Understanding Friedrich Durrenmatt (review)

Roger A. Crockett, Understanding Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1998. 220 pages.

In the preface to Crockett's Understanding Friedrich Dürrenmatt, the editor of the series, to which this volume belongs, states its purpose. "Understanding Modern European and Latin American Literature has been planned as a series of guides for undergraduate and graduate students and non-academic readers. [...] these books provide introductions to the lives and writings of prominent modern authors and explicate their most important works" (vii). Roger Crockett's contribution to this laudable undertaking not only meets, but far exceeds these expectations.

The text is subdivided logically. As a result, all the segments from the preface to the annotated bibliography and the index complement one another masterfully. Not a motion seems wasted. Despite their brevity, the author's opening remarks elucidate the themes, which unequivocally dominate Dürrenmatt's oeuvre: games of every stripe and type from the deceptively flippant to the ultimately fatal; the meaning of chaos, chance, and justice; the problematic role of God, of grace, and of the well-intentioned individual. As these pages are not intended primarily for German scholars or speakers, Crockett subsequently explains the translation and quotation practices he will be implementing throughout the volume. Had these issues not been addressed, his endeavor would have been the lesser for it. Before submitting a list of abbreviations meant to enhance the text's readability, Crockett introduces the specifics of Dürrenmatt's life and work in a comprehensive, yet succinct four-page chronology. He begins his overview with Dürrenmatt's birth in Konolfingen in 1921, mentions not only major, but also minor and/or less successful works, significant honors (both European and otherwise), and concludes his sketch three years after the Swiss writer's death by noting the publication of a poetry collection. The year was 1993.

Thirteen chapters constitute the body proper of Understanding Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Their titles are lucidly descriptive, e.g., "Earliest Prose and Dramatic Works," "Three Detective Stories," "Of Heroism, Failure, and Resignation," "The Adaptations," "Four That Failed: The Late Plays," "The Prose of the 1970s and 1980s."

Aptly entitled "Biography," the first of the thirteen chapters delineates a wealth of detail concerning the author's private and public persona. Relying on Dürrenmatt's own insights and those of relevant secondary sources--H.L. Arnold, Bänziger, Karter (his publisher), and Timo Tiusanen, to name but a few--Roger Crockett traces the author's psychological heritage in addition to all of his developmental stages. In contrast to the chronology mentioned earlier, Crockett does not begin with the author's birth, but with the acknowledgement of the considerable influence of those who had gone before: his paternal grandfather and his parents. From his journalist grandfather, Dürrenmatt inherited a rebellious spirit, whereas his father and mother introduced him to a sincere, if traditional, religiosity. These two disparate worldviews and his reinterpretations of them never ceased to mark pivotal moments throughout Dürrenmatt's life. Even his earliest reading materials reflected an astonishing array of interests. As a child, he read the Bible, mythology, and works on astronomy. Through several illustrated volumes, he became fascinated with Dürer, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Böcklin. (Paintings by both Dürer and Böcklin feature in two of Dürrenmatt's early detective novels.) In 1935 the 14-year-old found himself in Bern, and though his academic performance was troublesome, outside the classroom he devoured Lessing, Wieland, and Nietzsche. Upon passing the Maturität, he wished to study art. But as his wholly unconventional artistic efforts did not meet with his instructors' approval, he enrolled at the University of Bern to study literature. This would certainly not be the last time his student days would know a change of direction. After only two semesters in Bern--in the summer of 1942--Dürrenmatt joined the military and simultaneously developed his dislike for the armed forces. (Anyone familiar with Der Richter und sein Henker will immediately recall...