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The Courier Review.
that his wonderful genius has shown itself by setting so harmoniously within a classic frame a picture drawn from a modern ideal.
If the style of Euripides is superior to Goethe's (which seems doubtful at times), it is little more than we could expect. Euripides was writing within his own atmosphere. He was restrained by no foreign limits, by no models. He was following out his own ideas of form and style. On the contrary, Goethe was limited. It was more or less a hindrance upon his great genius to move within such narrow bounds,—yet it is here that his genius has the most clearly shown its capabilities. For if Goethe's style does not equal that of Euripides, it lacks but little, very little. Many think it much superior to the Greek's. The strong even movement of those mighty lines inspires us at times with something that seems more than a mere reflection of the genius of the great German.
A mere careless reading of the two dramas shows the reader one of the great differences between them; but it is only after some thought and consideration that the reason therefor becomes apparent. We refer to the difference in the center of interest. In the Greek, the greatest interest is aroused by the friendship of the two comrades, Orestes and Pylades, each of whom so generously contended for death, in order that the other may live and return safe to his country. They have been friends for years and have gone through great dangers together. Their attachment for each other is more like the love of brothers than the ties of common friendship.
In the German, our main interest turns from the friends and rests upon and around the priestess, whom Goethe has made the heroine of his story. The reason for this is evident, after it is once perceived. It is the wonderful character of Iphigenia herself. It is her peculiar faithfulness to what she deems the right. Just here is the the great dissimilarity between the two versions. Goethe has followed well and closely his classical model, but he has put into his production something that the Greek did not have to put into his. He has brought
into his story the spirit of Christianity, which he respected and revered in spite of his many so-called "heretical" utterances. He has given to his heroine an ideal character such as we seldom see among ordinary mortals. In the first part of the drama, we see Goethe's Iphigenia standing firmly for the right, in demanding the rescue of all strangers from the altar of the goddess.
She refused an offer of marriage from the king—an offer which would have made her the first woman in the land—for the reason that she feels her duty towards her parents and her country, and because she does not love him. How many women of the present day would refuse an offer comparatively as advantageous, with only such reasons? Few indeed.
Yet Iphigenia feels a respect for and gratitude to Thoas, as her benefactor and foster-father, which prevents her from leaving him in anger, or from even deceiving him concerning their escape. Do we notice any tender conscience in the Iphigenia of Euripides? By no means. The Greek priestess even invents lies which she tells so boldly to the king, and carries out the whole plot with no remorse whatever, while the German girl cannot even successfully tell the lie which is given her to tell.
The gentle character of Goethe's heroine appeals all the stronger to us, when we think of the terrible race from which she is descended. She shows none of the resentment and bitterness at her fate, which we would expect from a descendant of the house of Tantalus. In this respect again, does Euripides come nearer to the real and Goethe near to the ideal.
The German drama closes too much like a romance, too much like a fairy tale to come near to life. There must be no bloodshed to spoil the effect of the pure character of the priestess, and therefore a reconciliation takes place, and the characters shake hands and make up, just like the little boys and girls in the children's story book.. The close is beautiful to be sure and strictly in keeping with the spirit of the tale, and leaves us more than ever impressed with the sublime character of the pure girl and the devout priestess.