Educating the Prophets

EDUCATING THE PROPHETS IT IS A PITY THAT SO MUCH twentieth century religious drama lacks the humanizing element of humour. A notable exception is James Bridie. Like the mediaeval dramatists, he did not make the mistake of confusing seriousness with solemnity. In dramatizing the Old Testament story of Jonah, for example, he captured very well the spirit of so many of the Mystery plays, the combination of the sincerely religious with the broadly comic. Of course he did not have to invent the humour; it was there to begin with in the Bible narrative; but he deepened and extended it. Humour, varying from the boisterous to the oblique, from the gently mocking to the astringently ironic, is the powerful solvent of spiritual complacency, ignorant and illiberal narrow-mindedness, and obdurate egoism. It is a humour that stems ultimately from compassion. This, too, was a quality which Bridie shared with the Old Testament author. The affinities between the two writers are unmistakeable, both in attitude and in treatment of their theme. Both obviously hated smug exclusiveness and intolerance; both disliked men whose religion separated them from other people; and both esteemed humility. The author of the book of Jonah clearly implied that the Israelites should realize, with deeper humility, the great honour bestowed on them as the bearer of the message that God is love. Bridie no less clearly indicates that a proper sense of modesty will help a prophet not to confuse his inspired message with his own quite ordinary, fallible self. Being artists, however, both avoid heavy didacticism in conveying their meaning. Thus, instead of arguing about exclusiveness in religion, the Biblical author wrote a tale about it, spun out of his lively inventive mind a story of marvellous events to capture his readers' attention. In adapting this story for the modern theatre Bridie maintained its narrative momentum but broadened its scope and, without overt moralising, brought out its relevance today for all who seek to build walls about their religion. Bridie's God is too big to be imprisoned within the walls of any particular sect or church. The type of prophet who was unwilling to see God's grace extended to the heathen of Nineveh must have seemed to him a proper target for satire, not unmingled with pity. Narrow-mindedness and intolerance were anathema to Bridie. Pomposity, vanity and pretentiousness also come in for a rough time in this and other plays. Certainly it is noticeable that in many of his works some of the wisest utterances come from the lips of unassuming men and women. On this occasion, however, the lesson on humility is read by the 429 430 MODERN DRAMA February "\Vhale, a characteristically whimsical touch by the dramatist. Jonah, the son of Amittai, had done great work, it seems, in the little village of Gittah-Hepher. In his not altogether modest way he had been conscious of possessing an impressive personality and considerable magnetism. He had set about the reformation of Gittah-Hepher and in next to no time had the pleasure of seeing it transformed beyond all recognition. In three weeks the ribald songs ceased, the dancing feet trod warily, and the garish garments had given way to decent .sackcloth. All of which was very gratifying to the prophet's self-esteem. But now, commissioned by God to go and cry against Nineveh, he flees like a coward to the coast and takes a single to Tarshish. A storm arises. The ship is struck by lightning; she begins to leak like a sieve; the starboard bank of oars is smashed; and she is heading for Davy Jones' locker. In this emergency the captain, in one of the saltiest speeches Bridie ever wrote, orders every man-jack and womanjane of them to get down to it and try to square their particular deity. ("0 Zagmuk! 0 Adonay! 0 Ishtar! 0 Osiris! 0 Baal-Phegor! 0 Poseidon ! 0 Ma of Comana!") Eventually Jonah, as the cause of all the trouble, is pitched overboard and is consumed by a passing whale. It is no ordinary whale that Bridie gives us. It has a remarkable flair for metaphysics and an exegetical eloquence unlooked for in those...