The son of a servant
And as his works have come but lately before the great British public, it may be well to consider what attitude should be adopted towards the amazing candour of his self -revelation. In most provinces of life other than the comprehension of our fellows, the art of understanding is making great progress.
We comprehend new phenomena without the old strain upon our capacity for readjusting our point of view. But do we equally well understand our fellow-being whose way of life is not ours? We are patient towards new phases of philosophy, new discoveries in science, new sociological facts, observed in other lands; but in considering an abnormal type of man or woman, hasty judgment or a too contracted outlook is still liable to cloud the judgment.
Now, it is obvious that if we would understand any worker who has accomplished what his contemporaries could only attempt to do, we must have a sufficiently wide knowledge of his work. Neither the inconsequent gossip attaching to such a personality nor the chance perusal of a problem-play affords an adequate basis for arriving at a true estimate of the man. Few writers demand, to the same degree as August Strindberg, those graces of judgment, patience, and reverence. And for this reason first of all: most of us live sheltered lives.
They are few who stand in the heart of the storm made by Europe's progress. Especially is this true in Southern Europe, where tradition holds its secular sway, where such moulding energy as constitutional practice exerts its influence over a social life, where the aims and ends of human attainment are defined and sanctioned by a consciousness developing with the advancement of civilisation. There is often engendered under such conditions a nervous impatience towards those who judged from behind the sheltered walls of orthodoxy, are more or less exposed to the criticism of their fellows. The fault lies in yielding to this impatience.
The proof that August Strindberg was of the few who must stand in the open, and suffer the full force of all the winds that blow, cannot now be attempted. Our sole aim must be to enable the reader of The Son of a Servant to take up a sym- pathetic standpoint. This book forms part of the autobiography of a most gifted man, through whose life the fierce winds of Europe's opinions blew into various expressions.
Contents:
- Fear and Hunger...
- Breaking-In.
- Away from Home...
- Intercourse with the Lower Classes
- Contact with the Upper Classes.
- The School of the Cross
- First Love .....
- The Spring Thaw.
- With Strangers.
- Character and Destiny.
An autobiographical novel by August Strindberg
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