THE MYSTIC IN THE THEATER: ELEONORA DUSE

by Eva Le Gallienne ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 1966

Duse summed up the speculations of the critics about the source of her power as an actress in the statement, ""Don't you know that there are a thousand women in me, and that I am tortured by each one in turn."" Miss Le Gallienne, herself a formidable figure if the theater these many years, takes a slightly different, acutely understanding tack. She reduces but does not diminish Duse in describing her as a supreme individualist, who detested dogma but who saw in the artist something of the divine, ""The theater sprang from religion. It is my greatest wish that, somehow, through me... they may be reunited."" This struggle raged through her love affairs, her constant battle with T.B. and on her triumphant tours to her tragic death. She was never able to meet her own standards to her impossible satisfaction. Miss Le Gallienne, who knew her as well as anyone, does justice to genius.

Pub Date: April 19, 1966

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1966

Categories: NONFICTION