Stage-Land

Оглавление

Jerome Klapka Jerome. Stage-Land

THE HERO

THE VILLAIN

THE HEROINE

THE COMIC MAN

THE LAWYER

THE ADVENTURESS

THE SERVANT-GIRL

THE CHILD

THE COMIC LOVERS

THE PEASANTS

THE GOOD OLD MAN

THE IRISHMAN

THE DETECTIVE

THE SAILOR

Отрывок из книги

He wears a clean collar and smokes a cigarette; that is how we know he is a villain. In real life it is often difficult to tell a villain from an honest man, and this gives rise to mistakes; but on the stage, as we have said villains wear clean collars and smoke cigarettes, and thus all fear of blunder is avoided.

It is well that the rule does not hold off the stage, or good men might be misjudged. We ourselves, for instance, wear a clean collar – sometimes.

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The maid or friend does not waste time in simile or in metaphor. She calls him a black-hearted scoundrel and clumps him over the head.

Of recent years it has been attempted to cheer the stage villain's loveless life by making the village clergyman's daughter gone on him. But it is generally about ten years ago when even she loved him, and her love has turned to hate by the time the play opens; so that on the whole his lot can hardly be said to have been much improved in this direction.

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