Michael Artzibashef
(1878-1927) is the most common English spelling of this author’s Russian name. Another English version is Mikhail
Artsybashev. He was primarily a novelist
who occasionally wrote plays. By the
time he wrote his play War in
1914-15, he was a renown novelist. His
novel Sanine, also spelled Sanin, written in 1903-04, became an
international success after 1907, when it was first published in Russia. By early 1915, Sanine had been published in every modern language. He was a
literary sensation in Europe and highly acclaimed in the United States. The
critics declared Artsybashev to be one of the three most important Russian
writers of his day. The other two were Maxim Gorky (1868-1936) and Leonid
Andreyev (1871-1919).
Artzibashef’s literary
style is naturalism. His novels and the play
War is written in that style. Thomas
Seltzer was responsible for the English
translation of War. It was initially
published in a 1916 edition of the magazine The
Drama. It was published again in the
same year as a book by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. It was the first play Knopf published under his
new series banner The Borzi Plays.
Knopf announced the publication of three other plays at the same time—Moloch by Beulah Marie Dix, Moral by Ludwig Thoma and The Inspector-General by Nicolay Gogol.
Borzi is the Russian name
for an elegant Russian wolfhound. There are interesting speculations about why Knopf
selected the name Borzi. The ideas range from Knopf’s fiancĂ©e love for this
breed of dog to his brilliant business strategy to obtain a memorable caption
and a distinctive trade mark.
War
is a four-act play. Act One takes place on the grounds of a Russian country
estate belonging to a retired colonel.
It is a sunny day in spring. This
play, like a number of other World War One plays, depicts a happy provincial
family. Then suddenly war is declared and the reader experiences the ensuing
turmoil. The stroke of war ruthlessly changes everything and affects every
character’s life.
Act Two takes place a few
weeks later. The scene is set in the
dining-room of the same country house. The table is set for a farewell luncheon in honor of the young men associated
with the household who are leaving for the war. Act Three is two months later and once again
set in the same room. The tragedies of war are now hitting this family as the
deaths of their soldiers are being reported one by one. Near the conclusion of the act, the Colonel and his wife receive a message that their son died in battle.
Act Four is set in
“golden autumn.” It is the same outdoor location
as Act One. Nina, the daughter of the family, awaits the return of Vladimir,
her wounded husband. She has no idea about the extent of his condition, but she
is ecstatic about Vladimir’s return. Nina is oblivious of the feelings of
everyone else who is grieving. She declares “It may be a small, insignificant
life I am leading, but I don’t want anybody to mar and destroy it.” What awaits
her in the final moments of the play is Vladimir’s return and the totally
unexpected extent of his injuries.
War demonstrated
Arztibashef’s shift away from Russian literature’s emphasis on sexual passion
as well as its glorification of raw emotions.
The outbreak of World War One appears to have been partly responsible
for authors making this alteration. However, for the more puritanical American
tastes, this play would have remained shocking to a 1917 audience since it
still contains remnants of these two elements.
It is interesting to consider Clarence Stratton’s article in The Drama, Volume 7, 1917:
Five
years ago this tragedy would have revolted all sensibilities.
We should
have considered it a contradiction of all our boast
of civilization,of
all our religious petitions, as an exaggeration
of all the bestial instincts
in man. Today its horror seems almost
like the restraint of Greek tragedy.
Obviously a 2016 reader would
not experience a similar level of shock at the contents of this play as
described by Stratton. However, I believe a contemporary reader of the play would
still experience its forceful emotional pull, its strong antiwar message and
its shattering conclusion.
I have found no evidence
of War being staged in either America
or England. I do not know if it was ever staged in Europe or Russia. It would have been extremely depressing to experience this play
during the years of the war or even after its conclusion.
The New
York Times printed numerous articles about Artzibashef’s novels and his
play War. This drama appears to have remained a book
drama even though it received wide spread publicity. Many newspapers across the
United States carried articles about the play’s publication as did the Times in London. Once Artzibashef’s
drama War is read, it is impressive
enough to not be easily forgotten.
If you know of any productions of
this play, please post them under comments.
Please include the name of the theatre, city, dates of run and any
other information that would be of interest.
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