Georg Büchner by Julian Hilton (review)

Book Reviews 391 subject" (p. 69), the interpretative power of the spectator's induced uneasiness - the spectator also seeing himself as ironically playing roles - is subdued. Moreover, when Dukare describes two different productions of The Homecoming (comparing a totally naturalistic set with one that was only selectively "realistic"), the balance in interpretation is lost, as he attributes to the set an ability to suggest "savagery" in a "home-like environment" - but the verbal text will not let us forget to refer hostility to family life, and the less realistic set may be even more devastating emotionally. as we are free to make deeply personal connections. Similarly, in a discussion of Old Times. after an analysis of the form of the play has yielded wonderfully suggestive visual supports to the text, the conclusion becomes schematic and limiting (p. 97). There is a lot about Pinter that Dukore wants to say in this small book: his cause is noble and his approach intelligent; and perhaps the limitations ofspace produce some of the flaws. As the conclusion of the analysis of A Slight Ache reads, "Edward's and Flora's subjectivity determines their relationship with the visitor [the Matchseller]" (p. 45), I cannot help thinking that much serious logic has been abstracted to state the ostensibly obvious. Dukore's thinking might parallel a fascinating thesis recently proposed by Thomas F. Van Laan, that Pinter "[prompts] us to review our assumptions about reality ... , whether ... our consciousness, instead of merely interpreting events, does not in fact also create them" (The Dumb Waiter: Pinter and the Audience," Modern Drama, 24 [1981). 500). Although all Pinter admirers will enjoy the pleasure of his company as Dukore makes succinct use of material from the plays, inevitably we shall find ourselves, like the old lady in Beckett's Rockaby. calling for "More," please. LILLIAN BACK, WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY JULIAN HILTON . Georg Bachner. New York: Grove Press 1982. Pp. xi, 167. illustrated. $8.95 (PB). In keeping with the program of the Grove Press Modem Dramatists Series, this volume is meant to provide an introduction to a major modern playwright "for people interested in modern theatre who prefer concise, intelligentstudies ... withoutjargon and an excess offootnotes." The goal is praiseworthy but also problematic: the more concise a study is, the more likely it is to rely on generalizations, simplifications, and omissions that distort the subject matter and make it insufficient even as an introduction. To these shortcomings Hilton adds questionable speculations and assumptions and irrelevant background infonnation that further distort his image and also waste va1uable space. lo his discussion of BOchner's position in the Gennan literary tradition, for example, he presupposes connections and influences that are by no means certain. Furthennore, his eagerness to find parallels and similarities with other writers will probably be lost on the audience for whom the study is intended, that is, readers with little knowledge of German literature and culture. Immennann's Muslerbahne, for example, is not likely to mean much to such readers and was probably completely unknown to BOchner as well, yet Hilton devotes almost as much space to it as to Buchner's nondramatic works, which surely are far more significant for this study. Hilton's discussions of the plays differ in approach and also in quality. Danton's 392 Book Reviews Death is considered in terms of the basic elements of plot, character, and staging. Hilton notes the noncompliance of BUchner's play with Aristotle's idea of plot. but limits his analysis to the contrastive arrangement of scenes as illustrated in the movement from inside, private settings to outside, public ones. Not dealt with are the central conflict of political ideologies and the variety of other conflicts that comprise the action and may be considered part of the plot, even in an Aristotelian sense. Hilton's discussion of character is equal1y limited: from his concentration on Marion, who appears in but one scene, one would think that she were the play's central figure. Similarly, Hilton considers BUchner's view of sexuality and suicide at some length, but makes no mention of the guilt, disillusionment and despair that have caused an erstwhile political mover and shaker to become a...