Gerhart Hauptmann
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Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and
novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...
. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He received the
Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...
in 1912.


Life


Childhood and youth

Gerhart Hauptmann was born in 1862 in Obersalzbrunn, now known as
Szczawno-Zdrój Szczawno-Zdrój (german: Bad Salzbrunn, until 1935 ''Ober Salzbrunn'') is a spa town in Wałbrzych County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. Geography The town in the historic Lower Silesia region is situated north of the Ce ...
, in Lower Silesia (then a part of the
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
, now a part of Poland). His parents were Robert and Marie Hauptmann, who ran a hotel in the area. As a youth, Hauptmann had a reputation of being loose with the truth. His elder brother was
Carl Hauptmann Carl may refer to: * Carl, Georgia, city in USA * Carl, West Virginia, an unincorporated community *Carl (name), includes info about the name, variations of the name, and a list of people with the name * Carl², a TV series * "Carl", an episode of ...
. Beginning in 1868, he attended the village school and then, in 1874, the Realschule in Breslau for which he had only barely passed the qualifying exam. Hauptmann had difficulties adjusting himself to his new surroundings in the city. He lived, along with his brother Carl, in a somewhat run-down student boarding house before finding lodging with a pastor. He ran into problems with the Prussian-influenced school. Above all the strictness of the teachers and the better treatment of his noble classmates. His dislike and numerous illnesses kept him from attending class, which led to his having to repeat his first year. Over time, he came to appreciate Breslau because of the opportunity to visit the theater. In the spring of 1878, Hauptmann left the Realschule to learn agriculture on his uncle's farm in Lohnig (today Łagiewniki Średzkie in Gmina Udanin, Poland). After a year and a half, however, he had to break off his training. He was not physically prepared for the work and he had a contracted a life-threatening lung ailment that troubled him for the next twenty months.


Studies and life as a sculptor

After he failed to pass an officer entry exam for the Prussian Army, Hauptmann entered the sculpture school at the Royal Art and Vocational School in Breslau in 1880. There he met Josef Block who became a lifelong friend. He was temporarily expelled for "poor behavior and insufficient diligence," but quickly reinstated on the recommendation of the sculptor and Professor Robert Härtel. Hauptmann left the school in 1882. For his brother's wedding, he wrote a short play, ''Liebesfrühling'', which was performed on the night before. Also at the wedding, he met the bride's sister, Marie Thienemann. They became secretly engaged and she began supporting him financially, which enabled him to begin a semester of
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...
and literary history at the
University of Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The ...
, which he soon quit. After he left Jena, Marie financed a Mediterranean trip, which he undertook with his brother Carl. There he decided to settle in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
as a sculptor, but with little success. His attempt to establish himself as part of Rome's German expatriate community also failed and his large clay sculpture of a German warrior collapsed. Hauptmann returned disappointed to Germany, where he began a brief stint at the Royal Academy in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
before beginning to study history at the University of Berlin. While there, he devoted his interests to the theater rather than to his studies. In 1891 he moved to Schreiberhau in Silesia.


Marriage and beginning as a writer

Hauptmann married Marie Thienemann in Radebeul on 5 May 1885. In July, they took their honeymoon to
Rügen Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
along with Carl and his wife, Marie's sister, Martha. They visited the island of Hiddensee, which would become a favorite retreat of Hauptmann's. Because the city air bothered Gerhart's lungs, the couple spent the first four years of their marriage in the town of
Erkner Erkner () is a town in the Oder-Spree District of Brandenburg, Germany, located on the south-eastern edge of the German capital city Berlin. Geography The town is located between the lakes Dämeritzsee, a part of the river Spree, and Flakensee, ...
, where their three sons were born. In 1889, they moved to Charlottenburg in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
. There he joined the naturalist literary club "Durch", which included among others
Karl Bleibtreu Karl August Bleibtreu (January 13, 1859 – January 30, 1928) was a German writer who promoted naturalism in German literature. He was noted for his aggressive and dogmatic style of criticism, linked to a nationalistic and sometimes antisemitic a ...
and
Wilhelm Bölsche Wilhelm Bölsche (2 January 1861 – 31 August 1939) was a German author, editor and publicist. He was among the early promoters of nature conservation and committed to popularizing science. Life Bölsche was born in Cologne on 2 January 186 ...
. During this period he began to write. His 1887 novella '' Bahnwärter Thiel'' was published the following year. His first play, ''Before Sunrise'', was first staged in 1889, directed by
Otto Brahm Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...
. It inaugurated the naturalistic movement in modern
German literature German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a less ...
. It was followed by ''The Reconciliation'' (1890), ''Lonely People'' (1891) and ''The Weavers'' (1892), a powerful drama depicting the rising of the Silesian weavers in 1844, for which he is best known outside of Germany. His work also included comedies, including ''Colleague Crampton'' (1891) and '' The Beaver Coat'' (1893). In 1893, he also took actress Margarete Marschalk as his lover. In order to get some distance, Marie moved to the US with their sons. Hauptmann prepared the first French performance of his play '' The Assumption of Hannele'' and then went after Marie, without even staying for the premiere. The rift, however, was not to be bridged. After several years of separation, the marriage was ended in July 1904. However, Marie continued to live in the villa Hauptmann had built in
Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
.


Recognition and World War I

From 1901, Hauptmann lived with Margarete Marschalk in Agnetendorf (today Jagniątków in Poland). He called it ''"the mystical protective sheathing of my soul"''. In the preceding year, Margarete had borne him a son, Benvenuto. In September 1904, they were married; this second marriage lasted until his death, though it was thrown into a serious crisis in 1905 and 1906 by his affair with a 16-year-old actress, Ida Orloff. In 1910, Hauptmann's first full-length novel was published, ''The Fool in Christ, Emanuel Quint'', which told the story of a wandering preacher who mixed sun worship with
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
. His 1912 novel, ''Atlantis'', became the basis for a Danish silent film of the same name. The novel was written one month before the RMS ''Titanic'' disaster, and the film's 1913 release was less than one year after the event. The storyline for both involved a romance aboard a doomed ocean liner, and the similarity to the disaster became obvious. This coincidental untimeliness caused the film to be banned in Norway, due to perceived insensitivity. Nevertheless, excited by the possibilities of this new medium, Hauptmann wrote several screenplays (e.g. Appolonius of Tyre), none of which was ever filmed. Around the turn of the century, Hauptmann began to receive official recognition. Three times he was awarded the Austrian
Franz-Grillparzer-Preis The Franz Grillparzer Prize was a literary award, named after the writer Franz Grillparzer. It was established in 1872, shortly after his death, by his lover, Katharina Fröhlich. After her death in 1879, the award was continued by a donation to the ...
. He also received honorary doctorates from Worcester College at Oxford in 1905 and from the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
in 1909. In 1912, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "primarily in recognition of his fruitful, varied and outstanding production in the realm of dramatic art", after he had been nominated in that year by Erich Schmidt, member of the
Prussian Academy of Science The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berl ...
. Kaiser Wilhelm II, however, did not care for the "social democratic" poet. He vetoed the awarding of the 1896 Schiller Preis (for ''The Assumption of Hannele'') and at the instigation of his son, Crown Prince Wilhelm, in 1913, a Breslau production of Hauptmann's play ''Commemoration Masque'' (''Festspiel in deutschen Reimen'') was canceled, because in it the hundredth anniversary of the Liberation of Germany from Napoleon was depicted with a pacifistic rather than patriotic tone. However, the very same Hauptmann who had criticized militarism in the ''Masque'', the very next year was among those who supported the war. Hauptmann signed the
Manifesto of the Ninety-Three The "Manifesto of the Ninety-Three" (originally "To the Civilized World" by "Professors of Germany") is a 4 October 1914 proclamation by 93 prominent Germans supporting Germany in the start of World War I. The Manifesto galvanized support for the ...
, a manifesto signed by 93 German scientists, scholars and artists, declaring their unequivocal support of German military actions at the beginning of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. He published supportive poems (many of which read as unintentional satires and which he later crossed out in the manuscript). In 1915, Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle, Fourth Class. After Germany's military defeat and the fall of the monarchy, Hauptmann fled to the pacifist colony Monte Verità in near
Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech ...
, Switzerland. Several years later, he wrote ''Till Eulenspiegel'', a poetic memorial to Hans Paasche, the pacifist and reformer who was assassinated by ultra-nationalists.


Representative poet of Germany

In 1918, he joined a declaration, signed by a number of German intellectuals and published in the ''Berliner Tageblatt'' newspaper, showing solidarity with the
Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...
. During the early years of the republic, he was considered as a candidate for the Reichspräsident and offered the position of Reichskanzler, which he turned down. In the following years, he was the first recipient of the
Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches The ''Adlerschild des Deutschen Reiches'' ( en, Eagle Shield of the German Reich) was an honorary award (german: Ehrengabe) granted by the German president for scholarly or artistic achievements. It was introduced during the Weimar Republic, under ...
(The Eagle Shield of the German Reich) an award for scholarly or artistic achievement. During this period, the demand for Hauptmann's work had declined, to the point where, in order to maintain his lifestyle, he had begun to do films and serializations. Despite this, he continued to enjoy popularity. He was seen abroad as the representative of German Literature. In 1932, in honor of the centenary of
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
's death, he went on a lecture tour of the United States and was awarded and honorary doctorate from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. In addition he was awarded the Goethe Prize of the city of
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
. On his 70th birthday, he was awarded several honorary citizenships. There were countless exhibitions and performances of his work, many with well-known performers.
Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pr ...
played the lead in the premiere of Hauptmann's new play ''Before Sunset.'' From 1926–43, Hauptmann summered with his family in Hiddensee.


The Nazi era

After the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Hauptmann signed a loyalty oath of the German Academy of Literature, a section of the
Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and la ...
. Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945''. S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, , S. 223. In the summer of the same year, according to writer and historian Ernst Klee, he applied for membership in the Nazi party but his application was denied by the regional party office. Hauptmann's copy of ''
Mein Kampf (; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Ge ...
'', which can now be found in the Hauptmann collection at the Berlin State Library, was also heavily annotated. He regarded himself as being fundamentally a poet, above the political fray; and certainly nothing from the Nazi ideology was incorporated into his works.Ulrich Lauterbach, Eberhard Siebert: ''Einleitung.'' In: ''Wirklichkeit und Traum, Gerhart Hauptmann 1862–1946. Ausstellungskatalog der Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz.'' Berlin 1987, p. 7–12 However, he had earlier been a founding member of the
eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior o ...
organization the German Society for Racial Hygiene, in Berlin in 1905, and his play ''Before Sunrise'' is deeply concerned with hereditary alcoholism, a popular idea with eugenicists, and the main character rejects his fiancée due to concerns about his potential children's genetics. Because Hauptmann remained highly regarded by the German people, the Nazis did everything to keep him from leaving the country, despite the emigration of many of his colleagues. At times he suffered from official disapproval. The censors of the Propaganda Minister
Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
kept an eye on Hauptmann's work and even banned a new edition of his novella ''The Shot in the Park'' because it featured a black character. Hauptmann was told that reprinting was impossible because of a paper shortage. The film versions of ''The Beaver Coat'' and ''Before Sunrise'' were censored, and the film adaptation of ''Schluck and Jau'' was banned. For Hauptmann's 80th birthday, in 1942, representatives of the Nazi regime cooperated with honors, celebrations, and celebratory performances. Hauptmann was presented by his publisher with the first copy of his 17-volume Complete Works. Hauptmann lived through the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
at his house, Wiesenstein. In 1944, he published his
Atreus In Greek mythology, Atreus ( , ; from ἀ-, "no" and τρέω, "tremble", "fearless", gr, Ἀτρεύς ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively ...
Tetralogy, which he had been working on for four years. It comprises ''Iphigenia in Delphi'', ''Iphigenia in Aulis'', ''Agamemnon's Death'', and ''Electra''. In 1944, Hauptmann's name was included in the Gottbegnadeten list (the "God-gifted list"), a list of artists considered crucial to the German culture, who were therefore exempt from mobilization in the war effort. He was one of the six most important writers in the special list of the "irreplaceable artists.". During the bombing of Dresden, Hauptmann was staying at a Dresden
sanatorium A sanatorium (from Latin '' sānāre'' 'to heal, make healthy'), also sanitarium or sanitorium, are antiquated names for specialised hospitals, for the treatment of specific diseases, related ailments and convalescence. Sanatoriums are often ...
due to severe pneumonia. He said of the inferno, "Whoever had forgotten how to cry learned again at the destruction of Dresden. I stand at the end of my life and envy my dead comrades, who were spared this experience." After the war, Silesia, where Hauptmann was living, became part of Poland, but Hauptmann was temporarily allowed to stay due to a letter of protection. Then, on 7 April 1946, he was informed by the Soviet military authorities that the Polish government was insisting on his resettlement. Before his expulsion, he became very ill.


Death

At the beginning of May 1946, Hauptmann learned that the Polish government was insisting on the expulsion of all Germans without exception. On 6 June, he died of bronchitis in Agnieszków (present-day Jagniątków, a part of ''Hirschberg im Riesengebirge'', now Jelenia Góra). His last words were reported to be, "Am I still in my house?" Despite his final wishes, as expressed in his last will, Hauptmann was not buried at his home. An official letter from the Soviet Administration in favor of the writer, who was highly regarded in the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
, proved ineffective, though the family was permitted to take its belongings. Only an hour after his death, the local militia had gathered outside the window directly under his deathbed and banging pots and pans and blowing whistles and trumpets.


Funeral

At a funeral service held in
Stralsund Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, N ...
, near Hauptmann's summer home on Hiddensee island, Wilhelm Pieck, then co-chairman of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in the Soviet occupation zone of Germany spoke, along with poet
Johannes R. Becher Johannes Robert Becher (, 22 May 1891 – 11 October 1958) was a German politician, novelist, and poet. He was affiliated with the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) before World War II. At one time, he was part of the literary avant-garde, writin ...
, and Soviet official Sergei Ivanovich Tiulpanov all spoke. On the morning of 28 July, 52 days after his death, he was buried before sunrise at the cemetery in Hiddensee. His widow mixed a small sack of earth from the Riesengebirge/Karkonosze Mountains ( Krkonoše) in Silesia with the sandy soil of the Baltic coast where he was buried. In 1951, a granite block was unveiled as the grave stone. It bears, as per Hauptmann's wish, only his name. In 1983, his wife Margarete's remains were moved to lie beside her husband's, though she had died in 1957.


Work


Influences

Hauptmann first encountered the various representatives of the naturalist movement through the
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...
society "Durch" in 1885, which was an important influence. The society hearkened back to historical examples from the Sturm und Drang movement, especially the circle centered on the Hart Brothers up until the Vormärz period before the
revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europ ...
. At their meetings, aesthetic questions about
idealism In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ...
,
Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: * Classical Realism *Literary realism, a mov ...
and the naturalist movement were discussed. Hauptmann gave a lecture about the theretofore largely forgotten poet and dramatist
Georg Büchner Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büc ...
. With that, he also established his naturalistic orientation. At the end of the 1880s, he was confronted with the incipient anti-socialist movement. The first of the
Anti-Socialist Laws The Anti-Socialist Laws or Socialist Laws (german: Sozialistengesetze; officially , approximately "Law against the public danger of Social Democratic endeavours") were a series of acts of the parliament of the German Empire, the first of which was ...
was passed in 1878 and strengthened in 1887. Hauptmann was in 1887 called before the court in Breslau, because he had been a follower of the "Icharians," whose ideas hearkened back to the ideas of French communist Etienne Cabet. He sought refuge in his brother's house in Zurich in order to avoid prosecution. While there he encountered psychiatrist
August Forel Auguste-Henri Forel (1 September 1848 – 27 July 1931) was a Swiss myrmecologist, neuroanatomist, psychiatrist and eugenicist, notable for his investigations into the structure of the human brain and that of ants. For example, he is conside ...
and the preacher Johannes Guttzeit, whose ideas influenced ''Before Sunrise''. Hauptmann's early dream of a utopian-socialist community were further fed by his encounter with the poet Gusto Gräser, whose communal colony Hauptmann would visit several times in 1919. The story ''The Heretic of Soana'', the novel ''The Fool in Christ Emmanuel Quint'', and the final chapter of ''Till Eulenspiegel'' deal with his experience of a
Dionysian The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by ...
- Jesuanic itinerant prophet.


Naturalism

Hauptmann began producing naturalistic works in Zurich. From there, he sent the manuscript of ''Bahnwärter Thiel'', his first naturalistic work, to
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 ...
to be read by the critic Michael Georg Conrad. Hauptmann's 1889 play ''Before Sunrise'' caused one of the largest scandals in German theater history. The bourgeois audience was shocked by the frank depictions of alcoholism and sexuality. According to Franz-Josef Payrhuber, ''Before Sunrise'' was an epoch-making work, but it is not the representative example of naturalistic drama, that label would go to ''Die Familie Selicke'' by Arno Holz and Johannes Schlaf.Franz-Josef Payrhuber: ''Literaturwissen Gerhart Hauptmann.'' Stuttgart 1998, p. 20. Hauptmann however did have an important role, with the support of
Otto Brahm Otto is a masculine German given name and a surname. It originates as an Old High German short form (variants ''Audo'', ''Odo'', ''Udo'') of Germanic names beginning in ''aud-'', an element meaning "wealth, prosperity". The name is recorded fro ...
, in establishing naturalistic drama on the German stage. Theaters under Brahm's leadership premiered 17 of Hauptmann's plays.Peter Sprengel: ''Gerhart Hauptmann.'' In Hartmut Steinecke (ed.): ''Deutsche Dichter des 20. Jahrhunderts.'' Berlin 1996, p. 31–42 Those plays, and the numerous performances across Germany, gave Naturalism its first broad exposure and social impact.Letter of 19. Februar 1885 addressed to the Danish literary critic Georg Brandes. Quoted in: Peter Sprengel: ''Gerhart Hauptmann.'' In: Gunter E. Grimm, Frank Rainer Max (Ed.): ''Deutsche Dichter.'' Stuttgart 1993, p. 525. With his most important play, ''The Weavers'', which he had already been contemplating during his stay in Zurich, Hauptmann achieved world renown and reached the high point of his Naturalistic phase.


Critical reception

Hauptmann's early work received differing reviews. Conservative circles and also the government were not excited about his socially critical dramas, which made itself felt through censorship. His position in the opposition raised his profile in progressive, intellectual circles, which appreciated these aspects of his work. After many naturalistic-influenced works, Hauptmann's style changed and he grew increasingly well-received among the educated and upper classes. Nevertheless, he was still in demand as a writer and was regarded abroad as the representative poet of Germany. The Hungarian philosopher and literature critic, Georg Lukacs later called Hauptmann the "representative poet of bourgeois Germany," by which he did not mean to underscore Hauptmann's prominent position. Rather, he expressed displeasure with Hauptmann's fickleness and lack of attachment to his "revolutionary beginnings."Georg Lukács: ''Gerhart Hauptmann.'' In: Hans Joachim Schrimpf (Ed.): ''Georg Hauptmann'', Darmstadt 1976, p. 82–95. Despite his preeminence, the sale of his works steadily declined as other poets and playwrights took the spotlight. Hauptmann had taken up a lavish lifestyle, lived in expensive hotels, often received guests, and took trips to Italy. He summered in his large house on the Hiddensee, that Günter Kunert called a "do-it-yourself Olympia." Thomas Mann referred to this lavish lifestyle when he called him in 1922 the "King of the Republic." Mann met Hauptmann at an Alpine resort and wrote to his brother, "I hobnob every evening with Hauptmann, who is a really good fellow." In addition Mann adapted some of Hauptmann's traits for his character Mynheer Peeperkorn in his book ''The Magic Mountain''. When Hauptmann continued to live in Germany after the Nazis came to power, they attempted to use Hauptmann for their own purposes. Various works that displeased the party leaders were banned but others continued to be performed. At his 80th birthday, in 1942 he was honored by the government with a festival and tributes, which he accepted. Hauptmann's ebb-and-flow character was highlighted in William L. Shirer's ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich''. Shirer offered in a first-person account: After his death, the fame he had enjoyed in life began to fade. His reputation was further diminished by his uncritical attitude toward the Nazis. Nevertheless, centenary celebrations were held in many German cities in 1962, and his works continued to be performed on West German stages into the 1970s, especially ''Der Biberpelz'' and ''Die Ratten''.


Publications

Novels * ''Der Narr in Christo Emanuel Quint'' (1910) * ''Atlantis'' (1912) * ''Wanda'' ''Der Dämon'' (1926) * ''Die Insel der grossen Mutter'' (1928) * ''Um Volk und Geist'' (1932) * ''Im Wirbel der Berufung'' (1936) * ''Das Abenteuer meiner Jugend'' (1937) Short novels * ''Bahnwärter Thiel'' (1888) * ''Der Ketzer von Soana'' (1918) * ''Phantom'' (1923) * ''Marginalien'' (selected works, reports: 1887–1927) * ''Das Meerwunder'' (1934) * ''Sonnen'' (1938) * ''Der Schuss im Park'' (1939) Verse novels * ''Promethidenlos'' (1885) * ''Anna'' (1921) * ''Die blaue Blume'' (1924) * ''Till Eulenspiegel'' (1927) * ''Der grosse Traum'' (1912–42) Plays * ''Before Sunrise'' (''Vor Sonnenaufgang'', 1889) * ''The Reconciliation'' (''Das Friedensfest'', 1890) * ''Lonely People'' (''Einsame Menschen'', 1891)Also translated as ''Lonely Lives''. * ''The Weavers (play), The Weavers'' (''Die Weber'', 1892) * ''Colleague Crampton'' (''College Cramption'', 1892) * '' The Beaver Coat'' (''Der Biberpelz'', 1893) * '' The Assumption of Hannele'' (''Hanneles Himmelfahrt'', 1893) * ''Florian Geyer'' (1896) * ''Elga'' (1896) * ''Helios'' (1896) fragment * ''The Sunken Bell'' (''Die versunkene Glocke'', 1896) * ''Pastoral'' (''Das Hirtenlied'', 1898) fragment * ''Drayman Henschel'' (''Fuhrmann Henschel'', 1898) * ''Schluck and Jau'' (''Schluck und Jau'', 1900) * ''Michael Kramer'' (1900) * ''The Conflagration'' (''Der rote Hahn'', 1901) * ''Henry of Auë'' (''Der arme Heinrich'', 1902) * ''Rose Bernd'' (1903) * ''And Pippa Dances'' (''Und Pippa Tanzt!'', 1906) * ''The Maidens of the Mount'' (''Die Jungfern von Bischofsberg'', 1907) * ''Charlemagne's Hostage'' (''Kaiser Karls Geisel'', 1908) * ''The White Savior'' or ''Montezuma'' (''Der weiße Heiland, 1908) * ''Griselda'' (1909) * ''The Rats (play)'' (''Die Ratten'', 1911) * ''Gabriel Schilling's Flight'' (''Gabriel Schillings Flucht'', 1912) * ''Peter Brauer'' (1912) * ''Commemoration Masque'' (''Festspiel in deutschen Reimen'', 1913) * ''The Bow of Odysseus'' (''Der Bogen des Odysseus'', 1914) * ''Magnus Garbe'' (1914, second version: 1942) * ''Indipohdi'' (1920) * ''Veland'' (1925) * ''Herbert Engelmann'' (1921–26) * ''Spuk'' (two plays: ''Die schwarze Maske'' and ''Hexenritt'', 1928) * ''Die goldene Harfe'' (1933) * ''Hamlet in Wittenberg'' (''Hamlet im Wittenberg'', 1935) * ''Die Finsternisse'' (1937) * ''Ulrich von Lichtenstein'' (1936–37) * ''Die Tochter der Kathedrale'' (1935–38) * ''Die Atriden-Tetralogie'': #''Iphigenie in Aulis'' (1944) #''Agamemnons Tod'' (1948; written in 1942) #''Elektra'' (1948; written in 1944) #''Iphigenie in Delphi'' (1941) In English translation
''Hannele. A Dream Poem''
(1894)
''Lonely Lives''
(1898)
''The Sunken Bell''
(1899).
''The Coming of Peace''
(1900)
''And Pippa Dances''
(1907)
''The Reconciliation''
(1910)
''The Fool in Christ, Emanuel Quint''
(1911)
''Atlantis''
(1912).
''Parsival''
(1915) * The Dramatic Works: *
''Social Dramas''
(1912) *
''Social Dramas''
(1913) *
''Domestic Dramas''
(1914) *
''Symbolic and Legendary Dramas''
(1914) *
''Symbolic and Legendary Dramas''
(1915) *
''Later Dramas in Prose''
(1915) *
''Miscellaneous Dramas''
(1917)
''Phantom''
(1922) * ''The Heretic of Soana'' (1923) * ''Lineman Thiel and Other Tales'' (1989)


References

General references * Garten, H.F. (1954). ''Gerhart Hauptmann.'' New Haven: Yale University Press. * Marshall, Alan (1982). ''The German Naturalists and Gerhart Hauptmann.'' Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. * Maurer, Warren R. (1992). ''Understanding Gerhart Hauptmann.'' Columbia, S.C.: University of South Carolina Press. * Mellen, Philip A. (1984). ''Gerhart Hauptmann. Religious Syncretism and Eastern Religions.'' New York: Peter Lang. * Osborne, John (1998). ''Gerhart Hauptmann and the Naturalist Drama.'' Amsterdam: Harwood Academic. * Pohl, Gerhart (1962). ''Gerhart Hauptmann and Silesia.'' Grand Forks: University of North Dakota Press. * Shaw, Leroy R. (1958)
''Witness of Deceit. Gerhart Hauptmann as Critic of Society.''
Berkeley: University of California Press. * Skrine, Peter N. (1989). ''Hauptmann, Wedekind, and Schnitzler.'' New York: St. Martin's Press.


Further reading

* Downs, Brian W. (1926). "Gerhart Hauptmann," ''The North American Review,'' Vol. 223, No. 830, pp. 102–115. * Dukes, Ashley (1911)
''Modern Dramatists.''
London: Frank Palmer. * Dussère, Carolyn (1980). "An Interpretation of Gerhart Hauptmann's 'Parsival'," ''Colloquia Germanica,'' Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 233–245. * Campbell, T.M. (1924). "Gerhart Hauptmann—Christian or Pagan?," ''The Modern Language Journal,'' Vol. 8, No. 6, pp. 353–361. * Coates, William Ames (1945). "Dostoyevski and Gerhart Hauptmann," ''The American Slavic and East European Review,'' Vol. 4, No. 3/4, pp. 107–127. * Ewen, David (1935). "Conversations with Gerhart Hauptmann," ''Books Abroad,'' Vol. 9, No. 3, pp. 253–254. * Edward Everett Hale, Hale, Edward Everett (1905)
"Hauptmann."
In: ''Dramatists of Today.'' New York: Henry Holt & Company, pp. 37–61. * Otto Heller (author), Heller, Otto (1905)
"Gerhart Hauptmann."
In: ''Studies in Modern German Literature.'' Boston: Ginn & Company, pp. 117–128. * Heuser, F.W.J.(1926). "Hauptmann and Novalis," ''Germanic Review,'' Vol. 1, pp. 125–131. * Huneker, James (1919)
"Gerhart Hauptmann."
In: ''Iconoclasts.'' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, pp. 182–210. * Kobbé, Gustav (1898)
"The Dramas of Gerhart Hauptmann,"
''The Forum,'' Vol. 24, pp. 432–441. * Ludwig Lewisohn, Lewisohn, Ludwig (1912)
"Introduction."
In: ''The Dramatic Works,'' Vol. 1. London: Martin Secker, pp. ix–xxxvii. * Maurer, Warren R. (1979). "Gerhart Hauptmann's Character Names," ''The German Quarterly,'' Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 457–471. * Muller, Siegfried H. (1952). "Gerhart Hauptmann's Relation to American Literature and His Concept of America," ''Monatshefte,'' Vol. 44, No. 7, pp. 333–339. * Reichart, Walter A. (1946). "The Totality of Hauptmann's Work," ''Germanic Review,'' Vol. 21, pp. 143–149. * Reichart, Walter A. (1962). "Hauptmann Study in America: A Continuation Bibliography," ''Monatshefte,'' Vol. 54, No. 6, pp. 297–310. * Robertson, John G. (1902)
''A History of German Literature.''
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. * Scholz, Karl W.H. (1918)
''The Art of Translation.''
Philadelphia: Americana Germanica Press. * Thompson, Nesta M. (1920). "Naturalism and the Dream Motive as Observed in the Works of Gerhart Hauptmann," ''Washington University Studies,'' Vol. 8, pp. 77–101. * Wahr, F.B. (1946). "Hauptmann's Hellenism," ''Journal of English and Germanic Philology,'' Vol. 33, pp. 421–451. * Wiehr, Josef (1906)
"The Naturalistic Plays of Gerhart Hauptmann,"
''The Journal of English and Germanic Philology,'' Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 1–71
Part II
Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 531–575. * Georg Witkowski, Witkowski, Georg (1909)
''The German Drama of the Nineteenth-century.''
London: George Bell & Sons. * Youngman, Paul A. (2005). "Gerhart Hauptmann." In: ''Black Devil and Iron Angel. The Railway in Nineteenth-century German Realism.'' Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, pp. 109–127. * Schweissinger, Marc: Gerhart Hauptmann's Hamlet `translation`, In: Anglistica Pisana 8(2), pp.  11–24.


External links

* * * * *
Works by Gerhart Hauptmann
at Hathi Trust
List of Works
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauptmann, Gerhart 1862 births 1946 deaths 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German dramatists and playwrights German Nobel laureates 19th-century German novelists 20th-century German novelists German poets German male short story writers German autobiographers Nobel laureates in Literature People from the Province of Silesia People from Wałbrzych County Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) University of Jena alumni German male poets German male novelists German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German short story writers 20th-century German short story writers