Wilhelm Meister's theatrical mission

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Goethe

Wilhelm Meister's theatrical broadcast , the so-called “Urmeister” , is a fragment of a theater novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe . Written between 1777 and 1785, Goethe used this artist's novel for his educational novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship . A copy of the “Urmeister” made by Barbara Schulthess and her daughter was found in 1910 and was first printed in 1911.

theatre

In the novel, the actor's behavior towards the role text , the ensemble and the stage play is extensively played out. The confrontation of the playwright with his material , with the troupe , even with the audience , and especially with the bourgeois and feudal society of the 18th century takes a wide space in the novel text.

action

Numbers refer to the relevant chapter.

first book

3 The school boy Wilhelm Meister has four siblings. His mother gets "even in her older years a passion for an absurd person". Family life suffers from the relationship, because the father, a respectable businessman, hates shameful “marriage and divorce proceedings”.

4 Wilhelm, who practices and plays roles for King Saul and David with his puppet theater , goes his way from the first “joy of surprise and amazement” to “lust for attention and research”.

5 Wilhelm steals “a small written book containing the comedy of David and Goliath ” from the pantry . The boy learns "his acting" by heart, studies "the play inwardly" and takes on "all roles".

8 Wilhelm came to the “Teutsche Schaubühne” and various “Italian-German operas” through his father's books. Now “King Saul has to play Chaumigrem, Cato and Darius in his black velvet dress”. Wilhelm plays “mostly only the fifth act, which is about a dead stab”. The "thunder" does not always succeed. Wilhelm gradually creates new theater wardrobe. This or that piece interests him “for the sake of some scene”.

9 Chlorinde especially captivates him, acts “on the germinating spirit of love that develops in the boy”.

10 Wilhelms schoolmates can be given roles and play along. The boys believe that “it is easier to do a tragedy than a comedy”.

12 The father hopes that Wilhelm “would like to devote himself fully to trading in good time”. Wilhelm’s academic achievements are promising. In his father's shop, Wilhelm “never gets annoyed with the endless choice of women”; rather, stands by them “with good advice”. But “with great pain” the father finally has to notice how Wilhelm, who loves his father, despises the trade.

14–16 Wilhelm visits the play that comes to his town “several times a year” and there he meets Mariane. Mariane had “entered into a heurat of conscience with someone without a conscience”. The unscrupulous has disappeared and Mariane applies "alternately to virgin, wife and widow". Wilhelm's “goodness, devotion, narrowness, innocence, frugality, admiration and cordiality” make Mariane initially embarrassed. She is “a good soul by nature”, but fears that Wilhelm “would like to“ read ”sophistication in her eyes. Wilhelm notices the disorder at Mariane's, because "brought up in a fine town house", "order and cleanliness" is his element.

17 Mariane only "gets to know" the "happiness of love" that was alien to her in Wilhelm's arms. As a calculating woman, she inquires “soon as if on the side about Wilhelm's fortune”.

18 “She is yours! She gave herself to you! ”Wilhelm jubilates. He wants to leave the family, his disagreed parents. In addition, Werner, “a very sedate person”, applies for his sister and “could represent his position”. "His destiny for the theater" is now clear to Wilhelm. The high goal: to become the most perfect actor, "creator of a great national theater".

20 Mariane is looking forward to motherhood. At least two men can be considered as a father.

21–23 Werner takes over the trading business and wants to send Wilhelm on business trips. Mariane agrees, because then she can deal with Norman, Wilhelm's rival, undisturbed. As a farewell, Wilhelm Mariane wrote a glowing love letter. In it he also puts her into the picture of his serious intentions. When Wilhelm wanted to say goodbye to Mariane, he discovered - there is a rival.

second book

1–5 Wilhelm is ill for a long time. He "flees" people, "abstains" in his room. And he would also have perished, "had he not been saved by the power of his nature, which strived for straightness and purity". Wilhelm reads theater books “with great pleasure” - the poetics of Aristotle and Corneille - the treatise on the three units of action, place and time. Werner, who has meanwhile married his sister, admires what Wilhelm has written “so many things”. In conversation with Werner, Wilhelm defines the great theater poet: “A deep inner independence is the basis of all his characters, strength of the spirit in all situations is the dearest thing he describes. Who, ”he enthuses,“ formed gods, raised us to them, brought them down to us, as the poet? ”Then Wilhelm turns to the subject of Mariane and“ bursts into a torrent of tears ”. Werner is "in the greatest embarrassment". In long conversations with Werner, Wilhelm favors the plot as "the main thing" in the drama .

6–7 During a country party with Werner, Wilhelm meets the young actor Melina and his Madame. Melina ran away "with his young bride" against the wishes of her parents. The madame wants to see the world and show herself to the world. Wilhelm wants to help both of them. Melina strives for "civil service". Wilhelm, who wants Melina to remain an actor, has ideas about the acting profession that Melina cannot share. Wilhelm says he knows of no way of life "which offers you as many comforts as that of an actor". Melina: “You can see that you weren't one.” When Wilhelm is then alone, he sticks to his ideal: “Nothing on earth is without difficulty, only the inner drive, lust, and love help us overcome obstacles. "Wilhelm thinks" that there is a better spark in people ".

8 Werner sends Wilhelm on a journey as a debt collector.

Third book

1 On his journey, Wilhelm passes a “wax wallpaper factory”, the director of which is on Wilhelm's list of debtors, “in lonely mountains, between impenetrable forests in Hochdorf”. The staid director pays “on the spot in gold” and is also philanthropic: When there is a lack of orders, he lets his workers play comedies. Wilhelm witnessed such a performance.

2 After a few days' travel Wilhelm collects further debts and meets "a large company of tightrope walkers, jumpers, jugglers". Wilhelm thinks about the tragedy - "that it will purify the passions", but he finds no one "to whom he could have communicated these considerations".

3 “Zu Hochstädt” then swells Wilhelm’s collected capital to “almost fifteen hundred thalers”. Some “traders” even place orders with him. Wilhelm can turn wherever he wants - he meets a troop of comedians. “Must fate then,” he says to himself, “always lead to these people with whom I neither want nor should have any company.” Mr. and Mrs. Melina are also involved.

4–6 Wilhelm meets the girl Mignon in the group that is held together by the manager Madame de Retti . Wilhelm values ​​Mignon “twelve to thirteen years”. Her body is "well built, her complexion is brownish". Mignon replies to Wilhelm “in broken German and in a manner that confuses Wilhelm”. Madame de Retti bought Mignon from the master of a tightrope dance company for a hundred ducats because he whipped the child. In Madame Melina's view, Mignon is “no good”. “She learns by heart very quickly, but plays poorly.” Mignon wants to save a hundred ducats. Mignon's “figure and essence” becomes Wilhelm “more and more charming”.

7 Wilhelm stays with Madame de Retti's troop. Madame Melina attracts him because she tries to learn from him and to form after him. He is shown to be “both a connoisseur, lover and protector of the theater”. Wilhelm borrows large sums of money from the director. The directors are again creditworthy with other creditors. You eat and drink, you live in joy.

8 The troupe celebrates “Am allerlustigen” at Wilhelm's expense. When Mignon is kissed by a stranger and slaps him in the face for “the ears buzz and the cheeks burn”, Wilhelm stands up for her. Mignon then comes to him and says: "Lord, I am your slave, buy me from my wife so that I can listen to you alone."

9 Wilhelm is working on his tragedy Belshazzar . The Median king Darius intends to "attack Babylon ". The troupe agrees - the piece has to be played.

10 Mr. Bendel, the manager's lover, “a clumsy, broad figure without the least decency, without feeling”, is supposed to play Darius. The drinker Bendel has "all the mistakes that make an actor reprehensible".

11 Wilhelm becomes friends with Mr. von C. This piece, so the new friend Wilhelm's Trauerspiel assesses, “is only written from within, it is a single person who feels and acts. You can see that the author knows his own heart, but he doesn't know the people. "

12 Wilhelm takes advantage of the director. Little by little he gives all of his money to stage craftsmen et cetera. On the day of the premiere of the Belshazzar , Mr. Bendel has "another severe attack of his illness". The whole house is "full", the audience is restless and "throbs" for a quarter of an hour. Convinced by the manager and Madame Melina, Wilhelm plays Darius unprepared and is successful.

Fourth book

1 “Are you going to Italy,” Mignon says to Wilhelm, “take me with you, I'm freezing here.” Mignon sings:

On the Gulf of Naples - drawing by Goethe anno 1787
Do you know the land where the lemons bloom
The golden oranges glow in the dark foliage,
A gentle wind blows from the blue sky
The myrtle stands still and glad the laurel,
Do you know it?
There! There
I would like to go with you, my master.
Do you know the house Its roof rests on pillars,
The hall shines, the room shimmers,
And marble pictures stand and look at me:
What has been done to you, you poor child?
Do you know it?
There! There
I would like to go with you, my master.
Do you know the mountain and its cloud bridge?
The mule seeks its way in the fog,
In caves the dragon lives old brood,
The rock falls and the flood falls over it:
Do you know him well?
There! There
Go our way! Lord, let us go!

2 Mr. Melina persuades Wilhelm that he should collect at least part of the hidden money from the director. Reluctantly, Wilhelm went to Madame de Retti. It feeds him off with a fraction of the money. Mr. Bendel has the lion's share.

3 Wilhelm “never wants to go back to the theater”. Mignon performs an egg dance for Wilhelm. Wilhelm would like to incorporate "this abandoned being into his heart as a child".

5–8 During the second performance of Belshazzar , Mr. Bendel in the role of Darius is struck by bitter oranges from the floor. The ensemble withdraws behind the scenes. Mr. Bendel fights against the audience alone by throwing back and hitting. “A large number of spectators armed with sticks” climb the stage and devastate it. In the turmoil, the cash register with the daily income disappears. During the night the manager makes off with her Mr. Bendel.

9 Although Wilhelm lost his money, he believes "that it will be used in the end because he has had expensive experiences for it, which would be useful for his whole life".

10 The manager went away, but didn't take Mignon with her. "Mademoiselle Philine, a young, lively actress," comes to Wilhelm in the room. The “frivolous” Philine is “so polite, so flattering, so eager” that Wilhelm does not turn her away.

12 The journey continues. Wilhelm is sitting in a car with Mignon, Mrs. Melina and her husband. After a journey "of several days" in an inn, Wilhelm rejects Madame Melina's advances. Since the fiasco with Mariane, Wilhelm has "made a vow to avoid the faithless sex". An old harpist registers with Wilhelm. After playing the harp, Wilhelm feels “reborn” and exclaims: “Take my admiration and my thanks, feel that we all admire you, and trust us if you need something!” In response the harper sings:

What do I hear outside the gate
What is the sound of the bridge? ...
The king spoke, the page ran,
The boy came, the king cried:
Let him in the old man!
...
I sing like the bird sings
Who lives in the branches
...

13 Philine caresses Wilhelm in the street like her husband. Wilhelm, who, “if an arbor surrounds you with solitude”, would even have reciprocated the caress, rejects it. Philine has another admirer - the Count's Stallmeister, who comes up on horseback. Wilhelm, restless, seeks rest with the old harper. He searches for and finds the old man “in a distant corner of the town”. Wilhelm listens at the old man's door and hears his "wistful lament":

Who never ate his bread with tears
Who never had the sorrowful nights
Sat weeping on his bed
He does not know you, you heavenly powers.
You lead us into life,
You make the poor guilty
Then you leave him to be tormented;
Because all guilt takes revenge on earth.

14 The art-loving Herr Graf appears and Herr Melina introduces him to his troop. The Countess complains about Philine's cloakroom. The troop is hoping for "a few weeks of happy prospects".

16 Wilhelm is torn this way and that. The “fleeting inclination to Philine” stimulates his spirits. With playing the harp and singing, the old man elevates him “to the highest of feelings”. But Wilhelm is in bad company with the actors. At the same time, “his old civil relationship is already separated from him as if by a gap”. His “pressed heart” strives “for relief”. Wilhelm finds them at Mignon. “My child!” Exclaims Wilhelm, “my child! you are mine i will keep you! don't leave you! ”Tears flow. “The harp starts to sound in front of the door”.

Fifth book

1–2 Will Wilhelm go to “the Count's Castle” with the troops or will he continue as Werner's debt collector? The troops are already eating and drinking "on account of the count" and learning roles. The counts "gentlemen have great love for literature, especially for German". Wilhelm pulls scenes together, arranges “roles more according to the fate of the actor”. The troops hope for "luck, honor and prosperity" with the count, but are housed in a very shabby and extremely poor way.

3 Only Philine shot the bird - she is allowed to go to the count's castle. Wilhelm, although loaded, stayed with the troops in the dump.

4 Wilhelm met Jarno in the vicinity of the count. Wilhelm feels “a certain affection” for Jarno, although he has “something cold and repulsive” about him. Mr. Melina orders the troops very strictly, they should "keep things neat and tidy, everyone learn their roles as best as possible". But one lives rampant. The theater scaffolding is opened, "embellished what decorations you have in your luggage". Wilhelm is received by the countess. He's supposed to read aloud, but doesn't even get to. The Countess prefers to devote her attention to a gallantry dealer and busy herself with her toilet. Wilhelm is fobbed off with a present.

6 The count and Jarno meticulously prepare a questionable scene to greet the prince. Wilhelm studies the hymn of praise. Philine, the stable master's favorite, joins in with joyful and exuberant rehearsals. Mignon refuses the egg dance performance.

7–11 The prince arrives. Jarno, the “callous man of the world”, tells Wilhelm the truth “with a hard-hearted coldness”: “It is a pity that you play with hollow nuts for hollow nuts.” Wilhelm is encouraged to praise Racine , the prince's favorite author, from time to time. Jarno gives Wilhelm new ideas "in an unfriendly way". He has to find out from Wilhelm that he doesn't know Shakespeare . Wilhelm begins "to sense that things are going differently in the world than he thought". He locks himself in. Only Mignon and the harper have access to Wilhelm's “Shakespearian World”. Wilhelm believes he is “standing in front of the huge open books of fate”. Philine flatters herself with the elegant and tall ladies. The prince is leaving. The troops are not allowed to stay any longer either.

14–15 The troops are warned of robbers on the next route. Wilhelm and some of the theater people arm themselves. Wilhelm encourages the fearful. The troops are then actually attacked and plundered in a forest area. Wilhelm is wounded by a shot "between the chest and shoulder".

Sixth book

1 A beautiful Amazon appears in the forest . “A wide man's overskirt” that doesn't fit her hides her shape. A “surgeon” in their wake takes care of the initial surgical treatment for Wilhelm. The "madam" covers the wounded with her overcoat. When Wilhelm comes to, "Reuter and Wagen, the beautiful girl and her company have disappeared".

2–3 The troops find shelter. Philine and Wilhelm are considered "for the couple". Everyone now throws "the blame for such a bad outcome" on Wilhelm. He feels innocent and is appalled because the troops treat him as if he could “expect help”. Nevertheless, he promises the troops to lead them out of their misery. Even more, everyone should acquire “twice and three times as much” as “what he lost”.

4 It turns out that the "beautiful Amazon" should probably be attacked instead of the troops. Out of gratitude, the "dear lady" looked after the troops when Wilhelm passed out. And she continues to take care of things in the background. Wilhelm gets the next "surgeon".

7 Wilhelm studies "the Shakespearean writings" on the sickbed, especially Hamlet . “The image of the helpful beauties” hovers “before his mind”. In the next room Mignon sings to the harp:

Only those who know longing
Know what i suffer!
Alone and separated
Of all joy
I look at the firmament
In that direction.
Oh who loves and knows me
Is in the distance!
I feel dizzy, it burns.
My bowels.
Oh who knows longing
Only those who know longing
Know what i suffer!

Mignon speaks German "still very broken". When she sings, she seems to be making use of “the only organ by which she can unlock and communicate her inner being”.

8 Arriving in H., Wilhelm meets the theater director Serlo, his sister, the young widow Aurelia and the troupe Melina who hurried ahead. Wilhelm recommends the troop to Serlo.

9 Philine puts Wilhelm in the picture. Aurelia has a three-year-old illegitimate son from Lothar.

11 Aurelia sees through Wilhelm: “With astonishment I noticed in you the great and correct look with which you judge poetry and particularly dramatic poetry ... Without having known the objects in nature, you recognize them in the picture; there seems to be a foretaste of the whole world in you ... nothing comes into you from outside! I have not easily seen someone who completely misunderstands the people he lives with as you do. ”Wilhelm, the introvert, realizes: Nobody has made him“ familiar with himself ”, he confirms:“ I have From my youth I saw more inward than outward, and it is very natural that I got to know people to a certain extent without understanding people in the least. ”Aurelia sees Wilhelm as the young poet and artist. His innocence is "like that shell that encloses and nourishes a bud". Inexorably, Aurelia accuses Wilhelm: "What a wretched people your whole company, which you recommended to my brother!"

Mignon embarrasses Wilhelm. “When you have a good night” she embraces him so tightly and kisses him “with such fervor that he is often afraid of the violence of this burgeoning nature”.

12 Wilhelm feels no tenderness for Aurelia and describes himself as her friend. “Her passionate mind” guides him “from the ideal world to the true one”. Wilhelm confesses to Aurelia his unhappy love for Mariane. Aurelia calls herself a half-mad and sometimes behaves like that. Serlo becomes Wilhelm's "teacher and guide in his favorite art".

13 Serlo wants Wilhelm on his stage. Wilhelm hesitates: "I wanted to find shelter with Serlo, he is now looking for me". Serlo finally wants Wilhelm and the whole troop Melina to join. Now Wilhelm has to say “Yes then”. "Melina is supposed to be a cloakroom master to ward off the moths."

Mignon

Mignon is described throughout the fragment as a girl. Only in the 3rd chapter of the 4th book five times in a row - referring to Mignon - is mentioned of "he". According to Friedenthal , Mignon was understood to mean “homosexual darling” in Goethe's time . Wilhelm is almost swarmed by women. After the fiasco with Mariane, however, he did not turn to a second woman, although, as I said, there was by no means a lack of “offers”. Throughout all the dangers, Wilhelm keeps his "dearest lap child" Mignon with him.

Quotes

From the factory

  • "She looked at him with wild indifference ..."

Goethe about his work

"My first chapters by Wilhelm Meister will soon be in order and then I hope I should feel like continuing."

- Goethe's letter of June 21, 1782 to Charlotte von Stein

" You will soon receive the second book by Wilhelm Meister, I wrote it in the midst of the frenzy."

- Goethe's letter of July 27, 1782 to Karl Ludwig von Knebel

" Meanwhile, I have finished the fifth book by Wilhelm Meister and must now wait and see how it is received."

- Goethe's letter of October 28, 1784 to Duke Carl August

reception

  • Hermann Hesse admires the work. The reason for Hesse's little note is likely to be a sensational find from 1910 in Zurich. A copy of the first master from 1777 to 1785 was discovered and published a year later. Which version is “more beautiful and more valuable”, asks Hesse, this “artist novel ” (the original master ) or the one that emerged from it - Wilhelm Meister's apprenticeship years , “the novel of man”? Hesse finds a wonderful parable. The question is comparable to this: is spring more beautiful than summer? Logically, Hesse highlights the precious find as an “irreplaceable, magnificent piece of Goethe's youth prose”.
  • After Friedenthal, Goethe portrayed the Neuberin with Madame de Retti . In addition to Wilhelm, Mignon and Philine in particular were designed as figures. Friedenthal's observation, according to which Wilhelm “educational baggage is loaded”, is absolutely true. The novel is, as it were, overloaded with “teaching material” on theater practice.
  • Jørgensen, Bohnen and Øhrgaard compare the Theatrical Program with the years of apprenticeship .
  • Boyle goes into detail and very aptly on what happened in each of the novel's six books. Wilhelm, who has the first name of Shakespeare, has a show. This is nothing less than “the literary change in Germany”. Goethe's aversion to the traveling people of actors is particularly evident in Wilhelm's turning away from Philine and turning to Mignon and the harper. In connection with this, the astonishing lyric “base” (poems) of the prose text is illuminated.
  • Wilpert emphasizes Goethe's lively narrative style in the theatrical broadcast .
  • Conrady emphasizes the autobiographical character of the theatrical broadcast and its exploration by the psychoanalysts .

filming

Directed by Celino Bleiweiß , who also wrote the screenplay, the work was adapted as a two-parter for GDR television in 1981 with Daniel Minetti in the title role . The first broadcast took place on March 21, 1982 (1st part) and March 23, 1982 (2nd part) each in the 1st program. Both parts are archived in the German Broadcasting Archive and are available there upon request, stating reasons.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Source, p. 584
  2. ↑ Friedenthal, p. 474
  3. ↑ Source, p. 680, 6. Zvo
  4. ↑ Michels, p. 158 f.
  5. ↑ Friedenthal, p. 472
  6. ↑ Boyle, p. 419
  7. ↑ Documentation sheet 16620 in fernsehenderddr.de , accessed on July 14, 2019

literature

source

  • Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Poetic Works , Volume 6, pp. 473–684. Phaidon Verlag Essen 1999, ISBN 3-89350-448-6

Secondary literature

(Sorted by year of publication)