The trap (satire)

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The trap is a satirical Christmas story by the German writer Robert Gernhardt from 1966.

Content and form

The wealthy Mr. Lemm has hired a student as " Santa Claus ", who is supposed to give his children the presents on Christmas Eve and to talk to them about their - from the father's point of view - "bad habits". The giving of presents is completely different than planned. In this way, “Santa Claus” encourages the children to contradict their teachers wherever possible and to express their opinion without being asked. Over the phone, he orders three “colleagues” and, together with this very creatively costumed reinforcement, decimates the sandwiches and whiskey that the host had actually provided for the guests who were expected later. The four boys - as Santa Claus, Servant Ruprecht , Sankt Nikolaus and the angel Gabriel - skillfully play the enthusiastic children against their parents and only leave the house on payment of a hefty ransom .

In terms of design, the narrative works with the dialogue and the situation comedy that the reader discovers . The narrator is neutral.

Origin and reception

The trap appeared in the satirical magazine pardon in 1966 and is one of the early works by Robert Gernhardt, in which he took up the themes of the 1968 movement , such as anti-capitalism and anti-authoritarian education , and incorporated them into a Christmas story. The story is now considered a classic of "anti-Christmas literature" and is part of the standard repertoire of anthologies of satirical Christmas stories; It was first included in an anthology published by Eulenspiegel Verlag in Berlin in 1992.

In 1993 The Trap appeared as an independent book publication that was also illustrated by the author. Since then, it has also increasingly been offered as a reading in the run-up to Christmas, for example in December 2008 in Hamburg with actress Nina Petri .

filming

Gernhardt's story The Trap was filmed under the title Who is Afraid of Santa Claus in 1996, directed by Annette Ernst, based on a screenplay written by her and Joachim Jung . The colored short film has a running time of 14 minutes. The cast includes the actors Dietmar Bär , Rolf Becker and Rufus Beck . The short film was awarded two prizes in 1997.

expenditure

  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap . In: ders .: The blouses of Bohemia . Zweiausendeins Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1977; New edition Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1997, ISBN 3-596-13228-2 .
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap . In: Joachim S. Gumpert (Ed.): Frohes Fest noch! A Christmas book . 1st edition, Eulenspiegel Verlag, Berlin 1992, ISBN 978-335-900674-9 . (Anthology of selected "subtle" Christmas stories by various authors.)
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap. A Christmas story . Haffmans Verlag, Zurich 1993; New edition, Haffmans Verlag, Zurich 2001, ISBN 3-251-30029-6 .
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap. CD . Audio CD, Heyne Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 978-3-45320-665-6 . ( Audiobook as audio CD, read by the author personally.)
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap. Cassette . Audio cassette, Heyne Verlag, Munich 2001, ISBN 978-3-45320-666-3 . (Audiobook as audio cassette, read by the author personally.)
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap. A Christmas story . 3rd edition (of the new edition), Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2003, ISBN 978-3-596-15768-6 .
  • R. Gernhardt: The trap . In: Stephan Koranyi (ed.): Reclam's Christmas Book . Reclam-Verlag, Ditzingen 2007, ISBN 978-3-15-010649-5 . (Anthology of the "most beautiful Christmas stories" according to the publisher.)
  • Robert Gernhardt: The trap . In: Daniel Kampa (Ed.): There used to be more presents. Sneaky Christmas stories . Diogenes Verlag, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-257-23775-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Martina Eberspächer: Santa Claus . 2002; P. 145
  2. ↑ Robert Gernhardt: The trap . Short review in the online magazine shortlist | for art and culture from December 13, 2006.
  3. ↑ Lutz Hagestedt: Nice presents . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 295 of December 22, 1993.
  4. ↑ "The Trap" ... by Robert Gernhardt . Press release of the Altona Theater of November 27, 2008 ( PDF file; 33 kB).