Rats ( German: Die Ratten ) - a tragicomedy in five acts by Gerhart Hauptmann , written in 1911 , first staged on January 13, 1911 in the theater named after Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in Berlin . This tragicomedy is Hauptmann's last naturalistic work . The play takes place in 1885 - at the beginning of the period of naturalism in Germany .
Story
In the former Alexanderplatz barracks, where the bankrupt director of the theater Haro Hassenreuter stores the theater props, the main characters of the tragedy also live: Henrietta and Paul John, pregnant Paulina Piperka and drug addict Knobe. Henrietta John is unable to give birth to a baby due to illness, so she buys Paulina Piperka's newborn and registers him as her own.
Characters
- Henrietta John
- Paul John
- Haro Hassenreuter - Bankrupt Theater Director
- Walburga - Hasenreuther's daughter
- Pastor Shpita
- Erich Shpita - son of the pastor
- Paulina Piperka