The Truth of the Law. Reflections in the Margin of a Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s Short Story

The following reflections are inspired by a short story by Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1921-1990), who is unanimously considered, together with Brecht, as the greatest dramatist in Germany of the second post-war period. There is, however, an important difference that sets him apart from Brecht and this is despite the fact that Dürrenmatt did study and, in fact, ended up sharing many of Brecht's theories on epic theatre. This difference stems from the unforeseeability and unconventionality of Dürrenmatt's work that contributed, on a par with one of his countrymen, Max Frisch, to a radical renewal of dramaturgy written in Germany and which offered, in a somewhat grotesque way, a disturbing picture of the shabbiness hiding behind the appearance of respectability of the society in which he lived