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Thursday, August 25, 2016

Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations by Georges Polti

Boston: The Writer, Inc Publishers 1944; Nachdrucke 1954, 1968, 1977 and 1986

Original: Les trente-six situations dramatiques 1895; first translation into English 1916;
frz. Nachdruck Plan-de-la-Tour/ Paris: Editions d’Aujourd’hui 1980


1. Supplication
(The dynamic elements technically necessary are: a Persecutor, a Suppliant and a Power in authority, whose decision is doubtful)

A (1) Fugitives Imploring the Powerful for Help Against Their Enemies
(2) Assistance Implored for the Performance of a Pious Duty Which has Been Forbidden
(3) Appeals for a Refuge in Which to Die
B (1) Hospitality Besought by the Shipwrecked
(2) Charity Entreated by Those Cast Off by Their Own People, Whom They Have Disgraced
(3) Expiation: The Seeking of Pardon, Healing or Deliverance
(4) The Surrender of a Corpse, or of a Relic, Solicited
C (1) Supplication of the Powerful for Those Dear to the Suppliant
(2) Supplication to a Relative in Behalf of Another Relative
(3) Supplication to a Mother's Lover, in Her Behalf

2. Deliverance
(Elements: an Unfortunate, a Threatener, a Rescuer)

A Appearance of a Rescuer to the Condemned
B (1) A Parent Replaced Upon a throne by His Children
(2) Rescue by Friends, or by Strangers Grateful for Benefits or Hospitality

3. Crime pursued by Vengeance
(Elements: an Avenger and a Criminal)

A (1) The Avenging of a Slain Parent or Ancestor
(2) The Avenging of a Slain Child or Descendant
(3) Vengeance for a Child Dishonored
(4)The Avenging of a Slain Wife or Husband
(5) Vengeance for the Dishonor, or Attempted Dishonoring, of a Wife
(6) Vengeance for a Mistress Slain
(7) Vengeance for a Slain or Injured Friend
(8) Vengeance for a Sister Seduced
B (1) Vengeance for Intentional Injury or Spoliation
(2) Vengeance for having Been Despoiled During Absence
(3) Revenge for an Attempted Slaying
(4) Revenge for a False Accusation
(5) Vengeance for Violation
(6) Vengeance for having Been Robbed of One's Own
(7) Revenge Upon a Whole Sex for a Deception by One
C Professional Pursuit of Criminals (the counterpart of which will be found in the Fifth Situation Class A)

4. Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred
(Elements: Avenging Kinsman; Guilty Kinsman; Remembrance of the Victim, a Relative of Both)

A (1) A Father's Death Avenged Upon a Mother
(2) A Mother Avenged Upon a Father
B A Brother's Death Avenged Upon a Son
C A Father's Death Avenged Upon a Husband
D A Husband's Death Avenged Upon a Father

5. Pursuit
(Elements : Punishment and Fugitive)

A Fugitives from Justice Pursued for Brigandage, Political Offences, Etc
B Pursued for a Fault of Love
C A Hero struggling Against Power
D A Pseudo-Madman Struggling Against an Lago-Like Alienist

6. Disaster
(Elements: a Vanquished Power; a Victorious Enemy or a Messenger)

A (1) Defeat Suffered
(2) A Fatherland Destroyed
(3) The Fall of Humanity
(4) A Natural Catastrophe
B A Monarch Overthrown (the converse of Eight)
C (19) Ingratitude Suffered
(2) The Suffering of Unjust Punishment or Enmity
(39 An Outraged Suffered
D (1) Abandonment by a Lover or a Husband
(2) Children Lost by Their Parents

7. Falling prey to cruelty or misfortune
(Elements: an Unfortunate; a Master or a Misfortune)

A The Innocent Made the Victim of Ambitious Intrigue
B The Innocent Despoiled by Those Who Should Protect
C (1) The Powerful Dispossessed and Wretched
(2) A Favorite or an Intimate Finds Himself Forgotten
D The Unfortunate Robbed of their Only Hope

8. Revolt
(Elements: Tyrant and Conspirator)

A (1) A Conspiracy Chiefly of One Individual
(2) A Conspiracy of Several
B (1) Revolt of One Individual, Who Influences and Involves Others
(2) A Revolt of Many

9. Daring Enterprise
(A Bold Leader; an Object; an Adversary)

A Preparations For War
B (1) War
(2) A Combat
C (19) Carrying Off a Desired Person or object
(2) Recapture of a Desired Object
D (1) Adventurous Expeditions
(2) Adventure Undertaken for the Purpose of Obtaining a Beloved Woman

10. Abduction
(The Abductor; the Abducted; the Guardian)

A Abduction of an Unwilling Woman
B Abduction of a Consenting woman
C (1) Recapture of the Woman Without the Slaying of the Abductor
(2) the Same Case, with Slaying of the Ravisher
D (1) Rescue of a Captive Friend
(2) Of a Child
(3) Of a Soul in Captivity to Error.

11. The Enigma
(Interrogator, Seeker and Problem)

A Search for a Person Who Must Be Found on Pain of Death
B (1) A Riddle to Be Solved on Pain of Death
(2) The Same Case, in Which the Riddle is Proposed by the Coveted Woman
C (1) Temptations Offered With the Object of Discovering His Name
(2) Temptations Offered With the Object of Ascertaining the Sex
(3) Tests for the Purpose of Ascertaining the Mental Condition

12. Obtaining
(A Solicitor and an Adversary Who is Refusing, or an Arbitrator and opposing Parties)

A Efforts to Obtain an Object by Ruse or Force
B Endeavor by Means of Persuasive Eloquence Alone
C Eloquence With an Arbitrator

13 Enmity of Kinsmen
(Elements: a Malevolent Kinsman; a Hated or Reciprocally Hating Kinsman)

A Hatred of Brothers
(1) One Brother Hated by Several
(2) Reciprocal Hatred
(3) Hatred Between Relatives for Reasons of Self-Interest
B Hatred of Father and Son
(1) Of the Son for the Father
(2) Mutual Hatred
(3) Hatred of Daughter for Father
C Hatred of Grandfather for Grandson
D Hatred of Father-in-law for Son-in-law
E Hatred of Mother-in-law for Daughter-in-law
F Infanticide

14. Rivalry of Kinsmen
(The Preferred Kinsman; the Rejected Kinsman; the Object)

A (19) Malicious Rivalry of a Brother
(2) Malicious Rivalry of Two Brothers
(3) Rivalry of two Brothers, With Adultery on the Part of One
(4) Rivalry of Sisters
B (1) Rivalry of Father and Son, for an Unmarried Woman
(2) Rivalry of Father and Son, for a Married Woman
(3) Case Similar to the Two Foregoing, But in Which the Object is Already the Wife of the Father
(4) Rivalry of Mother and Daughter
D Rivalry of Friends

15. Murderous Adultery
(Elements: Two Adulterers; a Betrayed Husband or Wife)

A (1) The Slaying of a Husband by, or for, a Paramour
(2) the Slaying of a Trusting Lover
B Slaying of a Wife for a Paramour, an in Self-Interest

16. Madness
(Elements: Madman and Victim)

A (1) Kinsmen Slain in Madness
(2) A Lover Slain in Madness
(3) Slaying or Injuring of a Person not Hated
B Disgrace Brought Upon Oneself Through Madness
C Loss of Loved Ones Brought About by Madness
D madness Brought on by Fear of hereditary Insanity

17. Fatal Imprudence
(The Imprudent; the Victim or the Object Lost)

A (1) Imprudence the Cause of One's Own Misfortune
(2) Imprudence the Cause of One's Own Dishonor
B (1) Curiosity the Cause of One's Own Misfortune
(2) Loss of the Possession of a Loved One, Through Curiosity
C (1) Curiosity the Cause of Death or Misfortune
(2) Imprudence the Cause of a Relative's Death
(3) Imprudence the Cause of a Lover's Death
(4) Credulity the Cause of a Kinsmen's Death

18. Involuntary Crimes of Love
(The Lover; the Beloved; the Revealer)

A (1) Discovery That One Has married One's Mother
(2) Discovery That One Has Had a Sister as Mistress
B (1) Discovery That One Has Married One's Sister
(2) The Same Case, in Which the Crime Has Been Villainously Planned by a Third Person
(3) Being Upon the Point of Taking a Sister, Unknowingly, as Mistress
C Being Upon the Point of Violating, Unknowingly, a Daughter
D (1) Being upon the Point of Committing an Adultery Unknowingly
(2) Adultery Committed Unknowingly

19. Slaying of a kinsman unrecognized
(The Slayer; the Unrecognized Victim)

A (1) Being Upon the Point of Slaying a Daughter Unknowingly, by Command of a Divinity or an Oracle
(2) Through Political Necessity
(3) Through a Rivalry in Love
(4) Through Hatred of the Lover of the Unrecognized Daughter
B (1) Being Upon the Point of Killing a Son Unknowingly  A Son Slain Without Being Recognized
(2) The Same Case as B (1), Strengthened by Machiavellian Instigations
(3) The Same Case as B (2), Intermixed With Hatred of Kinsmen (that of grandfather for grandson)
C - Being Upon the Point of Slaying a Brother Unknowingly
(1) Brothers Slaying in Anger
(2) A Sister Slaying Through Professional Duty
D Slaying of a Mother Unrecognized
E A Father Slain Unknowingly, Through Machiavellian Advice (see XVII)
The Simple Slaying of a Father Unrecognized
The Same Case Reduced From Murder to Simple Insult
Being Upon the Point of Slaying a Father Unknowingly
F A Grandfather Slain Unknowingly, in Vengeance of Through Investigation
(2) Slain Involuntarily
(3) A Father- in-law Killed Involuntarily
G (1) Involuntarily Killing a Loved Woman
(2) Being Upon the Point of Killing a Lover Unrecognized
(3) Failure to Rescue an Unrecognized Son

20 Self-sacrificing of an ideal
(The Hero; the Ideal; the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing Sacrificed)

A (1) Sacrifice of Life for the Sake of One's Word
(2) Life Sacrificed for the Success or One's People
For the Happiness of One's People
(3) Life Sacrificed in Filial Piety
(4) Life Sacrificed for the Sake of One's Faith
For the Sake of One's King
B (19) Both Love and Life Sacrificed for One's Faith
(2) Both Love and Life Sacrificed to a Cause
(39) Life Sacrificed to Interests of State
C Sacrifice of Well-Being to Duty
D The Ideal of "Honor" Sacrificed to the Ideal of "Faith"

21. Self-sacrifice for kindred
(The Hero; the Kinsman; the "Creditor" or the Person or Thing Sacrificed)

A (1) Life Sacrificed for that of a Relative or a Loved One
(2) Life Sacrificed for the Happiness of a Relative or a Loved One
B (1) Ambition Sacrificed for the Happiness of a Parent
(2) Ambition Sacrificed for the Life of a Parent
C (1) Love Sacrificed for the Sake of a Parent's Life
(2) For the Happiness of One's Child
For the Happiness of a Loved One
(3) The Same Sacrifice as 2, But Caused by Unjust Laws
D (1) Life and Honor Sacrificed for the Life of a Parent or Loved
The Same Sacrifice Made for the Honor of a Loved One
(2) Modesty Sacrificed for the Life of a Relative or a Loved One

22. All sacrificed for a passion
(The Lover; the object of the Fatal Passion; the Person or Thing Sacrificed)

A (1) Religious Vows of Chastity Broken for a Passion
(2) A Vow of Purity Broken
Respect for a Priest Destroyed
(3) A Future Ruined by a Passion
(4) Power Ruined by Passion
(5) Ruin of Mind, Health and Life
Passion Gratified at the Price of Life
(6) Ruin of Fortunes, Lives and Honors
B Temptations (see XII) Destroying the Sense of Duty, of Pity, etc.
C (1) Destruction of Honor, Fortune and Life by Erotic Vice
(2) The Same Effect Produced by Another Vice

23. Necessity of sacrificing loved ones
(The Hero; the Beloved Victim; the Necessity for the Sacrifice)

A (1) Necessity for Sacrificing a Daughter in the Public Interest
(2) Duty of Sacrificing Her in Fulfillment of a Vow to God
(3) Duty of Sacrificing Benefactors or Loved Ones to One's Faith
B (1) Duty of Sacrificing One's Child, Unknown to Others, Under the Pressure of Necessity
(2) Duty of Sacrificing, Under the Same Circumstances, One's Father
(3) Duty of Sacrificing, Under the Same Circumstances, One's Husband
(4) Duty of Sacrificing a Son-in-Law for the Public Good
For the Sake of Reputation
(5) Duty of Contending with a Brother-in-Law for the Public Good
(6) Duty of Contending with a Friend

24. Rivalry of superior and inferior
(The Superior Rival; the Inferior Rival; the Object)

A Masculine Rivalries
(1) Of a Mortal and an Immortal
Of Two Divinities of Unequal Power
(2) Of a Magician and an Ordinary man
(3) Of Conqueror and Conquered
Of Victor and Vanquished
Of a Master and a Banished Man
Of Usurper and Subject
(4) Of Suzerain King and Vassal Kings
(5) Of a King and a Noble
(6) Of a Powerful Person and an Upstart
(7) Of Rich and Poor
(8) Of an Honored man and a Suspected One
(9) Rivalry of Two Who Are Almost Equal
(10) Rivalry of Equals, One of Whom Has in the past Been Guilty of Adultery
(11) Of a Man Who is Loved and One Who Has Not the Right to Love
(12) Of the Two Successive Husbands of a Divorcée
B Feminine Rivalries
(1) Of a Sorceress and an Ordinary Woman
(2) Of Victor and Prisoner
(3) Of Queen and Subject
(4) Of a Queen and a Slave
(5) Of Lady and Servant
(6) Of a Lady and a woman of Humbler Position
Of a Lady and Two Women of Humbler Class
(7) Rivalry of Two Who Are Almost Equals, Complicated by the Abandonment of One
(8) Rivalry Between a Memory or an Ideal (That of a Superior Woman) and a Vassal of her Own
(9) Rivalry of Mortal and immortal
C Double Rivalry (A loves B, who loves C, who loves D)
D Oriental Rivalries
(1) Rivalry of Two Immortals
(2) Of Two Mortals
(3) Of Two Lawful Wives

25. Adultery
(A Deceived Husband of Wife; Two Adulterers)

A A Mistress Betrayed
(1) For a Young Woman
(2) For a Young Wife (the marriage preceding the opening of the play
(3) - For a Girl
B A Wife Betrayed
(1) For a Slave, Who Does Not Love in Return
(2) For Debauchery
(3) For a Married Woman (a double" adultery
(4) With the Intention of Bigamy
(5) For a Young Girl, Who Does Not Love in Return
(6) A Wife Envied by a Young Girl Who is in Love with Her Husband
(7) By a Courtesan
(8) Rivalry Between a Lawful Wife Who is Antipathetic and a Mistress Who is Congenial
(9) Between a Generous Wife and an Impassioned Girl
C (1) An Antagonistic Husband Sacrificed for a Congenial Lover
(2) A Husband, Believed to be Lost, Forgotten for a Rival
(3) A Commonplace Husband Sacrificed for a Sympathetic Lover
(4) A Good Husband Betrayed for an Inferior Rival
(5) For a Grotesque Rival
(6) For a Odious Rival
(7) For a Commonplace Rival, By a Perverse Wife
(8) For a Rival Less Handsome, but useful (with comic false suspicions; tat is, suspicions afterward thought to have been false)
D (1) Vengeance of a Deceived Husband (dramas built upon a crescendo of suspicion)
(2) Jealousy Sacrificed for the Sake of a Cause (tending toward "Sacrifices for an Ideal")
E A Husband Persecuted by a Rejected Rival

26. Crimes of Love
(The Lover; the Beloved)

A (1) A Mother in Love with Her Son
(2) A Daughter in Love with Her Father
(3) Violation of a Daughter by a Father
B (1) A Woman Enamored of Her Stepson
(2) A Woman and Her Stepson Enamored of Each Other
(3) A Woman Being the Mistress, at the Same Time, of a Father and Son, Both of Whom Accept the Situation
C (1) A Man Becomes the Lover of His Sister-in-Law
The Man Alone Enamored
(2) A Brother and Sister in Love with Each Other
D (1) A Man Enamored of Another Man, Who Yields
E A Woman Enamored of a Bull

27. Discovery of the dishonor of al loved one
(The Discoverer; the Guilty One)

A (1) Discovery of a Mother's Shame
(2) Discovery of a Father's Shame
(3) Discovery of a Daughter's Dishonor
B (1) Discovery of a Dishonor in the Family of One's Fiancee
(2) Discovery that One's Wife Has Been Violated Before Marriage
(3) That She Has Previously Committed a Fault
(4) Discovery that One's Wife Has Formerly Been a Prostitute
(5) Discovery of Dishonor an the Part of a Lover (this also borders upon XXXIV)
(6) Discovery that One's Mistress, Formerly a Prostitute, Has Returned to Her Old Life (with extenuating circumstances)
(7) Discovery that One's Lover is a Scoundrel, or that One s Mistress is a Woman of Bad Character
Same Discovery Concerning a So-Called King
(8) The Same Discovery Concerning One's Wife
C Discovery that One's Son is an Assassin : -
D Might constitute a distinct Situation ; there is not only the discovery, but the duty of imposing punishment as well
(1) Duty of Punishing a Son Who is a Traitor to Country
A Brother Who is a Traitor to His Party
(2) Duty of Punishing a Son Condemned Under a Law Which the Father Has Made
(3) Duty of Punishing a Son Believed to be Guilty
(4) Duty of Sacrificing, to Fulfill a Vow of Tyrannicide, a Father Until Then Unknown
(5) Duty of Punishing Brother Who is an Assassin
(6) Duty of Punishing One's Mother to Avenge One's Father (Situation IV arrested prematurely)

28. Obstacles to love
(Two Lovers; an Obstacle)

A (1) Marriage Prevented by Inequality of Rank
(2) Inequality of Fortune an Impediment to Marriage
B Marriage Prevented by Enemies and Contingent Obstacles
C (1) Marriage Forbidden on Account of the Young Woman's Previous Betrothal to Another
(2) The Same Case, Complicated by an Imaginary Marriage of the Beloved Object
D (1) A Free Union Impeded by the Opposition of Relatives
(2) Family Affection Disturbed by the Parents-in-Law
E By the Incompatibility of Temper of the Lovers
F Love

29. An enemy beloved
(The Beloved Enemy; the Lover; the Hater)

A The Loved One Hated by Kinsmen of the Lover
(1)The Lover Pursued by the Brothers of His Beloved
(2) The Lover Hated by the Family of His Beloved
(3) The Lover is the Son of a Man Hated by the Kinsmen of His Beloved
(4) The Beloved is an Enemy of the Party of the Woman Who Loves Him:
B (1) The Lover is the Slayer of the Father of His Beloved
(2) The Beloved is the Slayer of the Father of Her Lover
(3) The Beloved is the Slayer of the Brother of Her Lover
(4) The Beloved is the Slayer of the Husband of the Woman Who Loves Him, But Who Has Previously  Sworn to Avenge that Husband
(5) The Same Case, Except that a Lover, Instead of a Husband, Has Been Slain
(6) The Beloved is the Slayer of a Kinsman of the Woman Who Loves Him
(7) The Beloved is the Daughter of the Slayer of Her Lover's Father

30. Ambition
(An Ambitious Person; a Thing Coveted ; an Adversary)
A Ambition Watched and Guarded Against by a Kinsman or a Patriot Friend
(1) By a Brother
(2) By a Relative or Person Under Obligation
(3) By Partisans
B Rebellious Ambition (akin to V III, A 1)
C (1) Ambition and Covetousness Heaping Crime Upon Crime
(2) Parricidal Ambition

31. Conflict with a God
(A Mortal; an Immortal)

A (1) Struggle Against a Deity
(2) Strife with the Believers in a God
B (1) Controversy with a Deity
(2) Punishment for Contempt of a God
(3) Punishment for Pride Before a God
(4) Presumptuous Rivalry with a God
(5) Imprudent Rivalry with a Deity

32. Mistaken Jealousy
(The Jealous One ; the Object of Whose Possession He is Jealous; the Supposed Accomplice; the Cause or the Author of the Mistake)

A (1) The Mistake Originates in the Suspicious Mind of the Jealous One
(2) Mistaken Jealousy Aroused by a Fatal Chance
(3) Mistaken Jealousy of a Love Which is Purely Platonic
Of a Flirt
(4) Baseless Jealousy Aroused by Malicious Rumors
B (1) Jealousy Suggested by a Traitor Who is Moved by Hatred
(2) The Same Case, in Which the Traitor is Moved by Self-Interest
(3) The Same Case, in Which the Traitor is Moved by Jealousy and Self-Interest
C (1) Reciprocal Jealousy Suggested to Husband and Wife by a Rival
(2) Jealousy Suggested to the Husband by a Dismissed Suitor
(3) Jealousy Suggested to the Husband by a Woman Who is in Love with Him
(4) Jealousy Suggested to the Wife by a Scorned Rival
(5) Jealousy Suggested to a Happy Lover by the Deceived Husband

33. Erroneous judgment
(The Mistaken One; the Victim of the Mistake; the Cause or Author of the Mistake; the Guilty Person.)
(Any sort of mistaken judgment may here be understood, even though committed only in the thought of one person to the detriment of another.)

A (1) False Suspicion Where Faith is Necessary
(2) False Suspicion (in which the jealousy is not without reason) of a Mistress
(3) False Suspicions Aroused by a Misunderstood Attitude of a Loved One
(4) By Indifference
B (1) False Suspicions Drawn Upon Oneself to Save a Friend
(2) They Fall Upon the Innocent
Upon the Innocent Husband of the Guilty One
(3) The Same Case as 2, but in Which the Innocent had a Guilty Intention
In Which the Innocent Believes Himself Guilty
(4) A Witness to the Crime, in the Interest of a Loved One, Lets Accusation Fall Upon the Innocent
C (1) The Accusation is Allowed to Fall Upon an Enemy
(2) The Error is Provoked by an Enemy
(3) The Mistake is Directed Against the Victim by Her Brother
D (1) False Suspicion Thrown by the Real Culprit Upon One of His Enemies
(2) Thrown by the Real Culprit Upon the Second Victim Against Whom He has Plotted from the Beginning
(3) False Suspicion Thrown Upon a Rival
(4) Thrown Upon One Innocent, Because He Has Refused to be an Accomplice
(5) Thrown by a Deserted Mistress Upon a Lover Who Left Her Because He Would Not Deceive Her Husband
(6) Struggle to Rehabilitate Oneself and to Avenge a Judicial Error Purposely Caused

34. Remorse
(The Culprit ; the Victim or the Sin ; the Interrogator)

A (1) Remorse for an Unknown Crime
(2) Remorse for a Parricide
(3) Remorse for an Assassination
(4) Remorse for the Murder of Husband or Wife
B (1) Remorse for a Fault of Love
(2) Remorse for an Adultery
With B (1) there are connected, in one respect, the plays classed in A (1) of Situation XXVII.

35. Recovery of a lost one
(The Seeker; the One Found)
Classes A and C of Situation XI move toward the same end.

36. Loss of loved ones
(A Kinsman Slain; a Kinsman Spectator; an Executioner)

A (1) Witnessing the Slaying of Kinsmen, While Powerless to Prevent It
(2) Helping to Bring Misfortune Upon One's People Through Professional Secrecy
B Divining the Death of a Loved One
C Learning of the Death of a Kinsman or Ally
D Relapse into Primitive Baseness, through Despair on Learning of the Death of a Loved One.


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