Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Siècle Paris

Since the Enlightenment, French theatre has occupied a prominent place within French thought, society and culture, but as a subject of study it has remained a purview of theatre historians, literary scholars and aestheticians. They focus on the emergence of the modern theatre as change generated from within bourgeois literary drama but ignore theatre as a complex social practice. Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Siècle Paris investigates the dynamic relationships among the avant-garde, official culture and the commercial sphere, arguing against the neat divide of 'high' and 'low' culture by showing how cultural forms of varying social origins influenced each other.

"Sally Debra Charnow s Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Sie`cle Paris aims to contribute not only to our histories of theater but also to our histories of modernism, modernity, and the complex creation of national and regional identity. Charnow is particularly good at describing individual avant-garde plays, explaining why modernist directors picked them to produce, and analyzing how French reviewers responded to the Paris premieres of both French and foreign works, especially the work of Henrik Ibsen....Charnow s work will probably be most interesting for historians of French theater and politics. It could also be useful, however, for scholars interested in pursuing the comparative study of modernism or further understanding how social, economic, and cultural developments overlapped, intersected, and influenced each other in the complex period from 1890 to 1914." - Journal of Modern History

"An avant-garde theater crystallized in late nineteenth-century France, a theater of social and psychological engagement, most often associated with the names of Antoine and Lugné-Poe. Sally Charnow approaches the phenomenon with a wide-angle lens which embraces, not just the aesthetic, but also the political and social contexts in which the new theater emerged. This is not a theater history of the hermetic sort, but one that opens the subject to readers of all kinds who share Charnow s passion for the variety and creativity of the French fin-de-siècle scene." -Philip Nord, Professor of History, Princeton University

"Given the importance of the theatre in French culture, it is surprising that historians have devoted little attention to its role in shaping national life. Sally Charnow s Theatre, Politics, and Markets in Fin-de-Siècle Paris is thus an important and welcome contribution to the field. Charnow examines both the aesthetics of the modernist theatre and its politics against the backdrop of an emerging mass democracy and the concomitant development of commercial culture. Through her deft handling of literary and historical sources, she illustrates the fluidity between the seemingly opposing categories of avant-garde and commercial art; elite and popular culture; regional and national identity. The result is a lively and fresh perspective on a key aspect of modern French culture." - Venita Datta, Associate Professor of French, Wellesley College

Auteur
SALLY CHARNOW is Assistant Professor of History at Hofstra University, USA. Her articles have appeared in Women in Jewish Culture: Active Voices (University of Illinois Press, 1995), Radical History Review and Historical Reflections.

Contenu
Introduction PART I: ECONOMICS AND POLITICS OF THE NEW THEATRE French Society, Commercial Culture, and the Emergence of Modern Theatre: André Antoine and the Théâtre Libre The Politics of Censorship PART II: AESTHETICS OF AVANT-GARDE THEATRE Modernist Expressions Foreign Playwrights, Avant-Garde Theatres, and French Critics PART III: MODERN THEATRE AND THE 'POPULAR' The Popular Theatre Movement Le Théâtre du Peuple: Modern Theatre, Regionalism, and the Search for the Authentic in Fin-de-Siècle France Conclusion