Easter and other plays
August Strindberg (Author), E. Classen (Translator), C. D. Locock (Translator), Erik Palmstierna (Translator), James Bernard Fagan (Translator), Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation
Easter is a strange mingling of symbolism and realism, bearing a spiritual message of resurrection. It examines themes of suffering and transcendence through forgiveness, as seen in the Hest family, which is shamed and tortured by a family disgrace. The father has been imprisoned for mismanaging orphans' estates. The daughter, Leonora, has been committed to an asylum, but has fled it to rejoin her family. In a foolish mistake, she has "bought" a flower from a closed shop and fears being exposed for it, which could lead to prison or being returned to the asylum. A major creditor of the family has moved next door and the family trembles at his every approach. Mrs. Hest and her son, Ellis, know that they are on the brink of ruin. Ellis is particularly burdened by the dark cold of winter and his depressing guilt over his father's sanctions. But as the snow melts and a single daffodil appears, Easter Eve brings them hope, joy and mercy. The play passes from impending doom to a rejoicing at deliverance with a power which can barely be matched in theater of its time
Print Book, English, 1929
Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith ; Jonathan Cape, New York, London, 1929