International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest

Extract

Gerhart Hauptmann was a German literary author, chiefly known today for his early naturalistic social drama Die Weber (The Weavers) , which was published in 1892. It portrays the 1844 weaver revolt in Silesia and features a realistic portrayal of the suffering and humanity of the poor, and the hopelessness of their situation. While Hauptmann argued that the play was merely a faithful depiction of a historic event, the Prussian government feared that it condemned contemporary conditions for weavers. Public performances were temporarily banned in Berlin and elsewhere in Europe out of a fear that it would lead to class conflict. When it was performed publicly, the German imperial family cancelled their theater box in protest. The anarchist Johann Most participated in an American staging that included extra incendiary sections provided by its leftist performers. Hauptmann's early social dramas successfully revealed the suffering of the poor to a new middle-class audience who might otherwise have turned a blind eye to the conditions of the poor. He was criticized by leftists for not being militant enough, while conservatives considered his early social dramas to be troubling and potentially dangerous. Hauptmann later turned to other themes, earning the derision of contemporary and modern critics. In 1912 Hauptmann was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. The next year he was ... log in or subscribe to read full text