i am my own wife

." Her story was fascinating, but it was her style of writing that I really loved. It appears as if Wright is presenting actual events that took place in real life. Some people find it disgraceful; others say the whole discussion is meaningless, since many people informed on others during the Nazi era. By 2001, only three hundred bags of files had been put back together again. Charlotte is in prison when the Russians bomb it. In this case, it is severe oppression for having done something rather trivial (selling old clocks). With all of the recent media regarding the transgender community and public restrooms, etc. Or an author might choose pseudo-documentary to make a fictionalized story appear to be based on fact. The Berlin tavern, since the time of Emperor Wilhelm II, had been a favorite hangout for homosexuals and transvestites. There is also brutality at the end of the play, when Charlotte recounts her experiences with neo-Nazis who storm her garden and threaten her guests. The audience is fascinated merely with Charlotte's humanity. . John changes into Doug, who is in Berlin with John and is talking into a tape recorder. He emphasizes oppression in his play so that the opposite experience, that of freedom, can shine forth. She holds some doll furniture in her hands and describes it. Why does she tell untruthful stories? However, the overall mood of the play is that of confusion. Mysteries, in and of themselves, cannot be solved. Charlotte stares out at the audience, smiles slightly, and then disappears. But perhaps Charlotte can clear this all up. An all-too true story of a drag queen who pursued her ambitions as an architectural historian under both the Nazi and Communist dictatorships of East Berlin. After his release, Charlotte helps Kirschner find a place to live in a nursing home. Wright, who is included in the more than forty characters portrayed (by one man), went to Germany in 1993 to meet and record conversations with the real Charlotte von Mahlsdorf (born Lothar Berfelde), upon whose life the play is based. INTRODUCTION In a review of Charlotte's autobiography, with the same title as Wright's play, Thom Nickels, writing for the Lambda Book Report, states that Charlotte's philosophy about life was this: "Antiques and furniture before love, before sex, before sufficient food to feed her own face, even.". Later, when Charlotte is confronted by threats from neo-Nazis, she goes after them unafraid, remembering how her father had threatened her. Charlotte waives the translations and begins to answer the questions directly in English. What kind of entertainment was provided in cabarets? Ziggy listens but then asks whether her leaving Germany might also have something to do with the reaction to her Stasi file. The character of Doug is recognizable by his slight Texan accent. The Deputy (1963) The curious mood, however, quickly gives way to tension. However, the records in which Wright found these outside facts were themselves suspect. As the relationship with the Soviet Union deteriorated, tensions mounted in the city. The audience is not sure which part of the play is truth and which part has been fictionalized. Imagine sitting in the audience, watching a live performance of this play; one probably would sense a perplexing mood right from the opening moments. He appears briefly to present the Bundesrepublik Deutschland, a medal of honor, to Charlotte for her efforts in conservation. Wright has said that he was tormented by the many puzzles of Charlotte's life. Their files were either shredded or torn by hand. The theme of oppression begins with the presentation of Charlotte's father, who bullies Charlotte's mother, aunt, and siblings. One of those ways was through music. I Am My Own Wife is a one-man show written by Doug Wright and based on the true life of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, whose autobiography is titled the same. Herr Berfelde thus exemplifies the brutal threats that Charlotte confronted throughout her life. “…saucy, sagacious, entirely … Hija de guerras, encontró la paz en la colección de muebles antiguos, y es eso lo que desmerece el libro: su fetiche se convierte en un goce unidireccional. The invented element provides the play with the typical parts of a dramatic presentation, such as a beginning, middle, and end. The focus is no longer on how this particular transvestite survived but rather on who Charlotte is and on the truth of her story. THEMES Some people claim that they might have even been lovers at one time. For example, we have witnessed a scene in which her dealer friend has given her permission to inform on him—as a way of saving herself. 41-43. Tante Luise is Charlotte's aunt, her mother's sister. TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! Then Doug adds: "I need to believe that things like that are true. Luise declares that it is a shame she missed. Charlotte believed that she had no choice. You can take it or leave it.". Comedy Gender Bender Romance School Life Shoujo Slice of Life. Physically, Charlotte was a man, but she considered herself to belong to what she called a third sex, as described in the introduction to the published version of Wright's play about her. However, these torn documents (sixteen thousand bags of them) were discovered by the new German government, which commissioned a group of people to restore them. With I Am My Own Wife, the playwright has had good fortune in his collaborators. She talks about her Tante Luise and how she encouraged Charlotte's cross-dressing. She was, at heart, an early 20th century house wife who enjoyed classic furniture, cleaning house, and aprons. Von Mahlsdorf's story was one I was completely unaware of until yesterday, when I stumbled upon this audiobook. BORN: 1931, Eschwege, Germany Wright is the author of Quills, a play about the Marquis de Sade that he adapted for the screen in a much-lauded film starring Geoffrey Rush. Added to the distraction is the fact that Jefferson Mays's performance (as the lone actor in the play) was so outstanding and Moisés Kaufman's direction of the play was so clever. She says that she is leaving because of the violence in Berlin. The Stasi insisted, Charlotte says, that she write a statement, which they dictated to her and made her sign. He also relates some of his experiences in jail. For the reader (as opposed to a member of a theater audience), this provides a clue to the overall mood of Wright's play. A psychiatrist, Dieter Jorgensen, offers a psychiatric diagnosis of Charlotte, concluding that she is mentally ill, suffering from autism. Charlotte dominates the stage for the next segments, as the mood of the play settles down once more. This play explores various questions: What was life like for homosexuals and others of nonstandard gender in Germany during the Nazi era? Feingold, Michael, "Unnerving Berlin," in the Village Voice, Vol. The book is not as good as the play but definitely an interesting read. He follows her down a series of steps that opens up to what looks like an old-fashioned tavern. I learned a lot, but felt the translation from German could have been better. Through Doug, the audience learns about contradictions in Charlotte's story. Is she not at all times the biological Lothar embedded in the female-gendered Charlotte? May 26th 2004 This study guide contains the following sections: Plot Summary; Chapters; Characters; Objects/Places. He claimed to have stored in one of his desk drawers enough material to keep him writing plays for a long time. . Now she appears cunning and maybe even a little lethal. ix-xxiv, 9, 70, 75, 78. Nickels sums up this difference: "There are no glamour wigs in her closet, no makeup in her medicine cabinet, no saucy gowns to wear in gay bars or outrageous drag queen antics or caustic comments while camping it up." Dieter Jorgensen is a psychiatrist who studies Charlotte von Mahlsdorf's case and declares that she is autistic. Next follows a discussion between Doug and John. She mentions several bars, cafés, and bookstores that cater to homosexuals and transvestites. Who is this man? She does make one solid statement in reference to whether she is a man or a woman. Doug asks Charlotte what it was like to visit West Berlin after so many years of living behind the Berlin wall. by Cleis Press. 48, No. Apesar do pai – que Charlotte diz duvidar que tenha alguma vez notado que o filho era, na verdade, uma menina – ela encontrou apoio no tio, Josef Brauner, o mesmo que tinha criado sua mãe e dado todo o apoio pra família até a sua morte (ele inclusive nunca se opôs ao fato de Charlotte usar roupas femininas, e durante a ocupação nazista ia com ela até os locais de distribuição de roupas e alimentos e muito naturalmente pedia. I Am My Own Wife was the first one-person show ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, which it did in 2004. A transvestite and celebrated antiques dealer who successfully navigated the two most oppressive regimes of the past century-the Nazis and the Communists--while openly gay and … I want to call this book a cozy read, because that's how her style is. Sin embargo, las descripciones de la guerra y la vida travestida (una minoría dentro de otra minoría) son magistrales y esclarecedoras, una historia de las opresiones, que, aunque cada vez menos macabras, retozan aún en la cotidianidad. By putting himself into the play as the character Doug, the author allows the audience to take a step out of Charlotte's story and reflect on some of the things that Charlotte says. Production Credits. Are you leaving, he asks Charlotte, or are you running away? Stasi were East Germany's notorious secret police and were stationed in East Berlin. I Am My Own Wife. He knows that Charlotte has lost face in Berlin because of the opening and public viewing of the Stasi file, which reveals that Charlotte was an informant. Through Tante Luise, Charlotte learned about a book that states that everyone has various proportions of male and female elements in their bodies. Doug interjects the fact that when the Berlin wall fell, Charlotte had the only cabaret in all of East Germany, which she ran for almost thirty years. John is the one who tells Doug about Charlotte and encourages him to come to Berlin to interview her. Charlotte is the main character. 3 out of 5 stars. She made it … Homosexual and transvestite prisoners were forced to wear pink triangle badges to identify themselves in the camps, a practice that has since been converted to a positive symbol: the pink triangle has been adopted by gay men and women as an emblem of solidarity. The play opened off Broadway in May 2003 and moved to the Lyceum Theater on Broadway on December 3, 2003. Charlotte, in essence, suggests that she is only human and has weaknesses just like everyone else. Charlotte's Stasi file shows that she had been spying on Kirschner, gathering information in order to set him up for the arrest. Then Charlotte returns shortly thereafter and carries on a conversation with Doug. Charlotte and her mother stay with Luise to escape Charlotte's father's brutal beatings. Charlotte says that her father was a Nazi and that he was brutal. A more in-depth look at the unbelievable story of how a German transvestite was able to live under two oppressive regimes - first under Nazi rule and then under Communism. John Marks, the Berlin bureau chief of U.S. News & World Report, is a friend of Doug Wright's (in real life and in the play). Once the Berlin wall was constructed, homosexuals and transvestites in East Berlin had no place to gather. She says that one must leave the furniture as it is, with all its marks and blemishes. This information helped the Stasi make their arrest of Kirschner. Luise eventually threatens the father with a gun when he appears with a shotgun. I want to go visit him and his museum, this book is one to buy and to buy another copy to give away. Weber, Bruce, "Inventing Her Life as She Goes Along," in the New York Times, December 4, 2003, Section E, p. 1. Poor Charlotte, the audience might be thinking. Kirschner's ordeal and Charlotte's role in it become a pivotal point in the play, as Charlotte's reputation and truthfulness are challenged. As Lothar (Charlotte's given name), the audience hears the sixteen-year-old claim that he is a boy, but the officer decides Lothar is too young to shoot. Ziggy is a little too hip to accept this, though. There is still a hint of curiosity—Charlotte remains an enigma, but is she still interesting? Hija de guerras, encontró la paz en la colección de muebles antiguos, y es eso lo que desmerece el libro: su fetiche se convierte en un goce unidireccional. She later writes letters to Kirschner to help keep his spirits up. In the published version of Wright's play I Am My Own Wife, the playwright offers an introductory essay, "Portrait of an Enigma." Charlotte deflects the question. Ziggy attempts to find some validation for the neo-Nazis, trying to excuse their destructive acts based on the frustrations they have been feeling since the Berlin wall was brought down. In retribution, Charlotte steals into his room one night and murders him. When Kirschner tells her not to become involved in his troubles with the Stasi, Charlotte says that she obeys. Still it covered all of the formative events in her life in a very open way and in enough detail to give the reader a good enough idea of Charlotte's motivations, ideals and attitudes. However, Charlotte, having experienced this world, could offer Wright a living history of a moment in time that very few people know about firsthand. Ziggy also calls Charlotte on one of her stories. He thanks Charlotte for encouraging him to not give up. In his review for the New Yorker, for instance, John Lahr manages only one line of praise for the play. She explains that after every disaster in Berlin, she would go through the rubble and save artifacts. I Am My Own Wife. As of the summer of 2005, it was still on national tour. Here we have a man in a severe black dress presenting the extraordinary figure of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a male-to-female transvestite who survived the Nazi regime as a teenager only to live nearly all her adult life under the repressive Communist boot of East Germany. Frozen May 04, 2004 Aug 22, 2004 . The mood of confusion is working well. It is not clear whether Jorgensen actually meets with Charlotte or if his conclusions are drawn from merely reading about her. In the interview with Raymond, Wright talked about his attraction to Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, the subject of his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Retrieved March 24, 2021 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/i-am-my-own-wife. She would become their spy. 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