play The Man Outside by Borchert

Wolfgang Borchert’s play The Man Outside captures the self-hatred and angst of the German post-war zeitgeist. Surreal, filled with magical realism as much as German expressionism, The Man Outside symbolizes the difficulty in articulating the tremendous psychological struggles endured by Germans immediately after the Nazi crisis. In the play, Borchert does not moralize as much as he stimulates dialogue on the importance of facing the truth, even when the truth is too shameful and painful to face.

Suicide plays a major role in The Man Outside, the title of which captures Beckmann’s total isolation from his countrymen and kin. Beckmann at times seems the only character in the play willing to feel the pain and sorrow, the guilt and horror felt after fighting on behalf of the Nazis consciously and willingly. One of the key moments of The Man Outside is when Beckmann is able to face is former commanding officer, the Colonel. In conversation with the Colonel and able to reflect on his service and speak his truth, Beckmann claims he came to “give back” the responsibility of killing eleven men (Borchert, p. vii). Beckman has been living with the burden of killing those men, and while he still does take responsibility for obeying his orders, he also wants to show the Colonel that the war atrocities are shared by all participants. “I’m bringing you back the responsibility. Have you completely forgotten, sir?” (Borchert, p. vii) The colonel’s response indicates that indeed, he had either forgotten or has justified the situation by evading the truth. Beckmann’s use of the word “sir,” a formality in the hierarchical military organization, proves strikingly ironic. The term is a recollection of the Colonel’s former power and station in the army, which is no longer legitimate. Even though they are no longer in need of formalities, Beckmann uses “sir” to stress the fact that people in positions of power can be the most ignorant of all, the cruelest, and the most responsible for large-scale atrocities that feed Death.

The personification of broad universal powers like the Other, the River, Death, and God all show how human beings need to boldly contend with major existential issues to find peace and gain insight and understanding. Alienation and isolation, denial of truth and running from self leads to profound loneliness and the only evil there is—acting without considering the consequences. Being willfully ignorant of the truth, the Colonel and others like him avoid the emotional and psychological struggle that Beckmann contend with and yet Beckmann is the hero of the play because he is willing to admit his wrongdoing. Beckmann wants to obliterate himself and all memories of the war because the truth is too hard to face and still remain comfortable with oneself. Even alive, Beckmann has fed Death, and Death waits for him willingly, hungry for as many souls as he can handle. The River represents hope and change, as rivers do continually move and symbolize the passage of time. A river only appears the same from moment to moment, when in reality its water flows and is never in the same place twice. Therefore, it makes sense Borchert would cast the River as being the most compassionate figure in the play, the one that most roots for Beckmann to stay alive.