The second case is that of _La Douloureuse_, by M. Maurice Donnay.
Through two acts out of the four an important secret is so carefully
kept that there seems to be no obstacle between the lovers with whom
(from the author's point of view) we are supposed to sympathize. The
first act is devoted to an elaborate painting of a somewhat revolting
phase of parvenu society in Paris. Towards the end of the act we learn
that the sculptor, Philippe Lauberthie, is the lover of Helene Ardan, a
married woman; and at the very end her husband, Ardan, commits suicide.
This act, therefore, is devoted, not, as the orthodox formula goes, to
raising an obstacle between the lovers, but rather to destroying one. In
the second act there still seems to be no obstacle of any sort. Helene's
year of widowhood is nearly over; she and Philippe are presently to be
married; all is harmony, adoration, and security. In the last scene of
the act, a cloud no bigger than a man's hand appears on the horizon.
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