Morphing Moonlight: Gender, masks and carnival mayhem- The ...

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Chapter two and three of this study will undertake an examination of Albert Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire through the use of the structuring device of the Seven Deadly Sins, to which an eighth sin has been appended. Using Kristeva’s work on carnival and poetic language, a close textual analysis of the representation of Pierrot in these poems will illustrate how the figure’s ambivalent gender affiliations and transgressions of social mores embody the madness of the carnivalesque grotesque tradition. The fragmented and destabilizing flux that exists between the semiotic and the symbolic results in what Kristeva has termed ‘polysemy’ or ‘polyvalence’ and the ambiguous multiplicity that this establishes will be seen as integral to the textual figuration of Pierrot in Giraud’s work. It is in the laughter, violence, silence, vacillating gender and dark desires that Pierrot will be shown to liberate the ‘bells of madness’ in Giraud’s Bergamasque 8 phantasmagoria. Chapter four will look at specific works by the artist James Ensor and how they engage and represent the madness of the carnivalesque grotesque. Combining the visual theory of Mieke Bal with Kristeva’s theory of poetic discourse and her work on art analysis, the chapter intends to provide a close reading of Ensor’s work. This reading of the visual image will reveal and analyse how the symbolic is destablised by the semiotic, creating a mad vibrancy which opens up the possibility of a multiplicity of meanings and 8 This use of Bergamasque is based on the definition and spelling of the word in the Shorter Oxford English dictionary. It is one of those polyvalent words that Giraud and Ensor would have loved. It means an inhabitant of Bergamo in Italy, which is where Pierrot comes from originally. It also means a dance resembling a tarantella and all that pertains to the province and place name of Bergamo (Shorter Oxford English dictionary 1993: 216). It is spelt with a capital letter in the dictionary and the choice is either to spell it Bergamasque or Bergamask. I have chosen the more French manner of spelling the word to accord with the style and feel of Pierrot Lunaire. 33
eadings. Ensorian representations of masks contain continual allusions to the white-faced clown and to the carnival. The figure hidden behind the mask is shapeless and sexless, neither male nor female. Ensor, a capacious reader and follower of current events and trends, was aware of the hermaphroditic and androgynous preoccupations within the works of other artists and writers of his time. Most of his masked figures take on aspects of this androgyny, and though androgyny is not an overt aspect of his work, it is nevertheless subtly apparent. The figure of Pierrot, or his mask, is ever present in Ensor’s visual imagery. It is this masked, androgynous figure as visual symbol in Ensor’s extensive ribald narrative that will be explored in this chapter. Chapter five deals with the textual representation of Pierrot within Dowson’s apparently slight one act play, The Pierrot of the Minute, and reveals how this figure embodies the transgressive aspects of carnival madness and ambivalent gender boundaries. Dowson’s play possesses closer ties to Giraud’s Pierrot Lunaire than to the work of James Ensor. With its eerie coldness, the same pale, moon-spun light of Pierrot Lunaire dominates Dowson’s play, where it is the ambivalent figure of Pierrot and his relationship with the Moon Maiden that is the central pivot. There exists a Kristevan double, or ‘one and Other’, in the depiction of this relationship, where Pierrot becomes a ‘totality not identical with itself’, one that ‘cannot be represented’ (Lechte 1990: 105). It is this lacuna that will allow for a reading of this split-subject as possessing an underlying possibility of gender 34
Page 1 and 2: Morphing moonlight: Gender, masks a
Page 3 and 4: SUMMARY Pierrot’s snowy garments
Page 5 and 6: metamorphosis from one state to ano
Page 7 and 8: geslagtelikheid omdat die seksualit
Page 9 and 10: ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to ex
Page 11 and 12: CHAPTER FOUR: LUMINOUS LILIES AND M
Page 13 and 14: FIGURE 24 CALVARY .................
Page 15 and 16: INTRODUCTION The Pierrot of the nin
Page 17 and 18: of a narrative is also the reading
Page 19 and 20: political and historical context. K
Page 21 and 22: i Semiotic (Le sémiotique) Kristev
Page 23 and 24: iv Castration complex Having establ
Page 25 and 26: notion of the ‘I’. This establi
Page 27 and 28: Kristeva also regards resistance to
Page 29 and 30: overthrowing of the grammatical str
Page 31 and 32: Carnival and the original Commedia
Page 33 and 34: with animals, with objects’ (Bakh
Page 35 and 36: Kristeva’s work on the uses of po
Page 37 and 38: evision, painter, narrator, receive
Page 39 and 40: polyvalence - an adherence to diffe
Page 41: epresentation, the extent to which
Page 45 and 46: oundaries become fluid and seep int
Page 47 and 48: perfect representative of the decad
Page 49 and 50: Figure 1 Figure 1 Coition of a hemi
Page 51 and 52: Pierrot became a member of the Comm
Page 53 and 54: Eight years later the Italian Comme
Page 55 and 56: family were hired to work at the Th
Page 57 and 58: all the airs of a master and an apl
Page 59 and 60: fitted but ruched around the elbows
Page 61 and 62: of moonlight and darkness. The figu
Page 63 and 64: Figure 2 Figure 2 Italian comedians
Page 65 and 66: Figure 4 Figure 4 Pierrot (Gilles)
Page 67 and 68: CHAPTER TWO: PIERROT LUNAIRE AND TH
Page 69 and 70: Sois le bienvenu, rouge Automne. We
Page 71 and 72: words with which to evoke unusual i
Page 73 and 74: ensures that he flouts all moral la
Page 75 and 76: epugnance towards the act. Suicide
Page 77 and 78: Théâtre (1) 43 sets the scene for
Page 79 and 80: language transcends the laws of com
Page 81 and 82: The ‘I’ of the poem with his fr
Page 83 and 84: guise as femme fatale, the ultimate
Page 85 and 86: glory and pride, whereas Pierrot wi
Page 87 and 88: In the poem the bass sounds of the
Page 89 and 90: peacock. Vanity’s mirror also con
Page 91 and 92: ‘manifester une émotion par le t
Page 93 and 94:
shout. He hears her in a murmur, li
Page 95 and 96:
Laughter has been built up througho
Page 97 and 98:
whim. His desire covets women no ma
Page 99 and 100:
the prohibition necessary to the ar
Page 101 and 102:
a continual oscillating rhythm and
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Mais dans sa volupté physique But
Page 105 and 106:
humanness is further emphasized by
Page 107 and 108:
with the Mendicants who were an ord
Page 109 and 110:
and though most dictionaries will l
Page 111 and 112:
ansom demanded, spitting words and
Page 113 and 114:
mean torturer. In La sérénade de
Page 115 and 116:
elease into the poem. The discordan
Page 117 and 118:
of the viol is replaced by that of
Page 119 and 120:
and repulses in equal measure. It i
Page 121 and 122:
‘Sacripante’ which was a proper
Page 123 and 124:
There is also an innuendo to the sc
Page 125 and 126:
lie, untruthfulness and illusion’
Page 127 and 128:
impulses which drive and try to dis
Page 129 and 130:
‘mistress’ contained within the
Page 131 and 132:
appearance. The duenna is an illust
Page 133 and 134:
which is aimed at the duenna and bo
Page 135 and 136:
terms. The stones appear to be feve
Page 137 and 138:
illuminated with the fire-like eyes
Page 139 and 140:
spiritual ravishment, 124 which at
Page 141 and 142:
Avarice is the sin that creates thi
Page 143 and 144:
xxi Insidious sloth A thread of red
Page 145 and 146:
to attain this vaunted state necess
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O Madone des Hystéries! O Madonna
Page 149 and 150:
I, torturer full of remorse, shall
Page 151 and 152:
Madonna is firmly in the grips of s
Page 153 and 154:
manages to prevent a complete implo
Page 155 and 156:
fluidity is created between words a
Page 157 and 158:
The sinking melancholic weariness a
Page 159 and 160:
contrived to perturb the reader wit
Page 161 and 162:
carried by the perfume. Sloth, a fo
Page 163 and 164:
emptiness there is a vibration, a s
Page 165 and 166:
Il désapprend son air fatal: He fo
Page 167 and 168:
and gluttony that up-ends respectab
Page 169 and 170:
ecome a ‘feast for fools’ as th
Page 171 and 172:
Illusory food and lurking gluttony
Page 173 and 174:
In his mad delusion, Pierrot believ
Page 175 and 176:
The title of the poem ‘Ivresse de
Page 177 and 178:
a love potion. Absinthe was a stran
Page 179 and 180:
precedence over the rational logic
Page 181 and 182:
A Colombine (10) 163 is a strangely
Page 183 and 184:
need of his driving semiotic passio
Page 185 and 186:
‘effeuiller’ has the destructiv
Page 187 and 188:
Moon with consumption. Her desire h
Page 189 and 190:
Pierrot is in a state of lust-fuell
Page 191 and 192:
And, subtly of herself contemplativ
Page 193 and 194:
ambiguous and lusty passion is dire
Page 195 and 196:
satanic sound which slices through
Page 197 and 198:
verb ‘traînaille’ to describe
Page 199 and 200:
adds to his wriggling and swaying m
Page 201 and 202:
tongue in its rabid agony. Blood, m
Page 203 and 204:
dictionary 1934: 898). The verb thu
Page 205 and 206:
The verb used to describe this atta
Page 207 and 208:
intemperance lurks ever in the shad
Page 209 and 210:
has assumed the attributes of a kin
Page 211 and 212:
comes from ‘lecere’ (to shine).
Page 213 and 214:
or they are shaking with anticipato
Page 215 and 216:
Les beaux vers sont de larges croix
Page 217 and 218:
They seem to have been heading to a
Page 219 and 220:
The cross was a Roman form of punis
Page 221 and 222:
dismantling of the ruling order of
Page 223 and 224:
through the restraint of the symbol
Page 225 and 226:
acket as it tumbles out of the word
Page 227 and 228:
of everyday reality. His figures se
Page 229 and 230:
Figure 7 Figure 7 Hanging tree from
Page 231 and 232:
Figure 9 Figure 9 Le miroir du diab
Page 233 and 234:
Figure 11 Figure 11 The temptation
Page 235 and 236:
Figure 13 Figure 13 The mirror of l
Page 237 and 238:
Figure 15 Figure 15 La femme et la
Page 239 and 240:
Figure 17 Figure 17 Röttgen Pietà
Page 241 and 242:
Figure 19 Figure 19 La buveuse d’
Page 243 and 244:
Figure 21 Figure 21 Lady Lilith Dan
Page 245 and 246:
Figure 23 Figure 23 Pantocrator 114
Page 247 and 248:
Figure 25 Figure 25 Crucifixion Mat
Page 249 and 250:
Figure 27 Figure 27 Dead Christ in
Page 251 and 252:
CHAPTER THREE: PHANTASMAGORIC LIGHT
Page 253 and 254:
10 years before being dissolved in
Page 255 and 256:
to identify the figure as being Ens
Page 257 and 258:
upon the wall in front of Ensor’s
Page 259 and 260:
Ensor understood carnival and its l
Page 261 and 262:
In this etching the viewer sees fiv
Page 263 and 264:
well as macabre amusement. It is th
Page 265 and 266:
lue. It is as though the figure has
Page 267 and 268:
Brighella. This character was an av
Page 269 and 270:
mad mayhem of the carnival seen in
Page 271 and 272:
promiscuity. Sometimes the fiesta b
Page 273 and 274:
from Bosch’s Ship of Fools. Stefa
Page 275 and 276:
ough texturing lends a savage movem
Page 277 and 278:
who eventually became her husband m
Page 279 and 280:
This enigmatic and perplexing inter
Page 281 and 282:
any true embodiment and the carniva
Page 283 and 284:
impression of posing for a final po
Page 285 and 286:
epresentative of gross over-indulge
Page 287 and 288:
conspiratorially and with delight a
Page 289 and 290:
an escape from two scythe-bearing g
Page 291 and 292:
There is an overblown bestiality to
Page 293 and 294:
Ensor’s laughter is inseparable f
Page 295 and 296:
figure of Marianne, a constantly re
Page 297 and 298:
living. The pushing, shoving and ob
Page 299 and 300:
taints the comedy of the masquerade
Page 301 and 302:
frustrated ambitions’ (Haesaerts
Page 303 and 304:
Figure 29 Figure 29 The Pisser 1887
Page 305 and 306:
Figure 31 Figure 31 Scandalised mas
Page 307 and 308:
Figure 33 Figure 33 The Entry of Ch
Page 309 and 310:
Figure 35 Figure 35 Astonishment of
Page 311 and 312:
Figure 37 Figure 37 Death and masks
Page 313 and 314:
Figure 39 Figure 39 Duel of the mas
Page 315 and 316:
Figure 41 Figure 41 Masks confronti
Page 317 and 318:
Figure 43 Figure 43 Pierrot with ma
Page 319 and 320:
A glade in the Parc du Petit Triano
Page 321 and 322:
tomb, trying to understand its mean
Page 323 and 324:
the truth, but only hinted at it th
Page 325 and 326:
“He loves to-night who never love
Page 327 and 328:
thoroughly. His behaviour is that o
Page 329 and 330:
The god that now prevails in the gl
Page 331 and 332:
perfect counterpart. This perfectio
Page 333 and 334:
To woo an immortal, Cold, cold the
Page 335 and 336:
Keats’s La Belle Dame Sans Merci
Page 337 and 338:
stable symbolic boundaries, ensures
Page 339 and 340:
The Moon Maiden accepts Pierrot’s
Page 341 and 342:
Pierrot’s projected desire in its
Page 343 and 344:
Mais le seigneur à blanche basque,
Page 345 and 346:
anaemic Moon-being seems to arise f
Page 347 and 348:
constraints imposed by reality (De
Page 349 and 350:
255-278 resemble a technique that w
Page 351 and 352:
dissonance between his desirous cra
Page 353 and 354:
La Lune, d’un pas familier, With
Page 355 and 356:
Dowson’s Pierrot is also enslaved
Page 357 and 358:
feminised. However, the word ‘ano
Page 359 and 360:
For Dowson, Pierrot was a symbolic
Page 361 and 362:
Figure 44 Figure 44 Et in arcadia e
Page 363 and 364:
Figure 46 Figure 46 Sleeping hermap
Page 365 and 366:
CHAPTER FIVE: THE KING OF LACE AND
Page 367 and 368:
harsh ugliness which ooze hedonisti
Page 369 and 370:
There is no more valid persona to r
Page 371 and 372:
influences on Beardsley, who identi
Page 373 and 374:
This menacing and revealing erotici
Page 375 and 376:
Il ne fait guère de doute qu’une
Page 377 and 378:
either about to curtsey, or to piro
Page 379 and 380:
eligious irony of black and white;
Page 381 and 382:
ethereal wraith, he has no colour,
Page 383 and 384:
slips into indecision and the carni
Page 385 and 386:
features of the face, was besprinkl
Page 387 and 388:
wore stick-up collars and a black b
Page 389 and 390:
dislocation of symbolic meaning and
Page 391 and 392:
hybridisation calls into question t
Page 393 and 394:
within the other in an endless para
Page 395 and 396:
helmet and the smug repletion, alon
Page 397 and 398:
this silence if Pierrot is dead? Or
Page 399 and 400:
acrimonious outcry from the critics
Page 401 and 402:
Beardsley knew that death from the
Page 403 and 404:
nature and the artificial, black an
Page 405 and 406:
Figure 49 Figure 49 Lucian’s true
Page 407 and 408:
Figure 51 Figure 51 Pierrot and cat
Page 409 and 410:
Figure 53 Figure 53 Headpiece for T
Page 411 and 412:
Figure 55 Figure 55 Border for the
Page 413 and 414:
Figure 57 Figure 57 Half title for
Page 415 and 416:
CONCLUSION Pierrot’s ethereal, me
Page 417 and 418:
Pierrot with his own ambiguity and
Page 419 and 420:
figures of the androgyne and the he
Page 421 and 422:
elationship with the femme fatale e
Page 423 and 424:
attempted to undermine and overthro
Page 425 and 426:
Secondary Sources: Adams, J. 2000.
Page 427 and 428:
Block, J.(ed.) 1997. Belguim: The g
Page 429 and 430:
Christophe, L. 1960. Albert Giraud:
Page 431 and 432:
Durrell, L. 1952. A key to modern B
Page 433 and 434:
Gilson, B. (ed.) 2006. Le nu impert
Page 435 and 436:
Huxley, A. 1918. Ernest Dowson. In
Page 437 and 438:
Lechte, J. 1990. Art, love and mela
Page 439 and 440:
Nicoll, A. 1963. The world of Harle
Page 441 and 442:
Pursglove, G. 1993. Ernest Dowson's
Page 443 and 444:
Snodgrass, C. 1989. Beardsley's osc
Page 445 and 446:
Tricot, X. 1995. Ensoriana. Bruxell
Page 447 and 448:
Bal, M. (Winter 1990). The point of
Page 449 and 450:
Kromm, J.E. (Fall 1994). The femini
Page 451 and 452:
Wolgast, K. (1989). Die Commedia de
Page 453:
Central European University http://
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