Gender Subversion and Resilience in Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 8-2017 Mothers Who Live: Gender Subversion and Resilience in Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa Megan Lynne Whiteman University of Tennessee, Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Part of the Musicology Commons Recommended Citation Whiteman, Megan Lynne, "Mothers Who Live: Gender Subversion and Resilience in Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2017. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/4912 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Megan Lynne Whiteman entitled "Mothers Who Live: Gender Subversion and Resilience in Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Music, with a major in Music. Rachel M. Golden, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Leslie C. Gay Jr., Jacqueline Avila Accepted for the Council: Dixie L. Thompson Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Mothers Who Live: Gender Subversion and Resilience in Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa A Thesis Presented for the Master of Music Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Megan Lynne Whiteman August 2017 ii Copyright Ó 2017 by Megan Lynne Whiteman. All rights reserved iii DEDICATION For the women in my family and all those who support them. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the plentiful guidance of my mentors, family, and friends. Most notably I would like to fervently thank my advisor, Dr. Rachel Golden. I am immensely grateful for her support while encouraging my interests as a scholar. I owe her a great deal for her patience while assisting my development as a writer. In addition to Rachel, Drs. Jacqueline Avila, Leslie Gay, and Lillie Gordon encouraged the expansion of my knowledge in various disciplines and encouraged my research interests. I am thankful for the camaraderie of my friends in the musicology department who were always willing to share ideas and collaborate. Many thanks to my family, especially my parents for their unwavering support. Finally, thank you to Joshua Williams for your constant emotional support and patience. Your encouragement and moral support enabled me to do my best work to complete this project. v ABSTRACT Leoš Janáček’s opera Jenůfa, which premiered in 1904, takes place in a secluded Moravian village and details the story of two women, Jenůfa and Kostelnička. They are intertwined through an act of infanticide, family dynamics, and gender expectations. Recognized as the first Czech naturalist dramatist, Gabriela Preissová wrote the Czech realist play, Její pastorkyňa [Her Stepdaughter] (1890), which provided prose for the opera. Tragedies often occur in Jenůfa due to women defying social norms and the problems that arise as a result of their actions. The gender transgressions of Jenůfa and Kostelnička—actions that deviate from gender expectations in Western Europe—provide an unstable picture of nineteenth-century femininity. Yet despite nineteenth-century operatic conventions, as laid out by Catherine Clément, that call for the death of troublesome women characters, both survive the opera. I argue that Jenůfa and Kostelnička’s survival of the opera’s circumstances demonstrates gender subversion, which manifests in the expression of a modern femininity that defies nineteenth- century gender expectations. Jenůfa and Kostelnička experience their femininity through chaotic situations. Jenůfa deals with an unwed pregnancy and disfiguration at the hands of a jealous lover, while Kostelnička descends into infanticide and madness. They outlive their deviance, and their survival becomes a site for a modern feminist representation. Additionally, a nationalist atmosphere surrounded both Janáček and Preissová that valued tradition and codified “Czechness.” Nationalist ideology permeated character relationships within Janáček’s opera, Jenůfa. In my analysis, the tumultuous relationship between Kostelnička and Jenůfa alludes to the division between the oppressive Western nations and the Czech lands. Janáček draws attention to aspects of Jenůfa and Kostelnička’s motherhood, marital status, vi gender, political power, sexuality, and religion. Ultimately, Jenůfa’s message of transfiguration speaks to strengthening modern femininity against struggle and outlasting tribulation. Additionally, as an opera heroine, Jenůfa outlives her expected death called for by nineteenth- century gender expectations, giving a voice and offering hope to future operatic women protagonists. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. Challenging Convention in Leoš Janáček’s Jenůfa …………………..................1 Introduction ..........................................................................................................1 Compositional Context ........................................................................................4 Plot and Musical Content .....................................................................................7 Methodology and Theoretical Framework ..........................................................12 Scope and Parameters .........................................................................................16 Literature Review .................................................................................................19 Chapter Overview ................................................................................................27 II. Leoš Janáček and Gabriela Preissová: Influence of Biography in Fin de siècle Czech Lands .......................................................................................................30 Nationalist Context ..............................................................................................30 Context in Jenůfa .................................................................................................33 Janáček As Outsider .............................................................................................38 Preissová, Czech Modernism, and Early Feminism ............................................45 Czech Literature ...................................................................................................50 Janáček’s Musical Influence ................................................................................53 III. Perspectives on Kostelnička and Her Motherhood ..............................................63 The Kostelnička ...................................................................................................63 Characterization in Její pastorkyňa ......................................................................64 Characterization in Jenůfa ...................................................................................67 Boundaries and Challenging Operatic Expectations ............................................74 Feminine Agency and Control .............................................................................78 Symbolic Resolution and Nationhood .................................................................80 IV. Characterized by Hope: Jenůfa’s Transgressions Transfigured ........................83 Jenůfa’s Undoing .................................................................................................84 A Brief Motherhood .............................................................................................86 Domestic Expectations .........................................................................................91 New Framework of Femininity ............................................................................94 Jenůfa’s Hope and Transcendence .......................................................................96 V. Reinforcing Resilience .............................................................................................98 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................104 Vita ……. …....................................................................................................................109 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1.1 Relationships in the Buryja family .......................................................................8 Figure 2.1 Kostelnička in formal and folk-like costuming ....................................................36 Figure 2.2 Jenůfa in formal and folk-like clothing at the Metropolitan Opera ......................37 Figure 2.3 Act Three chorus celebrating Jenůfa’s marriage ..................................................43 Figure 2.4 Beginning repetitive xylophone motive ...............................................................55 Figure 2.5 Kostelnička’s dramatic and widely-leaping vocal line .........................................56 Figure 2.6 Act One dance chorus as example of Janáček’s nationalist influences ................58-61 Figure 3.1 Jenůfa and Kostelnička’s differing musical lines .................................................70-72