The Washington herald., 1910-05-29

that opinion are cruE1rrd with considerable asper-
ity. Yet IbscuiEn, which IS rank pessimlsm Is
disease happiy % the hour only injurious alike 70
the stage and % the public IN far as it has any
effect on either of them and therefore % be depre-
Gated The theatrical tendency. Of which, In one
group % his PLAYS. lhaeu IS principal Exponent, Is
peruici0us for the reason that II IS tendency %
reIr-sent human nature ns radically and universally
vile and human society as hopslcssly corrupt. !
90 down into the sewers. said the Norwegian
drama.is and "my business Is 20 ask questions not
20 answer them" So be it. But. whatever be the
motive why should the product Of an exploration
Of sewers be exploited through the medium q
the tleater: Granting 20 Ibaeu and his followers
the highest and hest motives. surely they have
altogether mistaken the province Of the thcater IN
choosing IL as the ft medium for expression q
sociological views which. once accepted could have
no other effect than u the world with pail.
There halls N he hired There is an audience
for the locture-f lcCturirg would serve any go0d
purpose. There are societies Of learned men who
study sociology and ever ready 20 acccUt iuum-
ination that sgbject-from any one who can
provide il. Why inaict the stage with inquiry as
10 original sin. or tho consequences Of ancestral
wickelnsss. OF the mo-al ob.iquity resultant from
hereditary disease. tho various forms Of corruT-
tion incident 20 vice and crtIneg Since when did
the theater become a proper place for q clinic Of
horrors and the vyisecti0n u revolving physical and
moral. ailments. u IS easy 20 say. was said IN
the old Bible. that tho heart Of man Is deceitful
above al things and desperately wicked But. what
good have you done when you have made that
statements As a matter 0f fact. Il is only half
tue There are IN the world many kind pure
hearts and noble minds; not a day passes without
its deeds ~ simple ho7usm. not hour passes
without some manifestation Of beautiful self-aGi-
fee splendid patience celestial fidelity % duty and
sweet manifestation of unselfsh love. There must
be evil 10 illustrate good but 10 art and especially
In dramatic art. IL must te wisely selected. The
spectacle Cf virtue In human character and lowell
ness in human life VIII accomplish far more for
81.
pHshed by the spectacle Of vile propensity ard
vicious conduct. the proceedings Of drabs the seeth-
ing corruption cf the slams or tbe abeTrancy Of
mental disease. sunshine ard flowers are more
rroritous than darkness and weeds, Il has been
well said that The knowledge of human nature
which IS exclusive Of what is good in II IS shall
low and imperfect a. that which Is exclusive Of
what Is evil"
The principals in this discussion have
risen to high places in the world OF the
| atricals. Unfortunately. Mr. Ibsen is no
longer a resident Of this vale. and hence
cannot undertake the case I'm his own
/ behalf. That he wrote from the depths
/ of conviction there Is not the slightest
| shadow Of doubt, but that there IS any
thing in his plays that is mysterious or
/ incomprehensible to the intelligent reader
1 VI SBtNldlo4 ls dDSuIQ- Inc atmosphere
may be a little strange: the characters
/ may seem hard and unreasonable, and
/ lacking IN sentiment. but human motives
/ and actions are the same everywhere.
The unfortunate feature Of the Ibsen
plays is their morbidity. and 10 Mr.. Win
/ ter. who has always been a champion of
purity and morality. they seem especially
obnoxious
They are not, however. consciously
vicious. The man with the mission fire.
quently goes into low strata OF society
| for his types; unless he does this with
an honest intent to point a moral. his
! excursion is worse than useless. Summed
up. however. the writer of immoral plays
| and books. who claims. as he generally
does, that ne is seeking to warn his audi
/ ence what TO avoid and abhor. is like
unto a guide post set up by the side OF
the crossroads with its finger pointing out
the way we should not take. The useful
/ guide post rs the one which shows us the
right direction and pays no attention to
/ the wrong road.