But Lemaitre
chose as a model for the husband a man whom he had known and admired;
and he allowed himself to depict in vivid colours his strong and
sympathetic character, without noticing that he was thereby upsetting
the economy of his play, and giving his audience reason to anticipate a
line of development quite different from that which he had in mind.
Inadvertently, in fact, he planted, not one, but two or three,
misleading finger-posts.
* * * * *
We come now to the fourth, or psychological, class of obligatory
scenes--those which are "required in order to justify some modification
of character or alteration of will, too important to be taken
for granted."
An obvious example of an obligatory scene of this class may be found in
the third act of _Othello_. The poet is bound to show us the process by
which Iago instils his poison into Othello's mind. He has backed
himself, so to speak, to make this process credible to us; and, by a
masterpiece of dexterity and daring, he wins his wager.
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