Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory

Skidmore College Creative Matter MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019 MALS 5-20-2006 Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory Liane Fisher Skidmore College Follow this and additional works at: https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/mals_stu_schol Part of the Dance Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Fisher, Liane, "Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory" (2006). MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019. 41. https://creativematter.skidmore.edu/mals_stu_schol/41 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the MALS at Creative Matter. It has been accepted for inclusion in MALS Final Projects, 1995-2019 by an authorized administrator of Creative Matter. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Mythological Intertextuality in Nineteenth Century Ballet Repertory Master of Arts in Liberal Studies Thesis Skidmore College Liane Fisher March 2006 Advisor: Isabel Brown Reader: Marc Andre Wiesmann Table of Contents Abstract .............................. ... .... .......................................... .......... ............................ ...................... 1 Chapter 1 : Introduction .. .................................................... ........... ..... ............ ..... ......... ............. 2 My thologyand Ballet ... ....... ... ........... ................... ....... ................... ....... ...... .................. 7 The Labyrinth My thologies .. ......................... .... ................. ........................................... 10 Chapter 2: La Sylphide ............................................................... ..... ........ ......... ..... ...... ........ ..... 19 Chapter 3: Giselle ......................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 4: Sleeping Beauty ...... ... .... ............. ......... ......... ...... ... ......... ...... ..... ....... ... ............ ........ 39 Chapter 5: Swan Lake ... ... ............................................. ........ .............................. ...................... 60 Chapter 6: Conclusion ........ ......................................................................... .... .... ... ..... ......... ..... 76 Bibliography ....................... ......... .... .... ............ .......................... ............................................. 80 Appendix A: Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault...... .................................................. 84 Appendix B: The Pentamerone by Giambattista Basile: Sun, Moon, and Talia ...... ..... 94 Appendix C: 1001 Nights-The Ninth Captain's Tale ................................. ......... .......... 98 1 Abstract This paper will posit the idea that, while nineteenth century ballet purported to tum away from the mythological librettos that had graced the ballet stages of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, they actually maintained ties to their mythological heritage. After a brief review of a fe w pertinent classical Greek myths, we will look at two ballets from the early Romantic period: La Sylphide and Giselle, and finishwith two fromthe late nineteenth century: Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake to discover what ties they retain to mythology. 2 Chapter 1: Introduction "Throughout the inhabited world, in all times and under every circumstance, the myths of man have flourished; and they have been the living inspiration of whatever else may have appeared out of the activities of the human body and mind. It would not be too much to say that myth is the secret op ening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social fo rms of primitive and historic man, discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up fr om the basic, magic ring of myth. " Joseph Campbell (Campbell 3) Since the dawn of civilization, mankind has created myths and stories as metaphors to explain life's passages and society's rites. As a result, the same themes cross all cultural boundaries, resurfacing again and again: the importance of social values, the crossing of thresholds, the transformation from child to adult, birth, death, and resurrection as a symbol of rebirth of the new self and death of the old. Myth deals with the struggles of life and the difficulties we humans sometimes encounter when trying to traverse our path through the labyrinth of life's cycles and seasons. When we tum... to consider the numerous strange rituals that have been reported from the primitive tribes and great civilizations of the past, it becomes apparent that the purpose and actual effect of these was to conduct people across those difficult thresholds of transformation that demand a change in the patterns not only of conscious but also of unconscious life. (Campbell 10) These themes are fundamental to the human condition and as such make up the very thread from which we weave our great stories. No matter the color or design of our tapestry, the fabric of the cloth remains the same. Through our literature and art, our textiles and pottery, our music and dance, we express our shared heritage. Consequently, as humans, we have developed a shared understanding of certain symbols and imagery used to convey our myths. 3 These signs help us to read the meaning behind the veil that is the superficial reading of the narrative. When we encounter one of these symbols, we are able to instantly draw upon our subconscious well that stores our knowledge of all the other places where we have encountered that symbol and we are able to relate them to each other to give us a deeper and richer context in which to understand the symbol and that which it signifies. When a symbol or motif appears in one text and recalls to our mind its use in another text, it is as though the texts converse with one another, sharing their meanings and enriching each other's tales. This process is called "intertextuality". Intertextuality is the "purposeful positioning of a creative work at the center of a rich network of echoes and references to other works" (de Marinis 81). By deliberately utilizing this network of references and intertexts, "pre-existing codes are brought into play and new ones created in a conversation between the old and the new" (Adshead-Lansdale 111). Hollywood constantly draws upon our knowledge of symbols to help to visually clue us into the storyline of a movie. Villains may be dressed in black while the hero is in white. Storm clouds, thunder and lightening warn of a bad omen. We know these symbols because we have encountered them in other texts, movies and plays. Sometimes, the entire plot is an archetype with references to similar tales. West Side Story for example relies upon the audience's familiarity with Romeo and Juliet. A knowledge of other tales and myths of the world would reveal many more stories dealing with marrying outside one's own kind and the triumph oflove over death. Joseph Campbell, one of the world's foremost experts on comparable mythology, asserts that there is very little variation in the pattern and structure of the archetypal myth: The hero's journey varies little in essential plan ... There will be found astonishingly little variation in the morphology of the adventure, the character roles involved, the victories gained. If one or another of the basic elements of 4 the archetypal pattern is omitted from a given fairy tale, legend, ritual, or myth, it is bound to be somehow or other implied. (Campbell 38) Campbell maintains that all myths conform to the same basic outline and sets it forth as follows: (Campbell 36) The Departure: 1) The Call to Adventure 2) Refusal of the Call (in some cases) 3) Supernatural Aid 4) The Crossing of the First Threshold 5) The Belly of the Whale, or the passage into the realm of night Trials: 1) The Road ofTrials 2) The Meeting with the Goddess, the Great Mother 3) Woman as the Temptress 4) Atonement with the Father 5) Apotheosis 6) The Ultimate Boon The Return 1) Refusal of the Return 2) The Magic Flight 3) Rescue from Without 4) The Crossing of the ReturnThreshold 5) Master of the Two Worlds 6) Freedom to Live In the first stage, referred to by Campbell as the "Call to Adventure," the hero has been summoned by destiny and must leave the comfort of the society in which he lives to travel through the great unknown, which can take the form of a far off realm under the sea, above the sky, underground, in a forest, in a dream state, in the land of the dead, or any other similarly distant land. These places usually house magical beings and involve extremes of delight and torment as well as near impossible deeds (Campbell 58). Occasionally this Call to Adventure is refused. This refusal is usually a refusal to give up what one takes to be one's own interest.. ..One is bound in by the walls of childhood; the father and mother stand as threshold guardians, 5 and the timorous soul, fearful of some punishment, failsto make the passage through the door and come to birth in the world without. ...some power of transformation carries the problem to a plane of new magnitudes, where it is suddenly and finally resolved. (Campbell 60-62) This is illustrated clearly in the case of Aurora in Sleeping Beauty who cannot accept growing up and refuses to choose a suitor. In Swan Lake too, Siegfried refuses to choose a bride. In both cases, a "power of transformation" intervenes. Even in Giselle and La Sylphide

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