I believe it likely that a visual demonstration of Phèdre’s weakened physical state would be more emphatic than reading it on the written page. This scene, in which most play directors would probably add dramatic theatricality by showing Oenone physically supporting her mistress, would also add a visual support to Oenone’s verbal explanation in the previous scene regarding her mistress,
“Elle meurt dans mes bras d’un mal qu’elle me cache.”
as Oenone will no doubt be looking at her arms as she despairingly expresses herself. This idea is repeated when Oenone again refers to her arms in an emotional plea to Phèdre,
“Songez-vous qu’en naissant mes bras vous ont reçue?”
The sight of the very arms, which lovingly held Phèdre and cared for her in a protective and motherly way, would serve as a powerful visual contrast with the physical appearance of Phèdre on stage. Oenone’s arms thus become symbolic of Phèdre’s innocence before she was overpowered by this supernatural and Divine curse, while Phèdre, shaking and in tears, symbolizes her corrupt and immoral state of mind. The sight of Oenone’s arms, representing Phèdre in her once innocent condition, invokes an element of sympathy from the audience, corresponding with Racine’s explanation in the preface to the play that “Phèdre n’est ni tout à fait coupable ni tout à fait innocente . Elle est engagée, par sa destinée et par la colère des dieux, dans une passion illégitime.”
In this scene, there is a rare stage direction in the text, referring to Phèdre - “Elle s’assied,” which perhaps emphasizes the extent of her wretched and destabilized condition. The sight of Phèdre, too weak to stand up any longer, contrasts with the demand she gives to Oenone later in the same scene, when asking her if she wants a revelation of “mon crime,” and she tells her “Tu le veux, Lève toi.” Her corrupted mind, inflicted with paranoia and despair is reflected in her physical appearance and costume. Her clothing and hair are directly referred to,
“Que ces vains ornements, que ces voiles me pèsent!
Quelle importune main, en formant tous ces noeuds,
A pris soin sur mon front d’assembler mes cheveux?
Tout m’afflige et me nuit, et conspire à me nuire.”
The audience would thus have immediately seen Phèdre weighed down by her jewellery and hair as she walks onto the stage, which as a visually striking piece of theatre, would be sadly be neglected by a reader of the play.
The effect that this illicit passion is having on Phèdre is represented by her facial expressions and physical actions. The reader is informed, and I am sure that the audience can see, that Phèdre is shaking and full of tears, “Et mes yeux, malgré moi, se remplissent de pleurs,” and at the mere thought of the name Hipployte, she responds “A ce nom fatal, je tremble, je frissone.” She also demonstrates her shameful passion by her uncontrollable blushing, which she explains to Oenone is a way of hiding her face, “Oenone, la rougeur me couvre le visage.” When she thinks about her passion for Hipployte, she also has a physical reaction, “Je le vis, je rougis, je pâlis à sa vue,” These examples of blushing, as a visual way of representing emotions of passion and shame, contrast with a presumable example of Phèdre going pale when she actually sees Hippolyte, “Le voici. Vers mon Coeur tout mon sang se retire.” Perhaps the most dramatic of these physical actions, which one can interpret from the text, is the way in which Phèdre points her chest as she powerfully demands that Hippolyte stab her.
“Voilà mon coeur: c’est là que ta main doit frapper,”
Upon the word “là” one can envisage a visually dramatic moment, as Phèdre angrily and desperately points to her heart, begging the man she loves to end her torment.
A significant feature in modern theatre productions is the use of lighting, which can be symbolic of the action on the stage. The visual aspect of lighting could also heavily influence 17th Century French productions, with the use of candles to add extra or less light to the stage. As was touched upon earlier with Phèdre’s line “Mes yeux sont éblouis du jour que je revoi,” the notions of light and darkness in Phèdre are extremely important. Phèdre is suffering from melancholy, coming from the Greek melankholia, and which is a disease, in which a character becomes gloomy and depressed as a result of too much black bile. In Phèdre’s case, this means that she finds it practically impossible to look at the Sun, which is in fact her father, and therefore she prefers to lock herself away in darkness. A contemporary French as well as a modern production could both have played upon this theory by making the stage appear gloomy and darkened whenever Phèdre is present. Phèdre believes that her death will ultimately clear the light from her disease, allowing her to ponder miserably in darkness,
“Déjà je ne vois plus qu’à travers un nuage
Et le ciel et l’époux que ma présence outrage ;
Et la mort, à mes yeux dérobant la clarté
Rend au jour qu’ils souillaient toute sa pureté. «
Perhaps in Phèdre, it is the geographical setting which is of even more importance than the scenery, and this is noticeable from the frequent references to geographical locations; in the first speech of the play Hippolyte explains that he “ quitte le séjour de l’aimable Trézène” while at the end of the play Théramène begins by saying “A peine nous sortions des portes de Trézène” However, when one considers the references to lighting, physical actions, costume and facial expression in Phèdre, it seems that there is certainly enough information in the text to enable a modern director to be somewhat successful in trying to imitate a seventeenth Century performance of Racine. Turning our attention to the play Britannicus, Racine’s desire to have a specific stage setting is perhaps more important than in Phèdre. In particular, Néron’s door becomes highly significant, and is referred to throughout the play. As different characters want so much to penetrate the door and reach the Emperor, the door itself becomes symbolic of power and thus an entrance to power. This could be seen as exaggerating the dramatic significance of the door, yet it is mentioned directly, or at least referred to frequently. Agrippine, so desperate to cross the gateway to power, and regain some of her previous regal influence, asks Burrhus
“Prétendez-vous longtemps me cacher l’Empereur , »
alluding to the fact that Burrhus is currently blocking the door. She continues to add importance to the door, by explaining that the door is also stopping her from getting to her son,
“Ai-je donc élevé si haut votre fortune
Pour mettre une barrière entre mon fils et moi ? »
The door, as a visually evident part of the setting, also becomes important in the denouement of the play, leading to Britannicus’ death. As Britannicus decides that he is going to penetrate the door, thus stepping onto enemy territory, he is also deciding his fatal destiny as shown in his unwitting statement to Junie “Oui, Madame, Néron (qui l’aurait pu penser?)Dans son appartement m’attend pour m’embrasser.”
The curtains also become an important part in the play, something which will also be more appreciated by the spectator than the reader. Act II scene IV, Néron hints that he will be hiding behind the curtains, “Caché près de ces lieux, je vous verrai Madame.” The fact that he will still be able to see her means that he will also be in position to see, as can the audience, her facial expressions, “
“Vous n’aurez point pour moi de langages secrets:
J’entendrai des regards que vous croirez muets. »
This is perhaps the best example, written in Racine’s texts, signalling the importance of facial expressions and physical gestures, which can be perceived and understood by anybody watching, yet not by the reader. Thus Racine is implying that actors can have their own secret language, which can be heard by the audience, even though it remains mute to the reader. This ensures richness of dramatic action, including suspense and a potential for both pity and fear. Will Junie be caught making secret signs to Britannicus? If so, will he understand such signals and how will he react? What would therefore be the consequences? Only the spectator can see whether or not she makes these expressions and indeed if she is trying to deliberately not make such expressions, and this adds extra suspense to Racine on stage, contrasting sharply with Barthes negative view of modern Racinian productions.
There is a strong emphasis on a visual reading of the play and the word “yeux” is repeated as evidence. Junie, referring to the hidden presence of Néro, explains to Britannicus that
“Vous êtes en des lieux tout pleins de sa puissance.
Ces murs mêmes, Seigneur, peuvent avoir des yeux,
Et jamais l’empereur n’est absent de ces lieux.”
In response to this, a few lines later, Britannicus replies that Junie has now learnt to control her facial expressions, which is possibly a subtle Racinian allusion to the ability of the actor to change his facial expressions to convey different a change of emotion. He states,
“Quoi! Même vos regards ont appris à se taire?
Que vois-je? Vous craignez de rencontrer mes yeux?
demonstrating the ruthless, expressionless way in which she is responding to his conversation. This would be tense and emotional when seen on stage.
In the play Iphigénie, Racine and Michel Laurent specify the setting of the stage and the scenery, thus allowing a modern director to have a strong idea of how it should be presented.
