There are Crimes and Crimes

Excerpt:

(The Cremerie. On the right stands a buffet, on which are placed an aquarium

with goldfish and dishes containing vegetables, fruit, preserves, etc. In the

background is a door leading to the kitchen, where workmen are taking their

meals. At the other end of the kitchen can be seen a door leading out to a

garden. On the left, in the background, stands a counter on a raised platform,

and back of it are shelves containing all sorts of bottles. On the right, a long

table with a marble top is placed along the wall, and another table is placed

parallel to the first further out on the floor. Straw-bottomed chairs stand around

the tables. The walls are covered with oil-paintings.)

(MME. CATHERINE is sitting at the counter.)

(MAURICE stands leaning against it. He has his hat on and is smoking a

cigarette.)

MME. CATHERINE. So it's tonight the great event comes off, Monsieur

Maurice?

MAURICE. Yes, tonight.

MME. CATHERINE. Do you feel upset?

MAURICE. Cool as a cucumber.

MME. CATHERINE. Well, I wish you luck anyhow, and you have deserved it,

Monsieur Maurice, after having had to fight against such difficulties as yours.

MAURICE. Thank you, Madame Catherine. You have been very kind to me,

and without your help I should probably have been down and out by this time.

MME. CATHERINE. Don't let us talk of that now. I help along where I see

hard work and the right kind of will, but I don't want to be exploited--Can we

trust you to come back here after the play and let us drink a glass with you?

MAURICE. Yes, you can--of course, you can, as I have already promised you.

(HENRIETTE enters from the right.)

(MAURICE turns around, raises his hat, and stares at HENRIETTE, who looks

him over carefully.)

…



About Author:

Johan August Strindberg (22 January 1849 – 14 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg's career spanned four decades, during which time he wrote over 60 plays and more than 30 works of fiction, autobiography, history, cultural analysis, and politics. A bold experimenter and iconoclast throughout, he explored a wide range of dramatic methods and purposes, from naturalistic tragedy, monodrama, and history plays, to his anticipations of expressionist and surrealist dramatic techniques. From his earliest work, Strindberg developed forms of dramatic action, language, and visual composition so innovative that many were to become technically possible to stage only with the advent of film. He is considered the "father" of modern Swedish literature and his The Red Room (1879) has frequently been described as the first modern Swedish novel.