Mary Magdalene (Hebbel)
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| Title: | Mary Magdalene |
| Genus: | Civil tragedy |
| Original language: | German |
| Author: | Friedrich Hebbel |
| Publishing year: | 1844 |
| Premiere: | March 13, 1846 |
| Place of premiere: | Koenigsberg City Theater |
| Place and time of the action: | a medium town |
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Maria Magdalena is a tragedy in three acts by Friedrich Hebbel . The drama was written in 1843 and is considered the last German civil tragedy . The genre is subsequently replaced by the social drama in which the fourth estate becomes the bearer of the conflict.
The title, which refers to the biblical figure Maria Magdalena , was created at the request of the publisher in order to arouse greater interest among the readers. Hebbel originally wanted to name the work "Klara" after one of the main characters. Due to a typographical error , the title on the cover of the first edition was finally “Maria Magdalene”. Even today the piece is occasionally quoted under this name, and the author himself sometimes used the title in this form.
content
first act
Klara , the daughter of the carpenter master Anton, is engaged to the cashier Leonhard , but does not love him. Leonhard doesn't love Klara either. He acts out of greed and aims for Master Anton's dowry . During an amusement, Klara meets her old sweetheart, the secretary , again, who had left her home town for a while for the purpose of training. The old love flares up again and Leonhard, who does not escape this, urges Klara to sleep with him because he wants to make sure that Klara cannot find anything in the secretary (Friedrich). This happens more out of jealousy than out of passion, but Klara is pregnant afterwards and now has to rely on Leonhard's proposal to marry in order not to tarnish her own and the family's honor. This event is explained in a flashback in a dialogue between Klara and Leonhard. At the end of Act 1, two bailiffs ring the doorbell of the carpenter. They come to search the house as Klara's brother Karl is suspected of stealing jewels . Klara's mother, who has just recovered from a serious illness, learns of the allegations against her son and dies a sudden death as a result of the shock. In the following, Klara's principled father emphasizes that he is convinced of his son's guilt and that from now on all his hopes rest on Klara. He threatens to kill himself if Klara should also bring disgrace to the family. Next to her mother's corpse, she has to swear to her father not to disappoint him, although she already knows about her pregnancy. Her father's suicide threat exacerbates her difficult situation: she now knows that she has to marry Leonhard because an illegitimate child would cause her father to commit suicide.
In this situation a letter arrives from Leonhard in which he renounces Klara. As a pretext for this, he gives that the family lost their honor after Karl's arrest. The real reason, however, is that Klara's father gave away her considerable dowry of 1000 thalers to his old master . After Leonhard has coaxed this from the master carpenter, who only tells him this because he believes Leonhard is proposing to his daughter, the situation with Karl is just right for him.
Second act
Although the jewels reappear quickly (the owner's crazy wife had hidden them among many other things), the father worries about the loss of his civil honor. Klara meets the secretary and confesses her love to him, which he returns. He proposes to her, but Klara feels it is her duty to bring her child's father back “on his knees” so as not to disgrace Master Anton. The secretary endures this condition only with difficulty, since he knows of the ruthless defection. He even feels obliged to "shoot the dog who knows [meaning Leonhard] out of the world!" ( Maria Magdalena , Reclam, 2002, 2nd act, 6th scene, p. 76.)
Klara sees no other hope and is ready to commit suicide if she does not succeed with Leonhard.
Third act
Klara seeks out Leonhard. In a long conversation it becomes clear how deeply he feels offended by the rival and is eaten up by jealousy. He finally tells her that in the meantime he has gotten married to the mayor's daughter - a project that reveals his calculating character, because he himself describes her as not particularly attractive and “hunchbacked”. After the conversation, Klara is faced with the alternative: either going to her father with the shame or killing herself. She decides to commit suicide and announces this to Leonhard. He doesn't want to believe her.
“ LEONHARD. Do you think i believe you?
KLARA. No!
LEONHARD. Thank god you can't be suicide
- without becoming a child murderer at the same time!
KLARA. Better to do both as a patricide! I know that
- one does not atone for sin with sin! But what I do now
- that comes over me alone! I give to my father
- the knife in the hand, it hits him as it hits me! Me
- always hits! "
At the moment when Leonhard thinks about it and wants to run after Klara, the secretary walks in through the door. He challenges Leonhard to a pistol duel . Leonhard is initially reluctant, but cannot defend himself and finally goes into the forest with the secretary to duel with him.
Meanwhile, Karl, Klara's brother, who has been released from prison, arrives at his father's house. In a self-talk, he confirms his decision to hire a sailor and thus escape the misery of his home . He has debts to his pub friends, which he can hardly pay even with the hardest work, but has restored his reputation with his father to some extent. He doesn't hear or understand Klara's hints about her situation and her suicidal thoughts. He eventually asks her for fresh water. Klara goes to the well, determined to throw herself down.
Meanwhile, the secretary drags himself into the room. He was victorious in the duel and has avenged Klara, but is wounded. Karl suddenly suspects that something could have happened to his sister. He runs outside and comes back with the news that someone fell into the well and died in the process. It's Klara.
The father remains confused and broken. The drama ends with his words:
“ MASTER ANTON. I do not understand the world anymore!"
Settings
- Hugo Kaun : Symphonic prologue to Hebbel's eponymous drama , op.44.
literature
- Friedrich Hebbel: Maria Magdalene. A civil tragedy in three acts. Hoffmann and Campe, Hamburg 1844 ( digitized and full text in the German text archive )
- Friedrich Hebbel: Maria Magdalena , Reclam, Ditzingen, 1986, ISBN 978-3150031735 .
- Winfried Freund : Friedrich Hebbel: Maria Magdalena. Reading key , Reclam, Ditzingen, 2005, ISBN 978-3150153611 .
- Wolfgang Ranke: Maria Magdalena. Explanations and documents , Reclam, Ditzingen, 2003, ISBN 978-3150160404 .