In the theater, the modern woman made her first appearance. Here, the relationship between the sexes was redefined. When Gertrud Eysoldt entered the scene, hunched and with her hair down, she embodied the entire misery of Electra. Hugo von Hofmannsthal had written the role specifically for her. He referred to actresses as the "interpreters of the new emotional behavior." Twenty years later, Bert Brecht is a playwright and director. With Helene Weigel and Carola Neher, he presents the cold woman who also thinks of utility in love. Neher and Weigel are Brecht's instruments of an art that is also politics in the 20th century: This alliance is the subject of Karin Wieland's new book.