From 1680 until the French Revolution; when legislation abolished restrictions on theatrical enterprise; a single theatre held sole proprietorship of Moliegrave;rersquo;s works. After 1791; his plays were performed in new theatres all over Paris by new actors; before audiences new to his works. Both his plays and his image took on new dimensions. In Moliegrave;re; the French Revolution; and the Theatrical Afterlife; Mechele Leon convincingly demonstrates how revolutionaries challenged the ties that bound this preeminent seventeenth-century comic playwright to the Old Regime and provided him with a place of honor in the nationrsquo;s new cultural memory.Leon begins by analyzing the performance of Moliegrave;rersquo;s plays during the Revolution; showing how his privileged position as royal servant was disrupted by the practical conditions of the revolutionary theatre. Next she explores Moliegrave;rersquo;s relationship to Louis XIV; Tartuffe; and the social function of his comedy; using Rousseaursquo;s famous critique of Moliegrave;re as well as appropriations of George Dandin in revolutionary iconography to discuss how Molieacute;rean laughter was retooled to serve republican interests. After examining the profusion of plays dealing with his life in the latter years of the Revolution; she looks at the exhumation of his remains and their reentombment as the tangible manifestation of his passage from Ancien Reacute;gime favorite to new national icon.The great Moliegrave;re is appreciated by theatre artists and audiences worldwide; but for the French people it is no exaggeration to say that the Father of French Comedy is part of their national soul. By showing how he was represented; reborn; and reburied in the new Francemdash;how the revolutionaries asserted his relevance for their tumultuous time in ways that were audacious; irreverent; imaginative; and extrememdash;Leon clarifies the important role of theatrical figures in preserving and portraying a nationrsquo;s history.
#356922 in eBooks 2013-04-09 2013-04-09File Name: B00CWR50YK
Review
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful. At last; the real Mona Lisa.By Sal PriscoDianne Hales brings Mona Lisa to life in a new study of her life and times.This book is a triumph of research that should put to rest many of theabsurd theories of her life and the motivation of Da Vinci in paintingher. The reader may well experience both tears and smiles in finallygetting to know something concrete about one of the mostrecognizable icons in human history. Brava Dianne!Salvatore Prisco; Ph.D.Prof. of History;Stevens Institute of Technology0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great BookBy Alex SolorzanoI got this book to assist my 10 year old daughter on a "Faces of History" project she did through our homeschool community (Classical Conversations).It was above her reading level and with some adult content (some just complicated stuff and some regarding sexual relationships of the time -mild content; just not stuff for 10 year olds). So I read sections that pertained to her report and through others to help find more information.My daughter wrote on the main theme that there must have been something special about Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo if:bull;her father would sell off some of his family pride (land) when they had so little left to their claim of nobiity/landed gentry to secure her marriage;bull;if her husband married her with no dowry and just a small plot of land worth much less than a proper dowry;bull;if Leonardo chose to paint her portrait while turning down the commissions of royaltybull;If Leonardos portrait of her has captivated people so greatly and for so longThe books is fascinating and I loved the ins and outs of the adventure Dianne Hales takes us on as we discover intimate details of Lisas life and her time and place in history. Its what some would call "a living book" -such a refreshing break from the boring and dull accounts found in textbooks and most other reference books we could find.I did not read it straight through; but plan to (soon). What I did read; through (at least half of it) was fantastic.If you want information about the most likely woman of the famous portrait; want a great look at life in Florence in the mid 1500s to mid 1600s; or looking for just a good history and travel based read -get this book!3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Couldnt put it down!By L. KayeThank you so much Dianne Hales for this! It gives me more to understand each time I go to Italy; and to Firenze. I highly recommend it to anyone that may travel to Italy along with La Bella Lingua. Because of these books I find much more familiarity as well as curiosity in Italian art and history. Brava!