The literal meaning is the story of a medieval town leader (burger meister = town master) trying to deal with an outbreak of madness in the townsfolk, and his determination and self-doubt.
Underneath that, though, I think, is an allegory about the natural human panic at being thrown out of our depth, having our idea of how the world works challenged on a profound level, and being frightened of change.
I think both the literal and allegorical stories are sly references to parents being freaked out by how their children dance (and, by extension, their music, their speech, their morals, and so on).
The literal meaning is the story of a medieval town leader (burger meister = town master) trying to deal with an outbreak of madness in the townsfolk, and his determination and self-doubt.
Underneath that, though, I think, is an allegory about the natural human panic at being thrown out of our depth, having our idea of how the world works challenged on a profound level, and being frightened of change.
I think both the literal and allegorical stories are sly references to parents being freaked out by how their children dance (and, by extension, their music, their speech, their morals, and so on).