The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-14

1t will be hoped by many gentle readers
that the merciless analysis of the artistic
| temperament found in What Manner OF
Man. strongly dramatic novel " a ne"
! writer, Edna Kenton. published this week
by the Bobbs-Merrill Company Indianap-
oils. does not apply as general rule to the
members Of the hero's fraternity OF palette
! and brush.
Kirk Thayer the central figure of this
story. is both an interesting and repellant
! personality. The author of What Manner
of Man" has manifested unusual powers of
character delineation in depicting such an
| individuality. and has constructed force
full story as a vehicle for its development.
| But her hero is not q magnetic hero. and
I the storys close. even with its 'rcnuncia-
| tion of attainment. because attainment
had meant a crime of singular cruelty. does
not reconcile us to Kirk Thayer nor leave
I us with any lively hope that he will be able
I TO rise above his temperament.
The dominant motive of the plot. which
( is created by the willingness of Thayer to
sacrifice flesh and blood on the altar of
| his art. is not entirely new but there Is
! originality in the story based on this mo-
! tive. \ very pathetic. well as unusually
picturesque. heroine is Clodah Rohan, who
pays the bitter price of Thayers devotion
10 his ideals, and We grow to love her in
exact proportion to our resentment of
Thaycrs course. and the repugnance which
his character provokes. Cloiah is the type
of woman who loves simply. directly. deep
ly, and with an utter surrender of herself
TO the man she loves. Thayer who makes
her his wife. because she en- he supremacy
useful TO him in his art, is the type OF
man who holds back the best part of his
soul from the woman WHO loves him 1t IL
impossible for him to love a woman great
ly and utterly. because he = the painter
first and the lover and husband after
Indeed. Miss kenions story leads US to
suspect that. even wee Thayer not so en-
tirely and absorbedly the artist he would
have been unable TO give his best and truest
love to Clodah. There is Mrs Davenport
in the cast. cultured. highly organized
and sensitive nature. who seems to exercise |
for Thayer a fascination moe potent than |
is possible to his wife. Mrs. Davenport is a |
married woman. and she refuses to let |
Thayer make love to her, but she Is the !
dominating influence in his life. Before |
Clodah came into it. and after she had |
gone out of ii, broken and dying Thayer's |
life was swayed and controlled by Mrs. ,
Davenport Therefore. perhaps. the author |
of What Manner of Man has erred. in |
that she should have made Thayer's love
for Clodah more convincing in order to en-
phasiZe to the fullest her exposition of his |
temperament
In other words, ard vet w tn certain re-
serve to prevent the betrayal of Miss Ken
tons story to the reader at the sacrifice |
of its sustained interest. ii is to be doubt
ed If Thayer would have compelled OF Mrs.
Davenport that which he compelled of
Ciodah. or If his eyes would have revealed
10 the former that secret of his heart which
crushed his wife's spirit and sent her away /
from him. 1t will be remembered that the
first thing which attracted him to the
quaint daughter of The Rohans of Rohan
Island was her physical resemblance to