and love. The Rosebud, on the contrary, does not make herself conspicuous by show and glitter: she will only open her glowing bosom to the lucky finder.”
In Goethe’s “Four Seasons” there is the following distich:—
Thou to the blooming maiden mayest be likened, O Rosebud!
Who as the fairest is seen, yet through her modesty fair.
20. Gardeners.
Although some commentators assert that the preceding masks of flowers represent the attraction of appearance, and the fruits which are now brought forward must therefore represent positive possession, I prefer to stand by the more obvious solution, and to see in the gardeners only the male element of Society. In the latter, grace and beauty are secondary qualities; the decision which follows mutual attraction must not be left to the eye alone; the internal flavor of character must be tasted. The spectacular arrangement of the fruits and flowers, under green, leafy arcades, suggests Goethe’s description of the Neapolitan fruit-shops, in his Italienische Reise.
21. Mother and Daughter.
Here the meaning is not easily to be mistaken, and the critics, although some of them have shown remarkable skill in their efforts to attach some additional significance to the characters, have not been able to escape the direct allusion to scheming mothers with marriageable daughters. The masks are appropriately introduced as a transition from the natural, unperverted attraction of the sexes in youth, which is the primitive cause and charm of Society, to the introduction of other and disturbing elements.
The game alluded to in the third stanza (Dritter Mann), I only know by its old English name of “Hindmost of Three,” which may possibly be a local designation; but it will at least indicate the game to those who happen to know it under another name.
The stage directions, in brackets, following this passage,
