The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-02-16
MAXIM GORKrS' NIGHT REFUGE
spJRITIM DEGENERATION IN
RUSSIA: 4 TRAGEDY.
pa, If vast Human Sympathy and
SAM Dhnation That Crawls Win
,ernlln snd Recks With The Nmos-
moro Of Dcgeneracy and Disease.

,,rniIu snd Recks With The Atnios-
mere 81 Dcgeneracy and Disease.
Nothing could be moro Illuminating as
,be crisis through which the spirit OF
p,s.an regeneration is now passing than
,t.,in Gord's -Refuge for the Night,
's,cb apropos OF the recent prominence
'tn. author. was put on last night at the
Irving Place Theatre To the superficial
How and In the words Of Gorki's sub
,,,ic tits mere series Of Scenes from the
mathis collection of portraits Of tie
-.ne,,tcs and criminals. with the epallcet
adicnm of dramatic action But the
Mi, ia formed with an idea of the new
'-t-tpal life w Russia. or rather OK its
h,ui,v which constitutes ii one Of tho most
'.,,rendo,i. .oul ira gedies in modern litera-
ture
!. an inn OF the lowest ordcr-the haunt
- the dreg, and oG-soourngs Of humanity,
-.rlios with vermin and reel,ing with the
,tmosphere OF immortality and disease,
m, host is a misery fence as super
',i,;o,,s "a. he l. cruel His wife ia fend OK
,,csrpate lust and criminal malignity.
Tbe wiie's uncle is ret,y police officer
in cou.ion with them.
Among the inmates are professional
,bef q d.sclassod Baron, an actor suffering
,ron Alcoholic degeneracy. an incipient
institute and various types Of the lowest
order Of trades pcople-a shoemaker.
,n,,aker and a lccksmith. The last has a
Sits whom me habitually beats, even while
,ha l., diving Of consumption. Not pleas
s,t rftniospnere this The flesh crawls at
tbe realism Of the squalor; and at the cough
inc M ;h. doomed wife one inVo'untarily
stot,, breathing for fear of Injection
What little action there Is centres in an
intrigue Of the thief with tho basely inn
nas.ioned wife. and even at that the story
teU. how. having discovered her evil dis
,osition. he casts her of and turns his eyes
iinon Ter innocent and suffering sister.
Nine-tentbs of the play there are four full
acts-is the development OF character
without action. One 10y one these dregs
Of humanity tell the sordid stories OF their
downfall and philcsophize upon them With
mingling Of cynicism and heart Tragedy.
There is no keener critic Of society than
the hopeless failure
One raw of beauty and hope enters in
the person of the Pilgrim, sometimes called
the Wanderer In makeup lie suggest.
II rather remotely, Count 1olstoi. though
no is thoroughly distinct and realistically
indiyiduaized character. betpying touches
al times Of the philosophy Of Niet1schc.
Both Cork and 1olstoi have given lis
similar figures in their novels. Yet there
can be little doubt that in so far os the play
has national and timely significance the
Wanderer represents the effort to regencrate
the Russian masses.
From the moment Of his entrance the
Wanderer dominates the development OF
ND Of ~ With riT
heart wisdom and wealth Of spiritual
divination he makes his way o the souls
Of the wretched creatures OF the night
asylum.
70 the broken and almost imbccile actor
he holds out the hope OF cure Tor ms
disease. and a now life of usefulness. de
cheers the last hours of the dying con-
sumptive with assurances OF the rest and
peace OF the existence to come, even telling
her the very words with which God will
receive her beyonda and this amid the
cynical and jeering comments of other
inmates He rouses the thiefs seii-re-
spect-urges him 10 marry the young. sister
VI the innkeepers wife and 10 take her TO
Siberia 10 begin a new life.
For a moment ono looks for triumph,
In this rceEiag hole Of degradation. q the
spirit Of truth and beauty. Then the whole
fabric the Wanderer has reared falls TO
the ground. The thief in an access Of rage,
kills the husband Of his former mistress,
and ia hailed away to prison amid the i'm
precautions Of tine younger sister, who mis-
conceives all he has attempted.
Tie actor succtmbs to the craving for
drink and hangs himself outside the door
The minor inmates engage in n carouie
that ends the play in brutal hilarity. half
dampened. quenched by tho shadow OF
his death. The final note Is Of the most
hideouS defeat
II the play had been written Yesterday
Il could not embody with greater fulnes'
and accuracy the recent a tempt a Father
Gipon and Its failure. But IL has more
than timely interest. II IL the fruit Of
Gorkl's lifelo z intimacy with the sub
merged in Russia tho work ot an artiF,
who luilded better than he knew Even
the smallest character is informed With the
spirit Of convincing realism AID the
whole is sufIuscd with tenderness OF hui
mainly lofty spiritual sanity which is OF
oil time
When tho English version OF Refuge Tor
the Night was l.telv produced in London
Mr William Archer, apostle though he Is Of
lhsen and the modern realism. questioned
the utility OF eST loiting it and argued that
inaccurate creation OF it's atmosphere was
impossible 10 any but Ri1ssian ctors work
ing for . Russian audience Nincty-uine
ont Of a hundred Of Ms will no doubt agree
With him Even those who profess to be
Interested VII! p-oDdnlN ne Won ny inc
fresh sensation It gives Of creeping horror.
Yet there is n strong argument for the
opposite opinion. In the submerged of
humanity there Ia shocking similarity
Everywhere. Episode after episode Of the
Play last night brought rememheranoes
works n Jacob Riis Of Richard NhitsinR,
Of Prof Wyckon and Josiah Flynt. in the
printed page we devogr such STUFF without
Questioning the fascination thot leads US
on and applaud the authors "a pioneers
N GEOLOGY
On the stage the documents are moro
pNs'eni ond compelling hut is not that IN
tner favor Freely granting every man
lls ngnt 10 fght shy 81 the ugly facts Of
ttsierce. Is Il not q work Of robust and
honest intelligence TO cope with thamf
~ presented Ivy Gori.i they bring, to the
,l,1gp.i '?ec'ato their own spiritual
:, In the interpre.a sn the company at
,he Irving p,lco is az ite best Franz
Alerschne- rs the inkeeper. Agnes Bucngsr
8 MS wife, He'd zig Won OE.ermann an
,,qT sister Paw Hngemann as the thief
aaFgaTeihe Russ es sentimental reader
o. romance later a prostitute, Gustav Won
SSyterilt2 as the alcoholic actor. Harry
alden rs tho Gsciassod Baron and Helm
neo Marlowe as the Wandcrer all acted
ANh simplicity and an absolute conviction
~ Inc creation n charm cter very rare, II
~, unique N the American theatre