Men are, as yet, as Mr. Howells
remarks, "imperfectly monogamous;" and Bjoernson is, no doubt, in the
main right in the tremendous indictment he frames against them in the
present drama.
It may be expedient to give a brief outline of the action. Svava Riis,
the daughter of prosperous and refined parents, becomes engaged to Alf
Christensen, the son of a great commercial magnate.
Her father and mother are overjoyed at the happy event; she is herself
no less delighted. Her _fiance_ has an excellent reputation, shares her
interest in social questions, and supports her in her efforts to found
kindergartens and to ameliorate the lot of the poor. Each glories in
the exclusive possession of the other's love, and with the retrospective
jealousy of lovers, fancies that he has had no predecessors in the
affection of the beloved. Alf can scarcely endure to have any one touch
Svava, and is almost ill when any one dances with her.
"When I see you among all the others," he exclaims, "and catch, for
instance, a glimpse of your arm, then I think: That arm has been wound
about my neck, and about no one else's in the whole world.
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