The play is structured as a prologue and 10 scenes. These action takes place during the last seventeen days of Kant’s life, from 27 January 1804 to 12 February 1804.
The Last Days of Immanuel Kant begins in Hoffmann’s study. The play that Hoffmann writes is set in Kant’s house in Königsberg. It is a play with a number of staging requirements, the most notable of which are set out below:
- Kant’s house is described as large and sombre. Its appearance suggests the presence of ghosts, perhaps even the Angel of Death. Most of the play takes place in Kant’s living room.
- Kant himself is skeletal, with a white beard. He spends much of the play wrapped up in blankets or bedclothes, shivering, even when it is warm. Kant sits in an armchair which is, in the course of the play, fitted with a bar so that the philosopher cannot get up on his own. As the play progresses, Kant starts to get regular nosebleeds.
- Professor Wasianski keeps a life-sized doll, Olimpia, in a coffin-like box. He puts eyes on the doll and it can walk by itself. Kant’s niece, Hanna, looks very like Olimpia. Hanna’s movements and gestures are described as mechanical throughout the play, as if she were indeed a doll. At the end of the play Teresa, too, has become mechanical in her movements.
- In scene 5 the action moves to what the playwright suggests might be a brightly-tiled kitchen. Kant is laid out on an adjustable table. This table can be converted into a wheelchair.
- In scene 6 a number of dignitaries visit Kant. The playwright suggests that life-sized dolls might be used instead of actors.
- In scene 7 the household hosts an early birthday party for Kant. A table is set with food and drink and four additional guests are present. Most of the birthday meal takes place in silence, as we watch the characters talk but do not hear anything they say.
- Over the course of the play the weather outside the house changes. The play begins on a dark and stormy night. This storm rages and gets more violent as Kant deteriorates. On the night of Kant’s death it starts snowing outside.
- After Kant dies he appears laid out on his bed. Rather than an actor, Kant is now represented by a life-sized doll.
- At the end of the play, Kant’s friends and family uncover a large headless statue. Peter and Wasianski solemnly place a head on the statue, so that it becomes a statue of Kant.
Scene 8: Kant’s Delusion
In scene 8 we enter into one of Kant’s deathbed delusions. The action relocates to Königsberg’s annual carnival. Kant and Lampe stand before a huge dragon’s mouth, where they are met by Coppelius. Kant and Lampe must have their hands chopped off and their eyes struck out before they can enter the dragon. On stage, we see the bloodied stumps of their arms and their empty eye sockets. Inside the dragon’s mouth the characters pass a clock made out of a skeleton, a cackling witch, Olimpia-Hanna dancing, and a mechanical Peter repeatedly stabbing Olimpia-Hanna. Kant eventually encounters a mechanical chess player, with whom he plays a game. The game is accompanied by frightening shouts and noises, while masked revellers dance.
(less)The Last Days of Immanuel Kant begins in Hoffmann’s study. The play that Hoffmann writes is set in Kant’s house in Königsberg. It is a play with a number of staging requirements, the mo... (Read more...)
At the beginning and the end of the play, the Barcarolle from Offenbach’s opera The Tales of Hoffmann is heard. At several points, Teresa Kaufmann plays a violin. Near the end of the play, Lampe enters and plays a tribute to Kant on a trumpet. A brass band is heard marching past outside. The noise of the band becomes cacophonous and painful to listen to. (less)
At the beginning and the end of the play, the Barcarolle from Offenbach’s opera The Tales of Hoffmann is heard. At several points, Teresa Kaufmann plays a violin. Near the end of the pl... (Read more...)
