Trash professor

Author: Heinrich Mann
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-04-01
Features: The content is about: A teacher named Lepke from a humanities secondary school in a German city has been teaching for twenty-five years. On the surface, he appears righteous, but inwardly, he is despicable and shameless. The students gave him the nickname "Lepke Professor" based on the phonetic similarity of his name. Students, teachers, and even alumni from all over the city, both openly and secretly, called him Lepke Professor. Lepke regarded the students as enemies and particularly targeted three students in his class—Loman, von Erlchum, and Kieserak—as thorns in his eyes, frequently locking them up for trivial reasons. Once, Lepke discovered a poem praising the courtesan Rosa Freylich in Loman's composition notebook and deemed it morally corrupt. To find grounds for punishing Loman, he searched the entire city for Rosa Freylich. He finally found her at a low-class entertainment venue called "Blue Angel," where he was immediately captivated by her charming beauty. Afterward, he visited the Blue Angel every day, competing with his own students for Rosa's favor, showering her with compliments, assisting her with changing clothes, and applying makeup. Rosa went on a trip with Loman and others, destroyed a giant's tomb, and caused a lawsuit. Lepke also became involved due to Rosa and was disgraced, forcing him to retire early. Lepke eventually married Rosa and moved to a house outside the city. From then on, he was completely under Rosa's control. His home became a rendezvous for Rosa to seduce men in the city. After spending all his savings, Lepke had to rely on gambling and Rosa's prostitution to make a living. This corrupt place led to the bankruptcy of many families, and some wealthy and respectable citizens also fell into it and couldn't escape, making the entire city chaotic and filled with public discontent. One day, Rosa accidentally encountered Loman, who had just returned from abroad and was in fine attire, in the city. She invited him to meet when Lepke was not at home. As Rosa and Loman were having a rendezvous at home, Lepke suddenly burst in, consumed by jealousy, and attempted to kill Rosa, even snatching Loman's wallet. Loman reported the incident to the police, who arrived to arrest Lepke and also took Rosa Freylich, who had been harming the citizens. The entire city breathed a sigh of relief and cheered, "Finally, a truck of garbage has been removed!" This novel uses a satirical and exaggerated style to expose and criticize the fascist brainwashing education system and the ugly social reality under the rule of Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, which destroyed human nature. The novel has a subtitle: "The End of a Tyrant." Since the background of the novel is the era when German capitalism was transitioning to monopolistic capitalism, the Lepke Professor in the author's portrayal is not just an individual but represents his entire class, reflecting the hypocrisy and decline of the feudal aristocracy and bourgeoisie in late 19th-century Germany: they were hypocritical and decadent themselves but accused others of moral corruption; they used autocratic and oppressive means to consolidate military-state rule and brainwash the younger generation, punishing them with confinement for any transgression or using their power to ruin the futures of young people. Lepke treated his students like a "tyrant." However, the Lepke who had reigned wildly was short-lived. The end of this tyrant Lepke also symbolized the end of German imperialism.