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