Musicality and Meaning in the Dialogue of Saint's Day

Musicality and Meaning in the Dialogue of Saint's Day JANE GOODALL The criticism most frequently levelled against John Whiting's plays by those who have judged them in performance is that they lack coherent meaning. Complaints of wilful obscurity abounded in reviews of the original productions of Marching Song and The Devils but these complaints were not as heated or pervasive as in reactions to the earlier play Saint's Day when it won the Arts Theatre play competition in 1951. "Maxwell Anderson and Strindberg in consort could not be more portentous," wrote Philip Hope-Wallace, "We sit stunned, anxious to catch on if possible."I Careful textual analysis together with study of Whiting's sources may prove that even this most abtruse of Whiting's plays has a meticulously plotted underlying logic, but we are still left with the question of whether this logic has been effectively enough realised in dramatic terms to be accessible through a stage performance. One ofthe most obvious problems is that the subject matter of Whiting's dialogue has only an oblique relationship to his themes: a comparison between the printed texts of his plays and their draft versions reveals that he was in the habit of eliminating those passages which alluded most specifically to central thematic concerns. In the face of reactions like that of Philip Hope-Wallace, such revisions may seem ill-advised, even perverse, and it is undoubtedly true that Whiting took some pleasure in enticing his audiences and critics into a search for hidden meanings. The frustrated or misguided search for revelation was a topic which fascinated him and which is an important element in all his works. The hero of his early novel Not a Foot of Land finds himself "on the verge of realisation" in the penultimate episode of the story, but the narrative has by this stage shown several times that there are no revelations, only tantalising promises of enlightenment which come to nothing. The characters in The Devils seek revelation in diverse ways: Adam and Mannoury believe that some intricate dissection ofthe brain will reveal "the divinity of man"; de la Rochepozay thinks God will be revealed to him if he 568 JANE GOODALL dissociates himself from material concerns; Jeanne hopes she may come to know God through being "a good girl"; Grandier explores every avenue from depravity to devoutness in his quest for self-transcendence, but, after experiencing a series of pseudo-revelations, he comes to accept the futility of such a quest. Curiosity surrounding the revelation experienced by Robert Procathren in Act II of Saint's Day is one of the principal sources of dramatic tension in the latter half of the play. Paul, Charles and the homeless villagers to whom they have given refuge seem obliquely aware that the physical dangers presented by the violent marauders and the spreading fire are the objective correlative of the psychological violence which has been done to Robert, and that an understanding ofthe latter may therefore give them the means to predict the outcome ofthe former. Moreover, the transformation in Robert's outlook is the thematic mainspring of the play, and the group of villagers on the stage who await his return with heightened anticipation, preparing to hang on his every word in their urgent need for an explanation ofthe increasingly mystifying development of events, ironically reflect the frustration of the spectators in the auditorium. When Robert finally arrives to deliver his tirade, however, it does not provide insights of the kind which theatre audience and stage spectators alike are seeking for: Southman - I thought the power invested was for good. I believed we were here to do well by each other. It isn't SQ. We are here - all of us - to die. Nothing morc than that. We live for that alone. You've known all along, haven't you? Why didn't youtell me why did you have to teachme in such adreadful way? For now - (he cries 0111) - Ihave wasted my inheritance! All these years trying to learn how to live leaving myself such a little time to learn how to die. (He turns to speak to the CHILD) Afraid of the dark...