The interposed incidents
have no ultimate effect upon the main ones. They may hang upon the
mass- they may even coalesce with it, or, as in some intricate
cases, they may be so intimately blended as to be lost amid the
chaos which they have been instrumental in bringing about- but still
they have no portion in the plot, which exists, if at all,
independently of their influence. Yet the attempt is made by the
author to establish and demonstrate a dependence- an identity, and
it is the obviousness of this attempt which is the cause of
weariness in the spectator, who, of course, cannot at once see that
his attention is challenged to no purpose- that intrigues so
obtrusively forced upon it are to be found, in the end, without effect
upon the leading interests of the day.
"Tortesa" will afford us plentiful examples of this irrelevancy of
intrigue- of this misconception of the nature and of the capacities of
plot. We have said that our digest of the story is more easy of
comprehension than the detail of Mr. Willis. If so, it is because we
have forborne to give such portions as had no influence upon the
whole. These served but to embarrass the narrative and fatigue the
attention. How much was irrelevant is shown by the brevity of the
space in which we have recorded, somewhat at length, all the
influential incidents of a drama of five acts.
Pages:
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207