Indirectly, of
course, all the technical discussions of the previous chapters tend, or
ought to tend, towards the effective presentment of character; for
construction, in drama of any intellectual quality, has no other end.
But specific directions for character-drawing would be like rules for
becoming six feet high. Either you have it in you, or you have it not.
Under the heading of character, however, two points arise which may be
worth a brief discussion: first, ought we always to aim at development
in character? second, what do we, or ought we to, mean by "psychology"?
It is a frequent critical complaint that in such-and-such a character
there is "no development": that it remains the same throughout a play;
or (so the reproach is sometimes worded) that it is not a character but
an invariable attitude. A little examination will show us, I think,
that, though the critic may in these cases be pointing to a real fault,
he does not express himself quite accurately.
What is character? For the practical purposes of the dramatist, it may
be defined as a complex of intellectual, emotional, and nervous habits.
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