The Broken Jug by Heinrich von Kleist

The Broken Jug:
A Dramatic Comedy about Thwarted Rape
by Heinrich von Kleist,
translated from Der zerbrochene
Krug (1811) by Eric v.d. Luft

From the translator's introduction:
"Eve, an ingenue, is in love with Robert, a deserving
young man. Adam lusts after Eve. Adam wants to send
Robert into the army - or at least threaten to do so -
to get rid of him. He blackmails Eve with this threat.
This reminds us of King David sending Uriah to war
so that David would be free to seduce Uriah's wife,
Bathsheba. The comedy suggests underlying sorrow.
Plain laughter is purification, but laughing at
someone or something is derision. There is plenty
of both in this play. Its sorrow, as well as its
comedy, derives from its focus on three of the
Seven Deadly Sins: arrogance, wrath, and
especially lust."