Maria Magdalena

by Friedrich Hebbel

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Maria Ein B�rgerliches Trauerspiel In Drei Akten

Friedrich Hebbel

Hoffmann und Campe, 1844

Genres: Classics, Plays, German Literature, Drama, School, Fiction, Read For School

109 pages, Paperback

First published January 11, 1844

About the author

The Gelehrtenschule des Johanneums educated German poet and dramatist Christian Friedrich Hebbel, the son of a bricklayer. He sent verses to Amalie Schoppe (1791–1858), a popular journalist and author of nursery tales; his manifest talent for poetry despite his humble origins resulted in the publication of these verses in the Hamburg Modezeitung. Through her patronage, he ably went to the University of Hamburg.

A year later, Hebbel went to Heidelberg to study law but then went to the University of Munich, where he devoted to philosophy, history, and literature. In 1839, he left Munich and walked all the way back to Hamburg, where he resumed his friendship with Elise Lensing, whose self-sacrificing assistance had helped him over the darkest days in Munich. In the same year, he wrote his first tragedy, Judith (1840, published 1841), which in the following year was performed in Hamburg and Berlin and made his name known throughout Germany.

He in 1840 wrote the tragedy Genoveva . Hebel at Munich began Der Diamant , a comedy, which he finished in 1841. In 1842, he visited Copenhagen, obtained a small travelling studentship from Christian VIII, king, and thus ably spent some time in Paris and two years (1844–1846) in Italy. In Paris, he wrote his fine "tragedy of common life," Maria Magdalena (1844). On return from Italy, Hebbel at Vienna met two Polish noblemen, the brothers Zerboni di Sposetti, who in their enthusiasm for his genius urged him and supplied him with the means to mingle in the best intellectual society of the Austrian capital.

Old precarious existence of Hebbel then horrified him, who in 1846 married the beautiful and wealthy actress Christine Enghaus, giving up the faithful Elise Lensing (faithful until her death), on the grounds that "a man's first duty is to the most powerful force within him, that which alone can give him happiness and be of service to the world": in his case the poetical faculty, which would have perished "in the miserable struggle for existence". This "deadly sin," which, "if peace of conscience be the test of action," was, he considered, the best act of his life, established his fortunes. Elise, however, still provided useful inspiration for his art. As late as 1851, shortly after her death, he wrote the little epic Mutter und Kind, intended to show that the relation of parent and child is the essential factor which makes the quality of happiness among all classes and under all conditions equal.

Long before this Hebbel had become famous, German sovereigns bestowed decorations upon him; in foreign capitals he was feted as the greatest of living German dramatists. From the grand-duke of Saxe-Weimar he received a flattering invitation to take up his residence at Weimar, where several of his plays were first performed. He remained, however, at Vienna until his death.
Besides the works already mentioned, Hebbel's principal tragedies are:
Herodes and Mariamne (1850)
Julia (1851)
Michel Angelo (1851)
Agnès Bernauer (1855)
Gyges and His Ring (1856)
Die Nibelungen (1862), his last work (a trilogy consisting of a prologue, Der gehörnte Siegfried, and the tragedies, Siegfrieds Tod and Kriemhilds Rache), which won for the author the Schiller prize.

Of his comedies Der Diamant (1847), Der Rubin (1850) and the tragi-comedy Ein Trauerspiel in Sizilien (1845), are the more important, but they are heavy and hardly rise above mediocrity. All his dramatic productions, however, exhibit skill in characterization, great glow of passion, and a true feeling for dramatic situation; but their poetic effect is frequently marred by extravagances which border on the grotesque, and by the introduction of incidents the unpleasant character of which is not sufficiently relieved. In many of his lyric poem

Reviews

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das wohl legendärste Buchzitat:

MUTTER. Jesus! (Fällt um und stirbt.)

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Out of all the German literature I've read this far, I'd consider this one least memorable. Not because it was bad, it was actually more than decent, but there's just something in the way it was written. However, there were a few quotes I just loved, one of them being:
"And how strange men are! They are more ashamed of their tears than they are of their sins! A clenched fist - why not exhibit that? But red eyes!

[Zoé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Klara hatte besseres verdient :(

[Janina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Das is so eins von diesen klassischen Dramen, wo man aus heutiger Sicht einfach nur den Kopf schütteln kann. Nicht eine einzige Figur in dieser Geschichte handelt auch nur im Ansatz vernünftig. Es ist nicht schlimm zu lesen, die Geschichte ist unnötig aber okay und man ist schnell durch.

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5/5🌟

One of the less memorable classic German plays I read.

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Vero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endlich mal Männer mit einem Gewissen. Ist eine schöne Abwechslung.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a melodramatic tale from the Biedermeyer period of German literature. It reflects middle-class sensibilities and values, sometimes in rather extreme form (eg: on hearing that her son is accused of stealing, the mother keels over dead), but avoids the fantasy normally associated with romanticism in favor of pragmatic discussion of morals. It seems to me that Hebbel vacillated between critiquing middle class values and embracing them - on the one hand, the main character is portrayed as a victim of unrelenting morality, but on the other, it seems as if her generation is cursed with the corruptions of moral relativism, where the older generation is happier in their simple understanding of right and wrong. In the end, it seems that a woman who loses her virginity before marriage remains unredeemable, whether this is just or not in a given instance.
This book makes a fairly good study for mid-level to advanced German students. While some of the monologues are difficult, the use of flowery Greek and Latin terms actually brings the language a bit closer to English. The challenges it presents will force students to improve their understanding. It will seem a bit removed from contemporary western attitudes, which may result in its seeming boring or irrelevant, but for students with an interest in history or changing moral ideas, this may also be a selling point.

[V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bewertung nur für das Stück selbst, nicht für das (unlesbare) Vorwort.

[Alexa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dieses Werk steht repräsentativ für die Epoche des Realismus. Es war zwar spannend es zu lesen, dennoch war es mir an einigen Stellen zu sehr in die Länge gezogen.

[zara ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

na ja

[katja :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

der Sekretär ist mega unhinged

[Ida X · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every single book I have read for university in the last few months has left me feeling depressed. Rip to all the women who died in those books 😔🙏✨️

[lara · Rating 1 out of 5]

kahribela cidden, eger uni icin olmasaydi cok yuksek ihtimalle elime bile almazdim cunku varligindan bile haberim olmayacakti?? bilmiyorum ya ben cok begenemedim doneme bakinca anlayabiliyorum neden boyle boyle oldugunu durumdan bagimsiz ben konusmalari cok begenemedim gibi bu kadar kafa acmaya gerek yok bence ve cok yuksek ihtimalle benim okudugum ceviri kac yillik onun etkisi de cok ama yine de bu kadar bos konusmaya gerek oldugunu dusunmuyorum hani hava guzel evet bunun icin yarasalardan kostebeklerden bahsetmene gerek yok lutfen sus. begendim mi begenmedim mi cok bilemedim ama iki yildizlik bir keyif de vermedi gibi bilemedim

[xmekalux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith hatte mir noch ein bisschen besser als Maria Magdalena gefallen. Dennoch fand ich vor allem die Thematik des sozialen Durckes sehr gut dargestellt und auch wie bedrückend die Erwartungen der eigenen Eltern sein können.
Aber wie immer sehe ich bei diesen klassischen Dramen nicht so ganz das Problem und wenn man einfach miteinander sprechen würde, könnte man die meisten Probleme relativ entspannt lösen :D

[juliazlr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Tragödie hat mich nicht ganz gecatched. Der Sohn erinnert an Schillers "Karl" aus den Räubern und die Tochter an "Emilia" aus Emilia Galotti. Es geht darum, wie man die Tochter noch wegheiratet bekommt, obwohl der Sohn mutmaßlich ein Räuber ist. Das Ende ist etwas vorhersehbar. Immerhin schnell zu lesen (nur 50 Seiten).

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part was when the mother finds out about the apparently stealing brother and her reaction (and stage direction) is to fall over and die on the spot. Did not expect that.

[charish · Rating 2 out of 5]

O.k.

[Hans]

SBB 74

[Ulrike Bungert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hach je. Moral, Jungfräulichkeit, Ehre.... Aber wenigstens in netter kleinstädtischer Atmosphäre. Und nicht zu fett, der Schinken.

[Roksana0502 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich weiß nicht, warum dieses Buch so negative Bewertungen hat. Ich finde die Lektüre angenehm und die Botschaft ergreifend

[Emirhan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Superficial and confusing characters, couldn't really get into them

[Bree Evenar · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 eh

[pati · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kolejne jebane Romeo i Julia

[Kikyx · Rating 4 out of 5]

ona je bukv kao ja (baci se u bunar na kraju)

[Noa · Rating 3 out of 5]

ich bechum d krise

[kmarut16 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich weiß nicht, was los ist. 😵‍💫

[Liam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eine etwas unnötige Geschichte

[othello · Rating 3 out of 5]

echt schlecht aber macht spaß zu lesen weil jeder zweite satz so absurd ist

[Apollonia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely Hebbel's best play. A closed mind, egotism and intolerance are as topical as ever.