V OF-CAL!F( 
 
 
 ^tllBRAJTl -^v
 
 MATTHEW% 
 JDRAMAT7C MUSE LU* 
 
 PLAYS 
 
 BY 
 
 BJORNSTJERNE BJORNSON
 
 PLAYS 
 
 BY 
 
 THE GAUNTLET (EN HANSKE) 
 BEYOND OUR POWER (OVER EVNE) 
 THE NEW SYSTEM (DET NY SYSTEM) 
 
 TRANSLATED FROM THE NORWEGIAN WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 EDWIN BJORKMAN 
 
 NEW YORK 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1916
 
 RANDEP MATTHEWS 
 0RAMAT/C MUSEUM x 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Published April, 1913
 
 I I 
 
 ia 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAQB 
 
 INTRODUCTION 1 
 
 A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PLATS BY BJORNSTJERNE 
 
 BJORNSON 17 
 
 THE GAUNTLET 19 
 
 BEYOND OUR POWER 109 
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM . 169
 
 INTRODUCTION
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 BJORNSTJERNE BJORNSON was born December 8, 1832, in a 
 solitary rectory, lost among the mountains of northern Nor- 
 way. His father was then the spiritual head of the smallest 
 parish in the whole country. There the boy spent the first 
 years of his life, seeing more of nature than of man. When 
 he was six the family removed to the Romsdal district, on the 
 Atlantic coast, which is one of the most beautiful and also 
 most characteristic parts of Norway. In 1843 the boy was 
 sent to school in the little fishing-town of Molde, not far 
 from his parental home, and at eighteen he went to Chris- 
 tiania to study at the same school where the young Ibsen 
 was then preparing himself for entrance into the national 
 university. 
 
 He was only twenty when he wrote his first play historical, 
 of course, with a theme from the Sagas. It was accepted 
 by the Christiania Theatre, but before it reached a perform- 
 ance the young author realised its shortcomings and with- 
 drew it. His public career began as dramatic critic on a 
 daily newspaper, and in this capacity he made history by 
 leading the opposition against the Danish influence, which 
 had until then prevailed on the national stage. From the 
 very first he spoke with the assurance and authority of a born 
 chieftain, and however frequently challenged, his leadership 
 was never surrendered or lost. Toward the Norway with 
 which the world is familiar to-day a nation having a culture 
 marvellously disproportionate to its physical and economical 
 conditions no one man has contributed more than Bjb'rnson, 
 
 3
 
 4 INTRODUCTION 
 
 and to understand his spirit is to understand the country 
 itself. 
 
 His first dramatic work of lasting value was produced in 
 1856, after a visit to the Swedish city of Upsala, where stu- 
 dents from the three Scandinavian countries had met for the 
 promotion of mutual sympathy. It was a brief historic play 
 named "Between the Battles," which, because of its novelty 
 of form, exercised an unmistakable influence both on Ibsen 
 and Strindberg. Its terse prose was that of the old Sagas. 
 The next year Bjornson produced and published his first 
 peasant tale, "Synnove Solbakken" (Synnb've Sunnyside). 
 Henrik Jager, the literary historian of Norway, says that two 
 things assured the success of that tale and those that followed : 
 their style, at once picturesque and simple; and their author's 
 disct v ery that mental reserve and laconic expression are 
 characteristic traits of the Norwegian peasant. 
 
 To this discovery and to his own charming application of 
 it, Bjornson was led by a double study : of the old Sagas and 
 of the peasants themselves. Always and everywhere he 
 strove to recognise the unbroken connection between the 
 life of the past and the life still led by the people around 
 him. The result of his effort was that he forestalled Maeter- 
 linck in effective use of commonplace, almost meaningless 
 words. 
 
 In 1857 he succeeded Ibsen as leader of the theatre started 
 at Bergen by Ole Bull, and during the eighteen months he 
 remained in that place he married a young actress, Caroline 
 Reimers, whose devotion and loving comprehension of his 
 genius served him as a valuable support to the very end of 
 his life. On the whole, the fate of Bjornson was always 
 fortunate, and not the least so in regard to his marriage. It 
 resulted in a relationship that coloured his art, and made 
 him logically what he later became: a champion of the
 
 INTRODUCTION 5 
 
 new womanhood. And few have done more than he to 
 assert and defend the essential equality of the two sexes. 
 
 After his return to Christiania in 1859, he wrote a number 
 of charming lyrics, many of which were set to music by Half- 
 dan Kjerulf, who was then Norway's greatest composer. He 
 wrote also several patriotic songs, and one of these, "Yea, 
 We Love the Land that Bore Us," caught the popular taste 
 to such an extent that it rapidly won acceptance as the 
 national hymn. 
 
 Bjornson was the first man in Norway to receive an annual 
 pension from the government. This happened in 1863, when 
 he was only thirty-one years old, and in the same year he de- 
 livered the first of those public lectures which came to form 
 such an important part of his activity, bringing him into a 
 personal contact with the people that a man like Ibsen could 
 never attain. As a speaker he exercised a magnetism that has 
 rarely been equalled either in his own country or outside of it. 
 Yet his words were simple enough, though at times he could 
 rise to the highest poetic flights even when speaking im- 
 promptu. But what really secured his hold on his listeners 
 was his transparent sincerity, his earnestness, and his insist- 
 ence on telling them not what they liked to hear, but what he 
 believed to be right and true. Add to this that he possessed 
 an almost uncanny perception of what was going on in the 
 mind of the people, and that he knew well how to reckon 
 with what he thus perceived, although often enough his task 
 was to lead his countrymen to a position diametrically op- 
 posed to the one previously held by them. 
 
 In 1862 Bjornson wrote his first really significant play, the 
 trilogy " Sigurd the Bad," which two years later was followed 
 by another fine, although not epoch-making piece of work, 
 the historical drama " Mary Stuart in Scotland." When, in 
 1865, he broke new ground at last, the medium he used for
 
 6 INTRODUCTION 
 
 the purpose was slight enough: a two-act play named "The 
 Newly Married Couple." But it was a prose play dealing 
 with the everyday life of his own time and place. It dis- 
 played no violent passions, and was in no way sensational. 
 All it did was to portray "the soul processes taking place 
 within a young woman as she leaves her parents' home to 
 follow her husband that is, as she ceases to be primarily a 
 daughter, in order to become primarily a wife." 
 
 In spite of its unmistakable shortcomings, the play exer- 
 cised a wide influence, and not the least so on Ibsen, who a 
 few years later produced "The League of Youth." The 
 relationship between Ibsen and Bjornson, which always 
 remained one of mutual give and take even when they 
 were emotionally estranged, has often been represented as 
 one of a smaller mind to a greater. The truth is that 
 Bjornson was as great as Ibsen, but in a different way. The 
 latter specialised in the drama, while the former was always 
 tempted to embrace the entire field of literary endeavour; 
 nay, the whole vast realm of human life in all its varied 
 manifestations. 
 
 Ibsen became in the end one of the world's great dramatists, 
 and one of the corner-stones of the new drama which is only 
 now coming into existence. If we restrict the comparison 
 between them to this field alone, Bjornson must necessarily 
 suffer, but even then a closer analysis will prove him to have 
 rendered much greater service than is generally admitted. 
 The constant exchange of impulses and ideas between him 
 and Ibsen constitutes one of the most interesting phenomena 
 recorded in literary history, and, strange as it may seem, in 
 this mutual exchange it was Bjornson who gave the most. 
 As a rule it seems as if the seeds of the forms still to be de- 
 veloped sprang into being within his richer and more enthu- 
 siastic mind, to be later nursed into perfection within the
 
 INTRODUCTION 7 
 
 colder but more persistent mind of Ibsen. The evolution 
 of the man who wrote "Rosmersholm" may be character-* 
 ised as a process of slow and painful elimination, while the 
 onward march of Bjornson was one of triumphant discovery. 
 Three times, in particular, the latter seems to have fur- 
 nished the "clue" needed by Ibsen in his tormenting pur- 
 suit of self-knowledge. This Bjornson did through two of the 
 plays already mentioned, "Between the Battles" and "The 
 Newly Married Couple," and through a third one that fol- 
 lowed in 1875, "A Business Failure." 
 
 Nor does this reflected importance of Bjornson, derived 
 from his influence on the development of his more famous 
 rival, dispose of his significance in the annals of the modern 
 drama. Some of his plays belong to the greatest produced 
 during the last century, and will undoubtedly live for a long 
 time to come. They are less universal in their application 
 than those of Ibsen, but they are also more human, better 
 adapted to that side of man which forbids his living up to his 
 highest possibilities at each single moment of his life. I do not 
 mean to say that Bjornson's dramatic art administers to the 
 weaknesses of man, as do so many plays of ephemeral attrac- 
 tion; it simply reckons with them. Somebody said once that 
 whenever Bjornson had thundered for a while, he had to 
 smile a little and his smile was not grim like that of Ibsen. 
 In other words, his work is more emotional than that of 
 Ibsen, and for this very reason it should exert an increasing 
 appeal on the generation that is now arriving at maturity. 
 
 "The Editor," a drama picturing the demoralising effect 
 exercised by an influential press under the leadership of self- 
 ish and unscrupulous men, preceded "A Business Failure," 
 but though belonging to the new order, it was still too un- 
 certain in form, and too polemical in spirit, to achieve the 
 revolution resulting from the later play. "A Business Fail-
 
 8 INTRODUCTION 
 
 ure" was not only the first wholly successful specimen of the 
 modern prose play produced in the Scandinavian North, but 
 it served also to introduce money and business into Scandina- 
 vian literature, and thence into the literature of Germany. In 
 this respect it went beyond what had already been achieved 
 by Augier and the younger Dumas in' France. To them love 
 was always the supreme theme; to Bjornson it was only one 
 strand out of many that are woven into the rope of life. For 
 this very reason, perhaps, "A Business Failure" achieved an 
 additional distinction, which by many critics has been de- 
 clared its greatest: namely that of being the first true stage 
 picture of a Norwegian home. And this quality of domestic 
 realism goes far to explain why it became at once, and has 
 always remained, a great favourite in Germany, while to this 
 day it has failed to win approval in France. 
 
 In 1877 Bjornson published his first novel, "Magnhild," 
 which, while an exquisite piece of work, was rendered signifi- 
 cant chiefly by the new view of marriage voiced in it. If not 
 based on love, Bjornson dared to assert and the assertion 
 was a very radical one in those days marriage was as im- 
 moral as any illegitimate relationship, if not worse, and the 
 breaking of it must be held not only permissible, but a duty. 
 In other ways, too, the novel was a forerunner of the play, 
 "The Gauntlet," by which, a few years later, Bjornson fur- 
 nished one of the main impulses for the Scandinavian feminist 
 movement. 
 
 Of "The New System," completed in 1879, Bjornson said 
 himself that its interest was psychological rather than dra- 
 matic. For this very reason, however, it should be germane 
 to the present time. And it derives still further interest from 
 being the main dramatic expression of the principle which had 
 gradually become Bjornson's final formulation of man's fore- 
 most duty to himself, to others, and to life in its entirety.
 
 INTRODUCTION 9 
 
 The cry uttered by Ibsen in " Brand " as the utmost wisdom 
 to be distilled out of life was: "Be yourself!" The cry of 
 Bjb'rnson, uttered first in an address to the students of Chris- 
 tiania University, and later made the ever-present under- 
 current in "The New System," was "Live in Truth!" What 
 he meant was that no appearances matter in the end; that 
 nothing really counts but what we are; and that, conse- 
 quently, the way to perfection lies through a frank acknowl- 
 edgment of our innermost natures. And this demand for 
 truthfulness he extended to the state as well as to the indi- 
 vidual. In these days, when the best men all over the 
 civilised world seem agreed that the most effective remedy 
 for social evils and mistakes lies in publicity, "The New 
 System" has a timeliness almost equalling that of a political 
 platform. 
 
 The electoral campaign of 1879, which placed the Radical 
 party, known as the "Left," in control of the government, 
 marked a turning point in the country's history as well as 
 one of the first definite steps toward the dissolution of the 
 union with Sweden. Bjb'rnson was the soul of the move- 
 ment which carried that campaign to victory, thus extending 
 his leadership also to the field of politics. How powerful that 
 leadership was may be judged from the nickname given him 
 of "Norway's uncrowned king." Both in Sweden and 
 among his opponents in Norway, it was often asserted that 
 he used his position in a manner meant to enhance his own 
 fame and power. But although, like all strong and far- 
 seeing men, he was arbitrary in his self-assertion, yet his mo- 
 tives remained always pure and his purposes raised far above 
 those of men usually classed as politicians. And in all he 
 did to guide his country to self-consciousness and spiritual as 
 well as political independence, there seems to have been little, 
 if anything, of hatred toward those that stood in the way.
 
 10 INTRODUCTION 
 
 It was for those that made life small and mean and ugly 
 that his actual hatred was reserved, and it never was more 
 likely to break into open flame than when anybody repeated 
 the time-honoured belief that life was impelled by desires 
 rather than by duties. The presence and power of such 
 desires, especially those connected with man's sexual life, he 
 admitted readily, and he was always prepared to take them 
 into practical account. But that any desire must needs be 
 stronger than the man within whom it makes itself felt, he 
 neither could nor would admit. Out of this feeling on his 
 part sprang "The Gauntlet" first of all, and later the novel 
 "The House of the Kurts. " The main objective of his attack 
 was the so-called double standard of morality, by which a sep- 
 arate code of sexual ethics was provided for each of the two 
 sexes. It was by no means the first time that standard had 
 been attacked, but until then its enemies had almost in variably 
 been satisfied to demand for woman the liberties accorded to 
 man by time-honoured custom. Bjornson was probably the 
 first one to assert and undoubtedly the very first one to do 
 so in a work of high artistic quality that men must be as 
 chaste as women if they are to retain that precious stamp of 
 social approval known as "respectability." Other writers 
 had defended the woman "with a past"; Bjornson dared to 
 attack the man with a similar past and for a time, at least, 
 he did so with undoubted success. Whether his position will 
 finally be assumed by the race in this matter remains yet 
 to be seen, but as long as the race continues the discussion 
 of that matter, with all its ramifications among human in- 
 stitutions and ideas, Bjornson's play must be counted a 
 contribution that cannot be overlooked by any seeker after 
 truth. 
 
 Before he was led to take this extreme attitude in questions 
 of sexual relationship, his spiritual position had in other ways
 
 INTRODUCTION 11 
 
 undergone a marked and far-reaching change. From his 
 parents he had inherited not only a strong religious feeling, 
 but a view of Christianity that rendered it a satisfactory out- 
 let for a typical Scandinavian tendency, designated by one of 
 the younger Swedish writers as " the passion for the infinite." 
 During the seventies Bjornson drifted more and more away 
 from his inherited attitude, led principally by the evolution- 
 ary re-interpretations of scientific truths. In 1880-81 he 
 made a lecture trip to the United States, which seems also to 
 have, in many ways, furthered and hastened this broadening 
 of his spirit. Shortly after his return he published a story 
 named "Dust," in which his new attitude of mind found its 
 first artistic expression. It was his "Ghosts"; but the in- 
 heritance from which he saw men suffering was spiritual 
 rather than physical. 
 
 This change within him found its clearest and yet fairest 
 utterance in the first part of "Beyond Our Power," published 
 the same year as "The Gauntlet." In "Dust" he had taken 
 issue against outgrown religious ideas. In the play he turned 
 once for all against man's craving to escape from life's realities 
 by building up around himself a supernatural sham-existence. 
 He had come to feel that the belief in miracles lay at the 
 bottom of the Christian faith, its most typical characteristic, 
 and he had also come to feel that this belief implied an un- 
 realisable hope of a special setting aside of universal laws for 
 the benefit of the individual who did not dare to face the 
 consequences of his own acts. 
 
 In a second play, named also "Beyond Our Power" which 
 is a sequel to the earlier one, but written in such a manner that 
 the two plays remain mutually independent there appears 
 a character named Johan Sverd, and a blind man might see 
 that he is none but Bjornson himself. In his mouth Bjorn- 
 son has laid a passage that explains not only what moved
 
 12 INTRODUCTION 
 
 him to write the two parts of "Beyond Our Power," but 
 also the spirit that informed his entire subsequent artistic 
 activity. 
 
 "But I tell you," says Jokan Sverd, "that the day will come 
 when mankind must discover that there lies more greatness 
 and poetry in what is natural and possible however insignifi- 
 cant it may frequently appear than in the world's whole 
 store of supernaturalism, from the first sun-myth down to 
 the latest sermon preached about it." 
 
 In his later development, Bjornson was almost Greek in his 
 aversion to what pretended to exceed human measures while 
 still having its roots within man himself. "Is there anything 
 more gruesome," cries another character in the play just 
 mentioned, "than that force within ourselves which goads 
 us on to what our whole nature resists? And can happiness 
 be possible on this earth until our reason becomes so com- 
 pletely a part of our nature, that nothing retains the power 
 of using us in that way? " 
 
 Bjornson never wrote more than one novel of the length to 
 which American and English readers have been accustomed. 
 It appeared in 1884, and the name of it, literally translated, 
 is " The Flags Are Flying." In English it is generally 
 known as "The House of the Kurts," The problem which 
 its author set for himself in this story was that of heredity 
 vs. education and it was strictly in keeping with his life-long 
 optimism that he found a verdict for education, by which he 
 believed it possible to overcome the tendencies implanted in 
 the organism at birth. At the same time, however, Bjornson 
 returned in this book once more to the question of sexual 
 morality, but less with a view to stating what it ought to 
 imply, than with a hope of outlining a road for the attain- 
 ment of it. Here as elsewhere, his plea was for knowledge 
 as the one firm basis on which life may be safely rested. For
 
 INTRODUCTION 13 
 
 the innocence that is based on ignorance he showed not only 
 contempt but actual hostility. 
 
 His greatest novel was undoubtedly "In the Ways of God," 
 printed in 1889. There science and religion, knowledge and 
 faith, the natural and the supernatural stand face to face in 
 the persons of a physician and a clergyman. The entire 
 book, from the first line to the last, is a sermon against intol- 
 erance, but clothed in exquisitely artistic form. Life comes 
 first, religion and everything else in the second place, is its 
 lesson. God is still supreme in this new world of Bjb'rnson's, 
 but it is a God of law and evolution, not of lawless miracles. 
 And what the author has to say against the superstitions and 
 the dogmas commonly masquerading under the name of re- 
 ligion may as well be said against the dead and stiffened 
 dogmas of a science believing itself to have said the final 
 word on life and its limitless possibilities. 
 
 The second part of "Beyond Our Power," published in 
 1895, did for social superstition what the earlier play had done 
 for that element in religion which Bjb'rnson had come to re- 
 gard as lying "beyond the limits of man." It is one of the 
 most powerful portrayals of the modern struggle between 
 capital and labour which western literature has produced so 
 far. At the same time, it presents a rarely beautiful picture 
 of love between brother and sister. 
 
 From 1898 to 1904 Bjb'rnson produced four plays, notable 
 both in spirit and form. All but one of them dealt with the 
 relationship between the coming and the going generations, 
 between parents and children. With sympathy for both, and 
 understanding of the new as well as the old, Bjb'rnson, as a 
 rule, took sides against the Nietzschean tendencies of the 
 younger generations. The last of those plays, "Dayland," 
 was his "Fathers and Sons," but unlike Turgeniev's work, it 
 brings the two warring elements to a mutual understanding.
 
 14 INTRODUCTION 
 
 based on the fact that age, if willing to see, may recognise its 
 own youth in the children, while these, as they grow older, 
 tend to revert to the position still held by their elders. This 
 play was dedicated to the Swedish Academy, from which 
 Bjornson in 1903 had received the Nobel prize for literature. 
 
 During his later years much of his time was devoted to 
 efforts on behalf of two ideas in which he believed the future 
 happiness of mankind principally involved. Those were the 
 ideas of universal peace, and of the gradual federation of re- 
 lated races which, in the course of time, had become broken 
 up into hostile nationalities. Dealing first of all with his 
 own race, he advocated a Pan-Germanic ideal, based not on 
 conquest, but on voluntary combination. At the same time 
 he was tireless in his pleas for justice to oppressed racial 
 groups, like those of the Poles and the Finlanders, the Danes 
 of Schleswig-Holstein, and the Austrian Slovaks. 
 
 In 1909, within less than a year of his death, he brought out 
 a final play, "When the Young Wine Blossoms," which 
 proved an astounding revelation of powers retained to the 
 very verge of the grave. In this last work, as in almost all 
 its predecessors, Bjornson displayed a good humour that 
 literally sparkled. Reformer and prophet that he was, he 
 was nevertheless a man who saw more of life's pleasant than 
 of its unpleasant sides. And most of the time there was a 
 merry twinkle in his eye that sometimes expanded into an 
 abandon more Gallic than Scandinavian. But his laughter 
 was always as innocent as it was whole-hearted. 
 
 As the presentiment of approaching death seized him at 
 last, he made a final endeavour to preserve the life he liked 
 so well. Leaving his beloved homestead, Aulestad, he made 
 his way to Paris, and there he lingered, now hopeful and now 
 resigned, until the end came in 1910. First of all, and from 
 first to last, he was a great personality a man who towered
 
 INTRODUCTION 15 
 
 so high that even his own work looks small in comparison 
 with what he was. Clean, strong, fiery, gifted with a wonder- 
 ful magnetic power, he seemed throughout his long life a 
 giant among ordinary men. Rarely, if ever, has a private 
 individual to such an extent been able to stamp himself on 
 the life and fate of a nation. Still more rarely has such an 
 individual so completely refrained from using his exceptional 
 position for the promotion of his private interests. And it 
 must be held rarest of all that a man thus favoured preserved 
 to the end the simple virtues that are generally associated 
 only with those lowly ones whose position removes them 
 beyond the reach of temptation.
 
 A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF 
 
 PLAYS BY BJORNSTJERNE 
 
 BJORNSON 
 
 "Between the Battles" ("Mellem Slagene") . . . 1856 
 
 "Lame Hulda" ("Halte-Hulda") 1858 
 
 "King Sverre" ("Kong Sverre") 1861 
 
 " Sigurd the Bad" ("Sigurd Slembe") 1862 
 
 "Mary Stuart in Scotland" ("Maria Stuart i Skot- 
 
 land") 1864 
 
 " The Newly Married Couple " ("De Nygifte") . . 1865 
 
 "Sigurd Jorsalfar" 1872 
 
 "The Editor" ("Redaktoren") 1874 
 
 " A Business Failure" ("En Fallit") 1875 
 
 "The King" ("Kongen") 1877 
 
 "Leonarda" 1879 
 
 "The New System" ("Det Ny System") 1879 
 
 "The Gauntlet" ("En Hanske") 1883 
 
 "Beyond Our Power," I ("Over Evne") 1883 
 
 "Love and Geography" ("Geografi og Kjserlighed") . 1885 
 
 "Beyond Our Power," II 1895 
 
 "Paul Lange and Tora Parsberg" 1898 
 
 "Laboremus" 1901 
 
 "At Storhove" ("Pa Storhove") 1902 
 
 "Dayland" ("Daglannet") 1904 
 
 "When the Young Wine Blossoms" ("Nar Det Ny 
 
 Vin Blomstrer") 1909
 
 THE GAUNTLET 
 
 (EN HANSKE) 
 1883
 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 Rus 
 
 MRS. Rus 
 
 SVAVA, their daughter 
 
 CHEISTENSEN 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN 
 
 ALF, their son 
 
 DR. NORDAN 
 
 KARL HOFF 
 
 MARGIT, maid at the Riises' 
 
 THOMAS, the man-servant of Dr. Nordan
 
 THE GAUNTLET 
 
 (EN HANSKE) 
 ACT I 
 
 A room with double doors in the middle of the rear wall. The 
 doors are open and show a park, through the trees of which 
 may be seen glimpses of the sea. There are windows on 
 both sides of the doorway. Both side walls also have doors. 
 Between the door on the right and the nearest window 
 toward the park stands a piano. Against the opposite wall 
 stands a cabinet. On either side, nearest the audience, 
 there is a sofa with a small table, easy-chairs and other 
 chairs in front of it. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 MRS. Rus. DR. NORDAN. 
 
 MRS. Rus is seated on the left-hand sofa. DR. NORDAN 
 is sitting on a chair right between the tables. His head 
 is covered with a straw hat which he has pushed far back 
 on his head. A large handkerchief lies across one knee. 
 He is leaning forward over his hands, which are resting 
 on the top of his walking stick. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Why, you are not listening to me at all. 
 NORDAN. What was it you asked? 
 
 MRS. Rus. About the suit against Mrs. North what else 
 could it have been? 
 
 21
 
 M THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. i 
 
 NORDAN. The suit against Mrs. North! I had a talk with 
 Christensen a few moments ago. He has advanced the money 
 and will try to get the banks to stop the suit. But this I have 
 told you before. What more do you want? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. The gossip, my dear friend, the gossip. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, we men don't tell tales on each other as a 
 rule. Isn't it about time to let him know about it? [Nodding 
 toward the door on the right] He's in there now, isn't he? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Let us wait. 
 
 NORDAN. For Christensen must have his money back, of 
 course. I have promised him that. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Of course. I hope you never imagined any- 
 thing else? 
 
 NORDAN. [Rising] Well, I am going away for a little rest, 
 and now Christensen will have to look after that matter. I 
 suppose it was a grand affair last night? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. No pomp of any kind. 
 
 NORDAN. No, the Christensens never indulge in ostenta- 
 tion. But numbers made up for it, I suppose. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I have never seen so many people at a private 
 affair. 
 
 NORDAN. Is Svava up? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. She is out for a bath. 
 
 NORDAN. Already? Did you get home that early? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Oh, about twelve, I think. Svava wanted to 
 get home. Mr. Riis stayed much longer, I believe. 
 
 NORDAN. Hm the card-tables! She was radiant, I sup- 
 pose? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Why didn't you come? 
 
 NORDAN. I never attend engagement or wedding feasts. 
 Never. The sacrificing of those wreathed and veiled victims 
 oh!
 
 ACT i. sc. ii THE GAUNTLET 23 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But, dear doctor, don't you believe with all of 
 us, that this will turn out a happy marriage? 
 
 NORDAN. He is a fine fellow. But nevertheless I have 
 been fooled so often Uh, huh! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But she was happy. And so she is to-day. 
 
 NORDAN. Well, it's too bad I can't see her. Good morning, 
 madam. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Good morning, my dear doctor. So you are 
 going away now? 
 
 NORDAN. I have to have a breathing spell. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes, you need it. Well, good luck to you 
 and I thank you with all my heart! 
 
 NORDAN. And I thank you, Mrs. Riis! [As he walks out] 
 Too bad I couldn't say good-bye to Svava! 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 MRS. RIIS. Later RIIS. 
 
 MRS. RIIS takes a foreign periodical from the table at 
 the left and makes herself comfortable on the sofa in 
 such a position that she faces the park. During the 
 next two scenes she reads as often as she has a chance. 
 
 RIIS. [Comes from the right; he is in his shirt sleeves and 
 busily occupied with his collar] Good morning! Was that 
 Nordan who left? 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes. 
 
 RIIS goes toward the door on the left, turns and disappears 
 through the door on the right; then he comes in again 
 and performs the same manoeuvre; all the time he is 
 struggling with his collar. 
 MRS. RIIS. Is there anything I can help you with?
 
 24 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. n 
 
 Rus. Thanks just the same! These modern shirts are a 
 nuisance. I bought a few in Paris. 
 
 MRS. Rus. I think you brought home a whole dozen? 
 
 Rus. And a half! [He goes into the room on the right, comes 
 out again, makes the same excursion to the left as before, accom- 
 panied by the same struggle with the collar as before] Otherwise 
 I am speculating on something. 
 
 MBS. Rus. It must be some very intricate question. 
 
 Rus. So it is. So it is. Indeed ! Well, if this collar isn't 
 There! At last! [He disappears and returns again, but now 
 with the collar in his hand] I am thinking of thinking of 
 of what our dear daughter is made up. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Of what she is made up? 
 
 Rus. Yes how much of you, and how much of me, and 
 so on. That is, what she has from your family, and what 
 from mine, and so on. Svava is a remarkable girl. 
 
 MRS. Rus. She is, indeed. 
 
 Rus. As a whole, she is neither you nor me nor the two 
 of us together. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Svava is something more. 
 
 Rus. And something considerably more at that. [He dis- 
 appears once more, whereupon lie reappears with his coat on 
 and engaged in brushing it off] What did you say? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Nothing. For that matter, Svava takes more 
 after my mother than after anybody else. 
 
 Rus. Well, I declare! Svava, with her quiet, graceful 
 ways what are you thinking of? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Svava can be passionate, too. 
 
 Rus. Svava never neglects the outward forms as your 
 mother did. 
 
 MRS. Rus. You never understood my mother. But, of 
 course, I admit that they differ in many things also.
 
 ACT i. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 25 
 
 RIIS. Tremendously! Can you see now, that I was right 
 when I began to talk all sorts of languages to her while she 
 was still a mere slip of a girl? Do you see now? You used 
 to object. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I was against having her bothered with it all 
 the time and also against your constant jumping from one 
 thing to another. 
 
 Rns. But the results, my dear the results? 
 
 [Humming to himself. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I hope you don't mean to say that it is the 
 languages that have made her what she is? 
 
 Rns. [.4s he disappears again] Not the languages, but 
 [From the other room] The languages have done a lot. Did 
 you notice her last night? She has savoir vivre, hasn't she? 
 
 [Coming out again. 
 
 MRS. Rns. That isn't what one cares most for in Svava. 
 
 Rns. Oh, no. On board the steamer somebody asked me 
 if I were related to the Miss Riis who had started the kinder- 
 garten movement in this city. I replied that I had the 
 honour of being her father. Then you should have seen the 
 man. Why, it actually gave me a lump in the throat. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yes, the kindergartens have been a success 
 from the very first. 
 
 Rns. And I suppose they brought about her engagement 
 also did they? 
 
 MRS. Rns. You had better ask her. 
 
 Rns. But you don't notice my clothes at all. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Oh, yes, I do. 
 
 Rns. And not so much as a teeny-weeny gasp of admira- 
 tion? At such a general effect such a combination of colours 
 down to the very shoes the handkerchief even? What do 
 you say? 
 
 MRS. Rns. How old are you, dear?
 
 26 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. n 
 
 Rus. Oh, keep quiet! But for that matter how old do 
 you think I am taken for? 
 
 MRS. Rus. About forty, of course. 
 
 RIIS. "Of course," how genuine that sounds from your 
 lips ! But this dress is a sort of triumphal overture, composed 
 at Cologne on receipt of the telegram about Svava's engage- 
 ment. Think only: at Cologne, a mere ten-hour ride from 
 Paris. But I couldn't wait ten hours to such an extent was 
 my sense of personal elegance increased by the thought of 
 becoming related by marriage to the richest family in the 
 country. 
 
 MRS. Rus. And did it stop at that one suit? 
 
 Rus. What a question! Wait only till my trunks come 
 out of the custom-house. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, then we are in for it, I suppose. 
 
 Rus. Are you in for it?' Why, think of it an overjoyed 
 papa who, at the crucial moment, happens to find himself at 
 Paris 
 
 MRS. Rus. And what did you think then of the party 
 yesterday? 
 
 Rus. I thought it a fortunate chance that the steamer was 
 delayed so that I was dropped down, as if by magic, right in 
 the midst of a fete champetre. And one given in honour of 
 the dear daughter, at that, where, of course, papa found him- 
 self more than welcome! 
 
 MRS. Rus. What time did you get home last night? 
 
 Rus. Do you think we could escape playing cards even 
 yesterday? It was impossible to refuse, for I was asked to 
 sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that is, with 
 our host, the Prime Minister, and old man Hoik. It was an 
 immense honour to be permitted to lose one's money to such 
 bigwigs. And I lose always, as you know. I came home 
 about three, I should say. What is it you are reading?
 
 ACT i. Bc.m THE GAUNTLET 27 
 
 MRS. Rus. The Fortnightly. 
 
 Rus. Has there been anything good in it while I was away? 
 
 [He begins to hum a melody. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Ye-es. Here is something about heredity now, 
 that you ought to read. It fits in with what we started to 
 talk of. 
 
 Rus. Do you know that melody? [He hurries over to the 
 piano} It's all the go just now. I heard it all over Germany. 
 [Begins to play and sing, but breaks off abruptly] Let me get 
 the music, while I have it in mind! 
 
 He goes into the room at the right and returns with a 
 sheet of music; sits down at the piano again and begins 
 to sing and play as before. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 
 MRS. Rus. Rus. SVAVA enters through the door on 
 the left. 
 
 Rus. [Looks around, stops, and jumps up} Good morning, 
 my dear! Good morning! I have hardly had a chance to 
 speak to you yet. At the party last night everybody was 
 taking you away from me. 
 
 [He kisses her and leads her down the stage. 
 
 SVAVA. Well, why were you so slow in coming home? 
 
 Rus. Why didn't some people give notice when they in- 
 tended to become engaged? 
 
 SVAVA. Because those people didn't know anything about 
 it until it had already happened. Good morning again, 
 mother dear! [She kneels down beside her mother. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh, what a smell of out of doors there is about 
 you! Have you been walking in the woods after your bath? 
 
 SVAVA. [Rising to her feet} Yes, and just as I was coming
 
 28 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. ra 
 
 home, Alf passed by and waved a greeting up to me. He 
 will be here in a minute. 
 
 Rus. To tell the truth and one should always tell the 
 truth I had quite given up the hope of seeing our old maid 
 so happy. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, indeed! I had quite lost hope myself. 
 
 RIIS. Until the prince arrived. 
 
 SVAVA. Until the prince arrived who had taken his time 
 in coming. 
 
 Rus. And for whom you had been waiting for ever and a 
 day? 
 
 SVAVA. Not at all. I had never even given him a thought. 
 
 Rus. This is becoming mysterious. 
 
 SVAVA. It is a mystery how two people who have known 
 each other since childhood without ever giving a thought to 
 each other, all of a sudden for that's the way it happened. 
 Beginning with a certain given moment he became in my eyes 
 quite a different man. 
 
 Rus. While in the eyes of all the rest he remained the same 
 as before. 
 
 SVAVA. I hope so! 
 
 RIIS. At least he has. become a little less solemn in my 
 eyes. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, I saw you two laughing together last night. 
 What was it about? 
 
 Rus. We were talking of the best manner of making one's 
 way through this world of ours. And I presented him with 
 my renowned three principles of life. 
 
 MRS. Rns and SVAVA. Already! 
 
 Rus. They made quite a hit with him. Do you recall 
 them, irreverent child that you are? 
 
 SVAVA. No. 1: never disgrace yourself. 
 
 Rus. No. 2: never incommode anybody else.
 
 ACT i. BC. m THE GAUNTLET 29 
 
 SVAVA. No. 3: always be in fashion. They are not very 
 difficult to recall, seeing that they are neither deep nor dark. 
 
 Rns. But all the harder to put into practice! And that's 
 just the merit of all such principles. Accept my compliments 
 on your new morning dress. Everything considered, it is 
 really "sweet." 
 
 SVAVA. Everything considered that means, considering 
 that you did not help to select it. 
 
 Rns. Yes, for 7 should never have chosen those trimmings 
 for it but "everything considered," it might be worse. And 
 the cut hm yes? Well, now you just wait till my trunks 
 get here. 
 
 SVAVA. Surprises? 
 
 Rns. Great ones! And I have something for you at once. 
 
 [Goes out. 
 
 SVAVA. I think he is more restless than ever, mamma. 
 
 MRS. Rns. It's the joy of it, girl ! 
 
 SVAVA. And yet there is always something suppressed about 
 papa's restlessness. He is [Rns returns from the right] Do 
 you know what the Prime Minister said of you yesterday? 
 
 Rns. Oh, well, a gentleman of that kind has always got to 
 say something. 
 
 SVAVA. "Your father, Miss Riis, remains always our man 
 of fashion par excellence." 
 
 Rns. Ah, il a bien dit Son Excellence! No, then I have 
 something better to tell. You are getting your father 
 knighted. 
 
 SVAVA. Am I? 
 
 Rns. Yes, who else? Of course, the government has had 
 some little use for me now and then in connection with 
 various commercial treaties. But this time, as related by 
 marriage to our great man, I become a knight of the Order of 
 St. Olav.
 
 30 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. in 
 
 SVAVA. Permit me to congratulate you! 
 
 RIIS. You know: when it rains on the parson, it drips on 
 the sexton. 
 
 SVAVA. You are most uncommonly modest in your new 
 grandeur. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, am I not? And now I am to appear in the modest 
 part of an exhibitor of elegant costumes, or rather designs for 
 costumes which is still more modest to be used in the new 
 play at the Theatre Frangais. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, no, papa! Not just now! 
 
 MRS. Rus. That will have to wait till the afternoon. 
 
 Rus. Really, one might think I was the only lady in the 
 family! Well, as you please you rule the world! But 
 then I have another proposition, in two parts. First: that 
 we sit down! 
 
 SVAVA. We are sitting down ! [She and her father take seats. 
 
 Rus. Then you tell your home-coming papa just how this 
 whole thing happened. All that thing about the "mystery," 
 you know. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, that! Well, you must excuse me, but it cannot 
 be told. 
 
 Rus. Not in all its charming details! Heaven defend! 
 Nobody would be such a barbarian as to ask for a thing like 
 that during the first honeymoon of the engagement. No, I 
 mean only what was the actual mobile back of the whole 
 matter. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, I see. Well, that I can tell you, for to know 
 it is merely to become really acquainted with Alf. 
 
 Rus. For instance: how did you come to talk with him at 
 all? 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, I think it was about our blessed old kinder- 
 gartens 
 
 RIIS. Oh-h! You mean your blessed old kindergartens?
 
 ACT i. sc. m THE GAUNTLET 31 
 
 SVAVA. When there are more than two hundred of us 
 girls 
 
 Rus. Well, let it go at that! So he contributed? 
 
 SVAVA. He contributed, and more than once 
 
 Rus. Oh-h! 
 
 SVAVA. And once we fell to talking about luxury. That it 
 was better to use money in such ways than for mere luxuries. 
 
 Rus. Well, what is to be called "luxury"? 
 
 SVAVA. We didn't say anything about that, but I said that 
 I thought luxury immoral. 
 
 Rus. Immo ? Luxury? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, I know that is not your opinion. But it is 
 mine. 
 
 Rus. Your mother's, you mean, and your grandmother's. 
 
 SVAVA. Of course; but my own also if you permit me? 
 
 Rus. Oh, the Lord preserve us! 
 
 SVAVA. I told of an incident which mother and you and I 
 witnessed in America do you remember? At that temper- 
 ance meeting where we saw ladies who were to support the 
 cause drive up in their carriages ladies well, we didn't have 
 any exact figures as to their fortunes, but as they appeared, 
 with their carriages, horses, dresses, jewelry and especially 
 jewelry they must have been worth oh, say 
 
 Rus. Let us say many, many thousand dollars apiece 
 that would be true! 
 
 SVAVA. It is true. And in its way such a thing is as much 
 of an excess as drinking. 
 
 Rus. Oh, well 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, shrug your shoulders! But Alf didn't. He 
 told me what he had seen in the big cities. It was dreadful! 
 
 Rus. What was dreadful? 
 
 SVAVA. The chasm yawning between rich and poor the 
 boundless and reckless display of luxury on one side
 
 32 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. ra 
 
 Rus. Oh, so! I thought Well, goon! 
 
 SVAVA. He didn't play the indifferent and keep on polish- 
 ing his nails 
 
 Rus. I beg pardon ! 
 
 SVAVA. Please, don't stop! No, he foretold a great social 
 revolution, and he became quite excited about it and then 
 it came out how he thought wealth should be used. It was 
 a complete surprise to me and much of it was new to me in 
 every way. You should have seen how handsome he looked 
 then! 
 
 Rus. Well handsome? 
 
 SVAVA. Isn't he handsome? That's what 7 think, at least! 
 And mamma also ? 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Without looking up from her periodical] And 
 mamma also. 
 
 Rus. Mothers always fall in love with their daughters' 
 lovers. But becoming mothers-in-law generally cures them. 
 
 SVAVA. Is that your experience? 
 
 Rus. That's my experience. So Alf Christensen has grown 
 handsome? Well, we'll have to bear with it. 
 
 SVAVA. As he was standing before me, he seemed so sure of 
 himself, and so clear in his mind, and so so chaste and that 
 is something I demand also. 
 
 RIIS. What do you mean by "chaste," my girl? 
 
 SVAVA. Just what's in the word. 
 
 Rus. And I am just asking what you put into that word. 
 
 SVAVA. The same meaning I should put into it if I were 
 speaking of myself. 
 
 RIIS. That is, you put the same meaning into it whether 
 it be applied to a man or a woman? 
 
 SVAVA. Of course. 
 
 Rus. And you think that the son of Christensen 
 
 SVAVA. [Rising] Papa, now you are offending me!
 
 ACTX. sc. m THE GAUNTLET 33 
 
 RIIS. Can it offend you that he is his father's son? 
 
 SVAVA. In this respect he is not. It is no longer possible 
 for me to make mistakes in such matters. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I have just been reading about hereditary ten- 
 dencies and his heritage need not necessarily have come from 
 his father. 
 
 RIIS. Oh, well, as you please! But I am a little fearful on 
 behalf of your superterrestrial theories. I don't think you 
 can get very far with them. 
 
 SVAVA. What do you mean ? Mother, what does he 
 mean? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I suppose he means that men are not as you v 
 want them to be. And it is no use hoping that they ever 
 will be. 
 
 SVAVA. No, you cannot mean that? 
 
 RIIS. But why so violent about it? Come and sit down! 
 And besides, how can you know anything about it? 
 
 SVAVA. Know? What do you mean? 
 
 RIIS. About any individual case 
 
 SVAVA. If the man standing before me, or passing me, ia 
 an unclean, repulsive beast or a man? 
 
 RIIS. Etc., etc.! Well, you may be mistaken, my dear 
 Svava. 
 
 SVAVA. No, no more than I can be mistaken about you, 
 papa, when you begin to tease me again with those dreadful 
 principles of yours. For in spite of them, you are the finest 
 and cleanest man I know. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Putting away the periodical] Are you going to 
 keep that morning dress on, my dear? Don't you think you 
 had better change before Alf comes? 
 
 SVAVA. No, mamma, you can't get me away from this! 
 For I have had to see more than one of my girl friends nestle
 
 34 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. m 
 
 close to "the prince of her heart," as the old ballad says, only 
 to wake up in the arms of a beast. I want none of that. 
 And I am not going to make the same mistake. 
 
 MRS. Rus. There is no reason, dear, to take it so to heart. 
 Alf is an honest young man. 
 
 SVAVA. So he is. But I have had to witness one revolting 
 experience after another. And now, only a month ago, the 
 case of Helga. And then I myself I can tell you all about 
 it now, for now I feel happy and secure and now I can tell 
 you of the time I once had to go through. There was a long 
 time when I did not dare to trust my own judgment. For I 
 came near letting myself be deceived also. 
 
 BOTH PARENTS. [Rising] You, Svava? 
 
 SVAVA. I was very, very young then. Like most young 
 girls, I was looking for an ideal, and I found it in a brilliant 
 young man what's the use of naming him? He had oh, 
 his principles were noble, and his aims of the highest in this 
 respect he was the complete opposite of papa. It would not 
 be enough to say that I loved him ! I worshipped him. But 
 then oh, I cannot tell you what I discovered, or how I dis- 
 covered it but that was the time when all of you feared 
 that I had become 
 
 MRS. Rus. Consumptive? Is it possible, dear? Was it 
 that time? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, that time Nobody can endure such de- 
 ception nobody can forgive it! 
 
 MRS. Rns. And you told me nothing? 
 
 SVAVA. One who has not fallen into the same mistake 
 cannot know what it is to be ashamed of oneself. Well, it is 
 all over, now. But one thing is sure: that nobody who has 
 had a first experience of such a kind will ever make the same 
 mistake again. 
 
 Rus has in the meantime left the room.
 
 ACT i. Bc.m THE GAUNTLET 35 
 
 MRS. Rus. Perhaps it was for the best. 
 
 SVAVA. I am sure it was Oh, well, it's over and done 
 with now. But I was not quite done with it until I found 
 Alf. What became of papa? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Of your father? Why, there he is coming now. 
 
 Rus. [Comes from the right, with hat on, and busily pulling 
 at one of his gloves] Listen, children! I simply have to get 
 my trunks out of the custom-house. I am now going down to 
 the station to telegraph about it. You must get yourself 
 ready, too, for the king will soon be coming this way, as you 
 know and then! Good-bye, my sweet little girl! [Kissing 
 her] You have really made us very, very happy. Otherwise 
 you have some ideas that oh, well! [Going toward the door] 
 Good-bye! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Good-bye! 
 
 Rus. [Pulling off his glove again] Did you notice the melody 
 I was playing when you came in? [Sits down at the piano] I 
 heard it all over Germany. [Plays and sings; then breaks off 
 suddenly] But, good gracious, here is the music, and you can 
 sing and play it yourself. [Goes out humming. 
 
 SVAVA. Isn't he funny! There is really something innocent 
 about him. Did you notice him last night? He just glit- 
 tered "with a hundred facets," as they say. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Apparently you couldn't see yourself. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh was I like that? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Your father's daughter completely. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, mamma, it's no use denying that however 
 great our happiness be, it is made still greater by other peo- 
 ple's goodwill. This morning, as I walked along, I was re- 
 calling all that had given me pleasure last night, and I found 
 oh, I can't put it into words. [She clings closely to her mother. 
 
 MRS. Rus. My happy little girl! But now I must look 
 after the house a little.
 
 36 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 SVAVA. Do you want me to help you? 
 MRS. Rus. By no means. 
 
 [They walk together toward the background. 
 SVAVA. Then I'll run through papa's new melody a couple 
 of times and soon Alf will be here. 
 
 MRS. Rus goes out to the left. SVAVA sits down at the 
 piano. 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. ALF, from the left. 
 
 ALP. [Comes in noiselessly and bends down over SVAVA so that 
 his face almost touches hers] What a day that was yesterday? 
 
 SVAVA. [Rising quickly] Alf! But I didn't hear you ring? 
 
 ALF. The music which was beautiful also. 
 
 SVAVA. And yesterday how can I thank you? 
 
 [They move down the stage together. 
 
 ALF. I don't think you have any idea of what a hit you 
 made? 
 
 SVAVA. Some, perhaps. But you had better say nothing 
 about it as it isn't held proper to be aware of it. 
 
 ALF. People had to tell me about it, of course, and my father 
 and mother. And to-day everybody is very happy at home. 
 
 SVAVA. And here, too! What is that you are holding in 
 your hand? A letter? 
 
 ALF. A letter. The maid who opened the door handed it 
 to me. Some bright wit has figured out that I should prob- 
 ably appear here in the course of the day. 
 
 SVAVA. It wasn't very hard to figure out, do you think? 
 
 ALF. Not very. It's from Edward Hansen. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, you can take a short cut to his place right 
 through our park. [Pointing toward the right.
 
 ACT i. sc. iv THE GAUNTLET 37 
 
 ALF. I know. He says it's important, with "important" 
 underlined 
 
 SVAVA. You can take my key here it is. [Gives him the key. 
 
 ALF. Thank you, very much! 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, it is pure selfishness. I shall have you here 
 again the sooner. 
 
 ALF. I'll stay here until dinner-time. 
 
 SVAVA. You'll have to stay here longer than that, I tell 
 you, for we have such a lot of things to talk of. About 
 yesterday 
 
 ALF. Yes, I think so, too. 
 
 SVAVA. And many other things also. 
 
 ALF. I have a very important problem to submit to you. 
 
 SVAVA. You have? 
 
 ALF. Perhaps you can solve it for me before I return? 
 
 SVAVA. Then it cannot be so very knotty. 
 
 ALF. Oh, it is. But you have inspirations at times. 
 
 SVAVA. Well, what is it? 
 
 ALF. Why couldn't we have discovered each other several 
 years ago? 
 
 SVAVA. We were not yet ready for each other, of course. 
 
 ALF. How can you tell? 
 
 SVAVA. From the fact that I myself was not the same then 
 as I am now. 
 
 ALF. But there is a natural kinship between those who love 
 each other. I feel it. And it must have existed then as well 
 as now. 
 
 SVAVA. Such a natural kinship does not assert itself while 
 you are developing along different lines. 
 
 ALF. And so we have been doing and yet 
 
 SVAVA. And yet we are in love with each other. Because 
 it does not matter how far the roads diverge when, in the end, 
 they meet again.
 
 38 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 ALF. In the same way of thinking, you mean? 
 
 SVAVA. In such a communion as ours is. 
 
 ALF. So very close together? 
 
 SVAVA. So very close together! 
 
 ALF. But it is just then when I hold you in my arms as 
 now that I ask myself over and over again : why have I not 
 done this before? 
 
 SVAVA. And I don't give a thought to it not the least 
 thought. This is the safest place in all the world: that's 
 what I think! 
 
 ALF. And without those by-gone years it might not have 
 been so. 
 
 SVAVA. What do you mean? 
 
 ALF. I mean oh, I suppose, at bottom, I mean the same 
 as you: that I have not always been what I am now. But I 
 have to hurry. The letter says I must. 
 
 [They move up the stage. 
 
 SVAVA. It isn't a question of minutes, is it? For there is 
 something I want to tell you first. 
 
 ALF. What is it? [Stands still. 
 
 SVAVA. When I saw you among all the others, it was at 
 first as if I didn't know you at all. You appeared in a new 
 aspect, as if you had taken on something from the others in 
 fact, you were different. 
 
 ALF. Of course! One always is among strangers. When 
 you moved among the other women, it was as if I had never 
 really noticed you before. And, you know, there are certain 
 measures that cannot be taken except when others are pres- 
 ent. Only then did I learn whether you were tall or short. 
 Only then did I become aware of a way you have of bending 
 to one side oh, just a wee bit as you greet somebody. And 
 your colour I had seen nothing before
 
 ACT i. sc. iv THE GAUNTLET 39 
 
 SVAVA. Now will you stop and give me a chance? 
 
 ALF. I will not oh, here we are again, and I simply must 
 leave! [They go up the stage again. 
 
 SVAVA. Only a word. You didn't let me finish. When I 
 saw you standing among the other men, it was at first as if I 
 had not recognised you. But just then your glance caught 
 mine, and you nodded to me. I don't know what kind of 
 transformation took place in you or in myself, but I blushed 
 until my face burned. And it was some time before I dared 
 to look at you again. 
 
 ALF. And do you know what happened to me? Every 
 time somebody was going to dance with you, I begrudged 
 him the chance of doing so. I didn't seem able to bear it. 
 By heavens, I can't bear that anybody else so much as touches 
 you! [They embrace} And yet I have not mentioned the best 
 of all! 
 
 SVAVA. And what is that? 
 
 ALF. It is this that when I see you among others when I 
 catch a glimpse of your arm, for instance then I say to my- 
 self: that arm has been lying around my neck, and there is 
 nobody else in the whole world who can" say the same thing. 
 She belongs to me, that girl over there, and to nobody, nobody, 
 nobody else! That, you see, is the best of all! But now we 
 are back again in the same spot it is as if we were bewitched. 
 Now I must go! [Goes up the stage} Good-bye! [Leaves SVAVA 
 only to seize Jwld of her again the next moment} Why couldn't 
 I have had all this happiness long ago? Good-bye! 
 
 SVAVA. I think I'll go with you. 
 
 ALF. Yes, do! 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, no, I remember now. I must practise that 
 new song before papa returns. For if I don't do it now, I 
 am sure you will give me no chance later. 
 
 [A ring at the door-bell is heard.
 
 40 THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. v 
 
 ALF. Somebody is coming! For heaven's sake, let me get 
 out first! 
 
 He runs out to the right. SVAVA stands looking after 
 him and waving her handkerchief. She is about to 
 return to the piano, when MAKGIT appears. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. MARGIT. Later HOFF. 
 
 MARGIT. There is a gentleman here who wants to 
 
 SVAVA. A gentleman? Don't you know him? 
 
 MARGIT. No. 
 
 SVAVA. What sort of a gentleman? 
 
 MARGIT. Oh, sort of a little bit 
 
 SVAVA. Suspicious looking? 
 
 MARGIT. Oh, no he's a very nice man. 
 
 SVAVA. Tell him that my father is not at home. He has 
 gone down to the station. 
 
 MARGIT. I told him so. But it's you, Miss Svava, he 
 wants to speak to. 
 
 SVAVA. Ask my mother to come in oh, well, what's the 
 need of that? Let him come in. 
 
 [MARGIT goes out; HOFF enters. 
 
 HOFF. It's Miss Riis I am having the honour to Yes, I 
 see it is. 'My name is Hoff Karl Hoff. I travel in iron. 
 
 SVAVA. But what have I to do with that? 
 
 HOFF. Oh, yes for had I been an ordinary, home-staying 
 fellow, there might have been a lot that never happened. 
 
 SVAVA. What might not have happened? 
 
 HOFF. [Pulls out a large pocket-book and takes from it a tiny 
 letter] Will you please would you read this or perhaps you 
 would rather not?
 
 ACT i. sc. v THE GAUNTLET 41 
 
 SVAVA. Well, how can I tell? 
 
 HOFF. No, that's so you must first if I may? 
 
 SVAVA. [Reading] "To-night between ten and eleven; that 
 is to say, if the old fool doesn't come home before. Oh, I 
 love you, I love you so much Put a light in the hall 
 window." 
 
 HOFF. "The old fool" that's me. 
 
 SVAVA. But I don't see 
 
 HOFF. Here's another. 
 
 SVAVA. "I am suffering from bad conscience. Your cough 
 scares me. And now when you are expecting " But what 
 in the world have I to do with all this? 
 
 HOFF. [After some hesitation] Well, what do you think? 
 
 SVAVA. Is there anybody who needs my help? 
 
 HOFF. No, poor thing, she needs no more helping. She's 
 dead. 
 
 SVAVA. Dead? She was your wife? 
 
 HOFF. That's it. She was my wife. I found these and 
 some other things in in a box. The papers were furthest 
 down there's more of them and then some cotton on top 
 of them. Then there were ear-rings and such things which 
 she had got from her mother. And then these bracelets. 
 I guess they cost too much to come from her mother. 
 
 SVAVA. She must have died suddenly then, as she hadn't 
 time 
 
 HOFF. Oh, I don't know. Consumptives never think 
 they're going to die. She was such a weak, delicate thing. 
 Do you mind if I sit down? 
 
 SVAVA. Not at all! Are there any children? 
 
 HOFF. [After some hesitation] I don't think so. 
 
 SVAVA. You don't think ? The reason I ask was that I 
 thought our kindergarten society Frankly, this is painful 
 to me!
 
 4fc THE GAUNTLET ACT i. sc. v 
 
 HOFF. I thought it would be yes, I thought it would 
 and really I don't know if Oh, you can't understand all 
 this, can you? 
 
 SVAVA. No, I cannot. 
 
 HOFF. No, of course, you can't I have heard so many 
 fine things said of you these last years and my wife used to 
 speak that way of you, too. 
 
 SVAVA. Did she know me? 
 
 HOFF. Maren Tang she that was lady companion to 
 
 SVAVA. to Mrs. Christensen, who is to be my mother- 
 in-law? Oh, it was she? That very quiet, refined woman 
 Don't you think you are mistaken? A couple of notes with- 
 out any name without a date even? Don't you ? 
 
 HOFF. Could you recognise the handwriting? 
 
 SVAVA. I? No. And it looked as if it had been disguised. 
 
 HOFF. Well but not so very much. 
 
 SVAVA. But you must have had some definite purpose in 
 calling on me? 
 
 HOFF. So I had. But I guess I won't bother about it. 
 You don't understand this kind of thing, I can see. Maybe 
 you just think me a little off? And maybe we might let it 
 go at that? 
 
 SVAVA. But there was something you wanted? 
 
 HOFF. Yes, that's so. You see, these kindergartens 
 
 SVAVA. So it was the kindergartens after all? 
 
 HOFF. No, that wasn't it. But on account of them I kind 
 of thought a lot of you, you see. And if you don't mind my 
 saying it: young ladies of the better class who do something 
 useful well, I had never heard of it before. Never before. 
 I am nothing but a poor fellow who's failed in his own busi- 
 ness and now has to travel for others not much good for 
 anything, I dare say and maybe I deserved what I got. 
 But just the same I wanted to see you kept out of it. I kind
 
 ACT i. sc. vi THE GAUNTLET 43 
 
 of thought it was my duty nothing less than my duty 
 But now, when I see you sitting like that before me then it 
 makes me unhappy all through. And so I 'don't want to say 
 anything to you at all. [Rising] Nothing at all ! 
 
 SVAVA. This is something I cannot understand. 
 
 HOFF. Now, don't you pay any attention to me at all. 
 All I ask you is to excuse me excuse me very much! No, 
 please don't give yourself any trouble! Not at all! It's just 
 as if I hadn't been here. That's all. 
 
 He goes toward the door, where he meets ALT; seeing that 
 SVAVA is watching them, he hurries out. 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. ALF. Later Rus. 
 
 SVAVA. [As she watches the tivo men meeting, she gives vent to 
 a subdued cry. Then she goes quickly toward ALF. But when 
 she stands face to face with him, she seems to be seized with terror. 
 He approaches her in order to support her, but she cries out] 
 Don't touch me! [She tries to reach the door on the left, but 
 seems for a moment unable to find it. Then she hurries out and 
 is heard locking the door from within. Shortly afterward the 
 sound of violent crying is heard, but rendered faint by distance. 
 It lasts only a moment. Then somebody on the outside is heard 
 singing the melody already familiar to the audience, and a few 
 moments later Rus appears on the stage] 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT II 
 
 The same room as in the previous ad. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 SVAVA. MRS. Rus. 
 
 SVAVA is reclining on the right-hand sofa so that she rests 
 on one arm and has her face turned toward the park. 
 MRS. Rns is sitting beside the sofa, facing her daughter. 
 
 MRS. Rns. These sudden decisions, Svava, are in reality no 
 decisions at all. For there is always so much that comes 
 after. Take time to think! I believe him to be a pretty fine 
 man. Give him time to show it. Don't break off at once. 
 
 SVAVA. Why are you constantly telling me this? 
 
 MRS. Rns. But, dear girl, I have really had no chance to 
 tell you anything at all until now. 
 
 SVAVA. But all your remarks have been set to the same tune. 
 
 MRS. Rns. And what tune would you prefer? 
 
 SVAVA. The old one your own which is quite different. 
 
 MRS. Rns. It is one thing to teach one's child how to 
 choose among life's offerings 
 
 SVAVA. And another to stick to one's own teachings? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Another thing it is to live. Then it is some- 
 times necessary to make allowances, especially when two are 
 to live together. 
 
 SVAVA. In minor matters this is all right. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Only in minor matters ? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, in regard to peculiarities and such things that 
 44
 
 ACTH. sc. i THE GAUNTLET 45 
 
 are mere accidentals. But not when it is a question of essen- 
 tial development. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Then, too. 
 
 SVAVA. Then, too? But we marry only to develop our- 
 selves. Why should we otherwise marry at all? 
 
 MRS. Rns. You'll find out. 
 
 SVAVA. No, I won't. For I am not going to marry. 
 
 MRS. Rns. You should have said that before. Now it is 
 too late. 
 
 SVAVA. [Half rising from the sofa] Too late? Had I been 
 married twenty years, I should be doing exactly the same thing. 
 
 [Lies down again. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Oh, Lord preserve us! You don't know no, 
 you don't know at all into what kind of net you have stum- 
 bled. But you'll discover it the moment you try in earnest 
 to tear yourself loose. Or do you really want your father to 
 throw away everything we have built up here? Do you want 
 us to start all over again in a strange country? For he has 
 repeatedly declared during the last few days, that the dis- 
 grace of a breach is something which he cannot face. He 
 means to leave, and if he does, I shall have to go with him. 
 Yes, now you are twisting and turning in the net! And think 
 of the others ! It is a little dangerous to be made so much of 
 as you were at the engagement party. It is as if you had been 
 lifted up on a platform supported by all the others. Take 
 care lest they push you down again! And you may be sure 
 they will, if you violate their ideas of propriety. 
 
 SVAVA. And is this their idea of propriety? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Not exactly. But that no scandal be caused 
 is inevitably one of those ideas, and perhaps the first of all. 
 Nobody takes kindly to a disgraceful exposure. Particularly 
 those that are most powerful. And least of all do people like 
 to see their children disgraced.
 
 46 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. n 
 
 SVAVA. [Half rising] But, good Lord, am 7 disgracing him ? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. No, I suppose he is doing it himself 
 
 SVAVA. Well! [Drops back again. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But you will never make them see it that way. 
 No, you won't. As long as only the family and a few close 
 friends are whispering about what has happened, they don't 
 regard it as any disgrace at all. For the same thing is happen- 
 ing in too many other places. It is only when it becomes 
 known to all the world that they look upon it as a disgrace. 
 And if there should be a breach, and the cause of it become 
 known that the eldest son of the Christensens had been 
 ignominiously jilted on account of his past then they would 
 regard this as the worst scandal that could ever befall them. 
 And we should have to suffer for it. We, and every one de- 
 pendent on us. And you know, they are not a few. You 
 have taken them under your care, especially the children. 
 But then you would have to let all those go that you have 
 helped. For you would have to follow us. And I am sure 
 that your father is in earnest about leaving. 
 
 SVAVA. O-oh! 
 
 MRS. Rns. I wish I could tell you why I am so sure of it. 
 But I cannot not just now, at least No, you mustn't ask 
 me to do so There is your father now. Take time to 
 think, Svava. No breach! No scandal! 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. MRS. Rns. Rns comes from the outside with 
 an open letter in his hand. 
 
 Rns. Oh, lying down a little, are you? [Goes into his room 
 to deposit hat and stick, and then returns] Nothing serious, I 
 hope?
 
 Acrn. sc. ii THE GAUNTLET 47 
 
 MRS. Rns. No, but 
 
 Rus. Well, here is a letter from the Christensens now. As 
 you don't want to see Alf, or even receive letters from him, 
 you have to be prepared for the interference of his family. 
 There's an end to everything, of course. [Reads] "My wife, 
 my son and I will have the honour of calling on you between 
 eleven and twelve." It's a wonder that this hasn't happened 
 long before. They have shown a great deal of patience, I 
 think. 
 
 MRS. Rns. We, on our side, haven't got any further than 
 we were before. 
 
 Rns. But what are you thinking of, Svava? Can't you 
 see where this kind of thing must lead to? You have a heart 
 in you, I know, and I am sure you don't want to ruin all of 
 us? Really, it seems to me, Svava, that you have shown all 
 the firmness that could possibly be needful in this case. 
 Their self-assurance has been shaken down to its very roots 
 you can depend on it. Wliat more do you want? Or do 
 you actually want to push the matter still farther? Well, 
 name your conditions. In all likelihood they will be accepted. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, faugh! 
 
 Rns. [In despair] Well, it just won't do to take it that 
 way! 
 
 MRS. Rns. No, it won't, Svava! You should rather try 
 to meet them half-way. 
 
 Rns. And, really, you should deign to consider what you 
 are throwing away. One of the richest families in the coun- 
 try, and also one of the most honourable, I dare say. I have 
 never heard of any indiscretions on their part. Yes, that's 
 what I say. No indiscretions, I say. There may have been 
 a lapse or more than one but then good Lord! 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, bring Him in, too! 
 
 Rus. Yes, that's just what I mean to do. For the matter
 
 48 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. n 
 
 is serious enough. Even if there has been a lapse of some kind, 
 I say, the poor young fellow has been punished hard enough 
 for it. And, after all, we have to be a little reasonable, and 
 forgive. We have to forgive. And more than that. We 
 have to help those that err we have to raise up those that 
 fall we have to set them on the right path Yes, set them 
 on the right path! And that's a thing you can do so beauti- 
 fully. You are just made for it. As you probably know, 
 my dear, it doesn't happen very often that I talk morality or 
 that sort of thing. Frankly speaking, it isn't becoming to 
 me, and I feel it perfectly. But on this occasion I simply 
 cannot refrain. Begin by forgiving, my child that's what 
 you should begin with! And besides, can you imagine a 
 continued life together without some without some well, 
 without that? 
 
 SVAVA. But there is no question here about any continued 
 life together or about forgiving either. Because I don't 
 want to have anything more to do with him. 
 
 Rus. But this passes all limits! Because he has dared to 
 love somebody else before you ? 
 
 SVAVA. Somebody? 
 
 Rus. Yes, no more than that, so far as I am aware of. 
 No, not a thing more! And it beats the deuce, the way people 
 run around with slander and gossip. But what I say is this: 
 because he dared to look at somebody else before he looked 
 at you, or before he ever thought of you, that's no reason why 
 he should be eternally condemned. How many could then 
 get married, I might venture to ask. Everybody declares 
 him to be such a fine and honest young fellow that the proud- 
 est girl in the world could trust him with her faith yes, and 
 that's just what you said yourself a while ago! Don't deny 
 it! But now he is all of a sudden to be utterly spurned be- 
 cause you don't happen to be the first woman he met.
 
 ACTH. sc. ii THE GAUNTLET 49 
 
 There should be some limit to pride as well as to everything 
 else. And I, for my part, have never heard of anything more 
 unreasonable. 
 
 MRS. Rus. That's not the men's way. 
 
 Rus. And how about the girls? What is their way? 
 They don't care whether the man to whom they become 
 engaged has been married before ah, there I happened to 
 use the word married. You may simply regard him as having 
 been married before. And why not? That's what other 
 girls do. Well, it's no use denying it ! For I know that you 
 know it! You have danced at more than one ball, haven't 
 you? And what men are most sought after on such occasions? 
 Exactly those those whose names are smilingly connected 
 with that of Don Juan. They take the wind out of the sails 
 of everybody else. You have seen it yourself a hundred 
 times. And does it happen only at balls? Don't such men 
 marry? As a rule they make the best marriages of all. 
 
 MRS. Rns. That's true. 
 
 Rus. Of course, it is true. And as a rule they become 
 pretty good husbands at that. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Hm-m? 
 
 Rns. Oh, yes, indeed, they do! Well, good gracious, there 
 are exceptions ! But the truth of the matter is, that marriage 
 has an ennobling influence. And just here we meet with 
 woman's highest mission. The very highest of all her mis- 
 sions ! 
 
 SVAVA. [Who has risen] Oh, if need be, I can listen to 
 that kind of thing from you. For I have expected nothing 
 better. 
 
 Rns. Thanks very much! 
 
 SVAVA. [Coming down the stage] One might think that mar- 
 riage was a sort of higher ablution ary institution for men 
 
 Rns. Ha, ha!
 
 50 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. n 
 
 SVAVA. And that men had a right to throw themselves into 
 it just when they wanted and in any manner suiting them. 
 
 Rus. Oh, no 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, yes and it is flattering so very flattering to 
 me, your own daughter, that you hold me particularly fitted 
 for that kind of higher laundry work. Nevertheless I shall 
 have nothing to do with it. 
 
 Rus. But this beats 
 
 SVAVA. Now you listen to me a little! I don't think I 
 have been talking too much these days. 
 
 Rus. No, we haven't been able to get a word out of you. 
 
 SVAVA. You, papa you carry around a lot of principles 
 for exhibition purposes. 
 
 Rus. For what? 
 
 SVAVA. By which I don't mean to say that they are not 
 yours. But you are so good, so honest, so refined in every- 
 thing you do, that I don't care a rap about your principles. 
 But I do care about mother's. For she has formed my own. 
 And when I want to apply them, she runs away. 
 
 MRS. Rus and Rus. But, Svava ! 
 
 SVAVA. It is mother I am angry with it is her I cannot 
 bear with. 
 
 Rus. Really, Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. For if there be any one thing about which mother 
 and I have been especially agreed, it is the unseemly way in 
 which men prepare themselves for marriage and about the 
 marriages which are the outcome of it. We have been follow- 
 ing up this matter for many years, mother and I. And both 
 of us have become convinced that it is before marriage most 
 marriages are spoiled. And then, when mother began to 
 change her tone a while ago 
 
 MBS. Rus. No, you can't say I have done that. For I 
 believe Alf is honest
 
 ACTH. sc.ii THE GAUNTLET 51 
 
 SVAVA. When mother began to change her tone well, I 
 could not have been more surprised if somebody had come 
 and told me that he had met mother on the street while she 
 was sitting here talking with me. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But all I ask is that you take time. I don't 
 oppose you. 
 
 SVAVA. No, let me speak now. Just one instance! Once, 
 when I was about half-grown, I came running in here from 
 the park. We had recently bought the place, and I was very 
 happy about it. And then I found mother standing here, 
 leaning up against the door and crying. It was a beautiful 
 summer evening. "Why are you crying, mamma?" I asked. 
 For a long while she pretended not to see me. Then I went 
 closer to her and asked again : " Why are you crying, mamma? " 
 But I never touched her. She turned away from me and 
 walked back and forth several times. Then she came up to 
 me. " Child," she said, and drew me close to herself. "Never 
 give up anything of what you think good and right not for 
 any price! It's the most cowardly thing you can do, and 
 you'll regret it terribly. For you will have to give up more 
 and more and more." I don't know what she had in mind: 
 I have never asked her. But the summer evening, and mother 
 crying, and her words the force of those words it would 
 be impossible to exaggerate what the memory of it all has 
 been to me. 7 cannot give up anything. Don't ask it of 
 me! Everything that made marriage beautiful to me is 
 gone. My faith, my trust gone! No, no! This cannot 
 be the way in which it should begin. And it is sinful of you 
 to try to persuade me. To reach it through such disappoint- 
 ment such humiliation? No, then I'll rather remain un- 
 married even if it be in a strange country. I can find some- 
 thing to fill up my life with, I am sure. It is only for the 
 moment I feel lost. And anything is better than to fill up
 
 52 THE GAUNTLET ACTH. sc. in 
 
 one's life with impurity. If you don't reject such things at 
 once, you become guilty of them yourself. Perhaps there 
 are those who can bear such things. Not I. No, I cannot! 
 You think it is pride. Because I am angry. But if you 
 knew what he and I had agreed and planned then you 
 might understand! And if you knew what I have thought 
 of him, how high up I had placed him well, then you might 
 also understand how unhappy I am now! How boundless 
 my loss is! Who's crying? Mother! [SvAVA runs across 
 the stage, kneels down beside her mother and puts her head in her 
 lap; long silence; Rus goes out to the right] Why cannot we 
 three stick together? If we do, what have we to fear? What 
 could happen? Papa, what could happen? Where is papa? 
 [Catches sight of DR. NORDAN outside] Uncle Nordan! Well, 
 I never expected! [She runs up the stage to meet him, throws 
 herself into his arms and bursts into tears] 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 SVAVA. MRS. Rns. DR. NORDAN. Later Rns. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, you little goose! You dear, silly little 
 goose! 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, you've got to talk to me now! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, why do you think I am here? 
 
 SVAVA. And I who thought you were up in the mountains 
 and couldn't be reached! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, where do you think I was? But telegram 
 after telegram, as far as they could reach and then messen- 
 ger after messenger and then, last of all but I suppose, I 
 dare not even mention his name now? 
 
 Rns. [Who has reappeared from the right] At last! The 
 way we have been waiting for you !
 
 ACTH. sc. ra THE GAUNTLET 53 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Who finally lias risen and come forward] Thank 
 you for coming, dear doctor! 
 
 NORDAN. [Looking at MRS. Rns] There must be stormy 
 days here. 
 
 MRS. Rns. You don't need to be told anything. 
 
 NORDAN. Well, off with you now, both of you ! Let Noodle- 
 kin and me have it out between ourselves. 
 
 MRS. Rns goes out to the left, accompanied by SVAVA. 
 
 Rns. All I want to say is that in a little while 
 
 NORDAN. comes the whole Christensen host. I know ! 
 
 Go now! 
 
 Rns. [Whispering] Nordan! 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, yes oh, yes no, of course not! [Drawing 
 away from Rns] Don't you think I know all that? Get out 
 of here! 
 
 As Rns goes out to the right, SVAVA returns from the left. 
 
 SVAVA. Dear Uncle Nordan at last I shall have some- 
 body who agrees with me! 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, that's what you expect? 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, uncle, what days these have been! 
 
 NORDAN. And nights, I suppose? Although you don't look 
 so very bad after all. 
 
 SVAVA. I have slept the last couple of nights. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, you have! Then I think I see how the 
 matter stands. You are a tough one, you are! 
 
 SVAVA. Don't begin now to say a lot of things you don't 
 mean, uncle! 
 
 NORDAN. That I don't mean? 
 
 SVAVA. For that's what you always do. And we haven't 
 time for it now. I am on burning coals. 
 
 NORDAN. Well, what haven't you gone and stirred up? 
 
 SVAVA. There you begin now! 
 
 NORDAN. Begin? Who the deuce has made you believe
 
 54 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. m 
 
 that I say anything but what I mean? Come now and let's 
 sit down ! [He places a chair in the middle of the floor. 
 
 SVAVA. {Putting her chair near his but at a right angle to it] 
 All right! 
 
 NORDAN. I understand that since I saw you last, you have 
 issued a brand-new commandment in regard to love. My 
 congratulations ! 
 
 SVAVA. Have I? 
 
 NORDAN. A supernatural, Svava-istic one. Probably de- 
 vised from the science of spherical harmonics. "There is but 
 one love, and it has but one object." Dixil 
 
 SVAVA. Have 7 said that? 
 
 NORDAN. Are you not spurning a young man because he 
 has dared to love before he saw you? 
 
 SVAVA. So you are also regarding it in that manner? 
 
 NORDAN. In that manner? As if among rational people 
 there were any other? A splendid young fellow actually 
 worships you. One of our best families fling their double 
 doors wide open for you as if you were a princess. And then 
 you retort: "You haven't been waiting for me ever since you 
 were a little boy avauntl" 
 
 SVAVA. [Rising abruptly] Oh, you too, you too! And the 
 same text! The same stupid old text! 
 
 NORDAN. I may as well tell you this much at once: if you 
 don't take into consideration what can be said against you, 
 then you are a fool. It's no use whatever for you to rush 
 away from me and begin prancing up and down. For then 
 I'll begin to prance also. Come here and sit down. Or per- 
 haps you don't dare to study the question more closely? 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, yes, I dare! [She sits down beside him again. 
 
 NORDAN. For suppose now that the question happens to 
 be an extremely unsettled one, which is being discussed by 
 serious men and women all over the world?
 
 ACT ii. sc. in THE GAUNTLET 55 
 
 SVAVA. But it concerns me alone. And to me it isn't un- 
 settled at all. 
 
 NORDAN. You misunderstand me, child! In the last in- 
 stance, you have to decide on your own case you, and nobody 
 else. Of course! But when what you are to decide on is not 
 quite as clear as you may think; when, at this very moment, 
 it is occupying the minds of thousands and thousands is it 
 not your duty then to show some regard for prevailing con- 
 ditions, and for what is generally said and thought about 
 them? Is it not unconscionable, without some such regard, 
 to judge the individual case? 
 
 SVAVA. I see! And I think that what you demand of me 
 I have already done. Ask my mother. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, yes, you and your mother have talked and 
 read a whole lot about marriage, and woman's emancipation, 
 and the abolition of special privileges for special classes and 
 now all privileges of sex are also to be abolished. But what 
 about the particular question at issue? 
 
 SVAVA. What is it you think I have overlooked? 
 
 NORDAN. This! Have you the right to be as exacting 
 toward man as toward woman? What do you say? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, of course! 
 
 NORDAN. Is it really so much a matter of course? Suppose 
 you were to make some inquiries. Of a hundred people you 
 asked, ninety would answer "no" even among the women 
 themselves! 
 
 SVAVA. I don't know it's beginning to change. 
 
 NORDAN. Very well. But knowledge is needed after all 
 to settle the question. 
 
 SVAVA. Do you really mean what you are saying? 
 
 NORDAN. Never mind! And for that matter, I always 
 mean what I say. A woman can marry at sixteen. A man
 
 56 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. ra 
 
 has to wait until he is twenty-five or thirty. That makes a 
 difference ! 
 
 SVAVA. There is a difference! For we have many, many, 
 many more unmarried women than men. And these women 
 are showing themselves capable of self-control while the men 
 find it easier to make a law out of their lack of self-control. 
 
 NOBDAN. That kind of talk shows nothing but ignorance. 
 The human creature is a polygamous animal, just like many 
 other ones, and this theory is strongly supported by the fact 
 that we have so many more women than men. This is some- 
 thing you have never heard before, I guess? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, doctor, I have! 
 
 NORDAN. Don't laugh at science! What the deuce are we 
 to believe in otherwise? 
 
 SVAVA. If you would only let the men have as much 
 trouble with their children as the women? Why don't you 
 let them, uncle? Then I think we would soon have a new 
 set of principles. Oh, just let them, uncle! 
 
 NORDAN. They haven't the time. They must run the 
 world. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, they have chosen their own part! But tell 
 me, Doctor Nordan : is it not cowardly not to live in accord- 
 ance with one's own teachings? [She kneels down beside him. 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, of course, it's cowardly! 
 
 SVAVA. Why, then, don't you live in accordance with 
 yours? 
 
 NORDAN. I? Why, I have always been a monster! Don't 
 you know that, dear? 
 
 SVAVA. Dearest Uncle Nordan you have such long white 
 locks why do you let your hair grow that way? 
 
 NORDAN. Oh there are reasons! 
 
 SVAVA. And what reasons? 
 
 NORDAN. Don't let us talk of that now.
 
 ACTH. sc. in THE GAUNTLET 57 
 
 SVAVA. But you have already told me. 
 
 NORDAN. Have I? 
 
 SVAVA. I wanted to touch your hair once, and you wouldn't 
 let me. And then you said: "Do you know why I won't let 
 you do it?" "No," said I. "Because nobody else has done 
 so for thirty-four years."- -"Who was the last one that 
 touched it?" I asked. "It was a little girl whom you re- 
 semble," you answered. 
 
 NORDAN. No, did I really tell you that? 
 
 SVAVA. "And she was a younger sister of your grand- 
 mother," you said to me. 
 
 NORDAN. So she was. Yes, yes, so she was. And you 
 resemble her, child. 
 
 SVAVA. And then you told me that once the year you 
 entered the university she was standing beside you and held 
 as much as she could of your hair in one of her hands. And 
 then she said: "You must never wear your hair shorter than 
 it is now." She went her way, and you went yours. And a 
 little while afterward you wrote and asked her if you two 
 hadn't better stick together for life. And she answered, yes. 
 But a month later she died. 
 
 NORDAN. Did she die? 
 
 SVAVA. And ever since, this funny Uncle Nordan has con- 
 sidered himself married to her. [NORDAN nods] And the very 
 night when you told me this and when I lay awake so long, 
 thinking it over and over then I made up my mind that I 
 should early choose one in whom I could place my whole 
 trust And I chose badly. 
 
 NORDAN. No, did you, Svava? 
 
 SVAVA. Don't ask me about it now! But then I chose 
 again, and felt secure. For never did a pair of eyes look 
 more faithfully into another. And the way we had every- 
 thing in common! Day after day, each one bringing some
 
 58 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. m 
 
 new discovery, each one seeming too short. Oh, I dare not 
 think of it now ! It is a sin to deceive in that way : not with 
 words, to be sure, but by permitting us to dream and to sur- 
 render ourselves. No, not with words. And yet with words, 
 too. For don't they listen to our words, and say nothing, 
 and so make them their own? They take pleasure in our 
 innocence as in a piece of unspoiled nature and just by so 
 doing, they deceive us. For the result of it is a certain inti- 
 macy, a certain mutual banter, that can only have one basis 
 that is, as we see it. And then it turns out to be ambiguous 
 after all. I don't understand how anybody can act like that 
 toward one whom he loves? For he did love me! 
 
 NOBDAN. And he does now! 
 
 SVAVA. [Rising] But not as I loved him! I had not been 
 giving myself away by piecemeal during the passing years. 
 My thoughts of love, and of being loved, were too high for 
 that. But for that very reason my desire was strong. Oh, 
 to you I dare say so. And when it was free, it nearly swept 
 me off my feet. But I felt so absolutely safe with him, and 
 so I let him see it, and I took pleasure in his seeing it. It is 
 this that hurts me now. For he was not worthy of it. He 
 said to me: I cannot bear that anybody else touches you. 
 He said to me: when I catch a glimpse of your arm, then I 
 remember that it has been lying around my neck, and that 
 nobody, nobody else can say the same. And I felt happy 
 and proud at hearing him say it : for it was true. A hundred 
 times I had told myself that somebody would say just that 
 to me some time. But what I had not thought was that the 
 man speaking thus to me would himself oh, abominable! 
 Then it gets a meaning that makes me hate him! Yes, the 
 mere thought that he has had his arms about me, that he 
 has touched me it sets me trembling to my innermost soul! 
 I lay down no rules for others. But the rule for myself
 
 ACTH. sc. in THE GAUNTLET 59 
 
 springs from my own self. My whole nature, from beginning 
 to end, determines it. Let me alone! 
 
 NORDAN. This is more serious and goes deeper than I had 
 any idea of. Nobody else looks at the matter in such a way, 
 and Alf least of all. He merely feels hurt hurt and insulted 
 because you don't trust him. 
 
 SVAVA. I know it. 
 
 NORDAN. Well, don't be so brusque about it. For it is 
 just the way most people would feel about it. 
 
 SVAVA. Hm-m? 
 
 NORDAN. Most of them would think: other girls forgive 
 that sort of thing just because they love. 
 
 SVAVA. And some would answer: had she not loved, she 
 might also have forgiven. 
 
 NORDAN. And yet, Svava? And yet ? 
 
 SVAVA. But, uncle, can't you understand! And I fear I 
 cannot explain it to you. For to do so, I should be able to 
 explain what it is we put into a man's appearance, nature, 
 walk, when we love him into his voice, into his smile. And 
 it is just this that is gone. The meaning of it all is gone. 
 
 NORDAN. For a while, yes until you have had time to 
 breathe 
 
 SVAVA. No, no, no! Do you recall a song I have often 
 been singing to you about the image of the loved one? 
 How it always appears with a burst of joy, as if bathed in joy? 
 Do you recall it? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes. 
 
 SVAVA. Well then that is just what it doesn't do any longer ! 
 It does appear, of course; but only pain comes with it. 
 Always! And a thing like that should be forgiven? Because 
 other girls have forgiven? But did they then never love, 
 those other girls? Can you tell me that? For what I have 
 loved is gone. And I don't intend to sit down and try to
 
 60 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. m 
 
 dream it back again. I shall find something else to occupy 
 myself with. 
 
 NOBDAN. Well, you are in a bitter mood now. Your ideal 
 has been thoroughly smashed. And, of course, it's of no use 
 to talk as long as the pain of it lasts. And for that reason - 
 only one thing one single little thing but that one thing 
 you must promise me! 
 
 SVAVA. If I can. 
 
 NOKDAN. You can. There are many things to be consid- 
 ered here. Ask for time to think it over. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh mother has written to you. 
 
 NORDAN. Well, what of it? Your mother knows what is 
 at stake here. 
 
 SVAVA. At stake? You talk so mysteriously as if we were 
 not safe? Are we not? My father speaks of leaving the 
 country. Why? 
 
 NOKDAN. I suppose he thinks himself compelled to do so. 
 
 SVAVA. My father? For economical reasons? 
 
 NORDAN. Not at all! No, but you will have to face a lot 
 of hostile gossip. For there is a challenge in what you do. 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, we are not afraid of criticism! Of course, my 
 father has very peculiar principles, as you know. But as far 
 as his life is concerned ? I hope nobody has any doubt on 
 that score? 
 
 NORDAN. Now listen, girl; nobody can prevent people 
 from making up things. Be careful! 
 
 SVAVA. What do you mean? 
 
 NORDAN. I mean that you ought to take a walk in the park 
 and pull yourself together a little before the Christensens are 
 at the door. Try to calm yourself down, and then come in 
 and ask for a little more time. That's all! They will grant 
 what you ask because they are forced to. Nothing has 
 happened, and every road remains open. Do that now!
 
 ACTH. sc.in THE GAUNTLET 61 
 
 SVAVA. I have thought. And you will never bring me 
 around. 
 
 NORDAN. All right then what remains is nothing but a 
 formality? 
 
 SVAVA. Hm-m? There is something else behind what you 
 say. 
 
 NORDAN. My, but you are wilful ! Can't you do this for 
 your mother's sake, let us say? Your mother is a very good 
 woman. 
 
 SVAVA. What are they to think when I come in and say: 
 "Please give me a little more time!" Oh, no, I cannot! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, what would you say? 
 
 SVAVA. Nothing at all, if I could choose. But if I must 
 
 NORDAN. Of course, you must! 
 
 SVAVA. Then I'll go out and think it over. [As sJie goes 
 toward the door] But it won't be what you want. 
 
 NORDAN. [Who remains standing on the same spot as before] 
 But it must be just that! 
 
 SVAVA. [Stopping at the door] You said: Your mother is a 
 very good woman that's what you said. It seemed as if 
 you were putting stress on mother? 
 
 NORDAN. Well? 
 
 SVAVA. And my father? 
 
 NORDAN. A good woman your father? 
 
 SVAVA. Why do you try to evade it with a jest? 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, hang it, because it is serious, of course! 
 
 SVAVA. Is my father not to be trusted ? 
 
 NORDAN. Sh! 
 
 SVAVA. My father? Could it be possible that ? Is that 
 what people are saying? [When DR. NORDAN remains silent 
 and motionless] It's a shame! Impossible! Impossible, I 
 say! [She goes out quickly.
 
 62 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 NORDAN. Rus comes from the right. 
 
 Uns. What is the matter with Svava? 
 
 NORDAN. [Walking back and forth] There was nothing else 
 to do. 
 
 Rus. [Following him] Nothing else to do? But what? 
 
 NORDAN. No, I'll be darned if there was anything else to 
 do! 
 
 Rus. Is that so? But what was it? 
 
 NORDAN. What did you say? 
 
 Rus. No, you said 
 
 NORDAN. What did 7 say? 
 
 Rus. You said that there was nothing else to do And 
 you quite scared me. 
 
 NORDAN. Did I? Well, you didn't hear right. 
 
 [Goes away from him. 
 
 Rus. Didn't I? Why, you even said you would be 
 darned ! 
 
 NORDAN. I didn't do anything of the kind. 
 
 Rus. Well, then you didn't. But what happened with 
 Svava? Can't you tell me? 
 
 NORDAN. What happened with Svava? 
 
 Rus. Why are you so preoccupied? Did things go wrong? 
 
 NORDAN. Preoccupied? Why should I be? 
 
 Rus. Well, you know best. But I was asking about Svava. 
 What happened with Svava? It seems to me I have a right 
 to know! 
 
 NORDAN. You, Riis? 
 
 Rus. Yes. [As NORDAN puts his arm through his] What is 
 it now?
 
 ACTH. sc. iv THE GAUNTLET 63 
 
 NORDAN. Did you see Svava? 
 
 Rus. As she rushed out into the park? Yes. My dear 
 fellow, what was it? 
 
 NORDAN. It was the Greek tragedy. 
 
 Rus. The Gr ? 
 
 NORDAN. Just the name. Just the name. You know what 
 it means, don't you? 
 
 Rus. Something sad? 
 
 NORDAN. Not at all ! Something very funny ! It came to 
 Greece with the cult of Dionysos. And in his train there was 
 a goat 
 
 Rus. [Pulling his arm away] A ? But what ? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, you may well be surprised. For the goat 
 sang. 
 
 Rus. He sang? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, and he is singing still, don't you know and 
 painting oh! His pictures appear in every exhibition. And 
 he works in bronze and marble. Splendidly! And what a 
 courtier he is! He designs the costumes and decides what 
 society 
 
 Rus. Have you gone clear out of your head? 
 
 NORDAN. Why so? 
 
 Rus. I am merely waiting for all that damned nonsense to 
 blow over. Of course, we are accustomed to almost anything 
 when you are in this mood, but to-night I cannot understand 
 a blessed word of what you are saying. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, my dear fellow, is that so? 
 
 Rus. Can't you tell me what my daughter said? It's per- 
 fectly ridiculous that I can't find out! Now, be brief and 
 plain: what did she say? 
 
 NORDAN. You want to know that? 
 
 Rus. And he asks me thai-
 
 64 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. v 
 
 NORDAN. She said: it is a pity about all the innocent little 
 girls that, generation after generation, come tripping along. 
 That's what she said. 
 
 Rus. Tripping where? 
 
 NORDAN. That's just it: where? And she said: they are 
 brought up in pious ignorance, and finally those trustful ones 
 are swathed in a long, white veil, in order that they may not 
 see where they are going. 
 
 Rus. But this is mythology again. Why can't you 
 
 NORDAN. Listen! It's your daughter speaking But I 
 will not, she said. I will walk securely into holy matrimony 
 and sit beside the hearth of my native land and rear children 
 before the sight of my husband. But he must be chaste as I 
 am, or he will defile my child's head when he kisses it, and to 
 me he will bring dishonour. Now, that's what she said, and 
 when she said it, she looked so beautiful! 
 
 [A door-bell is heard ringing. 
 
 Rus. Now, there they are! There they are! How in the 
 world is this going to end? We are immersed in the most un- 
 reasonable theories! We are buzzing about in the midst of 
 a gigantic mythology! [Rushes toward the door. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 DR. NORDAN. Rus. MR. and MRS. CHRISTENSEN. 
 MRS. Rus. MARGIT. Later ALF. 
 
 Rus. [Meeting the new-comers and speaking while they are 
 still outside] Welcome! I wish you welcome of all my heart! 
 But where is your son? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [Still outside] We couldn't make him come. 
 
 Rus. I am very sorry. Although, of course, I understand. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [Appearing in the doorway] Every time I
 
 ACTH. sc. v THE GAUNTLET 65 
 
 come here, I have to admire your splendid place over again, 
 my dear Riis. 
 
 MBS. CHRISTENSEN. Oh, this old park! I wish that in 
 due time Ah, doctor how is everything going? 
 
 NORDAN. So-o-o 
 
 RIIS. [To MARGIT, who has followed the guests in] Please 
 tell Mrs. Riis will you? And oh, there she is! [MRS. RIIS 
 enters through the door on the left] And Miss Svava. 
 
 NORDAN. She is out in the park over to the right ! 
 
 [MARGIT leaves. 
 
 RIIS. No, the other way! That's it! Walk straight ahead 
 till you find her! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. [Simultaneously to MRS. RIIS as both 
 come down the stage] Oh, my dear, I have thought of you so 
 much these days! Such an annoying story! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. May I ask if you knew anything about it 
 before? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. What hasn't a mother and a wife 
 to know these days, dear? As you may recall, she was in 
 my house. Come here a moment! 
 
 She relates something in whispers, gradually raising her 
 voice a little, so that toward the end such words can be 
 heard as "discovery" and "turned out." 
 
 RIIS. [Offering chairs to the ladies] If you please! Oh, beg 
 your pardon, I didn't see [Rushes over to CHRISTENSEN] 
 Excuse me, but are you really comfortable there, tell me? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Thanks, it's as bad here as anywhere else. 
 For it's mainly this sitting down and getting up again that 
 gives me trouble. [After looking around] I have been to see 
 him. 
 
 RIIS. Whom Hoff? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Decent chap. Stupid. 
 
 RIIS. Well, if he only keeps his mouth shut
 
 66 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. v 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. He will. 
 
 Rus. Thank heaven! Then it's all between ourselves. I 
 suppose it cost something? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Not a cent! 
 
 Rns. Why, you got out of that cheap. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Yes, didn't I? However, it has cost me 
 plenty before but he knows nothing of that. 
 
 Rus. Oh? When he failed? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. No, when he married. 
 
 Rus. Oh, I see! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. And I thought that ended the story. What 
 kind of whispering game are the ladies playing? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. [Coming toward the centre of the stage; 
 Rus arranges chairs for her and for his wife] I was telling 
 about this matter with Miss Tang. One might almost say 
 she had risen out of her grave. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Pardon me, but isn't your daughter at 
 home? 
 
 Rus. We have sent for her. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. I hope she, too, has learned a thing 
 or two these days, poor thing! She has been suffering from 
 a fault that often belongs to very clever people I mean self- 
 righteousness. 
 
 Rus. Exactly! Quite right! Call it arrogance! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. No, I wouldn't call it that. But 
 pride, perhaps. 
 
 MRS. Rus. What makes you think so? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Several talks I have had with her. 
 Once I spoke of the husband as our lord and master. In these 
 days of new-fangled ideas it is just as well to impress such 
 things on our young girls. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Yes, the Lord knows!
 
 ACTH. sc. v THE GAUNTLET 67 
 
 MRS. CHKISTENSEN. And when I reminded her of what 
 Paul said, she replied: "Yes, those are the bars behind which 
 we women still are imprisoned." Then I knew that some- 
 thing was bound to happen sooner or later. Pride always 
 goes before a fall. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. No, dear no. That line of reasoning don't 
 hold. No, really! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Oh, is that so? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. No! For first of all, it was not Miss Riis 
 that fell, but your own darling son. Secondly, he didn't fall 
 on account of Miss Riis's pride in fact, I think he fell several 
 years before Miss Riis gave vent to her pride. So that when 
 you knew that his fall would result from Miss Riis's pride, 
 then you knew something that you didn't know at all. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Yes, you scoff! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh, I have to attend a committee meeting 
 at one sharp. May I ask what has become of your daughter? 
 
 RIIS. Yes, I am also beginning to 
 
 NORDAN. [Who has kept in the background, sometimes in the 
 room and sometimes outside, says now to MARGIT, who is just 
 passing by the door from right to left] Didn't you find her until 
 now? 
 
 MARGIT. Yes, I have been down once before with Miss 
 Svava's hat and parasol. 
 
 NORDAN. Is she going out? 
 
 MARGIT. I don't know. [Goes. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, well! 
 
 RIIS. What's the meaning of this? 
 
 [7* about to leave the room. 
 
 NORDAN. No, no! Not you! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Has risen and goes toward the door] I think I 
 had better 
 
 RIIS. Yes, you go!
 
 68 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. v 
 
 NORDAN. No, I will go! For I fear I have been the cause 
 [Going] I promise to bring her back. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, well! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. [Rising] I fear, my dear, that our 
 visit is inconveniencing the young lady? 
 
 Rus. You must have forbearance with her! It comes from 
 all these romantic ideas, I tell you; from all this reading 
 which her mother has not held properly in check. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I? What is it you are saying? 
 
 Rus. I am saying that this is an important moment. And 
 such moments seem to bring clearness just as if yes, they 
 do! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Your husband, Mrs. Riis, seems to have 
 had the same revelation which came to our minister recently 
 that is, to my wife's minister. It was just after dinner a 
 very good dinner, too and that's a time when brilliant ideas 
 are likely to come. We were talking about how much more 
 woman has to learn now than she had in the past. It didn't 
 matter much, said somebody, for she forgot all about it as 
 soon as she was married. And then the minister cried out 
 joyfully: "Yes, my wife has already forgotten how to spell, 
 and I am hoping she will soon forget how to write also." 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. The way you mimic people I just 
 have to laugh although it's sinful. 
 
 [CHRISTENSEN looks at his watch. 
 
 Rus. And they are not coming yet! Will you go, or 
 must I ? 
 
 MRS. Rus. {Rising} I'll go. But they haven't had time 
 yet 
 
 Rus. [Close to his wife] This is your fault! It's perfectly 
 plain to me. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I don't" think you know what you are saying. 
 
 [Goes out.
 
 ACTH. sc. v THE GAUNTLET 69 
 
 Rns. [Coming back to the middle of the room] I have to 
 apologise very much! This was the very last thing I should 
 have expected of Svava. For I dare say that the laws of 
 common courtesy have never before been violated in this 
 house. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Something may have happened. 
 
 Rns. Why, I never thought Good God ! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Don't misunderstand me now. I 
 mean that a young girl is so sensitive to emotion and then 
 she hesitates to show herself. 
 
 Rns. All the same, Mrs. Christensen, all the same! In a 
 moment like this Well, you must pardon me, but I cannot 
 bear this. I simply must see for myself what is the matter. 
 
 [He hurries out. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. If Alf had been here, I suppose he would 
 also be running around the park after the lady. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. But, dear! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Are we not alone? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Yes, but nevertheless 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, then I can only say as a famous man 
 said long before me: Why the devil did he venture on board 
 that galley? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Now be patient for a few moments! 
 It's absolutely necessary. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Necessary? Pooh! Riis is more afraid of a 
 breach than any one of us. Didn't you notice him a moment 
 ago? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. I did, but 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. She has already gone far beyond what she 
 has a right to. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. That's what Alf thinks also. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Then he should have been on hand to say 
 so. It was what I wanted.
 
 70 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. v 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Alf is in love and that makes a man 
 timid. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh-h! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Yes, being in love as often as you are 
 is a different thing. [She gets up] There they come No 
 not Svava! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Isn't she coming? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. [Speaking at the same time as her 
 husband] I don't see her. 
 
 Rus. [Appearing outside] Here they are! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. And your daughter? 
 
 Rus. Svava, too! She just asked us to walk ahead. She 
 wanted a chance to pull herself together. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. [Sitting down again] There you see! 
 It was as I thought. Poor thing ! 
 
 MRS. RHS. Now she'll be here in a moment. [Close to MRS. 
 CHRISTENSEN] You must forgive her it has been a hard 
 time for her. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Goodness gracious, I understand per- 
 fectly. The first time you experience a thing of that kind, 
 it's something dreadful. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Really, this is becoming quite amusing! 
 
 NORDAN. Now then! She just asked me to walk a little 
 ahead. 
 
 Rus. I think we have waited long enough. 
 
 NORDAN. She's right behind me. 
 
 Rus. There she is! 
 
 Goes over toward the right; MRS. Rus and NORDAN 
 meet SVAVA, who is coming from the left. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. One might think it was the Queen of Sheba!
 
 ACTH. sc. vi THE GAUNTLET 71 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 The same as before. SVAVA. Later ALF. 
 
 SVAVA has put on hat and gloves, and carries a parasol. 
 MR. and MRS. CHRISTENSEN have both stood up. She 
 greets them with a slight movement of her head and walks 
 over to the corner on the right in the foreground. Every- 
 body sits down in silence; NORD AN furthest to the left; 
 then MRS. Rus, MRS. CHRISTENSEN, CHRISTENSEN; 
 and way over to the right, but in the background, Rus, 
 who alternately sits down and gets up again. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. My dear Svava, we have come here 
 to well, you yourself know why. What has happened has 
 caused us a great deal of sorrow. But it's something that 
 cannot be undone. We don't want to justify Alf's conduct. 
 But it seems to us he might be forgiven, particularly by one 
 who feels that she is loved, genuinely loved. For that is 
 something entirely different! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Of course! 
 
 Rus. Of course! 
 
 NORDAN. Of course! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. And even if you don't agree to this, I hope 
 you can agree with regard to Alf himself. For we believe, 
 my dear Svava, that in his character you have a guarantee 
 of absolute faithfulness. I know that if it should be demanded 
 of him, he will give you his word of honour. 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Rising suddenly] Oh, no, no! 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. What is it, my dear? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Nothing of that kind! Why, the marriage 
 ceremony itself is the same as a vow.
 
 72 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. vi 
 
 NORDAN. But perhaps two might be more effective, Mrs. 
 Riis? 
 
 MRS. Rus. No, not that! No vows! [Sits doicn again. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I have been noticing the remarks of our 
 friend here, Dr. Nordan. Tell me, my dear sir, do you also 
 hold that my son's action must absolutely prevent his mar- 
 riage with a respectable woman? 
 
 NORDAN. On the contrary ! Such a thing never prevents a 
 man from marrying and marrying very well at that. So 
 that in this case it is Svava alone who in every respect acts 
 peculiarly. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. I shouldn't say that. But there is 
 something Svava has overlooked. She is acting as if she were 
 free. But she is far from free. An engagement is a marriage. 
 At least, I am old-fashioned enough to look at it that way. 
 But then he to whom I have given my hand is also my lord, 
 my master, and I owe it to him as to everybody else in 
 authority to hold him in honour whether his actions be 
 good or bad. I cannot cast him aside or run away from him 
 myself. 
 
 Rus. That's old-fashioned and solid! I thank you with 
 all my heart, Mrs. Christensen! 
 
 NORDAN. I also ! 
 
 MRS. Rus. But if it is too late after you are engaged 
 
 [Checks herself. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. What do you mean, my dear? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh, no it wasn't anything at all. 
 
 NORDAN. If it is too late after the engagement, Mrs. Riis 
 means why not then tell the truth before the engagement? 
 
 Rus. Well, there came the only thing still wanting! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Ah, but there would be style to that! 
 Suppose hereafter a proposal should come to be something 
 like this: "My dear young lady, up to date I have had so
 
 ACTH. sc. vi THE GAUNTLET 73 
 
 and so many love affairs to wit, so and so many serious 
 ones, and so and so many lighter ones." That would be an 
 excellent introduction, wouldn't it, to 
 
 NORDAN. to a declaration that he has never loved 
 
 anybody else. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Not exactly that, but 
 
 Rus. Why, there's Alf! 
 
 MRS. Bus. Alf? 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Yes, there he is! 
 
 Rus. [Going to meet him] That's right! I am glad to see 
 you! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. We-ell? 
 
 ALF. In the end I couldn't help myself. I had to come. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. And right you did. 
 
 Rus. It was the only natural thing. 
 
 ALT steps forward and bows very deeply to SVAVA. She 
 acknowledges his greeting, but without looking at him. 
 He steps back. 
 
 NORDAN. Hello, my boy! 
 
 ALF. Perhaps my presence is not convenient? 
 
 Rus. Far from it on the contrary! 
 
 ALF. It seems, however, as if Miss Riis didn't wish to 
 have me here? [Silence. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. But in a family conference like ours 
 just now? Don't you think so, my dear? 
 
 Rus. I assure you that you are welcome. It is just what 
 you have to say that we are all waiting for. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. That's right. 
 
 ALF. I have not succeeded in getting a hearing before now. 
 I have repeatedly been turned away. Both I and my letters. 
 And so I thought that if I came now, I might be heard. 
 
 Rus. Of course! Nobody would think of anything else. 
 
 NORDAN. You will be heard.
 
 74 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. vi 
 
 ALF. Perhaps I may regard Miss Riis's silence as a per- 
 mission? In that case well, it isn't much I have to say 
 either. All I want is to recall the fact that when I applied for 
 the hand of Miss Riis, I did so because I loved her with all 
 my heart her, and no one else. The greatest happiness I 
 could imagine, and also the greatest honour, was to be loved 
 by her in return. And nothing has changed since then. 
 
 [He makes a pause as if expecting an answer. 
 Everybody looks at SVAVA. 
 
 ALT. If Miss Riis expects me to say more than that if 
 she expects me to make apologies well, I can't see the matter 
 in that light. I can't feel myself under such an obligation 
 to anybody. [Silence] What I might offer voluntarily what 
 I might be anxious to tell under other circumstances of that 
 I cannot speak now. But I am under no such obligation to 
 anybody. My honour demands that I insist on this. The 
 only thing for which I am responsible is my future. And in 
 respect to that I must admit it has offended me deeply that 
 Miss Riis has for a moment been able to doubt me. It has 
 offended me very deeply. Never in my life have I been 
 doubted in the same way before. I must ask, with all proper 
 respect, that I be taken at my word. [After another pause] 
 Well, that's all. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Rising instinctively] But if under similar cir- 
 cumstances, a woman should say the same thing who would 
 believe her? 
 
 Silence. SVAVA bursts into tears. 
 
 MRS. CHRISTENSEN. Poor child ! 
 
 RIIS. Believe her? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes, believe her. Believe her if, with a past 
 like that behind her, she dared to assert that she would always 
 remain a faithful wife? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. With such a past?
 
 ACTH. sc. vi THE GAUNTLET 75 
 
 MRS. Rus. Perhaps the expression is poor. But why de- 
 mand that she trust the man more than he will trust her? 
 For he wouldn't believe her at all. 
 
 Rus. [Coming up behind his wife] Have you gone clear 
 crazy? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [Half rising] If you pardon me, ladies and 
 gentlemen, I think the two young people should be permitted 
 to settle the matter. [Sits down again. 
 
 ALF. I must confess that I have never given a thought to 
 what Mrs. Riis is talking of, because it could never happen. 
 No decent man would ever choose a woman of whose past he 
 was not absolutely sure. Not one! 
 
 MRS. Rus. But how about the decent woman, Alf? 
 ALF. That's a different thing. 
 
 NORDAN. To put it exactly: a woman owes the man both 
 her past and her future, a man owes the woman only his 
 future. 
 
 ALF. If you like yes. 
 
 NORDAN. [To SVAVA, as he gets up] I did wish you to post- 
 pone your answer, Svava. But now I think you ought to 
 answer at once. 
 
 SVAVA goes up to ALF and flings one of her gloves in his 
 face. Then she disappears into her room. ALF makes 
 a complete face-about to look after her. Rus rushes 
 into his room on the right. All are on their feet. MRS. 
 CHRISTENSEN takes hold of ALF'S arm and goes out 
 with him. CHRISTENSEN follows them. MRS. Rus 
 runs across the stage to the left. 
 NORDAN. That was the gauntlet, all right. 
 MRS. Rus. [In front of the locked door behind which SVAVA 
 t*as disappeared] Svava! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [Returns and says to NORDAN before the latter
 
 76 THE GAUNTLET ACT n. sc. vi 
 
 has noticed him or had a chance to turn around] It is war, then? 
 
 Well, I think I know something about war ! [Goes out again. 
 
 NORDAN turns around to look after him and remains 
 
 standing that way. 
 MRS. Rus. [At the door as before] Svava! 
 
 Rus comes out of his room in great haste, with hat and 
 gloves on and a walking-stick in his hand; runs after 
 the CHRISTENSENS. 
 MRS. Rus. Svava! 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT III 
 
 A garden, at the end of which is seen the rear of a pretty one-story 
 house. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 NORDAN. ALF. CHRISTENSEN. 
 
 DR. NORDAN is sitting on a chair in the foreground, read- 
 ing. An old man-servant opens the door of the house. 
 
 SERVANT. Doctor! 
 
 NORDAN. What is it? [ALF appears in the door] Oh, is it 
 you? [Rising] Well, my boy? But how you look! 
 
 ALF. Never mind that! Can you give me some breakfast? 
 
 NORDAN. Have you had no breakfast yet? Haven't you 
 been home? Not home all night? Not since yesterday? 
 [Calling out] Thomas! 
 
 ALF. And when I have eaten, I must have a talk with you. 
 
 NORDAN. Of course. My dear boy! [To THOMAS] Get 
 ready some breakfast in there. 
 
 [Pointing to a window on the left side of the house. 
 
 ALF. And I suppose I'll have to straighten out my appear- 
 ance a little too? 
 
 NORDAN. Go with Thomas! I'll be there in a moment. 
 [THOMAS and ALF go into the house; at that moment a carriage 
 is heard stopping in front of the house] There is a carriage 
 now! See what it is, Thomas! No practice! Going away 
 to-morrow ! 
 
 SERVANT. It's Mr. Christensen, sir! [Goes out again. 
 
 77
 
 78 THE GAUNTLET ACT m. sc. i 
 
 NORDAN. Ho-ho! [Goes over to the window on the left] Alf! 
 
 ALF. [In the window] Yes? 
 
 NORDAN. Your father! If you don't want to be seen, just 
 pull down the shade. 
 
 The shade is drawn. 
 
 SERVANT. This way, please! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [In evening dress; around his neck is seen the 
 big cross worn by a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Olav; 
 a light coat hangs across his shoulders] I hope you will pardon 
 me! 
 
 NORDAN. Certainly! In all your glory? Congratulations! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh, we freshly baked ones have to make 
 our bow at court to-day. But on my way to the palace I 
 thought I would stop for a moment with you, if you will let 
 me. Have you heard anything from that quarter? From the 
 Riises? 
 
 NORDAN. No. I suppose they are waiting for the "war" 
 to begin. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, it's coming! I intend to start it this 
 very day. But I thought she might have become a little 
 more reasonable? Women act ugly about that kind of thing 
 as a rule. But afterward they become so much the meeker. 
 
 NORDAN. I don't think so. But I bow before your greater 
 experience. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Thanks! But as a family buffer of long 
 service, you must have a still greater. Yesterday she was 
 like an electric eel. And she knew how to hit! I don't 
 think the boy has been home ever since. I am almost glad 
 of it. For it means there must be some shame in him. And 
 I had almost begun to doubt it. 
 
 NORDAN. It is this matter about the "war" that interests 
 me. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN, Oh, are you so keen on that? Well I guess
 
 ACTm. sc. i THE GAUNTLET 79 
 
 that matter will take care of itself. The case of Mrs. North 
 can be opened up again any day, my dear fellow. It rests 
 with the bank, don't you know. 
 
 NORDAN. But what has it to do with your son's engagement? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. What, you ask? My son is jilted by Miss 
 Riis because she does not approve of his relations before the 
 marriage. Her father maintains similar relations in spite of 
 his marriage! Tableau vivant tres curieux to use the lan- 
 guage of which Mr. Riis himself is so fond ! 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, that's disgusting! For your son alone is to 
 blame in this matter. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. My son is not to blame at all. He has done 
 nothing whatever that could bring harm or dishonour to the 
 Riis family. Nothing whatsoever! He is an honest man 
 who has given his promise to Miss Riis, and this promise he 
 has kept. Who dares say anything else? Or that he does 
 not mean to keep it? To doubt him is an insult, my dear 
 doctor. There must be apologies and peace or war! For 
 I am not going to stand this. And if my son intends to do so, 
 I shall despise him. 
 
 NORDAN. / believe that your son's promise was honestly 
 meant when he gave it. It is possible that he might have 
 kept it also but I don't know! I have learned to doubt. I 
 am a physician. I have seen too much. And yesterday he 
 did not appear to advantage. Yes, you must pardon me. 
 But on top of his lively bachelor life, and with the heritage 
 that is back of him if anybody doubted him if his fiancee 
 doubted him do you really think that would be so very 
 remarkable my dear sir? Do you think he had a right 
 to become offended? To demand apologies? Apologies for 
 what? Because somebody dared to doubt his virtue? Just 
 think of it! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh, fiddlesti
 
 80 THE GAUNTLET ACT m. sc. i 
 
 NORDAN. One moment ! I am only half through. For you 
 spoke also of peace which means marriage. And if your son 
 cares to marry a woman who does not feel sure of him, then 7 
 shall despise him. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well ! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, I shall. That shows how opinions may 
 differ. According to the way I feel about it, your son has 
 simply to submit and to wait. Wait and keep quiet. Al- 
 ways provided, of course, that he is still in love. Now you 
 know what I think of the matter. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. First of all I presume that most suitors have 
 erred in the same way as my son. At least, that is my own 
 belief. Furthermore I presume that they have the same 
 unfortunate "heritage" a word on which you lay especial 
 emphasis out of friendly consideration for me. But is that 
 any reason for a majority of engaged young women to behave 
 as Miss Riis does? To raise an outcry, to run away, to make 
 a scandal? If it were, what a hubbub there would be! The 
 result would be the most diverting anarchy ever heard of in 
 this world No, these doctrines now confronting us are 
 against the nature and order of things. They are false. 
 And when, in the bargain, they are hurled at our heads in 
 the form of judgments by a Supreme Court of Morals, then 
 I strike back! Good-bye! [Starts to leave, but turns back] 
 Against whom would these Supreme Court decisions be di- 
 rected, do you think? As a rule, against the best and ablest 
 young men in the country. And these are the men that we 
 should put in a class by themselves as special objects of 
 derision! And against what would those decisions turn? 
 Against the better part of the world's literature and art; 
 against a great deal of what is most beautiful, most entranc- 
 ing in our own time above all, against the great cities of the 
 world. Against those world-miracles the cities of vast
 
 Acrrn. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 81 
 
 millions. You cannot deny it! Just that life which keeps 
 apart from marriage, or breaks it up, or tries to change the 
 whole institution yes, you know very well what I mean 
 all that which we describe as "seductive" in fashions, in 
 luxury, in sociability, in art, in literature it is just this 
 which contributes more than anything else to the richness of 
 life in the big cities. It is one of their main sources of power. 
 Nobody who has seen it, can doubt this. But everybody 
 pretends not to understand. Is then all this to be destroyed? 
 Are the best among our youths to be made outcasts? Are 
 the great cities of the world to be ruined? Yes, people de- 
 mand so much in the name of morality, that at last they 
 demand what is immoral. 
 
 NOBDAN. Ah, you are, indeed, applying the superior ability 
 of a statesman to your little war. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Nothing but common sense, my dear fellow. 
 But that's all that's needed. And you may be sure that the 
 whole city will be on my side. 
 
 SERVANT. Doctor! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, I declare! [He hurries toward the house. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 The same as before. MRS. Rus. 
 
 MRS. Rus. May I come in? 
 
 NORDAN. Of course you may! 
 
 MRS. Rus [To CHRISTENSEN, who has saluted her] My visit 
 is really for you. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I am delighted! 
 
 MRS. Rus. I happened to be at the window just as your 
 carriage drove up and you stepped out. And so I thought I 
 should seize the opportunity for yesterday you uttered a
 
 82 THE GAUNTLET ACT m. sc. n 
 
 threat against us. Am I right? You declared war against 
 us? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. It seems to me that it was declared, and 
 that I merely accepted it? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. And what is the object of your war, if I may ask? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I have just explained my position to the 
 doctor. But I doubt whether it would be chivalrous to dp 
 so to you. 
 
 NORDAN. Then I shall do it. The war is directed against 
 your husband. Mr. Christensen means to take the offensive. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Of course! For you know that you can reach 
 him. But I have come to ask you to reconsider. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. [Smiling] Is that so? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Once it is many years ago now I picked up 
 my child in my arms and meant to leave my husband. Then 
 he mentioned a name. He used it as a shield. It was the 
 name of a very powerful man. And he said: "Observe how 
 forbearing that man's wife is. And because of her, the whole 
 community is forbearing. And those who wilt benefit by it 
 are their children." Those were his exact words. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well? In so far as advice was suggested, 
 it was good advice. And you took it, didn't you? 
 
 MRS. Rns. In our country it is a shame to be a divorced 
 wife. And it brings no honour to be the daughter of such a 
 woman. The wealthy, the powerful people, those that set 
 the tone, have caused it to be so. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh, well ? 
 
 MRS. Rus. This was my excuse when I stayed for the sake 
 of my child's future. But it was also my husband's excuse 
 he being one who follows the example set by others. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. We all do, madam. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But the men of most power less than others.
 
 ACT m. sc. ii THE GAUNTLET 83 
 
 And in this respect they are setting examples which are very 
 tempting to the rest. I can hardly be mistaken in assuming 
 that, during these last days, I have heard your ideas from my 
 husband's lips. But if mistaken in this, I was surely right 
 in hearing you back of what your son said yesterday? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I stand by every word my son spoke. 
 
 MRS. Rus. So I thought. Well, it will be a strange war, 
 this one of yours. For you are back of everything that has 
 happened from first to last. You are the whole war on both 
 sides. 
 
 NORDAN. Before you answer! May I submit to you, Mrs. 
 Riis, whether you want to make the breach incurable? Is a 
 conciliation between the two young people to be rendered 
 impossible? 
 
 MRS. Rus. It is impossible. 
 
 NORDAN. Why? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Because all confidence is gone. 
 
 NORDAN. Now any more than before? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, for I must confess that until yesterday, 
 when Alf's word of honour was offered and until he himself 
 demanded that he be trusted on his word of honour until 
 then I had not recognised my own story. And yet, that's 
 what it was word for word I That's the way we began! 
 Who can guarantee that the sequel will not be the same? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. My son's character is a guarantee of that, 
 madam. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Character? Yes, you think that a character 
 is developed by following secret, lawless ways from youth up ! 
 But that is the way to develop faithlessness. And those who 
 complain that real characters are so rare, should seek the 
 cause right here, I think. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. It is not one's youth that determines the 
 matter. What settles it is how one marries.
 
 84 THE GAUNTLET ACT in. sc. n 
 
 MRS. Rns. Why should faithlessness cease with marriage? 
 Can you tell me that? 
 
 CHBISTENSEN. Because then there is love. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Then there is love? As if there had been no 
 love before! It is just in this respect that the men have fos- 
 tered a complete delusion. No, love cannot bring lasting 
 faith when the will itself is impaired. And it is. Impaired 
 through the life the bachelor leads. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. And yet I know very sensual men with 
 strong wills. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I am not talking of strong wills, but of clean 
 ones. Of loyal and noble wills. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. If my son is to be condemned by that kind 
 of nonsense, then I praise the Lord that he got away before 
 it was too late. Yes, I do! And this will be enough! 
 
 [Starts to go. 
 
 MRS. Rns. As to your son ? Doctor, tell me and so 
 that his father may hear it before he leaves that time when 
 you refused to come to the engagement party, had you already 
 heard something about Alf Christensen? And was what you 
 had heard of such a nature that you couldn't trust him? 
 
 NORDAN. [After a moment's hesitation] No, not exactly! 
 
 MRS. Rns. Do you hear that? But then I must ask you, 
 doctor: why didn't you say anything? Why, in the name of 
 God, did you keep silent? 
 
 NORDAN. Listen, Mrs. Riis; when two young people, who 
 at bottom suit each other for they do, don't they? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Yes, they do I admit that. 
 
 NORDAN. When they all at once fall insanely in love with 
 each other what can a man do? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Oh, he can manufacture stories, exaggera- 
 tions, scandals!
 
 Acrin. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 85 
 
 NORDAN. And then I must confess as I think I have said 
 before that I have grown accustomed to the fact that things 
 in this respect are not as they should be I looked upon this 
 engagement as upon others as upon most of them as a 
 lottery. It might come out well; it might turn out badly. 
 
 MBS. Rns. And my daughter, of whom you are fond for 
 I know you are her you would stake in a lottery! Could 
 anything give a better idea of how matters stand? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, there is something for you yourself, Mrs. 
 Riis what did you do? 
 
 MRS. Rns. I? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Good! 
 
 NORDAN. You learned also what Hoff had told and more 
 besides. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN laughs in a subdued way. 
 
 NORDAN. And yet you helped your husband if not to 
 make Svava overlook the whole thing, at least in trying to 
 smooth it over. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Bravo! 
 
 NORDAN. And you called me in to assist you in getting 
 more time. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. In matters like these, you know, the mothers 
 distinguish to some extent between theory and practice. 
 
 NORDAN. It was only when I saw Svava how deeply she 
 took it, and how she had come to fear it that my own eyes 
 were opened. And I listened to her until my sympathy be- 
 came aroused. I, too, was young once, and believed and 
 loved. But all that happened so long ago. And I have 
 grown so tired 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Who in the meantime has seated herself at DR. 
 NORDAN'S small reading table] Oh, God ! 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, Mrs. Riis, let me be quite frank about it: 
 it is just the mothers who have gradually blunted my feel-
 
 86 THE GAUNTLET ACTIH. sc. n 
 
 ings. Because they themselves don't seem to care. And as 
 a rule they are perfectly aware of what they are dealing 
 with. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. They are, my dear fellow, they are! And 
 Mrs. Riis is no exception. For you must admit, madam, 
 that you, in your time, did your best to hang on to a young 
 man with a pretty lively past ! And for that matter, he held 
 a fine position socially, that young man something I men- 
 tion quite incidentally. 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, well, well ! But no sooner have the daughters 
 a chance to make what their mothers call a "good marriage," 
 than the old ones forget their own sufferings. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But we don't know that it is the same thing 
 over again. 
 
 NORDAN. You don't know? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I tell you that I didn't realise it. We always 
 believe that the men chosen by our daughters are so much 
 better. We believe the guarantees to be better, the condi- 
 tions to be changed. And it is so ! It is a sort of mirage that 
 deludes us. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Through the expectation of a good marriage 
 yes! I quite agree with you, madam, for the first time. 
 Otherwise I have an idea that all this proves something else, 
 too. Perhaps, after all, the women don't suffer so much by 
 the fact that men are men? How is that? Perhaps the 
 trouble is more violent than deep-going something like sea- 
 sickness? When it's over well, then it is over. And when 
 the time comes for the daughters to board the ship, their 
 dear mammas think: oh, well, they'll bear it as we did. 
 Only get them started! For they want so badly to see them 
 started that's the whole trouble! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [As she gets up and moves toward the foreground] 
 Well, if it be so, then it is nothing to laugh at! For then it
 
 Acrra. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 87 
 
 proves to what depth a woman may sink through her life 
 in common with a man. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, I'll ! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, for every new generation of women comes 
 with a stronger and stronger demand for a decent life. The 
 mere sense of motherhood is enough to develop that demand. 
 It is meant for a protection to those that cannot protect 
 themselves. Even bad mothers have the feeling of it. And 
 if, nevertheless, they surrender, and if each new generation 
 of women sinks as deeply in marriage as you say, then this 
 must be caused by the special privilege which man asserts. 
 For it is this privilege which has developed him. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Which special privilege? 
 
 MRS. Rus. That of living as he pleases while still unmar- 
 ried, and of being taken on his word of honour when he chooses 
 to enter marriage. As long as woman cannot stop this dread- 
 ful privilege, or make herself independent of it so long will 
 one half of mankind remain a victim of the other half of that 
 other half's lack of self-control. This one privilege has proved 
 itself stronger than all the work ever done for freedom on 
 this earth. And that is nothing to laugh at. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. You are dreaming of another world than 
 ours, madam, and of natures different from ours. And, of 
 course if you pardon me! therein lies the only answer 
 needed. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Why don't you then give the same answer in 
 public? Why don't you step forth into full daylight and 
 acknowledge your views? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Are we not doing so? 
 
 MRS. Rus. No not in this country. On the contrary! 
 For publicly you place yourself under our flag, while secretly 
 you desert it. Why have you not the courage to unfold a 
 flag of your own? Let those bachelor habits be established
 
 88 THE GAUNTLET ACT in. sc. n 
 
 as quite proper! Then the fight will begin at last. And then 
 each innocent bride may at last know where she is going- 
 and in what capacity. 
 
 NORDAN. That means the abolition of marriage nothing 
 more or less. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Well, wouldn't that be better? For now it's 
 being destroyed long before it is begun! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Yes, and the man is at fault, of course. 
 That's the fashion nowadays. It's part of the "work of 
 emancipation." His authority must go! 
 
 MRS. Rns. The one he has gained during his life as bachelor. 
 
 NORDAN. Ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. Rns. Don't let us cover up the thing with phrases. 
 Let us rather speak of what the poet has called "the blight- 
 ing of the hearth." For what it means is just blighted mar- 
 riages. And whence does it spring this chilling, gruesome 
 materialism, this pleasure-craving brutality? Where does it 
 come from? I might describe something that lies still nearer 
 at hand. But I won't. I shall not even mention the preva- 
 lent family diseases. But drag it out into the open! Per- 
 haps then it will break into flames, too. And our consciences 
 will be smitten by it! And it will become the most important 
 matter of all in every home ! This is what is wanted ! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Now we have worked ourselves up to such 
 an elevation that it doesn't sound impressive at all when I 
 say that I am expected in certain "very exalted" quarters. 
 But nevertheless you'll have to excuse me. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I hope I haven't delayed you. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. No, there is plenty of time. I am only 
 longing please, don't take it badly to get away from here. 
 
 MRS. Rns. To your equals? 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I am glad you remind me of them. It
 
 ACT in. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 89 
 
 makes me realise that I shall probably not have to meet you 
 or yours any more? 
 
 MRS. Rns. No, you have received your dismissal from us. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, thank heaven! Now I only hope to 
 be able to distribute the ridicule in accordance with justice. 
 
 MRS. Rns. To do so, you need only publish your auto- 
 biography. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. No, rather your family principles, madam! 
 For they are really too funny for anything. And when I de- 
 scribe the way they are put into practice within the family 
 itself, I have reason to think that people will laugh rather 
 heartily. Or to speak seriously: I'll get after your husband 
 in his reputation and in his business, until he has to leave the 
 city. I am not going to accept a humiliation like this with- 
 out paying back in equal coin. [Starts to leave. 
 
 NORDAN. But this is revolting! 
 
 ALF. [Appears in the doorway of the house} Father! 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. You here? And how badly you look! 
 Where have you been, my boy? 
 
 ALF. I got here just ahead of you, and I have heard every- 
 thing. I may as well tell you at once, that if you begin that 
 kind of warfare, then I'll go around everywhere telling why 
 Miss Riis broke her engagement with me. I'll tell it just as 
 it is. Yes, you can sneer at me as much as you please. But 
 I'll do it. And I shall begin at once. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. I think you can save yourself the trouble. 
 After the breach your reputation will probably travel a great 
 deal more quickly than yourself. 
 
 NORDAN. [Goes over to ALF] To be plain, Alf : do you still 
 love her? 
 
 ALF. You ask because you think she has wronged me? 
 But now I understand why she did it and why she had to 
 do it. Now I understand!
 
 90 THE GAUNTLET ACT in. sc. n 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. And forgive her? Without further ado? 
 
 ALF. I love her more than ever and no matter what she 
 thinks of me. 
 
 CHRISTENSEN. Well, well, well! Then there is nothing 
 more to say about it. You insist on your right to play the 
 part of lover and to us self-respecting people you leave 
 nothing but to grin and bear your bad acting as we may best. 
 I suppose you'll go right over and pay your duty call on 
 account of yesterday's festivities? And ask for a respite till 
 to-morrow? While, with as much haste as propriety will 
 permit, you hurry through some kind of purgatory? May I 
 ask the location of that institution and its methods? No, 
 my boy, don't get melodramatic! When you can stand what 
 you got from that little Riis girl yesterday and from her 
 mother to-day, then you can also stand a few gibes and prods 
 from your own father. I have had to stand the whole engage- 
 ment, and the breach, too! And being sprinkled with moral 
 waters on top of it! Oh, damn it all! I hope I don't stink 
 of the thing when I get up to the palace! [He goes toward the 
 house. In the doorway he turns about for a moment] Your 
 travelling money will be waiting for you at the office. [Goes out. 
 
 NORDAN. Does that mean another exile? 
 
 ALT. Of course! [He shows great excitement. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Now you'll have to come over with me, doctor, 
 and that at once! 
 
 NORDAN. How is she taking it? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I don't know. 
 
 NORDAN. You don't know? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yesterday she wanted to be alone. This morn- 
 ing she left the house very early. 
 
 NORDAN. Then something must have happened? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes. You said yesterday that you had given 
 her a hint about about her father.
 
 ACT iii. sc.n THE GAUNTLET 91 
 
 NORDAN. And then? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Then I felt that the time to keep silent was 
 over. 
 
 NORDAN. And you ? 
 
 MRS. Rus. I have written to her. 
 
 NORDAN. Written? 
 
 MRS. Rus. It came more naturally. Then we didn't have 
 to talk it over. I wrote, and tore up and wrote again. 
 The whole afternoon yesterday and all night. Wrote! 
 There wasn't much of it. But it came hard. 
 
 NORDAN. And now she has got it? 
 
 MRS. Rus. This morning, when she had eaten and was 
 starting out, I sent it after her. And now, dearest friend, I 
 want you to come and talk to her. And then you tell me 
 when I can come. For I am afraid ! [She covers up her face. 
 
 NORDAN. I saw, the moment you came in, that something 
 important had happened. And you were so hot-headed! 
 Good God, how this thing has spread and grown! 
 
 MRS. Rus. You shouldn't go away, doctor! Don't go 
 away from her now! 
 
 NORDAN. Oh, that's what it was! Thomas! 
 
 SERVANT. Yes, sir! 
 
 NORDAN. You don't have to pack. 
 
 SERVANT. Not pack! Your stick, sir! 
 
 [Handing NORDAN his walking-stick. 
 
 NORDAN. Will you take my arm, madam? 
 The SERVANT opens the door for them. 
 
 ALT. [Stepping forward] Mrs. Riis! Will you let me speak 
 to her? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Speak to her? Oh, that's out of the question! 
 
 NORDAN. Why, you heard yourself what she has to think 
 of to-day.
 
 92 THE GAUNTLET ACT in. sc. n 
 
 MRS. Rns. And if she didn't want to speak to you before, 
 she certainly will not do so now. 
 
 ALF. When she asks for permission to see me, will you then 
 tell her that I am here? And I'll stay here till she asks! 
 
 MRS. Rns. But what's the use of it? 
 
 ALF. Well, that's our concern. I know that she wants 
 to speak to me. Just tell her that I am here! That's all 
 that's needed ! [He walks away and disappears in the garden. 
 
 NORDAN. He doesn't know what he is saying. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Let us be going, doctor I am afraid ! 
 
 NORDAN. And so am I ! Hm so now she knows that ! 
 
 [They go out.
 
 ACT IV 
 
 Same room as in the first two acts. 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. DR. NORDAN. 
 
 SVAVA comes in, walking very slowly ; looks around the 
 room ; goes up to the door and steps outside for a mo- 
 ment; comes back into the room; when she turns around 
 again, DR. NORDAN is standing in the doorway. 
 
 SVAVA. Is that you ? Oh, Uncle Nordan ! [She sobs. 
 
 NORDAN. My 'dear dear little girl ! Now be brave ! 
 
 SVAVA. But haven't you seen mother? They said she had 
 gone over to you? 
 
 NORDAN. She will be here in a moment. But, do you 
 know we two ought to take a long walk instead of talking 
 with your mother or anybody else. A long, quiet walk? 
 What do you say? 
 
 SVAVA. No, I cannot do that. 
 
 NORDAN. Why? 
 
 SVAVA. Because I must get through with it. 
 
 NORDAN. What do you mean? 
 
 SVAVA. [Paying no attention to his question] Uncle 
 
 NORDAN. Yes. 
 
 SVAVA. Does Alf know this? Did he, too, know it? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes. 
 
 SVAVA. Of course, everybody but me. Oh, I have such a 
 longing to hide myself hide myself! And that's what I am 
 going to do. Now I can see things as they are. There is a 
 
 93
 
 94 THE GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. i 
 
 big mountain against which I have put my hands to push it 
 away. And the others have stood around laughing at me. 
 But I want to speak with Alf. 
 
 NORDAN. With Alf? 
 
 SVAVA. I behaved very unwisely yesterday. I should 
 never have gone in. But you just carried me along. I hardly 
 knew that I went with you. 
 
 NORDAN. Then it was that about your father what I said 
 about your father that 
 
 SVAVA. I didn't understand at once. But when I was alone 
 mother's peculiar anxiety, my father's threat to leave the 
 country, all sorts of remarks and symptoms so many, many 
 things that I had not understood, or hardly even noticed 
 and all at once they were there! I pushed the thing away 
 from me, and it came back. It came back, and it came back! 
 And then it was as if every limb of mine had been lamed. 
 When you took hold of my arm and said, now you must 
 come in at that moment I could hardly think at all. Every- 
 thing was in a whirl! 
 
 NORDAN. Well, I acted like a big fool and twice in succes- 
 sion at that! 
 
 SVAVA. No, it was better. Much better. Of course, it 
 didn't come about in the right way. I must speak to Alf. 
 For it mustn't remain that way. But otherwise it was bet- 
 ter. And now I must get through with it. 
 
 NORDAN. What do you mean by that? 
 
 SVAVA. Where is mother? 
 
 NORDAN. My dear girl, you shouldn't do anything to-day. 
 Better not speak to anybody at all. If you do well, I don't 
 know what may happen. 
 
 SVAVA. But I know. Yes, it's of no use! You think I am 
 all nerves to-day? Well, so I am. But if you oppose me, it 
 will only get worse.
 
 ACT iv. sc.n THE GAUNTLET 95 
 
 NORDAN. I don't oppose you either. All I want- 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, yes, yes! But where is mother? And you 
 have to get hold of Alf ! I couldn't go to him could I? Or 
 do you think he is too proud to come here after what happened 
 yesterday? Oh, no, that isn't like Alf! And tell him that he 
 must not be too proud toward one who has been so humiliated. 
 
 [She cries. 
 
 NORDAN. But do you really think you can ? 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, you don't know what I can do. Only I must 
 get through with this. For it has lasted long enough now. 
 
 NORDAN. I have to ask your mother, then ? 
 
 SVAVA. Yes and Alf? 
 
 NORDAN. Yes, after a while. But if you 
 
 SVAVA. No no "but!" 
 
 NORDAN. And if you need me, I shall not go away until 
 you are "through," as you call it. 
 
 SVAVA runs up to him and puts her arms around him. 
 DR. NORDAN goes out. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 SVAVA. A little later MRS. Rns. 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Approaching SVAVA] My child ! [Stops still. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, mother, I cannot meet you my whole body 
 is shaking. And don't you know what it is? Has it not 
 occurred to you that you cannot treat me like that? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Treat you, Svava? 
 
 SVAVA. Heavens, mother! That you let me live day after 
 day, year after year without letting me know what kind of 
 thing I was living with? To let me preach the most extreme 
 principles in a house like ours?
 
 96 THE GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. n 
 
 MRS. Rus. But you didn't want me to tell my own child 
 that ? 
 
 SVAVA. Not while I was still a child! But when I grew 
 up? Yes, by all means! Hadn't I a right to choose whether 
 or no I wanted to stay in such a home? Hadn't I a right 
 to know what is known to everybody else or what they 
 might learn at any minute? 
 
 MRS. Rus. I have never thought of it in that way. 
 
 SVAVA. Never thought of it in that way? Mother! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Never! To spare you; to keep peace in our 
 home while you were a child; and later, to let nothing inter- 
 fere with your studies, your interests, your pleasures for you 
 are not like others, Svava! to do that I have watched with 
 the utmost care lest any such knowledge reach you . I thought 
 it my duty! You have no idea of how far I have stooped in 
 order to for your sake, child! 
 
 SVAVA. But you had no right to do so, mother! 
 
 MRS. Rus. No right ? 
 
 SVAVA. No! For when you lowered yourself for my sake, 
 you lowered me, too! 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Deeply moved] Good God, Svava ! 
 
 SVAVA. Why, I am not reproaching you, mother! Dear 
 mother, I wouldn't do that for anything in the world! It 
 only makes me so inexpressibly sad, so shocked for your 
 sake that you could be carrying within you such a secret! 
 Never for a moment dare to be yourself with me! Always 
 something to hide! And that you could hear me praise what 
 was not worthy of praise that you could see me trust 
 could see me give my love to oh, mother, mother, mother! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, I have felt it that way myself. Oh, yes! 
 A thousand times! But I didn't think I could dare! Oh, it 
 was wrong wrong! Now I see! But would you have had 
 me go my own way the moment I myself found out?
 
 ACT iv. sc. n THE GAUNTLET 97 
 
 SVAVA. That's more than I dare to answer. You have 
 settled that yourself. Every one must settle that in accord- 
 ance with her own strength and the strength of her love. 
 But when it kept on until I was grown up ! And that's 
 the reason, of course, why I made a second mistake! I was 
 brought up to be mistaken. 
 
 Rus is heard humming a song as he approaches from the 
 left. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Merciful heavens, there he is! 
 
 Rns. [Is seen passing the left-hand window in the background, 
 but at the door he stops and exclaims] Oh, that's right! 
 
 [Then he turns and walks away hurriedly. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But, child, what a changed look came over 
 you! Svava, you frighten me! You cannot mean to 
 
 SVAVA. But what have you been thinking, mother? 
 
 MRS. Rus. That I have stood so much for your sake, that 
 you, perhaps, might stand a little for my sake. 
 
 SVAVA. Of this? Not in the least! 
 
 MRS. Rus. But what do you want to do? 
 
 SVAVA. Go away from here, of course! 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Utters a cry] Then I go with you! 
 
 SVAVA. You? Go away from father? 
 
 MRS. Rus. It is for your sake I have stayed with him. 
 Without you, not a single day Oh, you don't want me! 
 
 SVAVA. Mother, dear! I must get accustomed to all that's 
 new to me. Even you seem new to me. And, of course, I 
 have been mistaken about you also. I must be by myself. 
 Oh, now, don't get so miserable! 
 
 MRS. Rus. This on top of all! God, this on top of the 
 rest! 
 
 SVAVA. Mother dear I cannot do otherwise. Now I shall 
 give myself wholly to my kindergartens. I must, I must!
 
 98 THE^ GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. m 
 
 And if I am not permitted to be alone, I shall go still farther 
 
 away. 
 
 MRS. Rus. This is the worst of all! This is the worst! 
 
 There I hear yes, it's him! Don't say anything now! 
 
 More than this I cannot endure! Not all at once! Try to 
 
 be kind, Svava! Do you hear? 
 
 Humming as before, Rus comes again, but now with an 
 overcoat carried over his arm. SVAVA rushes toward 
 the foreground; after a moment's wavering, she sits 
 down far over to the left, with her back turned toward 
 the centre of the room so that she appears in half profile 
 to the audience; she looks nervously for something with 
 which she can seem occupied. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 SVAVA. MRS. Rus. Rus. Later ALT. 
 
 Rus. [Puts the overcoat on a chair; he is in full dress and 
 wears the badge of St. Olav] Good morning, ladies, good morn- 
 ing! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Good morning. 
 
 Rus. First big news item : with whom did I drive from the 
 palace? Christensen ! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Really? 
 
 Rus. The thundering Jove of yesterday exactly! With 
 him and my brother the Director-General. And I was the 
 first one he shook hands with when he arrived at the palace. 
 He made conversation with me, he introduced me to people 
 a regular exhibition it was! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Well! 
 
 Rus. Of course, nothing happened yesterday. Nowhere 
 in the world was any gauntlet thrown least of all in the face
 
 ACT iv. sc.ra THE GAUNTLET 99 
 
 of his first-born! Christensen, the worshipful Knight Com- 
 mander of to-day's make, has a longing for peace. In the 
 end we had a glass of champagne together at my brother's. 
 
 MRS. Rus. That was very nice. 
 
 Rns. Therefore: be in good spirits, ladies! Nothing has 
 happened. Absolutely nothing. We'll begin the feast all 
 over again, with a fresh, clean table-cloth, on which not a 
 single drop has been spilled. 
 
 MRS. Rns. That's very fortunate. 
 
 Rns. Yes, isn't it? Our dear daughter's rather violent 
 discharge of electricity has relieved her own mind and cleared 
 up the ideas of other people the air is now agreeably refresh- 
 ing, not to say fecund. 
 
 MRS. Rns. And at the palace? How was it? 
 
 Rns. Well, my dear looking around at our little group 
 of fresh-baked worthies, I dared not persuade myself that 
 virtue is the thing rewarded in this world. However, some 
 sort of solemn proclamation was spread before us. There 
 was something we should save it must have been the State, 
 now I think of it or perhaps it was the Church? Well, I 
 don't know, for I didn't read it. But everybody signed. 
 
 MRS. Rns. You also? 
 
 Rns. I also! Why not keep in good company? Up there, 
 on life's mountain tops, one gets a more pleasing, a more un- 
 trammelled view of life. Up there, all are friends. They 
 came and congratulated me and in the end I couldn't make 
 out whether it was on my own behalf or that of my daughter. 
 Nor did I know that I had so many friends here in the city, 
 not to say at Court. But in such glorious company, and in 
 an atmosphere laden with praise and flattery and pleasantries, 
 what's the use of examining things too closely? And then, 
 nothing but men, just men! There is after all if the ladies 
 will pardon me something charming at times to be sur-
 
 100 THE GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. ra 
 
 rounded only by men, by men in a festive mood. The con- 
 versation becomes a little more highly spiced, more to the 
 point, more full-blooded, and the laughter much more hearty. 
 One understands one another almost before the word is 
 spoken. 
 
 MRS. Rus. You seem very happy to-day? 
 
 Rus. Yes, so I am, and no mistake! And I should like 
 everybody else to be happy also. Of course, life could be a 
 great deal better; but when you see it from those heights, 
 you know also that it might be much worse. And as far as 
 we men are concerned well, we have our faults. But at 
 bottom we are awfully amusing. And I bet you, life would 
 be pretty tedious without us. Let us then take life as it is, 
 my dear, darling Svava! [As he goes toward her, she rises] 
 What is this? Are you still in a bad humour? After having 
 slapped him in the face with your own glove, and in full 
 family council at that? Can you reasonably ask more of life? 
 I think you ought to be laughing aloud Or is something 
 the matter? What? Oh, what is it now again? 
 
 MBS. Rus. It is 
 
 Ens. It is ? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh, it is Alf will be here in a moment! 
 
 Rus. Here? Alf? In a moment? Hooray! Then I un- 
 derstand! But why didn't you tell me at once? 
 
 MRS. Rus. You have been talking ever since you came iix 
 
 Rus. Yes, I think I have! Well, even if you take it seri- 
 ously, my dear Svava, I hope you won't object to your 
 "noble" papa taking it humorously? For it does amuse 
 me extremely. My spirits went up the moment I guessed 
 from Christensen's manner that everything was all right. 
 And now Alf will be here in a moment? Then I understand 
 everything. Once more: hooray! Why, this is after all the 
 finest thing that has happened so far to-day ! I feel as if I
 
 ACT iv. so. iii THE GAUNTLET 101 
 
 simply had to accompany his entrance with a triumphal over- 
 ture. [He goes humming toward the piano. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh, no, dear! Please, don't! 
 
 Rus begins to play as if he didn't hear her; MBS. Rus 
 goes over to him and stops him, pointing at the same 
 time to SVAVA. 
 
 SVAVA. Let him play! Just let him play, dear! This inno- 
 cent gaiety which has amused me ever since I was a child 
 [She breaks into tears, but checks herself quickly} Disgusting! 
 Horrible! 
 
 Rus. You look as if you wanted to throw more gloves 
 to-day. So it isn't over yet? 
 
 SVAVA. No, it isn't. 
 
 Rus. Perhaps you want to borrow mine, if your own 
 shouldn't 
 
 MBS. Rus. No not that way! 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, that way, too. Let him mock at us! One 
 possessing his moral resolution ought to mock at us. 
 
 Rus. What do you mean by that? Do you call it lack of 
 moral resolution that I don't care for old maids or sour-faced 
 virtue? 
 
 SVAVA. Father you are ! 
 
 MBS. Rus. Oh, Svava! 
 
 Rus. No, let her finish! It is quite a novel sensation to 
 see a well-bred girl throw gloves in the face of her fiance and 
 innuendoes in the face of her father!- Especially when it is 
 done for morality's sake! 
 
 SVAVA. Don't mention morality! Or do so to Mrs. North! 
 
 Rus. Mrs. Mrs. What has she got ? 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, be quiet! I know everything you have 
 
 MBS. Rns. Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. That's right! For mother's sake we'll go no fur- 
 ther! But when, yesterday, I threw that glove of which you
 
 102 THE GAUNTLET ACTIV. sc. m 
 
 have so much to say, I knew this. And that's why I did it! 
 It was meant for everything of this kind, for the beginning 
 and the continuation, for him and for you! Then I under- 
 stood your righteous zeal in this matter as well as the moral 
 indignation which you showed and voiced to mother. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. Oh, that politeness of yours, that concern for 
 mother which I have so often admired and your jests, your 
 good-humour, your elegance I have just learned what it all 
 means! No, no, I can no longer believe in anything! Oh, 
 it's horrible, horrible! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But, Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. All life has become unclean to me. The nearest 
 and dearest has been blackened. And for that reason I feel 
 it since yesterday as if I had been made an outcast. And 
 what else am I? Cast out from all that I loved and treasured, 
 and this without any fault of my own! And yet, what I feel 
 most, is not pain. No, it is humiliation, shame. All that I 
 have dared to say is now turned into words merely and all 
 that I have dared to do on my own behalf is nothing but big 
 words and this without any fault of my own! For it is 
 your fault! I thought I knew something about life. But I 
 was to learn a lot more. I suppose the meaning of it was to 
 make me stoop so low that at last I should fit into it. Now, 
 and now only, has it become clear to me what you were 
 teaching me all the time while you appealed to God and to 
 my mother for support. But it was all of no use! It is a 
 great deal, I should say, to live through the thoughts I have 
 had to face, yesterday, last night, to-day. But once done, it 
 is done for ever. Afterward there is nothing that can sur- 
 prise! Oh, that a man has the heart to let his own child live 
 through such a thing ! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Look at your father!
 
 ACT iv. sc. m THE GAUNTLET 103 
 
 SVAVA. Yes if you find what I say to you very hard 
 then remember what I used to say to you. Not longer ago 
 than yesterday morning, on this very spot. Then you have 
 a measure of what I have thought of you, father and of 
 what, because of it, I now feel in here! Oh ! 
 
 Rus. Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. You have ruined my home for me. The very 
 memory of the time spent in it is spoiled. And I cannot 
 think of it as a home for the future either. 
 
 RIIS and MRS. Rus. But, Svava! 
 
 SVAVA. No, I cannot! All sense of security is gone! And 
 then it is no longer a home. Since yesterday I am a tenant 
 only. 
 
 Rus. My child don't say that! 
 
 SVAVA. Yes, I am your child. You have only to say it as 
 you did now, and I feel it deeply. And all we have lived to- 
 gether, we two! All the fun we have had on our travels; all 
 that we have read together, played together now it cannot 
 even be remembered I cannot go back to it in my mind! 
 And that is why I cannot stay here! 
 
 Rus. You cannot stay here? 
 
 SVAVA. No, it would remind me of too many things all 
 of which are now spoiled. 
 
 MRS. Rus. And you'll see that it is just as hard to leave. 
 
 RIIS. But 7 can go! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. You? 
 
 Rus. And you can stay here with your mother. But 
 Svava ? 
 
 SVAVA. No, I cannot accept that no matter what hap- 
 pens 
 
 RIIS. Don't say anything more! I beg you, Svava! 
 Don't make me too, too miserable! Remember that not un- 
 til to-day Never have I dreamt of making you If you
 
 104 THE GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. ra 
 
 cannot endure me any longer if you cannot then let me 
 go away. It is I who am the guilty one. Svava, don't 
 you hear? I, not you! You must stay here! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Mercy, there is Alf ! 
 
 Rns. Alf! [Silence. 
 
 ALF. [Stops in the doorway; pause] Perhaps I had better 
 leave again ? 
 
 Rns. Leave again? Leave again, you say? By no means! 
 Oh, no ! You couldn't come more conveniently ! Really, you 
 couldn't! Dear fellow my dear fellow, let me thank you! 
 
 MBS. Rns. [To SVAVA] Do you want to be left alone? 
 
 SVAVA. No, no, no! 
 
 Rns. You want to speak to Svava, do you? I think the 
 most proper thing I can do is to retire. You two ought to 
 have a chance to talk it out. Be by yourselves. Yes, of 
 course! And with your permission, I'll disappear. You don't 
 mind? I have really some very important business in the city. 
 You must pardon me! I am only going to make a quick 
 change. Pardon! [Goes into his room. 
 
 ALF. Of course, I can come some other time. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But you want badly to have a talk with her at 
 once? 
 
 ALF. There can be no question here of what I want. I can 
 see and Dr. Nordan told me that Miss Riis has been under 
 a great strain. But I thought it my duty to come just the 
 same. 
 
 SVAVA. And I thank you for it. It is more much more 
 than I have deserved. But I want to tell you at once that 
 what happened yesterday I mean, the way it happened 
 the reason of it was that I had just learned something I had 
 never known before. And all was mixed in my mind. 
 
 [She can no longer hide her emotion.
 
 ACT iv. sc. iv THE GAUNTLET 105 
 
 ALF. I knew that what happened yesterday you would 
 regret to-day. I know how kind you are. And in that lay 
 my one hope of seeing you again. 
 
 Rus. [Comes from his room, having partly changed his dress] 
 If anybody wants anything done in the city I'll attend to 
 it no? I have thought that the ladies might like a trip 
 abroad. How does it strike you? When one's thoughts are 
 about to become what shall I say? too severe, or rather, too 
 heavy it offers a remarkable diversion. I have often noticed 
 it myself. Oh, quite often! Think it over, will you? I 
 might as well make arrangements at once, if perchance how 
 about it? Well: good-bye for a while! And think it over! 
 I myself think it would be fine. 
 
 Goes out through the door in the background and turns 
 
 to the left. 
 
 SVAVA looks smilingly at her mother for a moment; then 
 she hides her face in her hands. 
 
 MRS. Rns. If you don't mind for a moment, I must 
 
 SVAVA. Mother! 
 
 MRS. Rns. I cannot help it, child. I must try to calm down 
 a little. And I shall only be in there. [Pointing toward the 
 room on the left] And soon I shall be here again. [Goes out. 
 SVAVA sinks down on a chair by the table, wholly over- 
 come by her emotion. 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 SVAVA. ALT. 
 
 ALF. Now I have a feeling that the whole matter has come 
 back to us two. 
 
 SVAVA. Yes 
 
 ALT. I suppose you know that since yesterday I have done
 
 106 THE GAUNTLET ACT iv. sc. iv 
 
 nothing but make up speeches to you? But now that doesn't 
 help me a bit. 
 
 SVAVA. But it was kind of you to come. 
 
 ALF. Let me then ask just one thing of you but that one 
 I ask with my whole heart: wait for me! For now I know 
 what road leads up to you. We had laid out a plan of life, 
 we two, and although I shall be alone about it now I want 
 to carry that plan through! And I shall! And then, per- 
 haps, some day, when you see how faithful I have been ? 
 I have been ordered not to bother you, and least of all to-day. 
 But let me have an answer quietly, very quietly. Won't 
 you? 
 
 SVAVA. But why? 
 
 ALF. I need it to live on. For I am one of those men to 
 whom life means the more the higher hangs the prize. An 
 answer! 
 
 SVAVA. {Tries to speak, but bursts into tears] You see, every- 
 thing upsets me to-day. I cannot. And what do you want? 
 That I shall wait? What does it mean? To be through 
 and yet not through; try to forget and yet build up new 
 hope. [Again overcome by her feelings] No ! 
 
 ALF. I can see that you ought to be left alone. And yet it 
 is impossible for me to leave. 
 
 SVAVA rises in order to hide her emotion; ALF follows her 
 and kneels beside her. 
 
 ALF. Only a word for me! 
 
 SVAVA. But don't you understand, then, that if you could 
 once more give me the joy that springs from nothing but com- 
 plete trust do you think I should be waiting for you then? 
 No, I would come and thank you on my knees ! Can you for 
 a moment doubt that? 
 
 ALT. No, no! 
 
 SVAVA. But now I don't have it.
 
 ACT iv. BC. iv THE GAUNTLET 107 
 
 ALF. Svava! 
 SVAVA. Oh, please! 
 
 ALF. Good-bye! Oh, good-bye! But to meet again! To 
 meet again! [He starts to leave but turns back at the door] I 
 must have a sign. A sure sign! Hold out a hand to me! 
 
 SVAVA turns toward him and holds out both her hands. 
 
 ALF goes out. 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Comes through the door on the left] Did you 
 give him any promise? 
 SVAVA. I think I did! 
 
 [She hides her face against her mother's shoulder. 
 
 Curtain.
 
 BEYOND OUR POWER 
 
 (OVER EVNE) 
 
 THE FIRST OF THE TWO PLAYS OF THIS NAME 
 
 1883
 
 PERSONS IN THE PLAY 
 
 PASTOR ADOLPH SANG 
 CLARA SANG, his wife 
 
 ELIAS 1 . . 
 
 -. \ their twin children 
 
 RACHEL j 
 
 MRS. HANNA ROBERTS, sister of Mrs. Sang 
 
 I THE STRANGER 
 
 [BRATT, a minister 
 
 KROYER, a minister 
 
 THE BISHOP 
 
 BLANK 
 
 BREY 
 
 _. ministers 
 
 FALK 
 
 JENSEN 
 
 THE OLD WIDOW 
 AGOT FLORVAGEN 
 SEVERAL MINISTERS
 
 BEYOND OUR POWER 
 
 (OVER EVNE) 
 ACT I 
 
 A poorly furnished room with walls of crudely dressed logs. In 
 the right wall is a window in two parts that open sepa- 
 rately outward. There is a door in the left wall. A bed 
 stands near the middle of the room, a little to the right, and 
 so placed that the head is in a line urith the doorway, fac~ 
 ing it. By the bed stands a small table covered with bottles, 
 saucers, and such things. A wash-stand and a few chairs 
 make up the rest of the furniture. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 CLARA SANG is lying in the bed. Her clothing is white, 
 and the bed has a white cover. Her sister, MRS. 
 HANNA ROBERTS, is standing at one of the windows. 
 
 HANNA. How the sun is shining on the leaves of the birches ! 
 And how tender the leaves are up here! 
 
 CLARA. But now I smell the bird-cherry blossoms. 
 
 HANNA. I am looking and looking, but I cannot see a 
 single bird-cherry tree. 
 
 CLARA. You cannot see it, but it's there. The smell of it 
 is carried down here by the morning breeze. 
 
 HANNA. But I smell nothing. 
 
 CLARA. Oh, after such a rain the slightest current from the 
 outside carries its own scent. 
 
 Ill
 
 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. i 
 
 HANNA. And you smell bird-cherry blossoms? 
 
 CLARA. Most distinctly ! And I think you had better close 
 the lower window. 
 
 HANNA. All right. [She closes the window. 
 
 CLARA. Who was it that said there was danger of a land- 
 slide? 
 
 HANNA. That old fellow the strokesman of the boat that 
 brought us in. It rained and rained, and then he said: "This 
 is dangerous weather after a rain like this, things get loosened 
 up in the mountains!" 
 
 CLARA. I thought of nothing else last night. We have had 
 slide after slide here, you know. Once well, that was before 
 our time the church was carried away. 
 
 HANNA. The church? 
 
 CLARA. Not from where it is now. It stood farther away 
 then. 
 
 HANNA. Is that why it has been placed right up against 
 the garden wall? 
 
 CLARA. Yes. And when they open up the church windows 
 in the summer, as they have done now, I can lie here and hear 
 Adolph singing at the altar. That is, if our door here is open, 
 and also the door to the living-room and, of course, the win- 
 dow in the living-room must be open. He sings so beautifully. 
 And when both doors stand open, I can see the church from 
 this place. Come over here! That's why the bed is placed 
 just here, you know. 
 
 HANNA. [Going over to the bed] Oh, dearest, that I should 
 come back to find you in such a condition! 
 
 CLARA. Hanna! 
 
 HANNA. Why didn't you write? 
 
 CLARA. First of all, America is so far away. And then 
 but we'll leave that to some other time.
 
 ACT i. sc. i BEYOND OUR POWER 113 
 
 HANNA. I didn't understand your answer yesterday, when 
 I asked about a doctor? 
 
 CLARA. Adolph was here, so I didn't want to answer. We 
 have no doctor. 
 
 HANNA. You have no doctor? 
 
 CLARA. Well, he came and came and he's a good way off 
 at that but nothing happened. And when I had been lying 
 a whole month here without sleep 
 
 HANNA. A whole month without sleep? But that is im- 
 possible! 
 
 CLARA. It's close to six weeks now! Well, then it didn't 
 seem to matter much whether the doctor came or not, don't 
 you see? My husband asked him what my trouble was, and 
 he gave it an ugly-sounding name. Adolph hasn't told me 
 what it was, so I don't know. And since then we have not 
 sent for him again. 
 
 HANNA. Are you not talking too much? 
 
 CLARA. Whole days go by without my saying a word. At 
 other times I talk continuously. I have to. I suppose 
 Adolph will soon be back from his morning walk now, and 
 then he will bring me flowers. 
 
 HANNA. Couldn't I pick some for you, as you long so much 
 for them? 
 
 CLARA. No, thank you, for there are some that I cannot 
 endure. But he knows them. But, Hanna, you haven't told 
 me yet about your meeting with the children on board the 
 steamer. And I want so badly to hear about it. 
 
 HANNA. Everything was so upset here yesterday. 
 
 CLARA. And then you were all tired. Think of it the 
 children are still asleep. From seven to seven.! That's youth, 
 sure enough! 
 
 HANNA. Well, they needed it. But I can only sleep a few 
 hours at a time. And yet I don't feel tired.
 
 114 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. i 
 
 CLARA. That's what happens to everybody who comes up 
 here where the midnight sun is shining. They seem to be 
 startled out of their usual sleepiness. But the children are 
 they not sweet? 
 
 HANNA. And such innocents! But in features they don't 
 resemble you, nor Sang either that is, except their eyes. 
 That came home to me later. 
 
 CLARA. Tell me, tell me! 
 
 HANNA. For if they had resembled you, I should have 
 recognised them at once. You must remember, of course, 
 that I had seen neither one of you since you were young. 
 Well, I saw them as they were coming aboard, and later also, 
 although they were travelling second-class 
 
 CLARA. Yes, poor things, they couldn't afford better. 
 
 HANNA. And yet I didn't recognise them. Then I hap- 
 pened one morning to be standing on the upper deck, and they 
 were walking rapidly back and forth right below where I stood 
 to keep themselves warm. And each time they turned 
 their backs to me to walk forward, I kept on seeing those eyes 
 of theirs just the same. For those eyes were familiar to me. 
 And then some gulls passed us so close that they made Rachel 
 reach out both arms. She was scared, you know, for they 
 seemed to be coming right at her. But that movement of her 
 arms it was exactly yours. And then I knew the eyes also. 
 They were Sang's. 
 
 CLARA. And then you went down to them at once? 
 
 HANNA. Do you need to ask? And the first thing I said 
 was: "Is your name Sang?" And they didn't have to answer. 
 I knew it perfectly. And then I said: "I am Aunt Hanna 
 from America." And, of course, all three of us were very 
 deeply moved. [Both sisters weep quietly. 
 
 CLARA. Rachel had written to you that you should come 
 over and see me! How was that?
 
 ACT i. sc.i BEYOND OUR POWER 115 
 
 HANNA. That's right. And it's something for which I shall 
 always be thankful to Rachel. And how sweet she was! I 
 had them moved over to the first cabin at once, and got her 
 tucked up in a big shawl. She was just freezing. And I got 
 him a plaid. 
 
 CLARA. Dear! 
 
 HANNA. But, do you know yes, it's part of the story 
 just then a squall seemed to turn the whole fiord black. We 
 were at the foot of a towering mountain wall, naked and grey. 
 A flock of gulls came out. Some of them flew right over our 
 heads, screaming. Everything seemed so cold. A few poor 
 huts along the shore were the only houses in sight, and we 
 had travelled miles and miles without seeing any others. 
 Nothing but peaks and rocks. This is the Northland, I 
 thought. Here these poor frozen children have been brought 
 up. Yes, I'll never forget it! It was horrible! 
 
 CLARA. But it isn't horrible. 
 
 HANNA. Oh, Clara! Now, lying there, as you are can 
 you remember what a fine, high-spirited thing you used to be? 
 
 CLARA. Oh, yes! And I don't know how I am going to 
 begin to explain everything to you. Good gracious! 
 
 HANNA. Why didn't you cry out across the sea to me? To 
 me who had plenty and who could in so many ways have 
 saved you from being worn out? Why didn't you write the 
 truth? You have kept it hidden from me all these years. 
 Rachel was the first one who wrote and told me the 
 truth. 
 
 CLARA. Yes, yes that's the way it was and the way it 
 had to be! 
 
 HANNA. But why? 
 
 CLARA. If I had written as it was, and all of you had come 
 rushing I didn't want to be helped. Because I couldn't be 
 helped.
 
 116 BEYOND OUR POWER ACTI. sc. i 
 
 HANNA. But then you actually lied ? 
 
 CLARA. Of course, I did. I have been telling lies all the 
 time and to everybody. What else could I do? 
 
 HANNA. There are things here that pass all understanding. 
 I come across one after the other. 
 
 CLARA. Listen, Hanna. You used the words "worn out." 
 You said that you could have saved me in many ways from 
 becoming worn out. Have you ever known a worn-out per- 
 son capable of asking for help? Or one who knew how to 
 resist? 
 
 HANNA. But before you had become worn out? 
 
 CLARA. You don't know what you are talking of. 
 
 HANNA. Well, explain if you can? 
 
 CLARA. No, I cannot not all at once but by and by, 
 perhaps. 
 
 HANNA. You didn't share his faith to begin with, did you? 
 How strange that was! And was that one of the reasons? 
 
 CLARA. No. Well, it's a long story! But it wasn't that. 
 Our natures are so different and yet it isn't that either. If 
 Adolph had been like other men, ramping and raging oh, 
 then it would have been easy I think! But long before he 
 knew me, all his strength and he has strength, I tell you! 
 had become absorbed by his work. It had turned into love 
 and self-sacrifice. It had been made wholly and completely 
 beautiful. What do you say to the fact that in our house a 
 harsh word has never yet been heard? Notliing like a 
 "scene" has ever occurred. And we shall soon have been 
 married twenty-five years. He is constantly radiant as with 
 the joy of the Sabbath. For to him the whole year is made 
 up of Sundays. 
 
 HANNA. Heavens, how you love him! 
 
 CLARA. It is not enough to say that I love him. I don't 
 exist without him. And then you talk of resistance? That
 
 ACT i. sc.i BEYOND OUR POWER 117 
 
 is, at times I have had to, when matters have been going too 
 far beyond our power. 
 
 HANNA. What do you mean by that? 
 
 CLARA. I'll explain it to you later. But who can resist 
 what is all goodness, all sacrifice for others, all joy and hap- 
 piness? And who can resist when his childlike faith and 
 supernatural powers sweep everybody else along? 
 
 HANNA. Supernatural, you say? 
 
 CLARA. Haven't you heard of it? Haven't the children 
 told you? 
 
 HANNA. What? 
 
 CLARA. That Adolph, when he prays intently, gets what he 
 prays for? 
 
 HANNA. Do you mean that he works miracles? 
 
 CLARA. Yes! 
 
 HANNA. Sang? 
 
 CLARA. Haven't the children told you? 
 
 HANNA. No. 
 
 CLARA. But that's remarkable. 
 
 HANNA. Not a word has been said of anything like that. 
 
 CLARA. But then they have not at all Oh, they thought 
 you knew of it! For Adolph well, to the whole country he 
 is "the wonder-worker." Of course, they thought you knew 
 of it. And they are so diffident. 
 
 HANNA. But does he work miracles? Miracles? 
 
 CLARA. Didn't you get an impression of something super- 
 natural the moment you saw him? 
 
 HANNA. It would never have occurred to me to use that 
 word but now, when you speak of it He gives you, in 
 the very highest degree what shall I call it? an impression 
 of spirituality? a most wonderful impression. As if he 
 didn't belong here! 
 
 CLARA. Yes, don't you think so?
 
 118 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. i 
 
 HANNA. I do. 
 
 CLARA. Do you know, that sometimes I lie here completely 
 tied up in a knot, with my legs drawn up to the chin almost 
 well, I don't dare to show you, for that might bring it on. And 
 like that I sometimes lie whole days together when he is away, 
 utterly unable to stretch out my limbs. Oh, it's dreadful, I 
 tell you! Once, when he was up in the mountains oh, those 
 journeys into the mountains! I was lying here for eight 
 think of it, eight! days in that state. And no sooner did he 
 appear in the doorway, so that 7 saw him and he saw me, than 
 my arms and legs began to yield. And then he came up to 
 me, and passed his hands over me, and in a moment I was 
 lying as straight as I am now! And it is always like that up 
 they will come, up they will come ! And the moment he enters 
 the room, it passes! 
 
 HANNA. How very strange! 
 
 CLARA. And what do you say of this? Sick people that 
 is, sick people who really believe it has happened, not once, 
 but a hundred times when he came and prayed with them, 
 they got well. 
 
 HANNA. Actually well? 
 
 CLARA. Absolutely well! And more than that. There 
 were sick people he couldn't reach oh, you know the distances 
 we have here and to those he would write that, on such and 
 such a day, at such and such an hour, he would pray for them, 
 and that they must pray themselves at the same time. And 
 from that hour their sickness would take a turn for the better. 
 This is true! I know of many such cases. 
 
 HANNA. Wonderful! But you have never written me a 
 word of all this. 
 
 CLARA. Didn't I know you? Do you think I cared to ex- 
 pose him to your scepticism? We have an old minister's 
 widow here you must see her! She lives only a little ways
 
 ACT i. sc. i BEYOND OUR POWER 119 
 
 from here. She is the most venerable old lady I have ever 
 seen. Well, she had been paralysed for fifteen years when 
 Adolph first came here that's twenty-five years ago. Now 
 she goes to church every Sunday! And she is close to a hundred. 
 
 HANNA. And he cured her? 
 
 CLARA. Just by praying for her and by getting her to pray ! 
 Oh, how he can pray! And then there was the case of Agot 
 Florvagen. It's the most remarkable of all. For she was 
 dead as far as we could see. Then he took one of her hands 
 in one of his, and he put his other hand on her heart to warm 
 it, and she began to breathe again. Now she is living with 
 the old widow right by here! I might keep on like this till 
 to-morrow morning, just telling and telling. Oh, here and 
 elsewhere, among thousands and thousands of believing ones 
 all over the country, his name has a glamour attached to it 
 such as was never heard of. And now it is getting to a point 
 where it doesn't leave us in peace a single day. 
 
 HANNA. Then I may also see this what you speak of 
 while I am here? 
 
 CLARA. As surely as I am lying here unable to raise myself 
 an inch from the bed! 
 
 HANNA. But why shouldn't the miracle come to you also, 
 Clara? Why hasn't he cured you long ago? 
 
 CLARA. [After a pause] There is a special reason. 
 
 HANNA. But can't you tell me? 
 
 CLARA. No. Yes, I mean. But later.- You'll have to 
 open a window again. It's getting close in here. More air, 
 please! 
 
 HANNA. Yes, yes, dear! [She opens the upper window. 
 
 CLARA. He ought soon to be here now. This morning he 
 is staying away very long. If I could only smell the flowers. 
 Now, after the rain, there must be masses of them. And it's 
 eeven o'clock almost seven!
 
 120 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. so. i 
 
 HANNA. [Looking at her ivatch] Yes, so it is! 
 
 CLARA. Ever since I have been lying here like this, I have 
 been able to tell the time exactly. Am I not going to get a 
 breath of fresh air? I think the wind must have gone down 
 Why don't you answer? 
 
 HANNA. I didn't hear what you said. I simply cannot get 
 over my surprise. 
 
 CLARA. Well, I suppose there is nothing more remarkable 
 in this country. Perhaps not in our entire age. 
 
 HANNA. What do people say about it? How do the peas- 
 ants regard him? 
 
 CLARA. I believe that anywhere but here it would have at- 
 tracted twenty times nay, a hundred times as much atten- 
 tion. Here it is only as it should be. 
 
 HANNA. But, Clara a miracle is a miracle. 
 
 CLARA. Yes, to you and me. But there is something 
 in nature up here that demands the unusual even of us. 
 Nature itself seems to have passed the limits of reason up 
 here. Almost the entire winter is one long night. And the 
 summer is one long day, when the sun remains above the 
 horizon all the time. You have seen it at night, haven't 
 you? But do you know that the mists from the ocean at 
 times make it appear three and four times larger than it is? 
 And then the colour effects produced at sea, on the moun- 
 tains, and in the sky running all the way from a fiercely 
 glowing red to the gentlest, most delicate whitish-yellow! 
 And then the colours painted by the Northern Lights on the 
 wintry sky! More subdued, of course; but still there is in 
 them such a wildness of pattern, such a restlessness, such 
 change without end And then all the other monstrosities of 
 nature! Flocks of birds that run into the millions; schools 
 of fish that would reach "from London to Liverpool," as one 
 man wrote. Dp you see these mountains, rising straight out
 
 ACT i. sc. i BEYOND OUR POWER 121 
 
 of the sea? They are not like other mountains. And the 
 ideas of the people are proportionate. They are simply 
 boundless. Their legends and their fairy tales give you 
 a sense of somebody piling continent on continent and 
 then hurling the icy peaks of the North Pole on top of every- 
 thing else. Yes, you may smile! But listen to their tales. 
 Talk to the people. Then you will soon see that Pastor 
 Adolph Sang is a man to suit their own hearts. His faith fits 
 the place. He brought with him a fortune when he came 
 here, and he has given away almost everything. That's the 
 way it had to be! That's Christianity! And now, when he 
 travels miles and miles to visit some poor, sick creature, and 
 when he prays so that their innermost souls are laid open, and 
 the light seems to get right into them, unreflected ! At 
 times they catch sight of him far out at sea in impossible 
 weather he alone in a tiny, little boat or perhaps one of 
 the children, or both, may be with him for he has been 
 taking them along since they were six years old. Perhaps he 
 works a miracle before he is off to another fisher village and 
 there again the same! It is as if they just expected it of him. 
 And even more than that! If I hadn't held back well, then 
 we shouldn't have enough to live on to-day, and probably he 
 would not be living. Not even the children would be spared, 
 perhaps Of myself it is no use talking. For I have reached 
 the end. 
 
 HANNA. But then you haven't held back ? 
 
 CLARA. So it may seem. But I have. Not by remon- 
 strances. That would have done no good. No, I am forced 
 to invent something something new every time or he'll 
 see through it. And it brings me to despair! 
 
 HANNA. Invent something, you say? 
 
 CLARA. There is one sense he lacks entirely: the sense of 
 reality. He never sees anything but what he wants to see.
 
 122 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. i 
 
 Thus, for instance, he cannot see anything evil in anybody. 
 That is, he sees it, but he doesn't care. "I hold on to what 
 is good in men," he says. And when he is talking to them, 
 they become good absolutely every one! When he looks at 
 them with those childlike eyes of his what else could they do? 
 But then, of course, it turns out badly afterward. For he 
 ruins us for the sake of such people. But that's the way he 
 lives, without the least regard for actual conditions of any 
 kind, small or great. If permitted, he would take our last 
 cent what we were to live on to-morrow! "God will surely 
 give it back to us, for it is what he has told us to do." When 
 the weather is such that the hardiest sailors won't venture 
 out in a ship, not to speak of the pastor's sail-boat, then he 
 wants to start out in a mere skiff and perhaps with his own 
 little child in the stern at that! He has ventured across the 
 mountains in a fog and wandered around up there for three 
 days and nights without a vestige to eat or drink. They 
 went in search for him and brought him back. And a week 
 later, with the fog still lasting, he wanted to try the same 
 trip again. Somebody was ill and wanting him! 
 
 HANNA. But can he stand it? 
 
 CLARA. He can stand everything. He goes to sleep like a 
 tired child, and sleeps, sleeps, sleeps. Then he wakes up, 
 eats, and begins it all over again. He lives in some region 
 apart from the rest of us: for he is innocent through and 
 through. 
 
 HANNA. How you do love him! 
 
 CLARA. Yes, it is the only thing that is left of me. This 
 difficulty about the children finished me. 
 
 HANNA. The children? 
 
 CLARA. They took harm from staying here. No regulation 
 or discipline: it turned them topsy-turvy. Never any check 
 on whatever was held right! Never any reasoning only u>
 
 ACT i. BC.I BEYOND OUR POWER 123 
 
 spi ration! They were already grown up and had learned 
 nothing but to read and write. And how I fought to get 
 them away from here! And then, for five years, to keep them 
 over there, and to get them some education! It took the 
 last remnant of my strength. Now it is all over with me. 
 
 HANNA. Dearest, dearest! 
 
 CLARA. You don't mean to you are not pitying me, are 
 you? Me, who have had for companion on my journey the 
 best man on earth, the noblest will in all mankind! In that 
 way one does not live so long as otherwise true! But one 
 cannot have everything. And to choose something else 
 oh, dear! 
 
 HANNA. But he has destroyed the rest of you. 
 
 CLARA. He has! Exactly! That is, he has not destroyed 
 all for he was not permitted to do so. And he would have 
 destroyed himself, too, had he been given a chance. He is 
 always going beyond his power. 
 
 HANNA. Beyond his power? When he really works mir- 
 acles? And comes out of everything unharmed? 
 
 CLARA. Don't you think the miracles also depend on the 
 fact that he is going beyond his power? 
 
 HANNA. Now you scare me. What do you mean? 
 
 CLARA. I mean that the prophets must have been like 
 that. Those of the Jews as well as of the Pagans. In certain 
 directions they were capable of more than we because they 
 lacked so much in other directions. Yes, that's the way it 
 has seemed to me. 
 
 HANNA. But don't you believe? 
 
 CLARA. Believe? What do you mean by that? We sisters 
 come from a more or less neurotic old family of sceptics an 
 intellectual family, I dare say. I admired Adolph. He was 
 unlike all others, better than all others. I admired him until 
 I fell in love with him. It wasn't his faith that did it: to me
 
 124 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc, i 
 
 that was only one of his peculiarities. How far I now share 
 that faith with him I don't know. 
 
 HANNA. Don't you know? 
 
 CLARA. I have been so harassed, I tell you, that I have had 
 no chance to make up my mind about it. Such a thing takes 
 time. I have had my hands full trying to steer us straight 
 from one wave crest to another. The effort of it has wasted 
 me prematurely. Long ago I lost the power of dealing with 
 large problems. It's barely possible for me to tell what's 
 right and wrong. Oh, in a crude way, of course but not in 
 a finer sense! I must do what I can. And so with my faith, 
 too! More than that is beyond my power. 
 
 HANNA. And he knows it? 
 
 CLARA. He knows all. Do you think I could hide any- 
 thing from him? 
 
 HANNA. But does he not want you to believe what he be- 
 lieves himself? 
 
 CLARA. Not in the least. This matter of faith, if we are 
 not to be lost it is God's own concern, he says. Ours is to 
 be true. If we are, the faith will come here or elsewhere. 
 Oh, there is nothing inconsistent about him! 
 
 HANNA. But isn't he working for the spread of his faith? 
 
 CLARA. In his own way. Never, never, by pressure. He 
 shows absolutely the same consideration for everybody. For 
 everybody do you understand? Oh, there is no one like 
 him! 
 
 HANNA. You still see him as you did in those first days of 
 rapture! And this although your eyes have grown old! 
 
 CLARA. Yes, though my eyes have grown old. 
 
 HANNA. But now as to your faith in his miracles at 
 bottom you don't believe in them at all? 
 
 CLARA. What are you saying? There is nothing else in 
 the world in which I believe so completely!
 
 ACT i. sc. i BEYOND OUR POWER 125 
 
 HANNA. When you don't dare let him go out in a storm 
 when you don't dare feel sure of getting back what he 
 gives away, even if it be all you have left then you don't 
 believe in them. 
 
 CLARA. Rather than permitting such a thing Oh, this is 
 where my strength lies, I tell you! 
 
 HANNA. All right. But it is not the strength that springs 
 from faith. 
 
 CLARA. No, you mustn't If there should be some contra- 
 diction here what of it? All of us are full of contradictions 
 all but he! And then, you know, to throw oneself and 
 one's children into the sea that's not faith: it is to tempt 
 God. 
 
 HANNA. But it seems to me that a miracle may be wrought 
 then as at any other time whether our own lives are at stake, 
 or those of other people. 
 
 CLARA. But to put one's own life in danger? 
 
 HANNA. When it is done to save others? That cannot be 
 called to tempt God. 
 
 CLARA. Listen no, let's drop it. I am too tired. All I 
 know is that if he wants to take the children's livelihood and 
 give it to people that are bad and useless, or if he wants to 
 start across the mountains in a fog, or put to sea in a storm 
 then then I just throw myself across his path. I'll do 
 anything I can think of, absolutely anything, to stop him! 
 Suppose he should try to do something of that kind just now 
 I have not been able to stand on my feet in many a month 
 but then I could do it! Then I could! I am sure of it! 
 At such moments 7 can also work miracles. For I love him 
 and the children. [Long pause. 
 
 HANNA. Can I help you in any way? 
 
 CLARA. Let me have some eau de Cologne. Put some on 
 my temples. And let me smell it too, of that you brought,
 
 126 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. n 
 
 me yesterday. Hurry up, please! Can't you get the cork 
 out? The corkscrew is over there no, no, over there! And 
 open the lower window the lower one also! 
 
 HANNA. Yes, yes! 
 
 CLARA. Thank you ! If the ground were not so damp after 
 these horrible rains, I should go outside a while can't you 
 get the cork out? 
 
 HANNA. In a moment! 
 
 CLARA. Push in the screw a little further but not too far 
 that's it that's it now no jasmin! 
 
 HANNA. Jasmin? There is no jasmin! 
 
 CLARA. Jasmin, jasmin ! It is he! I hear him! It is 
 he! The Lord be thanked! Now I'll be quiet quiet! Oh, 
 the blessing of it! There he is! [SANG enters. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 SANG. Good morning again! Good morning, dear Hanna! 
 Oh, that we have you here that we have you here! Such a 
 morning as this, so full of song and fragrance, you don't have 
 in America or anywhere else in the world! 
 
 CLARA. And my flowers? 
 
 SANG. Do you know what happened, Clara? 
 
 CLARA. You gave them away? 
 
 SANG. No! Ha-ha! Not this time, as Tordenskjold 1 said. 
 Oh, but you are a bad one ! Here we have ranted and raged 
 at this endless, horrible raining, and been afraid of landslides 
 and falling rocks and all sorts of disasters. And the rain 
 has done nothing but bring us a great blessing! When at 
 last I saw the sun again this morning, and went out what a 
 
 1 A famous Danish admiral of Norwegian birth, who had many hair-breadth es- 
 capes in his numerous encounters with the Swedes.
 
 ACT i. sc.n BEYOND OUR POWER 127 
 
 flowery host there was to meet me! I have never before seen 
 anything like this year! Oh, the richness of colour and odour 
 all around me and all of a sudden it filled me with such a 
 sense of joy that I couldn't but think it a shame to step on 
 the things that brought me such happiness. And so I turned 
 aside, and found a path, and this I followed, looking down into 
 all those dewy eyes at my feet. What a crowding there was 
 among them! What a will to live in that crowd! What 
 passion! Even the smallest among them craned their necks 
 to reach the sun. How eager, how greedy, they were! Really, 
 I think some of them must have rushed ahead at such a rate 
 that they will send their pollen dust courting before the day is 
 over! And I have already seen several bumble-bees. They 
 didn't know where to turn in the midst of all that fragrance. 
 For there were thousands and thousands of blossoms, and each 
 thousand tried to surpass all the rest in passionately tempt- 
 ing odours. Oh, such doings! And you may be sure there is 
 individuality, too, in all this millionfold multiplicity. Yes, 
 there is! And so I couldn't pick a single one of them. But 
 I have something else for you to-day! 
 
 CLARA. [Who has been signalling to her sister while SANQ 
 was speaking] Have you? 
 
 SANG. I, too, will try to raise on high a flowery cup 
 
 CLARA. Dear, what is it? 
 
 SANG. Well, I suppose you never thought me mean enough 
 to keep anything to myself? But I can! 
 
 CLARA. I have noticed for a long time that there was 
 something 
 
 SANG. Have you really? And I who haven't said a word 
 this time! But when your illness didn't frighten me as much 
 as the rest, there was good reason for it. 
 
 CLARA. But what is it? 
 
 HANNA. Yes, what is it? She is getting excited! "
 
 128 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. n 
 
 SANG. Now I'll tell at once. I have helped so many and 
 cannot help her because she is self-willed, and I cannot pray 
 with her as I should. And I have no power over those that 
 don't pray themselves that is, when they can\ pray at all. 
 And so I wrote to our children to come home. And last 
 night, when I sent them to bed so early, I told them why I 
 did so that I wanted them to have a good night's sleep, and 
 then be ready at seven in the morning to help me pray at 
 theu- mother's bedside. 
 
 CLARA. Oh, dearest, dearest! 
 
 SANG. We'll weave a prayer chain around you ! One of us 
 at your feet, one at your head, and I right in front of you! 
 And we won't cease until you fall asleep. Not until then 
 not until you sleep! And then we'll repeat it until you get 
 up and walk with the rest of us. That's what we are going 
 to do! 
 
 CLARA. Oh, you dear soul! 
 
 HANNA. What did the children say? 
 
 SANG. You should have seen them! How it stirred them! 
 I tell you, their faces were as white as sheets. And then they 
 looked at each other. But I guessed that they wanted to be 
 left alone. I can see that you are stirred by it, too. Your 
 eyes close. Perhaps you also want to be left alone? For we 
 are going to have a visitor a wonderful visitor and it is 
 necessary to be prepared! What time is it? 
 
 HANNA. After seven. 
 
 SANG. Not yet, for then they would be here. You have 
 forgotten to set your watch according to our local time. 
 
 HANNA. Oh, no, I haven't. 
 
 SANG. Then you haven't set it right, my dear. How can 
 you imagine that grown-up children would oversleep when 
 called to pray at their mother's bedside? 
 
 HANNA. I'll go up to them.
 
 ACT i. sc.ra BEYOND OUR POWER 129 
 
 SANG. No, no, no! They must not be disturbed these last 
 few moments. I know what it means. 
 
 HANNA. They won't hear me. I'll just take a peep at 
 them. [Goes out. 
 
 SANG. Now be careful, please! 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 
 SANG. It's fine of her to be so eager about it. 
 
 CLARA. Dearest! 
 
 SANG. Your voice is troubled ? Oh, do be hopeful now! 
 I have never felt more certain of myself. And you know from 
 whom that feeling flows. Clara! My beloved! [He kneels 
 beside her bed] Before we join in the great prayer, let me thank 
 you ! I have been thanking the Lord for you to-day. In the 
 midst of all this spring-time glory I have been thanking Him. 
 So boundless was the joy within me and without me. And in 
 my mind I have gone over what we have principally lived 
 together. Do you know, I think I love you the more for not 
 wholly sharing my faith? It keeps you still more in my 
 thoughts. Your devotion to me comes wholly from your- 
 self, from your will and from nothing else. And I am proud 
 of the fact that, by my side, you have remained true to your- 
 self. But when I realise that you without believing as I 
 do have sacrificed your life for my sake 
 
 CLARA. Adolph! 
 
 SANG. I'll put my hand over your mouth if you speak. 
 Now it's my turn! Oh, it's a great thing you have done. 
 We other ones, we are giving our faith; but you are giving 
 your life. What confidence you must have in me! And how 
 I love you! When the fervour of my faith frightened you, 
 and you trembled for me, or for the future of the children, 
 and when, perhaps, you didn't quite consider what you were
 
 130 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 doing 7 know that you didn't have strength enough left to 
 do otherwise. 
 
 CLARA. No, I hadn't! 
 
 SANG. It is my fault. I have not known how to spare you. 
 
 CLARA. Adolph! 
 
 SANG. I know it's so ! You have sacrificed yourself little by 
 little. And not for the sake of your faith, not for the hope of 
 some reward here or there but out of love alone. How I 
 love you! All this I wanted to tell you to-day. If Hanna 
 hadn't gone out, I should have asked her to leave me alone 
 with you a little while. I thank you! This is your great 
 day! And now the children will soon be here. Let me kiss 
 you again as I kissed you that first day! 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 SANG. Well? 
 
 HANNA. It's past seven. 
 
 CLAKA. I knew it. 
 
 SANG. Is it past seven? And the children? 
 
 HANNA. They were asleep. 
 
 SANG. Asleep? 
 
 CLARA. I knew it. 
 
 HANNA. Elias was dressed. He had thrown himself on the 
 bed as if he didn't want to sleep, but just rest a little, and 
 sleep had overtaken him in spite of himself. Rachel was 
 sleeping with her hands folded on the cover. She didn't hear^ 
 me. 
 
 SANG. I have asked too much of the children. That's 
 what I always do. 
 
 HANNA. They had hardly slept for two days and nights 
 or since we met.
 
 ACT i. sc.v BEYOND OUR POWER 131 
 
 SANG. But what did the Lord mean then, by giving me 
 such strength to-day? And by making me feel so certain of 
 myself? I must try to discover it! [Going out] Pardon me a 
 
 moment, dear friends! Why exactly this day ? 
 
 [HANNA enters. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 CLARA. Did you wake them? 
 
 HANNA. Of course. Do you know what I think is the 
 matter? 
 
 CLARA. Good Lord, yes! Oh, I am trembling already! 
 
 HANNA. Can anything be done about it? 
 
 CLARA. No nothing except what I can do myself to soften 
 it. Oh! There was a something in their eyes yesterday 
 now I understand what it was. 
 
 HANNA. They have lost their father's faith. 
 
 CLARA. They have lost their father's faith. The poor 
 things, how they must have been struggling and suffering! 
 Loving and respecting him more than anything else on this 
 earth, as they do! 
 
 HANNA. That's why they were so quiet yesterday. 
 
 CLARA. That's why the slightest thing moved them so 
 easily. Oh, and that's why Rachel wrote for you. Some- 
 body had to be here and she herself didn't dare. 
 
 HANNA. I think you are right. How they must have been 
 wrestling with this! 
 
 "CLARA. Oh, the poor things, the poor things! 
 
 HANNA. Here comes Elias. 
 
 CLARA. Is he coming r 
 
 ELIAS. [Throwing himself on hie knees beside his mother's 
 btd and burying his face in his hands] Oh, mother! 
 
 CLARA. Yes, yes I know everything.
 
 132 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. vi 
 
 ELIAS. You know? Oh, it couldn't be worse! 
 
 CLARA. No, it couldn't. 
 
 ELIAS. When he said last night, that at seven o'clock this 
 morning 
 
 CLARA. Don't now! I cannot bear it! 
 
 HANNA. Your mother cannot bear it. 
 
 ELIAS. I won't I knew it had to come. In one way or 
 another. It had to come in the end. 
 
 HANNA. Can you bear to hear it? 
 
 CLARA. I must hear. Tell me 
 
 HANNA. What is it? 
 
 CLARA. Elias are you not there? 
 
 ELIAS. Here I am, mother. 
 
 CLARA. And Rachel? 
 
 ELIAS. What do you mean, mother? 
 
 CLARA. Where is Rachel? 
 
 ELIAS. She's getting up. She was awake with me till mid- 
 night. But then she couldn't any longer. 
 
 CLARA. Children, how oh, how how did it happen? 
 
 ELIAS. That we lost father's faith? 
 
 CLARA. That you lost your father's faith, children? 
 
 [SANG enters. 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 SANG. Have you lost your faith? My boy Have you 
 lost your faith? 
 
 HANNA. Look at Clara look at her! 
 
 SANG. [Hurries over to the bed and puts his hands on CLARA] 
 It'll stop! It won't come! Thank God! 
 
 CLARA. It's passing but you must hold me. 
 
 SANG. I will hold you!
 
 ACT i. sc. vi BEYOND OUR POWER 133 
 
 CLARA. And don't let me cry oh! 
 
 SANG. No, no! No crying! [He bends down over her and 
 kisses her] Now you must be strong! Clara! There now! 
 Don't be sorry now! You must remember how sorry they 
 have been. In their suffering and pain, they have wanted to 
 spare us. Shouldn't we, then, spare them now? 
 
 CLARA. Yes. 
 
 SANG. That's why this attack came. So that we might 
 have time to think. Or we might have showed bitterness 
 toward them. Especially I, in my eagerness. Where is 
 Rachel? 
 
 HANNA. She's coming. She was awake with Elias till 
 midnight. 
 
 SANG. Those children, those children! How could you ? 
 No, no! I don't want to know it. You have always been 
 honest. What you have done you had to do. 
 
 ELIAS. I had to. But it was dreadful. 
 
 SANG. Your faith came too easily, here with me. I am all 
 emotion. And perhaps this is the beginning of a faith that 
 cannot be lost. 
 
 ELIAS. I feel like a criminal but I am no such thing. 
 
 SANG. Do you think I could doubt you for a moment, my 
 boy? You mustn't misunderstand because I cannot quite con- 
 trol myself. It is because I have counted so much on your 
 faith. So it will take some time before I No, no, no! 
 Forgive me, Elias! How could you help it? [RACHEL comes 
 into the room but withdraws shyly to the background; SANG catches 
 sight of her] Rachel! Oh, Rachel! [She comes forward and 
 kneels beside him] Ever since you were a little child, you have 
 given me more faith than any book How can this be pos- 
 sible? No, if they have been able to win her over, then I 
 must know the way of it For that anybody could take you 
 from me
 
 134 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. vi 
 
 RACHEL. Not from you, father! 
 
 SANG. Pardon me! Oh, I didn't mean to hurt you 
 Come to me! [She throws herself into his arms] I promise you, 
 children, that from now on, I shall not mention this matter 
 again. But first I must know you cannot wonder at that 
 how it could happen, 
 
 ELIAS. If you were to talk with me for days, father I 
 don't think I could get to the bottom of it! 
 
 SANG. No, that's beyond me. I cannot argue about faith. 
 That's something I don't understand at all. 
 
 ELIAS. But you have to hear me 
 
 SANG. If it can be of help to you, that's another matter. 
 And then you know that I want to hear. But can't you tell 
 me briefly just in a few words? What was it that made you 
 that well that decided you, children? 
 
 ELIAS. I think I can tell in a few words. Rachel and I 
 we discovered that the Christians were not as you had told 
 us they should be. 
 
 SANG. But, children 
 
 ELIAS. You sent us to the best ones you knew. And I do 
 think them better than all the rest. But soon Rachel and I 
 agreed on something, and she was the first to say it: there is 
 only one real Christian, and that's father! 
 
 SANG. Oh, but, children! 
 
 ELIAS. If they had proved a little more or a little less 
 what you are then we wouldn't have been so disappointed. 
 But they are something else something entirely different. 
 
 SANG. What do you mean? 
 
 ELIAS. Their Christianity is merely a convention. In their 
 life and in their teachings, they bow down to the established 
 order to the order established in their own time and place. 
 To institutions, customs, prejudices, economical conditions, 
 and all sorts of things. They have picked out every loophole
 
 ACT i. sc.vi BEYOND OUR POWER 135 
 
 in the faith, so that they can make it fit in with whatever 
 happens to be. 
 
 SANG. Are you not too severe? 
 
 ELIAS. You seek out what is most ideal in it, and strive for 
 that and this makes the difference! 
 
 SANG. But, dear children, what have you to do with this 
 difference? 
 
 ELIAS. It has set us thinking, father You cannot won- 
 der at that? 
 
 SANG. Think as much as you please. As long as you don't 
 judge. 
 
 RACHEL. I don't think we have been judging. And do 
 you know why? Because we saw that their teachings were 
 as natural to them as yours is to you. 
 
 SANG. Well ? 
 
 ELIAS. But what is then Christianity? It cannot be what 
 they teach? 
 
 SANG. Suppose it isn't? What does it matter? When they 
 act according to their understanding? 
 
 RACHEL. But, dear father, is Christianity then something 
 which only one in a million can reach? 
 
 ELIAS. Must all the rest be mere bunglers at it? 
 
 SANG. Whom do you call a Christian? 
 
 ELIAS. Him alone who, from Jesus, has learned the secret 
 of perfection, and who is striving after it in everything. 
 
 SANG. I think that a charming definition! You have some 
 of your mother's delicate discernment! Oh, it was always 
 my cherished dream that you some time No, no, no I 
 have given you my promise, children and I shall keep it. 
 You were saying ? Yes, that's good: it's splendid! But 
 listen, my son : may not everybody try to become a Christian 
 without being called a bungler on that account? What do
 
 136 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. vi 
 
 you say? Is it not here that faith helps out that the merits 
 of one make up for the shortcomings of millions? 
 
 ELIAS. Now you have said it! When we strive with our 
 whole heart then faith does the rest. 
 
 SANG. Well, then? 
 
 ELIAS. But there is only one human being who puts this 
 into practice and that one is you. The rest oh, don't be 
 afraid! I am not saying this to accuse anybody. W T hat 
 right have I to do so? The rest either they ask for so little 
 that their peace need not be disturbed they do just what 
 suits them; or they try really and overreach themselves. 
 Yes, that's just the word! 
 
 RACHEL. Yes, that's the word. And it was this thing, 
 father dear, that made me say to Elias: if those ideals are so 
 little suited to man's powers and conditions even at the pres- 
 ent time, how can they have come from Him who is om- 
 niscient? 
 
 SANG. And it was you who said that? 
 
 ELIAS. We could not dispose of Rachel's doubts. And so 
 we began to study. We traced those ideals backward through 
 history and we were carried beyond the beginning of the 
 Christian era. 
 
 RACHEL. They are all of them much older than Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 SANG. I know it, children. 
 
 ELIAS. Dreamers proclaimed them long before 
 
 SANG. Oriental and Greek dreamers proclaimed them in a 
 time of despair; a time when the best ones longed for nothing 
 but to flee to some land of new birth just to get away! I 
 know it, children. So this was what made you fall? Merci- 
 ful heavens! As if that land of new birth, the millennium, 
 were less true for being an old, an immensely ancient, Oriental 
 dream? And if it has kept us waiting so long for its coming
 
 ACT i. sc.vi BEYOND OUR POWER 137 
 
 that weak souls are beginning to call it an impossible dream 
 and the demands that lead to it, impossible ideals what does 
 it prove? Nothing about the faith, but much about those 
 that preach it. Oh, yes much about those that preach it. 
 I won't speak of them, but will only tell what happened to 
 myself. I saw that Christianity was crawling on its belly 
 and carefully dodging every little hillock at that. Why can 
 it be doing so, I asked myself. Can it be because if it stood 
 straight up it would pull everything off its hinges? Is 
 Christianity impossible? Or don't men dare? If only one 
 dared would not thousands dare with him? And so I felt 
 that I must try to be that one man. And I think everybody 
 should make the same attempt. Otherwise he is not a true 
 believer. For to believe is to know that nothing is impossible 
 to faith and then to show this faith. Do you think I say 
 this as a boast? No, as an accusation against myself! For 
 although so much grace has been granted me, and I have 
 built so high, I, too, every so often, fall away from the Lord. 
 Have I not been going around here and thought it impos- 
 sible that she could be saved by me alone? Have I not been 
 distrustful and looking to others for help? That's why God 
 took all help away from me. For this reason he permitted 
 that you also should stumble over "the impossible," and come 
 and tell me about it. For in such manner his hour had to be 
 prepared. Now he wants to show us all what is possible! 
 Oh how I have misunderstood! But now I do understand. 
 I must do it alone! Now "the command has come. Now I 
 can do it. That's why the great grace of preparedness de- 
 scended upon me just this morning! Everything fits together 
 now. Do you hear, Clara? It is no longer I speaking, but 
 the great certainty that's within me and you know from 
 whom it always springs! [Kneeling beside her] Clara, my 
 precious friend, why shouldn't you be as dear to the Lord as
 
 138 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. vi 
 
 anybody that believes wholly? As if the Lord were not the 
 father of everybody. The Lord's love is no privilege of those 
 that believe. The privilege of those that believe is to feel 
 His love and rejoice in it and, in His name, to make the im- 
 possible possible. You patient, you faithful one! Now I 
 leave you in order to try it. [He rises to his feet] Yes, to try 
 it! I am going over to the church, children, because I want 
 to be alone. I will not leave it again until, from the hands 
 of the Lord, I have received sleep for your mother; and after 
 the sleep, health, so that she may rise up and walk among 
 us. Be not afraid! I feel within me that he will grant it! 
 He will not give it to me at once, for this time I have doubted. 
 But I shall not give up I shall wait for my Lord, who is 
 stern and kind. Good-bye! [He kneels over his ivife in brief 
 prayer] Good-bye! [He kisses her; she does not move; he gets 
 up] Thank you, children! Now you have helped me never- 
 theless. More than anybody could guess. Now I shall 
 myself ring out the call to prayer. At the first sound of the 
 bell you know that I have begun to pray for your mother. 
 Peace be with you! [SANG goes out. 
 
 HANNA. [Who instinctively has opened the door for him] This 
 is this is [She bursts into tears. 
 
 ELIAS. I must see I must see him go into the church. 
 
 [Goes out. 
 
 RACHEL. [Coming forward] Mother! Oh, mother! 
 
 HANNA. Don't talk to her! She sees you but don't talk 
 to her! 
 
 RACHEL. I am afraid! 
 
 HANNA. From here, where I am standing, I can see your 
 father. Now he will soon be at the church Come! 
 
 RACHEL. No! I can stand it no longer! I am afraid! 
 Mother! She is looking at me, but she doesn't answer me. 
 Mother!
 
 ACT i. sc.vi BEYOND OUR POWER 139 
 
 HANNA. Be quiet, Rachel! [The bell is heard. 
 
 RACHEL. [Sinks down on her knees; a little later she cries 
 out, but in a subdued tone] My God Hanna! 
 HANNA. What is it? 
 RACHEL. Mother is asleep! 
 HANNA. She's asleep? 
 RACHEL. Mother is asleep! 
 
 HANNA. Really ? 
 
 RACHEL. I must find Elias. I must tell him about it! 
 
 [She goes out. 
 HANNA. She is sleeping like a child. O God! 
 
 She kneels down; then a rumbling as of thunder is heard 
 
 prolonged, deepening, constantly deepening, growing 
 
 more and more awesome; cries are heard outside; the 
 
 house is trembling; and still the roar is increasing. 
 
 RACHEL. [Outside] The mountain is falling ! [Shrieks; comes 
 
 running in] The mountain is falling right on the church! On 
 
 us on father on us! It's rolling, it's roaring it's like 
 
 night oh! [She cowers down and hides her face. 
 
 ELIAS. [Outside] Father! Father! Oh! 
 
 HANNA. [Beside the bed] Now it's coming! Now it's com- 
 
 ing 
 
 The roar is at its loudest; then it decreases little by little; 
 then the bell is heard again. 
 
 HANNA. [Leaping to her feet] It's still ringing ! He's alive! 
 
 RACHEL. He's alive! 
 
 ELIAS. [Outside] Father is alive! [Coming nearer] The 
 church is still there! [Comes in] The church is still there. 
 Father is alive. Right in front of the church, the slide turned 
 aside turned to the left. He's alive, he's ringing the bell 
 O God! [He throws himself down beside the bed. 
 
 RACHEL. [Drawing nearer] Elias! Mother ?
 
 140 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT i. sc. vi 
 
 HANNA. She's sleeping! 
 
 ELIAS. [Jumps up] Is she sleeping? 
 
 RACHEL. Yes, she's sleeping [The bell continues to ring. 
 
 HANNA. She is sleeping just as quietly! 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT II 
 
 A small room, with walls made of logs. In the rear, a door 
 opening on a porch. This door stands wide open, disclosing 
 a view of a narrow landscape abruptly shut off by a bare 
 mountain-side. There is a door in the right wall, and a big 
 window in the left. Above the door leading to the porch 
 hangs a cross, into which, under a glass cover, is fitted a 
 gilded crucifix. In the foreground, to the left, stands a sofa, 
 and in front of this a table with some books on it. Chairs 
 are placed along the walls. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 ELIAS enters from the porch, moving quickly and restlessly. 
 He wears leather breeches and low shoes, and above the 
 breeches nothing but a shirt. His head is uncovered. 
 He stops for a moment. Then he goes over to the win- 
 dow and listens. A hymn sung by a male voice is 
 plainly heard, though coming from a distance. ELIAS 
 is deeply moved. RACHEL enters softly through the 
 closed door on the right, which she closes again behind 
 her. Her brother makes a sign to her to stop and 
 listen. 
 
 RACHEL. [Also moved, says in a low voice] Let me open the 
 door to mother's room. 
 
 ELIAS. [In the same voice] Is mother awake? 
 RACHEL. No, but she'll hear father. [She goes out to the 
 141
 
 142 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. i 
 
 right, but returns soon and leaves the door open behind her; speaks 
 in a very low tone] She smiled. 
 
 ELIAS. [As before] Oh, Rachel! 
 
 RACHEL. [Showing emotion] Elias don't say a word I 
 cannot bear it! 
 
 ELIAS. Look at that, Rachel! Could you imagine any- 
 thing more beautiful? Hundreds of people around the 
 church, and all of them still as still can be. And in there he 
 is praying and singing without being aware of the people out- 
 side. The windows are open, but they are set too high for 
 him to look out. And those without are scared almost to 
 death lest he hear them and be disturbed by it. Look! He 
 was speaking of a prayer chain. All those people around the 
 church there is a prayer chain for you! 
 
 RACHEL. Yes. [They listen to the song, which ceases after a 
 while] He is singing a great deal to-day. 
 
 ELIAS. Close the doors now. I have so much to tell you. 
 I have been here twice to look for you. 
 
 RACHEL. [Goes softly out to the right; on her return, she closes 
 the door behind her; then she says in somewhat louder voice] A 
 whole lot more people have arrived this afternoon. 
 
 ELIAS. And they are constantly coming from miles off! 
 You cannot see them all, for many of them are in the groves, 
 listening to the lay preachers. They don't disturb father over 
 there. And then the people go back and forth between the 
 groves and the church. And now, look over there, toward 
 the shore. 
 
 RACHEL. What is it? The ground is black with people. 
 What can it be? 
 
 ELIAS. It is the mission ship that has just come in. 
 
 RACHEL. The mission ship? 
 
 ELIAS. Don't you know that a lot of people from the East 
 have rented a steamer to take them to the big mission con-
 
 ACTH. sc. i BEYOND OUR POWER 143 
 
 ference in the city? Now that steamer is at anchor in the 
 fiord. 
 
 RACHEL. Here? 
 
 ELIAS. Here! 
 
 RACHEL. But why do they come here? 
 
 ELIAS. For the sake of the miracle. When our delegates 
 Pastor Kroyer and another man boarded the ship down at 
 the pilot station - 
 
 RACHEL. then ? 
 
 ELIAS. and told what happened here yesterday, and how 
 father was still in the church, all by himself, praying 
 
 RACHEL. Now I see! 
 
 ELIAS. Then not a soul among them would go on, but all 
 wanted to come here instead. The bishop and the ministers 
 begged them to keep their words and promises. But they 
 insisted on staying here. And so the others had to give in. 
 And now they are here. 
 
 RACHEL. The ministers also? 
 
 ELIAS. The bishop and the ministers of course! 
 
 RACHEL. But they'll not come in to us? Elias, you 
 shouldn't be dressed like that. 
 
 ELIAS. I can't stand clothes. 
 
 RACHEL. You can't stand ? 
 
 ELIAS. They scorch me. And then I have a craving 
 well, as if I wanted to walk through the air. I can't describe 
 it, but sometimes it seems as if I could do it! 
 
 RACHEL. But, Elias! 
 
 ELIAS. There he is! There he goes now! 
 
 RACHEL. Who? That man over there? 
 
 ELIAS. It must be he! Yes, it is! They carried him over 
 here this morning, sick as sick can be and now he is walking 
 about there you can see him! It happened this morning, 
 just as father sang for the first time. Nobody had expected
 
 144 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. i 
 
 him to sing. It made all of us burst into tears. And then 
 the sick man got up without any help. We didn't notice it 
 until he was walking around among us. Mother will also get 
 up, Rachel! I can see it as if it were already happening. 
 
 RACHEL. Yes, she will get up. I have expected it any 
 moment. But I tremble when I think of it. Why are you 
 looking at me like that, Elias? 
 
 ELIAS. Because at times, when you speak, it seems almost 
 as if it were verse. And it's the same when the others talk. 
 
 RACHEL. But, Elias 
 
 ELIAS. And then again as just now I hear nothing but 
 the sound of what you say not the meaning. For at the 
 same time I hear something something that is not spoken. 
 
 RACHEL. That is not spoken? 
 
 ELIAS. Most often it seems to be father calling calling me 
 by name as he did yesterday morning. [With emotion] He 
 had something in his mind when he gave me that name. It 
 sings and it accuses and with his voice. Incessantly, at 
 times. It haunts me. And in the midst of it I feel a long- 
 ing to plunge into some great danger. For I am certain that 
 I should come out of it unharmed. No, don't be scared! 
 Why, there is nobody here. 
 
 RACHEL. Come, Elias, and sit with me beside mother. 
 There is peace in her presence. 
 
 ELIAS. I cannot. Rachel, answer me before God search 
 your final, your subtlest doubt, and answer me: is this a 
 miracle that we have experienced here? 
 
 RACHEL. Merciful heavens, Elias! Why do you always 
 come back to this? 
 
 ELIAS. But is it not dreadful that perhaps the only two 
 people still doubting are his own children? Just now I would 
 give my life to feel certain. 
 
 RACHEL. Don't, Elias! I beg you!
 
 ACTH. sc.! BEYOND OUR POWER 145 
 
 ELIAS. Tell me only what you do believe. This thing with 
 the landslide? It's too big a thing to be merely accident. 
 Don't you think so? And mother's sleep? The moment he 
 began to ring the bell sleep ! And she slept in spite of the 
 landslide. She sleeps as long as he is praying. Is not this a 
 miracle? And why shouldn't that other thing have been a 
 miracle also a great miracle? 
 
 RACHEL. I almost think it was, Elias. 
 
 ELIAS. You do? 
 
 RACHEL. But I am none the less afraid of it. 
 
 ELIAS. Afraid of it, if it be a miracle? But then you don't 
 believe it was a miracle? 
 
 RACHEL. Yes. 
 
 ELIAS. For this cannot merely depend on some magnetic 
 power of healing? Or on the power of his personality? No, it 
 must be something more! Is it a miracle? Do you feel sure? 
 
 RACHEL. I cannot go into this now. It was to escape it 
 that I sought refuge beside mother. Her honesty seems to 
 fill up the whole room and put an end to all such questions. 
 Now, there is something else that is of more importance, 
 Elias! 
 
 ELIAS. Something else? 
 
 RACHEL. After all this! What will come next when she 
 has got up? For that is not the end of it. In the last in- 
 stance 
 
 ELIAS. In the last instance? 
 
 RACHEL. In the last instance it is a question of her life! 
 
 [She begins to cry. 
 
 ELIAS. Rachel? My God! 
 
 RACHEL. Mother has no power of resistance left. And he 
 will go right on right now! 
 
 ELIAS. With what? 
 
 RACHEL. With this whatever it be!
 
 146 K BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. n 
 
 ELIAS. But suppose it be a miracle, Rachel? Why need 
 we then be afraid? 
 
 RACHEL. I cannot overlook the consequences to mother 
 and father to all of us. You don't understand me at all? 
 ELIAS. No. 
 
 RACHEL. No! But to me it does not matter what it is. 
 It will destroy us. It will kill us in the end! 
 ELIAS. The miracle? 
 
 RACHEL. Yes, yes! There is no blessing in it! A horror, 
 that's what it is! Elias! 
 
 [She drags him into the middle of the room. 
 ELIAS. What is it? 
 
 RACHEL. There is a man out there who is staring right at 
 this window a peculiar man so very pale 
 
 ELIAS. In a coat that is buttoned all the way up? 
 RACHEL. Yes. [With a subdued cry] There he is in the 
 room, too! 
 
 She falls back as if she were facing a ghost, and finally 
 
 she takes flight into her mother's room. 
 ELIAS. In the room? Here? 
 
 At that moment a STRANGER walks up to the porch from 
 the left, crosses the threshold, and stands still just inside 
 the door while he searches the room with his eyes. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 ELIAS. [As the STRANGER appears] Yes, there he is! 
 
 STRANGER. Will you permit ? 
 
 ELIAS. Who are you? 
 
 STRANGER. Does it matter? 
 
 ELIAS. I have seen you here since yesterday. 
 
 STRANGER. Yes, I came here across the mountains.
 
 ACTH. sc.m BEYOND OUR POWER 147 
 
 ELIAS. Across the mountains? 
 
 STRANGER. I saw the landslide from above. 
 
 ELIAS. Really? 
 
 STRANGER. And I heard the bell. And this morning I saw 
 the sick man who got up and walked when your father sang 
 And now I want to ask: is your mother sleeping in there? 
 
 ELIAS. Yes. But not in the next room. In the one beyond. 
 
 STRANGER. But if she should get up then she would come 
 in here? She would turn toward the church, where he is 
 don't you think? And so she'll come here? 
 
 ELIAS. Yes, now when you speak of it 
 
 STRANGER. And so I ask of you beg of you may I be 
 here? Wait here? See it? I have been filled with a burning 
 desire and now I cannot resist any longer. I'll not come in 
 again until driven to do so. I'll not stay around here and 
 be in the way. But if the impulse should become irresistible, 
 to come in here, and wait, and see will you let me? 
 
 ELIAS. Yes. 
 
 STRANGER. Thank you! And I want to tell you: this day 
 will decide my whole life! 
 
 [He goes out through the porch to the right. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 
 ELIAS. This day will decide my whole life! [KROYER enters 
 the porch from the left] Kroyer, did you see him? The man 
 to the right, there? 
 
 KROYER. Yes, who was he? 
 
 ELIAS. You don't know him? 
 
 KROYER. No. 
 
 ELIAS. Certainly a remarkable man! This day will decide 
 my whole life! O Lord! That's the word for me, too!
 
 148 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. m 
 
 KROYER. That's what I expected, Elias that this day 
 must be a great one for you. Who could resist what is hap- 
 pening here? If it were nothing but these hundreds of people 
 praying around the church; and he within, unconscious of the 
 rest. I cannot think of anything more beautiful! 
 
 ELIAS. Yes, don't you think so? Oh, I'll throw aside all 
 fear and doubt this day will decide! What a word that 
 was! I have struggled and suffered without getting any- 
 where. And then it is given to me! And at once I feel more 
 at peace. I want to talk to you ! 
 
 KROYER. No not now. I have a message for you. 
 
 ELIAS. For me? From whom? 
 
 KROYER. I have just returned with the mission ship. 
 
 ELIAS. I know. 
 
 KROYER. And now the bishop and the ministers are asking 
 if they can have the use of this room for an hour or so? 
 
 ELIAS. For what purpose? 
 
 KROYER. They feel it necessary to discuss what attitude 
 they are to take toward what's happening here. And we 
 know of no other place where we can be by ourselves. Yes, 
 it's no use getting surprised. We professionals, we members 
 of the preachers' union, must try to look more rationally at 
 such things than the rest, don't you know? 
 
 ELIAS. It will fill the room with a lot of loathsome discord. 
 
 KROYER. Which may turn into harmony. For who can 
 resist the miracle? 
 
 ELIAS. You are right! And yet in here? As if they were 
 putting a wedge between my father and my mother? And if 
 father should begin to sing again? Then we couldn't open 
 the door to let mother hear? 
 
 KROYER. What do you think your mother or your father 
 would have answered?
 
 xcrn. Bc.iv BEYOND OUR POWER 149 
 
 ELIAS. Yes beyond all doubt. You are right. They can 
 have the room. But let me get out of this. 
 
 KROYER. I'll arrange it. Are both doors closed between 
 this and your mother's room? 
 
 ELIAS. Yes. 
 
 KROYER. Then I'll close the window, and also that door, 
 as soon as they are here. 
 
 ELIAS. Let them lock themselves in! I'll go out to the 
 people where there is more sympathy. They are trustfully 
 expecting that something great will happen to-day and per- 
 haps they will not have to wait much longer. 
 
 KROYER. [Following] Shall we pray for that, Elias? 
 
 ELIAS. Yes. Now, I will try! [Both go out to the left. 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 1 
 
 KsSYER. [Comes in from the left] Will you please step in? 
 He goes over to the window and closes it; in the meantime 
 the BISHOP and the MINISTERS enter; then KROYER 
 goes back to the door and closes it. 
 
 (BLANK. You, Kroyer, who are acquainted in this house, 
 can't you get us something to eat? 
 BISHOP. I know that we are making ourselves ridiculous. 
 But the truth of it is that we were dreadfully seasick. 
 BREY. We couldn't keep anything down. 
 BISHOP. And when we got into smooth water at last, and 
 
 they had just begun to cook something for us 
 
 BREY. Then came the miracle! 
 FALK. I am so frightfully hungry. 
 
 KROYER. I fear nobody in this place has given any thought 
 to food to-day, but I'll see. [Goes out. 
 
 1 All the ministers, and especially the elderly one named Blank, speak with arti- 
 ficial precision, very broad vowel sounds, and a preaching drawl, as if they were 
 always in the pulpit.
 
 150 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 JENSEN. I have regular food hallucinations. I have read 
 about that kind of thing but then you read so much you 
 cannot believe. It's especially partridges I see. 
 
 FALK. Partridges! 
 
 JENSEN. And I smell them, too: broiled partridges! 
 
 BLANK. Partridges? 
 
 SEVERAL. Are we going to have partridges? 
 
 KROYER. [Returning, speaks while still in the doorway] Sorry. 
 I looked in the kitchen and in the dining-room also. Not a 
 thing. And no people around. 
 
 BREY. Not a single soul? 
 
 FALK. I am so frightfully hungry. 
 
 BISHOP. Well, my dear friends, don't let us become alto- 
 gether too ridiculous. We have to submit to the inevitable. 
 Let us get on. Will you please be seated. [He seats himself 
 on the sofa; the others take chairs] Very briefly and very quietly 
 for we know that this is the habitation of a very sick per- 
 son we must try to agree how to behave in this matter. I 
 have always held the opinion that the minister as a rule 
 should remain neutral toward any excitement of this kind. 
 Neither affirm nor deny until the excitement has subsided 
 sufficiently to permit of a judgment. For this reason I wish 
 with all my heart that we might have gone on. But we were 
 not permitted to go on. 
 
 MINISTERS. [In murmurs to each other] We were not per- 
 mitted to go on ! No, we were not permitted to go on. 
 
 BISHOP. Everybody wanted to make for this spot, where 
 the miracle was supposed to be at home, so to speak. And I 
 don't reproach them on that account. But being with them, 
 on board the same ship, our opinion will be demanded. 
 And when we reach the conference, our opinion will again be 
 asked for. What is it, then?
 
 ACTH. sc.iv BEYOND OUR POWER 151 
 
 KROYER. If you permit me with all due respect: either we 
 believe in the miracle, and act accordingly; or we don't be- 
 lieve in it, and act accordingly. 
 
 BISHOP. Hm? There is a third way, my young friend. 
 
 MINISTERS. [Murmuring among themselves] There is a third 
 way! Indeed, there is a third way! 
 
 BISHOP. The older one grows, and the more experienced, 
 the more difficult it becomes to form a conviction and espe- 
 cially in regard to supernatural things. In the present case, 
 time and conditions will hardly permit an investigation. 
 And suppose we were to arrive at conflicting opinions? 
 What impression do you think a clerical fight about miracles 
 would make in these days of scepticism? A fight to decide 
 whether or no miracles are worked at the present hour some- 
 where in the Northland? I see my old friend Blank asking 
 for the floor. 
 
 BLANK. If I have understood Your Grace right, we have 
 no need of first deciding whether a miracle has occurred or 
 not. That is for God, our father! 
 
 BISHOP. That is for him! That's the word ! I thank you, 
 old friend. 
 
 BLANK. I maintain that miracles are as much regulated by 
 natural law as anything else, although we cannot see the law. 
 I maintain exactly the same thing as has been maintained by 
 Professor Petersen. 1 
 
 FALK. In that book he never gets published. 
 
 BLANK. But which he will get published some time. But 
 if it be as I said what importance can then be attached to 
 any single miracle whether near-sighted creatures like our- 
 selves can see it or not? If the congregation believes it sees 
 
 1 Professor Fr. Petersen, of the University of Christiania, a liberal theologian who, 
 about the time this play was written, tried to "reconcile the scientific insistence on 
 universal conformity to law with the Christian faith in miracles " (Just Bing: Norsk 
 latteraturhistorie) .
 
 152 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 a miracle, then we'll praise the Lord together with the con- 
 gregation. 
 
 BISHOP. Then you want to acknowledge the miracle after 
 all? 
 
 BLANK. Neither acknowledge nor refuse to do so. We 
 merely praise the Lord together with the congregation. 
 
 BISHOP. No, my old friend, we cannot get out of this by 
 singing hymns. 
 
 MINISTERS. [Murmuring to each other] We can't get out of 
 this by singing hymns. No, this we can't get out of by singing 
 hymns. 
 
 BISHOP. Mr. Brey has the floor. 
 
 BRET. Really, I cannot understand what should prevent us 
 from acknowledging the miracle at once. Is it, then, so rare? 
 I am seeing miracles all the time. In our congregation we 
 are so accustomed to them that the strange thing would be 
 not to see them. 
 
 FALK. I wish Brey would be kind enough to tell us some- 
 thing about the miracles that happen in his congregation. 
 
 BISHOP. No, that would lead us too far afield. You got 
 up do you wish to speak? 
 
 JENSEN. Yes. In this case everything depends on the fact 
 confronting us. Is it a miracle several, perhaps or is it 
 no miracle at all? 
 
 KROYER. Precisely. 
 
 JENSEN. Every separate miracle must be investigated. 
 But to do so, we must have some technical evidence, some evi- 
 dence of a medical character, or perhaps the testimony of 
 witnesses taken down by a reliable lawyer. With this at 
 hand then only can we ministers safely submit our spiritual 
 evidence. And with "spiritual" I don't mean the kind of 
 thing we hear from lay preachers and a lot of other people 
 supposed to be inspired or supplied with divine grace. As
 
 ACTH. sc. iv BEYOND OUR POWER 153 
 
 usual, I have in mind plain, solid, sober truth and the more 
 plain, solid, and sober it be, the more "spiritual" it will 
 prove. 
 
 FALK. Hear! 
 
 JENSEN. Perhaps it will be found, then, that a miracle 
 never occurs in this way. Never! It does not occur when it is 
 expected and hailed by hundreds nay, thousands perhaps 
 in a state of excitement and curiosity. Yes, curiosity! The 
 miracle comes in an honest, plain, quiet, sober way to those 
 who themselves are honest, plain, quiet, sober. 
 
 FALK. This is as if it were spoken out of my own heart! 
 
 KROYER. With Falk's permission, I should like to point 
 out something. Since I settled here as minister, I have re- 
 peatedly seen that none become more easily the prey of super- 
 stition than the very people that are most sober-minded. 
 
 BLANK. That's just my experience! Verily! 
 
 KROYER. Their suspiciousness makes them often deny 
 what is clearly seen by everybody else. Instead they are at- 
 tacked from behind, so to speak, by mysterious fears, and 
 thus they are moved by things wholly invisible to the rest of 
 us. I have grown to think that the craving for the super- 
 natural has to such an extent become a heritage of man that 
 if we resist it in one way 
 
 BLANK. it gets hold of us in another. That's just what 
 I have come to think. 
 
 FALK. Well, whether it start with the sober or the sottish, 
 I want to ask once for all, if this means that we are now to 
 surrender what the Church has gained of clearness and order, 
 that we are to begin once more to flutter about like or- 
 dained night owls? 
 
 BREY. Are you looking at me? 
 
 [All the ministers laugh aloud. 
 
 BISHOP, Ssssshhh! Let us remember the invalid!
 
 154 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. ac. iv 
 
 FALK. The craving for miracles is to the exercise of the 
 faith what this activity by laymen is to the preaching of it 
 an excrescence, a disorder or, if we go to the bottom of it, 
 an atavism, a regurgitation! 
 
 The other ministers laugh in a suppressed way until 
 several of them begin to cough. 
 
 BISHOP. Sssssshhhh! 
 
 FALK. A miracle not acknowledged by the clergy not ap- 
 pointed and confirmed, so to speak, by the highest church 
 authorities, with His Majesty the King at their head is to 
 me nothing but a vagabond, a tramp, a sneak-thief. 
 
 The BISHOP laughs softly, and the ministers follow his 
 example, while watching him closely. 
 
 FALK. It is all right to have a simple mind. I had it once 
 myself. But when, as in my case, the minister in a big city 
 has to be sad with the bereaved ones around the grave at one 
 o'clock, and merry with the joyful wedding guests at three; 
 when he has to sit beside a poverty-stricken deathbed at four, 
 and dine in the Royal Palace at five; then he becomes familiar 
 with the infirmities of man. And what he learns by it is this : 
 to rely very little on persons, and very much on institutions. 
 Where the miracle appears, there all institutions perish in the 
 revolt of the feelings. For this reason the Catholic Church has 
 tried to make an institution of the miracle itself. But thereby 
 it has forfeited the respect of all intelligent people, so that only 
 the stupid and the selfish ones remain within it. Once I was 
 in a company of ladies only myself and about twenty ladies. 
 [Subdued merriment] One of these ladies became hysterical, 
 than another, then a third six in all. [Increasing merriment] 
 Then I poured water on them first on those six one by one 
 [he makes a motion with his hand as if pouring out water several 
 times] ; but afterward on several of the rest, too for that kind 
 of thing is contagious. , \Loud laughter follows.
 
 ACT n. sc. iv BEYOND OUR POWER 155 
 
 BISHOP. [Who is the first to recover himself] Ssssshhhh! 
 [Then he bursts into open laughter again, and the rest with him; 
 finally he recovers his composure once more] Sssshhhh ! 
 
 FALK. I think that is the most wholesome way. Pour 
 water on it! 
 
 There is still a great deal of laughter and discreet coughing 
 , behind handkerchiefs; several of the ministers express 
 eagerly their gratitude to FALK. 
 
 KROYER. Of course, we know Falk, and we know that he 
 means what is right, in spite of his peculiar way of expressing 
 himself. I am inclined to think that if he should see 
 well, that old lady, say the minister's widow who is now 
 close to one hundred years old he would be the last one to 
 pour water on her although her presence among us is like 
 a living miracle, and her faith is infecting everybody. The 
 same thing holds true of the young girl Agot Florvagen, 
 who is looking after the old lady. To our eyes, to our hands, 
 she seemed dead and cold. And he prayed over her and made 
 her rise up. If one man testify, you must believe! [General 
 astonishment] Both of them are here now. 
 
 SEVERAL. They are here? 
 
 KROYER. Perhaps they will come into this very room. 
 They are on their way to this house, although it takes them a 
 long time. The old lady wants to see for herself she wants 
 to see her who was not awakened by the landslide. Now, you 
 look at the old lady. Talk with her. Talk with the girl who 
 attends her. The replies you get will be plain and honest as 
 her own face. That would be of more help than all our doc- 
 trinal discussions. I do not say this in a spirit of reproach. 
 I used to think as you do now up to the time I became a 
 minister in these parts. Nobody can be more painfully con- 
 scious than I am of what the Church has had to relinquish, of 
 what meagre doctrines and false constructions are left to us
 
 156 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT u. sc. iv 
 
 we are poor, with nothing left of the miracle without cour- 
 age to ask for a miracle and we have to pretend either that 
 we don't care for it, or that we have it and are rich in the pos- 
 session of it! I know every one of you well enough to know 
 that if you only dared if you could feel sure of witnessing a 
 miracle so great that it met the test once for all prescribed 
 by the Bible: "All who saw it believed" oh, no matter how 
 far you may have fallen short at other times, then you would 
 become as children, you would surrender yourselves com- 
 pletely, you would sacrifice the days still left to you only 
 to proclaim it! [Considerable emotion is shown, especially by 
 the older men] I dare to make these confessions on your behalf, 
 my brethren, because my place is within the circle of the spirit 
 that circle of which it has been said: either within, or with- 
 out! Once within, and all the tricks prompted by our pov- 
 erty will collapse on their own accord, and we shall dare to 
 admit the truth! What will be left of Christianity, if we de- 
 clare the miracle lost to the church? 
 
 ELIAS. [Entering from the outside] Pardon me there is 
 somebody here who wants to look at my mother. It's the 
 old widow of the minister. 
 
 All rise. In the doorway appear the MINISTER'S 
 WIDOW and AGOT. ELIAS opens the door on the 
 right and disappears through it. The MINISTERS 
 push back their chairs and make way reverently for the 
 old lady. 
 
 WIDOW. [After having crossed the threshold] Let me go, 
 Agot. Now I want to be alone. Quite alone. For this place 
 has been visited by the Lord it is holy. This place is holy 
 here you stand face to face and then it is better to be 
 alone. [She stands now so that she can look through the doorway 
 on the right into the room where MRS. SANG is lying; she drops a 
 curtsey; then she raises both her arms in an outburst of exaltation;
 
 ACTH. sc. iv BEYOND OUR POWER 157 
 
 having had another long look, she curtseys again, turns around, 
 and walks toward the door leading to the porch] She was white 
 radiantly white and she was sleeping like a child. Now, I 
 have seen such things shed light oh, how they shed light on 
 everything! Thank you for letting me be alone! 
 
 AGOT. But were you alone? 
 
 WIDOW. Quite alone. Nobody but myself. And she was 
 radiantly white. [They go out together. 
 
 ELIAS. [Coming in again from the right] Both doors are 
 closed again. And now I'll close this one, too. 
 
 He goes out; the MINISTERS remain standing, without 
 moving. 
 
 KROYER. You didn't speak to her? 
 
 BISHOP. No. 
 
 KROYER. There is a light on every face as of sunshine. 
 I can tell you why: people on whom the miracle has shed 
 its glamour, reflect the light of it. Let us talk this over. 
 
 [They move together and sit down again. 
 
 JENSEN. May I ask a question? Don't you look upon, 
 conversion as a miracle? 
 
 KROYER. What we call the miracle of conversion can be 
 traced psychologically, step by step, and for that reason it is 
 no miracle. It exists in other great religions, as well as in 
 the form of purely moral conversion, although the latter is a 
 silent one. But a Christianity which is founded on a wonder 
 and yet, in the course of the ages, has lost its power of work- 
 ing miracles what is it? Nothing but moral precepts. 
 
 FALK. The characteristic feature of Christianity is not the 
 miracle, but the belief in resurrection. 
 
 KROYER. Which all the great religions have; which is com- 
 mon to all people with religious feeling. 
 
 BISHOP. What is your idea of Christianity, then? 
 
 KROYER. To me Christianity is infinitely more than a moral
 
 158 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 code. More complete and more refined codes of this kind 
 may be found outside of the New Testament. To me it is 
 also infinitely more than the power of consecration: if it were 
 not, then much else would equal it in rank. Either Christi- 
 anity is a life in the Lord that takes us beyond this world and 
 all its precepts, or it is nothing at all. Either it is something 
 more than mere consecration to an idea of any kind that is, 
 it must be a new world, a miracle or it is nothing at all. [He 
 sits down, trembling and exhausted] There was so much I 
 wanted to say but I cannot. 
 
 BISHOP. My dear Krb'yer, the moment you came aboard 
 this morning, I saw that you were overworked and ill. But 
 that's what happens to every follower of Pastor Sang. 
 
 THE STRANGER. [Has in the meantime opened the door in the 
 rear and entered without closing the door again; he has drawn 
 nearer step by step] May I say a word? 
 Att turn toward him, and some rise. 
 
 BISHOP. Is that you, Bratt? 
 
 SEVERAL. Pastor Bratt? 
 
 OTHERS. Is that Bratt? 
 
 BISHOP. You didn't come with us how did you get herer 
 
 BRATT. Across the mountains. 
 
 BISHOP. Across the mountains? You are not going to the 
 mission conference then? 
 
 BRATT. No, I wanted to come here. 
 
 BISHOP. I understand. 
 
 BRATT. It is the miracle that I am seeking. And so I got 
 here yesterday just as the landslide occurred. I was up there, 
 only a little way off, and saw everything. And I heard the 
 ringing of the bell. And I have been here ever since. And 
 this morning I saw a sick man carried over to the church, and 
 as the pastor began to sing within, the man rose, thanked 
 God, and went his way. May I speak?
 
 ACTH. sc.iv BEYOND OUR POWER 159 
 
 BISHOP. Of course! 
 
 BRATT. For I am a man in distress, and I am coming here 
 to ask your help, brethren! 
 
 BISHOP. Speak, dear friend ! 
 
 BRATT. I have said to myself: here I have met with the 
 miracle at last. And the next moment: but was that a 
 miracle after all? For this is not the first place I have visited 
 in order to find it. With blighted hopes I have turned back 
 from every spot in Europe where the miracle was thought to 
 dwell. Here, of course, the faith is bigger and simpler; and 
 the man is great. What I have seen here has taken hold of 
 me with supernatural power. But the next moment doubt 
 has returned. This is the curse that rests on me, you see. I 
 have incurred it by the seven years during which, as minister, 
 I promised the miracle to those who would believe. I prom- 
 ised, because thus it was written although I myself doubted 
 for I had never seen it come to anybody that believed. For 
 seven years I preached that in which I did not have faith 
 myself and each time the dark days returned during those 
 seven years and they would come, just as did the wakeful 
 nights each time, because of my promise, I prayed with 
 burning fervour: Where is that miraculous power which Thou 
 hast promised Thy believers? [He bursts into tears. 
 
 BISHOP. Oh, you lay bare everything. And that's what 
 you have always done. 
 
 BRATT. In binding words, each one stronger than the other, 
 He has declared that whosoever will believe shall possess this 
 power. Yes, the power of deeds greater even than those done 
 by the Son of Man. What has then become of that power? 
 After eighteen hundred years of passionate labouring for the 
 faith, is there not one who believes in such measure that he 
 can produce a miracle among us? Is the Lord's own promise 
 not yet redeemed? It cannot be that the power of belief has
 
 160 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 been weakened. For this faculty cannot have developed con- 
 trary to all other racial faculties so that it became lessened 
 by constant practice. No: after more than eighteen hundred 
 years of Christian preaching, it must in many, many families 
 have become a millennially increased heritage, and it is still 
 further multiplied by education. And yet this power is not 
 strong enough to bring us the miracle? All the merged long- 
 ings of the believing ones have not been able to produce one 
 individual with a miracle-working power strong enough to 
 make a believer of every one beholding it. For this is neces- 
 sary; it is the test provided by the Bible. Time and again it 
 says: "All that saw it, believed." A miracle it must be then, 
 that turns all who see it into believers. But instead of it, 
 thousands upon thousands are falling away. For in spite of 
 the promise, the miracle is not forthcoming. A man possess- 
 ing the knowledge of our own time, an educated woman of the 
 present day these will not be satisfied with what was un- 
 questioningly believed by men and women of the past. Not 
 because their faculty of believing has grown less, but because 
 it is better guarded. Their devotion is so much deeper and 
 more intimate in character that, naturally, properly, it is 
 more difficult to win. He who does win it will have the best 
 that exists so far on this earth [^-Therefore you must give as 
 much, or it will never be yours! [The ministers exchange re- 
 marks in whispers} Religion does no longer constitute man's 
 only ideal. If, at least, it is to be the highest one, you must 
 prove it such. Man can live and die for what he loves for 
 his country, his family, his convictions. And as these things 
 are the highest of all that exist within the limits of the nat- 
 ural, and as you want to show him something still higher 
 well then, you must pass those limits! Show him the 
 miracle! 
 
 All appear strongly moved.
 
 ACTH. BC.IV BEYOND OUR POWER 161 
 
 FALK. [Rising] Somewhere a scornful word is to be read 
 about the race that will not believe without signs and wonders. 
 
 BRATT. And do you know the answer of the race? "We 
 ask only for the signs promised by the Lord Himself prom- 
 ised to whosoever will believe. Or is there not yet a single 
 one among you that really believes? What, then, do you 
 want of us?" Yes, that's what the race answers. But offer 
 a miracle to that same race one that cannot be picked to 
 pieces by the sharpest tools ever shaped by doubt one of 
 which it can be said: "all that saw it, believed" and then 
 you may yet be witnesses of the fact that not the faculty of 
 belief is lacking, but the miracle. [Stir among the ministers] 
 Our preaching need not put a premium on credulity. Faith 
 has more roots, and stronger ones, even in the keenest sceptic. 
 Can anybody familiar with civilised man be ignorant of this? 
 Is there any minister whose experience has not told him that, 
 as a rule, the danger lies in the opposite direction: for lack 
 of what is genuine, men put their faith in what is false. 
 
 SEVERAL. [In subdued voices] That is true. 
 
 BRATT. If a miracle appeared among us one so great that 
 "all who saw it, believed" ? First of all, the vast millions 
 would come running those who live in need and are full of 
 longing those who are dissatisfied, and oppressed, and suffer- 
 ing, and hungering for justice. If they were to hear that the 
 Kingdom of God, in the ancient sense, had once more descended 
 upon the earth no matter where it be then, weeping and re- 
 joicing yes, even if the greater number of them should know 
 themselves in danger of dying on the way why, they would 
 rather die on that way than go on living on any other! Then 
 they would crawl forth, each one out of his own town, his own 
 hut, his own bed the sick ones in the lead to see the Lord 
 revealed. But they would not be the only ones. All seekers 
 after truth on this earth would follow them. First of all,
 
 162 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. nr 
 
 those whose craving for truth is greatest all profound, seri- 
 ous thinkers, all noble minds. Their eagerness would be the 
 most beautiful to behold; their faith, of most importance. It 
 is neither the craving for truth nor the faculty of believing 
 that is lacking in them: it is the miracle! All demand cer- 
 tainty and peace in regard to life's greatest problems. Even 
 the thoughtless, and those who have put such problems aside 
 as useless or futile. All of them, without exception, have been 
 brought up to long for more than knowledge that is, for 
 something in which to believe. But first of all you must fur- 
 nish them with a guarantee! a guarantee that what you 
 preach is true! If they see this, then they will also believe 
 in what they do not see. That's the way it has been from the 
 beginning. Those who now will be satisfied with less with 
 personal experience alone they are like Mohammedans and 
 Jews and Buddhists. These, too all of them appeal to 
 their own personal experience. But what is lacking is the 
 guarantee that such experiences are universally valid. And 
 it is this that I am seeking! For it has been promised us! 
 O God, my God, now comes the final test! 
 
 BISHOP. Bratt, Bratt! 
 
 BRATT. The final test. For further struggle is beyond my 
 strength. I shall resign from the ministry resign from the 
 
 Church and from the faith if, if, if ! 
 
 [He bursts into tears again. 
 
 BISHOP. My dear son ! You mustn't 
 
 BRATT. No, don't speak to me I beg you! Help me to 
 pray instead! For if the miracle be not here, it cannot be 
 anywhere! This man is more than other men; he is the 
 noblest one the earth has borne. A faith like his nobody has 
 ever seen. Nor was there ever seen a faith like that aroused 
 by his faith. 
 
 ALL. It is true!
 
 ACTH. sc.iv BEYOND OUR POWER 163 
 
 BRATT. And it is easy to understand. He was wealthy 
 when he came here. He has given all away. The number of 
 times he has risked his life to bring help to others cannot be 
 counted. The miracles which he is believed to have worked 
 are equally numberless. But just because they were so many, 
 I could not believe in them. 
 
 SEVERAL. [In low voices] That's just what happened to me! 
 
 BRATT. Perhaps the right thing would have been to think 
 the very opposite? That here exists what really is meant by 
 "faith"? That the essence of faith is the miracle? That it 
 must work miracles? Perhaps that is how we should have 
 thought of it? And whatsoever our thoughts should have 
 been we should not have regarded him with that professional 
 scepticism which, I am sorry to say, was shown by myself. 
 His love and his faith should have made me humble. I have 
 to accuse myself, and in my heart I am sincerely asking his 
 pardon. 
 
 ALL THE MINISTERS. [Without exception] I also! I also! 
 
 BRATT. We know no better man; there is no stronger faith 
 than his: suppose the miracle were found here? 
 General emotion. 
 
 JENSEN. [In a whisper] Look at the cross above the door! 
 Is it the evening sun or what is it? 
 
 BRATT. I don't know. But you may be sure that if we 
 meet the miracle, then the meeting will be attended by thou- 
 sands unseen by us. If only it be granted us to be there! 
 If only it be granted us to be there! Think of it: to witness 
 something so great that "all who see it, believe!" And we 
 were to witness such a thing you, and you, and I? It is too 
 much! It cannot be possible! But if it prove possible 
 then there can be no one else in our day, brethren oh, full of 
 shortcomings, and lacking in faith, lacking in love, as we 
 are
 
 164 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. iv 
 
 ALL. Yes, yes ! 
 
 BRATT. Then, in spite of all, there can be none on whom 
 grace has been more richly bestowed; then we, unworthy ones, 
 must be especially chosen! [Deep general emotion] And as I 
 look out upon this hemmed-in, barren land of the fiords, with 
 the screaming gulls overhead, and as the thought comes to me, 
 that the Kingdom of God began in the luxuriant regions of 
 countries steeped in sun, through which ran the highroads of 
 the world : what a proof it would be to see it resumed, in all its 
 grandeur, in a poverty-stricken, outlying corner like this, on 
 the edge of the everlasting ice 
 
 FALK. [Gets up, pale as death, and whispers] Yes, yes! 
 
 SEVERAL. Yes, yes! 
 
 BRATT. Then it seems to me that everything fits together, 
 and that the miracle must come. 
 All are now on their feet. 
 
 BISHOP. [In a low voice] Oh, that it would come, so that I 
 might see it in my old age! 
 
 BLANK. Yes, if only the great faith would seize us! Not 
 because we have deserved to see; but because we need it! 
 
 [He falls on his knees; others follow his example. 
 
 BHATT. Because the whole race needs it! More than at 
 any other time. Because it has been promised. Because 
 here it must be, if it be anywhere. [He kneels] His faith must 
 be able to reach it! There is no greater faith than his on 
 earth! And faith can do it ! Oh, it can! 
 
 ALL. It can, it can! 
 
 BRATT. If it couldn't then the whole thing would be im- 
 possible. Then there would be no truth in the rest either. 
 Then there would be something excessive in all of it some- 
 thing beyond our power
 
 ACTH. sc.v BEYOND OUR POWER 165 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 RACHEL. [Is heard calling in a scared voice from the room 
 on the right] Elias! [Immediately afterward she enters in great 
 haste through the door on the right and runs across the room to 
 the window, which she flings open, as she cries out with all her 
 might] Elias! [Thereupon she throws herself backward so that 
 she would fall if she were not caught by KROYER; she bursts into 
 violent weeping, but struggles to her feet again and points toward 
 the other room in evident terror] There! In there! She is no 
 longer alone! See don't you see! [All have risen; at that 
 moment ELIAS appears on the porch; as she catches sight of him, 
 RACHEL tears herself loose from KBOYEB and runs to meet her 
 brother, crying] Mother! Mother! 
 
 ELIAS. Has she risen? 
 
 RACHEL. Yes, yes. 
 
 ELIAS. And she walks? 
 
 RACHEL. Yes! But she is not alone! 
 
 ELIAS. This must be told ! 
 
 RACHEL. But not to father! 
 
 ELIAS. No from the roof, from the belfry it must be 
 rung out to the whole world! [He runs out. 
 
 RACHEL. But you have no ladder! [As he fails to reply, she 
 repeats in alarm] You have no ladder, don't you hear? 
 
 KROYER. [Makes a silencing gesture and says in a low 
 voice] Hush! 
 
 BISHOP. [Whispering] Oh, listen! 
 
 SANG. [7* heard singing in the church: 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 
 ALL. [Kneel down, whispering] He knows it! He knows it! 
 At that moment CLARA appears in a white night-dress; her
 
 166 BEYOND OUR POWER ACT n. sc. v 
 
 eyes are turned toward the church; she stops and reaches 
 out her arms as if to meet the song. 
 ALL THE MINISTERS. [Singing very softly: 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 
 RACHEL. [In the porch] Now father is at the church door. 
 SANG. [His voice is now heard strong and clear: 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 Alleluia, alleluia! 
 
 The church bell begins to ring, and all the people outside 
 join in the singing. There is a triumphant force in 
 their song as if it sprang from a thousand throats. It 
 is increasing in strength, for the people who were in the 
 groves come running to join those at the church. For 
 a while it seems as if the "alleluias" would lift the 
 house off its foundations. 
 
 SANG appears in the doorway. His face is lighted up by 
 
 the rays of the evening sun. All rise and Jail back. He 
 
 holds out both arms toward CLARA, who is standing in 
 
 the middle of the room. Her arms are stretched out in 
 
 response. Then he goes to her and takes her in his arms. 
 
 All around them the song is pouring forth. The room is 
 
 full of people, and so is the porch; some have climbed up 
 
 on the shoulders of those in front of them, and others 
 
 are standing on the window-sill. 
 
 Then CLARA collapses in her husband's arms. The song 
 
 dies out. Only the bell is still heard. 
 CLARA makes an effort to rise up again, but succeeds only 
 
 in raising her head so that her eyes can meet his. 
 CLARA. Light flowed from you when you came oh, my 
 beloved! 
 
 Her head sinks back, her arms lose their hold, her entire 
 body collapses.
 
 ACTH. sc. v BEYOND OUR POWER 167 
 
 SANG. [Still holding her, puts a hand over her heart; then he 
 bends over her body in surprise; finally he looks up toward the 
 sky, saying with childlike innocence] But this was not the 
 meaning of it ? [He sinks down on one knee and puts CLARA'S 
 head on the other; once more he searches for signs of life; then he 
 lets the body gently sink to the floor; and rising to his feet, he looks 
 up again as he says] But this was not the meaning of it ? 
 
 Or? Or ? 
 
 He puts his hand to his heart and sinks down on the floor. 
 RACHEL has been standing as if turned into stone; now a 
 wild cry breaks over her lips as she sinks on her knees 
 beside the bodies of her parents. 
 
 KROYER. What did he mean by that word "or "? 
 
 BRATT. I don't know with certainty. But it killed him. 
 RACHEL. Dead? It is impossible! 
 The bell continues to ring. 
 
 Curtain.
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM 
 
 (DET NY SYSTEM); 
 1879
 
 CHARACTERS 
 
 Rus, Director-General of Railroads 
 
 KAMMA Rns, born RAVN,* his wife 
 
 FREDERICK, their son 
 
 KAREN, their daughter 
 
 KAMPE, engineer 
 
 HANS, his son, engineer 
 
 FREDERICK RAVN, canal inspector 
 
 LARSSEN, chief clerk 
 
 KARL RAVN, engineer 
 
 ANNA, his wife 
 
 MRS. OLE RAVN, mother of ANNA, known as "Aunt Ole" 
 
 PREUSS, engineer 
 
 MRS. PREUSS, born RAVN 
 
 MRS. THOMAS, born RAVN 
 
 MRS. STANCE, born RAVN 
 
 KAHRS, engineer 
 
 LANGE, engineer 
 
 KRAFT, engineer. 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON RAILROADS 
 
 Miss NORA HOLM 
 
 Miss LISE GRAN 
 
 A MAN-SERVANT of the RUSES 
 
 A MAID of the RUSES 
 
 MARIE, maid at KAMPE'S 
 
 Several dinner guests 
 
 1 The name RAVN means RAVEN.
 
 ACT I 
 
 A large room open to the rear and adjoining a veranda that looks 
 out over the sea. The background shows a number of small 
 islands and the outlines of the shore. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 KAMPE, his son HANS, and FREDERICK RAVN are seated 
 around a table. 
 
 RAVN. Now let me tell you this. When you attack the 
 Director-General (for an attack on his "new system" is an 
 attack on himself although the system is neither his nor 
 new) when you attack the Director-General 
 
 KAMPE. Say, let's have a glass of something Marie! 
 
 HANS. Not now, dad. It's too warm. [.4s MARIE en- 
 ters] Please get us a couple of bottles of seltzer. 
 
 RAVN. No, listen to me now. When you attack my es- 
 teemed brother-in-law's "new system" (which is neither his 
 nor new), then you forget what a Director-General means in 
 our small circumstances. 
 
 KAMPE. Quite right! 
 
 RAVN. You act like a man who has been away from home 
 seven years. 
 
 KAMPE. That's it! 
 
 RAVN. You act like one who has been in America. 
 171
 
 172 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. i 
 
 KAMPE. All right! 
 
 RAVN. You think you can bring home with you the frank- 
 ness which they use out there, and also the results which such 
 frankness produces in big countries. It means that you are 
 acting like a fool. 
 
 KAMPE. I am not so sure of the conclusion 
 
 HANS. I have talked with engineers who differed from you. 
 
 RAVN. It must have been some credulous scatter-brains 
 like my nephew Karl. No, the engineers in this country are 
 like all the rest. Either they have public employment or 
 they are looking for it. And if they are doing private work, 
 then they either have made a success of it or they want to do 
 so and in neither case do they care to quarrel with those in 
 power. 
 
 HANS. When I think of all those I met while studying 
 abroad 
 
 RAVN. Most of whom are married by this time. And the 
 women know even better than the men on which side their 
 bread is buttered. Please remember that you have come 
 home. Here you meet with the small souls of small circum- 
 stances. And they grow scantily and uniformly as turnips in 
 a field. 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, I think we should have something strong on 
 top of this. Marie! 
 
 HANS. No, dad. It's too early in the day. [To MARIE, 
 who enters] Bring us some cigars. Of course, I have to admit 
 that it is harder to tell the truth in small circumstances. 
 
 RAVN. Harder? It's impossible! 
 
 KAMPE. Hm 
 
 RAVN. Well, you are thinking of truths that measure 
 twenty to an inch. But the big truths that might lead to an 
 explosion they are not told. 
 
 KAMPE, Oh, they are told
 
 ACT i. sc.i THE NEW SYSTEM 173 
 
 RAVN. Yes, told, but they fizzle out like powder set off in 
 the open. I assure you that a small state couldn't stand the 
 chemical process started by a powerful truth. It would go to 
 pieces, darn it! No, stronger retorts are needed for that kind 
 of thing. 
 
 HANS. The world's greatest truth came out of a small 
 people. 
 
 RAVN. Which also dutifully went to pieces. 
 
 HANS. Not for that reason. 
 
 KAMPE. But this is getting awfully dry. Hadn't we bet- 
 ter ? 
 
 HANS. Dad is right 
 
 KAMPE. Well, at last! 
 
 HANS. We are getting away from the subject. 
 
 KAMPE. Ugh! 
 
 HANS. I know we are going to meet with difficulties; that 
 they will evade the subject and resort to personalities. But 
 if I can stand it ? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, you have got it all wrong! Well, I said to your 
 father: don't let the boy stay away so long, I said; and don't 
 let him get so far away. He will have to pay for it when he 
 comes home. Isn't that so? 
 
 KAMPE. Yes. 
 
 Rises and walks back and forth a couple of times; then 
 he saunters out of the room, trying to appear as if he 
 had no special purpose in mind. 
 
 RAVN. Now, it is enough in itself that you have made this 
 attack on a man of authority quite openly and with his name 
 used 
 
 HANS. But such things have happened before. 
 
 RAVN. Of course, they have. But when you, a young man 
 without reputation Oh, pish, the whole thing will just peter 
 out.
 
 174 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. i 
 
 HANS. Not while I am alive. 
 
 RAVN. Yes, be the whole show! 
 
 HANS. I shall keep on until parties are formed for and 
 against or perhaps no parties are ever formed in "our small 
 circumstances," as you call them? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, yes, and with all the rottenness that goes with 
 them yes, indeed! 
 
 HANS. Just as in the big countries. 
 
 RAVN. Not in the same way. There is real conflict out 
 there, often on a tremendous scale, and with it goes always a 
 sense of spiritual uplift. You don't mind a little dirt spat- 
 tered over you, when all your faculties are strained to the 
 utmost. Yes, then you don't even mind wounds and prison 
 walls. You go to defeat or victory in company with thou- 
 sands. The flag is always held on high, and it draws new 
 hosts from every new generation. In that Way characters are 
 formed, and firm wills. In that way you get statesmen, 
 artists, writers, who have insight and purpose. But here? 
 Just look at the same kind of men here a small group of 
 broken, sick, embittered fellows, with whom it is almost im- 
 possible to co-operate and then, here and there, a man 
 standing wholly alone. 
 
 HANS. But when they conquer at last ? 
 
 RAVN. Conquer? Oh, mercy! Where there is no fight 
 there can be no victory. A lot of abuse and misrepresenta- 
 tion, of falsehood and hypocrisy; some stir and noise; but no 
 fighting! It is as I told you; a small country couldn't even 
 stand it. The slender threads out of which it is cautiously 
 crocheted together would be torn to pieces ugh! 
 
 [Rises to his feet. 
 
 HANS. Well, doubt and discouragement have certainly 
 done their worst with you! 
 
 RAVN. You think so?
 
 ACT i. sc. i THE NEW SYSTEM 175 
 
 HANS. I do. For I can still recall how confident you used 
 to be as confident as your nephew Karl is now. 
 
 RAVN. Oh, his turn will come, too. 
 
 HANS. In those days you used to sparkle sparkle like a 
 diamond. [Smiles. 
 
 RAVN. But it has been badly handled in the setting, boy. 
 If you knock it and hammer it too carelessly, it breaks into 
 fragments. A simile, by the by, that fits the case pretty 
 well. It is particularly fitted to a family of enthusiasts in 
 small circumstances. 
 
 HANS. But this "family of enthusiasts," as you call it, has 
 nevertheless reached both fame and wealth. 
 
 RAVN. That happened in the old stirring days long ago. 
 And our fate has been that of other great men who also had 
 enthusiasm. Perhaps you haven't noticed it? But if it be 
 true that great nations cannot exist without sacrificing thou- 
 sands and thousands of their humblest members then it is 
 just as true that small nations cannot exist without sacrificing 
 a certain number of their great and greatest! 
 
 HANS. Hm! 
 
 RAVN. See for yourself! To achieve success here you 
 must have a will that is thoroughly tamed or very crafty. 
 No man can reach the heights here unless he has the insinu- 
 ating smile of a woman. 
 
 HANS. Are you thinking of your brother-in-law? 
 
 RAVN. No. As far as I can see, he smiles no more than 
 anybody else. But have you noticed his son my namesake 
 Frederick? Why, that rascal is really named after me 
 Oh, well, that was long ago! 
 
 HANS. Well, what of him? 
 
 RAVN. Oh what a tone! So, you have heard? 
 
 HANS. You mean this thing with ? 
 
 RAVN. Speak up!
 
 176 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. n 
 
 HANS. Speak up yourself! 
 
 RAVN. So I can: you mean Anna, my landlady's daughter 
 who has to go to America now. 
 
 HANS. Yes, I have heard of it. 
 
 RAVN. But he has already learned how to smile. 
 
 HANS. I am sure Frederick will make a success of it. Yes- 
 terday I heard that his father and Holste the cabinet min- 
 ister, you know had come to an understanding. 
 
 RAVN. Quite likely. That's what the father did himself. 
 
 HANS. What do you mean? Did he also ? 
 
 RAVN. Desert a poor girl for the sake of his career ex- 
 actly! And do you know who it was? Anna's aunt. 
 
 HANS. Our old Marie? 
 
 RAVN. Sh! I think somebody is coming. 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 KAREN Rus enters. KAMPE follows a little later. 
 
 KAREN. Pardon me! 
 
 HANS. Miss Ri you here? 
 
 RAVN. Well, well! 
 
 KAREN. The road runs right by here. 
 
 HANS. Of course! But we have never before been hon- 
 oured at least not since my return. 
 
 KAREN. A couple of my friends and I were going to 
 How d'you do, uncle?- 
 
 RAVN. Hello, my dear. 
 
 KAREN. We were passing by, and we thought it would be 
 such fun to go out rowing please, can we have the boat? 
 
 HANS. With the greatest pleasure! That is, I think my 
 father has the key. But I'll
 
 ACT i. sc. n THE NEW SYSTEM 177 
 
 RAVN. There's the old man now. 
 
 KAREN. Good evening! 
 
 KAMPE. [Entering] Good evening, Miss Riis. Why ? 
 
 KAREN. Can Nora Holm and Lise Gran and I have the 
 boat for a little while? 
 
 KAMPE. If you can have the boat ? To lie out there 
 reading novels? 
 
 HANS. Of course, you can have the boat! Let me have the 
 key, and I'll 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, I'll see to that! [As he goes out] Hm, hm, they 
 are going to lie out there reading 
 
 KAREN. Everything is as it used to be here. 
 
 HANS. Do you think so? 
 
 KAREN. Good-bye! 
 
 HANS. Good-bye! It was pleasant to have a look at you 
 at least. 
 
 KAREN. One wouldn't think so, seeing that you never visit 
 us any more. Good-bye, uncle! 
 
 RAVN. Good-bye and be careful, now! 
 
 KAREN. [To HANS] And Frederick likes you so much, you 
 know. 
 
 KAMPE. [Outside] So it was a novel, after all? That's what 
 I thought. 
 
 KAREN. [Running to the door] You are not reading while I 
 am away, are you, girls? 
 
 HANS. [Going after her] Is it as interesting as all that? 
 
 KAMPE. [Outside] A story of life-saving! 
 
 HANS. Oh, a life-saving story? 
 
 KAREN. [With a laugh] Yes, and a woman who saves a 
 man at that just for a change. Good-bye! [Goes out. 
 
 HANS. Good-bye! [Stands looking after her.
 
 178 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. m 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 HANS. RAVN. Later KAMPE. 
 
 RAVN. [Goes over to HANS and slaps him on the shoulder] And 
 with such a pretty view before your eyes, you intend to 
 attack her father? 
 
 HANS. Not him! Only his system. I shall be very careful, 
 you know. 
 
 RAVN. Ho, ho ye-es! No, you had better let Karen be the 
 woman who "saves a man," and for heaven's sake let that 
 man be yourself, Hans! 
 
 HANS. But that's worse than a joke! I can prove that 
 this so-called "new system" is costing the country millions. 
 I am the only one who has gone to the bottom of the matter. 
 Or at least, I am the only one who is willing to tell the truth. 
 And then you advise me to keep silent and to marry his 
 daughter. And you say that's better! 
 
 RAVN. Well, hang it, I wouldn't advise you that way if I 
 didn't think it better for the cause itself, too. An attack at 
 this early moment, and without any authority to back it, will 
 spoil everything. Wait! 
 
 HANS. For what? 
 
 RAVN. For the rest of the world, my boy! When the big 
 countries have tried it out, then say, in ten or twenty years 
 it will be almost ready for our acceptance also. Wait until 
 the time when the judgment of the world at large is quietly 
 being unloaded at our docks together with bales of cotton and 
 silk and feathers and other noiseless goods. On its own in- 
 itiative a small nation dares nothing! 
 
 HANS. And yet the system was adopted. 
 
 RAVN. And why? Because the engineers of other coun-
 
 ACT i. sc. ni THE NEW SYSTEM 179 
 
 tries actually recommended it to begin with fooled into doing 
 so by one of our own men the idiot! 
 
 KAMPE. [Entering] Why, are you still at it? The deuce 
 take it, then you've got to have something to refresh yourself 
 with. I have just discovered a bottle. [Going to the door. 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Keep quiet, boy! [Out. 
 
 RAVN. I have tried it, I can tell you. And it's of no use! 
 
 HANS. Hm! 
 
 RAVN. And now you are going to try that, too! Well, well! 
 You have come home with your head full of illusions. So did 
 I also once upon a time. But that was long ago And look 
 at your father. In railroad matters he is beyond a doubt 
 our cleverest man the man who has done most. 
 
 HANS. That's what I think. He actually astonishes me ! 
 
 RAVN. Yes, but he wasn't "presentable," as they put it. 
 And why not?' Because, like you, he began by telling the 
 truth that's why! And it made a drunkard out of him. It 
 was all he gained by it. 
 
 HANS. Hush! 
 
 KAMPE. [Enters] Here's the bottle! Come on! Don't be 
 
 pig-headed now ! A bottle like this can put some colour into 
 
 small conditions. It can even make them look big. Here's 
 
 to you! [Drinks. 
 
 RAVN follows his example. HANS looks out over the sea. 
 
 KAMPE. He's got his eye on those novel-reading little girls 
 out there. 
 
 RAVN. You didn't treat them very well, did you? 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, I happened to think of how they are reading 
 novels all the time, and always about courage, and enthu- 
 siasm, and that kind of thing and for all that they are noth- 
 ing but a lot of mincing good-for-nothings.
 
 180 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. m 
 
 RAVN. It's hardly to be wondered at. They live in condi- 
 tions where nobody ever dares anything, not as much as a 
 contradiction even. 
 
 HANS. [Interrupting] I vouch for Karen. I can remember 
 how she ran away from home as a child because her father 
 wanted her to do something she didn't think right. Then she 
 came to me, and I had to row her far, far away. 
 
 KAMPE. I remember it also. 
 
 RAVN. [Who has picked up his stick] Karen has more of our 
 blood. But upbringing, conditions oh, you'll learn all 
 about it now. You just publish that book of yours! Good- 
 bye! [Holds out his hands to HANS. 
 
 HANS. [Without taking it] There is one factor you con- 
 stantly overlook when you speak of my book: the Diet. 
 
 RAVN. The Diet? No, I don't overlook it at all. Why, I 
 am a member of it myself. 
 
 HANS. I am going to present my case in such clear light 
 
 RAVN. Good-bye, Hans. It was nice of you to ask for my 
 advice. 
 
 HANS. And it will be what you have said? 
 
 RAVN. Absolutely. 
 
 KAMPE. Don't you want ? 
 
 RAVN. No, thank you. Good-bye! 
 
 KAMPE. Good-bye! 
 
 RAVN. [To HANS, who is seeing him out] And what about 
 your father? When your book appears, every engineer will 
 understand that he has made the calculations. He will be 
 discharged. 
 
 HANS. That's just what I am going to have a talk with him 
 about. 
 
 RAVN. All right. Good-night! [He goes out.
 
 ACT i. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 181 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 KAMPE. HANS. 
 
 KAMPE. Well? What do you think of him? 
 
 HANS. What bitterness! 
 
 KAMPE. There's a lot of the same kind around here. 
 
 HANS. And he used to be such an enthusiast like all the 
 rest of the family. 
 
 KAMPE. Heaven only knows what happens to the enthu- 
 siasts in this country. That's the way they all end. Well, 
 well! God help the whole lot of us! [Takes a drink. 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Yes. 
 
 HANS. Don't do it! 
 
 KAMPE. What? 
 
 HANS. That! 
 
 KAMPE [Taking another drink] Stuff and nonsense, boy! 
 It's all over with me. And I cannot stand any kind of so- 
 lemnity. 
 
 HANS. But if I don't want it 
 
 KAMPE. Not another word! Let us talk of you. You'll 
 have to face everything I've told you. But that's no reason 
 why you should turn back. If we don't start some time to 
 speak up in this country, each one in his corner, we'll never 
 get anywhere. Now that's my new system. 
 
 HANS. It's old as the hills 
 
 KAMPE. But remains always new. Tell the truth I And let 
 come what must. Do you know after whom you were 
 named? 
 
 HANS. No. 
 
 KAMPE. I'll tell you. I broke into your mother's fine
 
 182 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 family. There I didn't feel very much at home. And it was 
 the family that influenced your mother so that I didn't have 
 a chance to push ahead the way I wanted. Well I used to 
 go hunting when it became too much for me. And for com- 
 panion I took along old Hans, the cottager, and a more honest 
 man I never met. It's after him you were named. I invited 
 him to the party we gave when you were baptised, and I even 
 proposed a toast for him great scandal but lots of fun ! He 
 used to say when we were crawling along after reindeer out 
 on the bare rocks, and the fall winds were like razors, and we 
 got near enough to shoot: 'Give it to 'em, boy!' And that's 
 what I say to you! 
 
 HANS. I am not going to give it to them, as you call it. 
 
 KAMPE. Call it anything you please! But stick to it! 
 That's what I didn't do. And now enough of that! 
 
 [Takes a drink. 
 
 HANS. But I won't stick to it. For I'll never start. 
 
 KAMPE. You won't start? What's that? You don't mean 
 to say that his cawing really scared you? 
 
 HANS. No, but you scare me, dad. 
 
 KAMPE. I? Oh my example, you mean? Never mind 
 that, Hans! You won't fall down where I fell. And I don't 
 want any kind of solemnity! What have you got to do 
 with me? 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Twaddle! I have helped you along. And no- 
 body has had more pleasure in it than I. You 'tend to yours, 
 and I'll 'tend to mine [preparing another glass] and at 
 night I get myself a little 'night-cap' before I go to bed. 
 What's that to you? 
 
 HANS. All right then I'll get myself a 'night-cap' also. 
 
 [Picks up a glass and reaches out for the bottle. 
 
 KAMPE. You, Hans?
 
 ACT i. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 183 
 
 HANS. Yes, I have come home to share your life in. every 
 respect. 
 
 KAMPE. You mean to do like me ? [Stops short. 
 
 HANS. Like you, I'll go to bed drunk every night and sleep 
 it off beside you. 
 
 KAMPE. I forbid you to do so, Hans ! Oh, you ought not 
 to joke like that, Hans, you quite frightened me. 
 
 HANS. But if I start with anything while you are keeping 
 up this kind of thing where will it end for me? 
 
 KAMPE. What the devil have you got to do with me? 
 
 HANS. And you ask that, who have encouraged me into at- 
 tempting something of a reformation. What would people 
 say? "Why should he do any reforming? Let him at least 
 begin with it in his own home!" 
 
 KAMPE. You think they'll say 
 
 HANS. Don't you know the conditions we are living in? 
 They'll lose no time in finding out who I am, that I am not a 
 reliable person, that I am the son of a [Stops. 
 
 KAMPE. Drunkard. Speak out! Well, as far as that is 
 concerned, there is nothing to do about it. You have to 
 bear it. 
 
 HANS. Bear it? Oh, no! To bring my own father into bad 
 repute that's something I cannot strive for. 
 
 KAMPE. It can't become worse than it is. Listen, Hans: 
 when your mother couldn't Oh, quit all this! Don't you 
 think I have tried? Lord Jesus! 
 
 HANS. As long as you have not tried to place yourself in a 
 new, independent position, which would occupy you fully, you 
 have not tried at all. 
 
 KAMPE. What have you in mind? 
 
 HANS. You know I have accepted the agency for one of the 
 biggest machinery concerns in America and England.
 
 184 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 KAMPE. Yes, and I don't like it. You are built for bigger 
 things. 
 
 HANS. But I have done this for you. 
 
 KAMPE. For me? 
 
 HANS. You are to run the business. We two will go into 
 partnership. The firm will be Kampe & Son. I am never 
 again going to leave you, dad, not for a single day, and this I 
 say right to your face in remembrance of mother. 
 
 KAMPE. Hans, my boy ! But it won't go. And you 
 are not to throw yourself away for my sake. 
 
 HANS. Throw myself away? No, if there be any way for 
 me to do something real big, it lies here. You can be sure I 
 see that clearly. 
 
 KAMPE. Hans, my boy! Oh, that you are home again 
 No, this is madness, solemnity. I should be fooling you. I 
 know myself. 
 
 HANS. But I won't let go on that account. I have a better 
 chance than mother had to be with you all the time. 
 
 KAMPE. I should only become a burden to you, Hans and 
 to myself also. Yes, indeed, I could tell you a thing or two 
 but that will have to be some other time. Ugh! This sort 
 
 of thing takes it out of you I think I'll have to 
 
 [Goes toward the table. 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Well, there you see. It has gone so far with me 
 that I don't know myself when I am doing it. And it's for 
 me you would sacrifice your future? Stuff, rot leave me 
 alone! [Goes toward the table again. 
 
 HANS. And if mother was still alive, dad? 
 
 KAMPE. Do you want to hurt me? Do you think I haven't 
 thought of it [Covers his face with his hands. 
 
 HANS. I cannot see how you could go on after mother was 
 dead
 
 ACT i. sc.iv THE NEW SYSTEM 185 
 
 KAMPE. Will you keep quiet? You don't understand at 
 all. It was then it became worse than ever But I don't 
 want to go on talking of this. I won't have any interference. 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. You have no right. Don't I attend to my work? 
 The rest is my own concern. I owe nobody an account. 
 Nobody! 
 
 HANS. What is the matter with you now? 
 
 KAMPE. Well, I can't stand this kind of thing. Who but 
 myself can understand why I do it? I need it. That's all 
 there is to it. And I don't ask anybody's permission. 
 
 [Takes a drink. 
 
 HANS. No, this is more than 7 can stand ! 
 
 KAMPE. If you only knew what I have stood for your sake! 
 
 HANS. You for my sake? 
 
 KAMPE. A while ago you said I stood in the way of your 
 future. 
 
 HANS. Oh, no 
 
 KAMPE. Well, that's what it came to. You had made up 
 your mind not to bear with me any longer. 
 
 HANS. But, dad ! 
 
 KAMPE. Now I am going to balance the account. I had a 
 son somewhere out in the big world, and for his sake I had to 
 work. But this work had become a hell on earth. I, who 
 had done what placed the bigwigs where they now are, I 
 was to be disposed of. I, who had once been held indispen- 
 sable, was given all kinds of odd jobs to do, and was finally 
 shunted into a sort of double-faced position as inspector and 
 cashier for new constructions. I had to stick it out, for my 
 son was constantly asking for still another trip, still another 
 year. Much that looks nasty can be drowned in a full glass, 
 you know. That's just what happened. And you are the 
 last one, you know, who has a right to say anything about it.
 
 186 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc. iv 
 
 What I have stood for your sake, you will never have to 
 stand for mine. So you had better keep quiet. 
 
 Goes over to the table and begins again to prepare a glass 
 for himself. 
 
 HANS. Well, if you drink any more, dad, I'll go. 
 
 KAMPE. Now you are on the wrong tack. I won't submit 
 to any commands. 
 
 HANS. I am not trying to command you. But I'll go. 
 
 KAMPE. Go? Where? 
 
 HANS. Away, and for ever. 
 
 KAMPE. Have you no heart? All right, go on! 
 
 HANS. Merciful heavens! Do you dare to call me heartless 
 because I cannot bear to see you like that? Here I come 
 home without an idea of the way things have gone. Then I 
 offer you my future not as a duty, or a sacrifice, or what you 
 call it. Never was a thought more dear to me than that of 
 doing so. Never have I been so proud of anything as of the 
 hope that I might help you into your own once more. 
 
 KAMPE. Hans! 
 
 HANS. And then you won't listen to me even. You 
 won't give me time to finish what I have to say. Yes, you 
 don't even hesitate to put the fault on me. Under such 
 circumstances there is nothing for me to do here. And it is 
 dangerous to stay here I have felt it already. So I guess 
 I'll be going again, dad. 
 
 KAMPE. You don't understand me. When I belittle my- 
 self, it is in order not to make myself out better than I am. 
 Rather worse, so that I don't deceive you. 
 
 HANS. But are you not willing to try? 
 
 KAMPE. O Lord, when I know it is impossible ! 0-oh! 
 
 HANS. Will you listen to me? 
 
 KAMPE. Yes.
 
 ACT i. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 187 
 
 HANS. We are at the end of the quarter. You have just 
 settled your accounts. Write out your letter of resignation 
 this minute, right here. If they want to kick up a rumpus 
 about it, don't mind them. They are only getting what they 
 deserve. We pack this very evening, and leave to-morrow 
 then a month or two abroad! 
 
 KAMPE. Hans! 
 
 HANS. In the meantime my book is printed. We come 
 back, publish it and start business. Your name will make 
 the firm respected. We shall be our own masters. We'll 
 fight for what both of us believe in and we'll work. What 
 do you say of it, dad? 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, what a dream! If it could only be done, 
 Hans oh! 
 
 HANS. But you want to see it done? 
 
 KAMPE. What a question! But I have sunk too deep 
 already. 
 
 HANS. That remains to be seen. There is still such a lot 
 of power in you, dad. 
 
 KAMPE. Do you think so? 
 
 HANS. Now, let us get out of this quick! 
 
 KAMPE. If I only dared to trust myself ! 
 
 HANS. It should help you to think that I am merely your- 
 self as you were when you were young. Will you do it? 
 
 KAMPE. If I will ? But I don't dare. I'll sneak out 
 
 of it I know it! 
 
 HANS. But we shall always be together. 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, it would be 
 
 VOICE. [Heard from the outside] Help! Bring the boat this 
 way! 
 
 BOTH. It comes from the shore? 
 
 HANS. Somebody bathing!
 
 188 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT i. sc.v 
 
 VOICE. Help! 
 
 KAMPE. He is caught in the sea- weed! He is drowning! 
 
 HANS. But there is a boat coming. No, it's going away 
 again! What do they mean by it? [Runs out. 
 
 KAMPE. [Running] The young ladies! They're rowing 
 ashore! What was it I said? [Outside] Come here with the 
 boat! This way! Now, row! Keep together! 
 
 VOICE. Help! Help! 
 
 KAMPE. [Outside] We're coming now! 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 KAREN RIIS. NORA HOLM. LISE GRAN. They en- 
 ter from the left, all badly frightened. KAREN runs 
 back and forth. 
 
 NORA. Do you see him? I don't dare to look out! 
 
 LISE. No, he has gone down! 
 
 BOTH THE OTHERS. Gone down! 
 
 KAREN. We should have saved him. 
 
 NORA. [Weeping] But, Karen, we couldn't! 
 
 KAREN. It wasn't right, it wasn't right, it wasn't right! 
 I'll never have peace again in all my life. Can you see him? 
 
 LISE. No. 
 
 NORA. They generally come up again twice. 
 
 LISE. But he is caught in the weed. 
 
 KAREN. That's so. Oh, that's so. Isn't the boat getting 
 there? 
 
 LISE. There it is! 
 
 NORA. There it is! 
 
 KAREN. God be thanked! 
 
 LISE. Just where he went down!
 
 ACT i. BC.VI THE NEW SYSTEM 189 
 
 NORA. The old man jumps in! 
 
 KAREN. 0-oh! [Silence. 
 
 NORA. [In a whisper] How long he is gone! 
 
 LISE. There he comes ! 
 
 KAREN. [Joining LISE] Has he got him? Yes! 
 
 LISE. Now he haj hold of the boat! 
 
 ALL. [Cry out, taking hold of each other. 
 
 NORA. It's upsetting! 
 
 LISE. No, the old man let go! 
 
 KAREN. Hans is holding on to the man. 
 
 NORA. There is the old man on the other side of the boat. 
 
 LISE. He's holding it down. 
 
 KAREN. Now Hans got him into the boat. [Coming down to 
 the foreground] God be thanked and praised! 
 
 [She bursts into violent weeping. 
 
 LISE. More boats are coming. 
 
 NORA. And what a lot of people! What are we to do? 
 We can't go down there! Where are we now? 
 
 LISE. But, Karen! Don't! 
 
 KAREN. O-o-oh! 
 
 NORA. Let us get away from here! But which way? 
 
 LISE. Karen dear Karen! [They hasten out to the right. 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 The stage is empty for a time. Then KAMPE enters 
 without shoes, his clothes dark and drooping, his hair 
 clinging to his head. He comes in from the right and 
 walks quickly across the stage toward a door on the left. 
 
 HANS. [Outside] Wait, dad! 
 KAMPE. I am just going to change.
 
 190 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTI. sc. vi 
 
 HANS. Oh, wait. [Enters on the run] What we were talking 
 of before thfs happened promise me now! 
 
 [Embraces his father. 
 KAMPE. You'll get wet, boy. 
 HANS. But you promise, daddie! 
 KAMPE. I'll do my best! 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT II 
 
 The private office in the Director-General's home by the sea. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 Rus. MRS. Rus. FREDERICK. 
 
 Rus. [Sitting by the big desk that stands in the middle of the 
 room; he is arranging documents and maps, part of which he 
 puts into a travelling-bag; now and then he looks for something 
 in a big cabinet with shelves which stands to the left of him] 
 Things don't happen in life as they do in books, or in the 
 imagination of young people. For instance, it is very rare 
 that anybody marries for love. 
 
 MRS. Hi is. [Employed with some needlework] But, dear, we 
 married for love, didn't we? 
 
 Rus. We two, my dear, are now too old to talk of love. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Too old? Can you ever become too old to 
 talk of love? To feel it that's another thing. 
 
 [She wipes her eyes. 
 
 Rus. [To FREDERICK] And now, when the girl gets out of 
 here anyhow, I should think there might be an end to the 
 whole story. The whole thing was an irregularity. 
 
 FREDERICK. [Standing in front of his father and partly turned 
 away from the latter; his hands rest on a big T-square from the 
 office] I really didn't know how much I had come to love her. 
 . when she is going, I feel as if I couldn't stand it. 
 
 Rus. Why, that kind of thing has happened to all of us. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But, dear, you don't mean to say that. 
 
 Rus. I am not speaking of ourselves now, my dear There 
 191
 
 192 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. i 
 
 is a regulating principle in life that pulls us into line again, if 
 we have gone a little astray. Our acquaintances, the mutual 
 relations between us and Do you think I should be sitting 
 here now if I had let my passions run away with me? 
 
 MRS. Rus. But there has to be passion, dear a passion 
 for what is good. 
 
 Has. Quite right, my dear and the principal good for 
 Frederick is his future. He must passionately the word fits 
 excellently devote himself to his future. My social position 
 will help to start him. But he must do the rest himself. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Happiness, dear, does not merely consist in 
 that kind of thing. 
 
 RIIS. Of course not. But if you neglect it, you'll see! It 
 means, in the highest sense, to miss your destiny. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Our destiny, dear, is to enter into eternal bliss. 
 
 Rns. Certainly. But that doesn't make it wrong to be- 
 come as happy as possible in this life, my dear. 
 
 MRS. Rns. No, but to be happy we should follow the best 
 impulses of our own hearts. 
 
 Rns. Your mother is quite right. [He rises and walks past 
 FREDERICK] This is dragging you down, my boy. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But she is a very nice girl, and so I can't see 
 that we, as parents, should have any objections. Isn't that 
 so, dear? 
 
 Rns. You understand, I haven't told your mother [To his 
 wife] But don't you think, my dear, that it would be wrong 
 for Frederick to tie himself at this stage? He ought to keep 
 his heart open to every noble impulse. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I think I should like to know her. 
 
 RIIS. [.4* he passes in front of FREDERICK] For heaven's 
 sake! [To his wife] I don't think we should mix too deeply 
 into this, mamma. Now she is leaving the country. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Poor girl! Where is she going?
 
 ACTH. sc.i THE NEW SYSTEM 193 
 
 Rns. To America to some relatives of hers. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But suppose, now, that Frederick's feelings for 
 her are genuine?" 
 
 RIIS. Let them be tried, then. Don't you think I am right 
 in that? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yes, you are, dear. Try thy heart, says the 
 Book. Oh, mercy, yes! 
 
 FREDERICK. I think I should like to go with you, father, 
 and talk it all over. 
 
 Rus. Why don't you? 
 
 FREDERICK. Well, if I may then I'll get ready also. 
 
 Rns. But didn't I hear that the Holstes were arranging 
 some kind of excursion? The steamer has been engaged, I 
 know. 
 
 MRS. Rns. The cabinet minister? 
 
 Rns. Yes. 
 
 FREDERICK. I haven't the slightest desire 
 
 Rns. To go with them? Oh, of course, you must! 
 
 MRS. Rns. I think so, too. Young people should be en- 
 joying themselves. Afterward there is so much else. 
 
 Rns. Speaking of parties when are we going to give that 
 dinner for the engineers? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. It was about that I came in well, and about 
 something else besides. How long will you be gone? 
 
 Rns. Ten days, I should say; under no circumstances more 
 than twelve. What do you think of two weeks from next 
 Friday? Let me see that will be the eighth. 
 
 MRS. Rns. I met Mrs. Holste at the bazaar yesterday. 
 
 Rns. The minister's wife? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yes Magda. They are going to receive com- 
 munion together, the whole family that'll be the eighth. 
 Now I thought, couldn't we go that day also?
 
 194 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. i 
 
 Rus. That's a good idea. Let us do it! And I hope the 
 children will go with us. 
 
 MBS. Rus. I am sure they will. It is such a beautiful 
 sight to see a whole family together parents and grown-up 
 children. 
 
 RIIS. Bear that in mind, Frederick: Friday fortnight. 
 FREDERICK makes no reply. 
 
 Rus. But the party? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Well a few days earlier? On Wednesday? 
 Then we could have the Friday free. 
 
 Rus. That's splendid. Then all the arrangements will be 
 made while I am away. 
 
 MRS. Rus. That's just what I had in mind. 
 
 Rus. You are a fine housewife, Kamma. Why doesn't Lars- 
 sen come? [Looks at his watch] Oh, there is still time. 
 
 FREDERICK. Can I go along? 
 
 Rus. Frankly speaking, Frederick the Holstes have been 
 counting on you. I just happened to recall it. 
 
 FREDERICK. So you have been speaking of me? 
 
 Rus. Yes. Perhaps somebody else is also counting on 
 you? Oh, there they are! [Picks up his field-glasses] One has 
 to be a little far-sighted. [Puts them down beside the bag. 
 
 FREDERICK. I'll be at the station to see you off at least. 
 
 Rus. All right. 
 
 FREDERICK goes out. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Dear, it was really about Karen I wanted to 
 speak to you. 
 
 Rus. I haven't seen her yet to-day. Is she still unwell? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Haven't you noticed that? She is just as she 
 used to be pale, without appetite, can't sleep. 
 
 Rus. Again? I thought it had passed. 
 
 MRS. Rus. It had passed. 
 
 Rus. Well, what's the matter now?
 
 ACTH. sc. n THE NEW SYSTEM 195 
 
 MRS. Rus. I don't know. She won't say anything about 
 it. Couldn't you have a talk with her? 
 
 Rus. Yes bring her in here. 
 
 MBS. Rus. That's just what I wanted. [Starts to go out. 
 
 Hi is. Tell me, Kamma has she seen Hans Kampe again? 
 They have come back from abroad, both he and the father. 
 I see they are having an advertisement in the paper to-day: 
 "Kampe & Son." Has she spoken of them? 
 
 MRS. Rus. No. 
 
 Rus. Well, bring her to me. 
 MRS. Rus goes out. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 A MAN SERVANT comes in with letters and two packages 
 which he hands to Rus. 
 
 Rus. One of the packages is for my daughter? 
 
 SERVANT. There was one for Mr. Frederick also, but he 
 received it himself. 
 
 Rus. You can leave that one for my daughter here. Have 
 you taken down my trunk? 
 
 SERVANT. Yes, sir. 
 
 Rus. [Looking at his watch] I want the carriage in half an 
 hour. And then you can also come for my bag. 
 SERVANT goes out. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 Rus. MRS. Rus. KAREN. 
 
 Rus. How are you feeling, my girl? 
 
 KAREN leans her head against his shoulder. 
 Rus. All this oh, that stupid story about the drown- 
 ing ? [KAREN nestles closer to him so that tier face is hidden.
 
 196 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. ra 
 
 Rus. But there isn't a single soul in the whole city that 
 has even mentioned it. 
 
 KAREN. I think the whole city should be talking of nothing 
 else. 
 
 Rus. Now you must be sensible! Will you answer me 
 frankly? 
 
 KAREN. Yes. 
 
 Rus. Did Hans Kampe say anything to you that time as 
 he jumped into the boat? 
 
 KAREN. No. 
 
 Rus. No? Not a word? 
 KAREN shakes her Jiead. 
 
 Rns. And yet? 
 
 KAREN. He only looked at me. [Hides Tier face again. 
 
 Rns. [With a glance at his wife] Have you met him re- 
 cently after his return? 
 
 MRS. Rns. I saw old Mr. Kampe yesterday, and he really 
 looked fine. 
 
 Rns. I am not thinking of him. [To KAREN] Have you 
 met Hans? [KAREN turns from him] And he looked at you 
 again? Reproachfully? Tell me? [KAREN walks away from 
 him] Frightful! Listen, my girl. I have some idea of pro- 
 priety myself. It has been demanded and developed by my 
 position. So I think myself capable of judging in a matter 
 like this perhaps even a little better than Messrs. Kampe & 
 Son. And I can assure you on behalf of our best society, 
 I dare say that in such a case three young ladies could not 
 do anything but make for the shore, as quickly as possible, 
 in order to bring help. And that's what you did. 
 
 KAREN. But suppose he had been drowned 
 
 Rns. Yes, suppose! 
 
 MRS. Rns. It took the doctor nearly half an hour to bring 
 him back to life.
 
 ACTH. sc.m THE NEW SYSTEM 197 
 
 Rus. Suppose he had been drowned. Whose fault would 
 it have been? His own! We cannot least of all our young 
 women save everybody who happens to be dying around 
 here whether it be on land or sea. 
 
 KAREN. I have thought it over a thousand times. Oh, 
 what a lot I have thought of in this one month and dis- 
 covered ! 
 
 Hi i.-. There now! "Discovered"! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Perhaps this was sent you as a warning from 
 above, Karen? 
 
 KAREN. Oh, I have been warned all right. I know now 
 how useless and helpless I am. 
 
 Rus. There! There! Nothing but sentimentality. You 
 should take a horseback ride every day. Don't you remem- 
 ber what a lot of good it did you before? Try it again. You, 
 Karen, useless and helpless? You who are the cleverest of 
 your whole set? Almost all your teachers have said so. 
 
 KAREN. Think a moment, papa! Did you ever find any 
 prudishness in a really useful person? No, it's only we, the 
 useless good-for-nothings, who are timid and prudish. We 
 who are always reading and dreaming and oh, how insincere 
 we are! 
 
 Rus. Well, well! Insincere also! 
 
 MRS. Rus. But there is something in that, dear. 
 
 Rus. Oh, please! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, for we go around with a lot of ideals and 
 such things and then it doesn't mean anything at all. No, 
 indeed! 
 
 KAREN. Mamma is right. 
 
 Rus. Of course, your mother is right! Because it is from 
 your mother's crazy family that you have got all these notions. 
 But my patience is coming to an end. 
 
 MRS. Rus. You always run down my family.
 
 198 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. m 
 
 Rus. Well, there is much that's fine about it also. But 
 listen, Karen, I am trying to help you. 
 
 MRS. Rus. I didn't know that my family had ever tried to 
 harm you or anybody else? 
 
 Rus. Of course, not; of course, it hasn't. Listen, Karen! 
 You ought to trust your own father a little. You don't sup- 
 pose that I want you to do anything wrong? 
 
 MRS. Rus. No, dear, you have no right to say that my 
 family ever wanted anybody to do wrong. 
 
 Rus. But I have said nothing of the kind, my dear. [To 
 KAREN] You should resist that weakness in your nature. It 
 is every one's duty to do so. And it is nothing but a weakness 
 that you 
 
 MRS. Rus. You don't mean to say that she has got her 
 weakness from my family? 
 
 Rus. On the contrary. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, for that wouldn't be right. With all the 
 energy, and all the faith, there is 
 
 Rus. Certainly! [To KAREN] You don't want to limit 
 yourself to your own concerns. And so you meet with the 
 clamour of all kinds of things you think should be done, and 
 out of it comes nothing but restlessness and brooding 
 
 MRS. Rus. But now, dear, there are so many things we 
 ought to do and don't do. That's really so. 
 
 Rus. Of course! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Now, take the poor, for instance. We don't 
 deal with them as we should. No, we don't! 
 
 Rus. Those who have been placed at the top of society, my 
 dear girl 
 
 MRS. Rus. for when we are told we should love our 
 neighbour as ourselves 
 
 During the rest of this scene Rus and MRS. Rus go on 
 talking at the same time.
 
 ACTH. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 199 
 
 Rns. those that have been placed at the top must hold 
 together 
 
 MRS. Rus. we don't do it. Oh, we are so very, very 
 far from doing it ! 
 
 RIIS. and particularly children and parents. 
 
 MRS. Rns. What we lack most of all is love yes, love! 
 
 Rns. Now we are on the chapter of love again! I must 
 impress on you, Karen, and with the greatest emphasis, that 
 you don't let yourself go like that 
 
 MRS. Rns. We live only for ourselves, that's what we do, 
 and we spend small coins and small attentions to escape from 
 what is really wanted of us. 
 
 Rns. that you don't fly around like a blind bat in the 
 twilight. 
 
 MRS. Rns. It's so bitter to know [weeping] that we are not 
 strong enough to be as we should. 
 
 Rns. Now she's weeping ! That's what comes from all this 
 nonsense about wanting to help everything and everybody in 
 the whole world. 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Sings] "Love alone is the eye of life." 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 RIIS. MRS. Rns. KAREN. FREDERICK. 
 
 FREDERICK. [Comes in with a book in his hand] Papa! 
 
 RIIS. Well, what is it? 
 
 FREDERICK. Have you too got the book? 
 
 RIIS. The book? Yes, I have received a book. And 
 Karen, too. 
 
 FREDERICK. Has he had the impudence to send it to Karen 
 also? 
 
 Rns. [Reading] "Hans Kampe, C.E."
 
 200 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. nr 
 
 KAREN. Hans? 
 
 [Picks up the package addressed to herself and opens it. 
 
 Rus. [Reading] "Concerning the so-called new system 
 for " Oh, is that what it is? 
 
 FREDERICK. I have glanced through it. You cannot im- 
 agine what a shameless piece of work it is. 
 
 Rus. Why, that's delightful ! Then it will be of great ser- 
 vice to us. 
 
 FREDERICK. No, it isn't as you think. The book contains 
 a lot of polite admissions and has even an air of fairness about 
 it. That's the worst of it. In this way by praising you 
 and constantly speaking of you in a tone of respect he bribes 
 the reader into accepting his line of argument. And before 
 one quite realises what has happened, your system has been 
 picked to pieces. Then he goes on cold-bloodedly oh, so cold- 
 bloodedly and so logically to figure out how much the coun- 
 try loses by it annually. And it ends up with some beautiful 
 reflections about the moral effect on our engineers. For they 
 are now compelled to stand by what at bottom they don't 
 believe in, and this becomes possible only by means of calcu- 
 lations and data held to be far from legitimate. 
 
 Rns. Is that what he says? 
 
 FREDERICK. He gives illustrations. 
 
 Rns. Well those we'll have to look over. 
 
 FREDERICK. And he is my friend the best one I ever had. 
 I have looked up to him as never in my life have I been so 
 deceived. Beside this everything else is as nothing. 
 
 Rns. What was it I always said when you used to praise 
 him so highly: "I suppose he is his father's son." As a rule 
 that holds good. 
 
 FREDERICK. [After turning and turisting the book in his hands] 
 Everything is disgusting about it even the binding! 
 
 Rns. The binding?
 
 ACTH. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 201 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, don't you see that it is bound? The 
 idea of sending each of us, and Karen too, a bound copy, as 
 if this were something we wanted to preserve very carefully! 
 
 RIIS. Now, when I come to think of it, I guess you are 
 right 
 
 FREDERICK. And such a thing to Karen and me what 
 have we done to him? And to you, papa, who have stood by 
 his drunkard of a father, although he was a constant cause of 
 scandal. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Not in his work, Frederick. We must not put 
 any blame on our neighbour that 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, there is no reason for you to defend 
 him 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes, Frederick, we should love even our ene- 
 mies. 
 
 FREDERICK. I can't stand that kind of thing! But I'll 
 
 KAREN. Frederick! 
 
 RIIS. [At the same time} Sh, sh, sh! Well, Karen! Was it 
 not the "look" that "Hans Kampe, C.E.," gave you that 
 made you so dreadfully "sincere"? 
 KAREN runs out to the left. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. You shouldn't have said that to Karen. *. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, it will do her good. 
 
 FREDERICK. Poor Karen! But I'll 
 
 RIIS. Look here, my boy, no foolishness! Now as never 
 before you will have to control your passions. Or you'll never 
 get anywhere. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But passion for what is right, dear? 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, we have to fight. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, that would be lovely! [A knock is heard at the 
 door} Come in! That must be Larssen. No, we cannot 
 grant them the honour of fighting them.
 
 202 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. v 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 Rus. MBS. Rus. FREDERICK. LARSSEN 
 
 Rus. Well? [LARSSEN shakes hands with him] Well? [LARS- 
 SEN greets MRS. Rus in the same manner] Well? [LARSSEN 
 goes through the same motions with FREDERICK] Well? 
 
 LARSSEN. What is your pleasure, Mr. Riis? 
 
 Rus. The book? What do you say of the book? 
 
 LARSSEN. May I ask which book you are referring to? 
 
 Rus. This one, of course. 
 
 LARSSEN. May I ask you for a chance to look at it? 
 
 FREDERICK. [Quickly] Why, Hans Kampe's book about my 
 father's system. 
 
 LARSSEN. Oh, that one? 
 
 Rus. What do you think of it? 
 
 LARSSEN. Nothing at all. 
 
 RIIS. What? Haven't you read it? 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, no, he 
 
 LARSSEN. [Simultaneously] Yes, but only twice. 
 
 Rus. And hi the course of these first two readings you 
 have not been struck by anything in particular. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Indifferently] No. 
 
 Rus. You are a solid man, Larssen. There is something 
 about your faith hi a cause that does one's very heart good. 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, that's true! 
 
 LARSSEN. I do not think that Mr. "Hans Kampe, C.E.," 
 can teach me anything about the new system. 
 
 RIIS. No, upon my soul, I don't think so either. He can't 
 teach you or me anything about it. And I was just saying to 
 Frederick here: no excitement, no fighting. 
 
 LARSSEN. For heaven's sake! 
 
 RIIS. There you see! And I just thought of something:
 
 ACTH. sc.v THE NEW SYSTEM 203 
 
 [to MRS. Rns, who comes back after having had a look at 
 KAREN in an adjoining room] we meant to avoid asking old 
 Kampe to the dinner we are giving for the engineers; but now 
 we'll ask both him and the son. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Now I recognise your real self, dear. We 
 should love those that hate us. 
 
 LARSSEN. Quite right, Mrs. Riis that is, if we can. 
 
 FREDERICK. [Bursts into laughter; then to himself] No, that's 
 more than I can do ! 
 
 Rns. Frederick! 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes. [Turning toward his father. 
 
 Rns. Don't forget that I am going away. 
 
 FREDERICK. That's right! [Looking at his watch] I haven't 
 time to get to the station now. So I think I'll ride down with 
 you. 
 
 RIIS. Here are a lot of things for you, Larssen. And if 
 you'll accept a seat in my carriage, I can talk over a point 
 or two with you on the way down. 
 
 LARSSEN. I shall be honoured, Mr. Riis. 
 
 Rns. [Hangs the case with the field-glasses around his neck 
 and picks up the book, saying:} I mustn't forget this one. 
 
 LARSSEN. Something to read on the road. He, he ! He, he ! 
 
 Rns. [Who has opened the book] Here I notice some calcu- 
 lations which could only have been made by one on the inside. 
 Well, well! 
 
 FREDERICK. That's the old man, of course. Both have had 
 a finger in it. 
 
 RIIS. I shall have to study this more closely. [Puts the book 
 in his pocket] Could it be possible that the old man wants to 
 cover up something by this manoeuvre what do you think? 
 
 LARSSEN. We have no right to suspect anything. But as 
 you have already spoken of it, I must admit that the reading
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. v 
 
 of the book made me think that it might be wise to give Mr. 
 Kampe's accounts a special examination. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh, dear, dear! You mustn't be so quick to 
 think badly of your fellow-man, even if he should have erred. 
 
 FREDERICK. But this is something you don't understand, 
 mamma ! 
 
 RIIS. [To himself] The mere report of such a measure it 
 would be worth more than ten replies to the book. Excel- 
 lent! Listen, Larssen let a couple of accountants begin an 
 informal investigation, and afterward we can make an official 
 demand for a more formal procedure. But very quietly! 
 Out of consideration for the man, you know. 
 
 LARSSEN. It shall be done, Mr. Riis. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But very quietly that's right! 
 
 Rus. Well, good-bye then, my dear. Take care of yourself! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Dear, you're so kind-hearted won't you say a 
 good word to Karen before you leave? She 
 
 RIIS. No, indeed, I won't! Let her think over what it 
 means to believe more in others than in her own father. 
 Now, that's a sweet little wifie! [Kissing her] Good-bye! And 
 don't cry now! 
 
 FREDERICK has picked up his hand-bag and umbrella. 
 LARSSEN is at the door, not wanting to go out ahead of 
 the DIRECTOR-GENERAL. 
 
 Rus. After you ! 
 
 LARSSEN. No, after you, Mr. Riis! 
 
 Rus. The idea! In my own house! 
 
 LARSSEN. It would be too great an honour! [To MRS. Rus, 
 whose hand he shakes] Good-bye, Mrs. Riis! 
 
 MRS. Rns. I'll see you out ! 
 
 LARSSEN. Permit me anyhow! 
 
 MRS. Rus. And remember now, Larssen, very quietly! 
 
 Rus. Of course, my dear. Have a cigar, Larssen?
 
 ACTH. sc.vi THE NEW SYSTEM 205 
 
 LAKSSEN. Thousand thanks! 
 Rns. And you, Frederick? 
 FREDERICK. I never refuse your cigars, papa. 
 Rns. You rascal! You have been in the box before I 
 noticed it. 
 
 LARSSEN. He, he! He, he! 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Reproachfully] Oh, Frederick! 
 
 Rns. Well let peace rest on the house! 
 
 [All go out. 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 The scene changes to the same open room at KAMPE'S as 
 in the first act. 
 
 HANS KAMPE is working. KARL RAVN comes in. 
 
 KARL. Oh, there you are! Will you permit me to thank 
 you? 
 
 HANS. So you have read the book ? 
 
 KARL. If I have read it? I took it along to the Engineers' 
 Club last night. Some of the younger men had arranged to 
 meet. I read the book aloud to them. 
 
 HANS. Well? 
 
 KARL. We stayed together until two o'clock this morning. 
 I have never experienced anything like it. 
 
 HANS. Really? 
 
 KARL. Do you know how it is when a large number of peo- 
 ple have been oppressed by the same vague sensation of some- 
 thing false, and then one man rises up and gives open expres- 
 sion to their doubts? It puts such courage into us, as if we 
 might make the whole world over. 
 
 HANS. You please me very much. 
 
 KARL. You may count on the young ones.
 
 206 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. vi 
 
 HANS. Really? 
 
 KARL. For my own part, I feel in duty bound. And my 
 wife quite agrees with me. Well, you don't know my wife? 
 
 HANS. I haven't the pleasure yet. 
 
 KARL. All this morning we have talked of nothing else. I 
 just had to run over to see you. 
 
 HANS. Very kind of you ! 
 
 KARL. Of course, it is nothing new to us. 
 
 HANS. If you could only know what encouragement you 
 give me. You are the first one from whom I have heard about 
 my book a first swallow heralding the spring! 
 
 KARL. And its name is raven. [Laughs. 
 
 HANS. Oh, that reminds me. You are not the first one, 
 after all. One person read the book before it was published: 
 your uncle, Frederick Ravn. 
 
 KARL. And I suppose he told you not to publish it at all? 
 
 HANS. That's exactly what he did. He does not believe in 
 our engineers; not even in the younger ones. 
 
 KARL. Of course not. He doesn't believe in anybody. But 
 I wonder if you know oh, I have to tell you ! 
 
 HANS. What is it? 
 
 KARL. I discovered it myself by a mere accident, so I am 
 not obliged to keep silent. And I have never told it to a sin- 
 gle soul before now my wife excepted, of course; for I tell 
 her everything 
 
 HANS. You make me curious! 
 
 KARL. No one but Uncle Frederick is responsible for the in- 
 troduction of the system, the "new system," both in this and 
 other countries. He was the man who praised it so highly 
 in a number of foreign periodicals. 
 
 HANS. Old Ravn? Frederick Ravn? The Canal In- 
 spector? 
 
 KARL. Call him anything you please he was the man!
 
 ACTH. sc.vi THE NEW SYSTEM 207 
 
 HANS. All those brilliant articles we read as students in 
 English and German periodicals ? 
 
 KARL. And of which we were so frightfully proud when we 
 went abroad ! 
 
 HANS. Yes! Because finally something strikingly original 
 had come from our own little nation. 
 
 KARL. Yes and he did it! 
 
 HANS. I don't think even my father knows of this. 
 
 KARL. No, for it is his life's great secret. It was this enor- 
 mous mistake that made him a broken man. 
 
 HANS. But a splendid head like his? How could he ? 
 
 KARL. We-ell ! Enthusiasts of that kind are by no means 
 an unqualified blessing to a small country, where no strong 
 currents make themselves felt. There they are apt to get 
 caught by all sorts of dreams and abortive projects. For they 
 must be doing something. 
 
 HANS. And it is you who say this ? 
 
 KARL. Oh, I have a wife, and she has saved me. . 
 
 HANS. But she comes from the same family? 
 
 KARL. Mixed blood! Mixed blood! Why, you don't 
 know my mother-in-law? 
 
 HANS. I haven't the honour. 
 
 KARL. She's a good one. You must come and see us! 
 
 HANS. It will be one of the first things I do. 
 
 KARL. That's fine! Come to-morrow night will you? 
 And I'll have some of the younger engineers on hand. 
 
 HANS. Thank you! [They shake hands. 
 
 KARL. Well, I have to run along. I am frightfully busy. 
 
 HANS. I shall never forget this visit of yours. 
 
 KARL. I had to come. [Going toward the door] Just as now I 
 shall have to write something. 
 
 HANS. But the Director-General is in a way your relative? 
 
 KARL. That's one more reason! [Coming forward again] It
 
 208 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. viz 
 
 was from our family he once got the support that made the 
 whole trouble possible. 
 
 HANS. Well, how could it happen? For greater con- 
 trasts ! 
 
 KARL. Never mind ! We have got to make up for it now. 
 And we'll do it. 
 
 HANS. For which I thank you! 
 
 KARL. No, this won't do! I am frightfully busy just now! 
 [Hastens toward the door, but stops again] But I simply have to 
 tell you what my wife said. "It is harder to tell the truth in 
 a small country than in a big one," she said. Do you think 
 it's true? 
 
 HANS. Beyond all doubt! 
 
 KARL. And yet you believe in the small nations? No, I 
 haven't the time to spare now! You must come and talk it 
 over with my wife and me. Of course, she doesn't say much. 
 Probably because her mother says a good deal too much. 
 And I, too! So I have no fault to find! [Bursts into laughter] 
 Good-bye ! [Runs out to the right and meets KAMPE on the way] 
 How are you? 
 
 KAMPE. Have you got to go? 
 
 KARL. I haven't time now ! [Goes out. 
 
 SEVENTH SCENE 
 KAMPE. HANS. 
 
 HANS. If there are many young people like him in this 
 country, dad, it may happen that we shall really get a new 
 system of our own. 
 
 KAMPE. He's a fine fellow! But I came in because I saw 
 Frederick Riis headed for the house. You'd better go inside 
 and let me receive him. I have such fine practice in giving 
 and taking abuse.
 
 ACTH. sc.vm THE NEW SYSTEM 209 
 
 HANS. Oh, if he's looking for me, I think he had better see 
 me. 
 
 KAMPE. You don't want that bother? 
 
 HANS. Frederick has a warm heart 
 
 KAMPE. And a hot temper 
 
 HANS. Well, I might wish he hadn't come so soon. But 
 as it couldn't be avoided 
 
 KAMPE. All right! 
 
 EIGHTH SCENE 
 
 HANS. KAMPE. FBEDEBICK enters from the right with- 
 out greeting anybody. 
 
 KAMPE. Good morning! 
 
 FREDERICK does not reply. 
 
 KAMPE. An extremely polite young man! How are you? 
 And your father? How is he doing? 
 
 FREDERICK. [To HANS] I wanted to speak with you. 
 
 KAMPE. An extremely polite young man! 
 
 HANS. Please be quiet, dad! 
 
 KAMPE. [To HANS] I think you should have let me tackle 
 this job. 
 
 HANS. But leave us now! 
 
 KAMPE. That last shot told! Good morning! 
 
 [Goes out through the door to the right. 
 
 FREDERICK. Perhaps you didn't expect me? 
 
 HANS. Yes, but I wish you had waited a little. 
 
 FREDERICK. If I had not had to go with my father to the 
 railway station, I should have been here before this. 
 
 HANS. You ought first to have thought over what I have 
 written. 
 
 FREDERICK. I hope you don't imagine yourself able to con- 
 vince me that my father is an impostor?
 
 210 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. so. vm 
 
 HANS. There is nothing said to that effect. 
 
 FBEDERICK. Yes. 
 
 HANS. No. 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, that's what it means. But you have con- 
 vinced me of something else of what kind of fellow you are; 
 and of the fearful yes, the fearful mistake I have made in 
 regard to you. 
 
 HANS. That's the way I expected you to take it. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, you did? But you didn't think it worth 
 while to waste any explanations on me? 
 
 HANS. There were reasons for that, too. 
 
 FREDERICK. I don't doubt it. You have proved yourself 
 better versed in the cold art of calculation than I could ever 
 have expected. 
 
 HANS. I knew that it must hurt you. And so I am willing 
 to bear with a whole lot. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, one who has no heart can bear with any- 
 thing. But how could you do it? To us, who have never 
 done you any harm? To me yes, to me who hardly could 
 stay apart from you until you went abroad three years ago? 
 And how I used to reve 1 in the thought that you were at last 
 coming home again! 
 
 HANS. Thank you for that, Frederick! 
 
 FREDERICK. And when you return, you hardly look at us, 
 don't show yourself at our house and then you send us this 
 book, which you must have finished before you came home. 
 
 HANS. So I had. 
 
 FREDERICK. On the basis of your father's data and cal- 
 culations? 
 
 HANS. On the basis of everything that was publicly avail- 
 able. 
 
 FREDERICK. And privately? 
 
 HANS. That, too.
 
 Acrn. sc.vm THE NEW SYSTEM 211 
 
 FREDERICK. And you send the book to us without a word 
 of warning to my father, my sister, and myself. It hurts 
 me most for my sister's sake. 
 
 HANS. Will you let me answer? 
 
 FREDERICK. You should have seen Karen. If you had, 
 you might have understood what you have done. 
 
 HANS. Frederick 
 
 FREDERICK. Could you for a moment overlook the fact 
 that she was the one you would hit hardest? 
 
 HANS. I have said to myself that I couldn't look Karen, or 
 you, or your father, in the eyes until I had done this. I could 
 not come home without having performed my unmistakable 
 duty no matter what the cost of it might be. 
 
 FREDERICK. Have you gone clear out of your mind? Have 
 you ever dreamt that any one of us would have anything 
 to do with you after this? 
 
 HANS. I thought that I should have to give you time, until 
 you saw more clearly what was in my mind until you saw 
 that I have done nothing wrong. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, don't put on any airs! 
 
 HANS. I saw before me just as I have put it in my book 
 an expensive, a disastrous mistake, which it would be a 
 crime to disregard any longer. Your father has done other 
 things of which he can be truly proud. 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, I notice you say so. And you think we 
 are going to let that console us after you have taken away 
 from him his life's greatest honour? 
 
 HANS. But if it never was an honour, Frederick? 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, that may go down with others, but not 
 with me. You have an ambitious mind, and it has tempted 
 you until you have lost all other considerations. 
 
 HANS. I may have done wrong 
 
 FREDERICK. Indeed, you have!
 
 212 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. vm 
 
 HANS. But when I came home and saw my father's condi- 
 tion, and when I remembered that you hadn't let me have a 
 single word of warning 
 
 FREDERICK. Of what use would it have been? 
 
 HANS. But if it had been your father, and I 
 
 FREDERICK. Now see here: don't let us compare your 
 father and mine. That's too ridiculous! 
 
 HANS. There you see ! And then you will understand, per- 
 haps, that friendship of such a kind is something I don't care 
 to have. And there is another thing besides. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, there is? 
 
 HANS. When we were children, your sister and you and 
 I had a playmate, a little girl belonging to what they call 
 the "lower classes." But she was as pretty a girl as I have 
 ever seen; and she had character, too, for I have heard that 
 she supported her mother. 
 
 FREDERICK. Now all this is none of your concern. 
 
 HANS. It must be my concern when I try to decide whether 
 I shall have any further acquaintance with you or not. 
 
 FREDERICK. What is that? How dare you ? 
 
 HANS. If you had married her 
 
 FREDERICK. That's my own affair. And it isn't true that 
 I don't want to marry her. But others, and she among 
 them 
 
 HANS. Yes, she's too proud to let you marry her out of 
 charity 
 
 FREDERICK. Drop it! I know all about your moral dis- 
 courses. And you had better clean up in front of your own 
 door first! 
 
 HANS. I am doing my best. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, you are? Do you know anything about 
 the condition of your father's accounts? They are in such
 
 ACT n. sc. nil THE NEW SYSTEM 213 
 
 shape that it will probably be necessary to have a special 
 examination made of them. 
 
 HANS. What are you saying? My father suspected 
 
 FREDERICK. Well, now you know how it feels to have un- 
 pleasant things said of your father. 
 
 HANS. But this is nothing but false and unwarranted 
 gossip! 
 
 FREDERICK. Like yours! 
 
 HANS. What? Do you mean to say that I am not telling 
 the truth? Prove it! 
 
 FREDERICK. The proofs lie in the public documents which 
 you garble. 
 
 HANS. Garble, you say? 
 
 FREDERICK. And do you know what more they say of your 
 book? That it was written to cover up your father's infamy. 
 He knew an examination would come sooner or later, and so 
 you hurried to get out the book first in order to make it look 
 as if the examination had been started for the sake of revenge. 
 
 HANS. Oh, I see now ! So that's the scheme ! It's abom- 
 inable! And it's going to send dad back into worse than 
 madness ! 
 
 FREDERICK. Did that go home? I should like to know 
 how he gets his living now without a pension? And I sup- 
 pose others will also want to know. 
 
 HANS. This passes all limits! My father has his faults, I 
 admit, but he is a man of honour. 
 
 FREDERICK. Ye-es! 
 
 HANS. My father has never seduced a poor young girl and 
 then left her in the lurch for the sake of his career. 
 
 FREDERICK. Hans! 
 
 HANS. He has not even let a man drown for respectability's 
 sake. 
 
 FREDERICK. How dare you ?
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTII. sc. vm 
 
 HANS. Yes, and he hasn't even been capable of publicly 
 presenting a misleading statement of his system for honour's 
 sake. There you have your family and its morals. 
 
 FREDERICK. [Leaps at HANS] You deserved 
 
 Silence prevails for a few moments. Then he lets go his 
 hold. 
 
 HANS. [Straightening out his dress] So you haven't out- 
 grown those childish tricks! 
 
 FREDERICK. I beg you don't provoke me any further! 
 
 HANS. Every time you were told the truth, you acted like 
 that. It has formed a part of my education. 
 
 FREDERICK. Then I ought to continue it. Now you prove 
 to me, right here on the spot, that my father publicly has 
 given a misleading statement of his system, or you'll pay for 
 what you said. 
 
 HANS. You have the proof of it in my book. Do you 
 want to see it? [Picks up a copy of the book. 
 
 FREDERICK. O-oh! You can't find it! 
 
 HANS. I might be a little calmer than I am but here it 
 is! At the bottom of page 49. 
 
 FREDERICK, [Takes the book] I don't see anything. 
 
 HANS. It has been marked not by myself, however. 
 
 FREDERICK. A general table showing differences in 
 weight of rails, driving-wheel momentum, dead-weight, wheel 
 diameter 
 
 HANS. Go on! These are the correct figures, mind you. 
 
 FREDERICK. And then report of my father's address be- 
 fore the international railroad congress at Paris. Is there 
 anything wrong about that also? Everybody admired him 
 on that occasion, and it seems to me that he was an honour to 
 the whole country. 
 
 HANS. So he was, and so I have said. But his figures are 
 not the same as in the other place. Just hold them side by
 
 ACTH. sc. ix THE NEW SYSTEM 215 
 
 side, and you'll see. This time he had to deal with people 
 who couldn't be fooled, and he knew it. It is clever work! 
 
 FREDERICK. Well and what of it? 
 
 HANS. What of it? Two statements that don't tally, made 
 the same year and by the same man? 
 
 FREDERICK. By my father? [He reads. 
 
 HANS. The report says: "Corrected by the speakers." 
 
 FREDERICK. You lie! 
 
 HANS. But read for yourself, man! 
 
 FREDERICK. [Reads] You lie, anyhow! [Throws the book 
 away] It's an infernal shameless misconstruction! My father 
 could never be guilty of such a thing. My father is a gentle- 
 man. Never! Oh, never! [Bursting into tears] Why did I 
 come here? To one like you who has no heart and no faith! 
 There is nothing so contemptible that your boundless ambi- 
 tion will stop at it. I hate you! I despise you! 
 
 [Runs out to the right. 
 
 HANS. Oh, I shouldn't have let myself go that far but he 
 goaded me on. And there comes ? Why, Karen! 
 KAREN enters from the left. 
 
 NINTH SCENE 
 HANS. KAREN 
 
 KAREN. Isn't he here? 
 
 HANS. Frederick? 
 
 KAREN. Isn't he here? 
 
 HANS. No he 
 
 KAREN. Karl Ravn came and told me that I had better 
 hurry up. He saw Frederick going in this direction and 
 something might have happened. And hasn't Frederick been 
 here at all?
 
 216 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT n. sc. ix 
 
 HANS. Yes, he was here. 
 
 KAREN. And did anything happen? 
 
 HANS. Nothing that need disturb you. 
 
 KAREN. Is it true? 
 
 HANS. I assure you. 
 
 KAREN. Oh, but I was frightened! 
 
 HANS. Don't you want to rest a little? 
 
 KAREN. No. I must ask you not to tell anybody that I 
 have been here. [Starts to go. 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 KAREN. I forbid you to speak to me that way. 
 
 HANS. I beg your pardon, Miss Riis. But the memory 
 of our childhood came back to me so vividly how we 
 boys, your brother and I, would fight, and you would step in 
 between us. 
 
 KAREN. I cannot understand how you dare to recall our 
 childhood ! 
 
 HANS. Yes, speak out, and then I can 
 
 KAREN. I have nothing at all to say to you. I only forbid 
 you to say anything further to me. [Starts to leave again. 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 KAREN. That is just what I forbid you! 
 
 HANS. I am sorry, but I thought that you at least would 
 understand that I had written nothing but what I knew to be 
 true. 
 
 KAREN. And I understand only that nothing in the world 
 could have tempted me into a public attack on your father 
 although he, too, has his faults. 
 
 HANS. Dear Karen! 
 
 KAREN. Oh, this is revolting! 
 
 HANS. But I wanted only to 
 
 KAREN. You may attack my father as much as you please,
 
 ACT ii. sc. ix THE NEW SYSTEM 217 
 
 if that is what you want. But you mustn't at the same time 
 pretend that I mean anything to you. 
 
 HANS. And yet 
 
 KAREN. [Deeply stirred} Only one question, and then you 
 can settle the matter for yourself. If it had been not my 
 father, but yours, would you have done it then and done it 
 publicly? 
 
 HANS. How could I? My own father! 
 
 KAREN. There, you see! For if well, it isn't easy to say, 
 but it must be said ! if a woman had been to you what what 
 I forbid you to speak to me of 
 
 HANS. If she had been very dear to me 
 
 KAREN. Then her father would also have been yours. 
 
 HANS. But let me 
 
 KAREN. Oh, don't misunderstand me! I don't say it as a 
 reproach far from it. I am myself such a useless, insincere 
 creature that it's almost a crime. But I used to look up to 
 you, and that's why it hurts so dreadfully not that you have 
 attacked my father but that not even you, Hans I have 
 lost the last one in whom I could believe! [Runs out. 
 
 HANS. But Karen! You must listen to me! It isn't kind 
 of you! [He suddenly stops still. 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT III 
 
 A room at the DIKECTOR-GENERAL'S. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 The hum of an animated social gathering is heard from 
 the outside. Above a conversation carried on mainly 
 by men rises the melody of a humorous song with 
 its piano accompaniment. The song is followed by 
 laughter and loud applause. 
 
 KAREN. [Enters, followed by a maid with a tray laden with 
 refreshments for the ladies] Put it over there. That's right ! 
 Now, you can go in to Mr. Frederick and tell him that every- 
 thing is ready for the gentlemen in the garden. 
 
 HANS enters in evening dress and holding his hat in his 
 hand. 
 
 KAREN. [As she catches sight of HANS] Pardon me, Mr. 
 Kampe, but this room is reserved for the family and the ladies 
 of the house. The men's talk is becoming a little too noisy 
 for them. 
 
 HANS. I must have a few words with you. 
 
 KAREN. You know that I don't want to listen to you. 
 
 HANS. I give you my word that I have nothing to say that 
 you cannot listen to. 
 
 KAREN. I don't believe you! The mere fact that you and 
 your father are here to-day implies such a such audacity, 
 that I am prepared for anything. 
 
 HANS. I came here only to speak to you; my father, be- 
 218
 
 ACT m. BC.I THE NEW SYSTEM 219 
 
 cause he wanted to show himself in response to the invitation 
 may I not tell you ? 
 
 KAREN. You may, of course. But I may not listen to 
 you There, the gentlemen are going down into the garden. 
 
 HANS. My appearance frightens you. Well, I have had 
 a bad time of it since I saw you last! 
 
 KAREN. You? 
 
 HANS. It is no wonder that you misunderstand me. I 
 have not understood myself Yes, you may well look at me! 
 When I was talking to you the last time, I had not really 
 thought the thing out, and I gave misleading answers. There 
 is one point in regard to which I want to set myself right. 
 Won't you let me do so? 
 
 KAREN. Oh, well if it isn't 
 
 HANS. Don't fear! I said that if it had been my own 
 father instead of yours then I should not have attacked him 
 publicly. 
 
 KAREN. Yes? 
 
 HANS. Now I have gone to the bottom of the thing. I 
 have also talked with my father about it, and he agrees with 
 me. If his fault had been of a public nature, and if it had 
 had public consequences, so that, for instance, it had caused 
 the country a loss of many millions, and if nobody else could 
 or would have stepped forward then it would have been my 
 duty, my unavoidable duty, to do so, provided I possessed 
 the necessary qualifications. 
 
 KAREN. What in the world are you saying? 
 
 HANS. I am only saying what is right: that it would have 
 been my unavoidable duty. 
 
 KAREN. It's awful ! You could attack your own father in 
 public? 
 
 HANS. Don't misunderstand me! It would have been my 
 duty to do so. But I could not have done it! No and if this
 
 220 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. i 
 
 book had not been written before I came home, and pub- 
 lished before I met you again then it would neither have 
 been written nor published. 
 
 KAREN. Do you see now? 
 
 HANS. For I have just discovered that my passions are as 
 strong, and my temptations as powerful, as those of my 
 father. They were only waiting to be stirred up. I would 
 have failed as miserably as he did, that time he tried to tell 
 the truth. But if I had, it would have gone worse with me 
 than it has gone with him. 
 
 KAREN. But, Hans! 
 
 HANS. Oh, yes, I know it. My book represented the cu- 
 mulative determination of several years. To write it was to 
 enter upon my real life-work. If I had let it go, it would have 
 meant that I let everything go. For here lay my gift, my 
 knowledge, my responsibility I could never have raised 
 my head again! 
 
 KAREN. I didn't know that! 
 
 HANS. I didn't know it myself. And still less I knew 
 We grew up together 
 
 KAREN. No, Hans 
 
 HANS. I must finish! To a certain extent I had come to 
 take you for granted that is, I had to a certain extent for- 
 gotten you. But ever since ever since that moment when 
 you ran away from me a little while afterward when I 
 realised the depth of the love bestowed on me 
 
 KAREN. No, Hans! 
 
 HANS. To discover a thing like that takes the ground from 
 under a man's feet. I could have burned that book of mine! 
 
 KAREN. Could you? 
 
 HANS. I could I am ashamed to say it! I could have 
 fallen as miserably as my father, or even worse. And you 
 wouldn't want that, Karen?
 
 ACTIH. sc. i THE NEW SYSTEM 221 
 
 KAREN. No, no! 
 
 HANS. Do you believe me, Karen? 
 
 KAREN. Yes. 
 
 HANS. For unless you believe me You must believe 
 that I have not betrayed you. For at that time I didn't 
 know what you were to me. You must believe that if I had 
 known it, then, for your sake, I could have 
 
 KAREN. Don't say more, Hans ! 
 
 HANS. You must let me make this perfectly clear to you. 
 I must lay bare my whole vileness, the utmost extent of my 
 shame! You could have sent me back into cowardly silence; 
 you could have wiped out what is most myself Oh, it's 
 in my very blood 
 
 KAREN. But, Hans! 
 
 HANS. Only it would have gone with me ever so much 
 worse! For I should not have slipped down into it unawares, 
 as my father did; no, I should have plunged into it with open- 
 eyed, conscious surrender of everything. You must know it. 
 Even if you despise me if you will only believe me! 
 
 KAREN. I believe you, I believe you! That is, I believe 
 you are speaking under the influence of a great fear! 
 
 HANS. I hope to God it is so! 
 
 KAREN. I am sure of it! You have been going around, in 
 the shadow of those dark memories, just frightening yourself! 
 
 HANS. Do you think so? 
 
 KAREN. I am sure, I am sure! And through all of it I can 
 see only one thing: how strong you are, how wholly yourself! 
 Yes, it is true, Hans, that I love you! 
 
 [She throws herself into his arms. 
 
 HANS. Karen ! 
 
 KAREN. I love you! 
 
 HANS. I love you!
 
 222 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. n 
 
 KAREN. Somebody's coming! 
 
 They slip away from each other and are standing far 
 apart when MRS. RIIS opens the door. 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 MRS. Rns. But, Karen, what has become of you? Isn't 
 everything ready yet? 
 
 KAREN. Yes, mother, now [Stops short. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But why don't you come and tell me then? 
 Have you been disputing with each other? You, too? The 
 whole company is disputing! Have you been saying hard 
 things to each other? Yes, Hans, I am not pleased with you! 
 
 HANS. Mrs. Riis! 
 
 KAREN. [Throwing her arms around her mother's neck] 
 Mamma! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. What is it, Karen? 
 
 KAREN squeezes her mother time and again. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But, dear, what's the matter with you? Why, 
 I hope you haven't ? 
 
 KAREN. Yes, mamma! 
 
 MRS. Rns. Mercy, Karen! [Sits down. 
 
 KAREN. But, mamma! [She kneels down beside her motlier. 
 
 MRS. Rns. You shouldn't have done it. 
 
 HANS. It is my fault, Mrs. Riis. 
 
 MRS. Rns. For it's going to be so hard on me! 
 
 {Begins to cry. 
 
 KAREN. On you, mamma? 
 
 HANS. [Speaking simultaneously with KAREN] On you, 
 Mrs. Riis? 
 
 MRS. Rns. Now, he'll say that it is my fault. 
 
 HANS. Yours?
 
 Aerm. sc. n THE NEW SYSTEM 223 
 
 MRS. Rus. And my family's. All my family is disloyal to 
 him. And it's true: they are not loyal to him. But I can't 
 help it. [Weeps. 
 
 KAREN. Dear, darling mamma! 
 
 MRS. Rus. And now the children are beginning also ! 
 But this is something you haven't learned from me, Karen ! 
 
 KAREN. Mamma! 
 
 MRS. Rus. For it isn't fair to him, Karen; no, it isn't! 
 KAREN buries her head in her mother's lap. 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Patting her daughter's head] I don't want to 
 make you sorry. But I have to say it. 
 
 HANS. Mrs. Riis! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. This is something you shouldn't have permitted 
 yourself, Hans. You should have controlled yourself better. 
 And now, children, everything must be as if nothing had hap- 
 pened. For otherwise I should have to tell my husband 
 about it. And, you know, I couldn't lie to him. 
 
 HANS. But why shouldn't you tell him? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes and all the blame would be put on me! 
 And I wouldn't mind that, if he could stand it. But it would 
 be more than he could bear. He has enough as it is, already. 
 No, this won't do. Nothing at all has happened do you 
 hear what I say, children? Nothing at all! 
 
 HANS. But, Mrs. Riis? 
 
 KAREN. Mamma is right! [Buries her head again as before. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes, I am right. And you, Hans, you mustn't 
 take the children away from him. That you mustn't do. It 
 isn't right, Hans. 
 
 A VOICE. [Outside] It's cooler here. 
 
 KAREN. [Leaping to her feet and pointing to the left] Go! 
 Hurry up! 
 
 HANS. But I must talk to you!
 
 224 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. m 
 
 KAREN. No, go now ! [HANS goes out, and KAREN embraces 
 her mother excitedly} Mamma ! 
 
 MRS. Rus has got up. KAREN runs out to the right. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 
 MRS. Rus. MRS. OLE RAVN [called "Aunt Ole"]. 
 MRS. PREUSS. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, here it is! We come on our own invita- 
 tion. The garden was no longer endurable, what with heat 
 and disputatiousness. What's the matter with you, my dear? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Oh 
 
 AUNT OLE. You are the sweetest little girl in the world. 
 But your two mill-races are always going. It's your only 
 fault. And you, Kamma, who have such a nice husband ! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Indeed, I have, Aunt Ole. But other people 
 are not always nice to him. That's the trouble. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Yes, Heaven knows ! It's a regular scandal. But 
 don't cry on that account. If there is anybody who knows 
 how to manage, it's Riis. He is superior to any situation. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yes, there is something big about him. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh! Such cleverness, such tact, such good- 
 humour! Did you notice him during the dinner? 
 
 MRS. Rus. No, I had so much to look after. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Only yesterday I was saying to my son-in-law 
 and to Anna: he brings more honour to your family than any- 
 body else has ever done. But you you peck at him like 
 "ravens." You are what you are! 
 
 MRS. Rus. But there is no bad intention in what they do, 
 Aunt Ole. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, Heaven only knows what they are really 
 doing.
 
 Acrra. sc.ra THE NEW SYSTEM 225 
 
 MRS. Rus. No, Aunt Ole, they are not bad not one of 
 them. They mean right. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Yes you admire your family, of course! 
 That's more than I can do. But it's your only fault. Pre- 
 serves! Hm! There is none who can beat you at that. 
 
 MBS. Rus. Please, help yourself. I'll get hold of the 
 others. [Goes out. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Come on and help yourself. It's delicious! 
 Oh, you have started already! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Long ago. 
 
 AUNT OLE. No, I got tired of all that talk. My ears are 
 still ringing with it. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. I thought it quite amusing, aunt. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Amusing? Figures can never be amusing, my 
 girl, unless they relate to our personal affairs. And Heaven 
 knows that often they are not amusing even then. And be- 
 sides: figures and wheel diameters; figures and curves; figures 
 and track-width, friction, deadweight ugh! I am so full of 
 it that I think I am going to dream of it. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. But you too were married to an engineer, 
 like all the rest of us. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, those engineers! Especially the young 
 ones! They are the scum of the earth! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. But, auntie! Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. No reverence, no sense of authority! Unbe- 
 lievers, all of them! And that's the reason why they are not 
 even decent. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Decent? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, I don't call it decent to start fighting 
 about the Director-General's system in his own house. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. But that's just what he wanted. That's 
 why he invited them. 
 
 AUNT OLE. The deuce he did!
 
 226 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. iv 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. [Without letting herself be interrupted] And 
 at the table he made a speech urging them to discuss the mat- 
 ter to their heart's content. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, you talk such an awful lot, my girl. And 
 if he has tact enough to appear unconcerned, does that mean 
 that they need not show any tact at all? But they have no 
 upbringing. I repeat it: they are lacking in common de- 
 cency. Those natural studies, I tell you, produce that kind 
 of results. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. No, auntie, that's something I have never 
 heard before ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, then you haven't heard very much. Oh, 
 there you are ! 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 AUNT OLE. MRS. PREUSS. MRS. STANCE, MRS. 
 THOMAS. MRS. KARL RAVN. [Later] MRS. Rus. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Here are some wonderful preserves. This time 
 Kamma has surpassed herself. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Auntie has got to that point, you know, 
 when she does nothing but push her spectacles up and down. 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Are you in a bad humour, auntie? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Who? I? Oh, I am being driven from one 
 end of the house to the other by all this horrible squabbling. 
 But I told Kamma in advance: you just leave the ladies out 
 when you give your dinner to the engineers this year. It will 
 be nothing but quarrelling about the new system, I said, and 
 that's not for ladies ! 
 
 EVERYBODY. Oh, yes, auntie! 
 
 MRS. KARL RAVN. [Simultaneously with the rest] Oh, yes, 
 mamma!
 
 Acrm. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 227 
 
 AUNT OLE. There now! Not one of you deserved to be 
 here! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. But, auntie, it's a public question and we 
 women have also to consider it. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Without understanding a word of it. Yes, 
 that's the way all public questions are dealt with nowadays. 
 They are settled by those who cannot understand them. 
 
 MRS. KARL RAVN. [Helping herself to the preserves] But 
 you are more excited than anybody else, mamma! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, so you are there, too? Well, I'll tell you 
 this much, though you are my daughter, that when I saw 
 you and your husband marching along in this direction, then 
 I felt deeply shocked. Don't you call even that indecent? 
 He, who has publicly taken side against his own relative! 
 The rest have done nothing but talk, at least. 
 
 MRS. KARL RAVN. I cannot see that this is a family ques- 
 tion at all. 
 
 Gradually, as the ladies have had their fill of the preserves, 
 they produce some kind of handiwork and begin work- 
 ing on it. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Then your husband could just as well stand 
 by the Director-General instead of siding with that drunken 
 American. 
 
 SEVERAL OF THE LADIES. American? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, well, that's what I call him. He has been 
 out there, and he believes in no authorities. That's Ameri- 
 can, isn't it? 
 
 MRS. KARL RAVN. But the question at issue is just whether 
 they are authorities. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Will you keep still ! You and your husband, 
 and your husband and you ! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. You are always reviling your son-in-law, 
 auntie. Why did you accept him as such, then?
 
 228 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. 
 
 IV 
 
 AUNT OLE. I'll tell you, my girl. When you have stupid 
 daughters, you sometimes get a little stupid yourself. And 
 the young fellow would do well enough, if only he were not 
 such a scatter-brain. But how could he be otherwise? The 
 whole family is the same way. [MRS. Rns comes into the 
 room] Every one of them that is, with the exception of you, 
 my dear. You are really the only well-balanced person in the 
 whole lot. The rest are not to be endured ! 
 
 MRS. Rus. {Earnestly} But, auntie, you don't mean to tell 
 us that your husband was not to be endured? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, bless him for the honest soul he was! But 
 once he marched up to the Prime Minister in his best clothes 
 and told him that he wanted to quit: he couldn't understand 
 his own time any longer, he said. Well, that wasn't the only 
 thing he did of the kind. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Didn't he go up to the King himself once? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Yes, he wanted him to make an artisan out of 
 one of the Princes. It would set such a good example, he 
 thought There was nothing left for me but to stick to 
 reason. All that idealism made me sea-sick. And this much 
 I want to tell you, my girl, that what little reason you have, 
 you have got from me. 
 
 MRS. Rns. What I came for was to give you my husband's 
 regards. He had to leave with the seven o'clock train. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Now, there, so help me God, if they haven't 
 driven him out of his own home! 
 
 MRS. Rns. No, he had entirely forgotten a business en- 
 gagement. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Twaddle! He ran away from all this engi- 
 neering indecency. Riis is too refined for that kind of 
 thing 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Perhaps he only wanted to give the discus- 
 sion free scope by keeping out of the way?
 
 ACT m. sc. v THE NEW SYSTEM 229 
 
 AUNT OLE. That would be just like him! Always consid- 
 erate! And the others? Exactly the opposite! 
 
 MBS. Rus. But Mr. Riis asked them himself, now when 
 they had come together here, to talk the matter over. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, you are too tedious with your constant de- 
 fence of everything and everybody! It's almost impossible 
 to talk when you are present. 
 
 MBS. Rus. But, auntie ! 
 
 AUNT OLE. But then it's the only fault you have! Come 
 and give me a kiss! [They kiss each other} There! And you 
 are sweet to look at! 
 
 [Pats her on the cheek. MBS. Rus goes out. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 The same as before with the exception of MBS. Rus. KABL 
 
 RAVN. 
 
 KABL RAVN. Are you there? 
 
 MBS. PBEUSS. Did you think she had run away? 
 
 MBS. THOMAS. Or worse? 
 
 KABL. [Smiling] No. But I lost sight of her entirely. 
 And so I had to find out where she was and how she was doing. 
 
 MBS. KABL. Splendidly! That is, I should have enjoyed 
 myself still more if they had stuck more closely to the ques- 
 tion in hand, and not gone hunting for 
 
 AUNT OLE. motives. But that's just what we need to 
 do in this case. For had that old drunkard kept his ac- 
 counts in proper order, all this would never have been heard 
 of. That's the whole thing! 
 
 MBS. KABL. There you can hear how we ladies discuss the 
 question.
 
 230 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. vi 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, it isn't the ladies only that say this, but 
 the whole city, the whole country perhaps. 
 KARL. Sh, sh, sh, sh! 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 The same as before. KAMPE. 
 
 KAMPE. Our host doesn't happen to be here? 
 
 KARL. No, he has gone away. 
 
 KAMPE. Away? Has he gone away? 
 
 KARL. Has anything happened? 
 
 KAMPE. Oh, nothing in particular. His son, Frederick, 
 told me just now that that 
 
 SEVERAL. What was it? 
 
 KAMPE. That a special commission was to be appointed to 
 see if my accounts were if they were straight. 
 
 MRS. KARL. [Rising] Oh, they only say that kind of thing 
 because well, because it has to be said. 
 
 KARL. Of course! 
 
 KAMPE. He said that everybody believed it, and that every- 
 body was talking of it. Is it true? I should like to know if it's 
 true. 
 
 MRS. KARL. Oh, you shouldn't mind that kind of gossip. 
 
 KAMPE. So it is being talked of, then. Have you heard it, 
 madam? 
 
 AUNT OLE. I can only tell the truth: I have heard it. 
 
 KAMPE. So you have also heard it. The young man was 
 right, then. So I am to be put on trial. That, too, had to 
 come. Of course! 
 
 MRS. KARL. But, Mr. Kampe 
 
 KAMPE. Yes, you mean well with me and with my son. 
 I thank you for it! So old man Kampe is to be put on trial.
 
 Acrrn. sc.vi THE NEW SYSTEM 231 
 
 MRS. KARL. If you take it that way, perhaps they may 
 accomplish what they were aiming at. 
 
 KAMPE. They will accomplish more than they have aimed 
 at. [Goes out. 
 
 MRS. KARL. Go with him, Karl. See that he gets away 
 from here. 
 
 KARL. All right. 
 
 MRS. KARL. And if he won't get hold of his son. 
 
 KARL. Of course. [Goes out. 
 
 MRS. KARL. Oh, this is a plot! 
 
 AUNT OLE. A plot? And who has started it? 
 MRS. KARL RAVN sits down again. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Frederick should not have told him. 
 
 MRS. THOMAS. Least of all here! 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Frederick is so hot-tempered. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Frederick is fond of his father. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Yes, he is. 
 
 AUNT OLE. I don't wonder that his blood begins to boil, 
 especially after a good dinner. He finds his father surrounded 
 by people who envy and abuse him. And, worse yet, he finds 
 his own relatives among those people. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Have we envied the Director-General? 
 
 MRS. THOMAS. Have we abused him? 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. You are using such strong terms, auntie. 
 
 [Laughs. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, I cannot call it anything else. 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Perhaps I might have a chance to say a word 
 now? 
 
 AUNT OLE. Not by any means, my girl. For when you 
 begin, then there is no longer any peace to be had. 
 . MRS. PREUSS and MRS. THOMAS. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. STANCE. What is that you are saying, Aunt Ole? 
 Am I not the one who has always to fight for a little peace
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. vi 
 
 among us? For the peace has to be fought for yes, it has, 
 and particularly when you are with us, Aunt Ole. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS and MRS. THOMAS Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, the idea! Do you mean to say that one 
 who defends somebody else isn't peaceful? 
 
 MRS. STANGE. Yes, I do, for you are so hateful. You say 
 such things behind people's backs yes, you do, Aunt Ole! 
 
 AUNT OLE. My gracious! And here I have been sitting 
 all day defending the Director-General against what people 
 are saying behind his back! What was that you were saying, 
 Anna? 
 
 MRS. KARL. [Who has been sitting perfectly quiet beside her 
 mother] Nothing, mamma. 
 
 MRS. STANGE. You always say such nasty things, and you 
 are so quick with your tongue. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, I am not slow and solemn as a spook 
 
 MRS. PREUSS and MRS. THOMAS. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. but it is just against all kinds of "nasti- 
 ness," as you call it, that I have been fighting ever since I came 
 to this country. What was that you were saying, Anna? 
 
 MRS. KARL. I? Not a word, mamma! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, I can see you all right, back of those glasses 
 of yours. And it is no use to try to hide behind your crochet- 
 ing. 
 
 MRS. KARL. I am near-sighted, mamma. And that I have 
 inherited from you. 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Yes, God knows the place is full of jealousy 
 and backbiting. It couldn't be much worse that's the truth 
 of it. But we women have a part in it, too, and you, Aunt 
 Ole, you are worse than anybody else. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS and MRS. THOMAS. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Why, you are literally quivering with ill-tem- 
 per! But now I ask you all whether I am not the one who
 
 ACTHI. sc.vi THE NEW SYSTEM 233 
 
 always has to defend the Director-General against the envy 
 of his own family? 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. No, you have no right to say that. 
 
 MRS. THOMAS. No, you haven't, Aunt Ole! 
 
 MRS. STANCE. But that's the sort of thing she says all the 
 time. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Well, well, what a stir in the hennery, just be- 
 cause I dare to mention the family. The miraculous family, 
 which has patent rights on all the virtue in this country! 
 What was that you were saying, Anna? 
 
 MRS. KARL. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Why, Aunt Ole, you know very well that 
 without our family the Director-General would never have 
 reached his present high position. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Of course not! You have picked us out of the 
 gutter, every one of us! Good gracious, that I didn't know 
 it before I ever came here! It makes me mad to think of 
 it. [MRS. Rus enters] Oh, there you are! Well, you are the 
 only well-behaved person in the whole lot. 
 
 MRS. Rns. What were you talking of? 
 
 AUNT OLE. The same thing as usual, of course. I say that 
 the family ought to be ashamed of its behaviour toward your 
 husband. And then they reply that without the miraculous 
 qualities of the Ravn family your husband wouldn't be any- 
 thing at all. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Oh, no, auntie; that's not what they meant. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Yes, it was! Just ask them! For on one 
 thing they all agree although they differ on everything else 
 and that is that the Ravn family alone is good for anything. 
 What was that you were saying? 
 
 MRS. KARL. I? It seems to me you were saying some- 
 thing. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Now, don't provoke me! I have looked over
 
 234 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT in. sc. vi 
 
 the family carefully since this noise against the Director-Gen- 
 eral began. And I can tell you a few things about it. 
 
 MRS. PKEUSS and MRS. THOMAS. Oh, please do, Aunt Ole ! 
 
 MRS. STANGE. You are perfectly welcome. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Dear, dear, let us keep peace in the family! 
 
 MRS. STANGE. So we do the rest of us. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Yes, because all of you agree when it is a ques- 
 tion of abusing him. 
 
 MRS. KARL. Then there is one more thing on which we can 
 agree. 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 AUNT OLE. And the reason is that all of you are a little 
 cracked. 
 
 MRS. KARL. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. STANCE and MRS. THOMAS. [At the same time] That's 
 right, auntie! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS. Well, what else? It isn't the first time 
 you say that! 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, isn't it? 
 
 MRS. Rns. But, auntie, now I think you are going too far! 
 
 AUNT OLE. One goes mad with dreaming, another with 
 doubting and brooding, a third with everlasting business 
 speculations Yes, you know whom I have in mind. 
 
 MRS. STANCE. Now, Aunt Ole, you had better stop! 
 
 AUNT OLE. You are not going to fight me, are you? It 
 would be the only thing wanting! A fourth one goes mad 
 with inventions and all sorts of similar tomfoolery. And the 
 fifth 
 
 MRS. KARL. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. PREUSS and MRS. THOMAS. [Together] No, please, let 
 us have the fifth one also. 
 
 MRS. STANCE. [At the same time as the other two] I know 
 whom you mean, and it isn't nice of you!
 
 ACT in. sc.vii THE NEW SYSTEM -:;., 
 
 AUNT OLE. The fifth one does missionary work for peace 
 and love. 
 
 MRS. Riis. Yes, love, Aunt Ole you should abide in love. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Oh, don't bother me with your love nonsense! 
 You are just the fifth kind. And the most tedious of the 
 whole lot at that. 
 
 MRS. KARL, MRS. PREUSS, MRS. THOMAS. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 MRS. STANCE. [At the same time] But a little while ago you 
 said 
 
 AUNT OLE. You, too imp that you are! 
 
 ALL. [except MRS. Hi is] Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 Loud talking is heard from the outside. 
 
 AUNT OLE. Mercy me, here they come even here! Where 
 in the world can we turn to get a moment's peace? [Everybody 
 rises] How about the bedrooms I suppose they keep out of 
 them? 
 
 ALL. [except MRS. RIIS] Ha, ha, ha! [AUNT OLE laughs also. 
 
 MRS. KARL. [As they are going out] Yes, that's the way v>e 
 discuss this railroad question! 
 
 ALL. [including AUNT OLE] Ha, ha, ha, ha! 
 
 [They go out to the left. 
 
 SEVENTH SCENE 
 
 KAHRS and PREUSS appear on one side of the CHAIR- 
 MAN OF THE RAILROAD COMMITTEE; on the other 
 side of him are LANGE and KRAFT. 
 
 KAHRS. But it's the proofs that have to be weighed. 
 LANGE. But when proo'f is put against proof? 
 PREUSS. Figures! I want figures! For figures cannot lie. 
 KRAFT. But when there are figures on both sides?
 
 236 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT in. sc. vm 
 
 KAHRS. Why, it is just your proofs and your figures that 
 Hans Kampe has turned upside down. 
 
 LANGE. Not one of them! His premises are wrong. 
 
 PREUSS. His premises are in the official documents. 
 
 LANGE. But it's no good as evidence. The peculiarity of 
 the country 
 
 KRAFT. And of the traffic, too. 
 
 PREUSS. Well, let's take the Southern Railroad. There 
 Kampe has proved 
 
 LANGE. But that's just where Larssen has proved 
 
 CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen! 
 
 KAHRS. A calculation made by old Kampe is not the same 
 thing as one made by a man in Larssen 's position 
 
 PREUSS and KRAFT. What is that you say? 
 
 LANGE. I believe in the accuracy of Larssen as I believe 
 in 
 
 PREUSS. In God, I suppose? 
 
 LANGE. in a mathematical demonstration. That's what 
 I do! 
 
 EIGHTH SCENE 
 
 Those already on the stage are joined by LARSSEN, CANAL 
 INSPECTOR RAVN, and KARL RAVN. Two conversa- 
 tions are carried on simultaneously: one by the previous 
 group, gathered on one side in the foreground and 
 speaking in lowered voices; the other by the new- 
 comers, who pass slowly down the stage toward the foot- 
 lights. 
 
 [First group.] 
 
 KAHRS. No, you had better place your trust in the reports 
 of the operating engineers. 
 KRAFT. What of them?
 
 Acrra. sc. vra THE NEW SYSTEM 237 
 
 PREUSS. Those reports have now been analysed in a way 
 that leaves no loophole. 
 
 KRAFT. Yes, and the man who has done it is that shrewd 
 fellow over there, the brother-in-law of the Director-General. 
 
 LANGE. That's another piece of falsehood, I tell you! 
 
 PREUSS. And I tell you that you no longer know what you 
 are saying! 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF THE RAILROAD COMMITTEE. Gentlemen! 
 
 LANGE. Nobody doubts that we are now confronted by a 
 plot which is directed by a drunkard and secretly nursed by 
 family dissensions. 
 
 [Second group, speaking more loudly.] 
 
 RAVN. Why don't you come to me some day and have a 
 look at it? I have made a compilation of the reports by the 
 operating engineers. 
 
 LARSSEN. So have we. 
 
 RAVN. But not in the same way. Come and look at it. 
 
 LARSSEN. I will, since you permit me. 
 
 RAVN. I know you care for nothing but the truth of the 
 matter. 
 
 LARSSEN. I hope so, Mr. Ravn. 
 
 KARL RAVN has gradually approached the whispering 
 group. 
 
 KARL. [Jocularly] Family dissensions? Above all, speak up! 
 
 LANGE. [Aloud] Well, I am not afraid of doing so. Every 
 matter has to be searched down to its moral ramifications. 
 Our small circumstances permit this and it is a great ad- 
 vantage. 
 
 KARL. It's thoroughly national, at least. 
 
 PREUSS. Apparently it is part of our patriotic feelings. 
 
 LANGE. Don't mention such a thing! If there were any
 
 238 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc.vra 
 
 patriotic feelings among us, we would at least stick up for 
 what is known to belong to ourselves. 
 
 RAVN. That is to say, for our mistakes? 
 
 LANGE. And what are you sticking up for? The delirious 
 ravings of a drunkard! 
 
 CHAIRMAN OF RAILROAD COMMITTEE. Pardon me, but my 
 work in the Diet has accustomed me to insist on a certain 
 parliamentary moderation. 
 
 LANGE. But even in the Diet you can tell the truth. 
 
 CHAIRMAN. [Smilingly] No, that's exactly what you can- 
 not do in the Diet. 
 
 SEVERAL. Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 KRAFT. Speaking of the Diet how do they feel about it 
 there? What do you think they will decide on? 
 
 CHAIRMAN. Well, it isn't easy for the Diet to decide as long 
 as the experts remain divided among themselves. 
 
 PREUSS. So you regard those who are directly connected 
 with the railroads as experts? 
 
 KAHRS. That's an abominable piece of rudeness! 
 
 KRAFT. Yes, it's "abominable," indeed! But what do you 
 think will be the decision of the Diet? 
 
 RAVN. Why, that's easy to foretell. The Diet has two 
 roads to deal with. They will vote on one of them according 
 to the new system, and on the other according to the old. 
 
 CHAIRMAN. Then the principle of the matter would still 
 remain undetermined. 
 
 RAVN. Exactly! What the devil is ever settled on princi- 
 ple among us? 
 
 KARL. O-oh now you're "seeing black" again, Father 
 Ravn! 
 
 LARSSEN. [Who has approached the CHAIRMAN] But, if you 
 permit me to say so : two diametrically opposed things cannot 
 be true at one and the same time?
 
 xcrra. BC.DC THE NEW SYSTEM 2:50 
 
 NINTH SCENE 
 
 The same as before. KAMPE. 
 
 KAMPE. Here's a merry old bird for you! 
 
 KARL. Why, is he still here? 
 
 PREUBS. And drunk? They said he had straightened up? 
 
 KAHRS. He didn't touch his glass during the dinner. 
 
 KAMPE. [Singing] Gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum su- 
 mus 
 
 LANGE. [Speaking simultaneously with KAMPE to the CHAIR- 
 MAN] Permit me to introduce the man who is at the bottom 
 of this whole thing. 
 
 CHAIRMAN. Has he fallen as deep as that? 
 
 LANGE. Yes, he has made good headway in a few years. 
 
 KAMPE. Gaudeamus igitur, juvenes dum sumus 
 
 RAVN. What does this mean? 
 
 KAMPE. It's me, old man! Magnus Holm Kampe. 
 
 RAVN is seen to whisper to KARL, who leaves the room 
 hurriedly. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Who has again approached the CHAIRMAN] If 
 you'll excuse me, two diametrically opposed things cannot 
 be true at one and the same time. 
 
 KAMPE. Well, if it isn't (mimicking LARSSEN] His Excel- 
 lency the Principle is here also ye-es! 
 
 LANGE. [To KRAFT] Oh, please, get the whole railroad 
 committee in here, won't you! 
 
 KRAFT. In a moment. That's a good idea. 
 
 LANGE. And ask Frederick Riis to give you a hand. 
 
 KRAFT. I will ! 
 
 Goes out; in the meantime FREDERICK RAVN has tried to 
 pull KAMPE aside and to whisper to him. 
 
 KAMPE. Nonsense! [RAVN whispers to him again; KAMPE
 
 240 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT in. sc. ix 
 
 bursts into laughter] All of you are nothing but a lot of school- 
 boys compared with my son. [RAVN is whispering to him 
 again] Harm? No harm can come to him. He'll be direc- 
 tor-general and minister, too, no matter what you cook up. 
 Ha, ha! Gaudeamus igitur 
 
 LANGE. [To the CHAIRMAN] Do you hear what they ars 
 aiming at? 
 
 CHAIRMAN. I do. 
 
 RAVN. Oh, he's spoiling everything! What has become of 
 Hans? 
 
 PREUSS. I will 
 
 RAVN. I have sent Karl after him. But you might try 
 also. 
 
 PREUSS. [Hurrying out, meets in the doorway some men who 
 are trying to get in] Nobody can get in here ! There is nothing 
 to see! 
 
 FREDERICK RIIS. [Appearing from the outside] What do 
 you mean? Do you want to stop us from going in? 
 
 PREUSS hurries off. The others come into the room. 
 
 KAMPE. [Who in the meantime has been surveying the com- 
 pany with a smiling face] All of you look so sour. Do as I do: 
 put on a little night-cap, and then the world becomes liv- 
 able ye-es! 
 
 FREDERICK. Good! 
 
 KAMPE. Isn't it true, Lange? Oh, you're a stiff one, you 
 are. You're the personified wheel-and-axle friction, that's 
 what you are. You're equal to multiplied by /-one plus 
 /-two-r divided by R. 
 
 ALL. Bravo! [They applaud. 
 
 KAMPE. Why should we engineers get angry? What's the 
 use of having a state, if it doesn't pay for our stupidities? 
 [He laughs; some laugh with him] Isn't that so, you Mr. 
 Principle? [He pokes at LARSSEN] Brrrr!
 
 Acrra. SC.DC THE NEW SYSTEM 241 
 
 FREDERICK. But the Diet, Father Kampe, hasn't that to 
 control ? 
 
 KAMPE. The Diet? What does the cat know about mus- 
 tard? Are those who sit in it engineers, do you think? 
 Chatterboxes, that's what they are. [Laugh*. 
 
 SEVERAL ENGINEERS. Bravo, bravo! 
 
 RAVN. Shame on you, Kampe! 
 
 KAMPE. Shame? Did anybody say shame? 
 
 RAVN. Come along with me now! 
 
 KAMPE. If this were a big country then I would be min- 
 ister of public works and you? My secretary! [Laugh*. 
 
 ONE OF THE ENGINEERS. Listen to him! 
 
 SEVERAL. Bravo, bravo! 
 
 KAMPE. And do you know what you would be then? 
 
 SEVERAL. No. 
 
 KAMPE. Nice little boys nothing at all. 
 
 SEVERAL. Bravo, Kampe! 
 
 KAREN. [II ax entered and pushes through to the front} What 
 is it? Oh, can't you get him away? 
 
 RAVN. Impossible! 
 
 KAMPE. [Who has been looking for something in his note- 
 book] Now, you'll hear something or perhaps you have heard 
 it before? 
 
 SEVERAL. No! 
 
 LANGE. [To the CHAIRMAN] Twenty times at least. He al- 
 ways reads it when he gets drunk. 
 
 KAMPE. [Reading] 
 
 "Wide horizons, small conditions: 
 There your gifts will lift you upward. 
 Small conditions, close horizons: 
 There your faults will drag you downward." 
 
 [Speaking] I won't have anylxxly laugh at that. 
 
 KAREN. But can't you speak to him?
 
 242 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT m. sc. ix 
 
 RAVN. Oh, I have tried it! 
 
 KAREN. Frederick! 
 
 FREDERICK doesn't hear. 
 
 KAMPE. [Reading] 
 
 "Greatest ship in windless waters 
 Rots until it falls to pieces." 
 
 SEVERAL. [Laughing] Bravo! 
 
 RAVN. There is Hans now! 
 
 HANS, KARL RAVN, and PREUSS come into the room. 
 
 KAREN. [Meeting HANS] Hans! 
 
 KAMPE. Hans? Oh, come here, my boy! Look at him! 
 Get out of the way for him. 
 
 HANS. But, dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Ye-es ? 
 
 HANS. But, dad! 
 
 KAMPE. Yes, what's the matter! Won't you look happy, 
 please? I am so happy when I look at you! 
 
 HANS. Don't you remember what you have promised me? 
 
 KAMPE. I? Promised you? 
 
 HANS. Don't you remember? 
 
 KAMPE. [A cry escapes him. Then he whispers] That's so! 
 [He has to be supported by several of those around him. 
 
 RAVN. Give him some water! 
 
 KAREN. [Who has hurried over to the ladies' table, where she 
 finds a water-bottle and glasses] Here it is. 
 
 HANS. Thank you, Karen! 
 
 KAREN. Drink a little. 
 
 KAMPE. No I don't need it it was only 
 
 RAVN. Now he's sober again. 
 
 HANS. What was it? 
 
 KAMPE. It was only my memory that came back. 
 
 HANS. But what has happened? When I saw you last, 
 you seemed so happy and satisfied.
 
 Acrra. SC.DC THE NEW SYSTEM 243 
 
 SEVERAL. Yes. 
 
 KAMPK. Well, you see, it was Frederick Riis 
 
 KAREN. You? 
 
 KAMPE. He told me that my accounts were to be that 
 there was to be a special commission 
 
 KAREN. But, Frederick! 
 
 KAMPE. A special commission to examine my accounts. 
 Ordinary examination was not enough. 
 
 KAREV. [Whispering] Oh, Frederick! 
 
 KAMPE. Well and that was too much for me. And so I 
 forgot you, Hans and what I had promised you. A wretch 
 like me shouldn't give any promises. 
 
 HANS. There is such a crowd here. Come, now, and 
 let us 
 
 KAMPE. No, let them hear! They have witnessed my 
 shame. I have been a traitor to you. Let them hear me say so. 
 
 HANS. But, dad! 
 
 KAMPE. To-morrow, it will be all over the city. I, your 
 father, have spoiled everything for you. 
 
 HANS. Dad! 
 
 KAMPE. I can't be helped. You go your way. Don't 
 stay here any longer. 
 
 HANS. [Close to him] Yes, I will. 
 
 KAMPE. Sh don't say that! 
 
 HANS. Yes, I'll never leave you! 
 
 KAMPE. You won't, Hans? You won't? 
 
 HANS. Not for anything in the world! 
 
 CHAIRMAN. There's character in those two fellows! 
 
 KAMPE. Hans, do you dare to trust me once more? 
 
 HANS. Now more than ever. 
 
 KAMPE. Then I'll promise you No, I'll promise nothing. 
 But I'll beg of you: please, stay by me! And what had be- 
 come of you anyhow?
 
 244 THE NEW SYSTEM Aerm. sc. ix 
 
 HANS. I had my own sorrow. 
 
 KAMPE. You? Who dares to cause you any sorrow? 
 
 HANS. Come now and let us go home. 
 
 KAMPE. All right. Can you forgive me? 
 
 HANS. That I forgot you for a moment! Come, now.! 
 
 [They go out arm in arm. 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT IV 
 
 A living-room at the Director-GeneraTa. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 RIIS is dressed in black and wears a number of decora- 
 tions. MRS. RIIS wars a rich dress, but all black. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Reading] "For it is upon your own hearts 
 that you must keep watch. This is neglected by the children 
 of the world. They have so many things that take them out 
 of themselves. And if a reminder should reach them, they 
 seek diversion, or, if forced into a reckoning, they try to put 
 the fault on some one else. At the best, they strive to set 
 themselves right, although we can accomplish nothing by our 
 own powers." 
 
 RIIS. Quite right! By our own powers we can accomplish 
 nothing, indeed! See here, Kanima, it's late already, and 
 the services will last for some time hadn't we better have 
 a bite before we start? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But you know, dear, that we never eat before 
 we receive communion. It seems as if we were a little more 
 ready for it, then. 
 
 RIIS. Well, as you say Yes, yes! How would it be if we 
 could not find religious consolation against the inconstancy 
 and treachery of the world! I suppose the debate in the Diet 
 is at its hottest just now. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Don't let us be thinking of the Diet, dear. 
 245
 
 246 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT TV. sc. i 
 
 These decisions that are nothing but human devices, what do 
 they amount to? 
 
 Rus. You are right, dear girl, you are right! That was an 
 extremely comforting book, out of which you were reading to 
 me. Nothing that we human creatures devise is good for 
 anything. Oh, if it were possible to rid oneself of it alto- 
 gether, to get away from it entirely! 
 
 MBS. Rns. Are you now thinking of the life that comes 
 after death, dear? 
 
 Rns. Well, not death exactly but peace, rest. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Yes, you certainly need a little rest, you who 
 have worked so hard. But why, then, don't you resign? 
 
 Rns. What makes you think of it? Who has been talking 
 of it? 
 
 MBS. Rns. Nobody, as far as I can remember. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, it must have been somebody. Try to remember. 
 Frederick? 
 
 MBS. Rns. Oh, Frederick is saying so many things these 
 days. He isn't himself any longer. 
 
 RIIS. He is no longer wholly loyal to his father. That's 
 what's the matter with Frederick, my dear. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Don't say so, dear! Frederick is having a 
 struggle of his own, now. 
 
 Rns. Well, don't let us talk of it just now. Let us fix our 
 minds on something that brings peace with it. 
 
 MBS. Rns. Do you want me to read a little more? 
 
 Rns. Oh, no! Although it's an excellent book. 
 
 MBS. Rns. Perhaps you want to read it yourself? 
 
 Rns. Oh, no! Hadn't we better start soon? 
 
 [Looks at his watch. 
 
 MBS. RIIS. Why, it won't begin for an hour yet. 
 
 Rns. But isn't it customary to get there a little early? 
 
 MBS. Rns. Yes.
 
 ACT iv. sc. i THE NEW SYSTEM 247 
 
 Run. It is as if one could manage one's thoughts better in 
 the church I can't keep it out of my mind: after all, it's 
 my life-work they are discussing in the Diet now. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I think what shows your greatness, dear, is 
 just that while they are persecuting and tormenting you, you 
 pursue your way calmly toward the only thing that can bring 
 you peace. 
 
 RIIS. But it's hard to bear the thought that our children 
 will not be with us. Holste is a fortunate man, he is. He will 
 be surrounded by all that belong to him. It is as if I had 
 built up nothing, brought nothing together. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. How can you talk like that? As for the 
 Holstcs, it is her work more than his. Magda is so much 
 stronger and more capable than I am. 
 
 RIIS. Don't let it worry you, my dear. I am sure you have 
 done all you could. But I really think the children ought to 
 have gone along for your sake. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Oh, they are not accustomed to pay much at- 
 tention to me. 
 
 RIIS. Don't say that! Don't say that! 
 
 MRS. Rns. I can't say how it hurts me that I cannot 
 make them stay by you just now. 
 
 RIIS. You're loyal, Kamma! But don't cry now! It will 
 show! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I have no such gifts as you and the children. 
 
 Rns. But you have a heart that's what you have! Much 
 will be different hereafter. I have thought it all over. And 
 I have not always been what I ought to have been. 
 
 [Give* her hi* hand. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Dearest dear! 
 
 RIIS. But don't cry now! People will misunderstand. 
 Couldn't we talk of something else now? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Yes, but there are the children now.
 
 248 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. n 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 
 Rus. MRS. Rus. FREDERICK. KAREN. 
 
 Rns. That's right, children! You are coming with us, 
 after all? 
 
 MRS. Rus. I knew they would! But you don't look well, 
 Karen! 
 
 Rus. I suppose you have been unable to sleep again? 
 But how is it going to end, child, if you don't get any sleep? 
 Tell me! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Come with us to-day. That will bring you the 
 peace you are looking for. 
 
 KAREN. I should like to. But I cannot. Not just now. 
 
 Rns. What is the matter with you? Have you two heard 
 anything? They can't have come to a decision in the Diet 
 yet? 
 
 FREDERICK. In the Diet? I haven't been near it. 
 
 Rns. Oh, you haven't? 
 
 MRS. Rns. It is much better that Frederick should stay 
 with us. You must stand by your father in days like these, 
 Frederick. 
 
 Rns. Oh, there's no reason why he should consider me at 
 all! If his own heart doesn't make him find out what is 
 happening to his father 
 
 MRS. Rns. Say rather: if it doesn't make him go to church 
 with his father. 
 
 Rns. You are right rather that! 
 
 MRS. Rns. One has to make some sacrifice for one's own 
 father. 
 
 RHS. Not at all! I have already declared that nobody 
 need do anything for me. He has his full freedom.
 
 ACT iv. sc. ii THE NEW SYSTBIf 249 
 
 RIIS. Thai's splendid of you, dear but children may 
 have a little too much freedom. 
 
 RIIS. Love must be free, unconditional. 
 
 KAREN. That's just what Frederick wanted to talk with 
 you about, papa. 
 
 RIIS. [Surprised] About what? 
 
 KAREN. About his love for Anna. 
 
 RIIS. I think both of you - ! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But Karen, dear don't! 
 
 RIIS. And that's what you are coming with now! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Really, you shouldn't! 
 
 FREDERICK. We thought, Karen and I - 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Hush! 
 
 FREDERICK. We thought that to-day, when you have both 
 prepared yourself and are going to - 
 
 RIIS. Then we are to be upset, of course! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Now you are really tormenting your father! 
 
 RIIS. Don't you think I have enough as it is? Do you 
 think it is so very easy, my dear Frederick, to keep my 
 thoughts on higher matters just now in the midst of a perse- 
 cution which at this time, perhaps at this very moment - 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Haven't you common sense, Frederick? You 
 must show some consideration! 
 
 RIIS. Oh, oh! 
 
 FREDERICK. I thought that on a day like this your minds 
 might be more open to what is stirring me most deeply. 
 
 RIIS. So that's what's stirring you? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. And not the thought of your father? 
 
 RIIS. Oh, my dear, don't mention met 
 
 FREDERICK. Papa, if I am to be good for anything, I have 
 to begin with this. I see that now. 
 
 RIIS. Oh, with thia!
 
 250 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. n 
 
 MRS. Rus. You should begin with your father, with love 
 and trust for him! 
 
 Rus. Oh, that's of no importance! But this other thing! 
 Then I am sure you'll go far! Merciful heavens, then noth- 
 ing will become of you! You'll spoil your career, waste 
 your whole future! Why a seamstress! 
 
 KAREN. Yes, but a good girl, papa! 
 
 Rus. Good? .She? I am astonished at you, Karen. 
 How could she be good, who [With a glance at his wife, 
 in a low voice] Oh, that's right! [Aloud] Nobody can be 
 called good who wants to force herself upon a respectable 
 family. 
 
 FREDERICK. But she doesn't want to. 
 
 KAREN. [Simultaneously] No, that's just what she doesn't 
 want. She is determined to go to her relatives in America. 
 She doesn't want us to do anything out of pity. She is a 
 good girl! 
 
 Rus. So much the better! Then it's all settled. When she 
 herself doesn't want it? 
 
 MRS. Rus. I think so, too. Since she is going anyhow. 
 
 FREDERICK. Yes, but 7 want it! And in order to win her 
 around, I must be able to say: My parents have nothing 
 against you; my parents are kind and good. If you could 
 only understand I can't put it in words! 
 
 Rus. No, you had better control yourself, Frederick. 
 
 KAREN. But I, who have seen them together, I under- 
 stand. 
 
 Rus. You are feverish, Karen. I think you ought really 
 to be in bed. Now, don't let us do anything quickly in this 
 matter. If it is possible, children, let us choose some other 
 time. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Your father and I are going to church. [She 
 goes over to her husband] But for that matter, dearest, I think
 
 ACT iv. sc. ii THE NEW SYSTEM 251 
 
 that when they really love each other, then Why, bless 
 your heart, it's love that is the greatest thing of all. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, Frederick says he loves her. But then Fred- 
 erick says also he loves us. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. So he does. 
 
 RIIS. And he hasn't even thought of going up to the Diet 
 to find out what is becoming of his father's life-work. That 
 shows how great his love is! 
 
 FREDERICK. Papa! 
 
 RIIS. I don't think, my dear, that we need to be alarmed 
 by his declarations of love not even when they concern 
 others than ourselves. 
 
 FREDERICK. Papa! 
 
 KAREN. Oh, don't take it that way! 
 
 RIIS. How am I to take it, then? Perhaps I should respect 
 an affair like this last one of Frederick's? 
 
 FREDERICK. Papa! 
 
 RIIS. Oh, you may as well hear the truth! 
 
 FREDERICK. If it only were the truth! 
 
 RIIS. What was that you said? [General silence follows. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Go away, now, Frederick. 
 
 KAREN. No, papa, I cannot bear this thing any longer. 
 
 RIIS. You cannot? Oh, you are sick that's what is the 
 matter with you. 
 
 KAREN. Yes, I am sick. But I am sick because it is impos- 
 sible for us to deal truthfully with each other 
 
 RIIS. Oh, are we back there again? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Now, dearest! 
 
 RIIS. Yes, I'll try not to lose my patience! I assure you, 
 Karen, that all this talk about sincerity and truth is nothing 
 but phrases. 
 
 KAREN. Phrases? That? 
 
 MRS. RHS. But, dear
 
 252 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. n 
 
 Rus. Well, now don't misunderstand me. I don't know 
 exactly how to put it But you see, don't you, that I have 
 made some headway in the world after all? Haven't I? 
 Well, don't you think I have some idea of how it has hap- 
 pened? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Of course, dear! 
 
 Rus. But do you think I have made my way as far as I 
 have by going around to all sorts of people and telling them 
 the truth? No; had I done that, I shouldn't have gone 
 very far. 
 
 KAREN. That isn't what I mean either. 
 
 Rus. Well, what do you mean? Oh, is there never going 
 to be an end to this? 
 
 KAREN. I mean that among ourselves, to ourselves 
 
 Rus. Well, what's the matter with ourselves? 
 
 KAREN. Why, I am not sure I can tell not now. I am 
 so I am so kind of 
 
 MRS. Rus. But I can, dear. It is true yes, it is that 
 our life is not given to truth and love. No, it isn't! 
 
 Rus. Yes, when everything gets mixed up, then you have 
 to take a hand. Then it's your chance. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Dear! 
 
 Rus. I beg your pardon all I meant was that, as far as 
 the truth is concerned, we don't know what we are talking of. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, we do. 
 
 Rus. Wait a moment. I am a mathematician, and I am 
 accustomed to exactness. Do you think anybody is abso- 
 lutely truthful? 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, dear. 
 
 Hi is. Why, where's your head? Oh, I beg your pardon 
 but let us consider any kind of relationship you please. Let 
 us turn to the very highest to the highest of all to the 
 King and our relation to him. He makes speeches to us, and
 
 ACT iv. BC. ii THE NEW SYSTEM 
 
 we make speeches to him. Suppose he should tell us just 
 what he thinks of us, or we were to let him know all we hap- 
 pen to think of him? Why, the law won't permit it even! 
 We would be punished for doing it. And rightly, too. And 
 as for him? If he won't be satisfied with paying us compli- 
 ments, he has to speak through his ministers and they are 
 not the kind of people that say too much. Or let us consider 
 another relationship with the church. 
 
 MRS. Rns. Why, that's sincere, isn't it? 
 
 RIIS. Of course. So is everything else. But suppose our 
 minister, instead of telling us what the Bible and his oath of 
 office prescribe, should begin to talk of his own doubts 
 and who is entirely free from them? Wouldn't that make a 
 nice little rumpus? although, of course, it would be nothing 
 but the truth! And we, too, if we should begin to vent our 
 doubts, one more loudly than the other? Why, the result 
 would be such a Babel that nobody in the whole world could 
 hear himself think! No, the only way is to let the world 
 run in accordance with custom and law here a little more, 
 there a little less. The main thing is that it does run. And 
 if you want order in it why, then it w in order. 
 
 KAREN. But, papa 
 
 RIIS. Oh, you are sick! But am I not right? Now, look 
 at us here, for instance. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But really, dear, we tell each other the truth. 
 
 RIIS. Oh, we do, do we? Suppose I were to tell you the 
 truth, the whole, unqualified truth why, we shouldn't be 
 living together another day 
 
 MRS. Rns. But now, dear! 
 
 KAREN. [Speaking simultaneously with Mrs. Riu] You 
 don't mean it, papa! 
 
 RIIS. in peace, I mean. And vice versa also. Not 
 
 because you or I arc worse than others. Perhaps we are bet-
 
 254 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. n 
 
 ter than most. But if everything is to be blurted out, then 
 it all goes to pieces family, society, nation, church, every- 
 thing would go to pieces. Yes, we should be reduced to mere 
 animals for as a rule it would be nothing but the animal in 
 us that spoke. 
 
 KAREN. But listen to me all that is not what I am think- 
 ing of. 
 
 MRS. Rus. No, it is not what we are thinking of. 
 
 Rns. No, that is not what you are thinking of, when it is 
 placed before you in its proper light. I knew that, of course. 
 But now perhaps you can perceive what lies hidden beneath 
 those insidious phrases. Life is so far from being based on 
 truth that, instead, all its fundamental relations are based 
 on a tacit agreement never to let the whole truth out. To be 
 more truthful than custom demands is nonsensical, unman- 
 nerly, stupid perhaps even dangerous. 
 
 KAREN. But just let me answer 
 
 Rns. Wait a moment. The art of life, the great art of 
 living, is a question of balance, of strategy no, strategy is 
 so often misused: let me stick to balance. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But, dear! 
 
 Rns. Oh, lord, haven't I for so many years been dealing 
 with people both above and below myself? I ought to know 
 how the thing is to be managed. Now, this is the 
 thing: not to "queer" yourself. Of course, you shouldn't 
 do anything that is wrong either. It is a great foolishness 
 to do anything wrong. And then, of course, it is against 
 the law 
 
 MRS. Rus. And against what we were taught in our child- 
 hood. 
 
 Rns. And what we were taught in our childhood also, of 
 course. But this is the thing: to get out of everything 
 in an easy, proper, gentlemanly way, Prrrr!
 
 ACT iv. 6c.ii THE NEW SYSTEM 255 
 
 FREDERICK. And may I ask what is the meaning of all 
 this? The application? 
 
 RIIS. This is the meaning and the applieation: you have 
 been guilty of a piece of foolishness [Coming closer to 
 FREDERICK] and I suppose it was "sincere" enough of its kind. 
 
 FREDERICK. Papa! 
 
 RIIS. And undoubtedly your marrying her would also be 
 "sincere" I have not the slightest doubt! 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, papa, please! 
 
 RIIS. But it would only be another piece of foolishness. 
 Which means that it wouldn't lead anywhere in particular 
 except up into the air, into the blue. And there it's very 
 hard to keep one's balance. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I think it's time for us to start now, dear. 
 
 RIIS. Right you are! Well, this was not what ought to 
 have been occupying our minds, but I suppose it will prove 
 useful in some way. And it has helped to take my mind off 
 other things. Yes, yes! Oh, Frederick, help me on with 
 my coat, please! and go up to the Diet and find how soon 
 they are likely to come to a decision. I shouldn't won- 
 der if my friends proved to be in the majority, after all. 
 And, speaking quite frankly, do you think that would be the 
 case if I had begun life as you now want to begin it? Pull 
 down the coat a little behind that's it. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Now, dear, you must come. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, yes. Oh, well, there is no time to prepare oneself 
 
 as one ought to. Good-bye, children. May God be with you ! 
 
 [KAREN breaks into hysterical laughter. 
 
 RIIS. What is it? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Shaking simultaneously u-ith Riis] Karen! 
 
 FREDERICK. I expected it! 
 
 KAREN. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! 
 
 The scene changes to the room at KAMPE'S as before in Act I.
 
 256 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. ra 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 HANS is working at the table. LARSSEN comes in. 
 
 LARSSEN. I beg your pardon! 
 
 HANS. Glad to see you! [Rising] You look hot. Perhaps 
 you'll let me 
 
 LARSSEN. Nothing at all, thank you. 
 
 HANS. But won't you ? 
 
 LARSSEN. No, thank you. 
 
 HANS. Won't you sit down? 
 
 LARSSEN. Thank you, I will in a moment [Pause. 
 
 HANS. Perhaps it's my father you are looking for, Mr. 
 Larssen. 
 
 LARSSEN. No. [Pause. 
 
 HANS. Have you been listening to the debate in the Diet? 
 
 LARSSEN. [After a moment's hesitation] Yes. 
 
 HANS. Nothing has been settled yet? 
 
 LARSSEN. No 
 
 HANS. But I cannot do anything about that, can I? 
 
 LARSSEN. Oh, you cannot? Will you let me have a look 
 at the French at the verified French report of the speech 
 made by the Director-General before the Railroad Congress? 
 
 HANS. It is quoted in my book. 
 
 LARSSEN. I know. But in this case it is a question of the 
 authentic document. That is to say, in so far as that can 
 prove anything. 
 
 HANS. Why, as it happens, I have just been using the pub- 
 lication in question [Goes over to the table. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Following him] Would you let me look at it? 
 
 HANS. You're welcome. 
 
 LARSSEN. Will you permit me to sit down? 
 
 HANS. Of course.
 
 ACT iv. sc.ra THE NEW SYSTEM 257 
 
 LARSSEN. Thank you. [N/V.v down] Oh, this is the publica- 
 tion? [Examining the outside of it carefully] French? Yes. 
 Paris. Mm! 
 
 He studies the imprint, the list of contents, the date of 
 publication, and finally he reads a little here and a 
 little there, frequently comparing one passage with 
 another. 
 
 HANS. [To himself] I think he is making a comparison of 
 the print as if he believed I might have inserted something. 
 [Aloud] You see that marked passage ? 
 
 LARSSEN*. Yes, I see. 
 
 HANS. Perhaps you would like to see how I have trans- 
 lated it. [I^cks up a copy of his book. 
 
 LARSSEX. Thank you. 
 
 HANS. Page 49, farthest down the marked passage. 
 
 LARSSEN. I have it. [Begins to compare. 
 
 HANS. Have you found any mistakes? 
 
 LARSSEN. Not yet. 
 
 HANS. Well, I don't think you will. 
 
 LARSSEN puts away the book with a sigh and buries him- 
 self in the French publication again. 
 
 HANS. Well, I don't think you will find it necessary to read 
 the rest. It's only the marked place that counts. But it is 
 enough. 
 
 LARSSEN. If it were correct it would be enough. 
 
 HANS. If it were correct? Don't you believe it? 
 
 LARSSEN. No. 
 
 HANS. But, my dear Mr. Larssen, don't you see that the 
 report was taken down on the spot and approved by the 
 speaker himself? 
 
 LARSSEN. So it says. 
 
 HANS. And still you do not believe? 
 
 LARSSEN. No.
 
 258 - THE NEW SYSTEM ACT TV. sc. m 
 
 HANS. Do you think that the publication, as a whole or 
 in part, has been tampered with? Do you think the report is 
 forged? 
 
 LARSSEN. I don't know But I have perfect faith in the 
 Director-General . 
 
 HANS. You're welcome to it! 
 
 LARSSEN. I might say that he is too moral a man, too 
 respectable, too trustworthy, to do such a thing. But em- 
 ployed in such a manner, my words would imply an insult. 
 I am satisfied with saying that he is too clever a man by 
 far too clever to do such a thing. He is the cleverest man 
 I have ever met. 
 
 HANS. Yes, he's clever. But if you 
 
 LARSSEN. I have no intention of entering upon any argu- 
 ment. Neither with you, nor with anybody else. I believe 
 what I believe. 
 
 HANS. And not what you see? 
 
 LARSSEN. I have seen nothing. 
 
 HANS. Why, that beats everything! When his own words 
 l - words authorized by himself 
 
 LARSSEN. I have not seen them. For I dare not say that 
 I have seen a thing until that thing has been investigated. 
 \Will you let me borrow this publication? 
 
 HANS. With pleasure. 
 
 LARSSEN. Thank you! [Takes the publication. 
 
 HANS. But only on one condition 
 
 LARSSEN. N-n-no. I will not be entangled by any kind of 
 condition. I will promise nothing. 
 
 [Puts the publication back on the table. 
 
 HANS. It is not a difficult promise. Only that you are 
 to acknowledge it openly if you find what I have found. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Picking up the publication again] I don't prom-
 
 ACTIV. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 259 
 
 ise what is a foregone conclusion. I have no desire to deceive 
 anybody. Neither anybody else nor myself. Good-bye. 
 
 [He takes his hat. 
 
 HANS. I believe that of you, Mr. Larssen. 
 
 LARSSEN. I am not at all in need of such an expression on 
 your part. [Turn* to go and runs into FREDERICK RAVN. 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 HANS. LARSSEN. RAVN. 
 
 RAVN. Why, I declare! This is a collision of two prin- 
 ciples. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Returning] I must protest against any kind of 
 insulting remarks particularly from you! 
 
 RAVN. What's the matter with you? Insulting remarks? 
 
 LARSSEN. I am no principle. Even if I possess sufficient 
 self-control to observe certain established rules, I am no prin- 
 ciple. I am a living human being. 
 
 RAVN. Well, if you say so yourself, I suppose we must 
 believe it. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Returning once more] So you haven't known 
 before that I was a living human being? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, yes, yes, yes! 
 
 LARSSEN. Oh, you really have! [Goes out. 
 
 RAVN and HANS. [Simultaneously] Ha, ha, ha! 
 
 RAVN. What has happened? 
 
 HANS. I have to ask that! For he was excited before he 
 came here. He came from the Diet. 
 
 RAVN. I saw him. What did he come for? 
 
 HANS. For that French publication which 
 
 RAVN. Oh-h! Then I understand. 
 
 HANS. What?
 
 260 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. iv 
 
 RAVN. A speech by the Chairman of the Railroad Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 HANS. Oh, is that so? But, dear man, why are you here? 
 Now? When they are in session? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, we have adjourned for an hour. Give me a 
 glass of water! 
 
 HANS. There you are! Nothing else? 
 
 RAVN. No, thank you. 
 
 HANS. Have you spoken? 
 
 RAVN. The Chairman of the Railroad Committee has spoken. 
 
 HANS. Yes, of course. 
 
 RAVN. You don't understand. He is almost on your side. 
 He has changed front. 
 
 HANS. Changed front? The Chairman of the Railroad 
 Committee? 
 
 RAVN. That is to say, to some extent. I don't think we 
 can get him beyond that point. But it is an event as it is. 
 
 HANS. I should say so! And what has caused it? The 
 campaign in the press? 
 
 RAVN. Do you call it a campaign? Then you must be 
 easily satisfied. No, in our conditions that kind of thing 
 is entirely the result of casual personal contacts and impres- 
 sions. His change of heart dates back to the dinner which the 
 Director-General gave to the engineers. 
 
 HANS. But how can that be? 
 
 RAVN. There he saw your father and yourself together, and 
 what he saw made him trust you. That's what he hadn't 
 done before. 
 
 HANS. There now ! 
 
 RAVN. Don't cry victory yet, my boy. 
 
 HANS. But then you will speak also? 
 
 RAVN. The Chairman has, in the main, said all I should 
 have to say.
 
 ACT iv. BC.IV THE NEW SYSTEM 261 
 
 HANS. But nevertheless? 
 
 RAVN. Frankly speaking, Hans, I don't care to appear pub- 
 licly in opposition to my brother-in-law. 
 
 HANS. What do you mean? 
 
 RAVN. Nobody should be driven into doing what is against 
 his nature. And I don't like to stir up scandal Your 
 drinking water is very good. 
 
 HANS. But you must vote at least? 
 
 RAVN. I think I shall stay away. It was to tell you that I 
 came here. Have you a cigar to give me? Thanks. What's 
 the use of your standing there making eyes at me? Pri- 
 vately I can very well be against him, and I am. Publicly I 
 keep my mouth shut just because I am against him. This 
 is the more dignified way, or rather, it's the only one. 
 
 HANS. And the country? 
 
 RAVN. The country, the country? Are there, then, no pri- 
 vate circumstances within it? Even stupidities involve the 
 honour and welfare of numerous families. And such things 
 are more important than money. 
 
 HANS. But back of the money we find 
 
 RAVN. the taxpayers. A very distant relationship, 
 which they themselves often don't realise Oh, of course, I 
 don't mean that the stupidities are to be preserved for all 
 eternity. All I mean is that we shouldn't delve too much in 
 everything, and thereby make the trouble still worse. It 
 comes out all right in the end, if we only give it time. I am 
 growing tired of the whole job. 
 
 HANS. They tell me that you are brother-in-law to the 
 stupidities 
 
 RAVN. What is that you are saying? 
 
 HANS. and also their godfather. 
 
 RAVN. I? 
 
 HANS. You were the man who got them praised abroad.
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT rv. sc. iv 
 
 For from abroad must come whatever is to succeed here. 
 And in this case the success was so marked that it made even 
 you hesitate. But you kept silent. And your silence was 
 very expensive to yourself and to the country alike. 
 
 RAVN. How the devil did you get hold of that? Oh, 
 this cigar is too damned strong! [Throws it away. 
 
 HANS. Now I expect nothing less of you than that you re- 
 turn to the Diet and confess your own share in the mischief 
 made 
 
 RAVN. Well, I'll be 
 
 HANS. that you confess yourself ashamed at not having 
 spoken up before 
 
 RAVN. But, Hans? 
 
 HANS. and that you ask the others to do the same 
 that is, confess that they have made a mistake, and that they 
 have waited too long to say so. 
 
 RAVN. In other words, we are to strip ourselves naked? 
 Oh, you arch-sentimentalist, you king of all phrase-mongers! 
 Will you please accept my most subservient compliments? 
 So this is "the new system of the new generation"? Is it? 
 
 HANS. Jesting is of no use. It will have to begin with 
 confessions 
 
 RAVN. Suit yourself. 
 
 HANS. And if you won't, I shall assist you. 
 
 RAVN. In what way if I may ask Your Profundity? 
 
 HANS. I shall reprint the articles you wrote that time. 
 They are in my possession, and I have made a historical 
 study of the influence they exerted. This I shall set forth 
 as well as the author's name. Now, you have your choice ! 
 
 RAVN. I think you have lost your reason! Oh you are 
 the biggest fool the world ever saw! 
 
 KAMPE. [Enters] My, but you're looking glum! What's 
 up? I thought you were in the Diet.
 
 ACT iv. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM ''<>:$ 
 
 RAVN. We have adjourned for an hour. 
 
 KAMPE. Has anything happened, as you . [Stops. 
 
 HANS. I'll tell you. 
 
 RAVN. No. 
 
 HANS. Yes. Do you know that it was Father Ravn here 
 who, in his day 
 
 RAVN. Stop that nonsense now! It's my concern, and not 
 yours. 
 
 KAMPE. What is it? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, it's a confounded story, that's what it is and 
 that fellow over there is a regular lunatic, a scatter-brained 
 idealist, an inveterate scandal -maker, a chatterbox in a 
 word, your son! Good-bye! [Takes up his hat. 
 
 KAMPE. Well, well? 
 
 HANS. He was the man who once got the system praised 
 abroad and who started the whole mischief in that way. 
 
 KAMPE. What did you say? 
 
 HANS. It was he none but he! And he has nicely managed 
 to keep it covered up all these years. And now, when there 
 is a chance to make up for it, he wants to dodge the voting. 
 
 RAVN. [Coming back into the room again] Well, don't you 
 know that a speech or a vote more or less doesn't matter at 
 present? For the system is not going to be dispensed with 
 just yet not this time. So, why don't you leave me alone? 
 
 HANS. It's the proceedings in the matter that are the main 
 thing. Every issue must be dealt with in such a manner 
 that through it we get ahead a step or two, morally and 
 intellectually. [RAVN starts to go; HANS follows him] Go back 
 to the Diet. There is only one way for us to get out of the 
 mud in which we are sticking: let us stand up and confess! 
 
 KAMPE. Ravn you have got to do it. 
 
 RAVN. Oh, go to Hades with your idiotic talk! 
 
 HANS. Don't then! And I'll do it for you.
 
 264 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. v 
 
 RAVN. [Going up to KAMPE] Did you ever hear anything 
 like it? What kind of generation is this? 
 
 KAMPE. We were too easy-going in our day. Now these 
 young ones are a little too keen, perhaps. 
 
 RAVN. He will ruin himself, just as you ruined yourself, 
 only in a different fashion. Well, now I must go. Any 
 cigars? Oh, that's right, they're too strong for me. 
 
 KAMPE. Good-bye. 
 
 HANS. [Simultaneously] Are you going to speak? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, I am not proclaiming in advance what I am 
 going to do. Lunatic! [Goes out to the left. 
 
 KAMPE. I never thought that he [Stops. 
 
 HANS. Well, there you are. Even those who are held par- 
 ticularly outspoken among us, are as cowardly as the rest. 
 They only feel differently about it. 
 
 KAMPE. Well, well! 
 
 HANS. Look who's coming there? 
 
 KAMPE. What? Karen ! 
 
 HANS. And the way she looks. 
 
 KAMPE. I think something 
 
 HANS. Oh, what can it mean? Step aside a little, will you? 
 Karen! [She appears in the doorway on the right side. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 
 HANS. KAMPE. KAREN has no hat on and appears 
 just as she was when she rose from the bed or couch 
 on which FREDERICK had laid her after her attack of 
 hysterics. 
 
 KAREN. No one must see me. I have stolen out of the 
 house. Mamma thought I was sleeping. Hans, let us make 
 haste !
 
 ACT iv. sc.v THE NEW SYSTEM 265 
 
 HANS. Where? 
 
 KAREN. Away very far away. Come now! 
 
 HANS. Yes. 
 
 KAREN. For I can't stay at home any longer. No, I 
 won't! 
 
 HANS. No? 
 
 KAMPE signals to HANS, pointing first to KAREN, then 
 to himself; then in direction of KAREN'S home; then 
 he hurries out, 
 
 HANS. You are sick? 
 
 KAREN. Yes, I am sick for I have such a pain here 
 especially in here oh, such a pain, such a pain oh, this 
 struggle! 
 
 HANS. But you should wait till you are well again. 
 
 KAREN. No, I'll never get well at home. No! They say 
 that I don't sleep enough. But it isn't that! No I have 
 known a long time what it was. But I haven't wanted to 
 speak of it. I can tell it to you, but nobody else must hear it. 
 
 HANS. Nobody will! 
 
 KAREN. Do you remember when we were children and went 
 out rowing together? 
 
 HANS. Yes. 
 
 KAREN. Why can't we do that now? Come! 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 KAREN. Oh, how nice it is to feel your hand about mine! 
 How good it feels! Just as when we were children. I think 
 of it every day. Don't you do that also? 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 KAREN. If you'll only row me far, far away, then everything 
 will be as it used to be. 
 
 HANS. But hadn't you better rest a little first? You are so 
 tired.
 
 266 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT iv. sc. v 
 
 KAREN. Not at all. It's only my head oh, that feels 
 good, so good! Now I feel quiet, Hans! 
 
 HANS. Do you? 
 
 KAREN. Yes. For I have had a hard time. Oh, this 
 struggle, this struggle! 
 
 HANS. But hadn't you better rest? 
 
 KAREN. I am resting now. 
 
 HANS. Sit down here, and you'll rest still better. 
 
 KAREN. But remember, we must go away. 
 
 HANS. At once! Now sit down here. 
 
 KAREN. No, you must sit down first. 
 
 HANS. All right. [He sits down. 
 
 KAREN. And I'll sit here. [Sits down on the sofa. 
 
 HANS. That's it. [He keeps her hand in his. 
 
 KAREN. Poor little mamma! 
 
 HANS. Should we let your mother know? 
 
 KAREN. No. Poor, poor mamma! 
 
 HANS. Yes, she is kind. 
 
 KAREN. Do you like me? 
 
 HANS. I have never liked anybody else. 
 
 KAREN. Why did you start all this struggle then? 
 
 ^HANS. But you agreed with me about it before? 
 
 KAREN. We women have to bear the worst of it. 
 
 HANS. Dearest! 
 
 KAREN. It/ wasn't nice of you, Hans. 
 
 HANS. Karen! 
 
 KAREN. No, not nice not nice at all 
 
 HANS. She's sleeping. 
 
 FREDERICK appears in the background, approaching 
 hurriedly. HANS leaves him back. 
 
 KAREN. What is it, Hans? 
 
 HANS. Oh, I thought you were asleep? Are you not all 
 right now?
 
 ACT iv. sc.v THE NEW SYSTEM 267 
 
 KAREN. Yes it's all right. [Silence 
 
 FREDERICK. Is she asleep? 
 HANS nods affirmation. 
 FREDERICK. That's good! 
 
 Comes nearer on tiptoe; holds out both hands to HANS, 
 
 who gives him the one hand that's free. 
 KARL RAVN. [In from the left] Come up to the Diet! Uncle 
 
 Frederick is going to 
 
 FREDERICK and HANS. [ Turning toicard KARL] Hush! 
 KARL. [Who has stopped on seeing FREDERICK] Oh, are you 
 here? What's up? 
 BOTH. Hush! 
 
 Curtain.
 
 ACT V 
 
 The private office of the Director-General in his home by the sea. 
 
 FIRST SCENE 
 
 When the curtain rises, Rus is seen escorting a gentle- 
 man to the door and beyond it with the utmost courtesy. 
 Then he comes slowly back into the room and takes up 
 a position in the middle of it. There he stands for a 
 few moments with his feet far apart. 
 
 Rus. So His Excellency is in doubt! I have been sus- 
 pecting it. There was an unmistakable question in his eyes 
 whether, at bottom, I was not in doubt myself. [Brings his 
 feet together and walks around a few steps, but soon he resumes, 
 as if unconsciously, his previous position] Doubt yes, yes, 
 doubt? What is there in this world that cannot be doubted? 
 And it is the same thing in the office. Exactly the same 
 kind of eyes. They have been vouching for the system, those 
 fellows. And now they are in a dilemma. They have lost 
 their own faith and now they are drawing on mine. Except 
 Larssen. He has faith! But when a firmly founded, whole- 
 some nature like Larssen can have faith in it, then I am sure 
 there must be something to it. There must! I had my 
 doubts in the beginning yes, I had! The whole thing 
 seemed too good to be true but by that time the others 
 were convinced and they restored my own conviction 
 At bottom it is entirely their fault indeed, it is ! Of course, 
 it is! There is no question about it. The whole thing had 
 been turned into a national cause before anybody knew what 
 
 268
 
 ACTV. BC.I THE NEW SYSTEM 269 
 
 was happening. To believe became a habit, and all the 
 doubters were laughed into silence. Those were beautiful 
 days! Oh, my! And then then a young fellow comes back 
 from America and joins hands with an old drunkard and 
 that's all that's needed! It's almost like a fairy tale! No 
 amount of chloroform will help any longer it has to be 
 fought out and when it's all over, I find myself left behind 
 like "a bridge across dry land." [Bringing his feet together 
 again] That's an infernal habit I have got into! But what 
 am I to do now? Act as if nothing had happened? Impos- 
 sible! Those confounded eyes are pursuing me. If I only 
 had faith myself ! Larssen has! But when Larssen be- 
 lieves, there must be something to believe in. And haven't 
 I proved that there is? Yes, I have and there can be no 
 question about it. Larssen is so complete. Larssen believes 
 in himself and that's the real trick. Yes, that's what all 
 hangs on! Why the deuce can't I believe in myself? I am 
 the man who has furnished Larssen with all the proofs those 
 very proofs on which his faith is founded! Yes, but / don't 
 believe in them any longer No yes no I don't be- 
 lieve not quite. There is something Now, there I am 
 with my legs the old way again ! "A bridge across dry land!" 
 It seems to me as if everybody was staring at my legs ever 
 since that thing was printed in the paper. [ firings his feet 
 together nervously and begins to walk aijain] If I had anybody 
 anybody that really believed in me! Kamma? Of course, 
 she means well [with a sigh] but Marie? Yes, you 
 would have been the right one now! And much I would 
 have bothered about the rest then! You were so wise and 
 strong you would have kept me firm and it would never 
 have come to this! Oh, it's nothing but that family, that 
 confounded family! God preserve a poor human creature 
 from falling into the hands of enthusiasts! Of all people
 
 270 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT v. sc. n 
 
 they are the most treacherous and to make it worse, they 
 call that honesty! Even my own children Frederick! Oh, 
 Frederick! He is always looking at me with a pair of eyes 
 like those of a sick animal. He has his doubts, he, too and 
 I cannot help him! They have poisoned him, for their blood 
 is in him also the traitors, the thieves! [A knock at the 
 door is heard] Thank heaven, somebody is coming! It's sim- 
 ply dreadful to be left alone in this way. Come in ! 
 
 SECOND SCENE 
 LARSSEN. INSPECTOR RAVN. Rus. 
 
 Rus. Oh, it's you, Larssen? That's nice of you! You 
 are just the man I want! So, the Diet has partly decided 
 against us, but not in principle, Larssen. 
 
 LARSSEN. Not in principle. 
 
 Rus. A man who does things has always strong allies, and 
 then, when you have a cause a cause in which you have 
 faith 
 
 LARSSEN. Well it's on that it depends 
 
 Rus. On that? [He discovers RAVN, who has entered behind 
 LARSSEN] Oh, you? Are you there, too? 
 
 RAVN. Yes, why not? 
 
 Rus. And you ask that? You, who publicly oh, this is 
 carrying it a little too far! 
 
 RAVN. Oh, is it? To me it seems as if I had a great deal 
 better right to come here than I had before. 
 
 Rus. Indeed? No 
 
 RAVN. Our relationship is much more truthful now. But, 
 of course, if you want to be solemn about it, I can leave. 
 
 LARSSEN. It is I who permitted myself to ask the Canal 
 Inspector to accompany me here.
 
 ACTV. BC.II THE NEW SYSTEM 271 
 
 RIIS. You, Larssen? How can that be? 
 
 RAVN. Larssen and I have had a consultation perhaps 
 you may guess about what. 
 
 RIIS. No. 
 
 RAVN. Oh, you cannot? Well, let's get out the docu- 
 ments then. There is doubt in the air, as you probably know 
 and we wanted you to settle the matter. May we be 
 seated? [la about to spread out some papers on the table. 
 
 RIIS. In other words, you mean to put me on trial? 
 
 RAVN. Didn't I tell you, Larssen, that he would take it in 
 that way? 
 
 RIIS. What does that mean? 
 
 LARSSEN. I relied on the kindness on the generosity you 
 have always shown, Mr. Riis and your impartiality 
 
 RIIS. What is it all about? If it's something that you, 
 especially you, my dear Larssen, want to find out then you 
 know where to look for me. 
 
 RAVN. There is a point on which we differ, don't you under- 
 stand? 
 
 RIIS. I should like to have Mr. Larssen's explanation. 
 
 RAVN. Does that mean that you want me to go? 
 
 RIIS. [After a moment's hesitation] You are my wife's 
 brother and if you have forgotten it, then it behooves me, 
 for her sake, to remember it. 
 
 RAVN. How very considerate of you! 
 
 LARSSEN. Now that's what I expected of you, Mr. Riis. 
 That's the way I have always seen you. And it is for that 
 reason I venture to speak openly to you. 
 
 RIIS. By all means, Larssen. We two hare always stood 
 together. 
 
 LARSSEN. So we have, Mr. Riis. It has been the pride of 
 my life. For in you if you will permit me to say so I have
 
 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTV. sc. n 
 
 beheld a man a man standing in the very front rank of 
 what we may call the engineering science of our own day. 
 
 Rus. You have always over-estimated me, Larssen. 
 
 LABSSEN. And nevertheless you have been generous 
 enough Well, I have if you will permit me to say so 
 for I am immensely I don't know how to express it I have 
 been carried beyond my usual that is, I have entertained 
 boundless confidence in you, Mr. Riis! 
 
 Rus. And I in you, my dear Larssen. 
 
 LABSSEN. I thank you, sir but it is wholly undeserved 
 on my part. 
 
 Rus. Not at all. 
 
 LABSSEN. Pardon me. I know better. No, indeed ! I am 
 not a strong soul. I have always needed a support. You, 
 in your tremendous superiority, cannot realise what that 
 means. 
 
 Rus. Don't say that, Larssen! 
 
 LABSSEN. Yes. If I have ever admired anything in this 
 world, it has been the lofty equanimity always preserved by 
 you when my own soul was undermined by doubt. 
 
 Rus. Your ? 
 
 LABSSEN. What a thing to be able, as you have been, to 
 concentrate the opposition within your own house, so to speak ! 
 This smiling self-assurance yes, smiling, literally smiling! 
 That's what it means to have faith, I have often said to my- 
 self. 
 
 Rus. But tell me, Larssen you believe, don't you? 
 
 LABSSEN. I want to be frank, Mr. Riis. 
 
 Rus. You always are, Larssen. 
 
 LABSSEN. Yes that is, in so far as it lies in me to be so. 
 For frequently I have not known where I stood whether I 
 believed or not. 
 
 Rus. You, Larssen?
 
 ACTV. sc.n THE NEW SYSTEM 273 
 
 LARSSEN. But in such moments I drew strength from 
 watching you, Mr. Riis. 
 
 RIIS. You watched me? [Quite forgetting himself] That's 
 something you should not have done, Larssen. 
 
 LARSHEN. But heavens, why not, Mr. Riis? 
 
 RIIS. [Forgetting himself still further] No because I put 
 my faith in you, Larssen. 
 
 LARSSEN. [Horror-stricken] In me? You! 
 
 RAVN. This is becoming quite amusing. 
 
 RIIS. No oh, no this is the worst I ever ! [Running 
 back and forth] Are you, then, nothing but an impostor? 
 
 LARSSEN. Wha wha what's that you are saying? 
 
 RIIS. Well, what do you want to call it that you have 
 made people, that you have made me, believe that you be- 
 lieved what you did not believe? 
 
 LARSSEN. Didn't I believe? Of course I believed! 
 
 RIIS. The deuce you did! You only believed in me. 
 
 LARSSEN. It means that one thing went with the other as 
 it usually does in this world. 
 
 RIIS. It means that one lie went with another! Oh, how 
 could I let myself be fooled in such a way? 
 
 LARSSEN. Fooled? Yes, one of us has been fooled. That 
 new system of yours 
 
 RIIS. Mine? It isn't mine! 
 
 LARSSEN. Whose can it be, if not yours? 
 
 RIIS. It was in practical use long before me. 
 
 RAVN. That's a fact. 
 
 LARSSEN. And yet it was you who introduced it? 
 
 RIIS. I? Am I the government? Am I the Diet? Havel 
 the power to introduce anything? 
 
 RAVN. Hear, hear! 
 
 LARSSEN. But nevertheless all the same why, it was 
 done by the Commissions, of which you
 
 274 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTV. sc. n 
 
 RIIS. Do you think I appointed the Commissions? Or 
 that they were made up of me alone? 
 
 LARSSEN. Well this is the end of it! 
 
 RAVN. That's the stuff! Bravo! 
 
 LARSSEN. And yet why, it was the estimates were mis- 
 leading. 
 
 RIIS. That's too bad! For the estimates were made by 
 you, Larssen by yourself and the rest of the office. Have 
 you forgotten that this fact was mentioned in every report? 
 
 LARSSEN. F f finally, it's me who who is to blame for 
 the whole thing? 
 
 RIIS. Well, I'll be hanged if I am! 
 
 LARSSEN. And I who have relied so completely on you! 
 
 RIIS. Well, I never asked you to do anything of the kind. 
 
 LARSSEN. And this language! This tone! 
 
 RIIS. Well, you may be sure that's "true" there's no 
 deceit in that! If this kind' of thing is in fashion, I can be 
 fashionable, too. Now, Larssen, you'd better go, or I might 
 become "truthful" to the extent of throwing you out. 
 
 LARSSEN. Good-bye, M M Mr. Riis! [Goes out 
 
 RAVN. I might as well take away the papers again I 
 don't suppose we'll have any use for them. 
 
 [Puts the papers in order. 
 
 RIIS. Oh, go to the devil with the whole outfit! 
 
 RAVN. Why, this is lovely! It's a real joy to strike the 
 bottom of a man's character for once. 
 
 RIIS. [Comes to a standstill, as if struck by the remark just 
 made] I have long enough been the patient one. What 
 would be the use of it in this case? 
 
 RAVN. Oh, is that how you feel? Then you had better 
 follow my example. 
 
 RIIS. [Stopping again] In what way? 
 
 RAVN. Confess everything.
 
 ACTV. sc. m THE NEW SYSTEM 275 
 
 Rns. I have nothing to confess. 
 
 RAVN. Oh, you haven't! Good-bye! [Goes out. 
 
 Rns. Confess? Why? Is the man crazy! Who's 
 
 that? Oh, you! [MRS. Rns enters. 
 
 THIRD SCENE 
 Rns. MBS. Rns. FREDERICK a little later. 
 
 RIIS. You also? What are you crying for? What's the 
 matter, now? I haven't time, and I'm in no mood for it. 
 
 MRS. Rns. [Weeping] Fred-er-ick 
 
 RIIS. Well? What about him? What about him? 
 
 MRS. Rns. has told me all. [Still weeping. 
 
 Rns. All of what? [FREDERICK comes in] What's all this? 
 
 FREDERICK. About Anna, papa. 
 
 RIIS. There now! Do bring- out everything at once! 
 You have just hit on the right moment for it. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. There is nothing for it, dear, but that Fred- 
 erick must start after her at once. 
 
 Rns. Well, if this doesn't beat everything! He sha'n't 
 move from the spot! Do you think Frederick has duties to 
 every possible kind of human being but me? I might over- 
 look his disloyalty 
 
 FREDERICK. What do you mean? 
 
 MRS. RIIS. [Speaking simultaneously with FREDERICK] Dear! 
 
 RIIS. Yes, to-day I have become "sincere" also. I can 
 overlook it as long as it is known only to myself. But for 
 him to leave now it would seem as if he fled from a sinking 
 ship. I'll never in the world permit it. 
 
 FREDERICK. Then I shall have to leave without your per- 
 mission. 
 
 MRS. Rns. But, Frederick!
 
 276 THE NEW SYSTEM ACT v. sc. ra 
 
 Rus. Yes, you just try! Did anybody ever experience 
 anything like it before? 
 
 MBS. RIIS. Be loving now, dear! 
 
 RIIS. Oh, leave me alone with your babblings about love! 
 
 FREDERICK. No, now I have to 
 
 RIIS. Are you two in a conspiracy? And all this comes 
 from that miserable family of yours! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. You are always saying unpleasant things about 
 my family! 
 
 RIIS. Well, isn't it responsible for the whole disaster? 
 Oh, what a misfortune to be tied to that kind of company! 
 What haven't I done to maintain some kind of balance! 
 To preserve outward propriety at least! And now ! 
 When everything is tumbling down about me, then my own 
 children turn on me, led by their mother. One of them 
 throws herself into the arms of my worst enemy 
 
 MRS. RIIS. But she didn't know what she was doing! 
 
 RIIS. The other one into the arms of a strumpet. 
 
 FREDERICK. Now, you had better go, mamma! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Oh, Frederick ! Forgive him! He has suffered 
 so much! Dear, I have never seen you like this! 
 
 RIIS. No, you haven't. But when a man has spent all 
 his life patiently listening to all sorts of unendurable twaddle 
 then just for once perhaps I may also say what I think! 
 
 MRS. RIIS. No, this is not what you think, dear. I 
 know it. 
 
 RIIS. Yes, it is ! I think that you have taken the children 
 away from me 
 
 MRS. RIIS. I? 
 
 RIIS. You and yours in a way, that is before they were 
 born even. 
 
 MRS. RIIS. Dearest, I cannot help that the children take 
 after my family. [She begins to weep.
 
 ACTV. sc. iv THE NEW SYSTEM 277 
 
 Rns. Oh, if you hadn't thought more of the family than 
 of me, I guess those cubs of yours would have resembled me a 
 little more. 
 
 FREDERICK. Now, mamma, you mustn't stay any longer! 
 Come now! 
 
 MRS. Rus. You can't speak to your father without me. 
 
 FREDERICK. Oh, yes, I can. [Leading her to the door. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But Karen? I was to 
 
 FREDERICK. I'll speak about Karen also. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Please remember what he has had to bear! 
 
 FREDERICK. Mamma! 
 
 Embraces and kisses her; then he leads her out and 
 returns alone. 
 
 FOURTH SCENE 
 
 Rus. FREDERICK. 
 
 Rus. I don't want any further conversation. 
 
 FREDERICK. No, but 7 do. [Takes out a letter. 
 
 Rus. I hope you'll understand that my patience is at an 
 end. 
 
 FREDERICK. And so is mine. 
 
 [Takes another letter out of the first one. 
 
 Rus. Go: 
 
 FREDERICK. Here is something from a person named Marie. 
 
 Rus. Marie? 
 
 FREDERICK. You know her, don't you? [Reads] "Your 
 mother writes to me, dear Anna, that you love Frederick 
 Riis, the son of the Director-General, and that he is offering 
 to marry you." [Stops reading to say] Pardon me but I 
 must! [Reads again] "Once his father offered to marry me. 
 Yet he left me to marry for money and advancement. Such
 
 278 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTV. sc. TV 
 
 things are in the blood, my girl. You had better look out 
 for the son." [Speaking] Perhaps you would like to read the 
 rest? 
 
 Rns. No. 
 
 FREDERICK. "Such things are in the blood." To my 
 misfortune, I have been made aware of it. But, fortunately 
 enough, what I have got from my mother is stronger still 
 I am going to follow Anna. I don't care for a career at 
 such a price. It might so easily end in another fallacious 
 system. 
 
 Rus. My boy! 
 
 FREDERICK. I know that until a short while ago I 
 should rather have given my life than let myself be forced 
 into saying such things as these. Now I must leave and 
 one more reason is that I could never bear to say them again. 
 
 Rns. Frederick ! 
 
 FREDERICK. Don't be cruel to mamma! 
 
 Rns. [In a whisper] What are you saying? 
 
 FREDERICK. Don't be cruel to mamma! You have begun 
 by deceiving her. 
 
 Rns. But, Frederick! 
 
 FREDERICK. She doesn't know. Mamma asks for so 
 little. She thinks well of everybody. Oh, what might not 
 have become of her! In her innocence, in her very lack of de- 
 velopment, she is sweeter than anything else I can think of. 
 [Rns shows emotion] Be good to mamma! Please be good to 
 her! 
 
 Rns goes over to FREDERICK and they fall into each 
 other's arms. 
 
 FREDERICK. Thank you for what you have done for me! 
 To me you have been good. 
 
 Rus. I meant to do the best I could. [Deeply moved.
 
 ACTV. sc.v THE NEW SYSTEM 279 
 
 FREDERICK. I know it. But do it some other way here- 
 after Why don't you begin with Karen? 
 
 Rns. I will. 
 
 They draw away a little but continue to hold each other's 
 hands. 
 
 FREDERICK. Thank you! I think the memory of this 
 moment will bring me home again some time. [They embrace 
 again. Silence. When tJiey have torn themselves away, FRED- 
 ERICK says] Now, I must first of all try to make something 
 out of myself. 
 
 RIIS. You are not leaving at once? 
 
 FREDERICK. Not at once. Papa, may I bring Karen to 
 
 you? 
 
 Rns. Yes. 
 
 FREDERICK opens tlie door for KAREN and goes out him- 
 self. 
 
 FIFTH SCENE 
 Rns. KAREN. 
 
 KAREN. Don't get angry with me, papa I wanted only 
 to ask you May I go away also? 
 
 Rns. You, too, Karen? 
 
 KAREN. I have applied for a position as a teacher and 
 I think I'll get it. 
 
 RIIS. You teach? Why? 
 
 KAREN. Because it is the only thing I can do if I can do 
 that. 
 
 RIIS. But are you not just as free here? Don't we let you 
 do what you will? 
 
 KAREN. I do nothing at all And then [She hesitates. 
 
 RIIS. And then? 
 
 KAREN. I need the work.
 
 280 THE NEW SYSTEM ACTV. sc. vi 
 
 Rus. But you can work at home. 
 
 KAREN. Yes but [Hesitates again. 
 
 Rus. What is it, Karen? 
 
 KAREN. I cannot stay here. [She bursts into tears. 
 
 Rus. Things will change. I promise you they shall. 
 
 KAREN. Papa, let me go! 
 
 Rus. Do as you will. [He sits down] So you are leaving me 
 also. 
 
 KAREN. [Kneeling beside him] Nobody is leaving you. 
 We are only leaving what is wrong. 
 
 Rus. Oh, Karen! 
 
 KAREN. I can do a great deal for your sake. Mamma has 
 taught me. 
 
 Rus. Are you then also to be unhappy for my sake? 
 
 KAREN. As the years go by, we shall see. 
 
 Rus. As the years go by Then there will not be much 
 left of me. 
 
 KAREN. As the years go by, you will, perhaps, see things 
 differently. 
 
 Rus. I understand. You don't believe in me. 
 
 KAREN. Don't get angry, papa but do you believe in 
 yourself? 
 
 Rus. [Rising] Yes! [KAREN gets up; Rus sits down again] 
 Leave me now, Karen! 
 KAREN goes out. 
 
 SIXTH SCENE 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Puts in her head through the door on the right] 
 Are you alone now? 
 
 RIIS. Yes, my dear. 
 
 MRS. Rus. [Comes into the room] Don't let that dishearten 
 you, my own dear! It's what happens to every great and
 
 ACTV. sc.n THE NEW SYSTEM 281 
 
 noble man. It means that his faith has to be tried, don't you 
 know and his love also. 
 
 Rus. Oh, no, no, no, no! 
 
 MRS. Rus. Is it as bad as that? If I only knew how to 
 help you! But a wife is merely what the man has made out 
 of her, and sometimes that isn't quite enough. 
 
 Rns. You say such things at times well, don't let us talk 
 of it now. Oh, Lord! Yes, yes, yes! 
 
 MRS. Rus. It's such a queer time, too. Nothing remains 
 secure any longer. 
 
 Rus. It's a time of doubt, of transition. 
 
 MRS. Rus. But isn't every time one of transition? For 
 every time has its own system 
 
 Rus. [Jumps up] Don't mention the word! I beg your 
 pardon! Please be patient with me. Things will grow bet- 
 ter, I assure you. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Dear, you mustn't think that I don't under- 
 stand you. 
 
 Rus. No, you, for one, believe! You are the only one. 
 
 MRS. Rus. And how about yourself, dear? As long as you 
 feel sure of yourself, nobody else can touch you. That's a 
 true word. What is it, dearest? 
 
 Rus. I want to go I should like but I don't know where? 
 There seems to be no place for me to go to. 
 
 MRS. Rus. How about the shore? The sea? There is a 
 sense of infinity about the sea. Don't you think so, dear? 
 
 Rus. Yes yes, of course. Well, let us go down to the 
 shore, then. 
 
 MRS. Rus. Yes, I am going with you. [Takes his arm. 
 
 Rus. Well, then we're going then! 
 
 Curtain.
 
 BRANDER MATTHEWS 
 DRAMATIC MUSEUM
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES 
 
 COLLEGE LIBRARY 
 
 This book is due on the last date stamped below. 
 
 
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