This thesis examines the parallels between the religions of the Far and Middle East and the theatre of Henry de Montherlant. The religions discussed are Hinduism, Buddhism, Zen, Shinto, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Mithraism, Islam and Judaism. Montherlant has referred to all these religions in his Essays and we have sought to demonstrate the underlying syncretism which they constitute in his drama. The pattern we have followed is, firstly to indicate aspects of each sect which compare with Montherlant's plays, next to give evidence of his knowledge of these aspects and finally to show how this influence affects the plays. In our Introduction we outline Montherlant's literary career before turning to his doctrine of syncretism. He is a syncretist because he sees in most religions examples of what he, outside religion, calls 'la qualité', that is a personal attitude of grandeur. Chapter one deals with Hinduism and we have examined its asceticism, its caste system, its treatment of women, certain of its contradictions, and its mysticism. After clarifying these aspects as part of the Hindu faith, we have turned to Montherlant's plays and found parallels between Hinduism and Montherlant's ascetics, between caste and his idea of 'la qualité', his view of women as portrayed in his theatre, his apparent contradictions concerning many things but especially concerning women and sensuality, and, lastly, his examples of mysticism as seen in Le Maître de Santiago, Port-Royal and Le Cardinal d'Espagne. In the second chapter Buddhism presents fewer parallels, indeed many of its typical characteristics would he unattractive to Montherlant. However, Montherlant does accept its asceticism, its original anti-feminism and, to a certain degree, its attitude towards morality and nature. Chapter three concerns the two sects of Japan, Zen and Shinto. Zen is wary of intellectual processes, it encourages a mode of behaviour rather than a mode of thought. This simple creed, with its strict code of honour, contempt for personal gain and death and encouragement of terseness of expression and personal discipline, became the basis for the way of life of the samurai, greatly admired by Montherlant. In several of his plays there is a clash between affection and discipline typical of the samurai knights. Similarly, some of his heroes experience the sudden revelation advocated by Zen, induced by violence or simplicity. There is also evidence of the samurai attitude towards wealth, especially in Le Maître de Santiago, and towards death, particularly in Malatesta, Port-Royal, Le Cardinal d'Espagne and La Guerre civile. This last attitude leads on to a lofty idea of self which is typical both of the samurai and of many of Montherlant's heroes. Zen accepts violence as part of reality and Montherlant sees it as part of 'la qualité' since he deliberately sought violence in sports, bull-fighting and war. His plays abound with violent images, especially La Reine morte, Malatesta and Le Cardinal d'Espagne. Shinto is essentially nationalistic and so compares with the recurrent theme in the drama of Montherlant of the separate community. Groups of people who choose to live by a strict code of behaviour clearly gain Montherlant's sympathy. In his theatre we find several of these groups. The animism of Shinto stresses the harmony of man and nature, man is not divorced from divinity but is part of it. This conception is close to Montherlant's outlook in Inès (La Reine morte) and Malatesta. In chapter four we have grouped the religions of the Middle East: Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Mithraism, Islam and Judaism. Zoroastrianism has a positive attitude towards life which is shared by Montherlant at times. This acceptance of life is overshadowed by the renown of his severe ascetics, but Pasiphaé, Malatesta, Ravier and Don Juan among others indicate the other side to his nature. With Manichaeism there are striking parallels but its influence has probably been indirect through the early Church and the Cathars. Its extreme dualism, separating the evil physical world from the good spiritual world, its distinction between the 'Perfects' and the mere believers and its lyricism are all paralleled in the theatre of Montherlant. Mithraism has also influenced Montherlant. We have emphasised three particular aspects of it; water, sun and the bull, since they all figure significantly in the plays. With its hierarchy of seven grades and its attraction for the Roman soldier, Mithraism offers other parallels with Montherlant's theatre and thought. The influence of Islam has been twofold, firstly through its historical effect on Spain, deeply admired by Montherlant, and through its effect on the North African Arab culture, experienced by Montherlant during his important travels there. Montherlant is attracted by the violence of Islam and, once more, by its mysticism--Sufism. Evidence of this influence can be seen particularly in La Reine morte, Le Maître de Santiago and Le Cardinal d'Espagne, the 'Spanish' plays. The particular aspects of Judaism that we have considered are its monotheism, its idea of separate race with the subsequent feeling of isolation and the theme of guilt. The Christianity of Montherlant's characters refers more to God than to Christ. The idea of race is another example of the community which chooses 'la qualité' and in the case of Judaism this stand has brought about a feeling of isolation which is mirrored by some of Montherlant's heroes. The concept of guilt, a very minor theme, appears in La Reine morte, Fils de personne and Le Cardinal d'Espagne. In our conclusion we have remarked that the parallels which exist between some of the world's religions and Montherlant's theatre are not surprising since a deep religious conviction is dramatic in itself and is thus similar to Montherlant's doctrine of 'la qualité'. Like Catholicism, in which Montherlant detects a rich syncretism, the religions we have examined accept the opposing forces at work in man and attempt to lead him towards an existence which is on a higher level than that of man without religion. Montherlant does not agree with the metaphysics of these religions, but he does agree that 'la qualité' is a condition which is worth striving for. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

If not in style at least in the basic subject of his plays, Henry de Montherlant can be termed a thoroughly modern playwright for he, like Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco, deals with the dilemma facing twentieth-century man: that man is nothing in an illusory world devoid of hope. Montherlant does not choose the vehicle of the "anti-théâtre" chosen by Beckett and Ionesco to symbolize the futility of man's life and aspirations but rather creates his plays within the framework of the style of the great classical tragedies of seventeenth-century France. His is a purely psychological theatre in which all external action is kept to a minimum in order to permit a penetrating study of the mind and soul of the hero. Of the four plays chosen for comparison in this thesis, we find that three take place in periods other than the twentieth century. The sixteenth or seventeenth century background does not detract from the plight of modern man, but rather magnifies the intense suffering of man throughout the ages as he struggles towards a deeper awareness of the self and of the world surrounding him. By using men of heroic stature from these bygone eras, Montherlant is able to transcend the contemporary and thus prove that the quest for human values is indeed eternal. Modern man faces the same search for self identity as did medieval or Renaissance man; both must find some way to brave a world of illusions and to rise above the uselessness of their own existence. This thesis is an attempt to show how the Montherlantian hero combats the seeming folly of the "condition humaine." Any study of Montherlant's theatre necessitates a close look at his idea of a protagonist. It will soon be realized that all the heroes of his religious theatre are superior beings; this superiority is not based on wealth or social rank but rather on a contempt for mediocrity in themselves, in others, and in the world about them. The desire for superiority on the part of the hero is revealed in a constant need to reach beyond himself; he becomes, in his own mind at least, a superman of the type created by Nietzsche. The Montherlantian hero is very similar to a martyr for he is completely under the influence of a genuine passion, in this case, the passion of his own degree of superiority. Like the martyr, he is driven by this passion to an uncompromising attitude because he refuses to accept any part of a society which appears to him to be mediocre. For this reason the heroes of Montherlant's Christian vein are almost all estranged from their time and compatriots. Throughout the religious plays this total estrangement takes the form of lack ofunderstanding and communication between the characters; a fear that any demonstration of understanding would only reflect a decrease in the superior qualities of the hero. Montherlant's religious theatre, like his profane theatre, reflects the author's constant search to surpass the hopelessness of human existence. No avenue is left unexplored and Montherlant through his heroes rejects all political, religious, or philosophical "engagements." With the exception of the Cardinal d'Espagne, the religious protagonist refuses to be a part of his particular order or rank because he feels that he is superior to all other members of the group. His role in life, as seen through his eyes, is to achieve a perfect knowledge of the self in order to become a free person; in this respect he is an "être engagé" because he uses the world to his own advantage to obtain this goal of complete and total liberty. However, the more he engages in this inquiry of self knowledge, the more he becomes an "être détaché" because he is unable to bear the mediocrity which he feels surrounds him. The more lucid the Montherlantian hero becomes, the more he realizes the complete futility of human existence. This theme of extreme suffering and the penetrating lucidity of the hero can be traced from the first of Montherlant's plays until the last. With each play the amount of suffering, the degree of lucidity, and the desire for total withdrawal from a hopeless and absurd world are increased. The religious plays magnify the infinitesimal nature of man when compared with a supreme being. With each religious hero, Montherlant presents a character of increasing perception until he finally creates la reine Jeanne as a perfect portrait of someone who has seen in its entirety the nothingness of this world and who has herself become a part of this nothingness. Jeanne la folle is the culmination of Montherlant's philosophy of "Service Inutile", a philosophy designed to aid a person to surpass the "néant" by means of an act which is in itself completely useless. Jeanne has come face to face with this "néant" and she accepts it; she has seen not only the vanity of human existence but also the futility of her own actions; she has stripped the world of all its illusions. Having accepted the "néant" so completely that she has become a part of it, she nevertheless has surpassed the "néant" by means of an act which is the supreme degree of futility. Although she has no illusions about anything in this world, including her unfaithful husband, she glorifies her husband although he is not worth this idolization. Jeanne attains her freedom by means of this act which becomes more beautiful as it becomes totally useless. The portrait of la reine Jeanne, as has been stated, is the peak of Montherlantian philosophy, and the other religious protagonists reflect the various levels of the art of attaining complete liberty. From the first religious hero, the Maître de Santiago, to the Cardinal d'Espagne the lure of the "néant", of this nothingness increases in each character until the Cardinal is finally depicted as the symbol of the dilemma of man: despairing, he can neither believe in himself nor in what he has done throughout his life. He sees the uselessness of it all but he lacks the courage to do the one thing which would liberate him from the overwhelming power of this nothingness; he is unable to destroy what he has created, that is, he cannot commit the most futile act of all, destroying what is already nothing. Like men of every epoch, in the last analysis, he refuses to see himself as he really is. Of the five religious protagonists studied in this thesis, all superior people, all to a certain extent endowed with a remarkable lucidity, the reader learns only of the sure success of one hero, la reine Jeanne, who is able to survive in a world devoid of all illusion and hope. The philosophy of "Service Inutile" is indeed reserved for a very select few - for those who belong to "les gens de qualité." / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study is to examine dramatic conflict in the plays of Montherlant and its relationship with the author's philosophy which states that the main purpose of life is personal happiness. As a datum of the analysis, it is assumed that the happiness of the individual would increase in proportion as the conflict in his life were reduced, and conversely, that his happiness would decrease in proportion as his conflicts were increased. The ideally situated individual, the happy individual, would be, therefore, he whose life is entirely free of conflict. The analysis we make is confined mainly to the principal conflicts of the plays (those in which the protagonist is the most important personnage) and examines these conflicts from two basically different points of view. The first considers the protagonist in his conflict with others (Chapters one, two and three) and the second examines the inner, psychological conflicts of the same protagonists (Chapters four and five). Chapter one views conflict in the plays as it exists between men and women. In general, the protagonist is a man whose ideals are threatened by a woman. The outcome of their conflicts follows a fairly regular pattern which shows the former favoured at the expense of the latter. In addition, it is seen that the only woman with whom a protagonist can be compatible is she who exists entirely for the man and who is, in effect, only an extension of his own personality. In Chapter two, we deal with the conflicts between protagonists as fathers, and their children. Generally, the conflicts revolve about the efforts of the father to force the child to conform to moral standards specified by him, and although the protagonist rarely succeeds in his efforts, the child almost always suffers at the hands of his father. The only children whom the fathers find wholly worthy of respect are those who mirror his personality in every way, and who even sacrifice themselves for him. The question of the protagonist in conflict with society as a whole is discussed in Chapter three. Montherlant sees society as composed of two kinds of people - on the one hand, the 'superior' individuals and on the other, the 'mediocre' masses. The protagonists of the plays are portrayed as 'superior' individuals. In their conflicts with society, they are almost always successful except in their conflicts with the Church. Their success depends in large part on their capacity to live their own life in spite of society, or to isolate themselves from it. Chapters four and five deal with the inner conflicts of the protagonists whose exterior conflicts have been discussed in the first three chapters. Chapter four examines those protagonists who are aware of their inner conflicts and who suffer from them. In general these personnages have dramatically tragic qualities which stem from their basic lucidity. None of them is 'happy' as Montherlant would define happiness. In Chapter five we consider the protagonists who are unaware of their inner contradictions or are indifferent to them. Their blindness to themselves or their indifference to the inconsistencies which others see in them are in general, factors which contribute to their happiness. Three protagonists emerge from this group as being 'ideal', in that, at the end of the plays in which they are figured, they are completely free of conflict of any kind, and are thus 'happy' in the sense in which Montherlant defines happiness. In the conclusion to our study we see that in their external conflicts (Chapters one, two and three) the protagonists in general are pitted against opponents who seem much weaker than themselves. For this reason, the defeat of the opponent seems to emphasize the egoism and ruthlessness of the protagonist. On the other hand the inner suffering of some of these same protagonists mitigates in large measure their treatment of their opponents and indeed, some of them emerge as truly tragic figures (Chapter four). The fact that 'happiness' in some protagonists (Chapter five) seems to depend not only on ruthlessness and egoism in the protagonist as he deals with others, but also blindness or indifference to his own faults and weaknesses, tend to make these latter protagonists appear somewhat monstruous. We conclude ultimately from our study of dramatic conflict in the theatre of Montherlant that while the plays are generally stimulating emotionally and intellectually, the moral value of the author's philosophy of personal happiness which underlies all conflict in his plays is limited from a humanitarian and spiritual standpoint. / Arts, Faculty of / French, Hispanic, and Italian Studies, Department of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

D.Litt. et Phil. / A sense of isolation pervades all of Montherlant's writings -- the notebooks, the essays, the novels, and the plays. Although cognisance has been taken of his oeuvre as a whole, we have limited our study to that of Montherlant's theatre, for it is in his theatre that many of the thematic interests dispersed throughout the novels and the essays are crystallised in a striking and concrete form. We have, however, had recourse from time to time to his other writings. The object of this study is to examine in both intellectual and theatrical terms, the way in which Montherlant presents the voluntary distancing of the self in his plays. Almost all of his protagonists appear isolated within their family groups and social frameworks, but they seem voluntarily to have embraced that condition, and, furthermore they actively seek this isolation. Montherlant's first play, L'Exil, establishes a leitmotif that recurs time after time in all his subsequent plays.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.