KOLPORTAGE

Kolportage: translation

(Pulp Fiction) byGeorg Kaiser.

Premiered 1924. Kaiser satirically dedicated this comedy "to the welfare of children and to the contemporary theater" because its ostensible subject matter was a child caught in a custody dispute during a divorce. The action takes place in Sweden, where a wealthy, aristocratic couple's unhappy marriage has produced a son, Erik. Both parents want custody of the child as divorce proceedings ensue. The mother "buys" the infant son of beggar woman Antje Appelblom with the guarantee of a monthly pension; she then sends the child outdoors in the care of a nanny and, as expected, the father's agents soon kidnap the baby. The mother then departs with her real son for a farm in Kansas, where her relatives have assured her that the boy will grow up with and be protected by cowboys.The main action takes up 20 years later on the eve of the birthday of the young man whom everyone assumes is Erik, heir to the large Swedish estate where he was raised after being abducted from his nanny. This Erik has fallen in love with a young noblewoman. Soon the mother arrives and announces that hers is the real son and is now ready to assume his inheritance. The old beggar woman tells the false Erik that his real name is Acke Appelblom. The aristocrats are outraged, but realize there is nothing they can do about it.

The play features numerous ironic protestations about the inherent superiority of the nobility, but it turns out that Acke, the beggar woman's son, possesses an inborn nobility; he tells his fiancée he will understand if she must break off their engagement now that he is penniless. But she agrees to go off to America with him, where he will seek his fortune "legitimately." The play's appeal lies in showing the predictable decadence of the privileged leisure class, the benefits of an American upbringing, the beggar woman who had triumphed over poverty, and the sudden reversals of fortune. It was indeed a melodramatic and "trashy" story—hence the title of the play—and one German audiences liked immensely. It was one of Kaiser's most popular plays, with scores of productions throughout the 1920s.