Jane Eyre and Alexandre Dumas: a previously unknown play. (2nd October 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Jane Eyre and Alexandre Dumas: a previously unknown play. (2nd October 2021)
- Main Title:
- Jane Eyre and Alexandre Dumas: a previously unknown play
- Authors:
- Stoneman, Patsy
Rahier, François - Abstract:
- Abstract : Among the many nineteenth-century stage versions of Jane Eyre, undoubtedly the most influential was The Orphan of Lowood by Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer. First written in German and performed in Vienna in 1853, this play was translated and performed all over Europe and America, its popularity partly due to its recasting of Rochester as a blameless philanthropic hero. The play generated its own adaptations, and among these is a previously unknown French play by Alexandre Dumas (père), written about 1858 but never performed and assumed lost until 2012. It has now been transcribed and edited by François Rahier as part of a multi-volume edition of Dumas' theatrical works. The material on Dumas in this paper is based on François Rahier's original research, which explains why Dumas' play was not performed and how it was discovered after being thought lost. Comparing the Dumas play with the Birch-Pfeiffer original, and with an 1855 Belgian play which may have been an intermediate source, the paper demonstrates that Dumas greatly expands the Birch-Pfeiffer version, using material drawn directly from Charlotte Brontë's novel, a revision which reverses Birch-Pfeiffer's sanitization of the story. In conclusion, there is some evidence that Charlotte Brontë knew and approved of Dumas' stage works, though she died before his Jane Eyre was drafted.
- Is Part Of:
- Brontë studies. Volume 46:Number 4(2021)
- Journal:
- Brontë studies
- Issue:
- Volume 46:Number 4(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 46, Issue 4 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 46
- Issue:
- 4
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0046-0004-0000
- Page Start:
- 342
- Page End:
- 356
- Publication Date:
- 2021-10-02
- Subjects:
- Jane Eyre -- Alexandre Dumas (Père) -- stage play -- Charlotte Birch-Pfeiffer -- Victor Lefèvre -- Pierre Royer -- Paul Meurice
Periodicals
Criticism and interpretation -- Periodicals
Criticism and interpretation -- Periodicals
Criticism and interpretation -- Periodicals
Periodicals
823.8 - Journal URLs:
- http://search.epnet.com/direct.asp?db=aph&jid=%22PK5%22&scope=site ↗
http://proxy.lib.iastate.edu:2048/login?url=http://www.ingentaselect.com/rpsv/cw/maney/14748932/contp1.htm ↗
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/bst ↗
http://maneypublishing.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/14748932.2021.1948245 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1474-8932
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 19298.xml