The sun., 1904-05-15

MxuEa-s-.4S--E-.E
OF unsxamplsd force. II you say that
Ibsen does not play fair In the game II
he resorts to dramatic virtuosity, oan only
answer that Ibsen waa. first Of all the great
master OF dramatic construction and sffeot
that he never. by word Of mouth or IN
writing acknowledged that Dolls House OF
any OF his plays were intended a. dramatic
theses. II the moral problem u implicit,
he but follows the lead OF the classic masters
OF his art. It remained for the common
tAtoss to read into his playa all the prevs-
lent isms; and Gsorss Bernard Shaw. 60
cialist, was not tho 6sst sinner 10 expose
the quintessenoe OF Ibssuism. 6ouns erv-
dite German writers have literally trans
formed his plays into the propaganda Of
harmful theories.
Guy de Maupassant bad not much liking
for dramatic work. Thsrs 10 . fkedtse
published, but It p slim In quantity and tn
quality not Of commanding intsrsst. Hare
b New York ! cannot recall anything
original Of his but 'Musotts,' which vss
produced some years aso under ths tttls Of
poor Girls" and fsiled TO sahisvs suoosss.
Several OF his storiss have not esespsd the
shrewd eye Of the dramatic sdaptsr. 10
Rstour" was ono. 1t was put In ecsps by
Marcel Manchsa d the Grand -0dgnol IN
ieo2, where with Lvos Colss Il was fsyor-
ably roosived. Il trsatS Of husband who
returns to his former homo sftsr b y b.
Neved 10 b dAad. . second Enooh Arden.
but ons wsll reosivsd BY his vito and hsr
new husband.
.Bouis dc s,hs.' tbs oonas thaS l1rst usade
De Naupsssant famous aetsr II sppssrsd In
the sSoir6es do Msdan,' was turnad into .
three act play with four tableaux In Nay,
leo2, At the Antoine Theatre. Oscar
MSt4nier was the adapt>r, and d said TO
have dons - well a. could bs expeotcd
but that was not much, for there b not
su6aoient dramatic material In the naive
history Of tho good heaytsd Sust-Ball and
her adventures In the omnibus that carried
such motley company from Rouen one
snowy morning during the occupation OF
France by the Prussians. M. Metenier Is
said to have attempted the hazardous and
questionable experiment OF making ad-
ditions to Maupassant's little masterpiece.
A simplicity that has in It elements Of naked
grandeur is the keynota OF 'Boule do Suif,'
and this simplicity was lost In ths dramatic
setting.
Andre dc Lords In the same year ar
ranged 'Hsrihers' for The stare Of the
Grand -Guignol. 1t relates the history
Of the old woman who Is suppoeed
TO be dead and 10 revived In ttme to ses
The dismantling Of her homo by her ra-
parious relatives. Paul PottsF's sThs Con.
auerors' needs no particular mention hero.
II quite traduced tho sane and brilliant
art Of ito author.
The most important thus far Of De Mau-
PEASANT adaptations is 'Yvstts,' play In
three acts and six tablesnx fashioned from
the exquisite and tragic little novel Of that
title by the practiosd hand OF Pierre BeF.
ton. II was produced 1t the Theatre du
Vaudeville. Oct. rs, 1901, and the title r3is
was played by Mile. Toutain, Rosa Bruck
was the Marquiss 0bardi and Tarride pre-
sented with uncommon skill the character
Of Serriany. Manager Porel probably ad.
vised nerton in tho changing Of tho do.
nouenant, a. We can hardly fancy the
III thor Of LENA" and 'zaza' as shying at
tho noyelist's logical conclusion.
In common With TIE majority Of dra-
natao pssaphrases, 'Yvette' Is not . euc-
cess notwithstanding ono strong scene. Tho
real Ypstte Is that rare appsrition u French
nctou, q sweet, pure, unspoiled child. II
speaks much for the writer's power OF
sympathetic projection to have iruaged
this frssh hubble soul. she 10 far moro
credible than Koreells In 'Dsmi-M Monde
and D. MAJ pa ssant bad moro courage than
Dumas, for he threw his virgin into the
arms Of Ssrvioxv without any hsro'cs OF
church marriage. Naresils 10 led to the
altar by Olivier Dc Jaia In 'Deml.Monde:"
In "Yvette"-thc novel. not the drama
Ss,rieny does not marry Fpsaas. She In
her turn, poisoned by the hothouss vice
amidst which she has been reared. accepts
tho inevitable sftsr her attempt at suicide,
and being her mother's daughter sue.
crmbs to Serriony. Thanks to the clumsy
device OF Porel or Barton. this point 10
not made clear In the adaptation; all the
worse for tho moral, cay We. not to men,
ton the bad art!
The one dramatic moment occurs tn the
Interview Of mother and daughter and 1t
terrible explanations. There 10 scene
not disaimilar In Shsw's Mrs Warrent's
Profession though complete sympathy 10
withheld from Mr.. shaws very modern
daughter because she Is 90 thoroughly
aware OF the exact state Of Affairs. In the
Younger Mrs. Psrling.' produced hare by
Annie Russell, an analogous state Of affairs
is revealed. At the time called attention
to the likeness Of the two situations. But
Ypsue is an tnosnu OF an old-fashioned type.
with nothing In her Of tho detni-vieree.
After her desperate effort to end her
wretched existence her expiring viii power
throws her back into the morass. and Il is
there De Maupassant with his srtistic sense
OF proportion and OF moral values leaves
her. The dubiety OF the conclusion made
by Eerton cannot be commended. For
the rest, be has transposed some OF the
dialogue most unskilfully; and unslrilful, tuo,
Is his presentation Of the various types Of
rascalty that iniest the drawing room Of
the pseudo Hayquiss 0bordi. Tho principal
painful fact OF the novel 10 the hopelessness
Of the situation from the start. Yrette
Is In cage the cage that destiny has pre-
pared for her. There Is little appeal made
by the author to the thrice familiar ma
chinery OF heredity. Yvetse's future 10
planned for her by circumstances that
literally wall her in. Place her in different