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On the Marionette TheatreAuthor(s): Heinrich von Kleist and Thomas G. NeumillerSource:
The Drama Review: TDR,
Vol. 16, No. 3, The "Puppet" Issue (Sep., 1972), pp. 22-26Published by: The MIT PressStable URL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/1144768
Accessed: 30/11/2009 13:51
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On
the
Marionette
Theatre
ByHeinrichvonKleist
Whilespendingsome timeduringthe winterof 1801* inM.,oneeveninginthepublicgardensIchanceduponHerrC.,whohad beenrecentlyengagedas theleadingdancer at theoperahouse and who had foundexceptionalsuc-cesswiththepublicthere.ImentionedhowsurprisedIhad been to notice him onseveraloccasionsattendinga marionette theatre that had been setupin thelocal marketplace,which entertainedthe masses with shortdramaticburlesquesinterspersedwithsongand dance.Heassuredmethat theperformanceof thesepuppetswasa sourceofgreatpleasuretohim,and he made itquiteclear that a dancerwhowishedtoimprovehimself couldlearnagreatdeal fromobservingthem.Because hisremarks wereobviouslynotto be takenlightly,Isat downwithhimso that wemightdiscuss his reasons forsuch aremarkablestatement.Heasked meifindeedIhadn't found some ofthemovements ofthepuppets,particularlythe smallerones,to beexceedingly gracefulinthedances.Icould notrefute thisobservation. Infact,onegroupof fourpeasantfigureshaddanced aroundelayinsuch fashionthatTeniers couldnot havepaintedany-thingmorecharming.Iwascuriousabout themechanics ofthesefiguresandaskedhowitwaspossibletocontrolpartsofeach limbaccordingtothedemands oftherhythmof thedancewithouthaving myriadsofstringsattachedto thefingers.Heinformed methatImustnotsupposethateverysinglelimb,duringthevariousmovements of thedance,wasplacedandcontrolledbythepuppeteer.Eachmovement,hesaid,willhavea center ofgravity;itwould sufficetodi-rectthis crucialpointtothe insideof thefigure.Thelimbs thatfunctionas noth-ingmorethan apendulum,swingingfreely,willfollow themovement intheirownfashionwithoutanyone'said.Hefurtherstatedthatthismovementwasreallyquitesimple;thateach timethe centerofgravitywasmoved inadirectline,thelimbs wouldstarttodescribeacurve;andthat oftenwhensimplyshakeninanarbitrarymanner,the wholefigureassumed akindofrhythmicmovement thatwasidenticaltodance.*TheessayUberdasMarionettenTheaterwasfirstpublishedinfourinstallmentsinthedailyBerlinerAbendblatterfromDecember12 to15,1810.Kleistwas editorof thenewspaper-ed.
 
ON THEMARIONETTEHEATRE
Theseremarks seemed to throw somelighton thepleasurethathemain-tainedhediscoveredinthe marionette theater.However,Iasyethadno idea oftheconsequenceshe would laterdraw fromtheseobservations.Iaskedhim if hethoughtthat thepuppeteerwho controlled thesefigureswashimself adancer,oratleastifhe didnot have topossessanunderstandingof theaesthetic ofthedance.Herepliedthatthoughsuchataskmightbesimplefrom apurelymechani-calviewpoint,it didnotnecessarilyfollow that itcouldbemanaged entirelywithout somefeeling.The line that the center ofgravitymust describewas,to besure,verysimple,andwas,hefelt,inmost cases astraightline. Incases wherethatlineis notstraight,itappearsthatthelaw ofthecurvature is at least ofthefirstor,atbest,ofthe secondrank,andadditionallyinthis latter caseonly elliptical.This formofmovement ofthehumanbody'sextremities isnatural,because ofthejoints,and therefore wouldrequirenogreatskillonthepartofthepuppeteertoap-proximatet.But viewedinanotherway,this line issomethingvery mysterious.Foritisnothingother than thepathto thesoulofthedancer,and Herr C.doubted thatitcouldbeprovenotherwise thatthroughthis line thepuppeteer placedhimselfinthe centerofgravityof themarionette;that is tosay,inotherwords,that thepuppeteerdanced.Irepliedthat apuppeteer'swork had beensuggestedassomethingratherdull: somewhat likegrindingthehandle of ahurdy-gurdy.Not atall,hereplied.Ratherthemovement ofhisfingershas asomewhatartificialrelationshipto thoseoftheattachedpuppets,somewhatlikethe rela-tionshipofnumbers tologarithmsortheasymptoteto thehyperbola.Furthermore he stated thebeliefthat this final traceoftheintellect couldeventuallybe removed from themarionettes,sothattheirdance couldpassen-tirelyover into the world ofthe mechanical and beoperatedbymeansof a han-dle,suchasIhadsuggested.Myastonishment nowgrewevengreater,with therealizationthathecon-sideredthis entertainment of themassesworthyofahigherart.He smiledandrepliedthat he daredto venture that amarionette con-structedbya craftsmanaccordingto hisrequirementscouldperforma dancethatneither he noranyotheroutstandingdancer of histime,not evenVestrishimself,couldequal.Haveyou,heasked while Igazed thoughtfullyat theground,everheard ofthosemechanicallegsthatEnglishcraftsmenmanufactureforunfortunatepeo-plewhohave lost their ownlimbs?IrepliedthatIhad never seensuchartifacts.That's ashame,hereplied,forwhenItellyouthat theseunfortunatepeopleare ableto dance with theuse ofthem,youmostcertainlywillnot believe me.What doImeanby usingtheworddance? Thespanof theirmovements isquitelimited,but thosemovements ofwhichtheyarecapableareaccomplishedwithacomposure,lightness,andgracethat wouldamazeanysensitiveobserver.Isuggestedsomewhatjokinglythatinthiswayhehadfound his man.Forthissamecraftsman whowould becapableofconstructingsuch astrangelimbwoulddoubtlessbe abletoconstructanentiremarionetteaccordingto his re-quirements.Whatthen,Iasked,as he forhispartlookeddown atthegroundsomewhatembarrassed,are therequirementsnecessarytoaccomplishthistechnicalskill?
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