Matthias Fuchs: Esslin

Lola

Esslin

Esslin: [First lines] He who has no house shall not build one. He who is alone shall long remain so...
Lola: Why do you only read me sad poems?
Esslin: Poetry is always sad.
Lola: And why's that? Why can't it be funny for once?
Esslin: Because a poem comes from the soul. And the soul is sad.
Lola: Is it? And why is that? Nitwit.
Esslin: Because the soul knows more than the mind. That's why it's sad.
Lola: Strange. For me, it's the other way around. For me, the mind knows more than the soul.

Esslin: I won't allow you to destroy yourself.
Von Bohm: You can't stop me. Would you stand in someone's way who has discovered the truth? The whole is rotten, not just parts, so the whole must be tackled.
Esslin: You'll just look ridiculous.
Von Bohm: Me? I'll make the rules of the game look ridiculous, the whole dishonest system. It scars people and warps them and makes them sick!

Schukert: Maybe I should wash my hands, too. Lola will be glad to see me with clean hands, don't you think?
Esslin: You hands will never be clean, no matter how often you wash.

Esslin: Lola, he's no man for you.
Lola: He's no man for me? He's no man for me? Well, maybe - I'm a woman for him!

Esslin: Would you want to live in a world that has lost all morality? Where there's only evil and depravity and corruption?
Lola: Gladly.

Von Bohm: Giving Capital a helping hand isn't so easy. Hence the need for overtime.
Esslin: One man puts in overtime, while another puts profits in the bank. To each his own.
Von Bohm: That's what I always say. What about you? What does the humanist do after work?
Esslin: I'm member of a group against rearmament. Is that really of interest to you?
Von Bohm: Very much so. I'm always intrigued by fruitless passions.
Esslin: In another group we're studying Bakunin. He wrote a very interesting essay on land and property.
Von Bohm: Uh huh? And what was his conclusion?
Esslin: That the earth belongs to everyone, not just a few.
Von Bohm: I don't understand. It obviously belongs to just a few, not to everyone. Does he really mean it, or is it just wishful thinking on Mr. Bakunin's part?
Esslin: It's reality in a higher sense.
Von Bohm: Very good. I understand. That's why we complement each other so well: you're busy with reality in a higher sense, while I'm busy with reality in a lower sense.
Esslin: I dream, and you act. That's what you mean.
Von Bohm: You think, and I function. That's what you mean.
Esslin: And Schuckert profits! That's what I mean. With your permission, I'll be going now.
Von Bohm: Personally, I think it's good that there's one who dreams while all the others work. But you won't believe that.
Esslin: No.