About the work
A two-act magic play (Zauberspiel) by Johann Nestroy, written as a sequel to his hit "Der böse Geist Lumpazivagabundus". Nestroy wrote it in 1834 as a benefit performance for his companion Marie Weiler; it premiered on 5 November 1834 at the Theater an der Wien, with Nestroy himself as Knieriem and Wenzel Scholz as Zwirn.
Plot
Twenty years after the events of the earlier play, the fairy king Stellaris sets the evil spirit Lumpazivagabundus a condition: he may win the fairy's hand only if the children of the once-dissolute journeymen Zwirn, Knieriem and Leim turn out equally corrupt. Amid romantic entanglements, money troubles and their fathers' bad example, the younger generation proves more virtuous than feared.
Cultural significance
Authorities briefly banned the play in early 1835 before clearing it as morally unobjectionable. Contemporary critics disagreed over the plot but praised the cast; later scholarship ranks the character Knieriem among the most vivid in Nestroy's entire output.