Bérénice, l’amour en fuite

Bérénice has sometimes been considered the most Cornelian of Racine's plays: those who support this interpretation believe that Titus and Berenice agree to renounce their passion in the name of values they deem superior to love. Such a reading clears Bérénice, a non-bloody play, of its tragic c...

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Autor principal: Tony Gheeraert
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FR
Publicado: Institut du Monde Anglophone 2021
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Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/39f7597286814c49b3e872b91221eb33
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spelling oai:doaj.org-article:39f7597286814c49b3e872b91221eb332021-12-02T10:16:41ZBérénice, l’amour en fuite1634-045010.4000/episteme.13482https://doaj.org/article/39f7597286814c49b3e872b91221eb332021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttp://journals.openedition.org/episteme/13482https://doaj.org/toc/1634-0450Bérénice has sometimes been considered the most Cornelian of Racine's plays: those who support this interpretation believe that Titus and Berenice agree to renounce their passion in the name of values they deem superior to love. Such a reading clears Bérénice, a non-bloody play, of its tragic component. I offer another hypothesis here: the heroes’ final separation can be seen as the funeral coronation of a courteous love passion that only finds its full realization in its own negation. It is the internal logic of his love which, after having set Titus on the path of virtue, compels him, in the name of that same virtue, to drive out the queen whom he remains truly more in love with than ever. Racinian love, even and especially in Berenice, is a dead end. The absurdity of the laws to which Titus is forced to submit reinforces the tragic quality of this play: the emperor expels Berenice in the name of a hatred of kings to which the Romans are certainly viscerally attached, but which has lost all meaning since Rome ceased to be a Republic and became the disguised monarchy known as the Empire. Through his depiction of love, as well as through the image he gives of a hypocritical Rome, Racine shows his faithfulness to the spirit of Port-Royal and Augustinism, while achieving the tour de force of seducing the mondain public eager for galanterie.Tony GheeraertInstitut du Monde AnglophonearticleBereniceTitustragedyRacinePort-RoyalpoliticsHistory (General) and history of EuropeDFrench literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literaturePQ1-3999ENFREtudes Epistémè, Vol 40 (2021)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
FR
topic Berenice
Titus
tragedy
Racine
Port-Royal
politics
History (General) and history of Europe
D
French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature
PQ1-3999
spellingShingle Berenice
Titus
tragedy
Racine
Port-Royal
politics
History (General) and history of Europe
D
French literature - Italian literature - Spanish literature - Portuguese literature
PQ1-3999
Tony Gheeraert
Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
description Bérénice has sometimes been considered the most Cornelian of Racine's plays: those who support this interpretation believe that Titus and Berenice agree to renounce their passion in the name of values they deem superior to love. Such a reading clears Bérénice, a non-bloody play, of its tragic component. I offer another hypothesis here: the heroes’ final separation can be seen as the funeral coronation of a courteous love passion that only finds its full realization in its own negation. It is the internal logic of his love which, after having set Titus on the path of virtue, compels him, in the name of that same virtue, to drive out the queen whom he remains truly more in love with than ever. Racinian love, even and especially in Berenice, is a dead end. The absurdity of the laws to which Titus is forced to submit reinforces the tragic quality of this play: the emperor expels Berenice in the name of a hatred of kings to which the Romans are certainly viscerally attached, but which has lost all meaning since Rome ceased to be a Republic and became the disguised monarchy known as the Empire. Through his depiction of love, as well as through the image he gives of a hypocritical Rome, Racine shows his faithfulness to the spirit of Port-Royal and Augustinism, while achieving the tour de force of seducing the mondain public eager for galanterie.
format article
author Tony Gheeraert
author_facet Tony Gheeraert
author_sort Tony Gheeraert
title Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
title_short Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
title_full Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
title_fullStr Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
title_full_unstemmed Bérénice, l’amour en fuite
title_sort bérénice, l’amour en fuite
publisher Institut du Monde Anglophone
publishDate 2021
url https://doaj.org/article/39f7597286814c49b3e872b91221eb33
work_keys_str_mv AT tonygheeraert berenicelamourenfuite
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