History Incarnate: Genus and Genre in French Historical Drama

Anastasia Ladefoged Larn

doi:10.21996/z0jk-x535

History Incarnate: Genus and Genre in French Historical Drama

Bidragets oversatte titel: Legemliggjort historie: Køn og genre i fransk historisk drama

Anastasia Ladefoged Larn

Publikation: Afhandling › Ph.d.-afhandling

145 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Denne afhandling studerer genopdagelsen af græsk og romersk tragediedigtning i the 16. og 17. århundrede i Frankrig og denne traditions bemærkelsesværdige interesse for kvindelige figurer fra romersk historie: den ægyptiske dronning Kleopatra den 7. (69-30 f.Kr.) og den kartagiske adelskvinde og numidiske dronning Sophonisba (død 203 f.Kr.). Fra at have været bipersoner hos romerske og græske historikere så som Livius, Appian, Cassius Dio og Plutarch, blev Kleopatra og Sophonisba de to mest populære tragiske heltinder godt ind i det 17. århundrede, hvor nye dramatiske normer satte spørgsmålstegn ved deres tilstedeværelse på scenen.

Afhandlingen analyserer betydningen af disse to kvindelige figurer som prismatiske eksempler på dramaets historiereflektioner. Den ønsker at bidrage til det mange gange bemærkede, men endnu underudforskede spørgsmål om interessen for kvindelige ofre i tidlig moderne fransk drama. Det underliggende argument er, at Kleopatras og Sophonisbas popularitet skyldes periodens forståelse af tragedien som en genre, der ikke bare omhandler historiske personer, men handler om historieskrivning. Med det mener jeg, at periodens drama ikke bare tager historie, i dette tilfælde romersk historie, som inspirationskilde, men præsenterer Kleopatra og Sophonisba som legemliggjort historisk refleksion om historicitet så vel som historiografi.

Del 1 fremlægger afhandlingens fokus, teoretiske tilgang, metodiske greb, hovedpointer og perspektiver. Del 2 består af fem artikler, der ved at kombinere distant reading, computerassisteret social netværksanalyse, komparativ analyse og litterære tekstlæsninger sammenlagt giver et nyt perspektiv på, hvad der oftest kaldes humanist tragedie. Artikel 1 "Introduction: Rediscovering Sophonisba in Early Modern Literature" (Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies, vol. 20, 2023) tilbyder en præsentation af Sophonisba figuren i fransk, italiensk, hollandsk, kretansk, tysk og engelsk drama og poesi fra perioden 1400-1700. Den bruger indsigterne fra andre specialiserede artikler til at fremsætte tre hovedårsager til Sophonisba's transnationale betydning i den tidlig moderne periode.

Artikel 2 "The tragedy of being a historical creature" (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 1, 2013) analyserer en af de underkendte franske Sophonisba-skuespil, La Sophonisba (ukendt opførsel, udgivet 1601) af humanisten og soldaten Nicolas de Montreux. Artiklen engagerer Walter Benjamins begreb om den dydige martyr og hendes affinitet med historien i det tyske sørgespil så vel som Montreuxs afvigelser fra hans dramatiske forgængere til at analysere, hvordan Sophonisba-historien bliver brugt til at diskutere forskellige historieopfattelser om hvorvidt historien er uforudsigelige eller guddommeligt ordnet.

Artikel 3 "What is a protagonist?" (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 5, 2023) undersøger Kleopatra og Sophonisbas betydning i 13 franske tragedier fra det 16. og 17. århundrede ved hjælpe af computerassisteret social netværksanalyse. Artiklen kvalificerer ny forsknings fremhævning af periodens interesse for kvindelige figurer og sætter spørgsmålstegn ved den traditionelle definition af en protagonist. Dette gøres ved at definere betydning kvantitativt baseret på fire centralitetsberegninger.

Artikel 4 "Tragisk hjältinna eller skurkaktig rollfigur?" (udkommer på Appell Förlag, 2024) og artikel 5 "Ghosting the past" (Arrêt sur scène/ Scene Focus, vol. 11, 2022) vender sig mod Kleopatra i et henholdsvist komparativt og kontekstuelt perspektiv. Artikel 4 analyserer forskelle i otte franske tragedier fra det 16. og 17. århundrede og hvordan disse er forbundet til forandrede opfattelser om moralitet og historisk stof i tragediedigtningen.

Artikel 5 vender tilbage til Benjamin for at analysere Markus Antonius som spøgelse i prologen til Étienne Jodelles Cléopâtre captive (opført 1553, udgivet posthumt 1574), og hvordan han engagerer tilskuerne i refleksion over historiens gang som enten guddommeligtstyret eller som retningsløs omskiftelighed. Ud over Benjamin genbesøger artiklen også spørgsmålet om Jodelles forhold til spøgelsesfiguren som prologisk figur fra Senecas Thyestes og Agamemnon og spøgelsesagtige drømmevisioner fra Pseudo-Senecas Octavia. Derudover drager artiklen også paraleller til samtidig historiografi i form af Louis Le Roys De la Vicissitude ou la variété des choses en l'Univers (udgivet 1575).

Bidragets oversatte titel	Legemliggjort historie: Køn og genre i fransk historisk drama
Originalsprog	Engelsk
Bevilgende institution	Syddansk Universitet
Vejledere/rådgivere	Kluge, Sofie, Hovedvejleder Dahl, Christian, Bivejleder, Ekstern person Høgel, Christian, Bivejleder
Dato for forsvar	27. maj 2024
Udgiver	Syddansk Universitet. Det Humanistiske Fakultet
DOI	https://doi.org/10.21996/z0jk-x535
Status	Udgivet - 15. apr. 2024

Note vedr. afhandling

Den fulde afhandling kan læses på SDUs bibliotek.

Dokumenter og links

10.21996/z0jk-x535

Open Access Version (Reduced version)Forlagets udgivne version, 1,49 MB

SDU link

Tjek adgangen til materialet i Syddansk Universitetsbiblioteks søgemaskine

3 Tidsskriftartikel
1 Kapitel i bog
1 Leder

Tragisk hjältinna eller skurkaktig rollfigur? Kleopatragestaltens förskjutningar i det tidligmoderna franska dramat
Larn, A. L., 8. mar. 2024, Systrar, väninnor, krigare och hjältinnor: Kvinnogestalter i litteratur och konst från antiken till i dag. Vernqvist, J. (red.). Appell Förlag, s. 185-214
Publikation: Kapitel i bog/rapport/konference-proceeding › Kapitel i bog › Forskning › peer review
Introduction: Rediscovering Sophonisba in Early Modern Europe
Larn, A. L. & Zirak-Schmidt, D. H., 2023, I: Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies. 20, s. III-IX
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Leder › peer review

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The tragedy of being a historical creature: Gender and history in Nicolas de Montreux’s La Sophonisbe (1601)
Ladefoged Larn, A., feb. 2023, I: Orbis Litterarum. 78, 1, s. 31-44
Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review

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EliteForsk-rejsestipendium
Larn, A. L. (Modtager), 24. feb. 2022
Pris: Priser, stipendier, udnævnelser

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Caxy-Legatet
Ladefoged Larn, A. (Modtager), jun. 2021
Pris: Priser, stipendier, udnævnelser

Citationsformater

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title = "History Incarnate: Genus and Genre in French Historical Drama ",

abstract = "This dissertation studies the rediscovery of Greek and Roman styled tragedy in 16th and 17th century France and its notable interest for two historical female figures from Roman history, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC) and the Carthaginian noblewomen and Numidian queen Sophonisba (dead 203 BC). From being subordinary characters in the accounts of Roman and Greek historians such as Livy, Appian of Alexandria, Cassius Dio and Plutarch, Cleopatra and Sophonisba became the two most popular tragic heroines. Their popularity continued well into the 17th century until new dramatic expectations questioned their presence on stage. The dissertation analyzes the significance of these two female figures a prismatic cases for dramatic reflections on history. It aims to contribute to the often noticed but unexplored question in modern scholarship of an interest in female victims in French early modern drama. The underlying argument is that the popularity of Cleopatra and Sophonisba is due to the period{\textquoteright}s concept of tragedy as a genre not only on history but about history. By this distinction is meant how this period{\textquoteright}s drama not only takes history, in the present case Roman history, as a source of inspiration but presents Cleopatra and Sophonisba as embodied historical reflection on historicity and historiography. Part 1 puts forth the dissertation's aim, theoretical approach, mixed methods, main results, and perspectives. Part 2 consists of five articles which together offer a fresh look at what is often labeled humanist tragedy by combining distant reading, computational assisted social network analysis, comparative and literary text analysis. Thus, article 1 “Introduction: Rediscovering Sophonisba in Early Modern Literature” (Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies, vol. 20, 2023) offers a discussion of the Sophonisba figure in French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Cretan, German and English drama and poetry from c.1400-1700. It uses the insights gained from other specialized articles to outline three main reasons for Sophonisba{\textquoteright}s transnational importance in the early modern period. Article 2 “The tragedy of being a historical creature” (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 1, 2023) analyzes one of the neglected French Sophonisba plays, La Sophonisba (unknown performance, published 1601) by humanist and soldier Nicolas de Montreux. By engaging Walter Benjamin{\textquoteright}s notion of the chaste martyr and her affinities with history in the German mourning play as well as Montreux{\textquoteright} deviations from his dramatic predecessors, the article analyzes how the Sophonisba story is used to discuss different notions of history as either unpredictable or divinely ordained. Article 3 “What is a protagonist?” (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 5, 2023) studies the importance of Cleopatra and Sophonisba in 13 French tragedies from the sixteenth and seventeenth century by using computationally assisted social network analysis. By defining importance quantitatively based on four centrality measurements, the article qualifies recent scholarship's highlighting of this period{\textquoteright}s interest in female figures and questions traditional scholarly notions of protagonism. Articles 4 “Tragisk hj{\"a}ltinna eller skurkaktig rollfigur? [Tragic heroine or villainous character]” (forthcoming on Appell F{\"o}rlag, 2024) and 5 “Ghosting the past” (Arr{\^e}t sur sc{\`e}ne/ Scene Focus, vol. 11, 2022) turn their attention to Cleopatra in a comparative and contextual perspective respectively. Thus, article 4 pinpoints differences in eight French tragedies from the sixteenth and seventeenth century and how these differences are connected to changing dramatic notions of morality and historical fidelity. Article 5 once again turns to Benjamin to analyze how the ghost figure of Mark Antony in the prologue of {\'E}tienne Jodelle{\textquoteright}s Cl{\'e}op{\^a}tre captive(performed 1553, published posthumously 1574) engages audiences in a reflection on history as caught between divine intent and vicissitude. Besides Benjamin, the article also re-examines Jodelle{\textquoteright}s merging of the protatic ghost found in Seneca{\textquoteright}s Thyestes and Agamemnon and the ghostly dream vision from Pseudo-Seneca{\textquoteright}s Octavia, as well as draws parallels to contemporaneous history writing by Louis Le Roy{\textquoteright}s De la Vicissitude ou la vari{\'e}t{\'e} des choses en l{\textquoteright}Univers (published 15725). ",

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AB - This dissertation studies the rediscovery of Greek and Roman styled tragedy in 16th and 17th century France and its notable interest for two historical female figures from Roman history, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII (69-30 BC) and the Carthaginian noblewomen and Numidian queen Sophonisba (dead 203 BC). From being subordinary characters in the accounts of Roman and Greek historians such as Livy, Appian of Alexandria, Cassius Dio and Plutarch, Cleopatra and Sophonisba became the two most popular tragic heroines. Their popularity continued well into the 17th century until new dramatic expectations questioned their presence on stage. The dissertation analyzes the significance of these two female figures a prismatic cases for dramatic reflections on history. It aims to contribute to the often noticed but unexplored question in modern scholarship of an interest in female victims in French early modern drama. The underlying argument is that the popularity of Cleopatra and Sophonisba is due to the period’s concept of tragedy as a genre not only on history but about history. By this distinction is meant how this period’s drama not only takes history, in the present case Roman history, as a source of inspiration but presents Cleopatra and Sophonisba as embodied historical reflection on historicity and historiography. Part 1 puts forth the dissertation's aim, theoretical approach, mixed methods, main results, and perspectives. Part 2 consists of five articles which together offer a fresh look at what is often labeled humanist tragedy by combining distant reading, computational assisted social network analysis, comparative and literary text analysis. Thus, article 1 “Introduction: Rediscovering Sophonisba in Early Modern Literature” (Nordic Journal of Renaissance Studies, vol. 20, 2023) offers a discussion of the Sophonisba figure in French, Italian, Dutch, Spanish, Cretan, German and English drama and poetry from c.1400-1700. It uses the insights gained from other specialized articles to outline three main reasons for Sophonisba’s transnational importance in the early modern period. Article 2 “The tragedy of being a historical creature” (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 1, 2023) analyzes one of the neglected French Sophonisba plays, La Sophonisba (unknown performance, published 1601) by humanist and soldier Nicolas de Montreux. By engaging Walter Benjamin’s notion of the chaste martyr and her affinities with history in the German mourning play as well as Montreux’ deviations from his dramatic predecessors, the article analyzes how the Sophonisba story is used to discuss different notions of history as either unpredictable or divinely ordained. Article 3 “What is a protagonist?” (Orbis Litterarum, vol. 78, no. 5, 2023) studies the importance of Cleopatra and Sophonisba in 13 French tragedies from the sixteenth and seventeenth century by using computationally assisted social network analysis. By defining importance quantitatively based on four centrality measurements, the article qualifies recent scholarship's highlighting of this period’s interest in female figures and questions traditional scholarly notions of protagonism. Articles 4 “Tragisk hjältinna eller skurkaktig rollfigur? [Tragic heroine or villainous character]” (forthcoming on Appell Förlag, 2024) and 5 “Ghosting the past” (Arrêt sur scène/ Scene Focus, vol. 11, 2022) turn their attention to Cleopatra in a comparative and contextual perspective respectively. Thus, article 4 pinpoints differences in eight French tragedies from the sixteenth and seventeenth century and how these differences are connected to changing dramatic notions of morality and historical fidelity. Article 5 once again turns to Benjamin to analyze how the ghost figure of Mark Antony in the prologue of Étienne Jodelle’s Cléopâtre captive(performed 1553, published posthumously 1574) engages audiences in a reflection on history as caught between divine intent and vicissitude. Besides Benjamin, the article also re-examines Jodelle’s merging of the protatic ghost found in Seneca’s Thyestes and Agamemnon and the ghostly dream vision from Pseudo-Seneca’s Octavia, as well as draws parallels to contemporaneous history writing by Louis Le Roy’s De la Vicissitude ou la variété des choses en l’Univers (published 15725).

U2 - 10.21996/z0jk-x535

DO - 10.21996/z0jk-x535

M3 - Ph.D. thesis

PB - Syddansk Universitet. Det Humanistiske Fakultet

ER -

History Incarnate: Genus and Genre in French Historical Drama

Abstract

Note vedr. afhandling

Dokumenter og links

SDU link

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Relaterede publikationer

Tragisk hjältinna eller skurkaktig rollfigur? Kleopatragestaltens förskjutningar i det tidligmoderna franska dramat

Introduction: Rediscovering Sophonisba in Early Modern Europe

The tragedy of being a historical creature: Gender and history in Nicolas de Montreux’s La Sophonisbe (1601)

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