Аннотация: "She resisted me. And I killed her." André Maurois on the drama "Antony" in a book about Alexandre Dumas. A literary note.
"She resisted me. And I killed her." André Maurois on the drama "Antony" in a book about Alexandre Dumas. A literary note.
André Maurois examines the origin and significance of Alexandre Dumas' play "Antony".
What personal circumstances prompted the author to write a play?
Who were the prototypes of the main characters?
What kind of letters did Dumas write in connection with the creation and staging of this play?
Was this play successful? What effect did this play have on the French theater?
The relationship between woman, a prototype of the main character, and actress, who played the role of the main character, and Alexandre Dumas himself ...
The role of censorship ...
The influence of the play 'Antony' on the official recognition of his son Alexander by Dumas ...
The influence of the play 'Antony' on public morality ...
The reader will find out, for example:
'In her [in the drama 'Antony'] the woman who committed adultery was first brought onto the scene - an image that then occupies the French scene for more than a century.' (All citations in this article are from the book by André Maurois 'Three Dumas' ["Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas"]).
(All quotations - translations from the Russian-language text).
This thesis by André Maurois is somewhat in doubt (before the 'Antony' there were no female characters on the French scene who committed adultery?). But, without enough information to dispute, this idea is taken into account.
Or such an idea by André Maurois: 'Alexandre Dumas this evening wrote not only a' new page in the history of the heart ', but also a new page in the history of the theater, because his triumph made Hugo entrust the "Marion Delorme" to Port-Saint-Martin theater, and Vigny - to write 'La Maréchale d'Ancre' for Marie Dorval ('the first tragic actress of her time'). So for the second time in his life, Dumas acted as a man paving new ways. '
For the reader, far from the French theater, it is not entirely clear - what were the 'new paths' expressed in? Apparently, in overcoming the pre-existing stereotypes ...
'The success of "Antony" was strong and lasting. One hundred and thirty performances in Paris. Secular people first went to the Port Saint-Martin theater. In the province, this drama remained a triumph for a long time. '
'And throughout the nineteenth century, passion will reign in the theater, bringing with it a storm of feelings, words, dagger strikes, and pistol shots. 'Antony' scared the actors of the Comédie-Française, but he shocked the audience.
'When Bokage, throwing a dagger near the feet of an angry colonel, calmly said: "She resisted me. And I killed her", screams of horror sounded in the hall. For the main cast it was a well-deserved triumph.'
Mentioned by André Maurois and the play "Napoleon Bonaparte" ["Napoléon Bonaparte ou Trente ans de l'Histoire de France"], also written by Alexandre Dumas. 'The role was played boldly and brilliantly, but it was not Napoleon.'
'At age of twenty-eight, Dumas became the most revered playwright of his time. He is being placed next to Victor Hugo.'
After visiting the theater, after screams of horror (in the theater), after endless discussions of the drama plot in the theater itself, on the street, in salons, at home, in newspapers and anywhere else, the very idea of a killing a woman (for adultery) could seem to the public as a something weird. 'But did you have to do this?' 'The event, of course, is unpleasant, but ...' ...
If you believe André Maurois, the contribution of the drama "Antony" by Alexandre Dumas to social psychology is undeniable ... The drama by Alexandre Dumas "Antony" was staged in one of the theaters in Paris in 1831 ...
November 19, 2019 08:46
Translation from Russian into English: November 19, 2019 14:07.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский ''Она сопротивлялась мне. И я убил ее'. Андре Моруа о драме 'Антони' в книге об Александре Дюма. Литературная заметка'.