Anti-Theatricality in the 17th Century French Salon: On the Question of Maxim 81 of the Marquise de Sablé
- Authors: Golubkov A.V.1,2
-
Affiliations:
- A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences
- National Research University “Higher School of Economics”
- Issue: Vol 84, No 5 (2025)
- Pages: 52–58
- Section: Articles
- URL: https://medbiosci.ru/1605-7880/article/view/362827
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7868/S2413771525050044
- ID: 362827
Open Access
Access granted
Subscription Access
Abstract
This article is devoted to the analysis of aphorism 81 from the collection “Maxims” by Marquise de Sablé (1678), which offers a critique of the theatre. In the course of the research, we demonstrate that one of the versions of this maxim turns out to be identical to a fragment from B. Pascal’s “Thoughts”. The analysis examines the origins of the anti-theatricality of this salon that was adjacent to F. de La Rochefoucauld and J. Esprit, in the context of the controversy surrounding theater in French intellectual culture of the 17th century. Along with the statement about the depravity of human nature striving for spectacle Sablé and Pascal use quite possibly under the influence of La Rochefoucauld appeals to the “amour-propre” as a human quality that is incompatible with catharsis in its traditional Aristotelian understanding.
About the authors
A. V. Golubkov
A.M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences; National Research University “Higher School of Economics”
Email: andreygolubkov@mail.ru
Doct. Sci. (Philol.), Leading Researcher; Professor Moscow, Russia; Moscow, Russia
References
- Craveri B. L’âge de la conversation. Paris: NRF, Gallimard, 2002. 486 p.
- Sablé de S. de M. Maximes de Madame la marquise de Sablé et Pensées diverses de M.L.D. [l’abbé d’Ailly]. Paris: Mabre-Cramoisy, 1678. 103 p.
- Souvré M. de. Marquise de Sablé. Maximes. Paris: Mabre-Cramoisy, 1870. XIV+67 p.
- Madame de Sablé. Maximes // La Rochefoucauld F. de. Réflexions ou sentences et maximes morales, suivi de Réflexions diverses et des Maximes de Madame de Sablé. Paris: Gallimard, 2023. P. 227–248.
- Pascal B. Pensées. Texte établi, présenté et annoté par Ph. Sellier // Moralistes du XVIIe siècle. Paris: R. Laffont, 1992. P. 283–604.
- Паскаль Б. Мысли. М.: Издательство имени Сабашниковых, 1995. 480 c.
- Lafuma L. Madame de Sablé et les dangers de la Comédie // Ecrits sur Pascal. Paris: Luxembourg, 1959. P. 117–124.
- Августин Блаженный. Исповедь / Перевод М. Е. Сергеико. М.: РИПОМ-классик, 2019. 416 c.
- Литературные манифесты западноевропейских классицистов. М.: МГУ, 1980. 624 c.
- Аubignac F.H. La pratique du théâtre. Paris: Antoine de Sommaville, 1657. 514 p.
- Conti de Bourbon A. de. Traité de la comédie et des spectacles, selon la tradition de l’Église tirée des Conciles et des Saints Pères. Paris: L. Billaine, 1669. X+178 p.
- Maigne V. Le narré et le chanté: deux types de communication au XVIIe siècle // La Licorne. 1991. № 21. P. 169–175.
- Baker S.R. Collaboration et originalité chez La Rochefoucauld. Gainesville: Florida University Press, 1980. 135 p.
- Лабрюйер Ж. де. Характеры, или Нравы нынешнего века. М.; Л.: Художественная литература, 1964. 416 c.
