The Road to Damascus: A Trilogy

by August Strindberg

ENGLISH VERSION BY GRAHAM RAWSON; WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GUNNAR OLLÉN

Genres: Drama, Plays, Classics, Swedish Literature, Sweden, Theatre, 20th Century

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1901

About the author

Johan August Strindberg, a Swede, wrote psychological realism of noted novels and plays, including Miss Julie (1888) and The Dance of Death (1901).

Johan August Strindberg painted. He alongside Henrik Ibsen, Søren Kierkegaard, Selma Lagerlöf, Hans Christian Andersen, and Snorri Sturluson arguably most influenced of all famous Scandinavian authors. People know this father of modern theatre. His work falls into major literary movements of naturalism and expressionism. People widely read him internationally to this day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_...

Reviews

[Norah Una Sumner · Rating 2 out of 5]

"You must let yourself be fooled, more or less, to live at all."

And we're finally done with Strindberg for our literature class. I am aware that there are quite a lot of religious motives and symbols in this play and I feel like the reason why I didn't like it was simply because I didn't understand them nor do I want to.

Better than Spöksonaten for sure, though.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

جاده ی دمشق، "سه گانه"ای ست که دو بخش ابتدایی آن در 1898 و بخش سوم در 1904 منتشر شده. این نمایش نامه بهترین، و در عین حال پیچیده ترین اثر استریندبرگ قلمداد می شود، و پر از نمادهای اساطیری و عوامل روانشناختی ست. قهرمان، "بیگانه" در راه خود به درمانگاه روانی، از هفت ایستگاه می گذرد، و پس از رسیدن، منازل عبور را به شکلی معکوس، طی می کند، و بالاخره در گوشه ی خیابانی به منزل اول می رسد؛ "بی گناهان بیهوده متحمل رنج نمی شوند"! بخش بزرگی از این سه گانه را ایرج زهری به فارسی برگردانده است.

[Vaidotas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bakalauras? Bakalauras

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE STRANGER: I think I could. There are moments when I feel that I bear within me all the sin and sorrow, all the scandal and shame of the whole world. There are moments when I think that we commit crimes and do wrong because the wrongdoing in and by itself is a punishment imposed on us.. Not so long ago, I lay sick with fever. And among other things- so much happened- I dreamed I saw a crucifix without anyone crucified on it. and when I asked the Dominican- there was a Dominican there too- when I asked him what it meant he said, "You won't have Him suffering for you; consequently, you yourself must suffer." And that's why people have become so sensitive to their suffering- in a way they weren't in the old days.

The Road to Damascus is probably one of the best Strindberg plays I have come across so far. This play focuses on a man simply called The Stranger who is on his way to an asylum to seek treatment. Along the way, he passes seven different settings and meets his wife before returning back through the same seven realms to finish the play. The story itself is very simple, but the actual focus of the plays is complex, almost to the point that it becomes a bit confusing. The Stranger is mainly trying to figure out who he is (hence his lack of a name) and what exactly is wrong with him. He spends a majority of the play pondering his own mind, and most of the events that go on around him have a very dreamlike quality, as if it could all be in his head.

I really enjoyed this play, mostly because it feels so dreamlike. I have found that some Strindberg plays don't settle well with me, but I appreciate and admire his ability to create a play that feels etheral. I also really ejoyed his utilization of countless allusions to spice the play up even more- I really liked the brief portrayal of The Beggar as Papageno! This is my favorite from Strindberg so far.

[Navid Taghavi · Rating 4 out of 5]

ناشناس : التماس می کنم مرا تنها نگذارید. من در این شهر بیگانه ام. آشنایان و دوستانم به نظرم بیشتر ناشناس و دشمن می آیند.
خانم : همه جا دشمن! همه جا تنها! چرا زن و بچه تان را رها کردید؟
ناشناس : کاش می دانستم. بالاتر کاش می دانستم برای چه هنوز زنده ام؟ کجا باید بروم؟ چه باید بکنم؟ قبول دارید بعضی ها در این زندگی نفرین شده اند؟
خانم : یعنی در زندگی هیچ گاه لحظه ی خوش نداشتید؟
ناشناس : نه. و اگر به ظاهر چنین بود، خوشی دامی بود برای فریب من تا همیشه در نکبت بمانم. و هرگاه میوه طلایی به چنگم می افتاد، زهر آلود بود یا از درون گندیده.
خانم : می بخشید که این سوال را می پرسم. شما چه مذهبی دارید؟
ناشناس : مدهب من اینست : هرگاه عرصه را تنگ می بینم، می گریزم. به سوی نیستی.
خانم : خدای من! شما با مرگ بازی می کنید؟
ناشناس : همان گونه که با زندگی بازی می کنم. من شاعر بودم. به دلیل حال مالیخولیائی مادرزادی، هرگز نتوانستم چیزی را جدی بگیرم. حتی غم هایم را. و لحظه هایی هست که تردید پیدا می کنم که آیا زندگی واقعی تر است یا آفریده های خودم؟
به سوی دمشق
استرینبرگ
ترجمه ایرج زهری
انتشارات برگ
------------
ناشناس : چه کار باید بکنم؟
مادر : تقاضای بخشش
ناشناس : و بعد؟
مادر : کوشش برای جبران گذشته
ناشناس : اینکه انسان برای بدست آوردن چیزی حاضر به تحمل درد می شود، کافی نیست؟
مادر : نه. این فقط کفاره پس دادن است

[Joan Mulder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another re read wonderful book

[nacia! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jakie to było ciekawe! Świetny dramat, moje pierwsze spotkanie ze Strindbergiem (spokojnie będzie więcej za chwilę przez studia…)

Uwielbiam, gdy losy bohatera są tak naprawdę drogą jego duszy do przemiany, próbą odnalezienia siebie, podróżą moralną. Mogłabym dużo o tym napisać, ale musiałabym streścić jego historię, a nie chce spoilerowac😅😅

Dialogi były świetne, naprawdę można było poczuć emocje, cierpienie, szaleństwo i upór Nieznajomego (glownego bohatera). Był fantastycznie zbudowaną i bardzo intrygującą postacią.

i oczywiście muszę też wspomnieć o świetnych intertekstualnych nawiązaniach do Biblii!!

zaczęłam to czytać z musu i i bez żadnych oczekiwań, a tak pozytywnie się zaskoczyłam…to było tak dobre!!

jak na dramat (not my favorite genre) daje temu 10/10

[Nasrin · Rating 4 out of 5]

خیلی لذت بردم ازش

[Nicka Carraway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strindberg jak Nieznajomy. Niby mądry, ale bardziej red flag

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this play (an English translation, of course) for a Scandinavian literature class back in my college days, so it's been awhile, but I still remember it. Strindberg isn't easy to read, and his plays don't seem as if they would translate well to the stage. They seem so deep that they should just be read and digested, rather than being presented visually as entertainment. I try to imagine myself as a typical 19th century Swede, going to see one of Strindberg's plays, and I just can't do it. I'm way too shallow, I suppose! However, in saying all of that, I did enjoy this play and its Biblical allusions. Great stuff to think about!

[Jordi Guinart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strindberg estaba condenado a ser Strindberg. Dejando de lado las erratas y la pobre traducción, la trilogía contiene todas sus obsesiones: los remordimientos de conciencia, la culpabilidad, una misoginia mal explicada, y muchas referencias a su biografía. Poca mística y mucha verborrea, pero con tanto romanticismo de por medio, y tratándose de él, soy incapaz de darle menos puntuación

[Jorė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tough, but wow. A meditation on humanity?

"Those who don't accept evil, never get anything good"

"You began life by accepting everything, then went on to denying everything on principle. Now end your life by comprehending everything. Be exclusive no longer. Do not say: either-or, but: not only - but also! In a word, two words rather, Humanity and Resignation!"

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

85% wtf. 15% brilliant.

[Chuck O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be a masterpiece but this translation was lacking.

[Toon Pepermans · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part is well wort reading, the others not so much

[Erik Olsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utgåvan jag lyckades hitta hade bara de första fem akterna eller den vanliga spelpjäsen, men den var väldigt fin! Får höga betyg av mig. Hade ett fenomenalt förord av Ingvar Holm och Göran Lindström som verkligen hjälpte till att reda ut kopplingarna mellan boken och Strindbergs egna liv

[Miika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Äkäpussi!

[Eingutesomen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story sehr interessant aber Titel leider irreführend

Grüße an meinen Homie Assad🤝

[Jesper Wiklund · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gillar ju inte riktigt det religiösa temat men uppskattar blandningen mellan realism och lite mer modernistiska berättargrepp. Småtrevlig.

[chiara]

the og pick-me girl (è un uomo adulto)

[Sarah Mash]

do not ask me the plot

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally love Strindberg and assumed this 3-part, 300-page play would be his crowning achievement. But I've never read anything (by anyone) as flagrantly self-indulgent as "The Road to Damascus," which I can only consider the self-obsessed product of a monumental ego and largely a fucking waste of time.

[Lulu]

1898 first two parts