Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - XXIII. The capitulation
<< 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.
THE CAPITULATION 293
wanted to give in, got the upper hand. The
place surrendered, wisely, perhaps, but not too
well—and the defence, which might have gone
down to posterity as one of the finest feats of
arms of all history, was shorn of the lustre which
else would have attached to the memory of Port
Arthur,
The history of the siege of Port Arthur reminds
me of the fate of Ibsen’s powerful drama, “ A
Doll’s House.” When that work was first staged
in Germany (or was it America?), the public was
not yet accustomed to such strong food, and no
manager dared produce the play in its original
shape, with its defiant, discordant ending. One
manager arranged to have the final scene changed,
so that Nora, at the last moment, at the entreaty
of her husband, consents to stay at home “ for
the children’s sake.” It spoilt the drama of
course, this milk-and-watery ending to the strong,
passionate pleadings ;
and to-day everybody
scoffs at the man and the spirit that tempted him
to tamper with Ibsen’s play.
Thus, it seems to me, is the drama of Port
Arthur. Admirably built up, it leads us as by a
master’s hand from one powerfully conceived,
splendidly acted scene to another until nearly the
end, when the strong hand suddenly relaxes its
grip, and the whole effect of the heroic drama is
spoilt by the insipid ending, so out of tune with
the intense plot of the play. And as in “A Doll’s
House,” the greatness of the piece was ruthlessly
marred "for the children’s sake,” so the weak-
spirited Port Arthur manager, alias General
Stoessel, sacrificed the eternal honour and glory
of this great siege-drama " for humanity’s sake.”
Grosse Geister begegnen sich.*
* “ Great minds meet.”
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
