The First French Literary Centenary: National Sentiment and the Molière Celebration of 1773

The First French Literary Centenary: National Sentiment and the Molière Celebration of 1773 JOHN R. IVERSON When was the first French literary centenary? Pierre Nora has called our times the "era of commemoration," and William M. Johnston has defined the "cult of anniversaries" as one of the hallmarks of the modern age.1 Celebrations are staged around even rather trivial cultural dates; commemoration has become a major industry in France, as elsewhere.2 Despite the magnitude of this phenomenon, however, no one has stopped to ask precisely where these practices originated, what first inspired them, what types of rationale were applied to their earliest manifestations. The self-evident nature of the modern commemorative impulse has prevented us from looking towards the past or, more precisely, back to the celebration of Molière's death in 1773—France's first literary centenary.3 Given the lack of commemorative precedent in France, the significance of the 1773 celebration extends far beyond Molière.4 In order for this literary tribute to take place, multiple factors had to converge, some of which had little to do with Molière specifically.5 The prominence of the "cult of great men," an emerging tendency to treat the passing of a hundred-year interval as a significant occurrence, a growing concern for cultivating the heritage of the French literary tradition, and a growing sense of cultural rivalry with England, particularly aggravated by the example of the Shakespeare Jubilee of 1769, all contributed to the birth of the centenary. In combination, these 145 146 / IVERSON elements make the commemorative observance of 1773 a key moment in the formation of a French national literature. More than a simple sign of veneration for Molière, this event emblematized the emergence of French literature and French writers as vital components of national identity. The Molière Centenary On 17 February 1773, the actors at the Comédie Française celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of Molière's death by performing a one-act comedy entitled L'Assemblée.6 Written for the occasion by the abbé Le Beau de Schosne, this work was hardly a theatrical masterpiece. The form it assumed, however, was significant because it established a model for subsequent celebratory spectacles in France. As indicated by the title, L'Assemblée depicts a meeting of the actors of the Comédie Française who must decide whether to accept a new play for their repertory. An aspiring playwright proposes an idea which, he says, will certainly please the troupe, Puisque je veux célébrer le retour Et de l'année & du jour séculaire Qui vit Moliere éclipsé de la terre (33). The plan meets with general acclaim, but the actors are at a loss as to how they might best honor their founder. A sorcerer is called; the ghost of Molière appears and explains why the comic genre has fallen on hard times in France. When the ghost finally departs, a curtain rises and, "la statue de Moliere paroît posée sur un piédestal" (34). The play ends as the entire company gathers around this bust, crowning it with laurels. This was the "Apothéose de Molière" referred to in the full title of the work.7 The following evening, 18 February 1773, a second one-act play dedicated to the Molière centenary premiered, Jean-Baptiste Artaud's Le Centenaire de Moliere.* In this case, the scenario involves the arrival of Thalie and Momus in France, where they have been sent by Jupiter to gauge whether the great comic author is still properly appreciated in his homeland. One by one, characters from Molière's comedies come forth to lament the loss of their creator. Again, as in Lebeau de Schosne's Assemblée, the work concludes with the crowning of a bust of the dead playwright. The "apotheosis" of the writer is thus established as an obligatory element of the commemorative celebration. During the following weeks, each of these two works was given several The First French Literary Centenary / 147 performances, often in conjunction with one of Molière's works. Of the two, La Centenaire de Moliere...