Friedermann Und Drifter Play Analysis

Max Frisch’s Biedermann und die Brandstifter tells the story of Gottlieb Biedermann, a well-to-do business man who lives in a town that is being terrorised by arsonists. Biedermann is paid a visit by Schmitz, who claims to be an unemployed wrestler, searching for work. The drama tells the story of the arsonists gradually infiltrating and gaining power, and eventually burning down the Biedermann home, killing its owners.
The drama itself is an extended metaphor about the weakness of personal ethics in the face of evil. Frisch almost completely avoids any sort of reference which would restrict his play to a particular country or age, although it has been noted that as a Swiss citizen he felt keenly the stifling and hypocritical nature of middle-class morality.
In this essay, I will discuss how Biedermann’s rigid conversational

This is due to the potential of the theatre. In Biedermann und die Brandstifter, Frisch uses a Chorus to reveal Biedermann’s failure to deal with the arsonists. Like its Greek predecessors, the function of the Chorus is to comment on the activities of the actors, and it urges spectators to draw a moral. Frisch employs the chorus as a voice of a reason that warns Biedermann of impending doom. The presence of a morally sound voice shows contrast between Biedermann’s actions, and what the right thing to do is. They stand ready and willing to help, but are never called upon. The phrase, “Wir sind bereit”, is repeated so often, it becomes a remonstrance, an indictment. Biedermann’s stubborn resistance to listen to the chorus highlights his failure to deal with the arsonists “Ich bin ein freier Bürger. Ich kann denken, was ich will.” (p.37) The fact that Biedermann continuously ignores the Chorus’ warnings (“Wehe! [...] Wehe! [...] Dreimal Wehe!”) draws our attention to his intense stubbornness and willingness to delude himself in the search for peace of