an.

The keynote of the play may be found in the words of _Etzelt_, spoken
as _Medardus_ is about to be shot, after having refused to save his own
life by a promise not to make any attempts against Napoleon's: "God
wanted to make a hero of him, and the course of events turned him into
a fool." The obvious interpretation is that the pettiness of Viennese
conditions defeated the larger aspirations of the man, who would have
proved true to his own possibilities in other surroundings. A more
careful analysis of the plot shows, however, that what turns the
ambitions of _Medardus_ into dreams and words is his susceptibility
to the charms of a woman. Once within the magic circle of her power,
everything else--the danger of his country, the death of his sister,
his duty to avenge the death of his father--becomes secondary to his
passion. And each time he tries to rise above that passion, the
reappearance of the woman is sufficient to deflect him from his
purpose. It is as if Schnitzler wanted to suggest that the greatest
weakness of the Viennese character lies in its sensuous concern with
sex to the detriment of all other vital interests. To me it is a very
remarkable thing to think that such a play was performed a large number
of times at one of the foremost theaters in Vienna, and that,
apparently, it received a very respectful hearing. I cannot but wonder
what would happen here, if a play were put on the stage dealing in a
similar spirit with the American character.

"The soul is a vast country, where many different things find place
side by side," says Dr. Theodor Reik in his interesting volume named
"Arthur Schnitzler als Psycholog" (Minden, 1913). Thus he explains the
meaning of the title given to "The Vast Country" (_Das Weite Land_).
And I don't think it is possible to get closer than that. Nowhere has
Schnitzler been more casual in his use of what is commonly called plot.
Nowhere has he scorned more completely to build his work around any
particular "red thread." Event follows event with seeming haphazardness.
The only thing that keeps the play from falling apart is the logical
development of each character. It is, in fact, principally, if not
exclusively, a series of soul-studies. What happens serves merely as an
excuse to reveal the reaction of a certain character to certain
external pressures or internal promptings. But viewed in this light,
the play has tremendous power and significance.

Dr. Reik's book, to whi