Wedekind employs satire to warn against the dangers of lack of education for the youth of the play. Spring Awakening, as it is known to English audiences, tells the story of three teenagers, who are being awakened to their sexual desires. However, they are entirely unprepared to deal with these desires. Thus, “the awakening leads to death” (Boa, Spring Awakening 27) in the case of two of the characters and leads the third character to become “imprisoned as a moral degenerate.” (Ziegler 5) In 2007, Spring Awakening: A New Musical, based on Wedekind’s play, premiered on Broadway. It went on to win eight Tony Awards. This musical took most of the original scenes and interlaced modern, pop musical numbers into it. The songs served as a way to show the modernity of the issues raised in the play and to show the innermost thoughts of the characters.
In the original play, the problem lies with the parents, who have failed to educate their children on matters of sex and their bodies. This leaves their children ill prepared to deal with their sexual urges for one another. The adults attempt to mold their children into their own “ideal self-image” (Boa, Spring Awakening 35-36) They do all of this “in the name of morality, but in reality to satisfy personal desires.” (Boa, Spring Awakening 35-36) One could make the argument that the tragedy of the play occurs because of the adults. Moritz commits suicide only after his father disowns him for failing in school. Wendla dies at the hand of an abortionist only after her mother forces her to get an abortion for fear of what people would think of the family if her child were to have a child. Melchior is sent to a penitentiary only after his mother turns on him for standing by the girl he has gotten pregnant. Each of their fates are foreshadowed early on in the play. Wedekind cleverly clues the reader into what will happen. In the second scene of the first act, Melchior remarks,
I believe in instinct. I believe, for example, that if one brought up a male and a female cat together, and kept both separated from the outside world—that is, left them entirely to their own devices—that, sooner or later, the she cat would become pregnant, even if she, and the tom cat as well, had nobody to open their eyes by example. (Wedekind 17)
This is exactly what happens to the lovers. They are left to their own devices and Melchior uses knowledge that he has attained by reading books rather than being taught to have sex with Wendla, which results in her pregnancy. Moritz, in the fourth scene of the first act, says, “if I hadn’t been promoted I would have shot myself.” (Wedekind 26) This ends up happening after he falls to pass the next examination, which means he will not move on in the fall. Wendla, as she is about to find out about her pregnancy, exclaims, “I must die, Mother—O Mother, I must die!” (Wedekind 60) She dies a few, short scenes later after an abortion goes wrong.
The Broadway musical took the original play and added music to it. The songs served multiple purposes. The main being that it transported this play from the late 1800’s to the early 2000’s. The dialogue is set in the original time period, whereas, the songs jump into modern day. Steven Sater, the writer of the screenplay, wrote in the preface to the play that, “the time jumping structure of [the] show is meant, thus, to underscore the sadly enduring relevance of our theme.” (Sater, Preface IX) The themes in the original play have not gone away with time. They have continued to plague the youth of the world. The songs also show the readers a new side of the story. The play is “full of the unheard, anguished cries of young people.” (Sater, Preface VII) these songs give the characters their own voice, their own thoughts. They allow the audience to see into the minds of each of the characters and to see the internal struggle that each character is going through. The songs key the audience into the “unspoken, what is hidden. The “real story”” (Sater, Preface VIII) The rest of this paper will focus on some of the songs of the play and what they tell the reader about each of the characters that are singing them.
The first scene opens with Wendla getting ready for the day ahead. She and her mother argue about what she should wear. Wendla wants to wear a shorter dress. Her mother would prefer that she wear a more age appropriate dress. Frau Bergman remarks, “But you are already…in bloom.” (Sater and Sheik 16) In this same scene, Wendla questions her mother on how a woman conceives a child. Her mother does not want to tell her anything. She would prefer to keep Wendla in the dark. She eventually remarks, “For a woman to bear a child, she must… in her own personal way, she must…love her husband. Love him, as she can love only him. Only him…she must love—with her whole heart.” (Sater and Sheik 17) Her child remains in the dark on the subject. Shortly before this interaction, Wendla sings Mama Who Bore Me. Shortly after, she sings the reprise of this same song and all of the girls join in. She sings, “Mama who bore me/Mama who gave me/No way to handle things, Who made me so sad.” (Sater and Sheik 15) She is lamenting the fact that her mother keeps her in the dark. Because of this she had no idea what to do about the feelings she is having and changes that she is going through. The word sad changes to bad halfway through the end of the song. Wendla sings, “Mama who bore me/Mama who gave me/no way to handle things, Who made me so bad.” (Sater and Sheik 15) Wendla has no idea what sex is or the repercussions that can come from having sex. This means that after having sex with Melchior, she does not realize that she has done anything wrong. Her mother asks, “Wendla, what have you done?” (Sater and Sheik 80) She replies, “I don’t know. Truly, I don’t.” (Sater and Sheik 80) Unfortunately, she truly does not understand what she has done. When she realizes the action that caused her pregnancy she is shocked. She remarks, “That? How could that…? I just wanted to be with him… My God, why didn’t you tell me everything?” (Sater and Sheik 80) From the opening song, Wendla foreshadows that her ignorance will be her downfall. Her ignorance makes her bad.
The reader is introduced to Melchior and Moritz in the next scene. Moritz is asked to continue a recitation of Virgil’s Aeneid. He says “Multum Olim,” (Sater and Sheik 20) rather than “multum ille.” (Sater and Sheik 21) Melchior sticks up for his friend. He believes that while Moritz was wrong, the answer he gave made sense within the work. Their professor forces Melchior to correct Moritz. Melchior lashes out in his song, All That’s Known (Sater and Sheik 21-22.)
All that’s known
In History, in Science,
Overthrown
At school, at home,
by blind men.
In these lines, Melchior is pointing out that history and science do not matter. The adults of the play blindly ignore what history and science tell them in favor of what the Bible tells them.
All they say
Is, “Trust in What Is Written.”
Wars are made,
And somehow that is wisdom.
The adults want the children to blindly believe what they are told through school and through the Bible.
Thought is suspect
And money is their idol
And nothing is okay unless it’s scripted in their Bible
But I know
There’s so much more to find–
Just in looking through myself, and not at them
Melchior is lamenting the fact that the adults see someone with their own thoughts as a threat. In their eyes, everyone should think the same thing and act the same way. This is partly why in the musical all adult roles are played by the same actor or actress. This shows that the adults have no original thoughts. “The adults mouth received ideas transmitted through the institutions of family, school, church, and the law, the bastions of the social order” (Boa, Spring Awakening 38) rather than thinking for themselves. Melchior questions this and struggles with conforming to this society. The second line reads, “And money is their idol.” (Sater and Sheik 21) The adults are concerned with “power; extension of the ego in their children; and sexual pleasure.” (Boa, Spring Awakening 38) They care about appearances and how they are treated within the society. Money gives them some sort of power in the society and honor. They want their children to be reflections of themselves, and act rashly when their children act differently. Melchior continues, “And nothing is okay unless it’s scripted in their Bibile.” (Sater and Sheik 22) This reinforces the fact that the adults allow what the Bible says to overshadow any other information that they have been given. They allow the Bible to rule their lives and expect their children to do the same. Melchior finishes the verse by singing, “But I know/there’s so much more to find.” (Sater and Sheik 22) Melchio will not give up. He will continue to look for answers and question what he is told. He will never stop gaining knowledge. This knowledge that he acquires leads to his downfall. He finishes the song with the ling, “And one day all will know…” (Sater and Sheik 22) Melchior trusts that one day everyone will be like him. He hopes that one day students will not be forced to think one way. One day everyone will be able to think for themselves.
The next song occurs in the same scene. The Bitch of Living introduces the rest of the male characters, all of which are struggling with their sexual desires. It starts out with the boys struggling with the shame they feel about their “dirty” thoughts. They sing, “It’s the bitch of living/with nothing but your hand./Just the bitch of living/As someone you can’t stand.” (Sater and Sheik 28) They are all trapped within their desires, which they do not realize is normal. They have never been told that these thoughts are normal for boys of their age. They are each ashamed of what they are thinking. Melchior changes the chorus later in the song to “It’s the bitch of living—And living in your head./It’s the bitch of living/And sensing God is dead.” (Sater and Sheik 25) Melchior is trapped within his own mind. He wants to learn and he does not want to conform to the society. The song cocludes with the boys questioning if this is all that their life will amount to.
Moritz and Boys:
It’s the bitch of living—
And getting what you get.
Just the bitch of living—
Moritz:
And knowing this is it.
Melchior, Moritz, and boys:
God, is this it?
This can’t be it.
Oh God, what a bitch.
These boys are doomed to become their parents if they continue on the path that they are on. They all sense that there is something more to life, but none of them know what it is or how to achieve it.
One major issue that this play deals with is physical and sexual abuse of some of Martha and Ilse.
Ilse, Martha, and Boys:
You say all you want it just a kiss good night,
Then you hold me and you whisper, “Child, the Lord won’t mind.”
It’s just you and me.
Child, you’re a beauty.”
There is a part I can’t tell
About the dark I know well.
Both of these girls have been abused by their fathers. Wendla is fascinated by their abuse, which leads to one of the most disturbing scenes in the play. Elizabeth Boa claims that in this scene, “the audience watches two children who do not understand their own feelins, and who suffer when their fantasies becaome all too paingful reality.” (Boa, Spring Awakening 44) Furthermore in another article she says, “Man acts, woman is acted upon.” (Boa, Wedekind and the ‘Woman Question’ 180) Melchior hits Wendla and she does absolutely nothing to stop it. In fact, she encourages it and asks him to do it. At first, Melchior cannot comprehend why Wendla would want him to beat her, which leads to this interaction:
Melchior: Wendla! You can’t envy someone being beaten.
Wendla: But I’ve never been beaten—my entire life. I’ve never…felt…
Melchior: What?
Wendla: Anything.
Wendla is numb. She feels nothing, no emotions, no pleasure, no pain, nothing. She wants to feel something for once in her life. This is something that Melchior and Wendla have in common. They have not felt anything, but they want so badly to feel something, even if it is pain.
The next song, which happens to be one of my favorites, is sung by Moritz. He has just found out that he failed the school year and he will not be promoted in the fall. In an earlier scene, it was made clear that his professors never intended to pass him. Fraulein Knuppeldick remarks to Herr Knochenbruch, “Remember, it is I who shall be makring [the final examinations.]” To which Herr Knochenbruch responds, “Then I am assured the good name of our school is secure.” (Sater and Sheik 42) A few scenes after this exchange, Moritz attempts to tell his father of the news. His father is more concerned with how he and his wife will look at the “misshionary society,” “the bank,” and “church” rather than how his son is feeling. In his eyes, his son has failed to live up to his potential and there is no way that Moritz can fix this. Moritz turns to Fanny Gabor, Melchior’s mother, in hopes that she will provide him with funding in order to escape to America. Fanny Gabor writes a letter to Moritz. Parts of it are interlaced into Moritz’s song, And Then There Were None. This shows the audience exactly how Moritz is feeling and what he is thinking after every adult that he thought he could trust has turned on him. In the closing lines of the song, he sings, “Just fuck it—right? Enough, that’s it./You’ll still go on. Well for a bit./Another day of utter shit—/ And then there were none.” (Sater and Sheik 53) Fanny Gabor is telling him ot carry on. She is trying to make him see that failing is not the worst thing to ever happen to him. It definitely does not warrant his suicide. However, she refuses to give him the money for his trip to America. This is the final straw fro Moritz. Fanny Gabor is the final adult in his life that has yet to turn on him. His professors failed him intentionally. His father has basically disowned him, and in this song Fanny also turns her back on him. This is the meaning of “And then there were none.” (Sater and Sheik 53) There are literally no adult figures that Moritz can turn to. There is no longer a reason for him to continue living. This song seals his fate.
The next song is sung by Melchior. He sings, “But there’s nowhere to hide, from the ghost in my mind,/It’s cold in these bones—of a man and a child./And there’s no one who knows, and there’s nowhere to go./There’s no one to see who can see to my soul…” (Sater and Sheik 56) Melchior is distraught about what happened with Wendla. We do not see these thoughts in the original play. Melchior is a much less sympathetic character without this song. This song makes the audience feel something for Melchior even though his actions have not been the best. In my opinion, this song gives Melchior another side. He feels as if there is something wrong with him, but he does no know what to do. He knows that he should not have hit Wendla and he does not know how to forgive himself. He feels alone and like there is no one that understands what he is going through. He had the body of man, but he still has the mind of a child.
Shortly after The Mirror-Blue Night, Wendla stumbles upon Melchior in the hayloft. They have not seen each other since he beat her.
Melchior: Forgive me.
Wendla: It was me. All me.
Melchior: I can hear your heart beat, Wendla. (Sater and Sheik 58)
Neither Melchior or Wendla truly understands what occurred between them in the precious scene. All they know is that they now are connected. Wendla admits to hearing Melchior’s heart beating as well. The only time either of them have “felt” something was when Melchior beat Wendla. Melchior wants to “feel” something again in this scene. He kisses Wendla. At first she backs away. They are not “supposed to.” (Sater and Sheik 58) Melchior questions her, “What?” (Sater and Sheik 58) She continues to refuse. Melchior begs her.
Melchior: I feel you breathing—everywhere—the rain, the hay…Please. Please, Wendla.
Wendla: Melchi, no—it just—it’s…
Melchior: What? Sinful?
Wendla: No. I don’t know…
Melchior: Then, why? Because It’s good? Because it makes us “feel” something?
Wendla is hesitant to say the least. She is not one to go against what her parents say. Melchior, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong with what is about to transpire between the two. This scene is one in which the musical differs drastically from the original play. In the play, Wendla is raped. In this one, she eventually says yes to Melchior’s advances. This is the turning point in Wendla and Melchior’s stories. This is the point in which they are both awakened to their sexual desires. This awakening begins their downfall. In the background of this scene, the rest of the teenagers are singing the song, I Believe. Over and over they repeat, “Oh, I believe,/All will be forgiven.” (Sater and Sheik 59) Melchior and Wendla find forgiveness through each other in this scene for their previous actions.
Next, we have Moritz’s swan song, Don’t Do Sadness/Blue Wind. Moritz is literally about to shoot himself when Ilse comes up behind him. This puts a hold on his plan for at least a few minutes. Moritz sings, “I don’t do sadness. Hey, I’ve done my time. / Looking back on it all—man, it blows my mind. / I don’t do sadness. So been there. / Don’t Do sadness. Just don’t care.” (Sater and Sheik 66) In this song Moritz “succumbs to the humiliations of society (he can no longer face the prospect of a world that brooks no future)” (Sater, Preface XIV) This is exactly what he is saying in this song. He cannot handle the sadness and his failure. He’s done his time on this earth and in this life. He’s done. He no longer cares about anything. Ilse is his last chance of survival. She extends her friendship to him and attempts to change his mind, to no avail. She sings,
Sure, when it’s autumn,
Wind always wants to
Creep up and haunt you—
Whistleling, it’s got you;
With its heartache, with its sorrow,
Winter wind sings, and it cries…
Spring and summer,
Every other day. (Sater and Sheik 68)
Ilse is trying to show Moritz that it is not that bad. There will be bad times and there will be good times in one’s life, but they will pass as the seasons do. Moritz will have none of it. Once Ilse finishes her verses, they sing their parts together overlapping each other.
Works Cited
Boa, Elizabeth. “Spring Awakening.” Boa, Elizabeth. The Sexual Circus: Wedekind’s Theatre of Subversion. New York: Basil Blackwell Inc., 1987. 26-54. Print.
Boa, Elizabeth. “Wedekind and the ‘Woman Question’.” Boa, Elizabeth. The Sexual Circus: Wedekind’s Theatre of Subversion. New York : Basil Blackwell Inc. , 1987. 167-202. Print.
Sater, Steven and Duncan Sheik. Spring Awakening: A New Musical. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc. , 2007. Print.
Sater, Steven. “Preface .” Sater, Steven and Duncan Sheik. Spring Awakening: A New Musical. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc. , 2007. VII-XV. Print.
Spring Awakening: A New Musical. By Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik. Perf. Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff and John Gallagher Jr. Eugene O’Neil Theatre, New York. 2 February 2007. Video.
Wedekind, Frank. Frühlings Erwachen (Spring Awakening). Start Publishing LLC, 2012. eBook.
Ziegler, Francis J. “A Poem for Prudes.” Wedekind, Frank. Spring Awakening . Start Publishing LLC, 2012. 5-15. eBook.