The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-11-06
SOClET Y
DIR. f. Fl. GRIGGs LEAVES
LASTING IMPRESSION

DIR. L. Fl. GRIGGs LEAVES
LASTING IMPRESSION
Life may be dream, but we can
live well even in dream" was the
beautiful thought left with the mem
bers of the Woman's club yesterday
afternoon at the conclusion OF the
wonderful lecture delivered by DR..
Edward Howard Griggs on Caide-
rons Life Is "a Dream; or, the Pro-
test Against Yielding to Fate. For
: elevation Of thought. clear psychology
! cal analysis. and the gift OF clothing
wonderful thoughts in beautiful as
we'll as expressive pnraseology, DR..
Griggs holds place in the foremost
ranks of all lecturers who have ever
| spoken here. Miss Frances Scott,
| chairman of the afternoon. introduced
I the speaker with a delightful hint or
what was to follow in DR.. Griggs'
analysis of the three hundred-year-
old masterpiece, the drama called
Life Is a Dream" by the Spanish
poet and dramatist, 7Calderon. trans
lated by Edward Fitzgerald. the man
who gave to the English language the
"Rubayatt" of Omar Khayyam.
| DR.. Griggs introduced the author
| in a short biographical sketch. Born
! in 1900, died in 1881, trained for
Jesuit priest but choosing to become
/ soldier then playwright, Calderon
produced over 1870 plays. and was
what might be known as dramatist-
laureate to the Spanish throne He
was the Spanish Shakespeare. Life
Is Dream: or. the Protest Against
i Yielding to Fate" was his Hamlet,
his masterpiece. Written at the age
OF thirty-six. it embodied like Hamlet,
written when Shakespeare was about
thirtyfour, his theory of life
The story is that of a Polish king
who has read in the stars that his
son is TO be a monster. The prophe-
cies of the stars concerning the chiId's
birth are fulfilled and the king, put
ting aside fatherly interest for his
duty to his Kingdom. has the child
taken to a dark tower and kept there
| by masked men but educated By MS
keeper The king decides to give his
kingdom to a niece and nephew VINO
must wed. The nephew leaves his
betrothed, Russian woman, ana
comes to Poland 10 wed his cousin
The Russian woman, representing the
free destiny Of the human will against
the destiny of the stars, follows fer
lover and SO comes upon the prince,
Sigmund. in his dark tower. She
gives him her fathers sword TO carve
his wav to freedom" The keeper
recognizes the ORD as tnat OF
former .benet actor and he takes the
Russian woman 10 the court. the
king has decided to drug his son, let
him awaken at court and. II he shows
seif-control and Is worthy. to make
him king. II ne shows any signs OF
being the falfiliment of the stars
prophecy he is 10 he drugged again
and taken back to the dark castle
for the remainder OF his life.
S.gmund is given his day. He
awakes and Is hailed AZ King. He
rst calls for his keeper. "one OF the
dominating hunyers OF the soul of
fnan-to be ones self forever, to hold
on, to be conscious OF ones identity,
SAID Or. Griggs The keeper bows
70 him AZ his lord and he Ia told
the situation Indignation at the
Injustice against him for the past
twenty years set-es MIN a1f ne trtes
TO kin the keeper. but Ia stopped by
the Russian. When his father enters
the instinct OF Justice again seizes
him His father misunderstands It
for the brute ana he is put to sleep
and taken back to the castle. on
awakening he is told by the keeper he
has dreamed Of this day.
Or Griegs read the keepers SO
liloauy that followed and he placed
. il on an equal basis With Hamlet
sollloquy and the epi}ogue or Pros
pero in The Tempest He has told
sigmund that If In his dream. had
he acted as though he were awasse
he would have gwen reality to the
dream Sigmund remembers this
r. when the kings soldiers. having
. heard of the legal prince. rebel
against the king ana come 10 him
10 lead them he AT fFst thinks IL "a
= dream and then acts as though Tie
were awake His father falls IN the
dust before him when he appears,
thinking he IL still fulfilling the des-
tiny told by the stars. However, his
! father finally comes TO the reaii7a-
$ ton that his son has battled with
, ,iextiny land he says: If not TO fate
, 10 your wisdom / resign" OF course
9 there ~ the love element In the play
ana s ,gmund marries hts fair cousin
- and the Russian woman her lover,
p From. the play DR.. GrieEs drew
= thess three protests: The protest OF
= free human destiny against extsrna
destiny, the protest against ina ginine
one can ever forecast another's des.
tiny: and the protest against ever fore
\ Closing any other human will from
r the possibility OF Its extracting Hseli
/, Of its own accord.
i In applying the psychology OF the
/. play TO modern conditions. DIR. GrigEs
There Observation-Disclosures
such as heredity. with limits which
a.. conflne every child born. II borr
with a moral upright line of ances'
try he owes the world that much
g more. and IL born thus half way uT
the mountain he should climb TO tbs
top. II born with the wrong pas
q sions, the use of the fragments Of
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