From the Home Fires to the Battlefield

Literary criticism considers the father-son conflict to be one of the standard themes of German Expressionist drama. Closer examination reveals however, that clashes limited to fathers and sons are less ubiquitous in Expressionism than many critics assume and that mothers actually assume significant roles in the plots of many plays. The interpretation of plays by Frank Wedekind, Carl Sternheim, Georg Kaiser, Arnolt Bronnen, Reinhard Johannes Sorge, and Fritz von Unruh illustrates the spectrum of maternal roles in Expressionism drama. From the Home Fires to the Battlefield studies criticism of social standards and mores that define the role of women, and especially mothers, in Wilhelminian society.