Social Structures in Mo

$22.50 SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN MOLIERE'S THEATER By James F. Gaines In an age obsessed with rank and preoccupied with social position, in which me n were sed ulous in their obedience to the imperious de mands of a rigid etiquette and elaborate ceremonials, and in which ambitious and worldly me n saw correct behavior as the means, and advancement and preference as the goal, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin assumed the role of jocular critic of behavioral abuse. James E Gaines has undertaken a sociocritical study that attempts to understand how the liter ary forms of Molieres plays relate to the social forms of the early modern period. He contends that the comedies represent an imaginary net work of social relationships remarkably homolo gous to the world view of the literate French public during the reign of Louis Xiy and that it is possible both to identify the place in society of characters in Moliere's plays through reference to an index of social indicators and to ascertain whether or not the patterns of behavior of those individuals are consistent with the norms gov erning the classes to which they belong—norms that Gaines has been able to reconstruct on the basis of seventeenth-century social theory and from historical evidence. The audience's early identification of a dra matic character's status in society from clues planted by the dramatist was of crucial impor tance to the success of Molieres comedies; for his ability to deal effectively with a very wide range of social subjects depended on a rapid exposition of just what places his characters oc cupied in the intricate and complex network of social relationships. Seven of the most salient social indicators were the money a character possessed, the offices he held, the clothing he wore, the servants he employed, the houses and lands he owned, the mode of transportation he employed, and the language he spoke. Such ex ternals as these were commonly regarded as the (Continued on backflap) SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN MOLIERE'S THEATER OEWRES MOLIEKE. T<f.-ME I SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN MOLIERE'S THEATER BY JAMES F. GAINES OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY PRESS COLUMBUS Portions of chapter four, under the title "Usurpation, Dominance, and Social Closure in L'Ecole des femmes" were published originally in Papers on French Seventeenth Cen tury Literature, vol. 9, no. 17 (1982), pp. 607-26. Reprinted by permission. Portions of chapter five, under the title "Menage versus Salon in Les Femmes savantes" appeared originally in L'Esprit Createur, vol. 21, no. 3 (1981), pp. 51-59. Reprinted by permission. Copyright © 1984 by the Ohio State University Press All Rights Reserved. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Gaines, James F. Social structures in Moliere's theater. Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Moliere, 1622-1673 —Political and social views. 2. Social history in literature. 3. Literature and society —France. 4. France —Social life and customs—17th-18th centu ries. I. Title. II. Title: Moliere's theater. PQ1864.P6G34 1984 842'4 83-27342 ISBN 0-8142-0358-2 CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction 3 Chapter One: Social Indicators in Seventeenth-Century France 19 Chapter Two: Fundamental Social Structures in Moliere's Theater 49 Chapter Three: Fxemplary Nobility and Unworthiness 87 Chapter Four: Social Closure and Usurpation 135 Chapter Five: Bourgeois Reciprocity and Imbalance 169 Chapter Six: Socioeconomic Integrity and Parasitism .... 197 Conclusion: Moliere and Ideology 233 Selected Bibliography 251 Index 273 ILLUSTRATIONS Frontispiece: Moliere as valet and ridiculous marquis. Originally served as frontispiece to volume one of the 1666 Paris edition of Moliere's Oeuvres. Reproduced by permission of the Houghton Library, Harvard University. Arnolphe and Agnes in bourgeois attire. Page 18. Exotic costuming in the Italian plays: Le Sicilien. Page 48. George Dandin dressed as a gaudy upstart. Page 134. The end of the seduction scene in Tartuffe. Page 196. Llmpromptu de Versailles. Page 232. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study, which grew out of m y doctoral dissertation on "Social Structures in Moliere's Major Plays," presented at the University of Pennsylvania, owes its primary inspiration to my adviser and mentor, Jean V. Alter, whose pioneering work on social criticism of early modern literature has always been an example worthy of emulation. I also owe special thanks to Gerald Prince and Joan Dejean, wh o have provided ongoing advice and encouragement, and to Ralph Albanese, Jr., and Harold Knutson, whose generous and thoughtful comments helped shape the final manuscript. A stipend from the National Endowmen t for the Humanities allowed m e to complete important research work that contrib uted to this book, and a research grant from Southeastern Loui siana University provided help in preparing the manuscript. Amon g the institutions that gave m e access to their collections and assistance with m y work, I would like to thank the British Library, the Bibliotheque Nationale, the Bibliotheque de 1'Ar senal, the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve, and the libraries of Harvard University, Louisiana State University, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Southeastern Louisi ana University, Williams College, and Yale University. I a m grateful to Claudia Duczer, Bobbie Threeton, and Glenda Wellington for their careful preparation of the type script. Nancy K. Hymel, m y research assistant, also provided invaluable assistance. Portions of chapters four and five appeared originally in Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature and L'Esprit Createur under the titles "Usurpation, Dominance, and Social Closure in L'Ecole des femmes" and "Menage versus Salon in X ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Les Femmes savantes." These passages are included here with the kind permission of the journals. Above all, I owe thanks to my wife, Josephine Roberts, with out whose steadfast love, support, loyalty, and collaboration this project could never have been brought to fruition. SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN MOLIERE'S THEATER INTRODUCTION The purpose of this book is to provide, by means of a sociocriti cal study, a deeper insight into the theatrical works of Jean- Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673), better know n by his stage name Moliere, the great Parisian dramatist wh o is credited with per fecting the comedy of manners and character. Tw o decades ago such an undertaking might have called for a lengthy apologia justifying the sociological branch of literary criticism and outlin ing its benefits, but during that span of time, there has been such an explosion of interest in this area that neither its legiti macy nor its utility can be seriously questioned any longer. Refinement of critical techniques has led to a profusion of research methods, from the empirical and quantitative work of Roger Escarpit and his associates at the University of Bordeaux to the ideological approach practiced at the University of Bir mingham. During this period of critical proliferation, there has been much controversy, particularly in the wake of Lucien Gold mann's genetic structuralism, over how literary forms relate to the social forms of the early modern period and which structures best lend themselves to literary analysis. A work of such modest proportions as this cannot pretend to solve all these thorny questions or to offer anything more than a close study of one outstanding author in the context of his lifetime. M y method involves two basic steps: first, an identification of the status levels of the characters through reference to an index of social indicators, and, second, a comparison of their behavior patterns with the norms of the groups to which they belong. These 4 SOCIAL STRUCTURES IN MOLIERE'S THEATER norms are reconstructed as nearly as possible on the basis of historical evidence and seventeenth-century social theory. The discussion of Moliere's major plays is then organized around four polar structures that coincide with important social con cerns of Louis XIV's subjects: exemplary nobility and unworthi ness, social closure and usurpation, bourgeois reciprocity and imbalance, and finally, socioeconomic integrity and parasitism. The decision to write on Moliere, who m legions of critics through the ages have treated in so many ways, comes not at all from disrespect for previous scholarship but rather from high personal admiration and from a feeling that he is great enough to deserve the tribute of each generation. H e is, after all, an ideal subject for sociocriticism, having traveled the far-flung provinces as actor, director, and writer before returning to his native Paris. Along the way he performed for an audience of unusual diversity and learned to cultivate an acute sensitivity to huma n relationships. As his Parisian career developed, he was able to capture the imagination of the cosmopolitan public in the capital by enriching the stock characters of traditional farce and intrigue comedy with a far more penetrating perspective on social behavior. Before proceeding to the inventory of social indicators, it ma y be useful to review a few important historical definitions and previous critical attitudes. Moliere lived under the ancien regime, that unbroken line of French monarchical rule that stretched from the eighth century to the Revolution of 1789; furthermore, his life-span fell in the subdivision usually referred to nowadays as the early modern age, since it marked a transi tion from the medieval culture, which with its feudal-manorial system had largely disappeared by the late fifteenth century, to the subsequent phase of industrial culture. The rather complex social hierarchy that prevailed in France during this time is termed by historians the societe d'etats, or society of estates. INTRODUCTION 5 Today, thanks to the efforts of such scholars as Roland Mous nier, Pierre Goubert, Robert Mandrou, and Pierre Deyon, critics once again have at their disposal a reliable description of the environment in which Moliere composed his masterpieces.1 The societe d'etats supplanted the medieval system of the societe d'ordres, which had divided the population into the three orders of the clergy, the nobility, and the commo n people, or roturiers.

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