Chapter 33: Hope for a new, improved Humanity

 

The storm of court life

 

Since New Year has Schiller remained in his heated cabinet, as he must always keep himself away, as much as he can, from the humid and cold Weimar winter. He would take advantage of this condition, as in every winter, to throw himself into work. This forced condition of seclusion would bring, fortunately, "The bride of Messina" closer to completion. In the beginning, Schiller wanted to make of this play, the strongest symbol of religious reconciliation. For that reason, has he chosen to set his drama in Messina, the city where in the past, Christians, Jews and Muslims have lived together in harmony. Messina was a very attractive and powerful symbol for him. He wanted, now, to make some last minute changes to his completed manuscript. Now, his "bride of Messina" should represent more precisely the reconciliation among the Christians, the Muslims and the partisans of the Greek culture.

 

            - "Under the cover of all religions lies religion itself, the idea of the divine; and it must be allowed to the poet to speak about it, in whichever form he finds most comfortable and most appropriate.", had he relentlessly remarked to friends asking him about the sensitiveness of the subject.

 

 

Additionally, he wanted to bring into the play, a presentation of the reconciliation between the Good and the Evil. He believed, then, that true reconciliation could only happen at this level.

 

            - "But, is it only possible?" would Lotte ask him, as she was learning about this idea from Schiller. "For now, one cannot even imagine the possibility of reconciliation among the Christians, among the European powers; how could they simply conceive such historical events, no matter how great there could be, in their current state of mind?"

 

Schiller would totally agree with her, however he did not also conceive remaining idle and not proposing anything in a time where a succession of wars was being prepared in various parts of Europe. If he, too, will remain inactive, if he, too, would renounce to propose new ideas to solve this unbearable situation, then the enemies of Enlightenment, the enemies of a unified Europe would again take the upper hand. Have not so many intelligent and sharp voices already been drawn into oblivion for the same cause? Have not so many prominent intellectuals have already been brought away from the national stage, just because they have proposed something in place of this recurrent, systematic wars between neighboring lands to solve the political tensions?

 

            - "My dear Lotte! We cannot simply afford to remain silent when so many of our friends have already been silenced! We owe it to them, to speak in their name!" would then a very decided Schiller answer to a very skeptical Lotte.

 

Despite his condition, Schiller had to attend, even during the winter, a minimum of events in the court of Weimar, as any other court member. At the end of January 1803, the great event in Weimar was a masked ball given by the Duke and Duchess of Weimar-Saxony, solely for the distraction of all the court members.