Tragedies of sex

This book opens with a direct, no‑frills introduction to Frank Wedekind, a playwright whose reputation has long hovered between scandal and reverence. The author, who translated Wedekind’s Lulu tragedies in the early 1910s, offers a concise biography and a survey of the critical responses that have ranged from dismissive chuckles to outright denunciation. By situating Wedekind among his contemporaries, the text makes clear why his work defied the naturalistic trends of the 1890s and why it demands fresh attention today.

The narrative moves into Wedekind’s conflicted relationship with bourgeois Germany, highlighting his obsession with physical beauty, raw desire, and a fierce hostility toward societal conventions. It also traces how his provocative themes—prostitution, youthful rebellion, and the clash of instinct and morality—pre‑figured the Expressionist burst that followed the First World War. Readers gain a sense of how his relentless examination of humanity’s darker impulses helped shape the voice of later dramatists such as Georg Kaiser.