Gerhart Hauptmann's "novellistic study", published in 1888, is one of the most important works of German naturalism. Hauptmann depicts Thiel's psychopathological case with extraordinary linguistic intensity, using his example to highlight helplessness in the face of class-based social injustice and the threat of industrialization.
Thiel’s first wife Minna dies in childbirth. When the pious and conscientious railroad attendant marries for the second time, he has no idea what dire fate awaits him. His domineering new wife Lene bullies her husband and mistreats little Tobias, Thiel's son from his first marriage. How much can a person endure, and when are they pushed too far? The increasingly disturbed Thiel grows more and more violent – but will he become a murderer? Award-winning actor Devid Striesow will read from Hauptmann’s incisive portrait of a man who is pushed to the brink by social circumstances.