PEDRO THE CRUEL
After one or two slight beginnings of romantic historical dramas, she made, in 1855, a more serious attempt on a more ambitious subject and in a style that denotes a considerable advance of power. This was the story of King Pedro the Cruel of Castille and his conflict with his illegitimate brothers, Fadrique and Enriquez. Her object was to depict the deterioration of a young noble nature under unnatural circumstances, the temptations of power, the sense of early cruel wrongs to himself and those he loved, the growing bitterness of an unnatural conflict, and the half-madness which all these causes produced in a hot, impetuous, though naturally a generous, temper. The one redeeming feature all through was his constant and devoted love to the beautiful young Andalusian, Maria de Padilla, whom in this drama he is supposed, as he is
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