Many remember the wonderful children's fairy tale “Blue Bird”. However, what is perceived as a fairy tale for children was actually written as a parable for adults. Its author was the famous writer from Belgium Maurice Meterlink. In addition to the Blue Bird, many other interesting works belonged to him. The most symbolic among them is the play Blind.
Maurice Meterlink
The writer was born in a Belgian notary's family in August 1862. It was customary to speak French in the family, which is why in the future the author wrote most of his works in this language.
When the boy was fourteen, he was sent to study at a Jesuit college. Studying contributed to the development of Meterlink’s desire to study literature, and on the other hand, formed the author’s fierce anticlerical position.
After college, the young man began to study law. In his free time, he wrote poetry and prose. Despite the fact that his father insisted on a career as a lawyer, he helped the young man publish the first collection of poetry, Orangery. A year later, publishes the play "La Princesse Maleine" and further focuses on writing the plays by Maurice Meterlink.
Blind, Uninvited, Peleas and Milisanda are the following famous plays by the writer. They glorified their creator not only in Belgium and France, but also throughout the world. The works of this period are considered the most successful. This is due to the fact that in subsequent years the writer is carried away by symbolism, his later plays are excessively overfilled with mysticism.
In 1909, the play “The Blue Bird” was successfully staged in France. And two years later, receives the Nobel Prize in literature Maurice Meterlink. Blind, Blue Bird, Peleas and Milisanda and several other famous plays by the author helped the writer achieve this prestigious award.
With the outbreak of the First World War, Meterlink in his work begins to touch on the theme of war ("The Burgomaster of Stilmond").
In the twenties, the writer became more and more interested in occultism, while the works of this period are full of biblical motifs. Gradually, Meterlink writes essays more than plays.
When the writer turned 50, the king of Belgium Albert I granted him the title of count.
Since the beginning of World War II, the writer emigrated to the United States, but in 1947 he returned to Europe. Two years later, Maurice Meterlink died in Nice due to a heart attack.
Meterlink's play “Blind”: the story of creation
Since the mid-nineteenth century, the church began to lose influence on society. This was due to desperate attempts to maintain control over science and culture. Most of the scholars and artists were believers, but because of the church’s active attempts to rudely interfere in their work, anti-clerical sentiments grew among them.
Even while studying at Jesuit College, he became negative about many of the ideas of the Maurice Meterlink church. The Blind (the play) was written under the influence of its author's observations of the loss of church influence in society. Meterlink believed that the church was already too "old" to lead, but if it was not replaced by another institution, society was doomed.
In 1890 this play was published, and a year later it was staged in the “Theater of Art” by Paul For. It was translated into Russian only four codes after publication. And in 1904 she was staged in one of the Moscow theaters along with several other short plays of Meterlink.
main characters
One of the main characters of the play was made by the silent dead priest Meterlink. The blind people surrounding his body throughout the play characterize him, making it clear how important he played in their lives.
Another important hero is a baby - a child of a crazy blind. He is the only one able to see, but because of such a young age, he is not yet able to become a guide for the rest.
Young blind - a beautiful young girl who grew up in an area with beautiful nature, but later lost her sight. Despite her mutilation, she continues to love beauty. The girl is charming and, despite the fact that all the men around are blind, they all sympathize with her. Although she does not see anything, her eyes are still alive and with proper treatment she will soon be able to see clearly.
The oldest woman among the blind is also the most rational. The oldest blind man is also judicious.
Three blind-born men are some of the most unhappy heroes. They have no memories of the beauty of the world, since they have never seen it. They are constantly outraged and criticize others. The blindborn complain that the priest did not speak with them, but later it turns out that they themselves are not painfully eager to listen to him.
Three old blind women, in contrast to the young blind, are completely inactive. They resigned to their fate. Whatever happens, she continues to pray.
There are also two more blind men in the play, but they are not particularly active.
There are eight heroes in the Blind: a total of six blind men (3 blind-born, an old and 2 ordinary blind), six blind women (3 worshipers, an old, young and insane), a dead priest and a sighted child.
Meterlink Blind: Summary
The play tells about a shelter for the blind, in which the sighted are only an elderly priest (died at the very beginning of the play) and decrepit nuns. Recently, a doctor was there, but he died earlier, because of which the priest was worried, because he was sick and foresaw his own death. Shortly before her, he gathers all the blind and leads for a walk around the island. However, he becomes ill and, saying goodbye to a beautiful young blind man, he dies.
However, the blind do not notice the death of their guide, and believing that he will soon return for them, they are waiting for his return. Over time, they begin to worry and communicate with each other. Reflecting and complaining about the priest's behavior (envious blindborn), as well as recalling the past, the blind gradually lose hope of his return.
Soon a shelter dog arrives and thanks to it, the blind learn that the priest is dead. Reflecting on how to get out, the blind begin to feel that someone is touching them. Soon they hear someone’s footsteps and a young blind woman picks up a sighted child in her arms, hoping that he will see who is walking. However, as the unknown approaches, the child cries more and more.
Symbolism of the Blind
At the time of writing, Maurice Meterlink became interested in the philosophy of symbolism. The Blind (summarized above) are full of many characters.
First of all, it is death surrounding the blind. It is symbolized by the ocean nearby.
The lighthouse is also symbolic, the inhabitants of which see very well, but do not look towards the blind (a symbol of science).
Another symbol is the old sighted nuns of the shelter, which are known that, knowing the loss of their wards, they will not go looking for them. Here Meterlink describes the contemporary attitude of the church towards the flock. Despite the vocation, he takes care and protect the "blind" wards, many priests simply ignore their problems.
Blind heroes are humanity, which in the past centuries has found its way through faith (church).
But now faith is dead and people are lost in the dark. They are looking for a road, but not able to find it on their own. Someone comes to the blind at the end of the play, but because of the open ending, it is not known whether this is a new guide who wants to help unfortunate people, or a cruel killer.
Despite the fact that some interpret the end of the play as the death of mankind, for many the arrival of the unknown symbolizes hope. The cry of a sighted child may not mean fear, but joy or a call to a stranger (stranger) for help.
Importance for Culture
Many readers liked the image of humanity, which has lost faith, in the image of the blind without a guide, as Meterlink presented them. The Blind (analysis and characters of the play above) influenced the writer's contemporaries and descendants. The famous philosopher Nicholas Roerich, after staging the play in Moscow, inked a black and white illustration for the play.
Meterlink’s idea of ​​portraying society as a group of blind people prompted Jose Saramago to write the novel “Blindness,” based on which the film of the same name was shot in 2008.
More than a hundred years have passed since the writing of the play Blind. Over the years, a lot of cataclysms and events have occurred in society. However, today, like a hundred years ago, humanity continues to behave like a blind man in the hope of finding a guide. So the work of Meterlink continues to be relevant.