Sternheim, Carl

Sternheim, Carl (kärl shtĕrn`hīm), 1878–1943, German dramatist. In his successful comedy Die Hose (1911, tr. A Pair of Drawers, 1927) and in his later works he satirized as corrupt the manners, morals, and beliefs of bourgeois society. Other works include the plays Bürger Schippel (1913) and Die Marquise von Arcis (1919, tr. The Mask of Virtue, 1935); the novel Fairfax (1921, tr. 1923), which satirized American life; and stories and critical essays. Sternheim's work had an influence on German expressionism. In the Nazi era he lived in Switzerland.