"Das Ausland grinst dich an": Zum Thema der fließenden Grenzen in Volker Brauns Stück Limes. Mark Aurel

Abstract

Volker Braun's Limes. Mark Aurel, a short play in five acts with a prologue and an epilogue, appeared in 2002. The Latin title refers to the frontier line or "wall" between the Roman empire and Germany, and to one of its protectors, the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius. The juxtaposition of "stoic" and "emperor" evokes an obvious dichotomy and thus a recurring theme in Volker Braun's ouevre: the question of how to reconcile brute political force exercised by a superpower and practical morality and concerns for common humanity. Braun, the political activist from the former GDR, presents both a historical play about a short timespan during the reign of Marcus Aurelius and a highly contemporary tragedy about refugees from fear who cause fear. These "barbarians" – the ancient Germanic tribes or their modern counterparts from the impoverished parts around the globe – invade the crumbling confines of those who live comfortably. Marcus Aurelius' conflicted character, his vascillation between political duty and altruism, is reflected in his dialogues with an aggressively confrontational partner or alter ego, the Mephistophelian realist Galen who is his constant escort and physician. In short, Braun, in his customary provocative manner, presents the dialectics of an updated, revamped "Hinze and Kunze"-relationship. Against the backdrop of the brittle Limes-borderline, the diametrically opposed voices in Marc Aurel reveal the gradual dissolution of his own moralistic inner line which eventually leads to his death: tranquility and politics are ultimately irreconcilable in a world that is ruled by its own barbaric mechanisms.