1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910459883403321

Autore

Norman Larry F

Titolo

The public mirror [[electronic resource] ] : Molière and the social commerce of depiction / / Larry F. Norman

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 1999

ISBN

1-282-73848-8

9786612738487

0-226-59153-0

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (235 p.)

Disciplina

842/.4

Soggetti

Authors, French

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 211-221) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part One. Creation -- Part Two. Recognition -- Part Three. Dramaturgy -- Conclusion -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

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.