Egon Wolff was a Chilean playwright and author. Born in Santiago, he was educated in Chile and the United States.
Early life
Egon Wolff was born into a middle-class family of German immigrants, to parents who espoused traditional family values and encouraged traditional work ethics. During his childhood Wolff suffered periods of ill health and turned to reading; he read the classics of world literature to escape the boredom of being sick and bedridden. At the age of 16 Wolff produced his first novel, El Ocaso. Wolff studied and graduated in chemical engineering from the Universidad Catolica de Chile and subsequently studied performing arts at Yale University in the United States.
Chilean theatre
The formation of the Teatro Experimental de la Universidad de Chile in 1941, followed by the founding of the Teatro del Ensayo de la Universidad Catolica in 1943 created a qualitative change in Chilean theatre. Like many of his contemporaries in the 1950s his career begins to take form within this University theatre; he begins to develop a career with a more technical and artistic rigor which – unlike previous commercial theatre – led as much to the production of theatre as it did to the creation of new theatre groups.
Method and themes
Wolff had a unique and expressive literary style full of patterns, and unexpected twists and turns. Often the first scene in a play is like the last, creating a continuous and complete cycle. Though his themes are universal, his style and work are full of references to aspects of Chilean culture. He was famous for the use of the fourth wall. Wolff’s work gravitates towards socialneo-realism in which he portrays the seemingly complex behavior and conflicts between individual as ultimately yielding to forces in their environment. Consequently, his work harbors social, political and existential themes such as conflict between social classes and between different generation groups; the moral decay and the decadence of certain social groups. His work also touches on the negative effects social conventions can have on the existence of individuals. In some works Wolff presents two social groups that have ideas and life situations that are opposed and in struggle with each other, and by the end of work only one of these tends to prevail. He writes about the human condition the destructive nature of social forces which at times blends with magical realism that allows situations to alternate between reality and fantasy. In one of his most famous works, Pareja de trapos, the two protagonists represent the pride and prejudice of the aristocracy and the opportunism of the middle classes which in order to climb proves itself capable of anything, including immoral or criminal acts. In Los Invasores a luxurious residence is invaded and occupied by a group of homeless beggars in this work the audience is unable to fully determine if the event is a real or merely a “nightmare”. Through this thematic medium Wolff produces a profound critique of society.
