David und Goliath

   by Georg Kaiser

   Premiered 1922. Kaiser's "David" of the title is a small bank clerk named Möller and "Goliath" is a brewery owner named Magnussen. The play takes place in Denmark, where David is the embodiment of petty bourgeois honesty and unpretentiousness. Magnussen has helped Möller buy a lottery ticket, which later comes up a winner. Magnussen meanwhile has gone broke and employs all manner of ruses to get what he considers "his" share of the winnings. Möller resists him at every turn, even when Magnussen offers Möller his daughter in exchange for cash. They are already in love, but Möller is appalled by the offer. When he discovers that the girl is actually poor, Möller accepts her and comes to her father's aid, his distaste for him notwithstanding.