If one consults the extensive secondary literature dealing with Grillparzer'sEin Bruderzwist in Habsburg, one is struck by the often contradictory interpretations it has inspired. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Volkelt faulted “starke Mängel” in the unravelling of its plot and the “dumpfen, drückenden Schluß”¹ and more recently Thompson registered a tendency to designate it as “theatrically his least effective play.”² In direct contrast others have extolledEin Bruderzwistas “die mächtigste geschichtliche Tragödie, die bis jetzt ein Deutscher geschaffen hat”³ or “das gewaltigste Werk Grillparzers.”⁴ Fricke characterized it as “Summe und Ende von Grillparzers Dramatik,”⁵ but then...

Grillparzer may have provided a sign as to the relative significance of the various players inEin Bruderzivistby the manner in which he set up thedramatis personae(p.374). Rudolf I, as“römisch deutscher Kaiser”and the main protagonist, quite naturally heads the list. The next five characters are grouped according to their relationship to him, i.e., “seine Briider,” “seine Neffen” and “des Kaisers natürlicher Sohn.” This arrangement suggests that family members exist primarily as reflections of the head of the household, the position put forward by Langvik-Johannessen: “Die Personen sind mehr oder weniger Objektivierungen von verschiedenen Eigenschaften der...

The first act demonstrates not only Klesel's complete control over Mathias but also the extension of his influence over others, notably Rumpf, Ferdinand, and indirectly the emperor. The second act, commencing with a vivid illustration of the chaos that erupts without an effective leader: “Ein Führer erst! - Dann folgen Alle” (566), portrays the priest’s consummate skill in presiding indirectly over a meeting which he convened himself and at which he is ostensibly permitted to supply only clerical support. Even before the conference takes he discloses his independence of mind. When Ramee asks him when he proposes to leave the...

Although Klesel does not appear in person again until the end of the third act, his indirect influence becomes evident as soon as Julius attempts to convince the emperor of the urgency to act demanded by the political situation. Accurately diagnosing Mathias’s limitations:¹ “Ihm fehlt der Mut. Ich kenne diesen Menschen: / Zum Anfang rasch, doch zögernd kommts zur Tat” (1391-2), Rudolf portrays the archduke essentially as a child: “Mein Bruder ist nicht schlimm, obgleich nichtklug. / Ich geb’ ihmSpielraum, er begehrt zuspielen” (1286-7). Childish immaturity would seem to be a consistent feature projected initially, at any...

“Der fünfte Aufzug lebt wesentlich aus dem Widerschein, wie im zweiten fehlt die Mittelfigur [i.e., Rudolf], und sie beherrscht dennoch stärker als dort das Ganze. Sie und zugleich das Geschehene werden durch das Medium der beteiligten Figuren reflektiert.”¹ Baumann's view offers an accurate summation of the critical reaction to the last act: despite his absence Rudolf remains the central character and the catastrophe that comes in the wake of his death vindicates his policy.² The new emperor warrants only passing mention, as for example in Yates's synopsis: “The last act shows Mathias achieving the power that has been his goal,...

When the walls of the feudal empire begin to crumble and the most devastating war in the history of the German-speaking people breaks out, Mathias, “des Jammers Erben” (2308), maintains, in his desperation to find a way to avert the now inevitable disaster, “Wär Klesel hier, er wüßte des [i.e., what to do] wohl Rat” (2795). The claim begs the question as to whether or not the priest could have in fact prevented the bloodshed of the Thirty Years’ War. No one, including Thompson who more than anyone else has paid Klesel his due, has grasped the full extent of...

In one of the many melodramatic moments typical ofMiß Sara Sampson, the faithful servant Waitwell finally convinces the titular heroine to read her father’s letter: “Lieber alter Vater [i.e., Waitwell], ich glaube du hast mich überredet.”² Having learned through Waitwell’s intervention of Sir William’s conciliatory response to her indiscretion, Sara expresses her gratitude to her father’s mediator in the following terms: “Ich danke dir unterdessen für deine Mühe. Du bist ein rechtschaffner Mann. Es sind wenig Diener die Freunde ihrer Herren!" (L451) If one reviews the list of secondary characters from lessing’s dramas, including Waitwell, Norton, Betty, just, Franziska...

On the basis of this examination of theFederfuchseras he appears in four dramas covering the period from 1783 till 1850 (Schreiber Licht from Kleist'sDer zerbrochne Krugshould also be borne in mind), there emerges a comprehensive portrait of the outstanding features common to what has clearly become a literary type. At the end of the eighteenth and the beginning of the nineteenth century the penpusher owed his growing prominence to a period of political and social instability a gradual dissolution of an aristocratic, hierarchical system. Since the middle-class Enlightenment placed greater emphasis upon education, a new intellectual...