Inventing the spectator : subjectivity and the theatrical experience in early modern France

305 Pages·2014·0.989 MB·English

by  Joseph Harris

INVENTING THE SPECTATOR

Inventing the Spectator
Subjectivity and the Theatrical
Experience in Early
Modern France
JOSEPH HARRIS
1
1
Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, Ox2 6dP,
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To Carolin, Max, and Clara

Acknowledgements
There are many people I would like to thank for their help with this
project. Firstly, I am truly indebted to the various friends and colleagues
who read over different chapters and provided invaluable feedback: Tim
Chesters, Nina Ekstein, Nick Hammond, Michael Hawcroft, Neil
Kenny, John Leigh, and Henry Phillips. This study also bears the mark
of several fruitful—if sometimes fleeting—discussions with these people
and others, not least Terence Cave, Miranda Gill, Marion Lafouge, John
d. Lyons, Karin Kukkonen, Jenny Mander, Michael Moriarty, and Julia
Prest. I am very grateful to St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and to
Royal Holloway, University of London, both for their generous sabbati-
cal leave and for providing such supportive and intellectually engaging
environments in which to work. Above all, I would like to say a heart-
felt ‘thank you’ to Carolin duttlinger for her love, patience, intellectual
stimulation, and support throughout.

Contents
Introduction 1
1. Subjectivity and the Senses: From deceit to Enthralment 20
2. d’Aubignac: The Rationalist Spectator 50
3. Corneille: The Indulgent Spectator 76
4. Narrative Pleasures: From Intellect to Emotion 105
5. dubos: The Contemplative Spectator 139
6. Between Interest and Identification 164
7. Rousseau: The Alienated Spectator 198
8. Beyond domesticity: diderot and the Drame 223
Epilogue: The decline of the Spectator 257
Bibliography 263
Index 277