Minna von Barnhelm

or the Soldier's Happiness

by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

in the Great House

Major von Tellheim has just returned from the Seven Years' War. However, as he has been dishonorably discharged from the army due to accusations of corruption, he is stranded penniless and deeply aggrieved in an inn that he can only pay for on credit. He is therefore not particularly pleased when he bumps into his fiancée, who had gone looking for him, at the inn. He is ashamed of not being able to offer her prosperity and would prefer to call off the wedding. But his bride-to-be - the wealthy Minna von Barnhelm - does not let up. Through a clever game of confusion, she and her servant Franziska manage to trick the offended Tellheim into marrying her after all.

With "Minna von Barnhelm",Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729-1781) wrote one of the most famous comedies of the Enlightenment, which is still part of the standard repertoire of German theater today. The theme of the play is still relevant today: are prestige and wealth linked to gender?