46 / CHRONICLESncomes far more complex than that. Innthis case, it’s comphcated by the introductionnof Mick, Aston’s even morenmysterious brother who, in keepingnwith the analogy, can be viewed as annalternate representation of Pinter designednto complement Aston, sadisticnwhen Aston is beneficent and soothingnwhen Aston becomes sadistic.nIf anything, the Steppenwolf renderingnlends itself more to such anninterpretation than earlier produchonsnin which Davies was apparently anmenacing figure himself Here he is andupe and a humbler: like the audience,na proverbial sitting duck for thendarker fluctuations of Aston andnMick’s moods (which can be viewed asnPinter’s relentless ambivalence). Actually,nthe Steppenwolf productionnseems even more sympathetic withnPinter’s intentions, as revealed by hisn”original idea” before he finished thenscript “to end the play with the violentndeath” of Davies. From its very con­nLetter From Europenby Harold O.J. BrownnA Manly CelibatenWhat the late Axel Springer (1912-n1985) was to the world of newspapernpublishing, legal scholar Jacques Ellulnis to Protestants, and AleksandrnSolzhenitsyn is to writers, the vigorousnPere Raymond-Leopold Bruckberger isnto the world of contemporary RomannCatholic intellectuals—a man whosenmany gifts would make him a soughtafterncelebrity if his deepest convictionsnwere not so dramatically out-offashion.nThese four all have inncommon an ardent support for thentraditional ideals of the Christian civilizationnof the West, a passion thatnrenders them hopelessly suspect in theneyes of most Western journalists and ofnmuch of the ecclesiastical establish­nception, Davies was seen as the victimnin Pinter’s eyes, Aston and Mick as thenpredators; and not the other waynaround.nWe are also reminded of the Steppenwolfnimprint as it was demonstratednrecently by Lyle Kessler’s Orphansnand by Laurie Metcalf’s overpowering,nextended monologue in Balm in Gilead.nAn identical effect shows up herenin Aston’s famous speech at the closenof Act II, when he reveals that yearsnago “they took me to a hospital, rightnoutside of London” where “they usednto come round with these . . . bignpincers, with wires on, attached to anlittle machine.”nAs Aston, Jeff Perry emerges fromnhis laconic gloom with just the rightnrhythm to do justice to this pivotalnspeech, locating the eloquence Pinternmagically achieves with an otherwisenhopelessly inarticulate character. Innthe role originated by Alan Bates, GarynSinise (co-founder of SteppenwolfnCORRESPONDENCEnment as well.nAxel Springer, for example, wasncommonly decried as an archconservative.nIn fact, he supported thenGerman Socialist Party (SPD) fornyears, until Willy Brandt, on becomingnFederal Chancellor, took WestnGermany down the road of his newnOstpolitik, i.e., of accommodation tonSoviet expansionism. Springer seemsnto have forfeited the right to the attentionnhis publishing eminence andnmany charities ought to have merited,nby virtue of his outspoken commitmentnto ideals that the opinion-makersnhave rejected: such intellectually disreputablencauses as democracy, thenWestern alliance, German reunification,nand reconciliation with Israel.nAnd Springer’s publicly declared conversionnto evangelical Ghrishanity innlater life hardly improved his standingnamong opinion-makers. Althoughnnnwith Malkovich) sustains the gentlenessnoffset by unexpected volatility, asnappropriate to Mick. But it’s AlannWilder as Davies (originally performednby Donald Pleasance) who cackles andncrackles his way through the three-actnplay, vacillating between fear andnsenility.nThe attention devoted in recentnyears to a theatrical production’s pointnof origin has often been at the expensenof a fair assessment of the work itselfnHowever else it might have been perceived,nthe Steppenwolf production ofnThe Caretaker historically marks thenend of the New York critics’ honeymoonnwith Steppenwolf Now that thenbattle lines have been clearly drawn, itnwill be interesting to see where Steppenwolfngoes from here.nccnDavid Kaufman is a theater critic innNew York City.nhonored by the Israeli government asnwell as by Jewish organizations such asnB’nai B’rith for his commitment to thenstate of Israel and to interfaith understanding.nSpringer never hesitated tonstate his conviction that the Jews mistakenlynwait for the true Messiah whonhad. already come: in other words, tonaffirm that Judaism remains incompletenwithout Jesus Christ. Springernwas also bold enough to tell the oilrichnworld of Islam that Allah, whonhas no son, cannot be the God ofnAbraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Fathernof Jesus Christ.nSpringer had the audacity to reaffirmnthe finality of Christianity—anclaim that ought to be evident to allnwho know Christian teachings, regardlessnof whether they accept them ornnot. He did this at a time when manynProtestant theologians and indeed thenPope himself seem bent on minimiz-n