The
play “The Beaver Coat”, to me, was obviously satirical. Satire is defined as the use of humor, irony,
exaggeration, or ridicule to expose or criticize people’s stupidity or vices,
particularly in the context of contemporary politics or topical issues (Google
Definitions). The idea or persons that “The
Beaver Coat” used satire to mock was the judgment system, or court, to me. It should be said that I came to this
conclusion with little to no knowledge about the time or setting that this play
was written in. The judge in the play,
Judge Wehrhahn, seems very smug and is blinded by his drive to rid the village
of Democrats or free thinkers (I must admit I am not too sure of what category
of people he despises). The conclusion
of mocking the justice mainly comes from a quote from the play, “… It is simply
disgraceful for a police official to permit himself to be deceived by anyone…”
(Act II).
The author, Gerhart Hauptmann, chose for the justice to say this and many other things of the same effect while the basis of the play is an average woman misleading him.
The justice, who as he hints, should have superior instinct into a person’s character; however, he does not. In fact, he trusts the characters in the play that deceive him the most, and are not high standing members of the community. Usually, one would think, a rich squire and a doctor would be honored within a society and trusted (Hauptmann, it could be said, uses these professions to reinforce the honorability and contrast it with the known scalawag, Motes, to make the satirical element that much more obvious). Judge Wehrhahn however does not trust Mr. Kruger or Dr. Fleischer. In fact, he finds Mr. Kruger annoying and does not do much to aid him in any way that is not required of him by law and is suspicious of Dr. Fleischer from the very beginning. This initial role reversal of characters that is trusted by the judge could be interpreted as mocking the court system of the time. It is only reinforced by the chicanery of Mrs. Wolff and how easily she deceives him and also by the role of Motes. Motes is known as the most hated man in town who does not pay off his debts and is also a favorite of the judge.
In conclusion, the “should-be-insightful-and-fair” judge is exactly the opposite. He trusts the most deceiving and guilty people while pointing his finger and being the most harsh on the respectable members of society. Hauptmann could be using the judge to portray his feelings on the entire court system in essence saying that the court is so focused on one thing that it is easily persuaded by the most astucious people.
The author, Gerhart Hauptmann, chose for the justice to say this and many other things of the same effect while the basis of the play is an average woman misleading him.
The justice, who as he hints, should have superior instinct into a person’s character; however, he does not. In fact, he trusts the characters in the play that deceive him the most, and are not high standing members of the community. Usually, one would think, a rich squire and a doctor would be honored within a society and trusted (Hauptmann, it could be said, uses these professions to reinforce the honorability and contrast it with the known scalawag, Motes, to make the satirical element that much more obvious). Judge Wehrhahn however does not trust Mr. Kruger or Dr. Fleischer. In fact, he finds Mr. Kruger annoying and does not do much to aid him in any way that is not required of him by law and is suspicious of Dr. Fleischer from the very beginning. This initial role reversal of characters that is trusted by the judge could be interpreted as mocking the court system of the time. It is only reinforced by the chicanery of Mrs. Wolff and how easily she deceives him and also by the role of Motes. Motes is known as the most hated man in town who does not pay off his debts and is also a favorite of the judge.
In conclusion, the “should-be-insightful-and-fair” judge is exactly the opposite. He trusts the most deceiving and guilty people while pointing his finger and being the most harsh on the respectable members of society. Hauptmann could be using the judge to portray his feelings on the entire court system in essence saying that the court is so focused on one thing that it is easily persuaded by the most astucious people.
I like what you've pointed out about the judge. He clearly trusts the wrong people. I found myself feeling bad for Dr. Fleischer and Kruger, because although they did nothing wrong, the judge did not care what they had to say and dismissed their comments as unimportant.
ReplyDeleteI agree about this play being a satire. However, I thought so by focusing on the exaggeration aspect of the definition. While reading I could hear them yelling in my head during some of the arguments and they seemed quite extreme to me.
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