Monologue

Melcher Monologue from To Damascus

From To Damascus by August Strindberg

male · philosophical · 1:27 min

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Goethe, yes! Number five in the catalogue. He began with Strassburg cathedral and Goetz von Berlichingen, two hurrahs for gothic Germanic art against that of Greece and Rome. Later he fought against Germanism and for Classicism. Goethe against Goethe! There you see the traditional Olympic calm, harmony, etc., in the greatest disharmony with itself. But depression at this turns into uneasiness when the young Romantic school appears and combats the Goethe of Iphigenia with theories drawn from Goethe's Goetz. That the 'great heathen' ends up by converting Faust in the Second Part, and allowing him to be saved by the Virgin Mary and the angels, is usually passed over in silence by his admirers. Also the fact that a man of such clear vision should, towards the end of his life, have found everything so 'strange,' and 'curious,' even the simplest facts that he'd previously seen through. His last wish was for 'more light'! Yes; but it doesn't matter. We're intelligent people and love our Goethe just the same.

About this piece

Melcher reflects on Goethe's complex legacy and the contradictions within his works, expressing a sense of unease about the evolution of artistic thought.

40s · confusion · identity · redemption · power · madness

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