Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco instigated a revolution in ideas and techniques of drama, beginning with his "anti play", '' The Bald Soprano'' which contributed to the beginnings of what is known as the

Theatre of the Absurd The Theatre of the Absurd (french: théâtre de l'absurde ) is a post– World War II designation for particular plays of absurdist fiction written by a number of primarily European playwrights in the late 1950s. It is also a term for the style o ...

, which includes a number of plays that, following the ideas of the philosopher

Albert Camus Albert Camus ( , ; ; 7 November 1913 – 4 January 1960) was a French philosopher, author, dramatist, and journalist. He was awarded the 1957 Nobel Prize in Literature at the age of 44, the second-youngest recipient in history. His work ...

, explore concepts of absurdism. He was made a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

in 1970, and was awarded the 1970

Austrian State Prize for European Literature The Austrian State Prize for European Literature (german: Österreichischer Staatspreis für Europäische Literatur), also known in Austria as the European Literary Award (''Europäischer Literaturpreis''), is an Austria Austria, , bar, Ö ...

, and the 1973

Jerusalem Prize The Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society is a biennial literary award given to writers whose works have dealt with themes of human freedom in society. It is awarded at the Jerusalem International Book Forum (previously k ...

Biography

Ionesco was born in Slatina, Romania, to a Romanian father belonging to the Orthodox Christian church and a mother of French and Romanian heritage, whose faith was

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

(the faith into which her father was born and to which her originally

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

Christian mother had converted). Eugène was baptized into the Orthodox Christian faith. Many sources cite his birthdate as 1912, this error being due to vanity on the part of Ionesco himself, who wanted the year of his birth to coincide with that of when his idol, Romanian playwright

Caragiale Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...

, died. He spent most of his childhood in France and, while there, had an experience he claimed affected his perception of the world more significantly than any other. As Deborah B. Gaensbauer describes in ''Eugène Ionesco Revisited'', "Walking in summer sunshine in a white-washed provincial village under an intense blue sky, onescowas profoundly altered by the light." He was struck very suddenly with a feeling of intense luminosity, the feeling of floating off the ground and an overwhelming feeling of well-being. When he "floated" back to the ground and the "light" left him, he saw that the real world in comparison was full of decay, corruption and meaningless repetitive action. This also coincided with the revelation that death takes everyone in the end. Much of his later work, reflecting this new perception, demonstrates a disgust for the tangible world, a distrust of communication, and the subtle sense that a better world lies just beyond our reach. Echoes of this experience can also be seen in references and themes in many of his important works: characters pining for an unattainable "city of lights" ('' The Killer'', ''

The Chairs ''The Chairs'' (french: Les Chaises) is a one-act play by Eugène Ionesco, described as an absurdist "tragic farce". It was first performed in Paris in 1952. Setting A high tower surrounded by water. Characters *Old Man, aged 95 *Old Woman, age ...

'') or perceiving a world beyond (''

A Stroll in the Air A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''); characters granted the ability to fly (''A Stroll in the Air'', '' Amédée'', ''Victims of Duty''); the banality of the world which often leads to depression (the Bérenger character); ecstatic revelations of beauty within a pessimistic framework (''Amédée'', ''The Chairs'', the Bérenger character); and the inevitability of death (''

Exit the King ''Exit the King'' (french: Le Roi se meurt) is an absurdist drama by Eugène Ionesco that premiered in 1962. It is the third in Ionesco's "Berenger Cycle", preceded by '' The Killer'' (1958) and ''Rhinocéros'' (1959), and followed by ''A Stro ...

''). He returned to Romania with his father and mother in 1925 after his parents divorced. There he attended Saint Sava National College, after which he studied French Literature at the University of Bucharest from 1928 to 1933 and qualified as a teacher of French. While there he met Emil Cioran and

Mircea Eliade Mircea Eliade (; – April 22, 1986) was a Romanian historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religiou ...

, and the three became lifelong friends. In 1936 Ionesco married Rodica Burileanu. Together they had one daughter, Marie-France Ionesco, for whom he wrote a number of unconventional children's stories. With his family, he returned to France in 1938 for him to complete his doctoral thesis. Caught by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he returned to Romania, but soon changed his mind and, with the help of friends, obtained travel documents which allowed him to return to France in 1942, where he remained during the rest of the war, living in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

before moving with his family to Paris after its liberation.

Literary career

Writing in Romania

Though best known as a playwright, plays were not his first chosen medium. He started writing poetry and criticism, publishing in several Romanian journals. Two early writings of note are ''Nu'', a book criticizing many other writers, including prominent Romanian poets, and ''Hugoliade, or, The grotesque and tragic life of Victor Hugo'' a satirical biography mocking

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's status as a great figure in French literature. The ''Hugoliade'' includes exaggerated retellings of the most scandalous episodes in Hugo's life and contains prototypes for many of Ionesco's later themes: the ridiculous authoritarian character, the false worship of language.

Origins of his first play

Ionesco began his theatre career later in life; he did not write his first play until 1948 (''

La Cantatrice chauve ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

'', first performed in 1950 with the English title ''The Bald Soprano''). At the age of 40, he decided to learn English using the Assimil method, conscientiously copying whole sentences in order to memorize them. Re-reading them, he began to feel that he was not learning English, rather he was discovering some astonishing truths such as the fact that there are seven days in a week, that the ceiling is up and the floor is down; things which he already knew, but which suddenly struck him as being as stupefying as they were indisputably true. This feeling only intensified with the introduction in later lessons of the characters known as "Mr. and Mrs. Smith". To her husband's astonishment, Mrs. Smith informed him that they had several children, that they lived in the vicinity of London, that their name was Smith, that Mr. Smith was a clerk, and that they had a servant, Mary, who was English like themselves. What was remarkable about Mrs. Smith, Ionesco thought, was her eminently methodical procedure in her quest for truth. For Ionesco, the clichés and truisms of the conversation

primer Primer may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth * ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour Literature * Primer (textbook), a te ...

disintegrated into wild caricature and parody with language itself disintegrating into disjointed fragments of words. Ionesco set about translating this experience into a play, ''La Cantatrice Chauve'', which was performed for the first time in 1950 under the direction of Nicolas Bataille. It was far from a success and went unnoticed until a few established writers and critics, among them Jean Anouilh and

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...

, championed the play.

Early plays

Ionesco's earliest theatrical works, considered to be his most innovative, were one-act plays or extended sketches: ''La Cantatrice chauve'' translated as '' The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' (written 1948), ''Jacques ou la soumission'' translated as '' Jack, or The Submission'' (1950), ''La Leçon'' translated as ''

The Lesson ''The Lesson'' (french: La Leçon) is a one-act play by French-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. It was first performed in 1951 in a production directed by Marcel Cuvelier (who also played the Professor). Since 1957 it has been in permanent ...

'' (1950), ''Les Salutations'' translated as '' Salutations'' (1950), ''Les Chaises'' translated as ''

'' (1951), ''L'Avenir est dans les oeufs'' translated as '' The Future is in Eggs'' (1951), ''Victimes du devoir'' translated as '' Victims of Duty'' (1952) and, finally, ''Le Nouveau locataire'' translated as '' The New Tenant'' (1953). These absurdist sketches, to which he gave such descriptions as "anti-play" (''anti-pièce'' in French) express modern feelings of alienation and the impossibility and futility of communication with surreal comic force, parodying the conformism of the bourgeoisie and conventional theatrical forms. In them Ionesco rejects a conventional story-line as their basis, instead taking their dramatic structure from accelerating rhythms and/or cyclical repetitions. He disregards psychology and coherent dialogue, thereby depicting a dehumanized world with mechanical, puppet-like characters who speak in '' non-sequiturs''. Language becomes rarefied, with words and material objects gaining a life of their own, increasingly overwhelming the characters and creating a sense of menace.

The full-length plays

With ''

Tueur sans gages ''The Killer'' (french: Tueur sans gages, sometimes translated ''The Killer without Reason'' or ''The Killer without Cause'') is a play written by Eugène Ionesco in 1958. It is the first of Ionesco's Berenger plays, the others being '' Rhinocé ...

'' translated as ''The Killer'' (1959; his second full-length play, the first being ''Amédée, ou Comment s'en débarrasser'' in 1954), Ionesco began to explore more sustained dramatic situations featuring more humanized characters. Notably this includes Bérenger, a central character in a number of Ionesco's plays, the last of which is '' Le Piéton de l'air'' translated as ''

''. Bérenger is a semi-autobiographical figure expressing Ionesco's wonderment and anguish at the strangeness of reality. He is comically naïve, engaging the audience's sympathy. In '' The Killer'' he encounters death in the figure of a serial killer. In '' Rhinocéros'' he watches his friends turning into rhinoceroses one by one until he alone stands unchanged against this mass movement. It is in this play that Ionesco most forcefully expresses his horror of ideological conformism, inspired by the rise of the

fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...

Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was stron ...

in Romania in the 1930s. ''Le Roi se meurt'' translated as ''

'' (1962) shows him as King Bérenger I, an everyman figure who struggles to come to terms with his own death.

Later works

Ionesco's later work has generally received less attention. This includes '' La Soif et la faim'' translated as ''Hunger and Thirst'' (1966), ''Jeux de massacre'' (1971), ''

Macbett ''Macbett'' (1972) is Eugène Ionesco's satire on Shakespeare's '' Macbeth''. Plot Two generals, Macbett and Banco, put down a rebellion. In payment for their heroic service, Archduke Duncan promises to bestow on them land, titles and cash, but ...

'' (1972, a free adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's '' Macbeth'') and ''Ce formidable bordel'' (1973). Ionesco also wrote his only novel, '' The Hermit'', during this later period. It was first published in 1975. Apart from the libretto for the opera '' Maximilien Kolbe'' (music by Dominique Probst) which has been performed in five countries, produced for television and recorded for release on CD, Ionesco did not write for the stage after ''Voyage chez les morts'' in 1981. However, ''

'' is still playing at th
Théâtre de la Huchette
today, having moved there in 1952. It holds the world record for the play that has been staged continuously in the same theatre for the longest time.

Theoretical writings

Like Shaw and Brecht, Ionesco contributed to the theatre with his theoretical writings (Wellwarth, 33). Ionesco wrote mainly in attempts to correct critics whom he felt misunderstood his work and therefore wrongly influenced his audience. In doing so, Ionesco articulated ways in which he thought contemporary theatre should be reformed (Wellwarth, 33). ''Notes and Counter Notes'' is a collection of Ionesco's writings, including musings on why he chose to write for the theatre and direct responses to his contemporary critics. In the first section, titled "Experience of the Theatre", Ionesco claimed to have hated going to the theatre as a child because it gave him "no pleasure or feeling of participation" (Ionesco, 15). He wrote that the problem with realistic theatre is that it is less interesting than theatre that invokes an "imaginative truth", which he found to be much more interesting and freeing than the "narrow" truth presented by strict realism (Ionesco, 15). He claimed that "drama that relies on simple effects is not necessarily drama simplified" (Ionesco, 28). ''Notes and Counter Notes'' also reprints a heated war of words between Ionesco and Kenneth Tynan based on Ionesco's above stated beliefs and Ionesco's hatred for Brecht and Brechtian theatre.

Literary context

Ionesco is often considered a writer of the

, a label originally given to him by

Martin Esslin , birth_date = , birth_place = Budapest, Austria-Hungary , death_date = , death_place = London, England, UK , education = University of Vienna Reinhardt Seminar , ...

in his book of the same name. Esslin, placed Ionesco alongside contemporaries Samuel Beckett, Jean Genet, and

Arthur Adamov Arthur Adamov (23 August 1908 – 15 March 1970) was a playwright, one of the foremost exponents of the Theatre of the Absurd. Early life Adamov (originally Adamian) was born in Kislovodsk in the Terek Oblast of the Russian Empire to a wealthy A ...

, calling this informal group "absurd" on the basis of

' concept of the absurd. In his view, Beckett and Ionesco better captured the meaninglessness of existence in their plays than works by Camus or Sartre. Because of this loose association, Ionesco is often mislabeled an existentialist. Ionesco claimed in ''Notes and Counter Notes'' that he was not an existentialist and often criticized existentialist figurehead

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lite ...

. Although Ionesco knew Beckett and honored his work, the French group of playwrights was far from an organized movement. Ionesco on the metaphysics of death in ''Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture'' by Melinda Camber Porter: "Death is our main problem and all others are less important. It is the wall and the limit. It is the only inescapable alienation; it gives us a sense of our limits. But the ignorance of ourselves and of others to which we are condemned is just as worrying. In the final analysis, we don't know what we're doing. Nevertheless, in all my work there is an element of hope and an appeal to others." Ionesco claimed instead an affinity for

’Pataphysics Pataphysics (french: 'pataphysique) is a "philosophy" of science invented by French writer Alfred Jarry (1873–1907) intended to be a parody of science. Difficult to be simply defined or pinned down, it has been described as the "science of imag ...

and its creator Alfred Jarry. He was also a great admirer of the Dadaists and Surrealists, especially his fellow countryman

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

. Ionesco became friends with the founder of

Surrealism Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

, André Breton, whom he revered. In ''Present Past, Past Present'', Ionesco wrote, "Breton taught us to destroy the walls of the real that separate us from reality, to participate in being so as to live as if it were the first day of creation, a day that would every day be the first day of new creations."

, a former associate of Breton and a champion of Ionesco's work, was a member of the Collège de ’Pataphysique and a founder of

Oulipo Oulipo (, short for french: Ouvroir de littérature potentielle; roughly translated: ''"workshop of potential literature"'', stylized ''OuLiPo'') is a loose gathering of (mainly) French-speaking writers and mathematicians who seek to create work ...

, two groups with which Ionesco was associated. Politically, Ionesco expressed sympathy with the left-libertarian

Transnational Radical Party The Transnational Radical Party (TRP), whose official name is Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), is a political association of citizens, members of parliament and members of government of various national and political ...

of Marco Pannella.

Honours and awards

Ionesco was made a member of the

in 1970. He also received numerous awards including Tours Festival Prize for film, 1959; Prix Italia, 1963; Society of Authors Theatre Prize, 1966; Grand Prix National for theatre, 1969; Monaco Grand Prix, 1969;

, 1970;

, 1973; and honorary Doctoral Degrees from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

and the Universities of Leuven, Warwick and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1964 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Death

Eugène Ionesco died at age 84 on 28 March 1994 and is buried in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. In 2009, the Romanian Academy granted posthumous membership to Ionesco.

Theatrical works

Long plays *''

Amédée, or How to Get Rid of It ''Amédée, or How to Get Rid of It'' (french: Amédée ou comment s'en débarrasser) is a play written by Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wro ...

'' (1954) * '' The Killer'' (1958) * ''

Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct specie ...

'' (1959) * ''

'' (1962) * '' Stroll in the Air'' (1962) * '' Hunger and Thirst'' (1964) * ''The Killing Game'' aka '' Here Comes a Chopper'' (1970) * ''

'' (1972) * '' Oh, What a Bloody Circus'' aka '' A Hell of a Mess'' (1973) * '' Man with Bags'' (1977) * '' Journeys Among the Dead'' (1980) Short plays * '' The Bald Soprano'' (1950) * '' Salutations'' (1950) * ''

'' (1951) * '' The Motor Show'' (1951) * ''

'' (1952) * '' The Leader'' (1953) * '' Victims of Duty'' (1953) * '' Maid to Marry'' (1953) * '' Jack, or The Submission'' (1955) * '' The New Tenant'' (1955) * '' The Picture'' (1955) * '' Improvisation'' (1956) * '' The Foot of the Wall'' (1956) * '' The Future is in Eggs, or It Takes All Sorts to Make a World'' (1957) * '' Foursome'' (1959) * '' Frenzy for Two, or More'' (1962) * '' The Oversight'' (1966) Vignettes * '' The Duel'' (1971) * '' Double Act'' (1971) Monologue * '' How to Prepare a Hard-Boiled Egg'' (1966) Ballet scenario * '' Learning to Walk'' (1960) Opera libretto * '' Maximilien Kolbe'' (1987)

Other writings

Fiction * '' The Colonel's Photograph and Other Stories'' (1962) * '' The Hermit'' (1973) * '' Stories 1, 2, 3, 4'' (2012) Non-fiction * '' Hugoliad, or The Grotesque and Tragic Life of Victor Hugo'' (1935, published 1982) * '' Notes and Counter-Notes'' (1962) * '' Fragments of a Journal'' (1967) * '' Present Past Past Present'' (1968) Film scenarios * ''Anger'' (1961) * ''La vase (Slime)'' (1971)Film directed by Heinz von Cramer, script by Ionesco at IMDb
/ref> Television scenario * '' The Hard Boiled Egg'' (1966)

Untranslated writings

Non-fiction * ''Nu'' (1934) * ''Antidotes'' (1977) * '' Un homme en question'' (1979) * ''Le blanc et le noir'' (1981) * '' La quête intermittente'' (1987) Plays * '' Le vicomte'' (1950) * '' La nièce-épouse'' (1953) * '' Exercices de conversation et de diction françaises pour étudiants américains'' (1966) Ballet scenario * '' Le jeune homme à marier'' (1966) Poetry * '' Elegii pentru ființe mici'' (1931)

References

External links

Official Site
*

Eugene Ionesco and Russian dramatist Mikhail Volokhov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ionesco, Eugene 1909 births 1994 deaths Anti-natalists People from Slatina, Romania Carol I National College alumni 20th-century French dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights French people of Romanian descent Romanian people of Greek descent French people of Greek descent Romanian people of French descent French literary critics Members of the Académie Française Members of the Romanian Academy elected posthumously Pataphysicians Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class) Romanian writers in French Saint Sava National College alumni Theatre of the Absurd University of Bucharest alumni Burials at Montparnasse Cemetery Jerusalem Prize recipients Romanian expatriates in France