Tamási Áron
The Precarious Fiancé
Play in three acts
Antal Bodrogi is a gifted and – according to his ability – destined to be a more successful picture framer, who under the aegis of predominance sells his shoddy goods at fairs. On top of it all, he is preparing for an unworthy marriage of convenience with a practically unknown but rather wealthy old girl in order to meet his debts, even though he is in love with someone else. However, due to a sudden change of heart Bodrogi’s voice of clear conscience prevails: he chooses true love and artistic freedom above marrying money.
Tamási’s fabular allegory was written in the context of the depression after the two world wars, yet the recent years and also our present has brought such crises that threw humankind off balance both privately and communally. In real crises moral stability but also the importance of art become marginal and we tend to forget that to restore a stable social balance mere ambition of physical wellbeing is not enough. Our values have become so relative that “the right” decision or attitude is indecipherable.
