Carter Henschel
| Work data | |
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| Title: | Carter Henschel |
| Original title: | Carter Henschel |
| Shape: | drama |
| Original language: | German |
| Premiere: | November 1898 |
| Place of premiere: | German Theater Berlin |
| Place and time of the action: | in the inn "Zum Grauen Schwan" in a Silesian seaside resort, 1860 |
| people | |
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Fuhrmann Henschel is a naturalistic milieu drama by Gerhart Hauptmann and is set in the Silesian inn "Zum Grauen Schwan" in the 1860s . The approaches originated in Italy around 1897. After intermittent interruptions, Hauptmann finished his work in 1898. In November of the same year, the premiere took place in the Deutsches Theater Berlin .
The core of the plot lies in the confrontation with the protagonist's own guilt, in the form of the carter Henschel, and his failure due to his morality and the breakdown due to his own failure. A promise not kept is the trigger and conflict for a tension between morality and driving force that cannot be managed by the driver, which ultimately leads to death of his own will.
action
- Act 1 - In the Henschel's room
Mr. Henschel lives with his terminally ill wife, the ailing newborn child and the maid Hanne in the inn "Zum Grauen Schwan". Hanne, a sly and ruthless person, is in a relationship with Franz. The tense relationship between her and Ms. Henschel becomes clear to the reader early on, which character traits noticed that others initially remained hidden. Already resigned to death, Ms. Henschel lacks the strength to address Hanne. Siebenhaar, the owner of the inn comes into the Henschels' room with a bottle of wine and requests that he speak to the landlord.
Later Siebenhaar is alone with Frau Henschel, who, subject to her delusions, initially confuses him with her husband. Mr. Henschel joins the scenario and is immediately attacked verbally by his wife, who accuses him of having a relationship with Hanne and believes he could even marry the maid after her death. The perplexed husband jokingly replies with "natural". Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Henschel finally allows his wife to make a promise never to marry Hanne.
- Act 2 - In the Henschel's room
Mrs. Henschel passed away, shortly afterwards Gustel, the newborn too. Hanne still lives in Mr. Henschel's household and is confronted with her daughter, who she says is not hers, but her sister's daughter. Shortly after the mistress of the house died, Hanne left Franz behind. He suspects of her plans to become the new Mrs. Henschel. She cunningly forges the implementation of her plan. She explains that her brother needs her help, which is why she has to go. Henschel suddenly becomes afraid of not being able to cope with his tasks alone and gets into a conflict. In addition to the fact that he is a widower, he is now also facing professional competition from building a railway line. Siebenhaar steps into the action again, and Henschel persuades him well. He shouldn't mourn forever and consider remarrying, for example Hanne. After a brief doubt about the promise made to his wife, however, Henschel feels strengthened by Siebenhaar and suppressed that.
- 3rd act - In the Henschel's room
According to her plan, Hanne is now the new Mrs. Henschel and will only be named as this in the further course of the day. The marriage quickly crumbles. Mr. Henschel is often on the road as a carter. A relationship with the waiter Georg develops, which initially remains undiscovered. With the intention of making his new wife happy, Henschel brings her daughter, who grew up in a different household, with him. When he realizes that his wife is deeply appalled by this, her malicious traits become apparent to him for the first time. The carter begins to doubt.
- 4th act - in the tavern
In contrast to the other scenes, this one is the only one that does not take place in the Henschel's room, but in the inn. The visitors speculate that Henschel now wants to take over the tavern under the influence of the new wife. You can talk about her calculating behavior and even say in the room that it is no coincidence that the first wife died. It is assumed that the couple created this situation, with Mr. Henschel representing Hannes' plaything.
The deceased's brother is present and reinforces their allegations by claiming that his sister was in perfect health. The Henschel who joined them gets angry and throws one of the visitors out. The zenith of his anger is reached when the relationship between his wife and the waiter Georg is revealed to him.
- Act 5 - In the Henschel's room
Henschel, plagued by guilt and now internally torn apart, is alone in his room and hears the voice of his deceased wife. The new Mrs. Henschel arrives and persuades him that he is dreaming, but that does not stop the process of going mad. Henschel talks about someone having already put a noose on him. Siebenhaar enters the room and witnesses this bizarre behavior. Henschel complains that his wife is persecuting him forever because he did not keep the promise and that she could not find her peace.
Henschel later said to Hanne that one of the two had to give way, otherwise no peace would come about. She then replied that she would move out the following day. The departure of Mr. Henschel follows, which is also his last appearance. A short time later, Siebenhaar opens the bedroom door and finds the carter dead. He committed suicide after he could no longer escape his inner conflict.
characterization
The three main characters around Henschel: Frau Henschel, Siebenhaar and Hanne, are internally uniform, firmly formed characters, by no means of an ambivalent nature. Between these people stands Henschel, an initially insecure and ultimately completely divided person.
Carter Henschel
The title character Henschel enjoys the reputation of a clever, friendly advisor. His judgment and his word apply like a law to his fellow men. He stands calm and secure in the world of his farmer and carter existence, as long as his balance is not shaken. However, if something unexpected happens, its secure foundation will shake. Its massive external appearance contrasts with an almost childlike, easily influenced character. Clearly recognizable in the conversations with Siebenhaar, who always manages to persuade him well and thus relieve him of his decisions.
Mrs. Henschel
Despite her hopeless situation, she is a woman supported by trust in God who selflessly helped her husband for years. She lives according to strict moral and moral principles and thus represents the opposite position to Hanne.
Hanne
Knowing exactly what she wants is nothing too repulsive for her to achieve her goals. She is instinctive like a predator and strictly calculating in her actions. There is no sense of morality, any more than compassion or morality; a figure free from mental conflicts. Her own child is a heavy burden for her, as her nature does not allow maternal feelings. Hanne comes from a poor background. Her life as a maid is not enough for her and so she sees in the carter a game that could turn the tide at one stroke.
Seven hairs
An authoritarian and wealthy person in the midst of the common bourgeoisie. Siebenhaar is well aware of its high reputation, as well as its influence, and uses this purposefully; without malicious ulterior motives, but very rashly and without thinking about possible consequences. Although he is an intelligent person, his thoughts and feelings remain superficial and he lacks psychological depth.
interpretation
The carter, Henschel, represents the passive hero of the play and is doomed to failure from the start. A peaceful, simple and honest person who mutates into suicide due to determined circumstances offers material for psychological investigation.
Inwardness and sensuality
In 1910, Horst Engert proposed the inwardness and sensuality of the driver. By inwardness we mean, among other things, mind and imagination; that is, everything that the rich soul life contains. Henschel's sensuality towards Hanne is expressed after the death of his wife. He no longer acts rationally, but gives himself completely to his driving forces. But when Henschel is informed about Hannes relationship and their total depravity, he sees his instinctual love as betrayed, with which the domination of his sensuality comes to an end. The love for his dead wife and his deceased child regains power over him. The knowledge of Hannes double life leads, according to Engert, to the inner dichotomy in him, from which he later perishes.
The promise
The fact that Henschel breaks his promise, despite his honest demeanor, seems to indicate an inner ambivalence. However, the role of the authoritarian Siebenhaar should not be put in the background. He takes sides with Henschel by dismissing the serious concerns of his wife as sucked out of the fingers. This supposed fact has a calming effect on the carter. He fully responds to the tone of his landlord and tries to interpret everything for his wife as harmless reverie. Indeed, Henschel himself believes that the allegations mean nothing more; because his consciousness absolves him completely of all guilt. The wish that the premonitions are only dreams, however, unconsciously serves the own need for rest and not the care for his wife.
The realization
The more Henschel turns away from Hanne, the less he is led by his instincts, which leads to the fact that the counterbalance to his feeling of guilt loses its foundation and the emotional distress grows immeasurably. On this line the psychological development leads inexorably to catastrophe. In the pub scene of the fourth act, Henschel's overstimulation and inner breakdown are prepared. First he learns how contemptuously people think about him after the death of his wife in the village and what people speculate about his second marriage, later he is revealed about his new wife's relationship with a waiter. This new knowledge initially leads to great anger; however, Henschel quickly recovered himself, telling himself that it was nothing more than rumors. Basically it is his will to live that defends himself against the threatening annihilation; yet he feels that he will never recover from this blow. From that moment his entire weight depends on Hannes guilt or innocence. His inner conflict reaches a climax here, as he is sure of her guilt, but suppresses it. The carter of the fourth act is no longer the same. After the veil has been torn from his eyes, he is now able for the first time to make a decision for himself. It is the realization that drives him to suicide.
Classification in the theory of naturalism
The typical features of naturalism can be seen in clear lines in Hauptmann's drama. Most importantly, the determinism that leads to Henschel, the passive hero, being doomed from the start. The environment corresponds to the reality of the bourgeoisie at that time, just like the prevailing dialect there, which is imposed on the protagonists. Exceptions are the higher-ranking characters, such as Siebenhaar; the property owner or Wermelkirch; the landlord, who speak the high German language. The environment corresponds to the reality of the bourgeoisie. Typical in this work for naturalism is the excessive consumption of alcohol, the sick wife, the illegitimate child of Hanne and the figure of the passive hero.
Structure and structure
The drama is not recognizable based on the principle of the classical Greek tragedy according to Aristotle , the three Aristotelian units , which demand compliance with the plot, the time and the place. There are definitely deviations. For example, there is a change of location (from the room to the tavern). The plot extends over a few months and with the appearance of Berthas (Hannes daughter) a second plot takes place. Thus, in Hauptmanns Fuhrmann Henschel, we find no more closed , open drama . What can be traced back to the Aristotelian tradition, however, is the five-act structural model according to Gustav Freytag (1863).
Film adaptations
- 1918: Fuhrmann Henschel (1918), silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch with Emil Jannings
- 1956: Fuhrmann Henschel , color film directed by Josef von Báky with Walter Richter , Nadja Tiller , Wolfgang Lukschy
- 1962: Fuhrmann Henschel (1962), TV film directed by Kurt Hirschfeld with Walter Richter, Margrit Winter and Barbara Rütting
radio play
- Fuhrmann Henschel ( HR / SR / DRS 1962). Editing and direction: Ulrich Lauterbach . With Walter Richter (Henschel), Ingeborg Stein (Mrs. Henschel), Krista Keller (Hanne), Rudolf Hofmann (Walther horse dealer), Hans Caninenberg (Siebenhaar), child Borek (Karlchen), Leopold Biberti (1894–1969) (Wermelskirch), Agnes del Sarto (1892–1965) (Mrs. Wermelskirch), Helga Feddersen (Franziska), Arnim Süssenguth (Hauffe), Otto Mächtlinger (1921–1985) (Franz), Curt Bock (George), Eric Schildkraut (1906–1999) ( Fabig), Willy Buser (Master Hildebrandt), Ulrich Lauterbach (Grunert)
bibliography
- Gerhart Hauptmann: Fuhrmann Henschel: Play in 5 acts . Berlin 1899.
- Emil Glaß: Psychology and worldview in Gerhart Hauptmann's "Fuhrmann Henschel". A contribution to Hauptmann's knowledge of the essence . Lechte Verlag, Emsdetten 1933 (plus dissertation, University of Erlangen 1933).
- Manfred Pfister: The drama. Theory and analysis . Verlag Fink, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-8252-0580-0 ( UTB ; 580).
- Theo Meyer: Theory of Naturalism . Reprinted by Reclam, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-15-009475-4 .