Modernist Meanings in the European Renovation of Commedia
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
MODERNIST MEANINGS IN THE EUROPEAN RENOVATION OF COMMEDIA DELL’ARTE DRAMA Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Anita Jean Saha, B.A., M.A. Graduate Program in Spanish and Portuguese The Ohio State University 2014 Dissertation Committee: Eugenia Romero, Advisor Stephen Summerhill, Co-advisor Rebecca Haidt Copyright by Anita Jean Saha 2014 Abstract This dissertation explores the rediscovery of commedia dell’arte theatre in Europe during the Modernist era (approximately 1890-1930) by dramatists and theatre directors, which led to its usage as a tool for individual experimentation and general escape from the anxieties associated with the changing political environment. The appropriation of commedia dell’arte theatre was, for many theatre practitioners, the perfect structure with which to counteract the dominant realist aesthetic that was prevalent throughout Europe at the time. Although these Modernist commedia-based plays and productions were generally created as art-for-art’s sake, this is not the case everywhere, as evidenced by some of the themes, both overt and masked, in the works of a few Spanish dramatists. Using literary history as the theoretical framework, this dissertation contends that Modernist commedia-based dramas serve as an appropriate point of departure for comprehending literary reactions to, and reproductions of, the revolutions in technology, politics, and social practices that contributed to the modern order. While representations of cynical clowns, such as Harlequin, were mostly apolitical, the pessimism that dominates the farces, the pantomimes and the puppet plays can be viewed in response to the radically changing social and political environment. The primary focus of this study is to analyze, in the broader literary and historical context, what place Spanish commedia-influenced dramas have in the transnational scope of the European Modernist movment. Narrowing the focus of this investigation to those ii elements that are salient in the Spanish commedia plays, I investigate Harlequin’s status as a poet in five of these dramas, a role that contrasts significantly with his traditional character, a buffoon. In plays by Jacinto Benavente, Gregorio Martínez Sierra and Ramón del Valle-Inclán, Harlequin’s poetic and psychological depth is observed both through the influence of French Symbolist poetry and as a steward of the changing Modernist Zeitgeist. It is Harlequin’s ability to act independently of his commedia stock characters that insures his immortality, in that his antics are just as much relevant to audiences during the early twentieth century as they have been since he first surfaced in the sixteenth century. iii Dedication This document is dedicated to my teachers. iv Acknowledgments I am forever grateful for the patience, encouragement and insights granted me by my advisor, Stephen Summerhill. His guidance allowed me to enjoy this process, something that I had long-feared as a solitary and daunting task. I feel privileged to have had such a dedicated partner in this endeavor, and I greatly value the time and mentorship that he has gifted me. I also would like to thank my committee members, Eugenia Romero and Rebecca Haidt, whose knowledge and enthusiasm for my project have been much appreciated. I wish to acknowledge the Department of Spanish and Portuguese at the Ohio State University for giving me the opportunity to study under many gifted scholars. Additionally, the experience that I gained teaching at the university level has been both formative and rewarding, and I thank the department for preparing me well as an instructor. I would also like to thank all of the faculty and staff members who guided and aided me throughout this process; their efforts have been significant and I hold in great esteem their dedication to learning and efficiency. The quest for a good dissertation topic is one of the most challenging tasks set before a doctoral candidate. Therefore this step merits a mention of thanks as the idea for my thesis developed during a lecture in 2003 given by the literary critic, writer and director of the Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático (RESAD), Ricardo Doménech. v In our conversation following his lecture, Professor Doménech directed me to additional primary sources and encouraged me to study at the RESAD, to further my interest in dramatic literature. I benefitted greatly from the opportunities he afforded me while studying in Madrid, and I will always remember his kindness. Indispensable to this process has been the love and support of my family members, and I wish to thank my immediate and extended family: the Sahas, Ernestis, Vucetics and the Dunnes. My husband, Srdjan, and our bright-eyed daughter, Marina, have been so patient during this process, and I look forward to enjoying our time together as a family post-dissertation. Last but not least, my parents, my strongest role models and greatest supporters, deserve my most heartfelt praise. Their steadfast dedication to my well-being and education, and their willingness to assist me in whatever task I set before myself has kept me in the best of company during my lifetime. My father’s generosity and sense of humor, and my mother’s determination and expert care, now being lavished upon the next generation, continue to amaze me, and any achievement of my own is truly theirs. vi Vita 1997 ..............................................................Crystal Lake Central High school 2002 ..............................................................B.A. Spanish, Illinois Wesleyan University 2003 ...............................................................M.A. Spanish, Middlebury College 2005—2010 ..................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Spanish and Portuguese, the Ohio State University Publications “Los pretendientes de la mujer: la desigualdad en los personajes masculinos de A Madrid me vuelvo por Bretón de los Herreros.” Deseo, poder y política en al cultura hispánica. Valladolid 2007, Ed. R. de la Fuente Ballesteros y J. Pérez-Magallón. Valladolid: Universitas Castellae, 2007. Field of Study Major Field: Spanish and Portuguese Minor Field: Theatre vii Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ...................................................................................................................v Vita............................................................................................................................................. vii Chapter 1: Introduction .........................................................................................................1 Chapter 2: Here we are again! .........................................................................................42 Chapter 3: "Other" Modernist Manifestations: Commedia dell’Arte in Spain 108 Chapter 4: Harlequin, Poet ............................................................................................. 143 Final Conclusions ............................................................................................................... 178 Bibliography........................................................................................................................ 187 viii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 A) Brief overview Harlequin… happily takes his place in scores, in hundreds, of dramatic pieces…Harlequin is a character infinitely repeated, theatrically pervasive. –Allardyce Nicoll However does he do it, this Harlequin, this clown? How does a single theatrical character become “pervasive” and “infinitely repeated”? Do other great figures of the stage share this universality? Can we say that Hamlet is instantly recognized by appearance alone; that he encounters new adventures and attributes throughout the centuries as myriads of authors worldwide sketch more life into him? Does King Oedipus ever free himself of his tragic shackles to grace foreign stages in countless scenarios for his capacity as a richly symbolic figure? Perhaps it’s not admissible to compare Harlequin to these princes and kings of drama, as he was not born on the page rather than on a lively stage, at the whim of those who improvised and molded his role many centuries ago. Akin to Oedipus’ Greek roots, Harlequin, like all European mimes and clowns, originates from the Young Satyr of the Old Greek Comedy, which was later adopted by the Romans (Niklaus, 18). However it is not until the year 1601, curiously enough the same year that Shakespeare’s Hamlet is composed, that the earliest illustration of 1 Harlequin is published in Tristano Martinelli’s Les Compositions de Rhétorique de M. Don Arlequin. Although there are endless conjectures as to the origins of this Italian Renaissance figure, the illustration by Martinelli is a good starting point for evaluating Harlequin, even though he was established and active during the better part of the 16th century. Truth be told, much can be explained through appearance alone, and this earliest Harlequin was covered from head to toe in all the trappings of a comic archetype. Tristano Martinelli, a celebrated actor who reached fame through his portrayal of Harlequin, illustrates himself in this, his principal role. The ink drawing makes certain the early 17th century Harlequin costume, which consists of a suit