The Fourteenth of July and Danton: Two Plays of the French Revolution

It is perhaps a little surprising to learn that the author of Jean-C hristophe has written at least sixteen full-length plays. Most of these, it is true, antedate the publication of the first parts of his epoch-making novel, but since nothing that comes from the brain of Romain Holland can fail to possess significance and interest, a brief inquiry into his dramatic writings and theories on the drama will reveal an aspect of the man which has hitherto strangely enough scarcely been touched upon. His plays for a peoples theater, and his book of projects, are as integral a part of his development as Jean-C hristophe itself. The life of M. Holland seems to have been a perpetual struggle between conflicting mental forces: for years he read philosophy, and suffered agonies before he at last found himself spiritually; until the completion of Jean-C hristophe he was a prey to doubts regarding the utility of art and the end of life. He applied in turn to the great master-minds of the world Empedocles, Spinoza, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Beethoven, Tolstoy seeking for a satisfactory philosophy of life. Small wonder, therefore, that his work should bear the imprint of the masters who have at one time or another been his guides and inspiration.
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)

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