How often, at the end
of a first act, does one turn to one's neighbour and say, "Are Edith and
Adela sisters or only half-sisters?" or, "Did you gather what was the
villain's claim to the title?" If a story cannot be made clear without
an elaborate study of one or more family trees, beware of it. In all
probability, it is of very little use for dramatic purposes. But before
giving it up, see whether the relationships, and other relations, cannot
be simplified. Complexities which at first seemed indispensable will
often prove to be mere useless encumbrances.
In _Pillars of Society_ Ibsen goes as far as any playwright ought to go
in postulating fine degrees of kinship--and perhaps a little further.
Karsten Bernick has married into a family whose gradations put something
of a strain on the apprehension and memory of an audience. We have to
bear in mind that Mrs. Bernick has (_a_) a half-sister, Lona Hessel;
(_b_) a full brother, Johan Toennesen; (_c_) a cousin, Hilmar Toennesen.
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