Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - The Scandinavian Drama - August Strindberg
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
STRINDBERG
1
^HE reproach was levelled against my
tragedy, The Father, that it was
so sad, as though one wanted merry
tragedies. People clamour for the
joy of life, and the theatrical managers order
farces, as though the joy of life consisted in being
foolish, and in describing people as if they were
each and all afflicted with St. Vitus s dance or
idiocy. I find the joy of life in the powerful,
cruel struggle of life, and my enjoyment in dis
covering something, in learning something."
The passionate desire to discover something,
to learn something, has made of August Strind-
berg a keen dissector of souls. Above all, of his
own soul.
Surely there is no figure in contemporary litera
ture, outside of Tolstoy, that laid bare the most
secret nooks and corners of his own soul with the
sincerity of August Strindberg. One so relent
lessly honest with himself, could be no less with
others.
That explains the bitter opposition and hatred
of his critics. They did not object so much to
Strindberg s self-torture; but that he should have
43
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
