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Scene 1
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
In town, Marie and her neighbor Margret stand in the window, watching a procession march past, led by a drum major. Marie rocks her child. The women watch the drum major approvingly, and Margret accuses Marie of checking him out. Marie doesn’t deny it and tells Margret to go get her eyes polished and sell them for some buttons. Margret accuses Marie of being promiscuous, then she leaves.
Margret’s accusation of Marie is a little hypocritical—both women, after all, were ogling the attractive drum major. Still, Margret’s criticism of Marie sheds light on Marie’s lowly position within her society: seemingly an unwed mother, she is judged and condemned for her loose morals and supposed promiscuity.
Themes
Marie shuts the window and sings a lullaby to her child. He may be “only the poor son of a whore,” but she still loves him very much. Suddenly there’s a knock at the window. It’s Woyzeck, and he looks awful. Woyzeck carefully tells Marie, “Things have been happening again[.]” He claims that smoke followed him all the way into town and that something strange is happening that will drive them mad. Then he suddenly announces that he must get going, telling Marie he’ll see her at the fair later. After Woyzeck leaves, an exasperated Marie calls him “possessed,” noting that he didn’t even acknowledge his son.
Marie’s description of her child as “only the poor son of a whore” clarifies that he was born outside of marriage. Woyzeck’s appearance right after Marie says this essentially confirms that Woyzeck is the boy’s mother and Marie’s lover. The odd remarks Woyzeck makes in this scene further suggest that he is mentally unwell, but this could point to the exhausting, unrelenting nature of his work: he seems to never have a chance to catch his breath, and this could understandably leave him feeling confused and out of touch with reality.
Themes
