Later that year, the play was performed in Paris at the Theatre de Mathurins on Dec. 28, 1905, with music by Jean Nouguès, featuring Mme.

Maeterlinck, an avid reader of Arthur Schopenhauer, believed that man was ultimately powerless against the forces of fate.

Believing that any actor, due to the limitations of his physical mannerisms and expressions, was unable to portray the symbolic figures of his plays, Maeterlinck decided that marionettes were an excellent alternative.

[2] Also for the first time, marking a transition in his work, Maeterlinck had his protagonist actively struggle against fate rather than passively or helplessly give in.

The English conductor Lawrance Collingwood wrote an opera based on the play, which was premièred in London in April 1950.