Spring's Awakening

by Frank Wedekind, Eric Bentley (Translator)

Spring's Awakening is a tragi-comedy of teenage sex. Its fourteen-year-old heroine, Wendla, is killed by abortion pills. The young Moritz, terrorized by the world around him, and especially by his teachers, shoots himself. The ending seems likely to be the suicide of Moritz's friend, Melchior, but in a confrontation with a mysterious stranger (the famous Masked Man) he finally manages to shed his illusions and face the consequences.

Genres: Plays, Classics, Drama, Theatre, Fiction, German Literature, School

126 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1891

About the author

Frank Wedekind was a German dramatist whose bold, unconventional plays reshaped modern theatre by challenging social norms and exposing the hypocrisies of bourgeois morality, especially around sexuality. Raised between Germany and Switzerland and drawn early to travel, performance, and satire, he lived an eclectic life that included work in advertising, time with a circus, and a celebrated stint as a cabaret performer with the influential troupe Die elf Scharfrichter. His fearlessness as both writer and performer made him a central figure in the artistic circles of Munich, where his sharp wit and provocative themes influenced a new generation of socially critical satirists. His early play Spring Awakening caused an uproar for its frank depictions of adolescent sexuality, repression, and violence, while his two-part “Lulu” cycle introduced a character whose rise and fall exposed society’s fascination with desire and destruction. These works challenged censorship, pushed theatrical boundaries, and later inspired films, operas, and adaptations across decades. Wedekind’s personal life was intense and often turbulent, marked by complicated relationships, creative restlessness, and brushes with authority, including a prison sentence for lèse-majesté after publishing satirical poems. His marriage to the actress Tilly Newes brought both devotion and strain, reflected in the emotional swings of his later years. Even near the end of his life, recovering from surgery, he returned to the stage too soon, driven by the same energy that fueled his art. His influence extended well beyond his death, resonating through the Weimar era and shaping the development of expressionism and later epic theatre. Many of his works were translated, staged, or adapted by major artists, ensuring that his confrontational spirit and fearless exploration of human desire would remain part of the theatrical canon.

Reviews

[aube]

Wow, le concept est trop cool?? Le sujet de la sexualité des jeunes, l’avortement, le suicide, la masturbation, l’homosexualité…tout des concepts taboo pour la fin du 19ième siècle. Malgré que, la sexualité des adolescents est encore un sujet taboo et mal vu dans notre société. Cette pièce devrait être plus connue. J’ai malheureusement pas aimé comment c’était écrit, c’était trop difficile lire à mon goût. Je sais que de base c’est écrit sous forme de script, (c’est peut-être aussi la traduction) mais si elle aurait été écrite de façon plus romanesque, ça serait dans gueule, genre miam

[Lola L]

« La pièce de Wedekind est plein de mérites. Ce n’est pas une grande œuvre d’art, mais elle restera comme un document, qui intéresse l’histoire de la civilisation et des mœurs. » (Freud, 1907)

« C’est au royaume des mo[r]ts que les non-dupes errent » alors « […] parmi les Noms-du-Père, il y a celui de l’homme masqué.» Ainsi, « la femme comme version du Père ne se figurerait que de Père-version » (dans la Préface rédigée par Lacan, 1974)

[Zolfreecss]

Pièce absolument brillante qui vient, à travers l'éveil des sentiments et des pulsions sexuelles de jeunes adolescents, critiquer la morale chrétienne qui enferme plus qu'elle ne libère. Les non-dits tuent et la religion aliène.

[Elsa Renaud]

Ça aurait été un 5, vraiment, pour ce que ça raconte, mais je suis pas fan du tout de l’écriture.

[Maëline Le Mehaute]

traumatisant la scène du viol 💀

[Lilith]

L’éveil du printemps de Frank Wedekind est une pièce qui traite de sujets délicats (le suicide et l'éveil sexuel) avec élégance, le tout appuyé par une écriture belle sans tomber dans l'excès de lyrisme. Une tragédie avec des touches d'humour, des éléments de surnaturel et des réflexions philosophiques.