Dürrenmatt's Dialogue with Brecht: A Thematic Analysis of Die Physiker

DURRENMATT'S DIALOGUE WITH BRECHT: A THEMATIC ANALYSIS OF DIE PHYSIKER IN ITS ANALYSIS OF THE PROBLEM OF THE scientist's responsibility for the results and application of his work, Die Physiker stands as a rejoinder to Brecht's Leben des Galilei.1 But the conflict worked out in Diirrenmatt's comedy can be seen, at least in part, as an ironic confirmation of the major conclusion reached and stated by Galileo in the course of Brecht's "Schauspiel"-namely, that the scientist has a responsibility towards his fellow men. The purpose of this article is to analyse Diirrenmatt's treatment of the themes of scientific, personal, and social responsibility. At the same time I hope to indicate how Diirrenmatt, in rebutting others of Brecht's arguments, has at the same time taken over from the earlier drama attitudes and ideas and examined their implications in a manner which shows that he in fact retains the letter of these attitudes while modifying their spirit. In the course of the play, the background to the situation with which the audience is confronted is filled out in detail. In this respect, namely, in its retrospective technique, and comparative lack of action, Diirrenmatt's play stands at the end of a line which stretches back to Ibsen's works2 and from there to the classical Greek drama-in particular to Sophocles and Oedipus Rex. Thus, if external action does not provide the single most important unifying structural and thematic element, the critic must look elsewhere for those elements which do determine the structure of the work. He should not (as some Englishspeaking critics have done) focus on the apparently haphazard plotdetails in order to conclude that the work as a whole is a great deal of fuss over very little. Bamber Gascoigne in particular objects to "four abrupt changes of gear" in the plot and adds: There would be no harm in all these jerks if the pieces finally added up to a coherent whole: but they don't. In the concrete 1 In this connection d. Joachim MiHler, "Verantwortung des Dramas fiir unsere Zeit. Bert Brecht und Friedrich Diirrenmatt," Universitas 20, 1965, pp. 1247-1258. .2 It is possible to detect a connection between one of Ibsen's principal themesthe problem of the "Lebensliige" and what its unmasking entails for his characters -,-and the stripping away of the layers of disguise and subterfuge which takes place in Die Physiker. In the case of the three physicists, the mask of madness hides the real face of logic and deliberation. In the case of Dr. von Zahnd, the mask of normality is finally discarded to show the face of megalomania. 232 1971 DURRENMATT'S Die Physiker 233 terms of reality, what can Diirrenmatt's play possibly be said to mean? Why should opting out put the genius so mysteriously and irrevocably in the hands of power maniacs? What, since opting out was so disastrous, were the alternatives for him? What, quite simply, is a physicist to do? These seem to be the basic questions inherent in the subject. No one expects a playwright to answer them. His job is to ask them, dramatically, as Brecht did in Calileo. Diirrenmatt doesn't even raise his hat to them in passing.s Such objections, like those of the critic who labelled the play "an intellectual Swiss cheese,"4 only serve to show that the writer has succeeded in missing the whole point of the work. In Leben des Calilei;o Brecht not only asks the questions about what a scientist can do, he also purports to answer them. Diirrenmatt, however, not only questions Brecht's view of the scientist's social role, but casts doubt on the very basis for his argumentation. In so doing, he raises the very questions which Gascoigne claims he has left unasked. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear," one might well reply to the latter's objections. Mobius' theory of withdrawal, qua theory, is not initially negatedalthough the play shows its failure in practice in a given set of circumstances . The cause of humanity outweighs all other considerations. To this is sacrificed Mobius' chances of personal happiness: he...