The Centenary of Alfred de Vigny's “Chatterton”

Abstract

JUST a century ago, on February 12, 1835, Alfred de Vigny's last play, Chatterton, was played for the first time, at the Theatre Fransais. In the preceding half-dozen years he had staged Le More de Venise, based on Othello; la Marechale d'Ancre, a not particularly successful historical drama; and Quitte pour la peur, his only comedy, suggestive of Musset's plays. Other dramatists, Dumas with Henri III et sa cour, Hugo with Hernani, had recently won triumphs on the stage. But their plays were largely contaminated by the contemporary melodrama, which was enjoying huge popular success: Pixerecourt's melodramas are said to have had 30,000 representations. In the Notes on Chatterton, Vigny said scornfully: Essayons a l'avenir de tirer la scene du dedain oiu sa futilite l'ensevilirait infailliblement en peu de temps. And in Derniere nuit de travail, the preface of his play, he had written: Je crois surtout a l'avenir et au besoin universel de choses serieuses maintenant . . . c'est, ce me semble, le temps du DRAME DE LA PENSEE. Much earlier, he had declared: L'Idee est tout.