The torn one
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| Title: | The torn one |
| Genus: | Posse with singing in Drey Acten |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Johann Nestroy |
| Literary source: | L'homme blasé by Félix-Auguste Duvert and Augustin-Théodore de Lauzanne |
| Music: | Adolf Müller senior |
| Publishing year: | 1844 |
| Premiere: | April 9, 1844 |
| Place of premiere: | Theater an der Wien , Vienna |
| Place and time of the action: | The act takes place in the First Act in the country house of Herr von Lips. The second and third acts are playing on Krautkopf's lease eight days later. (Quote from the cover sheet of the book edition) |
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Der Zerrissene is a farce with singing in three acts by Johann Nestroy . The play was premiered on April 9, 1844 in the Theater an der Wien as a "benefit performance" for Nestroy.
content
In the garden pavilion of Herr von Lips there is a party with a large company. Gluthammer is busy putting up a railing on the balcony, but should stop because of the noise. Kathi, Lips' godchild and a relative of his friend Krautkopf, comes to pay a debt to the late mother. Gluthammer reports on his misfortune: the day before his wedding, he lost his bride, Mathilde, since then he has lacked any trace of her and he believes it was kidnapped.
- "[...] I was straw bitter, I stayed straw bitter, and I can't get the straw out of my head in the world." (I. Act, 3rd scene)
Lips describes himself in a monologue as "torn apart": despite or precisely because of his wealth, he has no joy in life; he is bored with having money to avoid all difficulties - and adventures -. But he doesn't want to live without money either:
- "Poverty is undoubtedly the most terrible thing. Someone might lay me down 10 million and say, I should be poor for it, I will not take it." (I. Act, 5th scene)
In conversation with his three “friends”, Stifler, Sporner and Wixer, Lips decides to do something very crazy: He wants to marry the first woman he meets. This is von Schleyer's widowed wife, former Mathilde Flinck, to whom he proposes. Gluthammer believes his “kidnapped” bride Mathilde is in the power of Herr von Lips. He fumbled with Lips and fell from the balcony down into the water with him. Both are believed dead.
Lips, who survived, fled to the farm of the farmer Krautkopf, where Kathi happily recognized him. He wants to camouflage himself as a servant in his service, which Krautkopf does not like. But Gluthammer did not drown either, believing himself to be the murderer of Lips and also taking refuge with his friend Krautkopf. He hides him from the supposed persecution on his lease.
- Gluthammer: "They put a price on my head."
- Krautkopf: "Ah, it doesn't throw money out like that." (II. Act, 5th scene)
Kathi takes care of Lips lovingly, Krautkopf Gluthammer rather unwillingly. Stifler, Sporner and Wixer, who are named heirs in the will of Herr von Lips, inspect their new possessions. Everyone expresses contempt for the allegedly deceased "friend"; Lips in disguise hears this too. While everyone is visiting the farm, Lips changes the will that was lying around with a change dated to the day before his disappearance and appoints Kathi as sole heir.
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Immediately everyone present begins to woo for the hand of the suddenly good match. Kathi is just about to confess her affection to Lips in private when the three disinherited walk in. Lips reveals himself to be alive, but is now viewed as Gluthammer's murderer and imprisoned. Looking for a way to escape, he comes across the locksmith's cellar hiding place under a hatch in the floor. The two, who think each other dead, meet the supposed ghost in horror.
Only Krautkopf brings clarity to the situation, so there are neither murderers nor murdered. The three “friends” immediately begin to curry favor with von Lips, but are chased away. Lips reconciles with Gluthammer, gives him capital and also the blessing to connect with Mathilde, which Mathilde turns down with thanks. The piece closes with a hug between Kathi and Lips and the admission of mutual love.
- “And a Catholic love has awakened in me. Only now do I see that I wasn't just imagining that I was really a torn one, I missed the whole honest half; [...] "(III. Act, 11th Scene)
Factory history
The material comes from the French comédie-vaudeville L'homme blasé (The Bored Man) by Félix-Auguste Duvert and Augustin-Théodore de Lauzanne , which premiered on November 18, 1843 at the Théâtre du Vaudeville in Paris. The magazine Der Wanderer wrote in its edition of December 9, 1843 (No. 293, p. 1172, title: Revue der Pariser Theaters ) an exact table of contents, on which Nestroy probably orientated himself. On the evening before the premiere of “Zerrissenen” the German version had its premiere in Vienna, but - unlike the Nestroy version - disappeared from the program after a few performances. On the same day, the premiere of Joseph Kupelwieser's translation was shown in the Theater in der Josefstadt , under the title: Weariness from Abundance or The Ghostly Locksmith . The Austrian Morning Gazette wrote about this on April 13, 1844 (No. 45, p. 179 f.):
- [...] if in such a hurry, I say, Mr. Kupelwieser knitted his object with all its flaws and improbabilities in German, [...]
Kupelwieser's piece saw only a few poorly attended performances, while Nestroy's Zerrissener was played over 50 times in 1844 alone.
When the interest of the Viennese visitors waned somewhat in May, Nestroy once again went on his summer tour to Prague, Leipzig, Berlin and Frankfurt an der Oder, where The Torn was performed with great success.
An original manuscript by Nestroy with corrections partly handwritten and partly written by a third party is in the manuscript collection of the Vienna Library in the City Hall . The manuscript bears the note at the top right: Original manuscript by Johann Nestroy certified by Peter Sturmbusch. Administrator of the literary estate of Nestroy.
Johann Nestroy played Herr von Lips, Wenzel Scholz the locksmith Gluthammer, Alois Grois the leaseholder Krautkopf, Friedrich Hopp the lawyer Staubmann, Ignaz Stahl the Stifler.
- Nestroy's achievement was the victory of good humor, because he knew how to transfer it to the whole audience. Just as delighted was Mr. Scholz, who can count the role of the locksmith among those who like his individuality most.
Acting persons
| L'homme blasé | The torn one |
|---|---|
| Pierre Pouce Nantouillet argues about his weariness with life in a monologue, is full of dreariness (sadness), dull and tired of pleasure; he only feels his pulse beating in the excitement of battle | Herr von Lips is characterized by his servants and in conversation with his false friends; he is bored and full of self-pity; He also analyzes his emotions almost as an outsider |
| Monsieur Ravinard , the center of the action on stage, always emphasizes his rage (anger), as an opponent to the bored Monsieur Nantouillet | Gluthammer is the actual humorous central figure through his anger and the deluded infatuation with "his" Mathilde, as well as through his clichéd, professional way of speaking |
| Louise is the selfless helper and unconsciously lover, a pure naive, childlike and lovely; in the course of the plot she becomes more and more a self-confident future hostess | Kathi has a similar character, is also cozy and balanced, the typical “sweet girl” of the Viennese style, who is directed rather than led by herself |
| Madame de Canaries consists only of greed, selfishness and sophistication, she is flirtatious, vain, man-crazy and addicted to her career | Madame Schleyer is the same type, but her endeavors are limited to the “good match” with Herr von Lips |
| Remy is a good-natured farmer who cares for and hides Nantouillet as well as Ravinard | Through Gluthammer's insistence on friendship, Krautkopf becomes more and more rebellious towards his friend; He only takes Herr von Lips into his service at Kathi's urging |
| The friends here are two clearly characterized people - the comical old man and the young galan, both equally in their contempt for Nantouillet and ready to do anything for the rich inheritance | The friends are three types who appear almost like a choir, despite certain small peculiarities, not very differently drawn; they resemble Nantouillet's friends in their lack of character |
Contemporary reception
The criticism of Nestroy's work in Adolf Bäuerle's Wiener Theaterzeitung was also very friendly , where the following could be read on April 11th:
- This piece, too, has recently been successful in all parts and is quite suitable to be placed on the same level as the “ talisman ” and the “ joke ”, if it is not to be placed above the first act as far as the first act is concerned.
The humorist , as so often critical of Nestroy, nevertheless packaged a few skeptical remarks in a lot of praise:
- Year. Nestroy seems to have made it his business lately to deliver an entertaining rather than a good one, full of fun rather than a substantial piece, [...]
This criticism joins some contemporary articles that feared that Nestroy would succumb to the production of swaying to the detriment of “solid folk poetry”. In contrast, his work was praised far more often as the best local piece of this year's winter season , despite the rather empty French model .
Later interpretations
Egon Friedell said about this piece in 1922:
- A more life-threatening parody of Byronism than “Torn One ” has never been written, and this struggle against the fashion of sentimentality was far more striking than that of his famous contemporary Heine .
In Franz H. Mautner you can read that this work is “more of a funny character study with burlesque features than a satire on the 'Weltschmerz' of this time” (quote), unlike in the novella Die Zerrissenen (1832) by Alexander von Ungern -Sternberg , who addressed exactly this. Lips is blasé because he is simply doing too well, he is cured by deadly fear and human kindness. His resigned irony is limited to his immediate surroundings and never pushes out of this circle - unlike that of Titus the fire fox in the talisman . Lips expresses this irony in the hidden double meaning of his language, which is therefore only understood correctly by the audience who are informed about the true situation and on stage by himself and Kathi.
literature
- Helmut Ahrens : I'm not auctioning myself off to the laurel. Johann Nestroy, his life. Societäts-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-7973-0389-0 , pp. 257-261.
- Jürgen Hein (Ed.): Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. In: Jürgen Hein / Johann Hüttner : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works, Historical-Critical Edition. Jugend und Volk, Vienna / Munich 1985, ISBN 3-224-16900-1 ; Pp. 21-93, 117-199.
- Franz H. Mautner (Hrsg.): Johann Nestroys Komödien. Edition in 6 volumes, Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1979, 2nd edition 1981, 4th volume.
- Franz H. Mautner: Johann Nepomuk Nestroy Comedies. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1979, 2nd edition 1995, Insel Taschenbuch No. 1742.
- Fritz Brukner / Otto Rommel : Johann Nestroy, Complete Works. Historical-critical complete edition, twelfth volume, published by Anton Schroll & Co., Vienna 1929; Pp. 229-324, 603-634.
Web links
- Table of contents on www.nestroy.at (accessed on July 19, 2015)
- Full text of "Der Zerrissene" in the Gutenberg project (accessed on March 7, 2014)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Stifler , Viennese stiefl'n = to walk around; Sporner , Viennese saying he has a spur (rafter) = he has a fixed (nonsensical) idea; Wixer , Viennese Wix = blow, blow, also a slight intoxication
- ↑ Justiziär = Justiziar (tenured legal counsel); in the spoken text always in the form Justiziarius
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. P. 32.
- ↑ a b Helmut Ahrens: I will not sell myself to the laurel. P. 257.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. P. 64.
- ↑ Illustration in the Leipziger Illustrirten Zeitung of July 27, 1844, No. 56; Wenzel Scholz as Gluthammer (tour without Nestroy)
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. p. 92.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. pp. 123-125.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. p. 129.
- ↑ Manuscript collection of the Vienna library in the town hall, IN 149.112
- ↑ a b Der Humorist, magazine for jokes and seriousness, art, theater, sociability and custom , editor Moritz Gottlieb Saphir (from 1837 to 1862); No. 88, p. 350 f.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. p. 143.
- ^ Jürgen Hein: Johann Nestroy; Pieces 21. p. 146.
- ↑ The Austrian morning paper of April 13, 1844, No. 45, p. 178 f.
- ↑ Egon Friedell: That's classic , Vienna 1922, p. 15.
- ^ Franz H. Mautner: Johann Nestroys Komedien. Pp. 318-319.