Danton’s Death

Liberty, equality, fraternity: This slogan from the French Revolution has not only made an indelible mark on history, but plays a critical role in shaping our concept of democracy to this day. Büchner’s drama looks at the other side of these three words. Just five years after the storming of the Bastille and the initial euphoria of the Revolution, the people are still starving as terror and despotism prevail, and the guillotine is in use day and night. Though revolutionaries Georges Danton and Maximilien de Robespierre once stood together for the values of the Enlightenment and the establishment of human rights, they now find themselves ensnared in a bitter fight for what they believe to be the proper form of governance. While Robespierre seeks to defend virtue at all costs, Danton can only take a disillusioned and fatalistic view of the unending dynamics of rule: “We are only puppets, our strings pulled by unknown forces.”

Georg Büchner’s perspective of the trial and imprisonment of Danton is so topical because it demonstrates how even the most honourable political ideas and intentions can be perverted and inverted. Do the ends justify the means in the struggle for democracy, and what role do we play as individuals? What is a reasonable price for the liberty of all, and who is to pay it?