New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-02-13
LITERARY CRITICISM
AND BOOK NEWS
Alice Browns Prize Play-Andreyef Dramas
of the Inner Life-Mr. Parsons Book
on Landscape Architecture.

presented practically for the hr't TIME
TO the English reading world IN TINS
volume of TRANSACTIONS of-to name
then in the order in which they are
printed. which differs from that OF the
title page 1.-THE Black Maskers.' Il ne
Life Of Man" and The Sabine women
In this much moved period OF the de-
velopment Of the drama Andreyeh
stands as the opponent Of realism ana
action, Of the drama Of the outer lie,
and as the champion OF a new lorm'
the drama Of the inner life OF the soul
It's premonit.ons, warnings and search
ings, its hopes, disillusions and fears.
AndreyefT is, Of necessity, driven 10
SYMBOLISM as She only possible cH-
preston Of this drama Of the inner
lie. Add that he is pcss.mlsuc
fatalist, who perce.ves both an obJec-
tive and = subjective form OF tate, and,
with some previous knowledge OF the
Slav soul as presented 10 as by MS
great interpreters, one can readily
reach the conclusion that he IS brother
to Dostoievsky. the differences between
their PHILOSOPHERS Of life 20 the con
trary Notwithstanding. We may ne
come familiar with this Slav soul, we
may come TO understand = ~ purely
Objective way. Il is doubtful j. we
shall ever be able TO pierce the 10 US
puzzling irrationaIlty and unexpected
ness Of its reactions TO existence.
It IS well tina. these plays are &C.
compan.eG by the Interpretation Of
their meaning given by Mr.. Bru7syan-
in. prominent Russian dramatic critic
who seems TO have mercifully taken
into cons Iteration the benightedness Of
the Western mind face 20 face WIN
the Slav soul Powerful these two
dramas are, and heavy with the gloom,
the disenchantmert, the horrors that
pervade Russian literature, frelghted,
moreover with the uncanny perception
Of the subconscious that stalks Us IN
the earlier Maeterlirck But ~ the
end. as in the case Of DOstojevsky, u
is the author himself. not his work,
that interests us most. In Doetoievsky's
life we find an explanation OF his
books; Andrevcf's existence has al
ready been marked by three attempts
AT suicide. What influence his drama Of
the inner life will have upon the drama
of the West remains 70 be seen, but
one cannot escape the reflection that, in
the modern Russia which is growing
up. Notwithstanding like his. how
ever intensely racial, marks the end Of
an era rather than the beginning Of
new one.
The Sabine Women a satir'cal
political comedy, comes nearer 10 the
understanding Of the Slav which the
West has gained. The Sabine women
are the constitutional, guarantees
wrung from the Russian government in
its fear Of the revolution Of 1905. The
danger once past, aUtocracy forthwith
proceeded to rob the liberals Of these
wives, whereupOn the husbands, instead
Of rising once more, tried TO regain
them by strictly legal means. Their
leader orders them 10 advance by TAX
ing two steps forward and one step
backward the two forward steps viii
indicate the "unquenchable fire of our
stormy souls, the firm will, the ire
, sistble advance, the step backward
symbolizes the step Of reason, the step
of experience and the mature mind. In
taking il we maintain close bond with
! tradition, with our ancestors, with our
great past" The satire hits off 20 per
lection the panic fear of radlcallsm
and its incalculable results OF blood
shed and arson and murder which
seized upon the Russian liberals when
within sight OF revolution. And this,
too, is characteristic of the Slav soul
this sudden transition from Po RrsSLt
70 NitcherO, from attacks Of superhu-
man determination and energy 10 an
attitude Of lGiSSerfGirC.