Honesty V. Political Opinions in Imperial Germany

The political situation in Germany during the 1880s is delicately interwoven with the plot in “The Beaver Coat” by Gerhart Hauptmann. I would like to preface this argument with a synopsis of modern German history. After the Franco-Prussian War, Germany’s Imperial Empire was established in 1871 with the unification of the German-speaking, Prussian-influenced states. Chancellor Otto von Bismark and Emperor Wilhelm I led this new-found nation into the industrialized, imperial world (Bismark did more of the actual ruling than Wilhelm I, but that is another argument entirely.) In an imperial civilization, there is generally a singular authority/head of state with several chancellors or legislators that help create and enforce policies that ensure the growth and survival of the state. Nationalism plays a significant role in the political ideology of imperialism.

In Hauptmann’s play, Dr. Fleischer is one of the more interesting individuals, primarily because his background and character are foreign to the main group of people in town. He is mentioned multiple times during the play before his character is actually seen; “Glasenapp: The mailman says he subscribes to twenty papers.--And there are some democratic ones among them, too...Von Wehrhahn: I’ve had my eye on that man for a long time”. Dr. Fleischer proves throughout the duration of the play that he is an honorable man by bringing both of the cases of theft against Mr. Kreuger to the attention of the proper authorities, however because his political views are questionable at best to the other characters in the play, his word is not accepted at its true value; “Mitteldorf: I heard it [the firewood theft] ...I heard it from Mr. Fleischer.” However, the word of Mrs. Wolff, the criminal mastermind in this play, who is well known by the townspeople and who generally appears to go along with the political preferences of the townspeople, is highly valued; “Von Wehrhahn: You aren’t unknown to us. No one will deny that you are honest and industrious.” 

The point of this argument is to highlight the cultural significance of imperialism to German history. The inherent nationalism (German-ness) of an individual was highly valued and this adherence to cultural norms or nationalism could be measured through their political opinions and character. Democracy was not a key German political ideology, especially not during the early years of the German Empire, and any idea that came from an outside source or different country and did not support the reign of Emperor Wilhelm I/Chancellor Bismark was interpreted as an unwelcome protuberance. Although xenophobia is a relatively easy trait to portray in a play, it does not excuse the poor judgement and idiocy of the main characters. 

Lysistrata: Who run the world? GIRLS

For me, the most relevant part of Lysistrata is the idea that women have the ability to run countries better and more effectively than men.

"Our lips we kept tied, though aching with silence, though well all the while in our silence we knew
  How wretchedly everything still was progressing by listening dumbly the day long to you.
  ... What, dear, was said in the Assembly today?
  'Mind your own business,' he'd answer me growlingly 'hold your tongue, woman, or else go away.'"

In the age when this play was written, women had no real say in the government and by extension war decisions so a coup would be plausible (relatively plausible.) But women were hardly the only ones who didn't have a say in the government so the lack of men defecting lessened my enjoyment of the play.

Fast-forward to right now, women are by no means shut out of politics but still many think that more representation in government is needed. Advocates for this often cite statistics (like only 298 women have served in the U.S. House or Senate) but I have yet to read an article that demonstrates political competence is tied to a certain set of genitalia. I hear almost everyday something along the lines of 'we need more women in politics' but rarely do I hear 'alright. how do we make that happen? how should education about politics be taught to women?' The answer to that is, of course, the same way it is taught to men. For once, show me a poll of the difference in interest in politics between genders.

So the thing that irks me about 'equal' representation today also irks me about this play. Were women the only ones who wanted the war to end? Are men the only ones who should be involved in politics? Of course not. The people that make important political decisions should be the ones who have the knowledge to make them competently. A government run completely by one gender is likely to be oppressive of the other and as for the politics of a women-dominated government...