Woyzeck's story as an omen

Although unfinished, Büchner closes the play with Woyzeck attempting to pacify his bastard child, not, as stated by William Reeve, with “the conclusion arbitrarily added” by the first editor of his plays, wherein the protagonist commits suicide (138). Arguably, Büchner means to covey Woyzeck’s compassion for his child to offset the reader’s assumed perception of the psychotic murderer. Perhaps this last attempt to develop a loving relationship with his son acts both as a sympathy eliciting device and to portray Woyzeck’s insane, yet compassionate, mind. Overlooked by his best friend, humiliated by his captain, tormented by his doctor, embarrassed by a stronger man, and given the cold shoulder by his ladylove, Woyzeck’s thoughts overtake his sense of morality. He consequently commits a heinous crime, ridding the world of his child’s mother. Because issues such as poverty, social degradation, calloused authority figures and unfaithful partners permeate the play, readers may focus on these as Büchner’s thematic statement; however, the author emphasizes Woyzeck’s mental unhealthiness, brought about by over-thinking, as the source of his character’s demise. If not intended as a warning, readers can certainly gather the underlying meaning of Büchner’s Woyzeck: one’s own thoughts, if allowed to run rampant, can create a maddening world.

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