Satan
the Waster is the most unusual play I have discuss on this blog. Vernon Lee was born Violet Paget (1856-1935)
in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France of British parents. She lived in France and Italy
as well as Great Britain. When Lee wrote Satan
the Waster during the years encompassing World War One, she was an
internationally recognized author and critic, who lived an international life
and had friends in all the countries involved in the war.
Lee wrote The Ballet of Nations in late 1915 and
it was quickly published by Chatto and Windus. Since the publisher planned to promote this book for Christmas sales, it has illustrations by
Maxwell Armfield (1881-1972) an English artist and illustrator, who had an
established career in both England and France.
The
Ballet of Nations was continuously reworked by Lee during
the years of the war and it became the centerpiece of the play’s 1920 publication
titled Satan the Waster. This version
was published by John Lane Company for distribution in Great Britain and the
United States. Vernon Lee added Part I “Prologue in Hell”. This was followed by Part II The Ballet of Nations. The new Part III
is titled “Epilogue”. The publication
also includes a lengthy INTRODUCTION prior to Part I and NOTES to both the “Prologue”
and “Ballet” following the end of the playscript. Satan the Waster is a powerful denunciation of World War One, but
no single country is denounced as the initial aggressor. Lee was an independent
thinker who refused to acknowledge patriotism to support aggression. This
stance isolated her from many individuals who were anti-war.
Each section of the play
is dedicated to one or more individuals.
The Prologue is dedicated to G.F. Nicolai (1874-1964) the German author
of “DIE BIOLOGIE DES KRIEGES” (The Biology of War) and Rudolf Goldscheid
(1870-1931) the Austrian author of “MENSCHENOKONOMIE” (The Economy of Human
Beings).
Following this dedication
page is a note TO THE READER: “The whole of this drama is intended to be read,
and especially read out loud, as prose;
the passages which scan conforming as much as the rest to the vocabulary, the
punctuation, the syntax, and the essential logic which differentiate prose from
verse.” Although Vernon Lee made this request for readings instead of staged
productions, she describes the settings, costumes, lighting and other
production elements with clarity of detail and wonderful theatrical
imagination.
The Prologue is set in
Hell, Satan is alone and he is attired “very much like that Michelangelo
statue.” After Satan’s first speech, Clio, the Muse of History, enters the
scene. She is described as bearing the “marble impetuosity of the Victory of
Samothrace, and very angry in an operatic way.”
Satan is the Impresario of the play and he desires Clio to report
glowingly about his new ballet since he envisions it as a possible final act
for humankind.
Part II, The Ballet of The Nations is dedicated
to Romain Rolland (1866-1944), a French novelist and dramatist greatly admired
by Lee. In 1915 Rolland received the
Nobel Prize for Literature.
The
Ballet of The Nations is divided into two acts. Act One is set
“No Place, No Where.” However, Lee
describes a street that widens into a square and has a building front with the
sign “The World; a Theatre of Varieties, Lessee and Manager, SATAN.” There are
also facades of adjoining houses that display large door plates with names such
as SELF-INTEREST, WIDOW FEAR, JUSTICE, TEMPERANCE, etc. There are many musicians with names such as
LOYALTY, GREED and COMRADESHIP. There is the BALLET MASTER DEATH and his
dancers such as NEUTRAL NATIONS, AGES-TO-COME and others. Most of the
characters have non-speaking roles. This Act sets the atmosphere and introduces
many of the characters who arrive to participate in Satan’s most adventurous,
dangerous and colossal event.
Act Two is set “Inside
the Theatre of the World.” SATAN sits on a raised seat and MUSE is on a low
stool by his side, holding her tablets and stylus. Behind her is the chorus of
AGES-TO-COME. Other characters are
seated in front of the stage in an area inscribed “Patriotism; reserved for
Members of the Orchestra.” The background gradually darkens and a starlit vault
givens the impression of a cavern that “gradually fills with fire, smoke,
rockets and explosions.” Muse declaims what she is recording about the
performance that is taking place on the stage. Throughout the ‘Ballet” segment
of the piece, Lee continues to explore the psychology of war and the
cultivation of a psychology for peace. Visually stunning theatrical effects are described by Lee along with the heavy dose of psychology related to war.
The Epilogue is dedicated
to Arthur Ponsonby (1871-1946) a British politician, writer and social
activist. A subtitle for this segment of the play appears above the description
of the scene. It is “Mors Stupebit” or
Death is Struck. The scene is “No Place, Nowhere.” But Lee describes Satan as
seen from the topmost steps in a theatre where a segment of the stage, stalls
and orchestra are visible. The characters either are sleeping or drunkenly passed
out on the set. They awaken as if having experienced a nightmare. It is in this
section of the play where the remaining issues of the World War One and its
aftermath are discussed.
NOTES follow the script,
but a dedication proceeds them. “TO THE MEMORY of Mario Calderoni and also of Clement
Miles.” Mario Calderoni (1879-1914)
Italian law theorist and Clement Miles (18??-1918) author of Christmas in Ritual and Tradition, Christian
and Pagan published in 1912. Lee states “both of them my juniors by a
generation, but to whose conversations I owe so much of what is written in
these notes.” The Notes are extensive
and cover pages 115-297. A Postscript to the Notes follows for two more pages.
My next post will continue the discussion regarding Vernon Lee and Satan the
Waster, an extraordinary piece of antiwar drama.
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