The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Sudermann, Hermann
SUDERMANN, Hermann, German dramatist
and novelist: b: Matziken (near Heydekrug,
East Prussia, 30 Sept. 1857). His father was a
brewer, descended from a family of Dutch
Mennonites, one of whom was the diddactic and
moralistic author Daniel Sudermann (1550-1632),
who wrote in German. Hermann
Sudermann attended the Realschule at Elbing, the
Realgymnasium at Tilsit, earning a living at the
same time as an apothecary's apprentice, and
went to the University of Königsberg, where
he studied philology and history until 1877. In
the latter year he went to Berlin and became a
tutor to various Berlin families, including that
of the author Hans Hopfen (1835-1904). He
then turned to journalism (his first charge was
that of co-editor of the Deutsches Reichsblatt,
1881-82), which was to be his introduction to
literature. In 1891 he married the authoress
Klare Lauckner, a widow (née Schulz, b. 14
Feb. 1861). Sudermann later retired to a villa
at Grunewald, a suburb of Berlin, and now
spends much of his time at his castle of
Blankensee, near Trebbin, which the enormous
royalties on his plays enabled him to acquire.
But his first successes were not in the field of
the drama, but in the novel and short story.
‘Im Zwielicht’ (‘In the Twilight’), a volume
of short stories, appeared in 1887 (36th ed.,
1910), followed in the same year by ‘Frau
Sorge’ (English translation may be had under
the name ‘Dame Care’), his most famous
novel. The latter is a powerful, simply
constructed, objective work, excellent in suggestion
of tone and milieu, with a somewhat
sensational ending. Björnson's story, ‘Arne,’ was
probably used as a model, and Sudermann's
work in turn served as the model for Frenssen's
great success, ‘Jörn Uhl.’ The 125th
edition of ‘Frau Sorge’ was printed in 1912.
After another volume of short stories (‘Die
Geschwister’ 1888), came another strong but
somewhat more vulgar novel, ‘Der Kauensteg’
(1889; English translation to be had under the
title ‘Regina’). Although his talent as a
narrator is very great, he felt his skill as a dramatist
to be greater, and in the same year (1889,
which is the year of the opening of the realistic
movement the German theatre; (consult
articles on Fontane, Gerhart Hauptmann), his first
play, ‘Ehre’ (‘Honor’) was played in the
Lessing Theatre, Berlin, on 27 November. This
play, which had been originally intended to be a
tragedy, and which, on Blumenthal's advice,
had been conducted to a ‘happy ending,’ was
a pseudo-Nietzschean attack on the morality
of the lowly and had a great success. The next
play, ‘Sodoms Ende’ (5 Nov. 1890), a tragedy
of artistic life in Berlin, was not a success. It
was followed by ‘Heimat’ (7 Jan. 1893), in
which Sudermann again emphasizes the right
of the artist to a freer moral life than that of
the petty bourgeoisie, and which is constructed
with such telling dramatic effect, that this play
has carried Sudermann's reputation all over
the world. Every great actress considers
‘Magda’ (in English the play is known by
that name), the heroine of ‘Heimat,’ to be one
of the touchstones of her profession. There is
in this play some of the moralistic and didactic
tendency of the later French dramatists,
especially the younger Dumas, and all of their
technical finesse. Sudermann attempted
another long novel, ‘Das hohe Lied’ (English
translation, ‘The Song of Songs’) in 1908.
His latest work of which any report has
reached this country is the dramatic cycle ‘Die
entgötterte Welt’ (‘The World made
Godless’), of which one section, ‘Die
gutgeschnittene Ecke’ (performed at the Lessing
Theatre, 28 Jan. 1916), treats satirically of the
sordid commercial phases of theatrical art in
Berlin. On the whole, Sudermann must be
regarded as a seeker for sensational effect and
high royalties, in which he has been extremely
successful. The permanent value of his work
is slight. But its present popularity renders it
important to study it as a symptom of the
times. His other works are ‘Iolanthes Hochzeit’
(short story, 1892); ‘Es war’ (novel,
1894); ‘Die Schmetterlingsschlacht’ (1895);
‘Morituri’ (three one-act plays, 1896); ‘Das
Glück im Winkel’ (1896); ‘Johannes’ (1898);
‘Johannisfeuer’ (1901); ‘Es lebe das Leben’
(1902); ‘Das Blumenboot’ (1905); ‘Strandkinder’
(1909); ‘Der Bettler von Syrakus’
(1911); ‘Der gute Ruf’ (1912). See Magda.