Misanthropy and remorse

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Data
Title: Misanthropy and remorse
Genus: Stirring piece
Original language: German
Author: August von Kotzebue
Publishing year: 1790
Premiere: 1788
Place of premiere: Reval
Place and time of the action: A rural area. Far in the background is a poor hut, hidden between some trees.
people
  • General Graf von Wintersee
  • The countess
  • Major von der Horst ; Brother of the Countess in the French service
  • Lotte ; Countess's maid
  • A child of the countess from four to five years
  • Bitter man ; Steward and administrator of the count
  • Peter ; His son
  • Madam Müller or Eulalia
  • A stranger
  • Franz ; his old servant
  • Two children aged four to five
  • An old man

Hatred and Remorse (1790) is the title of a drama by August von Kotzebue . In the first half of the 19th century it was one of the most popular German-language theater plays. It is considered a prototype of the so-called stirring piece .

Literary historical position

The drama has five acts and is set among nobles, which corresponded to the conditions of the court theater , i.e. the older regular drama . The happy ending is not a feature of tragedy , but of comedy . The play is one of the literary attempts to juxtapose aristocratic tragedy with an aristocratic comedy - and, conversely, to give the grossly comic characters of the older comedy more credibility, psychology and seriousness. These efforts show why there were so many comedies back then that were not funny.

The figure of Eulalie was one of the prime roles in the female character field . She makes it clear why the “simple” image of women across all class boundaries that emerged in the course of the 18th century was so attractive: A more normal, but less dramatic version of the plot would be if Eulalie had left her husband because of his love adventures. However, her own infidelity gives her much better opportunities to put herself in the limelight by sinking publicly into guilt and shame and celebrating her remorse.

action

Background: The Baroness von Meinau married her husband at the age of fifteen and had two children with him. When her husband is traveling, she begins a relationship with his boyfriend. She then leaves her family out of shame and lives under the false name Eulalie Müller with Count and Countess von Wintersee.

Eulalie acquired an impeccable reputation at the Count's court. After three years the countess's brother, Major von Horst, appears at the country estate. He falls in love with Eulalie and asks his sister to convey his marriage proposal to her. In the following conversation between the Countess and Eulalie it emerges that she is the missing Baroness von Meinau. She regrets everything. - Major von Horst has a friend who, through disappointments, has become a misanthrope. It turns out to be Eulalie's abandoned husband. Von Horst stops his advances and does everything in his power to reunite the divided couple.

In a dramatic final scene, surrounded by all the other people, the Meinaus meet again. Eulalie offers her husband a written admission of her guilt to enable him to get a divorce. In return, he offers her freedom and is willing to pay her an annuity in the future . Shortly before the final farewell, they reconcile and embrace. The two children join them.

Pantomime and melodrama

Major influences came from the then modern melodramas on the Parisian stages. This becomes particularly clear from the pantomime scenes at the end of the fourth and fifth acts, which look like extended final tableaus . According to the ideas of the time, pantomime showed undisguised, natural people. This becomes clear in the first re-encounter between Eulalie and her husband:

IV. Act. Seventh scene.
UNKNOWN. (enters the room with a serious bow.)
COUNT. (walks towards him with open arms.)
EULALIE. (sees him, screams loudly, and faints.)
UNKNOWN. (takes a look at her, horrified, drops his hat and runs out the door.)
COUNT. (looks after him in astonishment.)
THE COUNTESS AND THE MAJOR. (deal with owls.)

[Curtain]

expenditure

See also

Web links