THE SON OF A SERVANT
BY
AUGUST STRINDBERG
AUTHOR OF "THE INFERNO," "ZONES OF THE SPIRIT," ETC.
TRANSLATED BY CLAUD FIELD
WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY
HENRY VACHER-BURCH
G.P. PUTNAM'S SONS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
The Knickerbocker Press
1913
CONTENTS
AUGUST STRINDBERG AS NOVELIST
From the Publication of "The Son of a Servant" to "The Inferno"(1886-1896)
A celebrated statesman is said to have described the biography of acardinal as being like the Judgment Day. In reading August Strindberg'sautobiographical writings, as, for example, his Inferno, and the bookfor which this study is a preface, we must remember that he portrayshis own Judgment Day. And as his works have come but lately before thegreat British public, it may be well to consider what attitude shouldbe adopted towards the amazing candour of his self-revelation. In mostprovinces of life other than the comprehension of our fellows, the artof understanding is making great progress. We comprehend new phenomenawithout the old strain upon our capacity for readjusting our point ofview. But do we equally well understand our fellow-being whose way oflife is not ours? We are patient towards new phases of philosophy,new discoveries in science, new sociological facts, observed in otherlands; but in considering an abnormal type of man or woman, hastyjudgment or a too contracted outlook is still liable to cloud thejudgment.
Now, it is obvious that if we would understand any worker who hasaccomplished what his contemporaries could only attempt to do, wemust have a sufficiently wide knowledge of his work. Neither theinconsequent gossip attaching to such a personality, nor the chanceperusal of a problem-play, affords an adequate basis for arriving ata true estimate of the man. Few writers demand, to the same degree asAugust Strindberg, those grace