Minna von Barnhelm
Encyclopedia
Minna von Barnhelm or the Soldiers' Happiness (Minna von Barnhelm oder das Soldatenglück) is a lustspiel or comedy
by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
. It has five acts, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1767 - its author put the year 1763 on the official title page, presumably to emphasize that the recent Seven Years' War
plays a major part in the play, which is set on 22 August 1763. It is one of the most important comedies in German literature.
, Major von Tellheim finds himself waiting at a Berlin hotel with his servant for the outcome of his trial, threatened by financial troubles and serious bribery allegations. His penniless condition is because repayment of a large sum advanced to the government during the recent war is being held up and his honor in making the loan questioned. During Tellheim's absence from the inn, the landlord has caused Tellheim's effects to be removed, ostensibly because his rooms were needed for a lady and her maid. In reality, the landlord doubts Tellheim's ability to pay, since he is already somewhat in arrears.
In the removal of the Major's possessions, the landlord comes upon a sealed envelope marked as containing five hundred thalers. This discovery makes him anxious to placate Tellheim. What he does not know is that the money has been left with the Major by Paul Werner, his former sergeant. Werner knowing Tellheim's predicament is in hope that he will use the money as his own. Tellheim is too honorable to borrow when he has no assurance of repaying. Instead, he bids his servant, Just, take his last possession of value, an expensive ring, and pawn it to satisfy the landlord's bill and his own back wages.
Just pledges the ring with the landlord but refuses to accept either wages or dismissal on the plea that he is in Tellheim's debt and will have to work it out. The garrulous landlord shows the ring to his newly arrived guests, revealing considerable concerning the owner's circumstances. The lady, Minna von Barnhelm, recognizes the ring as one of the betrothal rings which she and Tellheim had exchanged, and is overjoyed that her search for her missing lover is ended.
When Tellheim appears, however, he refuses to accept her hand or to continue the engagement on account of his precarious circumstances. When no argument can move him, Minna with the help of her maid, Franziska, pretends that she, too, is penniless and in dire straits. Under these circumstances Tellheim immediately claims the privilege of marrying and protecting her.
At this point a delayed letter from the King is delivered. It announces the restoration of Tellheim's fortune and the vindication of his honor. To punish him for making her suffer, Minna now pretends that she cannot marry Tellheim because of the inequality of their circumstances. In answer to his pleas, she uses his own recent arguments to confound him. Only when Tellheim is reduced to the verge of despair and the belated arrival of Minna's uncle and guardian threatens to give the whole thing away does Minna relent and reveal the truth. In a final scene of celebration, matters are settled to the satisfaction of everyone including Franziska and Paul Werner who have discovered a lively interest in each other.
To date it is one of the most-performed plays in Germany. Scenes from it were performed at Bunce Court School
, an exiled German Jewish refugee school in England. It was performed by refugee children under the direction of Wilhelm Marckwald
, also a refugee and a former director at the Deutsches Theater
in Berlin.
A production also premiered on 16 December 2005 at the Wiener Burgtheater, with the lead roles taken by Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Sabine Haupt - its key point was that money was in lieu of honour. Another was put on at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in January 2005, with Martina Gedeck
as Minna, Ulrich Matthes
as Tellheim and Nina Hoss
as Franziska.
and Nicolas Kemmer) premiered on 2 December 2000 at the Theater Heilbronn
, with 22 performances in a run until 7 April 2001.
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
by the German author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
Gotthold Ephraim Lessing was a German writer, philosopher, dramatist, publicist, and art critic, and one of the most outstanding representatives of the Enlightenment era. His plays and theoretical writings substantially influenced the development of German literature...
. It has five acts, was begun in 1763 and completed in 1767 - its author put the year 1763 on the official title page, presumably to emphasize that the recent Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
plays a major part in the play, which is set on 22 August 1763. It is one of the most important comedies in German literature.
Plot
Wounded and dishonourably discharged from the Prussian ArmyPrussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
, Major von Tellheim finds himself waiting at a Berlin hotel with his servant for the outcome of his trial, threatened by financial troubles and serious bribery allegations. His penniless condition is because repayment of a large sum advanced to the government during the recent war is being held up and his honor in making the loan questioned. During Tellheim's absence from the inn, the landlord has caused Tellheim's effects to be removed, ostensibly because his rooms were needed for a lady and her maid. In reality, the landlord doubts Tellheim's ability to pay, since he is already somewhat in arrears.
In the removal of the Major's possessions, the landlord comes upon a sealed envelope marked as containing five hundred thalers. This discovery makes him anxious to placate Tellheim. What he does not know is that the money has been left with the Major by Paul Werner, his former sergeant. Werner knowing Tellheim's predicament is in hope that he will use the money as his own. Tellheim is too honorable to borrow when he has no assurance of repaying. Instead, he bids his servant, Just, take his last possession of value, an expensive ring, and pawn it to satisfy the landlord's bill and his own back wages.
Just pledges the ring with the landlord but refuses to accept either wages or dismissal on the plea that he is in Tellheim's debt and will have to work it out. The garrulous landlord shows the ring to his newly arrived guests, revealing considerable concerning the owner's circumstances. The lady, Minna von Barnhelm, recognizes the ring as one of the betrothal rings which she and Tellheim had exchanged, and is overjoyed that her search for her missing lover is ended.
When Tellheim appears, however, he refuses to accept her hand or to continue the engagement on account of his precarious circumstances. When no argument can move him, Minna with the help of her maid, Franziska, pretends that she, too, is penniless and in dire straits. Under these circumstances Tellheim immediately claims the privilege of marrying and protecting her.
At this point a delayed letter from the King is delivered. It announces the restoration of Tellheim's fortune and the vindication of his honor. To punish him for making her suffer, Minna now pretends that she cannot marry Tellheim because of the inequality of their circumstances. In answer to his pleas, she uses his own recent arguments to confound him. Only when Tellheim is reduced to the verge of despair and the belated arrival of Minna's uncle and guardian threatens to give the whole thing away does Minna relent and reveal the truth. In a final scene of celebration, matters are settled to the satisfaction of everyone including Franziska and Paul Werner who have discovered a lively interest in each other.
Performance history
The play had its world premiere at the 30th September 1767 in Hamburg but was then briefly banned from performance in a dispute with the Berlin censors. It then won huge stage success and was performed in all the main theatres in the German-speaking countries and then abroad. Goethe celebrated Minna to Eckermann in retrospect as "a shining Meteor. It made us aware something else existed, higher than the concept of that literary era." Later productions were particularly influenced by Goethe's comment that "One work, however, is the truest product of the Seven Years' War, a perfect north-German national product, one which I must honourably mention above all, the first theatrical production of real-life, set in a specific time, which had a more calculated effect than anything that came before: Minna von Barnhelm.“To date it is one of the most-performed plays in Germany. Scenes from it were performed at Bunce Court School
Bunce Court School
The Bunce Court School was an independent, private boarding school in the village of Otterden, in Kent, England. It was founded in 1933 by Anna Essinger, who had previously founded a boarding school, Landschulheim Herrlingen in the south of Germany, but after the Nazi Party seized power in 1933,...
, an exiled German Jewish refugee school in England. It was performed by refugee children under the direction of Wilhelm Marckwald
Wilhelm Marckwald
Wilhelm Marckwald was a German actor and director in both theatre and film. He went to Spain in 1933, fleeing to Stockholm as the political situation heated up. Accused of being a communist, he and his wife were forced to leave Sweden for France...
, also a refugee and a former director at the Deutsches Theater
Deutsches Theater
The Deutsches Theater in Berlin is a well-known German theatre. It was built in 1850 as Friedrich-Wilhelm-Städtisches Theater, after Frederick William IV of Prussia. Located on Schumann Street , the Deutsches Theater consists of two adjoining stages that share a common, classical facade...
in Berlin.
A production also premiered on 16 December 2005 at the Wiener Burgtheater, with the lead roles taken by Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Sabine Haupt - its key point was that money was in lieu of honour. Another was put on at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in January 2005, with Martina Gedeck
Martina Gedeck
Martina Gedeck is a German actress. She came to broader, international attention due to her roles in films such as Mostly Martha, The Lives of Others, and The Baader Meinhof Complex...
as Minna, Ulrich Matthes
Ulrich Matthes
Ulrich Matthes is a German actor.-Life and work:Ulrich Matthes was born in Berlin. He studied acting in the early 1980s in Berlin under Else Bongers. In the 2004 movie Downfall he plays Joseph Goebbels. In the 2004 movie The Ninth Day, he plays Fr. Henri Kremer, a Catholic priest imprisoned at...
as Tellheim and Nina Hoss
Nina Hoss
-Early life:Nina's father, Willi Hoss, was a German trade unionist and politician . Her mother, Heidemarie Rohweder, was an actress at Stuttgart National Theatre and later director of the Esslingen-based Württemberg State Playhouse .-Career:In 1997 Hoss graduated from the Drama School "Ernst Busch"...
as Franziska.
Musical
An adaptation as a musical (with book and lyrics by Michael Wildenhain, the idea and concept by Klaus Wagner, and the music by Konstantin WeckerKonstantin Wecker
Konstantin Alexander Wecker is one of the best-known German singer-songwriters ; he also works as a composer, author, and actor.- Life and work :...
and Nicolas Kemmer) premiered on 2 December 2000 at the Theater Heilbronn
Theater Heilbronn
Theater Heilbronn is a theatre in Baden-Württemberg , Germany....
, with 22 performances in a run until 7 April 2001.
Film
- 1940, as Das Fräulein von Barnhelm (Director: Hans SchweikartHans SchweikartHans Schweikart was a German film director, actor and screenwriter. He directed 28 films between 1938 and 1968. He wrote for the film The Marriage of Mr. Mississippi, which was entered into the 11th Berlin International Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* The Comedians * The Marriage of Mr...
), Germany - 1942 - The Barnhelm scenes, as part of the theatre-film "Fronttheater", the film ending with Heli Finkenzeller and René DeltgenRené DeltgenRenatus Heinrich Deltgen born 30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; died 29 January 1979 in Cologne, Germany) was a Luxemburgian stage and film actor, who spent most of his career in Germany.-Selected filmography:* Das Grosse Spiel...
acting the reconciliation at a performance in AthensAthensAthens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state... - 1957 Minna von Barnhelm of soldatengeluk (Director: Max Douwes), Netherlands
- 1960 Heldinnen (Director: Dietrich HaugkDietrich HaugkDietrich Haugk is a German film director. He was born on 12 May 1925 in Ellrich/Harz, Germany.He made his stage debut at a theater in Bielefeld in 1946 and has been a noted theater director since 1949 and served as the German dubbing voice of Vittorio Gassman, Dirk Bogarde, Montgomery Clift and...
; with Marianne KochMarianne KochMarianne Koch is a retired German actress of the 1950s and 1960s, best known for her appearances in spaghetti westerns and adventure films of the 1960s. She later worked as a television host and as a physician....
, Paul HubschmidPaul HubschmidPaul Hubschmid was a Swiss actor. He appeared as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady. In some Hollywood films he used the name Paul Christian...
, Johanna von KoczianJohanna von KoczianJohanna von Koczian is a German actress. She grew up in Salzburg, Austria, where actor Gustaf Gründgens offered her a role at the Salzburg Festival. She later portrayed Anna Frank at the Schiller theater in Berlin, but her breakthrough in cinema was her role in the 1957 remake of Victor and Victoria...
), BRDWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990.... - 1962 Minna von Barnhelm (Director: Martin Hellberg), DDR
- 1976 Minna von Barnhelm (Director: Franz Peter Wirth; with Reinhild Solf, Frank HoffmannFrank Hoffmann (actor)Frank Hoffmann is a German-Austrian actor. He trained at the Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich.-External links:* at IMDB...
), BRD