“Mein Blut wird heiß, mein Zorn drängt sich hervor”: Humoral Pathology and Physiognomics in Klinger’s Die Zwillinge

Abstract

In humoral medicine, the humors—blood, phlegm, black bile, yellow bile—exist in equilibrium in healthy individuals. Temperaments arise when one humor predominates. Friedrich Maximilian Klinger’s tragedy Die Zwillinge (1776) portrays its protagonist as suffering from an uncontrolled choleric temperament, a sickness that erupts into brutal violence. Lavater’s theories of physiognomics play a role, too, as characters exhibit a scientific gaze focusing microscopically on specific body parts in order to “read” their temperamental meaning. This article expands the critical discussion of Die Zwillinge by demonstrating the centrality of humoral pathology and Lavater’s physiognomics to the play’s pedagogical aesthetics. Guelfo’s imbalanced choleric temperament causes death and the destruction of the dynasty. Grimaldi’s imbalanced melancholic temperament exacerbates Guelfo’s pathology, and the ducal family’s humoral equilibrium is insufficient to heal Guelfo. Lavaterian physiognomics aids audiences in interpreting the play’s humoral-pathological content so that the warning message of Die Zwillinge is conveyed. (EP)