Perspectives on the theatre of Cixous and Sartre

Paper Summary:

This essay deals with the philosophical themes underlying two of the most influential French plays of the twentieth century, placing them in the context of the latently similar thinking of their authors. From a close reading of a very small sample of their theatrical output, with sustained reference to existentialist, Marxist, and psychoanalytical (that of Irigaray and Levi-Strauss in particular) philosophies, it makes a detailed interpretation of the engagement with bourgeois, patriarchal values the two authors share.

From the Paper:

"This essay will make a comparative analysis of the treatment of the role of the father in Jean-Paul Sartre's Les Sequestr's d'Altona (1959) and Hlne Cixous's Portrait de Dora (1976). At first sight this may seem to be an unusual choice of texts one might be justified in wondering where any common ground can lie between the two plays. It is true that Sartre and Cixous seem to have little in common, aside from both being prolific writers who use the largest possible variety of media to communicate the philosophies they hold as being important truths. In terms of their periods of activity, their aims in writing theater, and most importantly their treatment of the feminine in their work, they are indeed very different. Most importantly as regards the feminine, for as Cranston remarks, He [Sartre] is revolted by women. There is something sickening about all the female characters in Sartre's plays and stories.1 Although Dora is a difficult character, even impenetrable, it could not be said that she is repulsive, as Freud's determination to solve her apparent neurosis shows. Even given the context of their production, though, this essay will seek to show similarities in theme and objective in the two plays. There are, in effect, latent points in common between Cixous's 'theatre of the body' and Sartre's existentialist writing, and this has an important bearing as to the role of the father as being first and foremost the role of a male human being, with sexual desires and sexual desirability. This in turn has important consequences on the notions of subjectivity and the "look" or "gaze" of the "other" - in other words how characters identify themselves through the other characters on stage. This essay will explore these concepts, which are the essence of characterization in the two plays, examining the consequences of the father's influence in the child's self identification, and the negative outcome that this has. If the role of the father is thus seen in a negative light, then this is not without social and political consequences, and an exploration of the engagement of the two plays in interpreting the social role of the father will form the final part of this essay."

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