''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...

, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's

genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for future works, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...

deemed it comparable to ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' in beauty, with "the true God added."

August Wilhelm Schlegel August Wilhelm (after 1812: von) Schlegel (; 8 September 176712 May 1845), usually cited as August Schlegel, was a German poet, translator and critic, and with his brother Friedrich Schlegel the leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His trans ...

thought Athalie to be "animated by divine breath"; other critics have regarded the

poetics Poetics is the theory of structure, form, and discourse within literature, and, in particular, within poetry. History The term ''poetics'' derives from the Ancient Greek ποιητικός ''poietikos'' "pertaining to poetry"; also "creative" an ...

of drama in the play to be superior to those of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

History

After the success of ''

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

'', Racine published ''Athalie'' in 1691, another play drawn from the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, which he expected would have the same success.

Plot

Athalie ''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final tragedy of Jean Racine, and has been described as the masterpiece of "one of the greatest literary artists known" and the "ripest work" of Racine's genius. Charles Augus ...

, widow of the king of Judah, rules the country and believes she has eliminated all the rest of the royal family. She has abandoned the

Jewish religion Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the M ...

for the worship of

Baal Baal (), or Baal,; phn, , baʿl; hbo, , baʿal, ). ( ''baʿal'') was a title and honorific meaning "owner", "lord" in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during Ancient Near East, antiquity. From its use among people, it cam ...

. However, the late king's grandson Joash was rescued by the wife of the high priest. *Act 1 - Joad, the Jewish high priest, assures Abner, a military officer, that he would support a possible descendant of the king of Judah if he appeared. Then he agrees with his wife

Jehosheba Jehosheba (alternately Jehoshabeath; he, יְהוֹשֶׁ֫בַע ''Yəhōšeḇa‘'', "Yahweh is an oath"), or Josaba, is a figure in the Hebrew Bible. She was the daughter of King Jehoram of Judah, sister to King Ahaziah of Judah and wife of Je ...

th to reveal the existence of Joash and dethrone Athalie, thus bringing the country back to the true religion. *Act 2 - Athalie goes into the Jewish temple and finds a baby she has seen in a dream. (She does not know that this child is Joash and that he has been brought up by Joad in the Jewish religion.) She asked Joad to bring the child and she invites him to come to live with her at the palace. *Act 3 - Fearing a plot by Joad, Athalie wants Joash sent as a hostage. The high priest is preparing to proclaim Joash as king to hasten things. *Act 4 - Joash reveals he is the descendant and successor of the kings of Judah. The priests barricade the Temple. *Act 5 - Athalie prepares to dislodge the rebels from the Temple. She comes to claim the child. Joad tells her that the child is Joash. Outside, the attackers panic and flee. Joad executes Athalie.

Reception

Julie Philipault - Racine Reading Athalie Before Louis XIV and Madame de Maintenon m503604 96de5598 p

''Athalie'' was the victim of opposition from moralists at its creation. Represented on the public scene after the death of

Madame de Maintenon Madame may refer to: * Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French * Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel * ''Madame'' ...

, it was never part of the most popular plays of Racine, though

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

saw it as "perhaps the masterpiece of mankind" and

Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...

's character Monsieur Homais, the pharmacist, in ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities ...

'' calls it the most "immortal masterpiece of the French stage," and names one of his daughters Athalie. However Homais is a boor and ignoramus so it is not clear what Flaubert's own judgement of the play was.

Adaptation

The oratorio ''

Athalia Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later quee ...

'' by

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

, with libretto by

Samuel Humphreys Samuel Humphreys (23 November 1778 – 16 August 1846) was a noted American naval architect and shipbuilder in the early 19th century. He served the United States Navy as the Chief Constructor for the Navy from 1826 to 1846. Naval archit ...

, was based on ''Athalie''.

References

External links

Text of ''Athalie''
(French) *
Text of ''Athalie'' (French and English translation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athalie Plays by Jean Racine 1691 plays Plays based on the Bible Tragedy plays Plays set in the 9th century BC