short stories and essays-第8章

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of　the　firmament；　and　was　a　world　of　wonders　and　delights。　　At　least　I
can　recognize　this　fact　now；　and　can　rejoice　in　the　peaceful　progress　all
over　the　country　of　the　simple　circuses　which　the　towns　never　see；　but
which　help　to　render　the　summer　fairer　and　brighter　to　the　unspoiled　eyes
and　hearts　they　appeal　to。　　I　hope　it　will　be　long　before　they　cease　to
find　profit　in　the　pleasure　they　give。






A　SHE　HAMLET

The　other　night　as　I　sat　before　the　curtain　of　the　Garden　Theatre　and
waited　for　it　to　rise　upon　the　Hamlet　of　Mme。　Bernhardt；　a　thrill　of　the
rich　expectation　which　cannot　fail　to　precede　the　rise　of　any　curtain
upon　any　Hamlet　passed　through　my　eager　frame。　　There　is；　indeed；　no
scene　of　drama　which　is　of　a　finer　horror　（eighteenth…century　horror）
than　that　which　opens　the　great　tragedy。　　The　sentry　pacing　up　and　down
upon　the　platform　at　Elsinore　under　the　winter　night；　the　greeting
between　him　and　the　comrade　arriving　to　relieve　him；　with　its　hints　of
the　bitter　cold；　the　entrance　of　Horatio　and　Marcellus　to　these　before
they　can　part；　the　mention　of　the　ghost；　and；　while　the　soldiers　are　in
the　act　of　protesting　it　a　veridical　phantom；　the　apparition　of　the
ghost；　taking　the　word　from　their　lips　and　hushing　all　into　a　pulseless
awe：　what　could　be　more　simply　and　sublimely　real；　more　naturally
supernatural？　　What　promise　of　high　mystical　things　to　come　there　is　in
the　mere　syllabling　of　the　noble　verse；　and　how　it　enlarges　us　from
ourselves；　for　that　time　at　least；　to　a　disembodied　unity　with　the
troubled　soul　whose　martyry　seems　foreboded　in　the　solemn　accents！
As　the　many　Hamlets　on　which　the　curtain　had　risen　in　my　time　passed　in
long　procession　through　my　memory；　I　seemed　to　myself　so　much　of　their
world；　and　so　little　of　the　world　that　arrogantly　calls　itself　the　actual
one；　that　I　should　hardly　have　been　surprised　to　find　myself　one　of　the
less　considered　persons　of　the　drama　who　were　seen　but　not　heard　in　its
course。




I。

The　trouble　in　judging　anything　is　that　if　you　have　the　materials　for　an
intelligent　criticism；　the　case　is　already　prejudiced　in　your　hands。
You　do　not　bring　a　free　mind　to　it；　and　all　your　efforts　to　free　your
mind　are　a　species　of　gymnastics　more　or　less　admirable；　but　not　really
effective　for　the　purpose。　　The　best　way　is　to　own　yourself　unfair　at　the
start；　and　then　you　can　have　some　hope　of　doing　yourself　justice；　if　not
your　subject。　　In　other　words；　if　you　went　to　see　the　Hamlet　of　Mme。
Bernhardt　frankly　expecting　to　be　disappointed；　you　were　less　likely　in
the　end　to　be　disappointed　in　your　expectations；　and　you　could　not　blame
her　if　you　were。　　To　be　ideally　fair　to　that　representation；　it　would　be
better　not　to　have　known　any　other　Hamlet；　and；　above　all；　the　Hamlet　of
Shakespeare。

From　the　first　it　was　evident　that　she　had　three　things　overwhelmingly
against　herher　sex；　her　race；　and　her　speech。　　You　never　ceased　to　feel
for　a　moment　that　it　was　a　woman　who　was　doing　that　melancholy　Dane；　and
that　the　woman　was　a　Jewess；　and　the　Jewess　a　French　Jewess。　　These　three
removes　put　a　gulf　impassable　between　her　utmost　skill　and　the
impassioned　irresolution　of　that　inscrutable　Northern　nature　which　is　in
nothing　so　masculine　as　its　feminine　reluctances　and　hesitations；　or　so
little　French　as　in　those　obscure　emotions　which　the　English　poetry
expressed　with　more　than　Gallic　clearness；　but　which　the　French　words
always　failed　to　convey。　　The　battle　was　lost　from　the　first；　and　all　you
could　feel　about　it　for　the　rest　was　that　if　it　was　magnificent　it　was
not　war。

While　the　battle　went　on　I　was　the　more　anxious　to　be　fair；　because　I
had；　as　it　were；　pre…espoused　the　winning　side；　and　I　welcomed；　in　the
interest　of　critical　impartiality；　another　Hamlet　which　came　to　mind；
through　readily　traceable　associations。　　This　was　a　Hamlet　also　of　French
extraction　in　the　skill　and　school　of　the　actor；　but　as　much　more　deeply
derived　than　the　Hamlet　of　Mme。　Bernhardt　as　the　large　imagination　of
Charles　Fechter　transcended　in　its　virile　range　the　effect　of　her
subtlest　womanish　intuition。　　His　was　the　first　blond　Hamlet　known　to　our
stage；　and　hers　was　also　blond；　if　a　reddish…yellow　wig　may　stand　for　a
complexion；　and　it　was　of　the　quality　of　his　Hamlet　in　masterly
technique。




II。

The　Hamlet　of　Fechter；　which　rose　ghostlike　out　of　the　gulf　of　the　past；
and　cloudily　possessed　the　stage　where　the　Hamlet　of　Mme。　　Bernhardt　was
figuring；　was　called　a　romantic　Hamlet　thirty　years　ago；　and　so　it　was　in
being　a　break　from　the　classic　Hamlets　of　the　Anglo…American　theatre。
It　was　romantic　as　Shakespeare　himself　was　romantic；　in　an　elder　sense　of
the　word；　and　not　romanticistic　as　Dumas　was　romanticistic。　　It　was；
therefore；　the　most　realistic　Hamlet　ever　yet　seen；　because　the　most
naturally　poetic。　　Mme。　　Bernhardt　recalled　it　by　the　perfection　of　her
school；　for　Fechter's　poetic　naturalness　differed　from　the
conventionality　of　the　accepted　Hamlets　in　nothing　so　much　as　the
superiority　of　its　self…instruction。　　In　Mme。　Bernhardt's　Hamlet；　as　in
his；　nothing　was　trusted　to　chance；　or　〃inspiration。〃　　Good　or　bad；　what
one　saw　was　what　was　meant　to　be　seen。　　When　Fechter　played　Edmond　Dantes
or　Claude　Melnotte；　he　put　reality　into　those　preposterous　inventions；
and　in　Hamlet　even　his　alien　accent　helped　him　vitalize　the　part；　it
might　be　held　to　be　nearer　the　Elizabethan　accent　than　ours；　and　after
all；　you　said　Hamlet　was　a　foreigner；　and　in　your　high　content　with　what
he　gave　you　did　not　mind　its　being　in　a　broken　vessel。　　When　he
challenged　the　ghost　with　〃I　call　thee　keeng；　father；　rawl…Dane；〃　you
Would　hardly　have　had　the　erring　utterance　bettered。　　It　sufficed　as　it
was；　and　when　he　said　to　Rosencrantz；　〃Will　you　pleh　upon　this　pyip？〃
it　was　with　such　a　princely　authority　and　comradely　entreaty　that　you
made　no　note　of　the　slips　in　the　vowels　except　to　have　pleasure　of　their
quaintness　afterwards。　　For　the　most　part　you　were　not　aware　of　these
betrayals　of　his　speech；　and　in　certain　high　things　it　was　soul
interpreted　to　soul　through　the　poetry　of　Shakespeare　so　finely；　so
directly；　that　there　was　scarcely　a　sense　of　the　histrionic　means。

He　put　such　divine　despair　into　the　words；　〃Except　my　life；　except　my
life；　except　my　life！〃　following　the　mockery　with　which　he　had　assured
Polonius　there　was　nothing　he　would　more　willingly　part　withal　than　his
leave；　that　the　heart…break　of　them　had　lingered　with　me　for　thirty
years；　and　I　had　been　alert　for　them　with　every　Hamlet　since。　　But　before
I　knew；　Mme。　Bernhardt　had　uttered　them　with　no　effect　whatever。　　Her
Hamlet；　indeed；　cut　many　of　the　things　that　we　have　learned　to　think　the
points　of　Hamlet；　and　it　so　transformed　others　by　its　interpretation　of
the　translator's　interpretation　of　Shakespeare　that　they　passed
unrecognized。　　Soliloquies　are　the　weak　invention　of　the　enemy；　for　the
most　part；　but　as　such　things　go　that　soliloquy　of　Hamlet's；　〃To　be　or
not　to　be；〃　is　at　least　very　noble　poetry；　and　yet　Mme。　　Bernhardt　was　so
unimpressive　in　it　that　you　scarcely　noticed　the　act　of　its　delivery。
Perhaps　this　happened　because　the　sumptuous　and　sombre　melancholy　of
Shakespeare's　thought　was　transmitted　in　phrases　that　refused　it　its
proper　mystery。　　But　there　was　always　a　hardness；　not　always　from　the
translation；　upon　this　feminine　Hamlet。　　It　was　like　a　thick　shell　with
no　crevice　in　it　through　which　the　tenderness　of　Shakespeare's　Hamlet
could　show；　except　for　the　one　moment　at　Ophelia's　grave；　where　he
reproaches　Laertes　with　those　pathetic　words

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　〃What　is　the　reason　that　you　use　me　thus？
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　I　loved　you　ever；　but　it　is　no　matter。〃

Here　Mme。　　Bernhardt　betrayed　a　real　grief；　but　as　a　woman　would；　and　not
a　man。　　At　the　close　of　the　Gonzago　play；　when　Hamlet　triumphs　in　a　mad
whirl；　her　Hamlet　hopped　up　and　down　like　a　mischievous　crow；　a
mischievous　she…crow。

There　was　no　repose　in　her　Hamlet；　though　there　were　moments　of　leaden
lapse　which　suggested　physical　exhaustion；　and　there　was　no　range　in　her
elocution　expressive　of　the　large　vibration　of　that　tormented　spirit。
Her　voice