The Washington herald., 1915-12-18
WASHINCTONr HERALD SATURDAY. DECEMBER 1s 1915
chsiee d Theme N he Dfaiiz
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drama, and he used to spend nearly every night
at q theater. One of his plays. which he had just
finished he gave me to read. As followed the de-
velopment felt some surprise. II suggested the
work, not of an American. but Of Frenchman.
The theme was one that. in this country no
American writer would have thought Of using: but
it was the kind of theme the Frepch writers Of the
day used habitually. The scene was laid in Paris
and the characters were all French and the plot
centered round the disloyalty of the heroine, not
to her husband. but to her lover When l talked
the play over with the author I asked him il he
expected to have it produced in this country II
am hoping to have it tried out here in Paris first"
he replied. "and then it may be done in New
York" He actually achieved the feat Of securing
a production in Paris; but he never had the play
performed anywhere else. II it had been put
on in this country. it would have been received
with amazement, probably with laughter.
That incident gave me an illustration of the
way the human instinct to initiate worked in art
The playwright. through his interest in the French
theater. had caught the French point of view in
regard to the drama. When he wrote. he wrote
after the prevailing French fashion The Ameri.
cans in the audience that attended his play must
have been as puzzled was. In this country the
play would have created general bewilderment. as
well as amusement Not that the morals involved
were so shocking. Worse morals were often de-
picted stage. But that particular attitude,
the assumption that the relation of wife to her
lover ought to be held sacred. could not have
found acceptance here.
We often speak of plays as If they measured
or failed to measure up to an absolute stand
ard of truth. But is there really any such stand
ard? Our ideas of truth relative. Our judg
ment of life is related to experience environment,
manners and customs traditions, habits as well as
to many other more less subtle forces. Art,
which reflects our conceptions depends for its ef
feet on its relation to the mind and the character
What is sacred in one country may be absurd in
another. Where, IN a DRAMA it may deeply inn
press the audience in one country, it may move the
audience in another country to ridicule disgust
For this reason many foreign plays. if produced
here, would fail to repeat their success at home
In their full significance they would reach only
small minority of those whose breadth OF culture
gave them understanding really cosmopolitan.
As a result of the relativty Of art, we have had
many emasculated plays from foreign sources,
usually known adaptations. The most frequent
examples come from the French The frankncss
Of the French writer's being much greater than our
frankness. makes it necessary for many French
plays produced here to undergo process that is
washed plays are often washed out. The character
color disappears or takes on unnatural hues. In
some instances there is apparent loss of all
vitality. With the increasing tendency toward !
rankness. noticeable OF late years in this country,
and with the growth of the feeling that emascu-
ated plays dissertations, there fewer adap-
ations and more presentations of French plays in
literally translated versions Ono good result is |
hat in this way audiences able to catch !
ylimpses of phases of life and points Of view diff
erent from their own. Though they may be con- |
animated where the atmosphere is unwholcsomc, |
hey may gain through being encouraged to escape
rom their own national limitations.
For many years the French situation in regard !
o plays was curious. 1t seemed IT, for large
lumber OF the playwrights, nearly all, in fact one
ion marital infdelity. 1t marvellous to see
low it could be used to achieve wide varieties of
xpreasion. Meanwhile. in harping on it, the
ramatists developed extraordinary technical ef-
ciency. There is curious contradiction in their
cvotion to one subject while they ransackcd hui
nan nature for incisivc character studies. One
night have imagined that the love Of truth, cx-
resscd in their character work, would have made
hem revolt against SO narrow fashion in theme
! few years ago, however, they began to show
igns of breaking away. The example of Brieux
ould not have failed to carry its lession. Though
'rieux dealt with sex. he took the subject out of
he atmosphere of intrigue and lifted it on plane
+ social and economic significance. His "Thrcc
daughters of Monsieur Dupont" showed what an
bic technician could do in the way Of feminist
by relying wholly easily recognized
haracter types. He had doubtless been influ-
need many OF the Continental and English
ramatists were, by the influence of Ibsen. He
lust have made his brother dramatists feel that
lere were themes OF vitality and import lying all
round them and appealing for expression, ideally
uited to the theater. full of intensely human and
ramatic situations
1t looks now if dramatists were on the verge
change of attitude in regard to choice of
leme. They are seeing few leaders, like Haupt-
,ann, Sudermann, Galsworthy, Barker and Shaw,
reaking away from the old traditions and draw
lg on the rich issues OF contemporary living with
,er promise of social readjustment. Incidentally,
managers are finding out that the big, human
lemes, once feared as foes of the box office,
.ally paid Perhaps the conversion of the man
gers is of even more Importance than the awak-
ming Of the dramatists. For, the dramatists, !
lie managers have immense influence They
ill go SO far as to dictate choice of theme
ther directly or indirectly. The success of one
ind of play will start managers for other plays of
sactly the same kind. Originality they fear like
lie plague. But when one original spirit breaks
ito the theater his originality is sure to find
ANY imitators. To quarrel with this tendency
ould be absurd. 1t would blame human nature
,r not being something else Throu0h ,11 life fhe