That is the principle on which Sir Arthur Pinero has always
proceeded, and for which he has been unduly censured, by critics who
make no allowances for the narrow limits imposed by custom and the
constitution of the modern audience upon the playwrights of to-day. In
_His House in Order_ (one of his greatest plays) Sir Arthur effects part
of his exposition by the simple device of making Hilary Jesson a
candidate for Parliament, and bringing on a reporter to interview his
private secretary. The incident is perfectly natural and probable; all
one can say of it is that it is perhaps an over-simplification of the
dramatist's task.[3] _The Second Mrs. Tanqueray_ requires an unusual
amount of preliminary retrospect. We have to learn the history of Aubrey
Tanqueray's first marriage, with the mother of Ellean, as well as the
history of Paula Ray's past life. The mechanism employed to this end has
been much criticized, but seems to me admirable. Aubrey gives a farewell
dinner-party to his intimate friends, Misquith and Jayne.
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