The motif of the spendthrift (overwhelmingly pejorative), was used as the antithesis of thrift and assessed quite differently. In German-speaking Europe, it was canonized by the moralizing fairy tale of the same name (Der Verschwender) by Ferdinand Raimund, first staged in 1834. The eponymous hero epitomizes the failed wealthy parvenu with little insight into human nature (based in part on the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son). The …