A marriage made in Heaven? 'Racine' and 'love'

Commentators have traditionally stressed the importance accorded to love in Racine's tragedies, often viewing it in general as some blind, irrational force that deprives characters of the will to act. This article seeks to question this easy association, which originated in the particular set of circumstances that forged the idea of 'Racine' in opposition to that of 'Corneille'. It also suggests that the common view of love in Racine's tragedies provides an unsatisfactory critical perspective for interpreting a series of complex and quite distinctive plays, in each of which 'love' can be shown to play different roles

Chance in the tragedies of Racine

In the Renaissance and early modern periods, there were lively controversies over why things happen. Central to these debates was the troubling idea that things could simply happen by chance. In France, a major terrain of this intellectual debate, the chance hypothesis engaged writers coming from many different horizons: the ancient philosophies of Epicurus, the Stoa, and Aristotle, the renewed reading of the Bible in the wake of the Reformation, a fresh emphasis on direct, empirical observation of nature and society, the revival of dramatic tragedy with its paradoxical theme of the misfortunes that befall relatively good people, and growing introspective awareness of the somewhat arbitrary quality of consciousness itself. This volume is the first in English to offer a broad cultural and literary view of the field of chance in this period. The essays, by a distinguished team of scholars from the U.S., Britain, and France, cluster around four problems: Providence in Question, Aesthetics and Poetics of Chance, Law and Ethics, and Chance and its Remedies. Convincing and authoritative, this collection articulates a new and rich perspective on the culture of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France

Voltaire's "Racine": the paradoxes of a transformation

This article highlights some paradoxical aspects of Voltaire's admiration for Racine. He paid little attention to Racine's plays as dramatic entities, followed received opinions, and made many unfavourable judgements, especially concerning Racine's mix of tragedy and galanterie. What he idolized was Racine's use of language and his poetic skill. He thus removed Racine's tragedies from the contingencies of the theatre, and transformed them into an eighteenth-century linguistic and cultural ideal that he used for polemical purposes in a war against Shakespeare and encroaching barbarism, leading the Romantics subsequently to reject the `Racine' he had been so influential in creating

The major themes and their presentation in the plays of Jean Giraudoux

First of all in this piece of research, the notion of 'Tragedy’ is discussed and Giraudoux’s conception of it is revealed. Rather than use the word 'Tragedy' it is better to say that his plays are 'Debates’. The major debate being that between Humanity and Destiny. Then the concept of the Supernatural is studied. Giraudoux demonstrates the impotence and apparent immorality of God and the Gods. There is, however, a strong feeling of an exterior force. Fate, which must not be disturbed, and which is symbolised by the sleeping tiger in La Guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu. It becomes clear that this force stems from within man himself, and is revealed especially in his inner desire for war. Some characters become suddenly aware of the role which they must play, and they are known as the 'elect', and the moment when they become aware of this role is described by the verb ‘se declarer'. War is the next theme studied, and it is seen that the only hope for mankind in overcoming his warlike nature lies in the power of love, and in particular in the power of the 'couple'. What Giraudoux expects from the 'couple' is examined next, and what special type of woman is required to form this 'couple' is discovered by studying the female characters in each of the plays. The fifth chapter deals with the major symbol in Giraudoux’s work, Dawn. It is the symbol of his hope for the future of mankind. In the sixth chapter the principles upon which Giraudoux bases his theatre are examined, and this is followed by a study of the linguistic and theatrical devices which he employs in order to present his themes. The effect of his partnership with Louis Jouvet is also seen, and in conclusion the relationship of Giraudoux to the dramatists who have preceded him and succeeded him is considered

The metamorphoses of innocence in Racine's Esther

The purpose of this article is to question this uncontroversial viewpoint. While accepting that there are reasons why notions of ‘poetry’ and ‘innocence’ have predominated, it will nonetheless suggest that each of these elements needs to be treated with caution. It will attempt to show that Esther is truly dramatic in nature, and that the ‘innocence’ it projects contains a degree of moral ambiguity, enough to call into question what has been called‘Racine’s utopic attempt to make God and truth manifest on stage.

Marriage in seventeenth-century French theater

In seventeenth-century France, social and political confusion abounded. Absolute monarchy, which was principally created by Richelieu and glorified by Louis XIV, began gradually replacing the medieval feudalism that remained popular among the nobles. Likewise, préciosité, a proto-feminist literary and cultural movement that was not in line with official political ideals, emerged in France during this century. The institution of marriage was an important element of the complicated sociopolitical tapestry of seventeenth-century France. Through the depiction of marriage in Pierre Corneille’s Le Cid (1636), Jean-Baptiste Poquelin de Molière’s L’École des femmes (1662), and Jean Racine’s Andromaque (1667), three works of the most prominent form of fiction in seventeenth-century France—theater, one can see how marriage was tightly bound to both politics and society