This week 200 years ago Johann Christian Woyzeck stabbed his lover in Leipzig. The Swede Steve Sem-Sandberg tries to give the historical character of the Büchner drama a voice.
“You are an animal. A soulless beast.” For the court appraiser, the case is clear: death by the sword. Exactly 200 years ago this week, a ragged, homeless 41-year-old ex-soldier had a stolen, broken epee blade mounted in a wooden handle in his hometown of Leipzig, only to be stabbed in the street a few hours later, glowing with jealousy . His name: Johann Christian Woyzeck.
The case on the threshold of modern jurisprudence preoccupied the young Georg Büchner as early as 1836, who processed Woyzeck and two other cases into the most modern drama of the 19th century: Was Woyzeck in his act …
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