PRE-PRODUCTION ANALYSES OF SELECTED NON-REALISTIC PLAYS

OF GUNTER GRASS IN THEIR ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

Robert L. Yowell

A Dissertation

Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

June 1972

Approved by Doctoral Committee

VC- Advisor

resentative

y rf,

BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSI1Y LIBRARY I

© 1972

Robert L. Yowell

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED il

ABSTRACT

This dissertation provided a critical analysis of the plays of Gunter Grass. It also suggested limited stylistic approaches that a potential director of the plays of Grass might employ. The plays included in the study were: Flood, "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo," Mistery Mister, The Wicked Cooks and The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising.

The method in which this study was attempted in­ cluded a consideration of critical research that has a bearing upon an understanding of Grass’s plays. There are basic themes that are present throughout all of Grass’s literary work. Therefore, a careful study of his poems, novels, political speeches and plays was done.

The research concluded that several themes are recurrent in Grass’s plays. One of the most compelling themes is that "objects" control the lives of the individual. In the plays, objects control the characters. Religion is used by Grass to depict man caught in a system of false myths that control his spiritual existence. Language is used in much the same way that the Nazis used language to control a nation. It followed logically that the concept of guilt was a powerful inhibiting force that modern Germans face daily. These and other forces are woven together in a wild myriad of symbols.

The style in which Grass writes is a mixture of real elements with fantastic, absurd situations. Grass communi­ cates by means of images. In many instances these images are grotesque, thereby causing the reader/viewer of the plays to be shocked into a higher level of understanding. He forces the theatre-goer to alternative political and metaphysical positions. Grass illustrates the horrors of World War II and how these same destructive forces control the lives of individuals and nations.

The analysis of the plays provided for the potential director possible thematic implications of Grass’s theatre. The production concepts suggested image interpretations for most of the plays. These concepts were included to provide a basis for the creative effort needed by the theatre director, actors and theatre workers. Ill

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page INTRODUCTION ...... 1

Method of Research ...... 1

The Theatre of the Absurd...... 2

Gunter Grass: Man and Artist ...... 5

The Novels...... 13

The Critics...... 16

The Plays...... 17

Summary...... 19

LITERARY STYLE AND DRAMATIC THEMES OF GUNTER GRASS . . 20

Method of Composition and Documentation .... 20

Language...... 23

Symbols...... 27

Objects...... 29

The Grotesque...... 32

Guilt...... 35

Grass: A Religious Dramatist ...... 3$

The Demonic in History...... 43

Gloom and Death: The Final Message...... 46

Summary...... 49-

FLOOD...... 52

Religion...... 54 IV

Page

The Demonic in History...... 56

Gloom and Death...... 60

Images...... 63

Objects: A Means of Communication...... 66

Style: The Real with the Fantastic...... 75

Structure...... 79

Special Directing Considerations ...... $2

Summary...... $3

MISTER, MISTER...... $5

The Commanding Image ...... $9

Act I Influenza...... 91

Act II The Cuckoo...... 96

Act III The Prima Donna...... 102

Act IV Mister, Mister...... 105

Production Concept ...... 107

Laughter Frozen to a Grimace...... IOS

The Setting...... 110

Act II Cuckoo...... 112

Act III The Prima Donna...... 113

Act IV Mister,M ister...... 114

Acting Style ...... 116

Summary...... 11$

"ONLY TEN MINUTES TO BUFFALO"...... 120

The Play...... 124 V

Page

Thematic Implication of an "Image View" ...... 126

Language...... 131

The Directorial Concept-Image ...... 133

Summary...... 135

THE WICKED COOKS...... 136

Production Concept-Image ...... 154

Scenic Design Concept ...... 161

Bosch and the Actor...... 164

Special Problems ...... 167

Summary ...... 168

THE PLEBEIANS REHEARSE THE UPRISING ...... 169

An Epic Play ...... 174

Thematic Implication, The Critics and Suggestions for Directing the Production ...... 182

Production Concept ...... 198

Directing Considerations ...... 203

The Actor...... 206

The Setting...... 207

Summary...... 208

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS...... 210

Suggestions for Future Study ...... 217

BIBLIOGRAPHY 220 I

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to provide a pre-pro­ duction analysis for the potential director of five plays of

Gunter Grass in English translations. The plays included are: Flood, "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo," Mister, Mister,

The Wicked Cooks, and The Plebians Rehearse the Uprising.

This study attempted to interpret the literary values of each play and to suggest to the director limited production concepts. The main emphasis of the dissertation was upon literary analysis of the plays. The limited suggestions for the director were included, not as a consistent pro­ duction format, but to serve as a springboard by which a theatre director might develop his own production concepts.

This study attempted to establish that Gunter Grass, apart from his obvious success as a novelist, is a playwright worthy of merit.

Method of Research

The method by which this study was attempted includes the consideration of critical comment that has bearing upon an understanding of Grasses plays. In addition,

Grass’s other literary work was considered as it relates to his plays. Some of his plays appear to be outgrowths of his early poems. Therefore, an interpretation should take 2

into consideration the genesis of the idea from the lyric poems. Criticism of the novels as well as production re­ views, were considered in the light of an apparent consistency

of images and themes that are present in the plays and in the nondramatic literature. The literary analysis section of this study provides further assistance in gaining an insight into Grass’splays in terms of style, theme, and imagery.

The methodological approach of this study, then, was simply to pull together themes and images that are present in Grass's nondramatic work, and all critical analysis that relates to his dramatic work. Since each of the plays is different in style and content, each play was approached differently in terms of critical method and inter­ pretation.

What follows in this introductory chapter is a discussion of what the theatre of the absurd attempts, a consideration of Gunter Grass: Man and Artist as a play­ wright and a brief discussion of the novels and plays. In the second chapter the literary style and major themes inherent within the plays are studied. The body of the dissertation analyzes the plays and suggests possible pro­ duction approaches.

Theatre of the Absurd

In his major work, The Theatre of the Absurd, Martin

Esslin discussed many of the basic theories of the absurdist 3 school. In addition, he identified many of the pioneer playwrights. Gunter Grass’s absurd plays were mentioned briefly by Esslin. This study attempted an in depth analysis of Grass's dramatic work. Grass wrote the major portion of his plays before the publication of his novels.

He has received critical acclaim for his novels. However, little attention has been given to his theatrical ability.

Although Grass has his own individual style of writing, he is trying to do something comparable to what

Beckett or Ionesco attempted to accomplish. Grass, the playwright, is explaining the human condition as he sees and understands it. Martin Esslin explains:

The theatre of the Absurd . . . attempts to make him [man] face up to the human condition as it really is . . . There are enormous pressures in our world that seek to entice mankind to bear the loss of faith and moral certainties by being drugged into oblivion— by mass entertainments, shallow material satisfaction, pseudo explanation of reality, and cheap ideologies. At the end of that road lies Huxley’s Brave New World of senseless euphoric automata. Today” ? . the need to confront man with the reality of his situations is greater than ever. For the dignity of man lies in his ability to face reality in all its senselessness; to accept it freely, without fear, without illusion—and to laugh at it.l

The intent of the absurdist playwright is not a painless one. The reader or viewer is compelled to serious introspection regarding the meaning of each work. Absurdism violates the traditional beginning, middle, and end structure

^Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd (New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., l9bl), p. 316. 4

and presents the audience with a series of complex images.

Thus many critics of the absurd school attack its seemingly

formless structure. Such critics often ask, why didn’t the playwright explain what he intended in a clear, concise, logical manner?

It is certainly not the intent of this research to defend or to justify the absurd philosophy. However, Max

Frisch in his diary makes this interesting observation:

What is important, is the inexpressible, the blank between the words, and these words always speak of incidentals that we do not really mean. The real point, what we really want to say, can best be approached indirectly, by circumlocution; which means that one writes around the subject. One makes statements that never contain what one really experiences, which remains inexpressible. These statements can only outline it, as nearly and accurately as possible, and the real point, the inexpressible, appears at best suspended between the statements.2

In the theatre one can easily appreciate Frisch's comment. The playwright is limited in his opportunity to illustrate. The novelist has more scope for narration, exposition, and elaboration of illustrative detail. For this reason, an examination of Grass’s non-dramatic literature is in order to gain insight into his plays. This method of seeking to clarify the intention behind the scripts of a complex dramatist by studying his non-dramatic writing is not without precedent in contemporary criticism. William

2 Gordon W. Cunliffe, Gunter Grass (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1969), p. 136. 5

Empson for example, studied the sonnets to gain a better understanding of Shakespeare’s plays, and Martin Esslin studied Beckett’s criticism as an aid to interpreting his plays.

This study provides the potential director with a discussion of the themes of Grass's plays. Once one is aware of the meaning of the plays, he will then be able to appreciate more fully the suggested production approaches.

Gunter Grass: Man and Artist 3 Norris W. Yates describes Gunter Grass as a seeker.

He is a man and artist who must constantly search for his own truth. The irony that has brought him to the surface as one of the most talented writers to emerge in Germany since World War II is the duality of the human condition that Grass constantly enlarges upon in all of his work.

Grass as an artist is seeking the medium between the drunken orgies of Dionysus and the cold logic of Apollo.

Gunter Grass was born in 1927 in the free city of

Danzig. Danzig is now known as Gdansk, a city in Poland.

Grass was born just six years before the Third Reich took over all political factions of Germany. The city of Danzig is the center of life for Grass. In this city Oskar (The

Tin Drum) and Mahlke (Cat and Mouse) tell many stories.

3Norris Yates, Gunter Grass: A Critical Essay (Grand Rapids, Michigan:.William P. Eerdmans, 1967), p. 5. 6

Many of Grass’s boyhood memories or impressions along the Vistula are recorded in Dog Years. He is a writer who writes about a specific locale, much as Joyce and Faulkner did. In spite of considerable criticism, Grass denies that he writes exclusively about his own life. True, historical references are made that allude to his past, but once the characters leave the historical surroundings, of a Germany gone forever, they enter into a strange absurd, surreal nightmare. This dream world is based upon the realities of the horror of our own existence.

In an interview in Time magazine, Grass explained how this nightmare view of the world was created:

... At the age of ten, I was a member of the Hitler Clubs; when I was 14, I enrolled in the Hitler Youth. At 15, I called myself an Air Force Auxiliary. At 17, I was in the armored infantry.4

Grass left his beloved home of Danzig in 1944 as a soldier.

He was later to become one of the first Germans to be marched through Dachau. This experience he has not forgotten.

The war drastically affected the existences of many people, in one manner or another. For Gunter Grass it was a major upheaval. The literary effect of this experience to date can be seen in his four novels, six full length plays, two one-act plays, many poems, paintings, music

^"The Dentist Chair as an Allegory to Life," Time, Vol. 95 (April 13, 1970), p. 70. 7

lectures, political speeches, and a great deal of discussion.

Grass's works seem to be deeply rooted in his early

childhood and in the events of World War II. He was

drafted into the military at seventeen. He was a prisoner

of war for over a year. Upon his return to Germany, he

found not a nation, but a skeleton of ideas and people, who to this day, according to Grass, have not regained enough 5 muscle and skin to become a living organism.

Grass, then, sought entry into the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts. While he was waiting, he earned his living carving tombstones. He traveled to Paris where he lived a bohemian life. It was in Paris that he wrote The Tin Drum.

He made a living on the black market. He worked as a cook. He was a jazz drummer. By the age of thirty he was a writer?

He became a writer, and still is, because he has a cause to which he is committed. This cause has a surface, and below the surface is Grass's view of the human condition, the dark side of silence.

Why is Grass such a complex weaver of images? He is, in fact, so difficult that his plays have not met with great success in this country, nor in Germany. Many critics admit that there is something there, but they are not quite sure as to its nature. Marianne Resting, for example, in

"The Dentist Chair as an Allegory to Life," p. 69. ^Ibid., p. 70. 8

Panorama of the Contemporary Theatre, has judged Grass very

severely.

It is significant for the exponents of the German theatre of the absurd, among whom Grass must be numbered, that sociological pertinence is just the quality in which they are lacking. They avail themselves of the means employed by the French absurdists, not for social analysis, but to play a more or less amusing game; they operate with flashing scenic ideas with startling imagistic stage effects which do not signify much and are evidently not intended to. The whole world seems absurd to them, and they leave the public in the dark as to which world is absurd and why.7

It is this type of criticism that Grass's plays have

faced. It is the purpose of this study to show that his plays do not attempt to leave the public in the dark as to which world is absurd, but rather, this research attempts to explore the significance of Grass and his plays.

This dissertation suggests that productions of Grass's plays have failed, not because of a lack of sociological pertinence, but rather because theatre workers failed to realize the potential of this artist's dramatic significance.

To illustrate, Walter Kerr and Richard Watts express this

concept.

Walter Kerr [New York Times], who constantly is searching for the author*s intentions, is of the opinion that Semek's production of the play [The Plebeians Re­ hearse the Uprising] was staged against the text. This confusion, which was also criticized by his colleagues, these hard to understand events on the stage, are the result of overstaging. When Richard Watts [Daily News] established that measured according to this performance

7 'Kurt Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1969), p. 9. 9

the Theatre of the Absurd has reached "the peak of rationality" he means the same, he only expresses it more completely; the tempo is too flat; the physical events—thrashing, fighting, torturing—cover up the g allegorical plot and become a goal within themselves.

Grass’s plays have dramatic worth. It must rest with theatre workers to communicate his values effectively.

This dissertation attempts to provide for the potential director of Grass’splays an understanding of the author so that the director is capable of realizing the complex meanings of the plays.

Grass’s works do not merely recount the horror of existence, but they attempt to explain it. Grass is an artist who is an anti-idealist. He is a man who refuses to sign manifestoes, because this act would commit him to an ideal. This is an example of one of the major themes discoverable by considering the body of Grassworks which can help to illuminate the intent of some of his plays. The critic David E. Scherman put it this way: "He is the enemy 9 of all ideologies, as well as of symbols."

Only ideologies need symbols to manifest themselves. Nazis with their swastikas, communists with their hammers and sickles, the Roman Catholics with their trademarks. I am even afraid of turning anti-ideology into an ideology. I just know what I want and don’t want—the

g Robert Van Berg, "Die Kunst, eine Suppe zu versalzen," Die Tat, Zürich, 4. 2. 1967, p. 131. Q David Scherman, "Green Years for Grass," Life, Vol. 168 (June, 1965), p. 38. 10

danger is when these things become a system.^

In one sense the German people did not recognize their illusions; they accepted them without question. There was no need for dialogue; the German people merely assumed that they should continue that great journey that was started for them thousands of years before. This recent history of the German people has been the acceptance of illusions and ideologies, political or philosophical. It is to revealing this flaw, in the human condition, or the nation that Gunter

Grass is committed. Grass demands that we all be wary of this willingness to accept the false ideal.

Gunter Grass finds himself in the contradictory position of praising and placing the blame of the horrors of World War II at the feet of every German, especially the middle class German. Grass feels that it was the German middle class who decided that they should be "Good Germans."

More specifically, it was the German middle class who claimed that they did not know what was going on in the con­ centration camps. On the opposite side of the argument,

Grass feels that it is also the middle class, especially the youth of the middle class, who possess the seeds of promise for a more sane life. As an artist Grass is not merely discussing the war years. He is also actively attempting to-explain to us (everyman) what we are doing

10Ibid. 11 to our own existence. He is attempting to show us that we are continuing to follow false ideologies.

In a recent article in Time magazine on the new

Chancellor of Germany, Willy Brandt, the following crazes and false ideologies were discussed:

In each successive phase in Germany’s postwar development the country has been seized by a different craze. First the hungry Germans gorged themselves in the "Fresswelle" [eating wave], then took to the wheels in the "vespawelle" [motorscooter wave] that was followed by the "Autowelle," [auto buying] and "Reisewelle" [traveling]. Now Germans and inundated by the "Sexwelle." Naked girls adorn just about every magazine cover. Under the guise of adult sex education, film makers are cranking out movies with such titles as "Your Wife, the Unknown Creature," in which live models demonstrate an astonishing variety of positions for intercourse, while a narrator [naturally a Herr Doctor] supplies clinical comments. Beate Uhse's sex boutiques in eleven cities offer all manner of sexual paraphernalia. Complains one Austrian, who deplores the Germanic lack of spontaneity: "There is a certain plodding quality in the German approach to sex. Boom. Boom. Boom. Now we have discovered sex and we will conquer it." Some Germans claim to see in the Sexwelle a new desire for Germans to individual happiness ahead of duty to state or community.il

Grass resides in West Berlin. For Grass, Berlin allows the most freedom for a German writer. It is inter­ esting to note that Grass would choose a divided city, a city split between two divergent political views, to write about his concept of duality. His characters, like the artist, are placed between Dionysus and Apollo, between Rasputin and Goethe. Grass is an artist who is attempting to reach

^"West Germany: Outcast at the Helm," Time, Vol. 94 (October, 1969), p. 37. 12

the point of balance between these opposing forces. He

wants the German nation, and all nations to be wary of the

hazards of existence and to attempt sane lives.

Grass, the man, represents quite well the picture

of duality that he portrays in his plays. He is a quiet

man, soft-spoken, yet he wears a Nietzschian mustache.

His home in West Berlin is solid. He believes in permanence.

The furniture is Wilhelmian. He moves within the house as

though he were a plumber who knew his job. It has been said

that Grass’s idea of a good vacation is to, ". . . rent a 12 cottage in Brittany and dig all day for clams."

He lives with his Swiss wife, Anna, a former ballet

dancer, and their children—twins: Franz and Raoul, twelve;

Laura, eight, and five year old Bruno. In 1955 Anna entered

a selection of his poetry in a radio contest. It won third

prize. More important it gave him the opportunity to read

for the Group 47. He read a beginning chapter from The Tin

Drum. Their impression was so profound that it led to the

instant success of The Tin Drum.

In spite of the nightmarish, surreal quality of The

Tin Drum, Grass, the man, is a quiet logical man who gave some sixty speeches for Willy Brandt. He appears soft- spoken on the campaign trail. He explains that the tedious business of politics must be approached with calm logic.

12 "The Dentist’s Chair as an Allegory of Life," p. 70. 13

Grass, then, is both Dionysus (the Artist) and Apollo (the man of Politics).

The Novels

Grass’s three major novels, all translated to criti­ cal acclaim by Ralph Manheim are: The Tin Drum published in the United States in 1959, Cat and Mouse published in the United States in 1961 and Dog Years published in the

United States in 1963. His most recent novel is Local

Anaesthetic. Also translated by Ralph Manheim, this work was published in the United States in 1970.

In attempting to explain these novels, with special attention to the first three, Kurt Lothar Tank in his work,

Gunter Grass, gives this brief, but provocative overview:

What takes place in The Tin Drum, and also in Cat and Mouse and Dog Years, is a process—a process of the imagination into whichevery reader is drawn, willingly or unwillingly. Originally a figment of the author’s imagination, a vital figure such as the tin drummer Oskar gains power over us; his demonic power awakens other powers in us, affirmative and defensive powers that make us capable of self assertion in a new area of freedom that is not without danger, and always in danger. Such a figure, whether he be called a negative hero or a fool, has substance and creates substance. Through such a figure, greater depths of the soul are reached; that which once was, becomes alive; sunken and forgotten images, sagas, fairy tales, and myths enter our consciousness anew. And these older, deeper ineradicable reserves become the standard for estimating the worth of the new.13

There can be no doubt that Gunter Grass’s reputation as a literary figure rests primarily upon his international

"^Kurt Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1969), p. 9. 14

success as a novelist. His novels continue to stand today as his greatest contribution to the world of literature.

Grass was thrust into the public eye with the publication of his first novel, The Tin Drum. This impor­ tant novel is an absurd and realistic account of Oskar

Matzerath, a thirty-year-old dwarf born in Danzig. The novel opens with Oskar as an inmate of a mental institution.

He has been falsely accused of murdering a nurse, and he is waiting for his release.

During this period Oskar reminisces by drumming up (on his tin drum) the past for the reader. Oskar, at the tender age of three, arranged to become a dwarf by tumbling down cellar steps. Oskar recounts his life that includes:

. . . Nazi rallies, anti-semitism, the rise and recruit­ ment of S.S. troops, the German campaign of propaganda then aggressive against Danzig, the war, the Atlantic wall, illumination of the abnormal [attempts to put Oskar into an institution], air raids, Russian troops, con­ centration camp survivors, the return of veterans, the black market, currency reforms, and the ensuing economic stabilization and recovery, guilt, the revisiting of the theatre of war. and a final intolerably vacuous affluent society.14

Cat and Mouse is a striking contrast to Grass’s longer works. This short novel is the story of Joachim Mahlke, a schoolboy with an oversized Adam’s apple. The theme centers

^Arrigo Subiotto, ’’Gunter Grass," Essays on Contem- porary German Literature, German Men of Letters, Vol. TV (London: Oswald Wolli, W.I. j 1949), pp. 216-23 f>. 15

upon a young boy who enters the war only to find futility

in human existence.

In I960, Grass revealed that he was working on a

book about, "the themes and cliches of fascism, communism

and democracy—in short, a political novel, though a novel 15 and not a political tract." Dog Years was an account of

the guilt of the World War II years. The novel is divided

into three books. Book One is written by Brauxel who re­

counts the lives of the two main characters: the half Jew,

Edward Amsel, and the miller's son, Walter Matern. Book

Two is composed by Harry Liebenau in the form of letters to his cousin, Tully Polriefke. Walter Matern writes Book

Three, which is an account of his attempt to punish all who have wronged him within or without the Nazi movement.

The novels are essentially an account of the war years. They deal with the absurdities of those horrible times and the effect upon the characters created by Grass.

These absurd portraits are merely puppets to illustrate the more serious frustration of human existence.

Grass uses the subject matter of Nazi Germany to explore the human condition in a universal sense. The war is an excellent device, in that man (as well as the nation) is at his worst. The reader is able to see more fully the horrors of those years as they relate to the horrors of his

■^Norris W. Yates, Gunter Grass (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmons, Publisher, 1967), p. 34. 16 own existence.

The novels depict in detail much that is contained within the plays. The use of objects, the devaluation of language, and themes related to guilt, religion, sex, the duality of existence, the demonic in history, gloom, and death are all interwoven into the novels. These themes will be discussed later as they relate to the plays.

The Critics

In this dissertation many critics and scholars will be referred to regarding their critical comments and interpretations of Gunter Grass. One unique aspect of this dissertation is that Gunter Grass is a contemporary artist; therefore, there is not a great deal of critical commentary about his work. This is especially true regarding his plays

However, this fact has opened creative avenues of thought that relate to the process of directing a play. This dis­ sertation has attempted to synthesize the best of what critical material is available on the plays and to suggest possible production concepts.

There are three major critics that this dissertation uses as a basis of reference in discussing the literary and production aspects of each Grass play. They are: Gordon

W. Cunliffe, Kurt Lothar Tank and Norris W. Yates.

It is, of course, difficult to determine what an absurd author is attempting to communicate about a world 17

that he considers absurd. Kurt Lothar Tank suggests that a major concern of Grass’s literary work is that evil exists in the world, and it will continue to exist.

Norris W. Yates writing for Writers in Christian

Perspective explains that Grass is concerned about man and his inability to communicate with a God. Therefore, for

Yates, Grass is a religious writer. There are certainly many images that suggest religion and its futile relation­ ship with man. In the most obvious example, Oskar proclaims that, "I am Jesus," and Mahlke possesses an unnatural devotion to the Virgin Mother.

In an overview of Gordon W. Cunliffe’s work, Gunter

Grass, he suggests that Grass is attempting to expose the myths of human existence. Grass brings to life those brutal­ izing aspects of our existence that we are afraid to realize and discuss. It is by looking at our myths and fears that we are capable of becoming more whole. Grass examines all that lies between the words, that which is not visible, but yet present as a destructive controlling force. Thus the three major critics of Grass drew attention to the problem of evil, the religious themes, and the effect of myth and of human fears.

The Plays

Grass’s first major play, Flood written in 1955, is the story of Noah and his family as they attempt to survive 18

the rising waters. In "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo,"

written in 1956, a short one act, two characters operate

a locomotive in the middle of a grassy field. Later their

locomotive is regarded as a frigate. In this short play

one is never positive of the true identity of any object

or person. The Wicked Cooks, 1957, deals with two groups

of cooks in quest of the secret recipe for a mysterious,

but desirable, repulsive soup, which is gray and tastes of

ashes. The holder of this secret is known as "the Count,"

although his baptismal name is Herbert Schymanski. When

finally forced to reveal its contents, he explains that no

cook ever succeeds in cooking the same soup twice. Mister,

Mister, 1957, is the story of Bollin, a sad character intent

on murder, but always incompetent in his attempts. A more

recent play, The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, 1966, appears to be Grass’s most successful play to date. The play

recounts the East German workers’ uprising of 1953; played against this real event is an account of Brecht preparing his production of Coriolanus.

With the exception of The Plebeians Rehearse the

Uprising published in 1966, his absurd plays were composed from 1954 to 1957. In explaining how he came to write plays,

Grass said:

Up to now I have written poetry, plays and prose: all three disciplines are, with me, based on dialogue— even poetry. The transition from poetry to plays took place as follows: Poetry was written in the form of dialogue and then expanded. That was shortly after the 19

war. Then, slowly and gradually stage directions were added; and then I developed my first play, in addition to my main profession at that time, that of a sculptor. Thus I wrote, in a comparatively short time from 1954 to 1957, four plays and two one-acters which contain, as do the poetry and the prose, fantastic and real elements, one revising and contradicting the other.16

Grass's work, and this is certainly true with his plays, demands a reaction from the public. The last play, The

Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, is the most ambitious attempt to involve the audience. In this play, as in all his plays, Grass is requesting that one become involved in the problems of society, hence in the problems of existence.

Summary

The method of research employed has been to examine all of Grass’s literary works, including his poems, novels, and political speeches to gain an insight into the meaning of the plays and the best ways in which the themes can be communicated to the English speaking theatre audience.

Gunter Grass has achieved international fame as a literary artist. His plays, however, have not enjoyed the same reputation as his novels. This study attempted to provide insight into the plays so that theatre workers may more fully realize the potential of the plays of this important literary figure.

16Cunliffe, Gunter Grass, p. 43. CHAPTER II

LITERARY STYLE AND DRAMATIC THEMES IN THE PLAYS

OF GUNTER GRASS

This chapter will explore the literary style and the recurrent themes that are present in the plays of Gunter

Grass. In later chapters these themes will be discussed in more detail as they relate to the specific plays. This chapter will discuss: Grass’s method of composition and of

"documentation, " language, symbols, objects, the grotesque, guilt, religion, the demonic in history, and gloom and death: the final message.

Method of Composition and Documentation

To begin with the question of how Gunter Grass writes is essential. Wesley V. Blomster, in his article

"The Documentation of a Novel; Otto Weininger and ’Hunder- jahre’ by Gunter Grass," explains how Grass writes.

In an interview with "Der Spiegel" in 1963, Gunter Grass outlined the process of composition which lies behind his work. He felt that the genesis of his books and plays can be viewed in three distinct stages; the first draft is the product of his individual memory, his imagination, and the inspiration of the moment; he then goes in search of documentary material to fill the gaps and cement the loose joints which he finds in this sketch. In the final stages of his writing this second draft is reworked and polished until the factual evi­ dence .

20 21

which has been woven into the work has lost all alien markings and become totally amalgamated with the body of the text.l

With regard to the novels it is obvious that his first three works can be seen as a trilogy on the war. The

Tin Drum, for example, starts before the war. Cat and

Mouse is the story of a young boy who enters the war, and

Dog Years discusses the aftermath of war. Even in Grass’s latest novel, Local Anaesthetic, he continues with the story of political man. In this latest novel, Grass uses the

Vietnam conflict as a basis for discussion.

In the plays Grass does not have the time to present a detailed discussion of the historical facts that he weaves within his wild absurd images. In the novels he is at liberty to go on for pages creating absurd, surreal images.

However, he does find the opportunity to place facts and historical information within the plays. As a dramatic device, this technique is not subtle. To illustrate, a few examples from Flood prove this point. Leo, the wandering warrior-son of Noah, returns and talks of:

. . . What's that? Surprised? You made a little mistake, that's all. You picked the wrong crate. Take a look. No sign of any Burgundian inkwells. You know what's in there Tonkin and Laos, the screwed- up kingdom. [He pushes Noah to the crate]. Go on,

^Wesley V. Blomster, "The Documentation of a Novel: Otto Weininger and 'Hunderjahre' by Gunter Grass," Monatshefte, MfdU, Vol. LXI, No. 2 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), p. 124. 22

2 Pop, take a look. Get a whiff of jungle.

In the fifties it was Tonkin, and especially Laos that were the beginnings of the present day Vietnam. Later

Leo says, "Okay, it doesn’t matter when or where. I was sitting in the circus." Congo answers, "It was in 3 Saigon."

Grass mixes several modes of expression into his plays. For example, in several plays the characters sing and recite poetry. But it is poetry that has a political twist to it.

Hindenburg is dead, And Adolph Hitler’s gone. And I’m dead too, and I'm dead too— , 'cause the rain's a coffin lid.

Other places and dates are mentioned. In some instances they are obvious symbols. The rats in Flood ask, "where shall we go?" "To Hamelin," is the answer. Later a reference is made to Paris in 1&71. Research reveals that in 1#71 Paris endured a plague of rats.

In a similar manner in the short one-act, "Only Ten

Minutes to Buffalo," the same device is used. In this situation, Grass makes extensive reference to places that are never reached. Frigate talks of Lepanto, Trafalgar,

2 Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: A Harvard Book, 1967), p. 17. •^Ibid., p. 34

^Grass, Four Plays, p. 45. 23

Aboukir. While Pempelfort and Krudewil wonder if they’re heading from or for the North Sea, or the Lake of Geneva, or Topeka and Keokuk. And, of course, constant reference is made to Buffalo. In Mister, Mister, Mrs. Domke reveals a fear of the flu epidemic of 1917. Further, there are constant references to places where things and ideas might have taken place. For example, the characters speak of

Australia, Schichar, and Hetzberg. They also speak of com­ posers such as Monteverdi, Scarlatti and Couperin.

The Wicked Cooks is steeped in religious symbolism, and Grass appears to allude to the passion of Christ. It is not a historical recounting, but more of a metaphorical- absurd account of someone very much like Christ. It is in his last play, however, that Grass presents his most obvious interest in history. The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising cannot be termed as an absurd play; it re-enacts the uprising of June 17, 1953. The events in the play parallel the events that took place during the revolt. In this play Grass makes no attempt to mask his intentions. He states overtly in the introduction that he has used the historical implication of the June 17th uprising to distort the figure of Brecht and the relationship of the common man to the intellectual.

Language

During World War II, the Nazis denied artistic freedom. Uncensored artistic works were not published or 24 allowed for public consumption. Therefore, the nation was unable to engage in a dialectic process of language. This resulted in a devaluation of the German language. Hence,

Grass feels that one of the responsibilities of present artists, including himself, is to reevaluate the language.

Writing of "The Tin Drum or Retreat to the Word"

Frederick Ivey compares Grass's writing to that of Christian

Morgenstern. He explains what Grass is trying to do with language this way:

. . . Grass's language goes beyond the grotesque humor of his [Morgenstern*s] poems. This language is no longer playful. It describes a situation shared by writers and readers, a race that has a culture that no longer recognizes its system of values. There is a surrealistic element in The Tin Drum which is reflected in the language. On the one hand the language is colloquial and free of abstract verbal concepts and convoluted structures, employing, as with Kafka, a pattern of concrete images. However,, in this vividly pictured objective reality a certain dream-like, fantastic dimension will suddenly become apparent which defies logic and reason and establishes a dream-logic of its own. It is the technique of "pop" art. A common object or scene of our daily life is presented with such extraordinary clarity and detail that it undergoes a transformation before our eyes, and we are suddenly staring at the naked illogic and absurdity of these "normal" things. Grass does not make the mistake of overloading our intellectual and emotional capacities to the point where they short-circuit out. His matter- of-fact, unemotional presentation of the horrible or absurd in the historically true, lets these things speak for themselves. Only the device of montage, the juxta­ posing of seeming unrelated events often of extremely opposed nature, is employed to heighten the effect.5

5 Frederick M. Ivey, "The Tin Drum or Retreat to the Word," University Studies No. 66, Vol. XLII, No. 1, Wichita State University, p. 5^ 25

The director, should apply this knowledge of Grass’s use of language in attempting to communicate to his actors

and the audience. By placing real with non-real language

and action, Grass creates the surreal, absurd world that is

part of all our lives. For example, in Flood the play begins with Noah dragging a crate from the cellar. He and Aunt

Betty engage in what appears to be a normal or realistic con­ versation; yet at the next moment, Leo and Congo pop from within the crate. No explanation is presented. It is merely part of the absurd world. In a reverse situation rats talk, but they discuss their plight and the problems of the human condition in clear, concise logic. In some ways the entire production appears realistic with the exception that highly illogical circumstances are allowed to exist. In the final moments the Inspector pops from the grandfather clock in much the same way as Leo and Congo appeared. Leo and Congo leave for parts unknown with the clock. Yetta, in an inter­ esting use of juxtaposed language, calls for the rain to pour, again!

The short one-act, "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo," appears to attempt to recreate something comparable to

Ionesco's "The Bald Soprano" with its fantasy play upon language. No one is certain what the characters mean when they speak. The painter explains that he can paint a frigate from a cow if he wants. Frigate, herself, is a living example of the absurdity of language to communicate an idea 26

effectively. As the play ends no one is certain where we

have been or where we are likely to go.

In Mister, Mister the audience is never permitted to

ask why certain events are allowed. For example, Boilin’s

task is simply to kill people, but he never explains why.

This is similar to asking why the Germans exterminated six

million Jews. No one in Germany bothered to ask why. Their

language, and their right to communicate was dead.

Therefore, it is Grass's task to recreate language.

This he accomplished in his plays, and this is especially

true in The Wicked Cooks. This play represents the futile

attempt of an inarticulate group of cooks (the German nation's

everyman) to regain the secret recipe from the Count (reality,

salvation). In his last play, The Plebeians Rehearse the

Uprising, although Grass has abandoned the bizarre aspects

of absurd theatre, he takes up the same theme in an epic style

Fundamental to the strife between the plebeians and the Boss

is the inability to communicate; hence, the failure of language.

It is interesting to note that Grass does not align himself totally with the absurdist philosophy. In a sense one might assume that Grass as the absurd playwright is sug­ gesting that we must attempt to communicate rather than that communication is impossible. Frederick Ivey explains this same concept this way: 27

Grass would seem to say, man's sense of responsi­ bility to man is our only salvation. The prevailing feeling is that poetry is Useless--and it is in the ordinary utilitarian sense. But I'm convinced writers can be used by government—if government can put up with them. And the government had better. Certainly Grass's poetry has been useful in the sense which Whittenmore probably has in mind. His writings have such a significant blow at the self-deception and hypocrisy that stultified the creative spirit in postwar Germany.«

Grass's literary work demands that the individual participate in the process of improving existence. His works admit the duality of existence; however, man must accept this only choice, the continuance of the struggle, and the struggle demands an attempt to reevaluate language and to communicate.

Symbols

It is obvious that writers have been using symbols since the beginning of time to represent ideas. This is true with Grass; however, a note of caution should be given to the potential director of the plays of Gunter Grass.

The director, or an interpreter, of an artistic work can go overboard in identifying symbols. Grass has stated publicly that the reader should not place a great deal of emphasis upon the symbols within his work. However, an examination of surface and obvious symbols might trigger for the director a point of view that he might pursue profitably. Further,

6t Ivey, "The Tin Drum or Retreat to the Word," pp. 15-16. 28

since directing Is an art itself, a study of symbols within

the play might suggest a production approach.

The drum has been a symbol in literature for a long

time. In his dissertation "The Irrational Narrator in

Virginia Woolf’s The Waves, William Faulkner’s The Sound

and the Fury and Gunter Grass's, The Tin Drum," Ralph Berets

points out the many uses of the drum. The drum is used

by Oskar and Grass for the following reasons:

1. The drum communicates better than language because it knows no cultural barrier. 2. Listening to drums is a way of learning history. 3. We understand only via drums. 4. The drum reminds us of what we have forgotten. 5. The drum is an intuitive art and beyond the rational control of the artist. 6. The drum is selected by the artist to recreate contemporary history.7

The drum, then, for Oskar, is a useful device in helping the reader to see what the artist wants him to understand. If this is the case with the drum, the director could then examine the symbols within the plays with a fresh insight. For example, in Flood the flood itself could suggest several possibilities. It might mean World War

II, or a future war, or the present state of our lives.

Noah's inkwells could be the symbol of man's concern over trivia as opposed to the more serious aspects of his existence

7 'Ralph Adolph Berets, "The Irrational Narrator m Virginia Woolf's The Waves, William Faulkner's The Sound and Fury and Gunter Grass's fhe Tin Drum," (unpublished Uoctoral Dissertation, University of Michigan, 1969), p. 179« 29

that could bring about more rationality within the world.

’’Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" is a symbolic pre­ sentation of man attempting to travel toward sanity or salvation. Frigate enters to reveal that she has been both a human and a means of transportation, yet she has not arrived at her destination. The two trainmen are con­ fused as to which means of locomotion they are operating.

It is both a ship and a train engine. Symbols abound in this short one act. Trains become ships; ships become trains; cows become ships; dolphins turn into ships; trainmen wrestle with the angel; the dog is Jonah, and finally, Axel, the nearest symbol of the real world decides that he too will attempt to travel to Buffalo. Bollin in Mister, Mister could certainly be seen as symbolic of man’s attempts to attain a sense of rationality in existence. The most obvious use of symbolism comes in The Wicked Cooks. The cooks are searching for the secret recipe to the soup which could be seen as the salvation of all of man’s problems.

Objects

The main reason why Grass uses objects in his plays is to show that objects control people. This is not to suggest that each object is a separate theme, but that Grass’s works abound with objects to illustrate that the human condition is controlled by objects. W. G. Cunliffe in his article, "Aspects of the Absurd in Gunter Grass" finds that 30

Wagenback, in his study of Grass, has labeled this use of g objects as "Objecktzwang" (Compulsion through objects).

The subjects are . . . so to speak, ruled by an object. In this way no judgment is passed on an object by a subject; things keep themselves to themselves. It is hardly possible to consider such a text under the categories of disgust or delight, of the ugly or the beautiful.9

Objects abound in the novels of Grass. There are so many that a systematic treatment would necessitate an entire study in itself. However, a few examples will be of assistance. In The Tin Drum the most obvious object is

Oskar himself. He becomes an object that refuses to grow beyond three feet. His most talked about object, however,

(one that has gained international recognition) is his tin drum. It is with his drum that he is able to drum up the past and future. It is his way of communication. Food becomes an object; in The Tin Drum Oskar's mother literally eats herself to death. Sex is an object that motivates the characters within the novel and is the basis for the eternal guilt that all the characters possess. In the final analysis it is the Black Witch that serves as the ultimate object that controls the life of Oskar and of everyone. The ultimate position that Oskar must face is an entrapment bet-

£> W. G. Cunliffe, "Aspects of the Absurd in Gunter Grass," Contemporary Literature, Vol. 7 (University of Wi s c o ns in Hress: 1906), p. 315. ^Ibid., p. 314. 31

ween determinism and finalism. The Black Witch is a philo­

sophical state for Oskar and for all of us. The frustration and horrors of existence will constantly surround Oskar and mankind.

Always behind me, the Black Witch. Now ahead of me, too, facing me, Black. Black words, black coat, black money. But if children sing, they sing no longer: Where’s the Witch, black as pitch? Here’s the black, wicked Witch. Ha! Ha! Ha!1°

Cat and Mouse, the short novella, portrays the main actor, Mahlke, with an oversized Adam’s apple, an object that controls him. He wears all sorts of absurdities to cover this object, his guilt. Mahlke is possessed by objects, the minesweeper, the Blessed Virgin, the war, and the ideologies behind all objects. In Dog Years the dog stands central to everything within the novel, and the lives of all the characters. The dog might be considered as an object symbolic of Hitler or the fall of the Nazi Party. The aftermath of the war and the "economic miracle" is portrayed by the production of scarecrows, objects.

In the plays we are also served a tremendous amount of objects that control. Cunliffe explains this use of objects as it is related to the theatre of the absurd in this way:

1^Martha O'Nan, The Role of Mind in Hugo, Faulkner, Beckett and Grass (New York: Philosophical Library, 19&5), 32

This domination on the part of objects recalls the method of the theatre of the Absurd—I quote Peter Loeffler’s Theatre—Wahrheit and Wir kli c khke it : ”In contrast to this dépréciation of the human being, the objects acquire an added value. Modern drama tends to endow the object with at least a potential power, which at times can become a magic power.’’ One thinks, for example, of Eugene Ionesco’s plays, of the furni­ ture that takes control in "Le nouveau Locataire, *' or the chairs in "Les Chaises." Indeed/ before Die Blechtrommel was published, Grass wrote a number of absurd plays [not very successful]. In Onkel, Onkel [Uncle, Uncle] the murderer is frustrated by nis own revolver, which prevents him from committing a murder and finally shoots him. In Grass's one act "Nock Zehn Minuten bis Buffalo" ["Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo"] the lives of two dilettante railwaymen, Krudewil and Pempelfort, are entirely subordinated to the abandoned locomotive they serve in the absurd hope of reaching Buffalo. The effect is summed up by Wolfgang Hilder- heimer in his Erlanger Address on the absurd theatre; here he mentions this play and describes it as "a small diabolical disturbance, an announcement, so to speak, of the instability of the world." It is this uncertainty and radical doubt characteristic of the absurd theater that is basic to Grass’s work.H

Later Cunliffe continues his discussion of objects and includes the soup from The Wicked Cooks as an object that controlled the lives of the wicked cooks and caused the des­ truction of the Count. In a similar manner it is objects that control our own lives, be they material objects or ideological objects.

The Grotesque

The concept of the grotesque is referred to by many critics when discussing the works of Grass. This device

11 Cunliffe, "Aspect of the Absurd in Gunter Grass, p. 317. 33

can be seen in literally every work. Mr. Michael Steig has

written an excellent article entitled: "The Grotesque and

the Aesthetic Response in Shakespeare, Dickens and Gunter

Grass." In this article Mr. Steig presents a thought pro­

voking definition and discussion of the grotesque and its

relationship to Grass.

... A similar assumption may be found in late Wolf­ gang Kayser's "The Grotesque in Art and Literature," now the standard work on the grotesque; because Kayser, after outlining the objective determinable elements in the grotesque, arrives at this final interpretation of the grotesque: AN ATTEMPT TO INVOKE AND SUBDUE THE DEMONIC ASPECTS OF THE WORLD. The true grotesque "effects a secret liberation. The darkness has been sighted, the ominous powers discovered, the incomprehen­ sible forces challenged." Kayser thus suggests that the grotesque has a therapeutic effect upon its audience: it allays certain fundamental anxieties, at least tempor­ arily, by means of the confrontation and experiencing of the sources of those anxieties. This way of looking at a work of art, of course, goes back to Aristotle on tragic catharsis; it is echoed in another context by Norman Holland; "Literature is a species of play," which consists in, first, "letting a disturbing experience happen to us, then, second, mastering that disturbance.

In another perspective the grotesque images that

Grass presents can be seen as extensions of our own person­ alities. That is to say, there is a darker side of our nature that tolerates the demonic. It could be assumed that we feel cheated because we are not allowed eternal happiness.

Instead, we must suffer the daily frustrations of our personal existence. Therefore, we delight in Oskar’s ability (an

1 o Michael Steig, "The Grotesque and The Aesthetic Response in Shakespeare, Dickens and Gunter Grass," Comparative Literature Studies, Vol. 6, (1969), p. 16S. extension of our desires) to create havoc in the world. Oskar is allowed to "get even with the world" for the sake of our own disillusionment.

Therefore, Oskar, the gnome, is a symbol of the grotesque. Because of his disfigurement, he is allowed special privileges to create pain in the world. In a similar manner, it is Mahlke’s grotesque Adam’s apple that speaks for him.

The plays also possess this same literary device.

In Flood we are faced with the grotesqueness of the rats as they discuss their position with relation to the family and the cancerous existence in which Noah and his family are involved. The family itself appears ugly, grotesque. One has the feeling of unattractive people, whose actions, and interests, (inkwells, photos) are all related to the grotesque

In "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" there is the same use of the grotesque with Frigate, a woman who turns from person, to fish and back to a frigate. The Wicked Cooks admit that the soup they seek is "repulsive and tastes of ashes," but they must possess it, or it will mean the demise of their ability to be regarded as excellent cooks. The final action of the

Count’s being killed is the last comment on the grotesque within the play. Bollin represents the grotesque in Mister,

Mister, a pathetic character bent on murder, but unable to accomplish it. Even the characters whom he attempts to murder are grotesque. Sophie is demonic with her influenza. The 35

Prima Donna is the epitome of self conceit as she prevents

Bollin from completing his mission. In The Plebeians

Rehearse the Uprising one is not confronted with such

distortion of characters as is the case with the rats and

Frigate. The action is more subtle. It might be assumed that the feeble attempt to hang the Boss is an element of the grotesque. In another sense one might assume that the theme of the inability of classes to communicate is the most "realistic" example of modern day man. The inability of men to communicate and to live together in peace is grotesque.

Guilt

Martin Esslin, in his introduction to Gunter Grass:

Four Plays, felt that the following poem is essential to understanding the entire thought and emotion behind Grass’s work:

Little Address Calling For A Great Opening of Mouths, or the Gargoyle Speaks

Whoever wishes to release, to breathe out that caries which long has lurked behind the toothpaste has no choice but to open his mouth.

Now let us open our mouths, go to offices and hand in the bad gold teeth which we broke and plucked from the dead.

Before you hope to displace, to spew out fat fathers— now that we too are fathers and putting on fat- you’ve no choice but to open your mouths; 36

just as our children in time will open their mouths, will displace,

will spew out the great caries t o the bad gold teeth, the fat fathers.

Guilt, then is one of the prime movers for the characters of Grass. The German nation is neurotic as a result of all the gold teeth plucked from the dead, and what has each man, each nation plucked from its dead?

This poem was the result of Grass’s indefatigable campaign for Willy Brandt and the Social Democratic Party in the German elections of 1965. Grass is a committed writer, and he feels that it is the artist’s responsibility to concern himself with the political events that shape his existence. Esslin goes on to explain that in spite of how fantastic and unrealistic they seem, the plays are a powerful warning against nostalgia for the times of calamity and camaraderie. This is a concept that everyone can appre­ ciate, especially those who are familiar with World War II,

Watts, Chicago riots, and Kent State. It is not unusual to hear romanticized accounts of those times. In fact, everyone has heard a good war story, or for that matter each of us has told a few. Grass warns us that one tends to become lost in those good times and to forget the horrible conditions that created such an atmosphere. Furthermore, we are unaware of the intellectual processes that went on in all of our minds that allowed such events to exist.

13 . . Grass, Four Plays, p. xm. y?

It is the absurdity of the human condition (as Grass perceives it) that forces Grass to be absurd rather than realistic in his plays. Because of the atrocious deeds of

World War II, most Germans live with a deep sense of guilt.

Guilt, then, has become one of the major themes of Grass.

He explains in his work that Germany is a nation that has lived with the sense of guilt for several generations.

Grass, who grew up with the Nazi ideals, now sees his children (the younger generation) faced with the guilt of their fathers. It is something that they have inherited without sin on their part. This inherited guilt is much like the concept of original sin according to which men are born into the world already damned—through no fault of their own. In fact, for Grass our life is that of a sinner who must constantly be forgiven, only to sin again. The good

Catholic receives the sacrament of confession, and as he steps from the confessional, he feels a sense of pride, but the moment he leaves the church, he enters into a sensual-world.

The sensual world is one of which he is very much a part, and it is a world that demands participation. It is this inconsistency against which Grass has become a crusader.

There is no reason why the youth of Germany should feel guilty for the deeds of their fathers. This could be a message in the topical sense. The deeper message concerns everyman*s sense of guilt. 38

Grass: A Religious Dramatist

The Christian religion proclaims, according to

Gunter Grass, that mankind has an eggshell existence. Man

is warned that outside the egg is salvation or the eternal

fires of Hell. Grass has arrived at the position that

questions what exists outside of the shell—if anything.

It is not that he does not believe in an afterlife, but that

he does question its form. In Dog Years he expresses this

idea:

Do you believe in God? . . . Matern: ... In the Name of the Father, The Son, and the Holy Ghost: NO.14

For Grass, man has become and will probably always be a seeker. He will always be a pilgrim who is not totally religious or nonreligious, but one who must search to explain the mysteries of his existence.

Norris W. Yates explains that for Grass, God is much like "a good natured Fowl" that has laid a large egg, and we (mankind) are embryonic in our knowledge of the outside. Grass uses frequent bird images as shall be dis­ cussed later. Grass in his poem "In the Egg" says it this way:

And what if we’re not being hatched? If this shell will never break? If our horizon is only that Of our scribbles, and always will be. We hope that we’re being hatched.

■^Gunter Grass, Dog Years, trans. Ralph Manheim (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1963), p. 4&1. 39

Even if we only talk of hatching There remains the fear that someone Outside our shell will feel hungry And crack us in the frying pan with a pinch of Salt. What shall we do then, my brethren inside the egg?15

The characters in the play Flood are much like all of mankind who are trapped inside the egg. These characters attempt to break the egg shell, and yet they wonder if there is anything beyond the shell.

The Biblical Noah accepts the will of God. But he has advantages; God spoke to him. Although he might not have understood why God desired such a flood, at least he had the opportunity to know that a flood was coming. Modern man, on the other hand, does not have the opportunity to hear God at first hand. He is alone on his ark without knowing why, or if, the flood will subside.

In this look at the religious aspects of the work of Grass, it is also important to note that he is also questioning the basic Christian concept of religion. The

Church might answer questions of an afterlife by saying that modern man has the Bible to guide him. Better, the Bible is modern man's way of talking directly to God. It is this act of faith that man must accept to know God.

There are historical reasons why Grass is vitally concerned with religious themes in his work. Postwar German

^Gunter Grass, Selected Poems (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 19bb), p. 43. 40 writers among whom Grass must be counted, are all searching for a means or a reason for existence in the spiritual vacuum caused by Germany’s horrendous involvement in the atrocities of the Hitler period. Grass appears to be attempting to re-organize a religion for a mad world.

In looking in other works of Grass one can see the religious theme that is so prevalent in Flood. In The Tin Drum Oskar is depicted as both a Satan and Jesus.

I was on the point of racing down the steps without thinking, of running away from Catholicism as fast as my legs would carry me, when a pleasant though imperious voice touched my shoulder: ’’Dost thou love me, Oskar?" Without turning, I replied: "Not that I know of." Whereupon he, without raising his voice: "Dost thou love me, Oskar?" This time my tone was more biting: "Sorry, old man, I’m afraid not." For the third time he came at me with that irritating voice of his: "Oskar dost thou love me?" I turned around and looked him full in the face: "You bastard, I hate you, you and all your hocus-pocus." Strange to say, my hostility, far from getting him down, was his occasion to triumph. Raising his forefinger like a lady school teacher, he gave me an assignment. "Thou art Oskar, the rock, and on this rock I will build my church. Follow thou me!" You can imagine my indignation. I had gooseflesh with rage. I broke off one of his plaster toes, but he didn’t budge. "Say that again and I’ll scratch the paint off you."16

Certainly The Tin Drum makes no attempt to hide its symbolism. Oskar, who refuses to grow after age three, finds that he bears a striking resemblance to the Christ-Child, with his cobalt blue eyes. This religious theme, however, is applied in reverse. Although Oskar feels that he looks

1 °Gunter Grass, The Tin Drum, trans, by Ralph Manheim, (Greenwich, Conn.: Fawcett Book, 1959), pp. 345-346. 41

like Jesus and has "Jesus’ powers," his main purpose in life is to attain Satanic powers. Oskar, although he might not consciously do so, brings evil into the world. Sol

Gittleman, writing in the Crane Review, explains that

Oskar’s religious position was that of non-involvement.

When necessary, he betrayed his friends to assure his own sur­ vival. After all, ". . .he admits, the wrecks of humanity with which he finds himself surrounded throughout his life 17 are simply not worth the sacrifice." Grass might be at­ tempting to explain that the true religious experience re­ quires and demands participation. To carry this concept to another level, as Grass seems to intend, one discovers the common man must involve himself, or he might become a "good

German" who also found it easier to be "non-involved."

Mahlke is obsessed with the Blessed Virgin. Karl

H. Ruhleder in his article "A Pattern Messianic Thought in

Gunter Grass’s Cat and Mouse" feels that this short novel is a symbolic religious story. Essentially, Ruhleder ex­ plains, it is Mahlke who will create a new world. He assumes that the existing order of things is beyond repair. Mahlke, because of his love for the Virgin, will create a new order, or to phrase it differently, he will create "the Age of

Aquarius." Mahlke spills his seed into the ocean (which can be seen as a symbol for the Virgin) in an attempt to inpregnate

■^Sol Gittleman, "Guenther Grass: Notes on the Theology of the Absurd," Crane Review, Vol. VIII; 1965, p. 33« 42

the world for a new order. The novel ends with Mahlke

diving for the last time into the minesweeper. He never

returns. He enters the womb for the unknown gestation l8 period to be born as the new savior.

In D°g Years, probably the most pessimistic of

Grass’s novels, Matern and Amsel find themselves under a

church while rummaging through a sewer. They discover the

bones of buried humans, and Grass makes the picture of the

Crucifixion come before our eyes.

The most obvious use of the religious symbolism

can be found in The Wicked Cooks. In a sense this is the

story of the passion of Christ. The individual analysis of

this play will illustrate this point. However, what takes

place is that a group of cooks, (who resemble "everyman")

seek a secret soup (the secret to salvation).

Several other references are made to religious

experiences. The most notable is found in "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo." The characters within this script talk of

Jacob wrestling with the angel and of Jonah.

The entire concept of the plays of Grass seems to be placed in a religious mode. Grass is essentially seeking the salvation of all of humanity. He does not necessarily advocate any specific religion (Grass, himself is a non-

18 Karl Ruhleder, "A Pattern of Messianic Thought in Gunter Grass's Cat and Mouse," German Quarterly, Vol. XXXIX (1966), p. 601. 43

practicing Catholic), but rather he is more concerned with

what action man should take. The characters in Flood seem

to ask what happens after the flood, or what do we do if

the flood returns? Bollin, in Mister, Mister, is involved

in a constant search for meaning, yet he is unable to find

it. In The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising (Grass's attempt

at epic theatre), the characters ask the same questions only within a political context.

The Demonic in History

The protagonists of Grass’s works are indeed grotesque and demonic. That is, they seem to possess un­ natural or Satanic powers. They have a feeling, a touch of the macabre. Grass’s characters are in a sense so super human that one is repulsed by their presence. One is forced to stand away from his characters and to view them as freaks.

Oskar, the gnome, is a grotesque individual. Yet, he is human, or at least one believes him to be human. The reader views Oskar as one would many real-life types of misshapen individuals.

Oskar is an incredible creature. One has the feeling that he was conceived and formed in a horrible surrealistic dream. The most terrifying thought is that we know that any­ one could have been so formed. Or maybe, everyone in some way is deformed or misshapen. It is possible that the demonic 44 character of Oskar is part of everyman.

Grass achieves a brilliance in creating the demonic

Oskar because, in his horrible grotesqueness, one cannot help but become more interested in his existence. One is drawn closer to him than he would be to another human being.

The aesthetic distance that Grass establishes allows one to view the horrible that is present within each of us.

What Grass seems to be attempting in his demonic character is to present the demonic aspect of history. It is -through Oskar, and all the other characters in his work, that one is able to see the destructive forces of history working in the human condition. W. V. Blomster speaks directly to this concept in his article, "The Demonic in

History: Thomas Mann and Gunter Grass." Bloomster felt that both Mann and Grass were inspired by Nietzsche who saw an "inspired sense of history" as a source of salvation. 19

To quote Nietzsche:

Immediate self-observation is not enough, by a long way, to enable us to learn to know ourselves. We need history, for the past continues to flow through us in a hundred channels. We ourselves are, after all, nothing but our own sensation at every moment of this continued flow.20

Further, Nietzsche found the essence of the historical process in "its madness, its injustice, its blind passion,

19 W. V. Blomster, "The Demonic in History: Thomas Mann and Gunter Grass," Contemporary Literature, Vol. X (1969), p. 76. 20Ibid. 45

and especially the earthly and darkened horizon that was the 21 source of its power. ..." However, through a highly

creative and artistic knowledge of history, man can look to

the future with a better understanding of existence and

hopefully a better life.

Translating this concept to Grass, Blomster explains

that Grass accepts the existence of the demonic in man and

history, but he does not believe as did Thomas Mann that

man can live with these forces. Grass calls for a "de-de-

monization" of history. The demonic in history cannot be

eliminated, but it can be kept in check. This checking process can only be accomplished if man is fully attempting to understand past history. Therefore, in his work, Grass

attempts to keep a degree of reality and objectivity. "I have to describe the fantastic as accurately as possible; I must weigh it down with all possible reality in order that 22 it doesn't simply vanish into the air and fly away."

Blomster feels, and he is correct, that the most outspoken example of this subject comes in the Dog Years regarding the "pile of bones outside the concentration camp at Suffhof. "That's a pile o' bones. . . . Bet you it's „23 bones. And what's more, human bones. Everybody knows that.

21 Ibid. 22, 'Blomster, "The Demonic in History Thomas Mannand Gunter Grass," p. 76.

23 Ibid., p. 79• lt.6

Everyone knew about it, but very few exercised any effort to do anything about it. This is a theme certainly similar to many of our own contemporary problems. In the same novel,

Tulia’s cousin, Harry Liebenau, becomes the victim of the same process of abstraction:

A boy, a young man, a uniformed high school student, who venerated the Führer, Ulrich von Hutten, General Rommel, the historian Heinrich von Treitschke, for brief moments Napoleon, the panting movie actor Emil Jannings, for a while Savonarola, then again Luther, and of late the philosopher Martin Heidegger. With the help of these models he succeeded in burying the real mound made of Human bones under Medieval allegories. The pile of bones, which in reality cried out to high heaven between Tyrol and Kaiserhafen, was mentioned in his diary as a place of sacrifice, erected in order that purity might come-to-be in the luminous, which trans- luminates purity and so fosters light.24

Gloom and Death: The Final Message

In a work of art an artist may be trying to communi­ cate to us many different levels of consciousness. In the final analysis, each man must face the final and ultimate requirement of existence. Death, as far as it is known, is the last thing that is required of man. Therefore, man must prepare for this final step in his own process of existence.

Grass appears to be very conscious of this fact in all of his work. C. D. Jerde in his excellent article, ’’A

Corridor of Pathos: Notes on the Fiction of Gunter Grass," feels that this concept is one of the most powerful themes that Grass is attempting to communicate.

24Ibid., p. 76. 47

Mr. Grass writes of a pathos which is felt, not as sharp pain that can be remembered, but as a hollow ache that cannot be relieved. This pathos for Mr. Grass reveals a prevailing gloom, a changeless existence, and human longing for death.25

Jerde feels that for Grass "gloom is basic to existence groundless, and unabsolvable." Throughout all of his work, gloom is certainly present. One of the most obvious examples is the Black Witch in The Tin Drum, which was mentioned earlier in this chapter. Grass realizes that the Black Witch is a way of life. She has always been present, and she will always be present no matter where he goes or what he does.

She is the duality of existence; she is the ultimate object; she becomes hell on earth.

C. D. Jerde continues his thought into other works of

Grass. In Dog Years the pathos and gloom are still present.

The first book is an extended analogy to a mining operation with each chapter working as a work-shaft. This image is powerful as one can visualize a mine shaft that digs down to the bowels of the earth. In Cat and Mouse the cat is always ready to pounce on the ever bouncing Adam’s apple.

To quote Jerde again:

Gloom therefore, is like an emptiness, a void within the human being, that cannot be filled. Oskar's mother, who tried, gorged herself and died. In addition, to abysmal groundlessness, the Black Witch is also the source of Oskar’s ironically induced fear. This fear, however, closely approximates the existentialist concept

2 5 C. D. Jerde, "A Corridor of Pathos: Notes on the Fiction of Gunter Grass," The Minnesota Review, IV (1964), 558. of the dread, since there is, in reality, no object to fear. Thus, Oskar’s fear is an "Angst,” a fear without a recognizable foundation—groundless.26

Jerde explains that Grass illustrates this concept

in a religious and historical sense. Mahlke says, "...

of course I don’t believe in God. He's just a swindle to 27 stultify the people." Oskar feels that God has mankind

on a merry-go-round, and He (God) will not stop it to let

man off. The most powerful images come in Dog Years. Matern

and Amsel figuratively find the place of the crucifixion not

on a hill, but in a sewer hidden by the church itself.

In D°g Years the nine scarecrows that Amsel dresses

in SA uniforms wear faces from out of different periods of

German military history. Grass illustrates past history in this way and also suggests the future.

Finally, the concept and longing for death is the ultimate step for Grass. In The Tin Drum, Oskar is constantly attempting to crawl beneath the four skirts of his grand­ mother—the place of his origin. The eels which appear in both The Tin Drum and Dog Years are traditional symbols of birth and death. Oskar's mother, after seeing the eels in the horse's head, is driven by compulsion to consume all the fish that she can, which causes her death.

The pathos in Gunter Grass is played off between gloom—made eternal and inevitable by the changeless cycle of existence—and death, its only release. We

26Jerde, pp. 558-559. 27Ibid., p. 559. 49

can make any choice available pertaining to life and how we will live it, but though we would be gnashers of teeth like Matern in Dog Years or a master of The Tin Drum like Oskar, our most important task is to learn how.to die.2S

Summary

The director will be greatly assisted by knowing that Grass writes by mixing reality with fantasy. The literary style communicates to the director that Grass of portraying a world where the real is ¡pitted against the unreal. This concept must be translated to the stage by the director.

Gunter Grass employs several literary devices to illustrate that our lives are a mad mixture of real and absurd events. Language is manipulated to compel the in­ dividual to undesirable ends. Throughout the poems, novels, and plays, symbols abound to force the reader/viewer to realize that Grass is speaking on a metaphorical level.

Hence, the plays demand participation. One of the major themes that communicates the sense of the absurd is that objects control the individual. The Use of the grotesque in the plays shocks one to higher levels of understanding. The sense of guilt and inherited guilt becomes a kind of contem­ porary equivalent of original sin. , Religion is used by

Grass as a controlling force. Grass’s work implements his belief in the need to de-demonize the influence of history upon the individual. Finally the works are pervaded by a sense of groundless gloom and by an insistence upon the

2^Jerde, p. 55&. 50 necessity of facing death as the only release.

It is interesting that Grass employs several styles within his plays. The last play within this study attempts to communicate in an epic style. His latest play Davor

(Before) (not yet available in English translation) continues this epic style. The point is that Grass appears to be still emerging in terms of a literary style and thematic values. Grass cannot be pinned down and identified with a specific style and meaning. This is all the more reason why the theatre researcher must earnestly seek to understand his work and arrive at production concepts that will communi­ cate these values most effectively.

In the following chapters each play will be discussed.

The plays are treated separately as they are each unique and present different problems. In chapter III, which deals with

Flood, emphasis is placed upon the literary analysis of the play. Most of the themes and images discussed in Flood con­ tinue to reappear in all the plays. Therefore, this chapter establishes a foundation of analysis. In the following chapters on "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo” and Mister, Mister image analysis based upon the thematic implication is pre­ sented. The Wicked Cooks chapter continues this same process, however the paintings of Bosch are discussed to assist with a more visual concept of themes and images. Finally, with the last play, The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, the political philosophy of Gunter Grass, political activist, 51 is presented as it relates to the meaning of the play.

In all the plays the emphasis is placed on literary analysis. The suggestions for the director are limited.

It was the intention of this research to provide a working basis for the creative effort of a theatre director. It is hoped that as a result of this study, a director will be able to begin his own individual artistic expression as it relates to the plays of Gunter Grass. CHAPTER III

FLOOD

The first of Grass’s dramas to be presented on the

stage was Hochwasser, (Flood). It was written in 1955 and performed by the Frankfurt Theater in 1957. A slightly re­ vised version was published in 1963.

This first drama was a Noah play. The characters

include Noah, the father; his sister-in-law, Betty; Yetta, his daughter; and her fiance, Henry. Early in the play

Noah’s son arrives with his friend Congo. Two rats, Pearl and Point, oversee the action of the humans in the flood.

The basic dramatic situation of Flood is simple.

The characters in the drama are involved in a disaster, a flood. Noah spends most of his time worrying about such trivia as his inkwells. He is possessed with a passion for cataloguing his inkwells. His sister-in-law, Betty, performs equally absurd acts with her preoccupation, photo albums.

Early in the play, Noah is see attempting to bring a crate full of inkwells up from the cellar. As he opens the crate,

Leo, Noah’s son, accompanied by a friend, Congo, emerge from the crate. They offer no explanations for their absurd entrance, but only comment that they have been to far away places, and now they have returned to weather out the flood. Upstairs,

52 53

Noah’s daughter and Henry engage in seemingly senseless trivia. Yetta becomes most interested in the travels of her brother and his friend, Congo. She and Congo become sexually involved. Leo amuses himself with Henry whom he constantly ridicules. The entire action of the play is intermittently interrupted by the two rats, Pearl and Point, who take advantage of the opportunity to make philosophical comments regarding the plight of the humans who are experiencing the flood. In the last scene, after much absurd action, the Inspector steps from the inside of a grandfather clock to inspect the damage done by the flood; he advises the household of proper action for future catas­ trophes .

In attempting to understand what the play means, the director should consider the many levels on which the play exists. First, it might be assumed that Flood suggests the absurdity of the human condition. In short, it might be a simple statement explaining that life is a void.

Although this is a general tenet of absurdism, it would be an insufficient interpretation for this play. On another level of abstraction, research reveals the impact of World

War II on Grass; therefore, the director is justified in looking at Flood as it relates to the war and the German nation. There are still other levels of meaning that Flood suggests, and it is the intention of this chapter to discuss these concepts. 54

The discussion of this first play of Gunter Grass will include a consideration of religion, the demonic in history, gloom and death, images and objects and how they are related to themes as controlling the lives of the in­ dividual. The study will then consider how the thematic implications influence the script. It is hoped that the director will be able to consider the themes that are present within the script to create his own production con­ cept for the play, Flood.

Religion

The rat, Point, tells a humorous but grotesque story about a nun. In the cellar of a convent a nun would appear and pull her dress up to look at her legs (they had freckles on them) and to observe her genital area. Point would quickly run and nip her on the leg, thereby causing her to drop what food she might be holding. He then had the opportunity to eat what food had fallen. Shortly after this good fortune, a priest with a parade of choirboys would enter the cellar and perform various forms of religious hocus-pocus to rid the cellar of the "evil demon." Grass might be suggesting the Church’s inability in dealing with the ills of our society. Better, he has shown in brilliant terms man as he deals with his own fears.

Also from the religious point of view, Yetta makes a similar, interesting attack on Aunt Betty’s lack of 55

awareness about the world in which she lives:

Yetta: It’s still raining right now. You think you’re so smart, always talking about tomorrow. Today it's raining. Today, that's something I know. You know what today is? It's all this water. Get the bread knife; cut yourself a slice if you feel like it. Today it's you people sitting there thinking. Think, think, think. You look at this sweaterfull of mine, and you think. But what will it be like in twenty years? Christ, you can't just sit there looking on while a pair of tits get longer and longer and longer, until in the end they don't mean a thing. You that's what today is. You, my sweet little fiance, you, the old fool that's my father. And you my dear aunt. She never has enough. Always wants to look at a few more snapshots. If somebody came in with a blank little square and said: "Look here, Auntie, this is God: just imagine they found a way to take his picture." You know what she'd say? "Gracious me, God! Why, that's exactly how I imagined him." And she'd paste him up in the album in between Uncle Stanislas and Cousin Bridget. That's what she'd do.l

It has been established that Grass is writing about

religious themes throughout most of his work. In his plays,

however, religious characters often play minor roles; they

are the subjects of minor diversions within a work. Sister

Alphonse Maria plays such a role in Flood. She seems to

represent all of us who are forced to go to the cellar to

"look at the freckles on our legs." Grass, via the nuns,

seems to be commenting upon that element that will not allow

for a freer form of existence. The actions of the religious

become highly irrational. It is important to understand that Grass is not attacking one's faith, but rather he is

attacking that which exists without thought or understanding

■^Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: Fawcett Book, 1957), p. 37. 56

The Demonic in History

In Flood Grass is speaking of the lack of awareness

of history. The flood becomes like the grotesque Oskar. It

is a misshapen creature the evil that will destroy us.

Grass employs the same concept to "dedemonize history."

One can assume that the flood represents the flow and destruc­

tion of Nazi Germany. The sensitive point of the play,

however, is its return. Noah and Yetta make several refer­

ences to the lack of awareness of the flood. Although Yetta

appears at times to hate the flood, in the last line she hopes

for its return. "I wish it would rain again and rain and 2 keep raining until there’s water up to here, up to here."

The play presents several examples of Grass’s attempt to "dedemonize history." In Flood Congo and Leo have been away traveling; however, the whereabouts of their travels are not revealed. Henry attempts to find the answer, and this interesting historical fact is presented.

Henry: I gather that you have been away for some time? Leo: Hey, he’s talking to you. Congo: To me? If we've been away? Yep, you gathered right—We’ve been away a long time. Henry: And where have you been? That is to say, what places have you visited, if I may ask. Leo: Tell him no, he shouldn't ask. Congo: D'you hear that? Mustn't ask. Question verboten!

2 Grass, Four Plays, p. 74. 57

3 Ever hear of Lohengrin? See?

Lohengrin is a romantic opera. The pertinent infor­ mation as it relates to Flood is that the leading character,

Elsa has vowed not to ask the name of her husband/champion.

Curiosity planted by Ortrud causes her to break her promise, and a magic spell is broken.^

Grass appears to use the romantic and heroic myth of

Lohengrin to shift the tone of the play to an amusing note.

Grass uses this reference to mask, to excuse, and to draw bemused attention to the absurdist lack of exposition. The action exists in a void and the request for an explanation is amusingly inappropriate.

Let us consider a more brutalizing example and historical reference. The rats, Pearl and Point, are becoming alarmed about their personal fate. They are beginning to wonder if the humans will take action against them.

Pearl: Say, Point! He's whispering. Do you think he's talking about me? They won't stop at anything when they're hungry. Point: You're always taking such a dark view of things. Pearl: It wouldn't be the first time. In 1871 in Paris . . . Point: Oh, in those days. Besides, it was Frenchmen. Such things don't happen anymore. Pearl: You never can tell. When they get to a certain stage,

3 Grass, Four Plays, pp. 23-24.

"Lohengrin," American Encyclopedia, VII (1964), p. 64. 53

it doesn't matter if they're Frenchmen or Eskimos.

In 1&71 Paris experienced the "Commune of Paris": After the Franco-Prussian War patriotic radicals in Paris sought to ensure the effective republicanization of the new regime headed by Thiers. Paris had endured a four-months siege and was humiliated at the acceptance by the National Assembly in Bordeaux of peace in terms which included the entry of German troops into the city. On March l8th, 1791, rioters in Montmartre refused to surrender their guns to "Bordeaux” troops and seized and hanged the two Generals commanding them. Thiers withdrew all forces from Paris, thereby creating a power vacuum which was filled on March 26th by a central committee calling itself the Commune in emulation of the Jacobin-dominated Assembly of 1793. With German occu­ pation forces inactive in the suburbs, French troops under Macmohan and Gallifet fought their way back into Paris, re-taking the city street by street in merciless fighting [May 21st-2$th]. More damage was done to Paris than in any war and more people killed than in the "Terror" of the Revolution. The Communards, for their part, shot hostages [including the Archbishop of Paris]. The suppression of the Commune left much bitterness which exacerbated the relations between Paris and the Govern­ ments of France for thirty years. Although more Com­ munards were later-day Jacobins shadow-acting the great days of the Revolution than Communist, the fate of the insurrection retarded French socialism by three decades and provided international socialism with its fundamental martyrology. The Commune was the last attempt by Paris to dictate the form of French government to the provinces, a historical process that had begun more than two cen­ turies before with the Frondes of 1643-1651.6

Pearl, then, is very correct in assuming that another

Commune of Paris might reenact itself. In this case, rather than just telling the story of a harmless myth, we have an example where many lives were lost. But Grace is telling us that we must distinguish between myth and reality, "... when they get to a certain stage, it doesn't matter if they're

°"Commune of Paris (1#17)," Encyclopedia Americana, VII, 70C. 59

7 Frenchmen, or Eskimos, they stop at nothing."

Grass began his career after the second world war; however, one of his major concerns is the possibility of returning to the horror of the World War II days. People and nations are always capable of being drugged into a state in which they believe that the good-days-gone-by are somehow romantic. The "pile-of-bones" becomes an object in history to worship rather than to despise.

It is again Nietzsche who supplies a final defense of Grass’s intent.

History regarded as pure knowledge and allowed to sway the intellect would mean for men the final balancing of the ledger of life. Historical study is only fruitful for the future if it follows a powerful lifegiving influ­ ence, for example, a new system of culture; only, there­ fore, if it be guided and dominated by a higher force, and does not itself guide and dominate. History, so far as it serves life, serves an unhistorical power, and thus will never become a pure science like mathematics. The question how far life needs such a service is one of the most serious questions affecting the well being of a man, a people and a culture.8

Grass’s personal experience with history has been one in which a nation misunderstood the sense of history.

Therefore, in his look at history Grass is asking us to study history not in its demonic sense, but rather we must dedemonize history. We must approach history and understand its demonic force so that we are capable of using history to enrich our lives rather than being dominated by its false

7 'Grass, Four Plays, p. 57. d Blomster, "The Demonic in History," p. 84. 60

ideals.

Gloom and Death

In Flood it is chiefly Yetta who serves up the gloom

and the death image that is so prevalent in the novels as

discussed previously. The unique aspect in the dramatic

sense is that these images are served in the form of poems

that are both obvious and dramatic.

The overriding image is the flood that will eventually

destroy us. Mankind will drown in the floods of ideological disasters. Further, floods are similar to the black witch that is constantly around us. Floods are with us from birth to death. They are indeed our hell on earth.

Yetta: Okay. (Half singing, half speaking) The bird stands in the garden, The leaf flies away to the north. But I didn’t write on it, I didn’t write on it— Because the rain can’t read. The little children cough, And the big children die. But I’m alive and kicking, I'm alive and kicking— Because the rain has plans for me.9

In this simple poem, it appears that the birds and leaves have a will of their own. They seem to be allowed

(by their own nature) to stand and fly as they please. But

Yetta (mankind) does not have this privilege. Death cannot read. It will visit man regardless of his particular in­ dividual station in life. Everyone must meet the rain. A

Q Grass, Four Plays, p. 43. 61

small child coughing is the first sign that big children will die. The rain does indeed have plans for us all.

Congo: Because the rain has plans for you . . . Yetta: Do you like it? Congo: Go on. There must be some more. Yetta: All right, if you want me to (She sings). Beatles have six legs, I’ve got only two, But here I stay, but here I stay— ’Cause it’s raining everywhere the same. The professor counts the stars. The old folks count the years. But I’ve stopped counting—I’ve stopped counting. Cause the rain forgot my birthday. Want me to stop?10

All activity both physical and intellectual does become meaningless if there are no more birthdays to count.

Congo: Isn’t there any more? Yetta: Yes, I guess there is, but I thought . . . Congo: Go on and sing. It's real nice. Yetta: I don't mind. (Sings) The snail came much too late, Love came much too soon. But I didn't have to wait, I didn't have to wait— Because the rain is always on time. The sand wears cloaks of silk, The snow puts on black velvet. But I'm completely naked, I'm completely naked, 'Cause the rain is wearing my clothes. (Silence) Congo: Is that all? Yetta: No! Hindenburg is dead,

10 Grass, Four Plays, p 44. 62

And Adolf Hitler’s gone. And I'm dead too, and I'm dead too— 'Cause—-the rain's a coffin lid.H

The flood, then, is the symbol of gloom and death for

Yetta. On the surface Yetta speaks of Hindenburg’s and

Hitler's being dead. She was (German ideology) caught up

in the movement, and by so doing she has caused her own

destruction. On another level of abstraction, one can see

that everyone has floods visited upon him. In short, we

all look for ways of dying. In attempting to "fill the

void or the emptiness" we look to death to give us the final

release—death and hopefully peace.

The director must have a production concept to

explain what the playwright is attempting to communicate, therefore, his understanding of the themes of religion.

The demonic in history, and gloom and death are essential.

What follows is a consideration of how the playwright com­ municates these themes. In Flood two basic means of communi­ cation are used by Grass in projecting his themes. First, he presents many images which affect both the intellect and the emotions. In his use of objects, Grass further illus­ trates the "object compulsion" as a means of controlling the individual. The following, then, is an examination of these two basic devices that the playwright employes in Flood.

11 Grass, Four Plays, p. 45. 63

Images

Sex is a topic that is continually present in the works of Grass. His first novel, The Tin Drum, has excessive illustrations to bear this point out. In fact, when this novel was released, it was criticized for its depravity.

Grass does not include sexual or erotic passages in his work for the mere sensational effect. Rather, his use of sex is part of the grotesqueness, the demonic, and the gloom that is an integral part of his work. Grass is a topical writer who has been motivated to write about human existence because of the atrocious deeds that he has witnessed.

Early in Flood Henry establishes the fact that he and Yetta sleep together. Throughout the play Leo constantly 12 criticizes Henry. "... The guy looks like a hairdresser."

On the surface, we might assume that Grass is suggesting

Henry seems like a homosexual to Leo, or possibly he is criticizing people who will not accept people for what they are. He might be suggesting that there are many sides to an individual both physically and intellectually.

Yetta is certainly the most sensual of all the characters in the play. She quickly throws off Henry when

Congo arrives on the scene. Henry is ineffectual; he cannot fight for what might be considered rightfully his. He might be related to the ineffectual intellectual class that was unable to ward off the tide of the Nazis. This theme is

l 2 Grass, Four Plays, p. 23. 64 certainly taken up in The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising.

At any rate, Congo and Yetta appear to be made for each other. Their relationship is a highly erotic one. Congo seems to represent the wild, dark animal that Yetta so fondly wants. Yetta, however, is an interesting character in that she appears to possess both aspects of intellect and emotion. She seems to be aware of the danger of the flood

(intellect), yet she is most eager for the return of the flood (sensual-emotion).

The weather is one image that is present throughout the play. The forces of nature (flood) seem to control the characters within the play. One might ask himself what other forces control lives? For Grass one is on safe ground assuming that false ideals (Nazi Germany) must be guarded against constantly. The weather images are also important because they continually remind one of the duality of nature. Man seems to be always dissatisfied with the state of the weather—it is always too hot or too cold. Therefore, the image of the flood (dark, rain, cold) is contrasted with that of the sun. Man is always hoping for the sun to break through the dark clouds. The sun represents the bright future, or a return to better times. The weather images in Flood, then, extend the concept of duality that has been discussed in relation to all of Grass’s work.

The same concept of duality is again present in the image of birds. The bird becomes many things at many times. 65

The most prevailing reference is to the bird of peace—the dove. The dove becomes an image (symbol) of the perfect order of human existence—peace. The dove (which is also a symbol in Catholicism) becomes a world without strife, a world without wars, without "the pile of bones," without medical experiment, a world where men can live together.

Yet, on the other hand, it is the bird who has laid the egg that we are all inside. We are inside the egg waiting to be hatched—wondering if we will ever be hatched.

In Flood there are many references to pigeons and sparrows, doves, and la paloma, the white dove. These refer­ ences are all made by the rats who tend to look for a higher order of existence. On the lower level, it is Aunt Betty who calls Yetta a "silly goose." The overriding theme in

Flood suggests that the dove of peace would be an object or aspiration.

In considering the color images that Grass uses, a word about his artistic training is in order. Grass has worked in several artistic media. He is at once a writer, a poet, a painter, a sculptor, and a musician. Therefore, he views the human condition in an encompassing manner. He is able to see man in image colors.

In Flood it is again the weather and dual existence that relate to the use of colors. The very nature of a flood suggests a dark, depressed atmosphere. This is easily contrasted with the sun, which is bright and suggests a 66 hopeful future. The rats discuss the many colors of the rainbow. In fact, Pearl wants to nibble at the end of the rainbow. The characters within the play are associated with various colors. Leo and Congo can be seen as split offs of a single individual. Congo certainly represents the darker side of existence. Yetta, on the other hand, radiates the bright sensual aspect of the color wheel. Henry appears in a tasteless drab color. Betty appears bright, but without substance, while Noah is a picture of intense moody colors.

It is important to note that there is no one specific way in which a director must consider the above images.

However, a careful study of the images is fruitful to a greater understanding of the play. It is hoped that this process would at the very least, enable the director to speak with more authority to his actors who must, in turn, present a visual image.

Objects: A Means of Communication

Absurdism uses the indirect approach in order to present ideas. The writer presents a surface situation to report his message. This surface situation only serves as a vehicle for the more comprehensive themes that lie beneath the surface. Flood appears to be the story of a family that is trying to survive in the midst of a disastrous flood.

This surface situation, however, is only the top layer of several complex levels of meaning. 67

In Flood "things" become the dominant factor in the lives of the characters. Things shape and form existence.

Grass explains in the following poem:

Diana—Or the Objects

When with her right hand she reaches over her right shoulder into the quiver, she puts forward her left leg.

When she hit me, her object hit my soul which is to her like an object.

Mostly it is objects resting against which on Mondays, my knee smashes.

But she, with her hunting permit, may be photographed only running and among hounds.

When she says yes and hits, she hits the objects in nature, but also stuffed ones.

I have always refused to let my shadow-casting body be hurt by a shadowless idea.

But you, Diana, with your bow, are to me objective and answerable.

Kurt Lothar Tank in his work, Gunter Grass suggests that a new mythology is developed by Grass.

The new mythology includes . . . the object-based dialectic of the young Karl Marx, but enlarges it by means of references that have been, if not excluded, at least badly neglected by the writers who represent the world in more or less "socialist": more or less "realist" terms. Diana’s arrow strikes objects, including objects in nature, not just stuffed objects, but also the

^Gunter Grass, Selected Poems, trans. Christopher Middleton (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1966), p. 51. 68

soul, which is to her life an object.

For Tank, then, the bombardment of objects sets off the dialectic process by which limits are fixed and limits abolished. The poet through this process is allowed to penetrate uncharted regions. Goethe remarked in Italian

Journey: "Every object, rightly regarded, unlocks a new 15 organ in us."

Objects in the novels and the plays of Grass become compelling forces. One can assume that objects can work to our benefit or to our detriment; for Grass, objects constantly represent downfall.

In Flood the most obvious example is the flood itself. It represents the compelling object that controls the lives of everyone in the play. We all have floods that control our own lives. The flood inhibits the actions and thought of the household.

Noah’s inkwells control his existence. He is com­ pelled to worry about the inkwells. He appears to have little awareness of anything but his inkwells. And what do inkwells represent? Ink is the stuff that words are made of, and Grass has little respect for so many words.

The rats, Pearl and Point, speak directly to this subject.

Henry, alone on the roof, speaks to himself. The rats

■^^Kurt Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 19o9), p. 4. 15Ibid., p. 25. 69

reflect on what he says:

Pearl: Say, he’s a philosopher. Point: I think so, too. Well, then he won’t hurt us. Pearl: Think so? I’ve heard that some philosophers can be down right mean. Point: Oh yes, in writing. But in the rain, the ink runs and the driest philosopher is helpless. Once they get wet, all they believe in is wetness. Pearl: Look. He's thinking again. (The rats in the darkness. Henry in the light).16

And what of the rats themselves, are they not objects that control the household and all men? It is interesting to note that all of the animals that Grass could have picked to use in the house (Ark), he chose two rats. Why not a higher form of animal? The point that Grass is making is that, in the time of a disaster, what animal always thrives?

It is the rats who have always plagued mankind. It is interesting also in Flood that the rats are superior to men in some ways.

Pearl: I guess humans are pretty tough. Point: Yes, Pearl, almost as tough as rats. '

The rats also affect the household in another interesting way. Noah, upon hearing the rats move around on the roof, asks Leo to go upstairs and to get rid of

“I z °Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1967), p. 41. 17 Grass, Four Plays, p. 57. 70

them. Leo is shocked by this suggestion.

Noah: Somebody really ought to go up on the roof and chase those rats away. Henry? Henry: Me? Why me? Noah: I see. It's always the same. I’ll have to do it myself. Leo: Let them live, Pop. They’re on their last legs, just like us. Noah: Be sensible. We've really got to get those rats off the roof. Yetta: You want them down here with us? Betty: Oh no! Goodness, not that. Noah: Don't be silly. We'll just sweep them into the water. (He starts for the stairs. Leo holds him back by the coattails.) Leo: You stay right here. Didn't I tell you to leave those rats alone? Noah: Why? Why are you suddenly so soft hearted? They're not people. Leo: Rats are people, too. And that's that. (Noah sits down again among his inkwells).1$

Projecting this concept of the rats a bit further,

one might assume that the rats, Pearl and Point, could re­

semble or refer to the German Jew. They were outside of the pure German ethnic (on the roof) and considered by many

Germans during the war years as a parasitic people (rats).

It is also interesting that Noah does not say he is going to kill the rats but only ". . .We'll just sweep them into

18 Ibid., p. 32. n the water.” This appears to be a comment on the absurdity of so many atrocious deeds. (We didn’t kill them; we merely sent them away). In the final analysis the rats are too smart to ”. . .go down with the sinking ship.”

Point explains that he read that all went down with the ship: "... man and mouse, but no mention of rats."

Therefore, the rats refuse to be caught up in a senseless ideology. They abandon the ship!

The photo album, from which Betty is inseparable, is another force that controls the characters. A photo is a projection of the "good-times-gone-by" theme that is so prevalent within this play. In spite of all the horror of daily life, with a photo one can always go back and see how pleasant the past appears. But, the significance of photos is that they so often lie to us. A photo does not present all the aspects of existence. It is a very limiting thing. The photo allows one to project into it what he will.

It tends to be a false crutch. Further, because Betty is so reliant upon this crutch, she is unable to see the present.

She is incomplete, in that, she can see the past and the future, but she is unable to see the here and now. When

Betty learns of the possibility of the sun shining (good­ time s-to- come) , she becomes ecstatic. She engages in the sewing of parasols with the same energy as that with which she pastes photos in her albums. Betty assumes that the future will be just as glorious as the past. Present reality 72

simply does not exist for her. Therefore, one can see that

the objects of the photo albums and the sun control her

existence.

In preparing for the sun, Betty sews parasols from

a parachute that Leo and Congo have brought from their far-

off adventure. This is a poignant object that Grass presents

A parachute is an instrument of war, and with this instru­ ment Betty prepares for the future. It is obvious what the

future holds for the household.

One of the last images that Grass uses in Flood is that of a clock. This situation is absurd. Leo and Congo

have finally agreed that it is time for them to leave. But they must take something with them. Like Noah and his ink­ wells and Betty and her photo albums and parasols, so too,

Congo and Leo must have an object to cart along with them.

But, in this case, what an object! A clock—time itself!

Leo: But we gotta do something before we fade out. (He looks around) I've got it. The clock! Congo: What about it? It's busted. It only looks like a clock. Leo: They'll have it repaired right away. Congo: Might be. Why shouldn't they? Leo: We'll take it with us. Let's go. Pick it up. Congo: What, the whole thing? I thought you were going to the North Pole. Get a load of that, Yetta, me and Leo or Leo and me, the two of us at the North Pole, with this clock. 73

At the North Pole stood a grandfather clock, It didn’t tick, it didn’t tock. With frozen ears we stood and gazed. No pulse, no breath. The eye seemed glazed. Leo: Sure, let’s furnish the North Pole. Congo: Do we really have to? Leo: You can see they don't need it around here. Congo: But what will they do without the big hand and the little hand, and all those indispensable minutes in between.19

As they begin to carry the clock out, an inspector pops out. He is there to inspect the damage of the flood.

They finally leave carrying the clock to the North Pole.

The clock is certainly an object that controls our lives as well as the lives in the play. The most obvious fact is that man is limited in his time on earth. Grass might be asking what we have or what might we have accom­ plished in our time? Did Noah and his family make the best use of their time? Were they forced by the circumstances of their existence (floods, Nazi Germany, World War II) to wait and to watch time-go-by? Grass might be suggesting that they could have made time work for them.

Leo and Congo, however, push the concept of time to the extreme of surreal imagery. The picture with which one is left is that of Leo and Congo sitting at the frozen North

Pole watching time fly on a broken grandfather clock. Again, the clock (object) controls the characters.

^Grass, Four Plays, pp. 69-70. 74

Objects, then, are a means of communicating for

Gunter Grass. He uses objects in all of his work to a greater

or lesser degree. In the novels he has more time in which

to discuss objects with the reader. However, in the drama

the audience is capable of seeing how and why objects con­

trol the lives of individuals. This is not to suggest that

the concept of objects is a form of predestination, (that

is, that one can do nothing about these facets of existence),

but rather, that if mankind will allow it, objects will

control our lives.

The following section will attempt to communicate to the potential director production concepts which might assist in the staging of Flood. This section considers the director’s responsibility, the style, the division of the action, and suggested images of the divisions, the setting and special directing considerations.

Essentially the responsibility for the director in

Flood will be to communicate the images that are present.

Esslin explains the makeup of absurdist plays in this way:

The action in a play of the Theatre of the Absurd is not intended to tell a story but to communicate a pattern of poetic images. . . . The whole play is a complex poetic image made up of a complicated pattern of subsidiary images and themes, which are interwoven , like the themes of a musical composition, not, as in most well-made plays, to present a line of development, but to make in the spectators’ mind a total complex impression of a basic, and static, situation.20

20 Martin Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd (New York: Loubleday and Co., 1961), p. 294- 75

According to Esslin, Flood is presenting questions to the

audience: "How does this individual feel when confronted

with the human situation? What does it feel like to be 21 him?" The answer for Esslin is a succession of images

complementing each other.

The director of Flood, then, must illustrate to the

audience this sense of being. In some ways, Absurdism is

related to the nightmares of the mentally disturbed. In

fact, it attempts to portray a "world gone mad" because,

according to absurdism, ours is a world without purpose

or meaning!

Style: The Real with the Fantastic

As noted previously, Frederick M. Ivey in his article,

"The Tin Drum or Retreat to the Word," explains that Grass

has created an interesting literary style in mixing the

fantastic with the real.

Also reminiscent of Kafka is his interweaving of concrete, everyday, "realistic" events and things with fantastic ones such as Oskar's wondrous feats of glass- shattering with a high decibel scream, or the magical influences of his tin drumming. With this technique he succeeds, as Kafka did, in persuading us to accept the fantastic with the "real." He achieves an inter­ weaving, an identification of the two worlds of the objective and subjective.*2

As the director begins to analyze his production

21 Esslin, The Theatre of the Absurd, p. 294. 22 Frederick M. Ivey, "The Tin Drum or Retreat to the Word," Wichita State University Bulletin, University Studies No. 66, Vol. XLll No. 1, 1966, p. 9. 76 approach, he realizes that this is exactly what Grass has done in Flood. For example, in the opening scene Noah and

Betty engage in conversation that appears logical. Sud­ denly Leo and Congo pop from the crate which Noah is dragging from the cellar. This is a dramatic device that Grass uses to shock us into the realization that life is what we per­ ceive to be real juxtaposed with fantastic elements. One nation lives in affluence while another nation sees millions of people starving to death. A nation may talk of peace while it wages war.

In Flood the overriding theatrical style is Absurdism.

The characters are at once similar and dissimilar to many of the Absurdist plays of the modern theatre. The characters in Flood are somewhat reminiscent of Didi and Gogo from

Beckett’s masterpiece, Waiting for Godot. They seem to be largely unaware of the flood. Questions of why the flood exists and who made it exist are never asked, but neverthe*- less they are always present. Further, the paramount question relating to the nature of reality does seem to be present.

Although the characters do not articulate a philosophy as do

Didi and Gogo, one cannot help but think that they too are caught in the same absurd situation where reality has lost all touch with meaning.

To illustrate the concept of the fantastic juxta­ posed with the real, one needs only to look to a few of the many examples that are within the script. Yetta is frustrated 77 with the real flood that has created havoc in her life. In the following speech she begins by discussing the real catastrophe, then suddenly her words become wildly fantastic.

Yetta: Stop it. I’m sick of it. I’ve got it up to here. (She goes to the window) look at these beds floating by. Empty, vacated beds. I wish I could be a bed like that, empty tossing about. Not standing on four legs, under an idiotic oil painting, tied to the chamber pot and the bedside table, false teeth in a glass of water, detective story with bookmark, dreaming of the murder to the bitter end, and putting up with the seventy years that some people spend on earth from sheer habit. Maybe I’d drift into the woods, but first I’d shake off the pillow. If I were free, I’d say. Come! and then a cat, which would jump into my arms and be happy. Leo, for God’s sake say something or your friend. Oh go ahead, tell us something.23

In similar fantastic happenings, one finds the dialogue real, then suddenly the scene shifts to the upstairs, and two rats speak.

Pearl and Point are presented as human; that is, they talk in philosophical terms. In a sense, they seem to work as narrators for the play. They do not tell us what is happening, but rather they comment upon the plight of those in the house and upon mankind in general.

The director can use these literary devices to establish directorial concepts. For example, the setting might take on these same characteristics. It could make use of realistic set pieces juxtaposed with fantastic design concepts.

23 Grass, Four Plays, p. 33. 78

Further, the acting style might employ this same

principle. In some scenes the actors could appear to be

playing in a realistic drama, and then shift as quickly

as the scene shifts into a fantastic style. For example,

Yetta and Congo speak of their past lives; suddenly they

break into a rather bizarre song that appears to demand

equally bizarre movements.

This concept would be present in all aspects of the

production. The costumes would suggest realism while com­

bining fantastic elements. For example, Leo and Congo could

be costumed to suggest realism with one illogical element

to suggest the fantastic. They might wear realistic combat uniforms one of which had been dyed black and one color

removed to off-white. Parts could be exchanged to suggest that they are complements of one another, but Leo would remain predominantly pale (the blond beast) and Congo pre­ dominantly dark.

The director of Flood could use this approach as an extension of what the playwright was attempting to communicate

The playwright is attempting to explain the human condition by suggesting that our lives are composed of real happenings juxtaposed with fantastic happenings. Thus the production approach would be a visualization for the audience of the poetic image of how our lives are at once both realistic and fantastic. 79

Structure

Basically, Flood can be divided into two parts: The flood and after the flood. The climax of the play, and the division of the script, comes when the sun breaks through the clouds and ends the flood. Each part of the play can be divided into several units.

This division would assist the director in his approach to the play. The director is thus made aware of how the play develops and where the climax of each unit can be located. This will assist him in attempting to achieve a balance and flow of rhythms. Further, with each unit an image is presented to assist the director in suggesting the metaphorical intent of the play.

As one looks at Part I, the flood, this image might suggest the condition that Grass is attempting to communicate

Existence is like being caught in the midst of a violent natural disaster such as a flood. It comes upon one so quickly that he does not have the ability to under­ stand why such a catastrophe has been caused. One only knows that his total existence is one of surviving, of keeping his head above water.

There is another element that must be explained in this image

Although the artist can see "man caught in the storm" the artist also suggests that man has the ability to avoid future disasters. The question remains, does man have the foresight to protect himself from future problems. On a surface level, for example, it has been suggested that Flood could be seen as Nazi Germany. The question is, did the 80

German nation possess the ability to stop such a dark chapter in history? Part II, after the flood, considers that aspect of the dramatic problem. The following might serve as the commanding image for part two.

"Existence is the constant frustration of not knowing what disaster is forthcoming. It is a life of guilt for the lack of preparation for future disasters."

Therefore, in after the flood, one sees the characters looking toward the sun. A new life, a new beginning, but

Grass is not optimistic in his view. Within the play the characters do not prepare for better times, or attempt to create a new order; rather, they look to the times gone by, for that is all they know. They do not have the ability to look for a better future. Grass seems to suggest that another flood is on its way. It might also be suggested that the end of the play is richly ambiguous. Noah does go out to plant his garden, but Yetta longs for another flood, more Congo.

Leo goes off exploring (to the North Pole, not to war, to follow his icy dream), but he takes time, memory, history with him to furnish his dream. Of course, the clock is broken.

One gets the anguished question, not the answer. The sun comes out and the tattered rainbow, and we hear "something from Götterdämmerung." Is it "The Magic Fire" music or the

"Burning of Valhalla?" The dominance of gloom in Grass’s world view suggests that it is the downfall of the Gods.

Theater goers are familiar with productions that 81

attempt to mix styles. In some inferior productions, this mixing goes uncontrolled, muddying rather than clarifying the script, and the production suffers. It goes without saying that in such a complex show, where a director is attempting to perfect a complex poetic image, it is paramount that the designer have the same understanding or feeling for what the production is attempting to communicate.

In keeping with the foregoing analysis, a few sug­ gestions could be made relating to the setting of Flood. This play seems to call for a setting that suggests Noah’s ark, but the image should be an ambiguous one. For example, it also could suggest an air raid shelter, or a concentration camp.

The image of a rising flood might present interesting possibilities for the designer. Differing levels are needed to keep the actors from the rising water, while at the same time suggesting differing levels of consciousness or meaning.

Lighting would make an especially important contri­ bution to the production in practical and in psychological terms. This show actually presents complex problems for the lighting designer in that it asks for him to suggest varied weather conditions on stage. The play opens with the gloom of an impending disaster. This is contrasted with the sun and finally with a rainbow.

In an effort to enhance the concept of objects, the use of properties might be exaggerated. For example, Noah’s ¿2

inkwells might be overlarge. Betty’s sewing needle might

also employ the same principle. This theatrical use of

properties could also be employed with the clock.

Special Directing Considerations

In the use of stage space, the director's use of

the floor plan is always essential in terms of fundamentals.

Rather than suggest blocking problems and solutions, an

image suggestion might be included here regarding the use of

space. In thinking of the "flood" as water rising, then receding, the image of characters moving up and down might make for an interesting use of space. The director can

suggest through stage movements enhanced by sound and lighting effects, how the flood serves as an object that controls the lives of the characters in the play. Further, through this movement image, the audience will be capable of observing the human condition in such a situation. As the water rises the characters creep inch by inch to the roof, and as the water lowers they descend to the ground level. In the last line of the play when Yetta asks for the flood to return, one sees the movement image returning toward its starting point, enhancing the overall effect of circular pattern.

The rats are an interesting theatrical device.

First, it is important that they be treated carefully in terms of their humor and in relation to their grotesqueness.

For example, a moving tail might provide for an interesting 83

effect, as would eyes that seem to gleam in the dark. It is

important that the actors playing the rats work closely on movements. The relationship between human versus animal movement can open intriguing possibilities. It should be noted that the two rats are of differing personalities.

They tend to keep each other in check. This, then, means two distinct character developments.

Transitions from scene to scene would, without a doubt, cause problems for the director. Lighting would seem to be the obvious answer, enhancing the cinematic effect of the juxtaposition of images.

Summary

This analysis attempted to deal with Flood in two sections. In the first section the themes inherent within the script were discussed.

First the religious theme was discussed, here the subject of minor diversions. The demonic in history is a theme that Grass uses in this play as a controlling force in existence. Rather than merely explaining the nature of the demonic, Grass attempts to "dedemonize" history, so that the individual is capable of seeing history in a less destructive perspective. A final theme that Flood communi­ cates is the aspect of gloom and death that are part of each man. Grass explains that the first sign of illness in an infant is but the first notice that his life will end in 84 death. Grass suggests that man must beware of the objects

(FLOOD) that control his life while at the same time accepting the inevitable fact that death is part of our existence.

In the second portion of this analysis, directing problems and approaches to their solution were considered.

In looking at the style of the play, the potential director realizes that the play is constructed with fantastic and real elements.. The director’s task, and hence his production concept, comes out of juxtaposing these opposing forces, while at the same time creating a unified production. CHAPTER IV

MISTER, MISTER

The director employs the research that he has done so that the play makes sense to the audience. It must make sense, in the simplest terms, to both the theatre workers and the audience. In The Theatrical Image by Clay and

Krempel, this concept is explained this way:

. . . How does a play mean? . . . The play’s fundamental meaning—the thing which makes its pattern of human action art and not history, philosophy, or psychology— is a metaphorical communication of experience, an "idea” of feeling, a meaningful form. But this form is shaped out of the raw materials of concrete reality: the play­ wright’s concept of acting, the actors he knows, the theatre he works in, and his sense of his audience—a whole complex of manners, mores, tastes, and attitudes which includes such things as history, philosophy, and psychology. The impact of this factor significantly affects the form in which the playwright is able to conceive a dramatic idea—they are all part of the nature of the playwright’s medium, and so must be studied to fully comprehend the author’s intended meaning and must be dealt with in creating a production to express it . . The task of the interpreter, [Director], then must be to bring the commanding image to the audience. He does this by contributing his sense of his own audience to the medium in which the idea is conveyed.1

The commanding image, then, is a key with which the director may work.

This seems to be the source of a problem with Grass’s

1James Clay and Daniel Krempel, The Theatrical Image (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1967), pp. 27-2Ö.

35 86

productions. An effective image and style of production

with his plays are difficult to discover. This is one of

the major reasons for this study. Grass's plays have not

met with theatrical success, and Mister, Mister is no

exception.

Research has not disclosed any American productions

of Mister, Mister, despite the fact that an authorized

translation has been available since 1967. In Germany

several productions met with mixed reviews. There are

several critical comments that illustrate the fact that the

productions lacked a sense of total understanding. One

German expressed this concern:

. . . One wanted to consciously provoke the audience. First of all: a half dark house, the curtain was pulled away—-on the stage a large, white screen; the projected advertisements for automatic washing machines, toilet articles, drinks, etc., as in a movie house. A simple production gag? The documentary was omitted. In place of it after the final darkening, the play "Uncle, Uncle" by Gunther Grass began. The observer was again in a nonperfected theatre.2

This critic contended that the theatre audience

and the theatre workers, lacked an understanding of the

playwright's intent, or if they understood the theatrical

implication, they were unable to communicate it to the

audience. Another critical review followed in the same vain:

The production of Dietrich Von Oertzen and his assistant Renate Nordmann, tries to aid this weak theme through a too subtle use of the cabaret effect

2 Gert Toschutz, (ed.), Zur Buck Zur Buck: Günther Grass in der Kritik Neuwied (University of Berlin, 19b8), F“ny;------87

by creating a satirical, spicy atmosphere, to at least amuse the audience. But, since no real suspense resulted, the public could only laugh at small jokes and nonsense; they were also very much amused at this, and as the final applause proved, everyone was pleased. This was possibly due to the very good accomplishment of the actors, above all Heinke Brandt as Sprotte. This im­ pertinent red-nosed "Hucklebury Fin-Character" whom she depicted, everyone would easily buy. She induced the audience to concentrate completely on her voice. Although her ill-natured naivete was not completely believable any more in the last scene because her intensity had subsided she was overall an ideal depictor of Sprotte.,3

In short, from this critical commentary one might assume two things. First, the script has little to offer in terms of thematic implications, or the directorial approach was shallow. It is fruitless to conjecture about the specific problems of the German production; however, for our interests, it appears that the directorial approach was incomplete, granted the play itself is absurd and certainly difficult to decipher.

To return to Esslin, his contention is that many plays of the absurd school have failed because of shallow and unclear production approaches. The following review appears to re-enforce that concept:

Dietrich Von Oertzen would have done well if he had tied the four acts together more closely, as it is the entire production almost falls apart, the overall im­ pression lacks completeness. In the beginning Oertzen shows recruiting pictures of well known firms in Gotting on a screen. By doing this he wants to place the work within the framework of our own existence. But who has the capacity to follow him? Oertzen's intention may be well founded, but it remains simply ununderstandable; it doesn't work convincingly. . . . Manfred Kuste.r in the

3 Loschutz, Zur Buck Zur Buck, p. 115. role of Hermann Bollin gives his best, but I think that he expected too much of himself. To do justice to this Grassian figure, one needs a lot of experience as an actor and with people.4

In attempting to discover what the director intended, one might assume that by using the cabaret effect, he was illustrating the material as a process in the dehumanization of the individual. This would appear to fit nicely with the analysis that the play was an attempt to illustrate how objects control the lives of the individual. The problem, it appears, is that the objects used, or the way in which they were used, did not communicate effectively to the audience. Mister, Mister also enjoyed a production in

Tubingen. This production appears to have met with critical success.

. . . The frivolous absurdities have a jolly inclination to fun (jokes), the burlesque situation, discovered with a sure hand, has been apprehended for the moment, and a meaningless, burlesque farce without moral practical application has been produced by Peter Buthe in the Room Theatre in Tubingen. But he has a feeling for everything that belongs to the theatre; even out of a simple moth (in the first prologue) a comic elephant is created. And in that scene in which both children shoot Bollin, the laughter froze to a grimace; the grotesque can be understood as being between playing and seriousness. All together it appears that this excellent, presen- tation proves that Grass's works can be present,ed, staged.

The ability of the director, actors, and designer to change a laugh line to a sharp grimace is indicative that the theatre workers were working from a single point of departure.

It can at least be assumed that they were capable of communi-

^L Loschutz, Zur Buck Zur Buck, p. 115. ^5 Ibii. 89

eating this image to the theatre audience.

The Commanding Image

On an intellectual level one can attempt to say what the play means; however, the theatre does not exist on this one level alone. It also exists on a feeling level.

On the philosophical level, Mister, Mister is a play that communicates this concept: "Man is controlled by objects, and these objects both animate and inanimate twis's the exist­ ence of mankind to evil and grotesque proportion." On the feeling level what the director must attempt is to take an intellectual concept and make it part of a feeling process.

In short, the director must take a concept and discover the emotions inherent in it.

In looking for a commanding image that is more meta­ phorical, Grass's poetry might offer some assistance. Earlier in this study, the poem "In the Egg" was discussed,. One might assume that Bollin is inside the egg, and the; eggshell is the material world that prohibits him from true knowledge or feeling. Thus, a more universal metaphorical commanding image might be presented in this way:

Man is the unborn embryo entrapped within the shell of an egg. All that he knows is what the shell will allow him to know, which is nothing. His existence is a constant desire to "know" what lies outside the shell, but he cannot escape his fate. He knows nothing; and feels nothing.

This image, then, is what a director could attempt to communicate to his audience. In considering the plays of 90

Grass and also many other plays of the so-called absurd

school, it can be seen that this metaphorical concept fits

with the philosophical position of absurdism.

Bollin and the characters within Mister, Mister are

trapped by the eggshell of their existence. They can only

feel the most base and primitive aspects of experience. But

the question of what is reality is indeed a difficult one.

No man ever saw beyond the shell, and more tragically, man

will never know what is outside or what reality might be.

This is not to suggest that Grass is saying that

"all is nothing," but rather that all we know at present

has been nothingness. For example, there are several religious

references within Mister, Mister, and for the most part they

are presented in a satirical context; however, one feels that

Grass does not totally dismiss the concept of religion as a

possible salvation for mankind. It is apparent that Grass

believes religion has probably done as much harm as good for

man in his struggle to comprehend.

The metaphorical picture that we have of Bollin and

the other characters is one of individuals driven by seemingly

nonsensical drives to perform ridiculous tasks. The rewards

for their existence are often absurd material objects. For

example, Boilin’s most important possessions are his watch and fountain pen. Bollin is a character who possesses no thought and no feeling. His frustration is that he desires

both of these qualities. Bollin wants to become, but he 91

cannot become, a total person.

It is this commanding image that the play must attempt

to project to an audience. All elements of the production

must somehow relate to this concept. In approaching the

play the overriding commanding image may be broken down into

smaller images for each act. In this way the director can

more readily visualize the whole by parts, or he is then able

to see how each act fits into the entire concept. Once he

can assign a commanding image for each act, he will be able

to understand the functions of the image and how they relate

to each other. This should also assist the associative pro­

cess as it relates to the acting sytle and the setting and

technical elements.

Act I—Influenza

In this act Bollin emerges from under Sophie’s bed.

It can be assumed that Bollin is employed by the government

and that his responsibilities lie in the area of recording

data. He does not interpret information; he merely records

it. He has one other task. He attempts to murder. But

Bollin, like the unborn embryo within the eggshell, cannot

complete his intention because Bollin is incomplete. Sophie has little concern for Bollin as she is engrossed with her crossword puzzles. She does talk of Addi, her brother, a policeman, whose age is somewhere between three and middle age, or maybe both ages. Mrs. Domke, Sophie's mother is also present, and her main interest appears to be winding 92 wool. All characters seem to fit nicely within the eggshell image in that they are all waiting for something to happen, an idea to be thought of, but they are doomed to live an existence without feeling or thought. The only aspect of the characters that the audience is allowed to see is the objects the characters possess. This particular act abounds with senseless objects that control the existence of the people presented.

Sophie is controlled by the puzzle:

Sophie: Thirty-four across, four letters. Precipitation. Rain or hail? It could be either. But thirty-nine: Cheese-producing region in Holland? I've got it. Limburg! L-i-m-b-u-r-g. Now twelve down, twelve down, twelve letters? No, six across, a contagious disease, what a funny coincidence! (At this point Bollin crawls from under the bed. Sophie observes him, and goes back to her puzzle) Ah ! I've got twelve down! Penitentiary.6

It is interesting to note that first Sophie is controlled by the object, the crossword puzzle; second, the first word of the puzzle that we learn about after Boilin's unusual entrance is penitentiary, a controlling institution.

This first encounter within Act One appears to con­ form with the image. For better understanding the director may establish an image for this act. The setting and title suggest a hospital situation: thus the feeling for this act can be seen:

Man, trapped embryo, leads an existence that is

^Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: A Helen & Kurt Wolff Book, Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1967), p. 30. 93 controlled by Influenza, and diseases of all types and descriptions that take over his body and mind."

The commanding image for Act One will now serve to assist the director in communicating a concept-feeling to the audience. He can now more fully state to his actors and designer the feeling for this act. Everything that the playwright has presented now relates directly to the object that controls.

Bollin continues immediately to collect senseless data for his record book. Sophie is little help in that she does not know when her brother will get home. Bollin asks if her brother is a gamekeeper, and Sophie laughs: 7 "He’s with the police." Bollin jumps, for he knows that the police (object) control.

Grass’s unique concept of the grotesque fits beauti­ fully with this concept of objects. Bollin must find out more about Sophie: "... And now let’s get to the point.

Age? Fourteen, fourteen and a half? Have you begun to menstrate, and if so, when?" This grotesque example, al­ though it refers to a natural phenomenon, is still another illustration to depict the process of forces that control the lives of individuals.

This influenza, or object, has the ability to attack everyone. On several occasions Bollin explains that he could

7 $ 'Grass, Four Plays, p. 8l. Ibid., p. 82. 94

never get sick. He is above illness. Mrs. Domke enters

the hospital room and discovers that Bollin and Sophie are

sitting too close. She is immediately concerned for Boilin's

health.

Mrs. Domke: No no no! That won't do! I'm sorry, young man, but I shall have to be severe with you. And you should be more thoughtful too, Sophie. First, all that time under the bed and now sitting so close. There's no sense in playing the heman. Mr. Wanka upstairs is a skilled ditchdigger. He's exposed to all kinds of weather day in and day out, he ought to be hardened. Well, he's been in bed for the last two weeks. And what has he got? The flu. And how did he get it? At a shop meeting. Which shows you that even the strongest men have their weak spots. —•—Here child, your puzzle book.9

The flu, then, or all objects attack everyone; no one is

capable of escaping their wrath. Bollin appears to be a

focal point for the objects. It is as though the playwright has placed him there to defy the objects. The other characters within the play appear to have accepted their fate, but

Bollin fights a losing battle. Sophie explains his plight this way:

Sophie: You look tormented. Driven by some inner unrest. I never know where I'm at with you. One minute you're free and easy, you even laugh a little; the next you're all grumpy and clammed up. Can't you stop pacing! Bollin: I'm sorry. My legs do it all by themselves. There are reasons. Bad childhood experience. So now I pace. Sophie: I'm sorry. How was I to know?

9 Grass, Four Plays, p. 93. 95

Bollin: A hard childhood leaves a mark. Sophie: Poor man! Bollin: Ah, when I think of it. The crowding. The smell. The atmosphere. But even as a child I drew up tables; when peeling potatoes, for instance, the relation of the knife to the potato—width, thickness, and length of the peelings. Whole copybooks full. All lost in the war. But that’s neither here nor there. My Uncle Max said: Hop down to the cellar and bring up some coal. So down I go carefully counting the steps. Suspecting no harm. I was mostly thinking of my potato peels. So then when I . . .10

It is even the most minute of objects that control Bollin’s existence (the width, thickness, and the length of the peelings)

And, of course, there is always Uncle Max, who apparently taught Bollin everything he knows. Further, it is Uncle Max who gave to Bollin his prize watch and fountain pen—more objects.

It is finally Mummy who epitomizes the ultimate in objects. Mummy becomes an object for Sophie. Sophie con­ stantly refers to Mummy as the "poor thing," an inanimate object, not a living thinking-feeling creature, but a thing.

Mummy, herself explains:

Mrs. Domke: . . . But goodness, I stand here talking when I ought to be winding my wool. What do you think, child? Maybe I could ask our visitor to help me for just a few minutes.H

The process of winding wool has become more important than communication for Mummy. The wool might also be seen as the fate that Bollin has in store for him, or better it still

l^Grass, Four Plays, p. 91. ^Ibid., p. 93. 96 serves as an extension of his embryonic existence.

As Bollin begins to leave, Mummy notices his revolver.

Mrs. Domke: Do you always carry it around with you? Bollin: I only go without it on holidays. Mrs. Domke: Ah, a man of principle! Bollin: My Uncle Max Was the same way. Mrs. Domke: And my husband always kept a little tin fire engine in his pocket. We all have our ways.12

Bollin, then, in this first act is centered in a world controlled by senseless objects. Sophie is controlled by the flu that she will pass onto Bollin. She is also con­ trolled by her puzzles, her mother, the hospital, her doll, and all objects. Bollin is in the center in that he is trying to escape the control of the objects. His mission, although not a clear one in the script, is to murder Sophie.

He is unable to complete this act. The world of objects compels him to the extent that he is only capable of stealing

Sophie’s doll, Pinky. This serves as a nice transition from

Act I to Act II. In the prologue to Act II, Bolin is dis­ covered thrusting a knife into Pinky. This symbolic act is

Boilin’s attempted murder. He is reduced to symbolic murder, because he is incapable of the actual act.

Act II: The Cuckoo

The setting for Act II is an evergreen forest. Bollin

l^Grass, Four Plays, p. 100. 97 begins the act by saying: "I don't know a thing—I'm walking along. Thinking no evil.—Walking along, suspecting nothing 13 thinking of something pleasant." He then immediately begins to construct a pit to capture a forester. Bollin begins as the hunter and starts calling to lure the prey into the pit. He calls:

. . . Cuckoo, cuckoo . . . cuckoo . . . A voice: Cuckoo! Bollin: Cuckoo! 4

A forester appears, stops short of the pit, and then proceeds to fall into it dropping his rifle and gamebag. Bollin has caught his victim.

The irony is, however, that the forester seems uncon­ cerned that he has fallen into the pit. Bollin attempts to collect data, but the forester is one step ahead of Bollin, and the forester starts the data gathering process before

Bollin is able to do so.

Bollin: In case you're looking for your notebook and the pencil that goes with it, here you are. (He passes them down into the pit) I'm taking notes too. Writes in his notebook). Forester (writing): With a B and two Il's. Residence? Bollin: Write that he's engaged in moving. I'll write: Took the step, and the time of day. (Takes out his watch). Forester: Engaged in moving.—Motive? Bollin: Change of air. Forester: For reasons of health?

13Grass, Four Plays, p. 103. ~^Ibid. 93

Bollin: You've guessed it, the city was undermining my constitution. Forester: And now you're undermining the security of my district. Bollin: Cuckoo! 9

With this final "Cuckoo," Bollin has led his prey to the kill. Bollin has returned to nature to attempt a successful murder. Bollin still stands in the center of objects, and the Forester presents an interesting image that will serve the director for the second Act.

The cuckoo is a bird whose call sounds very similar to its name. Cuckoo is also a name for a cuckoo clock. The image is indeed intriguing. The clock (object) contains a mechanical bird that appears on every hour to record the time mechanically with an appropriate number of cuckoos.

The Forester is comparable to the small mechanical bird within the cuckoo clock. Thus, a commanding image for the second act might be: "Man's existence is like the small mechanical cuckoo trapped within a cuckoo clock. He is a prisoner of a mechanical environment."

The use of objects takes a somewhat different twist in the second act. The Forester and the children, Sprat and Slick, openly use objects to control Bollin. The objects that are used to control fall into interesting categories:

The concept of the law is introduced. Passing references are made to religion and right conduct. Finally, the Forester

15 Grass, Four Plays, p. 104. 99 and the children gain their wishes under the pretext of education.

The law is certainly an object that controls the lives of men. Bollin recognizes this fact and apparently he has attempted to lead his life according to the principle of the law. The Forester has other ideas:

Forester: My pipe’s gone out. I must have lost my game bag when I fell. Bollin: What! Here in the middle of the woods, you want to ., . .? Forester: Just one little pipe. Bollin: I saw a sign a little while ago. Said something about certain things being prohibited. Forester: That’s only for hikers and berry pickers. Bollin: And your laws allow for exceptions? Forester: Greatness, Bollin, has always been an exception. Bollin: Oh, all right, it’s not my woods. If you promise to be careful. (He takes a lighter from the game bag and tosses it into the pit). But you’ll be responsible! (The forester lights his pipe and smokes) Be that as it may, your inconsistency deserves to be noted. (Writes).16

So the Forester, in his greatness, is above the law, and

Bollin has been controlled this time by the law. Immediately after the Forester has his pipe lit, he starts questioning

Bollin about his rifle. He wants it back, and Bollin eventually gives in to him.

Religion certainly plays an important part in the

16 Grass, Four Plays, p. 109. 100 controlling of the life of an individual. Only passing references to religion are to be found in this play, and the references are intertwined with political ideology of sorts.

One almost has the feeling that Bollin might have been successful with a few murders. But, could Bollin succeed?

The Forester questions Bollin on this topic, and he replies:

A pious man! He certainly deserved a little place upstairs. (The Forester argues that he was too young—finally he says:) Forester: His place was down here! Don’t play God, you have no right. I don’t know what trade you may have learned, but you certainly don’t know anything about forestry.17

A few pages later Bollin is shoveling dirt on the Forester.

The Forester has finally persuaded Bollin to hand him his gun. Bollin hands it down to him explaining:

Bollin: You can’t take it with you.—Well, all right, I’ll shovel in a layer, about up to your belt, and then I'll hand it down.—Now are you satisfied? Forester: Thank you, Bollin, thank you and—good hunting! Bollin: If I were a cynic, I'd say good fishing—with St. Peter. Forester (smiling): Oh, you're alluding to those wormlike parasites?

The Forester destroys any hope that Bollin might have had in religion as a possible means of salvation. In a similar fashion he ridicules Bollin for his lack of intel­ lectual comprehension:

Forester: Fiddlesticks, intellectual nonsense. You're an incur-

^7Grass, Four Plays, p. 106. ~^Ibid., p. 112. 101

able idealist, a revolutionary, a Red. Destructive, pessimistic to the core. An out and out nihilist— hm. And what does our intellectual friend do? He sets himself up as a judge. If there were no foresters there wouldn’t be any . . . That’s preposterous. And I’m ready to wager that you can’t tell a rabbit from a rocking horse. Bollin: IQ Distinctions. Why should I draw distinctions? y

The Forester attempts to explain to Bollin that he needs education for purposes of orientation, or just to learn, to evaluate, to form a picture. His prime motive is to get

Bollin to learn something about trees. Unfortunately every time he mentions trees, Bollin is unable to see them. He is literally unable to see the trees for the forest. The interesting point, however, is that in his constant attempt to use knowledge, education, the Forester is constantly thwarted. He arrives at the final step in a logical process, and he is unable to complete the thought. He has no intelli­ gence. The forester is the mechanical cuckoo. The use of the word ’’cuckoo’’ illustrates this concept. Bollin uses the word "cuckoo’’ whenever an apparent intellectual gap occurs. It serves as the mechanical response for the Forester

The children, Sprat and Slick, arrive late in the act and continue in their never ending attempt to get things.

The Forester convinces Bollin that what the children need is education about the forest, which is the only topic that he knows, or thinks he knows. Thus, the scene ends with the

Forester and the children engaged in a most absurd discussion.

■^Grass, Four Plays, p. 106. 102

They are not capable of thinking beyond the base level of existence.

(Bollin looks after them, writes in his notebook, spits on his hands, and begins to fill in the pit. Several cuckoo calls are heard in the distance). Bollin (leaning on his shovel): Cuckoo! Cuckoo! (After waiting some time in vain for the cuckoo to answer, he goes on shoveling).20

Act III Prima Donna

In the prologue to this act, one finds Bollin de­ jected with his return to nature. He is now looking for new adventures, and he wants to rid himself of the nature experience; therefore, he begins by destroying a small tree.

Later, he talks of barbers and being clean shaven so as to suggest a symbolic cleaning of all that was associated with nature. However, Bollin now goes from one extreme to another. He is leaving the so-called simplicity of the forest for the very unreal existence of the theatre. It is in Act Three that he meets Mimi Landella, a prima donna.

By the very nature of the term ’’prima donna" the image of a false existence comes to mind, and Mimi is no exception.

Bollin has entered the theatre, but it is a bad theatre.

The actors are not artists attempting to explain existence and to display beauty, or to create beauty; this theatre is comprised of false artists and objects. It is another con­ tinuation of the eggshell existence that is inherent within this play. The following commanding image will serve to

uGrass, Four Plays, p. 122. 103

illustrate the feeling in this act:

Man’s existence is akin to a world on the stage where all the characters are bad actors, and all scripts are horrible. Man is controlled by objects such as hand properties, lights and actors’ egos that destroy him.

Life on a horrible stage now becomes Boilin’s life, and this life is Mimi Landella. She is the epitome of the ego starved actress. Bodo, the camera boy, is her constant photographer. He is also her fiance, but when the lover

Bollin appears, she dismisses Bodo. Life for Mimi is a con­ stant attempt to gain the public eye. Unfortunately she appears to have little operatic talent, but she does admire

Bollin. He is again in the center; all objects appear to revolve around him. Bollin begins to lose his favor with

Mimi when he explains that he is familiar with another opera singer, La Hetzberg. This is too much for Mimi’s ego; she cannot take the competition of another lover. Both continue to talk of other opera singers, none of whom can compare with Bodo’s ability. She decides that he must train for the stage. Mimi agrees to give Bollin the necessary lessons

In an attempt to improve his image, Mimi feels that his name must be changed. Bollin is frustrated by this fact because he feels that he is normal.

Prima Don . . . All you need is a stage name Bruno do Polio. Or Pollino? Yes, that’s it! Pollino. Bollin: Not bad, not bad at all. But even so, I fear compli­ cations. And I’d need lessons. . . . (The Prima Do_. agrees to give him free lessons, but Bollin begins to have reservations about his new profession). 104

Bollin: Won’t they say that Bollin abdicated? Prima Donna: . . . Not if a new Bollin is there to serve them in the form of Pollino.21

This loss of identity is too much for Bollin. Sud­

denly his past experience begins to take hold of him. He

begins to see the past repeating itself:

Bollin: Knowledge acquired by the sweat of my brow: cross-word puzzles, Old Saxon Christian epic, Green Goddess of delusion . . . Prima Donna: That voice. That forehead. Those eyebrows. Bollin: J Resin of a tropical tree. Femsrle beast of burden. Complete action. Prima Donna: Those pale temples. That magnificent nose. Bollin: And all I've learned from nature: It has a spreading root and can be put to very much the same uses as the pine.22

It is apparent that the life of the theatre is not for Bollin. Mimi, on the other hand, is determined to have him. He is forced to throw her on the floor, and he escapes 23 screaming: ’’Bollin is normal.’’ The prima donna, like

Sophie and the Forester, quickly forgets or dismisses Bollin, and she goes immediately to her world of objects:

Prima Donna: Pollino! Pollino! (Sobs after a brief pause, raises her head) Bodo! What do you think of this pose? Taken from a distance and not too foreshortened? .. (The photographer steps back/ flash) Maybe you'd better take another: Pollino! (Flash) And still another: Pollino! Pollino! (Flash)24

21 22Ibid., p. 142. Grass, Four Plays, p. 141. 23Ibid., p. 141. 24Ibid., p. 143. 105

Act IV Mister, Mister

In the prologue to this quick moving act, Bollin attempts to rid himself of the world of music and theatre in much the same way that he attempted to rid himself of nature and the flu. He receives his unusual call from

Erwin, and the murder of an eighty-three-year-old widow is planned.

The act opens with Bollin waiting for Erwin, who never appears, so that together they can accomplish at least one good murder. The children, Sprat and Slick, are up to their old tricks of demanding material things from Bollin.

It now becomes apparent that Bollin is doomed. He has been unable to complete one successful murder. It is the children who will inherit Bollin’s existence. Thus, the director will find this commanding image relating to the overall image for the fourth act: Nothingness begets

Nothingness.

Sprat and Slick want things. They need things to control their lives. They depend on things.

Sprat and Slick (half singing): Mister, mister, aintcha got a thing, Mister, just a little thing, Any little thing. Mister, mister, aintcha, aintcha, Aintcha, aintcha, aintcha got Any little dingus, Hidden in your pocket. 25 Mister, mister, aintcha got a thing ...

In a rather long scene the children attempt to gain

^Qrass, Four Plays, p. 150. 106 the three possessions that Bollin has: his watch, his foun­ tain pen and his revolver. They succeed on all three counts. We do not know why the children need these objects, for they do not respect them, but they force Bollin through grotesque sexual implication to give them his prized posses­ sions. Finally, they have Boilin’s revolver. What is its purpose? Shortly, they discover its usefulness, and Bollin falls dead.

The children are unconcerned over the death of Bollin.

It was their mission, but now an even more important mission arises:

Sprat: I got a different idea. You take it and threaten me. Slick: And then? Sprat: Then I beg for mercy and undo my braids. Slick: What for? Sprat: You gotta when you beg somebody for mercy. Slick: Hm. And then? Sprat: Then you gotta rape me.

The scene and the play end with Slick and Sprat running to the barn where Slick will rape Sprat, and a new

Bollin will be born.

The preceding section was an attempt to break the play down into a series of commanding images so that the director might better communicate the playwright’s intent to the theatre workers and to the audience. In summary, it

2 °Grass, Four Plays, p. 162. 107 can be said that the major commanding image of this play is:

Man is the unborn embryo entrapped within the shell of an egg. All that he knows is what the shell will allow him to know, which is nothing. His existence is a constant desire to know what lies outside the shell, but he cannot escape his fate. He knows nothing, and he feels nothing.

In attempting to communicate how objects control the lives of each individual, each act was given a commanding image. In Act One:

Influenza: Man, the trapped embryo, leads an existence that is controlled by Influenza, and diseases of all types and descriptions that possess his body and mind.

In the second act:

Cuckoo: Man’s existence is like the small cuckoo bird trapped within a cuckoo clock. He is a prisoner of a mechanical environment. Existence is objects.

In the third act:

Prima Donna: Man’s existence is akin to a world on a stage where all the characters are bad actors, and all scripts are horrible. Man is controlled by objects, such as hand props, and actors’ egos that destroy him.

In the fourth act:

Mister, Mister: Nothingness begets Nothingness.

It is hoped that through a commanding image, actors and director will be better able to communicate the feeling and meaning of the play.

Production Style

In this directing analysis, it has been determined that Mister, Mister is a play about objects and how they 108 control the lives of the individual. This is a basis for both the. intellectual and the feeling aspect of a production.

The question now to be considered is how will these thoughts and feelings best be communicated to an audience?

It would seem logical that a commanding image also generates a production style. Hopefully, this image would infiltrate all aspects of the production; that is, the director’s approach, the acting style, the setting, the lighting, costumes, music, properties; in short, all aspects.

Laughter Frozen to a Grimace

The entire production, then would attempt to com­ municate this concept: comedy that makes us cry. Essentially,

Mister, Mister appears to be a superficial play; however, what the playwright is trying to communicate is that our light attitude toward our object-dominated existence is the cause of our own destruction.

The original production of Mister, Mister in Germany utilized a cabaret setting. This is certainly in tune with the metaphorical image that has been discussed. Apparently, however, this approach did not always work. There are several reasons why it did not succeed. Clay and Krempel, in their book The Theatrical Image, explain, that the playwright and director must work with their own actors, theatre-workers and audience in mind. It appears from the review discussed earlier in this chapter that the devices used, (slides, properties) were not totally understandable to the audience. 109

Regardless of the style a director employs, the way in which he uses or sets his style must be understandable to the audience. The concept of a cabaret, a burlesque, vaudeville, or the circus all seem to relate nicely to our metaphorical image. Possibly a combination of all these forms of enter­ tainment would serve the director with his image. All ele­ ments (cabaret, burlesque, vaudeville, and the circus) seem to have a great deal in common. Their purpose is thought of as strictly entertainment. That is, no serious business will be performed, just plain fun. The irony, however, is that all forms rely heavily upon the tragic. The characters within these forms of entertainment are always opposing forces of fate. Probably the. most familiar forms of popular entertainment for the American audience would be vaudeville and the circus. In looking at selected characters some inter esting images present themselves. The most common circus image is the clown. Bollin is certainly representative of this character. Audiences have laughed at clowns for thousands of years because of their misfortunes. It is this pathetic creature that has sent many into howls of laughter, for the clown, although he is much larger than life, is so like all of us. In a metaphorical sense we are constantly trying to get into cars that are too small; we are chased by small dogs; we are always trying to pick up the beam from the spot-light; we are absurd in our dress, and people laugh at us. Bollin is the clown, and at the same time he is 110

everyman.

The circus image, with modification, can easily

serve the director to communicate the concept of "laughter

frozen to a grimace." In order to better visualize this

image, a consideration of the elements of production will

assist.

The Settings

A three ring circus effect would make an interesting

setting. The mood of the production could immediately be

established with circus type music. As the curtain opens

the audience would be presented with a three ring circus

where Bollin, the clown, has the ability to travel from

one ring to the next. This concept fits nicely with the

metaphorical image. Bollin always appears in the center of

the image. Things happen around him (influenza, cuckoo, the

prima donna), and Bollin is allowed to move freely from act

to act until his final demise. Similarly, the clown is free

to move from ring to ring. He starts the show, and we see

him throughout the evening.

In considering specifics, the setting could suggest the big tent with three individual rings in which Bollin would progress from Acts One through Four. Each ring, or

setting, would be different of course.

In the first act the concept of physical images is most prevalent, and it would be here that actual physical objects would clutter the stage. The setting itself should Ill

be very medical; in an attempt to communicate the dominance

of objects, abundance of oversized medical supplies and

other objects that are within the script would serve to

communicate the concept of circus objects. The setting would be cluttered with objects. It would be hard for the

actors to move among the objects. Sophie and Mrs. Domke would be relatively unconcerned with the objects. The objects would be in their way, but would cause them no problems.

These objects would be a problem for Bollin, however; he would always be moving them to move on stage. The objects would upset him. They should almost appear to swallow

Bollin. They would be everywhere: under the bed, on top of the bed, hanging from the grid, in the acting area; they would represent a hazard for Bollin*s movement.

In terms of lighting, the emphasis would be upon the objects. At various times during the act, the light might focus on the objects almost as if they were ignoring the actors. Sophie’s lighting should suggest a paleness, and this might very well set the mood for the lighting for the entire act. The objects are also pale, diseased, dying.

Bollin is the only one capable of moving among the dead, dying objects, and the audience must come to feel that these objects are attempting to reach out and destroy him.

The dominant colors of this first setting, then, could be white and pale tints. Everything: Sophie, her mother, her bed, all would be ghostly white except Bollin. Bollin 112 is alive among the almost-dead.

The costumes would also reflect this same comment.

Both Sophie and her mother, Mrs. Domke, would be dressed in white, while Bollin is in clown colors. Further, both

Sophie and her mother would be adorned with objects that hang from them. Sophie would have various types of medical instruments around her neck, not to mention the many, many puzzle books upon her bed. Mrs. Domke would have more than an ample supply .of wool.

The music used in this act would be circus music.

For example, the traditional merry-go-round music would serve to contrast the concept of objects (death) against the gaiety of the music.

This contrasting quality should assist the audience in going through the progression from the comic to the tragic.

The music and the acting style appear to be gay, and fun- loving, but underneath the entire acting is the concept of gloom and death. The laughter—grimace image would strike a resemblance to reality.

Act II Cuckoo

As Bollin crosses from the setting for Act One to the second setting (ring), the mood changes. Objects are still about the set, but we are now in the forest. Theatrical trees fly from the grid, and the setting is filled with

Cuckoo clocks of various shapes and sizes. If possible Bollin would dig his pit (stage trap) in the center of the stage. 113

Bollin would now be costumed in a hiker’s outfit, newly purchased. The Forester would be in his forest ranger outfit. He carries only what the script demands; his rifle and a game bag. The mood of the act is set by the clocks, which also serve as the music for this act. Hundreds of cuckoo clocks all running at the same time reinforce the concept of the objects that control Bollin. The Forester cannot hear the clocks, but they drive Bollin insane. The children, Sprat and Slick, are dressed in hiking outfits, and they constantly circle Bollin pulling on him, trying to reach into his pockets.

In this scene we could again see the clown Bollin, still in the circus, but Bollin is beginning to grow more confused. He is not the clown that we know in Act One.

Bollin is wearing down. The objects are gaining more control over him. His laughter has more of the grimace in it.

Act III Prima Donna

In this third act theatrical elements would set the mood. The audience would be made aware that they are watching actors, acting on a stage setting. Special lighting instruments would be visible. Special flats, and property pieces would be placed to emphasize this theatrical setup,

The acting style of this act is exaggerated; everything is overplayed to illustrate the play within a play concept.

Further, this setting suggests the gaudy pretension of a fifth-rate opera. The prima donna obviously lacks sophisti­ 114

cation. She is cheap. Her objects have no element of class.

The lighting can assist in stressing the gaudy.

In terms of costumes the actors would be overdressed,

especially the prima donna. The prima donna should be a gross

woman who tends to swallow Bollin. As Bollin has progressed

through Acts One, Two and now in Three, the objects that

surround him and trap him have become more animate. That

is, they are now more human. In '’influenza” Bollin was

trapped by medical tools and the flu; in ’’cuckoo" it was

the clock, the forest, and the forester; now in Act Three

it is the theatrical set, and the constant flash of the

camera. However, it is the prima donna, who is much larger

than Bollin, who is constantly hugging him, kissing him,

pawing him, destroying him.

The comic style of this act is set by the prima

donna, but in this scene one is able to see the contrast of

Bollin, the clown-lover, against a bigger clown-fool, the

prima donna. The relationship of clown-like activity to

tragic overtones is more pronounced.

Act IV Mister, Mister

As the curtain opens on this last act, the stage is

bare, nothing. Black curtains set the stage; Bollin pantomimes all actions. The only properties he carries are his watch,

his fountain pen and his revolver. No music is heard, nothing.

Bollin is still the clown, but he is close to defeat, although

he is not aware of it. He is unshaven, the bright colors of 115

his costumes are toned-down. Bollin is a man who has now

fallen to skid-row status,

The children, Sprat and Slick, dart onto the stage.

Slick is on roller skates, and Sprat is on a tricycle. The

roller skates make a deafening sound that irritates Bollin.

The tricycle has a horrible squeaking sound. The children

constantly bump into Bollin. They search his pockets; they

pull on him; they show him no respect. Bollin is unable

to control them. They, on the other hand, are in utter

control of Bollin. He is at their mercy, and they have

no mercy for him.

Sprat fires the fatal shot that kills Bollin. The

audience not only hears one shot, but many; the shot becomes

a machine gun, a tank, a heavy artillery gun, a battleship

blast, a bomb, an ultimate weapon sound.

The children, like all the characters, do not hear

the sound. They hardly record the event. Bollin has slumped

to the ground in full view of the audience. His clown face

is no longer happy, but it wears a grotesque grimace. Sprat and Slick, like all good children, go on to a new game. As they run off the stage for the rape and rebirth of Bollin, the merry-go-round music comes in loud, and the stage workers quickly reconstruct the original set of the big tent with the three ring circus. The light dims on the circus setting as it awaits a new Bollin. 116

Acting Style

It is logical that the acting style should follow the same direction as the style of the entire production.

The production image, laughter frozen to a grimace, would also serve as a powerful image for the actors of Mister,

Mister.

Basically, the circus image suggests a certain acting style. Essentially, the actors can play at acting in a similar way as clowns do, excluding Bollin. Bollin must be both the comic and the tragic at once. He is all things at once. The formula for this actor should be one of laughter turning to tears. Bollin is the clown, but the audience knows that he is "laughing on the outside but crying on the inside." This will certainly be a challenging part in that it is not a simple clear-cut part. Bollin, because he is everyman, is highly.confused. He is trapped. He knows little of himself, his existence. It is the forces of objects that control Bollin. He has no concept of what is happening to him. In the final analysis Bollin learns nothing, and he is destroyed.

Many types of actors could play Bollin; however, an ideal type might be a small agile man with an elastic face.

His smallness would work well with all other actors, who should be larger than Bollin. For example, a great deal of comic effect could be drawn from a large woman playing the prima donna and a small Bollin. The characters of the play 117

treat Bollin as though he were a ping-pong ball, constantly-

bouncing off them, unable to control his existence. But

Bollin always returns to the audience, the camera, life,

with a smile on his face and a song in his heart; he is the

clown. But with each act, one sees the grimace growing.

Sophie and Mrs. Domke relate and react to Bollin

like a disease. They control him in this way, and they

enjoy it. The flu apparently creates fun-times for these

characters; they seem to suffer no pain as a result of it.

It will only be Bollin who suffers. The forester falls into

a pit trap, but he is unconcerned. It is as though this

happens everyday. He shows some concern for his missing

assistants, but he does not consider this a major problem.

He immediately takes delight in attempting to control Bollin,

and of course, he is successful. The performing style of

Abbott and Costello might be an interesting image for all actors to consider in relation to Bollin. Lou Costello was always behind Abbott. Abbott could look out the sea portal all day long and no water would splash his face, but Costello needed only look once, and the entire ocean would pour through the opening. Abbott always controlled Costello, and Lou never understood. This is the relationship that exists between the cast and Bollin. The prima donna engulfs Bollin; he is unable to breathe in her presence.

Sprat and Slick could be played in many ways; however,

it is through them that one might be able to see the pro­ 118

duction image more fully. The children are not as naive as

the other characters. They are direct, and they appear to know

exactly what they want: Bollin’s watch, his fountain pen,

and of course, his revolver. Because of this directness,

the children tend to be more aware and consequently more

evil. Therefore, mature actors in children’s costume might

portray the image of fate, doom and murder more effectively.

Summary

It might be helpful at this point to retrace the

commanding image of the play, Mister, Mister. The production

image begins with an intellectual, philosophical, psychological

position that man is controlled by objects. This in itself

is sufficient for the thinking process, but to translate

this concept to an art form, a more metaphorical statement

is required. The play, then, takes on poetic qualities in

its attempt to project the image. In Act One, ’’influenza,’’

one sees man controlled by disease. In Act Two, "cuckoo,’’

one imagines man as a bird in a cuckoo clock trapped in a mechanical environment. In Act Three one observes man a

prisoner in the illusory world of the theatre. In the

final act, "Mister, Mister" one sees man as nothing becoming

nothing.

The final step in this image process is to see the

image placed into action, a poem alive. A physical image

that would set the image, man controlled by objects, man

(the embryo) trapped within the shell, in motion is the 119 working image of laughter frozen into a grimace. In this last image one sees how all men live, and through concrete reality and the metaphorical image, one knows why they live that way. CHAPTER V

"ONLY TEN MINUTES TO BUFFALO"

The idea for this bizarre, short one-act play by

Gunter Grass comes from his statement of literary principle in his essay "Inhalt als Widerstand" ("Content as Resistance").

The two characters in this essay later appear as the train­ men in "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo." W. G. Cunliffe in his article "Aspects of the Absurd in Gunter Grass" explains this point.

This first section of the essay, "a distrustful dialogue" between Pempelfort and Krudewil, now more con­ genially employed as poets, concludes with Krudewil rejecting his companion’s ecstasies over flowers and sitting down to knit a new, sober Muse: Our new Muse is a skilled housewife. A faulty upper part would annoy her. She would dismiss us without mercy, have herself unwound and reknitted on a machine. In the final section, Grass uses an illustration from one of his favorite fields—cooking and eating—to demonstrate the need for constant vigilance: "Where eggs are served as soft- boiled, it is beat to convince oneself with the spoon!" The vigilance has the purpose of ensuring that the poet remains close to the object and that he does not depart from it to make large statements about life. Grass assumes that a poet chooses as his subject a closemesh wire fence. A bad poet will rave enthusiastically: The cosmos must be included, the motor elements of the meshed wire should swell to a supertemporal, supersensual stac­ cato, completely dissolved and fused into-a new system of values. He would be better advised, says Grass, to stay with the original wire fence, as supplied by Lerm and Ludewig, Berlin. The essay ends with the poet tapping distrustfully at the egg.l

W. G. Cunliffe, "Aspect of the Absurd in Gunter Grass," Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature, Vol. VII (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1966), pp. 317-318. 121

This is an interesting position in that the critics of

Tin Drum and Dog Years feel that Grass is too verbose, or

that he attempts to include the cosmos in his work. Grass

states that he is only interested in keeping with the wire

fence. This one-act, then, is an extension of Grass’s

aesthetics. The main characters represent the duality of

the poet, while the painter is only an extension of the

same poet. Further, the painter and Axel can be seen as

the artist and the critic. Frigate, on the other hand, is

the artist gone mad, or the artist attempting to extend

the wire fence so that ”... the meshed wire should swell

to a supertemporal, supersensual staccato, completely dissolved 2 and fused in a new system of values.”

Kurt Lothar Tank in his work, Gunter Grass, considers

the same essay as does Cunliffe. Tank feels that the two

trainmen are really one poet. Pempelfort is the "poet

linked with nature, dreams, and sounds" and Krudewil, the

realist, examines one metaphor after another with unrelenting 3 severity and humorous precision. In the essay by Grass,

Krudewil, the realist, tells Pempelfort that they are not

going to talk of dreams anymore, but rather, they are going to knit a new muse. Krudewil, whom Tank feels is the realist, borders on that 'thin line of reality in a world where objects

p Cunliffe, "Aspect of Absurd in Gunter Grass," p. 313. 3Kurt Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1969), p. 57"] 122

appear now fantastic, now real, gives the following answer.

Gray, mistrustful, without any botanical . . . knowledge of heaven and death, industrious, but deficient in the vocabulary of the erotic and completely void of dreams. . . . You know how . . . Before I write a poem I turn the light on and off three times.. By this miracles are made impotent . . . You’ve dropped a stitch. Be careful, Pempelfort. Our new muse is a thrifty house­ keeper. A faulty upper part would displease her. She would dismiss us ruthlessly, have herself unraveled and knitted over again by a machine.4

Tank continues his explanation by pointing to an ex­

pression that Bertolt Brecht used often in closing theoretical

discussion: ’’The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

Grass says, explains Tank: "Soft-boiled eggs are best tested 5 with the spoon."

"Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo” is an attempt to tell

us, or show us that the good poet does not allow the cosmos

to mix with the wire. The good poet sticks to the point,

the product that he knows.

Tank feels that this short one-act is Grass’s best work for the theatre. The critic, Wolfgang Hildesheimer

sees in this one-act play the instability of the world. On the other hand, Marianne Resting, a severe critic of Grass

says that the play, "draws its sustenance from its sheer imagistic effect."^

In spite of the fact that "Only Ten Minutes to

Buffalo" is a dramatic statement of Grass’s aesthetics, it

^Tank, Gunter Grass, p. 57. ^Ibid., p. 57.

^Ibid., pp. 59-60. 123 also projects many of the themes that his other plays com­ municate. The artist and the critics are also subject to the same Black Witch to which Oskar was subjected. What follows, then, is a discussion of these themes as they relate to the potential director of this short piece. First, a general view of the workings of the play will be discussed to illustrate the bizarre absurd style that is characteristic of this play. Second, an image view of the play will be dis­ cussed. This section will attempt to present a working image for a production concept. Third, the recurring themes of language and objects will be presented. Last, a discussion of images that the director might employ will be illustrated as they relate to the total concept of presentation.

The Play

The play centers upon Krudewil, an engineer, and

Pempelfort, the fireman. They are operating a locomotive that is placed in the middle of a grassy field. It does not move, yet they operate it as though it were traveling at high speeds. At times their language becomes confused, as they use nautical terms with reference to driving/navigating their means of transportation.

Krudewil: . . . Safe on the rails. No swell, no reefs, no scurvy, no Davy Jones. Always straight ahead, today in Dallas, tomorrow in Buffalo—if this landscape could only think of some other way to look. Desert for all I care, sand, sand, sand, with nothing on it but a few empty tin cans to port and starboard. As 124

7 long as there’s no more cows and no more daisies.

To enrich the ambiguity, a painter, Kotschenreuther,

appears throughout the play. However, he also has the same

kind of problem that the trainmen/sailors seem to have. He

looks at one object while he paints something altogether

different. In the opening scene Axel, the farmer who

apparently owns the land on which the action takes place,

questions Kotschenreuther in this most humorous sequence:

Axel: . . . Every morning you come out here, you look at the cow, you take measurements as if you knew something about cattle and were thinking of buying a heifer, and then . . . And then . . . Kotschenreuther: Then? Axel: Then you make a ship out of it. Kotschenreuther: A frigate. Axel: Well, anyway a sailboat. Kotschenreuther (Stands up, compares his picture with the landscape): But you’ve got to attune yourself to the new spirit. You’ve got to dive down under the old values . . . Then you'll discover new aspects, sensitive instru­ ments, prophetic mechanisms, a virgin continent . . . and first of all you've got to throw all these stupid titles overboard. Cow, ship, painter, buttercup. They’re all delusions, hallucination, complexes. Do you think your cow minds if you call it a sailboat ... or even a steamer? Axel: You may be right. But what about my eyes? When I look and see—here a cow and there a ship . . . Kotschenreuther: That’s just it, that's the big mistake. You look at things with your intellect. Keep your simplicity; start all over again from scratch. In the beginning was the ship. Later it developed into a cow, and the

7 'Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1967), p. 177. 125

cow into a chess set, then the pyramids were built, then came journalism and with it the railroad—who knows what will happen tomorrow—Bring me some sail juice, I’m thirsty. Axel: You mean milk, sir? Kotschenreuther: Call it whatever you like, as long as it’s as white as Moby Dick.8

Grass sets the stage beautifully with the above discussion of what can be expected in the play while also making a brilliant comment on our own existence. The one fear that both Krudewil and Pempelfort have is that Frigate will return to regain control of her ship/train. Their fears are not for naught, for she does appear, and in a very theatrical style, takes command.

Frigate: . . . You ought to be keel-hauled, tarred and feathered Let the sharks have what’s left. (She circles around them and whistles) Anchors aweigh! All hands to starboard! (Pempelfort and Krudewil stand facing one another and come to attention. They grab each other by the right ears) To port! (By the left ears) And starboard-—port—and starboard—and midships—(Fore­ head to forehead) and aft. (They about-face and stand back to back, head to head) Midships and now aft again—and aft—and aft!— g What’s your locomotive called?^

After much wild activity in which Frigate, Krudewil and

Pempelfort come to little agreement they row off stage.

Axel, the farmer, who has been much impressed by this action, slowly enters the stage and, after a short deliberation, decides that he, too, will attempt the trip to Buffalo.

Axel (slowly shaking his head): They’re after the cows like horseflies. (He approaches

8 9 Grass, Four Plays, p. 168. Ibid., p. 184. 126

the locomotive with pail and cigars) They want to go to Buffalo, and all they can do is chase cows. (He climbs into the cab, whistles for his dog). Here, Jonah, here. They come out here and chase cows when they want to go to Buffalo. Why shouldn’t I take a little trip for a change? I haven’t any friends or relatives in Buffalo, but just for a couple of days, why not? (He titters and smokes, the engine sends out steam, howls, and starts moving. As it slowly moves off to the right, Axel looks out the window and alternates cigars. The cows moo, the dog barks. A flash and a report in the smokestack).10

Thematic Implication of an "Image View”

"Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" is a poetic statement.

The director of this play must be able to translate this poetic statement into a workable poetic image for his theatre workers and finally for the audience. An overriding image of what the play is attempting to communicate will assist the director in his attempt to translate this production to the stage. The play could be seen metaphorically in the following sense. "Existence for mankind is entrapment in the belly of a large fish. Man’s only hope or salvation is to escape.”

The play "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" is comparable to the story of Jonah and the whale. It may be regarded as an allegorical restatement of the Jonah story.

Jonah

Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, the great city and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa;

l^Grass, Four Plays, p. 188. 127

and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. . . . Now the LORD has prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. . .11

In the belly of the whale Jonah realized the wrong that he had done, and he prayed to the Lord to deliver him from the Whale so that he might take up the will of the Lord.

. . . But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD. And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.12

"Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" is like the Biblical story of Jonah. The characters are caught within the belly of a whale. They take up absurd actions and dialogue in the hope that it will cause the fish to vomit them upon dry land. They hope to see light or salvation. They seem to represent the common man who is engaged in a constant struggle with his own intellect and emotion. It is the duality of existence all over again, as the two opposing forces calmly discuss what course of action will deliver them from the fish.

Kotschenreuther and Axel, on the other hand, take on similar yet different approaches to the same theme. Grass appears to be pitting the artist and the critic against each other in the "belly of the fish." The artist explains that he can call things as he so chooses, while the critic continually

HJonah 1. 1^Jonah 2:8. 128

reminds him that, when the critic looks at a cow, he sees

a cow. The characters within the fish are caught in the

truth-illusion battle that apparently will never end until

they reach a state of enlightenment, which might lie outside

the darkness—outside the fish.

There are other biblical references in this short play. The most obvious is Jacob wrestling with the angel.

Here again one may see the same theme in action. Jacob defied God and was punished. The punishment brought him a

clear and definite image of God and salvation. It should be noted again that Grass is not preaching the Christian ethic, but merely using these familiar narratives to illustrate the plight of the human condition, the quest for authentic living in an absurd universe.

The universal importance or theme of this play is not the simple story of Jonah, but rather it is a comment on the plight and quest of all men and nations at all periods of history. We (mankind) are locked in the belly of a large fish. Our situation is more horrifying than Jonah’s in that we do not know how we got into the fish. We do not know how, or if, we will ever get out. We can be sure that we are in the dark; we are confused—we understand little of our own existence. We beat upon the walls of the stomach of the fish demanding a truth or an explanation as to the reason of our existence, but no message comes forth. This situation again reminds one of Grass’s poem ”In the Egg” discussed earlier. 129

We are all waiting to be hatched, wondering if someone will pop us into a frying pan.

In looking at the concept of "myth" in a different light, it might be assumed that Grass is explaining how myths, in actuality, control our lives. Pempelfort explains: 13 ". . . Course Southeast. She’s taken on pepper." Pepper if taken in large amounts will make one sneeze. It was by causing the whale to sneeze that Pinocchio and his friends got out of the belly of the whale. They tricked the whale and achieved their purpose. We (mankind) also attempt to trick ourselves into gaining a better understanding of our existence. The actions of the characters bear this out.

Krudewil and Pempelfort engage in various sorts of absurd activity. They collect flowers and dung. They fight. In one scene they sing and dance. Kotschenreuther seems to sum up the absurd actions in which man engages to justify his exist­ ence inside the belly of the fish.

Kotschenreuther: Just as I thought. Drellman, that ridiculous imitator. Well, my boy, you just wait. I’ll wash your brush out. (He packs up picture, easel,, and paints) Stealing my ideas. Probably the wrestling match too. That provincial bigshot. Never even heard of the avant-garde. My friend, my name is Kotschenreuther. Remember that name. I am a man whose watch is several centuries fast. Anyone who makes an appointment with me is sure to be late.14

The director might consider related themes from the

Theatre of the Absurd as they might assist him with his

■^Grass, Four Plays, p. 182. ~^Ibid., p. 176. 130 production concept. For example, Waiting for Godot, by Samuel

Beckett, projects the same type of trivial activity as that

in which Pempelfort and Krudewil engage; Didi and Gogo in

Waiting for Godot perform similar types of games. They sit; they wait; they smell the inside of shoes; they wait, they wait; they talk of suicide, but eat carrots; they wait, and on and on. Godot promises to come, but never does, and they wait. Since one cannot understand these mysteries (one's existence), as Cocteau says of "Wedding on the Eiffel Tower," 15 "let's pretend we're organizing them." The games futilely fill an agonizing void in a world that offers no promise of a biblical denouement, only a senseless quest for a meaning that is lost.

One of the most obvious messages within this play is that communication between men is indeed difficult.

Kotschenreuther says: "That's just it, that's the big mis- take. You look at things with your intellect." One is incapable of looking beyond the surface of the simplest objects and situations grossly out of proportion. The moment of truth comes when one must explain phenomena. One is forced into using language, language that is not equipped to describe what has taken place. Language somehow deals in black and white terms. It does not admit that there are gray tones,

15 Quoted in Michael Benedikt and George E. Wellworth (eds.), Modern French Theatre (New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 196b), p. 94.

"1 °Grass, Four Plays, p. 168. 131 in the process of communication. It tends to lock mankind into logic and devaluate the world of emotion.

As one looks at the characters within this short play, Grass appears to have set up an interesting relation­ ship between the farmer, Axel, and the painter, Kotschen­ reuther. In terms of directing, the director might very well choose the relationship of these two characters to focus the absurdity of the communication process. Grass might easily be saying that Axel is like all of us who have been conditioned to communicate in such a pattern. When one sees cows, one sees cows. Kotschenreuther, on the other hand, is attempting to explain that one must look beyond the intellect to perceive what is behind the word. Better, Kotschenreuther, as the artist, attempts to show that the communication process is a process that allows all the colors within the color wheel, rather than admitting only two, black and white.

Krudewil and Pempelfort provide one with an equally confusing situation with their constant chatter of the locomotive/fri- gate. It is a means of locomotion for them, but one is never quite sure if it is a ship or a train. They are not sure. They use language to confuse one as to the exact reality of things, and ideas. Pempelfort in an amusing dance routine that is reminiscent of vaudeville explains the con­ fusion or the symbolism of their means of locomotion this way:

An omnibus, an omnibus Is filled with tedium and worry. 132

The bus outruns the river, The river isn’t in a hurry, The winner’s always miles ahead, They filch each other’s daily bread. They guzzle beer both dark and light. An angry beast howls in the night. The freight train, the freight train . . .

Krudewil: ... is longer than a passenger train. '

It is this absurd treatment of the vehicle upon which they travel that enables the viewer to realize that Grass is using language, or in this case mis-using language to illus­ trate how absurd attempts at communication can become. One cannot decipher the difference between a ship and a loco­ motive.

It is Frigate, however, who represents the epitome of the lack of communication. Certainly, Grass has been influenced by Ionesco and Beckett regarding the communication theme. Frigate’s lines are similar in thematic intent to the "Fireman’s Stories" in "The Bald Soprano" and to Lucky’s speech in Waiting for Godot. There are many other illustra­ tions of this effect throughout the Theatre of the Absurd.

Frigate rants:

Railsick, seasick! A man with the strength of a whale, who has sailed.the seven seas, who was at Trafalgar and the Skaggerak, who's tangled with big fish and little fish—and what does he do? He gets seasick! (modestly) I, a tender Flemish virgin, who was always sitting modestly at her spinning wheel, sniffling because both my hands were busy; I, who used to blush if anyone said "honey child" within ten feet of me, I, in a century when witching.and hexing were a popular.pasttime, was bewitched, turned into a wooden

17Grass, Four Plays, p. 1$4. 133

figurehead. Later, after years of piracy, after innum­ erable naval battles, a leaping dolphin kissed me. That broke the spell, and I turned into an admiral: Lepanto, Trafalgar, Aboukir! I was defeated, sunk, and changed again, this time into.the sea serpent that is such a joy to newspaper readers during the summer doldrums. . . . Ah, Frigate, how many times more will you have to change your course and go looking for your mutinous crew? . .

Frigate, like the painter, Kotschenreuther, seems to agree that she can be anything that she wants. Language need not hinder her transformations. On the other hand, the director might assume that Grass is playing the satirist by illustra­ ting the total absurdity of communication.

The Directorial Concept-Image

Martin Esslin suggested in Theatre of the Absurd that much of the action of many absurd plays is similar to that in the silent film. The action was unreal, and the audience accepted that fact. This freedom allowed the film­ makers the opportunity to present man in any fashion or circumstances that they so chose. Generally, the characters appeared real, or were in real situations, and suddenly, without warning they were thrown into the most fantastic of situations. (This concept fits nicely with the fantastic- real style that was discussed earlier).

The same principle is present in "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo." Anything can happen! Trainmen operate a locomotive that turns into a frigate. Like the silent films

"Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" is bigger than life. No attempt

18 Grass, Four Plays, P- 184. 134 should be made to convince the audience that the train is real or that the frigate is real. Everything about the pro­ duction—the scenery, the dialogue, the style of acting—every­ thing is larger-than-life. Since the play is absurd, larger- than-life, and exhibiting those same qualities that the silent film era did, the following directorial image is suggested. "Existence is a process of knowing that absurdities may suddenly appear from nowhere."

The director, and all theatre workers, should attempt to communicate the feeling of the fantastic juxtaposed with the real.

This image concept can serve as a guide for all elements of the production. The designer, using this image, could design a setting juxtaposing real with non-real elements.

The locomotive, for example, could be a cardboard presentation of a train, but a three-dimensional set piece could be attached to the locomotive, by one of the trainmen, that would suggest a frigate. In a similar fashion this same principle would work with costuming. The trainmen might be costumed in the stereotype image of rail workers; yet at the right moment, they could switch to gigantic hats that suggest sailors. The play appears to have this concept with regard to Frigate.

For example, the stage directions indicate: "Frigate, a strapping female in an admiral’s uniform with a frigate for a hat, saunters in. She is smoking three cigars by turns and 135

19 blowing her bosun’s whistle.’’ Frigate is the epitome of the fantastic juxtaposed with the real, or even better, she illustrates that an absurdity may appear from nowhere.

Summary

Grass communicates to the theatre audience by means of wild absurd images. The theatre-goer is never quite sure of what is illusion and what is reality. In this poetic play Grass continues to examine the world dominated by objects. Language becomes the main vehicle in which the author illustrates the devaluation of language.

The play is an extended image. Hence, it follows that one possible method of arriving at a production concept is to reinterpret the play in an image analysis. In this process the director communicates to himself and his cast an image concept that has significance for the production.

The ultimate purpose is to make Grass a meaningful dramatist for the theatre audience. CHAPTER VI

THE WICKED COOKS

Martin Esslin stated in his review of The Wicked

Cooks that this was Gunter Grass’s most interesting play.

The literature that either attempts to review productions

of The Wicked Cooks or to interpret the play comprises many

different types of interpretation. None of these comments

suggests that the play is a dramatic success.

Newsweek's Richard Gilman, reviewing the New York production, wrote that the play,

. . . staggers under a great load of semidigested material. Deriving loosely from German Expressionist Theatre, with particular debts to Buechner and Brecht. The Wicked Cooks sends out a dozen plot lines and move­ ments^ Essentially an allegory, it saves itself from insubstantiality and abstractness by incorporating a number of hard, physically arresting scenes in its dis­ orderly, frequently opaque two and one half hours.1

This particular criticism is present in many of the reviews of this play. The review of the German production appears to have been similar to those of the New York production. W. Fiedler, a German theatre critic, although more detailed than Gilman, expressed a related view:

One has the suspicion that this young author [Grass] is sometimes less concerned with a poetical statement;

"'■Richard Gilman, "Spoiling the Broth," Newsweek, September, 1963, p. 106.

136 137

very often he wants simply to bluff and shock, and he has been successful at doing this. He would only smirk if one wanted to thoughtfully sound out his burlesque cooks in its crazy drives. . . . Grass simply juggles with methods and nonsense with bluffing, satire—he only very cleverly uses the many levels between dreams and illu­ sions, between nightmares and absurdity. He encodes the plot without himself knowing what the key to it is. He has diligently read Grabble, Buckner and Beckett; and he shatters the established dramatic forms, without being able to create something new of it.2

Other criticisms followed the same line of thought, although some are a bit more biting:

The main thing wrong with The Wicked Cooks, is that Grass tries to keep his soup warm in the footlights for five acts. Gradually everything sizzles away, the witty ornaments vanish, the irony smells as if-it were burnt. Gunter Grass’s challenging recipe would have worked for one or two acts, but this work which lasts for an entire evening makes it possible for one too quickly to dis­ cover his literary recipe.3

On the basis of the criticism from both the New

York production and the German production, two possibilities come to mind regarding The Wicked Cooks. First, there is a strong inference that the play is weak; that is, its sub­ stance is thin, and the playwright has extended a theme for more acts than it rightly deserved. Second, there is the obvious question of whether the producers of the play failed to communicate effectively the literary and emotional, or allegorical intent of the playwright. A third consideration might be that both of the above concepts are to the point.

2 Marianne Nesting, Panorama des Zeilgenossischen Theatre (München, 1962), p. 133• ^Ibid., p. 134. 138

The meaning of the play was unclear; therefore, the production

method, or approach failed to function correctly as good

theatre. This suggestion does not disregard the possibility

that the play as a piece of dramatic literature is weak.

If this is the case, and most critics suggest this, the fact

remains that understanding the literary meaning as well as

a feeling for the images presented might greatly assist in

producing an acceptable production.

The play has been interpreted variously as regards

its literal or intellectual intent. W. Gordon Cunliffe, in

his book Gunter Grass, states the theme in this way:

The impossibility of communication in a world which cannot maintain simple distinctions among cows, ships and locomotives becomes the central theme of Grass’s play "Die Bosen Kocke" his first to be performed in the United States. . . . This play, then, states that no statement can be made. In the Berlin premiere of 1962, produced by Walter Henn—the count wore a mask that sug­ gested the face of Grass with its well-known moustache. This created an absurd circular structure by making the incommunicable recipe correspond to the meaning of the play. The inadequacy of language is underlined by the choreographic element in which rival bands of cooks swarm across the stage competing with, or being assisted by, soldiers with red armbands. The play opens with the chief cook blowing into a huge trumpet, out of which another cook emerges. Soon the whole stage is filled with white-clad figures chanting "the night is full of cooks." . . . The play emphasizes its central ambiguity by hovering between tragedy and comedy, between the childish and absurd aspect of persecution, and also by means of such nonsense songs as "What could be sweeter than salt." . . . Thus the senseless movement of the beginning is resumed at the end, with nothing achieved, while the central theme dissolves into abstractions and mystery. Futility and absurdity have been amply—too amply—demonstrated.4

^"Gordon Cunliffe, Gunter Grass (New York, Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1966), p. 50. 139

In another essay Norris W. Yates in his work, Gunter Grass:

A Critical Essay finds that much of the thematic implication

of Grass's work can be viewed in a religious sense.

The Wicked Cooks [1962] is Grass's most significant play thus far. The cooks are the entrepreneurs and pro­ moters of Capitalist society, though they are generalized enough to invite comparisons with other societies; for example, Grass says that cooks are countless in number and have always been wicked. Desperate, as usual, for new formulas to please the consumer, the cooks try to get from "The Count" his recipe for soup—his secret of joyous living. It is not to be found in traditional religion, to which the cooks pay only fitful attention— Vasco is devoted to St. Anthony but ignores the Virgin in social stratification; the count is actually a com­ moner. The soup is "gray" and may contain "ashes"; it is not mere hedonism. . . . The recipe cannot be spelled out. "It's an experience, a living knowledge, a way of life. ... no cook has ever succeeded in making this soup twice." It seems to include a harmonious mingling of the spiritual and temporal: The Count is aware of God, and the author uses footwashing and fish symbolically in his depiction of the gracious life of the Count with Martha. These and other symbols are present vaguely, and Grass warns against their over-interpretation. The Count says, "I almost have the feeling that I was being confronted with a symbol, or—worse yet—that I was going to have to spend the rest of this night under the burden of symbolism." It is clear, however, that the recipe required integrity and sacrifices, and trans­ forms, as Robert W. Corrigan says, "everyman" into "someone." The lure of the secret may [like grace] possess anyone; Vasco, one of the cooks, turns out to be a discoverer and a dreamer who wrestles like Jacob with the Count. He gets no blessing and must go on a pilgrim­ age, "restless and barefoot," until he dies or discovers what is in his own heart.5

Martin Esslin appears to agree with Yatesfe apparent religious interpretation of The Wicked Cooks. He suggests

^Norris W. Yates, Gunter Grass: A Critical Essay (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 1967), pp. 16-17. 140 that the play is:

... an ambitious attempt to transmute a religious subject into poetic tragic comedy, pointing out an obvious analogy between the repulsive soup, around which the play circles, and the Eucharist.«

There would seem to be some basis for this particular reli­ gious view of the play, as the script clearly contains religious symbolism. The most obvious example is the action of Martha washing the count’s feet. This religious interpretation is further illustrated by the various names within the script as they relate to biblical names. The cast includes four characters whose names suggest a religious parallel: Therese, Petri (Peter), Benny (Benjamin) and

Martha. (These names will be discussed at a later point).

In following this interpretation, there is merit in con­ sidering that the entire production is an image suggestive of a religious experience; that is, the cooks (everyman) attempt to discover the secret of existence, or a life here­ after, through the Count (Christ). They are unable to dis­ cover the secret of live, and the reason appears to be a contemporary philosophical view of Christianity. Specifi­ cally, it suggests that Christ has limitations imposed upon

His mortal body. He (Christ) was not capable of knowing all, nor was He capable of explaining the secret of life to the mass of men.

^Gunter Grass, Four Plays (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1967), p. 11. 141

In considering this religious-Christian interpre­

tation, there is a biblical passage that seems relevant to

this play:

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came unto him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldst do for us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, what would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him, grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory. But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto him. We can. And Jesus said unto them. Ye shall in­ deed drink of the cup that I drink of: and the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized: But to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given to them for whom it is pre­ pared. And when the ten heard it, they began to be much displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them. Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them: and their great ones exercise authority upon you: But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister; and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.7

This passage from the Bible suggests a relationship between the passion of Christ and The Wicked Cooks. The cooks

(everyman) live in a world in which they must constantly search for the secret of life. The Count (Christ/God) is in the unfortunate position of knowing this secret of life, but is incapable of communicating this knowledge to the cooks.

This biblical story suggests that it is Grass's position that it is the individual who must decide upon which side of

God he will sit. This concept is indirectly related to the

7Mark 10:35-45. 142 previous themes that have been discussed in Flood, "Only Ten

Minutes to Buffalo," and Mister, Mister. The Wicked Cooks are controlled by objects. In considering this theme, it is

Kurt Lothar Tank who speaks with the most authority in this work, Gunter Grass:

. . . Nevertheless the object is the main vehicle or form vehicle; or [more exactly] it becomes this in the course of the play. There are differences between the object or accessories, differences between the revolver [Mister, Mister], the Locomotive ["Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo"], and the rising flood [Flood]. The more or less tangible stage prop, the content, effects an artistic conquest of the resistance in more or less tangible forms. Here one might perceive a sequence of steps: revolver [object of murder], locomotive [object of motion], tooth­ brush [hygienic object], and flood [object or element of nature]. In The Wicked Cooks the sequence from the reality visualized to the shapeless reaches a height where the object itself, the soup recipe, disappears as a vehicle of resistance dissolves into the abstract and the secret, therefore can find answer and resistance only in a greater secret, the mystery of death. In no other play by Grass are there dead persons in whom the mystery of sacrifice is recognizable in the religious, Christian sense. To this extent Esslin might be correct in his interpretation after all. The reservations and objections that arise sequen­ tially in the act of critical analysis do not exist—at least they are not so clear-cut—in the sequential and/or simultaneous process of the imagination. The imagination comprises more than the individual poem or drama is able to present. One must keep in mind to consider the fact that it takes place in greater breadth and intensity than is revealed in the finished product.«

As in the analysis of other dramatic works of Grass,

Flood, "Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo" and Mister, Mister, one finds that objects again control the individual. However, one needs to consider in which light Grass is using the object

d Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1968), pp. 04-65. 143

death in relation to the thematic implication of The Wicked

Cooks. The objects that have been analyzed previously can

be thought of in negative and positive terms. For example,

death might assume the form of nothingness or hell. On the

other hand, it might be assumed that death suggests under­

standing, or in the traditional sense, heaven, an existence without pain.

There is, however, a third possibility that Grass

is attempting to explain, and this position more correctly

suggests his purpose in writing The Wicked Cooks. This theme is certainly not new. It is a major tenet of existen­ tial philosophy, and it is certainly present in the absurdist works of Ionesco and Beckett. This theme is that through a knowledge or understanding of death, man can understand more fully his present position on this earth, or at least in life as we know it today. It is Grass's feeling that mortal men must come to terms with reality, and that one must understand that one will die. Once the individual understands this concept, he may then begin to appreciate his mortal existence more fully. He then realizes that he has a limited amount of time to live on this earth. There­ fore, he must attempt, through his own choice, to live his life to the fullest. Man, according to Grass, is totally unaware of the existence of his death. One goes out of his way to push the reality of death from one's mind. Death becomes a terrible ritual that one creates in order to 144

destory the reality of its presence. This concept is bril­

liantly explained in Jessica Mitford’s book The American

Way of Death. In her work, Mrs. Mitford describes how

Americans attempt to make death a cosmetic adventure. In

so doing Americans are attempting to exclude the fact that

they must also die; they are a nation that enjoys the adven­

ture of trivial facts to keep them from the reality of

death. For example, with the deaths of John Kennedy, Robert

Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the nation was enthralled

with the television coverage that pondered the most minute

details. In this overabundance of details relating to the

death of national heroes, Americans were, in reality, attemp­ ting to cover up the fact that they were indeed dead. The price for life is death. This theme is present in much of

Grass's work. Death is an object that controls us, and one

is unaware of this fact. Grass's poetry illustrates this concept. In his important poem "In the Egg," one discovers that everyone lives inside the egg unable to extract himself from its shell, wondering what the future holds. In Grass's work "Music for Brass," one finds everyone again locked within and unaware, or incapable of knowing what lies outside the shell in death.

Music for Brass

Those days we slept in a Trumpet It was very quiet in there. We never dreamed it would sound, lay, as if to prove it, open-mouthed in the gorge— 145

those days, before we were blown out. Was it a child, on his head a helmet of studied newspaper, was it a scatty hussar who walked at a command out of the picture, was it even those days death who breathed that way on his rubber stamp?

Today, I don’t know who woke us, disguised as flowers in vases or else in sugar bowls, threatened by anyone who drinks coffee and questions his conscience: one lump or two, or even three.

Now we're on the run and our luggage with us. All half-empty paper bags, every crater in our beer, graves paid for by other people, and women very short of time, for a while we fill them.

In drawers full of linen and love, in a stove which says no and warms its own standpoint only, in a telephone our ears have stayed behind and listen, already conciliant, to the new tone for busy.

Those days we slept in a trumpet. Backward and forward we dreamed, avenues, symmetrically planted. On a tranquil unending back. we lay against that arch, g and never dreamed it would sound.

The narrator of this poem is Grass or everyman. The narrator speaks to those who are living and yet unaware of the existence of death. "Those days we slept in a Trumpet," like our brethren who slept "In,the Egg," we were unaware of the existence outside the trumpet. It is interesting to note that in the beginning of The Wicked Cooks one of the

Q 7Gunter Grass, Gunter Grass: Selected Poems, trans, by Hamburger and Middleton (New York: Harcourt," Brace and World, Inc., 1966), p. 31. 146

cooks emerges from a trumpet. The play suggests that the

cooks are awakening from their sleep of ignorance in an

attempt to discover truth, or in this case, death. Unfor­

tunately, it is only Vasco who gains an awareness of the

process.

Grass next asked what was it that brought man out of

the sleep that prevented him from knowing what lay outside

the trumpet. "Was it a child, on his head a helmet of

studied newspaper," he asks, or ". . . was it even those

days death who breathed that way on his rubber stamp." The

answer cannot be known. It is interesting to point out that

a child with a paper helmet is the image that Grass presents

as Oskar in The Tin Drum.

The poem also suggests political overtones, as does

all of Grass's work. Life within the trumpet is akin to the

days of Nazi Germany. It was necessary to be blown out of

the trumpet in order to see more clearly and to understand

the ideology that had entrapped mankind. On the universal

level this certainly suggests that all men are controlled

by "trumpets" and "eggs," and are incapable of knowing what

lies outside. However, the interesting point of this parti­

cular poem is that the narrator suggests that, while he was

once inside the trumpet, he is now outside; he is aware.

His realization of death allows him more freedom, hence more understanding. It is through an understanding of death that one is able to comprehend present existence more fully. 147

Further, this section also suggests a relationship to cooks, through kitchen and food images. The Wicked Cooks may well be regarded as an extension of the following poem.

Chefs and Spoons

And some will say: a chef’s a chef All newly laundered, starched and spry in snowfall or against a wall that's whitewashed, chefs escape the eye and then the spoons they hold are all that stirs us, leaves us in no doubt: the things we eat, the chefs dish out.

I don't think we should talk of soup —the cabbage stock is neither here nor there— for hunger is mere pretext for a beer, and guts lick large and small spoons out of shape and sits and counts the paces to the door.

The dolls outlive themselves, the rooster dies before the chef and crows elsewhere, and yet at times the window panes will shiver in this town. The dolls outlive themselves and the rooster dies before the chef.

Flesh is the cause, a chef lives but in spirit Time passes, but the beef is still not done, will last till later, till you sleep, between your teeth will creep and lurk; flesh is the cause, a chef lives but in spirit.

They both lay down, each one of them lay down together in the spoon they both lay down, for it was hollow and it promised sleep— yet hollow too was pretext and mere contradiction— their sleep was short and shortly before boiling over both, and now each one lay alone, the self-same spoon skimmed off.

No death is here but leads back to the spoon and no love here but, hollowed out, at last suffers from spoons and trembles in the spoon, revolves, revolves round what, since everything with spoons revolves round spoons and only spoons.

Then stay, spoon, go. To whom spoon, spoon leads where. 148

What time spoon, spoon was late. Who stirs me, stirs me where Over and over cuts whose hair. Then stay, spoon, go—and not tell me where.

So gradually you learn to tell the spoons apart, no longer can avoid yourself in draws spoon with the rest and like to be mistaken act tinny and assimilate yourself, can hear your neighbour, never meant to eavesdrop, yet spoon fits into spoon, lies close to spoon.1«

This poem is helpful in understanding the meaning of the play because it is only an extension of the images that are being projected within The Wicked Cooks. In a sense the cooks in their sterile white uniforms play a part second only to the nuns in their black habits. The cooks extend the metaphysical significance in Grass's world. In an interview Grass discussed one of his interests: "I like cooking, I like cooking lentils. Lentils and luck have a 11 great deal in common for me." Martin Esslin suggests:

There is an overwhelming, childlike directness and simplicity in the way in which the most earthly and con­ crete things—lentils, food, nourishment—are here equated with the sphere of the spiritual, the philosophical, the metaphysical abstraction—happiness, the meaning of happiness. It is the simplicity of the medieval crafts­ men who carved the gargoyles that adorn the great cathedrals. And it is characteristic of Grass, the stonecarver, the sculptor, the painter and maker of images. Grass's subject matter, the degradation of Germany in the time of Hitler and in the aftermath of war, is sordid and disgusting in the extreme. And in his writing—poems, plays, and novels—he never tries to evade the most direct confrontation with all these

■^Grass, Selected Poems, p. 57.

11 Gunter Grass. Four Plays (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1967), p. ix. 149

12 nauseating facts.

The poem takes the most common of human happenings, eating,

preparing food, and illustrates how this process is indicative

of how we live. The process of eating and all that surrounds

it is the basic level of abstraction of what goes on in our

existence. We eat to stay alive. In the spiritual sense

we eat to provide for our salvation.

On a metaphysical plane it might be said that we

eat to be. In another consideration of the image of the cooks,

food can be seen as an attempt to ward off death. The cooks

must find the secret recipe so that their patrons will con­

tinue to patronize their establishments, lest they have no

means of support, and consequently, die. This is how the

cooks, and food can be seen as an object that controls our

lives. Grass suggests, and this is consistent with his

position on how objects control, that there are alternative

positions that can be taken on the question of death.

Grass indicates, thematically, in The Wicked Cooks

that death need not drive one to the mad absurdities that it does the cooks. Stated simply, The Wicked Cooks is a meta­ phorical statement that attempts to make mankind more cogni­

zant of individual death. Once mankind readily admits that one day he must face death, he is then in a position to live a freer life. It is a matter of waking to reality and

12 Grass, Four Plays, p. x. 150 seeing, knowing what controls his existence (objects that resist death) and then accepting this fact to gain a freer existence. Unless he understands this quality, he will never gain the freedom that Grass discussed in "Chefs and

Spoons": "No death is here but leads back to the spoon and no love here but, hollowed out ..." In short, there is no release in this life without this understanding.

Once this fact is realized, then the words of Grass gain meaning. "So gradually you learn to tell the spoons apart, no longer can avoid yourself in draws. . . ." The poem like the play attempts by using concrete images to explain the ultimate image, the acceptance of death.

This theme of death is not a new one, and it is especially prevalent in today's modern European fiction and drama. For example, Thomas Mann discussed this theme in

The Magic Mountain; Maeterlinck's Pelleas and Melisande and

Joyce's Dubliners are also indicative of the death theme.

This concept was discussed by philosopher and sociolo­ gist Georg Simmel (1853-1913) in his essay "Metaphysics of

Death." His thoughts made their way into academic philosophy through Heidegger's philosophy of death. Simmel explains the imminence of death in the following way:

In every single moment of life we are such as shall die, and our life would be different if this inherent destiny did not somehow affect it. Just as we are not fully present in the moment of birth [since part of us is being constantly born], similarly we do not die only in our last moment. This fact alone makes clear the form-giving significance of death. Rather, it is a 151

formal element of our life that colors all its contents: the limiting of the whole-life through death has an ,~ anticipatory effect on each of its contents and moments.

For Simmel, then, death becomes a value that serves as a

limiting force that shapes one’s life. It is within the

limitation of death that one becomes aware of his choices.

Finally, Simmel sees life and death as thesis and antithesis,

each necessary to the other.

The Count possessed the secret of the recipe which enabled him to lead the joyous life. He was not controlled by the objects of death or the attempt to repress death.

When he could not tolerate the insane antics of the cooks, he took the only possible course of action.

Oskar, the mad dwarf from The Tin Drum, seems to have been possessed by death. First, one may assume that he was unwilling to face the reality of his own death. He chose to remain a three-year-old child. But he soon found that it was only his body that did not grow. His attempt to thwart death was foiled by the guilt he had because of the death of both of his parents. His mother developed an uncontrollable desire for fish that caused her death because she felt Oskar was aware of her love affair with Jan Bronski.

His father was executed by the Russians. In addition, Oskar finds satisfying work as a tombstone cutter.

Theodore Ziolkenski, Dimension of the Modern Drama (New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1969), p. 220. 152

A director can use the concept of the realization of death as a useful tool in designing a production concept for The Wicked Cooks. The play also could be seen as a struggle within Nazi Germany. However, there is a more universal aspect connected with the personal and political concept of the death theme.

Grass attempts to communicate to the individual the absurd way in which man reacts to death. Because of these absurd actions, death becomes a controlling agent.

Beyond the politics and ideology that control us, objects that dictate to us, and death that possesses us,

Grass is attempting to show that life is a view from a madhouse. Life is insane. The antics of the cooks, although insane, are nothing more than a metaphorical statement of the nature of the human condition. Stated simply, one lives in a mad world, yet Grass has gone one step further in his illumination of the madman. It is through the madman that one is capable of seeing a semblance of reality.

This theme is not new. Madness as a literary symbol has a long and venerable history, a history to which Don

Quixote and The Idiot have contributed greatly. In his essay,

'•The Meaning of Insanity in the History of Morality, "

Nietzsche praised madness as a " . . . force that breaks through the bonds of conventional morality to new ideas and values/. Almost everywhere it is madness that paves the way for new thoughts that breaks the spell of venerated customs 153 and superstitions.""^ He even went so far as to say that

. . . all those superior men who felt an irresistible urge to break the yoke of some false morality and to establish new laws, had no alternative—if they were not really insane—but to become insane or to pretend to be so.15

In his classic Thus Spake Zarathustra, Nietzsche expressed this same idea that no one wished to hear what the prophet

Zarathustra had brought from the mountain after ten years.

". . . Not a single shepherd here! Everyone wants the same thing, everyone is alike: whoever feels otherwise goes voluntarily in the madhouse." The madhouse as a theme becomes a refuge of true understanding in contrast to an uncomprehending world.

The play is a view from the madhouse. It is in his novels that the inmates of the madhouse are seen most clearly. In an early draft of The Tin Drum Grass saw

Oskar as a small boy on top of a high statue who watched his fellow beings. This did not work for him, so he brought

Oskar down to the ground so he could look up. In The Tin

Drum all that has taken place has been fantasy, fairy-tale reality where characters are controlled by guilt and inno­ cence. In the last chapter Oskar expresses this view: '

What I have feared for years, ever since my flight, announces itself today on my thirtieth birthday: they have found the true guilty man, they re-open the case, acquit me, release me from the nursing home, take away

l^Ziolkenski, Dimension of the Modern Drama, p. 350. 15Ibid., p. 351. l6Ibid., p. 350. 154

my sweet bed, put me out into the cold street which is exposed to all the elements, and compel a thirty-year old Oskar to collect disciples around himself and his drum.17

As the novel ends Oskar is forced back into reality, and as the play, The Wicked Cooks, ends, one is forced back into the world of reality, hopefully wiser, more aware of the madness of objects and death.

Production Concept: Images

As the director begins his investigation as to the meaning of The Wicked Cooks, the literary implications of the play’s meaning must be translated into working terms for the production. He must be able to communicate his con­ cepts and ideas regarding the themes of death, and the in­ ability of the individual to find meaning within a religious experience. These themes must be communicated to the theatre worker and finally to the audience.

The Wicked Cooks is not a play about people and real life situations. Rather, it is a dream, a nightmare, in which the worst of man, his illnesses and grotesque flights of the subconscious are brought to bear within the text.

It is the director's task to translate these flights of the subconscious onto the living stage.

The play possesses suggestions of expressionism, but this is not to say that it falls neatly into this style,

17Gunter Grass, The Tin Drum, p. 358. 155 for the play also appears to contain elements that are sur­ real, absurd, and in some cases, realistic. It contains all of these elements as do our dreams. One moment our dreams take us to a perfectly realistic setting, and in the next moment a grotesque turn may have us being physically tortured by a hideous creature. The Wicked Cooks follows this unreal, dreamlike quality.

John Gassner in his book Form and Idea in Modern

Theatre explains that Strindberg struck the main idea of the expressionistic theory of the theatre in his preface to The

Dream Play.

Anything may happen; everything is possible and probable. Time and space do not exist. On an insigni­ ficant background of reality, imagination designs and embroiders novel patterns; a medley of memories, ’experience, free fantasies, absurdities, and improvi­ sation.!«

At a glance it could be said that this concept applies not only to Strindberg, but to Gunter Grass. In fact, many of

Grass’s works suggest this dreamlike world.

Thus, the task of the director is to communicate the dreams that Grass has served. One interesting way that this can be accomplished is to attempt to relate or recreate the images of dreams, especially in this specific case, nightmares. The Wicked Cooks is a grotesque, violent image of men as they destroy each other and themselves.

18 John Gassner, Form and Idea in Modern Theatre.(New York: The Dryden Press, 1956), p. 118. 156

In attempting to communicate these images, one might

turn to Jerome Rockwood, who in his basic acting book, The

Craftsmen of Dionysus, explains that one method of developing

images, or approaches to characterization is through

paintings.

Pictures . . . convey attitudes and an atmosphere of the times. Look at the pictures of court life in Europe in the seventeenth century; pictures of American factories in the 1900's; pictures of peasant life in the Middle Ages. These arouse strong feelings of sympathy for the people and the times, they contribute immeasurably to our understanding, and most important, they stimulate the imagination. How will we even start to think about our role as an indolent duke if we have no notion of what his life was like, his surroundings, the countless ways he had of pampering himself.19

One can see, then, from Rockwood's comments that

the actor can look at great paintings and use these images to assist with the development of his character. In a

similar way the director may also attempt to develop his production from images that he receives and communicates

from works of art. What follows is a discussion of a directorial production image. This image is derived from close examination of a painter who paints and communicates images that relate to those Grass created within The Wicked

Cooks. This is not to suggest that the paintings contain the whole of what Grass has composed in his play, but rather the director will be able to formulate his images by studying the symbolic images that the painter presents.

^Jerome Rockwood, The Craftsmen of Dionysus (Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company, 19b6), p. 77. 157

This is not a new directing tool. The theatre's history

is rich in its practice of looking to other art sources for inspiration. Probably the most articulate work on this specific topic is George Kernodle's From Art to Theatre.

In a sense the director will only re-apply what Kernodle attempted in his work. In his research the director, rather than tracing the history of the contemporary stage, will look at past paintings to better communicate a theme.

The works of Bosch communicate the violent, grotesque nightmare that Grass presents in The Wicked Cooks. The paintings of Bosch appear realistic in technique, but a second look indicates that he has created a bizarre night­ mare collection of all sorts of fiends.

In choosing a central image that overrides the entire production, Bosch's best known work, the triptych

"The Garden of Earthly Delights," is most representative of the metaphorical message that Grass communicates. This play is essentially a statement about the life process. It is a poetic message that depicts the horrors of existence. Bosch’s triptych is an important statement on the stages of existence in a religious sense. Basically, it is medieval in nature, and it presents the image of "before," "the present" and

"the after," in a heaven, earth and hell approach to existence.

But it is much more than a mere religious statement. It is a statement on a mad world. One feels that he is viewing the works of a madman as he views Bosch's paintings. This 158 is essentially the quality that Grass is communicating in

The Wicked Cooks. Cooks who risk everything for a secret recipe are certainly mad. Robert L. Delevoy in his work,

Bosch, presents critical commentary that will assist in an interpretation of "The Garden of Earthly Delights" as it serves as an image for The Wicked Cooks.

Nowhere else, in the whole field of art, do we find such a teeming profusion and diversity of images and signs, or a comparable alliance of the marvelous [left wing and central panel] with the fantastic [right wing]. Everything in this famous triptych is at once a delight to the eye and a puzzle to the mind. So much is con­ veyed "sub rosa" that, despite the ingenious inter­ pretation, backed with erudite argument, that we owe to some recent exegetes, we can scarcely hope to pluck out the heart of its mystery. . . . "In Praise of Lust," that central panel might well be called. For the exposi­ tion of this theme, the painter has adopted the vertical layout of medieval tapestries. ... In the central panel graceful form and lovely colors realize the poet’s dream of an "artificial paradise" glittering with all the flowers of evil. Amorous encounters, lovers’ picnics, banquets of strawberries and cherries—all the senses are glutted in a languorous expanse of green lawn and shady thickets. . . . Treated in the Gothic manner, with slim waists and narrow shoulders, these men and women seem disembodied, dematerialized. Linearism prevails over the physical pleasure, the fairy-tale over the factual. Thus the innocent realities of the tale Bosch tells us are transmuted into the fabulous. This effect is largely due to a procedure which consists in a re­ versal of the order of nature; human figures are rela­ tively small, while plants and animals bulk larger than life. Yet the coherence of the real world is not impaired by these gigantic birds, huge mussels, flowers and fruit, and monstrous fish.20

The overview, then, is the process of existence from a religious point of view. Bosch presents the cycles of

2Q Robert L. Delevoy, Bosch (Cleveland, Ohio: The World Publishing Company, I960), pp. 94-95. 159 birth, life and death; however, his portrayal of this experience is not traditional, but perverse, mad. Although one can say that his basic impression was pessimistic, it can also be said that Bosch was a greatly religious man.

He was attempting to explain the religious experience as he saw it. Certainly he saw more of this process than merely the birth, life and death struggle.

Bosch appears to have incorporated the incongruities of existence. He is at once aware that man must attempt the joy of heaven while knowing the misery of hell. At the same time Bosch explains that our existence is mad, grotesque and violent. Bosch is at once close to Christ and the Antichrist

His paintings capture both the ideal world and the perverse world.

And so it is with Gunter Grass in The Wicked Cooks.

The physical setting and requirement for staging remind one of "The Garden of Earthly Delights." Absurd things happen in the play. Cooks all dressed in white appear on the stage in dreamlike ways. One cook blows an oversize trumpet, while another cook emerges from inside the trumpet. Another cook emerges from an oversized egg that is cracked open.

He immediately improvises a tennis match with two frying pans. A mound of salt conceals another cook. Throughout the play absurd situations take place to illustrate the absurdity of the condition of the cooks, while at the same time they reveal our nightmare existence. 160

"The Garden of Earthly Delights" certainly reveals the overview picture of the visual images of the play. In this painting one sees the three stages of life as seen in a mad metaphysical state. It is all of our lives captured on one canvas. However, there are other themes and moods that permeate the play. The Count possesses the secret recipe that the cooks must possess. There are other paintings by Bosch that suggest a feeling or understanding of this theme of mystery and temptation. "The Temptation of St. Anthony" serves as an interesting parallel to the

Count and his soup. It is interesting to note that Vasco prays to St. Anthony. St. Anthony as an image can be seen in many lights. First, tradition has it that Anthony is the Saint to whom one prays if he has lost something. Anthony will help Vasco find the mystery of the soup. Further, Anthony might also be seen as the Count, or at least he represents the religious image. Anthony endured the horror of the dream-world of Bosch, and the Count encountered the nightmare of the cooks, the soup, and death.

To further illustrate the combining and conflicting elements in a single image of the dream world of Bosch, R.

L. Delevoy presents this comment on "The Temptation of Saint

Anthony":

. . . Anthony, patron Saint of the Order of Antonites, was one of the most popular Saints of the later Middle Ages—a period when popularity of this order involved not only a fervent cult of the saint in question, but led also to a proliferation of far-fetched legends and 161

perverse interpretations of his functions. St. Anthony was an early victim of this phenomenon. Long invoked as a guardian against certain diseases, he now can be re­ garded as author of the very maladies he was called on to cure! [Thus erysipelas was popularly known as "St. Anthony!s fire"]. Henceforth, he was more feared than worshipped. The spokes of justice seldom retain their integrity in popular conceptions of their ministry. This goes far to explain the extent to which pagan super­ stitions were carried over into the Christian ethics. In many imprecations the Saint figures as a demonic fireraiser: "May St. Anthony burn me" "St. Anthony burn the brothel" "St. Anthony burn the steed." Such locutions evidence both the fear in which he was held, and a smoldering resentment against him.21

In terms of the visual image, one can see that the

Count could be considered as both saviour and as someone to be feared for his knowledge of the secret grey soup. Simi­ larly Christ is feared for the power that he is capable of exerting over mankind.

Scenic Design Concept

Bosch can also assist the designer with The Wicked

Cooks. Basically the play can be seen in two parts: "The evil being done," and "death or understanding." The two parts, then, can be seen as two settings. Act One would be

"The Black Mass." This image is an enlargement of the center fold of "The Temptation of St. Anthony,"

Standing in fetid, greenish water, a tonsured demon is reciting the black mass. Two pseudo-monks stand beside him, one with an inverted funnel on his head [symbol of madness], the other with a bird's nest on top of which is an egg [symbol of alchemy]. The egg, Jacques Combe reminds us, not only alludes to the oval crucible with which the philosopher's stone is connected,

^Delevoy, Bosch, p. 78. 162

but also stands for the world-egg out of which, according to the alchemist, the universe was hatched.22

The setting for the first part could resemble or

suggest an altar where a religious service is being held.

Essentially, then, the play is a re-enactment of the Mass.

The cooks are attempting to receive the soup, or Grace.

This Mass has a perverted twist to it. The priest and monks are fiendish, they are created in a nightmare fashion. One monk wears an inverted funnel that symbolizes the insanity of a group of cooks that would fight to the death for the secret of a soup. The other monk who assists the Mass wears the familiar nest with the egg from which the universe is hatched. The egg is a familiar theme to Grass, with special reference to the important poem, "In the Egg."

It should be stressed that this image of "The Black

Mass" is not typical, but it is grotesque, violent and per­ verted. The designer would attempt to create an altar that is dreamlike, not realistic. Hopefully, he would be able to capture the concept of the distorted grotesque quality by studying the painting of Bosch. In this way the setting would best communicate an existence that is so horrible that the audience is forced to re-examine its own existence.

The second setting image is also from "The Temptation of St. Anthony in Peace and Contentment." R. L. Delevoy explains this unusual setting in the midst of turmoil in

22 Delevoy, Bosch, p. 85. 163

this way:

Here we have the end of a long fever, calm after a lifting of the shadows, the final cadence of a vast and varied tone poem, of the lifelong, fervent pro­ clamation of a message to mankind. Twilight of hell, dawn of a new day—here all is sweetness and light, instinct with silent presences, moss-green turf, velvety meadow, nature at her kindliest, slender trees, their crowns of leafage motionless in the still air, measure out space, the shining peace of a friendly countryside, and stresses the alternations of clean-cut highly simplified planes, large>zones of green, yellow ochre, blue. The play of verticals and slanting lines, of full and empty spaces, sets of rhythm of boldly original pictorial construction reflecting the mood of intense concentration that permeates the scene. The aged hermit is seated [not kneeling] in the hollow trunk of a dead tree. His cloak is tightly wrapped around him, his shoulders are hunched and he is resting his head on his clasped hands rapt, in contemplation of an inner vision, letting his gaze "rove the lonely heights," described by Ruybroech, "of pure thought strip­ ped clean of images." He is lost in dreams, oblivious of the outside world; nor does he see a helmeted goblin aiming an arrow at him, and another monster on his left, a sort of mobile fortress, with a bird-like head and human hands, crawling up on splayed feet and brandishing a sledge-hammer. Nor does he notice Satan’s clawed hand reaching up out of the stream in front to beckon him. No longer is he harassed by the temptations of the devil; the peace of the forest has stilled his anguish, his little chapel [of a vaguely Oriental type] is undamaged— and overhead the sky is blue.23

The symbolic impression that the designer receives

I : from this most colorful passage is that St. Anthony, among

horrid creatures, has found his inner peace. The Count,

through death, or at least by his final statement about the

gray soup ("I’ve told all of you often enough, it is not a recipe, it’s an experience, a living knowledge, continuous

change—you ought to be aware that no cook has ever succeeded

2^Delevoy, Bosch, pp. 122-124. 164

in cooking the same soup twice"), has found his inner peace.

This section of the painting should suggest to the designer the images that the setting should attempt to communicate. Further, it should also give the designer specific ideas as to how the actual physical setting might appear.

Bosch and the Actor

There is no specific painting that can be suggested relating to each individual character. However, it would seem that all of Bosch’s work would assist the actor in developing his character image. A verbal image will assist in this specific instance: Faces turned outward. This image suggests a theme that is present in Bosch’s work "The

Bearing of the Cross." In this work, one sees Christ carrying the cross. He is crowded by a mass of people, each one of them having profound and individual faces and person­ alities. The actor can profit by observing this painting, as these faces are extremely expressive in their grotesqueness.

In short, an aid to character development might be one of the many faces within this scene. The interesting aspect of this painting is that not one of the faces is turned toward

Christ. They are all turned out. In a similar manner the cooks never take the time to look inward, for the secret of the soup lies within each one of them. They can only look outward to the ugliness of the external world. The image of faces turned outward might suggest interesting possibilities 165

for the actor.

One further consideration for the actor in terms of

gaining a better understanding of the characters he will

portray is a knowledge of names. Grass uses many names

in a historical sense, and by knowing the historical impli­

cation of the names, the actor will grasp a firmer under­

standing of his character. This will also shed more light

upon the thematic implications of the entire play.

Some names present obvious signals for the actor.

For example, it has been pointed out that Petri could

represent Peter, the first Pope of Christianity. Throughout

the play it is Peter whom the other cooks answer. Vasco

could suggest Vasco de Gamma the Portuguese navigator and

discoverer of the sea route from Portugal around the con­

tinent of Africa to India. The fact that he was a discoverer

might suggest religious significance. Martha, however,

refers to him as Stephen. St. Stephen is recorded as the first

Christian to be martyred. "Stephe, protomartyr. D. at

Jerusalem, c. 35; f.d. 26 December, the first martyr for

Christ.

The name Stephen is significant for three reasons.

First, it is another link in the chain of the religious theme. Second, Stephen was the first martyr for Christ.

It is Vasco, who is sometimes called Stephen, who seems to

^Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints (Baltimore, Maryland: Penguin Books,196S), p. Il3. 166

understand the images that the Count is trying to communicate

Vasco says, "I feel something in my legs,” which might

suggest a motivation toward understanding. Third, Stephen

looked after the needs of widows as Vasco looks after the

needs of his Aunt Therese. Therese is, of course, another

important name in the Christian history.

. . . twenty years she traveled up and down Spain founding Convents. St. Teresa is the classical example of one who combined the life of religious contemplation with an intense activity and common efficiency in practical affairs, and she recorded the result of both in literary form.25

Aunt Therese appears significant because of her concern for

Stephen/Vasco and especially for his religious life. Therese is also assisted by the nurse, Martha. One might assume that Therese, like the Count, represents failure in her in­ ability to communicate with men effectively. In this sense

Martha can be seen as a spiritual nurse.

Her relationship with the Count is unnatural or at least the cooks indicate that it is; however, the Count calls Martha "Ruth." The symbolism follows nicely again with

"The Book of Ruth."

As the end of the barley harvest drew near, Ruth followed the shrewd advice of Naomi and placed herself at the feet of Boaz, who spent the night in the field, and enticed him to ask her hand [3:1-18]. After a nearer kinsman has renounced his right and duty to pur­ chase Naomi’s field and marry Ruth, ratifying his refusal by the archaic symbolical act of removing his shoes [cf. Deut. 25:5-10] Boaz married Ruth. She bore him a son, Obed, who became the grandfather of David

25Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints, p. 319. 167

[4:1-17].26

Ruth by custom was to return to her own land, but she chose to go with Naomi, just as Martha stays with the

Count.

The symbolic suggestion of other names is not as clear. Benny could stand for Benjamin, a Christian name.

Kletterer, bears a striking resemblance to kettle, a cooking pot. Mrs. Kuhlwass might suggest the translation of "cool- water."

Special Problems

Mr. Jack Ramsey in his master’s thesis, A Translation of The Wicked Cooks, explains in his introductory essay that the technical problems are a designer’s nightmare.

It is difficult to imagine a greater display of theatrical pyrotechnics than those unleashed by Grass. Figures appear out of trap doors, a giant egg, a stove and a man-sized hill of salt; a chicken thrashes about in a basket; a snowball fight ensues; trumpets blast; a tennis match is improvised with frying pans for racquets; there is dancing and singing; in short, every conceivable trick of the trade of theater is utilized. These theatrical "gimmicks" employed by Grass are essen­ tial to the production, for the play is devoted to the theatrics of the stage, to acting, to spectacle. An immediate appeal is made to the audience’s visual sense rather than to its conceptual thought. . . . Thus the technical aspects of production present a problem to be considered.27

2 °óRobert Pfeiffer, Introduction to the Old Testament (New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1941), pp. 717-19. 27 Jack Ramsey, "A Translation of Gunter Grass’s Die Bosen Kocke," (unpublished M.A. thesis, Tufts University, 1966), p. I06. 168

Mr., Ramsey is certainly correct in assuming that the problems would be difficult for the technical crew. However, the technical crew may discover alternatives that would meet the demands of the script. Ramsey explains the seven scene changes within the play. The script can be cut into two acts, requiring only two sets. Other playing areas needed can be created with special lighting within the "Black Mass" or "St. Anthony" setting.

Summary

The Wicked Cooks attempts to communicate to the audience a transmuted religious experience. However, the play does not stop at a religious experience. It transcends to a further metaphysical level in its attempt to depict man in his constant search for the meaning of existence.

In analyzing the play and finding a production image or concept, a related art was used to heighten Grass's images. Grass is himself a visual artist. He tends to paint in his literary work. His play may be related to the visual images of the painter Bosch. In examining the painting of Bosch, visual images were translated to verbal images that will serve to illustrate how the director might employ this procedure in arriving at a production concept. CHAPTER VII

THE PLEBEIANS REHEARSE THE UPRISING

This is the last play by Gunter Grass to be included

in this study. It is interesting, indeed, that this should

be the last play in that The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising

is a marked departure from the previous plays that have been

studied. One immediate question that might be asked is why

did Grass write in a style related to Absurd drama and then

change to a more didactic style of play? Several answers

to this question might be proposed. It might be assumed

that Grass is an experimental artist, or that he is attempting

to find a suitable style of dramatic presentation. It has

been established that Grass had not met with outstanding

critical success in the theatre; Plebeians might be an

attempt to develop a more successful style. Further, it might be that German audiences and theatre workers are more

comfortable with a didactic style with which they are more

familiar than with an absurd style (which is of French origin after all), although Grass’s successful novels have an

element of the absurd.

All of these possibilities are in part correct; however, there is a further answer. One of the basic tenets of the school of Absurdism is that life has no meaning. In

169 170

Grass there are suggestions that do not agree with this philosophical position. There are indications that Grass is not totally pessimistic. The most obvious substantiation lies outside his literary work. It is in part, Grass, the political activist who must be considered in looking at

The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising.

Grass is an active man in the German political arena.

He has written and delivered several political speeches.

He was an active campaigner for Willy Brandt. Grass does not like to discuss his literature, but he is very eager to talk politics, especially with young people. In a reconsideration of Grass the writer, it is obvious that his artistic work is a definite comment on man, the political animal. His plays certainly have a strong relationship to

Nazi Germany. One of the major purposes in Grass’s litera­ ture is to raise the question: What action is the individual to take in the determination of his own existence? This position can be analyzed on many levels. On one level Grass reveals that man is political; he lives in a society that is governed by rules, laws and regulations. It is the respon sibility of each and every individual to participate in the decision making policy of the government of human lives.

Grass has explained throughout his work that it is the individual who must determine his own individual fate. In

Nazi Germany an entire nation refused to accept the responsi­ bility of this fact of life. Believing themselves to be in 171

capable hands, the responsibility of government was left in

the hands of Hitler. They did not accept the responsibility

of rejecting the objects, both verbal and non-verbal, that

controlled their lives. The final and most poignant fact

is that an entire nation refused to believe that the ultimate

of human crimes took place in Nazi Germany, namely the elimi­ nation of six million Jews. Grass, then, is speaking to all of us and of our responsibility to never allow such actions to happen again. He continues to write because (even today) history repeats itself.

The interesting aspect of individual responsibility lies with the position of the artist. What role should the creative artist play in the political arena? Should he write and hope that society will heed his message, or should he write and then take to the streets to meet the common man and explain to him what position or course of action he should take? Grass assumes the latter position. In addition to his creative work, which seems exhaustive, Grass is also a political activist. It is in his political activity that

Grass refuses to be "the good German" who explained that he did not know what was going on during the war. Grass assumes the guilt of his father and his own guilt. Rather than only saying, "I have done wrong," Grass says "What can I do to improve?"

In a collection of speeches by Gunter Grass, edited by Michael Harrington, the editor states: 172

Gunter Grass has applied these uncompromising critical categories to his own country. Americans who thought of Germany as an "economic miracle" in which God, capitalism and anti-communism triumphed have been shocked and sur­ prised by some of the events of the past several years: riots on the Left and electoral progress by the neo-Nazi Right. As an active participant in his country’s demo­ cratic Left—the Social Democratic Party [S.P.D.]—Grass was aware of these disturbing, even explosive, tendencies all along.1

Grass, then, is aware of what has gone on in the past. He records these facts in realistic and non-realistic ways in his work. More important is his concern that the future may not be a repetition of what has happened in the past.

What then does Grass attempt to communicate in his political activity and in his writings with special reference to The

Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising? Harrington in his intro­ ductory essay to Gunter Grass Speaks Out explains:

Grass is seeking to answer the question, "What is the German fatherland?" And his own response is: "Let us be builders of cities!" . . . Thus will the question, What is the German fatherland? be realistically answered. ... We must not seek after the lost provinces [of the old Germany] but rather to regain that essence which once was the German fatherland. That is the authentic voice of the German democratic spirit which, in the tre­ mendous achievements of its labor and socialist movement, once held out a marvelous promise to the entire world.2

How can the artist attempt to communicate this poli­ tical feeling? Grass makes this point clear in a speech, delivered in April of 1966 at Princeton, entitled: "On

■'"Michael Harrington (ed.), Gunter Grass Speaks Out (New York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 19bb), p. ix. 2 Ibid., p. xi. 173

Writers as Court Jesters and on Non-existent Courts." In this speech Grass asked the audience to assume that there was a literary court jester and at the same time to assume that such a position could not exist. This immediately is typical of Grass, and it reminds us of many of the charac­ ters that Grass depicts in his plays, poems and novels. The court jester is Oskar, Noah, Betty, Kotschenreuther, the

Count, and the many Grassian characters.

First, Grass expresses his doubt that such a position is possible, and then he states that it must be.

... We have no special advisors or court jester. All I see—and here I am including myself—is bewildered writers and poets who doubt the value of their own trade and avail themselves fully, partially or not at all, of their infinitesimal possibilities of playing a part in the events of time—not with advice but with actions. . . . Something must be done. . . . occasionally [writers] bolt from their desks and busy themselves with the trivia of democracy. Which implies a readiness to compromise. Something we must get through our heads is this: a poem knows no compromise, but men live by compromise. The individual who can stand up under this contradiction and act is a fool and will change the world.3

Fools have changed the world, and fools will continue to change the world. Kurt Lothar Tank in his book, Gunter

Grass, follows this same line of reasoning relating to the writer and the fool. Tank discusses Grass’s essay Per

Inhalt als Widerstand.

The content is the inevitable resistance, the pretext for the form. One has form or feeling for form; one carries it about like a bomb in a valise, and all that is needed for the fuse—whether we call it story, fable,

3 Harrington, Gunter Grass Speaks Out, PP 52-53. 174

red thread, subject, or content—to conclude the long preparation for a great blast, a display of fireworks that unfold at the right elevation, under favorable weather conditions, with the bang following a few seconds after the eye has had something to see.4

Grass, then, is an artist with a "bomb in his valise." This bomb assumes the shape or content of a play entitled, The

Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising.

An Epic Play

The plot of this play is best described by Grass:

. . . the workers come to ask this committed intellectual to help the uprising. Confronted by a revolt he con­ siders badly prepared and hopeless, he hesitates. . . . While the actors and the workers are on stage talking, the Party’s official poet arrives. He calls on The Chief to repudiate the revolt and calm the masses. For a second time this man refuses to take a stand. The workers explode, throw the Party poet out and turn on The Chief. The insurrection conquers the whole city. Workers’ delegations invade the theatre, set up a tri­ bunal to judge The Chief and his playwright. But already the rumbling of tanks outside can be heard. The tanks will kill the revolution.5

The most obvious question is why would Grass pick such a story? First, this plot is basic to Coriolanus by

William Shakespeare, who drew his plot from Plutarch and

Livy. The workers in Shakespeare’s play revolt because of the price of grain. Second, Bertholt Brecht, who is said to be the Chief, also attempted to adapt this play. His purpose was to portray class struggle. Third, the play by

^Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1969), pp. 105-107. ^Norris W. Yates, Gunter Grass (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1967), p. 18. 175

Grass draws a striking resemblance to the June 17, 1953

uprising that occurred in East Berlin. The play, then,

came to Grass through a long and rich history. It is signi­

ficant because it is an excellent vehicle for an author to

attempt a dramatization of class struggle.

In this play Gunter Grass seems to be attempting

to become more of an activist with literature. It is

time for him to play the court jester. In The Tin Drum,

Cat and Mouse and Dog Years, Grass discussed the World War

II years. His style was a mixture: it was an absurd, meta­

phorical account of what happened. It was also a universal

statement on the human condition. These novels discussed

man and his guilt and the objects that controlled man.

Most critics have claimed that these three works are out­

standing statements of those horror filled years.

The question that Grass is now faced with is what

does an artist do when he finds that same situation happening

all over again? Certainly Grass was writing in a universal

style. That is, his work attempts to make a comment on man

past, present, and future. However, the events of World

War II were so shocking, especially for the German nation,

that he was forced to write his novels and plays in a

nightmarish, absurd style. The problem for Grass is that

after the war the same horrors were beginning to raise their ugly heads again. Must Grass wait for the end of

World War III so that he can again compose another trilogy 176

to expose the horror of that war, and to make the same com­

ment on the human condition? Grass is apparently bolting

from his desk and attempting to make a comment on political

man. Grass is here involved in the trivia of democracy.

This is not new in the theatre. Shakespeare appar­

ently was attempting to make a comment on the times with

his play, Coriolanus. This play is meaningful today.

However, there is someone even more contemporary for Grass

to examine. Bertholt Brecht, considered by many to be one

of the greatest contributors to twentieth century drama,

also attempted to comment on political man. In addition,

Brecht was closely involved with the June 17, 1953 uprising.

Brecht was faced with the duality of revolution and his

personal desires.

It should be pointed out that Grass in his play was not writing to criticize Brecht. Brecht may have deserved criticism regarding his action in the June 17th revolt; however, this was not Grass’s purpose. It is true that the

Chief resembles Brecht, but the intent of the play was to depict the relationship between the working man and the intellectual. In fact, the theme of the play is the dis­ tance that exists between these two classes.

In an effort to understand more fully just what

Grass was attempting in The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, a discussion of what Brecht attempted in his adaptation of Coriolanus will assist. 177

In Brecht’s paper, "Study of Shakespeare’s Corio­

lanus ," he discusses adapting Shakespeare’s play to his own

theatre. In reality, it is Brecht, in this discussion,

playing all the parts.

P. So you think the plebeians aren’t all that united? yet they loudly proclaim their determination. W. Too loudly. If you proclaim your determination as loudly as that it means that you are or were undeter­ mined, and highly so. P. In the normal theatre this determination always has something comic about it; it makes the plebeians seem ridiculous, particularly as their weapons are inadequate; clubs, staves. Then they collapse right away, just because the patrician Agrippa makes a fine speech. B. Not in Shakespeare. P. But in the bourgeois theatre. B. Indeed yes.«

Brecht’s purpose was simple: to take the story of Coriolanus and adapt it to his concept of didactic theatre. The story of Grass's Plebeians is the re-enactment of the Chief

(Brecht) as he attempted to stage his adaptation of Shake­ speare's play. The Chief is faced with one unique problem; namely how to make the uprising look realistic with the plebeians armed with only clubs. In this essay Brecht allowed himself the opportunity to explain class interaction and the psychology of the people who are interacting. He explained that it is difficult for the plebeians to revolt because it is against their nature:

To the masses revolt is the unnatural rather than the natural thing, and however bad the situation from which only revolt can free them, they find the idea of

z °John Willett, Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic (London: Methuen and Co., Ltd., 1957), p. 252. 178

it as exhausting as the scientist finds a new universe. This being so it is often the more intelligent people who are opposed to unity and only the most intelligent of all who are also for it.7

It should be noted that Brecht was strongly influenced by

Marx. He did, in fact, study the theories of Marx in his late school years. This influence is significant for this study in that Grass’s play follows the plight of a man caught in a similar situation. Brecht was at the time of the June 17th revolt rehearsing a play. It was not Corio­ lanus but Katzgraben by Erwin Strittmatter. Brecht was asked by workers to write a letter to the officials of the

East German government. After a degree of hesitation, he agreed to write this letter. It is unfortunate that the

East German government published only the last portion of his letter that stated that he was in support of the govern­ ment. In the letter Brecht expressed concern over the demands made by the workers. That portion was omitted.

The last paragraph read:

"History will respect the revolutionary impatience of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany. The great debate with the masses about the rhythm of socialist construction will help to sift and secure our socialist achievements. At this moment I feel the need of expressing my solidarity with the Socialist Unity Party of Germany.

"Yours, a "Bertholt Brecht"

The June 17th revolt became for Grass the inspiration

7Willett, Brecht on Theatre, p. 252. d Uta Gerhardt, Theater Heute, January, 1965, p. 12. 179

to write The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising. The Chief is,

in one sense, Brecht, however the play is not so much an

attempt to criticize Brecht as an individual as it is a

didactic play that depicts class struggle. To illustrate

the degree to which Brecht is discussing class, there is this discussion in his study of Coriolanus.

B. I don’t think we’ll get any further by going about it naively and waiting for bright ideas. We shall have to go back to the classic method of mastering such complex events. I marked a passage in Mao Tse- Tung’s essay "On Contradiction." What does he say? B. That in any given process which involves many contra­ dictions there is always a main contradiction that plays the leading, decisive part; the rest are of secondary, subordinate significance. One example he gives is the Chinese Communists’ willingness, once the Japanese attacked, to break off their struggle against Chiang Kai-shek’s reactionary regime. Another possible example is that when Hitler attacked the USSR even the emigre white Russians and bankers were quick to oppose him. 9

The point of Brecht’s discussion is that his play or his adaptation of Coriolanus would be molded to fit the needs of his (Brecht’s) didactic theatre. Brecht’s intention was to take a meaningful Shakespearean play and translate its meaning to the problems that faced the East German nation

Grass, on the other hand, is not entirely as didactic as

Brecht. Grass is more concerned with showing what exists rather than what actions should be accomplished. In the final pages of his discourse, Brecht spells out fairly clearly what he hoped his production of Coriolanus would

^Willett, Brecht on Theatre, p. 251. 180

achieve.

P. Well, what does the scene teach us, if we set it out in such a form? B. That the position of the oppressed classes can be strengthened by the threat of war and weakened by its outbreak. R. That lack of a solution can unite the oppressed class and arriving at a solution can divide it, and that such a solution may be seen in a war. P. That the differences in income can divide the oppres­ sed class. R. That soldiers, and war victims even, can romanticize the war they survived and be easy game for new ones. W. That the finest speeches cannot wipe away realities, but can hide them for a time. R. That "proud" gentlemen are not too proud to kowtow to their own sort. P. That the oppressors* class isn’t wholly united either.10

This dialogue presents the possible themes that Brecht hoped to achieve in his production. With Brecht’s play, there is a great deal of discussion regarding the source of the play. Brecht’s political ideology draws him closer to

Livy that to Plutarch. Brecht also goes to great length to discuss the ethics of changing Shakespeare to fit the times. These concepts, although interesting, are to a degree extraneous to the important aspects of Grass’s play.

The investigation and similarities of Shakespeare to Brecht, and Brecht to Grass lead one nowhere. The fact is that

Brecht's actions during the June 17th revolt provide a living account of what happens between classes in times of struggle.

The ultimate aim for Brecht was the process of dia­ lectics, a discussion of what action could produce the best

10Willett, Brecht on Theatre, p. 254. 181

results. Grass was also concerned with this aim:

This aim, [dialectics] if we are not too demanding, was achieved: with the help of the adaptation, a didactic play can be set before the public; within specified limits the audience may feel called upon to participate in the thinking that goes on in the play; and there is no reason why the index finger which points out what’s what and summons the audience to join in the thinking, should not wear a relative aesthetic glove, for otherwise the experience of dialectic and the enjoyment of tragedy will be stifled in the musty atmosphere of a schoolroom; but Coriolan must not be allowed to say what Coriolanus could. To Rome, which banished him, he added: "1 banish you!"ll

In the play by Grass the best of both worlds are mixed: the Boss’s staging of Coriolan and the events of

June 17th. In The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, it is the construction workers who come to seek the aid of the

Boss. They see in him a cultured man, who is also someone to whom the government might listen, a kind of court jester.

The workers quote Marx; the Boss quotes Livy. The workers talk of winning the revolt, and the Boss uses the inter­ actions of the workers to stage his play. For the Boss everything becomes the theatre. He is unsure of the thesis that the plebeians will win the uprising. In the actual uprising of June 17th and in Plebeians, the sound of Soviet tanks outside the theatre set the stage of reality for defeat.

^"Gunter Grass, "The Prehistory and Posthistory of the Tragedy of Coriolanus from Livy and Plutarch via Shake­ speare down to Brecht and Myself," address given at the Academy of Arts and Letters, Berlin, April 23, 1954, the quartereentenary of Shakespeare’s Birth. Published in the play, The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising (New York: Harvest Book, 19bb), p. xxxiii. 182

Thematic Implications, The Critics and Suggestions

for Directing the Production

A sizable portion of the criticism of Plebeians relied heavily upon the relationship between Brecht and

Grass. The reviews compared the play to what historical facts are available regarding Brecht and the revolt of June

17th. For the most part the reviewers agreed that Grass misrepresented Brecht’s actions, and they felt this was unfair to Brecht. In spite of the fact that these reviews are not to the point of Grass’s intentions, the director can gain valuable insight into the meaning of the play and possible production ideas by studying the major issues raised.

Frederick Ewen’s article, "Alas, Poor Bertolt

Brecht!" makes an interesting criticism of Grass’s unfair­ ness to Brecht. In addition, he also comments on what he feels Grass was attempting with this play.

. . . Now Grass has written a play around Brecht and the uprising of June 17th. . . . What he maintains is a tragedy of Germany, that illustrates the incapacity of Germans to make a revolution, or of their intel­ lectuals to lead one. . . . Grass’s Brecht [The Boss] is a sort of Hamlet. Aesthete with sour conscience. . . . What was Grass’s intent in writing this play? In attempting a historical play dealing with an important figure [only recently deceased], Grass would seem to owe a special debt to uncovering truth [Many of the Brecht Documents are not available, and Ewen suggests that Grass has managed to uncover material that sheds light on what happened during the June 17th revolt. Ewen continues his criticism by explaining that if anyone wanted to know where Brecht stood he needed only to look at his published poems]. . . . But it seems to me that Grass is more offensive when he deals with Brecht’s own words and thoughts. Why distort one 183

of Brecht’s more celebrated poems "Bad Morning," written not long after the 17th describing a nightmare in which he sees the worktorn and mangled fingers of workers, and which concludes with: You who do not know! I cried [and turn this into] You who do not know, Guilt Stricken I accuse you? What sort of understanding of Brecht could have pro­ moted Grass to make the poet say, penitently, "We can’t change Shakespeare, unless we change ourselves," no doubt a worthy sentiment, but how untrue to Brecht, who contended throughout his life that it was by "changing Shakespeare," and by changing the character of the theatre from an instrument which merely inter­ prets life that he would be enabled to change the mind of men and their activities.12

Mr. Ewen seems to suggest that Grass has totally misrepresented Brecht. Brecht’s social didactic theatre was one that attempted to separate truth from illusion in the simpliest of terms. That is, the commonest of workers would be able to understand the theme of a given work so that he could then be able to live his life correctly.

Grass, according to Ewen, is misrepresenting Brecht inthis specific situation. It is difficult to determine exactly what Grass has in mind regarding his treatment of Brecht.

It seems that his attempt was to portray the gulf that existed between the Boss and the workers, or more to the point, to depict the gulf that existed in the mind of the Boss.

This controversy, might suggest interesting possi­ bilities for the director. Ewen suggests that Grass has created a sort of Brecht-Hamlet. This image could suggest a production style that could set the entire flavor of the

12 Frederick Ewen, "Alas, Poor Bertolt Brecht!" Nation, February, 1957. p. 213. 184

Boss to act upon the request of the workers to lower the

work norms, or not to act and retain the security of his

theatre. This point reinforces the position of the intel­

lectual who mentally can suggest actions for the oppressed

classes, while at the same time enjoying a more "fatted’’

existence.

The Hamlet concept is intriguing;however the director

must ask if this position would apply to the dialectic pro­

cess that Brecht and Grass must certainly hope to achieve

with an epic production. Manfred Triesch writing in Books

Abroad feels that the failure of the dialectic destroys

Grass’s intent.

. . . Grass realizes Brecht’s difficult position, but he does not pardon him. The author cannot excuse his hero because the hero compromised. We cannot blame Grass for his view; blame him we must, however, for not having created another character in his play who might have been the Chief’s opponent. Volumnia, the Chief’s wife—modeled after Brecht’s wife, Helene Weigel—does not fulfill this function. Nor does the socialist writer Kosanka who is strongly reminiscent of Kuba. For four acts the Chief tries to say what he means and thinks, but scarcely manages to do so for lack of a partner in a conversation which might rise above the level of the cheap bons mots which the hero seems forced to produce throughout the play.13

This criticism is present in many of the reviews of the play. If Grass was attempting to create a dialectic within the play in the Brechtian sense, he failed in the eyes of the majority of critics. Further, Mr. Triesch suggests

13 ^Manfred Triesch, "Gunter Grass: Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," Books Abroad (Norman, Oklahoma: University oi OklahomaPress, i960), p. 285. 185 that the entire production fails because the concept of the dialectic is basic to epic theatre. Triesch goes on to say that the play has other major problems.

Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand tries to do too much'/ It is a drama about a man, a drama about a historical event, and a drama about the relationship of the intellectual to political power. In its basic conception, the play is a fine example of the drama of idea which endangers its meaning and its strength by attempting to solve many problems at a time. The general outline is magnificent; the exposition is pro­ mising. The execution must be limited. The staging of such a play has its characteristic difficulties as not only the Berlin premiere but other productions in West Germany have demonstrated. The action is reduced to a degree that is uncommon even in the problem play, and it is evident that this drama will not become a classic on the German stage. It will be read, however, as long as the themes treated here are relevant to the majority of German intellectuals; and that is likely to be a long time.14

This is an interesting criticism of Grass’s play. In con­ sidering this comment, the potential director mightdwell upon other plays with many levels of meaning in the history of dramatic literature. Macbeth, to cite one example, also attempts to present many themes and levels of meaning.

Rather than refute Mr. Triesch’s arguments, his thoughts might be viewed in another light. Grass appears to be using the Boss to view man on many different levels. That is, he can be viewed on a political and personal level at once. This would represent a view of different levels but a single complex whole.

In viewing the play as this single complex whole,

■^Triesch, "Gunter Grass Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand," p. 287. 186 the director would need to identify clearly the thesis and antithesis of the dialectic process. As one looks at the character of the Boss, what is seen, essentially, is the

Hamlet image. It is the Boss struggling with his own inner forces. It is the story of how the Boss could not make up his mind. In this play Grass has the two opposing forces of thesis and antithesis to depict the Boss’s dilemma of what political and personal role he should play in the uprising. The Boss uses every theatrical trick that he possesses to escape the decision making process. Grass creates within the Boss the many arguments for both positions

It is difficult to determine what specific action he should take. He takes, however, the worst possible position, one of non-involvement. This is a favorite theme of Grass’s that relates to his other more absurd plays, which deal with Germans who chose not to become involved. Those actions transpired during World War II. Grass, a committed writer, now finds the same tragic truths in Plebeians. The Boss assumes that the plebeians in Coriolanus will succeed.

However, he is unsure of the position that should be taken for the June 17th uprising, but outside the theatre, and history supports this fact, tanks could be heard. The thesis and antithesis have been provided by Grass. The audience must view the plight of the Boss as he is con­ fronted with the task of "to act or not to act." The audience, the spectators, must become involved in the dia- 187 lectio process within the Boss's mind.

The language of the play seems to point to the dialectic process. Within the play Grass attempts to mix poetry with prose. He also attempts to pit intellectual philosophical dialogue against “beer hall philosophy."

The mixing of these styles might assist in enhancing the thematic implications of a production. For example,

Volumnia: I saw wide-gaping mouths and whites of eyes. The asphalt softened and the granite cracked. I saw the skin on knuckles bursting. Blood. A smell to curdle all the milk in the world. Saw dust rise up in columns and screams congealed. Maggots thought dead woke crawling in the meat. Great palaces fell crumbling to their knees, And fury struck with monumental fists. They stormed the stairway. A baby carriage. . . . Boss (to Erwin): She’s been at the movies, seeing Eisenstein. 9

A metaphorical image is presented, in this specific instance a grotesque image, and the image is rejected.

Volumnia is asked by the Boss to discard illusion (poetry) and exist in the real world. This is ironical, in that it is normally the Boss who is presenting poetry to the workers, who in turn respond with base expressions. This dichotomy of ideas and the ways in which they are expressed would seem to point to the dialectic.

The images that are presented suggest an intellectual and emotional understanding of the class struggle that is

15 Gunter Grass, The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, trans, by Ralph Mannheim (Mew York: Harvest Book, 1966), p. 19. 188

prevalent within this script. The most obvious illustra­

tion is the parable of the stomach that the Boss uses.

This should suggest to the audience the position of the

state in relationship to the workers. It is both the

muscle (plebeians) and the brain (intellectuals) that must

feed the stomach. This image would suggest that the

reversal of this process is what should be attained. That

is, the stomach should manufacture fuel for both muscle

and the brain.

The second image that illustrates the duality of

class struggle is the plight of mental limitation within

.which the duty bound East Germans find themselves entrapped

On the one hand they are attempting to create a revolt, yet

they are bound "to stay off the grass." The mentality,

their national psychological conditioning maintains that

they follow specific rules and regulations, even within the framework of a revolution. This set-conditioning

thwarts their attempts at freedom.

Michael Roloff in his review of the play presents

still another avenue of thought that would assist the director in production.

. . . And what is best about the play is Grass’s characterization of Brecht; bossy, mischievously petulant, overly theatrical, cruel, sentimental, yet still with a small share of self-respect, part clown, part tragic figure. Here Grass has created his most complex character. Brecht completely dominates the play, and not because of any attributes of power Grass was able to foist on him, but rather because Brecht’s political impotence becomes overpoweringly clear. 189

What has happened to Brecht in Grass’s hands is comparable to what happened when Brecht sought to fashion Mother Courage so that" the audience would detest her. A visceral dislike of one’s protagonist is perhaps one of the assurances an artist can have that the protagonist will come alive.1°

Earlier Mr. Frederick Ewen suggested that the Boss

was a Hamlet of sorts. We can see from Mr. Roloff’s des­

cription that the Boss is a complex character, and much

of the effectiveness of the dramatic action is dependent

upon the ability of the actor to portray a character who

is at once aware of both philosophical positions. It is

the Boss who is in a constant inward struggle as to the

right course of action. Therefore, the audience must be

able to see the dialectic process that is taking place within the Boss, a modern day Hamlet.

Mr. Gert Loschutz in his book, Von Buch zu Buch:

Gunter Grass in der Kritik has compiled some fifty-six articles dealing with Grass and his work. These are, for the most part, reviews which were published immediately after the appearance of individual works by Grass. An entire section is devoted to theatre productions of Grass’s plays. For the purpose of this study these reviews have been broken down into two categories; those comments dealing with production problems, and those comments that related directly to thematic implication of the plays. The comments

1 A °Michael Roloff, "The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising," Commonweal, May, 1967, p. 266. 190

dealing with production problems will be considered first with possible solutions to these problems. Ideas con­

cerning the meaning of the play will be considered as they might assist the director with theme and a production

concept.

The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising is a four act play. This play, as is the case with much of Grass’s work, is long. Therefore it is not surprising that this reviewer would have the following comment.

. . . but the rigid scene by scene completion of the work and its central circumstances could often only be surmised. If both of these facts [didactic duality] could be made conscious and visible, this work, which is the first German tragedy since the war, could be assisted towards its earned success.17

This review by Volker Klotz suggests that the play flowed unevenly and was difficult to follow. The transitions were awkward. Transition and the flow of ideas can be assisted by the director. It is difficult to determine exactly where the problems might lie with Plebeians without actually producing the play. It will be in production that the director will be able to see where the show might be too tedious or confusing for the audience. However, there is one area that the director can improve prior to rehearsal.

It is suggested that the play be presented as a two act play. In considering the play in two acts, the essential

17 Volker Klotz, "Ein Deutsches Trauerspiel," Frank- furter Rundschau, 17, I, 1966, p. 111. 191 unity might become more apparent. This division was sug­ gested by Kurt Kahl:

The striving for unity is apparent in the fact that the act division was given up and the work was left to roll on in two parts. The impression after as well as before the intermission is deep and strong. The work became better through this presen­ tation. 18

Hans Schwab-Felisch, in his review entitled, "Gunter

Grass and der 17. Juni," illuminated the following:

These hinderances of the general understanding, even if not for the "dramatic" effectiveness would not be present in a fitting staging. The workers stream in and unflinchingly report on the progress of the demonstrations. Even if Grass wants to emphasize the stillness inside or to contrast the artificialness on the stage with the turbulent reality outside on the street, one hardly can sense the breath of the uprising. 7

Mr. Schwab-Felish suggests that the production was simply lacking in dramatic effect. In short, he was unable to realize the tensions and violence that was in effect out­ side the door of the Boss’s theatre. This is certainly the director's task, to create a dramatic effect. In short, the director's hand should point to the dramatic action that should be heightened to illuminate the intense drama that is taking place outside the doors of the theatre. On the other hand, the contrast of the quietude of the Boss’s intellectual domain should point to the dialectic quality

1 Ö Kurt Kahl, trans., J. Scully, "Nicht Brecht ist der Chef," Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand" in Burgtheatre, Theatre Heute, no. 7 Jahrgang Nr. 7, July, 1966, p. 35. 19 Hans Schwab-Felisch, trans., J. Scully, "Gunter Grass and17. Juni," Merkur, Köln, Marz 1966, p. 116. 192

that is essential to the production.

Although the character of the Boss was criticized

by many, the workers also received their share of criticism

as being incomplete characters.

The figure of the Chief, which is very prominent in the play, discriminates, and is hard to play, he overshadows what Grass wanted: the workers’ guilt remains unclear, they are only impulsive and keep falling back into the old stomach-and-limb-fable, which Menenius Agrippa presents in Coriolan.21

This comment by Rainer Hartmann is related to the criticism that the play fails in the dialectic process. The director must give attention placing the proper emphasis upon

definition of character with the workers. They must become

sufficiently detailed characters so that they might provoke the dialectic process within the Boss.

In terms of the suggested themes, a few critics have explained clearly the meaning behind the superstructure of Grass’s play. Although Grass has departed from the absurd school, Rainer Hartmann sees an interesting relation­ ship with Jean Genet.

In his technique Grass connects up with Jean Genet: He doesn’t show the uprising but its reflection in a theatre on a theatre; through this and through the verse he creates distance, which allows for reflection.22

Friedrich Berger has further praise for Germany’s

21 Rainer Hartmann, trans., J. Scully, "Ein Trauer- spiel vom deutschen Trauerspiel, ’’ Frankfurter Neue Presse, 11.7.1966, p. 119. -

Baumgart, "Plebejer-Spatlese," p. 117. 193

new playwright.

. . . But the main misunderstanding is finally cleared away. This is that here a documentary tragedy of a revolt of the workers on June 17 is not depicted; what is depicted is the tragedy of "the intellectual and the political reality." Grass has written about art and power, theater and reality, literature and life as his theme.¿3

Herr Ernst Wendt writing for Theater Heute expresses this same philosophical position.

Grass chose the form of a tragedy, not an epic fable, because this seemed to be the best form to him to express the "dialectics" of his work. And as no one else he has made clear the discrepancy between reality, between something formed on the stage and the unformed—the impracticed-of-everyday life. He reflected, and it was the highest time—on the function of the theatre and the possibility of the writer for the theatre to interweave or affect reality; he reflected on this in a work for the theater. He didn’t present Brecht or Brecht’s behavior on June 17, 1953 but he put the entire theater up for discussion. The entire theater— every existence in art. Therefore, as Grass says in his poetry: "Everything beautiful is distorted."24

There seems to be considerable evidence pointing to the fact that this play is not merely an attempt to criticize Brecht during the July 17, 1953 revolution, but rather Grass has attempted to place illusion and reality on the stage. He is asking theatre workers and audience to re-examine what they hold to be truth. Plebeians is the search for truth within the world of politics and art.

23 Frederich Berger, trans., J. Scully, "Es lohnt doch, mit Grass den Aufstand zu probem," Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 16.1. 1967, p. 157. 2^Ernst Wendt, trans., J. Scully, "Die Person und Die Sache: Gunter Grass," Theater Heute, Vol. 8 Jahrgang, No. 4, April, 1957, pp. 6-11. 194

Norris W. Yates furthers this same theme by explaining

that the play,

... is another episode in Grass’s continual study of withdrawal-vs.-involvement and, in less degree, a posing of his recurrent question: What can a man rely on in a world where values shift and crumble like sand? The humanitarian Marxism of the Boss has become in­ effectual; he reflects that confused children can always call upon the Holy Spirit, whereas he must invoke Reason, "the first Atheist," but for him Reason no longer has a message. His only answer [not necessarily the author’s] are irony and retirement.25

This play, then, although differing in style from

Grass’s other dramatic works and novels, is essentially

asking the same questions that Noah, Kotschenreuther,

Bollin, and the Count asked. What is reality? Where do

I (mankind) fit in as a human being? In this situation

we find Grass’s most complex character the Boss (a combin­

ation of all characters).

Kurt Lothas Tank continues this concept of politics

and art in his book entitled Gunter Grass. He explains

that Grass turned to divided Germany for Plebeians to "draw

quite a sharp distinction between art and politics from the

start, and therefore avoids dangers and escapes compromises 2 6 that can easily be fatal for engaged writers."

The position of the writer, says Tank, is related

to Grass’s poem on the court jester.

2 5 Norris Yates, Gunter Grass (Grand Rapids: William B. Erdmans, 1957), pp. 18-19.

2 °&Kurt Lothar Tank, Gunter Grass (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Co., 1969), p. 104. 195

... As an artist he must, on the one hand remain a fool in order to be able to write uncompromisingly. If, however, he is one of those authors who "on occasion leave their desks and deal in the small change of demo­ cracy, '• he must also "strive for compromises." Grass concluded his Princeton address with the words: "Let us be conscious of this: A poem knows no compromises— but we live on compromises. He who actively sustains this tension is a fool and changes the world."27

Grass, then, has accepted the position that he is a fool. Whether or not his actions will change the world, even Grass is unsure. He only knows that action must be taken. In an interview Grass admitted that he was unsure of his position on June 17th. Within this discourse Grass was able to delineate problems that the director must face if he is to present correctly the duality of contradiction that the play must face.

The problem facing the theatre director in his play, said Grass, is a general problem for intellectuals [by which he means not just authors but also members of other professions]. The discrepancy between theory and practice results, on the one hand, in utopian demands made on reality that reality cannot meet, and, on the other hand, the disdain of reality in utopia. Both the theoretical man and the pragmatic or practical man are at fault in equal degree here. This really con­ stitutes the theme of the play: the continuing switch to the opposite. The arguments of the workers, the arguments of the theatre director are almost always right, and yet not quite right. Each side’s tenacity contributes imperceptibly to its guilt.28

Grass presents this play, not to criticize, nor to place blame. Rather he places the arguments on both sides so that the audience may be assisted in evaluating either course

It is also an exercise for the author to see where he stands

27Tank, Gunter Grass, p. 105. 2^Ibid., p. 110. 196 on this issue. This issue is prompted by the fact that

Grass is living in a divided nation. Therefore, he does not present a true picture of Brecht. But rather, he depicts part-reality and experiments with "... the range of what can be said for and against the rulers in East Berlin and West Berlin, for and against the insurgent workers, for 29 and against the leading class of intellectuals."

The well-grounded critical evaluation of the play, explains Tank, must be understood by knowing the foundation.

It must test the approach, must emphasize the dif­ ficulties that arise both from the central figure, the theater director, and from inadequate or unequally distributed stresses. These difficulties serve to explain excessive strains that occur in the "series of experiments" above all in the scene where the director is to be hanged. On the whole the play is, nevertheless, solidly worked out, both from the point of view of lang­ uage and the construction of its scenes.30

W. Gordon Cunliffe in his work Gunter Grass expresses many of the same criticisms that others have recorded. Namely the play is incomplete because there exists no dialectic process between the Chief and the workers. However, the play possesses a great deal for him, and his insight provides interesting speculation for production concepts. In short, he sees the Boss, workers, government triangle as a universal geometric symbol for similar ills that beset all aspects of society.

Cunliffe explains that the theme is ". . . the

2<3Tank, Gunter Grass, p. 111. 313 Ibid. 197 failure of communication between the Director and the

People," (suggesting a parallel with the failure of communication between artist and critic and between the

Count and the cooks in previous works). He feels that

Grass has depicted beautifully the duality of revolution and peace. The Plebeians want a revolt, but they make sure not to walk on the grass.

Boss: Listen. Lusty love in bed, the christening later, death painfully, war, peace must be rehearsed. Hunting the hare, playing football, even chaos must be rehearsed.32

For Grass the Boss’s rehearsal on the stage should be a signal that they are looking to rehearse and stage the realities of their production. Hans Mayer sees the theme of this play as the lack of responsibility upon the 33 part of the Boss. He makes an interesting comparison and this concept might have significant meaning for the

American audience.

One of the workers sums up the director’s un­ willingness to help their cause when he compares the Director to the University staff and students whom the workers had failed to stir to political action earlier in the day: "He is letting the shutters down, just as they did in the University."34

It is through this process that Grass was attempting

•^Gordon W. Cunliffe, Gunter Grass (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1969), p. 129. 32Grass, The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, p. 59.

33Cunliffe, Gunter Grass, p. 130.

34Ibid. 198

to create what Brecht had hoped to create. "What we must

achieve," Brecht once explained, "is the creation of

militancy in the audience, the militancy of the new against the old."35

On the universal level Grass seems to be pointing

to all of us who have sold out at one time or another.

From the criticisms that have been made of this play, it

appears that Grass is also including himself in this process

Because of this selling out, we are all gathering together

to have a good cry, or better, to share our feeling of

guilt. To this guilt-bathing Grass is opposed. Like the

court jester, Grass is going through a psychological pro­

cess whereby he justifies for his own existence his responsi

bility to humanity. This responsibility is partly caused

by his neurotic sense of horror in reaction to World War

II and his fear of the horrors of the future. If Grass

is attempting to cleanse his "soul" with the spectacle of the June 17, 1953 revolt, one can also cleanse his soul from the crimes of his own society.

Production Concepts

In this study of Gunter Grass’s The Plebeians

Rehearse the Uprising, comments and reviews of productions have been considered in terms of how problems could be solved. Apparently, one of the major problems of the play

^^cunliffe, Gunter Grass, p. 131. 199

lies in the fact that Grass failed to communicate effectively

the concept of the dialectic process. In this study ways

of achieving this process were discussed along with other

problems of interpretation and production. The director

of this play must ask himself how he can make this a meaning­

ful experience for the American audience. It must be con­

sidered that Grass is very German in his work. He was

obviously strongly influenced by the division of the German

nation. A play emanating from divided Germany will certainly

have a strong impact upon a German audience. But will this

same experience be meaningful to the American audience? The

play as it stands with the suggestions discussed in this

study could, indeed, be compelling theatre for an American

audience. However, the play could be translated to the

American audience in a more topical setting.

In attempting to re-locate this play to the United

States one need only look at what Brecht and Grass accom­

plished. Brecht drew his plot and philosophical intent from

Shakespeare and Livy. Grass uses the figure of Brecht and the uprising of June 17th. Both plays are admittedly

frank in their attempt to project class struggle. Their difference is succinctly described by the comment made by

Frederick Ewen earlier in this discussion.

What sort of understanding of Brecht could have prompted Grass to make the poet say, penitently, "We can't change Shakespeare, unless we change ourselves," no doubt a worthy sentiment, but how untrue to Brecht, who contended throughout his life that it was by changing 200

Shakespeare, and by changing the character of the theatre from an instrument which merely interprets life that he would be enabled to change the mind of men and their activities.36

Whether or not one should change Shakespeare, or how one

should go about changing Shakespeare is immaterial for

this investigation. The point to be understood is that

both Brecht and Grass did change both poetic and historical

fact to fit the needs of their theatre. It is this fact that makes the criticism of Grass’s character, the Boss, absurd. Grass, writing as an artist, was using facts and figures to illustrate an aspect of the human condition.

In the second chapter of this study the process of "how

Grass writes" was considered. Stated simply, he entertains a creative idea and after the work has run its course, he disciplines the work by going back to history and inserting facts, figures, dates, places and names. This does not make the work historical; it merely adds a dimension of abstraction. This is exactly what Grass seems to have done with Plebeians.

If this is the case, the director is then at liberty to recreate Grass’s play for the American audience. This is not to suggest that the director should entirely rewrite the script, but merely to accommodate the script to the

American scene.

For the most part the basic structure of the play

3^Ewen, "Alas, Poor Bertolt Brecht!" p. 213. 201

should remain the same. In short, the Boss and the setting

need not be altered. Further, the basic concept of the language of the play could also remain intact. The re­ location of the play might create an interesting effect.

The potential director, for the sake of discussion and in the same spirit that Brecht discussed Coriolanus, and in which Grass considered the pre and post-history of

Coriolanus, could assume that such a man as the Boss existed in this country. Further, assume that he is a theatre direc tor with a national reputation. In short, he is the Boss as

Grass has created him, but he now finds himself rehearsing his adaptation of Coriolanus in the United States. We do not have a National Theatre; therefore, he would not have his own theatre. We could offer him our parallel, a chair at an important university with a well-equipped theatre, a strong staff, and an excellent budget.. For the sake of the argument consider that this American Boss has just as much to lose as the German Boss.

The time is the present, and the director is hard at work in the university theatre. The workers enter; they are not bricklayers, and carpenters, but students, students of all types and shapes and political leanings. For example a portion of the student body represents "Yippies," and another section might encompass "The Young Americans for

Freedom," in short diverse political opinions. The conflict or the revolt might be any number of issues that plague 202

our society today. For example, the students might be dis­

cussing the cost of education, the economy, the Viet Nam

War, or they could be involved in the killings of students

by the military, the government, the establishment. The

students* request that the Boss speak for them to the

administration, the military, the government, the establish­

ment might cost him his position, his theatre, his devotion

to art. He is now engaged in the dialectic process whereby

he, the intellectual, is forced to deal with students carrying

clubs, guns. They represent a real force, in that, the

American student is not aware of the signs on the lawn that

say, "Keep off the Grass," his orientation is a more physical

one. Born from a philosophy that believes in the "spoils

belong to the victor," the American student presents the Boss with a real dialectic process. It will be clearly a struggle

of "let reason be our guide" against "let's kill the pigs."

This re-location could naturally create new problems for the theatre worker, but in the tradition of Brecht and

Grass, the problem would be well worth the struggle if the audience were made more conscious of the revolt that they must undergo.

This re-location need not be centered upon the uni­ versity campus. It could be located in one of several dif­ ferent surroundings. For example, one might assume that the Boss is directing in a regional theatre, and the local citizenry ask him to support the same ideals as did the 203

students. The Boss might be directing in a street theatre

in the ghetto, and the ghetto people might ask him to

speak for them on rent control, or welfare standards.

On the one hand, it might appear that this pro-

dution concept suggests an entirely new play. This is

not the case. What can be attempted here is what is at­

tempted in so many plays, with special reference to Shake­

speare. Theatre directors have attempted for years to

update Hamlet. The play Plebeians need not be changed

greatly from its original form. It could be re-located

to have more meaning to the American audience. Basically,

the themes that have been discussed in this study can all

apply to a stimulating production that centers upon the

plebeians and their attempt to change unhealthy social

situations. The re-location concept might serve as an

excellent tool for rehearsal use in allowing the cast to

appreciate more fully the thematic implications of the play,

whether or not such a concept was to be used literally in

the actual production.

Directing Considerations

Grass in his attempt to communicate his social mes­

sage has broken from his absurd style to deal with practical problems of democracy. Plebeians may be considered a step toward the Epic tradition, but that is not to suggest that

it is "Epic Theatre" as created by Bertholt Brecht. This

study will not attempt to compare or to contrast the drama 204 of Brecht to Grass. It can provide a few thoughts for the potential director to consider as he begins his research for an American production of Grass’s play.

Brecht was opposed to the Aristotelian Theatre, which involves the spectator in a chain of emotional exper­ iences and acts upon his emotional responses. Brecht wanted to achieve a theatre for the spectator’s intellect.

In an article entitled "Bert Brecht" by Sergey Tretiakov, the difference between the Aristotelian Theatre and the

Epic Theatre was illustrated as follows:

The Aristotelian Theatre The Epic Theatre

Action Narrative

Involves the spectator in the Makes the spectator an stage action and destroys his observer and arouses his own will to action. will to action.

Touches Calls for decisions and a Emotional experience world outlook.

Suggestion Argument

The spectator shares in The spectator is taught. emotional experience.

Man is given as a known Man is a subject of investi­ quantity. gation.

Interest in the outcome of Interest in the course of the action. the action.

Every scene preconditions Every scene is independent. the next.

Organic development Montage Intellect3? Feeling

3 7 J 'Peter Demetz (ed.), Brecht: A Collection of Critical Essays (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1962), p. 24. 205

The difference for the director as he views the two differing approaches to theatre is that the Aristotelian

Theatre attempts to present an art that deals with the essence of life as an aesthetic or an absolute quality.

Brecht’s Epic Theatre views the theatre chiefly as an instru­ ment for social examination and criticism. As Brecht developed his aesthetic, he did admit the entertainment function, yet he still held that the theatre is justified only in terms of the degree to which it is relevant to the social realities of its audience. Brecht was interested in producing plays that would emphasize the audience’s aware­ ness of the social interaction in the play, Brecht’s own thoughts will assist:

So far as theory goes I offend against the inflexible rule that the proof of the pudding is in the eating— which happens to be one of my own favourite principles. My theatre [and it can hardly be held against me] is in a naive sense a philosophical one; that is to say, I am interested in people’s attitudes and opinions. My whole theory is much naiver than people think, or than my way of putting it allows them to suppose. ... I wanted to take the principle that it was not just a mat­ ter of interpreting the world but of changing it, and apply that to the theatre. The changes, great or small, that ensued from this intention [which I myself only slowly came to admit] were all changes within the frame­ work of the theatre, so that of course a whole mass of old rules remained wholly unaltered. It was in that little phrase "of course" that my fault lay. I hardly ever got round to mentioning these still valid rules, and many who read my hints and the critics could only look at my theatre as the audience does, without starting out by stressing my theories, then they might well simply see theatre—a theatre, I hope, imbued with imagination, humour and meaning—and only when they began to analyze its effects would they be struck by certain innovations, which they could then find explained in my theoretical writings. I think the root of the trouble was that my plays have to be properly performed if they are to be 206

effective, so that for the sake of [oh dear me!] a non- Aristotelian dramaturgy I had to outline [calamity!] an epic theatre.38

The director may find in researching the plays of

Brecht a key to a comprehensive view of Plebeians. It does

appear that Grass is attempting to communicate a social mes­

sage with this play. His political essays, the use of the

June 17th Uprising, and the juxtaposing of Brecht and

Coriolanus all point to viewing man from a behavioral point

of view.

The directorial image might take on credibility

through a Brechtian approach to the dialectic argument. The

Hamlet image that was discussed earlier might best represent

a director’s concept. The audience could then view the

Boss as involved in the decision making process.

The Actor

A few suggestions are in order for the actor as he attempts to create a role for Grass’s drama. The suggestions presented are essentially drawn from a consideration of acting in a Brechtian production; however, they seem to relate to the formulation of a character in Plebeians. It will be helpful for the actor to ask himself a few questions as he begins his characterization. The actor may realize that his usual base of operation will not work for this show. This comment suggests that the director, in his

3^Willett, Brecht on Theatre, p. 248. 207

initial meeting with the actor, influence the actor to think more in terms of looking at the character under the micro­ scope, rather than becoming the character. A second question is what does the actor hope to achieve? In this process the actor will be forced to determine what the audience should perceive the play to mean. This should influence his approach to the character. Last, the actor might question what condi­ tions will serve to tie together the above questions. The actor will tend to work from outside the character to achieve the desired Grassian epic response.

A few suggestions are also in order to assist the director in his handling of actors for this production.

The director should allow the actor the opportunity to get outside of his character. The following may assist. Allow the actor to improvise the role. In this way he is afforded the opportunity to say, in his own words, the idea that the playwright is attempting to communicate. Further, it might be helpful to have actors change roles. In this way, each actor is able to watch his own character in an entirely dif­ ferent perspective.

The comments regarding the actor are included for one reason. Specifically, the director should create an atmosphere whereby the actor has a chance to present a non- emotional point of view.

The Setting

The director may wish to consider what was attempted 208

in Brecht’s epic theatre in his attempt to create a setting

for Plebeians. Essentially, Brecht wanted a concept of

scenery that supplied only essentials to the action and

locale. Everything that was presented on stage was the

"object itself" rather than the illusion of the object.

Brecht summarized his concept thus:

It’s more important . . . for the set to tell the spectator he’s in a theatre than to tell him he’s in say, Aulis. ... If the set represents a town it must look like a town that has been built to last precisely two hours . . . the set must be a fellow-actor . . . the materials of the set must be visible. A play can be performed in pasteboard only, or in pasteboard and wood, or in canvas, and so on; but there mustn’t be any faking.39

Part of the problem of the staging of this specific

play has been handled by Grass. The play could be played

on a bare stage. In this way both theatre workers and the

audience would not be encouraged to participate in the

illusion of the theatre.

Summary

This section was included to assist the potential director with a play that is said to attempt a new epic theatre for Germany. The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising by Gunter Grass is not an epic play in the Brechtian sense.

However, Grass was certainly influenced by this great drama' tist.

Grass does not appear to be concerned with the

3^Willett, Brecht on Theatre, p. 233. 209

development of a new theatre. It is apparent that he has

accomplished a successful dramatic literary style with his

novels. What does seem paramount to him is finding the

right vehicle to communicate his social themes. The

Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising is his attempt for the "poet

to bother with the trivia of democracy." This play repre­

sents a "bomb within a valise." The reader can be assured that Grass will continue with this philosophical position to serve as a gadfly for the workings of sound government.

What style will be most effective for Grass in the future

is impossible to determine. His latest play, Davor (Before),

is not yet available to the English speaking audience. It is in the same epic tradition. Time will remain the true test of the validity of Gunter Grass’s attempt to communicate his view of the human condition. CHAPTER VIII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS

The purpose of this dissertation was to provide

the potential director of the plays of Gunter Grass with

two essentials of play directing. First, analyses and

interpretations of the plays were considered. Second,

suggestions as to possible production approaches were

presented to assist with the production concept of a given

production of a Grass play.

The plays of Grass have not met with critical success.

However, this study suggests that their lack of success has

not been due to their lack of dramatic worth, but rather,

that theatre workers have not investigated thoroughly the

dramatic value of the artist Gunter Grass. It is through

a thorough look at the poems, novels, and political dis­

cussions of Grass that one begins to understand what this

potentially important playwright is attempting to communicate.

Further, once this investigation has been completed, then and only then, is the director ready to begin to formulate his concept of how a play by Gunter Grass can realize its

fullest potential as a dramatic production.

The plays are essentially extended images that are drawn from the artist’s imagination and depict the real

210 211

and the unreal. This is the basis of all the work that

Grass has done to date. The topical meaning, however, does not begin to communicate what Grass is attempting in his work. The deeper meanings that the director must discover and communicate to the audience are concerned with universali ties, such as guilt, false ideologies, objects that control the individual, and at the bottom of everything, Grass has placed man, alone, naked, faced with the duality of the human condition.

It was discovered that the play, Flood, possessed several thematic implications all of which suggested that man is controlled by objects. In this play Grass used religious allusion to suggest that organized religion can be a controlling and destructive force in human existence.

The characters within this play are controlled by religion and other forces, such as demonized history. Grass has not created real people in the play, but he uses cartoon characters to "dedemonize history." In this way the play­ goer can more readily observe the destructive forces of past history. Finally, this first full length play is an attempt to make man aware of the fact that each individual must ultimately face death. The play suggests that a realistic realization of the death concept frees the individual for a healthy existence on earth.

The production discussion of Flood revealed that the literary evaluation of the play offered a starting point 212

for the director and theatre workers. The vivid projection of the images of the script with an awareness of the thematic

import of these images is crucial to successful theatrical production. Probably the most useful statement concerning the style of Flood suggests to the director that the play is composed of real and fantastic elements. The director’s task is to blend these opposing forces in his attempt to create a unified production.

Mister, Mister also communicates Grass’s basic theme that man is controlled by objects. The main character,

Bollin, is controlled by objects, such as disease and mortality and is incapable of individual thought. This play like all of Grass’s plays excluding The Plebeians

Rehearse the Uprising is poetical in nature. Therefore, an image analysis for the overall theme of the play was suggested for the potential director of the play. Each act was also given an individual image suggestion, and suggestions were provided upon which actors could build their characters. Finally, an image concept of a three ring circus was presented for the scenic design. In this way the poetical character Bollin moves through existence as a clown. These image analyses should serve as suggestions to the potential director and theatre workers in their attempt to communicate the metaphorical implications of

Mister, Mister.

"Only Ten Minutes to Buffalo," is a brilliant one 213

act that continues Grass’s object theme, but also adds an

interesting treatment of the illusion reality theme. Grass’s use of images clearly illustrates the complexity of knowing what is real and unreal. The characters within this short

play are controlled by objects that are highly unstable.

A train might turn into a ship and a cow into a frigate.

Therefore, it followed logically that a reinterpretation of the play in terms of an image analysis would be helpful.

The director is then capable of seeing the many ways in which man, trapped by objects, is incapable of knowing truth from illusion. In understanding this concept the director is then capable of creating his own theatrical environment that would communicate the overall theme.

The Wicked Cooks continues Grass’s view of man trapped or controlled. However, this is Grass’s attempt to communicate to the audience a transmuted religious experience.

The cooks stop at nothing to discover the recipe of the secret soup, which can be seen as a meaning of existence.

The Count is symbolic of Christ. Grass does not abuse the Count or make fun of him, but rather he shows him as a man limited in ability to save mankind. The play suggests that the soup or meaning of existence can never be known.

The paintings of Bosch were suggested as an appropriate source of inspiration for a production approach.

The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising, illustrates the complexity of Grass’s literary and political mind. In this 214

play Grass leaves the theatre of the absurd to enter a

more epic style that attempts to deal with political man.

This play relives the June 17, 1953 East Berlin uprising.

The central character resembles Bertholt Brecht and his

part in the revolt. The analysis of this play suggests that

society must find ways of bridging the gap between the intel­ lectual and the working man. The production concept suggested that the theatre workers should study this play as it relates to their own society. In this way the uprising of June

1953 will have more meaning to the American audience.

This study suggests that Grass has talent as a dramatic artist. The burden of proof must now rest with the director in his attempt to communicate the themes of Grass to the theatre public. Grass has succeeded in communicating to a larger public in his novels. This is not to suggest that his artistic genius is totally bound within the novels.

The images that are present in the plays are only more con­ densed pictures of what is contained in the novels. Speaking on this subject Martin Esslin in his book, Reflections:

Essays on Modern Theatre, expresses the following opinion.

It has been said that Grass’s dramatic works lack the documentary quality, the descriptive, the autobio­ graphical detail that he incorporates in his novels. But this, to me, seems to overlook the dramatic form. If Grass wrote plays filled with details about his early years in Danzig he would be producing naturalistic drama wholly at variance with his own artistic personality. In the novels it was possible to combine the most abundant autobiographical detail with the wildest flights of grotesque fantasy. There is not time in drama to preserve both of these elements. Yet, precisely because the dramatic form demands more conciseness, more concentration, 215

because it makes Grass confine himself to a limited number of images in each of his plays, it brings out his lyrical quality, the quality of his vision as a carrier of images. Nor is it a coincidence that each of his long novels contains passages written in dialogue and, indeed, that these dialogue passages could be performed in the theatre: the episode of the nuns on the Atlantic Wall from The Tin Drum was staged in Düssel­ dorf, and the discussion chapter from Dog Years at Munich.1

Esslin suggests that Grass is a dramatist who has been overlooked too lightly. Further, Esslin argues that the dramatist is to a great degree in the hands of theatre workers. Grass has criticized the timidity of German pro­ ducers in tackling unusual works. The fact remains that the right style was not often found for the plays of

Grass. This is the essence of the need for such a study as this one. Hopefully, this investigation can be the basis for more successful productions.

The excitement of working on a play by Gunter Grass is that he is very contemporary. His art is constantly changing. Theatre-goers will not be able to determine for some time to come where his genius for the theatre may lie.

His latest play, Davor, which is not yet available in English, continues his interest in the epic theatre. This play is related to his last novel, Local Anaesthetic, published in

1970. The play according to Robert Boyd deals with two great issues. ". . . the problem of individual and col­ lective guilt and expiation, and the problem of idealism and

■'’Martin Esslin, Reflections: Essays on Modern Theatre (New York: Doubleday and Co., p. 14$. 216

idealistic motivation."

The novel’s main character is Starusch, and his guilt is symbolized in a tooth that must be extracted. The pain that is part of tooth-pulling is the pain that must be paid for the agony of existence. In the dentist’s chair the patient is assisted by a blank television that allows him the opportunity to project and to unfold his real and unreal life. In Grass’s previous three novels, the reader was allowed to look at the war years in a trilogy. Local

Anaesthetic picks up where Dog Years ended. The main force of the book deals with two favorite students of Starusch, a middle aged teacher. Veronica Lewand and Phillip Scher- baum are both too young to realize the guilt of World War

II. However, they manage to feel guilty as human beings.

. . . the girl’s response [to guilt] is to glue herself to Maoism, ready to sacrifice her femininity or her virginity, as the case demands, to the cause. The boy is too intelligent for blind devotion, but he feels it his duty to protest human cruelty and settles on the American use of napalm in Vietnam as a case in point. He plots to set fire to his beloved dachshund in full view of the cake-eating matrons on the terraces of Berlin’s Kurfustendamm, in order to shake them out of their complacency. Grass’s development of the boy’s motives, and of Starusch*s frantic attempts to find an argument which will dissuade him, provides both wild comedy and an astonishingly effective insight into the minds of today’s disenchanted young people. Finally, ironically, Scherbaum is persuaded to give up his plan and to enter, instead, a long course of treatments with the guilt-extracting dentist.3

2 Robert Boyd, "Guilt-Extraction Specialist," St. Louis Post Dispatch, March 29, 1970, p. 4G. 3Ibid. 217

This novel continues to combine the real with the

unreal. The reader will have difficulty, as he did with

Grass’s previous novels, in following the plot. The reader

will meet a series of free associations, of repeated key words, and symbolic situations that are similar to effects

encountered in the plays. But as is the case with all of

Grass’s works, Robert Boyd explains that the book, "...

offers a grimly comic but profoundly sympathetic insight into the human condition."^

Suggestions for Future Study

This short look at Grass’s latest play reveals that future work on Gunter Grass, the playwright, is in order.

In addition to a study of Davor, additional in depth studies of each play considered in this study would prove useful.

Individual production theses after producing the plays might suggest problems and solutions that are only discoverable by actually staging the play. This could be particularly true of the technical requirements of the plays. Further, a closer look at the vast complexity of Grass’s non-dramatic work as it relates to his dramatic work would be most bene­ ficial to a director. Individual studies might compare and contrast the themes inherent in one specific novel and play.

Finally, a study of German absurdism in general with Grass as a focal point would assist an understanding of Grass’s

^Boyd, "Guilt-Extraction Specialist," p. 4C. 218

plays and contribute to evaluating a growing number of

other German absurdist theatre works.

The excitement of Gunter Grass is not restricted to

his novels and plays, but also to the events of the life

of Grass, the political activist. In The Plebeians Rehearse

the Uprising one of the themes that Grass is communicating

is that the artist must rise from his desk to participate

in the trivia of democracy. Grass continues in this vein.

In the November 29, 1971 issue of Time magazine Gunter Grass

found himself in the news again.

In Israel to help celebrate German Culture Week, West German novelist Gunter Grass maintained his reputation for spade-calling by attacking the militant Jewish Defense League and the Betar organization for trying to disrupt the week’s lectures, theatrical per­ formances and concerts. This "irrational militancy" would be a serious problem for Israel, said Grass, if it were to be directed against the Arabs in Israel "with whom you are going to have to live." As for the idea that it is still too soon for the Israelis to get to know the Germans, he declared: I don’t want to wait until the last old people who were in the con­ centration camps have died. And I don’t like the Bible mentality that says the second and third generation must carry on the burden for the earlier generation.5

In this political speech Grass continues to do what

he attempts in his artistic work. His purpose is to force the individual to face the reality of existence. The Israelis must live with the Arab world. Further, his appeal to the contemporary generation is to rid the individual of the guilt of human existence and attempt more rational lives.

5 "People, ft Time, November, 1971, p. 48. 219

Grass achieves these artistic themes in a world in which human communication is rendered ever more difficult through the cancerous growth of over-organization, over­ mechanization, and readymade patterns of work. Grass, then, is attempting to bring humanity back into realistic focus. He does this in the world of the theatre as well as in poetry, novels and political activism. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Triesch, Manfred. "Gunter Grass: Die Plebejer proben den Aufstand." Books Abroad, XXXX (1966), 285-286.

Wendt, Ernst. "Die Person und Dei Sache: Gunter Grass." Theater Heute, April, 1966, pp. 6-11.

Willson, Leslie. "The Grotesque Everyman in Gunter Grass’s Die Blechtrommel." Monatshefte, LVIII, (1966), 131- 137------

Zimmer, Lieter. "Interview with Gunter Grass." Encounter, January, 1968, pp. 71-74.

"Commune of Paris (1871)." Encyclopedia Americana. 1964. Vol. VII.

"The Dentist’s Chair as an Allegory of Life." Time, April, 1970, pp. 68-79.

"Grass Takes to the Stump." American, July, 1965, p. 62.

"Gunter Grass’s Open Letter to Kurt Kiesinger." Nation, February, 1965, p. 579.

"In the Egg," Nation, February, 1967, p. 73.

"Lohengrin." Encyclopedia Americana. 1964. Vol. VII.

"Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz." Encyclopedia Americana. 1964. Vol. VII. 2Î5.

"People.” Time, November, 1971, p. 48.

"The Plebeians Rehearse the Uprising." Saturday Review, February, 1968, p. 45.

"West Germany: Outcast at the Helm." Time, October, 1969, pp. 24-37.

"The Wicked Cooks." Commonwealth, February, 1967, p. 73.

"The Wicked Cooks." Newsweek, February, 1967, p. 106.

"The Wicked Cooks." New Yorker, February, 1967, p. 93.

"World of Gunter Grass." Nation, 1965, p. 214.

"Writers in Berlin." Atlantic Monthly, December, 1963, p. 110.

"Writers in Prison." Encounter, June, 1968, pp. 60-62.

Unpublished Material

Berets, Ralph Adolph. "The Irrational Narrator in Virginia Wolf’s The Waves, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury, and Punter Grass’s The Tin Drum." Unpub­ lished Ph. D. dissertation, University of Michigan, 1969.

Blanch, Mabie. "Variations of a Picaresque Theme: A Study of Two Twentieth-Century Treatments of Picaresque Form." Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Brigham Young University, 1966.

Ramsey, Jack. "A Translation into English of Gunter Grass’s Die Bosen Kocke." Unpublished M.A. thesis, Tufts University, 1966.

Other Sources

The Holy Bible, King James Version, 1611 Edition. New York: WorldPublishing Company.