The Dramatic Model of the 19th Century French Novel

Abstract

The dramatic model is associated with the entire generation at the end of the 19th century, a time of “generalized staging” with a predisposition for the spectacular. The city is perceived as a scenic place. A true phantasmagorical space, the urban space dramatizes the inhabitants who are transformed, in turn, into actors. Paris, in the 19th century, was not only the place of famous world exhibitions, it became itself an object of exhibition, thus spreading its influence over people and things. All the French novelists of the 19th century experienced theatrical training, having launched certain dramatic projects (Balzac, Baudelaire, Flaubert, Zola, Daudet, Flaubert, and Goncourt). The novel of the studied period has a visible organization, dramatic pattern, and vision associated with a time that presupposes a generalized dramatization of society. The theatrical metaphor appears frequently in the 19th century novel to denounce the hypocrisy of society which hides dubious things under honest appearances. This is the leitmotif of the realist/naturalist novel, which aims at revealing and develop realities in profusion. Social relations, places, behaviors are placed under the sign of appearance, of the mask. The itinerary of the characters consists in learning the scenic regularities behind the scenes of the sets, as well as the techniques, which precede the performance. The success of the hero is largely based on his skills to play the role. The drama of the novel speaks of the fragile boundary between genres in the 19th century and characterizes the new poetics of the novel.