New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-02-03
THE DRAMA.
The TBsEN FOLLY.
Manhattan Theatre.

AZ i
..,-.-icsl novice Miss France Hamilton. appeared
- rFalrler the .oiotic young woman who does
=. t.-ovy that e is wrong 10 commit a forgery
,s subject has from time 10 time. been discussed
-. o,,,,7, and tie comment OF the present may
,-or,riately repeat the comment OF the past
g. T,ser asks attention 10 case OF domestic
- The scene is a dwelling house. in Norway
- ,trro Is to-day. The chief persons are MI. ana
,, F4alrncr husband and wife. Mr. ana Mrs.
rIir,e- have lived together eight years They seem
:. love each other; they have three chlldreh' anu
.te, are in comfortable circumstance They have
. ,nele friend named DR. Rank. who is dying OF
- disease who is in love with Mrs HelmeT'
80 who calls her every day, In order 10 sno"
eov great an ass "A man can make OF himseiI Ni,"
a. s ina tuated with woman They have a ieiliaIo
.-iona named Mrs. Linden, widow, VINO drops IN
,,on them from time 10 time. and helps Mrs. Hell
- yy,th her sewing. Mr. Helmer is engaged IN the
.-ki-g business and ne has been appointed man
.Ver OF 8 bank il is Christmas Eve' ana al aP-
.o-s 10 be well with the family OF Hemer-saNe
"a. DR. Rank is rcketty on his legs There Is nov"
ever a skeleton in the closet. Mrs helmer. al n"
lis, period IN her married life. has secretly Dor
- a consi6era BILE sum OF money, FOR her hus-
lads use-making him believe that she has Oh
,siped it from her father-and she has ioreeu
ber fathers name. by way or giving se'uiNs-
r-ss debt thus dishonOrably and disgraceIuAy
,,onfracted she is endeavoring TO pay. But TINS
time ~ hers is known 90 her creditor. Mr.. hros-
- 4, hank clerk whom Mr.. Helmer has dis
.bsrped from the bank. and Mr. krogstad threat
COS "a tell Mr. Helmer about Mrs. Helmers fors-
~ unless Mrs. Hemer procures his reins'ate-
-. IN his official post This reinstatement the
frightened Mrs Hemer vainly endeaNors 10 ootaln
A. E7eln,er who is a narrow minded opinionateo'
.o,ceited person. insists on has1nE his own way
and Mr. Krogstad remains banlsheo ciSlA
-rrsreunon Mr. Krogstad sends en- episte' when
a, 5-orned into Mr. Heimer's letter box. wherein
s-e stated the facts OF Mrs. HclmeT's misconduct
~ nroRress Of this communication toward me
bsnas 81 Mr. IIelmer is for time retarded, bu1
eventually Mr. Helmer opens and reads the letleI'
and he Is nstounded and enraged, and this enouoh
- snnoupces 10 Mrs. Helmer. I'm terms OF violent
ssprritv Mr. Krogstad, in the mean urne' mas DC
80 ,,clIised by the soothing influence Of Mrs.
Linden who having been hts sweetheart ana nav
ing Tilted him IN early life, has now proposed mar
rage 10 him. and he sends Mrs He mer 5 icreeIS
~ Mr. Hener and declares the matter setlleo.
Ar E5eiu,er is delighted. But Mrs. Helmer, dis-
,lessed with her husbands conduct. declares that
her ewes are opened his essentially commonplace
character. and that she cannot live with him any
longer: and she terminates the proceedings by
walking out Of his house AT midnight and closing
the street door after her with bang. This is the
flav. and ANYBODY who can keep straight face
while looking a il must be largely deficient IN the
OF humor.
From first 10 last the play is an unmitgated bore.
and addition 10 being stupid. il is occaslohalIy
nauseous and. al the close. grossly absurd Inc
are commonplace The incidents Of it are trivial.
And the moral drift % (which Is constantly and
srenuousy urged upon attention. and which. there-
fore cannot be ignored-is either oppressiVeiy tte
or vacucusly obscure. radically and pernicousiA
false The play contains ideas, hut they are sucn
as might be expected to occur in a medical essay
particularly IL essay were written by scenuhc
crank in that form the assertion with Wnlch j
teems-that hereditary infrmites may break forth
IN the form of eccentric conduct-mlght, possloIH
possess a valuable significance. Upon the stage
that assertion merely tedious. as every other as
rertion Is that takes the form not Of dramatic
picture but Of abstract precept The fabric Is an
essay put into the shape OF a dialogue, ~ 'hree
parts and illustrated with stage setting. The hrst
mart states a case. The second presents seQueit
ausr,n,a The third announces a moral All three
os the parts are saturated with insipidity and the
composition is set down IN a remarkable vein OF
rigid monotony. Mr. Ibsen may be brilliant
writer in his native language but as his work ap-
pears in the bald English Of Mr.. William Archer
translation he seems TO possess what Thackeray
called "mediocrity enough to insure any man a
fortune Mr.. Archer is the English writer who
has provided a measure OF his intellectual calihre
by declaring Zoa TO be a much greater writer than
Shakespeare.
Separated from its moral drift and viewed as
Drama. "A Dolls House" is found to contain one
situation that is dramatic Ii occurs IN the second
act The wife an amable impetuous. morally
diseased simpleton. destitute equally Of principle
and OF common sense but pretty and attractive,
has committed a crime. which is here seen 10 be
struggling toward her husbands knowledge The
man has been shown 10 be a prig. and the woman
Caccepting her 10 be a possibility at all which is
dirhcuO 70 be tirnorous fool On one side stands
self-conceited conveutionality; on the other SIDE
Irrational impulse and hysterical sensblity. fren-
zied with fear The written danger is seen TO be
present IN the husbands letter box He has only
70 stretch forth his hand and seize It, and then
az she believes. there viii be an end Of the world
Here the dramatst has created moment OF sus-
Dense and has provided, for once. the element oi
action which is essential 10 a play The endan-
gered Voman's expedient 10 save herself is the in
stantaneous rehearsal 81 a tumultuOus dance
which 81 has been promised that she Is 20 give al
q masquerade under her husbands direction; and
by this means distracts his attention from the
better. and thus temporarily averts the dreaded
crisis. This situation has dramatic value. and
into this the total merit OF the play-as SUCH and
not a photograph ~ domestic commonplace
or essay on the deplorable facts Of heredity-
Is crystailized and condensed. All else is ch-on-
icle OF small beer.
The proceedings that occur in theatres are i'm
portant 10 the community as drama, or else they
are not important at all Upon the moral drift o;
a Dolls House observation need not linger
Everybody knows that conduct is the result OF
character Everybody knows that hereditary faint,
may cause vice and crime. There needs no ghost
come from Norway TO tell this. IT'S true tbs
pity; and pity tbs tbs true" But II does NOS
follow that sound principles should be confused OF
gooo laws modified because some people are born
without moral sense. Nora Hener in this ulav !,
kitten-hke person. another Frou- From only 50,
docs not tend to adultery; but 81 Is no ustacatior
OF herr as liar. forger. and a systematic frsra
70 Intimate that her father was a sort az Sl,-,-o,o
Or Rank is as fun OF kindness as he is OF t,tcles
h. Il is no justification OF him when ba max.
love 70 his friends wife.-incidentaIly anpris,o,
heE that he las diseased backbone-to declas,
that his father was fond Of t-ufies. and therefor
Transmitted scrofula- These notions are iloVtca,
and likewise nasty. The heroine TRIES with N,
sick doctor, about the legs OF her silk stockings