Controversy in French Drama

Controversy in French Drama

Also by Julia Prest Monograph Theatre under Louis XIV: Cross- Casting and the Performance of Gender in Drama, Ballet and Opera, 2013 Theatre under Louis XIV: Cross- Casting and the Performance of Gender in Drama, Ballet and Opera, 2006 Critical Editions La Devineresse ou les faux enchantemens de Thomas Corneille et Jean Donneau de Visé, ed. Julia Prest, 2007 Molière: Le Mariage forcé, ed. Julia Prest, Textes Littéraires, 1999 Edited Volume Corporeal Practices: (Re)figuring the Body in French Studies, ed. Julia Prest and Hannah Thompson, 2000

Controversy in French Drama Molière s Tartuffe and the Struggle for Influence Julia Prest

CONTROVERSY IN FRENCH DRAMA: MOLIÈRE S TARTUFFE AND THE STRUGGLE FOR INFLUENCE Copyright Julia Prest 2014. Corrected Printing 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-34399-4 All rights reserved. First published in 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-46594-1 ISBN 978-1-137-34400-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137344007 Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data is available from the Library of Congress. A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Scribe Inc. First edition: January 2014 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my parents, Susan and John

Contents Acknowledgments A Note on Translations Introduction 1 1 The Struggle for Influence: I. The Stakes and Their Protagonists 7 2 What Is a Faux Dévot? I. The Hypocrite 35 3 What Is a Faux Dévot? II. The Zealot 75 4 What Is a Vrai Dévot and Is He a Véritable Homme de Bien? 107 5 The Struggle for Influence: II. Tartuffe in an Age of Absolutism 137 Conclusion 191 Notes 199 Bibliography 229 Index 241 ix xi

Acknowledgments This book has been a long time in the making, and numerous people have helped it along its way. These include my colleagues and friends at Yale University, where the project was begun, and those at the University of St Andrews, where it was completed: my heartfelt thanks to all of you. I am especially grateful to Roy Dilley and Nick Hammond, who read and commented on a draft of the manuscript from their respective and complementary perspectives; to Sarah Townshend, who ably checked numerous references, proofread the manuscript, and found the fabulous image that appears on the cover; to Angela Konrad of Trinity Western University, who tracked down and made available a high- quality version of that image; to Danna Kostroun, who helped me get to grips with Jansenism and who read and commented on Chapter 5; to Russell Goulbourne, who is always ready to respond to any query, however obscure, that I can throw at him; and to Dave Evans and Sam Bootle, who scrutinized and improved upon my translations. Finally, I would like to thank Erica Buchman, Robyn Curtis, and Jen McCall of Palgrave for their patience, good humor, and support throughout the process.

A Note on Translations In order to ensure that this book is both scholarly and accessible to a wide audience, I have included the original French alongside English translations of all quotations. Quotations from seventeenth- century sources in French are given, wherever possible, with original (and what may sometimes seem eccentric and/or erratic) spelling and punctuation; in all instances, the spelling and punctuation of the source indicated have been retained. All translations into English are my own. These are in no way intended to be exemplary as translations; rather, their purpose is simply to enable any reader who is not well versed in seventeenth- century French to grasp the meaning of what is being said and to have some idea of the manner in which it is being said.