The Public Mirror: Moliere and the Social Commerce of Depiction

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University of Chicago Press, 2010 M08 15 - 226 páginas
Though much beloved and widely produced, Molière's satirical comedies pose a problem for those reading or staging his works today: how can a genre associated with biting caricature and castigation deliver engaging theater? Instead of simply dismissing social satire as a foundation for Molière's theater, as many have done, Larry F. Norman takes seriously Molière's claim that his satires are first and foremost effective theater.

Pairing close readings of Molière's comedies with insightful accounts of French social history and aesthetics, Norman shows how Molière conceived of satire as a "public mirror" provoking dynamic exchange and conflict with audience members obsessed with their own images. Drawing on these tensions, Molière portrays characters satirizing one another on stage, with their reactions providing dramatic conflict and propelling comic dialogue. By laying bare his society's system of imagining itself, Molière's satires both enthralled and enraged his original audience and provide us with a crucial key to the classical culture of representation.
 

Contenido

Introduction
1
Part One CREATION
11
Part Two RECOGNITION
83
Part Three DRAMATURGY
145
Conclusion
207
Selected Bibliography
211
Index
223
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Página 4 - Les plus beaux traits d'une sérieuse morale sont moins puissants le plus souvent que ceux de la satire; et rien ne reprend mieux la plupart des hommes que la peinture de leurs défauts.

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