The Broken Jug is a comedy written by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist

Heinrich von Kleist

Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...

. Kleist first conceived the idea for the play in 1801, upon looking at a copper engraving in Heinrich Zschokke

Heinrich Zschokke

Johann Heinrich Daniel Zschokke was a German author and reformer. Most of his life was spent, and most of his reputation earned, in Switzerland...

's house entitled "Le juge, ou la cruche cassée." In 1803, challenged over his ability to write comedy, Kleist dictated the first three scenes of the play, though it was not completed until 1806

1806 in literature

-New books:*Harriet Butler - Vensenshon*Catherine Cuthbertson - Santo Sebastiano*Charlotte Dacre - Zofloya*Maria Edgeworth - Leonora*Sophia Frances - Vivonio*William Herbert -The Spanish Outlaw...

. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...

 first staged the play in Weimar

Weimar

Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...

, where it premiered on 2 March 1808

1808 in literature

The year 1808 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Opening of the Théâtre St. Philippe, New Orleans.*The first Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, established in 1732, is destroyed by fire. Rebuilding begins in December....

.

In 1944 it was produced as a film in Mexico by German director Alfredo B. Crevenna under the title Adan, Eva y el Diablo. It starred comedians Roberto Soto, Emma Roldan, Amalia Wilhelmy and Perla Aguiar.

The Broken Jug mocks the failings of human nature and the judicial system

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

 in a forgiving way. It is similar to Sophocles

Sophocles

Sophocles is one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived. His first plays were written later than those of Aeschylus, and earlier than or contemporary with those of Euripides...

' tragedy

Tragedy

Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...

 Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King

Oedipus the King , also known by the Latin title Oedipus Rex, is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BCE. It was the second of Sophocles's three Theban plays to be produced, but it comes first in the internal chronology, followed by Oedipus at Colonus and then Antigone...

(c. 429 BCE), in that in both plays the judge is guilty, but different insofar as Adam knows from the start who is guilty, as does the audience, and is trying his hardest to conceal the truth.

The play follows the story of "Adam" and "Eve". Adam is covered in various injuries and talking with his secretary Licht. The jug is not mentioned in these first five scenes although the audience is made aware that Adam is a highly suspicious character. The trial lasting from scene seven through to scene eleven, shows the characters on stage trying to piece together the events which led to the breaking of the jug. At the end of scene eleven Eve states that Adam broke the jug and Adam escapes in the confusion.

Characters

Adam — the judge. He is the one who broke the jug. He became attracted to Eve and in order to make her cooperate with his desires he made up a story about Ruprecht being conscripted into the army.

Eve — a simple but honest country girl. She knows who broke the jug but does not say so until he directly threatens Ruprecht whom she loves.

Licht — the judge's secretary. He is mysterious and portrayals of him vary. He uncovers the truth but cleverly allows Adam to condemn himself rather than openly accusing him.

Walter — the man who comes to inspect Adam and the way he runs his court.

Frau Marthe — Eve's mother.

Ruprecht — a young man who is in love with Eve.

Motifs/Symbols/Themes

The broken jug — This central image which gives the play its title is intimately bound up with the idea that with the breaking of the jug, Eve's chastity has been lost, an idea which comes from a German phrase, Kleist making the link quite literal. This explains why such a seemingly insignificant object becomes so significant in the eyes of the courtroom. Only Adam and Eve know who broke the jug, and neither reveal the truth until Adam sentences Ruprecht to prison, when she says decisively, "Judge Adam smashed the jug." The audience has been aware throughout the play who is guilty.

Comedy — This is the only piece of work which Kleist wrote which is pure comedy. Most of the humour is based on word play and the ludicrous ideas which are presented.

Truth — Kleist became intrigued by the Kantian

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

idea of being unable to know what is really real. The play shows the contradicting ideas that what is real is what you can see and touch (as represented by Ruprecht) and that appearances might be deceptive and that there might be a deeper truth (as represented by Eve).

Justice and the judicial system — Adam is both the criminal and the judge.

The periwig — Adam has lost his periwig after having to escape from Eve's bedroom window. It represents his role as the judge.

Rural life — The village where the events take place is small and the inhabitants look to Adam as the ultimate authority. The idea that he could be guilty only occurs to Walter, the outsider, and Licht, the intelligent secretary.

Symbolic Names — The names of the characters are highly symbolic, Adam and Eve, in reference to the Fall and the idea of temptation. The play opposes the original fall however in that it is the man, Adam, who is corrupt and has corrupted the innocent Eve. Licht ("Light") uncovers the truth about the breaking of the jug subtly, literally bringing light to the situation.