We have to bear in mind that although these Nobel Prizes were awarded in the Twentieth Century the recipients were of the Nineteenth. This is particularly obvious in the life and work of José Echegaray. We have here another mathematician who turned his talents to politics and literature. When, after the collapse of the monarchy for which he worked as director of public works, he was exiled to Paris he became enamored by the theater. In his political career he was a liberal, strongly supporting freedom of religious belief in a Roman Catholic country, still he lived the mores of his time. Honor and societal structure were an important theme of his work. He loved to overdramatize the problems of conscience and moral conflict. José Echegaray claimed to love mathematics, politics and literature equally. In the latter case there was no one of his time who wrote with such conciseness of the classical tradition.
I choose two plays: The Great Galeoto and Madman or Saint? After reading them I decided that if the societal rules presented were still in force most who work in Washington D.C. would either be dead as the result of duels or confined to mental institutions.
The Great Galeoto has three primary characters: Don Julian, an older and prosperous aristocrat, Teodora, his much younger and very beautiful wife, and Ernest, the orphaned son of Don Julian’s closest friend and mentor. The minor characters are Don Servero, a jealous younger brother, and his avarice ridden family. As I was reading I kept coming across the word “calumny”. I checked with Mr. Webster and got, “Calumny, 1. A misrepresentation intended to harm another’s reputation, 2. The act of uttering false charges or misrepresentations maliciously calculated to harm another’s reputation.” Yup, that about sums it up. Ernest, a poet and philosopher, lives with Don Julian and his wife. Being closer to in age and sharing interests with Teodora, Ernest spends a lot of time with his patron’s wife, even standing in for Don Julian at social events and theatrical presentations. Seeing an opportunity to be rid of both the young wife and the troublesome poet Don Servero and his family spread rumors of infidelity. When Ernest accidently walks into a drinking bout where young military types are defaming his benefactor’s wife he strikes one and is promptly challenged to a duel which he cannot win. When he hears of it, Don Julian, a much better swordsman, steps in and is mortally wounded in the conflict. In the following scenes Don Severo and his wife Mercedes continue to push the falsehood until even the dying Don Julian condemns his wife and adopted son as traitors. Earnest and Teodora are driven out of the house and the brother acquires both the position and the fortune. To the end Ernest the philosopher questions his position and decries the injustice of the situation.
(From Act III scene vi) Ernest (considering revenge on the man who mortally wounded his friend): What does it matter? What is the weight or value of such calumny? The worst of it is that thought is degraded by mean contact with a mean idea. From force of dwelling upon a crime, the conscience becomes familiar with it. It shows itself terrible and repellent –but it shows itself- at night, in dark solitude!... I am myself; my name is an honorable one. If I killed Nebreda (the person who challenged him to a duel) solely because of a lie, what would I not do to myself if guilt threatened to give truth to calumny?”
The joys of Madman or Saint? went beyond the reading. I bought the book from an online book seller. The slim volume was published in 1912 and the copy I held in my hands had never been read. I knew this as the pages were uncut. I found a particular tactual delight in slitting the pages as I read.
In this play Lorenzo de Avendano, the primary character is a wealthy philosopher poet who dotes on his daughter Inez and wife Angela. His parents died when he was a young man. His beloved nurse was committed to a 15 year prison term for stealing a locket from the neck of her late employer. Thomas, a friend and adviser, informs him the nurse has been released and is dying. Lorenzo insists she be brought to his house. On arrival she admits stealing the locket but only because a message inside led him to a letter left by his mother. When the letter is retrieved it informs Lorenzo that he is not the natural child of wealthy parents. His parents were unable to have children so they raised the child of the nurse as their own allowing him to inherit both title and wealth. With tears in his eyes he recognizes his biological mother and, being an honorable man, resolves to give both wealth and title to their true heir. This sends the family into a tizzy of self protection and everybody, including the nurse, conspires to prevent him from carrying out what they view as a self-destructive and totally mad plan. The play ends with the hapless Lorenzo being carted off to an asylum all the while declaring he was doing what was right.
(Act III, scene xiv, Lorenzo has discovered the proof of his birth has been destroyed by his biological mother, the nurse, and everyone in his family is convinced he is mad. He is about to be committed) Lorenzo: … “My God! So be it! So be it! Conquered- basely conquered! How they enjoy their triumph! How they look at me in hypocritical sorrow. And they pretend to cry! They all pretend! My heart – the illusions of my life – love – my child, my child! Phantoms that speed and flee – flee forever! And I believed it all! How blue the sky was! How pale Inez was! And now what shall I believe in? Now, you see, I don’t struggle, I yield; the victory is yours. Why have those men come if I don’t resist? I shall go where you like. Good-by!”
You will notice that in the above quote there are only two periods. All the rest of the punctuation is exclamation points or question marks, a good summation of the works of José Echegaray which I read.
The winner of the 1905 Noble Prize in Literature was Henryk Sienkiewicz of Poland. I was delighted when I actually recognized one of the sited works; Quo Vadis. When I checked the local library system I found they had five different titles by this author on their shelves. This is the first writer of historical novels to be a Nobel laureate and as this medium is a particular favorite of mine I am looking forward to a good read. I have plenty of Chopin in my CD collection now if I can only find some pierogi and Zywiec.
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