Trials and Tribunals in the Dramas of Heinrich Von KleistWhat makes the trial so appealing as dramatic form? Why do we watch? Is it simply the quest for truth and justice? Or is it much more than that? From the time of Sophocles, the court has fascinated audiences and dramatists alike. Kleist is no exception, as each of his dramas and many of his stories and anecdotes contain a trial of some sort from its most primitive form of hand-to-hand combat in the duel to more conventional legal proceedings in secular, military and ecclesiastical courts. At trial, we desire, whether consciously or unconsciously, to have our own system of beliefs and behaviours affirmed rather than to attempt to achieve justice: self-interest prevails at the expense of truth and equity. The focus of this book is the tension between the restoration of dikê, the balance of natural order, and the pursuit of truth and justice as impetus behind the trial. With recourse to the concept of legal instrumentalism, which underscores this preference for order over justice in both the law and literature, the author examines Kleist's dramas to determine the extent to which those individuals in positions of power are able to manipulate the proceedings, seeking not justice and truth, but rather the validation of their own particular version of order. The trial, a tool generally thought to be designed to discover truth and to mete out justice, is used instead, in the hands of the powerful, as an instrument of control and degradation. |
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Page 132
... Kottwitz.12 Since her goal is freedom for Homburg , she sees the petition as a trump card to be played if it should prove necessary : Gleichwohl will ich unter einem Blatte , Das , in des Herrn Entscheidung , klug gebraucht , Als ein ...
... Kottwitz.12 Since her goal is freedom for Homburg , she sees the petition as a trump card to be played if it should prove necessary : Gleichwohl will ich unter einem Blatte , Das , in des Herrn Entscheidung , klug gebraucht , Als ein ...
Page 133
... Kottwitz is stunned by the elector's reaction to his appearance with the petition : the colonel and his men are to act as the firing squad for Homburg , most likely as a vindictive punishment for daring to question the elector's ...
... Kottwitz is stunned by the elector's reaction to his appearance with the petition : the colonel and his men are to act as the firing squad for Homburg , most likely as a vindictive punishment for daring to question the elector's ...
Page 135
... Kottwitz criticizes the impoverished spirit , short - sightedness and poor statecraft of the decision to execute the prince . Although a soldier himself , the colonel makes a heartfelt argument surprisingly similar to Natalie's earlier ...
... Kottwitz criticizes the impoverished spirit , short - sightedness and poor statecraft of the decision to execute the prince . Although a soldier himself , the colonel makes a heartfelt argument surprisingly similar to Natalie's earlier ...
Contents
Acknowledgements | 7 |
Die Familie Schroffenstein | 25 |
Der zerbrochne Krug and Oedipus the King | 41 |
Copyright | |
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accused Achilles actions Adam's Alkmene Alkmene's Amazon Amazonian Amphitryon argues argument Aristan attempt audience behaviour believe Bruzzi chaos court courtroom Creon crime defend degradation ceremony demonstrates Der zerbrochne Krug deus ex machina Die Familie Schroffenstein Die Hermannsschlacht divine drama duel elector Erinyes erst evidence fact Frau Marthe Gericht Gerichtsrat gleich goal Gott guilty party Heinrich von Kleist Hermann Hermannsschlacht Herr high priestess Hohenzollern Homburg honour Huisum identity Jeronimus Jeronimus's jetzt Judge Adam judgement Jupiter Käthchen Kirchenvogt Kleist's emphasis Kottwitz Licht Luban manipulation Merkur motives murder muß Natalie natural order Oedipus Oedipus the King Oedipus's Ordnung Ottokar Penthesilea prince punishment question Recht Reeve reveal role Rupert Ruprecht Sache schon Schroffenstein seeks Septimius servant social order society soll Sosias Sosias's Strahl Sylvester tactics Theobald Thusnelda Tiresias trial situations truth and justice understanding Varus Wahrheit Walter weiß Welt willst witness wohl words Wort zerbrochne Krug