THE BLUE BIRD

Not Maeterlinck's but Countesse D'Aulnoy's of course, and as fashioned by Erica Ducornet it quivers. . . with romance disciplined to devotion, weakness rendered pitiable, malice resisted, joy gained by perseverance and a light touch of magic--the rancorous stepsister Zagzin turned into a small ruffled owl, for instance. Also chastely distilled and disciplined are the pen drawings, especially by comparison with Mrs. Ducornet's extravagant illustrations for Beauty and the Beast: they move more because they have at their (not always) best the implacable, inescapable presence of a Renaissance engraving and occasionally an Oriental feel for nature heightened in isolation. This is anything but a sentimental Blue Bird; rather it combines a tremulous chill with a somber beauty.