The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-05-18
RECENT FICTION.

OF the writers who have possessed
sufficient vitality to form the basis Of a
school or "cult," the German, Hermann
Sudermann, ranks among the first. He
Is mastery realist, who utilizes his
powers Of analysis, not, as do Howells
and James. in photographing the COM
monplace. but in depicting the funda-
mental human passions, from the
standpoint of the surgeon who enjoys
seeing his patient writhe and rave. Mr..
Howells shuns strong emotion as he
would shun strong liquor or a pesti-
lence, Sudermann, on the contrary. Is
never at his happiest until he is insert
Ing his keen and glittering scalpel into
the very heart Of his characters. and
laying bare, in their elemental
strength, the cardinal motives Of hu-
man conduct. 1t matters little that
most persons do not care to be forever
transfixed in fascination at the awful
inner tragedies of life. Sudermann
transfixes them, just the same. 1t is his
business his profession. Those who do
not care to shudder need not buy his
books.
Perhaps one Of the most powerful of
Sudermann's shorter tales Is his novel,
1.-THE WISH" an excellent translation
OF which has Just been published by
u. Appleton & Co. The theme of 1t Is
easily recapitulated. Olga manages
things SO that her sister Martha shall
marry Robert Hellinger. Then she dis
covers that she loves Robert herself.
Olga is not wanton, but a pure
minded, resolute woman, with perhaps
Ovarf,1Irc nf trt, to
stifie her impossible passion, and, sis
ter-like, with all tenderness nurses
Martha during an illness following the
birth Of Martha's child. But while
Olga Is at the bedside of her dying
sister, Robert wearied with long
vigil, falls asleep and his head drops
upon Olga's shoulder. The magnetic
force Of this physical contact so far
gets the better Of Olgas conscience
that she finds herself, in spite of her
self, wishing that her sister might die.
1t transpires that Martha does die; and
that after her death Robert, awaken
Ing to the fact Of Olga's love, seeks to
marry her. She consents: the day is
fixed; but alone with her conscience
Olga meets her Nemesis, and feeling
herself guilty as If she had been lit
orally her sisters murderer, she puts
an end to her life.
The strength Of Sudermann's writing
lies not in details of plot, which look
tame enough when articulated skele-
tonwlse; it Is to be found in the electric
force Of his descriptions, in the hys.
terra Of his all-searchng scrutinies of
the human soul. His characters do not
live nd hraa 4 boa :, Il n 4 1,
rational beings should; they resemble
rather the inmates of an insane asylum
suddenly bereft of keepers and turned
loose into the corridors, to form their
own desired degree of bedlam. To de-
plct the vagaries of minds diseased Is
no light task. 1t calls for the incest
skill, lest a shade too little or daub
too much turn all into ridicule. Suder-
mann is genius enough to work serious
~ and effectively. While the book is
before you, you are bound to bow down
to its potent spell. But when you lay
1t aside, and try to look at the char
acters in 1t as becomes well-regulated
citizen with at least an average Nine
teenth-century intellect, the conviction
dawns upon you that the company of
monomaniacs Is not a thing to be
wished for as daily circumstance.
To the average mind there does not
appear to be a sufficient reason for the
existence Of the book Melting Shows"
by Prince Schoenaich- Carolath, the
English edition Of which, by Margaret
Symonds, is published by Dodd, Mead
q Co., New York, and Is for sale by NJ.
Norton, Scranton. The title Is infeli-
cbtous; the theme commonplace and the
treatment mediocre. Bent Sorenson,
son of rigid Lutheran pastor, falls
IN love with Giacinta Galieri, the niece
of an Italian singer; Giacinta in time
develops wonderful voice and under
the patronage of the hofrath makes
her first public appearance, singing the
part Of Undine Bent worships her at
a distance, fights a duel with a soldier
who spoke lightly Of his adored, Is Sc
riously wounded. and when he emerges
from long idleness finds that Giacinta
has in the interim welded the hofrath
Thereupon our hero takes his leave Of
u.s. the author assuring us that, having
been an Indifferent civil engineer, the
lad would now become an Indifferent
poet. Upon such a skeleton it is OBJ
viously out Of the question to hang an
acceptable story.
In 1.-THE Impregnable City" published
by the same firm, Max Pemberton has
written a clever satire upon anarchy
The Count Andrea Jovanowitz, a dis
ciple OF Tolstoi, having been induced
to favor a general overturning Of the
existing order of things because of the
rigorous punishment meted out by the
Russian government to his brother dis
covers In the South sea a magic island,
with submarine entrance gate, in
valuable gold deposits, caves, tunnels,
springs of fire and other wonderful
qualities. In this island he establishes
colony OF refuge for miscellaneous
criminals Things progress admirably
until one OF the criminals betrays the
islands location; 1t is attacked by
French warships; and when this seige
Is lifted an uprising Of the vicious ele-
ment puts an end to the "impregnable
city and to the counts dreams Of
revolutionizing mankind's idea of gov
ernment. The novel Is full of incident
has many deft touches, and is sufficient
ly out Of the beaten path to appeal to
all who can appreciate novelty in fic-
ton.
Lillian Bells Little Sister to the
wilderness" (exquisitely printed and
bound by Stone & Kimball, Chicago)
takes US into picturesque district in
the western Tennessee, at once chal-
lenging comparison with Miss Muir
frees admirable creations. But the
challenge is well sustained. The "little
sister" Is a rough jewel Of girl named
Mag, the daughter Of an ignorant,
drink-loving mountaineer,-one of
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