Moral

Moral

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Title: Moral
Author: Ludwig Thoma
Release Date: January, 2004 [EBook #4963] [Yes, we are more than
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Language: English

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Moral
Ludwig Thoma

INTRODUCTION
Dr. Ludwig Thoma, perhaps better known to his Bavarian countrymen
as Peter Schlemiehl, was born in Oberammergau on January 21, 1867.
After graduating from a gymnasium in Munich, he studied at the
School of Forestry at Aschauffenburg. He did not finish his course
there, but entered the University at Munich and received his degree as
Doctor Juris in 1893.
A year later Dr. Thoma began to practice law; but he abandoned that
pursuit in 1899 to follow a career for which his inclinations and talents
so happily fitted him.
He had been writing humorous verses for Simplicissimus for several
years under the pen name of Pete Schlemiehl, with such success that
the paper almost became identified by that name. These poems were
later published in book form under the title--Grobheiten.
His prose writings in Bavarian dialect as well as his boyhood
experiences entitled, Lausbubengeschichten, won a large and warm
audience. In 1899 he became the editor of Simplicissimus. From then
on his renown grew. The foremost critics of German letters began to
take notice of this "Bavarian Aristophanes" and to compare him to
Heine and the classics.
When Moral and Lottchen's Birthday appeared, while the reviewers
shook their heads and stated that Dr. Thoma was shocking (so in
original) they concluded that their author was "casting a long shadow."
To-day Dr. Thoma is a recognized figure in Germany. Prof. Robert F.
Arnold in "Das Moderne Drama" (Strassburg, 1908) ranks him next to
Hauptmann. His writings are numerous. A vein, satirical and humorous,

with a conception of the pathetic, makes him more than an equal to
Mark Twain. In addition he is possessed of a message, which he
delivers in the Moral.
First produced in 1908 the play soon became a part and parcel of the
repertoire of the leading theatres in Germany. It was put on for the first
time in New York, in German, at the Irving Place Theatre in the spring
of 1914, through the efforts of the late Heinrich Matthias and the writer.
Mr. Matthias then played the part of Beermann. Mr. Christians, the
director, repeated the performance a number of times that season, each
performance meeting with a warm response.
The late Percival Pollard was the first American critic to emphasize the
importance of Dr. Thoma's work in his excellent resume of
contemporary German literature: Masks and Minstrels of Modern
Germany. He pointed out "that no country where hypocrisy or
puritanism prevail as factors in the social and municipal conduct should
be spared the corrective acid of this play."
H. L. Mencken and George Jean Nathan for many years have sung
praises of the Moral in the Smart Set. But its production on the English
speaking stage still remains an event eagerly to be awaited. Briefly, the
play is a polemic against the "men higher up," churchmen, reformers,
and social hypocrites.
The translation follows the text implicitly. Four different versions were
made all varying in a degree from the original, and although Dr. Thoma
wrote to the writer "bin auch damit einverstanden dass Sie in der
Ubersetzung meines Schauspieles 'Moral' etwaige Aenderungen oder
Adaptiereungen, die durch die englisch-amerikanischen Verhaltnisse
und den Geschmack des amerikanischen Theatrepublikums geboten
erscheinen, in entsprechender Weise vornehmen ..." it was deemed best
for purposes of publication to try to preserve the original atmosphere
without an attempt to even transpose such phrases as Gnadige Frau, or
Herr Kommerzienrat.
CHARLES RECHT.
New York, October, 1916.

PERSONS OF THE PLAY
FRITZ BEERMANN, a wealthy landowner and