Theatre/theater?

[Lycidas at worldnet.att.net]

Paul Mackin wrote:
> 
> In Enzian's "perhaps it's theater, but they SEEM no longer to be
> Allies" isn't there the suggestion that Enzian fears the rivalry between
> the Americans and the Russians to be a trick to confuse him?

Yes, I'll go along with that. He fears, his suspects, but he
is not certain. What he fears is  "theatre" or the "War" and
not theater, but he's not certain. His certitude or lack of
certitude here, does not undermine his reliability in the
sense I have been suggesting.  


> Even so Enzian will continue to try to play off the two sides against each
> other. 

He HAS played them off, the quarreling scavengers, one
against the other...but he is not sure what is genuine, 
even though it LOOKS genuine enough. And he is concerned
that his efforts may not mean very much. 

The remaining irony is that the rivalry is dead real (as we
1973
> readers know full well)--but this will not appreciably redound to the
> benefit of the the nonEuropean. 

Who will benefit from this rivalry? It is not only non
Europeans that will not take any advantage from the history
they have invented and conditioned us (I don't take this to
mean non Europeans) to expect. 

In the West rivalry can coexist with
> cooperation. The further irony is that both emerging superpowers will
> retain their respective high status in the postwar world by virtue of the
> very stuggle of their falling out. Don't know if this adds up to
> unreliability but it's poignant as all get out.

Yeah! 
> 
>