Olympe de Gouges et le theatre de la Revolution francaise.
Item
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Title
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Olympe de Gouges et le theatre de la Revolution francaise.
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Identifier
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AAI9830757
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identifier
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9830757
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Creator
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Ratsaby, Michele.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Bettina Knapp
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Date
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1998
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Literature, Romance | Theater | Biography | Women's Studies
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Abstract
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Posterity has been rather severe for eighteenth century French theater. Most plays written by great writers such as Voltaire, Diderot, Marivaux and others of this century are hardly known, seldom performed, and few modern theater lovers are informed about the great number of revolutionary plays written and presented on the French stages from 1789 to 1795.;The first part of my dissertation addresses these pre-revolutionary and revolutionary theatrical productions, their importance and interest at the time. It is divided into two parts. The first concerns the general evolution of French theater during the eighteenth century and its many links with French political and social life, especially during the troubled times of the 1789 Revolution. The second part focuses on the life and works of Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793), a female political writer and playwright, unjustly ignored and almost entirely forgotten until contemporary times. This revolutionary author was also a remarkable witness to the political and social events that altered the course of French history.;Chapter I examines the evolution of French theater from the beginning of the eighteenth century to 1789. It depicts its main currents, its variety of dramatic genres including the connections between staging, the development of new philosophical ideas and of a new world vision. The second chapter focuses on the theatrical productions during the revolutionary years, from 1789 to 1795. It details the manner in which political events transformed the nature, objectives and quality of the plays written during this time frame. Chapter three and four are devoted to the life and political writings of Olympe de Gouges, a woman writer who unfortunately appears to have been twice victimized. Like many other writers and political figures of her generation, she was guillotined in 1793. But unlike most of her contemporaries, her work and life seem never to have been rehabilitated. Her many political and theatrical works have been left in total obscurity for almost two hundred years as a result of the prejudice of generations of French historians and writers. Chapter five and six describe the theatrical productions of Olympe de Gouges, specifically introducing twelve plays known to have been written by her. The numerous prefaces and postfaces that remarkably illustrate the circumstances of their composition as well as their historical background are studied. Also stressed are her feminist preoccupations and her hopes of seeing a change in the condition of women in society.;Olympe de Gouges et le theatre de la Revolution francaise underscores the literary and historic value of her writings, while also bringing to light her highly original vision of French society during the late 1700's.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
