Carl Hauptmann's plays spanned two literary movements, to neither of which he fully belonged: naturalism and expressionism. Although his plays have naturalistic elements, he criticized naturalism because of its neglect of the human individual vis-à-vis the conditioning factors of heredity and social environment. He recognized expressionism as being akin to his own efforts, particularly his search for the human "soul" and his belief in a creative intuition based on an inner vision rather than on observation of the outside world. Thus Hauptmann's plays often have a mystical dimension. Many of his protagonists are seekers of timeless truths; they ponder the relationship of God and humanity, hoping for redemption from their impure and ephemeral existence as earthly creatures. He frequently offsets realistic portrayal of characters and events with dreamlike scenes enveloping the miserable struggle of everyday life with an aura of the fairy tale. Poverty and social...