Focus Fall 1994.tif America: A Modern Day T auris? A Study of Two Adaptations of the Iphigenia Myth Catherine C. Marshall r.9:1 any modern cultures have sought literary inspiration in the my­ I1lJ thology and culture of ancient Greece, but the German infatu­ ation with the cl assical tradition has surpassed all others. In explain­ ing what she termed "the tyranny of Greece over Germany," E. M. Butler wrote, "Germany is the supreme example of her [Greece's] triump ham spiritual tyranny. The Germans have imitated rhe Greeks more slavishly; they have been obsessed by them more utterly, and they have assimilated them less than any other race" (6). Some Ger­ man medieval authors, notably Heinrich von Veldeke, dealt with such themes as the T rajan war and the story of !Eneas, but it was not until Winckelmann envisioned Greece as the embodiment of "edle Einfalt und stille G roBe" that Germany experienced the true renaissance of Greek ant iquity. This interest did not simply mean a heightened aware­ ness of ancient Greek contributions to art and society, but their domi­ nation. Butler argues that "Winckelmann 's Greece was the essential fac lor in the development of German poetry throughout the latter half of the eighteenth and the whole of the nineteenth century" (6). While it is clear that the tyranny has abated in the twentieth century, Greek antiquity ce rtainl y has not completely rel inquished its influ­ ence over modern Germany. Numerous authors recognized the an­ cient themes as analogous to the problems facing modern society. Gerhart Hauptmann's TragOdientetrttlogie, for example, is the realiza­ tion of the ulljon between the classical and modem worlds; Hauptmann used the history of the Atreus family to underli ne the horrors of the Second World War. In the latter half of tillS century, the West Ger­ man fascination in classical antiquity has ebbed, although certainly not disappeared. Despite t his decreasing popularity i.n post-war West FOCf/J on Um·atllr Vol. I, No.2 (1994) Germany, the ancient G reek culture did retai n a firm foothold in the former German Democnn ic Republic.! One mythological family, the house of Atreus-especially the members of Agamemnon's immediate family-has captured the fanta­ sies of autho rs for centuries. The background and stories based on the<;e characters is well-known. Each of the great tragedians, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, dedicated several of their dramatic works to th is theme. Many of their contemporaries also recorded their own ver<>iom of the lives of Agamemnon, Clytaemnestra, and their chil­ dren.2 This tradition did not cease with the end of Greek classicism, nor has it been contained within the borders of a single country. The Iphigenia myth,' central to the Atreus history, can be broken down in to three major phases: Iphigenia in Aul is, the site of her "sac­ rifice"; Iphigenia in Tauris, che site of her "exi le"; and lphigenia in Delphi, a lesser-known element of the myth dealing with her return home. The tale of Agamemnon's eldest child has been passed down in various expanded forms first by the Greek poelS, and later awakened the imaginatio n of modern authors. In German literature, Gocthe crc· ated a literary classic with his version of the myth, wherein he empha­ sizes t he power of humanity rather than the otherworldly.' l lis Iphigenie has become the embodiment of this humanity, as it w:as she, nottbe g.ods, who resolved the conflict, consequently effecting change in the barbarian state of Tauris, as well as making possible her return home. Classical antiquity has arguably laid the groundwork of western civil ization, but the United States of America has played a leading role in the modern development of Eu rope. The nation developing across the ocean tbat embodied the humanistic ideals of the En light­ enment awakened the imagination of the Europeans. The Revolutio n­ ary War and the signing of the Declaration of Independence inspired German writers, who "viewed America as the land of political hope for a free society and as the model for a democratic govern ment in their own country" (Maisch 3). Goethe's attitude towards America as renected in his works "expressed the utopian hopes of a time when the United States became a symbol of the future to al\ liberal and progressive Europeans" (Osterle 43). In 1956 Harold Jantz condensed the depictions of America into the follow ing four paradigms t hat arc usefu l in assessing modern \'(fest German as well as classical Ge rman I U"'", .... , ., .,,1.1 ......... iJ .. , ''''.uu. ," , literature: "the myth of golden age primitivism in America," "the myth of a brutally, relentlessly savage America that had to be stemJy tamed by the force of civilization," "'the historical myth of the westward movement of civilization," and" America as the new land of promise" (39). With the formation of the German Democratic Republic, a fifth paradigm has arisen: that of a war-mongering, power-hungry capital­ ist imperialist. in his article on the East German literary reception of the United States, Zipes illdic3tes that, although there are few works in East German literature thal deal exclusively with America (335), the view of the super power as "imperialistische Macht," "anti­ demokratischer Staat," and "Sachwalter des staalSnlonopolistischen Kapitalisl1lus" was prevalent (329)-attirudes which also became in­ creasingly popular in the FRG in the decades of the Cold War, culmi­ nati.ng in the vehement reaction against the Vietnam War. Modern authors attempting to recreate or reinterpret the Iphigenia myth must pay homage not only to the original Greek sources, but they must also contend with the Goethean ideal, and of course in some manner with the inte\1eclUal or social issues of their time.J The same is true of responses to the Uni ted States-in the twentieth cen­ tury to an even greater degree. Since \V\VIl America has been intri­ cately intertwined with Germany. The rwo nations were first enemies i.o a brutal ~,tar; then the US, with its allies, imposed ilS control over every aspect of post-war German society. After allying itself with the FRG, the United States contributed to the \'(Imscbaftswzlnderthrough the Marshall Pian. America's international policies during the Cold War were often unpopular. Within the context of these nations' com­ plex relationship, there Jlave been numerous interpretations of the nature and validity of US society and values. At least two post-war German dramas combined an attraction to mythology with the grow­ ing common interest in the Un ited States: Egon Vietta's Ipbigellle HI Amerika and lise Langner's Iphigeme Smah kehrt helm. For all their differences, America plays a significant role in each; and each is, in its own way, a reaction to classical antiquity, Goethe's portrayal of Mensch· fichkelt in Iphigenie azifTallm, and contemporary issues. Both dramas, set in t.he aftermath of the Second World War, uti­ lize several basic aspeclS of the myth: the threat of impending war, Iphigenia's separation from her family and homeland (if not her sacri­ fice), and a cast of characters familiar from the Greek sources. In both the Langner and the Vietta versions, Nazi Germany becomes the modern equivalent of Iphigenia's Mycenaean home, and the United States replaces Tauris as her place of "exile." Despite the similarities, they relate (Wo ddferem aspects of the Iphigenia myth. Vietta, like Goethe and many of the Greek poetS, depicts Iphigenie in exile. while Langner's work, following a minor branch of the c1assical tr.ldition, IS a portrayal of her reLUm home. Vieua's Iplngenle In Amenka, published III 1948, apparently takes place in \V/ashmglon D.C. (which is confused with Washlrlgton State). The events superfici21ly parallel those of Goethe's work, but the ch2r­ aoer motiv2tion is very different. Langner's IplJlgenie Smith kehrt he,m was begun in 1968, but not published until 1991. Her version takes a step beyond Vietta's adaptation by depicting Iphigenie's return home to Germany. Ipbigen;e S'nllh departs significantly from the trldition21 myth in which Clytaemnestra, murderess of her husband, IS subse­ quendy killed by her son, who is then persecuted by the Furies. Here the Atreus line remains intact; Agamemnon and Klytamnestra are still alive at the time of Iphigenie's return, and Orest's emotional suffering l'i caused not by the murder of his mOlher, bUl by the mass murder of countles~ faceless people during the Second World War. Vietta~ (1903-1959) made some illleresting adaptations to the fam­ ily history of his charlcters in Iphtgerue It! Amt'TIka. Iphigenie was sent to America due to the impending war, while Orest remained with his family because of his intense attachment to his father. In a provocative twist, Agamemnon was a Jew, a faci known only to his wife. In order to be with her lover I lorst-a modern day Aegisthus­ and to protect her son from the Nazi policies regarding anyone with Jewish b1ood, Orest's mother willingly betrayed her husband to the Gestapo (45 .... 7). 110m spared Orest Agamemnon's fale by conceal­ ing the boy's lineage and making him an o£ricer in the German army. Afterdiscovering his mother's evil deed and killing her, Orest escaped to Washington with his teacher, Pylades, in a near insane state ill search of the lost sister. Meanwhile, Vietta's Iphigenie has not been living as the priestess of King Thoas ofTauris, but rlther as the adopted daugh­ ter of the powerful Senator Ismael Vandenbergh. Like Goethe's lplugenie, who introduced civility and humanity to a barbarous T auris, this Iph igenie has contributed to the cuhure of her land of "exile." As she tells the Gorgon-a magical figure who Amenca: A Modern DOl)' T auris? 133 appears to all except Pylades as if a ~ream-s~le has devoted herself to what is beautiful (29). The people 111 Washmgton gave her money, which she in turn donated to the StaduhealtT and other culLUral inter­ eSLS-:Uld she has been just as successful in this as Goethe's character was in civiliz.ing T auris. But whereas Goethe's lphi~enie: lllro.ugh .h~r humanity, was able to save 211 those she cared for, Vlena s Iphlgenle IS not the sole impetlls for the "happy end," although she does playa cruci21 role. The United States was by no means the brutal naLion that was Tauris before Iphigenie's arrival. Ipblgenle m Amenka nevenheless depicts some of the darker sides of American life, images ohen gro~ded ill reality but exaggerated into parodies. One ~f the n~ost obVIOUS stereotypes is lhe character of Arkas, the mestizo. lie 15 the rllher simple-minded servant, although more remimscem of a slave, who IS very loyal to Iphigellle. HIS dialogues awaken images of slave'!. Ark~s rarely speaks in full sentences and regularly uses the ~erm Massa: "oer Massa ein I leiliger," "lch keinell Namen ... Be~nlller I Ierr a~s Chicago mich get3uft auf Namen Arkas" \t~). He IS .treate~ by hiS employer and the police as a second.c1~ss Clllzen and IS subJected to racist comments and even a bna21 beatlOg. The ponrayal of politicians as embodied in the character of Vandenbergh, the police, and Ameri~an jUSli~e is quite negat.lve: Arkas' suffering attestS to this. The senator IS "ery nch and authont.luve, an.d hardly a man of the people. There are l1um7rou~ references to h~s financia l wonh and the size of his estate, and It qUIckly becomes eVI­ dem that the senator believes in the power of money to buy people and information. He assumes that len dollars will entice Pylades 10 leave his land and he attempLS 10 buy trutb from lhe Gorgon (23,31). Ilis greed is surpassed only by his ruthlessness, as Arbs warns lhe two trespassers; -Massa aJle zermalmen, ~e Ilicht gehorc.hen" (25). This characterization of the senalor remalUS constant until the very end of the drama when Orest is accepted as Iphigenie's brother. American justice, like politicians, has few redeeming qual.itie~ in this work. Vietta portrAYS the realities of democracy as a pc;~'erslon of the American utopia. When searching for the two fugltl\·es on Vandenbergh's propeny, the police discover that Arkas IS aware of their whereabouLS. In ordeno extract the information from hun they resort to thumbscre\\·s. When the senator, so obsessed with finding tOCJt5 on LUeralur Orest and Pylades, orders that they be shot on sight if they oHer the slightest resistance, the police gladly comply. shooling Pylades so full of holes he is compared with a sieve. In spite of this extreme violence. when Iphlgenie asks the police to leave the house, they are forced to do so b«ause "die Dame beruft sich :louf ihre unverbriichlichen Recine" (61). Unfortunately. these inalienable rights promised by the comti tutlon were not allowed to Arkas and Pylades. Not only are the po­ lice In Ir}"gf'1l,e In Amenka \'iolent, they take perverse pleasure in their cruelty. When speaking of the thumbscrews they used on ArkotS, one detecti\'e said: "Doch wir haben ihm das Schwarze herausgepreRt: der war so weiR, "ie eine Wand von Kalk" (58). Langnei' (1899-1987) wrOte IpJngenie Smith kehrt helm two de­ cades arter Vieua's work, and lhi .. distance from the war years seems to accolLllt for much of the irony in the piece. Iphigenie Smith is a very different and much more complex work than Vieua's play. In this tale of Iphigenie's return home, for each modern character there is a correspondll1g classical figure: Iphigenie Smith is visited by the ·original" Iphigenie, her mother is confronted by her ancient coun­ terpart, and so on. Iphigenie's family is made up of Mllmacher. Gen­ eral Schmidt, ~ member of the 55, sem Iphigenie to America to sepA­ rate her from Horst, her lover, whom she falsely believed to be ~ member of the resistance. Frau Schmidt, leader of the Nazi women's movement, presumably betrayed Pyhdes and his Jewish lover Esther, and denounced Agisth, her own lover, who was in turn sent to a concelllration camp. Both Elektra and OreSl played a role in the be­ trayal of the young lovers. Only Orest fecls remorse for his actions during the v,'ar. He has chosen 10 remain bound to John, a distant American reialiH, who suffers a similar feeling of guilt. Iphigenie, having spent the war years in the United Stales, returns as a represen­ tati\,c of the American judiciary-with the power of the classical f:ues to decide the outcome of her fami ly's lives. Many of the illltial images of the United States in Langner's work are stereotypica l, as they were in Vietta's. America is deemed the Illost powerful and ric.:he .. t country in lhe world (313), and there are several allusions to the Americans as the bearers of both food and justice to a war-ravaged Germany, but onl), Iphigenie has the na'jvete to see these as positive manife"lalions of a democratic society, The Germans who have experienced the Americ:Ul bombings which killed countless num­ bers of innocent citizens are not so quick to embrace these ·saviors," America: A Modern Dar T auris? 135 Those whom Iphigenie encounters wander the streets, without e\'er reaping the benefiLS of the sma1l biLS of American kindness. The American exile of Langner's Iphigenie was not as comfort­ able as was that of Vieua's. Iphigenje was left by her father in the care of the president of the United States, but she was soon forced to nee his home, The Schmidt name awakened the Americans' yeaming for re\'enge, and Iphigenie was to pay with her life for ,her ~ather's and Germany's crimes (312), Forced to drop out of socIety In an .act of self-preservallon, Iphigenie began a life on the streets, where she w.as raped by a group of savage young children, The brutal~ty o,f t.his a~, which caused Iphigenie to lose the child .. he was carrylllg, IS intenSI­ fied by the passers-by who either ignored or laughed at her plight. Ip higcnie recogniz.ed "daR ein Volk, dessen Kinder schon Verbrecher sind, ohne Hoffnung ist" (299). John Smith, the American soldier ami distant re l ativ~ of tl~e Atreus line, offers damning testimon), against hi~ country and Its aCllons ,dur­ ing the war. Langner's drama does not distlllguish bet ween the cn~es of the Axis and those of the allied powers. True, Orest held a hlgh­ level position in the 55, and "'.as thus respomlble for much suffering and death, but John declares himsdf to be no less guilty, He was in­ volved in the bombing of German cities, and as Orest points out: "Waren doch bloB noch Alte und Frauen in den Stadten-" (294). A casual reference to Hiroshima (J 16) introduces additional testimony of AmenC2.l1 guilt . The two finally reatile that they are both the same, "Kriegsverbrecher" (304), and in this way arc ineviubly bound toge~er. The president in Iphrgerue Smllll is a faceless character, remJ~lIs­ cent of Orwell's Big Brother-he is heard hut never seen. On the Slm­ plest.level he can be seen as the savior of the family, i~ that he tr~ns­ plants the general, his wife, and their daughter E~ektra Into Amencan society; he forgin's all their pre\'ious transgressIons. but ~e does I~ot forget them, I lis goal is to use each family member's partIcu lar sktl ls to bring "order" to the US-a plan ~:ightening~y sin,lilar t~ 1~ l tI~r's, and one developed, ironically, by Agisdl durmg IllS captivIty I~ a concentration camp (J16), The president'S goal is to take the melt,lIlg pal of America and build one Volk (a Nali term that Langner POlllt­ edly uses), which treasures obedience and dls~iplll\e a.bo\·e all else (3 t I), Although it superficially seems that the PreSident WIshes to lransfo~ these people by gi\'ing them new names. he is merely t~anSplanl1ng them. The names may have changed, but they are stili dlStlllClly Euro- 136 Focus on Uteralllr pean: General Schmidt becomes Paul Schmidt, Ordmmgsmmlstf'r, Klytamneslra, now known as Bertha, is to be resporuible for -die Siltsamkeil der Frauen Amerikas" {317}; and Elektra. now Else, is to become leader of the youth movement. Albrecht, formerly Agisth, is to act as Schmidt's right-hand man. The president has no use for Crest and John because their youthful idealism renders them worthless for his goal of esubJislllng a new totalitarian state, and Iphigenie, who worked to humam7c the barbarian American street children by fOfm­ ing a cult around herself, is banned from returning to the US. Both 'aulhors wrote in the wake of Goethe's innuence. In the afterword. [0 hi~ ~rnma~ Viena discarded Goethe's idealistic portrayal o fhum:Ullslll, C.llUg Fntz Ernst's essay on Iphigenie. Although Vietta did not use the following citation in his comments, it aptly applies to his ideas: "Goet he seiber mu(he anerkennen," Ernst poims out, "daB er seine Menschen aus lauter Menschlichkeit ins Obermenschliche ge· steigen hatte" (Ernst 29). Viena turned to "die gonliche [Losung]" in answer to the brutality of human behavior (76). It is important to note, though, that by "gottliche" he did not mean the Christian God, who, according to Pyl::.des, is a human conStruct: "Die phantasti'iChste Maske, die der Mensch erfunden hat" (37). This God's effect o n hu­ man beings has not been positive, as the Gorgon remarks: "Er machte sic (Manner] nicht zu Belern, sondern zu Goldsuchern" (28). Vieua seemed to be striving more towards an awareness of the significance of a su~r-human force o r forces, as was seen in Greek mythology, than a single God subject to the imerpretation of humans. He saw this work as an attempt, "das I lumane gegen das Titanische, das Aul1er­ wld Unmenschliche abzugrenzen" (78). When Orest is finally awak­ ened from his insanity, it is not thanks to humanity, but to Athena­ the deus tX machma has returned. Numerous times in the drama, hu­ man violence is both spoken o f and depicted. The violent nature of the pol ice and of Vandenburgh is reminiscent o f the violence Orest saw both in the war and in his family. Vietta has come to the conclu­ sion that reliance on the goodness of human nature wi ll not bring about peace, prosperity, or fellowship. Langner, unlike Vietta, does follow in Goethe's footsteps insofar as she consistently portrays her characters struggling without the as­ sistance of a supernatural power. In the wake of the suffering caused by WWII, Langner turned away from the theme of man and woman r\.ffienca: r\ JVlooem uay I auns~ 1)1 Lhat was central to her earlier works and beg;m to focus more gener­ ally on the human condition in her works: "Mann und Frau verschmol­ zen zu einem Leideoswesen. Sie nohen miteinander, zueinander. Ein Mensch versuchte dem anderen Menschen beizustehen-oderauch ihn zu verraten" Oohann 41). The figures in Iphlgtmie Smirh are not as noble as those in Goethe's Iphigeme, but lhey are left to fmd their own humanity. Unfortunately, the family is only transplanted into AmeriClJl society under different names. The wrongs they propag