The reflection of Viennese life and society in the dramas

Abstract

This thesis represents an attempt to analyse the manner in which the plays of Ferdinand Raimund reflect the life and society in the city of Vienna, taking into account the theatrical heritage of popular comedy and the practical considerations of the commercial theatre as well as the artistic aspirations of Raimund himself. The introduction contains a brief account of Raimund's life and an attempt is made to place the events of his life and his career as an actor against their social and theatrical background. In the first chapter, allusions occuring in the texts of the plays to localities, to local customs and institutions, to topical events and to theatrical productions are explained and some mention is made of problems posed by the dialect. In the second chapter the significance of the local allusion in the genre of local parody is considered as well as the incorporation of local elements in stage-sets, in properties and in courses of action. Attention is drawn to the gradual abandonment by Raimund of these stock devices for comic effect. In the third chapter the characters of Raimund's plays are examined and the extent to which they derive from stock characters of the popular theatre and from characteristics of actors of the Leopoldstadt ensemble is considered in an attempt to assess the extent of their affinity with the citizens of Vienna. The fourth chapter contains a discussion of the reflection in Raimund's early plays of the superficial gaiety of the city and a suggestion that as he develops as a dramatist, his plays penetrate the surface to some extent. The thesis is concluded with some remarks upon the relationship of Raimund's talent with the city in which it was nurtured.