Jean Genet's Mirror Images in Le Balcon

JEAN GENETtS MIRROR IMAGES IN LE 13ALCON JEAN GENET'S FASCINATION WITH MIRRORS AND MIRROR IMAGES poses an interesting psychological-philosophical-literary problem for the critic. Most obviously Genet's preoccupation with mirrors is related to the question of illusion and reality, and this preoccupation has been variously interpreted as an indication of his refusal to accept reality,l or his Pirandellism.2 Yet, to understand Genet's use of the mirror in Ie Balcon it is essential to realize that his characters, unlike Pirandello's, never confuse their image with their reality. Rather than symbols of illusion, Genet's mirrors emphasize the reversal of reality. For example, the "Bishop" wants to believe that the prostitute's sins are real in order that his image acquire authenticity and purity. However , as a real man he is terrified by the suggestion that the sins might indeed be real, for then he would be "dans un drole de petrin."3 The "gasman" is clearly conscious of the distinction between reality and his image as "Bishop." Although Genet seems to prefer illusion or appearance , his basic concern is not with illusion per se) but rather with mirror images that are dramatic metaphors intended to illustrate the "sophistry of the Nay." For example, a layman who pushes his role as "Bishop" to the extreme by playing the role in a whorehouse where he performs holy rites ("Benediction," "Messe," "Adoration perpetuelle ," "Absolution," etc., p. 14) becomes his own opposite. The psychological-philosophical source of the mirror image in Ie Balcon is what Sartre refers to as the "sophistry of theNay," that is, "Un Non pousse a l'extreme se transforme necessairement en Qui" (Sartre, p. 223). By accepting the "sophistry of the Nay" as the fundamental characteristic of Genet's Weltanschauung) the function of the mirror image as theme and technique becomes clearer. Le Balcon is not a hodge-podge of unrelated themes presented in a series of loosely 1 For comments on Genet's refusal to accept reality, see T. B. Markus, "Jean Genet: The Theatre of the Perverse," Educational Theatre Journal, XIV, 212. See also Jean-Paul Sartre, Saint-Genet: Comedien et Martyr in Oeuvres Completes de Jean Genet, Paris, 1952, I, 561-573. Subsequent references to this edition will appear in the text. 2 For articles concerning Pirandello's influence on Genet, see Edith Melcher, "The Pirandellism of Jean Genet," The French Review, XXXVI, 32-36; George C. Strem, "The Theatre of Jean Genet: Facets of Illusion-The Anti-Christ and the Underdog," The Minnesota Review, IV, 226; and J. A. Barish, "The Veritable Saint Genet," Wisconsin Studies in Contemporary Literature, VI, 281. 3 Jean Genet, Le Balcon, edition definitive (Lyon, 1962), p. 19. Subsequent refences to this edition will appear in the text. 197 198 MODERN DRAMA September constructed tableaux; the coupling of prostitute-saint, criminal-judge, illusion-reality, sex-power, religion-diabolism, and function-appearance is in reality a coherent presentation of Genet's attitude toward life. Traditionally the mirror has been a symbol of thesis and antithesis,4 and in Ie Balcon its purpose is to provide the explanation of the basic theme of the "sophistry of the Nay"-for mirror images are reflections of a thing, but being reversed they are their own opposites. Genet also uses the mirror as a dramatic technique to unify apparently disparate themes and at the same time to suggest the diversity of meaningful associations. Seen in this light, the "Bishop's" statement in the first Tableau becomes quite meaningful: "lei il n'y a pas la possibilite de faire Ie mal. Vous vivez dans Ie mal." (p. 19) In a situation committed to extreme evil it is impossible to be evil. Genet has indicated his intentions insofar as the use of the mirror as theme and techniques are concerned, both in the text itself and in his "Comment jouer Ie Balcon."5 Genet specifies that the first four tableaux should be played in an exaggerated manner. (p. 6) "En somme aucune equivoque, mais deux tons qui s'opposent [like mirrors ?]. Au contraire, des la scene entre madame Irma et Carmen jusqu'a la fin, il s'agit de decouvrir un ton de...