91. “Napoleon” or “The Hundred Days”

Play in five acts by Chr. D. Grabbe. Adapted for the stage by O.G.Flüggen
Performance at the Belle-Alliance-Theater, Berlin

Despite his size, Napoleon has only half the dramatic character. His greatness is presented to us in a too simple image. The only thought of power rises in our minds when we visualize this man. And beside this power, everything that has been accomplished by it seems more or less indifferent. It is impossible to devise a dramatic plot with Napoleon at its center that would create the kind of chain of events that dramatic art requires. We are always tempted to admire the strength of Napoleon's will in everything he does and not to concern ourselves with the content of his actions. As certainly as Grabbe felt the greatness of Napoleon, his imagination could not give this greatness a dramatic form. Indeed, it seems as if power had a one-sided effect on Grabbe's work in this drama and suppressed all other abilities of the dramatist. Grabbe wrote without regard to what is dramatically and theatrically possible. Instead of a dramatic development, we have a series of scenes which are held together almost solely by the time sequence and the character of the hero. And we don't let them affect us for their own sake, but rather take an interest in them because we believe we can learn something about a strong personality through them. O.G. Flüggen has adapted the drama for the stage. He has too narrow a concept of what is possible and effective for the stage. He has saved far too little of Grabbe's work for the play he has made of it. Nevertheless, I have found that even in this watered-down form the drama is still highly enjoyable. It is definitely to Georg Droescher's credit that he brought it to the stage as well as he could with the artistic means at his disposal.