About the work
Gerhart Hauptmann wrote this three-act play in late 1889 in Charlottenburg, prompted by an account Frank Wedekind had given him of his own family. The Freie Bühne society premiered it on 1 June 1890 at Berlin's Ostendtheater, directed by Hans Meery, with Emanuel Reicher as Robert and Josef Kainz as Wilhelm; the play had already cleared censorship on 26 March 1890.
Plot
The estranged Scholz family gathers for Christmas at a country house near Erkner: the gravely ill father, Dr. Fritz Scholz, long separated from the family, returns unexpectedly, as does his son Wilhelm with his fiancée Ida. A reconciliation with mother Minna, daughter Auguste and son Robert initially fails over old grievances; only after a fierce argument does Wilhelm admit his guilt toward his father — but the strain of the confrontation kills the old man.
Cultural significance
As the first Hauptmann play staged by the Freie Bühne, it opened his naturalist body of work. Theodor Fontane praised how typical its family conflicts were, and Julius Bab later described the Scholz family as "tragic figures no less than the House of Atreus."