TENTH SITUATION, ABDUCTION

(The Abductor; the Abducted ; the Guardian)

Or, the Great Bourgeois Romance! Was it not thus that Moliere used to put an end to his comedies, when he judged that the moment had arrived for sending his audience home satisfied? Sometimes he substituted a treasure-box for a girl, as in "Tartuffe," or arranged an exchange of the one for the other, as in "L'Avare."

We find in ABDUCTION one of the situations bearing upon Rivalry, and in which Jealousy appears, although not painted with so superb a coloring as in the Twenty-fourth.

In two of the following classes (B and C) we may remark the intrusion of the situations "Adultery" and "Recovery of a Lost Loved One." The same usage is quite possible in almost all the other situations. I would point out to those who may be interested in a more detailed analysis, that love is not necessarily the motive of Abduction (in Class D will be found friendship, faith, etc.) nor the reason of the obstacles raised by the guardian.

Abduction of an Unwilling Woman
Aeschylus' and Sophocles' "Orithyies"; Aeschylus' "Europa" and "The Carians." "With Fire and Sword" (after Sienkiewicz, 1904). Comedy: "Le Jeu de Robin et de Marion" (Adam de la Halle). Historic and legendary:

the Sabine women; Cassandra. There appears to me to be tragic material in cases of extreme eroticism, of premeditated violation preceded by a mania of passion and its resulting state of overexcitation, and followed by the murder of the outraged victim, by regrets before the beautiful corpse, by the repugnant work of dismemberment or concealment of the body; then by a disgust for life and by successive blunders which lead to the discovery of the criminal.

Abduction of a Consenting Woman
"The Abduction of Helen" by Sophocles, and the comedy of the same name but not upon the same subject, by Lope. Numberless other comedies and romances.

Recapture of the Woman Without the Slaying of the Abductor
Euripides' "Helen"; "Malati and Madhava," by Bhavabhuti (the poet "of voice divine"). Rescue of a sister: "Iphigenia in Tauris."

The Same Case, With the Slaying of the Ravisher
"Mahaviracharita," by Bhavabhuti; "Hanouman" (a collaborative work); "Anarghara-ghava" (anonymous); "The Message of Angada," by Soubhata ; "Abhirama Mani," by Soundara Misra; "Hermione" by Sophocles.

Rescue of a Captive Friend
"Richard Coeur-de-Lion," by Sedaine and Gretry. A great number of escapes, historic and fictitious.

Of a Child
"L'Homme de Proie" (Lefevre and Laporte, 1908).

Of a Soul in Captivity to Error
"Barlaam and Josaphat," a fourteenth-century Miracle. The deeds of the Apostles, of missionaries, etc.

comments
Abduction is the capture and taking of a person, normally against their will but perhaps just in an unexpected situation. Freedom comes when a rescuer performs some kind of 'reverse abduction'.

The thought of abduction creates fear in many of us as we think about children and loved ones being kidnapped (or maybe ourselves being taken). That fear then turns to thoughts of rescue and escape around which the rest of the story may revolve, with the reader paying close and excited attention.

This one can stray into some others (as numerous of the situations can) and shouldn’t be confused with #35—Recovery of a Lost Loved One, which focuses more on the one who is seeking the lost. This one seems to focus more on the one abducted