The Figure of Pierrot in Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley
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Morphing moonlight: Gender, masks and carnival mayhem The figure of Pierrot in Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley By ALLISON DOROTHY KREUITER submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of: DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY in the Faculty of Humanities Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE Bloemfontein Supervisor: PROF. N. MORGAN STATEMENT Student number: 2003087752 I, Allyson Dorothy Kreuiter, declare that the thesis submitted by me for the Doctor of Literature and Philsophy degree at the University of the Free State, is my own independent work and has not previously been submitted to any other university or faculty. I also declare that all sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. I, hereby, cede copyright of the thesis in favour of the university. SIGNATURE DATE (Ms. A. Kreuiter) i SUMMARY Pierrot’s snowy garments with their touch of black, the tragic, frozen mien of the mask above the baggy, over-large habit became a prevailing symbol of artistic expression during the fin de siècle . The silent white-masked figure became the disguise for the artist in assailing and exposing the hypocrisy, complacency and posturing that the artist saw as the masquerade of society. Beneath the clown’s guise the artist could imaginatively act out all the forbidden and darker secrets concealed beneath the inscribed societal conventions of humankind. Pierrot could murder, commit incest, get riotously drunk, rape, be a bigamist, commit suicide, be morbidly depressed, steal, be gluttonous, rage, hate, be excessively carnal or ascetic, a hermaphrodite or androgyne or entirely genderless in his transgression, flouting all and every taboo. Using the mask of the clown as a distancing technique, the artist was vicariously experiencing all that was contrary to the societal mores and laws against which he or she was in rebellion. In this the blending of gender became of paramount importance. The androgyne and the hermaphrodite were, like Pierrot, leading images in the arts of the fin de siècle . They blurred the reality of the division of gender and called into question all the attributes that were apportioned to what was male and what female. Pierrot was seen as partaking of this gender indecision because the sexuality that lay behind the loose white garments was entirely uncertain, as were the lurking carnal ii appetites of the silvery, moonlit clown. Gender was as ghostly and as paradoxical as the clown’s own nature. Pierrot’s origins in the Commedia dell’arte and his original role as a buffoon had altered by the late-nineteenth century. He had come to represent a silent malevolence and shadowy evil which was subtly contained within the lineaments of his lunar-coloured garments. The pantomime role had involved the challenging and transgressing of boundaries and the world of the demonic was invariably present, though it never triumphed; rather, laughter and love prevailed with repeated beatings and roistering. With the Decadent movement of the fin de siècle the demonic became the prevailing tone, filled with a sardonic bitterness and searing, although hidden pain. Pierrot’s silence and pallor were seen as the ultimate attributes with which to convey the trangressive and mordant nature of the liminal artistic life. The clown’s achromatic colour and his muteness were aspects that resembled the unsullied emptiness of page and canvas, and his mutable, quicksilver nature was as indeterminate and fluid as any interpretation or subjective artistic representation. The artist could thus mould the figure to represent what was wished and in so doing reveal how slippery and subjective any representation is. In the chapters on Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley this thesis explores the carnivalesque and transgressive attributes of the wan clown as a central concern in the work of these artists. Kristevan and Bakhtinian theory on the carnivalesque and the relation of language to transgression will structure and guide the tenets and arguments of the thesis. The mutability and fluid iii metamorphosis from one state to another, disregarding boundaries, is what Pierrot will be seen to do in the works of the chosen artists. Indeterminate gender and lunatic emotions will be shown as essential to the shadowy and insubstantial nature that allows the clown to ignore the extant social morals, laws and boundaries. Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley could perhaps be regarded as marginal artists of the late nineteenth century, but considerations of marginality and greatness are based on subjective choice. These artists were a part of the fabric of their time and are strands that braid together the thematic concerns and representations of the fin de siècle , and this gives to their work and importance, however liminal that might be. Keywords: Pierrot, madness, carnivalesque, hermaphrodite, androgyne, Giraud, Dowson, Ensor, Beardsley, semiotic, symbolic, transgression, masks, deadly sins. iv OPSOMMING Opsomming In die fin de siècle -jare het Pierrot se sneeuwit gewaad met sy titseltjies swart en die tragiese, beweginglose maskergesig bo die sakkerige, oorgrootte kledingstuk een van die kunstenaars se belangrikste uitdrukkingsimbole geword. Die swygsame figuur met sy wit masker het as vermomming gedien vir kunstenaars wat die skynheiligheid, leuens, selfvoldaanheid en verheerliking wat as ‘n maskerade van die samelewing beskou is, beveg en blootgelê het. Onder die harlekynsmasker kon die kunstenaar op verbeeldingryke wyse al die donker, verbode geheime uitspeel wat versteek lê onder die mensdom se ingeskrewe gemeenskapskonvensies. Pierrot kon moord, selfmoord en bloedskande pleeg; stormdronk word; verkrag; bigamie pleeg, intens depressief, oormatig seksueel of asketies of vraatsig wees; woedebuie kry; haat, steel; hermafrodieties, androgeen of selfs heeltemal geslagloos in sy vergrype wees en elke taboe verontagsaam. Deur die harlekynsmasker as distansiëringstegniek te gebruik, kon die kunstenaar asof deur iemand anders se oë alles ervaar wat strydig was met daardie sedes en wette van die gemeenskap waarteen hy in opstand was. Geslagsvermenging het uiters belangrik geword. Soos Pierrot, was die androgeen en die hermafrodiet leidende figure in fin de siècle-kuns. Hulle het die realiteit van geslagsonderskeid laat vervaag en al die sogenaamde manlike of vroulike eienskappe bevraagteken. Pierrot is beskou as ’n meedoener aan hierdie vae v geslagtelikheid omdat die seksualiteit agter die los, wit gewaad en die verborge aptyte van die silweragtige, maanverligte harlekyn geheel en al onseker was. Geslag was net so spookagtig en paradoksaal as die harlekyn se eie aard. Teen die laat negentiende eeu het Pierrot se oorsprong in die Commedia dell’arte en sy oorspronklike rol as nar verander. Hy het nou ’n stille kwaadwilligheid en skaduagtige boosheid verteenwoordig wat subtiel gesuggereer is deur die lyne van sy maangekleurde gewaad. Sy pantomime- rol het deels behels dat grense bevraagteken en oorskry word. Die demoniese wêreld was altyd teenwoordig, hoewel dit nooit die oorhand gekry het nie. Liefde en humor het geseëvier, terwyl daar herhaaldelik slae uitgedeel en gefuif is. Met die Dekadente beweging van die fin de siècle het die demoniese die oorheersende toon geword, vòl sardoniese bitterheid en brandende, fel (hoewel verborge) pyn. Pierrot se stilswye en sy bleekheid is beskou as fundamentele eienskappe om die oortredende, bitsige aard van die liminale kunslewe oor te dra. Die harlekyn se achromatiese kleur en sy stomheid was aspekte wat ooreengestem het met die onbevlekte leegheid van bladsy en doek; sy onbestendige, kwiksilwer-natuur was net so onbepaalbaar en vloeibaar as enige interpretasie of subjektiewe kunsvoorstelling. Só kon die kunstenaar die figuur omvorm om dit voor te stel wat hy verlang het en sodoende onthul hoe ontwykend en subjektief enige voorstelling is. In die Giraud-, Ensor-, Dowson- en Beardsley-hoofstukke van hierdie proefskrif word die karnavaleske en oortredende eienskappe van die bleek vi harlekyn as ’n sentrale kwessie in die werk van hierdie kunstenaars ondersoek. Kristeva en Bakhtin se teorieë oor die karnavaleske en die verhouding tussen taal en oortreding lei en struktureer die beginsels en die argumente van die proefskrif. In die werk van die gekose kunstenaars word Pierrot uitgebeeld in ’n staat van veranderlikheid en vloeibare metamorfose, sonder dat grense in ag geneem word. Daar word aangetoon dat onbepaalde geslag en waansinnige emosies ’n essensiële deel uitmaak van die skaduagtige, onwesenlike aard wat die harlekyn toelaat om bestaande sosiale waardes, wette en grense te ignoreer. Giraud, Ensor, Dowson en Beardsley mag miskien as minder belangrike kunstenaars van die laat negentiende eeu beskou word, maar oorwegings van marginalisasie en grootsheid is gebaseer op subjektiewe keuses. Hierdie kunstenaars was deel van die weefstof van hul tyd en kan as sodanig beskou word as drade wat die tematiese kwessies en fin de siècle-uitbeeldings saamvleg. Hoe liminaal ookal, maak dit hulle werk van belang. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to the following: My supervisor Professor Naomi Morgan without whose enthusiasm, constant support and inspiration this thesis would never have been accomplished. Merci mille fois. Professor Dirk van den Berg and Professor Margaret Raftery, whose advice and knowledge were constantly made available to me. The Ernest Oppenheimer Trust,