| Abstrakt: |
The short drama Mörder Hoffnung der Frauen by Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980), first published in 1910, underwent repeated revisions. Based on a close examination of the significant changes he made, this reading suggests that Kokoschka's revaluation of the role of light, the acting body, and voice is complemented by an acute interest in dramatic form. The play—widely considered a pioneering text of expressionist theater—details and reflects the process of figuration, i.e., the formation of dramatic characters: "Man" and "Woman," confronting each other in existential battle, emerge from a choric collective that they, however, remain part of. The protagonists never fully recognize each other as well-defined figures; instead, they remain painfully permeable to the plurality the chorus represents and their male/female counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
