The Fire Raisers

by Max Frisch

Frisch : The Fire Raisers (script)

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Fires are becoming something of a problem. But Biedermann has it all under control. He's a respected member of the community with a loving wife and a flourishing business, so surely nothing can get to him. The great philanthropist is happy to meet his civic duty by giving shelter to two new guests but when they start filling his attic with petrol drums, will he help them light the fuse?

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7 reviews
A great satire on the potential detriment of being politically correct long before there was such a thing as being politically correct. A very funny play. Biederman remains clueless to the end, obviously believing that his social status would somehow deliver him from evil.
This play is even more relevant for our times since it is a parable for how normal political parties can allow themselves to be taken over by extremists. It reminded me of the play Little Murders.
I think this is a play called The Fire Raisers...which I saw performed a couple of years ago. The production was fairly amateurish but the play survived, which I guess reflects its strength.Really, I can't understand why it is that some authors go out of fashion when they seem so obviously to stand whatever test of time should prevent their becoming victims of that.

This is a brilliant play, and has great messages for us right now, but your chances of seeing it are about nil. And apparently if you want to read it, you have to be able to speak German. What a pity.

This is probably my favorite German play. I love how painfully obvious it is. Though the Nachspiel doesn't seem to fit, I love when they are talling up which commandments they had kept. It seems that they fall short in some obvious ways. Its fantastic.
Play about a hapless man and his family who become involved with a group of arsonists, understood as an allegory for German involvement with Nazis. The paert I still recall is towards then end when B. is desparate to remain friendly with the arsonists and pledges "bruderschaft" with them so they can call each other "du" --this comes acorss more powerfully in the German than in English versions

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Author Information

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Author
194+ Works 10,325 Members
Max Frisch was born in Switzerland in 1911. He attended the University of Zurich and spent six years in the Swiss Army. He also worked as a freelance writer and an architect. Frisch is most famous for writing the novel I'm Not Stiller and the play The Firebugs. Both works explore one of Frisch's major themes: the problematic nature of living life show more without a true understanding of one's identity. Many of his works feature explore this theme, including the plays The Chinese Wall, Andorra: A Play in Twelve Scenes, and Don Juan; or the Love of Geometry. He has also written several other novels, including Homo Faber: A Report, and Man in the Holocene. Frisch was awarded the International Neustadt Prize for Literature in 1987. He died in 1991 in Zurich. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Some Editions

Beaton, Alistair (Translator)
Bullock, Michael (Translator)
Gorelik, Mordecai (Translator)

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Has as a student's study guide

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
The Fire Raisers
Original title
Biedermann und die Brandstifter
Alternate titles
The Firebugs; The Arsonists; Biedermann and the Firebugs; The Fire Raisers
Original publication date
1949 (Entwurf) (Entwurf); 1953 (Hörspiel/Radioplay ∙ NB: andere titel) (Hörspiel/Radioplay ∙ NB: andere titel); 1958-03-29 (Uraufführung der Bühnenfassung) (Uraufführung der Bühnenfassung); 1962 (English: Bullock) (English: Bullock)
People/Characters
Gottlieb Biedermann; Babette Biedermann; Sepp Schmitz; Willi Eisenring; Anna; Mrs. Knechtling (show all 9); The Firemen; A Policeman; A Doctor of Philosophy
Important places
Europe
Important events
Today
First words
Die Bühne ist finster, dann leuchtet ein Streichholz auf: man sieht das Gesicht von Herrn Biedermann, der sich eine Zigarre anzündet und jetzt, da es heller wird, sich seinerseits umsieht.
BIEDERMANN:
Nicht einmal eine Zigarre kann man heutzutage anzünden, ohne an Feuersbrunst zu denken!
Last words*
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Weh uns!
Licht im Zuschauerraum.
Original language
German
Canonical DDC/MDS
832.912
Disambiguation notice
0413303306 1962 softcover English Methuen
0416259006 1962 softcover English Methuen
0809012065 1963 softcover English Hill & Wang
0809012480 1990 softcover English Hill & Wang
3518100416 1963 softcover Ger... (show all)man edition suhrkamp 41
3518390457 1996 softcover German suhrkamp taschenbuch 2545
3518734903 2016 eBook German suhrkamp
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genre
Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
832.912Literature & rhetoricGerman & related literaturesGerman drama1900-1900-19901900-1945
LCC
PT2611 .R814 .F53Language and LiteratureGerman, Dutch and Scandinavian literaturesGerman literatureIndividual authors or works1860/70-1960
BISAC

Statistics

Members
676
Popularity
42,233
Reviews
6
Rating
(3.78)
Languages
6 — Catalan, Dutch, English, Estonian, French, German
Media
Paper, Ebook
ISBNs
27
UPCs
1
ASINs
22