In the preface to one of the first translations of Frank Wedekind's play "Spring Awakening", its translator Francis J. Ziegler stated that Wedekind's thesis for l he play was “it is a fatal mistake to raise children, both male and female, in ignorance of their sexual nature.” (The Spring Awakening. Preface.) From the very beginning of this play, the audience can begin to understand exactly what inspired this belief. Wedekind wrote the work as an attack on the social fiction, repression and hypocrisy around which he had grown up, especially in terms of attitudes towards sexuality and morality pornographic and, consequently, was censored. Through complex characters and extremely frank and brazen scenes, Wedekind describes an unmistakable link between sexuality and authority, and the youthful corruption that this link entails. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay On Wedekind's dedication of the show to parents and teachers, Emma Goldman wrote that "parents and teachers are, in relation to the needs of the child, the most ignorant and mentally indolent class." (Goldman 64) When discusses the role of authority in the sexual development of children, it would be good to first consider the sexuality of the authority itself, how this sexuality has a significant impact on the identity of the authority and how it manifests itself in relation to teaching, discipline and raising a child. Another key aspect of the play, which provides maximum shock and provocation, is the sexuality of the children themselves, without which there would be no story. The sexuality of the authoritative roles in the play is not explored extensively, but it is nevertheless remarkable and fundamental to the exploration of the relationship between authority and sexuality. Frau Bergmann perfectly demonstrates the power of authority over sexuality when speaking to her daughter: "I have behaved no differently towards you than my dear and good mother did. she behaved towards me." The problem of maintaining childhood ignorance turns out to be a hereditary habit; sexuality has become an unmentionable thing because generations have taught their children that it cannot be discussed. Frau Bergmann is unwilling to abandon her morality for the sake of informing her daughter about the facts of life, and as an audience, we cannot fairly condemn her. Her reluctance to sexually educate her daughter is not necessarily negligent. In the context of the time and place in which she found herself raising a child, she only acts in the way she believes to be most beneficial, as her mother did before her; despite modern opinion, he has Wendla's best interests at heart. In a society that believed that the truth of human reproduction would corrupt a child or even a teenager, Bergmann is actually an example of healthy parenting. Furthermore, as a member of the 19th century middle class, Frau Bergmann herself would have been sexually repressed, despite being in a committed marriage. It was believed that sex was an overindulgence and that sex for the purpose of pleasure, rather than solely for conception, was improper. Authoritative sexuality can also be examined by looking at characters' attitudes towards the opposite sex. Martha's father expresses a particularly unhealthy image of the woman by suggesting that she is a whore because she put a ribbon in her slip and attempted to express a certain femininity. This harsh treatment of her daughter is just one example to the public of what would now be considered an almost far-fetched exaggeration ofsituation in question; it's not surprising after seeing this scene. that the children in the play feel repressed, with characters like Martha's father in a position of authority. The irony of the scene is that Martha is completely unaware of his accusatory suggestion, as she is sexually ignorant and cannot understand what he means. Martha's father and other men of his time and past were guided by a rather harmful idea of ​​women; it almost reminds us of the Freudian Madonna-Whore complex. Women were expected to be one of two unattainable ideals. On the one hand, a woman could be a healthy and pure mother, a perfect wife, virginal and uncontaminated, demure and never sexually indulgent or even sexually curious, which of course is impossible if she were also to be a conceiving mother. Already the female is forced to be “the fall”. On the other hand, a woman could be considered a hedonistic, decadent, selfish and powerful whore, the cause and guilt of every male sin. It was never believed that there could be a bridge between these two female representations: a woman could only be classified as one or the other. In any case, according to this logic, it was impossible for a woman to be satisfied with herself, since a woman was either the fall or the fall. These ideas and opinions of the parents in the play, as taught to them by their parents, are later passed on to the children in the play, with disastrous results, first shown in the father's dramatic dismissal of Martha as a whore. She cannot be a pure and healthy woman because she has behaved in a 'self-indulgent' way, so the only other option is to work on the streets, according to him. The dominant theme in the work is the causal force of children's sexual ignorance. Every child experiences changes and normal pubertal events, but due to the lack of information provided by teachers and parents, they often assume the worst. For example, Moritz states that he "thought [he] was incurable" and believed that "[he] suffered from an internal defect". When Wendla learns of her pregnancy, her first reaction is confusion: 'But that's not possible, Mom. I'm not even married.' It becomes apparent over the course of the show that Wendla's ignorance and naivety have a profound impact on her sexuality, and she begins to form an almost fetishistic view of violence, however subconscious it may be. These issues can be traced back to the overall problem of female self-esteem in the play; Wendla comes from a society that teaches her that self-love is arrogant and unattractive, she is not confident in her own thoughts and/or opinions, and she has been taught to believe that it is okay to doubt themselves. Martha asks Wendla, "Aren't you proud of yourself, Wendla?" and she replies, "That would be silly." understands) is completely repressed, and so the confusion and emotional turmoil of puberty only exacerbates her already fragile self-esteem. As a result of this tumultuous state, Wendla begins to understand her sexuality as an extension of violence. She knows no other way to express her sexuality, so she becomes fascinated by the idea of ​​fierce or cruel interactions. Wendla does not immediately give Martha her sympathy when she tells Wendla that her parents beat her, but instead asks questions about how the beating is carried out. She begs Melchior to beat her, only to know what it might be like, after she tells him about her conversation with Martha about her physically abusive parents: "It turns me on when she tells us about it." This is a clear example of his strong need for interaction.