The Broken Jug: The Significance of Names

In the play, The Broken Jug, viewers can't help but notice the significance of the judge's name, especially when they learn of the maiden's name too. Adam and Eve are names that are not paired together accidentally. What are the significance of these two names?

First, there is Adam. The name comes from the Bible with as Adam the first man created by God. Due to Adam's mistake in eating from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil, mankind, today and in times past, has been condemned to a life full of suffering and sin. Licht, the court clerk, pokes fun at the coincidental relationship between Judge Adam's fall and Adam the first man's fall. "Adam's first fall was into bed, not out!" Licht's statement leads the audience to believe that not only does he already know what Judge Adam has been up to the night before, he fully understands and is amused by the irony of the sinful judge's name.

The name Eve is also significant when looked at in a Biblical context. Biblical Eve, the world's first woman, causes Biblical Adam to sin, coaxing him the the fruit of the Tree, though Biblical Eve was only convinced to do so because of listening to a serpent in the Garden of Evil. However, Eve the maiden does not appear to have done anything wrong in the play, although it could be argued Eve tempted Judge Adam simply by being so beautiful. This should be no fault of her own, because it is not a sin to be beautiful and certainly not her fault Judge Adam is creepy enough to try to take advantage of her using his high position. Eve's only sin the play is lying, but she only lies because she is afraid of Judge Adam's threats to murder her fiance. Unlike the Biblical Adam and Eve, Judge Adam and maiden Eve are not a pair linked in friendly companionship, but are only linked through Adam's evil hold he has over her obtained by threats. So unlike the Biblical story, the fault in the play lies more with Adam being the cause of sin than Eve.

Another character in the play has a name of significance. Licht, Adam's court clerk, has a name that mean "light." Licht's light comes from his knowledge of Judge Adam's sinful secret, as viewers can guess from his teasing of Adam at the beginning of the play and hints dropped throughout the trial of the broken jug that Licht knows all about Adam's activities of the previous night. However, untrue to his name, Licht does not choose to shine light upon the situation in the courtroom; rather, he chooses to keep silent and watch the awkward struggle of Judge Adam trying to keep his terrible misdeeds a secret. Licht chooses to let Adam out his own awful secret in loo of giving Adam away himself.

So though the names of the play are significant and ties might be made to other sources containing the same names, they do not exactly mirror the stories from which the names might be pulled.

The Broken Jug: Adam and Eve's Symbolism

                While reading this play, one thing became very apparent, and that was that the play was not about the literal broken jug.  It was just one of many symbolisms that were used in this play to signify a deeper meaning.  The main symbolism that I saw was with the very names of the characters within the play- Adam, Eve, and Licht.  I am sure that the majority of people recognize the first two names from the Book of Genesis in the bible.  Licht, which I stumbled upon due to my terrible pronouncing skills, can be viewed as the “light” within the play.

                In the Bible, in the story of Adam and Eve, God placed the first two people on Earth in a place of paradise in which Adam and Eve fell away from and began the cycle of integral sin that is a part of everyone now.   These two characters in the play symbolize this as well, although the roles are reversed.  In “The Broken Jug”, Eve is the innocent character of the duo and is corrupted by Adam.  It is the idea of temptation that is carried over from the old literature to this one.  Adam was tempting Eve into sin by offering to help get Ruprecht out of his military leave, and also tempting her to lie to the court by threatening her as presented at the very beginning of the play, “There’s a certificate of induction here in my pocket… or foul play” (67).   Adam is also shown very clearly as a corrupt judge due to his uneasiness and panic when being informed of the Judge Walter coming to verify the court’s processes.  Just as in the Bible, Eve fell to this corruptness.  The jug was to symbolize Eve’s innocence which was broken along with the jug.  Frau Martha, obviously very upset about the jug, was probably more worried about Eve’s reputation being polluted than the actual jug.  It could be suggested that Kleist was hinting that the justice system, along with the world falls into sin. 

                Licht is a character within the play that seems to be truthfully honest, and conducts himself in a conscious, honorable manner.  He is also the one who reveals the truth about the breaking of the jug.  His portrayal of genuine and pure quality of character along with this his uncovering of the truth, can set him apart as the “light” of the play.  Through revealing the truth can also be phrased as “shining light” on the truth.