—.—
box 36/3
Panphlets offprints
592
THE NEW OUARTERLY
engaged to relate, at a given moment, his own history.
Prospère’s leading artiste,“ Henri,“ has just married
Léocadie, an actress notorious for her love affairs, with
whom he hopes, however, to live henceforth a life of rustic
innocence; though she by no means intends to give up the
pleasures of the town. Atthe time of her marriage, indeed,
she had been carrying on an intrigue with the Duc de
Cadignan, who is among the aristocratic audience which
has assembled to witness the strange performance at the
Green Cockatoo on the very evening (sothe host knows) the
mob are preparing to storm the Bastille. Henri has planned
a thrilling descriptive scene as his farewell upon the stage
of the Cockatoo, before his idyllic rural life begins. Inthis
scene he describes how he took Léocadie to her theatre,
and how he was on his way to the Cockatoo to play his own
part, when a sudden qualm of furious jealousy seizing him,
he returned to find her in the arms of Cadignan, whom
he stabbed to death. The audience, who know well
enough of what Léocadie is capable, are worked to the
highest pitch of excitement in their doubt as to how much
truth this dramatic monologue represents, when Cadignan,
who has just been with Leocadie, strolls back to the inn,
unconscious of what is going on. As the duke enters,
Henri learns from the murderer Grain that the intrigue
which he had only imagined is an actual fact. He falls
upon Cadignan and kills him, and the scene culminates
with the entrance of a shouting mob, announcing the fall
of the Bastille.
The underlying idea in this piece—evidently one which
fascinates Schnitzler, for he uses it again in Die letzten
Maréez, and we have scen him touching the fringe of it in
his studies of the insincere literary temperament—is the
elusiveness of the real man, or, perhaps, of“ reality itself,
as scen on the stage of the world. In life, as on the stage
of the Green Cockatoo, it is very hard to tell for certain
whether people are acting or not. One of the spectators,
box 36/3
Panphlets offprints
592
THE NEW OUARTERLY
engaged to relate, at a given moment, his own history.
Prospère’s leading artiste,“ Henri,“ has just married
Léocadie, an actress notorious for her love affairs, with
whom he hopes, however, to live henceforth a life of rustic
innocence; though she by no means intends to give up the
pleasures of the town. Atthe time of her marriage, indeed,
she had been carrying on an intrigue with the Duc de
Cadignan, who is among the aristocratic audience which
has assembled to witness the strange performance at the
Green Cockatoo on the very evening (sothe host knows) the
mob are preparing to storm the Bastille. Henri has planned
a thrilling descriptive scene as his farewell upon the stage
of the Cockatoo, before his idyllic rural life begins. Inthis
scene he describes how he took Léocadie to her theatre,
and how he was on his way to the Cockatoo to play his own
part, when a sudden qualm of furious jealousy seizing him,
he returned to find her in the arms of Cadignan, whom
he stabbed to death. The audience, who know well
enough of what Léocadie is capable, are worked to the
highest pitch of excitement in their doubt as to how much
truth this dramatic monologue represents, when Cadignan,
who has just been with Leocadie, strolls back to the inn,
unconscious of what is going on. As the duke enters,
Henri learns from the murderer Grain that the intrigue
which he had only imagined is an actual fact. He falls
upon Cadignan and kills him, and the scene culminates
with the entrance of a shouting mob, announcing the fall
of the Bastille.
The underlying idea in this piece—evidently one which
fascinates Schnitzler, for he uses it again in Die letzten
Maréez, and we have scen him touching the fringe of it in
his studies of the insincere literary temperament—is the
elusiveness of the real man, or, perhaps, of“ reality itself,
as scen on the stage of the world. In life, as on the stage
of the Green Cockatoo, it is very hard to tell for certain
whether people are acting or not. One of the spectators,