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Bertolt BrechtGerman playwright, poet, novelist, theater figure
Date of Birth: 10.02.1898
Country:  Germany |
Content:
- Biography of Bertolt Brecht
- Brecht's Beloveds
- Success and Marriage
- Love and Turmoil
- Another slap to the other cheek. And two more, for good measure.
- The Last Love
Biography of Bertolt Brecht
Bertolt Brecht was a German playwright, poet, prose writer, and theater practitioner. He was deeply passionate about two things - theater and women. Throughout his life, he was surrounded by a multitude of women, each unique in character, temperament, and appearance. Even in his mature years, he was successful with young women, despite not being conventionally handsome, with his thin frame, long nose, thin lips, and the glasses he wore.
Brecht's Beloveds
According to Yuri Oklyansky, author of "Brecht's Harem," Brecht, the celebrated German playwright and theater reformer, was a precursor to the sexual revolution and had a tendency towards polygamy. He had numerous friends, but in addition to them, he almost always had several women with whom he lived as a family. One of his early companions was a girl named "Bi," a nickname he gave to Paula Banholzer, the daughter of a local doctor from his hometown of Augsburg. They would roam the city together in search of entertainment. Brecht's imaginative and dreamy nature fueled his creative ambitions, imbued with rebellious sentiments. He composed poems that mocked the hypocrisy of the wealthy and glorified honest poverty. He also wrote articles and performed songs he composed on his guitar, enchanting his classmates. In July 1919, Bi, who had sought refuge in her parents' country house, gave birth to Brecht's son. Upon learning of the event, Brecht's father, a paper factory director, was initially furious but soon softened. However, the illegitimate grandson was not taken into their home and was instead given to be raised in good hands. Interestingly, Bi remained a tender and reliable friend to Brecht for many years. In the 1980s, she published a book called "My Time with Bertolt Brecht," which exuded enduring love.
Success and Marriage
In 1922, Brecht wrote the play "Drums in the Night," which brought him fame and recognition. After the success of the play, he slightly altered his name from Bertold to Bertolt. His best and most loyal friend, playwright Arnold Bronnen, followed suit and changed his name to Arnold. They believed it would sound more melodious. Brecht adopted a consistent image - nickel-plated glasses and a leather cap. At the age of 24, he saw himself as a "tiger of the urban jungle," occasionally going out on the hunt. And the prey, of course, was women.
In 1920, when Brecht was still seen everywhere with Bi, he began new relationships. Marianne Zoff, an opera singer at the Munich Theater, became his wife in November 1922, succumbing to the despised "bourgeois morality." Four months after their wedding, their daughter was born. However, the marriage was short-lived and lasted less than a year. In the autumn of 1923, in Berlin, Arnold Bronnen introduced Brecht to a budding actress named Elena Weigel, known as Helli to her close friends. A year later, their son Stefan was born, and five years later, they got married. This marriage was pressured by Helli. Initially, Brecht refused all requests to officially formalize their relationship.
Love and Turmoil
"I don't want to be a maid to a celebrity anymore. Decide. Otherwise, I'll take our child and go to my parents," Helli said one day.
Brecht sat in silence for a long time. Then he lit a cigar and said, "Alright. I will do it your way. But remember, it's an empty formality for me. It won't change anything in our relationship. It won't change anything at all."
What Brecht saw as an empty formality had a profound impact on his beloved women. Elizabeth Hauptmann, a writer, coworker, and friend of Brecht, attempted to take her own life. She played a significant role in the creation of "The Threepenny Opera," which immediately made Brecht a global celebrity. Elizabeth took an excessive dose of sleeping pills, but fortunately, she was saved by a stroke of luck.
Mariluise Fleisser, one of Brecht's closest friends, packed her belongings and left Berlin without explanation. He went to her apartment, only to be told, "Fraulein Fleisser no longer lives here. A note? No, she left nothing."
Actress Carola Neher was nicknamed "Peach Woman" by Brecht. He anxiously awaited her return from a tour, unsure of how she would react to his marriage to Elena Weigel.
Carola stepped off the train, and Brecht handed her a bouquet of red roses.
"I have something to tell you," he said. "I was forced to marry Helli Weigel. But it doesn't mean anything..."
Carola stood still for a few seconds, seemingly petrified. Then her eyes narrowed to slits.
"This is what it means!" She swung and struck him hard on the cheek with the bouquet. "And this!"
Another slap to the other cheek. And two more, for good measure.
Throwing the roses on the ground, she turned and ran away.They only met and reconciled several years later in Moscow.
New Companions
Margaret Steffin, known as Greta, entered the kaleidoscope of Brecht's passions when he was in Denmark, seeking refuge from the Nazi regime. Greta, a fragile blonde woman with silky hair and dreamy blue eyes, was irresistibly charming. She could have won the hearts of many. But it was something else that attracted her.
Greta, the daughter of a bricklayer from the outskirts of Berlin, had been involved in the left-wing youth movement as a teenager. She subsequently joined the Communist Party of Germany.
Margaret was incredibly talented. She spoke Russian, English, French, Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian. She ended her letters to Brecht with the words "I love you" in all of these languages. In the final year of her life, she even learned Finnish.
Margaret became Brecht's muse, much like Lilya Brik was to Mayakovsky. Brecht's well-known works such as "The Good Person of Szechwan," "Mother Courage and Her Children," and "The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui" might not have been written without Greta Steffin by his side. However, in the 1930s, during their close collaboration and proximity, the Danish writer and actress Ruth Berlau entered Brecht's "love melo circle."
Brecht arrived in Denmark to escape the Hitler regime. Ruth, a 27-year-old married to an aging professor and physician (with a 20-year age difference), led the only workers' theater in Denmark. She was a dedicated communist and highly emotional in nature. Naturally, a deeper connection developed between Brecht and Ruth.
In Denmark, Greta came to visit Brecht during the Christmas holidays. Brecht didn't mind, but he informed Greta that she would be greeted in Copenhagen by writer and actress Ruth Berlau. In turn, Ruth received a telegram from Brecht that said, "Please welcome Margaret Steffin, Brecht's associate."
Brecht orchestrated their relationships like a chess game. He disappeared from their view and secluded himself in a recently purchased cottage near the fishing village of Skovsbostrand on the Danish island of Funen, keeping an eye on the progress of the party. At first, everything went smoothly. Ruth, who knew nothing about Steffin, welcomed her at the station and took her to her spacious professorial apartment. Greta had to live there for three months as Brecht, to whom she wrote and called, gave vague responses and did not show up.
During Christmas, Greta couldn't bear it any longer and confessed her feelings to Ruth. "I love Bidi," she said. "I'm willing to do anything for him."
This came as a shock to Ruth, but she remained silent about her own relationship with Brecht. Three months later, an even bigger shock awaited Greta in Skovsbostrand. She accidentally "caught" Brecht and Ruth in an intimate moment.
Brecht had to work hard to reconcile his beloved women. Eventually, they even became friends.
The Last Love
In the mid-1950s, when Brecht, a globally renowned playwright, headed his own theater, the Berliner Ensemble, his final love interest became Isot Kilian, who worked as his assistant and secretary. However, she soon surprised him by becoming involved with a young Polish director who was interning at Brecht's theater. Brecht discovered this from her diary:
"Your time has passed. This young Pole... is more tempting and sweeter to sinful young Eve than the entire Berliner Ensemble, your worldwide fame, and your creaky wisdom."
Bertolt Brecht, whose plays rank among the most frequently staged, second only to Molière and Shakespeare, died of a heart attack in 1956. The name of this great artist and epicurean is inscribed not only in the history of world theater but also as a unique individual who managed to construct a polygamous world of human relationships and live peacefully in it until the end, without doubting its naturalness.
