Abscense in Schiller: The "Deus Absconditus" and the Executor ("Wallenstein" and "Wilhelm Tell")

Abstract

The connection between Schiller’s dramas and the reflections developed in his philosophical and historical writings are a highly problematic question. Simplifying, it can be said that the philosophical texts project Schillerian ideals and the historical ones reflect his psychological knowledge of human beings. This tension between the ideal and reality is manifested, among other constellations, in that of absence. In Wallenstein and Wilhelm Tell, the leads are out of action for much of the plot. The character of Wallenstein is absent as a deus absconditus that will be revealed to have failed, whereas the character of Tell as an executor who leaves the collective of his people exempt from with guilt.