EveStar91's Reviews > Copenhagen

Bohr: But the question is always, What does the mathematics mean, in plain language? What are the philosophical implications?

Michael Frayn tries to explore the personal aspects of Heisenberg's visit to the Bohr couple during the second world war in the play Copenhagen, delving into the psyche of the three people each with their own interpretations of the events leading up to the atomic bomb.

Heisenberg: Bohr, I have to know! I’m the one who has to decide! If the Allies are building a bomb, what am I choosing for my country? You said it would be easy to imagine that one might have less love for one’s country if it’s small and defenceless. Yes, and it would be another easy mistake to make, to think that one loved one’s country less because it happened to be in the wrong.

Copenhagen is both the discussion of the quantum mechanical principles and breakthroughs in the early 20th century as well as the personal motivations and interests of the people involved. I've enjoyed both watching the play performed when I was younger and reading it recently in more detail. The play discusses (and shows) not just the events of those years, but also the characters and their growth brilliantly.

Margrethe (Bohr): Because everything is personal! You’ve just read us all a lecture about it! You know how much Heisenberg wanted a chair. You know the pressure he was under from his family. I’m sorry, but you want to make everything seem heroically abstract and logical. And when you tell the story, yes, it all falls into place, it all has a beginning and a middle and an end. But I was there, and when I remember what it was like I’m there still, and I look around me and what I see isn’t a story! It’s confusion and rage and jealousy and tears and no one knowing what things mean or which way they’re going to go.

As a quantum physicist, I appreciated the discussion of the breakthroughs in the field at the time and what came to be known as the Copenhagen interpretation, but more than that, I was riveted by the human perspective of the occurrences and actions, showing that science is never completely detached from us, our lives and our choices. Recommended for anyone who enjoys philosophical discussions - the morality and ethics of advances in science and technology, and what human do with it.

Margrethe: That was the last and greatest demand that Heisenberg made on his friendship with you. To be understood when he couldn’t understand himself. And that was the last and greatest act of friendship for Heisenberg that you performed in return. To leave him misunderstood.

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[One star for the premise and the whole play; One star for the characters and their perspectives; One star for the plot and discussion of events; One star for the world-building and description of that period; One star for the writing and introspection - Five stars in total.]