Benjamin Franklin Wedekind (July 24, 1864 – March 9, 1918) was a German
playwright. His work, which often criticizes
bourgeois attitudes (particularly towards sex), is considered to anticipate
expressionism and was influential in the development of
epic theatre.
[See Banham (1998) and Willett (1959). In his '']Messingkauf Dialogues
''The Messingkauf Dialogues'' (german: Dialoge aus dem Messingkauf) is an incomplete theoretical work by the twentieth-century German theatre practitioner Bertolt Brecht. Brecht, Bertolt (1965 963. ''The Messingkauf Dialogues''. Trans. John Will ...
'', Brecht cites Wedekind, along with Büchner and Valentin, as his "chief influences" in his early years: "he", Brecht writes of himself in the third person, "also saw the writer ''Wedekind'' performing his own works in a style which he had developed in cabaret. Wedekind had worked as a ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
singer; he accompanied himself on the lute." (1965, 69).
In the English-speaking world, before 2006 Wedekind was best known for the "Lulu" cycle, a two-play series—''
Erdgeist'' (''Earth Spirit'', 1895) and ''
Die Büchse der Pandora'' (''Pandora's Box'', 1904)—centered on a young dancer/adventuress of mysterious origin. In 2006 his earlier play ''
Frühlings Erwachen'' (''Spring Awakening'', 1891) became well known because of a
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical adaptation.
Life and career
Benjamin Franklin Wedekind was born on July 24, 1864, in
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
,
German Confederation
The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...
, Große Aegdienstraße 13 (today: Friedrichswall 10). His mother was Swiss and became pregnant with him in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. His father, a German, had a Swiss castle in which Wedekind grew up, after the family had left Hanover in 1872. Until
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, when he was forced to obtain a German passport, he was an American citizen and traveled throughout Europe.
He lived most of his adult life in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, though he had a brief period working in advertising, for the
Maggi
Maggi ( or ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947.
History
Early history
Julius Maggi (1846–1912) ...
soup firm, in Switzerland in 1886.
[Willett (1959, 98n).]
Having worked in business and the circus, Wedekind went on to become an actor and singer. In this capacity, he received wide acclaim as the principal star of the
satirical cabaret ''Die elf Scharfrichter'' (''The Eleven Executioners''), launched in 1901.
[See Banham (1998) and Willett (1959, 87)] Wedekind became an important influence on the tradition of German satirical writing for the theatre, paving the way for the cabaret-song satirists
Kurt Tucholsky,
Walter Mehring,
Joachim Ringelnatz
Joachim Ringelnatz is the pen name of the German author and painter Hans Bötticher
(7 August 1883, Wurzen, Saxony – 17 November 1934, Berlin). His pen name ''Ringelnatz'' is usually explained as a dialect expression for an animal, possibly a ...
and
Erich Kästner among others, who after Wedekind's death would invigorate the culture of the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is ...
; "all bitter social critics who used direct, stinging satire as the best means of attack and wrote a large part of their always intelligible light verse to be declaimed or sung".
[Willett (1959, 87).] At the age of 34, after serving a nine-month prison sentence for ''
lèse-majesté
Lèse-majesté () or lese-majesty () is an offence against the dignity of a ruling head of state (traditionally a monarch but now more often a president) or the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from the French, w ...
'' (thanks to the publication in ''
Simplicissimus'' of some of his satirical poems), Wedekind became a
dramaturg
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...
(a play-reader and adapter) at the
Munich Schauspielhaus.
[Willett (1959, 87, 106).]
His sex life was promiscuous and he frequented prostitutes, contracting
syphilis. He also enjoyed the pleasure of platonic female company and kept his tendencies toward
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
and
sadism
Sadism may refer to:
* Sadomasochism, the giving or receiving of pleasure from acts involving the receipt or infliction of pain or humiliation
* Sadistic personality disorder, an obsolete term proposed for individuals who derive pleasure from the s ...
in check.
He had an affair with
Frida Uhl
Maria Friederike Cornelia "Frida" Strindberg (née Uhl; 4 April 1872 – 28 June 1943) was an Austrian writer and translator, who was closely associated with many important figures in 20th-century literature.
Biography
Uhl was the daughter of F ...
, who bore him a child. In 1906, he married the Austrian actress Tilly Newes, 22 years his junior and became strictly monogamous. His relationship with his wife was turbulent, with Wedekind prone to jealousy and he felt pressure to maintain strenuous creative and sexual activity in order to please her. They had two daughters, Pamela and Kadidja,
but his jealousy led his wife to attempt both separation and suicide.
Near the end of his life, Wedekind underwent an
appendectomy and immediately began acting again, leading to a
hernia
A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the groin. Groin herni ...
. His doctor refused to operate immediately but Wedekind insisted and complications from the surgery led to his death at the age of 53 on March 9, 1918.
Tilly Wedekind went on to appear in such films as ''
Travelling People'' and was romantically linked to the author
Gottfried Benn
Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951.
Biography and work
Family and beginnings
Go ...
.
In 1969, at age 83, she published an autobiography in German, ''Lulu: Die Rolle meines Lebens'' (Lulu: The Role of My Life).
A great-grandson was the writer
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...
.
Works
Wedekind's first major play, ''
Frühlings Erwachen'' (''Spring Awakening'', 1891), which concerns sexuality and puberty among some young German students, caused a scandal as it contained scenes of
homoeroticism, implied group male masturbation, actual male masturbation,
sado-masochism between a teenage boy and girl,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
and
suicide, as well as references to
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...
.
The "Lulu" plays ''
Erdgeist'' (''Earth Spirit'', 1895) and ''
Die Büchse der Pandora'' (''Pandora's Box'', 1904) were probably his best known works until
the 2006 adaptation of ''Spring Awakening''. Originally conceived as a single play, the two pieces tell a continuous story of a sexually-enticing young dancer, who rises in society through her relationships with wealthy men but who later falls into poverty and prostitution.
The frank depiction of sexuality and violence in these plays, including
lesbianism and an encounter with
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer w ...
(a role which Wedekind played in the original production),
[Willett (1959, 73n).] pushed the boundaries of what was considered acceptable on the stage at the time.
Karl Kraus also helped Wedekind stage it in Vienna.
''
Der Kammersänger'' (''The Court-Singer'', 1899) is a one-act character study of a famous opera singer who receives a series of unwelcome guests at his hotel suite.
In ''
Franziska
Franziska may refer to:
People
* Franziska (given name)
* Patrick Franziska
Patrick Franziska (born 11 June 1992) is a German table tennis player. He is currently sponsored by Butterfly and plays with FC Saarbrücken-TT in the German Bundes ...
'' (1910), the title character, a young girl, initiates a
Faustian pact with the Devil, selling her soul for the knowledge of what it is like to live life as a man (reasoning that men seem to have all the advantages).
A number of Wedekind's works have been translated into English by
Samuel Atkins Eliot Jr.
Samuel Atkins Eliot Jr. (March 14, 1893 – August 3, 1984) was an American author, born in Denver, Colo. and educated at Harvard. He was the son of Samuel Atkins Eliot, a prominent Unitarian clergyman, and the grandson of Charles W. Eliot ...
List of major works
* ''
Frühlings Erwachen'' (''The Awakening of the Spring'', 1891)
* ''
Erdgeist'' (''Earth Spirit'', 1895)
* ''
Die Kammersänger'' (''The Court-Singer'' or ''The Tenorist'', 1899)
ne-act play* ''
Der Marquis von Keith'' (''The Marquis of Keith'', 1901)
* ''
Mine-Haha, or On the Bodily Education of Young Girls'' (1903)
ovella* ''
König Nicolo oder So ist das Leben'' (''King Nicolo, or Such is Life'', 1902)
* ''
Die Büchse der Pandora'' (''Pandora's Box'', 1904)
* ''
Hidalla oder Sein und Haben'' (''Hidalla, or Being and Having'', 1905)
* ''
Totentanz
The ''Danse Macabre'' (; ) (from the French language), also called the Dance of Death, is an artistic genre of allegory of the Late Middle Ages on the universality of death.
The ''Danse Macabre'' consists of the dead, or a personification of ...
'' (''The Dance of Death'', 1905); later title 'Tod und Teufel' (Death and Devil)''
* ''
Musik'' (''Music'', 1906)
* ''
Schloss Wetterstein'' (''Castle Wetterstein'', 1910)
* ''
Franziska
Franziska may refer to:
People
* Franziska (given name)
* Patrick Franziska
Patrick Franziska (born 11 June 1992) is a German table tennis player. He is currently sponsored by Butterfly and plays with FC Saarbrücken-TT in the German Bundes ...
'' (1912)
* ''
Bismarck'' (1916)
* ''
Herakles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
'' (''Heracles'', 1917)
Adaptations
The "Lulu" plays formed the basis for
G. W. Pabst
Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic.
...
's acclaimed
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
''
Pandora's Box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology connected with the myth of Pandora in Hesiod's c. 700 B.C. poem ''Works and Days''. Hesiod reported that curiosity led her to open a container left in the care of her husband, thus releasing physi ...
'' (1929), starring
Louise Brooks
Mary Louise Brooks (November 14, 1906 – August 8, 1985) was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the Jazz Age and flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helpe ...
as Lulu and also
Alban Berg's
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
''
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
'' (1937), which is considered to be one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century opera.
[Harewood, Earl of. ''The Definitive Kobbe's Opera Book'', New York: Putnam, 1987. p.875] Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk (21 October 1923 – 3 February 2006) was an internationally known Polish film director described by film critics as a 'genius who also happened to be a pornographer'. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. Borowczyk set ...
based his 1980 film ''Lulu'' on these plays. Currently the plays are being adapted into comics by John Linton Roberson. They also form the basis for the 2011 album ''
Lulu
Lulu may refer to:
Companies
* LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer
* Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer
* Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia
* Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, ...
'', a collaboration between the rock musician
Lou Reed and the
heavy metal band
Metallica.
''Hidalla'' was used as a source for a libretto by
Franz Schreker, intended to be set by
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (14 October 1871 – 15 March 1942) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.
Biography
Early life
Zemlinsky was born in Vienna to a highly diverse family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton S ...
, but later set by Schreker himself in 1915 as the opera ''
Die Gezeichneten
' (''The Branded'' or ''The Stigmatized'') is an opera in three acts by Franz Schreker with a German-language libretto by the composer.
Composition history
Schreker wrote the libretto in 1911 at the request of composer Alexander Zemlinsky based ...
''.
''Der Kammersänger'' was adapted by composer
Hugo Weisgall
Hugo David Weisgall (October 13, 1912 – March 11, 1997) was an American composer and conductor, known chiefly for his opera and vocal music compositions. He was born in Ivančice, Moravia (then part of Austria-Hungary, later in his childhood ...
for his English-language opera ''The Tenor''.
Wedekind's
symbolist novella ''
Mine-Haha, or On the Bodily Education of Young Girls'' (1903) was the basis for the films ''
Innocence'' (2004) by
Lucile Hadžihalilović
Lucile Emina Hadžihalilović (born 7 May 1961) is a French writer and director of Bosnian descent. She is best known for the 1996 short film '' La Bouche de Jean-Pierre'' and the 2004 feature-length film '' Innocence'', for which she became t ...
and ''
The Fine Art of Love'' (2005) by
John Irvin
John Irvin (born 7 May 1940) is an English film director. Born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, he began his career by directing a number of documentaries and television works, including the BBC adaptation of John le Carré's '' Tinke ...
.
In 2006, ''Frühlings Erwachen'' was adapted into the successful
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
musical ''
Spring Awakening''.
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. "Wedekind, Frank." In ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . p. 1189-1190.
* Boa, Elizabeth. 1987. ''The Sexual Circus: Wedekind's Theatre of Subversion''. Oxford and New York: Basil Blackwell. .
*
Brecht, Bertolt. 1965. ''
The Messingkauf Dialogues''. Trans. John Willett. Bertolt Brecht: Plays, Poetry, Prose Ser. London: Methuen, 1985. .
* Mueller, Carl R. 2000. Introduction to ''Frank Wedekind: Four Major Plays, Vol 1''. Lyme, New Hampshire: Smith and Kraus.
* Willett, John. 1967. ''The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht: A Study from Eight Aspects.'' Third rev. ed. London: Methuen, 1977. .
External links
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wedekind, Frank
1864 births
1918 deaths
Writers from Hanover
People from the Kingdom of Hanover
German Expressionist writers
*
Modernist theatre
Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof
German male dramatists and playwrights
19th-century German male actors
German male stage actors
19th-century German male singers
19th-century German dramatists and playwrights
20th-century German male actors
20th-century German dramatists and playwrights
19th-century German male writers
20th-century German male writers
20th-century German male musicians
German plays adapted into films