An aside is intolerable because it is _not_ heard by the other person on
the stage: it outrages physical possibility. An overheard soliloquy, on
the other hand, is intolerable because it _is_ heard. It keeps within
the bounds of physical possibility, but it stultifies the only logical
excuse for the soliloquy, namely, that it is an externalization of
thought which would in reality remain unuttered. This point is so clear
that I need not insist upon it.
Are there, in modern drama, any admissible soliloquies? A few brief
ejaculations of joy, or despair, are, of course, natural enough, and no
one will cavil at them. The approach of mental disease is often marked
by a tendency to unrestrained loquacity, which goes on even while the
sufferer is alone; and this distressing symptom may, on rare occasions,
be put to artistic use. Short of actual derangement, however, there are
certain states of nervous surexcitation which cause even healthy people
to talk to themselves; and if an author has the skill to make us realize
that his character is passing through such a crisis, he may risk a
soliloquy, not only without reproach, but with conspicuous psychological
justification.
Pages:
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540