SOURCE: “Laocoön at the Frontier, or The Limit of Limits,” in Modern Drama, Vol. XXIX, No. 1, March, 1986, pp. 23–40.

In the following essay, Gerould traces the Laocoön myth and its role in Różewicz's The Laocoön Group.

FATHER I had a bit of bad luck. I get there, I go over to the blindingly white Laocoön Group, of course there's a crowd, a mob, a lot of tourists. I elbow my way through. And there's a sign on the base of the statue: “Laocoonte—Calco in Gesso. Dello Originalle in Restauro.” What could I do?

SON But, Daddy, what makes the Laocoön Group so beautiful?

FATHER (Pacing up and down the room) My boy, it contains all the inner harmony of the ancient Greek. Ancient man developed his body, mind, and soul harmoniously, and that is why he created an art that is unique...