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The Case of Voltaire's Le Fanatisme, Ou Mahomet Le Prophète

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The Case of Voltaire's Le Fanatisme, Ou Mahomet Le Prophète Thamyris/Intersecting No. 29 (2015) 155–164 Staging the Barbarian: The Case of Voltaire’s Le Fanatisme, ou Mahomet le prophète Madeleine Kasten On April 25, 1741, a new tragedy by Voltaire opens in the French city of Lille: Le Fanatisme, ou Mahomet le Prophète. The premiere proves an unqualified success. It is followed by three more performances, including a private staging at the special request of the local clergy, who hail the author as a “founder of religion” (Hadidi 53). A very different reception awaits Mahomet when it appears at the Comédie- Française in Paris on August 9, 1742. Far from sharing the enthusiasm of their provincial colleagues, the Parisian clergy immediately request its suppression. After a few performances Voltaire is summoned by the Lieutenant of Police in the middle of the night and forced to withdraw the play, which is to be staged again only nine years later (Pearson 172). By that time, Voltaire has managed to secure the approval of the highest Church authority, Pope Benedict XIV, whom he sends a complimentary copy of his play. In the accompanying letter—written in Italian!—he states his inten- tions as follows: Your holiness will pardon the liberty taken by one of the lowest of the faithful, though a zealous admirer of virtue, of submitting to the head of the true religion this performance written in opposition to the founder of a false and barbarous sect. To whom could I with more propriety inscribe a satire on the cruelty and errors of a false prophet, than to the vicar and representative of a God of truth and mercy? Your holiness will therefore give me leave to lay at your feet both the piece and the author of it, and humbly to request your protection of the one, and your benediction upon the other; in hopes of which, with the profoundest reverence, I kiss your sacred feet.1 Staging the Barbarian | 155 This brief outline of Mahomet’s early reception history raises several questions. For one thing, anyone acquainted with Voltaire’s true sentiments about the Roman Catholic Church will be struck by the blatant opportunism of his bow to Pope Benedict. I will return to these sentiments at a later point. For the moment, however, I want to focus on another question: how could one and the same play elicit such con- tradictory responses within the Church itself? To answer this question I propose to take a closer look at its plot and rhetoric. How is the barbarian constructed in Voltaire’s Mahomet? And how can we relate this construction to his other writings on religion and barbarism? Finally, what is the role of the barbarian in Voltaire’s dis- course of Enlightenment? Mahomet is a classical five-act tragedy, written in alexandrines. The intrigue, though entirely fictional, owes its inspiration to a specific episode in the life of the historical prophet Muhammad around the year 630. In order to distinguish between this historical figure and Voltaire’s character I will refer to the latter by his French name, Mahomet. The setting is Mahomet’s former home town of Mecca, from which he was formerly exiled, and to which he is laying siege as the play begins. The action takes place during a short truce in which the terms of peace are to be negotiated. The plot revolves around Mahomet’s seduction of a naïve youth, Séïde, whom he drives to parricide. This Séïde, himself a Meccan by birth, had been captured by Mahomet in a battle during his early childhood. Having been raised in Mahomet’s camp, he has since come to embrace Islam. Of all Muslims, he is the one most devoted to Mahomet . but he is also in love with the beautiful Palmire, his child- hood companion, who was captured together with him and who is now being held hostage by the Meccans. What no one except Mahomet knows is that Séïde and Palmire are in fact brother and sister, and that they are both the children of Zopire, Mecca’s army leader. Mahomet seeks to make peace with the Meccans only because he has conceived a passion for Palmire and wants her back for himself. However, Zopire stubbornly refuses to surrender. Mahomet now devises a diabolic scheme that will win him both Palmire and the victory, and that will rid him of his rival Séïde to boot. Relying on Séïde’s blind faith and docility, he persuades the boy that God has chosen him as His instrument to murder Zopire. To boost the appeal of this holy mission, he promises Séïde the hand of Palmire, who is to encourage him in carrying out the plot. Zopire is indeed stabbed by his own son, but since he takes a conveniently long time to die the family rela- tionship comes to light before he finally closes his eyes. Overjoyed to be reunited with his long-lost children he magnanimously forgives them their crime, commanding them only to avenge his death. Indeed Séïde manages to rally the people of Mecca against Mahomet. The latter, however, has taken the precaution of having a slow- working poison administered to his adversary. As Séïde dies, Mahomet persuades the Meccans that this is an act of God, after which they all accept the Muslim faith. 156 | Madeleine Kasten.
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