The Flutter of the Goldleaf, and Other Plays

This volume gathers short plays that move between intimate domestic realism, lyrical encounter pieces, and stage fable. One piece depicts a young experimenter whose attic laboratory provokes fear and misunderstanding in his family and neighbors, leading to a tense confrontation with visiting physicians. Another follows a troubled bride and her companion in a flowering farmhouse as visitors and tradition complicate private longing. A metatheatrical clown figure addresses childhood and human folly, and a final piece stages a disputation between rival physicians in an ancient setting. The plays alternate humor, pathos, and theatrical invention to examine community, desire, and the uses of knowledge.