So, too, in _Mrs. Warren's Profession_, the
great scene of the second act between Vivie and her mother is a superb
example of a scene imposed by the logic of the theme. On the other hand,
in Mr. Henry Arthur Jones's finely conceived, though unequal, play,
_Michael and his Lost Angel_, we miss what was surely an obligatory
scene. The play is in fact a contest between the paganism of Audrie
Lesden and the ascetic, sacerdotal idealism of Michael Feversham. In the
second act, paganism snatches a momentary victory; and we confidently
expect, in the third act, a set and strenuous effort on Audrie's part to
break down in theory the ascetic ideal which has collapsed in practice.
It is probable enough that she might not succeed in dragging her lover
forth from what she regards as the prison-house of a superstition; but
the logic of the theme absolutely demands that she should make the
attempt. Mr. Jones has preferred to go astray after some comparatively
irrelevant and commonplace matter, and has thus left his play
incomplete.
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