Masquerade is a play at least 185 years old, yet with as much significance now as it did back when it was written. Often called a Russian Othello, the play examines human motivations in all their guises – love, pride, jealousy and many more. With this and his two other plays, Menschen und Leidenschaften and A Strange Man, Lermontov became a strong influence on and herald of the Romantic school in Russia.

The play is about Yevgeny Arbenin, a young Russian nobleman, who wants to be independent of his circumstances. However, due to a series of misunderstandings he believes that his wife has been unfaithful and fatally poisons her. After finding out that she was, in fact, innocent, Arbenin goes insane.

The play follows the familiar path of love, jealousy and pride. However, throughout the drama the character motivations are many-layered. Arbenin alone is not held responsible for his deed, although his crime is the greatest and so is his punishment. The masks the other characters wear to protect themselves and their interests don’t hinder and sometimes help the delusions Arbenin labours under.

D. Nuragani