Hauptmann, Gerhart Johann Robert (1862–1946)

German dramatist. A strong proponent of an uncompromising naturalism in the theatre, Hauptmann's work has been widely produced. Die Weber/The Weavers (1892), his finest play, is an account of a revolt of Silesian weavers in 1844. His other plays include Vor Sonnenaufgang/Before Dawn (1889), the comedy Der Biberpelz/The Beaver Coat (1893), and a tragicomedy of the Berlin underworld Die Ratten/The Rats (1910). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1912.

Hauptmann was born in Obersalzbrunn, studied art at Breslau and, after a period at Jena University and travel in Europe, became a sculptor in Rome. In 1885 he made a rich marriage and was able to settle to literary work in Berlin. His first notable play, Vor Sonnenaufgang, in the naturalist vein of Henrik Ibsen and Emile Zola, reproduced the harshness of Silesian working-class life; this was followed by Die Weber. Die versunkene Glocke/The Submerged Bell (1896) is an introspective fairy-tale play, whereas Hanneles Himmelfahrt/Little Hanne's Journey to Heaven (1894) portrays the fevered visions of a dying child. His realistic social dramas include Fuhrmann Henschel (1898) and Rose Bernd (1903); Der arme Heinrich/Poor Heinrich (1902) is a historical drama based on a medieval poem by Hartmann von Aue. He wrote few comedies, among them Der Biberpelz, later revived by Brecht and given a Marxist slant for East Berlin. During the 1920s he wrote several plays which reflect a pessimistic attitude to life, and a long philosophical poem, Till Eulenspiegel (1925).

The advent of the Nazi regime found Hauptmann too old to care very deeply about its political and social implications and he did not go into exile, though his writings showed more hopelessness concerning the future of Western civilization. He also wrote some surrealistic pieces, as Das Meerwunder (1934) and Der grosse Traum (1942), but in his last great work, Die Atridentetralogie (1941–46), the myth of Iphigenia is treated in classically noble style.