Durham E-Theses
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Durham E-Theses An analysis of writing as a career in seventeenth-century France based on a comparative study of the career histories of Jean Racine, Philippe Quinault and Edme Boursault FOULKES, MICHAEL,JAMES How to cite: FOULKES, MICHAEL,JAMES (2017) An analysis of writing as a career in seventeenth-century France based on a comparative study of the career histories of Jean Racine, Philippe Quinault and Edme Boursault, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12116/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Michael James Foulkes An analysis of writing as a career in seventeenth-century France based on a comparative study of the career histories of Jean Racine, Philippe Quinault and Edme Boursault Abstract This study analyses the careers of Racine, Quinault and Boursault to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies authors in seventeenth-century France employed to promote their careers. The literary, social, economic and political context in which they worked is explored by building on key biographical works and on studies of l’âge classique. The professional status of a writer is examined, developing work by Alain Viala. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of forms of capital provides a framework to analyse the writers’ pursuit of capital during their careers. Building on research by Erving Goffmann and Stephen Greenblatt, the authors’ use of self-fashioning is explored, as is their manipulation of their images as honnêtes hommes and hommes de lettres. The impact of patronage in enabling authors to ensure financially sustainable careers and the ways they appealed to potential patrons is examined. Research by Sharon Kettering and Peter Shoemaker, among others, is extended by the application of theories of patronage to the practice of the case study authors. This thesis develops research into literary polemics with a particular focus on the deliberate employment and strategic manipulation of controversy for self-promotion, illustrated by disputes engaged in by the three authors. The methods writers employed to gain professional legitimacy through the institutions of the monarchy, the Académie française and the literary salons are scrutinised and the impact of changes in the theatre-going public is reviewed. The research concludes that, at this period, writing could provide a viable career and offer opportunities for social advancement, but the findings demonstrate that successful writers needed to manage their careers strategically. They had to be versatile in their writing to respond to public tastes, sensitive to expectations of behaviour in order to obtain patronage and accumulate capital and willing to adopt a range of techniques of self-promotion to build and secure their reputations. 1 An analysis of writing as a career in seventeenth-century France based on a comparative study of the career histories of Jean Racine, Philippe Quinault and Edme Boursault Michael James Foulkes Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham School of Modern Languages and Cultures 2016 2 Table of Contents CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................... 7 Aims and parameters of the research ................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Bourdieu’s theoretical work ............................................................................................................... 13 Self-fashioning and self-presentation ................................................................................................. 17 Honnête homme .................................................................................................................................. 19 Homme de lettres ............................................................................................................................... 25 Renown and celebrity ......................................................................................................................... 27 Methodological constraints ................................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 2 – THE DEVELOPMENT OF WRITING AS A CAREER ............................................. 36 Professional status of a writer ............................................................................................................ 36 The position of writers in society ....................................................................................................... 40 Playwrights’ income .......................................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 3 – CAREER HISTORIES OF THE CASE STUDY AUTHORS ..................................... 53 Boursault ............................................................................................................................................ 53 Quinault .............................................................................................................................................. 68 Racine ................................................................................................................................................ 84 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 97 CHAPTER 4 – LITERARY CONTROVERSY .................................................................................. 101 Direct competition ............................................................................................................................ 107 The involvement of Quinault, Racine and Boursault in direct competition ..................................... 113 The involvement of Boursault, Racine and Quinault in polemics ................................................... 122 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 137 CHAPTER 5 – PATRONAGE ............................................................................................................ 141 Royal and state patronage ................................................................................................................ 142 Strategies to obtain patronage .......................................................................................................... 149 Gift exchange ................................................................................................................................... 155 Benefits for the patron ...................................................................................................................... 158 Benefits and drawbacks of patronage for the writer ........................................................................ 162 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 169 CHAPTER 6 – THE PURSUIT OF PATRONAGE BY THE CASE STUDY AUTHORS ............... 171 Quinault’s approach ......................................................................................................................... 171 Boursault’s approach ........................................................................................................................ 177 Racine’s approach ............................................................................................................................ 186 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 193 CHAPTER 7 - INSTITUTIONAL INFLUENCES ON WRITERS’ CAREERS ................................ 194 3 The influence of the Salons .............................................................................................................. 195 The influence of the Académie française ......................................................................................... 204 The influence of theatre audiences and the reading public .............................................................. 216 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................... 226 CHAPTER 8 – CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 228 Key findings ....................................................................................................................................