Focus 2004.tif 146 Focus on German Stt/die! Magd (KA III 342). a Of the thirteen GtJ(hichftllllMJ liebm Gott only fou r do not contain some variant form of 'zinern.' 9 ~u A.ndreas.-Sa[o.~e describes the experience Rilke and she had of seeing a del'WlSCharug-heilig' monk have a seizure in Rl)(Jillka, 68-69 10 Bahr attempts here to define 'Symbolismus' in ContraSt ~o rraditional symbolism as "Slellvertreter und Zeichen nidll des Unsinnlichen, sondern von anderen ebtnso smoLehen Dingen" (136). :: Sec Fau~( IT r'K1assische Waipurgisnachr / Am untern Pcncios',), 222. Goethe IS also referred to by name later in rhe dialogue. Works Cited Andreas-Salom~, Lou RDtUl1kil.jen3: Diederichs. 1923. Bahc, Hermann. "Symbolisten." Thtone des IilerariH/)m jugtlltulils. Ed. Jlirg !'I larhes. Stuttgart: Rccl.am, 1984. Dostocvsky, Fyodor. TiN Idiot. Trans. Alan Myers.. Oxford: Oxford UP. 1992. • Goethe, J.W "Fausc II." Wtrkt: Hamh:lfge, AU{gabt. Ed. Erich Trunz. 12 vols. Munich: Beck, 1981. Hofmannsilial, Hugo von. "Ober Gedichre." Tkorit des Iiltrl3risciNn JugendstilI, Ed. Jurg Mathes. Snmgan: Reclam, 1984. 168- \84 Klein, Elisabeth. jll[!lIdilil in dmls(/xr l..Jnk. Diss. U of Co logne, 1957. Morgennem, Christian. Il7erh lind Brieft. Ed. Martin KieRig. Stuttgart: Urachhaus, 1992. 1\·(OvlUS, Ruth. PuzintrMaria R;'/ks .rlundm-Bllch. LeIpzig: Inset, 1937. N~umann, Helmu[. Siudim ZU Rilkufriihem lIYtrk. Bedin: Schauble, 1991. Nlct'.lsche, Friedrich. Friilx 5chriftm III 5 Banden. Ed.H-J. Merce. Munich: DT\~ 1994. Rilke, Rainer Maria. IPerh: K.bmmUifierit Autgaht in IV BamUn. Ed. Manfred Engel lind Ulrich Folleborn. F~nkfurt: [nsel, 1996. -. Somtlicht Wtr.et. Ed. Ernst Zinno Wiesbaden; Insel, 1959, Rollur Mano Rith/u/I AndrtaJSalomi: BntfowhstL Ed. Ernst Pfeiffer Wiesbaden: Insel, 1952. . Bn·ife in 2 Biilllkn. Ed. HoIS[ Nalewski F£ankfim: Jnsd, 199 1. RAintr Mana Rillu: A £"tTse ronrordana ffJ his rompleft !lncal ~try. Lec':d5: Maney, 1980. Schur., Ernst. "Der Geis[ der japanischen Kunst". Thront h IiltraristiJtn jugtlldslils. Theon·t dt.s littranJchtll Jugmdrtils. Ed. Jurg Mathes. Smtrgan: Rcclam, 1984.84-93. 'Millgestaltet und M.illverstanden': The Representa tion of Disability in Twentieth-Cenrury German-Speaking T heatre nine Schulz "\Vlith the growing number of books wrirren about disability W and an increasing number of courses lLsing this term in their names. itcan be difficult to understand whacdisability studies actually is. One of the most comprehensive explanations as to the naUlre and the aims of this relatively new academic discipline is offered by Simi Linto n's Clai!lling Dhabi/iry. Assuming that educational institutions shape cuhurnl knowledge and meaning, she sees ctisability soodies as an academic project aiming ro correct the way disability is curremly dealt widl in the academies and "to hold acaderrucs responsible fo r the veracity and the social consequences of their work" (1-2). Disability, according to [jnton, is commonly viewed as a medical phenomenon, which means that it is not usually srudied in the Humanities, but only io the specialised applied subjec ts, such as rehabilitation. special education and health (132-56). The idea £Ita[ ctisability is a medical problem that needs to be solved with tbe help of special instiootions is a discourse whicil, in the \·iew o f disability studies, forms pan of the oppression of people with disabilities. For J. L Charlton the shift away from the traditional "icw of disabili ty as a "sick, abnormal, and pathetic condition" is a key element in Lhe suuggle against this oppression as "it sees disabili£)' as normal, not inferior and demands sel f-determinacion over lhe resources people wHh ctisabilities need" (10). The themes o f self-deH,:rmination, self-definition and subjective experience. all intended to conte~t the objectification of disabled persons implicit in traditional social and academic practices, are al [he hean of the project o f disability srudies.1 People With disabLlities are objectified wheren:r they are still marginalized, wherever they have no say in dle way resources are allocated LO [hem or they are excluded from t.he discourse thaI. defines their social identi[)r. According lO Limon the four main objectives of disability studies are the theoretical consuuction of disabili t.y as a complementary social identity, the exposure o f oppressive mechanisms and their 148 Foau on German Studies implications for the narure of society by making disability [he ccorral category of research,2 lile building up of a knowledge base about disability in the field of lhe libe.ral am and the critical srudy of (he represen tations o f disability in w lruraJ producrs to reveal dominant actirudes towards disabili ty.) This effectively places disability studies wirhin the ideological comext of posonocierrusm, which has been defined by J. E LY0£ard as an "incredulity IOwards metanarrarivcs" (482). By 'mcranarrarives' he means tOtalising concepts of knowledge that, as Joh n Storey explains, "always :mcmp( { ... J (0 sLlence other voices. orner discourses, in the name of universal principles and general goals" (346). Normality can be seen as a meranarnove in this sense as it, by liS very definition, marginalises certain discourses and maJ:ks lhem as less important or even dangerous and subversive. These concepls constirute the theoretical framework of my analysis as il will u:y (0 counteract the objectifi cation o f people with disabilities and, dIU$, the presumption of normality, in two different ways: First, in a general way, by adding the perspective of a disabled researcher to the vaSt base o f knowledge produced by traditional criticism. Se:cond, in a more: specific way, by analysing how disability is used in selected plays by four of lhe best-known German­ speakmg play\.\'righrs, namely Benoit Brecht'S Mlilter Courage lind ihn Kindtr, Frie:drich Durrenmatt's Der Blinde, l .... fax Frisch's Ant/Qrra and Peter Handke:'s Kaspar. 10 this context it is vital to remember that rep resentations of disability occur in the comext of some form of communication. As for the specific case o f theatre, , would agree with Erika Fischcr­ uchte:r's undersranding of it as "der instirutionalisiene Pwzefi der theatr:1lischen Kommurukation," some of whose components she identifies.as "allgemeine und besondere Bedingungen der Produktion und Re:zeption, Konstinu:ion eine:r the~uralischen Sprache, Scrukrur und Wirkung de:r Auffuhmng/Performance" (10). This approach [0 theatre is useful, as It extends the origin:al .argumc=nt of this srudy [0 [he effect that the: ca non of German-speaking twentie:rn-ce:nrury dramatic theatre· objecllfies people with disabilitie:s because it is e:ssenllaUy a discourse whe:re non-disabled dramatists, producers and actors use: disabled people: in their communication with non­ disabled audiences. This is not to say that people: with disabilities Representation of Disability in Theater 149 are deliberately excluded from theatre. Ruher it ma ns that the lack of awareness o f disability shapes lheatric.al p ractices in such a way that people: with disabilitie:s are effectively excluded from this communication. A helpful tool in tlus context is Keir Elam's semiotic approach to theau:e: and drama.s He ide:nti6es as the main siglllfication systemS used in dramatic and theatrical communication, w luch make it clear that the implied audie:nces consist of nondisabled peopk, rather than pe:ople WI th disabilities, as the latter would not have sufficient knowledge of aU the: codes considere:d to be part of the: compete:nce of an average specralor.' Moreover, where theatre does not exclude audience me:mbers with disabilities it 'innormalizes' lhem.' By 'inno rmalisarion' I mean the way it invite:s aU spectators, includmg people with disabilities, [0 identify wilh an active nondisabled (main) character and/or to conform to ways of responding to a play that expects the: audience 10 have all (he normal chan nds of sensory and cognitive perception available. However, the laying bare of the o bjectification process, wh ich is the main aim of this study, should reveal not only the resuictions placed on and the injustices committed against people with disabilities, but also the generic possibilities for dleir correction. Due to lhe: fact thaI for each work twO texts exist., namely (.he dramatic and the thealrical, the dramatic gtore offers the unique chance to add 'subje:ctivity' and the "active voice[s)" o f disabled producers and acto rs (LiLlIon 134). Thus it would be possible, in the sphere of dramatic the:atre, 10 realise the claim o f the Disability Rights Movement: "Nothing abou t us without us" (Charlton 3). "Die Me nschen schwcigen, de:r Stein har beschlossen Z li rede n": D isabili ty in Brechl'S Afuller Courage und Hue Kinder Brecht's concept of epic theatre: aimed to dispose of the: idea lhat there is something universally and e: temally human lhal transcends all diffcrence:s in the human condition (SchriJuf/ '(filii Theater 59). Instead, his plays were intended to illuSrGue dut, due: to these dIfferences., people have different views on the same events.­ TI10S he dIVIdes lhe audie:nce. rather [han assuming them 10 be a 150 Focu! 011 German Siudiu ho mogeneous collective. In his writing, however, there is an obvious emphasis on social difference with clearly l>.h rxist connotations. His way o f explaining the individual as an effect of their time tends to neglect people's other differences. In Brecht's dramatic theory clisabiliry, like gender, race, er cetera, does not constirute a category o f analysis in its own right. His concept of mean e still sees the audience as a collective in the sense that it assumes audience to be no rmally abled. Furthermo re, if claims dramatic characters fOr a system o f signification, which means (har Kanno beco mes pa rt o f a communication process from which people with disabilities are exduded.9 Her mureness is no t o nly reduced to an effect o f lhe milieu, in this case the Thirry Year's War, but also to a mean s o f communication. D isability is used to express not its own coment, but one that is prescribed by dle author. It is, for Brecht, a means to get the message across (''O ber Mutter Courage" 49). Tn his play Brecht uses both theatrical and Literary techniques, s.uch as her gesrures, the sounds she makes and me comments b y her momer to make K aurin understood (\'Uhite 103). \\{'hen lI,-lo ther Courage first tells the cook about her children she says about Kattrin : "Die Tochter is t nix. Wenigstens ted sie nkht, das iSI schon etwas" (23). T his statem ent shows a typical pattern in Mother Courage's an:irude to her daughter. h is actually because of Kamin's muteness that in the eyes o f her mother she is (worth) nothing, but this ' flaw' is ehen interpreted as a desirable sidc-effeC[. Later in [he p lay her momer even goes as far as calling ber disability a gift fro m God: "Sei froh, daO du stumm bin, da widersprichst du cfu nie oder wills( dir nie die Zunge abbeiBen, weil du die Wahtheit gesagt hasl, d as ist on Go nesgeschenk., Stummsein" (33). The idea mat the loss o f one of rhe senses is a welcome escape from reality and/or personal responsibility is a recurrem lheme in me representatio n and cri ticism o f disabJed characters. lO It is also lypical that me failure of normal sensibility is seen as the chance of finding a new, differem way o f relating to the world. Aside ftOm the critics rhat auach symbo lic value to Kattrin's muteness, others o nly mention it in passing. In their writings Karuin is a "victim [ .. . 1 of [herl mo ther's guil t" (Speirs 98-9), "ein ruhrendes O pfer der Gewalttaa gkeit der Soldaren" (Ewen 335) Or simply "a disabled girl" (Leach 134). T here is no further discussion o f wh y she is mute Or what that implies. Representation o f D isabili ty in Theater 151 IVlother Courage herself is hardly 'politically correct' when she speaks about her daughter [Q other people. On one occasion she calls her a 'Kruppel' (42) and expresses dismay at the sounds Kamin makes, mainly because she does not wam the preaciler [Q hear them (44). Indeed, lhe atcirudes exp ressed by the p reacher and the cook, associa tes ramer than family members, are no t very fl attering. The preacher thinks that Ma rner Courage's "erwerbsllnfahige Tochter" is a burden fO her (50). This is actually quite iro nic as Kaurin works harder than the preacher. T he cook is even more reckless ill his assessment o f Kattrin's prospects: ''"Wie soil die d nen Mann fi nden? Stumm und die N arb dazu! [ ... J Und das ist auch ein G rund, warum ich sie nicht in der Wirtschaft haben kann. D ie Gi st woUn so was nicht immer vor Augen haben" (92-3). J-Ie sees Kattrin's disability and her scar as o ffensive to normal peop le. LL Although Kattrin's mother is somewhat more sympathetic, she comes to a similar conclusion: "~ lir ist ein his[Qrischer Augenblick, daB sie meiner Tochter libers Aug gesch1agen haben. Die is t schon halb kapun, einen Mann kriegt sie niche mehr, und dabei so ein Kindernarr" (74). Yet, f', -[o ther Courage is the character in me play that knows Kamin best, and alcllo ugh she can nor appreciate her daughter'S feelings, she has a fair idea abom how the wa r makes her suffer.12 Her assessmem o f her daughter, as far as her love fo r children, her compassion and hcr fear o f war are concerned, seems to be con fi rmed by lhe way Kattrin behaves. She attacks her mother wilh a wooden plank when the laner does not want to sacri fice any linen shirts to dress lhe wounds o f the injured farmers, and she also saves (helt baby from me burning house. U Later she mrows a basket full of bottles o n the ground when she hears that the war is going to continue. It is imeresting (0 note that Mo ther Courage interprets Kaurin's reaction to Ihe wa r's continuation as annoyance about having to wait even longer to get a husband.l~ Kattrin's longing fo r a husband and children could be viewed as o ne o f tile few tllings thai arc genuinely part of her nalure. When she bo rrows Yvette's shoes and imitates the p ros titute's manner o f walking, it is a spontaneous act, mo uvated by a mixrure o f curiosiry and desire that is no rmal for her age. f', [o ther Courage rakes the shoes away as she is worried that Katw ll will cnd up like Yve tte, bur she gives them back to Ka m in [0 comfo rt her after she has been assaulted by me soldier. 152 FoeJl! Off German Studies Bmh Mother Courage and the audience have to draw conclusions about Kamin's inner life from her actions. T his means that ultimately Kattrin's identity is one that is, to an enent, imposed on her. Due to her linguistic affliction she cannOt reply to anything that is being said, and dlUs cannot correct or modify what is assumed to be true about her. This lack of self-definition on her part makes it difficult co tell to what extent her actions reveal her true nawre as she might simply be conforming to a role assigned to her by mhers. Kamin's fale is, in dus respect, emblematic of the experience of people with disabilities. She has to rely on her mother, who admits dur reaUy she has no idea what Kattrin is thinking: 'Wenn ieh wiiBt, wie es in ihrem Kop f ausschaud" (73) . This remark shows the difficulties normally abled people in general have in dealing with those who do not share their own perception of me world, as is also the case in the next play, D urrenmau's Der Blinde. " D ie 'Auge n des Gla ube ns' s ind b li nd": Disabili ry in Durrenmatt's Der Olinde Complainrs about the unrealistic and reductive portrayal of blind characters have been made since the early twentieth century when a systematic comparison began in Germany between the social existence of blind people and its literary representation (1.ferkle 21). Many people thought that the characters produced did not reRect the growing competence of people with a visual impairment which enabled them to integrate into sociery ro a greater exten t (tvlerkle 21). Durrenman's remarks about the relationship becween a play, its characters and their beliefs suggest, however, that the blind duke in Der Blinde could be an exception [Q this rule. D urrenmart maintains that his characters are first and foremost human beings and dlat what they think and believe is an expression of what they are, radler than being the intended message of the play ('Theatnproblnm" 29). The conception of the dramatic character as a human being implies a certain individuality, a well- roundedness that does not reduce it [0 a single feature or a mere type. In his Anmerkllngm ZII Der Blinde, wriuen in 1980, he explains that, despite what most people thought, the play is nO[ simply an allegory of faith (256). The question is iF this opens the possibiliry for a more individualistic and realistic Representation o f Disability in Theater 153 representation of me blind duke, especiaUy as the title suggests tlle exacr opposite. The play shows the duke in the ruins of his castle which has been destroyed by war. He believes, however, dut the life he knew is sti!! intact, which raises the question of what is actually true and real. The dilemma that d efines the scope of the duke's character as well as giving strucrure to tlle play is described by [he autllor as follows: "Ocr Herzog in Der Blinde befindet sich in einer existenzieUcn Position, wo er zwischen dem G lauben an die Sehenden und dem Zweifel an den Sehenden zu wahlen hat" (AII!1Icrkungcn 256). The duke must make this choice as he cannot check whedler or nOt what people tell him about the world is true. Thus, his blindness is associated with trust and faith as an antithesis to the reality of those who can sec. To experiment with these t\\'o conflicting realities that exist within the same dramatic space was D urrenmatt's main concern with regard to the play ("Theaterprobleme" 42). The spectator is seen as pa rt o f the normal reality of the o tiler characters, a reality that is dominated by images rather than words. This means that the audience can, in every sense of the word, see through the lies and charades that form tile basis for the duke's real.ity due to his 'willing suspension of disbelief.' The fact that Durrenmatt assumes the spectators to be able to see, hear and generally sense what is happening on stage becomes even more obvious when he emphasises the importance of the theatrical dimension o f drama: "Ein ThearerstUck wird durch das Thea ter, indem man es spielt, em·as Sichtbares, H6rbares, Greifbares, damit aber auch Unmittelbares" ("Theaterprobleme" 34). h would be foolish to accuse D iirrenman of deliberately disctiminaring against people with disabilities when he imagines his audience as wdl as most of his characters to be normally abled. There is a natural bias in the way nondisabled authors think of others: they presume normality. It would be impossible for D urrenmatt nOt think of his audience as consisting of 'normal' people when he essentially creates it in his own image: "Der moderne Autor kcnllt kein bestimmtes Publikum mehr [ .. ]. Er fingierr sein Publikum, in Wahrheit ist er es seiber" ("T bearerprobleme" 39). The contradiction between what the duke believes and what the audience and the odler characters know becomes obvious [rom the beginning of the play. The first scene shows the duke sitting 154 FocuJ on Ctrlllan Sl lIdil.] in front of his ruined castle dIal has been desLrored in lhe cou~e o f the Thirty Year's \'(lar. His remark about "clen Frieden memes Landes und den Prieden meiner Seele" seems facil er odd as tile specta tor does no t yet know about his blindness (151). The Italian solcli~ Negro tla Ponte, who is passing by the duke's casde. is equally surprised when asked why he does no t greel the owner of such a 'splendid ' castle. Negro da Pome then realises mat the duke is blind and the latter confirms this: "lch bin blind. Die Krankheir. von der ich geneseo bin, hat oUch blind gemacht" (152). He proceeds 1'0 describe the porui of the cas cle to Negro da Pome, who plays along, and then the duke praises God, who has bes towed peace o n his country and his soul. U The duke's chaging to faith is :itO act o f self. p reservation: " Mit dem Augenlicht hac dec Herzog den Sinn rur die Walttheit verloren: er sieht die Wirklichkeit nicht mehr. Um nich{ zu verzweifdn, geeift er nach dem G Jauben als renendem Su ohhalm" (A rnold 30). NegTo da Ponte and Palamedes, the duke's son however interpret the way in which his blind ness has allowed him t~ subs ri£Ut~ the rea~ry o~ the senses wilh that o f fai th in a slightly different way. They VIew his escape from their reality as a blessing foe him. Negro da Pome tells him: " Fur einen Sehenden gtbt es kcine Gnade" (155). Palamedes views iI as divine imen 'ention lhat prevented his father (rom wimessing the destruction o f his realm: "Oer Himmel ha t ibm die Augen zugehalten" (160). Again, here we find the no tion dlat disabili ty protects the individual fcom the reality of a world lhat is tOO ~~ to deal wi th,l' o r as Gerhard Knapp stares: " Den Ile [2og, dec In die (reale) Blindheit ge Aohen ist, bewahrr sein Glaube (die: meraphysische Sieht) vor der Konfronration mit einer unenriglichen Wirklichkeic" (34). Similarly, Armin Arnold claims that Ihis aspec t o f the play shows Durrenmau 's critical attirude towards God: "Durrenmarn Anklage an Gou blelbt dieselbe: man muB schon blind sein, um an GOtt glauben zu k6nnen" (30). Yet the duke does not only have to uust in God, he also must rely on other people fo r info rmatio n about dle world that surrounds him: " [eh bin blind. Ieh muG dem t-. fenschen verttauen, urn zu sehen" (156). Therefore, Negro da Ponre decides that the duke is me pe rfect victim for a scheme [h at is intended to test his faid,. Da Ponte and his "Getier der Nacht" design a play around me duke that pre rcnds Representation of Disabili ty in Thcater 155 (0 restOn: his fo rmer glor), while actually taking away everything the duke ho lds dear (169). Da Ponte tells his 'cast ,' consisting o f soldiers, whores actors and other dubious figures, that the duke is the best audien~c anybody could wisb for: "l hr k6nnt ihm vo rspieieo , was i.hr wollt. und er wird al\es glauben" (163). This assessment seems corceCl, and it is exactly what p resems the challenge to Da Ponte. If he can make (he duke doubt anything in the play he can make \um doubt his falm atlhe same time or, as Mathias Mayer relates: «lndem das Nicht-sehen hiet physisd l als Blindhcit verkorpert wird, nluG sich der G laube mit dem blinden Vertnuen ins Verhili luus sel"zcn und entweder alles oder niclm glauben" (11 8) . Da Pontc's plan is to rake the game as far as is necessa ry to crumble the duke's rai th. This, he thinks, will only be a matter of time, for as loog as the duke believes his words he has power over him: "Was ich denke, geschieht an ihm. Den Weg, den ich ihm weise. muB ec einschlagen. So haufe ieh Q ual uber Q ual auf ihn, cine !-Io lle liber dte andere" (186·7). O nce this game has broken the duke, me uuth about human .na tu~e will be revealed: " Dann werdet ihr sehen, was der Mensch 1St : em seheclcndcr Mund, zwei gebrochene Augen, in denen sich mchu spiegelt" (186). Da Ponte, however, undercsomates the duke's determination to believe him and thus keep Ius fai th by subjecting himself to the rcall ty Da Ponte is creating fo r him. D urrenmatt described dle e ffect of this determination as rern fying: '1ndem er den Glauben an rue Sehenden waH t wLrd er fUr diese scbrccklich und auf cine gespenstischc Art unm~nschlich : er rummt sie beim \X'on " {''Theaterprobleme'' 42). He even strangles the court pOCt, Gnadenbrot Suppe:, hecause he wan ts to tell him me trUlh about .. vhat is going on. The death o f Palamedes can also be vie .... '(!d as a result o f the duke's refusal to learn the uuth. The suicide o f tbe duke's daughter O ctavia makes him triumph over Da Ponte finally, as it makes the Iic that his daughter is dead true and thus confirms the duke's faith , rather than disproves iL What does this rale o f faith and deception me.!n fo r the representation o f blindness? It ce rtainly does nOt show a rea ll s~c blind chancter. Not o nly is the po rtrayal o f the duke full o f cliches: his blindness is seen as a prerequisite fo r and a symbol o f faidl , a gi ft from heaven to shield lhe duke from the terwe o f (ealiry and a 156 Focui 011 German Studies chosen condition that is defended al any COSt. Moreover, it reduces blindne~s [0 the .single . dichommy needed for experimen ting widl rhe nonon of blind fatth, an experim em which, according to M. ~1ayer ~ead~ [ 0 the following conclusion: " Die 'Augen des Glaubcns' Sind ~lind, l!1 ~ofern sic nicht mi l den sinnuchen Augen sehen, aber zugleJch heUslchtig fur die Absurdiut des ersprungenen Glaubens" (11 8). October 2000. TIlis exhibition, entitled "Bilder, die nocb fehlten. Zeilgenossische FOlografie," showed picrures dlat were not pan o f the collective invento ry of mCnlal images with which we make sense of the world. It fcarured phYSically handicapped people in the pose and attire of supcrmode1s, as well as plcrurcs by a blind photographer. It presented images whose content had been determined or Influenced by the expcrience of people with disabilities and by the way they view the world and themselves. These images arc an important addition to lhe vast numbcr of images that strucrure our perception of disabililY, as they constitute the creation of a self-determined image which is desperately needed in the world of mass media: "Je mehr Gilder 166 Fo!1lS on Gtrman Studiu unsere Wirklichkeit beherrschen, desto wichtigcr wird es, class sie uns Spielriiume we Entwicklung eines ind1viduellen Selbstbildes lassen odee [ ... J class sic diese Spielciume sagar erweitern adee schaffen" (Zirden und Heinrich 19). In (he same way it would be necessary for disabled dramatists, producers and actors (0 explore the theaue for ways of self­ expression. This would coumeract [he objectification of people with disabilities as it would add their own perspective and familiarise both disabled and non-disabled audiences with images and ways of representation that they are not used to. The 3nCmpt to correct misconceptions and misrep resentations is not an inteUecmal exercise from which non-disabled people ate excluded. As LYOlard states: ''Postmodern knowledge [ ... J refines our sensitivity to differences and reinforces aU( ability to tolera te the incommensurable" (483). The rehabilitation of minority voices should not result in. funher segregation, but in more tolerance and understanding of all the different ways of experiencing [he world. Univmi(Yof Umtdck, Inland Notes I Cf. limon 120-31. : Cf. Charlton and Doyle. l Cf. tl'[erkie, Mlttchell and Snyder and Norden • As opposed to other forms of theaue. such as dance theatre, music rheacre or puppet theatre. j He discinguishes becween the text "composed for the theatre" (dramatic text) and the one "produced in the theatre" (theatrical or performance text), a distinction, however, that does nOt prove very pucucal in the cOntext of thls analysis (Elam 3). 6Cf.57_62 1 I use Ihis term as an analogy of the feminist idea of inunascul:uion, as explained in Feuerley and Schweickart. I IL Leach has shown this for Mutttr C(}urage lind ihn KinPlr. T he techniques used in the play, he argues, suggest that '"Brecht confronts the spectator not wilh reality itself, but with altitudes towards reality" (138). , J. J. Wlure has analysed Brecht's \\rork in terms of its semioric narure and he argues that, apart from more obvious things such as props, "characters Representation of Disability in Theater 167 themselves arc also 'Zeichen'" (97). 10 it. Ge.iBler, for example, inrerprers Karuin's speecbkssness as the only possible. u:action for a sensitive and humane individual to a world mat is dominated by [error and crudty (Cf. 30). Cf. also ~'lennemeier 146. II This view \VaS also criticised by Felix Minerer in his 1977 play Kein Platz flrldwun. 11 Cf. 93. !J Cf. 62-3. I' Cf. 68. II As the. portal shows, dle Story of Job the duke is associated with this biblical character and his fate. 16 The authors of Kronkhtit als lII'tg, for example, view illness as the manifestation of a person's 'shadow,' that is, everydling they are not conscious of, and rhey maintain a cataract indicates thai a person is running away from something that they do not want to sec. 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