The Broken Jug - Heinrich von Kleist

The Broken Jug
by Heinrich von Kleist

Village judge Adam must hear a case concerning a broken jug. The plaintiff Marthe Rull accuses Ruprecht, the fiancé of her daughter Eve, of forcibly entering the girl's room and breaking the vessel. Ruprecht, however, claims he saw an unknown stranger fleeing through a window.

What no one suspects: the village judge Adam himself is the culprit. The evening before, he had pressed his attentions on Eve, was surprised by Ruprecht, and knocked over the fateful jug while fleeing. As the trial progresses, he becomes ever more entangled in his web of lies - yet continues to the very end trying to shift the blame onto others.

With overflowing wit, sharp dialogue, and a keen eye for exposing a hypocritical society, Heinrich von Kleist created a bitterly comic play about lies and the abuse of power.