Svadbeni let

Milan Begović (1876–1948), a prominent Croatian writer, playwright and poet, published the play Svadbeni let in 1922 in Zagreb. The work is one of his earlier dramatic works and belongs to the period when Begović was intensively involved in theater.

The three-act play deals with marriage and relations between the sexes in modern bourgeois society. The main characters are a young aircraft designer (aviator) and his wife. It begins with an idealistic, almost romantic depiction of the wedding night and honeymoon, but soon after the wedding, a clash of different expectations, characters and worldviews occurs. Begović subtly and with fine irony exposes illusions about love, marriage as an institution and the emotional immaturity of modern man.

The work combines psychological drama with elements of comedy and satire. The author critically observes bourgeois marriage, vanity, social conventions and the gap between romantic ideals and everyday reality. The style is elegant, conversational, and theatrically effective, which enabled successful performances on stage.

The Wedding Flight is one of Begović's most important early plays (along with later successes such as The American Yacht in the Port of Split). In Croatian literature, it represents a transition from the Romantic to a more modern, psychological approach to drama. Today, it is appreciated as an interesting portrait of interwar bourgeois society and marital relations, and is a rare antiquarian edition.