New-York tribune., 1909-02-16
THE DRAMA
JULIA MARLowE AT DALY's.
THE Goddess Of Reason"


s,.;,Ad IN the romantic drama, styled The Cod
- ~ Reason by Miss Mary Johnston with
r,ct last night Daly's Theatre Miss Julia
.so-4oUe made her remittance the metropolitan
..ge-to the extreme and obvious delight. enthu-
as4,callv manifested of a numerous and brilliant
..5iente Time and death have wrought many
soneas and Miss Mariowe. q romantic actress.
<.snds now az the head of her profession. in this
1,,ntrv-possessing, unQuestionably she does.
,,,euectual purpose physical force, a sympathetic
.synnera-nent lively imagination interesting per
.sI beauty and the authority that is derived from
zee experience. alike OF life and art The part
: French peasant, named Yvette.-in which she
-. -earpeared is happily accor6ant with her per-
.,nslitv both mental and physical. for It is that
- wayw1rd woman. Of excessive sensibility,
..g4nsti--e passionate. sTayed more by impulse
.hsr hv reason and subjected. amid circumstances
q re-plexins peril and vicissitude to trials that
eve conducive to narrowing self-confct and a
.on,o,,s surge Of emotion. The fact that those
+-isls ensue upon caprice and contrivance and not
a. envthing Ike the natural order of probable hu-
--en experience. and that the exhibition OF them
avs Of their victim. accordingly is = tissue Of
,-.isce does not much. Il at all. modify the the
.--icsi result. Beauty and power in the person
,utv Of .he actress, are dominant and they pre-
-pg The production is populous animated and
-esrlendent. and il was received with auspicious
ssvor-
v-,e-te was a handsome. irlpetuous, romantic.
Customary young woman. resident near Quiberon, on
..A seacoast Of Brittany. The revolt Of the French
rAor1e against hideous tyranny had begun and
Yvette was associated with the insurgent peas
sn+rv An attack in which she participated. was
made on the mansion OF the lord of the manor,
certain Baron OF Norbec. by name Rene de Vardee.
The assagiants repused. but. I'm the course Of
,ha incidental conflict. De Vardes and Yvette
nersonally opposed. and each vaguely recognized
she ofher-the baron, when riding through
reiehborins wood, having casually seen the girl.
s,tting IN reverie. beside Druid stone, and she
having seen him and fed from him After the
srar they were. by chance again confronted. and
then they were strongly attracted toward one an
other Incidentally II was made known to De
vsrdes that Yvette though only herd-girl. on
nis farm. was. IN feet. a cousin Of his,-beng the
illicit daughter OF his uncle, former Lord OF
Norbec deceased. and the wife OF one of his yeo-
men Thereupon De vardes. having disgusted his
srstccrstc friends by extending pardon a throng
a. the captured ncendiar4es Of liberty. charge
~ Yvette and placed her. for security and educa-
ton in convent at Nantes, whittier. occasionally.
he renaired TO see her. and where she grew in
grace and knowiedge.-secretly cherishing his i'm
age and loving him more and more. Meanwhile
he popular revolt had made tremendous headway;
ell France in ferment of fury: and De
vsrees q determined rcyalist. had incurred the
naIgn hostility Of q former friend Of his, named
Ielain. inveterate revoutionist. and lover of
Yvette Each Of those persons visited the convent.
the former openly. the latter by stealth and pres
emily there came a time when Yvette was infamed
with jealousy. relative 10 De Tardes and certain
Cl9r1Ce.
Blsnchefbret. in whose company she had once seen
him. and upon whom he was said to he in attend
anoe LelaiE. a villain Of sinister purpose, long
familiar the stage. managed to feed the flame
OF the grTs seIf-conziict and discomfort well
70 kindle afresh the slumbering glow Of her pa
frisIic srdcr; that, by and by. in moment OF
desperation. she made her escape from the convent
arc Joined the insurrectionary mob. Two years
lzfer the abolition Of God having been decreed, she
was selected. in Nantes. to be Goddess of Reason,
7rrz4- cha
exercised such control over bloodthirsty multi
tude led by the odio1s Lelsin, that at first she
abe 10 the life of De Vardes, when his enc
mics were about 20 kill him. and later, when Cla
nee ha6 been discovered him. TO denounce
them both. and procure their arrest and imminent
condemnation to death enemies OF the Republic.
Then, repentant, and overwhelmed with remorse-
fsl sense Of her frantic msevolence, she made
effort retrieve her precipitate and fatal action
seDoing 70 De Nardes a purse Of gold. containing
at Q: writing. by some means eXtorted or beguiled
from the potent rascal LeIain, the production Of
which writing. in court. would have achieved both
lis release and that Of the marquise. Her plan
miscsrTsed- Clarfce slain YVette visited De
Tsrdes In an old church where he was incar-
oersted, and Ehere. too late. ascertained that he
has never loved Clarice except dear friend. at
the same time receiving from his lips the avowal
q his love fer herself Finally after having in
me crowded courtroom. heard the doom Of her
lover pronounced. and by casting away the tri-
ocseT and denouncing the Republic. procured her
oEn condemnation she perished with him: the two
being bound together and thrown. at night into the
Rrer Loire.
That story has been told ny Miss Mary Johnston
IN fve-act play essentially artificial in construc-
uon-nature and probability being sacrificed at
siHost ell points for the sake OF theatrical situa-
ton.--and written in hybrid form OF verse. some
Nnes correct in rhythm sometimes lame, dissonant.
snd prosy tnterspersed with occasional lyrics and,
altogether, while indicative Of glimmerng sense of
postry evidental Of complete inability to write it.
The conspicuous effects Of the drama are proixity
Of detail; rrstionality fn the treatment Of char
acteT and the exposition of concuct lack Of in
Fsnnon-for the movement, following that OF
several old models. proceeds in beaten track:
liberal use OF speeches, which merely sensuous
and descriptive; excess of the element of spectacle;
sRa tedious attenuation Of agony. At the basis
of the structure there is-for thoughtful observers
"a serious If not fatal defect Rene De Vardes.
almost 81 the beginning. and very clearly the
ttory proceeds is shown 10 be in love with YYette
sad the two associated; yet il is assumed that
ths girl is unaware OF his love. merely because he
has not spoken Il, and Furthermore, is possessed
With the conviction that he loves another woman.
The postulate is foolish; the plot turns wholly
upon that error-an error which. in nature would
q impossible. FOR man ever truly loved woman
sno succeeded in keeping the fact secret from
her knowledge On that subject the female per-
eeption is intuitive and positive More particular
snalysis OF the play wonld discover that the per-
soas Involved In 1t. aside from the heroine, lack
distinctive personality and that tire auxiliar parts
sschn;csIy speaking only feeders" for the
centrai psrt.-havlng much to say, but scarcely
anything DO. There are twenty-five characters
u all besides numerous supernumeraries.-nuns
fSssents. magistrates, officers, soldiers, rufians,
ete. the usual appendsges Of French revolutionary
Sfsns- visible ali the ~ay from sydney Carton
e5o The Dead Heart TO Citizen Pierre and
Aooespierre The actien is supposed to pass
hsTfiy In the neighboThood OF mansion in Brit
tsns and partly ~ the city of Nantes. beginning
u lisl and ending in I7s4. The substance OF it is
exposition cf woman who IS. al FIRST subgugated