Die Familie Selicke: Drama in drei Aufzügen

by Arno Holz

"Die Familie Selicke: Drama in drei Aufzügen" by Arno Holz and Johannes Schlaf is a naturalistic drama first performed in 1890. On Christmas Eve, the Selicke family's dysfunction reaches a breaking point. An alcoholic, violent father, a self-pitying mother, and four suffering children collide in their cramped Berlin apartment. As the youngest daughter lies gravely ill, the eldest faces an impossible choice between love and duty. This unflinching portrait of working-class despair offers no easy resolutions.