Pierrotâs snowy garments with their touch of black, the tragic, frozen mien of
the mask above the baggy, over-large habit became a prevailing symbol of
artistic expression during the fin de siècle. The silent white-masked figure
became the disguise for the artist in assailing and exposing the hypocrisy,
complacency and posturing that the artist saw as the masquerade of society.
Beneath the clownâs guise the artist could imaginatively act out all the
forbidden and darker secrets concealed beneath the inscribed societal
conventions of humankind. Pierrot could murder, commit incest, get riotously
drunk, rape, be a bigamist, commit suicide, be morbidly depressed, steal, be
gluttonous, rage, hate, be excessively carnal or ascetic, a hermaphrodite or
androgyne or entirely genderless in his transgression, flouting all and every
taboo. Using the mask of the clown as a distancing technique, the artist was
vicariously experiencing all that was contrary to the societal mores and laws
against which he or she was in rebellion. In this the blending of gender
became of paramount importance. The androgyne and the hermaphrodite
were, like Pierrot, leading images in the arts of the fin de siècle. They blurred
the reality of the division of gender and called into question all the attributes
that were apportioned to what was male and what female. Pierrot was seen as
partaking of this gender indecision because the sexuality that lay behind the
loose white garments was entirely uncertain, as were the lurking carnal appetites of the silvery, moonlit clown. Gender was as ghostly and as
paradoxical as the clownâs own nature.
Pierrotâs origins in the Commedia dellâarte and his original role as a buffoon
had altered by the late-nineteenth century. He had come to represent a silent
malevolence and shadowy evil which was subtly contained within the
lineaments of his lunar-coloured garments. The pantomime role had involved
the challenging and transgressing of boundaries and the world of the demonic
was invariably present, though it never triumphed; rather, laughter and love
prevailed with repeated beatings and roistering. With the Decadent movement
of the fin de siècle the demonic became the prevailing tone, filled with a
sardonic bitterness and searing, although hidden pain. Pierrotâs silence and
pallor were seen as the ultimate attributes with which to convey the trangressive
and mordant nature of the liminal artistic life. The clownâs achromatic colour
and his muteness were aspects that resembled the unsullied emptiness of page
and canvas, and his mutable, quicksilver nature was as indeterminate and fluid
as any interpretation or subjective artistic representation. The artist could thus
mould the figure to represent what was wished and in so doing reveal how
slippery and subjective any representation is.
In the chapters on Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley this thesis explores
the carnivalesque and transgressive attributes of the wan clown as a central
concern in the work of these artists. Kristevan and Bakhtinian theory on the
carnivalesque and the relation of language to transgression will structure and
guide the tenets and arguments of the thesis. The mutability and fluid metamorphosis from one state to another, disregarding boundaries, is what
Pierrot will be seen to do in the works of the chosen artists. Indeterminate
gender and lunatic emotions will be shown as essential to the shadowy and
insubstantial nature that allows the clown to ignore the extant social morals,
laws and boundaries.
Giraud, Ensor, Dowson and Beardsley could perhaps be regarded as marginal
artists of the late nineteenth century, but considerations of marginality and
greatness are based on subjective choice. These artists were a part of the fabric
of their time and are strands that braid together the thematic concerns and
representations of the fin de siècle, and this gives to their work and
importance, however liminal that might be.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-08222008-101643 |
| Date | 22 August 2008 |
| Creators | Kreuiter, Allison Dorothy |
| Contributors | Prof N Morgan |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-08222008-101643/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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