EMILE ZOLA Naturalism in the Theatre

1. EMILE ZOLANaturalism in the Theatre Kristin Greczko and Justine Labute

2. Biography Born April 2, 1840 Spent childhood watching conventional theatre Wrote literary and art reviews Wrote several short stories, essays, plays and novels Supporter of Theatre Libre Died in Paris on September 29, 1902 from carbon monoxide poisoning

3. 19th Century Theatre Early years of 19th century founded in strong neoclassical direction Major battle of romanticism in France was fought in the theatre The mid 19th century theatre reflected a more “realistic” tendency

4. Theatre Libre Theatre Libre = Free Theatre Founded in Paris by Andre Antoine in 1887 Dramatization of a Zola novel Exempt from censorship Combined realism with naturalism

5. Realism Is the depiction of subjects as they appear in every day life, without embellishment or interpretation Goals are truth and accuracy 1870’s gave rise to realism First playwright to break from theatrical conventions was Ibsen Ibsen made the public aware of a new era of theatre Zola provides the theoretical framework

6. Naturalism Is a movement in theatre that seeks to replicate a believable every day reality First appeared in France in the 1870’s Grounded in Charles Darwin’s doctrine: The Origin of Species Two main determinants of the individual: hereditary and environment Scientific method: environment = cause; behaviour = effect Darwin’s theory of evolution identifies human progression from atoms Stage should also evolve from simplistic to complex

7. Political Events Naturalism attracted many adherents because of contemporary political and economic conditions Franco-Prussian War of 1870/1871 The Dreyfus Affair

8. Naturalism in the Theatre1881

9. The Sets and Props “There are two quite opposite opinions on the issue: one holds that the stage should be kept bare, as in the classical set, and the other insists on an exact reproduction of the environment, however complicated it may be”. (358) 17th Century: set and environment were not seen as having any effect on the development of the play “Our modern, individualized characters, acting under the sway of environmental influences, living our lives on stage, would look perfectly ridiculous in the 17th century setting”. (360)

10. Slow continuous movement to lending more importance to the environment Literature also advanced = disappearance of abstract characters “In the old days, real characters used to move around in sham settings, today it is sham characters who move around in real settings”. (361) Theatre is not a separate entity, although it does have it’s own perspective Props and scenery immediately establish a situation “A writer will undoubtedly come who will at last put on stage real characters in real settings, and then people will understand”. (361)

11. Costumes “Each century man becomes more into view and steps away from religious and philosophical idealism”. (362) Rare when one produces an historical play, not to be concerned with the accuracy of the costumes “Costuming in our contemporary plays is almost always false: a fear of simplicity, a refusal to accept the characters’ social status when those characters tend toward the repulsive or ridiculous in dress”. (363) Truth in the theatre continues to suffer

12. Diction “There is no such thing as a language of the theatre”. (366) Moved beyond monotonous recitative chant and 17th century plain song Truth = Simplicity Goal of modern theatre “Truth in costuming requires truth in setting, in diction, in the plays themselves”. (365)

13. Criticisms Irritated by such meticulous reproduction. It is destructive of audience attention when the play is performed Isolation of theatre. The theatre has a language of it’s own Against the war on convention; turn tradition into an immutable code

14. Schiller

15. Mimesis: both Schiller and Zola support mimesis Morality: Schiller believes the purpose of theatre is to educate the individual on how to be moral and just. Zola believes that a change in society must occur in order to influence human behaviour. Schiller: “Sight is always more powerful to man than description”. (251) Schiller: “[The stage] is a mirror”. (251)