Previous
Scene 6
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
Marie and the drum major are in her room. Marie orders the drum major to walk around a bit, admiring his broad chest and beard. The drum major agrees, noting that when he’s fully dressed in his uniform, even the prince compliments him. The drum major tells Marie that she is an attractive woman, too. He takes her in his arms, and Marie orders him to let her go. He holds tight, calling her a “Wild animal” with lustful eyes. Finally, Marie relents.
This scene sheds light on the drum major’s character, revealing him to be a pompous and self-important man. His calling Marie a “Wild animal” echoes the captain’s remarks about Woyzeck’s lack of virtue in the previous scene. The drum major uses Marie’s lower social status to justify degrading and dehumanizing her. He fails to see how his own actions are no different than Marie’s, despite his more respectable position in society: both characters are engaging in the “animal,” “immoral” (at least according to the Christian morals that inform their societies’ norms) act of sex outside of marriage, and yet it’s only Marie who shoulders the burden of that immorality.
Themes
