There is a sort of tacit
freemasonry among them, which takes its revenge upon him who tells tales
out of school. It is a consciousness of this which makes Christensen,
after having declared war to the knife against the Riises, withdraw his
challenge and become doubly cordial toward his enemy. Alf, who in the
second act has expressed the opinion that a man is responsible to his
wife for his future, but not for his past, retracts, and does penance.
Svava, in consideration of his penitence, gives him a vague hope of
future reconciliation.[9]
[9] In the later acting version of the play, which ends with the
throwing of the glove, this hope of reconciliation is definitely cut
off. The author has evidently come to the conclusion that his
argument is weakened by Svava's conciliatory attitude, and he
enforces his moral by making the sin appear unpardonable. The acting
version, which is more dramatically concise, differs in several
other respects from the version here presented; but the other
changes seem to be dictated by a stricter regard for the exigencies
of theatrical representation.
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