woyzeck scene 8

summary of scene

Dr’s teaching room

he is presenting W to an audience of students

he explains the pea diet - asks students to observe W’s psychical irregularities

Dr throws a cat at W - cat starts scratching him

analysis of Dr’s opening speech in scene

• references story of David and Bathsheba

  • King David spied on the wife of his soldier bathing and they have sex

  • shows Dr’s ego

• very performative language - he breaks 4th wall and treats audience like students

• uses deliberately clever language “capacity of the divine for self-affirmation.”

significance of the cat in this scene

• throws it at W who catches it

  • w catches it because its thrown by an authority figure - Milgram’s student teacher study

• Cat bites Woyzeck

  • inter-class conflict - like Margaret + Marie

• Dr reduces W to status of cat - he is just another experiment

how is the Dr’s lecture room similar to the fairground

Astronomical horse and monkey being shown off by showman = W and the cat being shown off by the Dr

both sets of “animals” are exploited as spectacles

Dr’s dehumanisation and exploitation of W

“I shall use another demonstration subject” - comes just after talking about the cat - reduces W to same level as the cat

“clicks his fingers. "WOYZECK returns” - Dr deliberately treats him like a pet and he obliges

“and the eyes: note the eyes” - use of “the” not “he” removes W’s autonomy

“the captain wants to see you“ - Woyzeck is passed from one exploiter to another

religious imagery

Stems from David and Bathsheba mention

Dr sees himself as superior

he is a hypocrite - has no moral boundaries

sees himself as a voyeur - he observes W like David did Bathsheba