Where have they come from?

What is their state of being?

Fraulein Schneider's state of being is working as a land lady, renting out spare rooms in her flat to members of the public. We learn this from the opening character list. The introduction to Schneider in the play comes in Act one, Scene three, where her state of being comes into force introducing Cliff to what will hopefully turn out to be his room. The director of the script doesn't inform you straight away of what Schneider's state of being is therefore you have to read between the lines to invent this. In the scene before, Ernst Ludwig is trying to convince Cliff Bradshaw to stay in the finest residence in Berlin. The description given is that the rooms are inexpensive and awful. This creates imagery of a small room, barely there furniture and grey tones. The director then gives contrast to this by introducing Fraulein Schneider dressed in a flowered dressing gown, which gives an impression of something hopeful. Schneider's overall state of being in Act one Scene three, is one of desperation. She has to convince Cliff Bradshaw to stay in her rooms, leading her to reduce the price. Once the deal has been made, Schneider breaks into verse which gives the scene some context as to how Schneider is in that situation. It shows her attitude towards taking in guests, 'The fifty that I will get Is fifty more than I had yesterday'. (Masteroff J (1955). Cabaret. New York: Tams-witmark Music Library Inc. 43. Page 12) This shows her attitude towards taking any money that she can get, which reflects upon the hardship that was Germany at the time. Furthermore, it gives context to her earlier life, 'And I had a maid doing all of the housework, not me.' (Masteroff J (1955). Cabaret. New York: Tams-witmark Music Library Inc. 43. Page 12) The quote here shows that Schneider once had a life of luxury, but her state of being has changed, perhaps after the war. 

Her state of being possibly changed once her man died. 'Now I have what he missed and my figure is trim But he lies in a churchyard plot'. (Masteroff J (1955). Cabaret. New York: Tams-witmark Music Library Inc. 43. Page 12)  The interpretation I get from this is that Schneider and her man wanted to open up and run together a hotel for people high up in society, this being what he has missed and what she now has. Perhaps he died in the war. Schneider comments that her fortune has gone, this is understandable as it became harder to live in Germany with the sanctions placed upon them. This meant that the rich would have left the country to get more money for their worth, leaving Schneider with less valued persons to rent her rooms. Perhaps with the death of her loved one, she lost money that would have been his wage. With the bills that come with running an establishment it is easy to see how she would have lost her money. The state of being in the verse is one of sadness as Schneider reflects on her time. From this verse we can see how she does have a lot of life experience, experiencing both the poor and rich side of life. 'It all goes on. So who cares?' (Masteroff J (1955). Cabaret. New York: Tams-witmark Music Library Inc. 43. Page 13)