Murderer, the Hope of Women

Murderer, the Hope of Women is a short Expressionist play written by the painter Oskar Kokoschka. It focuses more on the actions and appearances of its characters than on their dialogue. Its performance was received with much criticism, as it was a break from classical drama and part of the modernist avant-garde movement in German culture.

Murderer, the Hope of Women is set in the past, at night in front of a large tower. Action is focused on the characters of "The Man," with his band of Warriors, and "The Woman," with her group of Maidens.

The play begins with the Man riding to the Woman’s tower. The Maidens and Woman see him approaching. The Woman and Man both question each other as to who looked at the other, while the Maidens and Warriors compare the Man to a conqueror and the Woman to a dangerous beast. The Woman feels consumed by the Man’s gaze and says she is devoured by his light. The Man then orders that the Woman be branded with his mark. In response, the Woman stabs the Man. The Warriors deny any knowledge of the Man and run off with the Maidens, locking the Man in the tower. While the Man makes faint movements, the Woman demands to see him again. As the Man slowly recovers, the Woman reciprocally loses her strength. The Woman desperately demands to be set free from the Man’s chains. The Man rises, tears open the door, and kills the Woman with a touch. He kills the Warriors and Maidens in a similar way and then exits through a passage of fire.

Murderer, the Hope of Women has often been called the first Expressionist drama due to its symbolic use of colours, innovative lighting, and the movements of the actors. It was first performed at the Kunstschau Theatre in Vienna in 1909 and caused much controversy on its première. On the night of its first performance, soldiers from a nearby barracks watched the play from the edge of the garden and, upon the Man’s branding of the Woman, rushed through the barrier. Things quickly escalated and a riot soon broke out, for which the police were sent. By means of a connection between the Chief of Police and Kokoschka’s friends and fellow writers Adolf Loos and Karl Kraus, Kokoschka got off with only a warning, rather than being arrested for disturbing the peace. Such strong emotional reaction is characteristic of such work as Kokoschka’s.

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