The Vultures: Becque's Realistic Comedy of Manners

THE VULTURES: BECQUE'S REALISTIC COMEDY OF MANNERS RENRY BECQUE'S THE VULTURES, although important in the early development of modem realism, seems to be, for the most part, a forgotten play, or at least one that has received little critical attention in America. Its inclusion in John Gassner's, A Treasury of the Theatre, in an English translation by Freeman Tilden,l however, is likely to make it a familiar play, at least to undergraduate students. It is, perhaps, of value then to examine some of the assumptions made concerning the nature of the play and how well they fit the work as art. In an introduction to the play, Gassner writes of the characters as believing that, "their social conduct and sentiments are norms of the social level on which they live and thrive." He notes that although Becque has employed the slice-of-life technique of the realist, the play does not belong to the naturalistic school of Zola and his other contemporaries in the French theater. Indeed, as Gassner points out, Becque removed himself from Zola's brand of naturalism when he wrote in his own preface to The Vultures: "I have never entertained much liking for assassins, hysterical and alcoholic characters, or for the martyrs of heredity and victims of evolution." Becque's intent was to portray reality as he saw it, to be completely faithful to the nature of the language, the thoughts and the actions that the characters would exhibit if they could be seen operating within the real society Becque was mirroring on the stage. An American critic, Samuel Montefiore Waxman, contends that The Vultures is excessively bitter. In his study, Antoine and the ThedtreLibre , Waxman praises Becque's dialogue and characterization, but he says, "And the words of the ravens are cruel, sometimes needlessly cruel. They reflect Becque's black view of life." Waxman holds that this "black view" is a result of Becque's unfortunate financial experiences . He considers the play more as a comment on the defined vultures than as a revelation of the manners of all the characters within their world. By means of this point of view, he is able to find an element to offset Becque's natural pessimism: ''The most beautiful 1. A T,easury Of The Theat,e, ed. by John Gassner (New York, 1959). All references to the play are from this edition. I am indebted to Mrs. Mathe Allain for aid in translating critical material as well as for making an analytical comparison of certain passages from the French edition of Les CMbeaux with the English translation. 72 1961 THE VULTURES 73 sentiment of Les Corbeaux is the closeness with which the mother, daughters, and faithful servant cling to each other in their unequal battle with the ravens."2 The play is a slice-of-life, a realistic play. To stop with this analysis, however, is to fall short of the mark, short of Henry Becque's intent and artistry. The Vultures presents a group of characters who are both products and producers of their society. Becque examines their code and their manners by presenting them without commentary. Any condemnation of their behavior is implicit, inferred from the disparity between the characters' evaluation of themselves and their society and the audience's opinion of them. In addition to employing these realistic techniques, Becque indirectly assists the audience in forming its opinion by satirizing the characters' manners with a heavy irony and a grim humor, unlikely to provoke laughter. Becque thus seems to have created a realistic play, in which the techniques of the comedy of manners are used for moralizing purposes. This blending is substantially intimated in James Huneker's, Iconoclasts . Huneker writes in one instance that "Les Corbeaux is unique in modem comedy," and, later, that "Les Corbeaux is the Bible of the dramatic realists." Huneker also argues, however, that "Moliere is his [Becque's] real master," and he asks, "Are we returning to the Moliere comedy of character?" Huneker's awareness of Moliere's influence on Becque and his opinion that Becque's new realism was a modified, a subdued naturalism, makes him see the playas a blending of these...