After reading this play, I was shocked by Frank Wedekind’s introduction of controversial subjects such as homosexuality and rape. The events of Wendla’s tragic death from an abortion, Moritz’s suicide from the disturbance of greater knowledge of his sexuality and failure to keep up in school, and Melchior’s departure from social norms caused him to be incarcerated into a reformatory, all progressed quickly throughout the play. The climatic moment was during Wendla’s rape, in that Melchior tried to assert his masculine dominance by performing the cruel act. The overall play left a sinister tone of despair in the end when Melchior hints at committing suicide as well.
What really came to me in the end was that everything including the adolescents’ fates could have been changed if they had more knowledge about sex, instead of parental repression and strict societal norms to keep it taboo. I think that it is rather more responsible to let children know about what occurs to their bodies and changing outlook in life, rather than suppress it and let them become curious to the point that they are harmed in the process. The moral of this play also brought back memories of The Catcher In The Rye, in that Holden realizes that he cannot fully protect the innocence of the children around him, so it is best and a natural part of their lives that they will experience the injustices and dark side of the world.
Even though this play originated way back in 1891, its repercussions to audiences around the world can still be felt. It brings to attention how important it is to recognize and express our sexuality in our world. How our bodies develop, and who we are attracted to was treated as a taboo subject in the past, but society has changed. We no longer have to be stuck within an inner closet because of fear of exposing our sexual orientation. Part of being human is experiencing mistakes, and nevertheless Wedekind’s play illustrates this in dramatic fashion. His play allows us to reflect and be “inspired” in a grotesque way.
I was disturbed by the same things as well… That had the children knew more about sex, then their fates could have been different! While reading the play, I felt a huge discord between the parents and the children. The parents tried very hard to avoid talking about certain taboo topics, but the children were eager to learn and understand! But I feel that this relates closely to a bit of a more general topic- parenting. Is it better to tell your child everything about what is going to happen so that they “develop” an understanding faster? Or is it better to have them make mistakes on their own so that they can truly learn from personal experiences? Of course, in cases such as sex and sexuality, it is helpful to hear parental input as it could prevent lots of issues (i.e. unwanted child), but I also feel that it’s important for parents not to OVER step those parental boundaries.
I liked how you pointed out how quickly the play progressed from one topic to another. Though the characters were very much intertwined in each other’s lives, I feel like they didn’t really understand the severity of their decisions and mistakes until later on in the play. I also noticed that Wedekind moved from one situation to the next fairly quickly, and that he didn’t have his characters dwell on past issues. It simply went from one controversial topic to the next, and I feel as though it all happened very suddenly.
I completely agree with the point you made about how, at the end of the play, I was a feeling of regret. This regret stemmed from the idea that such tragedy could have been avoided if the children were able to learn, in an open space, about how they were changing and what the transition into adulthood would bring. And I feel that Wedekind did this on purpose, in order to criticize the attitude of society as it shames those who should not be shamed.
Also, after reading your response, I recognized and agree that Spring Awakening is play that transcends beyond the barrier of time. Even today, though our society has become much more accepting, we battle against unjust and constricting standards that are placed upon youth generation after generation. And Spring Awakening provides perspective on this, even being written during the late 1800s.
Hi Anthony! I think your response is incredibly intelligent and well thought out. It is very interesting that you say that Melchior is “incarcerated” in the reformatory. In today’s society, a stay in a reformatory that even hinted at the idea of incarceration would be considered completely absurd and unjust, this is a stark contrast that shows how much society has changed for the better since Wedekind’s time.
I completely agree with you that sexual education is a topic that needs to be intelligently translated to teenagers. Wendla was a victim of her mother’s apprehensiveness to discuss sex. If the mother had been more forward with her daughter, Wendla might have very well been alive by the time the play ended. Although this play was written over a century ago, themes could be applied to modern society; parents need to properly explain to their children the dangers of sex instead of not discussing anything at all.
I felt the same way about the topics that Frank Wedekind introduced. I was really surprised that he would bring up topics such as homosexuality, suicide and rape. These things were rarely discussed at the time this play was written but it was important that someone brings it up for discussion. These discussions bring upon much needed change.