The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-01-26
"Tre BetroSha
By BARRETT H. CLARK.

SESN ILL., DcVauSc IL ID d Sequei anu
"A not the book it follows. is bound to
disappoint. | am not quite sure just what
1 expected the sequel of The Blue Bird
to be, but it failed to measure up to my
expectations. l imagine that nothing
would have satisfied me, not because l
believe The Blue Bird an unqualified
masterpiece, but because / have my own
fixed ideas as to how far my author should
NEEDLE with the characters know.
The BetrOthdl leaves me with sense Of
disappointment that is at first difficult to
analyze. First, it is not what | wanted,
though | declare | don't know rhdt l
wanted. For one thing, it lacks the
breadth aud variety of the earlier work,
failing to reveal as it does the writer's
naive delight III the purely imaginative
details that are the chief charm of the
fairy story. As composition designed
and successfully produced-as a stage
play, it displays a skill superior to that
of any of Maeterlinck's latest plays. The
story is reduced to its baldest outlines, the
characters are deity sketched in and the
dialogue more pointed and natural-and
no less beautiful-than any that has come
from the Belgian's pen.
The Betrothdl is wholly concerned with
the story of TyltyTs quest for wife
Tyltyl is some years older than when we
left him in The Blue Bird; we meet him
at his cloves awakening" and accompany
him in his travels to the land of the past
his ancestors-and the land of the fu-
ture-his descendants-finally pausing in
the little hut as the boy and girl realize
they are made for each other In the tell
ing Of this simple story the dramatist has
utilized his highest gifts as craftsman
and poet. But the ideas?
Well, play does not live by ideas alone
neither can it live without them. 1t
appears that with the development of his
technique land perhaps of his bank ac-
count Maurice Maeterlinck's philosophy
has become more comforting, accommo-
dating, popular. Try as may, cannot
escape the feeling that Maeterlinck has
fallen into an abject state of POllyanity.
In The Betrothdl find no trace of philo-
sophie originality, no unpleasant"
thought; | am simply drenched in sun
shine How comfortable it is to know
that one cannot help marrying the right
woman because ones ancestors, ones
children and grandchildren inevitably
choose her. A system of unconscious
eugenics is here presented TO US in the
most aluring fashion.
Ii is all very well to envisage life and
death as a beautiful adventure, and it is
fitting that in an age of asi-pessimism
We should be drawn away from the hor-
rors of civilization TO a contemplation Of
the richness of our existence, but | am
not little disappointed that 4 philoso-
pher Of Maeterlinck's standing should to
paraphrase an idea of the long dead
Wells, lombard me into bliss.
But the play itself is final proof that
Maeterlinck has mastered the dramatic
medium. We anticipate the appearance
e. in this country of his Burgomdster of
Stilemonde, a play that promises rather
more drama and less philosophy than are
found in The BetrOthdl.
Mr.. Alexander Texeira de Mattos has
rendered The Betrothdl into fluid Eng
lish; he is one of the few translators who,
knowing the original, can transpose it
to the key Of English with unerring skill.
THE BETROTHAL. Play in FIVE acts by
MAURICE MAETERLINCK. Dodd Mead &