The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-25
Matinee-Phedre.

Sara Bernhardt' s Phedre is the tri-
umph of acting without appearing to
act. 1t is the old story Of the country
man who saw the play Of Hamlet and
considered the king fine fellow who
could talk, how he could talk, but Ham
let to hin, was only man who walk
ed about and did what anybody else
could do. Phedre is the symbol of
feeling gone astray The two charac-
tiers Enone and Phedre dominate the
play. It is as if Enone were the Sc
cret thoughts Of Phedre and ;Phedre
were conscience tearfully resisting
Enone. ~
The queens love for. Hippolytus
might not have. been tragedy but
for the promptings of the old nurse
and the old nurse my ht have been but
a common thing but for her, intense
loyalty to the queen. It is her well
meant, i'll directed efforts to extricate
her beloved mistress, from false sit
uation which brings down at last the
cataclysm. Enone is the promptings
Of Phedre s worse SELF, the outward
expression Of her weakness and sell
fishness. The final rejection Of Enone s
counsel is the beginning Of real exis-
tence for the trapped queen. She sees
herself in her real relation. The trag-
4 edy is the fact that conscience comes
to her rescue too late. - j. ~.
The story is simple one. It is, even
from the viewpoint Of modern plays, a
dull and distasteful one. Only genius
could make it endurable to play goers
! of the present time who demand
, action, action and more action. It is
a classic Of another day. When Racine
) wrote it, no doubt defamation was
acting and gestures Of a sweeping char
acter were action. They are not so to
g.. day and hence the play depends for it,
, dual personality by, the wonderful mis-
, tress Of the full gamut Of emotions. II
Phedre, Bernhardt relies entirely upo1
!: her voice. In but two scenes did sh'
! act in the accepted definition of tn
4 word, once in the scene with Enon
e when standing at the back Of the stag
= she with mocking humor describes t.
! Enone her discovery. that Hippolytu
l. loves Aricia, whereas she had though
! him fancy free, in another where sh
q spurns the counsel Of Enone and eme1
+ ges at last from the. tortuous cours
: she has been pursuing. The transla
T., tion of this speech rises into real poetr
g in these lines: --.
e Go, leave me TO- my deplorable fate.
e May just heaven pay thee worthily!
l And may thy punishment forever terrify
8 All those, who, like thee, by cowardly de-
n terity, .s<--.z ~ %
. Nourish the failings Of weak princes:
Il Urging them to courses to- which their hear
j. i + Incline, So sri's' ET&g> ~ t:-<.- + ~.
And dare smooth the road OF crime to- their fee
~ Detestabie hatterers, the most UNHAPPY presel
Celestial anger can make to Kings. Ia 4
l, But no English aawords: can give a
q idea of TIE mingled surprise, anger an
contempt with which Madame Ber1
y hardt literally launches this denunci;
e tion at Enone, beginning after a Ion
a pause in which she has surveyed tn
s. trembling accomplish Of her thought
e with a ferocity of purpose to foreve
l. demolish her., Viewed as speech t
IS mere trembling dependent it might al
n pear to lack dignity and cause, but col
n, sidered as Phedre s answer to her ow
e worst promptings,e the passage is e1
vt nobled. The art of Bernhardt is sue
1 that one is scarcely conscious of tt
1t presence on the stage Of Enone. Or
IT is consumed with the problem of tt
lie two Phedres in mortal combat.