THE MYSTERY OF THE PORTAL: A Guide to Rudolf Steiner's first Mystery Drama

TREVOR DANCE has studied anthroposophy for more than three decades and has led regular readings of Rudolf Steiner’s four Mystery Dramas at Rudolf Steiner House, London, since 2010. He is a retired lecturer in adult education, where one of his finest achievements was turning GCSE students on to Shakespeare. An all-round lover of the arts, he has curated exhibitions, given talks and led study groups, and is an exhibiting printmaker and member of the Printmakers’ Council. He is also the author of the monograph: Rodolphe Bresdin: an Incorrigible Bohemian. Trevor has a BA and MA in English Literature (from Loughborough and Lancaster universities respectively). His website is: www.trevordance.org.uk

THE MYSTERY OF THE PORTAL

A Guide to Rudolf Steiner’s first Mystery Drama

Trevor Dance

RUDOLF STEINER PRESS

Rudolf Steiner Press

Hillside House, The Square

Forest Row, East Sussex RH18 5ES

www.rudolfsteinerpress.com

Published by Rudolf Steiner Press in 2022

© Trevor Dance 2022

This book is copyright under the Berne Convention. All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study, research, criticism or review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrical, chemical, mechanical, optical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Inquiries should be addressed to the Publishers

The right of Trevor Dance to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright Designs and Patents Act, 1988

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978 1 85584 597 8

eISBN 9781855846319

Cover by Andrew Morgan Design

Typeset by Symbiosys Technologies, Visakhapatnam, India

Printed and bound by 4Edge Ltd., Essex

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

A Portal to a Different Kind of Drama

The Birth of the Portal—A Modern Mystery Drama

The Scenes:

The Prelude

Scene One

Scene Two

Scene Three

Scene Four

Scene Five

Scene Six

Scene Seven

The Interlude

Scene Eight

Scene Nine

Scene Ten

Scene Eleven—The Final Scene

The Characters:

Johannes Thomasius

Maria

Philia, Astrid and Luna

The Other Maria

Capesius and Strader

Felix Balde

Felicia Balde

Theodora

Benedictus

Theodosius, Romanus and Retardus

Lucifer and Ahriman

Gairman (or Germanus)

The Spirit of the Elements

The Seal

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Goethe’s Fairy Tale, The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily by Tom Raines

Appendix 2: Mantras of Scene 3 and Scene 7 (English and German)

Bibliography

Notes

Acknowledgements

We all stand on the shoulders of giants. Harry Collison’s, A Commentary on Rudolf Steiner’s Four Mystery Plays, surely has to be an important source for a writer of a guide to one of these dramas, as was the wisdom of Hans Pusch, expressed in Working Together on Rudolf Steiner’s Mystery Dramas. Eileen Hutchins’s Introduction to the Mystery Plays of Rudolf Steiner was also helpful.

I took over the termly drama readings at Rudolf Steiner House from Philip Martyn, who worked with them for many years and knowledgeably helped many to engage with the plays. David Lowe’s presentations on Goethe at Rudolf Steiner House stimulated my interest in the bard of Weimar. The Stroud Mystery Drama group’s diligent work with the dramas, led by Richard Ramsbotham, has ensured the possibility of viewing them for many anthroposophists in the U.K. Those who have kept the performances being regularly staged at the Goetheanum have similarly benefitted international audiences.

My partner, Dagmar Steffelbauer, has diligently and patiently helped me in reading the drama in German/English.

My thanks to Tom Raines for the exegesis of the tale. New View magazine has published many fine articles on the characters, especially those of David Wood and Richard Ramsbotham, also on many related topics.

Introduction

The belief that such a guide is sorely needed has been the motivating force in the writing of this book. At the time of writing, the only sources of help available in print to anyone wishing to study the play are the brief synopses in Eileen Hutchins’s, Introduction to the Mystery Plays of Rudolf Steiner. These are very perceptively written, but it is strange that when one studies a Shakespeare play, there is a plethora of possible aids—the study guides such as Coles Notes, Methuen’s Study-Aids, York Notes and several other such publications; if one then wishes to further investigate, the critics themselves such as, A.C. Bradley, Northrop Frye etc. can be consulted.

The Mystery Dramas of Rudolf Steiner—plays of considerable length and complexity—seem to plead for such help to be available to those who wish to investigate their bountiful contents. The Portal of Initiation, is so rich in content that Steiner said:

Everything you find in my book, Knowledge of the Higher Worlds and its Attainment … combined with what was said in Occult Science can be found, after all, in a much more forceful, true to life, and substantial form in the Rosicrucian Mystery.¹

Surely a guide was needed!

This book certainly is just a guide. The task of writing it was undertaken with great trepidation. Steiner was rightly scathing about commentaries on works of art:

Abstract thoughts deaden artistic phantasy. Becoming more and more logical, one takes to writing commentaries on works of art. This is a terrible product of a materialistic age: scholars write commentaries, learned descriptions of the art of Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, are coffins in which genuine artistic feeling, living art, lie buried. If one picks up a Faust or Hamlet commentary, it is like touching a corpse. Abstract thoughts have murdered the work of art.²

Steiner, however, loved the work of the art writer, Herman Grimm and perhaps even more pertinently assisted Harry Collison with his superb, A Commentary on Rudolf Steiner’s Four Mystery Plays. Steiner obviously realized that such a book was needed.

The present book is designed as simply a stimulus for the reader to add to, agree or disagree with and to contradict if necessary. The way of thinking of anthroposophy, and of the drama, demands flexibility. I hope I have succeeded in being tentative enough. The guide can be read straight through or used for reference. Each section has a certain autonomy.

The understanding of Steiner’s methodology as a dramatist is crucial to an appreciation and love of the plays. Why is the first scene of The Portal of Initiation so long? Why are many speeches so lengthy? Why are our usual expectations of a drama—that it will have us sitting on the edge of our seats anxious about the fate of the hero; it will make us laugh, or cry—why are such expectations not met?

Hopefully the exploration of these questions will facilitate a greater appreciation and enjoyment of the drama. Above all, I hope it helps readers to work with this extraordinary play. The rich mixture of Goethe’s alchemical fable, ‘The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily’ and the spiritual development of the individual characters ensures the uniqueness of The Portal of Initiation. It has an aesthetic charm, unique and resonant.

The initial chapters, prior to the investigations of the scenes and characters, set out to afford an overview of the origins of the drama and the methodology employed in its creation. ‘The Birth of the Portal—A Modern Mystery Drama’, sketches the origins and influences. It does not attempt to be comprehensive—one could write a whole book with such a title; however, it is helpful to see that the drama, despite its radicalism, is firmly rooted in fertile ground. ‘A Portal to a Different Kind of Drama’, examines Steiner’s methods as a playwright. Hopefully some of the reservations the reader may have about a play which ignores so many of the normative ground rules of theatrical productions can be assuaged. Was Steiner a teacher, using the play as a teaching vehicle—a kind of visual aid? Or was he a highly competent dramatist?

There then follows a section on the scenes and a synopsis of each, focusing not simply on the plot, but also on the dramatic qualities of Steiner’s work. Both are inextricably linked, and sometimes the latter is easier to misunderstand or overlook than the former. The characters and their contributions to the drama are the next stop on our journey. They form a rich and varied gathering! The collectivity of rustics, sophisticates, hierophants and spiritual entities provide a pageant to ponder. The unity of the alchemical fable and its spiritual dimensions with the very modern characters and their faults, foibles and arid soul-centred dilemmas gives The Portal its flavour—a unique flavour. We are afforded the distresses and quandaries of Johannes, Maria, Capesius and Strader and transported to the other worldly realms of The Spirit of the Elements and the ‘Maya Temple’.

I am very pleased to include Tom Raines’s clear and perspicaciously observed essay on Goethe’s tale, ‘The Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily’. Although the play need not be studied with reference to Goethe’s alchemical allegory, very much is gained in so doing. I have referred throughout to the ‘equivalent’ characters in the tale and the correspondence between the play and the tale should not present the reader with too many pitfalls.

My hope is that this guide will help to facilitate work on this wonder-filled and wonderful play and that it will be helpful to the individual reader and to study groups. The play must not be simply a part of the anthroposophical calendar. It is worthy of lifelong study; one can happily return to it year after year. The depths are never plumbed; the streams of wonder never run dry. Steiner often emphasized this need. The drama belongs to the tradition of Mystery Dramas from the ancient Mystery Centres as vehicles for advancement along the spiritual path. To cultivate a love for the drama and the alchemical fable of Goethe is to harvest a bountiful yield for soul and spirit.

A Portal to a Different Kind of Drama

‘We should be aware that

this Rosicrucian Mystery contains

many of our spiritual scientific teachings

that perhaps only in future years

will be discerned.’

Rudolf Steiner¹

Easy they are not; infinitely rewarding they are! The Mystery Dramas of Rudolf Steiner were the most radical productions ever to be staged. They remain challenging for audiences today. Dramas that can be watched an infinite number of times with no law of diminishing returns setting in; these Mystery Dramas impel us to return not only to performances, but to many a serious perusal of the text.

Our normal theatre-going habits are constantly challenged by the dramas. The expectation of a pleasing two or three hours at the theatre, followed by drinks or a pleasant meal, is out of sync with a performance lasting six or seven hours. There is little outright laughter, still less are tears brought to our eyes. We do not sit on the edge of our seats worrying what will happen next. It is probably for these reasons that Steiner was reluctantly impelled to express surprise and disappointment at the reticence of his pupils:

In various places since the performance of the drama in Munich, I have stated the fact that many, many things of an esoteric nature would not need to be described, that lectures would be unnecessary on my part, if only everything that lies in the Rosicrucian Mystery could work directly on your souls, my dear friends, and on the souls of others too. I would have to use the enormous number of words necessary in my lectures and speak for days, for weeks, even for years, in order to describe what has been said and what could be said in the single drama.²

One can, perhaps, sympathize with those anthroposophical pioneers of 1910, who were being thus berated. Were they previously informed that their customary habits of theatre attendance were under attack? Whilst we might, if seeing a Shakespeare play which is unfamiliar to us, or some other production that promises complexity, engage in some research beforehand to ensure we do not ‘lose the plot’, we do not expect to work on the play having once seen it. This we would only do if we were studying it for an exam.

‘In various places’, indicates Steiner’s determination to change such habits. He was clearly surprised and taken aback at the lack of endeavour after the viewing of the play. Partial success has certainly ensued. Thousands have happily imbibed the bountiful fruits of wisdom in the drama. To overcome our normal expectations of a play is, however, no easy matter. Why is the seemingly interminable first scene so full of conversation and so lacking in action? Why are the speeches often so long? Why could the play itself not be wound up in the seventh scene, allowing us time for dinner and drinks? Was Steiner a wonderful teacher who just used the play as a teaching vehicle?

The answers to these questions lie in the aims and content of the drama itself. When one thoroughly examines The Portal of Initiation, Steiner is revealed as a highly competent dramatist. The norms of drama are often stood on their head—always deliberately, always with clarity of purpose. The first scene needs to be of such length not simply to introduce the multiplicity of engaging characters but to convincingly induce the turmoil in the soul of Johannes which leads into the following iconic Rock Spring Scene. The play focuses on the development of the characters, particularly Johannes Thomasius and requires the extra time so to do.

The Word

The word is truly the vehicle of the Mystery Drama. The desire that our cinema-going, television-watching and theatre-attending habits have cultivated for actions rather than words, has to be put on hold. This primacy of the word, utterly necessary in a contemporary spiritual drama—is the force endowing the Mystery Drama with its unique character. The whole structure of the play is word-focused. Fairy stories, prayers, mantras, argumentative dialogues, passages of sublime lyricism are interwoven in a tapestry of poetic resonance.

The Structure of the Play

The play commences with prose. The Prelude has to be prosaic. We are in the cosy, domestic interior of Sophia’s room. The children sing and the first lines,

The light of the sun is flooding

the realms of space;³

echo throughout the drama—the motif of the light works through from Johannes’s darkness in the second scene to the beautiful mantras of Benedictus, the light of Devachan in scene seven and on into the Sun Temple. The dialogue of the argument between Sophia and Estella, the only character openly hostile to anthroposophy, is deliberately earthy.

From this prosaic basement we are able to move through the gears as the language becomes increasingly heightened. The first scene, although consisting of conversation is afforded the gravitas of a poetic structure. The speakers are all spiritual seekers and we witness the vision of the etheric Christ. The argument of the Prelude is mirrored in the discussion between Capesius and Strader with Maria, The Other Maria, Philia, Astrid and Luna. The Rock Spring Scene, which follows, takes us directly into the poetic realm, with its rhythmic repetitions and its language of raging dragons. We ascend into the astral realm and the fairy tale in scenes four, five and six, culminating in our further ascent into Devachan and the lyricism of the conversation of Maria and her soul forces—Philia, Astrid and Luna.

We then have to be brought back right down to the earth. Once again it has to be Sophia’s room, references to the children and an argument with her good friend. The process repeats in the second half of the play—the mirror argument in scene eight, another Rock Spring Scene and the climax in the harmony of the Sun Temple. There is a certain necessary asymmetry within the symmetry, to avoid dullness, but the structure is finely graduated—nothing is extraneous; everything contributes.

Dialogues

The Socratic style of argumentative dialogue in the Prelude, and later in the Interlude, sets the tone for discussions which occur throughout the play. These may take the form of characters openly engaging in dialectics, as in scenes one and eight, where sceptical views are pitted against those of a spiritual scientific persuasion. The interplay of opposites is, however, varied. Sometimes differing outlooks are shown side by side, rather than through argument. The juxtaposition of the Aristotelian, Strader and the Platonist, Capesius affords an overview to the audience—neither is wholly right or wrong. A similar juxtaposition allows us to engage with the different pull of each of the adversarial powers in scenes four, ten and eleven, when Lucifer and Ahriman are on stage.

Prayers and Mantras

The language of prayer and mantra must resonate. Strength and gravitas are ever present in Steiner’s mantras and verses. There is variety too as the singing of the children in the Prelude chimes with the simple prayer Benedictus gives Maria’s child. The beautiful mantric sequence of Benedictus, followed by the Spirit Voice concluding scene three, features again in