Van Zorn by Edwin Arlington Robinson
Van Zorn centers on the breaking of an engagement between the painter Weldon Farnham and Villa Vannevar, and on the possible rescue of George Lucas from drink, despair, and self-destruction. In Farnham’s studio, his friends Otto Mink and Lucas discuss Farnham’s portrait of Villa and his engagement to her. Otto openly dislikes the picture and suspects that Farnham’s good fortune has come too easily. Lucas, once close to Villa and still deeply affected by her, responds to the news with strained restraint. Otto confronts Lucas about his drinking, wasted abilities, and former love for Villa, warning that he is destroying himself. Van Zorn, Farnham’s wealthy, grave, enigmatic friend, arrives and immediately takes an unusual interest in both Villa and Lucas. He speaks of destiny, of seeking a purpose, and of becoming his own patient. He finds Farnham’s portrait technically gifted but lifeless, and he tells Farnham that he cannot congratulate him on his engagement. Alone with Farnham, Van Zorn suggests that Farnham, Villa, and Lucas are heading toward unhappiness. He asks permission for a single interview with Villa, insisting that he will act only under those conditions. At Mrs. Lovett’s house, Villa admits to her aunt that she doubts her engagement to Farnham. She feels that he does not care for her enough, while her old attachment to Lucas remains unresolved. Lucas arrives to say goodbye before leaving westward to begin a different life. He speaks of wanting escape from noise, poison, deceit, and disillusion, and Villa fears that his departure may be final. Their exchange reveals enduring love, regret, and a shared sense that their past has not been forgotten. Van Zorn interrupts Lucas’s departure and privately offers him work, money, and a new beginning. Recognizing that Lucas has made dangerous “final preparations,” Van Zorn accepts a vial of cyanide of potassium from him and secures his promise to dine with him. Lucas agrees to remain in New York rather than go away. Van Zorn then tells Villa that she is being insincere with herself: she has the happiness of three lives in her power, and her engagement to Farnham is leading into darkness. Villa finally admits that she has long known that her way with Farnham has been leading toward misery. Overcome with emotion, she acknowledges that she will not go with Farnham to Damascus. Otto later reports that Lucas has refused a gin-rickey and declared himself “born again.” Villa believes Van Zorn has caused this change, though Van Zorn denies being the cause of anything. His conversation with Villa leaves her determined to act. She asks Van Zorn to help her, and he reluctantly agrees in some limited way. That evening, Van Zorn returns Villa’s engagement ring to Farnham and tells him that Villa and Lucas will soon arrive. Villa then declares that she has ended the false position of pretending that she and Farnham care enough for each other, and that she has asked George Lucas to marry her. Lucas accepts her proposal in Farnham’s presence, though he speaks awkwardly and humbly because of his past and present circumstances. Villa insists that she and Lucas have belonged to each other from the beginning of their lives, despite Mrs. Lovett’s disapproval of Lucas’s father and Lucas’s own failures. Farnham reacts with sarcasm and resentment but gradually admits, through his manner, that he is not wholly angry and may be relieved by the release. Otto arrives, learns of Villa and Lucas’s engagement, and comes to approve it, calling it destiny. Villa and Lucas leave together. Farnham and Van Zorn remain behind, and Van Zorn reveals the personal cost of events: he had loved Villa and has lost what he believed gave him something to live for. Farnham suggests that he find a new purpose, perhaps through business with Lucas or useful work. Van Zorn says that the business with Lucas will succeed, but that neither Lucas nor he can possess what Farnham will have. Van Zorn asks for Farnham’s portrait of Villa, then cuts the painted head and shoulders from the canvas and burns them. He calls the portrait an insincere and exasperating piece of charlatanry, doing it partly for Farnham’s artistic conscience and partly for his own reasons. As the fragment burns, Van Zorn warns Farnham that the age is his and that he must not play with it, but should try to meet it halfway.
By Edwin Arlington Robinson · First published 1916 · Genre: Drama, Psychological Drama, Social Drama · 3 chapters · 35,475 words
First lines
/ CHARACTERS / VAN ZORN / GEORGE LUCAS / WELDON FARNHAM / OTTO MINK / MRS. LOVETT / VILLA VANNEVAR / JENNY
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Van Zorn is listed on Textopian as a play by Edwin Arlington Robinson, dated 1916 CE.
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- Work type: Play
- Author: Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Date: 1916 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Drama, Psychological Drama, Social Drama, Romantic Drama, Problem Play
- Length: 35,475 words
- Structure: 3 chapters, 878 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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- Work identity for Van Zorn by Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
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Genres
- Drama — Van Zorn is explicitly structured as a stage play, using acts, scenes, dialogue, character lists, entrances, exits, and detailed stage directions.
- Psychological Drama — The action centers on the troubled inner lives of Lucas, Van Zorn, Villa, and Farnham, especially Lucas's alcoholism, despair, self-knowledge, and possible suicidal intentions.
- Social Drama — The play examines sophisticated New York social life, class privilege, artistic circles, wealth, reputation, marriage, and the judgments friends make about failure and respectability.
- Romantic Drama — Its central tensions involve Villa Vannevar's engagement to Farnham, her past attachment to Lucas, and Van Zorn's serious interest in her, creating a conflicted love triangle.
Tags
verse drama · three-act play · American literature · early twentieth century · literary modernism · psychological drama · social satire · family conflict · marriage · wealth · class tension · moral ambiguity