Syrian Arab Republic Ministry of Higher Education Tishreen University Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of English Apocalyptic Imagery and Allusions in Selected Plays of Fin De Siècle Theater A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master Degree in English Literature By: Hiba Waheb Mohammad Supervised by: Dr. Yousef Shaheen 2016 الجمهورية العربية السورية وزارة التعليم العالي جامعة تشرين كلية اﻵداب والعلوم اﻻنسانية قسم اللغة اﻻنكليزية التورية و الصور البيانية لنهاية العالم في مسرحيات مختارة من مسرح نهاية القرن رسالة أعدت لنيل شهادة الماجستير في اختصاص اﻷدبيات قسم اللغة ال نكليزية إعداد: هبة وهيب محمد إشراف: د. يوسف شاهين 6102 © Copyrights Tishreen University 2016 They weren't able to add a rose to the ending, to change the path of ancient myths: the anthem is the anthem: O hero within us don't rush! Live one more night for us to reach the end of a life adorned with incomplete beginning; another night for us to complete the journey of the bloodied dream Our history is their history. Their history is our history had it not been for the conflict over the timing of Resurrection! (Mahmood Darwish) To the anemones of our "bloodied dream" on Damascus road: Mohammad Abdullah, Majd Al-Sheikh, Mireah Zreka, Wafaa Al-Aakish and Jaafar Ali. To the mountain of lights and the everlasting sea, To my Syria, I dedicate this work. Acknowledgment In a time of war, I wrote my dissertation, when my country plunged into darkness and drowned in bloodshed. I wrote it in a time when death lurked behind the doors and hunted the best of us absurdly, in a time of unbearable pain, dreaming about new beginnings. Special thanks to my family and friends for their unlimited love and endless help. My utmost and deepest gratitude, which words alone cannot express, goes to my supervisor Dr. Yousef Shaheen for his guidance and unlimited patience and support. I would like also to thank Dr. Mohammad Jalal Osman for his support and constant encouragement. I’m much obliged to the English Department and all its doctors who have contributed to change the course of my life through literature, and enlightened my way amidst darkness. Nothing can be more disappointing than an unattainable dream, but you all made it come true. Contents Abstract of Research Introduction: Apocalyptic Dilemma and the Dissemination of Apocalyptic Thought 1-3 I. Chapter 1: Fin De Siècle and the Fin de Globe: Historical Material Context 4-10 1.1. A World without an End 4-7 1.1.1. The Enthusiastic Voices of Freedom 5 1.1.2. The Concert of Europe (1815-50) 5-6 1.1.3. Stability Shattered by Revolutions and Wars 6-7 1.2. Dying for an End and Doomsday Fantasies 7-10 II. Chapter 2: The Book of Revelation: Content and Imagery 11-31 2.1. The Book of Revelation: an Overview 12-19 2.1.1. The Seven Letters of the Son of God to the Seven Churches 13 2.1.2. The Throne of God 13-14 2.1.3. The Stage of the Seven Seals of God's Wrath 14-15 2.1.4. The Stage of the Seven Trumpets of God's Angels 15-16 2.1.5. The Woman and the Dragon and the Two Beasts of Satan 16 2.1.6. The Stage of the Seven Vials of the Winepress of God's Wrath 16-17 2.1.7. The Great Supper of God 17 2.1.8. The Messianic Millennium of Christ's Reign 17-18 2.1.9. The Last Rebellion of Satan and Armageddon 18 2.1.10. God's New Kingdom (New Jerusalem) 18-19 2.2.The Vivid Imagery of the Apocalypse of Saint John 19-31 2.2.1. Images of God's Vengeance and His Methods in Punishing the Damned in the Book of Revelation 19-23 2.2.2. The Images of the Four Apocalyptic Women of Good and Evil as portrayed in the Book of Revelation 23-26 2.2.3. The Image(s) of the Antichrist as Portrayed in the Book of Revelation 26-27 2.2.4. The Image of the Great Armageddon as Pictured in the Book of Revelation 27-30 III. Chapter 3: Oscar Wilde's Salome (1892) and Alfred Jarry's Caesar Antichrist (1895): Direct Adaptation 32-64 Introduction 32-33 3.1. Salome (1892) 34-45 3.1.1. The Day of His Wrath: Jokanaan's End-of-Time Prophesy 35-39 3.1.2. The First Crime: the Violence of the Non-violence 39-42 3.1.3. The Second Crime: Herod and Blood Memory 42-45 3.2. Caesar Antichrist (1895) 46-63 3.2.1. Apocalyptic Storyline and Textual Analysis of Caesar Antichrist 47-55 3.2.2. Apocalyptic Binary Oppositions and Jarry's Sarcasm 55-63 Conclusion 63-64 IV. Chapter 4: Henrik Ibsen's When We Dead Awaken (1899) and Anton Chekhov's The Sea Gull (1895-96): Indirect Adaptation 65-96 Introduction 65-66 4.1. When We Dead Awaken (1899) 67-82 4.1.1. The Sanatorium of the Living Dead 68-78 4.1.2. The Day of Resurrection 78-82 4.2. The Sea Gull (1895-96) 82-95 4.2.1. Ashes of Dreams in a Hell-like Life 83-91 4.2.2. The Last Night: Burning for an End Vis-a-Vis Striving for Continuity 91-95 Conclusion 95-96 V. Conclusion 97-100 Works Cited 101-108 Abstract of Research Will there be an end to humans' suffering, injustice, wars and struggles? When will it be? The answers to these questions preoccupied the late nineteenth century theologians, artists, novelists and dramatists. Inspired by the Book of Revelation, a plethora of apocalyptic predictions, dates and scenarios haunted the afflicted populace, and inhabited their mood of thought. The Apocalypse of Saint John constituted an important source of abundant ready apocalyptic images that fed the fantasies people resorted to escaping their intolerable apocalyptic reality, manifested especially in the period between 1880 and 1901. Gradually, their sense of an impending end cultivated into a literary movement, namely fin de siècle literature. In this context, this dissertation attempts to study four fin de siècle plays in light of the Book of Revelation, tracing down the influence of Revelation on fin de siècle theater through examining apocalyptic imagery and allusions in the selected plays. The research examines the apocalyptic images and allusions in four selected plays of fin de siècle theater: Salome by Oscar Wilde (1892), Caesar Antichrist by Alfred Jarry (1895), When We Dead Awaken by Henrik Ibsen (1899) and The Sea Gull by Anton Chekhov (1896). These four plays are selected to illustrate two different ways, direct and indirect, in adapting apocalyptic images, borrowed from the Book of Revelation. In Salome, Wilde employs apocalyptic images, sometimes literally and sometimes through allusions. In Caesar Antichrist, Jarry employs them in his apocalyptic plot, also inspired by Revelation, to create a unique anti-apocalyptic world of humans. The research claims that through this process, Wilde and Jarry do not emphasize the dominant eschatological ideology of the end of time. On the contrary, they attempt to destroy the illusions and apocalyptic scenarios of the end of the world of their contemporary people and offer their readers and audience new conceptualization of the Apocalypse and ideation of the future. Similarly, the research also examines the apocalyptic images and allusions in Ibsen's When We Dead Awaken which do not appear clearly, but imbue the characters and events with apocalyptic qualities, contributing to the making of the overall meaning of the play. Likewise, in Treplyov's symbolic play within a play in Chekhov's The Sea Gull the apocalyptic imagery is also studied focusing on the great influence of the Apocalypse on Treplyov's mind whose eschatological imagination leads him to his final destruction and death. Doing so, Chekhov offers his readers and audience a solution to survive any apocalyptic situation they may face. The research concludes that like Wilde and Jarry, Ibsen and Chekhov do not emphasize and condone the apocalyptic and nihilistic views that echo the widespread fears of the end-of-time by the nineteenth century people, but rather they, in their own distinctive ways, warn against the dangerous consequences of the ideology of the end of the world. Key Words: Fin de siècle, Apocalypse, Revelation, Eschatology, Prophecy, End of the world, End of time. ملخص البحث هل من نهاية للمعاناة اﻹنسانية و الظلم و الحروب و الصراعات؟ متى موعد النهاية؟ اﻹجابة على هذه اﻷسئلة شغلت علماء الدين و الفنانين و الروائيين و المسرحيين في نهاية القرن التاسع عشر، فكثير من تنبوءات و سيناريوهات نهاية العالم و مواعيدها- المستوحاة من سفر الرؤيا للقديس يوحنا )آخر سفر في اﻹنجيل بعهديه القديم و الجديد(- طاردت المجتمعات التي عانت الويﻻت آنذاك و عششت في طريقة تفكيرهم، فقد شكل سفر الرؤيا للقديس يوحنا مصد ا ر هاما مشبعا بصور نهاية العالم الجاهزة التي غذت ما لجأ إليه الناس من أساطير نهاية الزمان هربا من واقعهم المرير. ظهرت بدع نهاية العالم بشكل خاص في الفترة الزمنية الممتدة بين العامين 0881 و 0010، و بشكل تدريجي تبلور إحساس الناس بحتمية النهاية ليصبح حركة أدبية أطلق عليها "أدب نهاية القرن." في هذا السياق تحاول اﻷطروحة دراسة تأثير سفر الرؤيا للقديس يوحنا على "مسرح نهاية القرن" عبر دراسة و تعقب صور نهاية العالم و دﻻﻻتها المستوحاة من هذا السفر في النصوص المسرحية المختارة وهي: مسرحية "سالومي" للكاتب أوسكار وايلد )0801( و مسرحية "القيصر المسيح المعاكس" للكاتب ألفرد جاري )0801( و مسرحية "عندما نستيقظ نحن اﻷموات" للكاتب هنرك إبسن )0800( و مسرحية "النورس" للكاتب أنطون تشيخوف )0801(.