Imre Madách

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Imre Madách (January 21, 1823, Alsósztregova, now Dolná Strehová, Slovakia - October 5, 1864, Alsósztregova) is the Hungarian author of Az ember tragédiája (The Tragedy of Man). It is a dramatic poem approximately 4000 lines long, which elaborates on ideas comparable to Goethe's Faust. The author was encouraged and advised by János Arany, another 19th century Hungarian author.

[edit] The Tragedy of Man

The Tragedy of Man is the central piece of Hungarian theaters' repertoire and is mandatory reading for students in secondary school. Many lines have become common quotes in Hungary.

The poem is quite suitable for the stage, albeit a bit lengthy. German, Czech and Polish theaters have staged adaptations. Graphic illustrations created for historic and contemporary printed editions, as well as stage sketches are of outstanding artistic value. A feature-length animated film was domestically produced in the 1970s.

The main characters are Adam, Eve, Lucifer and The Lord. Adam and Lucifer travel through time to visit different turning-points in human history and the devil tries to convince Adam that life is (will be) meaningless and mankind is doomed. Adam and Lucifer are introduced at the beginning of each scene, with Adam assuming various important historical roles and Lucifer usually acting as a servant or confidante. Eve enters only later in each scene.

Some critics maintain that the true protagonist of the Tragedy is Lucifer himself, being more active than Adam and the Lord combined. Others suggest the controversial portrayal of Eve, the first woman, was prompted by Madách's own, unhappy marriage. These are among the more marginal interpretations, but the role of Hegelian dialectic theory in the sequencing of scenes and the influence of French revolutionary ideas on the Tragedy, are established facts.

The Tragedy of Man contains fifteen scenes, with ten historical periods represented. The scenes, their locations, and Adam's identity in each are as follows.

SCENE 1 - In Heaven, immediately following the creation.
SCENE 2 - Paradise at the Beginning of Time.
SCENE 3 - Outside Paradise at the Beginning of Time.
SCENE 4 - Egypt, c. 2650 BC. Adam is a Pharaoh, most likely Djoser; Lucifer his Vizier; Eve is the wife of a slave.
SCENE 5 - Athens, 489 BC. Adam is Miltiades the Younger; Lucifer is a guard; Eve is Miltiades' wife.
SCENE 6 - Rome, c. 67 AD. Adam is a wealthy Roman; Lucifer and Eve are his friends.
SCENE 7 - Constantinople, 1096 AD. Adam is Prince Tancred of Hauteville; Lucifer is his squire; Eve is a nun.
SCENE 8 - Prague, c. 1615 AD. Adam is Johannes Kepler; Lucifer is his pupil; Eve is his wife, Borbala.
SCENE 9 - Paris, 1793 AD (in a dream of Kepler). Adam is Georges Danton; Lucifer is an executioner; Eve appears in two forms, first as an aristocrat, then immediately following as a poor woman.
SCENE 10 - Prague, c. 1615 AD. Adam is Johannes Kepler; Lucifer is his pupil; Eve is his wife, Borbala.
SCENE 11 - London, c. 1800s AD. Adam and Lucifer are nameless Englishmen, Eve is a young woman of the middle class.
SCENE 12 - A Communist/Technocratic Phalanstery, in the future. Adam and Lucifer masquerade as travelling chemists; Eve is a worker.
SCENE 13 - Space. Adam and Lucifer are themselves.
SCENE 14 - An ice age in the distant future, at least 6000 AD. Adam is a broken old man; Lucifer is himself; Eve is an eskimo's wife.
SCENE 15 - Outside Paradise at the Beginning of Time.