Women and Marriage in Corneille's Theater
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Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty Research Modern Languages and Literatures Department 2002 Women and Marriage in Corneille's Theater Nina Ekstein Trinity University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/mll_faculty Part of the Modern Languages Commons Repository Citation Ekstein, N. (2002). Women and marriage in Corneille's theater. In R. G. Hodgson (Ed.), La femme au XVIIe siècle: Actes du colloque de Vancouver, University of British Columbia, 5-7 Octobre 2000 (pp. 391-405). Narr. This Contribution to Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Modern Languages and Literatures Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Women and Marriage in Corneille's Theater Nina Ekstein (Trinity University) Marriage is ubiquitous in Corneille's theater: there is not a single one of his plays in which marriage is not an issue, in which at least one union is not proposed. I In part this state of affairs is due to the fact that the vast majority of Corneille's characters are marriageable. While marriageability is hardly unusual among the young, Corneille inevitably takes his char acters at precisely the dramatic moment when the choice of life partner is to be made. For Corneille, that moment is not even limited to the young; not infrequently older characters are in need of a spouse as well. One could argue that marriage is simply a commonplace of seventeenth century theater.2 Indeed, the central role of marriage in the perpetuation of society at all levels makes it a rich choice.3 And while there is nothing inherently theatrical about marriage, per se, it is an ideal vehicle for inte grating the sentimental and the political, two central concerns in Corneille's work. On the other hand, there is something quite unusual about the omnipresence of marriageability and marriage plans in Corneille's theater. First, Corneille rarely limits himself to a single couple, and frequently moves beyond even a triangle to multiple possible couplings and even multiple marriages. Second, marriage is a preoccupation traditionally asso- I Rathe's important work on the subject, La Reine se marie, while limited in scope to ten plays, does touch upon the widespread nature of maniage in Corneille: "Le projet de mariage, topos qui, repris avec des nuances toujours nouvelles, revele la richesse d'invention de !'auteur et la flexibilite de son art" (p. 9). 2 Couton views maniage as merely a means of tying up all loose ends: "Une piece doit se terrniner sans qu'il reste d'incertitude sur le sort d'aucun personnage et comme normalement elle comporte au moins un interet d'amour, on marie !es amants qui ont pu survivre: Cinna avec Emilie et un jour le Cid avec Chimene. Mais l'interet de la piece n'est pas ll'I. Le mariage sanctionne un retour l'l l'ordre normal des choses, apres !'incur sion dans une vie passionnee, herolque et dangereuse. On dirait volontiers qu'il est un post scriptum l'l l'usage des ames sensibles" (La Vieillesse de Corneille, p. 243). 3 In his discussion of maniage in the Middle Ages, Georges Duby says: "C'est par !'institution matrimoniale, par les regles qui president aux alliances, par la maniere dont sont appliquees ces regles que les societes humaines, celles mSmes qui se veulent les plus libres et qui se donnent !'illusion de 1'€tre, gouvement leur avenir, tentent de se perpetuer dans le mainti en de leurs structures, en fonction d' un systeme symbolique de !'image que ces societes font de leur propre perfection" (p. 23). Biblio 17, 138 (2002) 392 Nina Ekstein Women and Marriage in Corneille's Theater 393 ciated with comedy, but marriage plans are as common in Corneille's trag had a marked predeliction. Don Sanche presents six marriageable char edies as in his comedies. And while comedies customarily end with an acters onstage, four male suitors and two queens in need of husbands. impending marriage, here a number of tragedies do as well (e.g. Cinna, Furthermore, Count Lope and Count Manrique each have a marriageable Attila, Heraclius). Furthermore, multiplicity is by its very naturecomic and sister offstage who will be available to wed the loser of their competition yet multiple couplings are by no means limited to comedy. Thus marriage for Isabelle's hand. The possible combinations are numerous. Corneille was is surprising in Corneille's theater because of its ubiquity, its multiplicity, clearly proud of the marriage complications in Othon, where we find two and because it makes nodistinction between comedy and tragedy. triangles involving a total of four characters as well as an absent but What does this have to do with women? In the simplest terms, marriage powerful suitor, Pison. In his Preface the author says: "on n'a point encore inevitably entails women. While political concerns often exclude women to vu de piece oii il se propose tant de mariages pour n 'en conclure aucun" a greater or lesser degree, the act of marriage provides absolute parity on a (462).6 In Pulcherie we again find six marriageable characters. Once Pul purely mathematical level, requiring as it does both a man and a woman. cherie has decided not to marry the man she loves for political reasons, Wo~en characters, often mere names in the sources upon which Corneille other mates must be found for them both, as well as for the remaining has drawn, are developed (and even created) for the role of possible bride. characters. The high level of multiplicity may be seen as undermining Cor A perfect example is Othon where Camille and Plautine take their existence neille's serious preoccupations in this comedie heroi'que. Rathe notes: "Ces largely from Corneille's imagination but are important to the play's action multiples noces, improvisees tant bien que mal et accompagnees d'un clin - the succession to the imperial throne.4 Marriage provides a bridge d'reil complice a l'adresse du public, offrent un denouement digne de la between the public and the private, thus working to bring women into the meilleure tradition comique classique" ("Distribution" 99). In Attila ques heart of the dramatic action. tions of class and power are central to the marital possibilities. The power Dealing with a corpus of thirty-two plays, it is logical to begin by pro ful Attila's own choice of a wife takes precedence over the preferences of viding an overview of the figures concerning marriage and the varieties of the two weak kings and Attila's two supposed fiancees, four characters combinations that are to be found. First, Corneille's plays offer a number of who have already formed two satisfied potential couples before the play marriageable individuals ranging from two to seven per play, with IA Mort begins. In this play we even find marriageable confidants, rare for Cor de Pompee and <:Edipe at the lower extreme, and IA Suivante and Attila at neille: Attila's captain of the guards and Honorie's dame d'honneur seek to the higher.s It is thus rare to find one pair of matched lovers who have but marry each other. The terrifying and all-powerful Attila attacks the sacro to overcome obstacles in order to marry. Sometimes the configuration of sanct separation of classes by threatening to give Honorie and Ildione in marriageable characters is a simple triangle (e.g. Nicomede), or a triangle marriage to any man, regardless of his class, who will kill Valamir and complicated by a fourth character (e.g. IA Toison d'or), but configurations Ardaric for him. are oftenfar more complex. In general terms we find the largest number of Attila is a perfect example of the rather common situation of an odd marriageable characters in both the early part of Corneille's career (domi number of marriageable individuals (found in 15 of the plays). It is a fore nated by a series of comedies) and in the last part (the last six plays average gone conclusion in such cases that someone will be left out when marriages five and a half marriageable characters per play). The tetralogy is decidedly are finalized. In this tragedy, three couples have already been tentatively not representative of the broad sweep of Corneille's theater in this respect. formed before the play begins. Attila is quite literally the odd man out, and A few examples will convey the level of complexity for which Corneille indeed will be eliminated by the happy coincidence of a massive hemor rhage. Lyons notes the resemblance between this play and Corneille's early comedies, such as Melite, in which there are imbalances in the number of 4 Cinna, Dirce in CEdipe, Eryxe in Sophonisbe, Justine and Others include Emilie in available mates (155), but the same situation occurs as well in laterplays Irene in Pulcherie. For a full discussion of this phenomenon see Boorsch ("L'In vention"). s There are three marriageable characters in Horace, Cinna, Polyeucte, La Suite du 6 Couton describes the degree of complication in Othon eloquently: "Corneille dis Menteur, Rodogune, AndromUe, and Nicomede; four in La Galerie du palais, Medee, posait de deux dames a marier, la niece de l'empereur et la fille d'un ministre, de trois Le Cid, Le Menteur, Theodore, Hiraclius, La Conquete de la Toison d'or, Sophonisbe, pretendants; d'un autre candidat a I'empire, Pison; de la possibilite d'accorder OU de and Tire er Berenice; five in Milite, Clitandre, Pertharite, Sertorius, Othon, and refuser a chaque couple la couronne imperiale; de la faculte de prevoir, des avant la Surena; six in La Veuve, La Place royale, L'lllusion comique, Don Sanche d'Aragon, conclusion d'un mariage, le divorce qui libererait les conjoints pour de nouvelles Agisilas, and Pulchirie.