s and the entirely unsensational exposition
of the dramatic action. There is one scene (and by no means an unnatural
one) in which there is a touch of violence, viz., where Tjaelde, while
he hopes to avert his bankruptcy, threatens to shoot Lawyer Berent and
himself; but there is a very human quiver in the threat and in the
passionate outbreak which precedes it. Nowhere is there a breath of that
superheated hot-house atmosphere which usually pervades the modern
drama.

"Bankruptcy" deals, as the title indicates, with the question of
financial honesty. Zola has in _Le Roman Sentimental_ made the
observation that "absolute honesty no more exists than perfect
healthfulness. There is a tinge of the human beast in us all, as there
is a tinge of illness." Tjaelde, the great merchant, exemplifies this
proposition. He is a fairly honest man, who by the modern commercial
methods, which, in self-defence, he has been forced to adopt, gets into
the position of a rogue. The commandment, "Thou shalt not steal," seems
at first glance an extremely simple injunction; but in the light of
Bjoernson's searching analysis it becomes a complex and intricate tangle,
capable of interesting shades and _nuances_ of meaning. Tjaelde, in the
author's opinion, certainly does steal, when, in order to save himself
(and thereby the thousands who are involved in his affairs), he
speculates with other people's money and presents a rose-colored account
of his business, when he knows that he is on the verge of bankruptcy.
But, on the other hand, it is extremely difficult to determine the point
where legitimate speculation ceases and the illegitimate begins. And if
Tjaelde neglected any legitimate means of saving his estate he would be
culpable. A stern code of morals (which the commercial world of to-day
would scarcely exact), the poet enforces in the fourth act, where
Tjaelde refuses to accept any concession from his creditors, but insists
upon devoting the remainder of his life to the liquidation of his debts.

Admirably strong and vital is the exposition of the _role_ and functions
of money in the modern world, and the nearer and remoter psychological
effects of the tremendous tyranny of money. A certain external _eclat_
is required to give the great commercial house the proper splendor in
the sight of the world. Thus Tjaelde speculates in hospitality as in
everything else, and when he virtually has nothing, makes the grandest
splurge in order to give