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Scene 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Woyzeck, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Human Nature
Secrecy, Paranoia, and Betrayal
Poverty and Suffering
Character vs. Circumstance
Summary
Analysis
Woyzeck and Andres are in the barracks. Woyzeck asks Andres if he’s heard anything about the drum major. He knows the man has been talking. He mentions his dream about the knife last night and scoffs at how ridiculous dreams can be, then he gets up to get some wine for his officer. On his way out, he says that “she was the only girl” but doesn’t explain what he means.
Woyzeck continues to try to confide in Andres for comfort, and Andres continues to deny Woyzeck the sympathy and acknowledgement Woyzeck needs. Woyzeck’s suffering and despair deepen as he struggles to grapple with the betrayal of Marie, “the only girl” and, until recently, his sole source of relief from the hardship and misery that otherwise characterize his life. Woyzeck’s dream about the knife is further evidence that his grip on reality is weakening. It also foreshadows that his paranoia may lead him to violence.
Themes
