St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-25
TRlLBY-AN ESTIMATE.

TRlLBY-AM ESTIMATE.
One of the charms of ''Trilby'' is that
the characters are unusual and that
apparently, with the exception of
Svengali, they are all raised above the
petty cares and vesations which beset
humanity. Their lives flow on solely
under the impulse of inclination. I'M
fretted by any stones in the way.
SvengaH alone feels life's struggle; he
alone is susceptible to the stings of
fortune, and in this respect he is the
most human character in the book.
Du Maurier does not succeed in his
caring attempt to raise Trilby to the
helghts. He has chosen a most difficult
subject, and he has not treated it with
the strength and definiteness of a great
master. We all have in our minds
ideal characters that have left an i'm
preston never to be forgotten and
whose pulse beats seem to throb under
our touch. The author has given but
a vague idea of what Trilby felt, and
consequently our faith in her is weak
Her death is not tragic in the sense
that 1t is the result of a great soul
struggling with fate-it is simply the
result of the long-continued and I'M
natural hypnotic state. And so the
death of Little Billee; we think of it as
the result of some inherited physical
weakness and not in any way due to
emotions battled against, or mental
and moral victories won.
In studying work of art or fiction
it is interesting to note the combina-
ton of realism and idealism, for both
of these elements always enter into a
production of any refinement.
In Italian opera the plot is often
most natural and simple, but it is
worked out in an artificial manner.
The music does not carry the meaning
of the words, and the action is over
strained, as. for example, the confed-
crates stride, which has come to be
more amusing than anything else. Wag-
ner, for his operas, has selected the
highest OSCILLATIONS of Germany. and
then, holding them in the firm grasp
of his genius, he clothed them with the
flesh and blood of reality. The music
speaks for itself, and all the surround
ings are in harmony with the theme.
The plot of "Cavalleria Rusticana" is
intensely and brutality realistic. and
was taken from the police reports. The
music idealiZes the plot. 1t is quite
Wagnerian, and could be adapted to
the classical mythology used by the
great German composer. These two
elements of realism and idealism that
are so easily analysed in the operas
are both combined in 'Trilby," but
without the aid of music. | is partly
on this account and partly because the
OSCILLATIONS are wanting in strength
and refinement that it is more difficult
to separate them. Du Maurier has
surrounded his OSCILLATIONS with the
natural, every detail of which has
been measured by the eye of an artist.so
that many of his readers are quite con-
WINGED that|it is all true to life The
story is told in an easy, unconventional
manner, just as if he were talking to
some old friends from the Latin quar-
tier. He INDUCES in ratrospection with
them, and anticipates his story at his
own sweet will, with most charming
camaradeTie.
In Svengali we have Mephistopheles
disguised as a musician, and instead of
having at his command the religious
miracle, he is master of the scientific
miracle. To those who consider the
hypnotic phenomena of the story
highly imaginary, the character of
Svengali presents the most wonderful
description of the powers of a musi-
cal genius known in literature So
vivid and definite were his emotions
and so supernatural his musical sense
that he gave them a second birth and
made them live in Trilby. His must
cal temperament spoke through q
human instrument, and sWayed the
world with it's divine harmony.
Looked at from this point of view,
it weakened the story when, at the
end Svengali's portrait exercised the
same power over Trilby, and answered
every purpose just as well as the liv-
ing musician. Scientifically, there is
some foundation for the portrait cauS-
ing a recurrence of the hypnotic state.
The hypnotic subject, after each Oper-
alton, becomes more responsive to the
influence, until at last simple SuggeS-
ton will reproduce states Of con-
seriousness that have been induced at
previous times by the operator Just
as in a chronic ailment a very slight
thing will bring back the old condi-
ton This fact of hypnotism lends it
self most readily to the practice Of
deception upon the public. AS l wish
to be clear on this point, ] will illus
trate. A hypnotiZer causes Il subject,
by means of vivid description and the
use of his powers, to have q mental
vision of perhaps a visit to the moon.
This is done repeatedly in private with
out ever varying the programme. FL
nally a public exhibition is held, and
at simple suggestion or word the
subject goes through the scene, much
to the amaZement of the audience.
The study of SvengaH's character
teaches that the influence of art may
be evil as well as good. Music. the most
incorporeal and spirituellc of all the
arts, and the art that more than any
other dominates the present age, does
not always elevate. Music is the Ian
guage of the emotions, and when we
add to this that it is the most eXacting
of all the arts, and will not be neglect
ed for a single day. we can well under
stand that the dominion of so jealous
a mistress might, in many cases, have
an injurious effect on the character I
think it is told of Won BuloW that he
made the following observation: IF I
do not practice for one day | know it
if L do not practice for two days my
friends know it, and if I do not practice
for three days my audiences know it."
The life of musician is often a sad
one; it is out Of the life common to all:
it is out of touch with the world at
large. No one, no matter how talent
ed, should aspire to this life unless he
is possessed of a brave and lofty spirit.
JOSIE GREVE OppENIIEIM.
Won Rc;I.I Head