From Motherhood and Marriage to Symbolist Theater and Revolutionary Politics: French and Spanish Women’s Theatre, 1890’s to 1930’s By Eugenia Charoni A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures Of the College of Arts and Sciences Committee Chair: Dr. Pérez-Simón, Ph.D. University of Cincinnati May 3rd 2013. © Copyright by Eugenia Charoni, 2013 From Motherhood and Marriage to Symbolist Theater and Revolutionary Politics: French and Spanish Women’s Theatre, 1890’s to 1930’s Eugenia Charoni Doctor of Philosophy Department of Romance Languages and Literatures University of Cincinnati Abstract The objective of this dissertation is to discuss the evolution of French and Spanish women’s theater from the 1890’s through the 1930’s and examine the impact of social, political and ideological context on female characters’ actions, attitudes and choices. In a corpus of ten plays French and Spanish female playwrights introduce a New Woman, whose coexistence with the Traditional Woman escalates strong conflicts between them and society. Semiotics of drama and the feminist theories of Virginia Woolf, Simone de Beauvoir and Hélène Cixous contributed to the study of the plays and allowed the tracing of connections and analogies between the stylistic, ideological and thematic approaches of French and Spanish playwrights. Motherhood, marriage, employment, ethical values and gender differentiation compose the core of female characters’ lives in the analyzed plays and at times create insurmountable challenges. By examining these challenges within the social, political and ideological context and discussing how female playwrights depict them on stage along with their affiliation in various ideological or literary movements (feminism, symbolism, syndicalism, Theater of Ideas, Malthusianism, Freethinkers, communism), I conclude that French and Spanish women’s theater from 1890’s to 1930’s had two main characteristics. First it advocated the emergence of the New 2 Woman. Second it was transformed from pure entertainment to an aesthetic, educative and informative experience, introduced new dynamics, invited the audience to reflect upon the presented themes related to women’s issues and suggested possible solutions that would or could later be transferred to real life, supporting female emancipation and evolution. 3 4 Acknowledgements This dissertation would have not been possible without the support and unconditional love of my husband Kevin Austin. It is thanks to his daily encouragement, superb patience and deep faith on me that I was able to complete this project. I want to thank him for everything he has done to and express my eternal gratitude for being part of my life. Of course I would have not been here if my parents, Dionydios and Panagiota Charoni, had not supported me in all the ways they could, to pursue advanced studies at he University of Athens, Greece. Their faith and vision enabled me with strength and determination to go beyond my limits. I would like to express my gratitude to the advisor of my doctoral committee, Dr. Andrés Pérez-Simón for his invaluable guidance, patience and time reading my work and listening to my concerns. I could not but feeling deeply grateful and lucky for his constant feedback that made this work better. Many thanks to the other members of my committee, Dr. María-Paz Moreno and Dr. Thérèse Migraine-George for their thoughtful suggestions, comments and overall direction. My last words are for my children, Olivia Juliette and Alexander William Austin. They were born during my doctoral studies period. More than the normal fatigue of motherhood, their presence in my life brought joy, faith and belief. Their future is reflected on my current success and this is what kept me, keeps me and will keep me motivated in pursuing other endeavors in my personal and professional life. 5 Table of contents Introduction 8 Chapter I: Late 19th century to 1930’s in context 33 1.1. Women in French and Spanish society 34 1.2. French and Spanish women’s theater 62 Chapter II: Women on stage: stylistic, thematic and ideological evolution 77 2.1.The symbolist theater of Rachilde and feminist theater of María de la O. 78 Lejárraga 2.1.1 Rachilde’s L’araigné de cristal 2.1.2 María de la O.Lejárraga’s Mamá 2.2. Ideological and political engagement 100 2.2.1 Vera Starkoff’s L’amour libre 2.2.2. Nelly Roussel’s Pourquoi elles vont à l’église 2.2.3 María Teresa León’s Huelga en el puerto Chapter III: Mothers beyond the motherhood’s traditional role 122 3.1. Reexamining motherhood 123 3.1.1. Rachilde’s L’araigné de cristal 3.1.2. María de la O. Lejárraga’s Mamá 3.1.3 Pilar Millán Astray’s El juramento de la Primorosa 3.2. The question of illegitimate children 142 6 3.2.1. Vera Starkoff’s L’amour libre 3.2.2. Concha Espina’s El jayón 3.2.3. Pilar Millán Astray’s El juramento de la Primorosa 3. 3. Working mothers 162 3.3.1. Marie Léneru’s La triomphatrice 3.3.2. Pilar Millán Astray’s El juramento de la Primorosa 3.3.3. María Teresa León’s Huelga en el puerto Chapter IV: Married women between gender conflicts, identity crisis and 182 self-fulfillment 4.1. Life within marriage’s limits 183 4.1.1. Halma Angélico’s Al margen de la ciudad 4.1.2. Marguerite Yourcenar’s Le dialogue dans le marécage 4.1.3. María de la O. Lejárraga’s Mamá 4.1.4. Marie Léneru’s La triomphatrice 4.2. Marriage as prompt for personal evolution 218 4.2.1. Nelly Roussel’s Pourquoi elles vont à l’église 4.2.2. María de la O. Lejárraga’s Mamá Conclusion 231 Appendix: Plot of plays 237 Works Cited 245 7 Introduction 8 The beginning of twentieth century finds French and Spanish female playwrights challenged to make their voices heard among the plethora of men writers and against the social restrictions of the time. In both countries the broadly accepted patriarchal society with the dominance of the masculine presence in every aspect of life (artistic, politic, economic, educational) allows little or no space for women to express their opinions and show their talents. Alex Hughes in his 1900-1969: Writing the Void essay refers specifically to the situation of women in France saying that if the late 1960s and the early of mid 1970s represent a revolutionary epoch, after and as a result of which the rights and lives of French women and the contours of the condition féminine would never be the same again, the preceding years of the century were significantly less marked by radical, gender-related socio-cultural change. (147) “The preceding years” to which Hughes refers and specifically from 1890’s until 1930’s in France and Spain compose the time frame of this dissertation. This is the time during which women in both countries try to have a more active role in society, by taking advantage of some slow but significant changes in the political and social scene (emergence of feminist movement, right to vote, divorce, study and work). In Spain the changes start during the reign of Alfonso XIII (1886 – 1931) and reach their peak at the years of the Segunda República (1931 -1936). Felicidad González Santamera comments that “la mujer, que durante la centuria anterior [i.e. siglo XIX] había estado confinada en el ámbito doméstico, accede durante esta época el trabajo remunerado. Esto va a traer consigo, 9 desde 1914, un auge del sindicalismo y del asociacionismo femenino” (2503). González Santamera also points out the importance of education for this change, adding that “el analfabetismo femenino desciende del 71% en 1900 al 47.5% en 1930” (2503). It is understandable that such changes did not happen instantly and without reactions. French and Spanish female playwrights portrayed in their work the challenges of this transitional phase in women’s history. Therefore, the study of such period does not only reveal the common struggles, challenges and preoccupations of women of that time but it also portrays the impact of the ongoing social changes on them. Despite their different countries of origin (and developmental level each one has), women’s life would still be defined by motherhood and marriage but it would be also shaped by current ideological and social tendencies. This resulted to a different type of woman who, still a mother and wife, would be involved in politics, run her own business, study or act independently using her own judgment and opinion. By talking about the different developmental level of France and Spain I am referring to various economic, technologic and cultural progress each country had made. It is commonly accepted that France was ahead of Spain in many areas, an idea mentioned for example in the writers of the Generation of ’98 such as i.e. Azorín, or in recent studies. For example, in his book Spain, A History, Raymond Carr states that “the model to be imitated (i.e. by Spain at the end of the nineteenth century), from banking to architecture and the arts, was France of the Third Republic (1870-1940)” (217). The diverse economic, technologic and cultural level of development between the two countries could possibly be an obstacle to the study of French and Spanish female playwrights’ work. One might consider that French theater had progressed more in terms of genres, themes 10 and styles compared to the Spanish one and since apparently there is no common point of reference between the two, there is subsequently no need for further research.