“French Europe,” A Form of Cultural Domination?

Abstract

Through the study of chancellor Kaunitz’s efforts to bring French theater to Vienna, which was briefly successful first between 1752 and 1765 and later between 1768 and 1772, this article reconsiders the notion of a “French Europe,” whereby French culture dominated eighteenth-century Europe. In traditional diffusionist historiography, the arrow points outward from the center (France) toward the periphery (Europe). Focusing on Vienna, however, offers a different perspective, displacing France as the central hub of action. French theater in Vienna underwent a thorough process of selection and adaptation according to the various purposes it served. Analysis of the situation in Vienna reveals the complex patterns of circulation traced by French actors as they traveled both domestically and across the continent. Instead of analyzing “transnational” literary circulation quantitavely as a mere flow of merchandise, this article advocates an alternative approach, at once pragmatic and contextual, that emphasizes the political decisions that presided over it.