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THE GERMAN CLASSICS
Masterpieces of German Literature
VOLUME IX
FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
OTTO LUDWIG
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH
Patrons' Edition IN TWENTY VOLUMES
ILLUSTRATED
1914
CONTENTS OF VOLUME IX
Friedrich Hebbel
The Life of Friedrich Hebbel. By William Guild Howard
Maria Magdalena. Translated by Paul Bernard Thomas
Siegfried's Death. Translated by Katherine Royce
Anna. Translated by Frances H. King
On Theodor Koerner and Heinrich von Kleist. Translated by Frances H. King
Ludolf Wienbarg's _The Dramatists of the Present Day_. Translated by
Frances H. King
Review of Heinrich von Kleist's Play, _The Prince of Homburg, or The
Battle of Fehrbellin_. Translated by Frances H. King
Recollections of My Childhood. Translated by Frances H. King Extracts
from the Journal of Friedrich Hebbel
Otto Ludwig
The Life of Otto Ludwig. By Alexander R. Hohlfeld
The Hereditary Forester. Translated by Alfred Remy
Between Heaven and Earth. Translated by Muriel Almon
ILLUSTRATIONS--VOLUME IX
Summer Day. By Arnold Bucklin Frontispiece
Friedrich Hebbel 2
Death as Cup-Bearer. By Alfred Rethel 30
Death Playing the Finale at the Masquerade. By Alfred Rethel 60
Death as Friend. By Alfred Rethel 78
Title Page of the Nibelungenlied. By Peter Cornelius 82
Siegfried's Return from the Saxon War. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 100
The Quarrel of the Queens. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 122
Kriemhild finds the Slain Siegfried. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 150
Kriemhild accuses Hagen of the Murder of Siegfried. By Schnorr von
Carolsfeld 170
The Battle between the Huns and the Nibelungs. By Schnorr von
Carolsfeld 190
Gunther and Hagen brought Captive before Kriemhild. By Schnorr von
Carolsfeld 222
The Death of Kriemhild. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 246
Otto Ludwig 268
The Finding of Moses. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 300
Moses on Mt. Sinai. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 330
Jacob and Rachel at the Well. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 360
Jacob's Journey. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 390
David being Stoned by Sinei. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 420
The Death of Eli. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 450
Josiah hears the Law. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 480
The Prophet Jeremiah. By Schnorr von Carolsfeld 510
EDITOR'S NOTE
The painters represented here alongside with the two writers to whom
this volume is devoted, are Cornelius, Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Rethel,
and Kaulbach. These men were not only contemporary with Hebbel and
Ludwig, but may indeed be called their artistic counterparts. Though
widely differentiated by individual temper and talent, these painters
and poets belong to the same phase of mid-century German literature and
art: the striving of Romanticism beyond itself, the struggle for a new
style uniting depth of feeling and terseness of delineation, the longing
for a new view of life harmonizing the worship of the past with the
demands of modern society and the problems of the day. Hence the heroic
note in the work of these painters and poets, hence their predilection
for great historical or mythological or religious subjects, hence their
leaning toward tragic conflicts in every day situations, hence their all
too conscious striving for pointed effects; hence, also, the inspiring
influence emanating from their best productions.
KUNO FRANCKE.
THE LIFE OF FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
By WILLIAM GUILD HOWARD, A.M.,
Assistant Professor of German, Harvard University
The greatest German dramatists of the middle of the nineteenth century
were Franz Grillparzer, Friedrich Hebbel, and Otto Ludwig. In a caustic
epigram written in 1855, Grillparzer set forth that Dame Poetry, for
some years a widow and now ailing, needed a husband, but could find
none; and we remember that the heroine of _Libussa_ rejects the wise
Lapak, the strong Biwoy, and the rich Domaslaw because she desires in
one man, united, the qualities which separately dominate the three. With
more charity, Grillparzer might have more fully recognized the poet in
Hebbel or Ludwig; but we may be permitted to think of these three
dramatists as not unlike the three suitors for the hand of Libussa:
Grillparzer was rich, Ludwig was wise, and Hebbel was strong. Each of
them was somewhat deficient in the qualities of the other two; each,
however, was a personality, and Hebbel one of the most powerful that
ever lived.
Hebbel's career is a long battle against all but insuperable obstacles.
Born at Wesselburen in the present province of Schleswig-Holstein on
March 18, 1813, he was the son of a poor stone mason--so poor that, as
Hebbel said, poverty had taken the place of his soul. Though Klaus
Hebbel was a well-meaning man, he was a slave to the inexorable _non
possumus_ of penury. In winter, especially, lack of work made even the
provision of daily bread often difficult and sometimes impossible for
him. But Friedrich Hebbel's childhood, full of hardship as it was, was
not cheerless. The father did what he could; and the mother, at whatever
sacrifice to herself, could nearly always do something for the children.
The greatest hardship was caused by the father's hostility to these
maternal concessions to childish desires; for to him, whose life was
labor, unproductive use of time was a crime. He thought it a matter of
course that his son should become a laboring man like himself, and it is
little less than a miracle that this did not happen. The mother, to be
sure, fostered the boy's more ambitious hopes; the death of the father
in Hebbel's fourteenth year was perhaps a blessing in disguise;
undoubtedly the happiest chance in Hebbel's boyhood, so far as external
events are concerned, was the fact that he won the favor of a real
teacher in his schoolmaster Dethlefsen, who not only gave his education
the proper start, but also recommended him, as his best scholar, to the
local magistrate, J.J. Mohr.
For nearly eight years (1827 to 1835) Hebbel was in Mohr's employ, first
as an errand boy, and ultimately as a clerk, to whom more and more
official business was intrusted. He lived in the household of his
superior, continued in the magistrate's library the assiduous reading
which he had begun with Dethlefsen's books, and acquired, along with the
habits of official accuracy, something of the ways of a higher social
station than that to which he had been born. His contact with the world
of affairs and with litigation also considerably broadened his outlook,
though it was often the seamy side of life that he saw, and his own
early necessities had sharpened his sense of the essential tragedy of
existence. Among the young people of the town Hebbel was as active and
inventive as any; he wrote verses, took part in amateur theatricals, and
was a leader in many undertakings that had not amusement as their sole
object.
From the beginning Hebbel shows extraordinary sensitiveness to esthetic
appeal and a disposition to dreamy imaginativeness. The Bible, the
Protestant hymnal, pre-classical prose and poetry of the eighteenth
century, as well as contemporary romantic fiction, including Jean Paul,
Hoffmann, and Heine, touched his fancy and stirred him to emulation.
[Illustration: FRIEDRICH HEBBEL]
As a boy, he is said to have composed a tragedy _Evolia, the Captain of
Robbers_, which his mother confiscated and burned. His early poems are
echoes of Klopstock, Matthisson, Hoelty, Buerger, and other predecessors;
but especially of Schiller, whose moral seriousness and sonorous
language alike inspired the serious and rhetorically gifted youth. The
influence of Schiller, however, marks no epoch in the poetic development
of Hebbel; it dominates the period of adolescence. The sense of poetry
was aroused in him as a boy, he said, by Paul Gerhardt's hymn "The woods
are now at rest" (_Nun ruhen alle Walder_); the discovery of what poetry
is he made in 1830, when he read Uhland's _Minstrel's Curse_ and
perceived that the sole principle of art is not to write, like Schiller,
eloquently about ideas, but "to make in a particular phenomenon the
universal intuitively perceptible."
Having published poems and stories from 1829 on in a local newspaper,
Hebbel, in 1831, seeking a wider audience at the same time that he
longed for a larger sphere of activity, submitted specimens of his work
to Amalie Schoppe in Hamburg, the editress of a fashion paper; and in
this and the following years she printed a considerable number of his
productions. Moreover, she took a genuine personal interest in his
ambitions; and after several plans had proved abortive, she succeeded
in collecting for him a small sum of money and the promise of other
material aid in a plan that should give a firm foundation for the
structure of his hopes: he should come to Hamburg and prepare for the
study of law. Accordingly, on the fourteenth of February, 1835, he left
his modest but secure position in Wesselburen for the alluring great
world where he felt that he belonged, but where he was destined to toil
and to suffer, in a struggle for existence which only a hardy
North-German peasant could have endured.
Hebbel came to Hamburg as a young man of twenty-two, far ahead of his
years in knowledge, judgment, and capacity, but still unacquainted with
rudimentary things belonging to higher education, such as Latin grammar.
He could not find the right tone in dealing with his benefactors, and he
suffered unspeakable humiliation in the conflict of a proud and
independent spirit with the subjection which inconsiderate well-wishers
imposed upon him. He learned more by private reading and by association
with students in a Scientific Society than he learned in school; and to
one woman, Elise Lensing, who became his friend and angel of mercy, he
owed more than to the whole aggregation of those who gave him money and
meals. Somewhat more than eight years his senior, in respect to
experience of the world and training in the finer graces of life his
superior, she aided, encouraged, and loved him, well aware that his
feeling for her was, at the most, admiration and gratitude, and that the
intimate union and companionship which soon became for him an
indispensable solace could never lead to marriage.
In Hamburg Hebbel began the diary which, continued throughout his life,
is the most valuable source of information about him that we have, and
which, being the repository of his meditations as well as the record of
his experiences, is one of the most remarkable documents of the kind
ever composed. He wrote and published a number of poems, and began
several short stories. More significant, however, was the development
of his critical faculty, which found in the Scientific Society a free
field for exercise. Here, on the twenty-eighth of July, 1835, Hebbel
read a paper on Theodor Koerner and Heinrich von Kleist which, in spite
of a rather juvenile tone, shows a maturity of insight quite
unparalleled in the critical literature of that day. It is greatly to
Hebbel's credit, and was to his profit, as the sequel showed, that
against the opinion of his generation he could demonstrate the poetic
excellence of Kleist and could distinguish in Koerner between the heroic
patriot and the mediocre poet; for it was a dramatic masterpiece that
Hebbel analyzed in Kleist's _Prince of Hamburg_, and in this analysis he
formulated views that remained the canons of all his subsequent activity
as a playwright. The study of Kleist gave him for the drama the same
sort of illumination that Uhland had given him for lyric poetry.
Though Hebbel was unable to acquire in Hamburg a certificate of
preparedness for the university, he soon felt ready for university
studies, and after some difficulty persuaded his benefactors to give him
the balance of the fund that they had collected, and consent to his
going to Heidelberg. In March, 1836, he departed thither, with less than
eighty thalers in his pocket. He could be admitted only as a special
student; nevertheless, he was hospitably received by members of the
faculty of law, and attended their lectures. But the romantic scenery of
Heidelberg, and, the reading of Goethe and Shakespeare, whom he now for
the first time studied thoroughly, were more fruitful and suggestive to
him than jurisprudence, however much he was interested in "cases" as
examples of human experience. Such a "case" he treated in _Anna_, the
first short story with which he was satisfied, and which indeed is
worthy of his model in this _genre_, Kleist. Other narratives, and a few
poems, testify to a closer approach to nature and a less morbid attitude
toward life than had appeared in the earlier works. Hebbel was now
finishing his apprenticeship, wisely restraining the impulse to
dramatize until in the less exacting forms he had mastered the means of
expression. But everything pointed toward literature as a calling, and
before the year was out Hebbel resolved to migrate to Munich, still, to
be sure, a student, but from the moment of his arrival living there
under the name and title of _Literat_.
The journey to Munich Hebbel made afoot, leaving Heidelberg on September
12, 1836. He passed through Strassburg, and thought of Goethe as he
climbed the tower of the cathedral; he visited the Suabian poets at
Stuttgart and Tuebingen, and was deeply disappointed with the kindly but
undemonstrative Uhland; and he reached Munich on September the
twenty-ninth. Here he remained until March, 1839.
Hebbel's two and a half years in Munich, years of solitude, unheard-of
privation, illness, and battling against despair, came near to wearing
out the physical man, and were, through long-continued insufficient
nourishment, the cause of the disease to which he finally succumbed; but
they were also the finishing school of the personality that henceforth
unflinchingly faced the world and demanded to be heard. Hebbel provided
for his material needs partly by journalistic work, to which he was
ill-adapted, but chiefly through the limitless bounty of Elise
Lensing--for months at a time the only being with whom, and only by
correspondence, he had human intercourse. He heard the lectures of
Schelling and Goerres at the university; but, as at Heidelberg, he,
gained most by prodigious reading in literature, history; and
philosophy. His savage melancholy found relief in grimly humorous
narratives and gloomy poems. At the time of his greatest wretchedness he
conceived the plots of comedies, "ridiculing something by the
representation of nothing." But we note that his reading now begins to
suggest to him innumerable subjects for tragedies, such as Napoleon,
Alexander the Great, Julian the Apostate, the Maid of Orleans, Judith
and Holofernes, Golo and Genoveva,--all of them characters the key to
whose destiny lay in their personalities, and in whom Hebbel saw the
destiny of mankind typified. Still more directly, however, the tragedy
of human life was brought home to him--not merely through his personal
struggle for existence, but through the death of Emil Rousseau, a dear
friend who had followed him from Heidelberg to Munich, the death of his
mother, for whose necessities he had of late been able to do but little,
and misfortune in the family of Anton Schwarz, a cabinet maker, with
whose daughter, Beppy, Hebbel had been on too intimate terms. Hebbel's
dramas _Judith_, _Genoveva_, and _Maria Magdalena_ all germinated during
these terrible years of the sojourn in Munich.
But the actual output of these years was not large. Attempts to publish
a volume of poems and a volume of short stories had failed.
Nevertheless, Hebbel was no longer an unknown quantity in the world of
letters when, in the early spring of 1839, he decided to return to
Hamburg. Hope of aid from Campe, Heine's publisher, and from Gutzkow,
the editor of a paper published by Campe, encouraged this decision. But
Hebbel was really going home, going back to Elise, after having
accomplished the purpose of his pilgrimage, even though for lack of
money he could not take with him a doctor's degree. He came as a man who
could do things for which the world gives a man a living. The return
journey, lasting from the eleventh to the thirty-first of March, 1839,
amid alternate freezing and thawing, was a tramp, than which only the
retreat from Moscow could have been more frightful; but Hebbel
accomplished it, more concerned for the little dog that accompanied him
than for his own sufferings. And it appeared that he had wisely chosen
to return; for he found opportunity for critical work in Gutzkow's
_Telegraph_, and Campe published the works which in rapid succession he
now completed: _Judith_ (1840), _Genoveva_ (1841), _The Diamond_ (1841;
printed in 1847), and _Poems_ (1842).
These publications won fame for Hebbel and yielded some immediate
pecuniary gain. But although he had reached the goal of his ambition in
having become a poet, and a dramatist whose first play had appeared on
the stage, he still lacked a settled occupation and a sure income.
Having been born a Danish subject, he conceived the idea of a direct
appeal to Christian VIII. of Denmark for such an appointment as the king
might be persuaded to give him. In spite of the unacademic course of his
studies and his lack of strictly professional training, he thought of a
professorship of esthetics at Kiel. Even in those days, when
professorships could be had on easier terms than now, this was a wild
dream. But Hebbel did not appeal to his sovereign in vain. He spent the
winter of 1842-43 in Copenhagen, where the Danish-German dramatist
Oehlenschlaeger smoothed his path to royal favor; and after two audiences
with Christian VIII. he was granted a pension of six hundred thalers a
year for two years, in order that by traveling he might learn more of
the world and cultivate his poetic talents. His first expression of
gratitude for this privilege was the tragedy _Maria Magdalena_, begun at
Hamburg in May, finished at Paris in December, 1843, and dedicated to
the king.
Hebbel's departure for Paris, in September, 1843, did not mean for him
what Heine's settlement there twelve years before had meant for
Heine--the beginning of a new life. Hebbel's knowledge of French was
very imperfect, and he was as much isolated in Paris as he had been in
Munich; he did not seek stimulus from without so much as freedom to
develop the ideas that were teeming in his mind. When he left Hamburg,
however, he was destined never to return thither except as a visitor,
and started on the long, roundabout way to an unforeseen new home in
Vienna. He had been but little over a month in Paris when he learned of
the death of the little son that Elise had borne him three years before.
He was deeply grieved both for himself and for the despairing mother, to
whom he offered all the comfort he could give, not excepting marriage,
as soon as he should ever be able to provide for her. In May, 1844,
Elise bore him another son who, dying in 1847, was never seen by his
father. Hebbel did not forget what he owed to the mother of his
children, but he felt the debt more and more as an obligation, in the
fulfilment of which there was no prospect of satisfaction to either.
Despite the fact that she had a hundred times declared to him that he
was free, all her dreaming and planning tended solely to keep him bound.
He, who had been her pupil, had now far outgrown her capacity to
understand his endeavors and achievements; and he felt that he could
sacrifice much for her, but not himself, his personality, and his
mission. And so the unwholesome relation wore on, with aggravating
burdensomeness, to the inevitable crisis.
In the fall of 1844 Hebbel journeyed from Paris to Rome. He had met few
notables in Paris--Heine, Felix Bamberg, and Arnold Ruge almost complete
the tale--but in Italy he, like Goethe, made the acquaintance of a group
of German artists, and followed their leadership in the study of ancient
art. He enjoyed this study in natural, unaffected appreciation of the
beautiful; and a certain artistic polish distinguishes the poems which
nature and art in Italy inspired him to write. The Italian journey,
however, was far from being a renaissance to him as it had been to
Goethe. Hebbel remained a Northern artist. Vesuvius impressed him, but
Pompeii proved a disappointment; it was laid out, he said, like any
other city. He departed from Rome in October, 1845, richer in the
friendship of distinguished men--including Hermann Hettner--and in
accumulated experience, but not as one to whom the _Ponte Molle_ is a
bridge of sighs.
Hebbel's design was to return to Hamburg by way of Vienna. In Vienna,
which he reached on the fourth of November, 1845, he was cordially
received in literary circles. Men of influence promised their good
offices in getting his plays performed, but failed to take effective
measures, and he was about to continue his journey when the romantic
enthusiasm of two young barons Zerboni gave him an _entree_ into
aristocratic society, and he tarried. Ere long he had decided to stay
for life. In Christine Enghaus, the leading lady at the
_Hofburgtheater_, he found the feminine counterpart to his masculine
nature; and on the twenty-sixth of May, 1846, they were married.
From every point of view this marriage proved so perfect that we may
well question whether anything whatever ought to have been allowed to
stand in the way of it. To Elise, of course, it seemed an outrage--the
more so that she was entirely mistaken as to the character of Christine;
and with furious bitterness she reproached Hebbel for violating her most
sacred rights in his infatuation for an actress. The storm broke, but it
cleared the air for both; and upon the death of her second son in 1847,
Elise came at Christine's invitation to Vienna and spent a year in the
Hebbel household.
Hebbel himself rightly dated an epoch in his life from his marriage and
the renewed productivity which followed upon it. He enjoyed now for the
first time not only freedom from economic worries but also complete
serenity of mind. Outwardly, indeed, he still had to keep up his
offensive and defensive warfare. Beyond the circle of his immediate
adherents, only the more enlightened of his contemporaries, such as
Ruge, Hettner, and Theodor Vischer, perceived what he was aiming at, and
his own public discussions were so abstruse and repellent that it is no
wonder they were misunderstood. Grillparzer declared that he was groping
in esthetic fog. Julian Schmidt recognized his power and the poetic
charm of many of his passages, but thought him in danger of crossing the
line which separates sense from nonsense, genius from insanity. Hebbel
was restive under criticism, and the method of his polemics tended
rather to exasperate than to conciliate his adversaries. Meanwhile
_Maria Magdalena_ and _Judith_ were performed at the _Hofburgtheater_,
with Christine as the heroine. But in 1850 Heinrich Laube became
director of this theatre, and he not only rejected one play of Hebbel's
after another, but also withdrew from Christine the leading parts which
she had heretofore taken in the regular repertory.
The new epoch in Hebbel's dramatic activity really began in 1848. The
fruits of his sojourn in Italy, _A Tragedy in Sicily_ (1846), _Julia_
(1847), and _New Poems_ (published in 1847) were mediocre stragglers in
the train of his first successes. But _Herodes and Mariamne_, begun in
1847 and completed in November, 1848, is the first of a new series of
masterpieces. Mariamne, Hebbel said, was not simply written for
Christine, she _was_ Christine. _The Ruby_, which followed in the spring
of 1849, is a graceful dramatization of a fairy-tale written ten years
before in Munich; _Michel Angelo_ (1850), a satire on his critics, is a
slight but clever refutation of ignorant presumption. _Agnes Bernauer_
(1851) is a worthy successor of _Herodes and Mariamne_; _Gyges and his
Ring_ (1854) is the most poetic and perhaps the most characteristic of
his dramas. The trilogy on the _Nibelungen_ (1855-1860) was Hebbel's
last great work, ranking with Grillparzer's _Golden Fleece_ and
Schiller's _Wallenstein_; and if he had lived to complete _Demetrius_,
we should have had another remarkable drama, on a subject which Schiller
too was destined to leave unfinished.
In the fifties, Hebbel accompanied Christine on professional trips to
North Germany, and had ample occasion to observe the spread of his
influence. In 1852 he was feted at Munich in connection with the
production there of _Agnes Bernauer_. In 1858 he attended a performance
of _Genoveva_ in Weimar, and was decorated with an order by the Grand
Duke. In 1861 the Nibelungen trilogy was performed for the first time in
Weimar, with Christine as Brunhild and Kriemhild; and in the following
year Hebbel, who had even thought of going to live at Weimar, was the
guest of the Grand Duke at his castle in Wilhelmsthal. Though in Vienna
honors came later, Hebbel felt himself to be during these years at the
summit of his existence. In 1855 he bought a country home at Orth near
Gmunden in the Salzkammergut, and to the idyllic atmosphere of that
retreat he owed the inspiration for the epic poem _Mother and Child_
(1857), his gentlest treatment of a tragic theme. In 1857 he issued a
definitive edition of his _Poems_, dedicated to Uhland, "the first poet
of the present time." In 1854 _Genoveva_, in modified form, was
successfully presented as _Magellone_ at the _Burgtheater_, with
Christine as the heroine. But Hebbel's first Viennese triumph did not
come until February 19, 1863, when Christine played Brunhild in the
first and second parts of the _Nibelungen_. On his deathbed he received
the news that the Berlin Schiller Prize had been awarded to him for the
_Nibelungen_. Hebbel died on the thirteenth of December, 1863. Christine
out-lived him by nearly half a century, until the twenty-ninth of June,
1910.
Rightly or wrongly, Hebbel regarded himself as the creator of a new form
of drama, setting in at a step beyond Shakespeare and Schiller, and
attacking problems in the manner suggested, but not fully developed, by
Goethe. Shakespeare and Schiller, he said, locate the conflict in the
breast of the hero: shall he, or shall he not, endeavor to attain the
object of his desire, against forces which oppose him from without, and
which have their allies in his own conscience, in his own sense of right
and wrong? He desires the wrong, or neglects the right, and for his
tragic fault atones with death. We pity the unfortunate individual,
console ourselves, however, with the inviolability of the moral law, and
profit by his example: only those are free whose will chooses to be
moral. But Goethe, in the dramatically conceived _Elective Affinities_,
focuses attention not upon the doings of individuals, but upon the
sanctions of the law which a power superior to their wills forces them
to break. And so Hebbel, passing over the individual, as one of myriads,
directs inquiry into the causes that make him what he is, that make him
do what he does, that prevent him from doing what at the same time they
impel him to attempt; and he reveals, back of the individual typical
phenomenon, an irreconcilable conflict in the very condition and
definition of its existence. This conflict has its roots in the dualism
of all being.
The corner-stone of Martin Luther's system of morals was the paradox: "A
Christian is a sovereign lord over all things, and is subject to nobody;
a Christian is a duty-bound servant of all things, and is subject to
everybody." In other words, a man's soul is his own and is superior to
all the things of the flesh; but through his body he is made dependent
upon the life-giving earth, and subject to the laws which those other
"bodies" in the community in which he lives make for the common defense
and the general welfare. Hebbel carried the antithesis farther, asking
what is the soul, and what is the body? And he answered, in effect, that
the soul is indeed the very essence of personality, but is no original,
self-begotten, and self-sufficient entity--on the contrary, it is a
fragment, a participant in the animating principle of the universe--and
that the body is indeed the medium of contact between person and person,
but is also the separating barrier of soul from soul, and of the
individual soul from the soul of the world. The body is the form or
vessel which vouchsafes to the soul individual existence, and which the
soul, by its very impulse to activity, wears out and destroys. Birth is
a prophecy of destruction and a doom to death.
But life is activity, the soul is a motive force, self-assertion and
self-preservation are heaven's first law. Self-assertion, however, is
nothing but the operation of communicated and committed animation, and
self-preservation nothing but the postponement of the day of surrender.
Self-preservation is impossible; self-assertion is a challenge to the
assertiveness of other selves, as well as a hastener of dissolution. The
self follows its native bent, and its native impulse is for expansion;
but it thus, as a fraction, leaves, on its centrifugal path, the course
of the great world spirit from which it separates; and as both a
separate entity and a member of a community it must, in its attempt at
self-realization, meet the constraint which the community, whose only
object is likewise self-realization and self-preservation, puts upon all
within its power. The law is negative and repressive, self-interest is
positive and assertive; between the two there is no possible
reconciliation--at most a compromise--so that in the last analysis it
appears that the assertion of individual will as such is immoral, that
is, contrary to the will of the community; and is sinful, for it is not
the will of God, but the will of a particularized individual, however
godly he may be. There are differences in degree, but not in kind, among
immoralities and sins, with corresponding degrees of punitive
repression; but the potential tragic conflict is constant, and there is
as little doubt about the eminent domain of the State as about the
supremacy of God.
The laws of God are changeless and eternal, but human morality is a
local and temporal development. As the character of an individual is the
product of disposition and experience, so his fate is humanly determined
by the particular forms of custom and law established in the community
in which his lot is cast. But these change from time to time, and in
periods of change the disparity between public and private interest is
most conspicuous: the progressive individual bears not only the burden
of proof but also the dead weight of public inertia. Only at infinity
can the parallel antithetical interests coincide. Nevertheless, the
world gradually effects self-correction by the evolution of new
syntheses from the thesis and antithesis ever and anon presented for
trial and judgment as between liberal and conservative forces.
Hebbel's drama, then, is the representation of a process, the process of
life, by which things come into being. It reveals the individual in the
making, and discusses the validity of the institutions that condition
his life or cause his death. There is no question of guilt and
atonement. Protagonist and antagonist are right, each in his way and
from his point of view; the conflict may arise from excess of goodness
as well as from excess of evil; but the representative of the whole
prevails of necessity over the champion of a single interest; and in the
knowledge of this truth, rather than in the futile attempt to modify the
relation, we must seek our freedom. Hebbel's plays are historical:
character in its setting of circumstances is the only character really
and fully comprehensible. They are sociological: exhibiting the
ceaseless collision of individualistic and collectivistic tendencies,
they teach forbearance, and patience, and the will to face the
facts--_tout comprendre, c'est tout pardonner_. And they are modern:
treating problems of character and _milieu_, they disdain the
adventitious aids of eloquence and theatrical splendor, and speak to us
with the directness, often with the bluntness, of nature herself. Hebbel
was no naturalist, in the sense of one who seeks but to reproduce
phenomena in all their details, sordid, trivial, or vulgar, if such they
be. But through Ibsen, who esteemed him alone among his German
predecessors, he became a factor in the recent naturalistic movement;
and he might have saved it from many an aberration, if his example had
been more closely followed.
Hebbel strikingly revealed his independence and originality at the
beginning of his public career, by his new conception of old and
familiar subjects. His Judith is a totally different person from the
heroine of the Apocrypha. The Biblical Judith is a widow who slays a
public enemy, and returns unscathed amid the plaudits of the multitude.
But Hebbel's Judith is a widow who has never been a wife, a woman who
seems to have been appointed by Providence to do a great deed in His
service, who takes the duty upon herself only to find that as a woman
she is unequal to it; for as a woman she loves the manly heathen. She
kills him, as she set out to do; but the motive for her act is personal
revenge for a personal outrage; and she returns to Bethulia broken in
spirit and appalled at the thought that she may bear a son by
Holofernes. The attempt to make of herself an impersonal instrument in
the hands of the Almighty--certainly a laudable undertaking--is her only
fault, and is tragic because inconsistent with the character of
womanhood, which the Almighty has also ordained. Compared with the iron
necessity of her being, to which Judith succumbs, the accidental and
improbable fault of Schiller's Maid of Orleans seems as trivial as it is
conventional.
Similarly, in the conception of the story of Genoveva, Hebbel shifted
attention from the saint to the sinner. In the centre of his _Genoveva_
stands Golo, the unfortunate young man whose good instincts are made
criminal because the faults and errors of others excite them, and
because his desire, justifiable according to nature, is directed toward
a woman who is bound to another in a wedlock which, from the side of the
husband at least, is only formally correct. In Golo's crime and
atonement we accordingly see a great deal more than the operation of the
moral law: we see how crime is begotten of innocence; and instead of
thinking of the wretched creature, we think of the Creator who has so
ordained it, and at whose central position in the moral universe there
can be neither good nor evil, but an equilibrium of forces which become
one or the other, and may become either when the equilibrium is
disturbed. Good and evil, mutually exclusive qualities in the world of
appearance, are, in the world of ideas, complementary conceptions,
different aspects of one and the same thing.
Golo appears, despite his crimes, less guilty than Siegfried, the
husband of Genoveva; and in his case a divine impulse, love, becomes an
evil because it happens to collide with an institution, marriage, which
we are here justified in calling human, since, though it has a social
sanction, it lacks the evidence of divine approval. Clara, in _Maria
Magdalena_, is chargeable with but the minimum of guilt, and perishes
because, too honest and dutiful to safeguard her own interests in a
stern and selfish community, she cannot otherwise preserve for her
father that unassailable reputation which is, in his imperfect ethics,
the highest good. The tragedy in this play is the tragedy of pharisaical
_bourgeois_ society itself. There is no collision between high and low,
such as constituted the plot of the _tragedies bourgeoises_ of the
eighteenth century--e.g., Lessing's _Emilia Galotti_, Schiller's _Cabal
and Love_--but the stubborn hardness of the middle-class society in its
typical representative is unable to meet a crisis; and by the
banishment, or the condemnation to suicide, of its most promising
members, this society pronounces its own doom. Altruism is contrary to
the custom, that is, to the morals of this community, and for that
reason is forbidden and suppressed.
Another community in which altruism is unusual and discredited is Judaea
just before the birth of Christ. Herod the king is a masterful ruler and
a benefactor; but the end justifies the means that he adopts, and he is
no respecter of persons. He does not even respect the person of his
wife. The love of Mariamne is the one sure rock upon which he can rest
when the earthquake, threatening at every moment, comes to shatter his
throne and engulf him. He loves her too with a passion which dreams of
union so perfect that death cannot break it, so perfect that one of them
would wish to die at the moment when the soul of the other left the
body. This is Mariamne's dream also, but Herod cannot trust her to
fulfil it. Not once, but twice, upon going to the wars, he leaves orders
that Mariamne shall be slain if he is killed; and these orders are an
assassination of her soul. The community can execute an individual; but
one individual can only assassinate another. In the ancient orient a
wife was a precious possession, entirely subject to the will of her
husband, and liable to be burned in his funeral pyre. Herod represents
such an ancient, oriental point of view; but Judaea is on the eve of
becoming occidental and modern. Herod represents the law and has the
power to crush the insurgent personality of Mariamne: he has not the
power to slay the infant Savior, nor to hinder the coming of the day
when every human soul is known to be an object of divine concern.
That play of Hebbel's in which the dualism of all being is most
conspicuously tragic is _Agnes Bernauer_. Agnes is the daughter of a
barber and surgeon, and is so beautiful that she is commonly known as
the angel of Augsburg. Albrecht, the son and sole heir of the reigning
duke Ernst, comes to Augsburg, falls in love with her, and, in spite of
friendly warning, marries her; for she has loved him at first sight,
too. As persons, they do what is right for them to do; their marriage
has been performed by a priest of the church; and they feel that it has
divine sanction. But Albrecht is not an ordinary person; he is the heir
to the throne, and public exigencies require that the succession shall
be guaranteed. This marriage, however, is illegal--a board of
incorruptible judges so finds it; it causes sedition and threatens
interminable strife. Duke Ernst is deliberate and patient in dealing
with the unprecedented case. He waits until he can wait no longer.
Albrecht will not give up Agnes, nor Agnes give up him; Ernst respects
the sacrament of wedlock by which they are united, and only after two
and a half years does he sign the warrant by which Agnes was duly
condemned to death. Agnes dies in perfect innocence and constancy, a
victim of social convention. But Albrecht, whose disregard of this
convention was rebellion, and whose vengeance for his wife's death
brings him to the point of parricide, is made to see, not merely because
excommunication accompanies the ban of the empire on him as a rebel, but
also because of the instructive words and actions of his father, that
the social organization he has defied has itself a divine sanction, and
that a prince, standing by common consent at the head of that
organization, cannot with impunity undermine the basis of his
sovereignty. Devotion to him is like loyalty to the national ensign. The
ensign is nothing in itself, but it symbolizes the idea of the State;
and the prince is also the representative of an idea, which he must
continue to represent in its entirety, or he ceases to be the prince.
This lesson Albrecht learns when, like Kleist's _Prince of Homburg_, he
is made judge in his own case, and when he perceives at the cost of what
personal sacrifice his father has done his duty. The State prevails over
Albrecht as it prevails over Agnes, whose only fault was that she did
not immure her beauty in a nunnery.
The sanction of tradition and custom which Albrecht and Agnes could not
break in _Agnes Bernauer_ Hebbel most impressively demonstrated in
_Gyges and his Ring_. Kandaules, King of Lydia, is a rash innovator in
both public and private life. He despises rusty swords and uncomfortable
crowns, he means to do away with silly prejudices, and, like Herod,
regarding his wife as a precious possession only, he procures for his
friend Gyges an opportunity to see her unveiled. But she, an Indian
princess, is, in Christine Hebbel's words, a convolution of veils; her
veil is inseparable from herself; and the brutal violation of her
modesty is a less forgivable crime than the taking of her life would be.
The wearing of a veil may be a foolish custom; but use and want hallow
even the trivial. Half of our law is based upon precedent, and we are
protected at every turn by unwritten law, which is nothing else than
precedent. Mankind needs to repose in the security of this protection.
Woe to him, said Hebbel, who disturbs the sleep of the world! Changes
must come, but rarely in the way of revolution.
The tragedy of the Nibelungen Hebbel approached somewhat differently
from the other subjects that he treated. He had his own conception of
the tragic content of the matter, of course; but he found that the
author of the _Nibelungenlied_, a dramatist from head to foot, has so
clearly presented the tragic aspects of the story that the modern
dramatist need only make himself the interpreter of the medieval epic
poet. Herewith Hebbel's trilogy is at once distinguished from such other
modern treatments of the subject as Geibel's _Brunhild_ or Wagner's
_Nibelungen Ring_. Geibel eliminated everything supernatural; Wagner
made use chiefly of the Old Norse versions of the story; Hebbel, on the
contrary, dramatized what he regarded as the significant content of the
Middle High German poem, retaining its mythological, Christian,
chivalrous, historical, and legendary elements. The mythological
elements of the epic are indeed indistinct survivals of earlier ages.
Hebbel leaned somewhat upon Norse myths in his reproduction of them,
though it was part of his plan to preserve a certain indistinctness and
mystery in these undramatic presuppositions. Similarly, he made more of
the element of Christianity than is made of it by the _Nibelungenlied_.
In both epic and drama the Burgundians are only formally Christian; the
cardinal principles of heathen ethics, tribal loyalty and vengeance, are
entirely unaffected by the Christian doctrine of forgiveness. In the
play, however, the transition from one system to the other is much more
strongly emphasized than in the poem. The heathen ethics lead to the
mutual destruction of those who profess them, and out of the ruins of
the old civilization a new world rises heralded by Theodoric of Verona,
who accepts the sovereignty relinquished by Attila the Hun, "in His name
who died on the cross."
The downfall of two peoples follows in the train of personal calamity.
Siegfried, foreordained by the ancient gods to become the husband of
Brunhild, neglects in the adventurous days of youth to woo her, and
undertakes for the price of Kriemhild's hand to secure her as a wife for
Gunther. Hidden in his cloak of invisibility, he twice overcomes
Brunhild, thereby committing against her the same kind of outrage as
Herod's against Mariamne, and that of Gyges against Rhodope. Through no
direct fault of Siegfried's the fraud is discovered; it is an offense to
the queen, which insults the State. Gunther the king will not punish it,
for he is under personal obligations to the offender; but he takes no
effective measures to prevent punishment by Hagen, who, though his loyal
motives are mixed with envy, acts within his rights as the prime
minister. But Siegfried, being vulnerable in only one spot, cannot be
challenged to open combat; he has to be slain by stealth; so that
Hagen's act is not strictly to be called murder, and the Burgundians,
even though their sense of solidarity should not require them to make
common cause with him against Kriemhild, might with some show of reason
confirm his oath that he is no murderer. Siegfried put himself outside
the pale of humanity when he assumed the dragon's skin. Dragons are
hunted to death. Only men are tried and executed.
We have chosen to examine Hebbel's principal plays from the point of
view of their idea, for the reason that, as said above, it was primarily
the idea which Hebbel found important in every individual phenomenon. He
did not treat cases and conditions for the sake of merely representing
life on the stage, but for the sake of exemplifying, in representations
of life, the fundamental irreconcilability of the expansive and
repressive forces which struggle in every individual. His characters are
certainly persons, not abstract constructions; the action in his plays
moves relentlessly forward, with no lack of inventiveness on his part or
of sensuous impressiveness on the part of his inventions; he seldom
fails to convince our understanding that in his dramatic debate each
side is adequately represented, and that the side which at length
prevails is the stronger under the presuppositions of time and place; it
would be unfair, furthermore, to deny the appeal that he makes to our
sympathy. But, on the other hand, he is not free from suggestions of
artifice; his characters are abnormally introspective and
self-explanatory, and they reveal a talent for logical exposition which
belongs rather to Friedrich Hebbel than to men of like passions with
ourselves. In the unsought, accidental, ingenuous details which
ingratiate themselves in spite, or perhaps because of their
insignificance, he is not to be compared with Grillparzer; nor, in the
capacity to create a poetic atmosphere, with Otto Ludwig. His language
is rugged and masculine; his style, frequently forensic. Taken as a
whole, his work furnishes more abundant food for thought than objects
of _naive_ esthetic enjoyment; but, like Grillparzer's, his plays were
written for the stage; and proper enactment has seldom failed to produce
with them an effect of power worthy of his powerful personality, which
swam against the tide, knowing that the tide would turn and that the
flood would bear him to the haven.
* * * * *
_FRIEDRICH HEBBEL_
* * * * *
MARIA MAGDALENA
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Master ANTONY, _a joiner_
_His Wife_
CLARA, _his daughter_
CARL, _his son_
LEONARD
_A Secretary_ WOLFRAM, a merchant_
ADAM, _a bailiff_
_Another bailiff_
_A Boy_
_A Maid_
_Place. A fair-sized town_
MARIA MAGDALENA (1844)
TRANSLATED BY PAUL BERNARD THOMAS
ACT I
_A Room in the Joiner's House._
SCENE I
_Enter_ CLARA; _the_ MOTHER.
CLARA.
Your wedding dress? Oh, how well it becomes you! It looks as if it had
been made today!
MOTHER.
Yes, child, fashion keeps on going forward until it can go no farther
and has to turn around and go back. This dress has already been out of
style and in again ten times.
CLARA.
But this time it is not exactly in style, dear mother! The sleeves are
too wide! It must not annoy you!
MOTHER (_smiling_).
I should have to be you for that! CLARA.
And so this is the way you looked! But surely you carried a bunch of
flowers too, didn't you?
MOTHER.
I should hope so! Else why do you think I nursed that sprig of myrtle in
the pot for so many years?
CLARA.
I have often asked you to, but you have never before put it on. You have
always said: It is no longer my wedding dress; it is my shroud now, and
that is something one should not play with. I got so that I couldn't
even look at it any more, because, hanging there so white, it always
made me think of your death, and of the day when the old women would try
to pull it on over your head. Why then today?
MOTHER.
When one is very sick, as I was, and does not know whether one is going
to get well again or not, a great many things revolve in one's head.
Death is more terrible than you think--oh, it is awful! It casts a
shadow over the world; one after the other it blows out all the lights
that shine with such cheerful brightness all around us, the kindly eyes
of husband and children cease to sparkle, and it grows dark everywhere.
But deep in the heart it strikes a light, which burns brightly and
reveals a great deal one does not care to see. I am not conscious of
ever having done a wrong; I have walked in God's ways, I have done my
best about the home, I have brought you and your brother up to fear God,
and I have kept together the fruits of your father's hard work. I have
always managed to lay aside an extra penny for the poor, and if now and
then I have turned somebody away, because I felt out of sorts or because
too many came, it wasn't a very great misfortune for him, because I was
sure to call him back and give him twice as much. Oh, what does it all
amount to? People dread the last hour when it threatens to come, writhe
like a worm over it, and implore God to let them live, just as a servant
implores his master to let him do something over again that he has
done poorly, so that he may not come short in his wages on pay-day.
CLARA.
Don't talk in that way, dear mother! It weakens you.
MOTHER.
No, child, it does me good! Am I not well and strong again now? Did
not the Lord call me merely to let me know that my festal robe was not
yet pure and spotless? And did he not permit me to come back from the
very edge of the grave, and grant me time to prepare myself for the
heavenly wedding? He was not as kind as that to those five Virgins in
the Gospel, about whom I had you read to me last night. And that is the
reason why today, when I am going to the Holy Communion, I put this
dress on. I wore it the day I made the best and most pious resolutions
of my life; I want it to remind me of those which I have not yet carried
out.
CLARA.
You still talk as you did in your illness!
SCENE II
CARL (_enters_).
Good morning, mother! Well, Clara, I suppose you might put up with me,
if I were not your brother?
CLARA.
A gold chain? Where did you get that?
CARL.
Why do I sweat so? Why do I work two hours longer than the others every
evening? You are impertinent!
MOTHER.
A quarrel on Sunday morning? Shame on you, Carl!
CARL.
Mother, haven't you got a gulden for me?
MOTHER.
I haven't any money except for the housekeeping!
CARL.
Well, give me some of that then! I won't grumble if you make the
pancakes thinner for the next two weeks. You have often done so before!
I know that all right! When you were saving up for Clara's white dress,
we didn't have anything decent to eat for a month. I shut my eyes, but I
knew right well that a new hair ribbon or some other bit of finery was
on the way. So let me get something out of it too, for once!
MOTHER.
You are absolutely shameless!
CARL.
I haven't much time, else--[_He starts to go_.]
MOTHER.
Where are you going?
CARL.
I won't tell you, and then, when the old growler asks you where I am,
you can answer without blushing that you don't know. Anyway I don't need
your gulden--it is best not to draw all your water from one well.
[_To himself_.]
Here at home they always think the worst things they can about me; why
shouldn't I take pleasure in keeping them worried? Why should I say
that, since I don't get my gulden, I shall have to go to church, unless
a friend helps me out of my predicament?
SCENE III
CLARA.
What does he mean by that?
MOTHER.
Oh, he grieves me terribly! Yes, yes, your father is right! Those are
the consequences! He is just as insolent now in demanding a gulden as he
was cunning in pleading for a piece of sugar when he was a little
curly-headed baby. I wonder if he would not demand the gulden now, if I
had refused him the sugar then? That often hurts me! And I think he
doesn't even love me! Did you ever once see him cry during my illness?
CLARA.
I didn't see him very often at best--almost never except at the table.
He had more appetite than I!
MOTHER (_quickly_).
That was natural! He had to work so hard!
CLARA.
To be sure! And how strange men are! They are more ashamed of their
tears than they are of their sins! A clenched fist--why not exhibit
that? But red eyes!--And father too! The afternoon they opened your vein
and no blood came, he sobbed at his work-bench until it moved my very
soul! But when I went up to him and stroked his cheeks, what did he say?
"See if you can't get this accursed splinter out of my eye! I have so
much to do and can't accomplish anything!"
MOTHER (_smiling_).
Yes! yes!--I never see Leonard any more, by the way. How does that
happen?
CLARA.
Let him stay away!
MOTHER.
I hope you are not seeing him anywhere else, except here at the house!
CLARA.
Is it because I stay out too long when I go to the well in the evening
that you have reason to suspect that?
MOTHER.
No, not that. But it was just for that reason that I gave him permission
to come here to the house, so that he wouldn't lie in wait for you out
there in the dark. My mother would never allow that, either!
CLARA.
I don't see him at all!
MOTHER.
Have you had a quarrel? Otherwise I think I might like him--he is so
steady! If he only amounted to something! In my time he would not have
had to wait long. Then gentlemen were eager for a good penman, as lame
people are for their crutch, for they were rare. Even we humble people
could use one. Today he would compose for a son a New Year's greeting to
his father and receive for the gilded initials alone enough to buy a
child's doll with. Tomorrow the father would give him a sly wink and
have him read the greeting aloud, secretly and behind closed doors, so
as not to be surprised and have his ignorance discovered. That meant
double pay. Then penmen were jolly people and made the price of beer
high. It is different now. Now we old folks, not knowing anything about
reading and writing, must allow ourselves to be made fun of by
nine-year-old children. The world is steadily growing wiser; perhaps the
time is yet to come when people who can't walk a tight-rope will have to
feel ashamed of it!
CLARA.
The bell is ringing!
MOTHER.
Well, child, I will pray for you. And as far as Leonard is concerned,
love him as he loves God--no more and no less. That is what my old
mother said to me when she died and gave me her blessing. I have kept it
long enough; now you have it!
CLARA (_hands her a nosegay_).
There!
MOTHER.
That certainly comes from Carl.
CLARA (_nods; then aside_.)
Would it were so! Anything that is to give her real pleasure has to come
from him!
MOTHER.
Oh, he is so good--and he likes me! [_Exit_.]
CLARA (_looks after her through the window_).
There she goes! Three times I have dreamt that she was lying in her
coffin, and now--oh, these awful dreams! I am not going to care about
dreams any more; I will take no pleasure in a good dream, and then I
shall not have to worry about the bad one that follows it. How firmly
and confidently she steps out! She is already close to the church-yard.
I wonder who will be the first person she meets? It would signify
nothing--no, I mean only [_she shudders_]--the gravedigger! He has just
finished digging a grave and is climbing out of it! She greets him and
glances smilingly down into the dismal hole! She throws the nosegay into
it and enters the church!
[_A choir is heard_.]
They are singing: _Praise ye the Lord_.
[_She folds her hands_.]
Yes! yes! If my mother had died, I should never have recovered from it,
for--[_Glances toward Heaven_.] But Thou art kind, Thou art merciful! I
would that I believed with the Catholics, so that I might offer Thee
something! I would empty the whole of my little box of savings and buy
Thee a beautiful gilded heart, and twine it with roses. Our pastor says
that sacrifices mean nothing to Thee, because everything is Thine, and
one should not offer Thee something Thou already hast. And yet
everything in the house belongs to my father too; and still he likes it
when I buy a piece of cloth with his money and embroider it and put it
on his plate for his birthday. Yes, and he honors me by wearing it only
on great holidays, at Christmas or Whitsuntide. Once I saw a little mite
of a Catholic girl carrying some cherries up to the altar. They were the
first the child had had that year, and I could see how she longed to eat
them. Still she resisted the innocent desire, and, in order to put an
end to the temptation, hurriedly threw them down. The priest, who was
just about to pick up the chalice, looked on with a scowl, and the child
hastened timidly away. But the Mary above the altar smiled gently, as if
she would have liked to step out of her frame and overtake the child and
kiss her.--I did it for her! Here comes Leonard. Oh, dear!
SCENE IV
LEONARD (_outside the door_).
Are you dressed?
CLARA.
Why so polite, so considerate? I am no princess, you know.
LEONARD (_enters_).
I thought you were not alone! In passing by I thought I saw your
neighbor Babbie standing by the window.
CLARA.
And so that is why--
LEONARD.
You are forever so irritable! One can stay away from here for two weeks,
rain and sunshine can have alternated ten times, and, when one does
finally come again, he finds the same old cloud darkening your face!
CLARA.
Things used to be different!
LEONARD.
Correct! If you had always looked as you do now, we should never have
become good friends!
CLARA.
What of it?
LEONARD.
So you feel yourself as free of me as that, do you? Perhaps it serves me
right! Then [_significantly_] your recent toothache was a mere pretext!
CLARA.
Oh, Leonard, it was not right of you!
LEONARD.
Not right for me to seek to bind to me the greatest treasure that I
have--for that is what you are to me--with the firmest of all bonds? And
especially at a time when I stood in danger of losing it? Do you think I
did not see the furtive glances you exchanged with the Secretary? That
was a triumphant day of joy for me! I take you to the dance and--
CLARA.
You never stop saying things that hurt me! I looked at the Secretary,
why should I deny it? But only on account of the moustache he had grown
at the University, and which--
[_She checks herself_.]
LEONARD.
Becomes him so well--isn't that it? Isn't that what you started to say?
Oh, you women! Anything that looks like a soldier, even a caricature of
one, you like. To me the fop's ridiculous little oval face, with that
tuft of hair in the middle of it, looked like a little white rabbit
hiding behind a bush. I am bitter toward him--I won't try to conceal it.
He held me back from you long enough!
CLARA.
I didn't praise him, did I? You don't need to run him down!
LEONARD.
You still seem to take a lot of interest in him.
CLARA.
We used to play together as children, and afterward--you know very well!
LEONARD.
Oh yes, I know! And that's just why!
CLARA.
Then I think it was only natural, seeing him again for the first time
in a long while that way, for me to look at him and be astonished to see
how big and--[_She checks herself_.]
LEONARD.
Why did you blush then, when he looked back at you?
CLARA.
I thought he was looking at the little mole on my left cheek to see if
it, too, had grown bigger! You know I always imagine people are looking
at that when they stare at me so, and it always makes me blush. I have a
feeling as if it _were_ growing larger, as long as they look at it!
LEONARD.
However that may be, it got on my nerves, and I thought to myself: This
very evening I will put her to the test! If she wants to become my wife,
she knows that she risks nothing. If she says no, then--
CLARA.
Oh, you said a bad, bad word, when I pushed you back and jumped up from
the bench. The moon, which up to that time had shone in through the
foliage with such kindly consideration for me, at that moment sank
shrewdly behind the wet clouds. I wanted to hurry away, but felt
something holding me. At first I thought it was you, but it was the
rose-bush, whose thorns held my dress like teeth. You outraged my heart,
so that I no longer trusted it myself. You stood before me like one
demanding the payment of a debt! I--Oh, God!
[Illustration: ALFRED RETHEL DEATH AS CUP-BEARER]
LEONARD.
I cannot yet regret it. I knew it was the only way I could have kept you
to myself. The old girlhood love was opening its eyes again, and I could
not close them quickly enough!
CLARA.
When I got home, I found my mother ill, mortally ill. She had been
stricken suddenly, as if by an invisible hand. My father had wanted to
send for me, but she would not consent to his doing so, not wishing to
interrupt my happiness. And how I felt when I heard that! I held myself
aloof, I did not dare to touch her, I trembled! She took it for childish
anxiety and motioned me over to her; when I slowly drew near her, she
held me down and kissed my desecrated mouth. I lost control of myself; I
wanted to confess to her, to cry out what I thought and felt: It is my
fault that you are lying there! I tried to do so, but tears and sobs
choked my voice. She reached for my father's hand, and said with a
blissful glance at me: What a heart!
LEONARD.
She is well again. I have come to congratulate her, and--what do you
think?
CLARA.
What?
LEONARD.
To ask your father for your hand.
CLARA.
Oh!
LEONARD.
Don't you want me to?
CLARA.
Want you to? It will mean my death, if I do not become your wife pretty
soon! But you do not know my father! He does not understand why we are
in such a hurry--he cannot understand why, and we cannot tell him why!
And he has declared a hundred times that he will never give his daughter
to any man unless he has not only, as he says, love in his heart for
her, but also bread in his cupboard for her. He will say: Wait another
year or two, my son.--And what will be your answer?
LEONARD. You foolish girl, that difficulty is disposed of! I have the
position now--I am cashier!
CLARA.
You cashier? And the other applicant, the pastor's nephew?
LEONARD.
Was drunk when he came to the examination, bowed to the stove instead of
to the burgomaster, and when he sat down knocked three cups off the
table. You know how hot-headed the old fellow is. "Sir!" he exclaimed
angrily, but he restrained himself and bit his lip. Nevertheless his
eyes glared through his spectacles like the eyes of a serpent about to
spring, and his whole body became rigid. Then we started computing and,
ha! ha!--my rival computed with a multiplication table of his own
invention that gave entirely new results. "He's way off in his
reckoning!" said the burgomaster, and, glancing in my direction, held
out his hand to me with the appointment. It smelled terribly of tobacco,
but I took it and raised it humbly to my lips.--Here it is now, signed
and sealed!
CLARA.
That comes--
LEONARD.
Unexpectedly, doesn't it? Well, it was not altogether an accident
either. Why didn't I come to see you for two weeks?
CLARA.
How do I know? I think it was because we got angry at each other the
Sunday before!
LEONARD.
Oh, I was cunning enough to bring about that little disagreement on
purpose--so that I could stay away without its astonishing you too much!
CLARA.
I don't understand you!
LEONARD.
I suppose not. I took advantage of the time to pay court to the
burgomaster's little hump-backed niece, whom the old fellow thinks so
much of, and who is his right hand, just as the bailiff is his left.
Understand me correctly! I didn't say anything nice to her about
herself, except perhaps a compliment regarding her hair, which everybody
knows is red--so I just told her some nice things she liked to hear
about you.
CLARA.
About me?
LEONARD.
Why should I keep still about it? I did it with the best of
intentions--as if I had never intended to deal seriously with you, as
if--enough! That lasted until I got this in my hands, and the credulous
little man-crazy fool will find out what I meant when she hears the
banns of our marriage published in the church.
CLARA.
Leonard!
LEONARD.
Child! child! You be as innocent as a dove, and I will be as wise as a
serpent. Then, since a man and his wife are one, we shall entirely
satisfy the demand of the Gospel.
[_Laughs_.]
Neither was it altogether an accident that young Hermann was drunk at
the most important moment of his life. You have surely never heard that
the fellow is given to drinking?
CLARA.
Not a word.
LEONARD.
The fact made the execution of my scheme all the easier. It was done
with three glasses. I had a couple of friends of mine waylay him. "May
one drink to your health?"--"Not now!"--"Oh, that is all arranged, you
know. Your uncle"--"And now, drink, my brother, drink!"--This morning
when I was on my way to you, he stood leaning on the bridge and gazing
dejectedly down at the river. I greeted him sarcastically, and asked him
if he had dropped anything into the water. "Yes," he answered, without
looking up, "and perhaps it would be well for me to jump in after it."
CLARA.
You bad man! Get out of my sight!
LEONARD.
You mean it?
[_Moves, as if to go_.]
CLARA.
Oh, my God, I am chained to this man!
LEONARD.
Don't be a baby! And now one more word in confidence: Does your father
still keep the thousand thalers in the apothecary shop?
CLARA.
I know nothing about it.
LEONARD.
Nothing about so important a matter?
CLARA.
Here comes my father.
LEONARD.
Understand me! The apothecary is said to be on the verge of
bankruptcy--that's why I asked!
CLARA.
I must go into the kitchen! [_Exit_.]
LEONARD (_alone_).
Well, I guess there is nothing to be got here! I can't understand it at
all; for Master Antony is one of those fellows whose ghost, if you
should accidentally put one too many letters on his gravestone, would
haunt you until you took it off. For he would regard it as dishonest to
appropriate more of the alphabet than he was properly entitled to.
SCENE V
_Enter_ LEONARD; _Master_ ANTONY.
ANTONY.
Good morning, Mr. Cashier! [_He takes off his cap and puts on a woolen
cap_.] Is it permissible for an old man to keep his head covered?
LEONARD.
You know then--
ANTONY.
Since yesterday evening. When I was going over in the dusk to take the
deceased miller's measure for his final sleeping room, I heard a couple
of your good friends slandering you. I thought right away: I guess
Leonard has not broken his neck.--At the house I heard more about it
from the sexton, who had come to console the widow, and, incidentally,
to get drunk.
LEONARD.
And you had to let Clara find out about it from me?
ANTONY.
If you didn't care enough about it to give the girl that pleasure
yourself, why should I do it? I don't light any candles in my house
except those that belong to me. Then I know that nobody is going to come
and blow them out, just as we are beginning to enjoy them.
LEONARD.
Surely you don't think that I--
ANTONY.
Think? About you? About anybody? I smooth over boards with my plane, but
I never smooth over men with my thoughts. I stopped that sort of
foolishness long ago. When I see a tree growing, I think to myself: It
will soon be blossoming; and when it sprouts: It will soon bear fruit.
In that I never see myself disappointed, and for that reason I don't
give up the old habit. But about men I never think anything, good or
bad, and then I don't have to turn alternately red and white when they
disappoint my fears one minute and my hopes the next. I merely observe
them and use the evidence of my eyes, which likewise do not think, but
only see. I thought I had made a complete observation of you, but now
that I find you here I must confess that it was only half an
observation.
LEONARD.
Master Antony, you have it all upside down. Trees are dependent upon
wind and weather, whereas men have laws and rules in themselves to
govern them.
ANTONY.
Do you think so? Yes, we old people owe hearty thanks to death for
allowing us to run around so long among you young folks, thereby giving
us an opportunity to educate ourselves. Formerly the stupid world used
to think that the father was there to educate his son. But now the son
is supposed to give his father the final touch of perfection, so that
the poor, simple man will not need to feel ashamed of himself before the
worms in his grave. God be praised! I have a fine teacher in my son Carl
who, without sparing his old child by indulgence, takes the field
against my prejudices. He taught me two new lessons this very morning,
and in the most clever way, without opening his mouth and without even
letting me see him--yes, by that very means. In the first place, he
showed me that it is not necessary for a man to keep his word; in the
second, that it is superfluous to go to church and freshen up one's
memory of God's laws. Yesterday evening he promised me that he would go,
and I counted on his doing it, for I thought to myself: He will want to
thank the gracious Creator for the recovery of his mother. But he wasn't
there, and I was very comfortable all alone in my pew, which, to be
sure, is a little too short for two persons anyway. I wonder if he would
like it if I myself were to act in accordance with the new doctrine, by
not keeping my word with him? I have promised him a new suit for his
birthday, and I might take the opportunity to test his joy over my
docility. But prejudice! Prejudice! I shall not do it!
LEONARD.
Perhaps he was not well--
ANTONY.
Possibly! I need only to ask my wife, then I am sure to hear that he is
sick. For she tells me the truth about everything else in the world, but
never about the boy. And even if he was not sick!--There too the younger
generation has the advantage over us old folks, in that they can find
their spiritual edification anywhere, and can do their worshipping when
they are out trapping birds, or taking a walk, or sitting in the
ale-house. "Our Father who art in Heaven"--"Good day, Peter, shall I
see you at the dance this evening?"--"Hallowed be Thy name"--"Yes, laugh
if you will, Catherine, but it is true"--"Thy will be done"--"The devil
take me, I am not shaved yet!"--and so forth. And each one pronounces
the blessing on himself, for he is a man just as much as the preacher,
and the power that emanates from a black garb certainly exists in a blue
one as well. Nor have I anything to say against it; even if you want to
intersperse the seven petitions with seven glasses, what of it? I can't
prove to anybody that beer and religion don't mix well, and perhaps it
will some day get into the liturgy as a new way of taking the Eucharist.
Frankly, I myself, old sinner that I am, am not strong enough to keep
pace with fashion; I cannot catch up worship in the street, as if it
were a cockchafer; for me the chirping of swallows and sparrows cannot
take the place of the organ. If I want to feel my heart exalted, I must
hear the heavy, iron doors of the church close behind me and think to
myself that they are the doors of the world. The dismal high walls with
their narrow windows, that admit but a dim remnant of the bold garish
daylight as if they were sifting it, must surround me on all sides. And
in the distance I must be able to see the charnel-house, with its
death-head cut in the wall. Oh well, better is better.
LEONARD.
You are too particular about it!
ANTONY.
Of course! Of course! And today, as an honest man, I must confess that
what I have been saying did not hold good; for I lost my reverent mood
in church, being annoyed by the vacant seat beside me, and found it
again under the pear-tree in my garden. You are astonished? But look! I
went sadly and dejectedly home, like one whose harvest has been ruined
by hail; for children are like fields--we sow good corn in them and
weeds sprout up. Under the pear-tree, which the caterpillars have half
eaten up, I stood still. "Yes," I thought, "the boy is like this tree,
empty and barren." Then I suddenly imagined that I was very thirsty, and
absolutely had to go over to the tavern. I deceived myself--it wasn't to
get a glass of beer that I wanted to go; it was to seek out the young
man and take him to task in the tavern, where I knew he was sure to be.
I was just about to start, when the sensible old tree let fall a juicy
pear right at my feet, as if to say: Take that for your thirst, and for
slandering me by comparing me with that good-for-nothing son of yours. I
deliberated a moment, took a bite of it, and went into the house.
LEONARD.
Do you know that the apothecary is on the verge of bankruptcy?
ANTONY.
What do I care?
LEONARD.
Don't you care at all
ANTONY.
Surely! I am a Christian--the man has several children!
LEONARD.
And still more creditors. The children, too, are creditors in a way.
ANTONY.
Happy is he who is neither the one nor the other!
LEONARD.
I thought you yourself--
ANTONY.
That was settled up long ago.
LEONARD.
You are a prudent man; of course you immediately demanded your money
when you saw that the green-grocer was about to fail.
ANTONY.
Yes, I need not tremble any more with the fear of losing it--it was lost
long ago!
LEONARD.
You are joking!
ANTONY.
In all seriousness!
CLARA (_looks in at the door_).
Did you call, father?
ANTONY.
Are your ears beginning to ring already? We had not talked about you
yet!
CLARA.
The weekly paper!
LEONARD.
You are a philosopher!
ANTONY.
What do you mean by that?
LEONARD.
You know how to compose yourself.
ANTONY.
I wear a mill-stone as a cravat sometimes, instead of going to the river
with it. That gives one a strong back.
LEONARD.
Let him who can imitate you.
ANTONY.
He who has such a gallant fellow to help him bear it, as I seem to have
found in you, ought to be able to dance under the burden. You have grown
quite pale. I call that sympathy!
LEONARD.
I hope you don't misunderstand me!
ANTONY.
Certainly not!
[_He drums on a dresser._]
That wood is not transparent, is it?
LEONARD.
I do not understand you!
ANTONY.
How foolish it was of our grandfather Adam to take Eve, when she was
naked and destitute, and did not even bring a fig-leaf with her. We two,
you and I, would have scourged her out of Paradise as a tramp! What do
you think?
LEONARD.
You are exasperated with your son.--I have come to you regarding your
daughter--
ANTONY.
You had better be careful!--Perhaps I'll not say no!
LEONARD.
I hope you will not. And I will tell you what I think: The patriarchs
themselves never used to scorn the dowries of their women. Jacob loved
Rachel and courted her seven years, but he also liked the fat rams and
sheep that he earned in her father's service. That, I think, was not to
his discredit, and to outdo him in anything would be to put him to the
blush. I should have liked very much to see your daughter bring a
couple of hundred thalers with her; and that was quite natural, because
she herself would thereby be so much the better off with me. If a girl
brings her bed in her trunk, then she will not have to card wool and
spin yarn. In this case it will not be so, but what of it? We'll make a
Sunday dinner out of Lenten fare, and a Christmas feast out of Sunday's
roast. In that way we'll make out all right!
ANTONY (_offers him his hand_).
You talk well, and God smiles on your words. Well, I will forget that
for fourteen days at tea-time my daughter put a cup on the table for you
in vain. And now that you are to be my son-in-law, I will tell you where
the thousand thalers are!
LEONARD (_aside_).
So they are gone then! Well, I shall not have to go out of my way to
please the old werewolf, even if he is my father-in-law!
ANTONY.
Things went hard with me in my early years. I was no more of a bristly
hedgehog than you when I came into the world, but I have gradually grown
to be one. At first all the quills in my case pointed inward, and people
found pleasure in pricking and pinching my soft smooth skin, and were
amused to see me flinch when the points penetrated into my very heart
and bowels. But the thing did not appeal to me; I turned my skin inside
out and then the quills pricked their fingers and I had peace.
LEONARD (_to himself_).
Safe from the very devil, methinks!
ANTONY.
My father, by not allowing himself any rest day or night, worked himself
to death in his thirtieth year, and my mother nourished me as well as
she could with her spinning. I grew up without learning anything. When I
became larger and was still unable to earn any money, I would gladly
have disaccustomed myself to eating; but when now and then at noon I
would pretend to be sick and push back my plate, what did it mean? It
meant that in the evening my stomach would compel me to announce myself
well again! My greatest grief was that I was so unskilled. I used to
blame myself for it, as if it were my own fault, as if in my mother's
womb I had been supplied with nothing but teeth to eat with, as if I had
purposely left behind me there all the useful capabilities and assets. I
used to blush with shame when the sun shone on me. Just after my
confirmation the man whom they buried yesterday, Master Gebhard, came
into our house. He scowled and made a wry face, as he always used to
frown when he had anything good in mind to do. Then he said to my
mother: "Did you bring your youngster into the world in order to let him
eat the very nose and ears off your head?" I felt ashamed and put the
loaf of bread, from which I was just on the point of cutting off a
piece, back into the cupboard again. My mother took offense at his
well-meant words; she stopped her wheel and replied vehemently that her
son was a fine good fellow. "Well, we will see about that," said the
Master. "If he wants to, he can come right now, just as he stands there,
into my workshop with me. I do not ask any money for teaching him; he
will get his board, and his clothes I will also supply; and if he wants
to get up early and go to bed late, opportunities will not be wanting
for him to earn a little money on the side for his old mother." My
mother began to cry and I to dance. When we finally came to an
agreement, the Master closed up his ears, walked out, and motioned me to
follow. I did not need to put a hat on, for I had none. Without saying
good-by to my mother, I went after him. And on the following Sunday,
when I was allowed to go back to her little room for the first time, he
gave me half a ham to take with me. God's blessing on the good man's
grave! I still hear his half-angry: "Tony, under your coat with it, so
my wife won't see it!"
LEONARD.
You are not crying?
ANTONY (_dries his eyes_).
Yes, I can never think of that without its starting the tears, no matter
how well the source of them may have been stopped up. Oh well, that's
all right! If I should ever get the dropsy, I shall at any rate not have
to draw off these drops too.
[_With a sudden turn._]
What do you think about it?--Supposing on a Sunday afternoon you went
over to smoke a pipe of tobacco with a friend, a friend to whom you owed
everything in the world; and supposing you found him greatly confused
and perturbed, a knife in his hand--the same knife you had used a
thousand times to cut his evening bread--and holding it, covered with
blood, at his neck, and nervously drawing his handkerchief up to his
chin--
LEONARD.
And that is the way old Gebhard went about to the end of his days.
ANTONY.
On account of the scar. And supposing you arrived in time to help save
him, but to do it you had not only to wrench the knife out of his hand
and bandage the wound, but you had also to give over a paltry thousand
thalers that you had saved up; and, furthermore, you had to do it all
absolutely on the sly, so as to induce the sick man to accept it, what
would you do?
LEONARD.
Being a free and single man, without wife and child, I would sacrifice
the money.
ANTONY.
And if you had ten wives, like the Turks, and as many children as were
promised to Father Abraham, and if you took only one second to think
about it, you would be--Well, you are to be my son-in-law! Now you know
where the money is. Today I could tell you, for my old Master is buried;
a month ago I would have kept the secret even on my death-bed. I slipped
the note under the dead man's head before they nailed up the coffin. If
I had known how to write, I would have written underneath: "Honestly
paid!" But, ignorant as I am, there was nothing for me to do but tear
the paper in two. Now he will sleep in peace--and I hope that I shall
too, when they stretch me out beside him.
SCENE VI
MOTHER (_enters hurriedly_).
Do you still know me?
ANTONY (_pointing to the wedding dress_).
The frame, yes--that is perfectly preserved; but the picture--not so
well. It seems to be covered with cobwebs. Oh, well! there has been time
enough for it.
MOTHER.
Have I not a frank husband? Still, I do not need to praise him
specially--frankness is a virtue of married men!
ANTONY.
Are you sorry that you were better gilded at twenty than you are at
fifty?
MOTHER.
Certainly not! If I were, I ought to be ashamed both for myself and for
you!
ANTONY.
Give me a kiss then! I am shaved and look better than usual.
MOTHER.
I say yes, merely to test you, to see if you still understand the art.
It is a long time since such a thing has occurred to you!
ANTONY.
Good mother, I will not ask you to close my eyes; that is a hard thing
to do, and I will take it off your hands. I will do that final service
of love for you. But you must grant me time, understand, to harden and
prepare myself for it, so that I won't make a botch of it. It would have
been much too soon!
MOTHER.
Thank God that we are still going to have a little time together!
ANTONY.
I hope so too! You have your old red cheeks again!
MOTHER.
A comical fellow, our new grave-digger! He was digging a grave this
morning when I passed through the church-yard. I asked him whom it was
for. "For whomsoever God wills," he said. "Perhaps for myself. The same
thing may happen to me that happened to my grandfather; he too had dug
one on chance once, and at night when he came home from the Inn he fell
into it and broke his neck."
LEONARD (_who, up to this time, has been reading the weekly paper_).
The fellow doesn't come from here--he can tell all the lies he likes.
MOTHER.
I asked him: "Why don't you wait until somebody orders a grave dug?" "I
was invited to a wedding today," he said, "and I am enough of a prophet
to know that I would still feel the effects of it in my head tomorrow if
I went. Now of course _some_ body has been inconsiderate enough to go and
die, so that in the morning I would have to get up early and would not
be able to sleep it off."
ANTONY.
"You clown!" I would have said, "supposing now the grave doesn't fit?"
MOTHER.
I said that too, but he shook sharp answers out of his sleeve, as the
devil does fleas. "I took the measurement for Veit, the weaver," he
said, "who, like King Saul, towers a head above everybody else. Now,
come who may, he will not find his house too small; and if it is too
large, that doesn't hurt anybody but me, for, as an honest man, I never
charge for a single foot more than the length of the coffin." I threw my
flowers into the grave and said: "Now it is occupied!"
ANTONY.
I think the fellow was only joking, and even that is sinful enough. To
dig graves in advance is to set the trap of death too soon; the
scoundrel who does it ought to be driven out of the business.
[_To LEONARD, who is still reading._]
What's the news? Is there any philanthropist looking for a poor widow,
who can use a few hundred thalers, or, _vice versa_, a poor widow
looking for a philanthropist who can supply them?
LEONARD.
The police announce the theft of some jewelry. Strange enough! It seems
that, in spite of the hard times, there are still people among us who
can own jewels!
ANTONY.
The theft of some jewelry? Where?
LEONARD.
Over at Wolfram's.
ANTONY.
At--impossible! Carl polished a desk there a few days ago!
LEONARD.
They were taken from a desk. Right!
MOTHER (_to Master_ ANTONY).
May God forgive you for saying that!
ANTONY.
You are right--it was a vile thought!
MOTHER.
To your son you are only half a father! I must tell you that!
ANTONY.
Wife! We'll not discuss that today!
MOTHER.
He is not like you--but is that any reason why he must be bad?
ANTONY.
Then where is he now? The noon hour struck long ago! I'll wager the
dinner is burning and spoiling, because Clara has secret orders not to
set the table until he is here!
MOTHER.
Where do you think he is? At the worst he is only bowling, and he has to
go the longest way about so that you won't see him. Naturally it takes
him a long time to get back!--I cannot see what you have against the
innocent game.
ANTONY.
Against the game? Nothing whatever! Noble men must have some way to pass
the time. Without the king of hearts, the real kings would often find
life tedious; and if bowling balls had not been invented, who knows
whether princes and barons would not be using our heads for the purpose?
But an ordinary workingman cannot do anything worse than spend his
hard-earned money on games. We must respect that which we have
laboriously earned in the sweat of our brows; we must hold it high and
precious, unless we are to lose our bearings and regard all our works
and doings with contempt. How can I strain all my nerves to earn a
thaler which I intend to throw away?
[_The door-bell is heard outside._]
SCENE VII
_Enter_ ADAM, _a Bailiff; another Bailiff._
ADAM (_to Master_ ANTONY).
Now, you just go ahead and pay your wager! No people in red coats with
blue trimmings [_with emphasis_] shall ever enter your house, eh?--Well,
here are two of us!
[_To the other bailiff._]
Why don't you keep your hat on, as I do? Who is going to observe
formalities among people of his own class?
ANTONY.
Your own class? You blackguard!
ADAM.
You are right--we are not among our own class! Scoundrels and thieves
are not of our class! [_Points to the dresser._] Open that up! And then
three steps away--so that you can't sneak anything out of it!
ANTONY.
What? What?
CLARA (_enters with things to set the table_).
Shall I--[_She stops, speechless._]
ADAM (_exhibits a paper_).
Can you read writing?
ANTONY.
Should I be able to do what even my schoolmaster could not do?
ADAM.
Then listen! Your son has stolen some jewelry! We have the thief
already! Now we are here to search the house!
MOTHER (_falls down and dies_).
Oh, God!
CLARA.
Mother! Mother! How her eyes roll!
LEONARD.
I will fetch a doctor!
ANTONY.
Not necessary! That is the last look! I have seen it a hundred times!
Good night, Theresa! You died when you heard it! Let them write that on
your gravestone!
LEONARD.
But perhaps it is [_starts to go_]--awful! But lucky for me!
[_Exit._]
ANTONY (_pulls a bunch of keys from his pocket and throws them down_).
There! Unlock everything! Drawer after drawer! Bring the ax! The key to
the trunk is lost! Ha! Scoundrels and thieves! [_He turns his pockets
inside out._] I find nothing here!
SECOND BAILIFF.
Master Antony, calm yourself! Everybody knows that you are the most
honest man in town!
ANTONY.
So? So?
[_Laughs._]
Yes,
I have used up all the honesty in the family! There, poor boy! There was
none left for him! She too [_points to the dead body_] was much too
virtuous!--Who knows whether or not the daughter--[_Suddenly to CLARA_]
What do you think, my innocent child?
CLARA.
Father!
SECOND BAILIFF (_to ADAM_).
Have you no pity?
ADAM.
Pity? Am I prying into the old fellow's pockets? Am I forcing him to
take off his stockings and turn his shoes inside out? I meant to start
out with doing that--for I hate him like poison, ever since that time in
the tavern when he--you know what I refer to, and you would feel
insulted too, if you had any self respect about you!
[_To CLARA._]
Where is your brother's room?
CLARA (_points_).
Back there!
[_Both Bailiffs, exeunt._]
CLARA.
Father, he is innocent! He must be innocent! He is your son, my brother!
ANTONY.
Innocent, and a matricide?
[_Laughs._]
A MAID (_enters with a letter to CLARA_).
From the cashier, Mr. Leonard.
ANTONY.
You need not read it! He declares himself free of you!
[_Claps his hands._]
Bravo, scoundrel
CLARA (_reads it_).
Yes! Yes! Oh, my God
ANTONY.
Let him go!
CLARA.
Father, father, I cannot--
ANTONY.
You cannot? Cannot? What do you mean? Are you?--
Both BAILIFFS reenter.
ADAM (_spitefully_).
Seek and ye shall find!
SECOND BAILIFF (_to ADAM_).
What do you mean by that? Did it turn out so today?
ADAM.
Hold your tongue!
[_Exeunt both._]
ANTONY.
He is innocent--and you--you--
CLARA.
Father, you are terrible!
ANTONY (_grasps her hand very gently_).
Dear daughter, Carl is only a bungler. He has killed his mother, and
what does it mean? His father remains alive! So, come to his aid--you
cannot ask him to do everything alone. You must make an end of me! The
old trunk still looks rugged, doesn't it? But it has begun to totter
already--it will not cost you much trouble to fell it! You need not
reach for the ax. You have a pretty face--I have never praised you, but
today I will tell you, so that you may acquire courage and confidence.
Your eyes, nose, mouth are surely admired! Become--You understand
me?--Or tell me, I have an idea that you are already--
CLARA (_almost crazy, throws herself with uplifted arms at the feet of
her mother, and cries out like a child_).
Mother! Mother!
ANTONY.
Take your mother's hand and swear to me that you are what you should be!
CLARA.
I--swear--that--I--will--never--bring--disgrace-on--you!
ANTONY.
Good!
[_He puts on his hat._]
It is beautiful weather! We will go out and run the gauntlet! Up the
street! Down the street!
[_Exeunt._]
ACT II
_A Room in the Master Joiner's House._
SCENE I
ANTONY (_rises from the table_).
CLARA (_starts to clear off the dishes_).
ANTONY.
Have you lost your appetite again?
CLARA.
Father, I have had enough.
ANTONY.
But you have taken nothing!
CLARA.
I ate out in the kitchen.
ANTONY.
A bad appetite means a guilty conscience. Oh, well, we shall see--or was
there poison in the soup, as I dreamt yesterday? Perhaps some wild
hemlock got in with the other vegetables by mistake, when they were
gathered?--In that case you did well!
CLARA. Great Heavens!
ANTONY.
Forgive me! I--Away with your pale sad look, which you stole from our
Savior's Mother! One should look ruddy when one is young! There is but
one who might show such a face, and he does not do it! Hey! A box on the
ear for every man who says "ouch!" when he cuts his finger! No man has
any right to do that now, for here stands a man who--ugh!--self-praise
stinks!--But what did I do when our neighbor started to nail down the
cover of your mother's coffin?
CLARA.
You wrenched the hammer away from him and did it yourself, and said:
"This is my masterpiece!" The preceptor, who was just then leading the
choir boys in the dirge over by the door, thought you had gone crazy.
ANTONY.
Crazy?
[_Laughs._]
Crazy. Yes, yes, it is a wise head that cuts itself off at the right
time. Mine must be too firmly fastened on, or else--We squat down in the
world and imagine ourselves sitting behind the stove in a good inn.
Suddenly a light is placed on the table and, behold! we find ourselves
sitting in a den of thieves! There is a bing! bang! on all sides, but no
harm it done--fortunately we have hearts of stone!
CLARA.
Yes, father, so it is.
ANTONY.
What do you know about it? Do you think you have a right to curse with
me because your clerk has deserted you? There will be another to take
you walking Suliday afternoons, another to tell you that your cheeks are
rosy and your eyes blue, and still another to take you as his wife, if
you deserve it! Wait until you have borne the burdens of life in
chastity and honor for thirty years, and have endured sorrow and death
and every human adversity with uncomplaining patience; then let your
son, who ought to stuff a soft pillow for your old head, come and so
overwhelm you with disgrace that you would like to cry out to the earth:
Swallow me, if it does not sicken thee, for I am muddier than thou! Then
you may utter all the curses that I suppress in my bosom, then you may
tear your hair and beat your breasts!--You have that advantage over me,
for you are not a man!
CLARA.
Oh, Carl!
ANTONY.
I wonder what I shall do when I see him again before me, when he comes
home some evening before candlelight with his hair shaved off--for
hair-dressing is not allowed in the penitentiary--and stammers out a
good evening, keeping his hand on the door-knob? I shall do something,
that is certain--but what?
[_Gnashes his teeth._]
And if they keep him locked up for ten years, he shall find me, for I
shall live until then--that much I know! Mark you, Death, what I say:
From now on I am a stone in front of your scythe! It shall fly to pieces
before it shall budge me!
CLARA (_grasps his hand_).
Father, you ought to lie down and rest for half an hour!
ANTONY.
To dream that you are about to be confined? And then to fly into a
passion and seize you, and afterward bethink myself too late and say:
"Dear daughter, I did not know what I was doing!" Thank you! My sleep
has dismissed the magician and employed a prophet, who points out
loathsome things to me with his bloody finger! I don't know how it
is--everything seems possible to me now. Ugh! I shudder at the future as
at a glass of water seen under the microscope--is that the right word,
Mr. Precentor? You have spelled it out for me often enough! I looked
through one once in Nuremburg at the fair, and couldn't drink any more
water all day long. Last night I saw my dear Carl with a pistol in his
hand; when I looked closer into his eyes he pulled the trigger. I heard
a cry, but could see nothing on account of the smoke. When it cleared
away, I saw no shattered skull--but my fine son had in the mean time
come to be a rich man; he was standing and counting gold pieces from one
hand into the other. His face--the Devil take me!--a man could have no
calmer one after working all day and closing the door of his workshop
behind him at night! Well, that's a thing one might prevent! One might
take the law into one's own hands, and afterward present one's self
before the supreme Judge!
CLARA.
Calm yourself!
ANTONY.
Get well again you mean to say! Why am I sick? Yes, doctor, hand me the
drink that shall make me well! Your brother is the worst of sons; be you
the best of daughters! Like a worthless bankrupt I stand before the eyes
of the world! I owed it a fine man to take the place of this weak
invalid, and I cheated it with a scoundrel! Be you such a woman as your
mother was, and then people will say: It does not come from his parents
that the boy went wrong, for the daughter treads the path of
righteousness and excels all others.
[_With terrible coldness._]
And I will do my part in the matter; I will make it easier for you than
it is for others. The moment I see anybody point his fingers at you, I
shall [with a motion toward his neck_] shave myself, and then, I swear
to you, I shall shave off head and all. Then you may say I did it from
fright, because a horse ran away in the street, or because the cat
overturned a chair on the floor, or because a mouse ran up my legs.
Anybody that knows me, to be sure, will shake his head at that, for I
am not easily frightened--but what difference does that make? I could
not endure to live in a world where the people would refrain from
spitting at me simply out of pity.
CLARA.
Merciful God! What shall I do?
ANTONY.
Nothing, nothing, dear child! I am too severe with you--I realize it. Do
nothing--be just as you are, and it is all right. Oh, I have suffered
such rank injustice that I myself must do injustice in order not to
succumb to it when it grips me so hard! Listen! Not long ago I was going
across the street when I met that pock-marked thief, Fritz, whom I had
thrown into jail a few years ago because for the third time he had shown
himself light-fingered in my house. Formerly the scoundrel never even
dared to look at me; now he walked boldly up and offered me his hand. I
felt like boxing his ears, but I bethought myself and did not even spit.
We have been cousins for a week now, and it is proper for relatives to
greet each other! The minister, the sympathetic man who visited me
yesterday, said that no man had anybody to look out for but himself, and
that it was unchristian pride for me to hold myself responsible for the
sins of my son; otherwise Adam would have to take it just as much to
heart as I. Sir, I verily believe that it no longer troubles our first
ancestor in Paradise when one of his descendants begins to rob and
murder.--But did not he himself tear his hair over Cain? No, no, it is
too much! Sometimes I find myself looking around at my shadow to see if
it too has not grown blacker. For I can endure anything and everything,
and have given proof of it, but not disgrace! Put on my back what
burdens you choose, but do not sever the nerve that holds me together!
CLARA.
Father, Carl has not yet confessed anything, and they have found nothing
on him.
ANTONY.
What difference does that make to me? I have gone around the town and
inquired at the different drinking-places about his debts. They amount
to more than he could have earned under me in a quarter of a year even
were he three times as industrious as he is! Now I know why he always
left off work two hours later than I every evening, and why, in spite of
that, he got up before me in the morning. But he soon saw that it all
did no good, or else that it was too much trouble for him and took too
long; so he embraced the opportunity when it presented itself!
CLARA.
You always believe the worst things you can of Carl! You have always
done so! I wonder if you still remember how--
ANTONY.
You talk as your mother would, and I will answer you as I used to answer
her--I will keep quiet!
CLARA.
And supposing Carl is acquitted? Supposing the jewels are found again?
ANTONY.
Then I would employ a lawyer and stake my last shirt to find out whether
or not the burgomaster was justified in throwing the son of an honest
citizen into prison. If he was, then I would submit; for a thing that
can befall anybody I also must accept with resignation. And if to my
misfortune it cost me a thousand times as much as it does others, I
would attribute it to fate. And if God struck me down for it, I would
fold my hands and say: "Lord, Thou knowest why!" If he was not
justified, if it should appear that the man with the gold chain around
his neck acted too hastily, because be thought of nothing except the
fact that the merchant who missed his jewels was his brother-in-law,
then people would find out whether the law has anywhere a gap in it,
whether the king, who doubtless knows that justice is the one demand his
subjects make in return for loyalty and obedience, and who least of all
would wish to remain under obligation to one of the humblest of them,
would allow that gap to remain unfilled. But all this is useless talk!
The boy has no more chance of coming through this trial unscathed, than
your mother has of rising from her grave alive! From him, neither now
nor ever shall I have any consolation! And for that reason do you not
forget what you owe me--keep your oath to me so that I shall not have to
keep mine to you! [_goes out, but returns again._] I shall come home
late tonight, for I am going out in the mountains to the old
lumber-dealer's. He is the only man who still looks me in the eye as he
used to, because he knows nothing of my disgrace. He is deaf; nobody can
tell him anything without yelling himself hoarse, and even then he hears
it all wrong.--So he finds out nothing!
[_Exit._]
SCENE II
CLARA (_alone_).
Oh, God! God! Have pity on me I Have pity on the old man! Take me to
Thee! There is no other way to help him! The sunlight lies like a golden
blanket on the street, and the children try to seize it with their
hands. The birds fly hither and thither, and the flowers and weeds do
not tire of growing higher. Everything is alive, everything wishes to be
alive! Oh, Death! Thousands of sick people are at this moment shuddering
with fear of thee! He who called for thee in the restless night, because
he could no longer endure his sufferings, now finds his bed soft and
downy again. I call upon thee! Spare him whose soul shrinks most
fearsomely from thee, and let him live until the beautiful world
becomes again gray and desolate! Take me in his stead! I shall not
shudder when thou givest me thy cold hand; I shall grasp it and follow
thee more bravely than ever yet a child of God has followed thee!
SCENE III
_Enter the Merchant,_ WOLFRAM.
WOLFRAM.
Good day, Miss Clara! Is your father at home?
CLARA.
He has just gone out.
WOLFRAM.
I have come--my jewels have been found!
CLARA.
Oh, father! Why are you not here?--He has forgotten his
spectacles--there they lie! Oh, if he only notices it and returns for
them!--How then? Where Who had them?
WOLFRAM.
My wife--tell me frankly, Miss: Have you ever heard anything strange
about my wife?
CLARA.
Yes!
WOLFRAM.
That she--[_Points to his brow._] Is that it?
CLARA.
That she is not altogether in her right mind, to be sure!
WOLFRAM (_bursting out_).
My God! My God! All in vain! Not a single
servant that I have ever taken into my house have I allowed to leave me;
to each one I have paid double wages and closed my eyes to all
remissness, in order to buy their silence! And yet--the false,
ungrateful creatures! Oh, my poor children! Only for your sake did I
seek to conceal it!
CLARA.
Do not blame your servants! Surely it is not their fault! Ever since
your neighbor's house burned down, and your wife stood at the open
window laughing and clapping her hands at the fire, yes, and even
puffing out her cheeks and blowing at it, as if she wanted to make it
burn more furiously, people have had to choose between taking her for
the devil himself or for a lunatic. And there were hundreds who saw
that!
WOLFRAM.
That is true. And now, since the whole town knows about my misfortune,
it would be foolish for me to exact a promise of you to keep still about
it! So listen! The theft for which your brother is in prison was
committed by a lunatic!
CLARA.
Your own wife!
WOLFRAM.
That she, who was once the noblest and most sympathetic soul in the
world, has become malicious and mischievous; that she shouts and screams
with joy when an accident happens before her eyes, when a maid breaks a
glass or cuts her finger--I knew that long ago; but that she also takes
things in the house and puts them out of sight, hides money and tears up
papers--that, alas! I found out too late--only this noon! I had laid
myself down on the bed and was just about to fall asleep, when I became
conscious that she had tiptoed noiselessly up beside me, and was
watching me intently to see if I were yet asleep. I closed my eyes
tighter. Then she took the key from the pocket of my vest, which was
hanging over a chair, unlocked my desk, took out a roll of gold pieces,
locked the desk again and put back the key. I was horrified! But I
restrained myself, so as not to disturb her. She went out of the room
and I crept after her on tiptoe. She climbed up to the attic and threw
the gold into an old chest, which has been standing there empty since
the days of my grandfather. Then she glanced timidly around the room,
and, without seeing me, hurried out again. I lighted a taper and
searched the chest; in it I found my youngest daughter's doll, a pair of
the maid's slippers, a ledger, several letters, and, alas! or, God be
praised!--which shall I say?--away down underneath, the jewels!
CLARA.
Oh, my poor mother! It is too terrible!
WOLFRAM.
God knows I would gladly sacrifice the jewelry if, by so doing, I could
undo what has already been done! But the fault is not mine! That my
suspicions, in spite of my profound respect for your father, fell on
your brother, was natural; he had polished the desk, and with him the
jewels had disappeared. I noticed it almost immediately, for I had
occasion to take some papers out of the drawer in which they lay. Still
it did not occur to me to take stringent measures to arrest him
immediately. Merely as a preliminary, I told Adam, the bailiff, about
the matter, and besought him to keep his investigations absolutely
secret. But he would not listen to the idea of sparing anybody; he
declared he must and would bring the case to court at once, for, he
said, your brother was a drunkard and a debt-contractor. And he has,
alas, so much influence with the burgomaster that he can put through
anything he wants to. The man seems to bear a bitter grudge against your
father--I do not know why, but it was impossible to soothe him; he held
his hands over his ears and called out, as he was hurrying away: "If you
had given me the jewelry, it would not have made me as happy as this!"
CLARA.
Once in the tavern the bailiff put his glass down on the table by my
father's and nodded to him as if he wanted to touch glasses with him. My
father then took his away, and said: "People in red coats and blue
trimmings used to have to drink out of glasses with wooden feet. Also
they used to have to wait out in front of the window, or, if it was
raining, by the door, and respectfully remove their hats when the
landlord handed them the drink. Moreover, if they felt a desire to touch
glasses with anybody, they waited until neighbor Hangman happened in."
Oh, God! What is not possible in this world! My mother had to pay for
that with an untimely death!
WOLFRAM.
One should never anger anybody, and least of all bad people! Where is
your father?
CLARA.
In the mountains at the lumber-dealer's.
WOLFRAM.
I'll ride out and hunt him up. I have already been at the burgomaster's,
but unfortunately found him out. Otherwise your brother would be here
now. But the Secretary has already dispatched a messenger! You will see
him before evening! [_Exit._]
SCENE IV
CLARA (_alone_).
Now I should rejoice! Oh, God! And I can think of nothing except: Now it
is you alone! And yet I have a feeling as though something must occur to
me at once that would set everything right again!
SCENE V
_Enter, the_ SECRETARY.
SECRETARY.
Good day!
CLARA (_seizes a chair to keep from falling_).
He! Oh, if only _he_ had not come back!
SECRETARY. Your father is not at home?
CLARA.
No!
SECRETARY.
I bring you good news. Your brother--No, Clara, I cannot talk to you in
this formal way. All these tables, chairs, and cupboards that I know so
well--Good day, old friend!
[_He nods to a cup-board._]
How are you? You have not changed a bit!--around which we used to romp
as children--it seems to me they will put their heads together and
deride me as a fool, unless I quickly assume another tone. I must "thou"
you, as I used to do! If you do not like it, just say to yourself: The
big boy is dreaming, I will awaken him, I will step in front of him and
draw myself up to my full height [_With gestures_], and let him see that
it is no longer a little child that stands before him--[_He points to a
scratch on the door_]--that shows how big you were at eleven!--but a
very proper, grown-up girl, who could reach the sugar when it is upon
the sideboard! Surely you remember! That was the place, the firm
fortress, where it was safe from us even without being locked up. We
used to amuse ourselves by slapping flies, when it stood there, because
we could not endure to see them flying around happily and enjoying what
we ourselves were unable to reach.
CLARA.
I should think people would forget about such things when they had
hundreds and thousands of books to study.
SECRETARY.
Indeed they do forget it! To be sure, what does one not forget over
Justinian and Gaius? Small boys who persistently resist their A B C's
know very well why they do it; they have a presentiment that if they do
not apply themselves too hard to the primer they will never have to
struggle with the Bible. But it is a downright shame! People deceive the
innocent souls! They are shown the red rooster with the basket full of
eggs on the last page, so that of their own accord they say: "Ah!" And
then there is no more holding back; they go tearing down the hill to Z,
and so forth and so forth, until all of a sudden they find themselves in
the midst of the _Corpus Juris_, and are horrified when they realize
what a wilderness the accursed twenty-four letters have enticed them
into--the letters, which, in the beginning, formed themselves, in a
merry dance, only into nice-tasting and nice-smelling words such as
"cherry" and "rose."
CLARA.
And [_Absent-mindedly, and without interest_]--what happens then?
SECRETARY.
That depends upon the difference of temperament. Some work themselves
through. Those usually come forth into daylight again after three or
four years, but looking somewhat thin and pale; however, one must not
blame them for that; I myself am one of that kind. Others lie down in
the middle of the forest; they intend merely to rest themselves, but
they seldom get up again. I myself have a friend who has been drinking
his beer for three years already in the shade of the _Lex Julia_; he
selected the place on account of its name--it recalls pleasant memories.
Still others give up in despair and turn back; those are the stupid
ones; people let them out of one thicket only on condition that they
will run at full speed into another. And then there are some who are
still worse, and who don't get anywhere!
[_To himself._]
How one chatters when one has something in his mind and does not know
how to bring it out!
CLARA.
Everything is bright and cheerful today; that's because it is such
beautiful weather.
SECRETARY.
Yes, in weather like this the owls fall out of their nests, the bats
kill themselves because they feel the devil has created them, the mole
burrows so deep into the earth that he cannot find his way out again and
must pitifully suffocate unless he bores through to the other side and
emerges again in America. Today every ear of corn shoots up twice as
high, and every poppy grows twice as red as usual, even if only out of
shame at not having been so at first. Shall man remain behind? Shall he
defraud the dear Lord of the only reward which His world offers Him--a
happy face and a bright eye, which mirrors and at the same time
transfigures all this gloriousness? Truly, when I see one of these
recluses sneaking out of his door in the morning, his brow furrowed with
wrinkles, and staring at the sky as if it were a vault of
blotting-paper, I often think to myself: It is going to rain soon; God
will have to let down the curtain of clouds, so that that sour face will
not irritate Him. They ought to take legal action against fellows like
that on the ground that they are thwarters of merry parties and
destroyers of harvest weather. How are you going to render thanks for
your life if not by living? Sing joyously, bird, or else you will not
deserve your voice!
CLARA.
Oh, that is true, so true! It almost makes me cry!
SECRETARY.
It was not meant for you. That for eight days you have been breathing
more heavily than you used to, I well understand--I know your father.
But, God be praised! I can make your heart free again, and for that very
purpose I am here. You shall see your brother again this very evening,
and people shall point their fingers, not at him, but at those who cast
him into prison. Does that deserve a kiss, a sisterly kiss, if it cannot
be any other kind? Or shall we play blindman's buff for it?--If I do not
catch you in ten minutes, I am to go away without the kiss and take a
box on the ear into the bargain.
CLARA (_to herself_).
I feel as if I had suddenly grown to be a thousand years old, and time
were standing still with me. I can go neither backwards nor forwards!
Oh, all this brazen sunshine and cheerfulness round about me!
SECRETARY.
You do not answer me. To be sure, I forgot--you are engaged. Oh, girl!
Why did you do that to me? And yet have I any right to complain? She is
like all that is dear and good, and all that is dear and good should
have made me think of her. And yet to me she was for years as if she no
longer existed in the world! For that reason she--If it only were a
fellow before whom one had to cast down one's eyes! But this Leonard--
CLARA (_suddenly, when she hears the name_).
I must go to him. That is just it--I am no longer the sister of a
thief!--Oh, God! what shall I do? Leonard will, he must! He needs only
not to be a fiend! Everything will be as it used to be [_Shudders_]--as
it used to be!
[_To the SECRETARY._]
Do not be offended, Frederick!--Why are my legs so heavy all of a
sudden?
SECRETARY.
You will--
CLARA.
To Leonard! Where else should I go? Only that one road lies before me in
this world!
SECRETARY.
You love him, then! Well--
CLARA (_wildly_).
Love him? It is either he or death! Does anybody wonder that I choose
him? I would not do it had I only myself to consider!
SECRETARY.
He or death? Girl, thus speaks Despair, or--
CLARA.
Do not make me frantic! Do not mention that word again! You! It is you I
love! There! I cry it out to you as if I were already wandering on the
other side of the grave, where no one blushes any more, where cold and
naked forms glide past one another, because the fearful, holy presence
of God has entirely consumed in every one all thought of others.
SECRETARY.
Me? Still me? Clara, I divined it when I saw you out in the garden.
CLARA.
Did you? Oh, the other too!
[_Gloomily, as if she were alone._]
He stepped up in front of me--he or I!--Oh, my heart, my accursed heart!
In order to prove to him, prove to myself, that it was not so, or to
stifle it if it were so, I did what now [_Breaks out into tears_]--God
in Heaven! I would have pity on myself, were I Thou, and Thou I!
SECRETARY.
Clara, be my wife! I came to look once more into your eyes in the old
way. Had you not understood the look I should have gone away again
without speaking. Everything that I am and have I now offer to you. It
is little, but it may grow to be more. I should have been here long ago,
but your mother was sick, and then she died.
[Illustration: Alfred Rethel DEATH PLAYING THE FINALE]
CLARA (_laughs crazily_).
SECRETARY.
Take courage, girl! The fellow has your word--that worries you. And, to
be sure, it is a damnable thing! How could you--
CLARA.
Oh, ask me everything that conspires to drive a poor girl crazy! Scorn
and derision from all sides when you went to the University, and did not
let me hear from you.--"She still thinks of him!" "She thinks that
child's play was meant seriously!" "Does she receive any letters from
him?"--And then, too, my mother: "Stay with people of your class!"
"Pride never succeeds!" "Leonard is a very nice fellow; everybody is
surprised that you look at him over your shoulder so!" And added to all
the rest, my own heart: "If he has forgotten you, show him that you
too--" Oh, God!
SECRETARY.
I am to blame. I realize it. Well, what is difficult is not necessarily
impossible. I will get him to release you. Perhaps--
CLARA.
Release me? There!
[_Throws LEONARD'S letter to him._]
SECRETARY (_reads_).
As cashier, I--your brother--thief--very sorry--but out of consideration
for my office, I cannot help it--[_To CLARA._] He wrote you that on the
very day your mother died? For he adds his condolence on her sudden
death!
CLARA.
I suppose so!
SECRETARY.
The Devil take him! Great God, the cats, snakes and other monsters
which, so to speak, slipped through Thy fingers at Creation, so
delighted Beelzebub that he imitated Thy patterns--but he finished them
off better than Thou didst; he put them in a human skin, and now they
stand in rank and file with the rest of Thy humanity, and one does not
recognize them until they begin to scratch and sting!
[_To CLARA._]
But it is well, indeed it is fine!
[_He tries to embrace her._]
Come! Forever! With this kiss--
CLARA (_sinks into his arms_).
No, not forever! Only to keep me from falling--but no kiss!
SECRETARY.
Girl, you do not love him, you have your release--
CLARA (_gloomily, straightening herself up again_).
And yet I must go to him, I must throw myself on my knees before him and
cry out: "Behold my father's white hairs! Take me!"
SECRETARY.
Unhappy girl! Do I understand you?
CLARA.
Yes!
SECRETARY.
No man can overlook that! Think of having to cast down one's eyes before
a man into whose face one would like to spit!
[_He presses CLARA wildly to him._]
Poor, poor girl!
CLARA.
Go now, go!
SECRETARY (_to himself, brooding_).
Or else one would have to shoot the dog who knows of it. Oh, that he had
some courage about him! That he would stand up and fight! That one could
force him to it! I should not be afraid of missing him!
CLARA.
I beg of you!
SECRETARY (_going_).
As soon as it grows dark!
[_He returns and grasps CLARA's hand._]
Girl, you stand before me--[_He turns away._]
Thousands of your sex would have kept it a secret with shrewd cunning,
and only in an hour of sweet forgetfulness would have confided it
coaxingly to the ear and soul of their husbands. I feel what I owe you!
CLARA (_alone_).
Oh, my heart, lock yourself up! Crush yourself together so that not
another drop of that blood may escape which would kindle again the
congealing life in my veins! For a moment a feeling akin to hope arose
in you again! Now for the first time I am conscious of it!
[_Laughs._]
No! No man can, overlook that! And if--could you yourself overlook it?
Would you have had the courage to grasp a hand that--No! no! Such evil
courage you would not have! You would with your own hands have to lock
yourself into your hell, if any one tried to open the door from the
outside. You are forever--Oh, alas, that the pain is intermittent, that
the piercing agony sometimes ceases! That is the reason why it lasts so
long! The tortured man imagines he is resting when the torturer merely
pauses to get his breath. It is like a drowning man's catching his
breath on the waves, when the current that has drawn him under spews him
forth again only to seize him once more and draw him down. He has
nothing but a double, futile fight for life!--
Well, Clara?--Yes, father, I am going! Your daughter will not drive you
to self-destruction! Soon I shall be the wife of that man, or--God! No!
I do not go begging for happiness--it is misery, the deepest misery that
I beg for! You will give me my misery!--Away! Where is the letter?
[_She takes it._]
Three wells you pass on your way to him! You must not halt at any of
them, Clara--you have not yet the right to do that!
[_Exit._]
ACT III
SCENE I
_LEONARD'S Room._
LEONARD (_at a table covered with documents, writing_).
That makes the sixth sheet since dinner! How good a man feels when he is
doing his duty! Now anybody that wanted to could come through the door,
even the king himself! I should rise, but I should not feel embarrassed!
I make just one exception--that is the old joiner! But, after all, he
cannot do much to me! Poor Clara! I am sorry for her. I cannot think of
her without uneasiness! If only it were not for that one cursed evening!
It was really more jealousy than love that made me so frantic, and she
must have yielded to me only to silence my reproaches--for she was as
cold as death toward me! She has some bad days ahead of her! Oh, well, I
too shall suffer considerable annoyance! Let everybody bear his own
burden! Above all things I must make the affair with the little humpback
secure, so that she cannot escape me when the storm breaks out! Then I
shall have the burgomaster on my side, and shall have nothing to fear!
SCENE II
_Enter, CLARA._
CLARA.
Good evening, Leonard!
LEONARD.
Clara! [_To himself._]
This is something I did not expect!
[_Aloud._]
Did you not receive my letter? Surely--Perhaps you are coming for your
father to pay the taxes! How much is it?
[_He fumbles in a ledger._]
I really ought to have it in my head!
CLARA.
I have come to give back your letter! Read it again!
LEONARD (_reads it with great seriousness_).
It is a perfectly sensible letter! How can a man who has public money in
trust marry into a family to which [_he swallows a word_]--to which your
brother belongs?
CLARA.
Leonard!
LEONARD.
But perhaps the whole town is mistaken! Your brother is not in prison?
He never was in prison? You are not the sister of a--of your brother?
CLARA.
Leonard, I am my father's daughter! Not as the sister of an accused,
innocent man, who has been set free--for my brother is at liberty--not
as a girl who trembles before undeserved disgrace, for [_in a low
voice_] I tremble still more before you, only as the daughter of the old
man who gave me life, do I stand here!
LEONARD.
And you wish?--
CLARA.
Can you ask? Oh, that I might go away! My father will cut his throat,
unless--Marry me!
LEONARD.
Your father--
CLARA.
He has sworn it! Marry me!
LEONARD.
Hand and neck are near cousins--they never do harm to each other! Don't
be anxious!
CLARA.
He has sworn it! Marry me! And, afterward, kill me! I will thank you
even more for the latter than for the former!
LEONARD.
Do you love me? Did your heart prompt you to come here? Am I the man
without whom you cannot live and die?
CLARA.
Answer that yourself!
LEONARD.
Can you swear that you love me? That you love me as a girl loves a man
to whom she is to bind herself forever?
CLARA.
No, that I cannot swear! But this I can swear Whether I love you or do
not love you, that you shall never know! I will wait on you, I will work
for you, you need give me nothing to eat, I will support myself, I will
do sewing and spinning for other people at night, I will go hungry when
I have nothing to do, I will rather bite a piece out of my own arm than
go to my father and let him suspect anything! When you beat me, because
your dog is not at hand, or because you have kicked him out, I will
rather swallow my own tongue than emit a cry which will betray to the
neighbors what is going on. I cannot promise that my skin will not show
the welts caused by your whip, for that is not in my power. But I will
lie about it, I will say that I fell head foremost against the cupboard,
or that I slipped on the floor because it was too smooth--that I will do
before anybody has time to ask me where the black and blue marks came
from!--Marry me! I shall not live long! And if it lasts too long for
you, if you do not care to meet the expenses of the divorce proceedings
necessary to get rid of me, them buy some poison of the apothecary and
put it somewhere as if it were for your rats. I will take it without
your even nodding to me, and tell the neighbors with my dying breath
that I took it for pulverized sugar!
LEANARD.
A man of whom you expect all this will certainly not surprise you if he
says no!
CLARA.
Then may God not frown too severely on me if I come before he calls me!
If I had myself alone to consider I would endure it patiently. If the
world kicked me in my misery, instead of standing by me, I would bear it
submissively and regard it as just punishment for I know not what! I
would love my child, even if it had your features, and I would cry so
much before the poor innocent thing that, when it grew older and wiser,
it would certainly not despise and curse its mother. But it is not
myself alone; and on Judgement Day I shall much more easily find an
answer to the Judge's question: why did you drive your father to it?
LEANARD.
You talk as if you were the first woman and the last to find herself in
your predicament! Thousands have gone through it before you and
submitted to their fate. Thousands after you will be confronted with the
same situation and accept their fate. Are all these others strumpets,
that you are so anxious to stand in the corner by yourself? They also
had fathers who invented a score of new oaths when they first heard of
it, and talked about murder and homicide! Afterward they were ashamed of
themselves and repented their oaths and blasphemies; they sat down and
rocked the child, or fanned the flies away!
CLARA.
I readily believe that you fail to understand why anybody in the world
should keep an oath.
SCENE III
_Enter a boy_
BOY.
Here are some flowers! I am not to say from whom they come!
LEANARD.
Oh, what pretty flowers!
[_He beats his brow._]
The devil! How stupid of me! I should have sent Some! How can I get out
of it? I do not understand such things, and the little girl will take it
to heart! She has nothing else to think about!
[_He takes the flowers._]
But I shall not keep all of them.
[_To_ Clara] How about it? These here signify repentance and shame,
don't they? Did you not say that to me once?
CLARA (_nods_.)
LEANARD (_To the boy_).
See here, boy, these are for me. I fasten them on me here, you
see--where my heart is. These, these dark red ones, which burn like a
dismal fire, you may take back. Do you understand? As soon as my apples
are ripe, you may come for some!
BOY.
That is a long time off!
[_Exit_.]
SCENE IV
LEANARD.
Yes, you see, Clara; you spoke about keeping one's word. Just because I
am a man of my word I must answer you again as I have already answered
once before. A week ago I wrote you a letter--you cannot deny it--there
it lies! [_He hands her the letter, which she takes mechanically_.] I
had reason--your brother--you say he is acquitted--I am glad of that!
But during these eight days I have entered into a new relation. I had a
right to do it, for you did not protest against my letter at the right
time! I was free in my own conscience, as well as before the law. Now
you come to me--but I have already given my promise and received
another's! [_To himself._] I would it were so!--The other girl is
already in the same predicament as you are! I am sorry for you, but [_He
strokes her hair, and she permits it, as if she were absolutely
unconscious of it_]--you understand?--One cannot trifle with the
burgomaster!
CLARA (_absent-mindedly_).
Trifle with him!
LEONARD.
See! You are getting sensible! And as far as your father is concerned,
you can say it boldly to his face that he alone is to blame. Do not
stare at me so; do not shake your head! It is so, girl, it is so! Just
tell him that! He'll understand it all right, and repent! I'll vouch
for that! [_To himself._] Any man who gives away his daughter's dowry
must not be surprised if she remains an old maid. When I think of that
my back gets stiff, and I could wish that the old fellow were here to
receive a lecture. Why must I be such a monster?--Only because he was a
fool! Whatever happens as a result of that, he is to blame for it! That
is obvious!
[_To CLARA._]
Or would you prefer to have me talk with him myself? For your sake I
will risk a black eye and go to him. He may be rough with me, he may
throw the boot-jack at my head, but he will have to swallow the truth in
spite of the stomach-ache it gives him, and let you rest in peace!--Is
he at home?
CLARA (_stands up straight_).
I thank you!
[_Starts to go._]
LEONARD.
Shall I go over with you? I have the courage!
CLARA.
I thank you as I would thank a serpent which had wound itself around me
and unwound itself and sprung away again, because another prey enticed
it. I know that I have been bitten, I know that it deserts me only
because it does not seem worth the trouble to suck out what little
marrow there is left in my bones. But still I thank the snake, for now I
shall have a quiet death. Yes, man, I am not mocking; to me it is as if
I had seen through your breast down into the abyss of hell, and whatever
may be my lot in the awful eternity to come, I shall never have anything
more to do with you, and that is a consolation! And just as the
unfortunate person whom a viper has stung cannot be blamed for opening
his veins in terror and disgust, in order that his poisoned blood may
stream swiftly forth, so perhaps God in His everlasting mercy will take
pity on me when He looks down upon you and me and sees what you have
made of me! For how _could_ I do it, when I never, never _should_ have
done it?--One thing more: My father knows nothing, he does not even
suspect anything! And that he may never find out I shall quit the world
this very day! If I thought for one moment that you [_she takes a step,
wildly, toward him_]--oh, but that is foolishness! You would be only all
the better pleased to see them all stand and shake their heads and
inquire in vain of one another why it happened!
LEONARD.
Things will happen--what is one to do, Clara?
CLARA.
Away from here! The man can talk!
[_She starts to go._]
LEONARD.
Do you think that I believe you?
CLARA.
No!
LEONARD.
Thank God, you cannot be a suicide without being an infanticide as well!
CLARA.
Better both than a parricide! Oh, I know that one cannot atone for one
sin with another! But what I now do affects me alone! If I hand the
knife to my father the blow strikes him as well as me! It strikes me in
any case! That gives me courage and strength in all my distress! Things
will go well with you on earth!
[_Exit._]
SCENE V
LEONARD (_alone_).
"I must, I must marry her!" And why must I? She is going to do a crazy
thing in order to keep her father from doing one. Where lies the
necessity of my doing a still crazier thing in order to ward off hers? I
cannot admit the necessity--at least not until I see before me the man
who wants to get ahead of me with the most insane act of all! And if he
thinks as I do about it there will be no end! That sounds quite
sensible, and yet--I must follow her! Here comes somebody! Thank
God!--Nothing is more ignominious than to have to be at variance with
one's own thoughts! A rebellion in the head, in which one brings forth
viper after viper and each one tries to eat the other or bite his tail,
is the worst of all!
SCENE VI
_Enter the SECRETARY._
SECRETARY.
Good evening!
LEONARD.
Mr. Secretary? To what do I owe the honor--
SECRETARY.
Leonard, you will see at once!
LEONARD.
You say Leonard to me?--To be sure, we used to be schoolmates!
SECRETARY.
And we may perhaps be death-mates too!
[_He draws forth two pistols._]
Do you know how to handle these?
LEONARD.
I do not understand you!
SECRETARY (_cocks one of them_).
Do you see?--This is how it is done! Then you aim at me, as I am now
doing at you, and pull the trigger! So!
LEONARD.
What are you talking about?
SECRETARY.
One of us two must die! Die! And immediately!
LEONARD.
Die?
SECRETARY.
You know why!
LEONARD.
By God, no!
SECRETARY.
No matter--it will occur to you all right when you are dying!
LEONARD.
I have no idea--
SECRETARY.
Bethink yourself! Otherwise I might take you for a mad dog that has
unwittingly bitten the one I love most on earth, and shoot you down as
such! But for half an hour more I must let you pass as my equal!
LEONARD.
But don't talk so loud! If anybody should hear you--
SECRETARY.
If anybody could hear me you would have called him long ago! Well?
LEONARD.
If it is about the girl--I can marry her, you know! I had, in fact, half
made up my mind to do it, when she herself was here!
SECRETARY.
She was here! And has gone away again without having seen you contrite
and repentant at her feet? Come! Come!
LEONARD.
I beg of you! You see before you a man who is ready to do anything that
you dictate. This very evening I will betroth myself to her.
SECRETARY.
That I shall do, no one else. If the world itself hung on it you should
not even touch the hem of her dress again! Come! Into the woods with me!
But mark this! I shall take you by the arm, and if on the way you emit a
single cry--[_He holds up a pistol._] I trust you believe me!
Nevertheless, that you may not feel tempted, we will take the road
through the garden behind the house!
LEONARD.
One of them is for me--give it to me!
SECRETARY.
So that you can throw it away and compel me to murder you or let you
escape! Is that why you want it? Be patient, until we are on the spot!
Then I shall divide with you honestly!
LEONARD (_goes, and accidentally knocks his drinking-glass from the
table_).
Shall I never take another drink?
SECRETARY.
Courage, my lad! Perhaps it will go well with you! God and the devil
seem to be forever fighting for the world! Who knows which is master
just now?
[_Seizes him by the arm; exeunt both._]
SCENE VII
_A Room in the Joiner's House; enter CARL._
CARL.
Nobody at home! Had I not known about the rat-hole under the threshold
where they always hide the key when they all go out, I could not have
got in! Well, that would not have made any difference! I could run
around the city twenty times now and imagine to myself that there was no
greater pleasure in the world than that of using one's legs! Let's have
a light!
[_He strikes a light._]
I'll bet the tinder-box is in the same old place, for we have twice ten
commandments in this house! The hat belongs on the third nail, not on
the fourth! At half past nine one has to be tired! Before Martinmas one
must not shiver; after Martinmas one must not sweat! That stands on a
line with: Thou shalt love and fear God! I am thirsty!
[_Calls._]
Mother! Fie! As if I had forgotten that she lies where even the
innkeeper's boots no longer has to open his nut-cracker mouth with a
"Yes, sir!" when he is called! I did not weep when I heard the funeral
bell in my dark cell, but--Redcoat, you would not even let me roll the
last ball at the bowling alley, although I already had it in my hand.
Well, I shall not leave you time for a last breath when I meet you
alone, and that may happen this very evening! I know where you are to be
found about ten o'clock! Afterward, aboard ship!--I wonder where Clara
is? I am as hungry as I am thirsty! Today is Thursday--they have veal
broth for dinner. If it were winter, they would have had cabbage--before
Shrove-Tuesday white cabbage--after Shrove-Tuesday, green cabbage! That
is as fixed as Thursday's having to come when Wednesday has passed, so
that it cannot say to Friday: You go in my place--my feet are sore!
SCENE VIII
_Enter, CLARA._
CARL.
At last!--You should not kiss so much! Whenever four red lips meet a
bridge for the devil is built!--What have you there?
CLARA.
Where? What?
CARL.
Where? What?--In your hand!
CLARA.
Nothing!
CARL.
Nothing? Is it a secret?
[_He snatches LEONARD'S letter._]
Give me that! When the father is not here the brother is guardian!
CLARA.
I held fast to the scrap of paper, and yet the evening wind is so strong
that it blows the tiles off the roofs. As I was passing the church one
fell right in front of me, so that my foot struck against it. Oh, God! I
thought--one more! And I stood still. That would have been fine; they
would have buried me and said: "She met with an accident!"--But I waited
in vain for the second.
CARL (_has read the letter_).
Thunder and--I'll lame the hand that wrote that!--Bring me a bottle of
wine! Or is your savings box empty?
CLARA.
There is one more in the house. I had bought it secretly for mother's
birthday and put it aside. Tomorrow would have been the day--[_She turns
away._]
CARL.
Give it to me!
CLARA (_brings the wine_).
CARL (_drinks quickly_).
Now we can start in again--planing, sawing,
hammering, and, in between, eating, drinking, and sleeping, so that we
can go on planing, sawing, and hammering, and on Sundays do a bit of
praying into the bargain! I thank Thee, O Lord, that I may plane, saw,
and hammer!
[_Drinks._]
Long live every good dog that is tied to a chain, and yet does not snap
at everything around him!
[_He drinks again._]
And once more: Here's to his health!
CLARA.
Carl, do not drink so much! Father says the devil lurks in wine!
CARL.
And the priest says God lurks in wine! [_He drinks._] Let us see who is
right! The bailiff was here at the house--how did he behave himself?
CLARA.
As if he had been in a den of thieves. No sooner had he opened his mouth
than mother fell over and was dead!
CARL.
Good! If you hear tomorrow that the fellow has been found dead, then do
not curse the murderer!
CLARA.
Surely you are not going to--
CARL.
Am I his only enemy? Has he not been often attacked already? Among so
many it might be difficult to find the right man to attribute the deed
to, unless he left his cane or hat on the spot! [_He drinks._] Whoever
it is: Good success to him!
CLARA.
Brother, you talk--
CARL.
Don't you like it? Never mind! You will not see me very much longer!
CLARA (_shudders with terror_).
No!
CARL.
No? So you know already that I am going to sea? Do my thoughts crawl
around on my forehead, that you can read them so easily? Or did the old
man fly into a passion in his old way and threaten to shut me out of the
house? Bah! That would be very much the same thing as if the jailer had
sworn to me: You shall not stay in prison any longer--I am going to
shove you out into the open again!
CLARA.
You do not understand me!
CARL (_sings_).
A ship lies in the offing,
A-sporting with the winds.
Yes indeed, there is nothing to bind me to the bench here any longer!
Mother is dead, there is no longer any one to stop eating fish after
every storm, and that has been my wish from boyhood. Away! I shall not
prosper here--at least not until I know for sure that luck no longer
favors the brave fellow who stakes his life on the game, who throws back
onto the table the copper coin that he has received from the great
treasure, in order to see whether luck will pocket it or return it to
him gilded!
CLARA.
And are you going away to leave your father all alone? He is sixty years
old!
CARL.
Alone? Aren't you going to be left?
CLARA.
I?
CARL.
You! His pet child! What sort of weeds are growing in your head
that you ask me that? By going, I leave his joy with him and free him of
his everlasting annoyance! Why shouldn't I do it? Once and for all we
cannot get along together. He can't get things contracted enough to suit
him. He would like to close his fist and creep inside it. I would like
to strip off my skin like a baby's coat--if it were only practicable!
[_Sings_]
The anchor they are heaving,
I trow they'll soon be leaving,
Now look! Away she spins.
Tell me yourself: Did he doubt my guilt for a single instant? And did he
not find the usual consolation in his over-wise: "Just as I expected!"
"I have always thought so!" "It could not end in any other way!" If it
had been you, he would have killed himself! I should like to see him if
you were to suffer a woman's fate! It would be to him as if he himself
had become pregnant--and by the devil besides!
CLARA.
Oh, what anguish! Yes, I must go! Away!
CARL.
What do you mean by that?
CLARA.
I must go into the kitchen! What else should I mean?
[_Clasping her forehead._]
Yes! That too! Just to hear that I came home again!
[_Exit._]
CARL.
She acts very strangely!
[_Sings_]
A bold and saucy sea-gull
Sweeps round, as if possessed--
CLARA. [_Reenters._]
The last thing is done! Father's supper is on the fire! As I closed the
kitchen door behind me, I thought to myself: You are never to enter
there again! I shuddered in my very soul! Thus I shall go out of the
room too, thus out of the house, thus out of the world!
CARL. [_Sings; he continues to walk back and forth; CLARA remains in the
background._]
Aloft the sun is burning,
The fishes, glancing, turning,
Circle about their guest.
CLARA.
Why do I not do it then? Shall I never do it? Am I going to continue
putting it off from day to day, as I am now doing from one minute to the
next, until--certainly! Then, away! Away! And yet I stand still! I have
a feeling as if imploring hands were raised in my womb, as if
eyes--[_She sits down on a chair._] What does it mean? Am I too weak to
do it? Then ask yourself if you are strong enough to see your father
with his throat cut!--[_She rises._] No! No!--Our Father, Who art in
Heaven, hallowed be Thy name--God! God! My poor head! I cannot even
pray! Brother! Brother! Help me!
CARL.
What's the matter with you
CLARA.
The Lord's Prayer!
[_She bethinks herself._]
It seemed to me as if I were already lying in the water and sinking, and
had not yet prayed! I [_suddenly_]--Forgive us our trespasses, as we
forgive those that trespass against us! That is it! Yes! Yes! Certainly
I forgive him! I shall think no more of him!--Good night, Carl!
CARL.
Are you going to bed so soon? Good night!
CLARA. [_Like a child, repeating the Lord's Prayer._]
Forgive us--
CARL.
You might bring me a glass of water first--but it must be absolutely
fresh!
CLARA (_quickly_).
I will bring it to you from the well!
CARL.
All right! If you want to. It is not far, you know.
CLARA.
Thank you! Thank you! That was the last thing that still troubled me!
The deed itself would have betrayed me! Now people will say: She had an
accident! She fell in!
CARL.
Be careful of yourself! The board has probably not been nailed down
yet!
CLARA.
It is bright moonlight!--Oh, God, I am coming only because otherwise my
father would come! Forgive me, as I--have mercy on me--mercy--[_Exit._]
SCENE IX
CARL (_sings_).
I fain would be aboard her,
My kingdom's on the sea.
Yes, but first [_He looks at the clock._]--What time is it?--Nine
o'clock.
A lad that's young and growing
Must e'en be up and going,
No matter where, says he.
SCENE X
_Enter, Master ANTONY._
ANTONY.
I should have an apology to make to you, but if I forgive you for
contracting secret debts and pay them off for you into the bargain, you
will probably allow me to omit the apology?
CARL.
The one is good, the other is not necessary. As soon as I sell my
Sunday clothes I shall myself be able to satisfy the people who have a
claim of a few thalers against me. And that I shall do tomorrow, for as
a sailor [_To himself_]--There, it is out! [_Aloud_]--I shall no longer
need them!
ANTONY.
What kind of talk is that again?
CARL.
This is not the first time you have heard it, but today you may answer
me as you will! My mind is made up!
ANTONY.
You are of age, that is true!
CARL.
And just because I am of age I am not defiant about it! For in my
opinion birds and fishes should not quarrel over the question whether it
is better in the water or in the air. Just one thing--either you will
never see me again, or else you will clap me on the shoulder and say:
Well done!
ANTONY.
We'll wait and see! I shall not have to pay off the fellow that I have
taken on in your place. That's all.
CARL.
I thank you.
ANTONY.
Tell me: Did the bailiff, instead of taking you by the shortest way to
the burgomaster, really lead you around through the whole town and--
CARL.
Up the street, down the street, across the marketplace like a carnival
ox! But do not doubt it--I shall settle up with him too before I go!
ANTONY.
I do not blame you for that, but I forbid you to do it! CARL.
Ho!
ANTONY.
I'll not let you out of my sight! I myself would run to the man's aid,
if you tried to attack him!
CARL.
I thought that you loved my mother too!
ANTONY.
I shall prove it!
SCENE XI
SECRETARY (_staggers in; he is pale, and is holding a handkerchief
against his breast_). Where is Clara? [_He falls into a chair_.]
God!--Good evening! Thank Heaven that I had time to get here!--Where is
she?
CARL.
She went to--Where is she? Her talk--I am afraid--[_Exit_.]
[Illustration: DEATH AS FRIEND _From a Drawing by Alfred Rethel_]
SECRETARY.
She is avenged! The scoundrel is done for! But I too am--Oh, why did it
have to be?--God! Now I cannot--
ANTONY.
What's the matter with you? What ails you?
SECRETARY.
It is nearly up with me! Give me your hand on it, that you will not cast
off your daughter--do you hear?--will not cast her off, if she--
ANTONY.
That is strange talk! Why should I, pray--Ha! My eyes are opening!--Was
I right after all in suspecting?--
SECRETARY.
Give me your hand!
ANTONY.
No!
[_He puts both hands into his pockets._]
But I will clear the way for her--she knows that! I have told her so.
SECRETARY (_horrified_).
You told her!--unhappy girl! Now for the first time I quite understand--
CARL (_rushes in_).
Father! Father! There is somebody lying in the well! If only it is not--
ANTONY.
The long ladder! Hooks! Ropes! Why do you delay? Quick! Even were it the
bailiff!
CARL.
Everything is already there! The neighbors arrived before me! If only it
is not Clara!--
ANTONY.
Clara?
[_He grasps the table._]
CARL.
She went to draw water, and they found her handkerchief!
SECRETARY.
Scoundrel, I know now why your bullet hit the mark! It is she!
ANTONY.
Go and find out!
[_He, sits down._]
I cannot!
[_Exit CARL._]
And yet--
[_Rises again._]
If [_to the SECRETARY_] I understood you correctly, everything is all
right!
CARL (_reenters_).
Clara! Dead! Her head terribly crushed on the edge of the well, as
she--Father, she did not fall in, she jumped in! A maid saw her!
ANTONY.
Let her think before she speaks! It is not light enough for her to have
distinguished things with certainty! SECRETARY. Do you doubt it? You
would like to, but you cannot! Think only of what you said to her! You
pointed out to her the road to death! I, I alone am to blame that she
did not turn back! When you suspected her misery, you thought only of
the tongues that would hiss at you, but not of the worthlessness of the
snakes to which they belonged! Then you uttered a word that drove her to
despair! And I, instead of catching her in my arms when her heart was
bursting with nameless anguish before me, thought only of the scoundrel
who could make light of it. And now I pay with my life for having made
myself so dependent upon a man who was worse than I! And you too, who
stand there so stolidly, you too will say one day: Daughter, I would to
God you had not spared me the head-shaking and shoulder-shrugging of the
Pharisees about me! It crushes me more deeply that you cannot sit by my
death-bed and wipe the sweat of anguish from my brow!
ANTONY.
She spared me nothing! People have seen it!
SECRETARY.
She did the best she could! You did not deserve to have her act succeed!
ANTONY.
Or she did not!
[_Tumult outside._]
CARL. They are coming with her!
[_Starts to go._]
ANTONY (_immovable, as to the end; calls after him_).
Into the back room, where your mother stood!
SECRETARY.
Away to meet her!
[_He attempts to rise, but falls back._]
Oh, Carl!
CARL (_helps him up and leads him away_).
ANTONY.
I no longer understand the world!
[_Stands brooding._]
* * * * *
SIEGFRIED'S DEATH
A TRAGEDY IN FIVE ACTS
By FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
KING GUNTHER
HAGEN TRONJE
DANK WART
VOLKER
GISELHER
GERENOT
WULF _Warrior_
TRUCES _Warrior_
RUMOLT
SIEGFRIED
UTE
KRIEMHILD
BRUNHILDA, _Queen of Iceland_
FRIGGA, _her nurse_
A CHAPLAIN
A CHAMBERLAIN
_Warriors, Populace, Maidens, Dwarfs_
SIEGFRIED'S DEATH (1862)
TRANSLATED BY KATHARINE ROYCE
ACT I
_Iceland, BRUNHILDA'S castle. Early morning._
SCENE I
_Enter BRUNHILDA and FRIGGA from opposite sides._
BRUNHILDA.
From whence so early? Dewy is thy hair
And blood-stained are thy garments.
FRIGGA.
I have made
A sacrifice unto the ancient gods,
Before the moon was gone.
BRUNHILDA.
The ancient gods!
The cross rules now, and Thor and Odin dwell
As devils in deep hell.
FRIGGA.
And dost thou fear
Them less for that? Their curses still may fall
Upon us, though their blessings are withheld,
And willingly I sacrificed the ram.
Oh, wouldst thou kill one too! Thy need is great
Above all others.
BRUNHILDA.
Mine?
FRIGGA.
Another time.
I long had meant to tell thee, and today
At last the hour has come.
BRUNHILDA.
I've always thought
That at thy death the hour would come to me,
So did not importune thee.
FRIGGA.
Mark me now!
From our volcano came there suddenly
An aged man and left with me a child,
A tablet, too, with runes.
[Illustration: Peter Cornelius Title Page of the Nibelungenlied]
BRUNHILDA.
'Twas in the night?
FRIGGA.
How dost thou know?
BRUNHILDA.
When on thee falls the moonlight--On
thy face, thou speakest oft aloud,
Betraying much.
FRIGGA.
And thou didst harken to me?
At midnight we were watching with our dead--Our
beauteous Queen. The old man's hair was white,
And longer than a woman's. Like a cloak
It hung about him, flowing softly down.
BRUNHILDA.
The spirit of the mountain!
FRIGGA.
Naught know I!--
No syllable he spoke. The little maid
Reached forth her hands and grasped the golden crown
That glittered brightly o'er the dead Queen's brow.
We marveled that it fitted her.
BRUNHILDA.
The child?
FRIGGA.
The little maid; and it was none too large,
Nor later did it bind her.
BRUNHILDA.
'Twas like mine!
FRIGGA.
Like thine it was! And, yet more wonderful.
The child was like the maid that lay there dead
Within the mother's arms and disappeared
As had it ne'er existed--yes, so like
That only by the breathing could we know
The living from the dead. It seemed to us
That nature must have formed one body twice,
With life for one child only.
BRUNHILDA.
Had the Queen
A new-born baby in her arms?
FRIGGA.
Her life
She gave to bear her child, and with her died
The little maid.
BRUNHILDA.
Thou didst not tell me that.
FRIGGA. I never thought to tell thee. Sorrow broke
The mother's heart that she could never show
Her baby to her lord. For many years
This priceless joy in vain he had desired,
And, just a month before the child was born,
A sudden death o'ertook him.
BRUNHILDA.
Tell me more!
FRIGGA.
We sought the aged man, but he was gone.
The glowing mountain that had been cleft through
As one might split an apple, slowly now
Was drawn together there before our eyes.
BRUNHILDA.
The old man came no more?
FRIGGA.
Now hark to me!
Next morning to the grave we bore our Queen;
But when the priest was ready to baptize
The little maid, his arm fell helpless down,
Nor could he touch her forehead with the dew
Of holy water, and his good right arm
He never lifted more.
BRUNHILDA.
What, never more!
FRIGGA.
The man was old, and so we marveled not.
We called another priest. The holy dew
He sprinkled on the child. The blessed words
Of benediction halted on his tongue,
Nor hath his speech returned.
BRUNHILDA.
And now the third?
FRIGGA.
For him we waited long. We had to seek
In other lands afar, where of the tale
None knew. At last this priest baptized the child.
His holy office ended, down he fell
Upon the ground and nevermore arose!
BRUNHILDA.
And did the baby live
FRIGGA.
She throve apace,
And strong she grew. Her playful ways to us
Were signs what we should do or leave undone.
They ne'er deceived us, for the runes had said
That we might trust them ever.
BRUNHILDA.
Frigga! Frigga!
FRIGGA.
Thou art indeed the maid! Now dost thou know
Not in the gloomy caverns of the dead,
In Hecla where the ancient gods still dwell,
Among the Norns, among the Valkyries,
Seek thou the mother that gave birth to thee!
Oh, that no drop of holy water e'er
Had touched thy brow! Then were we wiser far.
BRUNHILDA.
What dost thou murmur?
FRIGGA.
How then did it hap
That on this morning we were not in bed,
But fully robed had tarried in the hall?
Our teeth were chattering and our lips were blue.
BRUNHILDA.
A sudden sleep o'erwhelmed us, that was all.
FRIGGA.
But had it ever happened?
BRUNHILDA.
Not before.
FRIGGA.
Then hark! The old man came and tried to speak.
It almost seems as if I'd seen him stand
And grasp thy shoulder; and he threatened me,
But heavy was thy sleep. Thou should'st not hear
What fate awaits thee if thou dost persist.
So offer sacrifice and then be free.
Oh, had I paid no heed unto the priest,
Howe'er he urged me! But the sacred runes
I had not read aright.--Come, sacrifice,
For danger cometh nigh.
BRUNHILDA.
'Tis nigh?
FRIGGA.
Alas!
Thou knowest that the fiery sea is quenched
That flamed around thy castle.
BRUNHILDA. Yet the knight
Still lingers who should wield the magic sword
And on his war-horse gallop through the flames,
When he had won proud Fafner's ill-starred hoard.
FRIGGA.
I may have erred. But yet this second sign
Cannot deceive me, for I long have known
That when the fateful hour shall come to thee,
Clear vision doth await thee. Sacrifice!
Mayhap the ancient gods surround thee now
Invisibly, and they will straight appear
With the first blood-drops of thine offering.
BRUNHILDA.
I do not fear.
[_Trumpets are heard._]
FRIGGA.
The trumpets!
BRUNHILDA.
Hast thou ne'er
Heard them before.
FRIGGA.
Never before with dread.
The time for lopping thistle-heads is past,
And iron helms arise before thee now.
BRUNHILDA.
Come hither all! For I will let her see
Brunhilda still can conquer! While the sea
Of fire still flamed I hastened forth to meet ye,
And friendly, as a trusty dog will spring
To give his master room, my faithful fire
Drew back before me, sank on either hand;
The road stands open now, but not my heart.
[_She ascends her throne._]
Now fling the portals wide and let them in!
Whoever here may come, his head is mine!
SCENE II
_The gates are opened. Enter SIEGFRIED, GUNTHER, HAGEN and VOLKER_
BRUNHILDA.
Who cometh seeking death?
(_To SIEGFRIED._)
Ah! Is it thou?
SIEGFRIED.
I am not seeking death, nor will I sue.
And too much honor dost thou yield to me
In greeting Gunther's guide before himself,
For I am but his helper.
BRUNHILDA (_turning to GUNTHER_).
Then 'tis thou?
And know'st thou what is toward?
GUNTHER.
Full well I know!
SIEGFRIED.
The rumor of thy beauty spreads abroad,
But further still the fame of thy hard heart.
And who hath gazed but once in thy deep eyes
Will nevermore forget, e'en in his cups,
That dreadful death beside thee always stands.
BRUNHILDA.
Tis true! Who cannot conquer, he must die,
And all his servants with him. Smilest thou?
Be not so proud! For if thou cam'st to me
As thou could'st hold a beaker full of wine
On high above thy head and still could'st gaze
On me as on a picture, yet I swear
That thou shalt fall as any other falls.
(_TO GUNTHER._)
But thee I counsel, if thine ears can hear,
List to my maidens! Bid them tell the tale
Of heroes that my hand hath laid full low!
The chance may hap among them there is one
Hath tried his strength with thee. There may be one
Hath laid thee conquered at his very feet!
HAGEN.
Ne'er was King Gunther conquered. That I vow!
SIEGFRIED.
High stands his castle by the Rhine at Worms,
And rich are all the treasures of his land;
Yet o'er all heroes stands he higher still,
And richer far in honors is our King.
HAGEN.
Thy hand, thou lowlander! Thou speakest well!
VOLKER.
And would it be so hard to leave this land
Amidst the ocean's desert solitude--
Of thy free will to leave it, and the King
To follow forth to life from night and hell?
This land is like no other on the earth.--
A desert waste, a rockbound wilderness;
All living things have fled long since in fear,
And if thou lovest it, 'tis only this,
That thou wast born the last of all thy race.
Above, the storms rage ever, and the sea
Forever surgeth and the fiery mount
In labor moaneth, while the fearful light
That streameth ruddy from the firmament,
As streams the blood from sacrificial stone,
Is such as devils only may endure.--
To breathe the air is like to drinking blood!
BRUNHILDA.
What knowest thou of this my wilderness?
Naught have I lacked from that fair world of thine.
And if I longed for aught, that would I take.
Remember that! Brunhilda needs no gifts!
SIEGFRIED.
Did I not tell ye true? To arms! To arms!
By force must she be brought from her wild home!
And once 'tis done, then will she give thee thanks.
BRUNHILDA.
Perchance that is not true. And knowest thou
The sacrifice thou askest? Thou know'st not,
And no man knoweth. Harken now to me,
And ask yourselves how I'll defend my rights.
With us the time is motionless; we know
Nor spring nor summer nor the autumntide.
The visage of the year is e'er the same,
And we within the land are changeless too.
But although nothing grows and blooms with us,
As in the sunlight of your distant home,
Still in our darkness ripen precious fruits
That in your land ye neither sow nor reap.
In the fierce joy of battle I delight
To conquer every haughty foe that comes
To steal my freedom. And I have my youth,
My glorious youth, and all the joy of life,
Which still suffice me, and, ere these I lose,
The benediction of the fates will fall
Invisibly upon me. I shall be
Their consecrated priestess evermore.
FRIGGA.
Is't possible? My offering sufficed?
BRUNHILDA.
The solid earth shall open 'neath my feet
Revealing all that's hidden in its depths;
And I shall hear the singing of the stars,
And their celestial music understand.
And still another joy shall be my share,
A third one, all impossible to grasp.
FRIGGA.
'Tis thou, 'tis Odin, hast unsealed her eyes!
In the deep night her ear was closed to thee--
Yet now she sees the spinning of the Norns.
BRUNHILDA (_rising to her full height, with fixed and dreaming
eyes_).
There comes a morning when I do not go
To hunt for bears, or find the great sea-snake
That's frozen in the ice, and set him free,
So that his struggles may not smite the stars.
I leave the castle early, bravely mount
My faithful steed. He bears me joyfully,
But suddenly I halt. Before my feet
The earth has turned to air, and shuddering
I wheel about. Behind me 'tis the same!
All is transparent--glowing clouds beneath,
As overhead. My maidens prattle still.
I call them--Are ye blind? Do ye see naught?
We float in empty space! They are amazed,
They shake their heads in silence, while they press
About me closer. Frigga whispers me:
And has thine hour come? Ah, now I see!
The solid earth is crystal to my gaze,
And what I deemed were clouds were but the web
Of gold and silver threads that, glistening,
Lay tangled in the depths.
FRIGGA.
Thy triumph comes!
BRUNHILDA.
An evening comes. All's changed, and lingering
We sit here late together. Suddenly,
As they were dead, the maidens fall; their words
Are frozen on their lips. I needs must go
Upon the tower, for above me rings
The sep'rate music of each farthest star.
At first 'tis only music to mine ear,
But with the dawn I murmur as in sleep:
The King will die ere nightfall and his son
Will never see the daylight, for he dies
Within his mother's womb! The others say
That so I told my tale, but I know naught
Of how I learned it. Soon I understand,
And swift the rumor flies from pole to pole
And distant people flock as now to me,
But not with swords to battle with me here--
Nay, humbly come they, laying by their crowns,
To hear my dreams and strive to understand
The meaning of my murmurings. For my eyes
Can see the future, in my hands I hold
The key to all the treasures of this world.
Far above all I rule, untouched by fate,
And yet the fates I know. But I forget.
That even more is promised me. There roll
Whole centuries away--millenniums--
I feel them not! Yet finally I ask:
Where then is death? My tresses answer me--
I see them in the mirror--they are black,
The snow has never touched them, and I say:
This is the third gift. Death comes not to me.
[_She sinks back, and the maidens support
her_.]
FRIGGA.
Why fear I still? For were it[1] Balmung's lord,
She hath a shield that will protect her now.
He'll fall, e'en if she loves but yet resists,
And she will struggle, since her fate she knows.
BRUNHILDA (_rising again_).
I spoke! What said I?
FRIGGA.
Take thy bow, my child.
Thy dart will fly today as ne'er before,
All else may wait!
BRUNHILDA (_to the knights_).
Come on!
SIEGFRIED (_to_ BRUNHILDA).
Thou swear'st
To follow us if thou art overcome?
BRUNHILDA (_laughs_).
I swear!
SIEGFRIED.
'Tis well! And I'll prepare the ship!
BRUNHILDA (_while going away addresses_ FRIGGA).
Go now into the trophy hall and drive
The nail that will be needed.
(_To the knights_.)
Follow me!
[_Exeunt omnes_.]
ACT II
_Worms. Courtyard of the Castle_.
SCENE I
_Enter_ RUMOLT _and_ GISELHER, _meeting_.
GISELHER.
Now, Rumolt, will a single tree be left?
For weeks now thou hast brought whole forests in
And grimly thou provid'st the wedding feast,
As if men, dwarfs, and elves were all to come.
RUMOLT.
I make me ready, and if I should find
A single kettle that's not full enough,
I'll seize the lazy cook and throw him in
And use the scullion-boy to stir the stew.
GISELHER.
Art thou so certain what the end will be?
RUMOLT.
I am, for Siegfried woos. The man who takes
Two noble princes captive, sends them home
As though they were no more than frightened hares,
Will not be daunted by a witch-wife now.
GISELHER.
There thou art right! We have good hostages
Since we have Luedegast and Luedeger!
They meant to bring a host of armed men,
A greater than e'er Burgundy had seen.
Yet humbly here as prisoners they came,
Nor needed any guard upon their way.
So cook, my man, we shall not want for guests!
[GERENOT _enters_.]
And here's the hunter!
GERENOT.
But he brings no game!
I was upon the tower and saw the Rhine
All covered o'er with ships.
RUMOLT.
It is the bride!
I'll send my men to drive the beasts about,
That from the noisy turmoil in the court
The sound shall reach afar and prove to her
The welcome that awaits her!
[_Trumpets are heard_.]
GERENOT.
'Tis too late!
SCENE II
_Enter_ SIEGFRIED, _with retinue_.
SIEGFRIED.
Here am I once again!
GISELHER.
Without my brother?
SIEGFRIED.
Nay, fear not! As his messenger I come!--
And yet I bear the message not for thee!
'Tis for thy Lady Mother, and I hope
That I may see thy sister Kriemhild, too.
GISELHER.
Brave knight, that shalt thou, for we owe to thee
Our thanks for capturing the noble Danes.
SIEGFRIED.
I wish that I had never sent them here.
GISELHER.
Why so? Thou hadst no better way to prove
What we have gained in winning thy right arm,
For truly are the Princes stalwart men!
SIEGFRIED.
It may be! Yet had I not done the deed,
Perhaps some bird had flown and spread abroad
The rumor that the Danes had slain me there,
And I might ask how Kriemhild heard the tale.
GISELHER.
But as it is they help thy cause enough!
That one can take good metal and alloy
And beat them into trumpets smooth and round,
I long have known. But that one could shape men
In such a way I knew not, but these two
Show us the work of such a smith as thou.
They praised thee--If thou hadst been there to hear,
Thy cheeks would still flame scarlet! Yet 'twas not
With measured praise, as men will praise their foe,
Thinking to lessen thus the burning shame
Of their own downfall. No, 'twas heartfelt praise.
But you should hear Kriemhilda tell the tale.
Unweariedly she asked them o'er and o'er.--
She's coming now.
SCENE III
_Enter_ UTE _and_ KRIEMHILD.
SIEGFRIED.
I pray you!
GISELHER.
What's thy wish?
SIEGFRIED.
I never longed to have my father by,
That he might teach me how to bear my arms,
But ah! today I need my mother so,
That I might ask her how to use my tongue.
GISELHER.
Give me thy hand, since thou art shamefaced too.
They call me here "the child." Now let them see
A "child" may lead a lion!
[_He leads_ SIEGFRIED _to the women_.]
'Tis the knight
From Netherland!
SIEGFRIED.
Fair ladies, do not fear,
Because I've come alone.
UTE.
Brave Siegfried, no!
We do not fear, for thou art not the man
Who's left alone when all but he are dead,
To bear his tale, a messenger of woe.
Thou comest to announce a daughter dear,
And Kriemhild hath a sister.
SIEGFRIED.
So it is,
My Queen!
GISELHER.
So is it! Nothing more? And scarce
Those few words could he utter! Dost thou grudge
The king his bride? Or hast thou lamed thy tongue
In battle? That was never known before.
But no, for thou could'st use it fast enough
To tell me of Brunhilda's dark brown eyes
And raven tresses.
SIEGFRIED.
Prithee, say not so!
GISELHER.
How hotly he denies it! See him raise
On high three fingers, swearing that he loves
Blue eyes--light hair!
UTE.
This is an arrant rogue!
He is nor boy nor man, sapling nor tree.
And long hath he outgrown his mother's rod,
Nor ever hath he felt his father's whip.
Ungoverned is he as a yearling colt,
That's never known the bridle or the whip.
We must forgive or punish him!
SIEGFRIED.
'Twere not
So easy as you think! To break a colt
Is difficult, and many limp away
Ashamed, and cannot mount him!
UTE.
Then once more
He 'scapes his punishment!
GISELHER.
As a reward,
I'll tell a secret to thee.
KRIEMHILD.
Giselher!
GISELHER.
What hast thou to conceal? Be not afraid!
I do not know thy secret, nor will blow
The ashes from thy embers.--Never fear!
UTE.
What is it then?
GISELHER.
I have myself forgotten.
When a man's sister blushes rosy-red,
'Tis natural a brother is surprised
And seeks to know the reason.--Never mind!
The secret I'll recall before I die,
And then shall Siegfried learn it.
SIEGFRIED.
Thou may'st jeer,
For I forget my message utterly,
And ere I've given word that you should don
Your festal garments, do the trumpets blow,
And Gunther and his train bring in the bride!
GISELHER.
Dost thou not see the steward hastening?
Thy very coming told enough to him!
But I will help!
[_He goes to_ RUMOLT.]
KRIEMHILD.
A noble messenger
May not be paid with gifts!
SIEGFRIED.
Indeed he may!
KRIEMHILD (_fastens her bracelet and in so doing drops her
handkerchief)_.
SIEGFRIED (_snatches at the handkerchief)_.
This is my gift.
KRIEMHILD.
Pray, no! 'Twere all unworthy!
SIEGFRIED.
Jewels I value as another, dust.
And houses can I build of gold and silver,
Yet lack I such a kerchief!
KRIEMHILD.
Take it then!
It is my handiwork.
SIEGFRIED.
And thy free gift?
KRIEMHILD.
My noble Siegfried, yes, 'tis my free gift.
UTE.
I crave thy pardon--it is time to go!
[_Exit, with_ KRIEMHILD.]
SCENE IV
SIEGFRIED.
A Roland[2] would have stood as stood I here!
I wonder that the sparrows did not nest
Within my hair.
SCENE V
_Enter the_ CHAPLAIN.
CHAPLAIN (_advances_).
Your pardon, noble sir,
Has Brunhild been baptized?
SIEGFRIED.
She is baptized.
CHAPLAIN.
Then 'tis a Christian land from which she
comes?
SIEGFRIED.
They fear the cross.
CHAPLAIN (_steps back again_).
Perchance 'tis there as here!
Where men will place it next to Wotan's tree
Right gladly, for they do not surely know
If magic may not dwell there; as we see
Devoutest Christians hesitate to break
A heathen image, for some remnant still
Awakes within them of the olden fear
Before those staring eyes.
SCENE VI
_Flourish of trumpets_. BRUNHILDA, FRIGGA, GUNTHER, HAGEN, VOLKER,
_retainers_, KRIEMHILD _and_ UTE _approach them from the castle_.
GUNTHER.
And here's the castle!
My mother's coming now to welcome thee,
Kriemhilda too.
VOLKER (_to BRUNHILDA, _as the women approach each other_).
Are they no gain to thee?
HAGEN.
Siegfried, a word! Thy trick availed us naught.
SIEGFRIED.
Availed us naught? Was she not vanquished then?
Is she not here?
HAGEN.
What profit is in that?
SIEGFRIED.
Why, all!
HAGEN.
But nay! Who cannot take by force
Her first caress will master nevermore
This maid, and Gunther is not strong enough.
SIEGFRIED.
And has he tried?
HAGEN.
Why else should I complain?
In full sight of the castle! She at first
Resisted him, as it befits a maid,
And as our mothers may have done of old;
But when she saw that but the lightest touch
Sufficed to drive the ardent wooer forth,
She grew enraged, and, when he tarried still,
She seized and held him with her outstretched arm
Above the Rhine. A shame it was to him,
A shame to all of us.
SIEGFRIED.
She is a witch!
HAGEN.
Chide not, but help!
SIEGFRIED.
I think that if the priest
But married them--
HAGEN.
Were that old hag not there,
The woman that attends her! All day long
She spies and questions, and she sits by her
As the embodiment of wise old age.
I fear the nurse the most.
UTE (_to_ KRIEMHILD _and_ BRUNHILDA).
Now love each other,
And may the circlet that your arms have twined
In this first joyful moment widen out
Further and further to a perfect ring
Within which you may wander, side by side,
Sharing your joys in harmony complete!
Yours is a privilege that I had not,
For what I might not say unto my lord
I had to bear in silence; but at least
I could not speak complainingly of him.
KRIEMHILD.
Let us be like two sisters.
BRUNHILDA.
For your sake
Your son and brother may imprint the seal
Upon my lips that stamps me as his maid
Before the nightfall comes, for I am still
Unblemished and untouched like some young tree,
And were it not for your sweet gentleness
Forever would I hold this shame afar.
UTE.
Thou speak'st of shame?
BRUNHILDA.
Forgive me for that word;
I speak but as I feel. And I am strange
Here in your world, and as my rugged land
Would surely terrify you, were you there,
So does your land alarm me, for I feel
That here I could not have been born at all--Yet
must I live here!--Is the sky so blue
Forever?
KRIEMHILD.
Nearly all the time 'tis blue.
BRUNHILDA.
We know not blue, unless we see blue eyes,
And those we only have with ruddy hair
And milk-white faces! Is it always still,
And does the wind blow never?
KRIEMHILD.
Sometimes storms
O'erwhelm the land, and then the day is night
With thunderpeals and lightning.
BRUNHILDA.
Would it come
Today!--'Twould be a greeting from my home!
I cannot well endure the brilliant light;
It pains me and it makes me feel so bare,
As if no garment here were thick enough!
And are those flowers--red and gold and green?
KRIEMHILD. Thou ne'er hast seen them, yet thou know'st their hues?
BRUNHILDA. Of precious stones there is with us no lack--
Though never white or black ones; yet my hands
Have taught me white, and raven is my hair.
KRIEMHILD. Thou canst not know of fragrance!
[_She plucks a violet for her_.]
BRUNHILDA.
Oh how sweet!
And is't that tiny flower that breathes it forth--
The only one my eye did not observe?
I'd love to give the flower a pretty name--
But surely it is named.
KRIEMHILD.
The little flower
Is lowlier than all, and none thy foot
More easily had crushed, for it appears
To be ashamed that it is more than grass,
And so it hides its head; but yet it drew
A gentle word from thee, the first we've heard.
So let it be a token that within
Our land is much that's hidden from thy gaze
That will delight thee.
BRUNHILDA.
That I hope indeed--
For I need joy! Thou know'st not what it is
To be a woman, yet to overcome
A man in every combat and to gain
His strength that ebbs away as flows his blood,
And from the steaming blood breathe in new force--
To feel yourself grow stronger, braver yet,
And then, when victory is surer still--
[_Turning suddenly_]
Frigga, I ask again! What did I see--
Before that latest contest, what said I?
FRIGGA.
It seemed thy spirit must have seen this land.
BRUNHILDA.
This land!
FRIGGA.
Thou didst rejoice.
BRUNHILDA.
And I rejoiced!--
Thine eyes, however, flamed.
FRIGGA.
Because I saw
Thy happiness.
BRUNHILDA.
These warriors looked to me
As white as snow.
FRIGGA.
They had been ever so.
BRUNHILDA.
Wherefore didst thou conceal the dream so long?
FRIGGA.
It is but now that it is clear to me,
Now that I can compare.
BRUNHILDA.
If I rejoiced
When my prophetic vision saw this land,
I must rejoice again.
FRIGGA.
Thou surely shalt!
[Illustration: SIEGFRIED'S RETURN FROM THE SAXON WAR _From the
Painting by Schnorr von Carolsfeld_]
BRUNHILDA.
And yet it seems to me the vision dealt
With stars and metals too.
FRIGGA.
Yes, that is so.
Thou said'st the stars gleamed still more brightly here.
But yet that gold and silver were but dull.
BRUNHILDA.
Was't so?
FRIGGA (_to_ HAGEN).
Is't not the truth?
HAGEN.
I paid no heed.
BRUNHILDA.
I beg you all to treat me as a child;
Though I shall grow up faster than another.
Yet now I am no better.
(_To_ FRIGGA.)
That was all?
FRIGGA.
Yes, all!
BRUNHILDA.
Then all is well! Then all is well!
UTE (_to_ GUNTHER, _who has approached_).
My son, if she's too bitter toward thee now,
But give her time! The clamor of the crows
And ravens that she heard could never make
Her heart grow softer, but 'twill soften now
With the lark's song and with the nightingale.
HAGEN. So speaks the minstrel when he is in love,
And plays with foolish puppies. 'Tis enough!
The maiden must have time to find her heart,
But for the princess, hold her to her word;
By right of conquest she's already thine.--Then
claim thy rights!
(_He calls_.)
Chaplain!
(_And starts on_.)
GUNTHER.
I'll follow thee!
SIEGFRIED.
Wait, Gunther, wait! What didst thou promise me!
GUNTHER.
May I, my Kriemhild, choose a spouse for thee?
KRIEMHILD.
My lord and brother, be it as thou wilt!
GUNTHER (_to_ UTE).
I have no opposition then to fear?
UTE.
Thou art the king, thy handmaids, she and I.
GUNTHER.
I beg thee then amongst my kinsfolk here:
Redeem an oath for them and me, and give
Thy hand to noble Siegfried.
SIEGFRIED.
I've no power
To speak as I could wish to, when I gaze
Upon thy face, and of my stammering tongue
Perchance thou hast already heard enough.
And so I ask thee as the hunter asks,
But that I blow no feathers from my hat,
To hide my fear: O maiden, wilt thou me?
Yet lest thou err'st through my simplicity,
And unenlightened actest in the dark,
So let me tell thee, ere thou answer'st me,
How my own mother blames me oftentimes.
She says that I am surely strong enough
To conquer all the world, but yet to rule
The smallest molehill I'm too simple far.
And if I do not lose my very eyes
'Tis only that the thing's impossible.
Thou may'st believe the half of what she says,
The other half though, I can well disprove.
For if I once have won thee, I will show
The world how I can keep unharmed mine own.
Again I ask thee: Kriemhild, wilt thou me?
KRIEMHILD.
Why dost thou smile, my mother? I have not
Forgotten what I dreamed, the shudder still
Creeps over me and warns me more and more,
But still I say with dauntless courage: Yes!
BRUNHILDA (_steps between_ KRIEMHILD _and_ SIEGFRIED).
Kriemhild!
KRIEMHILD.
What wilt thou?
BRUNHILDA.
I will prove myself
Thy sister.
KRIEMHILD.
Now? Wherein?
BRUNHILDA (_to_ SIEGFRIED).
How dost thou dare
Aspire to her, the daughter of a king?
How dost thou dare, a vassal such as thou,
A serving man!
SIEGFRIED.
What?
BRUNHILDA.
Cam'st thou not as guide,
As messenger departed?
(_To_ GUNTHER.)
Canst thou suffer
And aid him in such boldness?
GUNTHER.
Siegfried is
The first of all our warriors.
BRUNHILDA.
Grant him then
The foremost seat beside thy very throne.
GUNTHER.
In treasure, he is richer far than I.
BRUNHILDA.
Is that his claim upon thy sister? Shame!
GUNTHER.
A thousand of my enemies he's slain.
BRUNHILDA.
The man who conquered me thanks him for that?
GUNTHER.
He is a king as I am.
BRUNHILDA.
Yet he ranks
Himself amongst thy servants?
GUNTHER.
I will solve
This riddle for thee when thou art mine own.
BRUNHILDA.
Ere I am thine thy secret will I know.
UTE.
Thou wilt refuse to call me mother then?
Oh tarry not too long, for I am old.
And worn with many sorrows!
BRUNHILDA.
As I swore,
I'll go with him to church, and I will be
Most willingly thy daughter--not his wife.
HAGEN (_to_ FRIGGA).
Pray quiet her!
FRIGGA.
What need is there of me?
For if he once has overcome Brunhild,
The second time he surely will not fail;
And self-defense is every maiden's right.
SIEGFRIED (_taking_ KRIEMHILD _by the hand_).
That all may know me henceforth as a king,
The Niblung's treasure do I give to thee.
And now thy duty and my right I claim.
[_He kisses her_.]
HAGEN.
To church!
FRIGGA.
Does Siegfried hold the Niblung's hoard?
HAGEN.
Thou heard'st! The trumpets!
FRIGGA.
And is Balmung[3] his?
HAGEN.
Why not? Musicians! Wedding music here!
[_Loud and joyful music. Exeunt omnes_.]
SCENE VII
_The great hall. Enter_ TRUCHS _and_ WULF. _Dwarfs bring treasures
across the stage._
TRUCHS.
I am for Kriemhild.
WULF.
And for Brunhild I.
TRUCHS.
And why, if thou wilt tell me?
WULF.
Where would be
The play of rival lances, if we all
Should wear one color?
TRUCHS.
Why, I grant thee that!
The reason is sufficient, otherwise
It were mere madness.
WULF.
Say it not so loud,
For many heroes swear by Brunhild now.
TRUCHS.
They are as different as day and night.
WULF.
Who says they're not? Yet many love the
night.
[_Points to the dwarfs_.]
What are they bringing?
TRUCHS.
It must be the hoard,
The treasure of the Niblungs Siegfried won.
He's called the dwarfs for escort duty here,
And bade them bring the treasure, and I'm told
It is the marriage portion for his bride.
WULF.
Uncanny are these dwarfs, with hollow backs!
But turn one over--there's a kneading trough!
TRUCHS.
And ever with the dragons is their home
Within the earth and in the mountain caves.--
First cousins to the moles they are.
WULF.
But strong!
TRUCHS.
And clever are they too! One need not seek
For mandrakes[4] if one has these dwarfs for
friends.
WULF (_pointing toward the treasure_).
He who owns that needs neither of the two.
TRUCHS.
I love it not. It is an ancient saw
That magic gold is thirstier for blood
Than ever was the driest sponge for water;
And, more than all, the Niblung heroes tell
The strangest tales!
WULF.
Of ravens was the talk.
What was it then? I heard it not aright.
TRUCHS.
A raven flew and lit upon the gold,
When it was carried to the ship, and there
He croaked till Siegfried, who could understand,
At first stopped up his ears and would not hear,
And whistled. Then the precious stones he threw
To drive the bird, and when it would not fly,
At last in desperation cast his spear.
WULF.
Why, that is strange! For Siegfried is at heart
As gentle as he's brave.
[_Horns are heard._]
They call for us!
They're gath'ring! Ho, Brunhilda!
TRUCHS.
Kriemhild, ho!
[_Exeunt. Other warriors, who meanwhile have assembled,
join them and repeat the cry. It grows dark gradually._]
SCENE VIII
_Enter HAGEN and SIEGFRIED._
SIEGFRIED.
But Hagen! Why didst thou make signs to me
To leave the banquet? I shall nevermore
Sit at this table as I sit today.
Pray grant me this one day, I only ask
A just reward.
HAGEN.
Your task is not yet done.
SIEGFRIED.
Let be till morning, for a minute's worth
A year today. I still can count the words
That I have spoken to my loving bride;
Then let me have one evening with my wife.
HAGEN.
Without good reason I will ne'er disturb
A lover or a drunkard. It avails
No longer to resist! What Brunhild said
Thou'st heard, and now her wedding gayety
Thou may'st behold, for at the feast she weeps!
SIEGFRIED.
And can I dry her tears?
HAGEN.
She'll keep her word,
The threat that she has sworn, there is no doubt;
That endless shame would follow may we doubt
Still less. Dost thou not understand me now?
SIEGFRIED.
What follows them
HAGEN.
That thou must conquer her.
[_GUNTHER approaches._]
SIEGFRIED.
What, I?
HAGEN.
Now listen! Gunther goes with her
Into the chamber.[5] In the Tarnhelm thou
Must follow. Quickly he demands a kiss
Ere she has raised her veil.--She grants it not.
He grapples with her.--She laughs mockingly.
He quenches, as by accident, the light--
Exclaims: So much is jest, 'tis earnest now.
It will not be on shore as on the ship!
Then shalt thou seize her and so master her
That she shall beg for mercy and for life.
And when thy part is done, then shall the king
Demand her oath to be his humblest maid,
And thou shalt vanish as thou cam'st.
GUNTHER.
Wilt thou
But do me this one service now, my friend,
I vow I'll never ask thee then for more.
HAGEN.
He must and will. The task he has begun,
How should he then not finish?
SIEGFRIED.
If I would!
For truly you demand a deed from me
That I might well refuse another time
Than on my wedding day to do for you--
How could I pray? What should I tell Kriemhild?
She has so much already to forgive,
The very ground is hot beneath my feet.
Should I repeat the misdeed once again
She never could forgive me in her life.
HAGEN.
When a young daughter from her mother parts
And leaves the room where once the cradle stood,
Into the bridal chamber she must pass,
The farewell is a long one, know my friend.
There's time enough for thee, and so--agreed!
(_As SIEGFRIED refuses his hand._)
Brunhilda now is like a wounded deer,
Who'd let it with the arrow run away?
A noble hunter sends the second shaft.
The lost is ever lost, nor may return.
The haughty heiress of the Valkyries
And Norns is dying. Give the final stroke!
A happy woman laughs tomorrow morn
And only says: I had a troubled dream!
SIEGFRIED.
I know not, something warns me.
HAGEN.
Will Frau Ute
Be ready ere thou art? Nay, there's no fear,
For three times yet will she call Kriemhild back
To bless her and embrace her.
SIEGFRIED.
I refuse.
HAGEN.
What? If this moment came a messenger
In haste announcing that thy father lay
Sick unto death, would'st thou not call at once
For thy good steed? And surely would thy bride
Speed thy departure! Yet a father may,
Though old, recover. Honor wounded once
By cruel wrong, nor mended speedily,
Will never from the dead be raised again.
The honor of the king's the guiding star
Which brings or light or darkness to the knights,
As to the king himself. O woe to him
Who hesitates and robs him of one ray.
Had I thy strength I'd sue to thee no more,
But do the deed myself with pride and joy.
And yet by magic was Brunhilda won,
And magic arts must finish now the task.
Then do it! Must I kneel?
SIEGFRIED.
I like it not!
Who would have dreamed of this! And yet it lay
So very near! O nature three times blest!
In all my life no deed I've shunned like this;
Yet what thou say'st is true. So let it be.
GUNTHER.
I'll go and give my mother but a hint--
HAGEN.
No, no! No woman! We're already three
And have, I hope, no tongue to tell the tale.
Let death the fourth one in our compact be!
[_Exeunt omnes._]
ACT III
_Morning. Courtyard of the castle. The cathedral is at one side._
SCENE I
_Enter_ RUMOLT _and_ DANKWART _armed._
RUMOLT.
Three dead!
DANKWART.
For yesterday it was enough,
For that was but the prelude! Now there'll be
Another tale to tell.
RUMOLT.
These Nibelungs
Are e'er prepared for death; they bring their shrouds
And each man wears both shroud and sword at once.
DANKWART.
The customs are so strange in northern lands!
For as the mountains grow more rugged still
And cheerful oaks make way for sombre firs,
Just so does man grow gloomy, till at last
He's wholly lost and but the brute remains!
First comes a race that cannot even sing,
And next another race that cannot laugh,
Then follows one that's dumb, and so it goes.
SCENE II
_Music. A great procession._ WULF _and_ TRUCHS _among the warriors._
RUMOLT (_joining_ DANKWART).
Will Hagen be content?
DANKWART.
I think he will.
This is a summons, as it were, to war!
Yet he is right, for this strange princess needs
Quite other morning serenades than sings
The lark that warbles in the linden tree.
[_They pass by._]
SCENE III
_Enter_ SIEGFRIED _with_ KRIEMHILD.
KRIEMHILD (_calling attention to her attire_).
Wilt thou not thank me?
SIEGFRIED.
Nay, what dost thou mean?
KRIEMHILD.
But look at me!
SIEGFRIED. That thou art living, smiling,
I give thee thanks, and that thine eyes are blue--
I love not black--
KRIEMHILD.
Thou dost but praise the Lord
In his handmaiden! Did I make myself,
Thou simple fellow? Did I choose the eyes
Thou dost admire?
SIEGFRIED.
Yet love, methinks, might dream
E'en such strange fancies! One fair morn in May
When all things glistened as they glisten now,
Two crystal dewdrops, clearer than the rest,
Were hanging on the harebells bluest spray;
And thou hast stolen them, and evermore
All heaven's in thine eyes.
KRIEMHILD.
Then rather give
Thy thanks to me that as a child I fell
So wisely. My blue eyes I might have lost
The day I only marked my temple here!
SIEGFRIED.
Oh, let me kiss the scar!
KRIEMHILD.
Thy healing art
Would be but lost. No balsam craves the wound
That's long since healed. But tell me more!
SIEGFRIED.
I thank
Thy mouth--
KRIEMHILD.
With words?
SIEGFRIED (_about to embrace her_).
But may I thank thee so?
KRIEMHILD (_draws back_).
Dost think that I invite thee?
SIEGFRIED.
With words then
For thy words! No, for sweeter yet than words,
Thy murmuring of tender secret things
My ear finds precious, as my lips thy kiss.
I thank thee for thy secret gazing forth
To see us throwing weights to win the prize.
Oh, had I dreamed of it! And for thy scorn
And mockery--
KRIEMHILD.
A maiden's pride to soothe
For tarrying, thou thinkest? Cruel friend!
I told thee in the dark! But wilt thou see
My blushes now when in the light of day
Thou tellest me the tale? My foolish blood
Flushes and pales so fast, my mother says
That I am like a rose-bush that sends forth
Red buds and white upon a single stem--
Else hadst thou never found my secret out.
For I could feel the burning of my cheeks,
When yestermorn my brother teased me so.
I saw no way but to confess to thee.
SIEGFRIED.
Then may he start the noblest stag today!
KRIEMHILD.
And may he miss him! Yes, I wish it too.--
see thou art just like my uncle, Hagen,
Who, if one lays a garment by his bed,
That one has made in secret, will not heed
Unless perchance it is too tight.
SIEGFRIED.
And why?
KRIEMHILD.
Thou only see'st God's and nature's gifts
In all that's mine, but my own handiwork,
The raiment that adorns me, thou see'st not--
Not even the fair girdle that I wear.
SIEGFRIED.
The girdle's gay, and yet I'd rather wind
About thy waist the rainbow's lovely hue;
Methinks that ye would suit each other well.
KRIEMHILD.
But bring it me at night and I will change,
Yet do not throw it down like this I wear.
'Tis but by chance I did not lose thy gift.
SIEGFRIED.
What sayest thou?
KRIEMHILD.
But for the precious stones,
It might be underneath the table still,
But fire is a thing one cannot hide.
SIEGFRIED.
Is that my gift?
KRIEMHILD.
It is.
SIEGFRIED.
But thou art dreaming!
KRIEMHILD.
I found it in the room.
SIEGFRIED.
It is thy mother's!
She must have let it fall.
KRIEMHILD.
It is not hers!
For well I know her ornaments. I thought
It had been taken from the Niblung's hoard;
To give thee joy I put it on at once.
SIEGFRIED.
I thank thee, but the girdle I know not!
KRIEMHILD (_takes the girdle off_).
Then for my golden girdle make thou room
Which thou concealest! I was all attired,
And only put it on to honor thee,
My mother also, for this golden one
She gave to me.
SIEGFRIED.
But that is very strange!--
'Twas lying on the floor?
KRIEMHILD.
It was.
SIEGFRIED.
And crumpled?
KRIEMHILD.
I see you know it well! The second trick
Succeeded like the first, and now I have
My task twice over!
[_She starts to put the girdle on again._]
SIEGFRIED.
No! For God's sake, no!
KRIEMHILD.
Art thou in earnest?
SIEGFRIED (_to himself_).
'Twas with that she strove
To tie my hands.
KRIEMHILD.
Art laughing?
SIEGFRIED (_to himself_).
Then I raged,
And put forth all my strength.
KRIEMHILD.
Nay, thou art not?
SIEGFRIED (_to himself_).
I snatched at something.
KRIEMHILD.
That I'll soon believe.
SIEGFRIED (_to himself_).
I thrust it, when she grasped for it again,
Into my bosom, and--Now give it me!
No well is deep enough to hide it in;
With a great stone I'll sink it in the Rhine!
KRIEMHILD.
Siegfried!
SIEGFRIED.
I must have lost it--Give it me!
KRIEMHILD.
Where didst thou get this girdle?
SIEGFRIED.
Nay, this is
A dark and fearful secret; thou should'st seek
To learn no whit about it.
KRIEMHILD.
Yet thou hast
Confided one still greater, and I know
The place where Death may strike the fatal blow.
SIEGFRIED.
That I alone protect!
KRIEMHILD.
And there are two
To guard the other!
SIEGFRIED (_to himself_).
I was far too quick.
KRIEMHILD (_covers her face_).
Thou gav'st thy oath to me! Why didst thou that?
I had not even asked it.
SIEGFRIED.
Still I swear,
I ne'er have known a woman!
KRIEMHILD (_holds up the girdle_).
SIEGFRIED.
That was used
To bind me.
KRIEMHILD.
If a lion told the tale
'Twere less incredible!
SIEGFRIED.
And yet 'tis true.
KRIEMHILD.
This hurts me most! To such a man as thou,
The sin itself, however black it be,
Is more becoming than the cloak of lies
Wherewith he fain would hide it.
_Enter_ GUNTHER _and_ BRUNHILDA.
SIEGFRIED.
We must go!
They come!
KRIEMHILD.
But who! Does Brunhild know the girdle?
SIEGFRIED.
Pray hide it quickly!
KRIEMHILD.
No, I'll show it them!
SIEGFRIED.
I pray thee hide it. Then thou shalt know all.
KRIEMHILD (_hiding the girdle_).
So Brunhilda knows the girdle?
SIEGFRIED.
Listen then!
[_Both follow the procession._]
SCENE IV
BRUNHILDA.
Was that not Kriemhild?
GUNTHER.
Yes.
BRUNHILDA.
How long does she
Tarry beside the Rhine?
GUNTHER.
She'll soon depart,
For Siegfried must go home.
BRUNHILDA.
I'll grant him leave,
And willingly dispense with his farewell.
GUNTHER.
But dost thou hate him so?
BRUNHILDA.
I cannot bear
To see thy noble sister sink so low.
GUNTHER.
She does as thou dost.
BRUNHILDA.
Nay, thou art a man!
This name which was of old to me the call
To arms, now fills my heart with joy and pride!
Yes, Gunther, I am wonderfully changed.
Thou see'st it too? There's something I might ask,
But yet I do not!
GUNTHER.
Thou'rt my noble wife!
BRUNHILDA.
'Tis sweet to hear that word, and now it seems
As strange to me that once I used to ride
To battle on my horse and hurl my spear,
As it would seem to see thee turn the spit!
I cannot bear the sight of weapons now,
And my own shield I find too heavy far;
I tried to lay it by, but had to call
My maid. I'd rather watch the spiders spin
And see the little birds that build their nests,
Than go with thee!
GUNTHER.
Yet this time thou must go!
BRUNHILDA.
And I know why. Forgive me! What I thought
Was weakness was but magnanimity,
For thou would'st not disgrace me on the ship
When I defied thee! Naught of that there dwelt
Within my heart, and therefore has the strength
That some caprice of nature gave to me
Departed from me, and returned to thee!
GUNTHER.
Since thou art gentle, then be reconciled
With Siegfried too!
BRUNHILDA.
Oh, name him not to me!
GUNTHER.
There is no reason thou shouldst hate him so.
BRUNHILDA.
And if I have none? When a king descends
To fill the humble office of a guide
And carry messages, it is indeed
As strange as if a man should take the place
Of his own horse, the saddle on his back,
Or bay and hunt in service of his hound.
But if it pleases him, what's that to me!
GUNTHER.
It was not so.
BRUNHILDA.
Still stranger 't is to see
His noble stature tow'ring high above
All other men, so that it even seems
That he has gathered all the royal crowns
Of all the world to forge them into one,
And thus to show the world for the first time
A perfect picture of true majesty.
For it is true, while still upon the earth
More crowns than one are gleaming, none is round,
And for the sun's full circle even thou
Wearest a crescent pale upon thy head.
GUNTHER.
But see. Thou hast already viewed the man
With other eyes.
BRUNHILDA.
I greeted him ere thee.
Then slay him--challenge him--win my revenge!
GUNTHER.
Brunhilda! He's the husband of my sister,
And so his blood is mine.
BRUNHILDA.
Do battle then
With him and lay him low upon the ground,
And let me see thy rightful majesty
When he is as a footstool for thy feet!
GUNTHER.
Our custom is not so.
BRUNHILDA. I will not yield;
His downfall I must see. Thou hast the heart
Of life, and he the glitter and the show.
But blow away this magic which e'er holds
The gaze of fools upon him. If Kriemhild
Casts down those eyes in shame, that now she lifts
Almost too proudly when she's by his side,
'Twill do no damage, and I promise thee
Far richer love if thou wilt do the deed.
GUNTHER.
He too is strong.
BRUNHILDA.
That he the dragon slew
And conquered Alberich, does not compare
With thy great prowess. For in thee and me
Have man and woman for eternity
Fought the last battle for supremacy.
Thou art the victor, and I ask no more
Than still to see those honors deck thy brow
Of which I was so jealous. For thou art
The strongest man of all; so cast him down
From golden clouds to earth for my delight,
And leave him naked, destitute, and bare--
Then let him live a hundred years or more.
[_Exeunt._]
SCENE V
_Enter_ FRIGGA _and_ UTE.
UTE.
Brunhilda looks already happier
Than yesterday.
FRIGGA.
My Queen, she truly is.
UTE.
I thought it would be so.
FRIGGA.
But I did not!
Her mind is strangely altered, 'twould astound
Me not a whit now if her nature too
Should alter and her hair should change to blonde
Instead of raven tresses that of old
So richly waved beneath my golden comb.
UTE.
Thou dost not grieve, I trust?
FRIGGA.
I'm more amazed.
If this heroic woman thou hadst reared
As I have done, and knew all that I know,
Then would thy wonder be no less than mine.
UTE (_turning to go back into the castle_).
Do what thou canst!
FRIGGA.
I surely have done more
Than ever thou couldst dream of. How this came
I cannot tell, but if she's happy now
I am content, and of the olden time
She hath forgotten never will I tell.
SCENE VI
_Enter_ KRIEMHILD _and_ BRUNHILDA, _hand in hand. A large number of
warriors and people gather._
KRIEMHILD.
Wouldst thou not watch the combat from afar
Rather than join the fray?
BRUNHILDA.
Hast thou tried both,
That thus thou canst compare them?
KRIEMHILD.
I'd not bear
The heat of battle.
BRUNHILDA.
Then thou shouldst not try
To judge of it!--No insult I intend.
Nay, do not draw thy hand away from mine!
It may be so, and yet I thought this joy
Were but for me alone.
KRIEMHILD.
What dost thou mean?
BRUNHILDA. Surely no woman can rejoice to see
Her husband conquered.
KRIEMHILD.
Never!
BRUNHILDA. Nor deceive
Herself if in the fray he's not unhorsed,
Because his conqueror spares him.
KRIEMHILD. Surely not.
BRUNHILDA. What then!
KRIEMHILD. But I am quite secure from that?
Thou smilest?
BRUNHILDA. Over-confident art thou.
KRIEMHILD. It is my right!
BRUNHILDA. It may not come to proof,
And even a dream is sweet--so slumber on,
And I will never wake thee.
KRIEMHILD. What say'st thou?
My noble husband is too gentle far
To grieve the rulers of his royal realm,
Else had he made a sceptre long ago
Of his good sword and held it forth so far
That its great shadow covered all the earth.
For all the lands are subject unto him,
And should but one deny it, I would ask
That land from him to make a flower bed.
BRUNHILDA.
Kriemhild, what then would be my husband's place?
KRIEMHILD.
He is my brother, and the standard's his
Whereby one weighs all others. None weighs him.
BRUNHILDA.
No, for he is the standard of the world!
And as 'tis gold decides the worth of things,
So he the worth of heroes and of knights.
Thou must not contradict me, dearest child,
And in return I'll listen patiently
If thou wilt only teach me how to sew.
KRIEMHILD.
Brunhilda!
BRUNHILDA.
Nay, I did not speak in scorn;
I long to sew, and needle-work is not
My birthright like the throwing of the lance,
For which I never sought a master's aid,
More than I needed aid to stand or walk.
KRIEMHILD.
If 'tis thy wish, we can begin at once;
And since thou best enjoyest making wounds
We'll take the bodkin for embroidery.
I have a pattern!--
[_She is about to show the girdle._]
No, I have it not.
BRUNHILDA.
Thou lookest on thy sister coldly now.
But 'tis not friendly to withdraw thy hand
From my fond clasp before I give it up--
At least our custom is the contrary.
And canst thou not be reconciled to know
The sceptre of thy dreams is given now
Into thy brother's hands? Thou art his sister,
And that should comfort thee. A brother's fame
Is half thine own, so thou shouldst yield to me,
Before all other women, honor's crown
That once for all could never have been thine,
For no one could have paid for it as I.
KRIEMHILD.
'Tis thus perverted nature takes revenge.
Thou didst resist love's rule as no one else,
And now this blindness is thy penalty.
BRUNHILDA.
Thou speakest of thyself and not of me!
We need not quarrel, for the whole world knows
That ere my mother bore me, 'twas my fate
The strongest knight alone should conquer me.
KRIEMHILD.
I can believe it.
BRUNHILDA.
Well?
KRIEMHILD (_laughs_).
BRUNHILDA.
Then thou art mad!
Perchance thou fear'st that we shall be too harsh
With all the vassals? Yet thou need'st not fear!
I plant no flower beds in conquered lands,
And only once will I claim precedence
If thou art not too proud and obstinate,--
Here at the church today and nevermore.
KRIEMHILD.
Indeed I'd never have denied it thee,
But, since my husband's honor is at stake,
I will not yield one step.
BRUNHILDA.
He will command
That thou shalt yield.
KRIEMHILD.
How dare'st thou scorn him so!
BRUNHILDA.
He made way for thy brother in my hall,
As vassals for their lord, and he refused
My proffered greeting!--That did not seem strange
While I still thought him--as he called himself--
A serving-man, a messenger to me.
But now it all seems changed.
KRIEMHILD.
And how is that?
BRUNHILDA.
I've seen a wolf slip silently away
Before a bear, and then I've seen the bear
Flee from the mountain bull. Though he's not sworn,
Yet is he still a vassal.
KRIEMHILD.
Say no more!
BRUNHILDA.
Wilt threaten me? Do not forget thyself!
I have my senses--see that thou keep thine:
There must have been some cause beneath all this.
KRIEMHILD.
There was! And if thou shouldst suspect the cause,
How thou wouldst shudder.
BRUNHILDA.
Shudder!
KRIEMHILD.
Yes, indeed!
But do not fear! I love thee even now
Too fondly. Never can I hate thee so
That I will tell the cause. Had aught like that
Befallen me, today I'd dig my grave
With my own hands. Brunhilda, never fear!
I will not make thee the most wretched soul
That draws the breath of life upon the earth!
Then keep thy pride, for pity makes me dumb.
BRUNHILDA.
Thou boastest, Kriemhild! I despise thee now!
KRIEMHILD.
My husband's concubine despises me!
BRUNHILDA.
Put her in chains! She rages! Bind her then!
KRIEMHILD (_draws out the girdle_).
Know'st thou this girdle?
BRUNHILDA.
Well I do. 'Tis mine.
And since I see it in a stranger's hands
It must be that 'twas stolen in the night.
KRIEMHILD.
'Twas stolen! 'Twas no thief that gave it me!
BRUNHILDA.
Who then?
KRIEMHILD.
The man who overpowered thee!
But not my brother!
BRUNHILDA.
Kriemhild!
KRIEMHILD.
Thy fierce strength
Had surely strangled Gunther, then perchance
Thou would'st have loved the dead as punishment.
My husband gave it me!
BRUNHILDA.
'Tis false!
KRIEMHILD.
'Tis true!
Now scorn him if thou canst! Wilt now consent
That I may pass before thee through the door?
(_To her women._)
Now follow. She shall see me prove my rights!
[_They leave and enter the cathedral._]
[Illustration: "SCHNORR VON CAROLSFELD THE QUARREL OF THE QUEENS"]
SCENE VII
BRUNHILDA.
Where are the lords of Burgundy!--Oh Frigga!
Didst thou hear that?
FRIGGA.
I heard, and I believe it.
BRUNHILDA.
Oh this is death! 'Tis true?
FRIGGA.
She said too much,
Surely too much--but this is plain to me,
That thou hast been betrayed!
BRUNHILDA.
'Tis not a lie?
FRIGGA.
'Twas Balmung's master. On the shore he stood
When died the flames.
BRUNHILDA.
Then he rejected me.
For I was on the rampart and I know
He saw me. But his heart was full of her.
FRIGGA.
That thou mayst know what thou hast lost by fraud,
I too deceived thee!
BRUNHILDA (_without listening to her_).
Hence the haughty calm
With which he gazed upon me!
FRIGGA.
Not alone
This narrow country, but the whole wide earth
Was meant to be thy kingdom, and to thee
The stars should tell their message. Even death
Should lose his fell dominion over thee!
BRUNHILDA.
Speak not of that!
FRIGGA.
Why not? Thy glories lost
Thou'lt not regain, but yet thou canst avenge
Thy wrongs, my child!
BRUNHILDA.
And I will have revenge!
Despised and scorned! Oh, woman, in his arms
If thou hast mocked at me a single night,
Thou shalt weep bitterly for many years!
I will--Alas! I am as weak as she.
[_Throws herself on FRIGGA's bosom._]
SCENE VIII
_Enter_ GUNTHER, HAGEN, DANKWART, RUMOLT, GERENOT, GISELHER _and_
SIEGFRIED.
HAGEN.
What then is wrong?
BRUNHILDA (_drawing herself up to her full height, to
GUNTHER_).
Am I concubine?
GUNTHER.
A concubine?
BRUNHILDA.
Thy sister calls me so!
HAGEN (_to FRIGGA_).
What happened here?
FRIGGA.
Ye are discovered now!
We know the conqueror, and Kriemhild vows
That he was twice a victor.
HAGEN
(_to GUNTHER_).
He has told!
[_He speaks to him aside._]
SCENE IX
KRIEMHILD (_who has meanwhile come out of the cathedral_).
Forgive me, Siegfried, for the wrong I did!
Yet if thou knewest how she slandered thee--
GUNTHER (to SIEGFRIED).
Hast thou then boasted?
SIEGFRIED (_laying his hand on KRIEMHILD's head_).
By her life I swear,
I never did.
HAGEN.
No oath is needed here!
He only told the truth.
SIEGFRIED.
And even that
Upon compulsion!
HAGEN. That I do not doubt!
The tale can wait the telling. 'Tis our part
To separate the women, for we know
That serpents' crests may ever rise again
If they too soon gaze in each other's eyes.
SIEGFRIED.
I'm soon departing hence. Come, Kriemhild, come!
KRIEMHILD (_to BRUNHILDA_).
If thou couldst know how thou didst anger me,
Then even thou--
BRUNHILDA (_turns away_).
KRIEMHILD.
Since thou dost love my brother,
How canst thou hate the means that gave thee him
To be his bride?
BRUNHILDA.
Oh, Oh!
HAGEN.
Away! Away!
SIEGFRIED (_leading KRIEMHILD away_).
There's been no tattling here, as you shall see.
[_Exeunt._]
SCENE X
HAGEN.
Come, gather round and vote without delay
The doom of death.
GUNTHER.
Hagen, what sayest thou?
HAGEN.
Have we not cause enough? There stands the Queen
And burning tears are streaming from her eyes.
For shame she weeps!
(_To BRUNHILDA._)
Oh, thou heroic Queen,
To whom alone my homage I do yield,
The man who shamed thee so must surely die!
GUNTHER. Hagen!
HAGEN (_to BRUNHILDA_).
The man must die unless thou wilt
Forego revenge and plead for him thyself.
BRUNHILDA.
I'll touch no food till judgment is fulfilled.
HAGEN.
Forgive me that I spoke before my king!
I only strove to make the matter plain,
Yet free decision is thy royal right--
So make thy choice between thy bride and him.
GISELHER.
Thou canst not mean it! For a trifling fault,
Thou wouldst not slay the truest man on earth?
My King! My brother! Say it is not so!
HAGEN.
Will ye rear bastards here within your court?
I doubt me if the proud Burgundians
Will crown them! Yet thou art the master here!
GERENOT.
Brave Siegfried soon will quell all murmurings,
If we ourselves cannot perform the task.
HAGEN (_to_ GUNTHER).
Thou speakest not. 'Tis well. The rest is mine!
GISELHER.
In bloody counsels I will take no part!
[_Exit_.]
SCENE XI
BRUNHILDA.
Frigga, I tell thee he or I must die!
FRIGGA.
'Tis he must die!
BRUNHILDA.
I was not merely scorned,
But passed from hand to hand. They bartered
me!
FRIGGA.
They bartered thee!
BRUNHILDA.
Too mean to be his wife,
I was the price for which he bought him one.
FRIGGA.
The price, my child!
BRUNHILDA.
O this is worse than murder!
And I will have revenge, revenge, revenge!
[_Exeunt omnes_.]
ACT IV
_Worms._
SCENE I
_Great hall._ GUNTHER _with his warriors._ HAGEN _carries a spear._
HAGEN.
A blind man e'en can hit a linden leaf;
At fifty paces I will wager you
With this good spear to split a hazelnut.
GISELHER.
Why dost thou choose this day to show thy skill?
We've always known thy arms would never rust.
HAGEN.
He comes! Now show me you can wear dark looks
And altered bearing although none has lost
His father.
SCENE II
_Enter SIEGFRIED._
SIEGFRIED.
Ho, ye knights! And hear ye not
The hounds give tongue, and hark! Our youngest hunter
Impatient tries his horn! To horse! Away!
HAGEN.
The day is fair!
SIEGFRIED.
And have you not been told
That bears have ventured in the very stalls,
And that the eagles wait before the doors
And watch when they are opened for a child
That may stray out?
VOLKER.
Indeed that has been known.
SIEGFRIED.
While we were courting no one thought to hunt.
Then come, and we'll drive back the enemy,
And hack and hew him.
HAGEN. Friend, more need have we
To grind our swords and nail our spear-heads firm.
SIEGFRIED.
And why?
HAGEN.
Thou'st dallied all these last few days
With honeyed words, else hadst thou well known why.
SIEGFRIED.
I am about to say farewell, ye know!
Yet speak, what's toward?
HAGEN.
Danes and Saxons too
Again are coming.
SIEGFRIED.
Are the princes dead,
Who swore allegiance to us?
HAGEN.
Nay, not dead;
They're leading on the army.
SIEGFRIED.
Luedegast
And Luedeger, who were my prisoners,
Set free without a ransom?
GUNTHER.
Yesterday
Renounced they every oath.
SIEGFRIED.
Their messengers--
You surely must have hewn them limb from limb?
Has every vulture had his share of them?
HAGEN.
So speakest thou?
SIEGFRIED.
Such vipers' messengers
One tramples like a viper. Fiends of hell!
Now feel I my first anger! I believed
That often I knew hatred, but I erred;
'Twas but less love I felt. For I can hate
Nothing but broken vows and treachery,
Hypocrisy and all the coward's sins
That seek their victim as the spider crawls
Upon its hollow legs. How can it be
That such brave men (for surely they were brave),
Could so besmirch themselves? Oh, my dear friends,
Stand not so coldly by and gaze on me
As though you thought me mad, as though I knew
No longer great from small! We've never known
What outrage is till now. Our reckoning
May we strike calmly out to the last score.
Only these two are guilty.
GISELHER.
Shameful 'tis.
The way they praised thee echoes in my ear.
When came this messenger?
HAGEN.
'Twas even now.
Didst thou not see him. He made haste to leave
As soon as he had done his errand here,
Nor tarried for his messenger's reward.
SIEGFRIED.
Oh, shame that you did not chastise the man
For impudence! A raven would have come
And plucked his eyes out, and in very scorn
Have cast them forth again before his lord.
That was the only answer that was due.
This is no lawful feud, this is no war
That right and custom sanction--'tis the chase
Of evil beasts! Nay, Hagen, do not smile!
The headsman's ax should be our weapon now,
So that we should not soil our noble blades,
And, since the ax is iron like the sword,
It were a shame to use it till we find
No rope would be enough to hang the dogs.
HAGEN.
Thou say'st!
SIEGFRIED.
Thou mockest at me as it seems.
'Tis strange, for trifles used to anger thee!
I know thou art an older man than I,
But 'tis not youth that's speaking through me now,
Nor is it indignation that 'twas I
Who begged thy mercy for them. Nay, I stand
For the whole world. As calls a bell to prayer,
So calls my tongue to vengeance every one
Who stands as man amidst his fellow-men.
GUNTHER.
'Tis so.
SIEGFRIED (_to_ HAGEN).
Know'st thou betrayal? Treachery
Gaze on the traitor! Smile then if thou canst.
To open combat dost thou challenge him
And dost o'erthrow him. But thou art too proud,
If not too noble, to thrust home thy sword,
And so thou set'st him free, and givest him
His weapons once again that thou hadst won.
He does not rage at thee and thrust them back;
He gives thee humble thanks and praises sweet
And swears with thousand oaths to be thy man.
But when, the honeyed words still in thine ear,
Thou lay'st thy weary limbs upon thy couch,
Bare and defenseless as a helpless child,
Then creeps the traitor up and murders thee,
And even while thou diest spits on thee.
GUNTHER (_to_ HAGEN).
What dost thou say to that?
HAGEN (_to_ GUNTHER).
This noble wrath
Gives me such courage that I ask our friend
If he will grant us escort yet once more.
SIEGFRIED.
With my own Nib'lungs will I go alone,
For it is by my fault this trouble comes
To ye again! Howe'er I longed to show
My bride unto my mother and to win
For the first time her undivided praise,
It may not be while yet these hypocrites
Have ovens for their bread and flowing springs
To slake their thirst! I will at once put off
My homeward journey, and I promise you
That I will take them living, and henceforth
Before my castle shall they lie in chains
And bay like hounds whene'er I come or go,
Since, as it seems, they have the souls of dogs!
[_He hastens away_.]
SCENE III
HAGEN.
He'll surely rush to her in all his rage,
And when he leaves, then I will seek her out.
GUNTHER.
I'll move in this no further.
HAGEN.
What, my King?
GUNTHER.
Bid heralds come once more and let them say
That there is peace again.
HAGEN.
It shall be done
When I have talked with Kriemhild privately
And learned the secret from her.
GUNTHER.
Hast thou then
No bowels of compassion? Thy hard heart
No pity feeleth yet?
HAGEN.
Speak plainly, lord;
I cannot understand.
GUNTHER.
He shall not die.
HAGEN.
He lives while thou commandest. If I stood
Behind him in the woods and poised my spear,
But shake thy head, and for this traitor dies
A beast.
GUNTHER.
Not traitor, no! Was it his fault
That he brought back the girdle carelessly
And Kriemhild found it? It escaped him there,
As clings an arrow in a warrior's mail
If after battle 'tis not shaken off,
And only by its rattling is it marked.
I ask you one and all: was it his fault?
HAGEN.
No! No! Who says so? Nor was he to blame
For lacking clever wits to clear himself,
For doubtless he blushed crimson at th' attempt.
GUNTHER.
What then remains?
HAGEN.
Brunhilda's oath remains.
GISELHER.
Then let her slay him if she wants his blood.
HAGEN.
We're quarreling like children. May one not
Collect his weapons, though he knoweth not
When he may need to use them? One explores
An unknown land and finds its passes out.
Then why not, pray, a hero? I will try
My fortune now with Kriemhild, if it were
Only that this fine ruse that we have planned
Might not be all in vain. She'll not betray
The secret to me unless he hath told
The matter to her. Then you may decide
Whether to use the knowledge I may gain;
And you may really do, if so you please,
What I shall but pretend, and so in war
Protect the place where death may find him out.
But you must know where is his mortal spot.
[_Exit_.]
SCENE IV
GISELHER (_to_ GUNTHER).
Thou hast returned to thine own loyalty
And faithfulness, or else I'd say: this trick
Is far beneath a king!
VOLKER.
Thy angry mood
Is natural; thou wast thyself deceived.
GISELHER.
That was not why. Yet let us not dispute
When all is well again.
VOLKER.
When all is well?
GISELHER.
Is it not well?
VOLKER.
They tell me that the Queen
In mourning robes is clad, and food and drink
Refuses--even water.
GUNTHER.
True, alas!
VOLKER.
How then is't well? What Hagen said is true.
She's not like others; for the breath of time
Her wounds can never heal, nor give her peace.
And we must face the question: He or she!
Thou sayest truly, Siegfried's not to blame
That to him clung the girdle like a snake,
And was discovered. That is pure mischance;
But this mischance is deadly, and thou canst
Determine only whom it shall destroy.
GISELHER.
Let that one die who hath no will to live!
GUNTHER.
Oh, fearful choice!
VOLKER.
I warned thee long ago,
From starting on this course, but now at last
We see the end.
DANKWART.
And is it not our law,
That even blunders bring their penalty
He who runs through his bosom friend by night
Because he bore his lance too carelessly,
Can never free himself with all his tears,
However hot and bitter they may flow.--
The price is blood.
GUNTHER.
Now I will go to her.
[_Exit_.]
SCENE V
VOLKER.
There comes Kriemhild with Hagen. She's distressed,
As he predicted. Let us go.
[_Exeunt omnes_.]
SCENE VI
_Enter_ HAGEN _and_ KRIEMHILD.
HAGEN.
Thou com'st
So early to the hall?
KRIEMHILD.
I could not bear
To linger in my chamber.
HAGEN.
Saw I not
Thy husband parting from thee? He was flushed,
And angry were his looks. Is there not peace
Between yourself and Siegfried once again?
Is he not kind and gentle with his bride?
Tell me, and I will talk with him.
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, no!
Did nothing else remind me of that day,
That evil day, 'twould be a dream that's past.
My lord hath spared me every unkind word.
HAGEN.
I'm glad he is so gentle.
KRIEMHILD.
I could wish
That he would blame me, yet perchance he knows
I blame myself enough!
HAGEN.
Be not too harsh!
KRIEMHILD.
I know how bitterly I wounded her!
I'll not forgive myself. I'd rather far
Have felt the hurt myself than injured her.
HAGEN.
And this it is that drove thee from thy room?
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, no! 'twould make me hide myself away!
I am so anxious for him!
HAGEN.
Dost thou fear?
KRIEMHILD.
There is another war.
HAGEN.
Yes, that is true.
KRIEMHILD.
The lying scoundrels!
HAGEN.
Be not overwrought
Nor cease thy preparations for the voyage.
Work tranquilly and do not be disturbed,
For thou canst put away his armor last.
What am I saying! For he wears no mail,
Nor doth he need to wear it.
KRIEMHILD.
Thinkest thou
HAGEN.
I well might laugh. If any other wife
So sighed, I'd say: Out of a thousand darts
But one could touch him, and that one would break.
But thee I ridicule and must advise
Let thy stray fancy sing some wiser song.
KRIEMHILD.
Thou speak'st of arrows! Arrows are the thing
That most I dread. I know an arrow's point
Needs at the most the space of my thumb nail
To penetrate, and yet it kills a man.
HAGEN.
Especially if 'tis a poisoned dart.
These savages, who broke the bulwark down,
The bulwark of our life and of the state,
Which we hold sacred even in our wars,
Would do a deed like this as soon as that.
KRIEMHILD.
Thou see'st!
HAGEN.
How can thy Siegfried come to harm?
He is secure. And if there were such shafts
That straighter flew than fly the sun's own rays,
He'd shake them off as we shake off the snow;
And this he knows, and so his confidence
Abandons him no moment in the fray.
We were not born beneath an aspen tree,
Yet we nigh tremble at the deeds he dares.
And heartily he laughs at this sometimes,
And we laugh too. For iron you may thrust
Into the fire--it changes into steel.
KRIEMHILD.
I shudder!
HAGEN.
Child, thou art but newly wed,
Or I'd rejoice at thy timidity.
KRIEMHILD.
Hast thou forgotten, or hast thou not heard
What in the ballads hath oft times been sung,
That Siegfried may be wounded in one spot?
HAGEN.
I'd quite forgotten that, although 'tis true.
I recollect, he spoke of it himself.
It seems to me he told us of a leaf,
But what it signified I cannot say.
KRIEMHILD.
It was a linden leaf.
HAGEN.
Oh yes! But say,
How could a linden leaf have done him harm?
For that's a riddle like no other one.
KRIEMHILD.
It floated down upon him on the breeze
When he was bathing in the dragon's blood,
And he is vulnerable where it fell.
HAGEN. He would have seen it if it fell in front!--
What matters it? Thou see'st thy nearest kin,
Thy brothers even, who would shield him still
Were but the shadow of a danger nigh,
Know nothing of his vulnerable spot.
What dost thou fear? Thy anguish is for naught.
KRIEMHILD.
I fear the Valkyries, for I have heard
They always choose the noblest warriors;
If they direct the dart, it ne'er can miss.
HAGEN.
But then he only needs a trusty squire.
Who shall protect his back. Think'st thou not so?
KRIEMHILD.
I think I should sleep sounder.
HAGEN.
Mark my words!
If he--thou know'st it almost happened once--
Should fall from out his skiff and in the Rhine
Should sink because his weapons drew him down
To feed the greedy fishes, I would plunge
To save our Siegfried, or else I myself
Would die with him.
KRIEMHILD.
And is thy thought so noble?
HAGEN.
So I think! And if the red cock lit
In darkest night upon his castle roof,
And he, half smothered and but half awake,
Should fail to find the way that leads to life,
I'd bear him from the flames in my own arms,
And should I not succeed, with him I'd die.
KRIEMHILD (_turns about to embrace him_).
Then must I--
HAGEN (_refusing the caress_).
Do not! But I swear, I'd do it.
Though only lately had I sworn that oath.
KRIEMHILD.
Thy kinsman he became but recently!
And dost thou really mean it? That thou would'st
Thyself?--
HAGEN.
I mean it, for he'll fight for me,
And no least one of all the thousand wonders
His sword can do, has he refused to me;
And so I'll shelter him!
KRIEMHILD.
I had not dared
To hope for that!
HAGEN.
But I must know the spot,
And thou must show it to me.
KRIEMHILD.
That is true!
Between his shoulders is it, half across.
HAGEN.
'Tis target height!
KRIEMHILD.
Oh uncle, you will not
Avenge on him the crime that's mine alone?
HAGEN.
What dost thou dream of?
KRIEMHILD. It was jealousy
That blinded me, or else her boastfulness
Would not have roused my anger.
HAGEN.
Jealousy!
KRIEMHILD.
I am ashamed! But even if that night
The blows were all, and that I will believe,
I grudge Brunhilda even blows from him.
HAGEN.
Be patient! She'll forget it.
KRIEMHILD.
Is it true
That she'll not eat or drink?
HAGEN.
She always fasts
This time of year, for 'tis the Norns' own week,
And still in Iceland 'tis a sacred time.
KRIEMHILD.
Three days have now passed by!
HAGEN.
What's that to us?
But hush! They're coming.
KRIEMHILD.
Well
HAGEN.
Were it not wise
To broider on his tunic a small cross?
Forsooth our care is needless, and he would
Deride thee if thou shouldst but tell thy fear.
Yet since I now have made myself his guard
I would not aught neglect.
KRIEMHILD.
That will I do.
[_She goes to meet_ UTE _and the Chaplain_.]
SCENE VII
HAGEN (_following her_).
Thy hero now is as a stag to me.
Had he not broken silence, he were safe,
And yet I surely knew that could not be.
If one's transparent as an insect is,
That looks now red, now green, as is its food,
One must beware of any mysteries,
Lest e'en the vitals show the secret forth!
SCENE VIII
UTE _and the Chaplain come forward_.
CHAPLAIN.
There is no image of it in this world!
You strive to liken it and comprehend,
Yet here all signs and measures too must fail.
But kneel before the Lord in fervent prayer,
And when contrition and humility
Have made you lose yourself, you may be drawn,
A moment only, as the lightning flash
Does tarry upon earth, to heavenly heights.
UTE.
And can that happen?
CHAPLAIN.
Stephen, blessed saint,
Saw, when the furious horde of angry Jews
Were stoning him, the gates of paradise
Standing ajar, and he rejoiced and sang.
His suffering body only they destroyed,
But 'twas to him as if the murderous band
That thought to kill him in their fury blind
Could only rend the garment he had doffed.
UTE (_to_ KRIEMHILD _who has joined them_).
Take heed, Kriemhild!
KRIEMHILD.
I do.
CHAPLAIN.
That was the power
Of faith; And ye must also learn the curse
Of unbelief. Saint Peter, who has charge
Of sword and keys of our most holy church,
Loved and instructed in the faith a youth,
And brought him up. One day upon a rock
The youth was standing, and the stormy sea
Around him surged in fury. Then he thought
Of how his Lord and Master left the ship,
And trustingly obeyed the slightest sign
The Saviour gave, and walked upon the deep
That tossed and threatened him with certain death.
A dizziness came o'er him at the thought
Of such a trial, for the wonder seemed
Beyond the bounds of reason, then he caught
A corner of the rock and clung to it,
Crying aloud: All, all, yet spare me this!
Then breathed the Lord, and suddenly the stone
Began to melt away. He sank and sank,
And lost all hope, until for very fear
He sprang from off the rock into the flood.
The breath of the Eternal stilled the sea,
And made it solid and it bore him up,
As kindly earth bears up both ye and me.
Repentantly he said: Thy will be done!
UTE.
In all eternity!
KRIEMHILD.
My Father, pray
That He who changes water and firm rock,
Will shield my Siegfried. For each sep'rate year
Of happy life vouchsafed me by his side
An altar will I build unto a saint.
[_Exit_ KRIEMHILD.]
CHAPLAIN.
The miracle astounds thee. Let me tell
The tale of how I won my friar's cowl.
The Angles are my kin, a heathen folk,
And as a heathen was I born and reared,
And turbulent I was; at fifteen years
The sword was girded on me. Then appeared
The Lord's first messenger among my tribe.
They scorned him and despised him, and at last
They slew him. Queen, I stood and saw it all,
And, driven by the others, gave to him
With this right hand I nevermore shall use,
Although the arm's not helpless as you think,
The final blow. But then I heard him pray.
He prayed for me, and his pure soul expired
With the Amen. The heart within my breast
Was changed from that time forth. I threw my sword
Upon the ground, and put his garment on
And went to preach the Gospel of the Cross.
UTE.
Here comes my son! Oh, couldst thou bring again
To this distracted land the peace we've lost
So utterly!
[_Exeunt_.]
SCENE IX
_Enter_ GUNTHER _with_ HAGEN _and the others_.
GUNTHER.
It is as I have said,
She reckons on the deed as we believe
That autumn brings us apples. The old nurse
Has tried to rouse her, and has quietly
Bestrewn her chamber all with grains of wheat;
They lie there undisturbed.
GISELHER.
How can it be
That she should venture life for life to stake?
HAGEN.
I marvel at her also.
GUNTHER. And withal
She neither drives nor urges, as with things
Bound up with time and place and human will
'Twere natural to do. She questions not
Nor changes countenance, but sits amazed
That any man should speak and not announce--
The deed is done!
HAGEN.
But I must tell thee this:
His spell is on her, and her very hate
Is rooted deep in love!
GUNTHER.
Believ'st thou so?
HAGEN.
'Tis not such love as binds, a man and wife,
In holy union.
GUNTHER.
How then?
HAGEN.
'Tis a charm,
A magic, that would keep her race alive.
So drives the giantess to seek her mate,
Joyless and choiceless, since they are the last.
GUNTHER.
Is there no hope?
HAGEN.
'Tis death must break the spell.
Her blood congeals when his has ceased to flow.
His destiny it was that he should slay
The dragon and then take the dragon's road.
[_A tumult is heard_.]
GUNTHER.
What may that be?
HAGEN.
'Tis those false messengers.
And Dankwart drives them forth. He does it well.
Lovers will hear it even while they kiss.
SCENE X
_Enter_ SIEGFRIED; _as_ HAGEN _notices hint_.
HAGEN.
By all the fiends of hell! No! ten times no!
It were disgrace for us, and Siegfried thinks
Assuredly as I do. Here he comes!
Now speak, thou may'st decide it.--
(_As_ DANKWART _enters_.)
Though thy word
Can alter nothing more. The answer's gone.
(_To_ DANKWART.)
Thou surely hast not spared to scourge them well
(_To_ SIEGFRIED.)
Yet set thy seal upon it even so!
SIEGFRIED.
What's this?
HAGEN.
The dogs have come again to sue
For peace. I ordered that the worthless knaves
With scourges should be driven from the court
Before they gave their message.
SIEGFRIED.
'Twas well done!
HAGEN.
The King indeed reproves me, for he thinks
We know not what has happened.
SIEGFRIED.
What? Not know?
I know! For when a wolf is chased along,
He harms not those before him!
HAGEN.
That is true!
SIEGFRIED.
And more than that! Behind them is a horde
Of savage tribesmen who will never sow,
And yet they want to reap.
HAGEN.
Now do you see?
SIEGFRIED.
But you should show no mercy on the wolf
Because he has no time to guard himself.
HAGEN.
We surely shall not.
SIEGFRIED.
Come, we'll help the foxes
And drive him to his final hiding place,
Within the foxes' bellies.
HAGEN.
That we'll do;
Yet let us not exert ourselves in vain,
And so--Let's hunt today.
GISELHER.
I will not go.
GERENOT.
Nor will I either.
SIEGFRIED.
You are young and brave,
Yet follow not the chase, but bide at home?
They would have had to tie me, and the cords
I would have gnawed in two. Oh huntsman's joy!
If one could only sing it!
HAGEN.
Wilt thou go?
SIEGFRIED.
Go!--Friend, I am so full of rage and wrath
That I could quarrel now with any man,
And so I long for bloodshed.
HAGEN.
And I too!
SCENE XI
_Enter_ KRIEMHILD.
KRIEMHILD.
You're going hunting?
SIEGFRIED.
Yes, and pray command
What I shall bring thee.
KRIEMHILD.
Siegfried, stay at home!
SIEGFRIED.
My child, one thing thou canst not learn too soon,
Thou must not beg a man to stay at home,
But beg him: Take me too!
KRIEMHILD.
Then, may I go?
HAGEN.
That may not be!
SIEGFRIED.
Why not? She's not afraid!
And surely she has often gone before.
Bring falcons here! For she shall take the birds,
And we the beasts. There'll be more pleasure so.
HAGEN.
One woman hides her shame within her room--
Her rival rideth gaily to the hunt?
'Twould look like taunting her.
SIEGFRIED.
I had not thought.
Ah well, it may not be.
KRIEMHILD. Then change again
Thy garments!
SIEGFRIED.
Yet again? Thy every wish
I'll follow, not thy fancies.
KRIEMHILD.
Thou'rt severe.
SIEGFRIED.
But let me go! The breeze will change my mood.
Tomorrow night I'll make my peace with thee.
HAGEN.
Then come!
SIEGFRIED.
I will. But now my farewell kiss.
[_He embraces_ KRIEMHILD.]
Thou'lt not deny me? Thou'lt not say, tomorrow,
As I do? Thou art noble.
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, come back!
SIEGFRIED.
But what a strange desire! What's wrong, I pray?
I go a-hunting with my own good friends,
And if the lofty mountains do not fall
And bury us, we cannot suffer harm.
KRIEMHILD.
Alas! That is the very thing I dreamed.
SIEGFRIED.
My child, the hills stand firm.
KRIEMHILD (_throws her arms around him once more_).
Come back! Come back!
[_Exeunt warriors_.]
SCENE XII
KRIEMHILD.
Siegfried!
SIEGFRIED (_appears once more_).
What now?
KRIEMHILD.
If thou wouldst not be angry--
HAGEN (_follows SIEGFRIED hastily_).
Well, hast thou got thy spindle yet?
SIEGFRIED (_to_ KRIEMHILD).
Thou Nearest,
The hounds can be no longer held in leash;
What dost thou wish?
HAGEN.
Oh wait, pray, for thy flax!
And spin it in the moonlight with the elves.
KRIEMHILD.
Now go! I longed to see thee once again!
[HAGEN _and_ SIEGFRIED _go out_.]
SCENE XIII
KRIEMHILD.
And should I call him to me ten times more
I'd never find the heart to tell it him.
How can we do what straightway we repent!
SCENE XIV
_Enter_ GERENOT _and_ GISELHER.
KRIEMHILD.
Are you not gone? The Lord hath sent them here!
My dearest brothers, earnestly I beg
Vouchsafe me my desire, though to you
It seems but foolish. Go ye with my lord
Where'er he goes, and keep behind his back.
GERENOT.
We are not going. We've no wish to go.
KRIEMHILD.
No wish to go!
GISELHER.
What say'st thou? We've no time!
We've much to do before our men march forth.
KRIEMHILD.
And is all that intrusted to your youth?
If I am dear to you, if you have not
Forgotten that one mother nourished us,
Ride after them.
GISELHER.
They're long since in the wood.
GERENOT.
And then thou hast one brother with him,
now,
KRIEMHILD.
I beg of you!
GISELHER.
We must collect the arms,
As thou shalt see.
[_Starts to go_.]
KRIEMHILD.
Then tell me one thing more
Is Hagen Siegfried's friend?
GERENOT.
Why not, I pray?
KRIEMHILD.
But has he ever praised him?
GISELHER.
It is praise
If Hagen does not blame, and I've not heard
That he found fault with Siegfried.
[_Both leave_.]
KRIEMHILD.
Most of all
This frightens me. They are not with my lord!
SCENE XV
_Enter_ FRIGGA.
KRIEMHILD.
How, nurse? Art seeking me?
FRIGGA.
I seek for none.
KRIEMHILD.
Then is there something wanted for the Queen?
FRIGGA.
There is not. She needs nothing.
KRIEMHILD.
Nothing still?
But can she not forgive?
FRIGGA.
I do not know!
She has had no occasion to forgive;
She never was offended. I heard horns.
Is there a hunt?
KRIEMHILD.
Hast thou then ordered it?
FRIGGA.
I--No!
[_Exit_.]
SCENE XVI
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, had I only told it him!
Oh, my beloved, no woman host thou known,
I see it now! Else nevermore hadst thou
Unto a trembling girl who doth betray
Herself through fear, intrusted such a secret.
Still do I hear the playful whispered words
With which thou told'st it to me when I praised
The dragon's death. And then I made thee swear
To tell no other soul in all the world,
And now--Oh birds that circle overhead,
Oh snow white doves that fly about me now,
Take pity on me, warn him, fly to him!
[_Exit_.]
ACT V
_Oden Forest_.
SCENE I
_Enter_ HAGEN, GUNTHER, VOLKER, DANKWART _and serving men_.
HAGEN.
This is the place. The spring is gushing forth,
The bushes cover it. If I stand here,
I can impale the man who stoops to drink
Against the rock.
GUNTHER.
I've given no command.
HAGEN.
When thou hast taken thought thou wilt command.
There is no other way, and there will come
No second day like this one. Therefore speak,
Or if thou wilt not speak, be still!
(_To the serving men_.)
Hello!
'Tis here we rest!
[_The serving men prepare a meal_.]
GUNTHER.
Thou'st always hated him.
HAGEN.
I'll not deny that gladly to this work
I lend my hand, and I would surely meet
In combat any man who came between
My enemy and me, and yet the deed
I hold not for that reason less than just.
GUNTHER.
And yet my brothers spoke against the deed
And turned their backs upon us.
HAGEN.
Had they then
The courage to warn him and hinder us?
They must have felt that we are in the right,
And it is but their youth that makes them shrink
From blood that is not shed in open fight.
GUNTHER.
It must be so.
HAGEN.
Why he has bought off death
And so ennobled murder.
(_To the serving men_.)
Sound the horns,
And call the hunt together. For 'tis time
That we should eat.
[_The horns are blown_.]
Now take things as they are
And leave it all to me. If thou art not
Offended, or forgivest what is past,
So be it, yet forbid thy servant not
To rescue and avenge thy noble wife!
She will not break the solemn oath she swore.
If she's deceived in her firm trust in us--Her
confidence that we'll redeem the pledge--Then
all the joy of life that once again,
May be aroused within her youthful heart
When shadows deepen and the end is near,
Will be transformed into one dreadful curse,
One final imprecation upon thee!
GUNTHER.
There still is time.
SCENE II
_Enter_ SIEGFRIED _with_ RUMOLT _and huntsmen_.
SIEGFRIED.
I'm here! And now ye hunters,
Where are your spoils? Mine were to follow me
Upon a wagon, but the wagon broke.
HAGEN.
A lion is the game I chase today,
But I have failed to find one.
SIEGFRIED.
That I know,
For I myself have killed him!--Food is spread.
Sound trumpets in his praise who ordered that,
For now we feel the need. Accursed ravens,
Here too? Now blow your bugles till they burst!
I've thrown near every kind of game I killed
At this black flock; at last I threw a fox,
But still they would not fly, and yet I hate
Nothing so much in all the woodland green
As that deep black--'tis like the devil's hue.
The doves have never flocked around me so!
Shall we stay here to pass the night?
GUNTHER.
We thought--
SIEGFRIED.
'Tis well, the choice is fitting, and there gapes
A hollow tree. I'll take it for myself.
For all my life have I been used to that,
And I know nothing better than at night
On soft dry wood to lay my weary head,
And so to dream, half waking, half asleep,
To count the passing hours by the birds
That waken slowly, softly, one by one,
Each singing in his turn. Then tick, tick, tick!
Now it is two. Tock, tock, and one must stretch!
Kiwitt, kiwitt! The sun is blinking now,
And now its eyes are open. Chanticleer
Bids all arise, lest they should sneeze.
VOLKER.
I know!
It is as if Time wakened them himself,
As in the dark he feels his way along,
To beat the rhythm of his pace for him.
In measured intervals, as from the glass
Trickles the sand, and as the shadow long
Creeps on the dial, so there follow now
The mountain cock, the blackbird and the thrush,
And none disturbs the other as by day,
Nor coaxes him to warble ere his time.
I've watched it oft myself.
SIEGFRIED.
I too.--My brother,
Thou art not happy.
GUNTHER.
But I am!
SIEGFRIED.
Oh, no!
I have seen people at a wedding feast,
And following a bier, and so I know
How different they look. Now let us do
As strangers might, who'd never met before
Until by accident within the wood
They meet, and one has this, the other that,
And so they put together all they have,
And thus with joy receive and also give.
'Tis well! For I bring meat of every kind,
And I will give to you a mountain bull,
Five boars and thirty, even forty stags,
And pheasants too, as many as you will,
Not mentioning the lion and the bear,
All this for one small beaker of cool wine.
DANKWART.
Alas!
SIEGFRIED.
What's Wrong?
HAGEN.
The wine has been forgotten.
SIEGFRIED.
Yes, I'll believe it. That may well befall
A hunter who is resting from the chase
And has a red hot coal for his own tongue
Inside his mouth. Well, I must seek myself,
Although I cannot scent it like a, hound--
But let it be--I'll never spoil your sport!
[_He seeks._]
There is none here, nor here! Where is the cask?
I pray thee, minstrel, save me, else I'll lose
The tongue that has till now been wagging so.
HAGEN.
And that may happen, for--there is no wine.
SIEGFRIED.
The devil and his fiends may take your hunt
If I am not to have a hunter's fare!
Whose duty was it to provide the drink?
HAGEN.
Mine! Yet I did not know where we should be,
[Illustration: Schnorr von Carolsfeld KRIEMHILD FINDS THE SLAIN
SIEGFRIED]
And sent the wine to Spessart, where it seems
There are no thirsty men.
SIEGFRIED.
Give thanks who will!
But have we then no water? Must a man
Be satisfied with evening dew, and lap
The drops from off the leaves?
HAGEN.
But hold thy tongue!
Thine ear will bring thee comfort!
SIEGFRIED (_listens_).
Hark, a spring!
Oh welcome stream! 'Tis true I love thee more
When thou, instead of welling from the stone
So suddenly and rushing to my mouth,
Thy winding way pursuest through the grape;
For from thy journey many things thou bring'st,
That fill our heads with foolish gaiety.
Yet even so be praised.
[_He goes to the spring._]
Ah no! I must
Do penance first and ye shall witness bear
That I have done it. I'm the thirstiest man
Among you all and I will drink the last,
Because I was so harsh with poor Kriemhild.
HAGEN.
Then I'll begin.
[_He goes to the spring._]
SIEGFRIED (_to GUNTHER_).
Pray look more cheerfully.
I know a way to reconcile thy bride;
Brunhilda's kisses shall ere long be thine.
My joy I will forego as long as thou.
HAGEN (_comes back and lays aside his weapons_).
The weapons will impede me when I stoop.
[_Retires again._]
SIEGFRIED.
Before the full assemblage of thy folk,
Kriemhild will sue for pardon ere we go.
This pledge was freely given, but she longs
To leave and hide her blushes.
HAGEN (_returns_).
Cold as ice!
SIEGFRIED.
Who next?
VOLKER.
First let us eat.
SIEGFRIED.
'Tis well!
[_He goes toward the spring but turns back again._]
Ah yes!
[_He lays aside his weapons. Exit._]
HAGEN (_pointing to the weapons_).
Away with them!
DANKWART (_carries the weapons away_).
HAGEN (_who has taken up his own weapons again and has
meanwhile kept his back turned toward_ GUNTHER; _takes
a running start and throws his spear_).
SIEGFRIED (_cries out_).
My friends!
HAGEN (_exclaims_).
Not quiet yet?
(_To the others._)
No word with him, whatever he may say!
SIEGFRIED (_crawls forward_).
Murdered--while I was drinking! Gunther, Gunther?
Have I deserved this from thee? In thy need
I stood by thee.
HAGEN.
Lop branches from the trees,
We need a bier. Quick, choose the strongest limbs,
For heavy is a dead man.
SIEGFRIED.
I am slain,
But yet not wholly!
[_He springs up._]
Where then is my sword?
They've taken it! Oh, by thy manhood, Hagen,
Give the dead man a sword! I challenge thee
E'en now to mortal combat!
HAGEN.
In his mouth
He has his enemy, yet seeks him still.
SIEGFRIED.
My life drips from me like a candle spent,
And e'en my sword this murderer denies,
Though granting it would render him less vile.
For shame! Such cowardice! He fears my thumb,
For that is all that's left of me.
[_He stumbles over his shield._]
My shield!
My faithful shield, I'll throw thee at the hound!
[_He stoops over the shield, but cannot lift it, and rises
unsteadily once more._]
As if 'twere nailed there! E'en for this revenge
'Tis now too late!
HAGEN.
Oh, if this chatterer
Would maim his foolish tongue between his teeth
Where it has sinned so long all unreproved--
His idle tongue that is not silenced yet!--
Then would he have revenge, for that alone
Has brought him to this pass.
SIEGFRIED.
Thou liest! 'Twas
Thine envy!
HAGEN.
Silence!
SIEGFRIED.
Threats for a dead man?
Aimed I so true that thou dost fear me still?
Then draw, for now I fall, and thou canst dare
To spit upon me like a heap of dust,
For here I lie--
[_He falls to the ground._]
And you are free from Siegfried!
Yet know, the blow that slew him killed you too,
For who will trust you? They will drive you forth
As I had driven the Danes.
HAGEN.
This simpleton!
He hath not grasped our trick!
SIEGFRIED.
Then 'tis not true?
Oh, horrible, that men should lie like this!
Ah well! You are alone in this! And folk
Will always curse you too, whene'er they curse.
They'll say: Toads, vipers and Burgundians!
Nay you are first: Burgundians, vipers, toads.
For all is lost to you--nobility
And honor, fame and all, are lost with me!
There is no bound nor limit now for crime,
The arm indeed may pierce the heart, but when
The heart is dead the arm is useless too.
My wife! My poor, foreboding, tender wife--
How wilt thou bear the blow! If Gunther's heart
Still means to do one deed of faith and love,
May he be kind to thee!--Yet rather go
Unto my father!--Hearest thou, Kriemhild?
[_He dies._]
HAGEN.
He's silent now. Small merit is in that!
DANKWART.
What shall we tell?
HAGEN.
Some stupid tale of thieves
Who killed him in the forest. It is true
None will believe it, yet I think that none
Will call us liars. Once again we stand
Where none will dare to call us to account;
For we're like fire and water. Till the Rhine
Seeks out some lie to justify its floods,
And fire explains why it has broken forth,
We need not fear accusers. Thou, my King,
Gav'st no commands--thou should'st remember that!
The blame is mine alone. Now bear him forth!
[_Exeunt with the body._]
SCENE III
_KRIEMHILD'S room. Deep night._
KRIEMHILD.
'Tis far too early yet. It is my blood
That wakened me, and not the cock I heard,
Or seemed to hear.
[_She goes to the window and opens it partly._]
The stars are shining still,
It surely is an hour yet till mass.
Today I long to go to church and pray.
SCENE IV
_Enter UTE softly._
UTE.
Already up, Kriemhild?
KRIEMHILD.
I am amazed
That thou art up, for thou hast always slept
More soundly after dawn and claimed thy right
To have thy daughter wake thee, as thou her
So long ago.
UTE.
Today I could not sleep,
I heard strange sounds.
KRIEMHILD.
And didst thou mark them too?
UTE.
It was like people trying to be still.
KRIEMHILD.
So I was right?
UTE.
They seemed to hold their breath,
Yet dropped a sword that clanged! On tiptoe walked,
And yet upset the brazier! Hushed the dog,
Yet trod upon his paw.
KRIEMHILD.
They have perhaps
Returned.
UTE.
The hunters?
KRIEMHILD.
Once it seemed to me
That some one softly crept up to my door.
I thought it must be Siegfried.
UTE. Didst thou make
Some sign that thou wast wakeful?
KRIEMHILD.
No.
UTE.
Indeed
It might then have been Siegfried, but 'twould be
Almost too soon.
KRIEMHILD.
To me it seems so too!
And then he did not knock.
UTE.
The hunt was not,
Or so I think, to bring us game for food;
They wanted our poor farmers to have peace,
Who have been threatening to burn their ploughs
Because the wild boar harvests where they sow!
KRIEMHILD.
Was that it?
UTE.
Child, thou art already dressed,
Yet hast not any maid with thee?
KRIEMHILD.
I thought
That I would learn who woke the first of all.
Besides, it was a pastime.
UTE.
Each in turn,
My candle in my hand, I gazed upon.
For each year brings a different kind of sleep.
Fifteen and sixteen sleep like five and six,
But seventeen brings dreams, and eighteen, thoughts,
And nineteen brings desires--
SCENE V
_A Chamberlain cries out before the door._
CHAMBERLAIN.
Almighty God!
UTE.
What is it? What is wrong?
CHAMBERLAIN (_enters_).
I almost fell.
UTE.
And that was why you called?
CHAMBERLAIN.
Some one is dead!
UTE.
What's that?
CHAMBERLAIN.
A dead man lying at the door!
UTE.
A dead man?
KRIEMHILD (_falls_).
Then 'tis Siegfried, 'tis my lord!
UTE (_catches her in her arms_).
Impossible!
(_To the CHAMBERLAIN._)
Bring light!
[_CHAMBERLAIN brings a light and then nods his head._]
UTE.
'Tis Siegfried? Go!
Awaken all!
CHAMBERLAIN.
Help, help!
[_The maidens rush in._]
UTE.
O piteous wife!
KRIEMHILD (_rising_).
Brunhild commanded, Hagen did the deed!--
A light!
UTE.
My child!
KRIEMHILD (_seizes a torch_).
'Tis he! I know, I know!
Let no one tread on him; for thou didst hear
The servants stumble over him.--The servants!
Yet once great kings made way for him.
UTE.
The light!
KRIEMHILD.
I'll place it there myself.
[_She opens the door and falls to the floor._]
Oh Mother, Mother,
Why didst thou bear thy child! Oh thou dear head,
But let me kiss thee. I'll not seek thy mouth,
For all to me is precious. Thou canst not
Forbid me as thou would'st perhaps.--Thy lips--
'Tis too much pain!
CHAMBERLAIN.
She's dying.
UTE.
I could wish
That she might die!
SCENE VI
_Enter GUNTHER with DANKWART, RUMOLT, GISELHER and GERENOT._
UTE (_approaching GUNTHER_).
My son, what deed was this?
GUNTHER.
I fain would weep myself. Yet of his death
You've heard already? By the holy words
Of our good priest you were to learn of this.
I went to tell him in the night.
UTE (_with a motion of the head_).
Thou see'st
The dead man told his story for himself.
GUNTHER (_aside to DANKWART_).
But how was this?
DANKWART.
My brother bore him here!
GUNTHER.
For shame!
DANKWART.
From his intent he'd not desist,
And when he came again he laughed and said:
This is my gratitude for his farewell.
SCENE VII
_Enter the Chaplain._
GUNTHER (_going to meet him_).
Too late!
CHAPLAIN.
And such a man slain in the woods!
DANKWART.
The robber's spear was guided by blind chance,
So that it struck the spot. In such a way
A child may kill a giant.
UTE (_still busying herself with the maidens over KRIEMHILD_).
Rise, Kriemhild!
KRIEMHILD.
Another parting? No, I'll cling to him,
And to the grave together will we go,
Or you must leave him here. But half my love
I gave him living. Now that he is dead
I know it. Were it the reverse! His eyes
I never yet had kissed! All, all is new!
We thought we'd time before us.
UTE.
Come my child!
We cannot leave him lying in the dust.
KRIEMHILD. Oh that is true! The costliest and rarest
Today shall be as naught.
[_She rises._]
Here, take the keys!
[_She throws down keys._]
There'll be no festivals again! The silk,
The wondrous golden garments, and the linen--
Bring everything. Be sure to gather flowers--
He loved them so! And you must cut them all,
Even the little buds that have not bloomed.
For whom then should they blossom? Lay them all
Within his coffin, then my bridal robes,
And lay him softly down, and I'll do so,
[_She stretches out her arms._]
And I will be his covering!
GUNTHER (_to his followers_).
Your oath!
Let no one harm her more.
KRIEMHILD (_turns around_).
The murderer's here?
Away, for fear the blood should flow again!
No! No! Come here!
[_She lays hold of DANKWART._]
That Siegfried may bear witness!
[_She wipes her hand on her dress._]
Alas, alas! My right hand nevermore
May dare to touch him. Does the blood gush forth?
O Mother, look! I cannot! No? Then these
But hide the deed. I seek the murderer.
If Hagen Tronje's here, let him come forth!
He is not guilty--I'll give him my hand.
UTE.
My child--
KRIEMHILD.
Now go and hear Brunhilda laugh.
She's eating too, and drinking.
UTE.
It was robbers--
KRIEMHILD.
I know them well.
[_She takes GISELHER and GERENOT by the hand._]
Thou wast not with them there!
Thou didst not go!
UTE.
But hear me!
RUMOLT.
Through the wood
We had been scattered; for it was his wish,
And 'tis our custom too. We found him dying
At our next meeting place.
KRIEMHILD.
You found him there?
What did he say? A word! His dying word!
I will believe thy tale, if thou canst tell,
And if it is no curse. But oh, beware!
For sooner would a rose bloom from thy mouth
Than thou imagine what thou didst not hear.
(_As RUMOLT hesitates._)
It is a lie!
CHAPLAIN.
'Tis possible! I've heard
A magpie dropped a knife that killed a man
Who could not have been reached by human hands.
And what a winged thief by chance could do
Because his gleaming booty burdened him,
A robber well might do.
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, holy father,
Thou knowest not!
DANKWART.
Princess, thy grief is sacred,
But yet unjust and blind. Our warriors here,
Our noblest will bear witness--
[_Meanwhile the door has been closed and the body is no longer
visible._]
KRIEMHILD (_who observes this_). Halt! Who dares--
[_She hastens to the door._]
UTE.
Stop, stop! He was but gently lifted up
As thou thyself would'st wish.
KRIEMHILD.
Oh, give him back!
Else they will rob me, they will bury him
Where I shall never find him!
CHAPLAIN.
To the church!
I'll follow him, for now he's God's alone.
[_Exit._]
SCENE VIII
KRIEMHILD.
So be it! To the church!
(_To GUNTHER._)
'Twas robbers then?
I bid thee gather all thy kindred there
To try the test of murder.
GUNTHER.
Be it so.
KRIEMHILD.
But bring them one and all, for now I find
That some are missing. Call the absent too!
[_Exeunt omnes; the men and women by
different doors._]
SCENE IX
_In the cathedral. Torches. The Chaplain with other priests is at one
side before an iron door. At the main entrance of the cathedral about
sixty of_ HAGEN's _kindred are assembled. Finally_ HAGEN, GUNTHER _and
the others. Knocking is heard._
CHAPLAIN.
Who knocks
VOICE FROM WITHOUT.
A great king from the Netherlands
Whose crowns are as the fingers on his hands.
CHAPLAIN.
I know him not.
[_The knocking is repeated._]
Who knocks?
VOICE FROM WITHOUT.
A warrior brave,
Whose trophies are as many as his teeth.
CHAPLAIN.
I know him not.
[_The knocking is repeated._]
Who knocks?
VOICE FROM WITHOUT.
Thy brother Siegfried,
Whose sins are as the hairs upon his head.
CHAPLAIN.
Then open!
[_The door is opened and_ SIEGFRIED's _body
is brought in on the bier._ KRIEMHILD _and_
UTE _with their maidens follow him._]
CHAPLAIN (_turning toward the bier_).
Thou art welcome, my dead brother,
For peace thou seekest here!
[_To the women whom he keeps away from
the coffin by coming between them and it,
while it is being set down._]
Be welcome too,
If you are seeking peace as Siegfried is.
[_He holds up the cross before KRIEMHILD._]
Thou turn'st away from this most holy cross?
KRIEMHILD.
I come to ask for justice and for truth.
CHAPLAIN.
Thou seekest vengeance, and the Lord hath said,
Vengeance is mine. It is the Lord alone
Who sees what's hidden. He alone requites.
KRIEMHILD.
I am a woman, weak, half crushed to earth;
No warrior can I strangle with my hair.
What vengeance then is left for me, I pray?
CHAPLAIN.
Why should'st thou search to find thine enemy,
Unless thou seek'st on him to take revenge?
His Judge knows all, and is not that enough?
KRIEMHILD.
I do not want to curse the innocent.
CHAPLAIN.
Then curse thou no man, and 'twill not befall!--
Thou poor frail child created but from dust
And ashes, with no strength to breast the wind,
Thy burden's great, well may'st thou cry to heaven,
Yet gaze on Him who bore a greater still!
In humblest guise He came upon the earth,
And took upon Himself the sins of men,
And suffered for atonement all the griefs
That ever there have been throughout all time--
The griefs that follow fallen mortals still.
He suffered in thy sorrow more than thou!
And heavenly power flowed from out His lips
And all the angels floated round his head,
But Jesus Christ was faithful unto death--
Unto His shameful death upon the cross.
This sacrifice He brought thee in his love,
In pity that we may not comprehend.
Wilt thou deny thine offering to Him?
Then let them bury him! And turn thou back!
KRIEMHILD.
Thy work is done, and I will now do mine!
[_She goes and stands at the head of the
coffin._]
Approach the bier, the dread ordeal begins!
CHAPLAIN (_goes also to the coffin and stands at the foot.
Three trumpet blasts are heard_).
HAGEN (_to GUNTHER_).
What then has happened?
GUNTHER.
Murder has been done.
HAGEN.
Why stand I here?
GUNTHER.
Suspicion rests on thee.
HAGEN.
My kin are gathered here. Of my fair name
I'll question them.--Are ye prepared to swear
That Hagen Tronje is no murderer?
ALL EXCEPT GISELHER.
We are prepared.
HAGEN.
Thou'rt silent, Giselher?
Wilt thou not for thine uncle take thine oath
That Hagen Tronje is no murderer?
GISELHER (_raising his hand_).
I am prepared.
HAGEN.
Ye need not take the oath.
[_He goes forward to_ KRIEMHILD _in the
cathedral._]
Thou see'st, my kin will clear me when I will,
'Tis needless that I now approach the bier,
Yet will I stand there and will be the first!
[_He walks slowly to the bier._]
UTE.
Oh Kriemhild, do not look.
KRIEMHILD.
Perchance he lives!
My Siegfried! Had he strength to speak one word
Or gaze but once upon me!
UTE.
My poor child,
It is but nature, moving once again.
Ghastly enough!
CHAPLAIN.
It is the hand of God,
That softly stirs once more these sacred springs
Because He must inscribe the sign of Cain.
HAGEN (_bending over the coffin_).
The scarlet blood! I ne'er believed the sign!
But now I see it here with mine own eyes.
KRIEMHILD.
Yet thou canst stand and gaze?
[_She springs toward him._]
Away, thou fiend!
Who knows but every drop of blood gives pain,
That thy foul, murderous presence draws from him!
HAGEN.
Fair Kriemhild, if a dead man's blood still boils,
Why may not mine? I am a living man.
KRIEMHILD.
Away! Away! I'd seize thee with my hands,
Had I but some one who would back them off
And cast them from me that I might be clean--
For washing would not cleanse them, even if
I dipped them in thy blood. Away! Away!
So stood'st thou not to deal the deadly blow,
Thy wolfish eyes fixed on him steadily,
With fiendish grin disclosing thy intent
Before the time! But slyly didst thou creep
Behind him, ever shrinking from his gaze,
As wild beasts do that fear the human eye,
And peered to find the spot, that I--Thou dog,
What was thine oath to me?
HAGEN.
To shelter him
From fire and water.
KRIEMHILD.
Not from human foes?
HAGEN.
That too, and I'd have done it.
KRIEMHILD.
Thou didst mean
To murder him thyself?
HAGEN.
To punish him!
KRIEMHILD.
Was murder ever called a punishment
Since heaven and earth began?
HAGEN. I'd challenged him
To mortal combat, thou may'st take my word,
But none might tell the hero from the dragon,
And dragons must be killed. So proud a knight,
Why did he hide him in the dragon's skin!
KRIEMHILD.
The dragon's skin! He had to slay him first,
And with the dragon slew he all the world!
The forest depths with all their monstrous beasts,
And every warrior that had feared to slay
The dreadful dragon, Hagen with the rest!
Thy slander cannot harm him. But the dart
Thine envy borrowed from thy wickedness.
And folk will tell of his nobility
As long as men still dwell upon the earth,
And just so long they'll tell thy tale of shame.
HAGEN.
So be it then!
[_He takes_ SIEGFRIED'S _sword, Balmung, from
beside the body._]
And now 'twill never end!
[_He girds on the sword and walks slowly
back to his kindred._]
KRIEMHILD.
To murder foul is added robbery!
(_To_ GUNTHER.)
A judgment, Gunther! Judgment I demand.
CHAPLAIN.
Remember Him who on the cross forgave!
KRIEMHILD.
A judgment! If the king denies it me,
The blood of Siegfried stains his mantle too.
UTE. Cease, Kriemhild! Thou wilt ruin thy whole house!
KRIEMHILD.
So be it! For the measure's over full!
[_She turns toward_ SIEGFRIED'S _body and falls upon the bier._]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: Siegfried's wonderful sword is named Balmung.]
[Footnote 2: The reference is to a passage in the _Chanson de Roland_.
Roland was in command of a rear guard and was warned of the approach of
a large force of Saracens. His comrade Oliver begged him to sound his
horn and summon Charlemagne and his forces. Roland would not blow the
horn until nearly all his men were slain. At last, however, the Saracens
learned of Charlemagne's approach and fled. Roland then blew his horn
once more and died alone on the field as he heard Charlemagne's battle
cry.--TRANSLATOR.]
[Footnote 3: Balmung is the name of Siegfried's magical sword.]
[Footnote 4: The Mandrake is a plant growing in the Mediterranean region
and belonging to the potato family. It was early famed for its poisonous
and narcotic qualities. Love philtres were also made from its roots, and
an old High German story tells of little images made from the root, thus
endowed with the power of prophecy and respected as oracles. Probably
Hebbel refers to the German tradition, as he is speaking of the dwarfs
who are both small and wise. The German name of the plant is
_Alraune_.--TRANSLATOR.]
[Footnote 5: The translator finds that authorities and versions of the
tale differ as to Siegfried's _"Kappe."_ In Maurice Grau's
Goetterdaemmerung libretto it is called in the English translation
"Tarnhelm," and Siegfried hangs it to his belt when not in use. Dippold
in his account of the Nibelung tale speaks of the _Tarn kappe_ or magic
_cap_ of darkness which _renders the wearer invisible._ But the
_Encyclopaedia Britannica_ speaks of the "cape of darkness" and Heath's
_Dictionary_ gives cap first, but calls _Tarn kappe_ "hiding cape." In
either case invisibility was obtained.--TRANSLATOR.]
ANNA (1836)
BY FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
TRANSLATED BY FRANCES H. KING
"Mild the air, and heaven blue,
Fragrant flowers full of dew,
And at even dance and play,
That is quite too much, I say."
Anna, the young servant maid, was gaily singing this song one bright
Sunday morning, while busily engaged in washing up the kitchen and dairy
crockery. At that moment Baron Eichenthal, in whose service she had been
for the last six months, passed by, wearing a green damask
dressing-gown. He was a decrepit young man, full of spleen and whims.
"What's the meaning of this yodelling!" he demanded haughtily, pausing
in front of her--"You know that I cannot bear frivolity."
Anna blushed violently: she remembered that her severe master would have
been very pleased to find her frivolous a few evenings ago in the
summerhouse. A sharp retort was on the tip of her tongue, but forcibly
suppressing it, she started to take up a white porcelain soup-tureen,
and, in a violent struggle with her natural fearlessness, let it fall to
the ground. The valuable dish broke and the Baron, who had already taken
a few steps forward, turned around, his face flaming with anger.
"What!" he exclaimed loudly, and strode up to the girl, "would you cool
your temper on my mother's kitchen crockery, you little sneak, because
your stubborn spirit will not allow you to accept a well-merited reproof
quietly, as becomes you?" And with that, scolding and storming, he gave
her, right and left, box after box on the ear, while she, stunned, gazed
at him, like a child, bereft of speech, indeed almost of her senses,
still holding the handle of the tureen in one hand, and involuntarily
pressing the other against her breast.
She was first aroused from this state, which bordered on a swoon, by the
mocking laughter of the chamber-maid Frederika, who, more easy going
than she, gladly allowed the Baron to trifle wantonly with her and pinch
her cheeks or play with her curls. The insolent wench looked at her
derisively, and called out, "That will give you a good appetite for the
kermess, Miss Prude."
The Baron, however, laughed loudly and placing his arms akimbo, said:
"You might just as well give up all desire for dance and play; I
withdraw the permission accorded by my mother, you shall take care of
the house. Is there nothing then for her to do today?" he continued,
talking to himself. Frederika whispered something to him. "Right," he
shouted, "she shall comb the flax until late at night; do you hear?"
Anna, completely bewildered, nodded her head, and then sank down
powerless on her knees; at the same time, however, she instinctively
snatched up a brass utensil, and, while the hot, uncontrollable tears
overflowed her eyes, she began to scour it bright.
The gardener had witnessed the foregoing scene from a distance. Fresh
and blooming as she was, he had long pursued her with attentions, but in
vain; coming up at that moment, he greeted her and asked maliciously how
she was? "Oh, oh," she moaned, quivering spasmodically, and springing,
up she clutched at the sneering fellow's breast and face.
"Madwoman," he cried, growing frightened, and, defending himself with
all his masculine strength, pushed her away. She stared after him with
wide-open eyes as though not realizing what she had done; then, as if
coming to her senses, returned to her work, which she continued without
interruption, except at times unconsciously heaving a loud sigh, until
at midday she was called to the kitchen to dinner. Here nothing but
faces expressing malicious joy at her discomfiture awaited her, and more
or less suppressed laughter and tittering, which grew stronger and more
pitiless as she continued to gaze down at her plate with burning cheeks,
and replied not a word to the volley of allusions.
The maids, already partly decked out in their finery, exchanged
bantering remarks, bearing unmistakable reference to her, on the score
of the lovers whom they had found, or hoped to find, and the flat-nosed
scullion, encouraged to commit the impertinence by the winks of the head
farm-hand and the coachman, asked Anna if he might not borrow her
red-flowered apron and the hat with the gay-colored ribbons that
Frederick, the Major's man, had given her at Christmas. She would
certainly not need these things in the flax-room, he said, and he hoped
by means of them to win the good graces of a girl who had no finery.
"Boy," she cried with white trembling lips, "I'll not cook you any milk
soup another time when you are sick in bed, and no one bothers himself
about you!" and shoving back her plate, she snatched up the empty
water-pails, which it was her duty to fill afresh at the well, and went
out.
"Fie," said John, an old servant, who, having grown gray in the service
of his lordship's father, was now eating the bread of charity in the
house of Baron Eichenthal. "It is wrong to spoil the wench's food and
drink with bitter words."
"Pshaw!" retorted the gardener, "it will not hurt her. Since that
lean-bodied toady, Frederick, has been running after her, she's as
proud as though she had angled a nobleman!"
"Pride comes before a fall!" said Lizzie, the buxom little cook, with a
tender glance at the phlegmatic head farm-hand. "Do you know that she
laces?"
"Why shouldn't she be proud," interjected the coachman, "isn't she the
schoolmaster's daughter!"
Frederika, the chambermaid, came into the kitchen with a heated face.
"Isn't Anna here?" she asked, drying her forehead with her silk
handkerchief. "The master has just gone to bed, he joked a good
deal"--here she coughed, as the others cast significant glances at one
another and laughed--"and I am to tell her that she is to begin combing
the flax right away, and"--this she added on her own authority--"she
must not stop work until ten o'clock."
"I'll give her the message, Rika!" answered Lizzie. Frederika tripped
out again.
"Doesn't she lace too?" asked the head farm-hand.
"Chut! Chut!" whispered John, and jingled his fork against his plate in
embarrassment. Anna entered the kitchen with her load of water.
"Anna," began Lizzie officiously, "I am to tell you--"
"I know all about it already," answered Anna drily, in a steady voice.
"I met the messenger. Where is the key to the flax-room hanging?"
"Over there on the nail!" replied the cook, and pointed with her finger
to the place.
Anna, composed, because inwardly crushed, took the key, and while the
others went off to their trunks in order to complete their toilet before
a three groschen mirror, she went hastily into the flax-room, the
windows of which looked out upon the castle courtyard and the high-road.
She sat down, her face turned toward the windows so that she could see
all the merry-makers on their way from the village to the kermess and
hear their gay talk. She began to work with gloomy industry. Although at
times she unconsciously sank into a fit of brooding, she would
immediately start up again terrified, as though bitten by a snake or
tarantula, and continue her labor with increased, indeed, with unnatural
zeal. Only once during the entire long afternoon did she get up from her
low, hard, wooden stool, and that was when her fellow servants drove
quickly down the castle yard in comfortable rack wagons drawn by fast
horses. But with a loud laugh, as though in self-derision, she sat down
again, and, although she grew so thirsty in all the heat and dust that
her tongue clove to the roof of her mouth, she did not even drink the
coffee that old Bridget, who on an occasion like this of today used to
take care of the house for the maids, compassionately brought her toward
four or five o'clock.
When night gradually came on she went into the kitchen, without
smoothing back the locks of hair that hung wildly about her face. Making
no answer to Bridget's friendly invitation to remain there and share
with her a tempting dish of baked potatoes, she took a candle out of the
candle box, and holding her hand over it to protect it against the
draught, went back into the flax-room. It was not long before there was
a knock at the window, and when she had opened the door Frederick
entered hastily, dripping with perspiration.
"I must see what is the matter," he said, almost breathless and tearing
open his waist-coat, "they are whispering all kinds of things."
"You see!" answered Anna quickly, then stopped short and arranged her
bodice, which had been pushed somewhat awry.
"Your master is a scoundrel!" blustered Frederick, gnashing his teeth.
"Yes, yes!" said Anna.
"I should like to meet him up there on the cliff," cried Frederick, "oh,
it's abominable!"
"How hot you are," said Anna, gently taking his hand. "Have you been
dancing already?"
"I have been drinking wine, five or six glasses," rejoined Frederick.
"Come, Anna, dress yourself, you shall go with me in spite of every
devil who tries to interfere."
"No, no, no!" said Anna.
"But I say yes," Frederick flared out in a passion, and put his arm
around her waist, "I say yes!"
"Most certainly not!" Anna answered softly, embracing him
affectionately.
KRIEMHILD ACCUSES HAGEN OF THE MURDER OF SIEGFRIED
_From the painting by Schnorr von Carolsfeld_ [Illustration]
"You shall, I wish it," cried Frederick, releasing her.
Anna, without making any answer, took up the flax-comb and looked down
on the ground before her.
"Will you, or will you not?" persisted
Frederick, and stepped right in front of her.
"How could I?" returned Anna, looking confidingly in his eyes, and
laying her hand on her heart.
"Very well," cried Frederick. "You
will not. God damn me if I ever see you again!" He rushed out like a mad
man.
"Frederick," cried Anna after him, "Do stay, stay a moment, listen how
the wind is howling."
She was starting to hurry after him when her dress brushed against the
candle placed low down on an oak-block; it fell over and set fire to the
flax which burst at once into powerful flames. Frederick, crazed with
wine and anger, forced himself, as usually happens in such moments, to
sing a song as he strode out into the night, which had turned out to be
very stormy. The familiar tones, in wild hilarity, penetrated to where
Anna was. "Oh! oh!" she sighed from the depth of her heart. Then for the
first time she noticed that half of the room was already on fire.
Beating with her hands and stamping with her feet she threw herself upon
the greedy flames which, hot and burning, leaped toward her and scorched
her. Frederick's voice died away in the distance in a last halloo.
"Pshaw, why should I put it out, let it be!" she cried, and slamming the
door behind her with all her might, she hurried out with a horrible
laugh, involuntarily following the same path through the garden that
Frederick had taken.
Soon, however, she sank down, exhausted, almost fainting, in a meadow
which adjoined the garden, and groaning aloud pressed her face into the
cold, wet grass. Thus she lay for a long time.
Then from far and near the fire and alarm bells sounded, hollow and
terrifying. She half raised herself, but did not look around. Above her
the sky was blood-red and full of sparks; an unnatural heat was
spreading, and increasing from minute to minute. The wind howled and
roared, the flames crackled, wails and shouts resounded. She lay down
again at full length on the ground, and it seemed to her as though she
could sleep. But the next moment she was frightened out of this
death-like state by the words of two people hurrying past her, one of
whom cried out, "Lord have mercy on us! the village is already burning!"
She pulled herself together then with a superhuman effort, and hurried,
with flying hair, down to the village, which adjoined the burning side
of the castle. There, in more than one place the inflammable straw roofs
had already burst into flame.
The wind grew stronger and stronger. Most of the inhabitants, with the
exception of the children and decrepit old people, were more than four
miles away at the kermess. Had the necessary men been on the spot the
miserable fire apparatus could have offered only a vain resistance to
the league of the two dread elements. Since the summer had been
unusually dry, even water was lacking.
Distress, danger, confusion, increased every minute. A little boy ran
about crying, "O God, O God, my little sister!" And when he was asked,
"Where is your sister?" he repeated his horrifying cry, as though,
incapable of every intelligent thought, he had not understood the
question.
One old woman had to be forcibly dragged from her house. "My hen," she
moaned, "my poor little hen!" And indeed it was touching to see how the
little creature fluttered terrified from one corner to the other in the
suffocating smoke, and yet, because in better days it was probably
accustomed not to cross the threshold, it would not allow itself to be
driven through the open door into the air, even by its mistress.
Anna, weeping, screaming, beating her breast, and then again laughing,
rushed into every kind of danger with the reckless daring of despair.
She rescued, extinguished, and was an object at once of surprise,
admiration, and uncanny mystery to all the others. At last they
despaired of being able even to arrest the fire, which, continuing to
spread, threatened to reduce the whole village to ashes. It was then
that they saw her sink down on her knees in a burning house and gaze up
to Heaven, wringing her hands.
The pastor called out, "For God's sake, rescue the heroic girl, the
roof is falling in!" Anna, still on her knees, hearing his words,
stuck out her tongue at him with a gesture of violent abhorrence, and
laughed crazily. At this moment Frederick appeared. Hardly had he
perceived the terrible danger in which she was placed than, growing
deathly pale, he rushed toward the house which seemed about to
collapse. She, however, noticing him at once, sprang up terrified and
cried, "Don't, Frederick, don't; I, I am guilty, there--there." She
pointed with her hand to the place where the castle lay, and, in order
to make any rescue impossible, hurried up the already burning ladder,
which led to the garret of the house. The ladder, too far consumed by
the fire, broke under her, and at the same moment the roof fell in,
forming a wall of flame. They heard one more piercing cry; then there
was silence.
Baron Eichenthal arrived. As soon as Frederick caught sight of him he
rushed up to him and before the Baron could defend himself kicked him in
the abdomen, so that he fell over backward to the ground; then Frederick
quietly gave himself up to the peasants, who at the order of the justice
of the peace were trying to overpower him.
When the Baron learned next morning what had happened to Anna, he
ordered them to search for her bones among the ashes and to bury them in
the potter's field. This was done.
ON THEODOR KOeRNER AND HEINRICH VON
KLEIST (1835)
By FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
TRANSLATED BY FRANCES H. KING
Not only in the history of the world but in the history of literature as
well, we meet with strange aberrations on the part of entire epochs in
their estimate of individual men, rightly or wrongly raised above their
environment. Exactly what the age happens to demand, what fits in with
its restless activity, that is what it rewards and values. We cannot
deny, indeed, that every generation has the right to require the poet,
as well as its other sons, to consult its needs so far as possible. But
it is seldom satisfied with this; he must confer his benefits in the
most agreeable way, and whether or not he is weak enough to humor it in
this, determines, as a rule, whether it will take him fondly in its
arms, or will crush him. These reflections were recently aroused in me
when a volume of Heinrich von Kleist's writings came into my possession
together with a volume of Theodor Koerner's works, and I trust that the
Scientific Society will not consider them too unimportant to be
developed in some detail.
In the two poets named we see two remarkable examples of the
above-mentioned aberration of an entire epoch. While the first of the
two, Heinrich von Kleist, possesses all the qualities that go to make up
the great poet and at the same time the true German, the other, Theodor
Koerner, has only enthusiasm for those qualities; but while Kleist
refuses to forget his own dignity in the interests of the times, and
finally strives to unite these interests with the highest mission of
art, Koerner prefers to throw himself submissively into the vortex. For
this reason Kleist was maligned, ignored, and misjudged during his
lifetime, scorned at his death, and forgotten by immediate posterity,
whereas Koerner was enthusiastically received and applauded, and when he
descended into his early grave, was mourned by the whole world. I would
gladly pass by his grave in silence, and leave him the laurels which he
purchased with his death; but I see no reason why he should swell the
number of our fathers' sins, and should neglect an act of justice, which
will, in any case, be performed some day by our grandchildren, and then
perhaps with a smile of pity for us.
Before we go farther it will be necessary to establish, so far as
possible, certain conceptions of art in general, and of the branches of
art cultivated by Koerner and Kleist. I purposely say "so far as
possible;" for it would not be easy to expound a complete conception of
art before one set forth a complete conception of the human soul, of
which art might be called the most comprehensive phenomenon. We must
therefore infer this conception from the effects of art, so far as they
appear; but as these effects are infinite the conception may be
something very different from a barrier erected for the purpose of a
mere provisional designation, which ceases to exist the moment that it
pleases genius to overstep it. We find this possibility confirmed when
we examine how the conception in question has changed in German
literature alone, during the various epochs of its relatively short
history.
In the day of Gessner, Bodmer, and the like, who saw a muse in every
sheep and every herdsman, the imitation of nature was the gospel in
which every one believed. This, at best, meant nothing at all, and
closely analyzed, it is half nonsensical, in so far as this definition
presupposes art to be something that exists outside the domain of
nature. But man belongs within the domain of nature; he must be
included within this domain, and at most can complete or enlarge it;
and for this reason alone art can never imitate a whole of which it is
a part.
Hereupon men went a step farther, and defined art as "imitation of the
beautiful." We should have less cause to object to this definition if
the question on which everything depends in this case had not been left
unanswered; if they had not left undecided what it was they meant by
"imitation of the beautiful." They were indeed very soon ready with an
explanation, calling that "beautiful" which reveals an agreeable unity
in variety. Unfortunately they could not prevail upon themselves to
grant the proposition: "All is beautiful or nothing," which follows
immediately from the first; for they had overlooked the fact that the
word "agreeable" was superfluous, since every unity, because it gives a
clear impression and permits us to look into the unviolated order of
nature, appeals to us "agreeably"--I must use this word because it
expresses _the least badly_ the feeling which I would describe. Now,
however, in spite of all reluctance, they had to acknowledge that in the
domain of art there were many phenomena in which no such narrow-minded
imitation of the beautiful, as was demanded, could be shown to exist,
but which nevertheless could not be denied recognition. It was truly
remarkable how they tried to find an escape from this dilemma. They
admitted that ugliness could sometimes form an ingredient in a work of
art, by which means it became possible for the artist to arouse certain
mixed sensations in default of purely agreeable sensations. Mark well,
"in default of purely agreeable sensations!" As though the incapacity or
the momentary embarrassment of the artist, and the inadequacy of a
chosen subject, could do away with a law of art once recognized as
supreme. It is just as though the political law-giver should modify the
prohibition of stealing by the clause: "if, namely, thou canst earn
something in an honest manner." Striking it is, that even Lessing should
cling to such definitions and employ all his ingenuity to prove their
tenableness. It goes to show that the taste of a nation never--as may
very well be imagined--precedes the genius, but always limps along
behind him. Still more striking it is that they could feel the
inadequacy of the accepted definition, that they could come so near to
the real remedy, and yet could overlook it. It seems to me, namely, that
everything could have been adjusted, if they had made the same demands
on the artist's work that they made on the subject chosen by him. This
is so plain that it needs no demonstration.
If I should be asked to state my conception of art--it is understood
that here, as elsewhere, that only the art of poetry is in question--I
would base it on the unconditional freedom of the artist, and say: Art
should seize upon life in all its various forms, and represent it. It is
obvious that this cannot be accomplished by mere copying. The artist
must afford life something more than a morgue, where it is prepared for
burial. We wish to see the point from which life starts and the one
where it loses itself, as a single wave, in the great sea of infinite,
effect. That this effect is a twofold one, and that it can turn inward
as well as outward, is of course self-evident. For the rest--be it said
incidentally--here is the point from which a parallel can be drawn
between the phenomena of real life and those of life embodied in art.
I will now review the separate branches of art at which Koerner and
Kleist have tried their hand. We find that they are lyric poetry, drama,
and narrative. All three have to do with the representation of life, and
if a division can be made it can only be based upon the various ways in
which life is wont to manifest itself. Life manifests itself either as a
reaction upon outward impressions, or lacking these, directly from
within. When it works directly from within, we usually designate the
form under which it appears as feeling. Feeling is the element of lyric
poetry; the art of limiting and representing it makes the lyric poet.
Let no one object that there are feelings enough which arise in
consequence of outward impressions, and that these too have been
expressed sufficiently often by the poets; I am very much inclined to
distinguish between the results of these impressions and the feelings
which well up from the depths of the soul in consecrated moments; and in
any case, these alone are a worthy subject for the lyric poet; for only
in them does the whole man actually live, they only are the product of
his whole being. I hate examples because they are either make-shifts or
will-o'-the-wisps, but here I must add that in Uhland's song, "A short
while hence I dreamed," I find such a feeling expressed.
The drama represents the thought which seeks to become a deed through
action or suffering. The narrative is really not a pure form, but a
combination of the lyric and dramatic elements,--a combination which
differs from the drama in that it develops the outer life from the
inner, whereas in the drama the inner proceeds from the outer.
Let us now examine what Theodor Koerner and Heinrich von Kleist have
accomplished, in the first place, as lyric poets. Kleist (unhappily) has
left us very little in this field, Koerner (again unhappily) all the
more. Koerner's war-songs have, in this stage of our investigation, the
precedence over his other lyric productions, for two reasons: in the
first place, they found the largest public and earned for their author,
beside the royalties, the title of a German Tyrtaeus; and in the second
place, Theodor Koerner's soul was most ardently engrossed with the
supposed and the real sufferings of his time, with the dignity and the
misfortune of his people, and with the necessity and sacredness of the
war. Let no one scent any bombast in all this, but, on the contrary, let
him admire my cleverness in condensing into three lines, everything that
Theodor Koerner expressed in a whole volume, in _Lyre and Sword_! If,
therefore, his war-songs are bad, we shall be justified in concluding
that we need expect still less from his other poems, in which he is
concerned with sentiments which certainly affected him more slightly
than those which placed the sword in his hand. I turn over the index of
his war-songs, and find _Call to the German Nation, Before the Battle,
Germany_,--in short, titles that all point to material very often
handled, and therefore grown trivial. I do not, indeed, immediately
conclude therefrom that the poems are trivial, but I have the right to
conclude that the man who attempts such worn out subjects must be either
a very great or a very small poet. May I be permitted to analyze one of
these poems? I will choose, as the most significant, the well known
_Battle Song of the Confederation_. In this poem the poet has striven
to collect everything that could serve to make the soldiers who were to
take part in the battle of Danneberg more indifferent to the bullets. I
should not, however, have liked to advise the commanding general
actually to use it for this purpose. Mr. Koerner quite forgets with what
sort of people he is dealing when, in the third strophe, he expects the
soldiers to let themselves be slaughtered for German art and German
song. This is more than a joke, for I have the right to demand that a
_Battle-Song_ of the Confederation shall be comprehensible and
intelligible to all who are to take part in the battle; and art and song
are, in any case, not important enough to be named together with the
causes that made the fighting of a battle necessary, together with the
enslavement of a people; quite apart from the fact that both, art and
song, belong to those national treasures which are most secure in the
time of hostile invasion. But in order not to give my logic a bad
reputation, I will begin at the beginning. Mr. Koerner not only began
there but even ended there--this in parenthesis. The first strophe aims
to give the picture of a battle; but it is fortunate that we already
know, from the superscription, with what battle we are concerned; we
should scarcely find it out from this first strophe, which finishes, but
does not complete the picture. In the second strophe we learn rather
more; we learn that the beloved German oak is broken, that the
language--thank God, not the women--has been violated, and we find it
quite natural that revenge should blaze up at last, even though we
cannot escape a slight feeling of surprise that dishonor, shame and such
like, already lay _behind_ those heroes, and therefore had been endured.
We have already tasted of the sweets of the third strophe; in spite of
this, we see there is a great deal still remaining in this strophe, a
happy hope, a golden future, a whole heaven, etc., etc.--it must be the
fault of my eyes that, notwithstanding, I can see nothing at all in it.
In the fourth strophe courage comes along on regular seven league boots,
and I wish the critic had as much reason to be satisfied with its
contents, as had the Fatherland, to which a splendid vow is sworn
therein. The fifth strophe contains a real human sentiment; it might
exclaim with Falstaff, "Heaven send me better company!" In the sixth
strophe we learn that the poet was not blustering in the fourth strophe,
but that the fighting is really going to begin: at the same time it
contains the principal beauty of the song, namely the end. Now, I ask,
apart from the school-boyish, crude composition of the poem, which
throws suspicion merely on the taste, not precisely on the power, of a
poet--where is even the faintest tinge of poetry? And the muse was a
battle!
We have finished, then, with the poetic part of this poem; it now
remains to investigate in how far it is a real German product, that is
to say, such an one as could have been produced only on German soil by a
German. Every one will find that it might very easily have been written
by some person from the Sultan's seraglio, and used by any people who
found themselves in a like situation. Even the French, although it is
directed against them, could gain inspiration from it, if their good
taste did not preserve them from doing so. Let no one throw the German
oaks (strophe four) in my way; I must stumble along over whole oak
trees.
Let us now compare with Koerner's _Battle-Song of the Confederation_,
Kleist's poem _To Germany_, as I believe it is called. I am glad that I
am not able to characterize the separate strophes of _this_ poem; they
are, what the divisions of a poem should be, nothing, when they are
detached from the whole. "Germans," exclaims the poet--"Your forests
have long been cleared, serpents and foxes ye have destroyed, only the
Frenchman I still see slinking!" This is a folk song; the vast, the
great, is associated with the simplest and most familiar objects, and
the figures chosen are not only beautiful, but at the same time
inevitable.
I will pass on to consider the achievements of Koerner and Heinrich von
Kleist in the field of the drama. In this both have been very active,
but in order to avoid boredom for a time at least, I shall begin with
the analysis of a piece by Kleist, choosing first a tragedy, his _Prince
of Homburg_ which, to be sure, is entitled simply "a drama" by its
author. I do not know whether he did this because of the circumstances
that the Prince, as the hero of the piece, happily escapes with his
life, or, what is more likely, in order to humor the public, who think
the tragic can only exist where there are rivers of blood; neither will
I censure it, but only call attention to the fact that in my opinion
that which makes a tragedy lies only in the _struggle_ of the
individual, never in the outcome of this struggle. The outcome is in the
hands of the gods, says an old proverb, well then, acts of the gods--as
events may very well be called which are the effects of fate--can never
be anything else for the dramatic poet than what curtain and wings are
for the stage; they limit without completing. I defined drama, above, as
a representation of the thought which seeks to become a deed through
action or suffering. What this thought may be like--upon that very
little depends; but that it really should be there, that it should fill
the entire man, so much, of a surety, is necessary. What is, then, the
thought that, in the play under discussion, fills the soul of the Prince
oL Homburg, the chief hero? We find it expressed in scene two of the
second act, in the place where the Prince says to Kottwitz, who reminds
him, the man thirsting for deeds, of the Elector's orders:
"Orders? Eh, Kottwitz, do you ride so slow?
Have you not heard the orders of your heart?"
The thought is this: strength stands above the law, and courage
recognizes no other barrier but itself. Kleist, in the fifth scene of
the first act, with which the fifth scene of the fifth act corresponds,
_appears_ to have taken pains to set up as the lever of the piece, not
so much this thought as rather a mere accident, namely the inattention
of the Prince when the plan of battle was being dictated, but it is
really only in appearance. For though he makes Hohenzollern, properly
enough, lay great stress on this circumstance, that signifies little;
only if the Prince himself--a thing which never happens--had laid stress
upon it, could it have had an influence on the economy of the piece. Let
us proceed to a more detailed development of the tragedy.
The historical part of it is based on the famous battle which the
Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg fought against the Swedes at
Fehrbellin. The story of the play is briefly as follows: The Prince of
Homburg, to whom has been confided the commandment of the cavalry of the
Mark of Brandenburg, arbitrarily disobeys the orders given him, and
advances too soon. He wins the battle, but is placed on trial before a
court martial by Frederick William and condemned to death for
insubordination.
And truly--I should add, if I did not know that poetic enthusiasm is
very ridiculous in a criticism--the action is brought before us with
such power that this tragedy may very well be compared to a German oak,
on which every branch flourishes luxuriantly, and whose summit is nearer
to heaven than to earth. The whole play contains nothing but characters,
not a single puppet--which can seldom be said of the work of even the
greatest master--and I regret that I can develop in detail only the
character of the Prince of Homburg, and, for the others, can merely
touch upon those sides which come into contact with him.
I am not inclined, like Zimmermann, to see in the first scene simply an
endeavor on the part of the poet to provide a mystic background for his
picture. I do not see why a young man, who happens to be afflicted with
the sleep-walking malady, should not walk in his sleep even on the night
before a battle, and why a young hero who has long been nursing the most
high-flown thoughts concerning glory and immortality, should not, on
such a night, make himself an oak-wreath. In the day time, to be sure,
an occupation of that sort would not look very well, but night is the
realm of phantasy and the wreath is the emblem of glory. Then, too, I
find that this first scene--the naturalness of which I hope I have
proved--is of deep significance for the play. In order to explain
psychologically the Prince's headstrong disobedience of the Elector's
express order, a great excitement of mind was needed. Now I really do
not know where Kleist could better have derived this than precisely from
a half-waking dream, in which the Prince supposedly received in advance
all that constituted the highest goal of his hopes, and which should
have been the most valued fruit of his endeavors--the making of the
wreath points to this, and the fourth scene of the first act confirms
it. The absent-mindedness which this dream causes in the Prince in the
fifth scene, and particularly the monologue with which the first act
closes, prove that I am not mistaken in my opinion concerning the
significance which the poet placed upon the scene in question.
In the second act we must first notice the second scene. In this the
real action begins and ends. That which precedes and that which follows
are connected with it like cause and effect. The Prince wrests the
victory from the enemy, and earns for himself death. Then the eighth
scene of this act is of the greatest importance; in it the Prince
declares his love to Princess Nathalie of Orange. I am minded to count
this scene among the most important dramatic achievements ever
accomplished by the greatest poets of Germany. Let us picture the
exposition that introduces it. A rumor has been spread abroad that the
Elector has fallen in the battle. The Electress, with her ladies, is a
prey to the greatest anxiety. Homburg arrives and confirms the rumor.
Nathalie says:[6]
"Who now will lead us in this terrible war
And keep these Swedes in subjugation?--
THE PRINCE of HOMBURG (_taking her hand_).
I, lady, take upon myself your cause!
The Elector hoped, before the year turned tide,
To see the Marches free. So be it! I
Executor will be on that last will.
NATHALIE.
My cousin, dearest cousin!
PRINCE.
Nathalie!
What holds the future now in store for you?
NATHALIE.
Oh, I am orphaned now a second time.
PRINCE.
Oh, friend, sweet friend, were this dark hour not given
To grief, to be its own, thus would I speak:
Oh, twine your branches here about this breast!
NATHALIE.
My dear, good cousin!
PRINCE.
Will you, will you?"
I believe that during this love-scene, lovers will not be the only ones
to find amusement, though this is the case as a rule. The tenth scene of
this act is the turning point of the play. The Prince hastens to the
Elector with the conquered flags, rejoicing in the victory and in the
certitude that the latter still lives. The Elector commands that his
sword be taken from him and orders a court martial to be convoked. Let
us not overlook what this scene is in itself, through the contrasts
presented. It is moreover the chief argument for the correctness of the
opinion I have already expressed concerning the idea of the play. For
the Prince is far from being sensible of the fault committed, and when
Hohenzollern says to him,
"The ordinance demands obedience," he replies bitterly: "So--so,
so, so!"
And later:
"My cousin Frederick hopes to play the Brutus--
By God, in me he shall not find a son
Who shall revere him 'neath the hangman's axe!" etc.
He cannot as yet be just to the Elector, because he is still too
indulgent to himself.
In the first scene of the third act he has come a step nearer the truth.
He calls himself a plant which has burst into bloom too swiftly and
opulently. But he still says,
"Come, was it such a capital offense,
Two little seconds ere the order said,
To have laid low the stoutness of the Swede?"
The dignity of the code of war, upon which the Elector's mode of action
is based, still lies too remote from his comprehension; therefore he is
persuaded that:
"Ere, at a kerchief's fall, he yields this heart,
That loves him truly, to the muskets' fire,
Ere that, I say, he'll lay his own breast bare
And spill his own blood, drop by drop, in dust."
And when Hohenzollern lets fall a word about the mission of the Swedish
ambassador to ask for the hand of the Princess of Orange, the Prince is
even inclined to think _unworthily_ of the Elector. He is capable of
believing that the Elector will let him die because the Princess has be
trothed herself to him. This is genuinely psychological, and here, where
Homburg's character begins to appear in a dubious light, is actually the
real touch-stone of it. That he loves and admires the Elector, he has
already proved, that he has taken great trouble to find a reason for the
latter's conduct that is not unworthy of him, is self-evident; for the
human heart knows no greater pain than to have given admiration where it
should have bestowed contempt. When, therefore, the Prince nevertheless
believes that his betrothal to Nathalie has provoked the Elector's
severity, he shows thereby that he has absolutely no comprehension of
the dignity and necessity of the code of war, that consequently his
violation of the ordinance could not have been caused by boyish
petulancy, but by a grievous error, which, as an error, could be
forgiven in a man. But for that very reason it is not inconsistent with
his heroic character for him to exclaim "Oh, friend! Then help me! Save
me! I am lost!" For a man shows himself as such when he gives up for
lost a possession which is lost, not when he, like a madman, renounces
everything for the sake of making fine phrases: and the Prince only does
his duty when he tries in whatever way he can, to rescue his life from
the despotic will of an individual. In the fifth scene, where he
implores the Electress to intercede for him, he says:
"You would not speak thus, mother mine, if death
Had ever terribly encompassed you
As it doth me. With potencies of heaven,
You and my lady, these who serve you, all
The world that rings me round, seem blest to save
The very stable-boy, the meanest, least,
That tends your horses, pleading I could hang
About his neck crying: Oh, save me, thou!"
Even that is, in my opinion, fine and human, for it is the first
ebullition of emotion; and when is the feeling of painful loss ever
separated from the lively desire to preserve the endangered possession?
I do not make this statement because I believe I am saying something
new, but because I think it is something old which has not been
sufficiently taken to heart. For the rest, this fifth scene is very
beautiful and produces a deep effect. Who does not feel annihilated
with the Prince when he exclaims:
"Since I beheld my grave, life, life, I want,
And do not ask if it be kept with honor."
And farther on,
"And tell him this, forget it not, that I
Desire Nathalie no more, for her
All tenderness within my heart is quenched."
And how wonderful, how splendid does Nathalie appear in her calm
nobility! How absolutely true to nature it is that her strength first
begins gently and noiselessly to unfold its wings when the man, whom she
had looked upon as her ideal, from whom she had expected all things, has
succumbed. And how genuinely womanly are the words with which she
attempts to raise him up once more:
"Return, young hero, to your prison walls,
And, on your passage, imperturbably
Regard once more the grave they dug for you.
It is not gloomier, nor more wide at all
Than those the battle showed a thousand times!"
But poetic beauty is like the fragrance of flowers--it cannot be
described, but only perceived.
Nathalie's character is rounded off in the first scene of the fourth act
when she begs the Elector to liberate Homburg. She could have borne the
death of the Prince, but this timorous misrepresentation of himself she
cannot bear:
"I never guessed a man could sink so low
Whom history applauded as her hero.
For look--I am a woman and I shrink
From the mere worm that draws too near my foot;
But so undone, so void of all control,
So unheroic quite, though lion-like
Death fiercely came, he should not find me thus!
Oh, what is human greatness, human fame!"
It is then that the Elector decides to make the Prince himself the judge
of his offense, and writes him the following letter:
"My Prince of Homburg, when I made you prisoner
Because of your too premature attack,
I thought that I was doing what was right--
No more; and reckoned on your acquiescence.
If you believe that I have been unjust,
Tell me I beg you in a word or two,
And forthwith I will send you back your sword."
He gives this letter to Nathalie for her to deliver to the Prince. I
must set down the words with which she receives the letter:
"I do not know and do not seek to know
What woke your favor, liege, so suddenly.
But truly this, I feel this in my heart,
You would not make ignoble sport of me.
The letter hold whate'er it may--I trust
That it hold pardon--and I thank you for it!"
Many another writer would have believed it was not enough for Nathalie
to prove herself a heroine, but that she must stride onward with seven
league boots and become an Amazon as well. Kleist, however, had looked
deeply into feminine nature, he knew that woman's greatness only blooms
above the abyss, and that she loses her wings the moment that earth
again offers her a spot where she can safely and firmly tread. Nathalie
sighs only once: "Oh what is human greatness, human fame!" But she
rejoices when she has the saving letter of the Elector in her
possession, and, without troubling herself further about its contents,
she hastens, enraptured, to the Prince of Homburg.
The Prince receives the letter. He reads it aloud while Nathalie
listens. She grows pale; for she feels what a man must do who is called
upon to be his own judge. Nevertheless she urges the Prince to write the
words which the Elector requires; she snatches the letter from the
Prince's hand; when he hesitates, she reminds him of the open grave he
has already seen. But neither is the Prince any longer in doubt
concerning the significance of the moment, concerning the Elector,
concerning his own guilt. He says,
"I will not face the man who faces me
So nobly, with a knave's ignoble front!
Guilt, heavy guilt, upon my conscience weighs,
I fully do confess--"
He writes this to the Elector, and Nathalie embraces him exclaiming:
"And though twelve bullets made
You dust this instant, I could not resist
Caroling, sobbing, crying: 'Thus you please me!'"
I would gladly follow the great poet through the fifth act also, but it
is not indispensable for the analysis of the play, as the _denouement_
is easy to foresee--namely that the Prince, after already suffering one
death through the relinquishment of that idea which has been the guiding
principle of his life hitherto, is spared a second death. Finally I must
add that I have not chosen the _Prince of Homburg_ as the subject of my
criticism because this tragedy is the most successful of all Kleist's
plays, but merely because it offers the best opportunity for drawing a
comparison between the dramatic achievements of Kleist and those of
Koerner. And now, courage. We must start in with Koerner and we will
choose that one of his products which is universally declared the
greatest, his _Zriny_.
In discussing the _Prince of Homburg_ I could limit myself to a general
outline, as it is not possible that any one who reads the play could
ever have the least doubt whether the characters are correctly drawn. We
have not such an easy task with Koerner's _Zriny_, but rather must take
the opposite way. In order not to overpass the limits of this essay,
however, we will pay less attention to the play as a totality, which,
indeed, can occupy our attention only if the first investigation prove
favorable to the author.
The idea which kindles Zriny's enthusiasm is unconditional obedience to
Emperor and Fatherland. It must be admitted that it is an idea which may
have arisen in many a human breast in the year 1566, and which certainly
animated the heroic Zriny. It is not sufficient, however, for the
dramatic poet to give utterance to what fills the soul of his hero, for
that falls to the lot of history to perform. While the historian looks
upon every individual as a bomb, whose course and effect he must
calculate, but with whose origin he is but slightly concerned, it is the
affair of the dramatic poet--who, if he recognizes his high mission,
strives to complete history--to show how the character whom he has
chosen as a subject for treatment has become what he is. We find this,
for example, in Shakespeare, to go back to the Bible of the playwright.
Every passion which he describes we see as roots and tree at one and the
same time. Theodor Koerner simplified the matter, he only shows us the
flame; whence it comes he leaves in doubt, and therefore has himself to
thank if we are undecided whether his heroes are pursuing
will-o'-the-wisps, or--to use his favorite metaphor--stars. I need not
call attention to the fact that this way is by far the easier.
The plot of this play is sufficiently well known. I will
therefore turn immediately to a closer examination of the
several characters. Honor to whom honor is due; let Sultan
Soliman advance. I will not pause at the first scene in
which he appears, although even there he reveals damnable
weaknesses. After all a Turk may be forgiven for losing
his temper because his physician-in-ordinary does not know
how long he will live. In the second scene Koerner has tried
to outline the hero who demands Vienna for his funeral
torch. He has not succeeded as well as he might.
"Karl, Karl!"--cries Soliman in his beard--"If only thou
Thy Europe now would lie here at my feet"
[Illustration: THE BATTLE BETWEEN THE HUNS AND THE NIBELUNGS _From the
Painting by Schnorr von Carolsfeld_]
Every other hero would have considered that in which Soliman beheld the
curse of his life to be the greatest favor fortune could have shown him.
I do not expect much from the hound--this parable is very well suited to
the Turks--who only fights with little yelping dogs. How far Mr. Koerner
has succeeded in spreading the oriental coloring over his picture is
shown very plainly in the fourth scene, where Soliman receives his
generals with the words:
"I greet you all, supporters of my throne,
Most welcome comrades of my victories,
I greet you all."
Seldom has the sun shone upon a politer Turk than this Soliman, who, to
be sure, afterward throws around not only his oaths but his dagger. That
it is no merit of Koerner if we behold in his Soliman a hero and a Turk,
must be evident to every one; but let us now examine whether he has
succeeded any better in representing the commander-in-chief and the
tyrant. We find both in the third scene of the third act. Mehmed reports
to the Sultan that the assault has been repulsed.
"A curse upon thee!"
answers the latter; then he inquires who gave the order for the retreat;
Mehmed answers that he did; the Janizaries had been slaughtered by the
thousands, but in vain, the army was exhausted, and it had been
impossible to wrest the victory from the enemy; he intended, however, to
bombard the castle the next night and was persuaded that the walls must
give way. Soliman flies into a passion:
"But I from them will wrest it (the victory namely), must
wrest it!"
In very truth an excellent commander-in-chief, who is not to be
persuaded by reasons such as Mehmed advanced, and who differs from a
child who is denied his will only in that he bellows where the child
screams. But--perhaps we have the tyrant before us where I thought I
perceived the nullity of the commander-in-chief. Let us read on:
ALI.
"Remember Malta!
SOLIMAN.
Death and Hell! Ali!
Remind me not of Malta, if thy head
Is dear to thee. More I endure from thee
Than does befit the great lord Soliman!"
Really the beginning promises well.
ALI.
"My life is in thy hands, my Emperor!
SOLIMAN.
Since thou dost know that, yet didst freely speak
Thy heart's thought to me, I'll forgive thee.
For I love truth which knows no fear of death.
In token then of my imperial grace,
Thy council shall prevail; I'll not attack!"
I think we do not need to tremble before a tyrant whose fury could be
appeased by Ali's paltry words. "My life is in thy hands, my Emperor!"
which must have been said to him often enough before. Let no one
reproach me if, henceforth, I keep silence on the subject of Soliman.
Offenses of this kind are not mere blunders, they are the sign of
complete incompetency on the part of the poet, and solely out of
curiosity, not because it is necessary to demonstrate my argument, I
shall continue to analyze Zriny, Helena, and the other marionettes.
Zriny is an abortive copy of Wallenstein; his originality consists in
doing _for_ the Emperor, what the latter does _against_ him. Juranitsch
is Max Piccolomini the second, but has the misfortune to stand as far
_below_ the first as other people who also happened to be seconds, as
for example, Frederick the Second, Joseph the Second, etc., stood
_above_ their namesakes. In general, _Zriny_ has made it clear to me
that Koerner, had he lived, would, without any doubt, have become a
second Schiller, namely, by completely absorbing the first. The
plagiarisms which the noble young man has indulged in, in this tragedy,
as regards the disposition of the scenes as well as in whole individual
speeches and sentences, surpass all belief. I shall perhaps point out
some of these in the course of my investigation of the characters.
But before I investigate the claims to heroism of Koerner's Zriny may I
be allowed to determine what are the qualities absolutely indispensable
for a hero. I will not place my demands very high, but circumspection
and firmness I may at least be allowed to require, besides mere courage.
Also a certain amount of modesty would not become him ill, perhaps we
may even demand this of the hero of a drama; for the dramatic poet must
not indeed in any sense idealize, but he should render only the
genuinely human, not the purely accidental, which, because accidental,
is rare. For an individual to be at the same time a hero and a braggart
is, however, quite accidental, and the result merely of a deficient or a
perverted education. If one wishes to find firmness in the fact that a
man knows in advance what he wants, that he forms his decision before he
is acquainted with the controlling circumstances, then certainly this
quality cannot be denied our Zriny.
"His loyalty no nobler guerdon asks
Than to seek death, a joyful sacrifice,
For his own folk and his undying faith."
But it seems to me that a desperate resolution is only justifiable when
it can no longer be avoided; whoever takes one before that, is cowardly
rather than brave; for he has not the strength to make the sacrifice at
the proper moment; therefore he tries, beforehand, to reason himself
into being courageous. When Zriny, however, speaks the words quoted, he
has already in his possession the letter of the Emperor, informing him
that he need hope for no relief; but he cannot know yet how long Soliman
will continue to assault Szigeth, and there is likewise no need to
inspire his companions with courage by these words, in which he boasts
of his own courage, for they were every one of them heroes. I fail,
therefore, to find in his braggadocio the firmness that is worthy of a
great man, and this is a fault which I may be permitted to charge to Mr.
Koerner's account; for he intended it to form part of his Zriny's
character. The dear man has an even smaller share of circumspection:
read but the sixth scene of the second act where he ponders the
question, what he shall do with his wife and child. Truly, when he
decides to leave them in the fortress, so that the garrison shall not
lose courage, I cannot suppress the thought that the daughter has
already had an illegitimate child and the wife has been a heroine in the
wrong place; for if he had considered them worth a straw, he could not,
for such a reason, have exposed them to such a danger. And is that a
courageous garrison which is calm because it believes itself to be still
safe? And shall its eyes never be opened simply because it sees that the
danger is shared for a while by the wife and child of the
commander--for whom, as Zriny himself remarks, there are secret passages
which can be used in case of necessity. Mr. Zriny did not consider all
this; his circumspection, therefore, is surely not very great. Just one
sample of the noble simplicity and modesty of this hero:
"Thou knowest me, Maximilian,
I thank thee for thy high imperial trust,
Thou knowest Zriny, thou dost not mistake."
It is nauseating to continue, I have the impression at this moment that
I am trying to prove that a soap-bubble is really only a soap-bubble.
Just one word more about Helena. The tender child, who faints away at
the end of the first act when Juranitsch takes leave of her to go into
battle, has made such progress in bravery in the seventh scene of the
second act, that she exclaims:
"Yes, father, father, send us not from thee!"
and at the conclusion of the fourth (indeed it is time, for in the next
act the piece comes to an end) she even says:
"Yes, let us die! What care we for the sun!"
Spare your sympathy, reader or spectator; you must not think that you
have to do with men who care anything for their lives, and who therefore
are making a sacrifice--no indeed! They have nothing in common with such
a weakling as you.
I hope I shall not be accused of hastiness--I must hurry on to the end,
for there are just as many absurdities in _Zriny_ as there are
verses--if from all this I draw the conclusion that Theodor Koerner had
not the slightest talent for the drama. I promised, a while ago, to
specify some plagiarisms from Schiller, but I may safely refer to the
whole book. Instead I will make a few more remarks on the death-scene of
Helena, scene six, act five.
This scene is not badly constructed. I will not, indeed, examine too
closely how far love made it justifiable for a girl to ask of her lover
to kill her. For once we will take Helena's word for it that under
similar circumstances she would have done the like had Juranitsch
demanded it, and then she, as well as the poet, is held excused. We will
only listen to what Juranitsch answers when she has made her wish clear
to him. He says:
"Thee, I must kill? Thee? no, I cannot kill thee!"
This would be human, but listen to what follows:
"--When the storm wind
O'erthrows the oak and rages 'mongst the pines,
It leaves unharmed the tender floweret,
Its thunders change to gentle whisp'ring zephyrs
And shall I wilder be than the wild storm?
Shall I destroy life's loveliest vernal wreath?
In cruelty the boisterous elements
Surpassing, shall I break this floweret
To touch which destiny's hand has yet not dared?"
I ask you is it possible to surpass such trivial nonsense?
I shall say no more concerning Koerner's individual scenes. This is not
committing an injustice; for it is absolutely unimportant, so far as our
investigation is concerned, whether and in how far Koerner had the
ability to construct a tragedy, since this faculty--as Goethe's example
shows us--has nothing to do with poetry in itself. There is no need for
us to draw the parallel between the _Prince of Homburg_ and _Zriny_; it
is quite evident. One reproach, however, which might be made by an
attentive reader, I must anticipate: namely, I might be asked why I have
subjected the two principal characters of Koerner's tragedy to a regular
police examination, and, instead of accepting them in their totality,
have required them to render account in how far they were heroes,
commanders, tyrants, etc. But since they are, like all creations of mere
talent, nothing but arrows which are shot from a certain bow-string
toward a certain target, it follows that they can only be judged by the
deflections from their course. Herein--be it remarked incidentally--lies
the difference, often perceived but seldom explained, between the
characters portrayed by Schiller and those portrayed by Goethe.
Schiller's characters--to use a play on words which for once expresses
the truth--are beautiful because they are self-contained; Goethe's
characters because they are unrestrained. Schiller delineates the man
who is complete in his own strength, and, a man of iron, is tried by
circumstances; for this reason Schiller was great only in the historical
drama. Goethe delineates the endless creations of the moment, the
eternal modifications of the man caused by every step that he takes;
this is the token by which we may recognize genius, and it seems to me
that I have discovered it also in Heinrich von Kleist.
At this moment, when I would pass on to review the achievements of
Koerner and Kleist in the field of comedy, I remember that I was not
sufficiently definite, above, when developing my conception of the
drama. I should have added that I cannot, strictly speaking, count
comedy as a form of drama, but must include it in the category of
dialogue narrative. If one recalls to mind the purpose of high-class
comedy--"to describe individual ages and classes," one must admit that I
am entitled to do so. I must remark in advance that neither Koerner nor
Kleist has done anything for high-class comedy. But Kleist in his
_Broken Pitcher_ has drawn a comic character-picture which is so full of
life that it reminds us of Shakespeare, if of any one, while Koerner in
his _Nightwatchman_ has drawn nothing but a funny caricature; with the
former the character shapes the situations, whereas with the latter the
situations shape the characters, if I may use this expression. I should
be giving myself a great deal of unnecessary trouble if I should engage
in a further analysis of the two comedies which I have mentioned, since
at all events I could only adduce sundry details, and such details in
this case prove absolutely nothing; for the only safe criterion of the
truly comic is that the picture as a whole, apart from what wit has done
for it, should arouse interest as an organic adaptation of nature. With
the rascally, lustful, country judge, Adam, in the _Broken Pitcher_,
this is certainly the case; one can safely take away from him the few
witty sallies which he indulges in: but what the nightwatchman Schwalbe
would become if one attempted the same procedure with him, I should not
like to decide; probably a clown, who has been deprived of his wooden
sword and cap and bells, and whose plain, honest features show that he
has only executed such droll antics for the sake of his bread and
butter. Schwalbe is merely ridiculous, but Adam is comic; the
difference, to define it more clearly, consists in this; every
caricature, because it diverges from laws which are eternal and
necessary, without standing in eternity as a peculiarly constructed
whole, has a tinge of incongruity, consequently of ridiculousness; while
only that caricature of nature can be comic of which the divergences are
self-consistent, which shows therefore that it is founded _in itself_.
The poet should take only the comic as a subject of treatment; for he
can never lay stress upon detached separate phenomena, if he cannot
prove the connection between them and the general whole, if they do not
constitute for him a window through which he looks down into Nature's
breast. It is easy to calculate, accordingly, how high Theodor Koerner's
services to the comedy should be rated, provided he has actually
succeeded with his smaller things, _The Nightwatchman, The Green
Domino_, etc., in furnishing amusing farces. To accomplish this, nothing
was required but natural gaiety combined with a talent for
representation, and many men who were anything but poets have been
equipped with both.
It still remains for us to estimate what Koerner and Kleist have achieved
in narrative. In this field Koerner has produced such mere trifles that
it would be unjust for one to infer from them the least thing touching
his characteristics, as it probably never occurred to him to consider
himself a story-writer. Heinrich von Kleist's novels and stories, on the
other hand, belong among the best that German literature possesses.
Almost all the narratives of our writers, with the exception of a few
productions by Hoffmann and Tieck, suffer, if I may say so, from the
monstrousness of the subjects chosen, if they do indeed rise at all
above mediocrity. There is, however, no very deep psychological insight
needed in order to know how the whole man will be affected by an event
which sweeps down upon him like a stormwind, and very ordinary talents
may safely attempt tasks of this kind; just as, for example, every
painter with some technical skill can represent despair, fear, terror,
all those emotions, in short, which only permit of one expression;
whereas a Rembrandt is required, if a gipsy encampment is to be
pictured. Kleist, therefore, set himself other tasks; he knew and had
perhaps experienced in his own person, that life's process of
destruction is not a deluge but a shower, and that man is superior to
every great fatality, but subject to every pettiness. He proceeded from
this theory of life, when he delineated his _Michael Kohlhaas_, and I
maintain that in no German novel have the hideous depths of life been
projected upon the surface in such vivid fashion as in this, when the
theft by a squire, of two miserable horses, forms the first link in a
chain, which extends upward from the horse-dealer Kohlhaas to the ruler
of the Holy Roman Empire, and crushes a world by coiling round it. I
should like to analyze the novel more in detail, but am glad that the
limits of my essay, or rather the patience of my readers and auditors,
do not permit me to do so; for the members of the society will thus feel
prompted the sooner to acquaint and familiarize themselves with the
works of Heinrich von Kleist, if they have not already done so.
While hastening on to the close, I must, in accordance with the
introduction to this essay, call attention to the fact that Kleist, no
less than Koerner, did not leave unheeded the claims that his country
properly made upon him in the portentous age in which he lived. In his
breast, as in that of his contemporaries, there glowed the flame of
enthusiasm for the honor and freedom of his people; and the oppression
that they endured, the internal and external slavery in which he beheld
them sunk, placed the pistol in his hand. I mention this because it has
been imputed to the poet Koerner as a great merit that he was at the same
time a martyr. But Kleist could behold his country unworthily treated
without for that reason having unworthy thoughts of the man who was
treading it in the dust; he was great enough to be able to forgive
Napoleon the pain which he could not endure. He wrote no war-songs for
patriotic journeymen-tailors and high-minded counter-jumpers, but he
described Hermann's Battle and the battle of Fehrbellin; he called the
dead to life in order to arouse the living.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: The extracts from _The Prince of Homburg_ are taken from
Mr. Hagedorn's translation, Volume IV of THE GERMAN CLASSICS.]
LUDOLF WIENBARG'S "THE DRAMATISTS OF
THE PRESENT DAY"
A REVIEW (1839)
By FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
TRANSLATED BY FRANCES H. KING
It is probable that no German who is able to appreciate the power of the
theatre, its silent influence on the people, and the consequent reaction
on the development of dramatic talent, has looked on indifferently at
the decay and complete ruin of our stage. The drama of a nation,
conceived in a worthy sense, represents that nation in its
self-consciousness; it is the burning-mirror which receives the separate
rays of the nation's innermost being while passing history is enticing
them out of the depths, which condenses and concentrates them and thus
kindles one century by means of another, and calls to life one glorious
deed by means of another. Tragedy represents a people in its relation to
the most important problems, its own as well as those of humanity in
general. Comedy paints it in its natural aberrations and abnormalities,
in its tendencies and endeavors which are directed earthward. Both must
subsist together, in common development, and on an equal elevation, if
we are to sum up the entire life of a nation, and give a true, eternal
picture of its will-power and capacity, of its vacillations and defeats.
This is the object which dramatic literature must always keep in view if
it would be effectual. To be sure, it is possible to conceive a still
higher species of drama, a tragedy which deals with man only in the
abstract, with man in himself, in his mysterious relation to God and
Nature; a comedy which lays nationalities themselves in their coffin and
gaudily dresses up the corpse. But it is still an open question whether,
under such a general domination of the idea of humanity as is
presupposed in that case, art can continue to exist at all; and at any
rate the time of this spirit-like domination is still far off, although
literature has witnessed the production of many dramatic poems which
seem to be designed for it.
It was many years ago that Tieck, on the subject of some wretched stuff
by Clauren, made the remark that we had at last reached the cellar and
must begin to ascend again. He was right in his remark, but, unhappily,
not in the hope with which he accompanied it. Very far from hastening to
leave the cellar, we have found it very comfortable down there; we have
made ourselves at home as well as we could, and are hideously satisfied!
Instead of the heroic spirit of our past ages, Jack Pudding now staggers
out of the wings in a torn jacket and shows us what kind of humor is
engendered by stupidity and brandy, when they have a rendezvous in the
head of a porter. If Schiller and Goethe dare once to come out of their
exile, then Nestroy's plum-pudding jinnee steps in their path, and they
of course modestly give way to him. The magic worlds of Shakespeare and
Calderon are already suffocated in their birth by the head-shaking of
the stage-manager who must keep his machinery together for Raimund's
bedlam hocus-pocus. Let us be just, however, let us remember that our
theatre, in spite of the great talents which have been dedicated to it,
was not what it should have been, even in its most brilliant period, and
this perhaps not quite through its own fault. We have never had a real
comedy; farces and absurdities take its place, and the critics
themselves, if we except Schlegel, never seemed to divine that tragedy
and comedy sprout from one and the same root, and that the former
absolutely cannot unfold in all its greatness if the latter remains
behind it. Confining the conception of comedy to the narrow etymological
meaning of its name, and inferring the intrinsic impossibility of the
poem from the accidental lack of a poet, we have imagined that we could
not have a comedy, when on the contrary we, precisely, should and ought
to have the very best, for reasons which cannot be developed thus in
passing. Our tragedy, on the other hand, wished to take the second step
before the first; it was not satisfied to start out to conquer the world
from our own territory; it preferred to wander about as a homeless
vagabond among all the peoples of the earth; and only when it had fully
persuaded itself that one cannot grow fat off begged bread did it return
in shame to its mother's breast. But, in Germany, in the meantime, the
enthusiasm which can seldom or never be re-awakened had evaporated, and
when _Wallenstein_ and _William Tell_, when _Hermann's Battle_ and the
_Prince of Homburg_ appeared, the fusion of the theatre with life, which
might perhaps have still been possible at the time of _Iphigenia_, was
no longer to be thought of. People had become used to looking upon the
stage as a source of amusement, and, as a rule, whatever sinks to the
level of a pastime is forever degraded. This was the cause of all the
evil; this was the reason why for a long time dogs and monkeys,
prestidigitators and modern athletes, celebrated their triumphs where
art should have proclaimed her most profound oracles, and where a people
should have found refreshment and elevation in quiet self-enjoyment, in
the mild exertion of all their powers, and in the sensation of arousing
their most secret sympathies and antipathies.
Wienbarg believes that a turning point has now been reached. To this
belief we owe his present literary contribution "which consists in
seeking critically to elucidate, in irregularly appearing pamphlets,
modern dramatic literature--especially book-dramas, which are rarely or
not at all seen on the stage. He is guided in his selection each time by
some dramatic-educational purpose for author and public, and continually
bears in mind an ideal centre of taste in the historic-poetic
consciousness of the nation." Such an undertaking, carried out by a man
who combines insight into the subject with the gift of presenting it as
the times require, deserves full recognition. Only that criticism which
knows how to make itself respected, can regain for the muse of the drama
her temple, the stage; this cannot be done by the muse herself, who,
every time she seeks to enter, is, with the politest of bows, shoved
into the corner again by her noble priesthood. Criticism must, in view
of the voluntary poverty of our repertory, draw attention to the
neglected riches of our dramatic literature; it must, by
characterization and analysis, act as mediator between the genius of the
poet and the talent of the actor, and it sins heavily against the
present when it turns its attention chiefly to the recent past which has
not yet been canonized. It can, as a general rule, never look back often
enough.
Wienbarg begins with Uhland. From the point of view he has chosen he was
quite right to leave unnoticed for the present Heinrich von Kleist's
magnificent _Hermann's Battle_ and _Prince of Homburg._ Of all our poets
Uhland has unearthed in the purest form the treasure of German
nationality: all the dreaming and longing, the hoping and enduring, but
also all the courage, all the strength which steps into the first rank
only in battle, not on the parade ground. One cannot blame Uhland
without blaming Germany at the same time, but one can praise Uhland
without at the same time praising Germany; for all poetry idealizes
because it frames as in a mirror, but on account of its limits it
compresses scattered details into a seemingly well ordered whole, which,
however, does not by any means exist so harmoniously in nature. Uhland's
poetry is a tear, forced from the flashing dark eye by the intolerable
pain which dilates the heart and finds no more room there; but how much
more beautiful is the pain than the wound, and how much more beautiful
is the tear than the pain! Such tears are suffocated deeds. If our
supineness and sentimentality only did not so often degrade holy water
to the base uses of ablution!
Wienbarg introduces his characterization of Uhland with some excellent
remarks. We cannot take enough to heart what he says on page 17: "Our
literature is a ghost, most of the species of poetry are spectres, and
faith or unbelief in them is called esthetics. Fresh young life is
sucked out, architectonic powers are misused in order to spiritualize
and propagate lifeless forms and satisfy the vanity of literature by
means of so-called works of art." If philosophy is destroyed by
systematizing how much more so is poetry, which can exist only so long
as it is free. The instinct to make an end of everything, and wilfully
and arbitrarily to pen up what is not confined to time and space, is the
ugliest trait in human nature. Life, in whatever phase it may be, always
has a form, though sometimes one not to be seized with hands; it is
always in fermentation, never in putrefaction; but its form is lost when
we try to bring it into harmony with the tyrannical generalities which
are bequeathed from grandfather to grandchild; then it congeals, and the
stream that might have afforded us the most delicious bath can, at the
most, be transformed into a sledge-road. Protect yourself against the
sea but do not strive to hamper and dam up its movement; if this ever
succeeded, the sea would become a swamp, and all of you--not only the
sailors--would die a miserable death. To begin with, it is a misfortune
that human society requires the form of the State, which cannot be
traced back to any primitive foundation; for the individual tendencies
and developments that are most full of genius are thus nipped in the
bud, and it is an open question whether those that remain, which to be
sure are better protected against wind and weather inside the ramparts
and walls than elsewhere, can, even when yielding their most abundant
profits, make compensation for those that are held back and crushed.
Will you go even further than necessity forces you; will you compel the
spirit, even in its most peculiar sphere, to accept a constitution under
the lamblike innocent name of esthetics? Of what advantage will it be to
you? You can then, to be sure, lawfully scold and punish; today you can
lock up a sentiment in the guardhouse for drunkenness: tomorrow you can
drag off a thought to imprisonment for offense against your sovereign
majesty; and the day after you can send a phantasy to the mad house on
account of its all too bold flight. Life is its own law and its own
rule, but you never want to adore the god until after you have crucified
him. As long as the tree is green you cut off its branches, and out of
the dried hewn-down one you make, not an axle for your mill-wheel, but
an idol.
What Wienbarg says of Uhland, the ballad-writer, is very pretty, but it
was refuted before it was even written. Uhland, the ballad-writer, is
not the dramatic poet, "broken into a thousand pieces;" the poems
appeared in 1815, the first drama in 1818. I would not advance this
superficial argument if it were not connected with an essential one. All
these full, flowing songs and romances were finished before the nobly
calm power that called them into being concentrated itself for the
creation of a dramatic work; and in truth they do not bear on their
forehead the red fever spot of aspiration groping in the dark, which
does not find what it seeks and therefore clasps in its arms the object
over which it stumbles; they breathe that smiling, lovely, self-absorbed
contentment, without which there may be intoxication, but no joy, no
life. It is true that through the songs as well as through the ballads,
the dramatic genius which was later to produce _Duke Ernest_ and _Louis
the Bavarian_ already treads softly like a sleep-walker; this it is
which gives them the firm form, the deeper meaning which is so
scandalously lacking in those good people who now and then innocently
versify a legend or some trifling emotion. But the dramatic element is,
strange as this assertion may sound, just as much an essential in
poetry--one without which poetry would crumble away into dust--as the
lyrical; from the former, poetry receives its body; from the latter, its
soul, and both are mutually dependent upon one another. Is not suffering
itself, only action turned inward!
On page twenty-one we read: "Do you know what it is that I love in
Uhland's imperfect dramas? It is the pure, vital, German-dramatic
poetry, which, piercing the tawdry veneer of culture and the
prevailingly wretched appearances of our life, strikes fire from the
bed-rock of spiritual life itself, and with its divining rod points to
the golden veins in the foundations of the national character.
German-dramatic! that is the right word! and this is saying a great
deal, for German and dramatic are contradictory terms. Just because
Uhland is so German-dramatic he might give our theatre the national
consecration which it lacks, and which alone can assure it intrinsic
worth and dignity, efficacy and stability. Goethe's _Goetz_ is not
adapted to the stage, and it will be difficult for the scissors to make
it so. Schiller's _Wallenstein_, in spite of its extensiveness, is only
a character picture; the Thirty Years' War merely peeps through shyly
now and again when the Duke's eloquence fails him, and when Max and
Thekla take a rest from their love-making. With all due respect for the
great dead, from whose laurel tree I do not intend to pluck a single
leaf, be it said that the piece has something ridiculous about it when
it is played; it is a thunderstorm during which two turtle-doves are
billing and cooing. There is some difference in _William Tell_, Bertha
and Rudenz are more modest and more sparing with their sighs, tears, and
premonitions. But the depicted situation is accidental, and under
similar circumstances is repeated everywhere, therefore one cannot judge
the Germanic nature by it--even if we include Switzerland as a
representative of this nature--any more than one can judge of a man by
the portrait which has been made of him during his illness. Neither am I
able to find the spectacle of the strength that breaks external fetters
so edifying as many others do: Why did it allow itself to be enchained?
Kleist's _Hermann's Battle_ and his _Prince of Homburg_ carry us, the
one too far back and the other too far forward. Uhland chose historic
events better than Kleist, he treated them more worthily and more nobly
than Schiller. For this reason, if for no other, he stands in the
foreground of this discussion."
In the same place the question is raised: What is the conception of
religion or fate from which our tragic drama has emanated? Wienbarg
skips over the question, or at least takes the answers to it too
lightly. Nevertheless here is the root of the whole tree. Human nature
and human destiny, these are the two riddles that the drama strives to
solve. The difference between the drama of the ancients and the drama of
the moderns lies in this: the ancients sought to illumine the labyrinths
of fate by means of the torch of poetry; we moderns try to refer human
nature, in whatever form or contortion it presents itself before us, to
certain eternal and changeless principles, as to an immovable
foundation. What to us is the means, was to them the end, and _vice
versa._
With the ancients the suffering results from the action; their tragedy
was really a triumph of instinct. The first bold lightning flash of
half-awakened consciousness illuminated the empty Olympus, and because
man found the halls of the gods deserted, he sought in his own breast a
centre for the circle of his existence. But when, revolving around
himself and thereby denying the pole of the world, he stood, in his
stubborn isolation, in the way of the great whole, the invisible
fly-wheel which drives the universe seized him with tremendous power and
flung him mockingly into an abyss. He felt that he had sinned, and
did not know in what way. He found himself justified in his earthly
relations and yet could not shake off the oppressive nightmare of a
secret monstrous guilt. Then he shudderingly divined that sin can go
further than knowledge, that in things and in events, as well as in
human thought and feeling, there lies a mysterious final something,
which, of whatever nature it may be and whatever its effect, must be
regarded as holy. Let us remember Oedipus and the way in which in this
drama one riddle is always solved by another riddle.
In the modern drama, on the contrary, the suffering as a rule first
begets action. The hero gets into the whirlpool, he does not himself
know how, but when near destruction he shows himself to be a brave,
fearless swimmer. This comes from the attempt, not so much to reconcile,
as to compare the idea of Freedom with the idea of Necessity. Modern
tragedy has, therefore, when placed beside the ancient, a sickly hue,
which is still further intensified by the circumstance that its point of
departure is the individual. I should like to have time to indicate all
the consequences of these opposite conceptions.
If I should be asked to express in brief the fundamental idea of modern
tragedy I should find it in the harsh fetters that bind the highest
nobility of human nature, in suffering and death, and in the resistance
of the world--occasioned thereby, nay presupposed as a necessity--which
the world offers to all greatness as it strives for self-realization.
Wienbarg, after his general preliminary remarks, proceeds to make an
analysis of Uhland's drama, _Louis the Bavarian._ It is excellent and
accomplishes everything that it should accomplish, by combining the
characterization of the poet with the characterization of the German
drama in its totality, of which totality the individual drama is an
organic part. Of course every reader will wish that Wienbarg had
rendered the tragedy, _Duke Ernest_, the same friendly service, of which
Uhland's dramas, in their unostentatious simplicity, stand so much in
need, if they are ever to receive the appreciation which they deserve.
Were it fitting to prolong the criticism of a criticism to such an
extent, I should myself attempt to elucidate this most German of
tragedies in all its ramifications; perhaps this will be done in another
place. We are rich and consider ourselves poor; we have the diamonds,
and there shall not be wanting people who know how to cut them. May the
second part of Wienbarg's treatise very soon appear! Many a one is now
pushing forward the hand on the horologe of time and hastening nothing
thereby but the hour of his own execution. Wienbarg is not one of these.
REVIEW OF HEINRICH VON KLEIST'S PLAY
THE PRINCE OF HOMBURG, OR THE BATTLE OF
FEHRBELLIN (1850)
By FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
TRANSLATED BY FRANCES H. KING
THE PRINCE OF HOMBURG is one of the most peculiar creations of the
German mind, for the reason that in it, through the mere horror of
death, through death's darkening shadow, has been achieved what in all
other tragedies (this work is a tragedy) is achieved only through death
itself: that is to say, the moral purification and apotheosis of the
hero. The whole drama is planned to bring about this result, and what
Tieck, in a well known passage, declares to be, the kernel of it, namely
the illustration of what subordination is, in reality is only the means
to an end. Neither do I agree with Tieck when he remarks further that
the sleep-walking scene with which the piece begins, and the final
_denouement_ connected with it add to the other merits of the drama by
lending it the charm of a pleasing and attractive fairy-tale. On the
contrary, this feature is to be censured because it is disturbing, and
if, as in _Kaethchen of Heilbronn_, it were intimately inwoven in the
organism of the work it would deprive the latter of its claim to be
considered a classic. For man must not be forced to do penance for the
mischief which the moon causes; otherwise we might be obliged to call it
a tragedy if a man, having climbed up to the apex of the roof in his
sleep, and been spied there by his sweetheart, who, in the first terror
of surprise, called his name, should fall at her feet crushed to pieces!
Happily, however, we can eliminate the whole sleep-walking episode and
the work continues to be what it is; it stands immovable on a solid
psychological foundation, and the rank weeds of Romanticism, have only
twined themselves around it like superfluous arabesques. That, indeed,
must not be understood to mean that half of the first and half of the
last act could be struck out. If such a barbaric procedure were
possible, Kleist would not be what, he is, a true poet, whom, like every
original God-given growth, one must accept as a whole or must reject as
a whole. No, we shall have to leave the Prince his garland-wreathing and
the glove which he catches as a consequence of it. But the incident is
by no means essential to the rest of the drama. The structure has,
beside these artificial supports, other very different and entirely
solid ones, and there is no need to enlarge upon the former unless one
is animated with a desire to find fault. Here we have a youth who had
the misfortune to have fortune smile upon him prematurely, and who loves
where perhaps--he has as yet no certainty of it--he should not love;
what more is needed to enable us to comprehend the arrogance displayed
in the first catastrophe and the pusillanimity in the second? Kleist has
put a set of pulleys in motion where the simplest lever would have
sufficed, but the pulleys have been connected with the lever, and the
purpose has been thoroughly accomplished, though not by the most direct,
and therefore the best means.
The action, conceived from the point of view just described, is, briefly
summed up, as follows: It is the evening, or rather the night, before
the battle of Fehrbellin. The Great Elector, surrounded by his family,
has gathered his generals about him and is making known to them, by his
field-marshal, the plan which he has devised for the battle on the
morrow. Each officer, Homburg among them, is informed what part he is to
play in the bloody work of the following day; the Prince receives the
most difficult post for one of his age and temperament, since he is to
remain outside the firing line with the cavalry which he commands during
the actual battle, and not until the victory is practically won can he
come into action; even then he is to await a definite order from the
Elector, and is merely to assist in completely routing the vanquished
enemy. Here, be it noted, his ordeal already begins. It is not an
accident that the Elector has assigned him a post which must necessarily
bring him into conflict with his passions and the demands of his blood;
the sovereign does it purposely in order that he may learn to control
both. The Prince is scarcely listening to the field-marshal when his
turn comes; he is absent-minded, for Nathalie, the Princess of Orange,
an orphan who has taken refuge at the Brandenburg Court, and whom he
secretly loves, is present, and the Electress is leaving with her and
the other ladies while his orders are being dictated. However, be
scarcely requires such pedantic instructions, for he sees in a battle
only an opportunity for personal distinction in one form or another, not
a moral task which can be properly executed only in one way.
Nevertheless, he learns from his friend Hohenzollern exactly what the
service requires of him; but of what avail is it? His friend can only
lend him his ears, not his judgment, and thus the first act ends,
conformably to this stage of his development, with a monologue, in which
we learn that he is only thinking of the laurels and the girl at whose
feet he will lay them, not of his duty and his country. Thus we see that
the sleep-walking scene, and all that is connected with it, can easily
be omitted; the exposition is complete without it, and therein lies the
actual proof of the correctness of my view of the work. A youth always
dreams of the man whom he already believes himself to be; there is
therefore no need of a double-dream. The glove might have been replaced
by a glance from the Princess, surprised unawares, followed by a sudden
blush. Was it intended for me or for you? That is enough to occupy a
youth to such an extent that he would pay no attention to Mars himself
were he to descend to earth. The battle takes place and what was to be
expected, occurs. The Prince attacks too soon, and the victory is indeed
gained, but it is not as complete a one as it would have been possible
to win. He knows very well what he is doing; it is impossible that he
should not know it, and therefore the poet might have spared himself the
carefully detailed description of his absent-mindedness in the first
act. Colonel Kottwitz, who is second in command, reminds him, with the
gruffness of an old man who might be at the same time his father and his
teacher, of the order that he should await from his sovereign, and
another officer even advises that his sword be taken from him. But he
curtly inquires of old Kottwitz whether he has not received the order
from his own heart, and he uses violence to the officer, then he dashes
away crying: "Now, gentlemen, the countersign: A knave who follows not
his general to the fight!" He arrives on the battlefield itself just at
the moment when the rumor is spreading that the Elector has fallen. He
performs marvels of valor, and we learn how much he loved his sovereign
by seeing how he avenges him. This is one of the most brilliant episodes
of the plot, and, truly, it alone is worth more than a whole catalogue
full of the ordinary dramas that one hears applauded in our theatres.
Sprinkled with blood, he hurries then into the peasant's but where the
Electress, with her court of ladies, has had to take refuge because a,
wheel of her coach broke while on the journey, and here he meets his
Nathalie. The women, who have also heard the terrible rumor, are
crushed; the Electress has fainted and the Princess, overcome by the
gravity of the situation, laments in a few simple, touching words her
complete loneliness. The Prince had not betrayed his affection for her
at the Elector's Court, but now that fortune seems to have abandoned the
fatherless and motherless girl, who was entirely dependent upon her
powerful uncle, he allows his heart to utter the first sound, and to
this sound she responds. Here we catch a gleam of his native, inborn
nobility of soul, which at the end of the whole purifying process is to
shine forth in perfect serenity, and we feel air unshakable confidence
in him. This love scene, which is brought about by death, belongs to the
highest sphere of art, and even the embarrassment which is evident in
the words exchanged between the Prince and the Princess, is warranted by
the relation in which they have hitherto stood to one another. They do
not dare to speak out plainly.
The scene is hardly over when the rumor which occasioned it is proved to
be false. The Elector lives and is already on the road to Berlin; the
battle has decided the whole war, and peace promptly follows. There is
infinite rejoicing, above all in the soul of the Prince. In the emotion
of his overflowing heart he tells the Electress his sweet secret, and
begs for her consent; she answers, "Not a suppliant on earth could I
deny today, whate'er he ask, and you, our battle-hero, least of all." He
is the happiest of mortals, and challenging "Caesar Divus" himself, as a
rival in Fortune's favor, he, with the ladies, follows his sovereign to
Berlin.
We must lay the proper weight upon this phase if we wish to comprehend
the further development of the tragedy. Arrived in Berlin he hurries at
once to the Elector, and places at his feet three flags captured from
the enemy. The Elector asks him sternly whether he was in command at
Fehrbellin, and when the Prince, in astonishment, replies in the
affirmative, he orders his sword to be taken from him. It had been
reported to the Elector that the Prince was wounded, and before knowing
definitely whether Homburg or Colonel Kottwitz-whom he believed to be
also capable of the deed-had led the cavalry into battle before
receiving the order, the Sovereign had declared that the commanding
officer was to be summoned before a court-martial and condemned to death
without respect of person. Now he simply carries out the sentence. The
Prince does not comprehend in the slightest; he would find it just as
natural if the trees should begin to speak and the stones to fly. He
must indeed obey, but as he gives up his sword, he declares bitterly
that if his "Cousin Frederick" wishes to play the role of Brutus, he
will not find in him a son who reveres him even under the executioner's
ax. That is all the more natural, as he is conscious of what he felt and
did on the battlefield in the moment when he received the news of the
death of his present judge. His friends try to calm him. The Elector
pays no attention to his passionate behavior, but with calm majesty
reads the inscriptions on the Swedish flags, and the Prince is led off
to prison. The noblest style is maintained throughout this scene, which
would have delighted the English of Shakespeare's day.
In the third act we find the Prince somewhat changed, but not to any
great extent. After thinking over the matter in solitude he has finally
grasped that the Elector could not allow the violation of his express
command to pass without some sort of punishment. But is it not
sufficient punishment for him to have spent some days in prison, and
does he not, moreover, deserve a reward because he entered it
voluntarily and did not strangle the jailer? Therefore he knows
positively that the first person to visit him will announce that he is
free, and when his friend Hohenzollern enters his cell, he exclaims
"Well, then, I'm free of my imprisonment." But when the latter examines
his position with very different eyes, when, by producing a series of
threatening facts each one more ominous than the other, he gradually
silences the Prince's emotion, which demonstrates exactly what the
Elector can do and what he cannot do, when he even tells him at last
that the death warrant is about to be brought for signature to the
Elector's cabinet, the Prince finally loses his foolish feeling of
security, and then of course he goes to the opposite extreme. Nay, when
the anxious Hohenzollern further informs him that the Swedish
ambassador, who has arrived on the occasion of the peace negotiations,
would ask the hand of the Princess of Orange for his master, but that
the Princess seems to have made her choice already and thus is
apparently thwarting the Elector's plan, and when he asks the Prince if
he is not in some way tangled up in all this, the latter cries out
despairingly "I am lost," and hurries off to the Electress to entreat
her to intervene in his behalf.
On the way he receives a last impressive confirmation of the seriousness
of his situation. He sees his grave being dug by torchlight. In the
apartment of the Electress now takes place the much decried scene, which
people refuse to comprehend, and therefore, of course, will not forgive
the poet for writing. The Prince, in the presence of the girl he loves,
begs for his life. He does so in the most ignominious fashion; indeed,
in order to remove what he considers one of the worst rocks of offense,
he even renounces Nathalie, while she stands by shuddering at the state
of humiliation in which she beholds her heart's ideal. Certainly that is
utterly unworthy of a hero and of a man, and we may unquestionably
depend upon it that the poet, who in the same piece created the Elector
beside the Prince, knew that as well as any of us. In fact, this scene
has no other purpose than to show us that the Prince is not yet either a
hero or a man, and that along the path he has trodden so far nobody can
become either the one or the other. Up to this time he has led a hollow,
sham existence, which could very well fill his head with giddy
intoxication, but could not put any real backbone into him. Now,
however, the true meaning of life, at least in one form, in the form of
love, has at last come close enough to him to make the continuation of
this sham existence impossible; therein lies the real import of the
scene in which he and Nathalie declare their love, the great
significance of which I pointed out above. If that had not taken place
he would probably have become a duelling-celebrity, and after the first
shock of surprise he would have been able to show the same contempt of
death as a professional fencer accustomed to the duelling-ground, who,
with perfect right, considers life--his own namely--to be a mere cipher;
he would have awaited the bullets defiantly, with his arms crossed a la
Napoleon, and the Elector would have had him shot, would indeed have
been forced to have him shot. He can no longer sink to such depths as
that now, but still less can he find the real moral strength soberly to
make up his mind to take voluntary leave of the world; for he has as yet
no feeling of completed existence and of duty performed to take away
with him; his life is still a blank. Therefore at this moment he must
act exactly as he does act; to be sure, the poet must not leave him in
this doubtful stage for any length of time; but neither, indeed, does he
do so. The Electress considers that any further step would be useless,
as she has already of her own accord done her utmost. Nathalie, however,
with death in her heart, promises to venture one last word with her
uncle for the fallen man, but bitterly advises the Prince in any case to
take another look at his grave, and to persuade himself that it is not
one whit gloomier than the battle has showed it a thousand times.
In the fourth act Nathalie keeps her promise, and the Elector sends her
with a mysterious letter to the Prince in his prison. He tells her
laconically that the Prince is saved just as surely as pardon lies in
his own wish. She brings the letter to the prisoner and he reads: "If
you believe that I have been unjust, tell me, I beg you, in a word or
two, and forthwith I will send you back your sword." Such words could be
used only by the majesty which would be revered even without a crown,
and the Prince feels it at once. "I cannot tell him that!" he cries out
when Nathalie presses him to write as the letter bids him. "What
matter?" he answers curtly, when she assures him that the regiment has
been detailed, which is to render the burial honors above his grave by
the thunder of their muskets. "I will tell him 'You did right!'" he
cries, when she continues to urge him; and he does so! He realizes that
the sovereign who summons him to judge himself, cannot have acted thus
toward him, in order to play the Brutus, or from heartless despotism. It
becomes clear to him that war, yes the State itself, rests upon the
principle of subordination, and that the commander must first perform in
his own person what he would require from his subordinates. He
determines,--and this too, be it noted, in the presence of the girl he
loves,--to make satisfaction to the offended code of war, and thus crush
again the Hydra of anarchy, which his arbitrary action, crowned with
victory though it was, might very well lead to. "And though twelve
bullets made you bite the dust this instant," cries Nathalie transported
with admiration, "I could not resist rejoicing, sobbing, crying: 'Thus
you please me.'" Truly she is right; now the man and the hero is
complete and never again in all eternity can he be seized with another
paroxysm of hollow self-glorification or of petty cowardice--which,
indeed, were intimately connected one with the other. The Prince has
become a stoutly forged link in the moral order of the universe, and the
more difficult it was for him, the more firmly he will endure. Whoever
does not find in this scene complete compensation for the preceding one
with the Electress--in which it is rooted like the flower in the black
earth; and whoever does not understand at the same time that the one was
not possible without the other, and that cause and effect cannot be
separated, to that person I must deny all capability of comprehending a
drama in its totality. The change effected by the Elector is one of the
most sublime conceptions that any literature can show, and is very far
from having an equal in our own.
The fifth act brings the necessary test. The Elector is entreated on all
sides to pardon the Prince; his family, the army, the Princess, all urge
him, indeed the latter--a fine touch--repeats the offense of her lover.
On her own authority, she calls a regiment of which she is chief, to
Fehrbellin, in order that the officers there may also sign their names
to a petition which is being circulated, and thus she could, in her
turn, actually be amenable to a court martial. The Elector allows
nothing to be wrung from him by coaxing or by bullying, but no one who
has an idea of the structure of the play need tremble any longer for the
Prince. It can already be seen that the Elector has no intention of
allowing matters to be carried to extremities from the leniency with
which he is inclined to treat old Kottwitz, who has suddenly arrived
with the cavalry, with out his knowledge and, as he believes, without
his orders. When Kottwitz presses him hard, and heatedly assures him
that at the very first opportunity he will repeat the act of the Prince,
which he once condemned but now must approve,--since for one case where
the impulse of the heart, the sudden instinct, does harm, there are ten
in which it alone can lead to the goal,--the Elector answers that lie
does not know how to convince him, but he will call an advocate who is
able to teach the old gentleman better than he can what discipline and
obedience are. Then he sends for the Prince, and the latter, solemnly
and of his own accord, declares before the entire body of generals that
he wishes by a voluntary death to glorify the code of war, which he had
criminally violated in the sight of the whole army, and that the only
favor he asks of the Elector, to whose just sentence he bows
unconditionally, is that he will not try, on behalf of the King of
Sweden, to force Nathalie's inclinations. This is granted him and he
returns to prison, which he leaves immediately after, to start, with
bandaged eyes, on the way which he perforce must think his last, and in
the moment when he expects the end he deservedly receives from the hands
of the Elector his life, his freedom, and his love.
Of course the romantic accessories of the first act have an
unsatisfactory sequel in the last, as the poet here too feels obliged
to take a roundabout road instead of the direct one. But we surely do
not need to prove thus late that the fault is quite as immaterial here
as there.
It is without doubt obvious to every one that in this drama the
evolution of an important man is presented with absolute directness, in
a way in which it is done nowhere else; that we gaze into the
characteristic medley of rough forces and wild impulses which as a rule
are the original ingredients of such a man, and that we accompany him
from the lowest stage up to the zenith, where the unrestrained roving
comet, that in its disorderliness was exposed to the danger of
self-destruction, is transformed into a clear self-dependent fixed star.
Do we need any other proof that the work is capable of producing a most
unprecedented effect? Even though it gave us nothing but the deep
psychological unfolding of this evolution, such an effect would perforce
be produced, for our dramatic authors, on general principles, seldom
give us opportunity to become acquainted with more than the outside skin
of the man, which, to be sure, is the same for Napoleon as for his most
insignificant corporal. In exceptional cases when they allow us a
glimpse into the heart and reins, they expect us to take a narrow
interest in a peculiarly organized individual, and are wanting in every
kind of background. However the psychological side in our drama is, with
extraordinary art, reduced to a mere substratum, out of which an
entirely new figure of tragedy develops, which combines in a wonderful
fashion the deepest tragic shudder with the gentle transports of a hope
that is not extinguished even in the blackest night. We are reminded of
a smiling May morning over which the first thunderstorm breaks with a
horrible crash; and that is a triumph of dramatic technique.
I would gladly examine the innumerable beauties of detail of this drama,
and in particular call attention to the central points of the plot,
abounding in the most vigorous life, into which a situation or a
character or the action itself is sometimes concentrated. But this
would lead me too far afield; moreover, since the most glaring
differences of opinion usually crop up precisely on this subject, I
could not avoid the dangerous ground on which, according to Goethe's
profound saying, the categorical imperative and the authority of the man
who pronounces it, form the last court of appeal. Or if some one, with a
liking for gaudy paint and iridescent rags, should prefer a puppet show
to the living figures of the piece, vital to their very finger tips,
but, to be sure, going about in very simple, sometimes even slovenly
garments, how could we decide the matter otherwise than in the well
known manner of Cato? The categorical imperative which occasionally
found favor with the old Romans is, however, terribly unpopular with the
Germans.
One question, notwithstanding, I dare not leave unanswered, the question
of how it is possible that the Prince of Homburg, in view of its great
literary importance and its abundant vitality, could up to this time
have met with so very little success on the stage? The answer is easy.
The great public, who in general suppose the poetical to lie in that
which is opposed to real life, has a strange conception of dramatic
heroism, and the greater part of the critics who should instruct the
public unfortunately share the same opinion. Because, in most cases, the
hero is entirely finished and manufactured to the last filament when he
makes his appearance in the drama, it is taken for granted that it must
be so under all circumstances. Therefore it follows that the poet fares
badly when, instead of leaving the development exclusively to the
action, he occasionally transfers it in part to the principal character,
and thus does not arouse the sympathy which he needs for his hero until
the end of the piece, instead of doing so in the very beginning. For we
immediately take for granted, even when we already know the poet, that
he has made a mistake, that he is growing enthusiastic over something
imperfect, immature, immoral, and that he demands of us to be
enthusiastic with him. That puts us out of humor, we do not await the
end, and even when we do, and become aware of his real intention, we
only partly abandon our former prejudice. This has already been proved
on various occasions. Kleist, in his _Prince of Homburg_, moreover,
touched what in his day was a most sensitive spot--when Theodor Koerner
made his characters run a race to see who could die first. Fear of death
and a hero! That was really going too far! It was an insult to every
ensign "You ask a piece of bread and butter of me! I will not give you
that! But my life you may have with pleasure!"
RECOLLECTIONS OF MY CHILDHOOD (1846-1854)
By FRIEDRICH HEBBEL
TRANSLATED BY FRANCES H. KING
At the time of my birth my father possessed a small house, with a garden
adjoining, in which stood some fruit trees; in particular one very
productive pear-tree. In the house there were three dwellings, the most
pleasant and roomy of which we occupied; its principal advantage
consisted in the fact that it was situated on the sunny side. The other
two were rented. The one opposite to us was inhabited by an old mason,
Claus Ohl, and his little stooping wife, and the third, to which a
back-entrance through the garden gave access, by the family of a day
laborer. The tenants never changed, and for us children they belonged to
the house, just like Father and Mother, from whom indeed, as regards
loving attentions bestowed upon us, they differed but little, if at all.
Our garden was surrounded by other gardens. On one side was the garden
of a jovial master-joiner who loved to tease me. Even now I cannot
understand how he could take his own life, as he did, later on. Once
when I was a very little boy I had said to him over the hedge, with a
precociously knowing look: "Neighbor, it is very cold!" and he never
grew weary of repeating this remark to me, especially in the hot summer
months.
Next to the garden of the joiner was that of the minister. It was
inclosed by a high board fence, which prevented us children from looking
over, but not from peeping through cracks and chinks. This afforded us
infinite pleasure in the springtime when the beautiful strange flowers
which filled the garden, came up again; but we trembled lest the
minister should catch sight of us. We felt an unbounded reverence for
him, which may have been inspired by his serious, severe, sallow face
and his cold glance, as much as by his position and his functions, which
seemed to us very imposing, such as, for example, walking behind the
hearses, which always passed in front of our house. Whenever he looked
over at us, as he occasionally did, we stopped playing and crept back
into the house.
On another side an old well formed the boundary between our garden and
the next. Shaded by trees and deep, as it was, with its rickety wooden
roof covered with dark green moss, I never could look at it without a
shudder. The longish quadrangle was closed by the garden of a dairy-man
who was treated with the greatest respect by the whole neighborhood on
account of the cows which he owned--and by the courtyard of a dresser of
white leather, the most ill-humored of men. My mother always said of him
that he looked as if he had swallowed one person and was just about to
catch another by the head and take the first bite.
This was the atmosphere in which I lived as a child. It could not have
been more restricted, and yet its impressions live on to the present
day. Still the merry joiner looks at me over the hedge, the morose
minister over the board fence. Still I see the strapping, corpulent
dairy-man standing in his doorway, with his hands in his pockets, in
token that they are not empty; still I look upon the dresser of white
leather, with his bilious yellow face, to whom the mere red cheeks of a
child were an insult, and who always seemed more terrible to me when he
began to smile. Still I sit upon the little bench under the spreading
pear-tree, and while refreshing myself in its shade, wait to see if a
fruit, prematurely ripened by worm-holes, will not drop from its sun-lit
top branches; and the well, the roof of which had to be repaired every
little while, still inspires me with a feeling of dread.
[Illustration: GUNTHER AND HAGEN BROUGHT CAPTIVE BEFORE KRIEMHILD _From
the Painting by Schnorr von Carolsfeld_]
II
My father was of a very serious disposition in his home, outside of it
he was gay and talkative. He had acquired a reputation on account of his
talent for telling fairy-tales; many years passed, however, before we
heard them with our own ears. He could not bear to hear us laugh or make
any noise; on the other hand he was fond of singing hymns, and indeed
worldly songs as well, in the twilight of the long winter evenings, and
loved to have us join in. My mother was excessively good-hearted and
somewhat quick-tempered; the most touching kindliness shone from her
blue eyes; when she felt passionately agitated, she began to cry. I was
her favorite; my brother, two years younger than I, was my father's
favorite. The reason was that I resembled my mother, and my brother
seemed to resemble my father, though this was by no means the case, as
was proved later.
My parents lived on the best of terms with one another so long as there
was bread in the house. There were painful scenes at times when it was
lacking. This seldom occurred in summer, but often happened in winter
when work was scarce. Although these scenes never degenerated into
violence, I cannot remember the time when they were not more terrible to
me than anything else, and for that very reason I may not pass over them
in silence.
I can remember an unpleasant incident of another kind which took place
in my earliest childhood. It is the first that I recollect and it may
have happened in my third year, if not in my second. I can tell about it
without offending against the sacred memory of my parents; for whoever
sees in it anything out of the ordinary is not acquainted with the lower
classes. My father when following his trade generally had his meals
provided by the persons for whom he worked. Then we at home, like all
other families, ate our usual midday meal. Occasionally, however, he had
to furnish his own food, in return for extra wages. Then dinner was
deferred, and in order to ward off hunger a simple bread and butter
sandwich was partaken of at twelve o'clock. It was an economical
arrangement for the little household which could not afford two large
meals. On one such day my mother baked some pancakes, certainly more to
please us children than to satisfy any desire of her own. We ate them
with the utmost relish and promised not to say anything about them to
our father in the evening. When he arrived we had already gone to bed
and were sound asleep. I do not know whether he may have been accustomed
to find us still up and the contrary event made him suspect that the
rule of the household had been broken. Suffice it to say he awoke me,
petted me, took me in his arms and asked me what I had eaten.
"Pancakes," I answered, sleepily. He then proceeded to reproach my
mother with it. She had nothing to say, and placed his food before him,
throwing me a glance, however, which foretold evil to come. When we were
alone again the next day, she, to use her own expression, gave me with a
rod a forcible lesson in silence. At other times, on the contrary, she
inculcated in me the strictest love of truth. One would be inclined to
think that these contradictions might have had disastrous consequences.
It was not the case and never will be the case, for life entails many
other similar ones, and human nature can adapt itself even to them.
Certain it is that I acquired one piece of information which it is
better for a child to acquire late or not at all, namely, that at times
the father wishes one thing, and the mother another.
I do not remember that I really went hungry in my earliest childhood, as
I did later, but I do recollect that my mother sometimes had to content
herself with looking on while we children ate, and did so gladly,
because otherwise we could not have had our fill.
III
The principal charm of childhood consists in the fact that every
creature down to the household pets is friendly and kindly disposed
toward children; for out of this arises a feeling of security which
disappears with the first step out into the hostile world and never
returns. This is especially the case among the lower classes. The child
cannot play before the door without being presented with a flower by the
neighboring servant-maid who has been sent across the street to make a
purchase, or to draw water. The fruit-woman throws it a cherry or a pear
out of her basket, or a prosperous burgher perhaps even gives it a small
coin with which it can buy itself a roll. The driver cracks his whip in
passing; the musician as he goes by draws some tones from his
instrument, and whoever does none of all these things at least asks its
name and age, or smiles at it. To be sure, the child must be kept neat
and clean.
My brother and I came in for a bountiful share of this goodwill,
especially on the part of the tenants of our house, our special
neighbors who were almost as much to us as our mother and more than our
severe father. In summer they had their work and could not pay much
attention to us, but then at that season it was not necessary that they
should, as we played in the garden from early till late, from one
bed-time to the next, and the butterflies were company enough. But in
winter, in the rain and snow, when we were confined to the house, almost
everything that entertained and enlivened us came from them.
The wife of the day laborer, Meta by name, was a gigantic figure,
somewhat bent forward, with a stern Old-Testament face, of which I was
vividly reminded by Michaelangelo's Cumaean sybil in the Sistine Chapel.
She usually came over to us at twilight in the long winter evenings,
with a red cloth wound around her head, and stayed until the lights were
lit. Then she told us stories of witches and goblins, that sounded more
impressive from her lips than from any other. We heard of the Blocksberg
and the witches-Sabbath; the broomstick, so contemptible in appearance,
acquired a weird importance, and the dark hole in the chimney, which in
every house, and therefore in ours also, can be misused in such
malignant fashion by the powers of hell and their handmaids, inspired us
with dread. I can still remember perfectly the impression made upon me
by the story of the wicked miller's wife, who transformed herself at
night into a cat, and how I consoled myself with the fact that in the
end she did indeed receive due punishment for this wicked prank. The
cat, namely, when once starting out on her nightly walk, had a paw
chopped off by the miller's apprentice, who thought she looked
suspicious, and the next day the miller's wife lay in bed with a bloody
right arm minus a hand.
When the light was lit we usually went over to neighbor Ohl's, and in
his room we certainly felt more at ease than in Meta's company. Neighbor
Ohl was a man whom I have never seen cross, no matter how often he had
occasion to be so. With an empty stomach, indeed with what in his case
meant more, an empty pipe, he danced, sang, and whistled something for
us whenever we came; and in spite of his considerably reddened
nose--which, according to a tale of my mother's, I once wished for
longingly when looking up at him while being danced upon his knees--and
in spite of the felt cap tapering to a point, which he wore continually,
his always friendly, merry face still gleams before me like a star.
There had been a time when he was the only mason in the place and the
employer of from twenty to thirty journeymen, of whom many later set up
as masters and took the work away from him. At that time, so it was said
later, he could have assured himself a future free from care if he had
not visited the bowling alley too often, and loved a good glass of wine
too well. But whoever bore evil fortune as he did, could not be
reproached for careless enjoyment of the good. I cannot think of him
without emotion; how would it be possible for me to do sot He once, at
fair-time, presented my brother and me with a kettle-drum and a trumpet
which he had, with the greatest difficulty, obtained on credit from the
toy merchant, and as his poverty did not permit him to pay off the small
debt until much later, he had to submit to being dunned for it years
after, when I, already tall and knowing beyond my years, was walking at
his side. He was inexhaustible in inventing ways to amuse us, and as
with children nothing is necessary but goodwill, he never failed to do
so. It was a source of great delight to us when he took a piece of chalk
in his hand, sat himself down with us at his round table and began to
draw-mills, houses, animals, and all sorts of other things. At the same
time he cracked the merriest jokes, which still resound in my ears. Even
the chief of his pleasures was not one for him if we did not share it.
It consisted in drinking slowly a half jug of brandy, in remembrance of
better days, and in smoking a pipe at the same time, on Sunday morning
after the sermon and before dinner. We each had to have a thimble full
of this brandy or he did not enjoy it himself. The drink was certainly
not the best thing for us, but the quantity was small enough to prevent
disastrous consequences. My father, however, forbade this kind of Sunday
treat when he came to find out about it. This troubled the good old man
exceedingly, but did not prevent him, I am forced to add, from having us
drink with him again; only this took place quite secretly, and he
urgently recommended us to keep out of our father's way, so that he
should not have occasion to kiss one of us and thus discover the
transgression. It was a kiss, to wit pressed upon my father's lips, that
had betrayed the secret the first time.
Sometimes one or the other of his two unmarried brothers, who as a rule
tramped around the country and were probably good-for-nothings, would
spend the winter with him. They always found a ready welcome and
remained until the spring or hunger drove them away. He never turned
them out. Small as his piece of bread might be he gladly divided it once
again, but when he had nothing at all, then indeed he could not give
away anything. It was a regular treat for us when Uncle Hans or Johann
arrived, for they brought news of the world to our nest. They told us of
woods and their adventures in them; of robbers and murderers whom they
had escaped from with great difficulty; of the dark giblet stew which
they had eaten in lonely forest-taverns, and of men's fingers and toes
which they pretended to have found at last in the bottom of the dish.
The swaggering, parasitic brothers-in-law were extremely unwelcome to
the housewife, for she did not bear the burden of existence as
light-heartedly as her husband did, and she knew they would not leave
again so long as there was a piece of bacon hanging in the chimney; but
she contented herself with complaining in private, and at times pouring
out her heart to my mother. She, too, was fond of us children, and in
summer, as often as she could, she presented us with red and white
currants, which she, in turn, begged from a stingy friend. I, however,
avoided her too close proximity, for she made it her business to cut my
nails as often as it was necessary, and I detested this on account of
the prickly feeling in the nerve ends which it caused. She read the
Bible diligently, and long before I could read it myself I received from
her my first strong, nay terrible, impression from this gloomy book,
when she read to me out of Jeremiah the horrible passage in which the
angry prophet foretells that in the time of great distress the mothers
would slaughter their own children and eat them. I can remember yet with
what terror this passage inspired me when I heard it, perhaps because I
did not know whether it referred to the past or to the future, to
Jerusalem or to Wesselburen, and because I was myself a child and had a
mother.
IV
In my fourth year I was sent to a primary-school. It was kept by an old
spinster, Susanna by name, of tall and masculine stature, with friendly
blue eyes, which shone forth like candles from out a pale grayish face.
We children were planted around the walls of the spacious chamber which
served as school-room, and which was rather dark. The boys were on one
side, the girls on the other; Susanna's table, piled high with school
books, stood in the middle, and she herself, a white clay pipe in her
mouth and a cup of tea before her, sat behind it in an ancestral arm
chair which inspired no little respect. Before her lay a long ruler,
which, however, was not used for drawing lines but for chastising us
when we were no longer to be held in check by frowning and clearing of
the throat. A cornucopia full of currants, destined as a reward for
extraordinary virtues, lay beside it. The raps, however, fell more
regularly than the currants; indeed, the cornucopia, sparingly as
Susanna made use of the contents, was sometimes completely empty; we
thus learned Kant's categorical imperative sufficiently early.
Children large and small were called up to the table from time to time,
the more advanced pupils for instruction in writing, the multitude to
repeat their lessons and to receive raps on the fingers with the ruler,
or currants, as the case might be. A sullen maid-servant, who even
occasionally took a hand in inflicting punishment, went up and down the
room, and was at times occupied in a most unpleasant manner with the
youngest pupils, for which reason she kept sharp watch that they should
not partake too freely of the sweet things which they brought with them.
Behind the house was a small yard, adjoining which was Susanna's little
garden. During recess we played our games in the yard; the garden was
kept locked up from us. It was full of flowers, whose fantastic shapes I
can still see swaying in the sultry summer wind. Susanna, when in a good
humor, used sometimes to pluck a few of these flowers for us, not,
however, until it was nearly time for them to fade; before that she
would not rob of a particle of their adornment the neatly laid-out,
carefully-weeded beds, between which ran footpaths that hardly seemed
wide enough for the birds to hop on. Susanna, moreover, distributed her
gifts with great partiality. The children of well-to-do parents received
the best and were allowed to give voice to their desires, which were
frequently lacking in modesty, without being reproved; the poorer had to
be satisfied with what remained, and received nothing at all if they did
not await the act of grace in silence. This was most flagrantly apparent
at Christmas time. Then a great distribution of cakes and nuts took
place, but in most faithful adherence to the words of the Gospel: "To
him who hath, shall be given." The daughters of the parish clerk, a
mightily respected person, the sons of the doctor, and so forth, were
loaded with half-dozens of cakes, with whole handkerchiefs full of nuts;
on the contrary the poor devils whose prospects for Christmas Eve,
unlike those of the rich children, were entirely dependent upon
Susanna's charitable hands, were scantily portioned off. The reason was
that Susanna counted upon return gifts, doubtless was forced to count
upon them, and could not expect any from people who even had difficulty
in getting together the school-money. I was not entirely neglected, as
Susanna received her tribute from our pear-tree regularly every autumn,
and besides, on account of my "good head," I enjoyed a sort of advantage
over many of the others. Nevertheless I too felt the difference, and in
especial had much to suffer from the maid-servant, who put a spiteful
construction upon my most innocent actions; for example, she once
interpreted the pulling out of my handkerchief as a sign that I wished
to have it filled, which drove the most burning blushes to my cheeks and
tears to my eyes. As soon as I became conscious of Susanna's partiality
and the injustice of her maid I stepped outside the magic circle of
childhood. It occurred very early.
V
Two incidents which took place in this school-room are still vividly
present before me. I remember, to begin with, that I received there my
first awful impression of nature and the invisible power which prophetic
man surmises behind it. The child has a period, which lasts a fairly
long time, when it believes that the whole world is subject to its
parents, at least to the father who always remains standing somewhat
mysteriously in the background, and when it would be just as likely to
beg them for good weather as for a plaything. This period naturally
comes to an end when the child, to its astonishment, undergoes the
experience that things occur which are quite as unwelcome to its parents
as a beating is to itself, and with this period disappears a great part
of the mystic spell which surrounds the sacred head of the father:
indeed not until it is past does real human independence begin. My eyes
were opened on this subject by a fearful thunderstorm, which was
accompanied by a cloud burst and hail.
It was a sultry afternoon, one of those which scorch up the earth and
roast all its creatures. We children sat around on our benches, lazy and
depressed, with our catechisms or primers. Susanna herself nodded
sleepily, and indulgently allowed to pass unnoticed the jokes and
teasing, by means of which we tried to keep ourselves awake. Not even
the flies were buzzing, except the very small ones which are always
lively, when all of a sudden the first thunderclap sounded and
reverberated, crashing and roaring, among the worm-eaten rafters of the
old, dilapidated house. In the most desperate combination, such as only
occurs during storms in the north, a clatter of hail stones now
followed, which in less than a minute demolished all the window-panes on
the windy side, and immediately after this, indeed in the midst of it,
came a downpour of rain which seemed to be the prelude of a new deluge.
We children, starting up terrified, ran about screaming and clamoring.
Susanna herself lost her head, and her maid succeeded in closing the
shutters only when there was nothing more to be saved; and there needed
only the Egyptian darkness added to the flood which had already
overtaken us, to heighten the general terror and increase the prevailing
confusion. In the pauses between one thunderclap and the next Susanna
did indeed collect herself somewhat and tried to calm and comfort her
charges, who according to their age were either hanging on to her apron
or crouching by themselves with closed eyes in the corners of the room.
But suddenly a bluish flame of lightning flashed once more through the
cracks of the shutters and the words died on her lips, while the maid,
almost as frightened as the youngest child, howled and screamed out,
"The good God is angry!" When it was dark again in the room she added
with pedagogical moroseness, "You're all of you good for nothing,
anyhow!" These words, no matter how odious the mouth from which they
fell, made a deep impression on me; they forced me to look upward, above
myself and above everything which surrounded me, and kindled in me the
spark of religious emotion.
On my return from school to my father's house, I found there, too, the
horrors of devastation. Our pear-tree had lost not only its young fruit
but likewise all its beautiful leaves, and stood there bare as in
winter: what is more, a very fruitful plum-tree, which used to supply
not only ourselves but half the town besides, and, at the very least,
our fairly numerous kinsfolk, had even been despoiled of the richest of
its branches, and in its mutilation looked like a man with a broken arm.
Though my mother found a sorry comfort in the fact that our pig was now
supplied with dainty fare for a week, I could derive none at all from
it, and even the pieces of glass lying around in abundance--from which
the most excellent mirrors could be made in the easiest way in the world
by sticking them together with damp earth--offered scarcely any
compensation for the irrecoverably lost autumn pleasures. Now, however,
I understood all at once why my father always went to church on Sunday,
and, why I was never allowed to put on a clean shirt without saying:
"God's mercy upon us!" when I did so. I had learned to know the Lord of
Lords; his angry servants, thunder and lightning, hail and storm, had
opened wide the portals of my heart to him, and he had entered in all
his majesty.
What had taken place in my soul was made manifest shortly afterward. For
one evening when once again the wind blew mightily down the chimney,
and the rain beat hard upon the roof as I was being put to bed, the
mechanical babbling of my lips was suddenly transformed into a real,
anxious prayer, and therewith the spiritual navel-string, which up to
that time had bound me exclusively to my parents, was broken. Indeed
things soon went so far that I began to complain to God of my father and
mother when I thought I had been unjustly treated by them.
Further there is connected with this school-room my first and perhaps
most bitter martyrdom. In order to make plain what I would say I must
explain a little. Even in the infant-school all the elements are to be
found which the maturer man later encounters in an intensified degree,
in the world. Brutality, deceit, vulgar cleverness, hypocrisy, all are
represented, and a pure mind always stands there, like Adam and Eve in
the picture, among the wild beasts. How much of this is to be ascribed
to nature, how much to early education, or rather to neglect in the
home, must remain undecided here; the fact admits of no doubt. This,
then, was likewise the case in Wesselburen. Every species was to be met
with, from the brutal boy who plucked the feathers from the living birds
and pulled the legs off the flies, down to the light-fingered little
rascal, who stole the bright colored book-marks out of the primers of
his comrades. The fate which their better-behaved fellow-pupils--who
were condemned to suffer on that account--sometimes angrily prophesied
for the young sinners, when the good boys had happened to be the object
of their jeers or their malicious tricks, was fulfilled to the letter in
the case of more than one of them. The gamins always have instinct
enough to know whom their sting will strike first and sharpest, and
therefore I was, for a time, the one most exposed to their spite.
Sometimes a boy pretended to be reading very zealously in the catechism,
which he held close before his face, but instead he whispered over the
top of the page all sorts of scurrilous things in my ear, and asked me
if I were still stupid enough to believe that children came out of the
well, and that the stork fetched them up? Sometimes another called to me
"If you want an apple, take it out of my pocket, I brought one along for
you!" And when I did so, he cried! "Susanna, I am being robbed," and
denied having said anything to me. A third even spat upon his book and
then began to howl and declared with a brazen face that I had done it.
Although I was almost the only one exposed to vexations of this kind,
partly because I felt them most keenly, and partly because they
succeeded best with me on account of my extreme unwariness, there were
other annoyances which all, without exception, had to put up with.
Foremost among these was the bragging of certain overgrown young rogues
who were considerably ahead of us others in years, but in spite of that
still sat on the A.B.C. bench, and from time to time played truant.
They got nothing out of it at the time but double and threefold boredom,
for as they dared not go home and could not find any playmates, there
was nothing for them to do but crouch down behind a hedge or lurk in a
dried-up ditch until the hour of deliverance struck, and then to mingle
with us on the way home as though they really had been where they
belonged. But they knew how to make up for it and get some fun for
themselves afterward, when they came back to school and related their
adventures. They would tell us how once their father had gone by right
close to the hedge, the cane with which he used to thrash them in his
hand, and yet had not noticed them; how another time their mother,
accompanied by the spitz dog, had come up to the ditch, the dog had
smelt them out, their mother had discovered them, but the lie that they
had been sent there by Susanna herself to pick camomile flowers for her,
had helped them through in spite of all. Then they plumed themselves
like old soldiers who are telling their heroic deeds to wondering
recruits, and the moral always was: we risk the whip and the cane, you
at most the switch, and yet you do not dare to do anything.
This was irritating and all the more so as it was not possible
absolutely to deny the truth of their assertions. Hence when the son of
a cobbler once came to school with his back black and blue, and told us
his father had caught him and punished him severely with his shoemaker's
stirrup, but that he was only going to try it now all the oftener, for
he was no coward, I also determined to show my courage, and that, too,
that very afternoon.
When, therefore, my mother sent me away at the usual hour, provided with
two juicy pears to quench my thirst, I did not go to Susanna's, but
crept, with a beating heart and anxiously peering behind me, into the
woodshed of our neighbor, the joiner, encouraged and assisted to do so
by his son, who was much older than I and already worked in his father's
shop. It was very hot and my hiding place was both dark and close; the
two pears did not last long, besides I could not eat them without some
twinges of conscience, and an old cat cowering in the background with
her young ones, who growled fiercely at my least movement, did not
contribute very much to my amusement. The sin carried its punishment
along with it; I counted every quarter and every half hour of the clock,
the strokes of which penetrated from the high tower to where I was with
a harsh, and it seemed to me, threatening sound. I tormented myself
wondering whether I could get out of the shed again without being
noticed, and I thought only very rarely and fleetingly of the triumph
which I hoped to celebrate on the morrow.
It was already getting rather late when my mother came into the garden
and glancing gaily and contentedly about her, went over to the well to
draw some water. She almost passed directly in front of me, and that in
itself arrested my breathing. But how was it with me when my confidant
suddenly asked her if she knew where Christian was, and to her
astonished reply, "With Susanna!" rejoined half mischievously, half
maliciously "No! no, with the cat!" and winking and blinking showed her
my hiding place! Beside myself with rage, I sprang out and would have
kicked the grinning traitor. My mother, however, her whole face aflame,
set her pail down on one side and seized me by the arms and hair to take
me to school after all. I tore myself away, I rolled on the ground, I
howled and screamed, but in vain. The discovery of such a criminal in
her quiet darling, whom every one praised, incensed her so that she
would not listen to me, but dragged me away by force; and my continued
resistance had no other result than to cause all the windows on the
street to be opened and all heads to pop out. When I arrived my
companions were just being dismissed; they crowded around me, however,
and heaped mockery and derision upon me, while Susanna, who may have
realized that the lesson was too severe, tried to pacify me. Since that
day I believe I know how the man feels who runs the gauntlet.
VI
I should really have mentioned, above, a third experience, but this
last, whether in retrospect one rate it high or low, is, in any case, so
unique and incomparable in the life of man that one dares not place it
in the same category with any other. In Susanna's gloomy school-room,
namely, I learned to know love, and that, too, in the very same hour in
which I entered it; therefore in my fourth year.
The first love! Who does not smile when he reads these words; before
whose vision does not an Aennchen or a Gretchen hover, who once seemed
to him to wear a starry crown and be arrayed in the blue of heaven and
the gold of the morning, and who now perhaps--it would be criminal to
paint the reverse of the picture. But who does not say to himself, too,
that at that time he was carried, as though on wings, past every
honey-cup in the garden of earth, too quickly indeed to become
intoxicated, but slowly enough to breathe in the sacred morning
fragrance. It is therefore with emotion that I now smile when I think of
the beautiful May morning on which actually took place that great event,
long since resolved upon, repeatedly deferred, and at last unalterably
appointed for a definite day--I mean my departure from the paternal home
to school. "He will cry!" said Meta on the evening before, and nodded
sibylline fashion, as though she knew everything. "He will not cry, but
he will get up too late!" rejoined neighbor Ohl's wife. "He will behave
bravely, and be out of his bed at the right time, too!" threw in the
good-natured old man. Then he added, "I have something for him, and I'll
give it to him when he comes in at my door at seven o'clock tomorrow
morning, washed and combed."
At seven o'clock I was at our neighbor's and as a reward was presented
with a little wooden cuckoo. Up to half past seven I was in good spirits
and played with our pug-dog, at quarter to eight I began to weaken, but
toward eight I was a man again, because Meta entered with a face full of
malicious enjoyment, and I sat out courageously, the new primer, with
John Ballhorn's egg-laying cock under my arm. My mother went with me in
order to introduce me ceremoniously; the pug followed; I was not yet
entirely forsaken, and stood in Susanna's presence before I realized it.
In school-master fashion Susanna patted me on the cheek and stroked back
my hair. My mother, in a severe tone which she had great pains in
assuming, bade me be industrious and obedient, and departed hastily, so
as not to allow her emotion to get the better of her; the pug was
undecided for some little time, but at last he went off to join her. I
was presented with a gold paper saint, then my place was shown me and I
was incorporated into the humming, buzzing child-beehive, which, glad of
the interruption, had watched the scene inquisitively.
It was some time before I dared to look up, for I felt that I was being
inspected and this embarrassed me. At last I did so, and my first glance
fell upon a pale, slender girl who sat directly opposite to me; she was
called Emilia and was the daughter of the parish clerk. A thrill of
emotion passed through me, the blood rushed to my heart, but a feeling
of shame also mingled at once with my first sensation, and I dropped my
eyes to the ground again as quickly as though they had committed a
crime.
From this hour I could not banish Emilia from my mind. School, formerly
so much feared, now became my favorite abiding place, because there only
could I see her; Sundays and holidays, which separated me from her, were
as hateful to me as they would otherwise have been welcome; I was
genuinely unhappy if she happened to stay away. She hovered before me
wherever I went and I never grew tired of repeating her name softly to
myself when I was alone; her black eyebrows and her very rosy lips, in
particular, were always present before me; on the other hand, I do not
remember that her voice made any impression upon me, although later
everything, for me, depended upon that.
It can easily be understood that I soon gained out of all this the
reputation of being the most constant attendant at school and the best
pupil. I felt rather strangely about it though, for I knew very well
that it was not the primer which attracted me to Susanna's, and that it
was not in order to learn to read quickly that I spelled away so
busily. However, no one must ever be allowed to divine what was going on
with me, and least of all Emilia. I avoided her most anxiously, so as,
by any and all means, to keep from betraying myself. When the games in
common nevertheless brought us together, I was hostile toward her rather
than in the least friendly. I pulled her back hair in order to touch her
at least for once, and hurt her in doing it, so as not to arouse
suspicion. Once, however, nature forcibly asserted itself, because put
to too severe a test. One afternoon in the romping hour which always
preceded lessons--for the children assembled slowly and Susanna liked to
take a midday nap--a distressing sight greeted me as I entered the
school-room; Emilia was being ill-treated by a boy, and he was one of my
best comrades. He pulled her about and buffeted her lustily, and I bore
it, though not without great difficulty and with ever increasing, silent
exasperation. At last, however, he drove her into a corner, and when he
let her out again, her mouth was bleeding, probably because he had
scratched her somewhere. Then I could control myself no longer, the
sight of the blood drove me mad, I fell upon him, threw him to the
ground and gave him back his thumps and slaps double and threefold. But
Emilia, far from being grateful to me, herself called for aid and
assistance for her enemy when I showed no signs of desisting, and thus
betrayed involuntarily that she liked him better than the avenger.
Susanna, awakened from her slumbers by the noise, hurried to the scene
and, naturally being cross and angry, demanded strict account of my
sudden outburst of rage. What I stammered and stuttered forth in excuse
was incomprehensible and foolish, and thus I received a rude
chastisement as a reward for my first gallant service. My affection for
Emilia lasted until my eighteenth year and passed through very many
phases; I must therefore often refer to it again.
VII
Even in my earliest years my imagination was very vivid. When I was put
to bed in the evening the rafters above me began to crawl, from every
nook and corner of the room distorted visages made grimaces, and the
most familiar objects, such as the cane on which I myself used to ride,
the foot of the table, yes, even the coverlet on my bed with its flowers
and figures, grew strange and filled me with terror. I believe it is
well to distinguish here between the vague general fear, which is
natural to all children without exception, and a greater one which
embodies its terrifying images in clear-cut distinct forms and really
makes them objective to the young soul. The former fear was shared by my
brother, who lay beside me, but his eyes always closed very soon and
then he slept quietly until bright daylight; the latter tormented me
alone, and not only did it keep sleep far from me, but when sleep
finally came, often frightened it away again and made me call for help
in the middle of the night. How deeply the phantasms of this same fear
impressed themselves upon me can be gathered from the fact that they
return in full force in every serious illness. As soon as the feverishly
seething blood rushes over my brain and drowns my consciousness, the
oldest devils, driving out and disarming all laterborn ones, come back
again, and that best shows, without doubt, how they must once have
tortured me.
But by day, as well, my imagination was unusually, and perhaps
unhealthily, active. Ugly people, for example, whom my brother laughed
at and mimicked, filled me with dread. A little hunch-backed tailor--on
either side of whose triangular, deathly-pale face, immoderately long
ears stood out, ears moreover which were bright red and
transparent--could not pass by without my running with screams into the
house; and it almost caused my death when he once, in a passion,
followed me, scolding and calling me a stupid youngster, and upbraiding
my mother because he thought she was making him play the bug-bear in her
domestic discipline. I could not endure the sight of a bone and buried
even the smallest one that came to light in our garden; nay later, when
in Susanna's school, I obliterated with my nails the word "rib" in my
catechism, because it always brought before me the disgusting object
which it designated as vividly as though the object itself lay there in
repulsive decay before my eyes. On the other hand, a rose-leaf, which a
breeze blew to me over the hedge, was as much to me as--nay, more than
the rose itself was to others, and words like tulip and lily, cherry and
apricot, apple and pear, immediately transplanted me into spring,
summer, and autumn; so that in the primer I liked to spell aloud the
pieces in which they occurred better than any others, and grew angry
each time when it was not my turn to do so. Only, unhappily, in the
world one needs the diminishing glass much oftener than the magnifying,
and this holds good even of the beautiful days of youth, except in very
rare cases. For as it is said of horses that they respect man only
because, on account of the construction of their eye, they see in him a
giant, so the child endowed with imagination stands still before a grain
of sand only because it seems to him an insuperable mountain. Things in
themselves therefore cannot set the standard here; on the contrary, one
must inquire about the shadows which they cast; hence the father can
often laugh while the son is enduring the tortures of hell because the
scales by which they weigh are fundamentally different.
An incident, comical in itself, belongs in this place because it throws
a very clear light precisely on this point, so important for education.
I was once sent to get a roll for dinner. The baker's wife handed it to
me and good-humoredly gave me at the same time an old nut-cracker, which
had probably turned up somewhere when she was cleaning house. I had
never seen a nut-cracker before. I was not acquainted with any of its
hidden qualities, and took it like any other doll which appealed to me
by reason of its red cheeks and staring eyes. Joyously starting on my
way home and pressing the nut-cracker, like a newly acquired favorite,
tenderly to my breast, I noticed all of a sudden that it opened its jaws
and in gratitude for my caresses showed me its cruel white teeth. One
may imagine my fright! I shrieked loudly, I ran across the street as
though pursued, but I had not sense or courage enough to throw the demon
away, and as it naturally sometimes closed its mouth and sometimes
opened it again, according to the movements I made while running, I
could not help considering it alive, and arrived home half dead. Here I
was, of course, laughed at and enlightened as to the truth, at last even
scolded. It was all of no avail. It was impossible for me to become
reconciled again to the monster although I recognized its innocence, and
I did not rest until I had received permission to give it away to
another boy. When my father learned of the matter he was of the opinion
that there was no other youngster alive to whom such a thing could
happen. That was very possible, for there was perhaps no other at whom
the cousins of the nut-cracker had made faces from the floor and from
the walls in the evening when he was just going to sleep. This very
night the activity of my seething imagination culminated in a dream,
which was so monstrous and left such an impression upon me that for that
very reason it returned seven times in succession. It seemed to me as
though the dear Lord, of whom I had already heard so much, had stretched
a rope between heaven and earth, had set me upon it, and placed Himself
beside it to swing me. Then without rest or pause I flew up and down
with dizzy speed; now I was high up among the clouds, my hair fluttering
in the wind, and I held on convulsively and closed my eyes; now I was so
near the earth again that I could plainly see the yellow sand and the
little red and white stones--indeed could even reach them with my toes.
I wished to throw myself off; that, however, required resolution, and
before I succeeded, I went up in the air again, and there was nothing
for me to do but seize the rope once more so as not to fall and be
dashed to pieces. The week in which this dream occurred was perhaps the
most terrible one of all my childhood, for the memory of it did not
leave me the whole day. When, in spite of my struggles, I was put to bed
I carried the fear of its return with me, even immediately into my sleep
so that it was no wonder the dream continually recurred, until by
degrees it faded out.
VIII
I remained in Susanna's school until my sixth year and learned there to
read fluently. I was not permitted to learn to write yet on account of
my youth, as it was said; it was the last thing that Susanna had to
teach and therefore she prudently held it in reserve. But I had already
started with the first necessary exercises in memory; for as soon as the
youngster had been promoted from the sexless frock to trousers, and from
the primer to the catechism, he had to learn by heart the ten
commandments and the chief articles of the Christian Faith as Doctor
Martin Luther, the great reformer, formulated them three hundred years
ago for the guidance of the Protestant Church. Memorizing went no
farther and the tremendous dogmas, which without explanation or
elucidation passed from the book into the undeveloped childish brain,
became transformed into wonderful and in part grotesque pictures. These,
however, did the young mind no manner of harm, but gave it a healthy
impetus and stirred it up to prophetic activity. For what does it matter
if the child, when it hears of original sin, or of death and the devil,
forms a conception or a fantastic image of those profound symbols? To
fathom them is the task of our whole lifetime, but the developing man is
warned at the very beginning of an all-disposing higher power, and I
doubt if the same end could be reached by early initiation into the
mysteries of the rule of three or into the wisdom of AEsop's fables. The
remarkable part of it was, to be sure, that in my imagination Luther
came to stand almost directly beside Moses and Jesus Christ, but without
doubt the reason was that his thundering "What is that?" always
resounded immediately after the majestic laconic utterances of Jehovah,
and that moreover his rough, expressive face, out of which the spirit
speaks all the more forcibly because it must manifestly first gain the
victory over the thick resisting flesh, was reproduced in the front of
the catechism in heavy black ink. But so far as I know that had no more
injurious consequences for me than my belief in the real horns and claws
of the devil, or in the scythe of death, and I learned, as soon as there
was any necessity for it, to distinguish perfectly between the Saviour
and the reformer.
For the rest the modest acquisitions that I had made at Susanna's
sufficed to procure for me a certain respect at home. To Master Ohl it
was immensely impressive that I soon knew better than he himself all
that the true Christian believes, and my mother was almost moved to
tears when for the first time I read the evening blessing aloud by
lamp-light, without faltering or stammering. Indeed she felt so edified
that she gave over to me forever the office of reader, the duties of
which I hereafter performed for a considerable length of time with much
zeal and not without self-complacency.
Toward the end of my sixth year a great change, nay a complete
transformation, took place in the school-system in Holstein, and
consequently in that of my own little fatherland. Up to that time the
State had not interfered at all in primary instruction and but little in
the secondary. Parents could send their children wherever they wished
and the primary schools were purely private institutions, about which
even the ministers scarcely troubled themselves, and which often sprang
up in the most curious manner. Thus Susanna had arrived in Wesselburen
one stormy autumn evening, in wooden shoes, without a penny, and an
entire stranger. She had been given a night's lodging, for sweet
charity's sake, by the compassionate widow of a pastor. The latter
discovers that the pilgrim can read and write and also knows quite a
little about the Bible and thereupon makes her on the spot the
proposition to remain in the town, in her very house, and teach. The
youth of the place, or at least the crawling part of the same, had, as
it happened, just been orphaned. The former teacher, for a long time
highly praised on account of his strict discipline, had undressed a
saucy little girl and set her upon a hot stove in punishment for some
naughtiness, perhaps in order to procure still greater praise thereby,
and that had been too much for even the most unqualified reverers of the
rod. Susanna was quite alone in the world, and did not know where she
should turn or what she should take up. She therefore gladly, although
according to her own words not without misgivings, exchanged the
accustomed labor with her hands for the difficult labor with her head,
and the speculation succeeded perfectly, and in the shortest space of
time imaginable.
To the boys and girls of more advanced age severe, sombre gymnasiums and
grammar-schools did indeed open their doors. These were under a sort of
supervision and in case of necessity were recruited by the secular arm,
if new comers did not enlist of their own accord. But in these
institutions too, only the merest manual training was given, in spite of
the pompous sounding names which they flaunted, and which to this hour
have remained a mystery to me. A brother of my mother's, universally
admired on account of his talents--whom the principal, though by no
means over modest, had dismissed with the solemn declaration that he
could teach him nothing further because he knew as much as he
himself--was indeed a mighty calligrapher, and decorated his New Year's
cards with tints and flourishes in India ink as the old printers Fust
and Schoeffer did their incunabula, but nevertheless he could not achieve
a single grammatical sentence.
These conditions, undeniably defective and much in need of improvement,
were now once and for all to be brought to an end. The people were to be
educated from the cradle up, superstition was to be exterminated root
and branch. Whether thorough consideration was given to that which
should have been considered above everything else must remain in doubt;
for the conception of culture is extremely relative, and just as the
most disgusting intoxication follows the nipping from every bottle, so
superficial encyclopedical knowledge, which at the most can be made
broad, engenders precisely the most repulsive kind of arrogance. It will
no longer bow to any authority and yet never penetrates to the depths in
which the multifarious logical inconsistencies and contradictions find
their own solution.
Probably the right method was adopted when they founded normal schools
on the one hand and primary schools on the other, so that the essence
which had been distilled in the former and poured into the empty
schoolmaster heads in the form of rationalism, could from the latter
spread itself immediately over the whole land. The result was that a
somewhat superstitious generation was followed by an excessively
overwise one; for it is astonishing how the grandchild feels when he
knows that a nocturnal fiery meteor is composed merely of inflammable
gases, while his grandfather sees in it the devil trying to enter some
chimney or other with his shining money bags.
But however the matter may have stood in general,--and I repeat my
conviction that in this case the happy medium is hard to find,--to me
the reform was a great blessing. For Wesselburen, like the other towns,
acquired an elementary school and a man was chosen as teacher of it
whose name I cannot write down without a feeling of the deepest
gratitude, because in spite of his modest position, he exercised an
immeasurable influence on my development. He was called Franz Christian
Detlefsen and came to us from the neighboring town of Eiderstedt, where
he had already held a small official position.
IX
No house is so small as not to seem to the child who has been born in it
like a world whose wonders and mysteries he discovers only little by
little. Even the poorest cottage has at least a garret to which a ladder
leads up, and with what feelings is this climbed for the first time!
Some old rubbish is sure to be found up there, which, useless and
forgotten, points back to days long past, and reminds us of men whose
last bone has already moldered to dust. Behind the chimney there is
surely a worm-eaten, wooden chest which excites curiosity. The dust is
lying on it hand high, the lock is still there, but there is no need to
look for the key; for one can forage in it wherever one wants, and when
with fear and trembling the child does so, he pulls out a torn boot, or
the broken distaff of a spinning wheel which was laid aside half a
century ago. Shuddering he flings away the double find, because
involuntarily he asks himself where is the leg that wore the boot and
where is the hand that set the wheel in motion. But the mother carefully
picks up the one or the other because she happens to need a strap which
can be cut out of grandfather's boot, or because she believes that she
can start the fire again with great-aunt's distaff.
[Illustration: THE DEATH OF KRIEMHILD _From the Painting by Schnorr von
Carolsfeld_]
Even though the chest had found its way into the tiled stove during the
last hard winter, when people were even forced to burn dried cakes of
dung, there is still hidden away in the garret a rusty sickle which once
went off to the fields, shining and merry, and stretched low at one
swing of the arm a thousand golden-green stalks; and above it hangs the
uncanny scythe which a farm-hand once ran into a long time ago, so that
he cut off his nose--it having hung too far down over the garret hatch,
and he having mounted the ladder too quickly. Beside them the mice are
squeaking in the corners, a couple perhaps jump out of their holes and
after executing a short dance creep back into them again; a little
shiny white weasel is visible for a moment, lifting its clever little
head and forepaws in the air, peering and sniffing; and the single
sunbeam that enters through some hidden chink is so perfectly like a
gold thread that one would like to wind it around one's finger at once.
The cottage is not provided with a cellar but the burgher-house is,
though not indeed on account of the wine but of the potatoes and
turnips. The poorer classes keep these out doors under a goodly pile of
earth, which they raise above them in the autumn, and in winter, in time
of hard frost, carefully cover over with straw or dung as well.
Now to reach the cellar is really much more difficult than to climb to
the attic, but where is the child who does not know how to satisfy this
longing too in one way or another! He can go to the neighbors and hang
on coaxingly to the maid's apron when she goes down to get something, or
can even watch for the moment when the door is left open by mistake, and
venture down on his own account. That is dangerous to be sure, for the
door may be suddenly closed, and the sixteen-legged spiders, that crawl
around the walls in the most hideous deformed shapes, as well as the
trickling greenish water that gathers in the cavities intentionally left
here and there, do not invite one to tarry long. But what does it
matter? One has one's throat after all, and whoever screams lustily will
be heard sooner or later. Now if the house itself suffices, under all
circumstances, to make such an impression upon the child, how must the
town strike him! When he is taken along by mother or father for the
first time, he surely does not start to walk through the tangle of
streets without a feeling of astonishment, and it is still less likely
that he reaches home again without experiencing a sensation of
giddiness. Nay, be perhaps brings back lasting typical conceptions of
many objects, lasting in the sense that in after life they imperceptibly
stretch and widen _ad infinitum_, but never allow themselves to be
effaced; for the primitive impressions of things are indestructible and
maintain themselves against all later ones, no matter how far these, in
themselves, may surpass the old. For me too, then, it was a moment never
to be forgotten, and one whose influence continues to be felt to the
present day, when my mother took me with her for the first time on the
evening walk which she indulged in on Sundays and holidays during the
beautiful summer months. Good gracious, how large this Wesselburen was!
Five-year old legs were nearly tired out before they had made the entire
round! And what did one not meet on the road! The very names of the
streets and squares sounded so puzzling and fantastic! "Now we are on
the Lollard's Foot! That is White Meadow! This way goes over to Bell
Mountain! There stands the Oak Nest!" The less apparent reason there was
for these names, the more certain it seemed that they concealed some
mystery! And then the objects themselves! The church whose pealing voice
I had already heard so often; the graveyard with its dark trees and its
crosses and tombstones; a very old house, in which a, "forty-eighter"
had lived, and in the cellar of which a treasure was said to lie buried,
over which the devil kept watch; and, finally, a big fish-pond: all
these details coalesced in my mind, as though like the limbs of a
gigantic animal they were organically related, into one huge general
picture, and the autumn moon shed a bluish light over it. Since that
time I have seen St. Peter's and every German cathedral, I have been to
Pere la Chaise and the Pyramid of Cestius, but whenever I think in
general of churches, graveyards and the like, they still hover before me
today in the shape in which I saw them on that evening.
X
About the same time that I exchanged Susanna's gloomy room for the
newly-built bright and pleasant primary-school, my father also had to
leave his little house and move into a hired lodging. That was a strange
contrast for me. School had broadened: I gazed out of clear windows with
wide frames of fir wood, instead of trying my curious eyes on green
glass bottle panes with dirty leaden rims; and the daylight, which at
Susanna's always commenced later and stopped earlier than it should, now
came into its full rights. I sat at a comfortable table with a desk and
an ink bottle; the odor of fresh wood and paint, which still has some
charm for me, threw me into a sort of joyous ecstasy, and when, on
account of my reading, I was told by the inspecting minister, to
exchange the third bench, which I had modestly chosen, for the first,
and moreover to take one of the highest places on the latter, my cup of
felicity was nearly full.
Our home, on the contrary, had shrunk and grown darker; there was no
more garden now in which I could romp with my comrades when the weather
was fine, no hallway to receive us hospitably when it rained and blew. I
was restricted to a narrow room in which I myself could hardly move
around and into which I dared not bring any playmates, and to the space
before the door, where it was seldom that any one would stay with me
very long, as the street ran directly past it.
The reason for this change, which brought about such serious
consequences, was strange enough. My father at the time of his marriage
had, by going security, laden himself with another's debt, and would no
doubt have been driven out much earlier if his creditor had not
fortunately had to serve a long term in the penitentiary in |
