3-082-972 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Madame Sarah Bernhardt as Magda in Sudermann's play "Heimat," at Daly's Theatre, 1895. London stage production. 'Madame Bernhardt plays Magda as the Bohemian diva, with a passionate love of the child she is asked to resign by the old lover, who makes this a condition of marriage. She is placed like a hunted tigress at bay - between this man who is fearful lest his paternity should injure his social position, and her father, who is determined that the marriage shall redeem the family honour. Madame Bernhardt repudiates the suitor with that frenzy of scorn which is one of her most effective resources. To her father she presents a stubborn resolution admirably mingled with filial respect. One of the most successful scenes is the visit of some lady friends of the house to which Magda has returned after a long absence. These amiable neighbours exhibit an impertinent curiosity about Magda which she resents. Here the Bohemian nonchalance of Madame Bernhardt was perfectly in harmony with the incident, and the effect was heightened by the excellence of the other performers'. From "Illustrated London News", 1895.