You are here

Proust on theater: The fourth art in "A La Recherche du Temps Perdu"

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
2003
Summary:
Critical studies of the arts in Marcel Proust's La Recherche situate the text's many references to art works and artistic genius in a triadic structure of "the three arts": painting, music, and literature. Yet the theater and theatrical references reinforce many of the themes and signifying networks running throughout the text. Theater functions as an art form equivalent to Elstir's painting or Vinteuil's music, and Proust dramatizes in La Berma his crucial distinction between person and artist. In the social aspects of the actress's life, Proust constructs resonant parallels with the societal and familial conduct of his characters and their interactions, just as the brilliant theatrical performances of classical French dramatic roles onstage by La Berma essentialize the "mecanismes de la vie sociale" in the fictive world outside the theater. In short, theater functions crucially and continuously at all levels of the text, from basic components of story to meta-levels of discourse.
Title: Proust on theater: The fourth art in "A La Recherche du Temps Perdu".
203 views
49 downloads
Name(s): Schaller, Margaret P.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Hokenson, Jan W., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 2003
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 95 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Critical studies of the arts in Marcel Proust's La Recherche situate the text's many references to art works and artistic genius in a triadic structure of "the three arts": painting, music, and literature. Yet the theater and theatrical references reinforce many of the themes and signifying networks running throughout the text. Theater functions as an art form equivalent to Elstir's painting or Vinteuil's music, and Proust dramatizes in La Berma his crucial distinction between person and artist. In the social aspects of the actress's life, Proust constructs resonant parallels with the societal and familial conduct of his characters and their interactions, just as the brilliant theatrical performances of classical French dramatic roles onstage by La Berma essentialize the "mecanismes de la vie sociale" in the fictive world outside the theater. In short, theater functions crucially and continuously at all levels of the text, from basic components of story to meta-levels of discourse.
Identifier: 9780496181797 (isbn), 13015 (digitool), FADT13015 (IID), fau:9881 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2003.
Subject(s): Proust, Marcel,--1871-1922--Criticism and interpretation
Proust, Marcel,--1871-1922--A la recherche du temps perdu
Theater in literature
Arts in literature
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13015
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.