Christian Faith
Critics agree that the character of Sigismund in von Hofmannsthal’s play represents the figure of a Christian martyr. Various characters, particularly the physician, directly refer to him in such terms. Upon his initial examination of Sigismund, the physician declares that he is the essence of ‘‘the highest earthly virtues.’’ When he is asked to look upon an image of Christ on the cross, Sigismund ‘‘looks at it for a long time, mimics the posture, with spread-out arms.’’ When Julian is attempting to convince Sigismund to take the elixir that will make him sleep so that he may awaken to a new life, Julian tells him, ‘‘the chosen one is born twice,’’ thus comparing Sigismund to ‘‘the chosen one,’’ Jesus Christ. Once Sigismund has taken the elixir, Anton cries out, ‘‘he has a halo above his face!’’ and he refers to him as ‘‘my saintly blessed martyrized—’’ before he is interrupted by Julian. When the impoverished rebels face Sigismund, declaring their loyalty to him, a man ‘‘almost naked,’’ calls him a ‘‘Lamb of God.’’ Aron claims that images of Sigismund have been spread throughout the country, ‘‘and they light candles before it as before an ikon.’’ In other words, Sigismund’s image is worshipped as an icon, an image of God.

The physician further describes Sigismund as a Christian martyr, demanding, ‘‘Look over the whole world: it has nothing nobler than what confronts us in this human being.’’ Alfred Schwarz explains that the character of Sigismund ‘‘imposes the role of savior on a time-bound creature’’; furthermore, ‘‘his name and figure have stirred messianic hopes in the hearts of the poor and the oppressed. He is the nameless beggar king who comes in chains to deliver them.’’ According to Schwarz, von Hofmannsthal’s characterization of Sigismund provides a vision of ‘‘the salvation of humanity.’’

Politics and Power
A central theme of this play is the nature of power in the role of world politics. The struggles between the various key characters are essentially political struggles over who has the power to rule over the people of a nation. The king has imprisoned his son for fear that Sigismund will rise up and usurp him in a rebellion. As the play opens, rebellion is growing throughout the land, despite the fact that Sigismund is locked away in the tower and unaware of his royal heritage. The named successor to the king has died in a hunting accident, thus leaving the throne in question. Julian hopes to seat the twentyone- year-old Sigismund as the rightful heir. Julian sends out other men to stir up rebellion in support of Sigismund. However, Oliver, one of Julian’s men, takes charge of the rebellion, ultimately killing both Julian and Sigismund.

Critics have referred to Oliver as a ‘‘demagogue,’’ a false leader of the people because he usurps Sigismund’s power while maintaining the loyalty of the rebels who support Sigismund. Toward the end of the play, Oliver plans to find a man who looks like Sigismund and parade him through the streets so no one will know that he has actually killed the young prince.

Although Sigismund has been raised in imprisonment, without knowledge of his royal heritage, he both fears and strives to obtain power. Sigismund’s urge to exert his power over others is expressed even within his cage as he strives to overcome and dominate the beasts and insects that plague him: ‘‘Beasts are of many kinds, all rushing at me. I cry: Not too close! Wood lice, worms, toads, goblins, vipers! All want to fall upon me. I beat them to death.’’ When he is brought...