DRAMA (izvirna veseloigra v treh dejanjih)
ŠTEVILO OSEB: 14 (4ž 10m), meščani
KRAJ IN ČAS DOGAJANJA: Podeželski grad in bližnje slovensko-štajersko mesto v letu 1873.
Besedilo je v Slovenskem gledališkem inštitutu ohranjeno v rokopisni obliki pod signaturo DD 648. V zvezku (21 x 17 cm) je 121 neoštevilčenih strani. Na naslovni strani piše, da je delo spisal J. Skalec (Vošnjakov psevdonim, ki ga je uporabil tudi ob objavi drugih literarnih del).
Besedilo se konča z dvajsetim prizorom na str. [102]. Naknadno sta dopisana še dva prizora (21., 22. prizor), prva različica konca (20. prizor) pa je skoraj v celoti sčrtana.
Rokopisu je dodana pola papirja (16 strani, od teh je popisanih 13) Na prvi strani je na novo napisan del 17. prizora, sledijo 18., 19, 20. in 21. prizor [109 – 121].
Rokopis ima torej tri različice konca. Druga varianta je bila naknadno pripisana in tretja vložena (ker je zmanjkalo listov). Vsi trije konci in njihovo zaporedje so popisani v zadnjem razdelku (vsebina).
Praizvedbo (10. marca 1889) je režiral Ignacij Borštnik in odigral glavno vlogo, Julija plemenitega Braunhofa. Kot njegova žena Aurelija je nastopila Zofija Borštnik, kot njena hči Matilda pa Avgusta Gostič (Danilova). Njen ženin in mladi družinski odvetnik je bil Anton Cerar Danilo. Eno izmed stranskih moških vlog je odigral takrat še rosno mladi Anton Verovšek.
Josip Vošnjak (1834-1911), a writer and physician, was one of the most prominent Slovenian politicians and cultural workers of the second half of the 19th century. In 1867, he was elected as a deputy to the Styrian Provincial Assembly, where in the following decade he advocated for linguistic equality and a United Slovenia, as well as for Slovenian territorial and administrative unity. From 1873 to 1885, he was a deputy to the National Assembly in Vienna, and from 1877 until his retirement (1895) he was a deputy to the Carniolan Provincial Assembly. As a leading politician of the Slovenian Liberal Party, he advocated the importance of education and Slovenian economic independence; he participated in the establishment of domestic banks and cooperatives. As a politician and publicist, he advocated for the improvement of the unbearable social conditions of the peasant and working-class population. He was among the founders of the Slovenska matica (1864) and the newspaper Slovenski narod (1868). He wrote articles for it on the economy, finance, politics, social and medical issues, and also on culture. He also published professional and literary contributions in Slovenski gospodarje, Ljubljanski zvon, in publications of the Mohorjeva družba and elsewhere. In the late 1960s, he successfully performed at Slovenian camps, and later he actively participated in raising funds and erecting monuments to important Slovenians, in the establishment of the Glasbena matica, the Cyril-Methodov družstva and the Pisateljsk družstva. As a member of the Dramatic Society, he helped in the creation and development of Slovenian theatre.
Vošnjak's first dramatic attempt in German, which he also staged, dates back to his student years. After completing his medical studies in Vienna, he returned to his native land, switched from German to Slovenian in his writing, and wrote a tragedy in verse, which has not survived. Vošnjak's early literary attempts and publications, encouraged by his friend and colleague Josip Jurčič, were interrupted by a steep political career. He took up writing again when he completed his second term in the National Assembly, i.e. after his fiftieth birthday. Literary historians note that during this time he completed previously conceived or planned texts, including the novel Twins (1889) and numerous dramatic works that he submitted to the Dramatic Society a few months after the novel's publication. For these texts, which in terms of form and content belong more to the 1870s, France Koblar used the term "late reading drama" (Slovenian Drama I, 1972, p. 139). Vošnjak, who after 1885 set about working for the Slovenian theatre with all his energy and diligence, wrote these texts for the small, cramped stage of the Ljubljana reading room, which was revived in the years after the fire of the Estates Theatre and before the construction of the new theatre building (1887 – 1892), so that it must be written in his defense that his drama is not "late reading room" only in the sense of content and form, but is literally reading room. When the opportunity finally arose for the Slovenes to get their own theatre, Vošnjak actively participated in this project as a councilor in the Carniolan Provincial Assembly and treasurer of the Dramatic Society. As a young politician, he attended the opening of the National Theatre in Prague in 1868 and appeared as a speaker, and at the age of almost sixty, he also lived to see the opening of his home theatre.
Vošnjak, who participated in discussions about the repertoire conundrums of Slovenian theatre during this period, also tried to solve them with his own dramatic texts: he offered the Dramatic Society five mostly lighter texts or comedies. Foam, To their own and Minister's letter were also staged this year, comedies A hundred years ago and Women's victory but they failed to make it to the stage during this period.
The next type of Vošnjak's plays is closely related to his attempts at a Tolstoyan story with material from the lives of ordinary people with directly expressed moral teachings (Condemned, You father to the threshold, your son across the threshold, Two neighbors, Blessed are the merciful...). He developed his version of Mohorian literature not only in prose experiments, but also in drama. Thus, a rural version of the bourgeois play was created. To their own, which he published in the Calendar of the Society of St. Mohor (1891). This also includes two texts that were published in the book collection Slovenske večernice Sodružbe sv. Mohorje. Game Walnut, subtitled Scenes from Farm Life, was published in volume 45 (1991), a short story in one act Let's not give up! and in volume 53 (1901).
The third set of Vošnjak's dramatic works and his literary peak are represented by the plays Beautiful Vida (book edition and performance 1893) and Doctor Dragan (1894), which was not performed at the time of its creation due to problematic content. Compared to earlier texts, these are works that are complex in content and form, characterized by more contemporary tones and motifs, although they remain trapped in melodramatic sentimentality and euphemism.
During this time, they put on stage Coal mine (1994), a less successful and accomplished work, according to literary history, depicting a strike in a coal mine.
With their contemporary content and complexly drawn characters, the aforementioned Vošnjak plays indicated the rapprochement of Slovenian dramatic literature with modern European literary trends, a rapprochement that was only fully realized by Ivan Cankar.
FROM THE LIBRARY OF THE SLOVENIAN THEATRE INSTITUTE: VOŠNJAK'S WORKS IN BOOK EDITIONS AND A SELECTION OF MATERIALS ABOUT THE AUTHOR
In 1889, a one-act play was published To each their own. In the same year, as the first booklet of the Vošnjaks Collected dramatic and narrative writings published novel Twins, printed in the National Printing House in Ljubljana. Of the planned five volumes, only three were published. The other two were printed by the Celje printing house of Dragotin Hribar, the former manager of the National Printing House in Ljubljana. Drama Beautiful Vida was published in 1893, Doctor Dragan and a year later.
Singing game Coal miner It was never fully printed. France Koblar included the work in an anthology Older Slovenian drama (1951). He decided to publish the second act; he merely summarized the other three.
In the last years of his life, Vošnjak published Memories in two volumes (1905, 1906). The work was republished in 1982 by Slovenska matica. The selection was made by historian Vasilij Melik, who is also the author of the accompanying study.
The first and only volume of the book collection Slovenska meščanska dramatika was published in 1996. The editor and writer of the foreword, Igor Grdina, decided to publish Vošnjak's Doctor Dragan and Matches Anton Funtek.
Vošnjak's dramatic work was discussed by Frank Wollman in the book Slovenian drama (1925) and France Koblar in Slovenian playwrights (1972). It also has an important place in Dušan Moravec's monograph Townspeople in Slovenian drama (1960).
Dušan Moravec also published an extensive analysis of Vošnjak's drama in issue 43 of Documents of the Slovenian Theatre Museum (1984).
The most comprehensive overview of Vošnjak's literary, political, and cultural activities is the monograph by Malina Schmidt Snoj, published in the book collection Znameniti Slovenci pri Nova revija (2003).
Glavni junak, petintridesetletni Julij plemeniti Braunhof, nekdanji Rujavčič, nam v uvodnem monologu razkrije svoje vrednote, želje in načrte, ki bodo krojili dramsko dogajanje. Poročil se je s premožno vdovo in se naselil v njenem gradu, vendar s svojim položajem ni zadovoljen. Računa na prve neposredne volitve v državni zbor in si obeta poslanski mandat, s pomočjo katerega bo imel znova možnost zaživeti na veliki nogi v prestolnici:
Vrag naj potem vzame to gnezdo, kjer se dolgočasim leto in dan, kakor menih v svoji celici. Dunaj, Eldorado mojih sanj, tam mi bode življenje! Gledišča, plesi, maskerade…in tista komedija v parlamentu? Par govorov, krepkih, jedrnatih, fraze in zopet fraze, – pesek v oči… (I, 1, rok. str. [3-4]).
Pot do uspeha je vse prej kot lahka. Za uresničitev visokoletečih želja bi potreboval pravo bogastvo, on pa je zaradi slabega gospodarjenja in lahkomiselnega zapravljanja ostal praktično brez denarja. Kot finančni svetovalec nastopi njegov znanec, profesor Nemin, ki je v resnici prevarant in kriminalec. Braunhofa prepriča, da ustanovi podjetje in mu sledi v kapitalske špekulacije, prevare in ponarejanje. Vse to mu omogoči, da je s pomočjo svežega denarja in svoje navidezne podjetniške uspešnosti dejansko izvoljen v parlament. V znak hvaležnosti, ker je domnevno obudil zapuščeni rudnik in z namenom, da utrdi njuno sodelovanje, Braunhof ugodi Neminovi želji, da zaprosi za roko njegovo pastorko, ženino hčerko iz prvega zakona. Dekletu se vsiljeni zakon z generalnim direktorjem očimovega finančnega podviga upira: ljubi mladega pravnika Janka Lednika, ki mu je sicer »vse le pena, gnila in smrdljiva« in na začetku dogajanja stoji ob strani, pozneje pa vzame zadeve v svoje roke in jih spelje do konca. Po gradu in okolici se poleg profesorja Nemina in mladega Lednika na lovu za senzacionalnimi novicami ves čas mota tudi predstavnik rumenega tiska, urednik Liberalnega kurirja, nadležni in antipatični Jud brez trohice empatije in sočutja. Dogajanje se izza grajskih zidov preseli tudi v bližnje mesto: Vošnjak v veselih tonih, po vzoru Shakespearovih humornih rokodelcev, prikaže preproste investitorje v graščakovo finančno avanturo, trške predstavnike ljudstva in njihove družinske člane. Medtem ko popivajo in proslavljajo, se njihovo na hitro in brez dela pridobljeno bogastvo razblini v nič. Ko se pojavijo težave, profesor Nemin pobere denar in zbeži: več tisoč vlagateljev je ogoljufanih, na vidiku je ogromna izguba in bankrot delniške družbe. Hazardiranje na borzi je omogočil Julij Braunhof s ponarejenim ženinim podpisom na 20.000 menicah. Nad goljufivega graščaka se dvigne pobesnela množica, ki jo pomaga ukrotiti Janko Lednik:
…zapovejte, da se zapro vrata v grad. Po mestu zbira se razdraženo ljudstvo in hoče prodreti v grad, da se znosi nad Braunhofom (III, 12, rok. str. [88]).
V zastraženi grad spustijo le preiskovalnega sodnika s spremstvom. Braunhof se najprej sklicuje na poslansko imuniteto, ko pa mu sodnik pove, da so jo na Dunaju preklicali, uprizori samomor: v sosednjem prostoru strelja v zrak. Potem se sključen in s spačenim obrazom priplazi na prizorišče in zaigra smrtno ranjenega samomorilca, ki se hoče posloviti od žene. Še preden mu željo izpolnijo, navzoči ugotovijo, da je njegovo umiranje le navidezno in mu znova grozijo z aretacijo. Graščak spozna, da je stisnjen v kot in preden ga odpeljejo, pokaže svoj pravi obraz:
Ni še vseh dni konec. Pride dan, ko se bode svetila moja nedolžnost ko beli sneg in še imam cinkove jame. Ko feniks vzdignil se bodem iz pepela in tedaj gorje vam, ki me zdaj teptate, gorje vam! (III, 19, rok. str. [98]).
Ko odidejo, se na prizorišču pojavi obupana žena, ki je izgubila moža in premoženje: hčerka jo potolaži z novico, da je družinski odvetnik Janko Lednik obvladal zapleteno situacijo. Njegova misija stečajnega upravitelja je torej opravljena in Lednik se poslavlja, vendar ga grajska gospodična Matilda in njena mati zadržita in mu kot najboljšemu družinskemu prijatelju izrazita neskončno hvaležnost. Matilda prevzame pobudo in Lednik, ki je bistre glave, spelje snubitev do konca. Zaradi ljubezni radikalno spremeni svoj pogled na dogajanje okoli sebe. Z zaročenko v objemu so mu metafora za življenje še vedno pene, a duhteče in sladke in nepozabljene do smrti (III, 20, rok. str. [102]).
Vošnjak je pred uprizoritvijo igri dodal še tri zaključne prizore (21.-23. prizor), ki vsebinsko nadomeščajo dva daljša iz prve variante (19. in 20. prizor). Drugi konec je podoben prvemu, a krajši in pomirjujoč: o Braunhofu v tej različici Lednik govori kot o Neminovi žrtvi in tudi snubitev je manj dramatična in naporna ter se na hitro konča s sladkimi penami.
To pa še ni vse: besedilu je priložena tudi tretja različica konca. Vošnjak je načrtoval, da bo Foam tiskal oziroma, da jih bo vključil v svoje zbrane dramatične in pripovedne spise. Do realizacije sicer ni prišlo, ker so izšli le trije zvezki (Pobratimi, Lepa Vida and Doctor Dragan), vendar je razlaga, da je tedaj, okoli leta 1894, nastal dodatek k prvotnemu rokopisu, zelo prepričljiva (Schmidt – Snoj, 2003, str. 182). Tretji konec se tudi vsebinsko ujema z razvojem Vošnjakove dramatike v letih med nastankom prve in domnevnim nastankom tretje variante Pen. Zadnja, tretja različica, je med vsemi najbolj melodramatična, že skoraj operetna.
Kot podlaga za dogajanje v igri je avtorju služil realen primer podobnega zločina: storilca je celo osebno poznal. Friedrich Brandstetter, ki se je poročil z vdovo in lastnico gradu Radvanje pri Mariboru, je bil leta 1873 sicer izvoljen v parlament, vendar že na polovici mandata obsojen zaradi goljufije in je ob poskusu aretacije hlinil samomor. V prvotnih Penah se je Vošnjak bolj zvesto držal biografskih dejstev, v zadnji različici pa si je privoščil več ustvarjalne svobode: poslanca je prikazal kot Neminovo nevedno žrtev. Graščak ni več ponarejevalec: bil je le zaslepljen in ko so se mu odprle oči, se je skesal. Namesto sodnika, ki ga je Vošnjak v seznamu oseb naknadno prečrtal, je tokrat v ospredju napad ogoljufanega ljudstva. Lednik nastopi kot Braunhofov branilec pred razdraženim ljudstvom in ne le kot njegov odvetnik. Graščak se mu hoče junaško pridružiti z orožjem, a ga Lednik zavrne, češ da bode druhal še bolj razkačena. Braunhof se mu ukloni: v vaše roke izročim našo usodo. (rok. – dodatek, III, 18, str. [110-111])
In tokrat stori prav: Lednik ga junaško brani, tvega življenje, prepričuje opeharjene vlagatelje in jih s tem zadržuje. Napadalci kljub temu vdrejo na dvorišče; tedaj pa pritečejo žandarji in jih potisnejo nazaj. Odstranjena je vsa nevarnost…o pravem času je prišla oborožena sila (rok. – dodatek, III, 20, str. [114]).. Ko Braunhof prosi Lednika, naj pravno uredi situacijo, ki je nastala zaradi ponesrečenega podjetja, plane na prizorišče časopisni urednik z novico, da so Nemina zaprli. Baunhof komentira: Pokazalo se bode, da je samo on kriv vsem sleparstvom…(rok. – dodatek, III, 21, str. [119]). Mimogrede se odpove nemški liberalni stranki, ki ji je pripadal, Lednik pa s privoljenjem svoje bodoče družine nadležnega novinarja vrže čez prag.
Ko ostanejo sami, Braunhof zaključi: In zdaj pričnemo novo življenje, tiho in mirno v rodbinskem krogu. Osrečila nas bode poštena delavnost (rok. – dodatek, III, 21, str. [120]). Delavnosti njegova žena doda še blagosrčnost, mladi par pa v en glas ljubezen. Lednik objame Matildo in začini idilični prizor z modrostjo o sladkih penah, ki jo je Vošnjak kljub drugim radikalnim spremembam obdržal kot zaključno misel v vseh treh različicah.