The expressed and the inexpressible in the theatre of Jean-Jacques Bernard and Henry Rene Lenormand between 1919 and 1945

Abstract

This study is concerned with the ways the Inter-War theatre of Jean-Jacques Bernard and Henry-Rene Lenormand illustrates the paradox of the relative impotence of words as instruments of communication on the one hand as compared with their potency in other respects. The first two chapters are devoted to Bernard's exploitation and demonstration of the inadequacy of words as vehicles of meaning, the complex and correspondingly confusing nature of dialogue and miscellaneous factors which generally aggravate the communication process. Chapter 4 is given over to an examination of the most important failing of verbal symbols as illustrated in Lenormand's metaphysically oriented drama, and Chapter 5 treats of the other ways in which Lenormand's theatre complements Bernard’s by highlighting the fundamental inefficiency of words as communication tools and certain factors which further undermine dialogue and personal relations. Chapters 3 and 6 review how the plays of Bernard and Lenormand also bring into relief the extraordinary and sometimes dangerous effectiveness words can have, notably as provocative triggers and psychological catalysts. A substantial Introduction puts Chapters 1-6 into a historical perspective, explains the choice of playwrights, discusses the way their work has been critically evaluated, classified and analysed in the past and accounts for this study’s particular approach to their drama between 1919 and 1945.