"Bahnwärter Thiel" by Gerhart Hauptmann is a novella written in 1887 and published in 1888. This naturalist work follows Thiel, a dutiful railway watchman haunted by his first wife's death. When his domineering second wife mistreats his son Tobias, Thiel retreats into visions while struggling between loyalty and guilt. His isolated world begins to fracture when family life invades his sacred workspace, setting in motion a devastating chain of events that will test the boundaries of his increasingly fragile mind.