The Limited Naturalism of Arthur Pinero

The Limited Naturalism of Arthur Pinero EDMUND J. MINER • WHEN THE NAME of Sir Arthur Pinero arises in discussion today, one thinks of this or that recent revival of The Magistrate or Trelawny of the "Wells," that charming little period piece which captures so well the language and spirit of the London stage in Tom Robertson's pioneer days. Pinero's triumphs of his major period (1893-1909), his "daring" forays into the new territory of naturalistic domestic drama, are all but forgotten . It is to be hoped that one day television will be the vehicle by which the better of these plays - The Thunderbolt, Iris, His House in Order, for example - will be resurrected for devotees of the Victorian theatre. Certainly it is regrettable that Pinero revivals are invariably confined to such "safe" but innocuous offerings as the first of his Royal Court farces and the sentimental story of Rose Trelawny. Anyone who has read extensively in this dramatist cannot have failed, however, to observe the importance of the Court farces in his work as a whole. One rather remarkable feature of Pinero's more mature work is its peculiar basis in the original formula he adopted for the farces which started him on his way to commercial success and contemporary critical acclaim. For whether we consider his initial radical departure from farce-comedy to have been The Profligate (1891) or The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1893), the fact remains that Pinero never really abandoned his formula of "possible people doing improbable things." As the years passed, his formula became more consciously an expression of what might be called "conventional people doing unconventional things." Most of his people, despite their many serious defects of character , observe those particular conventions which ensure their social ac147 148 EDMUND 1. MINER ceptance. At some crucial moment in their lives, though, they engage in activities which, considering the conditions of their environment, are unconventional , and hence "improbable" for people in their position. Together with this evolving farce formula, certain other elements - all associated with the power exercised over the individual by the conventions of society - are enduring characteristics of his work: the preoccupation of the individual with preserving her reputation; her inevitable failure to protect or enhance it, that is, to maintain the appearance of respectability; and the realization of the futility of struggling further against the stern moral code in control of her destiny. The first of these is undoubtedly the dominant theme of Pinero's drama; the second reflects the dramatist's cause-and-effect pattern, for the failure to preserve one's reputation is usually the direct consequence of erroneous decisions and flaws of character; the third element is an expression of Pinero's own deterministic outlook on life. If one fact emerges clearly from his plays as a whole, it is that of the futility of striving to overcome the prejudices and taboos prevailing in society. There is no doubt that Pinero's view of life tends to be realistic rather than romantic or idealistic. He stresses the unpleasant aspects of existence, though without falling into the error of thinking that life offers man no compensations along the way. Nevertheless, it is a very limited happiness which the more fortunate of his characters achieve. Three protagonists , in fact, commit suicide out of frustration, and a fourth dies shortly after marrying the man she loves. Agnes Ebbsmith has her idealistic dreams shattered without even the satisfaction of seeing the woman she has wronged reconciled with her husband. Helen Thornhill in The Thunderbolt is forced to leave her favourite branch of the Mortimore family in an atmosphere of strained relations. Letty Shell finds a certain contentment in marriage with someone from her own station in life, but she can never forget her idyllic romance with Nevill Letchmere. In The Enchanted Cottage, Pinero's major excursion into fantasy, Oliver Bashforth escapes his intolerable relatives, and finds love and understanding in Laura Pennington, but he must suffer the disappointment of learning that he and Laura have not really been miraculously transformed in appearance . In The Benefit of the Doubt Jack and Olive Allingham are reunited - unfortunately - while Theophila retreats to the Cloys' residence to...