Chimpanzee, the Darwin monkey

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Chimpanzee, the Darwin Monkey , Intermezzo in an Act is a puppet show by Franz Graf von Pocci . The piece, completed in 1873 and modified a short time later, premiered in Munich in 1874 and published in the fifth volume of the Lustige Komödienbüchlein the following year .

content

After Grethl, Kasperl's wife , has to wake him up, he notices that the landlord has already been there twice and has her furniture carried out of the apartment. The rent has not been paid for three months, which is why the two are now forced to move out. While the Punch is on the way to find a new job and a place to stay, he introduces himself to Professor Gerstenzucker, whose monkey he brought with him from Africa recently died. With this monkey he wanted to confirm Darwin's theories , which is no longer possible. The Kasperl is hired as a servant, but as soon as the professor leaves the room, the Kasperl pretends to be to Miss Bluestock, who wants to visit the professor, and is condescending and angry with her. When the professor notices this, a fight begins between the two of them. The Punch then disappears, disguised in a monkey mask, and wanders through the city to spread confusion and chaos. Mayor Neurer, Magistrate Schöppler and Magistrate Servant Spritzler seem to be undecided at first about how to capture the supposed monkey and initially discuss different approaches. When they finally manage to catch him, he is taken to the town hall. Since everyone, except the professor, thinks it is a real monkey, the disguised puppy tries to blackmail barley sugar. In this scene it becomes clear that the confirmation of Darwinism through the work of the professor has failed, since the human Punch and Judy does not show any evolutionary development, but rather shows the raw and unpredictable behavior of an animal. But since the professor does not allow himself to be blackmailed, the Punch and Judy turns in and the piece ends with Kasperl's words: “This is the victory of Darwinism, man in his originality! Juhe, now I'm going to the pub. "

Alternative ending

In an alternative version, Gerstenzucker does not reveal the Kasperl, rather he continues to play the comedy and leaves the police station with the "monkey". Magistrate Schöppler comes in and asks whether they are not having a meeting. The mayor replied with the words: "No, Mr. Magistrate, but it seems that while one monkey is out, you bring the other in."

characters

In this play, as in many others, the Punch and Judy is presented as a carefree jester who is alien to the social constraints, cannot take anything seriously and takes every opportunity to have a joke. His wife Grethl always tries to encourage him to be responsible, but this fails. The professor only seems to live for his work and the attempt to fathom Darwinism and fully identifies with it. His admirer and supporter of his work, Adalgise Bluestock, seems completely blinded by his research and adores the professor without any ifs or buts. Responsible for the bureaucracy are the mayor, the magistrate and his servant, who are completely trimmed for administration, planning and coordination. Before attempting to capture the supposed monkey, you must first discuss various approaches, which in the end can only be replaced by actions.

Irony and satire in the piece

The figures of the professor and his admirer probably serve as satirical supporters of Darwin, who, blinded by the new knowledge at the time, accept everything benevolently without reflecting or questioning. A parody of the bureaucracy and the executive seems to be anchored in the figures of the mayor, magistrate and magistrate, who can take action rather late due to loud discussions. As in several other Punch and Judy pieces, the stand differences are parodied throughout the entire piece. Kasperl, who belongs to a socially inferior class without any further education, speaks a few times in an overemphasized and wrong style, which is supposed to parody the language of the highly educated, such as the professor.

output

  • Manfred Nöbel (ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. 1984.

literature

  • Wilhelm Kühlmann (Ed.): Killy Literature Lexicon. Volume 9: Os - Roq. 2nd Edition. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-022044-5 .
  • Manfred Nöbel: Appendix. In: Manfred Nöbel (Ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-446-13912-5 .
  • Manfred Nöbel: Kasperl redivivus? About the funny figure at Franz Pocci. In: Manfred Nöbel (Ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. Carl Hanser Verlag, Munich / Vienna 1984.
  • Ingrid Ramm-Bonwitt: The comical tragedy. Volume 2: buffoons in puppet theater - the traditions of comic theater characters. Nold, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-922220-91-6 .
  • Georg Schott: Count Pocci's puppet shows - their sources and their style. Frankfurt am Main 1911.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Manfred Nöbel (ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. 1984, p. 356.
  2. ↑ https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/pocci/komoedi5/schimpan.html
  3. ↑ Cf. Manfred Nöbel: Appendix. In: Manfred Nöbel (Ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. 1984, p. 452.
  4. ↑ Cf. Manfred Nöbel: Appendix. In: Manfred Nöbel (Ed.); Franz Pocci: Kasperl's heroic deeds. Nineteen puppet comedies and puppets. 1984, p. 27.