Résumé
Résumé de L’Éveil du printemps
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love plays that argue with their own society, and anyone curious about the roots of modern drama and the later musical.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
The Awakening of Spring, also known as Spring Awakening, is a play by the German writer Frank Wedekind. He wrote it in the early 1890s and published it in 1891. It was not staged until 1906, when it reached the theatre in Berlin. Censors and critics fought it for years, because it speaks openly about what most adults of its day refused to mention to their own children.
The play follows a group of teenagers as they grow up. Their bodies are changing, their minds are full of questions, and nobody who should answer them will do so. Parents change the subject. Teachers care only about marks and discipline. You will meet a thoughtful boy, a curious girl and an anxious friend, and you will see what silence does to them. The play is built from short scenes that move fast. It is funny, tender and harsh by turns. Let us begin with the town itself and the girl whose questions start the story.
Dans ce résumé
- 1A town where nobody answers questionsFree
- 2Moritz is crushed by school
- 3Melchior thinks for himself
- 4Adults who love but do not help
- 5Other young people, other paths
- 6What the play is really about
Point clé 1 sur 6
A town where nobody answers questions
The play opens in a German town in the late nineteenth century. Its people are respectable, religious and proud of their order. Wedekind shows from the first scene that this order rests on things left unsaid.
Wendla Bergmann is fourteen. She is growing up fast, and her mother wants her to wear a longer dress, while Wendla clings to her short childhood frock. Wendla is bright and open, and she asks her mother where babies come from. Her mother is flustered and gives a muddled, evasive answer. She cannot bring herself to say more.
The talk with her mother sets the pattern for the whole play. The adults are not wicked in any simple way. Mrs. Bergmann loves her daughter, and she wants to protect her. But her idea of protection is ignorance, and Wendla is left to find out the truth alone. Wedekind lets us laugh a little at the mother's confusion, and then makes us uneasy about it.
The opening also introduces the sense of spring in the title. Spring here is both a season and a force inside the young. It rises in them whether anyone allows it or not. The question the play asks is what happens when nature moves faster than the people meant to guide it.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Wendla Bergmann
- Wendla is a curious fourteen-year-old girl whose mother evades her questions about her changing body.
- Melchior Gabor
- Melchior is an independent-minded schoolboy who questions authority and shares his knowledge with his anxious friend Moritz.
- Moritz Stiefel
- Moritz is Melchior's troubled classmate, frightened by his bodily changes and the prospect of disappointing his father.
- Ilse
- Ilse is a former schoolfriend who lives among artists and retains affection for the friends she has left.
- Hänschen Rilow
- Hänschen is a self-possessed schoolboy who accepts his desires and shares a tender bond with Ernst.
- Ernst Robel
- Ernst is a gentle schoolboy whose bond with Hänschen expresses his longing for affection and trust.
- Mrs. Bergmann
- Mrs. Bergmann is Wendla's protective mother, whose embarrassment prevents her from answering her daughter's questions plainly.
- Martha
- Martha is a schoolgirl whose conversations with her friends reveal the harsh treatment she experiences at home.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 26,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 45 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about L’Éveil du printemps
What is The Awakening of Spring about?
It is a play about teenagers in a small German town whose bodies and minds are waking up while parents and teachers refuse to speak honestly. It shows how silence, strict schooling and fear of scandal harm the young.
Is Spring Awakening the same as The Awakening of Spring?
Yes. Both names are English versions of Frühlings Erwachen, Wedekind's German title. The play is also the source of the modern stage musical Spring Awakening, which keeps the setting and main characters.
When was The Awakening of Spring written and was it banned?
Wedekind wrote it in the early 1890s and published it in 1891. Its frank themes made it hard to stage, and it was not performed until 1906. Censors in several places restricted or banned it.
Who are the main characters in The Awakening of Spring?
The main characters are Wendla Bergmann, Melchior Gabor and Moritz Stiefel. Around them are Ilse, Hänschen Rilow, Ernst Robel, Martha, their parents and a group of pompous teachers.
Is The Awakening of Spring hard to read?
It is short and moves quickly in brief scenes, so it is easy to follow. It deals with sexuality, abuse and despair. The teachers' speeches are meant as satire.