Famous European playwright, novelist, artist, illustrator Friedrich Durrenmatt created many literary works. Among them are short stories, novels, novels and plays. In the 60s, he became popular in our country. He even came to Russia several times. Literary works translated into Russian were in great demand among Soviet readers. In addition, performances and films were made based on his plays.
The beginning of the way
The biography of Friedrich Durrenmatt began in 1921, when a boy was born in the family of a Protestant priest. This happened near Bern. In 1924, his sister Vroni was born.
The directors of the Free Gymnasium, as well as Humbolt, expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Durrenmatt was their student. Friedrich studied poorly, argued with teachers, criticized their teaching methods.
After graduating from school, he decided to graduate. One of the students of the University of Zurich was Durrenmatt. Frederick studied painting and art history, philology and philosophy there. The hero of our article has always loved to draw with a pencil and brush. Over time, he so mastered this skill that he was able to independently make illustrations for his works. Sometimes he made sketches of costumes and decorations for his performances.
Literary path
Suddenly, Frederick felt a penchant for writing. His first stories were published in 1943. It was “Christmas”, “Executioner”, “Son”. Quite gloomy works, corresponding to the spirit of their time. The first play was “For It Is Said”. It was published in 1945. And in 1947 she was already put on stage. The crime novel “Judge and the Executioner” was written by Friedrich Durrenmatt in Ligerz in 1950. In German schools, this work is indicated in the compulsory program.
Durrenmatt ended up in Ligerz after he went there, marrying actress Lottie Geisler in 1946. However, in 1983 she died, and Frederick remarried to Charlotte Kerr. She was not only an actress, but also a journalist and film producer. Together with her husband, she was engaged in the production of films.
Famous works
"The visit of the old lady, " "Physics, " "Romulus the Great, " wrote Durrenmatt. Friedrich became a world celebrity after these plays were staged on the stage. Over the years of his life, he wrote 23 plays, several short stories, novels, short stories, essays and radio plays. Among them - “The Greek is looking for a Greek woman”, “The commission”, “Justice”, “Promise”, “Judge and his executioner”, “Suspicion”, “Accident”. He also wrote journalistic works. Among them are “Correspondence”, “I am putting myself behind Israel”, “Notes from America”. Also, the author of the speeches addressed to V. Gavel and M. Gorbachev was Durrenmatt. Friedrich wrote them in 1990, when it was time for the socialist countries to rebuild.
The meaning of creativity
What did Friedrich Durrenmatt write about? His books about the fact that a person loses his spiritual roots. The author describes the chaos of our world, its cruelty. The fate of man is tragic, because he is powerless to change anything. But the writer conveys to the reader the meaning of his works through the grotesque. He does not use the techniques of tragedy in his literature. According to Durrenmatt, all these tricks in the past. Therefore, incompatible characters, strange situations, unusual problems and ways to solve them converge in one work. The goals of the heroes are also able to cause confusion among readers. In his works, Durrenmatt touches the moral side of life. The spiritual life, moral principles of man - that is what excites him most of all, what he is trying to figure out. The writer’s favorite topics are freedom, guilt, punishment, betrayal, loyalty, justice.
"Visit of the old lady"
This is one of the best literary works of Friedrich Durrenmatt. This play tells the story of an elderly American billionaire Claire Tsahanasyan. Once she stepped onto the platform of the small town of Gulen, located in central Europe. The lady immediately captures the imagination of the inhabitants of this town. The entourage surrounding her is extravagant. She moves on a palanquin worn by two strong guys. Her ex-husbands and two strange old men accompany her. In addition, along with her luggage, she brought with her an empty coffin. This situation seems to everyone very sinister. And so it turns out when the old lady reveals her intentions to punish the man who seduced her in her youth. She gives a million dollars to anyone who kills him. Claire offers many to do this, but no one dares. Meanwhile, the actions of the billionaire show that she is confident that this will happen. Tsakhanasyan is preparing for the funeral ceremony, funeral wreaths are brought to the hotel to her. In his work, Durrenmatt demonstrates how people change if they are offered material well-being in exchange for an unseemly act. It is good to be noble until there is temptation, says Friedrich Dürrenmatt.
"Promise"
Reviews about this work are different. Someone enthusiastically advises to read it, calling the novel a masterpiece of drama. Others are more restrained, but note the serious work of the author, an excellent psychological analysis of the personality of the policeman, who is the main character of the work. A “promise” is the story of how, after the closure of the murder of a little girl, a policeman privately begins his investigation. He will have to sacrifice many in order to get to the truth.
