COMEDY (original play in one act)
NUMBER OF PEOPLE: 5 (2 women 3 men)
Volume 46 of Slovenske Talia, a collection of dramatic works and plays, Ljubljana, 1879.
Ogrinč's play was published after the First World War in the anthology Enodejanke (edited by France Bevk, Gorica, 1921) and after the Second World War again in Gorica as a separate edition (Kje je meja?, Nova Talija collection no. 35, Gorica, Narodna knjigarna, 1946). It was also published in the anthology Starejša slovenska drama (edited by France Koblar, Klasje collection no. 25, Ljubljana, 1951). In all three cases, linguistic revisions were made, so only the first edition is linguistically authoritative.
The premiere took place on 14 February 1876 at the Provincial Theatre, which stood on the site of the present-day Philharmonic. The play was re-performed on 19 January 1897 in the building of the present-day Opera House. Ogrinč's one-act play has been performed by numerous theatre groups since its creation.
Josip Ogrinec (1844-1979) was a writer and playwright who, in addition to his literary work, studied at three faculties and taught at three grammar schools. After abandoning his studies in theology and law, he completed his studies in natural sciences. He published short popular texts about nature in various magazines, following the example of Fran Erjavec. Faces from nature he later added Faces from the nation and some historical stories. While teaching in Ljubljana, he translated texts from the then Viennese repertoire for the Dramatic Society. He established himself as a playwright with the comedy Let's bring it to Ljubljana!, which was -just like a one-act play Where is the border?- published in the collection Slovenska Talija (1869) and successfully staged for the first time in 1870. Josip Ogrinec is a pioneer of Slovenian chess theory. In 1868, he published articles on chess problems in the Slovenski glasnik. He also taught in Novo mesto and Vinkovci, where he died.
Križ and his young neighbor Kraž are half-landowners who cannot agree on the boundary between their estates. The one-act play takes place on disputed territory between the two homesteads. Already in the first scene, the author introduces us to the essence of the plot: Kraž claims that his land is up to the hornbeam stake, while Križ, with the authority of an elder, fights for the boundary up to the beech stake and is already threatening to sue.
After them, the official servant Zveriga comes on stage, who gives a long monologue in which he introduces himself and the plot of the drama, and begins with a fairly extensive poem modeled after the Viennese burka or folk play of the time: in rhymes, he first sings of the idyllic time of Slovenian independence. As long as they were free, the Carniolan people were united. Under the foreign yoke, they are at odds with each other, and not only the Germans benefit from this, but also he himself, who takes advantage of the Slovenian passion for litigation. Since German domination has been growing more and more widespread and Slovenians are even in the provincial assembly, things have been getting worse and worse for him. If the Carniolan people were more united, all the German-speakers would have been shocked long ago, but because of Slovenian quarrelsomeness, the following still applies to him: "where two argue, there the third gains". Therefore, he expects benefits primarily from the Slovenian side, although he feels better among the Germans. Zveriga switches from business to love. He stared at Križ's daughter and sensed that his moment had come: he would further inflame the neighborly dispute and, by pouring fuel on the fire, get rid of his rival, Križ's young neighbor Kraž. Thus, both the bride and the estate would end up in his hands.
In the following scenes, Križ's daughter and wife tackle the problem. The former convinces her chosen one, the neighbor Kraž, to give in on the border issue. Križ's wife also achieves the same: her husband will accept Kraž's version of the demarcation. Despite the promises, the neighbors cannot get out of their skin: when they meet and are confronted with the conciliatory intentions of their opponent, they return to their original position indignantly. Zveriga takes advantage of the state of war: Kraž will be sued on Križ's behalf by the German lawyer Švindlberger. Zveriga offers himself as a translator and Križ's son-in-law.
Križ's wife resolutely resists her husband's plans and seizes one last chance to peacefully resolve the border and love dispute. She persuades her husband to declare a false bankruptcy in front of everyone. Zveriga fails the test and immediately withdraws his marriage proposal, while Kraž generously offers his neighbor help. When the truth comes out, Zveriga leaves the scene in disgrace, and the Križs, together with their future son-in-law Kraž, realize that the border is no longer important, because with the wedding they will unite both halves of the land. The grateful Kraž does not know how to repay his future mother-in-law, who has solved all the problems with her cunning, but she asks him to just listen to her advice: when everything does not go smoothly in the marriage with her daughter and they come to blows due to different opinions, he should always be aware that many a fight starts over completely insignificant little things and is therefore completely unnecessary.