PIERRE BOAISTUAU - eTheses Repository - University of Birmingham

formation of the dramatic feel of the text. 487 To incorporate this philosophical notion,
Boaistuau surpassed the boundaries of the nouvelle and adopted features of horror and
cruelty, reminiscent of tragedy, a genre well received in France which affected the
development of theatre and other literary forms. 488 Living in the middle of the
sixteenth century, amidst a climate of social, political and religious instability which
challenged the ideals of the Renaissance, the writer was able to find many examples
to support his tragic viewpoint. As a moralist, he used this concept to reveal aspects of
Man’s corruption and depravity. The protagonists served as examples: Edouard III,
Mohamet II and Didaco represented lasciviousness and lust; adulterous desire was
personified by the Duchess of Savoy. On the other hand, Aelips and Hyrenne were
symbols of chastity and continence. Romeo and Juliet became tragic examples of the
games of Fortune but retained their virtuous characters until the end. Developing his
edifying message through these tales, Boaistuau transformed Histoires tragiques into
a study of human emotions and morals, which was particularly evident in the first,
third and sixth stories. As a portrayal of tragedy, his book presented the complexity of
human psyche (ψυχή) and the power of passion (πάθος) which holds Man as a captive
of his own weaknesses. According to Richard Carr, ‘the writer tries to suggest not
only a moral lesson, but the very complexity of Man himself’. 489
However, Boaistuau was not only a moralist. He was also a storyteller, and as such he
was concerned with the dramatic context which could keep alive the reader’s interest.
487 Among Boaistuau’s works Le Théâtre du monde, published in 1558, was the most representative
example of this philosophical notion. This paragraph serves only as an introduction to this notion,
which will be examined in more detail in a following section of this chapter.
488 Via humanist translations of ancient Greek and Roman plays, dramaturgists such as Sophocles and
Seneca proved to be really popular in Renaissance France and influenced the writing of French
tragedies. For more see Stone, D., French Humanist Tragedy (Manchester, 1974); Jondorf, G., French
Renaissance Tragedy: The Dramatic Word (Cambridge, 1990).
489 Carr, R., Pierre Boaistuau’s Histoires Tragiques: A Study of Narrative Form and Tragic Vision, p.
75.
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