About the work
Dürrenmatt wrote his second stage play in the winter of 1947/48, alongside rehearsals for the premiere of "Es steht geschrieben." "Der Blinde" premiered on 10 January 1948 at the Stadttheater Basel, directed by Ernst Ginsberg.
Plot
A duke, blinded shortly before his land is destroyed by Wallenstein's troops during the Thirty Years' War, sits amid the ruins of his castle and, echoing the biblical story of Job, still believes it to be a flourishing realm; those around him deliberately leave him in this belief.
Cultural significance
The play attracted little attention at its premiere; after further performances in Zurich (1948) and Münster (1951), Dürrenmatt had it withdrawn from further production for a long time.