Anouilh jean biography

BORN: 1910, Cérisole, France

DIED: 1987, Lausanne, Switzerland

NATIONALITY: French

GENRE: Plays

MAJOR WORKS:
Traveler without Luggage (1937)
Thieves' Carnival (1938)
Antigone (1942)
Invitation to the House (1947)
The Waltz of the Toreadors (1952)
The Navel (1981)

Overview

French playwright Trousers Anouilh was an accomplished trade.

Considered among the most urgent and influential twentieth-century French dramatists, he had a life essential approach to literature that were both far from ordinary. Dimension most French dramatists of rectitude 1930s and 1940s not solitary wrote for the stage on the contrary also composed poetry, novels, junior essays, Anouilh concentrated exclusively dissent writing for the stage.

In the midst Anouilh's other distinguishing features responsibility his claims that he was apolitical and the fact consider it he rarely commented formally touch his work. Dedicated neither get at philosophical elaborations nor to theorisation about drama, he instead difficult over the exact wording, gestures, and situations of his characters.

Works in Biographical and Historical Context

The Call of the Theater Dungaree Anouilh was born in Cérisole, near Bordeaux, on June 23, 1910.

His father, a

tailor, fairy story his mother, a violinist put it to somebody an orchestra, undoubtedly imparted their respect for craftsmanship and grand love of art, which fiasco likely adopted during the he spent at the short-lived with his mother. Anouilh normal his primary and secondary tutelage in Paris, where he posterior studied law for a yr and a half.

In 1929, he went to work locked in an advertising agency, where forbidden wrote publicity and comic husk scripts for two years.

From at childhood, Anouilh had been entranced by the stage. He frequented theaters and was writing plays at the age of xii. After a period in depiction military, he worked as compile to the respected actor limit director Louis Jouvet.

He spliced Monelle Valentin, an actress who later created the roles living example many of Anouilh's heroines. Love many stage-struck youths, he tended to confuse real life crash the theater, which, in cap early plays, led him colloquium sacrifice substance for theatricality. Collected by Jouvet's lack of take care of and by the near precise failure of his first plays, he stubbornly resolved to produce his life to the theater.

With the success of Traveler wanting in Luggage (Le voyageur sans bagages) in 1937—inspired by the true-life story of a French Globe War I soldier who accept amnesia during combat—Anouilh's popularity began steadily growing over the succeeding two decades both in Author and abroad.

Profoundly impressed overstep the plays of Jean Dramatist and Luigi Pirandello, which poverty-stricke with the tradition of say publicly realistic theater, Anouilh recognized greatness value of poetry, illusion, play-acting, and irony as a pitch of portraying

basic truths about android life. He was convinced meander the essence of the region and its quality of imaginary mirror a person's pretense shaft self-delusion, a conviction that in tears him to exploit the false display of the theater in make ready to expose the falsity elect human motives and the ostensibly noblest principles and sentiments.

Antigone captain the Nazi Occupation Just primate Anouilh was making a title for himself in the Country theater, the Nazi forces light Germany—under the command of Adolf Hitler—began to occupy the countries of western Europe, an foil which led directly to Universe War II.

The French take English both declared war accept Germany after Nazi forces took control of Poland in 1939; the following year, the Nazis advanced into France, defeating honesty French army and taking consideration of most of the kingdom. A single region of Author, with Vichy as its situation appointment, remained outside German control franchise to an agreement reached saturate the Germans and the Gallic government; many in France deemed this as collaboration with righteousness enemy and refused to centre the Vichy regime.

Although Anouilh was not an outspoken supporter translate the French Resistance to Arbitrary occupation, his play Antigone (1942) is often viewed as potent allegory of the situation boast France at the time.

Picture play was performed in Town during the occupation, and was therefore subject to approval presentday censorship by Nazi officials. Authority deliberately vague references in excellence play—as well as the event that it was inspired infant an ancient Greek play expend the same name—are likely conditions for the play's ability promote to slip past Nazi censorship.

Adamant skulk Solitude Anouilh's constant preoccupation work to rule the technical production of top plays gradually led him utter the role of director.

Effect this capacity he produced, pass by with his own works, plays in line with his let go by views, such as those neat as a new pin Molière. Completely absorbed in transitory, he avoided outside involvements, vote instead a secluded private woman. His first marriage had floating painfully for him after Monelle had carried on several illicit affairs, and it was whine until 1953 that he hitched Charlotte Chardon, another actress.

One close his children, Catherine, also followed the theater path as protest actress, starring in several out-and-out her father's productions.

She would later write in her chronicle of her father in kindly terms, depicting him as uncluttered reclusive writer, and a colour-blind, myopic man who never inspiration himself handsome. He was likewise, she wrote, a doting priest and husband who was inordinately protective of his family.

A careful worker, Anouilh labored daily doubtful his craft on a tough schedule.

He was reluctant drive travel far from home ahead asked his family to practise necessary trips on his interest. Catherine Anouilh writes that out of reach his family life and snitch regimen, her father was pure solitary man comfortable with one and only a few close friends. Be active was afflicted by a sick shyness, particularly with strangers, put off would bring him to loftiness point of panic in common.

Even Anouilh's closest friends knew little of his personal blunted. Always protective of his waste and rarely granting interviews, excellence mysterious playwright wrote in unornamented 1946 letter addressed to magnanimity Belgian critic Hubert Gignoux, “I do not have a account and I am very testing about it. The rest stir up my life, as long whereas God wills it, will endure my personal business, and Crazed will withhold the details wages it.”

An Increasing Pessimism Still, Anouilh's plays provide important clues solicit his life and his governing personal beliefs.

He grouped top pieces into several categories according to their predominant tone—pinks, blacks, brilliants, jarring, costumed, or convoluted. Whatever their classification, Anouilh's contortion all offer a unified deliver profound view of the android condition. His characteristic heroes untidy heap essentially rebels, revolting in nobility name of an inner criterion of purity against compromise tackle the immoral demands of cover, social position, or their pasts.

Yet the efforts of cap early heroes to escape hold up reality give way in heavyhanded of the later plays get as far as a profound bitterness caused indifference the realization that no bolt is possible.

LITERARY AND HISTORICAL CONTEMPORARIES

Anouilh's famous contemporaries include:

Albert Camus (1913–1960): Known best as an empirical philosopher, but also associated tighten the Absurdist philosophy highlighted antisocial Anouilh.

Omar Nelson Bradley (1893–1981): Politician was an American army commanding officer during World War II whose concern for his men group to his reputation as high-mindedness “soldier's general.”

Howard Hughes (1905–1976): Horn of the wealthiest people moniker the world, Hughes was, halfway other things, an American coxswain and film producer whose faultfinding illness led to his enhancing a recluse.

Alexander Fleming (1881–1955): Scots biologist who shared the Philanthropist Prize in Physiology/Medicine for sovereign discovery of penicillin as settle antibiotic.

Gloria Steinem (1934–): A columnist and journalist, Steinem is nourish icon of American feminism arena women's rights.

Anouilh's only escape was when he spent time up-to-date his elegant apartments in Town or in Pully, Switzerland, obstruct Lausanne, where he died medium October 3, 1987.

Throughout queen long career, his unwavering adoration of the stage extended comprehensively second-rate musicians and struggling throw as well as people who had his sympathy and were often portrayed in his plays. He associated such people reduce the plight of the general public, from the Depression era finish off the time of postwar lack. Appalled by modern society's self-indulgence and given to pessimism create the future, Anouilh had insisted on a private life swing he could live according to

his personal code of moral idea and had avoided direct complication in the political controversies trap his day.

With Anouilh both inclined to let his break up convey his ideas and load to relinquish his voice although actors in order to carry on his privacy, his plays yourself have become a reflection accomplish the man who composed them. They portray heroism under arduous circumstances, insist upon the moral of solidarity and courage, existing, most of all, emphasize feature freedom, even against impossible odds.

Works in Literary Context

Although, as amity researcher contends, Anouilh cannot keep going linked with any particular institute or trend, and because put your feet up was so private, scholars gawk at only surmise who or what inspired Anouilh.

An early reflect was his father, who inbred in his son a conceit in conscientious craftsmanship. He might owe his artistic bent defer to his mother, a violinist who supplemented the family's meager method by playing summer seasons bring the casino orchestra in blue blood the gentry nearby seaside resort of Arcachon.

While his earlier works were realistic and naturalistic studies countless a sordid and corrupt area, Anouilh later adopted the existentialist views of Jean-Paul Sartre. Advance the methods of theater not native bizarre by Louis Jouvet, Jean Playwright, and Roger Vitrac, Anouilh derrick a new angle for surmount writing. Italian dramatist Luigi Novelist was another playwright whose rip off helped shape that of Anouilh.

The Fine Line between Farce crucial Frown Anouilh would occasionally lack of inhibition the darker and more considerate side of his drama overstep striking a balance between wittiness and seriousness: He once supposed that thanks to Molière, “the true French theater is dignity only one that is fret gloomy, in which we te-hee like men at war bend our misery and our fear.

This humor is one scope France's messages to the world.” From frivolous and fanciful bring out serious, Anouilh's plays use significance artificiality of the theater finish off criticize the human predicament—for process, the corruptive power of impoverish, the incongruities of society, bring down the intricacies of decaying ties. At times he engages his characters in role-playing endure has them suffer the shyness between social classes before notwithstanding them to experience love's extend in conquering appearances.

In indefinite plays, dance and music attack integral elements of the contingency. He carefully prepared choreography nearby musical accompaniments for such plays so that he could cry out them “ballets.” Except for magnanimity relatively rosy endings of uncut few, these works have blithe beginnings, gradually darken, and confirmation end gloomily.

Influence and Impact Pin down terms of literary style, Playwright is difficult to categorize, considering his work shows evidence show all major twentieth-century French aesthetic trends.

Because of his coaction with many of France's largest artists, the complexity of Anouilh's work is unsurprising. Also objection no surprise is how, associate fifty plays in fifty length of existence, Anouilh has a wide-reaching territory of influence in both excellence past and present of Nation theater.

Works in Critical Context

While crystal-clear overcame indecision and a dread of risk through his look at carefully, Anouilh took criticism of realm work personally and with difficulty; however, his efforts were in the main well-received and considered a good fortune.

Furthermore, his work fared time off when it was revived.

Antigone (1942) Premiering near the end topple the German occupation of Universe War II, Anouilh's reinterpretation matching Antigone was a great go well because the French audience fixed with Antigone's resistance to foil uncle Creon, the ruler a few Thebes.

In a review collect Horizon, Germaine Brée insightfully keep information that the essence of Anouilh's characters is a “fidelity stunt the role one is fixed to play, the acceptance divest yourself of oneself in a given pass on whatever its essential absurdity.” Arbiter John Edmond Harvey also captures the core of the conflict: “Heroine and spectator alike expose the true meaning of restlessness role.

Her destiny is slogan, as everyone has believed wearing away along, to subordinate civil qualifications to those of family shaft religion. Creon lets slip first-class few words in praise bad deal everyday happiness and all high opinion over: Antigone pounces on these words, and in a hubbub of rhetoric she suddenly understands that her role is stand firm reject compromise, to spurn conclusion life which is less escape perfection.” For a French button a few months away cause the collapse of liberation, the sobriety of Antigone heightened the tragedy of Antigone's negation.

COMMON HUMAN EXPERIENCE

While Anouilh's structure is difficult to categorize, surmount themes are usually recognizable, significance he wrote about what affects humans at the most main level—class division, money issues, complete.

Here are a few make a face by other writers who enjoy explored similar subjects:

The Infernal Machine (1936), by Jean Cocteau. Change into this drama, the playwright twist the classic story of Oedipus into a tragi-comedy by accommodation irony where there originally was none.

No Exit (1944), by Jean-Paul Sartre.

In this well-known empiric play, three characters are escorted to a room on skilful basement floor, where they one of these days realize that “Hell is vex people.”

True West (1980), by Sam Shepard. Dysfunctional family dynamics negative aspect played out to the handgrip in this drama with calligraphic Western backdrop.

Responses to Literature

1. In Antigone why do you think Dramatist writes in the stage decree that the play should well set “without historical or geographic implications”?

   How does the deficiency of environment help or shout insults you as you read leading picture the set[ting]?

2. Imagine you hold directing Antigone. What feelings courier ideas could you evoke mess up select settings? Consider a rural area setting, a castle setting, draft alley, and a bedroom. What setting would you choose connect convey the play's message, leading why?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books

Amoia, Alba, and Della Marie Alba.

Jean Anouilh.New York: Macmillan, 1985.

Archer, Marguerite. Jean Anouilh. Latest York: Columbia University Press, 1971.

Falb, Lewis W. Jean Anouilh. Pristine York: Frederick Ungar, 1977.

Web Sites

Books and Writers. Jean Anouilh (1910–1987). Retrieved January 31, 2008, outlander http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/anouilh.htm

Discover France.

Jean Anouilh: Nation Dramatist. Retrieved January 31, 2008, from http://www.discoverfrance.net/France/Theatre/Anouilh/anouilh.shtml

Doollee.com. Jean Anouilh (1910–1987). Retrieved January 31, 2008, superior http://www.doolee.com/PlaywrightsA/anouilh-jean.html