Item 24 - Letter from Donald Tovey to R. C. Trevelyan

1 item

Discussion of Ariadne's delirium in the final act of "The Bride of Dionysus"; the 'actual last moment of her yielding to D[ionysus]' is still 'a mystery' to Tovey. It must be 'a very big thing indeed, or it will be simply bad'. Agrees with Trevelyan that she should not commit suicide. Offers suggestions. Ariadne's delirium must be 'a much more impressive affair than her soliloquy', and there must be 'the fullest & strongest expression of formal balance'. Emphasises that his ideas must not obstruct Trevelyan's, and that his attempts to 'construct a psychology' for Ariadne and Dionysus should not over-influence him, as he and Bessie will know 'their real points of view' so much better than Tovey that his analysis 'will seem no nearer the mark than Mrs Munt's view of the possibilities of Helen & Leonard Bast' [in Forster's "Howards End"]. He has to think these things through, as he cannot set to music what he cannot understand.

Pencil annotation suggests '1910?' as a date; another annotation reads 'Feb 10? 1911'.