It is very difficult to encompass in a single article all the elements that branch out from the modern French theater. If we are driven to summarize, we would say that the pillars of the modern French theater are three:
Classicism — Christianity — and atheist existentialism. And if we add to these fundamental angles what is performed of the heritage of the foreign theater, we have before us a comprehensive preliminary outline of the theatrical activity we can observe in Paris today.
There is no doubt that the Comédie Française is the center of the classical play, for it is the heir of Molière and his troupe. Its founding goes back to the year 1665, the day Louis XIV titled Molière's troupe "the King's Troupe"; and in 1680 the troupe of the Hôtel de Bourgogne joined it, and thus the present Comédie Française was formed. It preserves the classical style of acting, in keeping with the style of the classical piece and its rhymed verse. Fine delivery, care for clear enunciation, the control of gesture and facial expression within a fixed frame, simplicity of décor, and the
unity of scenes are among the classical characteristics that the Comédie preserves with all precision and fidelity. It is very easy for a foreigner with some acquaintance with French literature to understand every word an actor of the Comédie utters, for it is delivered with clarity and deliberation. If we wish to see Tartuffe or Le Cid or Phèdre as they were performed in the seventeenth century, we have only to go to the Comédie, and its classical atmosphere will carry us back to that distant past — to that glorious period in the history of literature in France.
In the halls of the Comédie and in its library are relics which those who administer it guard with watchful eyes and proud hearts. There is the chair onto which Molière fell in a faint on the
night of February 17, 1673, while performing Le Malade imaginaire, and from which he was carried home, taking leave of his stage forever. There is his watch, which the director of the Comédie showed us with all pride and care; there is the original manuscript of Hernani by Victor Hugo; there is the statue of Voltaire with his famous mocking smile; and rows of celebrated statues and oil portraits of the army of authors, actors, and actresses whose memory has been immortalized in the history of dramatic literature...
Since its founding the Comédie has shared in the literary and national life of the nation. Its playhouse spoke the decisive word in the famous battle of Hernani — the battle in which the ardent Romantic youth, in defense of Hugo and his theory, clashed with the conservative classical party. Its activity continued unbroken until the last World War came, when some of its members took part in the Resistance movement during the German occupation and made of the lower floor of the Salle Richelieu an active nucleus against the foreign occupation, exposing themselves to the danger of prison, torture, and death.
It is therefore closely bound to the life of the nation, and a radiating center of French culture, preserving
the precious classical heritage and sending its delegations to every part of the civilized world to acquaint it with the masterpieces of the living French theater.
If we leave the Comédie and its classical atmosphere, searching out what is happening in the world of the modern theater, we find that the religious spirit
In her second article for The Woman's Voice, Mrs. Najla Aqrawi discusses "the modern French theater" — the distillation of a full year's study of this very subject at the Sorbonne — and her inquiry shows precision and scholarly thoroughness.
Of the three pillars of the modern French theater that the writer identifies, she will acquaint us today with "classicism" and "Christianity"; as for "atheist existentialism," the appointed time to speak of it is the next issue, and in it there is much that is curious and entertaining about this modern philosophical tendency.