There is no doubt about Paul Ernst's talent for writing novellas and short stories. His dramas, however, are not of equal value with his narrative works. The meaning behind the plots of his more than two dozen colorful one-act plays, comedies, and tragedies often eludes readers and viewers alike. The dramas present an ideologically erratic spirit which was also reflected in Ernst's personal struggles with political and aesthetic issues.

Karl Friedrich Paul Ernst was born on 7 March 1866 in Elbingerode to Johann Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst, a mine foreman, and Charlotte Dittmann Ernst. In 1885 he studied theology and philosophy at the universities of Göttingen and Tübingen. In the fall of 1886 he moved to Berlin, where he joined the literary society "Durch" (Through) and became involved in the socialist movement. He studied history, literature, and economics at the universities of Berlin and Bern, receiving his doctorate...