Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in Europe: a theatre at stake
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson en Europe : un théâtre en jeu
Published on Thursday, November 16, 2023
Abstract
This symposium will explore the European dimension of the Norwegian theatre artist Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910). It will examine his influences, his critics and his reception. Questions of staging and re-writing may also be studied. A comparative approach is strongly encouraged.
Announcement
Argument
The award of the 2023 Nobel Prize for Literature to Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse gives us an opportunity to look back at the career of one of his compatriots who won the same prize in 1903: Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (1832-1910). Both a rival and a close relative of Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson is not as well known today. In his early years, he contributed to the national Romantic movement, and he has written the Norwegian national anthem Ja, vi elsker dette landet [Yes, we love this country] (1864). He also wrote novels and literary critics, dealing with the social issues of his time, for example in En fallit [Bankruptcy] (1875). At the end of his life, he embraced symbolism with Over Ævne [Beyond the Forces] (1883).Bjørnson was involved in all the debates of his time, and his work was much debated. Although he is little known in France, he is not strictly invisible or forgotten in European literary history. In fact, he is regularly quoted for two reasons: as the initiator and promoter of the "modern breakthrough" in 1871, and as the author of En Handske [The Glove], a play that has two different versions. The "modern breakthrough" partly constituted a critical re-reading of Romanticism, or rather of Scandinavian Romanticism, which Bjørnson criticised for its disengagement from current social issues. The Glove (the 1883 version has been rarely performed, but published and widely commented on, while the 1886 version has been hardly, if at all, published or translated) also confronts a form of naivety or idealism: Svava and Alfred are about to get married, but when she learns that he had an affair before they met, she throws her glove in his face. She rejects the "double standard of morality" which sees women despised when they have several affairs, while men receive general indulgence and even encouragement for the same behaviour. Such a position raised strong reactions from Bjørnson's contemporaries, and the sedelighetsdebatten [debate on sexual morality] brought moralists and immoralists who supported free love, such as August Strindberg (1849-1912), into conflict through articles, literary works and even lectures.We thus know him both as a contributor to the "modern breakthrough" and as the driving force behind the debate on sexual morality. While these are two helpful milestones, they are nonetheless fragmentary if not reductive. The aim of this symposium is to challenge these two conceptions by looking at the author's work and career as a whole, in order to put it into perspective.In this way, the symposium does not seek to focus on the hanskestriken [querelle du Gant] well-known in the research (Bredsdorff 1969/1977, Stenberg 1999, Stenberg 1999, Tinderholt 1999). Nevertheless, Corinne François-Denève's recent French retranslation of Le Gant (Avant-Scène théâtre, 2023) is an opportunity to revisit some of the unexplored aspects of the work, such as the "theories surhumaines" (the word is found in Le Gant) that underlie Bjørnson's thinking. The intention is to take Bjørnson out of his Scandinavian isolation and look at him from different perspectives.
Axis
Proposals of comunication could therefore focus on these axis, without pretending to be exhaustive:
Bjørnson as a figure in European theatre (influence and criticism)
Bjørnson, director of several theatres, who travelled to Germany, Italy and France (where he died), was well acquainted with the theatre of his time. He was a reader and spectator of plays by Kotzebue, Scribe and Augier, and a contemporary of Catulle Mendès, Shaw and Ibsen. Bjørnson's role as a "figure of the European theatre" is of particular interest here, as are his critical challenges (he is the author of plays which are as much stage essays as armchair plays, philosophical dialogues and moral theories). For example, Le Gant is in some ways a proverb (Musset), a black-robed drama and a comedy (Dumas's La Question d'argent). Novel influences can also be considered under this axis.
Bjørnson as a figure in European theatre (reception and criticism)
Bjørnson's work has been rewarded and valued to the point of winning a Nobel Prize, but what about afterwards? We will be looking at how his work has been received and canonised - both in Norway and in other countries. Why is there a vague feeling that he has been forgotten? From new generations of Nordic playwrights such as Jon Fosse and Sara Stridsberg to popular comics (Øystein Runde and Geir Moen, De fire store: Når de døde våkner [The Great Four: When the Dead Wake Up], 2007), can we even speak of a Bjørnson legacy?
The staging of Bjørnson's plays
We can discuss the staging of Bjørnson's plays in Europe and the interpretations to which Bjørnson's theatre has been subjected throughout his lifetime and up to today. Do Bjørnson the novelist and thinker overshadow the playwright? Do his plays seem outdated, like those of other European playwrights of the late nineteenth century (Henri Becque, Victorien Sardou), and why?
The Glove and its rewritings
Bjørnson was disappointed by the reception of The Glove once it had been performed; in his opinion, it failed to achieve its aim (sympathy going to the male character). Indeed, the author rewrote it, practising a form of 'stage' rewriting whose writing audacity or obedience to the public, or even pragmatism or models, are to be discussed. We welcome comparisons between the two versions, or comparative perspectives with other Norwegian or international plays (rewritten, modified, like the end of Ibsen's A Doll's House, or which have caused a scandal). The press's reception of the characters in this play and others by Villiers de l'Isle Adam or Catulle Mendès, for example, as 'illogical' or their behaviour as 'needlessly obstinate' or 'unbelievable' is an opportunity to reflect on the categories and, in particular, the words used by critics and their consequences.
Submission guidelines
Proposals for 20-minute communications (half a page in .doc or .pdf format) should be sent to rjamet[at]unistra.fr and guyots[at]unistra.fr by 15 January 2024 at the latest for evaluation with the help of the scientific comitee. Communications may be given in French or English. Proposals from PhD candidates are warmly welcomed.
Organization
The symposium will be held in-person and online (hybrid) on Friday 24th May 2024 at the Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Homme - Alsace (Strasbourg). The symposium is co-organised by
- Raphaël Jamet and Solenne Guyot, UR1341 Mondes germaniques et nord-européens (Université de Strasbourg)
- Corinne François-Denève, UR4363 ILLE (Université de Haute Alsace)
- Florence Fix, UR 3229 CÉRÉdI (Université de Rouen Normandie)
A project involving performances and readings by students is currently in preparation, and could be presented during the symposium.
Scientific committee
- Emmanuel Béhague, Professeur des Universités à l'Université de Strasbourg, Etudes germaniques
- Annie Bourguignon, Professeur des Universités émérite de l'Université de Lorraine, Etudes germaniques et scandinaves
- Sylvain Ledda, Professeur des Universités à l'Université de Rouen Normandie, Littérature française
- Thomas Mohnike, Professeur des Universités à l'Université de Strasbourg, Etudes scandinaves
Subjects
- Language (Main category)
- Periods > Modern > Nineteenth century
- Mind and language > Language > Literature
- Zones and regions > Europe > France
- Zones and regions > Europe > Germanic world
- Zones and regions > Europe > Baltic and Scandinavian countries
Places
- Maison Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Homme Alsace (MISHA) - All. du Général Rouvillois
Strasbourg, France (67)
Event attendance modalities
Hybrid event (on site and online)
Date(s)
- Monday, January 15, 2024
Attached files
Keywords
- théâtre, Norvège, percée moderne, Scandinavie, influence, mise en scène
Contact(s)
- Solenne Guyot
courriel : guyots [at] unistra [dot] fr - Raphaël Jamet
courriel : rjamet [at] unistra [dot] fr
Reference Urls
Information source
- Raphaël Jamet
courriel : rjamet [at] unistra [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .
To cite this announcement
Raphaël Jamet, Solenne Guyot, Corinne François-Denève, Florence Fix, « Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson in Europe: a theatre at stake », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, November 16, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1c7g
