The Wish by Hermann Sudermann — Read

Since the beginning of time men have been accustomed to regard the end / of a century as a period of decadence. The waning nineteenth century is / no more fortunate than its predecessors. We are continually being / invited to speculate on the signs around us of decay in politics, in / religion, in art, in the whole social fabric. It is not for us to / inquire here concerning the truth or the ethics of that belief. But, as / far as literature is concerned, it is very certain that the last years / of the present century will be remembered for the extraordinary talent / shown by a few young novelists and dramatists in most of the countries / of Europe. In England, we can point to Mr. Rudyard Kipling and Mr. J. / M. Barrie; in France, to M. Paul Margueritte and M. Marcel Prevost; in / Belgium, to M. Maurice Maeterlinck; in Germany, to Gerhard Hauptmann, / Ludwig Fulda, and Hermann Sudermann.

The events of Sudermann's life are few; and he has the good sense to / prefer to be known through his works rather than through the medium of / the professional interviewer. The facts here set down, however, we owe / to the courtesy of Sudermann himself a circumstance that lends them an / additional interest.