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Overall Summary

Modris Eksteins’s book takes its title from a scandalous 1913 Russian ballet. The critics believed that the atonal score and choreography mocked classical ballet conventions, but Eksteins argues that it was just an example of creativity in violence—a theme also seen in World War I and its aftermath.

Eksteins focuses on pre-World War I Germany. He shows how Germany was a leader in technology and culture, but it also looked to challenge the staid British Empire of that time. Eventually, World War I occurred because Britain and France wanted to preserve the old world order while Germany wanted to change it.

Both sides of the war were enthusiastic about it, but once they realized that the key to victory was wearing down their opponents with constant trench attacks, they stopped believing in a quick end. Eksteins examines soldiers’ motivations and methods used to sustain morale when daily existence in the trenches became louse-ridden misery. He determines that while on one side ideology and belief in progress drove men forward, on the other side national duty gave way to sheer grit as people stayed until their job was done.

After World War I, the world was in chaos. People on both sides were disillusioned with their governments and felt that they had been betrayed by them. The right-wing population of Germany blamed minorities for their loss, which gave rise to Hitler’s views. Eksteins argues that this warlike spirit will continue even after World War II is over because of the entry into Berlin by Stalinist Russia’s Red Army.

Preface

The subject of the book is death and destruction, but it also focuses on becoming. The author refers to Igor Stravinsky’s ballet, “The Rite of Spring,” which celebrates life through sacrificial death. Similarly, the author seeks to capture the spirit of his age by focusing on cultural achievements like avant-garde art in response to war and other symbols of modernity.

The First World War was a clash between Germany and Britain. It was also an opportunity for both change and confirmation. The post-war consciousness gave rise to the motif of liberation, which persists in our modern times as well.

Eksteins describes the events at the beginning of the 20th century as a drama with acts and scenes.

Prologue: “Venice”

Eksteins’ prologue focuses on the Italian city of Venice. He compares two men who were both influential in their time: Sergei Pavolvich Diaghilev and Thomas Mann. Both had a strong influence on art, but they never met each other because of their different backgrounds. Eksteins discusses how one man lived his life as if it was fiction, while the other created fiction that turned out to be real for him.

Act 1, Part 1: “Paris”

The book starts with a discussion of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, which was a ballet that featured the sacrifice of a virgin. It premiered in Paris and caused quite an uproar because it violated conventions by being too shocking. Eksteins believes that this piece represents “a milestone in the development of modernism,” or art that breaks rules and is provocative for its own sake.

French architect Auguste Perret built the Théâtre de Champs Élysées, which was a modern-looking theatre. According to Eksteins, this building “synthesized traditional and modern impulses”.

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was an influential Russian impresario. He founded the Ballets Russes, which is now known as one of the greatest ballet companies in history. However, before that he brought exhibitions of Russian paintings and operas to Paris. In 1909, he brought 55 dancers trained exclusively in the imperial ballet school and on temporary leave from the imperial theatres of St Petersburg and Moscow to The Théâtre de Châtelet. They caused a sensation with their exotic costumes and choreography by Mikhail Fokine, who also created Petrushka for them later on. It was a combination of western art forms such as opera with orientalism, decadence, barbarism, etc., but it all came together beautifully thanks to Diaghilev’s vision.