Interpretation of a line from Spring Awakening...

Hello all!

I'm currently in the drama 'Spring Awakening' which some of you may have heard of before. It was written in the 1800s orgininally in the German language. When they translated it into English, some of the meanings of the sentences became a bit slurred. I'm having difficulty with one particular line and I'm wondering what your interpretations might be.

Here's the premise of the scene. Its the opening scene of the play, and my character Wendla is trying on a dress for her mother. Its her 14th birthday and her mother made a longer dress for her because the one she had been wearing is now to small. Wendla is not happy about the new dress and asks her mother to put it away for another year.

Referring to the new dress as a sackcloth she says:

When I wear my sackcloth, I'm going to be dressed like a fairy queen underneath ... Don't be angry Mommy! No one will ever know it then.

What do you think she is referring to when she says 'fairy queen'? The only thing I can really think of is that she will be more 'grown up' underneath or that she will be wearing more petticoats.

The play, for those of you who don't know, is very racy and focuses a lot on sexuality. Wendla in particular is a symbol of this sexuality so it would not be unusual for her to be talking about what is underneath her skirts.

Thanks in advance, any insight would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, I have to admit this post has really gotten me intrigued about Spring Awakening, because I just scoured the Internet looking for interpretations about this question. And it sounds like a fascinating play. Now, back on topic:

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Referring to the new dress as a sackcloth she says:

When I wear my sackcloth, I'm going to be dressed like a fairy queen underneath ... Don't be angry Mommy! No one will ever know it then.

What do you think she is referring to when she says 'fairy queen'? The only thing I can really think of is that she will be more 'grown up' underneath or that she will be wearing more petticoats.

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I just want to preface this by saying that I have not read the play or seen the musical adaptation, but I just went and found a copy of the play on googlebooks and read the first scene. Here's what I got from it:

Even though Wendla's mother has made her longer dress for her adolescent daughter, she obviously does not want her child to grow up (also seen later, when she refuses to tell Wendla how babies are made). In other words, she wants to preserve her daughter's innocence.

Wendla, on the other hand, has conflicting feelings about growing up. On the one hand, she rejects growing up (just as she rejects the new dress and tells her mother to hang it up until next year). But she also kind of wants to grow up. She is becoming more comfortable with her sexually-maturing body (she talks about cutting the sleeves off her dress when it gets too hot)...and these thoughts get developed more and more as the play goes on.

Both Wendla and her mother refer to the new dress as a sackcloth, presumably because it's too big and will hang shapelessly on Wendla's body, like a sackcloth. In the context of the line you're referring to, actingsweet, Wendla seems to be reassuring her mother that even when she accepts and wears the sackcloth (sign of maturity), she will still be innocent underneath (fairy queen reference). That's just going off context.

Now, let's discuss the actual imagery. This one's a toughie, since fairies are so ambiguous. It's so hard to pin down what they might symbolize, because there are so many fairy traditions, and so many stories about them. Sometimes they're good, sometimes evil, sometimes simply Otherworldly. Various scholars have associated them with nature, the dead, angels, demons, even ancient civilizations. The reference to "fairy queen" narrows it down a bit for us, for there are a limited number of famous "fairy queens" literature, which Wedekind might be alluding to (mostly famously, Spenser's Faerie Queen Gloriana, who was a thinly veiled symbol of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen; there's also Titania in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; and there is Morgan le Fay of the Arthurian legends). But what confounds me is that it's a specific reference to what fairy queens wear. And as far as I know (which isn't much), there's nothing special about what fairy queens wear that sets them apart from what fairies wear. In fact, I don't know what they wear. In all the romances I've read, they're simply dressed well...usually like humans, but human nobility or royalty.

However, that doesn't make sense in SA's context. Why would Wendla wear a full gown under her sackcloth dress? So I actually think it's alluding to the opposite, that Wendla is actually not wearing anything underneath her dress. If this is true, it also implies that what fairy queens wear is NOTHING. So that's my answer, and also the viewpoint of one of those study guide sites:

http://www.gradesaver.com/spring-awa...uide/section1/

(I'm not quite comfortable with that because in my reading, I've never run across fairy queens who go around naked, but the reference might be to fairies who represent sexual temptation. That might be more probable, but - again - I don't recall any romances I've read where fairies represent sex. Yes, I've read stuff where knights fall in love with fairies and eventually marry them, but usually these turn out to be good fairies, whose nobility is emphasized. The only instance where I can think of "evil" fairies representing sexual temptation is possibly, obliquely in the figure of Morgause, sister of Morgan la Fey and Arthur, whom she lures into bed with her, and causes him to unknowingly commit incest. But Morgause is not directly associated with fairies, only indirectly through her kinship relation to Morgan.)

Regardless, there also seems to be some ambiguity surrounding this idea of Wendla's nakedness. On the one hand, nudity could represent innocence, in the sense that before Adam's fall, people went around naked without shame, in their natural state. Children, too, go around naked a lot because they're not aware that it's socially unacceptable, a sign of their innocence. But, of course the opposite view also holds that nakedness, especially the naked and sexually mature female body (as Wendla's is) would point to carnal temptation, sexual activity, and - in a Christian reading - sin.

Wendla seems to be playing on both conventions here. She talks about running around in the summertime (season of youth) and cutting her sleeves off because of the heat. Thus, nakedness (or stripping off of clothes) here is innocent. But the fact that she says "Don't worry Mommy! No one will know it then!" implies that she is aware that nakedness is socially unacceptable. It's very ambiguous, IMO.

SPOILERS FOLLOW:

One more comment about fairies here: Earlier in the scene, Wendla makes a reference to her own death. She says "Who knows...maybe I won't be around then" and then talks about death as if it's a form of very sound sleep. Her tone towards death is positive...it's almost as if she desires death. (And this is the cue for the Freudians to jump in with their tripe about the death drive. :frown2: I'm definitely not going there.) But this comment is interesting when we relate it to her comment about fairies. There is lots and lots of literature out there relating fairies to death, the Otherworld, or Underworld. In Celtic mythology, fairies reside in the Otherworld, which is both the place people go when they die and the realm of the gods. Fairies are special beings in that they can pass between the mortal and Otherworld. So perhaps Wedekind, in mentioning fairies here, is NOT referring to their state of dress (or undress), but is setting Wendla up as a fairy-type figure, one who will soon pass into the Underworld. Is it foreshadowing? (Of course, one thing to keep in mind is that this is a German play, so....does anyone know German folklore has to say about fairies? My reading is obviously more British/Celtic oriented.)

One last comment: I'm really really fascinated by the fact that the new dress is called "sackcloth." Sackcloth, at least in the medieval times, was infamously known as the garments of penitents. You only wore sackcloth (or a "hair shirt", as it was sometimes called) if you were guilty of a sin and were in the process of repenting. It was a sign of both guilt, and a path to redemption. I mention this because SA is a play largely concerned with innocence vs. adulthood, sex, and the social taboos surrounding sex...so it's easy to place a Christian reading on it (even though religion doesn't seem to play a big role in the play). Is the new dress is called a sackcloth, that draws a number of conclusions: 1) that the new dress is indeed a symbol of adulthood and sexual maturity, and 2) that sex is bad because it requires penance. Now, from the wikipedia summary of the play I've read, that doesn't seem to be quite Wedekind's message, but perhaps it's the way that Wendla or her mother view sex??

Just throwing ideas out there....sorry this turned into such a huge post. I hope it was helpful.

WOW - you have no idea how much you've helped me! I'm only beginning to read into this script, and what you have said has made so much sense

Spoilers!

I don't know if you've read any more into it, but Wendla eventually gets raped and has no idea that what has happened has been a violation.. in fact she is happy with it. She becomes pregnant and dies of an abortion her mother administers. What you have said only about the first scene basically sets up the rest of the story for Wendla.

What you said about the fairy queen referring to being naked makes much more sense. Although i don't know why she would be dressed underneath as a youth and not as an adult.

Your insight about fairy's really was extremely interesting to me! The whole idea of them being connected with the afterlife really brings together the whole scene. There's no doubt that Wendla is referring to her impending death, and I'm wondering if Wedekind was implying that her naked 'fairy queen' underneath was a huge sin waiting to happen and eventually lead her to death - how is that for a deep read!

I was wondering about the sackcloth as well... thats a very interesting fact! Everything you've said makes absolute sense. Its a shame too, because I've seen the costume that they're putting me in to be the 'sackcloth' and its a very fitted skirt and blouse... someone didn't do their homework! Because your right, I really do think that thats what this scene implies. Why else would Wedekind make this the opening scene of the play? In a few lines he basically tells us that Wendla is a sinner who is going to die a sexual tragedy. From the language to the costumes, it is apparent.

Thank you so much for looking so deeply into this context for me! I'm so excited to be able to portray Wendla, and you have no idea how much your analysis helps! The more I know about her the better of a character she will become!

Have you heard the musical?

I just read the beginning in German. The word used for fairy queen is 'Elfenkönigin', which might be interesting because from the English, one could have expected 'Feenkönigin' as well.

To me, the German 'Feen' is more innocent, I picture them tiny, with 'butterfly' wings and pink, cute dresses. Elfen on the other hand are generally much taller and seem to appear in different varieties. 'Titania' for instance is called 'Elfenkönigin' in the German version of Midsummernight's Dream. And in many paintings, she's depicted naked.

So yeah, given the context (she said the clothing would be too hot), I think she isn't wearing anything underneath, as Wilde woman said.

I haven't seen the musical, but I bought the soundtrack a few months ago. Still haven't gotten around to listening to it, though I should now.

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Originally Posted by actingsweet

Your insight about fairy's really was extremely interesting to me! The whole idea of them being connected with the afterlife really brings together the whole scene. There's no doubt that Wendla is referring to her impending death, and I'm wondering if Wedekind was implying that her naked 'fairy queen' underneath was a huge sin waiting to happen and eventually lead her to death - how is that for a deep read!

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I'm glad you got something out of it. But just remember that that's my reading. I have no idea if Wedekind meant his "fairy queen" comment that way, especially since there was only one reference to fairies in that scene. What would be interesting to see is if there are more fairy references later in the play, esp. when Wendla is closer to her death.

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Its a shame too, because I've seen the costume that they're putting me in to be the 'sackcloth' and its a very fitted skirt and blouse... someone didn't do their homework!

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Oh, cool! I didn't know you were actually playing Wendla! What kind of production is it? I mean, is it a community theater or the musical production? Haha, you should talk to the costume guy, though I'm sure he just intended to make you look pretty. :D

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Originally Posted by Dodo25

I just read the beginning in German. The word used for fairy queen is 'Elfenkönigin', which might be interesting because from the English, one could have expected 'Feenkönigin' as well.

To me, the German 'Feen' is more innocent, I picture them tiny, with 'butterfly' wings and pink, cute dresses. Elfen on the other hand are generally much taller and seem to appear in different varieties. 'Titania' for instance is called 'Elfenkönigin' in the German version of Midsummernight's Dream. And in many paintings, she's depicted naked.

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Dodo, this is fascinating! I've never seen any depiction of Titania as naked. That's great. Do you remember who painted it?

I don't read German, but the one place where I've heard of "Elfenkonig" is in Schubert's lied, Der Erlkonig, which is adapted from a Goethe poem. I've always thought that translated as "elf king". And from what you said, it seems like elves are more sinister than fairies. In the Goethe, the elven king kidnaps a child from his father.

Actingsweet, isn't there a mysterious masked figure who appears at the play's end? According to wikipedia, he offers Melchior a chance at redemption. You might want to see if there is any mention of fairies/elves in that scene, because 1) Wendla has just died during her abortion, i.e. had a child stolen from her and 2) in some traditions, fairies are always making deals with humans, and punishing them if the humans break their promises.

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Originally Posted by Wilde woman

Dodo, this is fascinating! I've never seen any depiction of Titania as naked. That's great. Do you remember who painted it?

I don't read German, but the one place where I've heard of "Elfenkonig" is in Schubert's lied, Der Erlkonig, which is adapted from a Goethe poem. I've always thought that translated as "elf king". And from what you said, it seems like elves are more sinister than fairies. In the Goethe, the elven king kidnaps a child from his father.

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No, I don't remember the painters, but google for 'Titania' in pictures and you'll see some paintings. But maybe it isn't very relevant because pretty much all the characters were naked (sometimes with twigs or nature used to censor certain parts). I guess it could just be the artist's tradition of painting people naked. The play inspired a lot of paintings anyway.

I think it symbolizes rebellion and the beginning of losing her innocence. Elves seem impish to me. It would fit to the sackcloth anyway, so she'd have a reason to wear it, with hindsight.