Ilse In Spring Awakening

[bethyd]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 9:55pm

Hi everyone, I need a little help to clarify something.

A friend of mine approached me with the theory that the character of Ilse in Spring Awakening (the musical) might in fact be dead. She cited that Ilse doesn't interact with other characters, and tries to convince Moritz to "come home" with her.

I was a long-time lurker over at the old Guilty One forums, and I remember this theory being tossed around. I always loved it, however I swear there was something concrete from the creative team that disproved it.

I want to say it had something to do with the letter that Ilse delivers between Melchior and Wendla. Which makes sense- If Ilse didn't exist, the letter would never have gotten delivered. But I was wondering if there was any concrete evidence from the Creative Team talking about this theory. I know I've read it somewhere, and have been searching with little luck.

There are also ideas connecting Ilse with the Masked Man of the original play. But that doesn't quite work either. She's kind of the anti-Masked Man as she represents hope.

Ilse is my favorite character to examine and theorize about, so I'd like to know where people stand on this.

[twinbelters]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:21pm

But isn't she referred to as being alive by other characters?

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:23pm

You've answered your question already since you stated that she delivered the letter. Doesn't she also sing part of "The Dark I Know Well?" I've never heard this theory before nor does it make any sense.

[IAMmyownMUSICAL]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:24pm

While I think, as a Director, it could be a very interesting choice to explore if Directed and staged properly...it doesn't hold much weight for how she is currently written.

Yes her character IS very seperate from a lot of the action, but that is mostly all situational.

I feel that she IS very much alive. But that's just my two cents, and it's probably not a very exciting response.

The most stunning part of the show for me is how desperately she tries to save Moritz' life. It's tragic and heartbreaking.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:29pm

She has an entire conversation with the other girls towards the end of the show, so there's no way she's dead.

[Thparkaly]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:45pm

Here's the post that started the idea.


Spring Awakening Revelation

[addsername]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:45pm

(just for reference), here's the original theory. I don't own this. I can't figure out to whom I give credit since i found it on tumblr, but here it is:

--so today after talking to my sister we made the biggest revelation of our lives.
What if, in Spring Awakening, the character of Ilse is actually dead?!?!?
I KNOW
Like we have a theory that she could be on her way to heaven or the afterlife or death or whatever and IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT OK READY
Analysis:
Ilse never directly talks to anybody in the show. When she talks to Moritz it is right about as he’s about to die, so it can be her ghost like on her way to death whatever ya feel me
AND she’s wearing all white in every production, white symbolizes death and in Those You’ve Known when Moritz and Wendla come back as ghost they’re wearing white. It also symbolizes purity and new beginnings or as I read on a website “a blank page, a new start”.
Also she’s carrying flowers. Flowers=something you put on a grave when somebody dies.
She never looks directly at Moritz or anybody for that matter during the show. All of her songs (Dark I Know Well, Blue Wind, Purple Summer) she faces the audience. And the way she and Moritz talk to each other in the DDS/BW scene it’s kind of like she’s not really there you know.
In her monologue and song and stuff it makes so much sense:
“I’m on my way home, want to come” SHE CAN BE ON HER WAY TO HEAVEN OR WHATEVER YES
And her constant reminiscing of her childhood, that can be like her life flashing before her eyes idk.
She got so drunk and “passed out in the snow” snow symbolizes death too.
THE BIGGEST THING “he woke me with a gun set against my breast, he said ‘one twitch, and it’s the end’. Really gave me the goosebumps.” She never says how he didn’t fire NEVER everyone just ASSUMES HE DIDN’T.
BLUE WIND: blue symbolizes sadness, freedom, and new beginnings. THINK ABOUT IT.
Her constant saying “walk as far as my house with me” “well walk me at least” etc etc, like, that can be how she wants him to come with her to heaven or whatever so they can die together! THEY CAN GO TOGETHER THEY CAN WALK TOGETHER
Then she says things how they can play pirates and hide and wigwams and be CHILDREN AGAIN RELIVE THEIR CHILDHOOD GET ITTTTTT GET IT OMG
And Moritz is all like “I can’t” because he’s scared to die he doesn’t know if he can do it he’s having doubts I feel like that’s what someone like him would do before killing themselves idk
AND after they sing DDS/BW together, he says “goodnight ilse” like not goodbye, goodnight, NIGHT IS DEATH and I’m pretty sure it’s not night when this scene is happening you feel me.
“You know, by the time you finally wake up, I’ll be lying on some trash heap”. Ok, so, by the time you “wake up” maybe from this illusion he’s having like talking to her and seeing her and stuff, she’ll be lying on some trash heap, where does johan whateverthe****hisnameis dispose of her body after killing her? THE TRASH. HER DEAD BODY WOULD BE LYING ON A HEAP OF TRASH. IT. MAKES. SO. MUCH. SENSE.
And remember earlier when I was like “she wears a white dress in BW” then she changes into a green dress right? Always green. I googled the symbolism for the color green, and it means resurrection and immortality. And colors in general are a HUGE symbolic thing for this entire show so it’s totally relevant. CRAZY.
Then in the funeral scene she’s there, but she just drops a flower on his grave and gives his dad “the look” then leaves like no one acknowledges her!
And then she leads the song of purple summer so it’s kind of her being her almighty spiritual self and whatnot idk IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE OK THINK ABOUT IT THE WRITERS OF THIS SHOW ARE SUCH GENIUS’ THAT IT COULD TOTALLY MAKE SENSE. ASL;DFJSLKD.

[bethyd]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 10:54pm

Yes that's the post that my friend discovered, and she came to me to validate it. But this theory has been bounced around since the earliest days of the show.

I do believe that the Sater/Sheik/Mayer team wrote Ilse to be alive and well in their incarnation of the show. The letter was their proof of this.

I just swear I read something somewhere where the creative team addressed the theory/idea during the development process, and it's been bugging me. I want to say that an early version of the show had Ilse written as such, so they wrote the letter scene to cement their stance? Something like that? I don't remember if it was a book, article, podcast, video or WHAT I read it in. Maybe I just imagined it?

[addsername]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 11:09pm

is there something pertaining to it in SA In The Flesh? Or maybe (but unlikely) in A Purple Summer? I'm gonna go do my research.

[ReggieonBway]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 11:47pm

She definitely speaks directly to the other girls around the end of the show, so that's not accurate.

[FlowerChild67]

Posted: 4/3/13 at 11:57pm

Errr... wait? 1st, was that post from Tumblr? It seems like a Tumblr thing... And I want to reblog it. (God, I lead a pathetic existence)

2nd: OP: "There are also ideas connecting Ilse with the Masked Man of the original play. But that doesn't quite work either. She's kind of the anti-Masked Man as she represents hope"

Maybe I'm bad at interpreting things, but doesn't the Masked Man, as well, represent hope? He represented, to me, when I read Spring Awakening, hope, and reason, and , if you take into consideration the fact Wedekind PLAYED the Masked Man, kind of the way society SHOULD think? (Wow, I'm bad at putting my thoughts into words, sorry!): )

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 5:16am

^No, not at all.

[bethyd]

Posted: 4/4/13 at 10:12am

I've checked both the Purple Summer and In the Flesh Books, with no luck. I'm not surprised though, because they're both fairly recent. I knew of this theory long before.

I'd love to know more about the development of Ilse throughout the creative process. How she came to be.

Posted: 4/4/13 at 10:29am

I thought it was fairly obvious that Ilse was really a dude.

[DEClarke]

Posted: 4/5/13 at 10:24am

Ilse is not dead. Ilse is isolated in an artist's community. Her sordid and terrible life is the very reason Moritz commits suicide. He doesn't want to be isolated and have to live on the outskirts of town. He doesn't want to be fringe society. He refuses to go home with her because he doesn't want to be trapped in her life.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 4/5/13 at 11:29am

That post is a good example of why Tumblr can irritate the hell out of me. It's possible to discuss a new theory without going "OMGGGG IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE GUYS"

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 4/5/13 at 11:45am

I feel like Ilse is Moritz's one last chance at life, which he rejects. In the play, Ilse lives a bohemian, borderline libertine life outside of the bourgeoisie (as did Wedekind) which stifles the children.