August Strindberg, the Spirit of Revolt: Studies and ImpressionsLind-af-Hageby, L. (Lizzy)
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August Strindberg, the Spirit of Revolt: Studies and Impressions
Lind-af-Hageby, L. (Lizzy)
Strindberg, August, 1849-1912
In the evening there was a special performance of _The Journey of Lucky
Peter_ which the author was invited to attend. At the theatre he was
the centre of interest, the object of inquisitive glances. The public
cheered him again--was it possible that he too had a following, a
circle of responsive souls willing to stand by him in the struggle for
new thought? But no, the sceptic within him did not believe in this
adulation. "No, I am no good as a 'great' man," he reflected. "I can
never learn to believe in cheers. They cheer to-day and boo to-morrow!'"
During the weeks that followed he had ample opportunity for
philosophical studies of the cheering-booing propensity of human
nature. The violent attacks in the Conservative press had all the
psychological elements of the booing which is an essential stimulus to
continued self-satisfaction and placid Phariseeism; the cheering which
echoed from another quarter was not always attuned to the highest
aspirations of the hero of the moment.
The trial of the case was painful to Strindberg. He had none of the
qualities which make men revel in loud publicity. Despite the character
of his writings, and the war which he had waged with his pen, he had
all the personal reserve of the sensitive and the recluse. On November
17th the jury found a verdict of "Not guilty" for the author and
publisher of _Married_. His friends cheered, working men in the street
cheered and triumphantly escorted Strindberg to his hotel. The victory
over the enemies of "free speech" was celebrated in the evening by a
banquet, and on the following day Strindberg left Stockholm for Geneva,
where he joined his wife.
In Sweden the controversy ran high. _Married_ was once more on sale.
It was stated that no less than 3500 copies of the book had been sold
during the short interval between the day of publication and the
confiscation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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