The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-06-14

later "a Or his soul In the old-world wood o
Broceliande. Joyzeile is proof against th'
most insidous temptations, and IN tht
trial by faith she energies triumphantly
Merlin suddenly commands her TO looi
around and she will zee Lunceor held cap
tive in the arms of another She movet
away without turning her head, thus avert
ing the fate of second Lots wife. Inc
spectator, drugged by this time, begins
to wonder II this paragon has an Achilles
heel, or, like Sieqfvied, If her back be WI
nerable. Merlin is quite as env1ous' ioi
in the next trial he causes Ldnceor-poo'
Lanceor!-to be brought nigh deaths door
and Jovsehie, rendered desperate, throws
herself at the cruel parents feet. she
promises TO fulfil any condition he may
see fit in his caprice to impose. Impose
one he does. If Lnnceor is restored to
health will she become Meriin'' bride in
stead OF the sons? This, it must be ad-
mitted, is a very ingenious form OF torture.
and vet, when in the bigness OF her soul,
Ja,.elle acquesces We feel that another
bead has been pressed in this rosary OF
pain.
How to extricate the girl from her grave
position we do not know. Ldnceor's good
| looks have been spoiled by his illness-a
mere detail for this Unsuitable creature.
| In the last act Merlin lies sleeping, AreHe
| on guard. Joyzelie approaches, her face
set in despair. yet firm in her purpose to
| fulfil her destiny. She has promised.
Ldnceor has been saved. She will pay.
! As she reaches the couch OF the magician
she plucks forth dagger and would have
bloody murder. This Is the supreme test
rather disquieting doctrine to the Passiv-
| lists and gentle persons who feed on Mae
terlinck's balmy PHILOSOPHERS. Love that
does not finch at crime is the keystone
to this little arch OF play. Merlin is
satisfied Joyzelle has undergone his tests.
She is the perfect woman for Laneeor's
perfect love. The two are united, and the
lovely landscape fades from our view like
the misty pictures in a Chopin ballade.
Ideal love is the motive OF this new play,
love that will march to the jaws Of he'll II
needs be, for the beloved one; Orpheus and
Eurydice. Hero and Leander or any enam-
ored couple come TO your memory as the
ingenious JoyzeAs, who has not faint trace
Of humor in her. proceeds gravely to the
unpleasant tasks set her by Merlin.
could not help recalling that Princess Istar.
into Hades and at each OF its seven gates
casts away part Of her belongings. At
the seventh and last gate she has remaining
only her nakedness. Maeterlinck removes
leaf after leaf from the fower.lke soul Of
Joyzelle until its very core is reached. Then
We know her for what she is
While she bears sisterly resemblance
30, y ,,aR, .or, L. -I,4
is nearer related to Norma Vanna in her
Affirmative nature. She is very full-blooded
for a dream maiden, and at times she
showed something of Sardou's tigress-
like creatures. Possibly received this
impression because Georgette Leblanc,
who originated the title role. has evidently
been a close student OF Sarah Bernhard s
methods As is the case with modern
feministe writers-were there ever ancient
ones?--the woman is enthroned. she is the
eternal Womanly. and she has the final
word in the destiny Of things. as in Goethe $
poem Ldnceor does not appear in an
undesirable light. while Merlin represents
| Wisdom and makes very Maeterlinckian
speeches His final words are full Of the
sober dignity We expect from the author
| of Wisdom and Destiny"
In "Joyzelle" the words count for son,e-
| thing, no matter what the author intends
them to convey by the second intention. "
He once wrote "Les homnles ont je ne
sais auelle peur etrange de la beauti. y
This strange fear the young Belgian Merlin
eyokes Of his own accord. We sense the
} beauty but are uncomfortable in its pres.
ence. Human beings or semi-humans must
act to reveal themselves. This they do
in "Joyzelle." There can be no reproach
here of the abuse Of the STATIC. only the
action and words -couched in harmonious
prose-do not summon reality to Ills.
, The dsembodied thoughts of the poet
| are given local habitation and name,
and still they remain thoughts, abstrac-
! tiops: they are not Of our flesh and blood
] but seem to inhabit that Third Kingdom
Ibsen has foretold. More anterior" than
"Monna Wanna" "Joyzelle" is hardly apt
! to be appreciated. feel quite sure that
many of the adjectives lsvished upon it by
the Partisan press were not sincere. As a
race the French cannot be in sympathy
with the gray, slow, poetic images OF this
Belgian mystic.
had read, crossing the Channel, A. B.
WRlkley capltal httle DOCK on DTamatlc
| Criticism" and after the performance OF
-Joyzelle' opened it's pages and saw this
$50, says Coleridge. stage presentations are
| to produce a sort Of temporary half-faith,
which the spectator encourages in himself
and supports by voluntary contribution
on his own part, because he knows that it is
at all times in his power to see the thing
as it really is. Thus the true stage illusion
as to a forest scene consists-not in the
minds judging it to be forest, but in it's
remission Of the Judgment that it is not
a forest
"Joyzelle," then, would be the negation
Of the drama did we not allow for Cole
ridges remission" II we could shut our
eyes to the pure idealism OF ArieHe-or,
rather, let us call her slice out Of modern
psychological see. as the poet intends
lis to do, a little love tale, our enjoyment
would he materially heightened Theories
hamper. So does criticism. And the I'M
happiest critic Of the drama is he who APP
proaches his author consciously. Az in
music, 20 in the Maeterlinckian drama
nothing happens. and II we could be con-
| tent to abandon ourselves on the waves OF
the dramatist's fantasy our pleasure might
be tenfold enhanced. This lie the attitude
| in which one receives music Why not