Bereczky Erzsébet (szerk.): Imre Madách: The Tragedy of Man. Essays about the ideas and the directing of the Drama (Budapest, 1985)
dr. Ferenc Kerényi: A Dramatic Poem from Hungary to the Theaters of the World
and speculations known to him. The various scientific theories of the 19th century (such as Gall’s cranology or the contemporary theory of entropy) swiftly became obsolete and are of interest today only as the history of science. For the readers of today, they must be explained in footnotes and can either be dispensed with entirely on the stage or interpreted symbolically. At the same time, these scenes are rich in philosophical and ethical questions, new and exciting even for our time. By the end of Scene XIV, the ideas of the various ages have, without exception, met their dialectical fate: the theses have proved to be empty and have turned into their own antitheses. Adam’s intention to commit suicide is thus not entirely unfounded. Still, The Tragedy of Man is not a pessimistic work. All the ideas of previous epochs have turned to ashes, but out of the romantic heroism of the 19th century, one and only one all-embracing ideal remains valid for the waking state: that of the struggle. Adam formulated it for the first time in the scene in space: And am aware i’ll often miss my goal. But never mind! What is life’s goal, indeed? Goal is the end of all triumphant fights, Goal is mere death - existence is all strife. The ambition of man is strife itself. In the final scene of the dramatic poem Adam is not saved by his hard-won knowledge alone, but also by the revelation that Eve is with child and by the words of the Lord. This Lord, however, is not identical to the one in the first scene who looks down with the pride of the successful artisan on the world created by him. Here he gives a dialectical synthesis of Lucifer’s destructive doubts and Adam’s insecurities by determining their places in the universe. Using the thought that became a structural element in Hegelian dialectics, he addresses Lucifer: And, Lucifer, you also are a link In my creation. Strain yourself and think That your cold knowledge and negation will 17
