbel's comedy The Rubin. In: Hebbel yearbook. 2001, ISSN  0073-1560 , pp. 103-137.
  • Heinz Stolte: The parable of the fisherman's son and the crown - reflections on Friedrich Hebbel's fairytale pleasure game The Rubin. In: Hebbel yearbook. 1980, ISSN  0073-1560 , pp. 9-30.

Web links

Fairy tale version:

Comedy version: