# XX: On the Altar explained — The Red Room

> Chapter companion for The Red Room by August Strindberg.

## What happens

Rehnhjelm excitedly tells Falander he has been given the part of Horatio in Hamlet, and that Agnes will play Ophelia. Falander responds with a pessimistic lecture, arguing that pessimism is true idealism and that happiness is nearly impossible. Their conversation reveals Falander's unease and suspicion about Agnes's whereabouts, and the chapter ends with the theatre manager plotting to humiliate Rehnhjelm.

## Themes in this chapter

### Illusion vs. Reality

Falander argues that worldly happiness is an illusion, and that true idealism lies in recognizing life's misery.

### Ambition and Moral Compromise

Rehnhjelm's ambition to act is met with the manager's plan to humiliate him, highlighting the moral compromises in the pursuit of success.

### Hypocrisy and Corruption

The theatre manager's duplicity and Falander's hidden suspicions reveal the hypocrisy underlying social and professional relationships.

## Character check-ins

### Rehnhjelm

Rehnhjelm is overjoyed about being cast as Horatio and defends his optimism against Falander's pessimism.

### Falander

Falander delivers a cynical speech about pessimism as idealism, and shows suspicion about Agnes's activities.

### Agnes Rundgren

Agnes is mentioned as Rehnhjelm's fiancée, set to play Ophelia; Falander hints at her possible deception.

### Aunt Beata

Aunt Beata is mentioned as the person Agnes supposedly visits to rehearse her part.

### Gustav Eriksson

Gustav is praised by the theatre manager for his performance as Don Diego.

## Key lines

> Believe me, pessimism is the truest idealism! It is a Christian doctrine too, if that will salve your conscience, for Christianity teaches us that the world is a vale of tears from which death will deliver us!

Falander claims that seeing the world as flawed is the most idealistic perspective, and that Christianity supports this view by portraying life as a sorrowful journey ending in death.

_Falander's philosophical argument equates pessimism with a higher spiritual truth._

> I think that he is the greatest rascal at the whole court; he says Yes to everything: ‘Yes, my prince; yes, my good prince.’ If he were really Hamlet’s friend, he would sometimes say No, and not always agree with him like any other sycophant.

Falander criticizes Horatio as a sycophant who never contradicts Hamlet, implying that true friendship requires honest disagreement.

_Falander reinterprets a classic character to challenge Rehnhjelm's idealistic view of the play._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters/xx-on-the-altar
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_red_room_se/chapters