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Die Ahnfrau
Franz Die Ahnfrau. Trauerspiel in funf Aufzugen Entstanden 1816. Wien (Wallishauser), 1817. Urauffuhrung am 31.01.1817, Theater an der Wien, Wien. Vollstandige Neuausgabe mit einer Biographie des Autors. Herausgegeben von Karl-Maria Guth. Berlin 2015, 2. Auflage. Textgrundlage ist die Franz Samtliche Werke. Ausgewahlte Briefe, Gesprache, Berichte. Herausgegeben von Peter Frank und Karl Pornbacher, Hanser, [1960-1965]. Die Paginierung obiger Ausgabe wird in dieser Neuausgabe als Marginalie zeilengenau mitgefuhrt. Umschlaggestaltung von Thomas Schultz-Overhage unter Verwendung des Johann Heinrich Fussli, Lady Macbeth nimmt die Dolche entgegen (Ausschnitt), 1812. Gesetzt aus Minion Pro, 11 pt."
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First published January 1, 1817
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About the author
Franz Grillparzer
664 books32 followersFranz Seraphicus Grillparzer was an Austrian writer who emerged primarily as a playwright. Because of the identity-creating use of his works, especially after 1945, he is also referred to as the Austrian national poet.
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November 24, 2017
Die Ahnfrau
Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872)
The “Ancestress” is Grillparzer’s first drama and major work.
The original idea stems from the author’s earlier short prose work “Das Kloster bei Sendimor.”
The dramatic issue of this family drama is the murder, by her husband, of a woman who gave birth to an adulterous child.
Since then, this woman has been the cursed ancestress of the noble descent of the house of Borotine.
She has haunted the castle for many generations and is condemned to do so until the last of the Borotines steps into his grave.
The scenery of the play is mostly the old castle, which, if once of great elegance and beauty, is now a ruin, with just the main hall and a few attaining bedrooms inhabitable.
The old Count Borotine lives there in seclusion, with his only child, his young daughter Berta.
His dear wife died years ago, and his other child, his son, and heir, at the age of eight years drowned in a dark and bewitched waterhole in the forest nearby. His body was never found.
The situation set, the author now develops events and actions that keep the reader
In suspense, on and on.
First comes Jaromir, as a suitor for Berta, the Count’s young daughter, asking for her hand.
He declares himself of good descendence, brave and loyal. The count agrees to a future marriage.
Then come soldiers in pursuit of a band of robbers who are said to endanger the nearby forests. One of the robbers seems to hide in the ruins of the castle.
The old Count, in due obedience to the king's soldiers, helps them in their search.
Soon, afraid to lose his life and the girl he loves, Jaromir avows to Berta his real identity, being one of the robbers. He takes the cursed, rusty dagger from the wall, as a weapon to defend himself.
Berta loses her mind and dies of fright.
Jaromir, in his flight through the castles attics and cellars and dungeons, is almost caught, but in a desperate movement with the cursed blade, he kills his opponent in the dark. It turns out to be Berta’s father, the Count Borotine.
Then, in a further twist of the drama, Jaromir is about to be saved by Boleslav, an old fellow robber whom he takes to be his father. But seeing Borotine dead, Boleslav tells Jaromir the truth, about who is his birth father.
The specter of the Ahnfrau is now appearing in the dark crypt where they are all united, she settles the matter, and the last of the Borotines meets his end.
---------------------------------------
The first surprise I had when starting to read, was the extraordinary beauty of the language and the style of writing, all in verse, from the beginning to the last line.
But also, the speedy development of events and actions make this book a real page-turner, a fascinating reading pleasure.
The play produced for the first time at the ‘Theatre an der Wien,' of Vienna in 1817 was a tremendous success and Franz Grillparzer famous overnight.
Today it may be out of fashion, and I am not likely to see it on stage in my lifetime.
Franz Grillparzer (1791-1872)
The “Ancestress” is Grillparzer’s first drama and major work.
The original idea stems from the author’s earlier short prose work “Das Kloster bei Sendimor.”
The dramatic issue of this family drama is the murder, by her husband, of a woman who gave birth to an adulterous child.
Since then, this woman has been the cursed ancestress of the noble descent of the house of Borotine.
She has haunted the castle for many generations and is condemned to do so until the last of the Borotines steps into his grave.
The scenery of the play is mostly the old castle, which, if once of great elegance and beauty, is now a ruin, with just the main hall and a few attaining bedrooms inhabitable.
The old Count Borotine lives there in seclusion, with his only child, his young daughter Berta.
His dear wife died years ago, and his other child, his son, and heir, at the age of eight years drowned in a dark and bewitched waterhole in the forest nearby. His body was never found.
The situation set, the author now develops events and actions that keep the reader
In suspense, on and on.
First comes Jaromir, as a suitor for Berta, the Count’s young daughter, asking for her hand.
He declares himself of good descendence, brave and loyal. The count agrees to a future marriage.
Then come soldiers in pursuit of a band of robbers who are said to endanger the nearby forests. One of the robbers seems to hide in the ruins of the castle.
The old Count, in due obedience to the king's soldiers, helps them in their search.
Soon, afraid to lose his life and the girl he loves, Jaromir avows to Berta his real identity, being one of the robbers. He takes the cursed, rusty dagger from the wall, as a weapon to defend himself.
Berta loses her mind and dies of fright.
Jaromir, in his flight through the castles attics and cellars and dungeons, is almost caught, but in a desperate movement with the cursed blade, he kills his opponent in the dark. It turns out to be Berta’s father, the Count Borotine.
Then, in a further twist of the drama, Jaromir is about to be saved by Boleslav, an old fellow robber whom he takes to be his father. But seeing Borotine dead, Boleslav tells Jaromir the truth, about who is his birth father.
The specter of the Ahnfrau is now appearing in the dark crypt where they are all united, she settles the matter, and the last of the Borotines meets his end.
---------------------------------------
The first surprise I had when starting to read, was the extraordinary beauty of the language and the style of writing, all in verse, from the beginning to the last line.
But also, the speedy development of events and actions make this book a real page-turner, a fascinating reading pleasure.
The play produced for the first time at the ‘Theatre an der Wien,' of Vienna in 1817 was a tremendous success and Franz Grillparzer famous overnight.
Today it may be out of fashion, and I am not likely to see it on stage in my lifetime.
Displaying 1 of 1 review