The subtitle of [Gross und klein (Big and Little)] is simply "Scenes," and the titles of these ten scenes are quite disparate ("Morocco," "Night Watch," "Ten Rooms," et cetera). Given these indications and the stage setting of the first scene (a hotel dining room with a partially shuttered window, with one character overhearing a conversation carried on outside), the wary reader expects yet another series of disjointed utterances about the present malaise and the lack of communication between people. In fact, the play does incorporate such statements, and it is so disparate that, except for one central character, none of the many other characters appears in more than one scene.

But what a central character! Her name is Lotte, she is in her mid-thirties, separated from her husband, was once a physical therapist and is now a graphic artist of sorts. As one watches her wandering from place...