Graf Öderland, subtitled A Moritat in Twelve Pictures, is a drama by the Swiss writer Max Frisch. Inspired by a newspaper report, Frisch wrote his first prose sketch in 1946, which was published the following year as part of Tagebuch mit Marion (Diary with Marion). Frisch adapted the material several times for the theatre. The premiere of the first drama version took place on 10 February 1951 at the Schauspielhaus Zürich, directed by Leonard Steckel, and was Frisch's first failure on stage. Frisch's second adaptation, staged on 4 February 1956 by Fritz Kortner at the Kleines Haus der Städtischen Bühnen Frankfurt, had a stronger political emphasis. With the third and final version, Frisch largely returned to his original diary sketch. It premiered on 25 September 1961 at the Schiller Theatre in Berlin, directed by Hans Lietzau, and was included in Frisch's collected works published in 1975. Although all three stage adaptations were unsuccessful with critics and audiences alike, Graf Öderland remained the drama with which Frisch felt most connected. He described it as his favourite and most mysterious play.
The plot begins with the seemingly senseless murder of a conscientious bank clerk who kills a caretaker with an axe. Only the public prosecutor shows any understanding of the crime, which inspires him to break out of his orderly life. From then on, he follows the legend of Count Öderland, roaming the countryside with an axe in his hand and killing anyone who stands in the way of his claim to freedom. Supporters rally behind the leading figure of Count Öderland, and the prosecutor's individual act escalates into general unrest. The rebellion ultimately leads to a political upheaval, without the prosecutor achieving the freedom he longs for. Characteristic of Count Öderland is the blending of private and political motives, which can be traced back to two main themes in Frisch's work: the longing to break free from social constraints and a growing criticism of the bourgeois order.
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Final version 1st image: A public prosecutor has had enough: Public prosecutor Martin gets up in the middle of the night because he cannot stop thinking about the case of an axe murderer. He sees the crime, which was committed without motive, as an escape from the monotony of everyday life, as an indictment of a life that consists only of deferred hope. While his wife, Elsa, turns away from him in incomprehension, the young maid Hilde joins him, burns his files on his instructions, and tells him the legend of Count Öderland.
2nd image: The murderer: In his prison cell, murderer Wolfgang Schweiger talks to his solicitor, Dr. Hahn, who is angry about his client's confession. Schweiger, who cannot explain his actions himself, felt understood for the first time during the public prosecutor's interrogation. He recounts the events of the evening of the crime: after a dutiful working life at the Bank Union, he naturally made his way to the bank on his day off, Sunday, when he felt the urge to use the toilet. The caretaker Karl-Anton Hofmeier let him in, they had a friendly chat, Schweiger joked that Hofmeier should be killed, grabbed his axe, and put his words into action. In the end, Dr. Hahn receives news that the trial scheduled for the following day has been postponed because the public prosecutor is missing.
3rd image: The prosecutor comes to his axe: A charcoal burner lives with his wife and daughter, Inge, in a hut in the snow-covered forest. Inge dreams of the legend of Count Öderland, who will one day come with his axe and free her from her father's yoke. Suddenly, the prosecutor stands at the door and is let in. He talks to Inge, who reminds him of Hilde, about his longing to sail to Santorini. Inge asks him to take her with him. When the prosecutor grabs the charcoal burner's axe, everyone recognises him as the legendary Count. Inge recites the ballad of Count Öderland with the axe in her hand. Anyone who stands in their way will fall.
4th image: The first message arrives: Dr. Hahn and Elsa have commissioned Mr. Mario, a clairvoyant from the cabaret, to search for clues about the missing public prosecutor. When Elsa's secret love affair with Dr. Hahn is revealed, an image of the public prosecutor with an axe in his hand appears before the clairvoyant's eyes. Then a report comes in on the radio that an unknown person has killed three constables with an axe.
5th image: Long live the Count: A group of charcoal burners in the forest get drunk and celebrate. They cheer the public prosecutor in the guise of Count Öderland. He has shown them the way to a better life. But they realise that, at his behest, they have merely been living off their supplies. When these are used up and the public prosecutor finds himself questioned by the charcoal burners, he leaves them and rides away with Inge after setting fire to the charcoal burners' houses.
6th image: Life imprisonment: In his cell, the murderer recounts his life, which was dominated by work and duty. Friday evening was the highlight of every week, while Sunday afternoon was already overshadowed by the prospect of returning to work on Monday. He finds comfort in the fact that the caretaker, who was ignored by everyone during his lifetime, has become so important since his death.
7th image: The axe catches on: In a grand hotel, a policeman wants to question Count Öderland, who is allegedly staying there. He reports that many are following his example, setting off to obtain axes. Elsa and Dr. Hahn appear in disguise. They suspect that the public prosecutor is hiding behind Count Öderland's mask and pretending to be the seller of a yacht with which the public prosecutor wants to set sail for Santorini. They only show pictures of the yacht, which reminds the public prosecutor of his toy model, about which he often daydreamed. After signing the contract, the yacht turns out to be the very toy model, the participants drop their masks, and the prosecutor sees his suspicion confirmed that his wife is having an affair with Dr. Hahn. He pulls the axe out of his briefcase, and everyone flees.
8th image: The murderer is lucky: The murderer is interrogated in his cell by representatives of society: the Home Secretary, the Director, the General, and the Commissioner. They are looking for the starting point for the social unrest that has gripped the country in his crime. The axe has become a symbol of the uprising. A gang has gathered around Count Öderland. The murderer has no answers to their questions about the background to the crime. He is released under an amnesty, which Schweiger later reinterprets as a general amnesia.
9th image: The Count must surrender: The Count's gang is hiding in the sewer system. They have been given an ultimatum: hand over their leader by midnight or the sewers will be flooded. Several of his loyal followers now turn against the prosecutor. He saves himself without regard for his followers and leaves the sick Inge behind in the sewer system.
10th image: Masters of the situation: The government is celebrating a gala at the residence when the public prosecutor arrives with his briefcase. While the government is hampered by the dishes from the standing reception in their hands, he proposes an alliance: they should hand over the residence to him, and the people will rejoice. The interior minister refuses, saying he will fight to the last drop of blood. Coco, who has already played the role of first lady of the state alongside many men, steps forward and proves her instinct for future power by joining the public prosecutor. She leads the public prosecutor onto the balcony, where the people pay homage to him.
11th image: The murderer is unlucky: The murderer sleeps with his victim's widow while unrest in the city grows. When a window breaks, the policeman notices it. He enters the widow's attic room and refuses to be persuaded by the murderer's amnesty. When the murderer tries to escape, the policeman shoots him with his submachine gun.
12th image: Peace and order are restored. Conclusion: The prosecutor is back in his office. He talks to Hilde and believes that he has only been dreaming. But fires are blazing outside the windows, and shots can be heard repeatedly. Finally, the president appears and hands over power to the prosecutor. The prosecutor refuses, saying that he has no message. The president insists: those who overthrow power in order to be free will ultimately achieve the opposite of freedom, namely, power. The prosecutor is desperate and imagines that he has only dreamed it all. He vainly conjures up his awakening.
Previous versions According to Frisch's own assessment, the first version from 1951 focuses primarily on the private sphere, the public prosecutor's longing to break free. It consists of only ten scenes. Compared to the final version, the fifth scene was not yet included, and the sixth and eighth scenes still form a single unit. In the sewers, a confrontation ensues between the prosecutor and Inge, which ends in Inge's suicide. Iris, the daughter of his commander, is another woman who sides with the prosecutor. The murderer is not in love with the widow, but with the maid Hilde. When the public prosecutor finally realises that his outburst has caused social unrest, but his private life remains unchanged, that he is unable to love Coco, and that Elsa and Dr. Hahn are waiting for him in his villa as usual, he jumps out of the window in despair. Frisch later commented: "Suicide out of embarrassment on the part of the author."
In the second version from 1956, Frisch placed greater emphasis on current political references. It consists of eleven scenes. The jury trial against the murderer is presented first. After the public prosecutor has obtained the axe, his murders of three gendarmes are depicted. The charcoal burners greet him with their axes; the subsequent scene with the charcoal burners is omitted. The confrontation between the prosecutor and Elsa and Dr. Hahn is omitted. Against his will, the prosecutor is appointed leader of a party, and Inge is shot by mutinous revolutionaries. After the state leadership has sworn an oath to the prosecutor, he transfers the office of the prime minister to Dr. Hahn. Then he takes the liberty of leaving. After deciding to stop killing, the prosecutor accuses himself of his crimes and sentences himself to death. He leaves with the words: "Freedom is only one step away." Before his execution takes place, the curtain falls.
Form Max Frisch had originally planned Graf Öderland as a ballad with song verses between the scenes, but the musical interludes were deleted before the premiere. The remaining structure is reminiscent of a . The theme of social upheaval is also familiar from expressionism, but Frisch distributes it between two protagonists, with the actions of one inspiring the escape of the other. Manfred Durzak called the sequence of scenes an "epic picture book" that plays out on two parallel plot lines that relate to each other contrapuntally: the level of the public prosecutor and that of the murderer. The plot is repeatedly elevated to a general, parabolic level. Nevertheless, Frisch does not intend to create an enlightening parable or a demonstrative didactic piece. In his effort to explore the direction of an idea to its conclusion, he ends without a clear interpretation, leaving an open ending, which is why Michael Butler described Graf Öderland as a "game of thought or consciousness."