Elizabeth Zirk 21.

December 2006

The Dilemma of Gender in Frank Wedekinds Frhlings Erwachen

San Francisco State University German 814: Crisis and Quest Professor Langbehn

Every culture of the world is permeated by one universal aspect: sex. There are women and there are men. Nearly every culture agrees that females and males together produce offspring. Aside from the reproductive values however, each culture attaches social values to the male and female sexes. In turn of twentieth century Europe, women and men were thought to possess certain values as only their sex allowed. Men were the politicians, the lawyers, the doctors, the breadwinners; they were more aggressive and intelligent. Women were at home, nursing children, writing letters to friends, making sure the house was clean; they were more temperate and good-natured. Women could bear children. Men were physically more muscular. Sex it would seem was directly linked to the gender of a person. Gender is, in this definition (exclusively social origins of subjective identities), a social category imposed on a sexed body.1 At this time, women were seen in four ways: production, reproduction, sexuality, and socialization of children. These definitions of the female gender are interlinked with the sexual nature of a woman. The worlds of gender and sex often bleed together. Producing children belonged to the medical world and doctors valued themselves as not only a physical guardian of women, but also a moral one. Since the value of a womans reproductive organs was tied to her societal value, doctors were extenuating the moral attitudes towards women. There were many diseases known only to women because the cause of the disease was due to the ovaries, menstruation, etc. By treating female diseases with prescriptions for inactivity, doctors were furthering the idea that women should be passive. Its a catch-22, out of which women were hard-pressed to find their way. Women were ill not only because they were women, but because they must have been doing something outside of their roles as females. Males didnt experience the same type of restriction, as their gender role allowed for greater mobility in society. However, a man who did not act responsibly towards his family or was unable to provide for his family was not considered a man. As a man, oppression was common, albeit a much different kind of oppression than for women. Even in our own modern world, the male gender is a three-dimensional role: status, toughness, and anti-femininity.2 If anti-femininity is considered one of the roles of males, then women and men are defined in terms of one another, as Scott says. Since men and women are such opposites, femininity could be seen as passionless maternity or weak sensuality,
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Scott Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis Ed. Shoemaker, R., Vincent, M. 1998 Kimmel Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity Ed. Sage, 1987

which is only roused by the actions of men. Men are also unable to give life as women are able to do. Instead of praising this in women, it is seen as a disease. Male domination, then, is an effect of mens desire to transcend their alienation from the means of the reproduction of the species. Men and women share the ability to create new life, since we are not asexual creatures and need the other sex to do so, but since the role of men was to be aggressive and dominant, females will always be seen as weaker. Females and males should complement each other, but instead women have their roles defined due to the societal upper hand of the male gender. This could be confused for men trying to dominate women, but in fact women are meant to be dominated, if we adhere to the idea of women being defined by men. This dilemma of gender versus sex is seen throughout literature. Frank Wedekind wrote many plays, which encountered gender issues of his time. Some critics would consider Wedekind ahead of his time, calling his work early expressionist theater. Wedekind himself had conflicting views of sexuality and morality. His plays often show women as prostitutes, women who have no inhibitions regarding sex. This would support Wedekinds idea that women should embrace a more encompassing and free manner towards sex. However, Wedekind also links prostitutes with financial need, debasing a womans worth in monetary terms to one value, sex. Already, there is a tone of ambiguity in his writing. Wedekind grew up in a house where his mother instilled in him the values of the day. When it came to women, Wedekind was raised to expect domesticity in a wife, something he ultimately hated. He was drawn to the exotic and sexual in a woman and despised his mother for raising him to expect the opposite. Hence, most of his plays toy with the idea of woman as sexual animal, as well as independent of thought. His play, Frhlings Erwachen, shows not women but girls. He specifically tries to create a world where girls and boys experiment with their sexuality, as well as contrasting the adult world with the teenage world. The adults represent the old ideals common to women and men at the turn of the twentieth century. The children represent all the conflict surrounding budding sexuality, perhaps what Wedekind was trying so desperately to overcome. The character who is on the verge of discovering her sexuality is Wendla. Wendla Bergmann appreciates being a girl. In Act I Scene III, she states that It must be a thousand times more wonderful to be loved by a man than by a girl, implying two things: Wendla

would not wish to change her sex as the other girls would and that she is already thinking about men loving women in a more intimate sense. After this statement, Melchior walks past the girls. All the girls admire him and his accomplishments, such as being third in his class at school. Wendla is obviously interested in him and in following scenes, seeks Melchior out. However, Wendla also understands the social values of males. In the same scene, she says that she only wishes for boys when she becomes a mother. At the time, males were prized as children and were raised to be citizens of the city and country. Women were merely producers and dependent on their husbands or fathers for practically everything. Wendla can visualize herself as a mother in the future, understanding that her role as a girl is to become a woman, marry and have babies. Wendla embodies the two very different ideas between gender and sex. She also seems to understand and accept the societal values of women. By embodying both the gender and sex of a female, it would seem that she is capable of relieving the tension between the two; perhaps even abiding by the social rules of becoming a woman. However, Wendla is the only character in the play that actively pursues sex and sexuality. In Act II Scene II, she asks her mother about babies. While her mother tries to convince her that the stork delivers babies, Wendla knows this isnt true. She implores her mother, saying Im an aunt for the third time, and I dont even know how it happens Dont scold me. How does it happen? Im fourteen years old. How can you still expect me to believe in the stork? Her mother is appalled that Wendla would be so forward regarding what to her is a delicate subject. Her mother was raised to only embody the domesticity and asexual nature of a mother. From her perspective, she is unable to answer Wendlas questions because her social role as mother prevents her from doing so. Being female involved a sense of purity, purity stems from innocence, which was attained by being ignorant. Frau Bergmann, as Wendlas mother, represents the prudish nature of a domesticated woman. Innocent Wendla merely says: How can it be ugly when it makes everyone so happy? Wendlas innocence is what later gets her into trouble, since her mother never divulged to her the true nature of sex. When Wendla becomes pregnant, Wendla is astounded, curious as to how a pregnancy could have happened since she was not in love with Melchior. Wendla confused her mothers description of sex as love, because her mother used the word so often to help

maintain Wendlas innocence. Due to her mothers guidance, Wendla doesnt even realize that she might be pregnant. It will be better soon. He said so. / It wont. It wont! Im going to die, Mother! / No, no, no. You wont have to die you wont / Then why are you crying? When her mother outright tells her that she is with child, Wendla and her mother exchange blame for their circumstances. Her mother says Wendla, what have you done!, while Wendla laments Why didnt you tell me! Her mothers response is telling: I did the same to you as my mother did to me. For society, the pregnancy is a sin. Pregnant women, even married ones, were seen as ill during the nine months of their condition. Unmarried women were not only ill then, but were bestowed this disease as a punishment for sinning. Even within the normal social role of producing children, women were at the same time thought to be weaker for their ability to give life. Marriage was a way for a man to claim a woman as his own, thereby claiming the children she gave him as his own. Aside from the biological aspects, how could a woman be able to give birth to a child who had no identity? Even worse for Frau Bergmann, Wendla is a mere girl in societys eyes. Her pregnancy is not only a punishment for Wendla, but also for her family. As her mother, Frau Bergmann was responsible for raising Wendla. Now with the sin of an unwed mother on her hands, Frau Bergmann does what she thinks is right. Wendlas abortion is not the immoral killing of a child, but rather the only way to avoid criticism from society. With Wendlas death, her familys reputation, especially her mothers, is restored. Since the societal values of a female, either mother or daughter, were not adhered to with Wendla becoming pregnant, society would be unable to see the females in that family as anything but social outcasts. Wendlas mother maintained Wendlas ignorance by not revealing everything to her daughter, but failed to realize Wendlas curiosity and navet in regards to sexuality. Through Wendlas ignorance, her innocence was compromised and therefore her ability to become a woman and full-fledged member of the female gender and sex within societal constraints. In the literal sense, Wendlas only option in the text was to die. Moritz Stiefel is born to the male sex, but there are many instances within the text where Moritz identifies with the female gender. In Act II Scene I, Moritz speaks with Melchior about his schoolwork. Moritz is obviously rattled by his situation, trying to keep pace with the other students. He says: Im shaking, Melchior. Its like Im not in my

body. This could speak to the modern idea of transsexuals, where men dress like women and vice versa because they feel they were born the wrong sex. The fact that he exists in Wedekinds time, as well as being an adolescent, creates Moritzs tense environment. Directly after this statement, Moritz tells Melchior of The Queen without a Head, who was the most beautiful woman in her kingdom, even though she was born without a head. It speaks to the idea that female beauty is not found in the head of a woman, her intellect for example, but in her body and reproductive abilities. The Queen cant kiss or laugh or see, but she is able to communicate with her gentle hands; she stamps her feet to declare war. When a king with two heads comes to conquer her kingdom, the Queen receives one of his heads and they marry. Moritz sees this Queen whenever he looks at a girl, even seeing himself as the Queen. Here is a connection between Moritz and the Queen, since Moritz eventually kills himself with a pistol to the head. Also, that Moritz identifies with a female character rather than the king with two heads. The Queen is being compared to the king with two heads; he has something which complements the queen, the female. Only then are the two royals able to live in peace and remain happy. Moritzs own retort to this story is How stupid! In the same scene, Moritz explains how he thinks girls experience sex. Not only does he describe at length what an orgasm for a girl must feel like, but concludes with: I think the satisfaction that a man receives at a time like that must be hollow and dull in comparison. Moritz would also prefer to identify with the female in terms of her social values. After talking with Ilse in Act II Scene VII, Moritz volleys back and forth between lying to his male friends about conquering Ilse and actually wanting to be Ilse. Ilse is a girl, who has chosen the bohemian way of life, as opposed to the middle-class way of life, which Moritz leads. She poses for artists as figures from literature and history, sometimes also in the nude. She overnights with her artists and engages in sexual relationships with them, always remembering that shes getting paid for her job as a model. One of thems painting me as a saint on a Corinthian column. Hes a nut. I step on a tube of paint and he wipes his brush in my hair. I slap him one and he throws his palette at me. He swore a truce but ended up just kissing and kissing and kissing me like a demon. [] Its amazing how time flies when youre earning money! Ilse is the representative of Wedekinds idealized woman, who lives freely with her sexuality and speaks her mind, even when her thoughts

are not in line with how society would want women to behave. Moritz is not intimidated by Ilse or her lifestyle. Nor is he intrigued by her open sexuality. However, his male friends might wish themselves a good friend of a woman like Ilse. Even within this conversation with Ilse, Moritz feels pressure. If he tells his friends he conquered Ilse, they would praise him for his manly and aggressive actions. Moritz would, however, only be deepening the rift between himself and society, since he does not identify with these values. If Moritz tells his friends how much he longs to be just like Ilse, they will think him a fool and weak man. This would put Moritz in a difficult situation because he would be unable to live within the social constructs of his world. Moritz would want nothing more than to get rid of the duties put on his shoulders, such as excelling at school and conquering women. The reason he commits suicide is due to these growing pressures. Moritz, however, also embodies as certain navet concerning sexuality. He wants the Schamgefhl of the sexes not to exist and wants his children to sleep in the same bed. In Act 1, Scene 2 when Moritz and Melchior discuss children, Moritz asks Melchior if feeling ashamed is a product of education and upbringing. Melchior responds with, I decided it must be something really deep in human nature. Imagine taking off all your clothes in front of your best friend. You wouldnt do it unless he did it, too. Melchior seems to understand the base and real nature of humans, whereas Moritz seems lost in an idealized world, where his children of different sexes would sleep in one big bed. While Moritz thinks that this would prevent any ashamed feelings in his own children, Melchior warns him of the realities between the sexes. But what if the girls have babies? Moritz replies with Babies? For Moritz, children of the same family would not be sexual towards each other because they are part of the same family. Also, Moritz does not see children as struggling with sexuality once they begin to grow up; he sees children almost like animals. This is quite ironic and surprising, considering his own situation in budding sexuality and all the dilemmas he encounters. Moritz, while nave, understands that he does not truly belong in the company of Melchior or the other boys. Melchior is a character who experiences many aspects of gender and sex and in the end, has the chance to explore more of himself and the world. To society, Melchior is the perfect male. He is successful in his schoolwork, he is independent, and he is admired by females. We also see another male aspect to Melchior in his aggressiveness towards

Wendla. In Act I Scene V, Wendla persuades Melchior to beat her with a tree branch. At first, he declines, insisting that shes crazy. But eventually, he grabs the branch and begins beating her. When its not enough for Wendla, he begins beating her with not only the branch but his fists, giving her a black eye and bruises. He allows his passion to overwhelm him and he cries as he beats her. Amidst his tears, Melchior runs away into the forest. In the beginning, Melchior may have done what was common for a male. He didnt wish to hurt her, but was intrigued. However, once Melchior began beating Wendla, he became aggressive. His reaction to his own aggressiveness was horror. Melchior obviously does not want this particular male gender value. This desire to be unmale appears also in Act III Scene IV, when Melchior watches boys masturbate at the reformatory. The boys compete to see who can ejaculate onto a target first. Melchior declines and thinks about Wendla. Instead of joining in the competition and attaching himself to their aggressive sexual activity, he thinks of how he stole Wendlas freedom. He feels guilty and hopes that she will forgive him. He also does something that directly contradicts the male persona of society. He takes responsibility for Wendla. When women would become pregnant before being married, they were to blame for their predicament. Women were either angels or whores. Men were responsible for their wives and children, not their mistresses. Melchior proves to be an independent thinker in regards to his own gender identity. Melchior also shows true independence by declaring himself an atheist, something which society did not accept. He states, before raping Wendla, that Theres no such thing as love! Its all selfishness and ego! Melchior views the world in this light and embodies the male image of egoism, even when his actions have affected others. He mocks Wendlas desire to help the poor in Act I Scene V and concentrates on his own dismal situation once the sexual encounter with Wendla occurs. His ego also shows up when his teachers interrogate him following the discovery of his so-called pornographic literature. Melchior doesnt appeal to his teachers, nor does he apologize. I wrote nothing but what is a very well known fact to all of you! Please show me where there is one offense against decency! It can be seen both ways: Melchior is egoistic and would not yield his opinions just because his teachers were disciplining him or Melchior directly rebels against his teachers by not apologizing for his views towards sex and sexuality. The latter is more in

tune with what Wedekind would have wished to portray. But in fact, most of Wedekinds text is ambiguous. This excerpt shows that with its duality of interpretation. As the story ends, Melchior is confronted by a masked man and his dead friend, Moritz. He walks through the graveyard and sees Wendlas tombstone, to which he admits to himself his self-doubt and self-hatred. He calls himself her murderer. Moritz appears and wishes to take Melchior with him to his grave, where they both can rest in peace, without worry of ruined reputation or pressures from society. Melchior is seduced by the idea of not having to remember what he did to Wendla and nearly takes Moritzs hand. Because Im an outcast. I hate myself, Moritz, I despise myself Then the masked man appears, just as suddenly as Moritz. He places himself between Moritz and Melchior, forcing Melchior to choose. Ultimately, Melchior chooses to live and walks out of the graveyard with the masked man, apologizing to Moritz, Goodbye Moritz. I dont know where this man is leading me, but at least hes alive Melchior chooses to live his life, regardless of where it leads him. He is the only character to survive his struggles with sexuality and have a chance at using his experiences to form his adult identity. In the end, with this decision, Melchior has established himself as a man because of his ability to comprehend society, as well as his capacity to find himself within the constraints of society. These can be seen as not merely male aspects, but human aspects; of which Wendla and Moritz will never have the chance to understand, due to the outcomes of their stories. Without the parents, however, the children would not embody the female and male characteristics attributed to them. Wendlas innocence was established by her own mother, through ignorance, which eventually led to her death. Moritzs feelings of pressure are due to the expectations of his parents, which also eventually led to his death. For Wendla and Moritz, the parents are a vital element to how they perceive themselves and each other. As Moritz starts to panic and think of ways out of his pressured life, he writes to Melchiors mother and asks for her assistance in leaving the country. In a previous scene, Moritz was present at Melchiors home, where Melchior felt comfortable treating his mother as a servant, who wasnt bringing the tea quickly enough. Moritz sees Melchiors mother as an ally, who might understand his feelings of discomfort and alienation. Moritz can identify with a womans plight since he identifies with the female already. Also, it is not his own mother who he asks for advice. She writes back to him, stating that she is not his ally and

politely tells him to grow up, to be a man about the whole situation. Your attempt to make me seem responsible for your possible commission of a grievous sin seems very much like blackmail. Such behavior is the least I should have expected of you. Accept the matter as it stands. The language used in her letter is as if she were writing to someone she did not know well at all, even though Moritz is one of her sons best friends. None of the familiar and informal terminology is used. As Melchiors parents find out about Wendla, as well as Melchiors rebellion against his teachers, they have a rather poignant conversation. At first, Melchiors mother defends her son and would not wish for her son to be sent away, in order to be reformed. His father, on the other hand, is very much in favor of sending Melchior away. Women are not meant to judge such things. A person capable of writing what Melchior wrote must be rotten to the core. His very marrow is tainted. His father sees his rebellion at school to be the most despicable act, since it directly contradicts the notion of the male being intelligent and socially accepted. Towards the end of their dialogue, the mother is the one to suggest the reformatory, to which the father is pleased. Tell me, Fanny! Where shall I send the boy? / To the reformatory! / Hell have no alternative but to submit. The boy will be taught to desire what is good rather than what is interesting As soon as she learns Melchior has had sex with Wendla, she agrees to send Melchior to reformatory. She harbors no sympathy for Wendla, not even curiosity, since Melchior has obviously replaced his mother with a new female image, that of Wendla. Part of her anger may be that her son has crossed the boundaries of boy versus man; part of it may be because she has been replaced. But Adults in Frhlings Erwachen are morally outraged at their children, but by the same token they are morally outclassed. In order to assert and flaunt their superiority, they treat their children like animals.3 Melchiors mother sends her son away, as if he were a wayward dog who needs more obedience training. It would seem, then, that Wedekinds view of teenage sexuality is ambiguous and risky at best. There is no single image of human nature, no definitive answer to the question: what is a human being? The parents do represent the conventions of society in regards to sexuality. The children do represent the struggle between following such conventions and discovering ones own identity. Wendla understands the conventions that
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Del Caro The Beast, the Bad, and the Body Colloquia Germanica 1991

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surround her. She is content with being a girl, all the while knowing that she must grow up and marry. She is also independent of thought when she is alone with her mother. Not only does she repeatedly ask about sex, to which her mother never fully divulges the truth; she also confronts her mothers avoidance of the issues. In the very first scene of the play, Wendla wishes her mother would allow her to wear an old dress, instead of having to wear a new one. Her mother wishes her to wear the new one because it is longer and covers more of her body. Already, her mother knows that Wendla is growing into a woman and she wishes to keep Wendla away from realizing this. But Wendla directly challenges her mother. This quality in a girl was unwanted. Fortunately for Wendlas mother, Wendla does not show this behavior in public. Moritz, while born a male, sides with the female gender. His pressured life is short-lived and he represents the side of teenage sexuality which is never fully realized. His relationships with both children and adults are dysfunctional. Melchiors relationships are not as dysfunctional, simply because he plays the part of the perfect male so well. Once he steps outside the lines of being perfect, he does not change himself to match societys ideals. The pressures of society that Moritz feels are not as strong to Melchior. Melchior is able to create his own male gender ideals. Wendla and Moritz do not survive their teenage years due to societys strong hold on their positions as females and males. Their sexuality is not the problem, but rather how society sees their sexuality. Tragedy stems not from eros itself, but from societys attempt to block eros.4 If we are to accept that men and women are defined in contrast to one another, then we can also choose to believe that the current definitions of man and woman are able to change. Melchior is a character who has defined himself outside of societys borders. Is he not a new man? Who is then the new woman to oppose him? In Wedekinds world of uneven and distorted definitions of gender, the source of unequal relations between the sexes is unequal relations between the sexes.5 Men and women will always be different from each other because they need to be biologically, in order to produce more men and women. These different qualities in men and women, at least to Wedekind, were not only biological, but social. Are we to think that since biological differences are unable to change, that the social definitions are as well? Wedekind tries to attack this idea of unchanging social and moral values in sex and gender. If good and bad are removed,
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Sokel The Changing Role of Eros in Wedekinds Drama German Quarterly 1966 Scott Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis Ed. Shoemaker, R., Vincent, M. 1998

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moral judgment and the polarizing aspects of an individuals fall from grace and the good citizen are eliminated. For Wedekind, sexuality is socially constructed as a complex transmission point of power relations between men and women.6 For the reader, we can only hope that Melchior, as the survivor of the teenage struggle in sexuality and gender, will triumph over society and make his way through life as his own man. If he is able to do this, then we are allowed to believe that social and moral values are able to change. While gender and sex are still discussion topics for our modern world, Wedekinds Frhlings Erwachen remains a snapshot of a time when the discussion of gender and sex wasnt even on the table. Wedekinds forward-thinking works are a testament to his vision of a more progressive attitude towards gender.

Bibliography 1. Boa, Elizabeth. The Sexual Circus: Wedekinds Theatre of Subversion. New York: Basil Blackwell Ltd, 1987. 2. Davidoff, Leonore. Adam spoke first and names the orders of the world: Masculine and Feminine Domains in History and Sociology. Gender and History in Western Europe. Ed. Robert Shoemaker and Mary Vincent. London: Arnold, 1998. 85104. 3. Del Caro, Adrian. The Beast, the Bad, and the Body: Moral Entanglement in Wedekinds Fruhlings Erwachen Colloquia Germanica. v24 n1 p1-12, 1991.

Boa The Sexual Circus: Wedekinds Theatre of Subversion Ed. Blackwell, 1987

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4. Diethe, Carol. Aspects of Distorted Sexual Attitudes in German Expressionist Drama. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, 1988. 5. Duffin, Lorna. The Conspicuous Consumptive: Woman as an Invalid. The Nineteenth Century Woman. Ed. Sara Delamont and Lorna Duffin. London: Croom Helm/Barnes & Noble Publishing, 1978. 26-56 6. Jacobi-Dittrich, Juliane. Growing Up Female in the Nineteenth Century. German Women in the Nineteenth Century: A Social History. Ed. John C. Fout. New York: Holmes and Meier Publishing, 1984. 197-217. 7. Kimmel, Michael. Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity Newbury Park, California: Sage Publications, 1987. 8. Orme, Eliza. Womans Work in Creation: A Reply. Gender and Science: Late Nineteenth-Century Debates on Female Mind and Body. Ed. Katharina Rowold. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1996. 9. Scott, Joan W. Gender: A Useful Category of Historical Analysis. Gender and History in Western Europe. Ed. Robert Shoemaker and Mary Vincent. London: Arnold, 1998. 42-65. 10. Sokel, Walter H. The Changing Role of Eros in Wedekinds Drama The German Quarterly. v39 n2 p201-207, 1966. 11. Wedekind, Frank. Frank Wedekind: Four Major Plays. Trans. Carl R. Mueller. Lyne, New Hampshire: Smith and Kraus Inc, 2000. 1-51.

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