The Corvey Novels Project at the University of Nebraska

— Studies in British Literature of the Romantic Period —

 

 

Catherine Gore

[Gore, Catherine Grace Frances]. Mrs. Charles Gore. The Bond: A Dramatic Poem.

London: Murray, 1824.

 

Synopsis of The Bond

Catherine Gore's The Bond: A Dramatic Poem is a play set in the late 14th century. It is the story of Albert Falkenstiern, the noble son of a benevolent count and countess, sole heir to a large inheritance of land and money and promised to a beautiful woman. Despite this privileged background and promising future, Falkenstiern turns his back on his honorable roots to live a life of youthful rebellion and vice. Along with the typical "fallen son" behaviors of drinking and gambling, Falkenstiern also devotes his time to the study of forbidden arts and enchantments.

Worried by her son's behavior, Falkenstiern's mother falls ill. On her deathbed, she pleads with her son to renounce his ill ways and return to a life of honor. Falkenstiern pledges to do so, and his mother gives him her ring to remind him of his vow just before she dies.

Despite his promise, Falkenstiern soon turns back to his previous lifestyle, abandoning his lonely father in his time of need after his wife's death. In his place, Falkenstiern's kinsman, Rothberg, takes on the duties of a son to the count. Acting as his companion and caretaker, Rothberg wins the affections of the old man. When the count dies, he leaves everything originally willed to Falkenstiern to Rothberg instead. In a rage, Falkenstiern silently and secretly flees the area.

The play opens at an inn in Bonn, where Falkenstiern is trapped by a storm and meets Meinhard, an evil spirit disguised as a traveling student. As the two are talking, Meinhard tells Falkenstiern that he knows the story of his ruined life. "None seemed to wear a brighter destiny than thine," he says to Falkenstiern, "Yet even then, while fortune's choicest blessings wooed thy touch, thy wayward heart spurned all" (10).

Disbelieving at first, Falkenstiern is soon convinced of Meinhard's knowledge when he reveals details of the promise Falkenstiern made while alone beside his mother's deathbed. He realizes that Meinhard is a supernatural being; Meinhard tells him that he is the spirit of Falkenstiern's destiny, made mortal to restore to him all that was once his. Along with Falkenstiern's inheritance, Meinhard tells him, his father has also bound over the hand of Helen, Falkenstiern's betrothed, to Rothberg. The wedding is to take place the following morning, and Falkenstiern's only hope of regaining his lost love is to return to the Castle Falkenstiern before then to reclaim Helen.

Here Meinhard reveals his evil purpose, promising to transport Falkenstiern to the castle by morning and ensure his victory in winning Helen and his inheritance back, for a price. After taking Falkenstiern to a cave, Meinhard uses a chant to call spirits, who then whisk he and Falkenstiern off to the castle amid rustling wings. Left behind to guard the cave are four imps, who disclose the "price" Falkenstiern has paid: his soul and the soul of his first-born son. The imps argue whether Meinhard's continued influence over Falkenstiern will allow the evil spirit to eventually win Falkenstiern to evil service as well.

Meanwhile, at the Castle Falkenstiern, Helen is speaking to her priest, Father Michael, about her concern over Falkenstiern. She reveals that everything that was taken from Falkenstiern by his father to bestow on Rothberg was an act arranged by the count. Rothberg agreed to pretend for one year to inherit the Falkenstiern honor, land and money, along with Helen's hand, in order to shock Falkenstiern into living a proper life. As one year has passed since the count's death, messengers have been sent to alert Falkenstiern of his restored claim to his inheritance and his upcoming marriage to Helen; all but one of those messengers have returned without Falkenstiern, leaving Helen frantic for his return. Telling Helen to stop worrying and go to sleep, Rothberg promises to watch for Falkenstiern's return, only to soon fall asleep himself.

Rothberg is awakened by Falkenstiern's arrival. Overjoyed to see his old friend, Rothberg begins exulting about the wedding that will take place in the morning, assuming Falkenstiern has received the message that Helen will be marrying him instead of Rothberg. Without this knowledge, Falkenstiern takes Rothberg's joy for gloating and stabs him. Luckily, Rothberg is able to relay the mistake and the truth to Falkenstiern as he dies in his arms, leaving Falkenstiern mortified with guilt.

Meinhard returns at this moment to urge Falkenstiern to leave the scene of the murder to avoid punishment. Although Falkenstiern resists nobly for a moment and calls for the death he deserves in return for his crime, he submits to Meinhard when he is reminded of the bond he has made, and the two vanish.

Three years pass before Act II begins with Helen leading musicians into the chambers of Falkenstiern, now her husband and a count. After playing a soothing melody to lull him to sleep, the musicians wonder why a man with so many blessings would have trouble falling asleep without them. They muse that perhaps he still grieves over Rothberg's death, which has been deemed a suicide brought on by Rothberg's love for Helen and her impending marriage to Falkenstiern. The musicians discuss Falkenstiern's wild, mysterious discontent and his strange friendship with the evil Meinhard. Meinhard enters and scatters the musicians before explaining how he was able to use Falkenstiern's proud and vengeful nature to trap him into their bond.

The weight this bond has left on Falkenstiern's conscience is apparent when Helen describes to Father Michael his refusal to attend church. Later, she asks him to hold their son, only to have Falkenstiern hand the baby to an attendant after a few moments, unable to think of anything but the horrible fate to which he has sentenced the baby. The couple argue over Falkenstiern's relationship with Meinhard until he enters the room and Helen leaves.

Falkenstiern complains to Meinhard of his unhappiness and his inability to find enjoyment in any activity. "Each sport has lost the chance whose doubtful fortune gave its only charm," he explains (50). In attempts to cheer Falkenstiern, or remind him of his mistakes, Meinhard reminds him of his son, to which Falkenstiern replies that he relinquished him to evil before he knew what it felt like to love as a father does. Meinhard then mentions Falkenstiern's previous studies, which Falkenstiern says he now realizes were a waste of time compared to the beauty of Nature and man's lasting, physical creations.

Meinhard ridicules Falkenstiern's new viewpoint, asserting that the buildings and towers man has erected will only crumble with time. This leads him into a diatribe about the societal structure of nobleman above commoner that Falkenstiern holds so dear, which Meinhard claims will one day crumble just the same.

Eventually, Meinhard informs Falkenstiern that he has been called to battle to lead an army in defending his country against invaders. The evil spirit tells the count he must say goodbye to his beloved wife and depart immediately for the battlefield. Falkenstiern bids Helen farewell, despite her pleas for him to stay until morning and her foreboding that she is seeing him for the final time, and sets off for the plains of Arnheim.

In Arnheim, Falkenstiern realizes the pleasures and blessings of life at the castle that he has overlooked and longs to be home again, where he feels he will now be happy at last. "Yet have I gained one step to peace by absence," he says (63). In the midst of this euphoria, Meinhard arrives to remind Falkenstiern that he is in no true danger in the war; his bond assures that he will be safe and successful throughout the fighting.

At this reminder, Falkenstiern rips the talisman in which the bond is manifest from his neck and throws it away, casting out Meinhard in the name of God. Meinhard disappears, but only after reminding Falkenstiern of the debt he still earns. Falkenstiern rejoices to be free of the evil spirit, only to have a sudden vision of his wife and son murdered, at which he falls senseless upon the ground.

Falkenstiern eventually leads his troops to victory in the war, but as he is making his way triumphantly home, he is arrested for the murder of Helen and their son. He is led to Marensbourg for trial, where Meinhard appears again to tempt him with visions of beautiful women, peaceful valleys, bands of revelers, and a glittering city. Falkenstiern resists all and calls on God once more to rid him of the evil spirit, but Meinhard then presents a vision of Helen and their son alive again, which Falkenstiern runs to only to find it an illusion.

At the trial, the judge reveals that Falkenstiern has been charged with causing the deaths of his wife and son by his friendship with Meinhard and involvement in enchantments. He has been accused by Helen's priest, Father Michael, who heard Falkenstiern tell Helen not to baptize their son while he was away at war or the baby would die. The priest relates that when he convinced Helen to baptize the baby, he did indeed die, leaving his mother so emotionally scarred that she followed him in death that night.

Falkenstiern denies blame in the death of Helen and his son, but admits that his friendship with Meinhard brought evil into the lives of the family. He begs that his life be spared but says he will look upon banishment as just punishment for his mistake. The judge concludes that he is not guilty of the murders and banishes him from the country for his dealings with evil.

Falkenstiern bids farewell to his countrymen, promising to live out the remainder of his lonely existence in virtue.

- Prepared by Emmy Thomas, University of Nebraska, December 2002