RITUAL INTO MYTH - CEREMONY
AND COMMUNICATION
'THE BLACKS'

IN

Loren Kruger

first of all, what's his colour?"

It suggests that "black"

and interpretation of these terms.

"aut what exactly is a black?
That this question is posed at all is significant.
means more than it Seems, that any answer provided by The Blacks will be
determined by whatever "black" is shown to mean to black actors or white
audience or to the white playwright between them.
This clash of meanings
leads to an assault on the audience's perception of "black".
The audience
is confronted simultaneously
with its own image and with its distortion by
the blacks, as we11 as with its image of the blacks and the blacks' "cor-
rected" image of themselves. 1
The purpose of this paper is to examine the terms in which Genet attacks his
audience and the part played by audience conceptions (and misconceptions) in
the dramatisation
This will enable us to
demonstrate
that the power of the play lies in the way in which these mis-
conceptions are challenged rather than in the intensity with which Genet
launches the attack.
In order to establish the audience's central place, it is necessary to avoid
categorising
Genet's work as "absurd drama" (Esslin, 1977) or as "theatre of
revolt" (Brustein, 1964). because these focus on the plays as the private
expression of a "spiritual condition" (Brustein, 1964, p.9) of individual
isolation and revolt against the "harsh facts of a cruel world" (Esslin, 19-
77, p.228).
I would agree that this illuminates Genet's earlier plays, as
regards his subjective transformation of ritual - essentially a public form
through ceremony - as a means of personal revolt against
of communication
the Establishment.
it does not explain the effects of these
transformations
on the audience, nor does it account for Genet's appropria-
tion of the historical situation of the blacks to his personal attitude of
revolt.
In fact, arustein and Esslin are both careful to exclude programma-
tic aspects of revolt from their discussion, despite the fact that th~ plar
is more effective if the audience is aware of, and troubled by, the sltuatlon
to which the play refers, however obliquely.
White fear about black revolt
will be engaged only if the audience responds.
Genet's approach to the situation of black exploitat~on by whit~ is similar
to Fanon's in Black Skins, White Masks.
Both recognlSe that thIS explo~ta-
tion operates on the most fundamental levels.
Th~ black canno~ but defIne _
his identity and his revolt in terms that take ~hlte as ~he p~1nt ~f depart
ure.
So Genet's use of the black/white oppositIon has hlstorlc~l ~mport.
It is clearly more than a convenient form for Genet's characterlstlc rage

Nonetheless

59

white

in a mirror",

than any extrinsic

response

of this threat.

For ritual - in the

and transformation

of the ritual is

ceremony

that proclaims

its universality,

about white supremacy

are undermined.

to the ritual exposition

with the black alternative

than its use, the elaboration

Yet where Fanon's ultimate concern

of the audience,
or political
and meaning are but the "hundredth-thousand~

rather than the demands of either
action that The Blacks is significant.
parodic ritual of The Bal-
to a dramatic situation in which
On the other hand, despite
of the weapon is more sig-

from the point of view of the outcast, be he Negro,
is the end, Genet's is
He is less concerned
to
than with the tension between the two, and with using this
to undermine
'myths' about the black through challen-
preconceptions.

'9~inst th: ~stablishment
or crImInal.
Arah
the means of the revolt.
~'te
oppression
~I'ck alternative
q;ng audience
It Is In this recognition
~~ntic
self-expression
On the one hand, we move from the self-reflecting
characters
~
in which
reflection-within-a-reflection
ritual becomes
a weapon used against the audience.
'behind' the ritual, the sharpening
t~ revolution
nificant
80re significant
end it serves.
The force of the play is then felt, not in the threat of revolution, but in
the audience's
It is here
that preconceptions
of a court of law - is evoked as a trad-
fon. of the Mass of the proceedings
Itional and reassuring
only to be
undermined
the audience from taking this reassuring
form for granted.
The power of the weapon
dience is not allowed
to such a pitch that it becomes monstrous.
behind it:
fl~f~S,
t~h".d this architecture
to be.
~\ay's significance
funms used to present
It is perceived.
Of these forms
Genet writes3:
• ~rofound
t~tng would be told, everything
dience must be shocked
t,vse
~,
rJrody.
'uJience
~st

of symbols capable of speaking to the public in which no-
The au-
"This language must have the power to
(my emphasis).
must be able to recognise and crltlclse Itself In the

So the
content but.in the
and distort this content and so affect the way In which

The au-
"Politeness must be raised
It must arouse fear."
"Perhaps they suspect what lies
We are what they want us

"One cannot but dream of an art that would be
presented"

p.28), nor the artifice
We shall therefore

lies in the link between ritual and parody.

is to be found, not in any detachable

be it to the very end, absurdly."

by a parody which prevents

to forget the connection:

of emptiness and words.

of characters

(Artaud,
distortion,

the ceremony must still be meaningful;

~n.t~e c~se of The
the

the ritual while being distrubed by ~he parody.
There
As Genet wrItes:
a rupture, while allowing for a declamatory tone, t~at
theatre
I hoped.in ~his.way to obtaIn
none-
1~ order ther~~~3to
,

to the advantage of ~19~a~hl:~ wo~l~
. s1gnl y,
(McMahon,

thinking"
the audience
Despite
must remember
be both a link and a gap between the two.
"1 tried to obtain
the
would bring
to the theatre.
the abolition
be as far as possible from what they l ?U
Initially
theless connected
to those later siqnifications
1ink between author and spectator
forge the single
(~
p.116)
l~ls "single
lin~"
t.,~Means of this cOll1llmic.dtion. That the SIgnIfier s ou
'rr~ the siQnified
~,~ sign.
Genet
~l
th3t connection
\llar content

of ~a~~n~"t~~il~i~sf:~e
linked in
implie~ that they are ess~ntlat Yt only to
with fa~-
In r1tua~, faml ~ar
in other words,

this conne:tlon betw:i~ fO~
a sign both famIliar an

is the successful
nevertheless
in relief.

disrupts
to produce

~n;l
anha~n~~es

communi:at!on

emphasis).

orm log

reassur

u

,

(Hayman, 1977, p.153).

to attention:
1958,p.69)

(~

(p.95).

jangle

60

a distorted

only to bring them back by producing
to it:
the politeness
is that this takes place on a different
of the ritual sign.
on the prior signification

form takes the audience far from the ori-
a sign connected
becomes monstrous.
level of signi-
ritual.
The familiar mean-
to become the form of a new

the siqn of the original
is distorted

The

is to deny the meaning

of the original.

presentation

of ritual parody and Barthes'
goes.

1976) may seem perverse.
of its function.

a model for analysing
and at the same time distorted
to deny that myths - notions be which a culture explains
culture

Yet its usefulness
second order signification;
Myth is second order signifi-
by the intention to disguise
it-

but natural.

between

function

In parody,

the theatrical

(form and content)

dependent
form comprises

in that it is hostile
here

of myth
(Barthes,
for an analysis

'natural '.
rf'.,ssuring content
ginal
to the original
What
is crucial
fication,
distorted
ing of this sign
sign, whose
The connection
exposition
that of providing
beyond
it provides
cation
motivated
signification,
self or another
Barthes
introduces
which meaning
formally
from first order signification
signifier
of mythic
meaning
within
a first order semiotic
signified
signifier
too,,,,o {

is communicated
discourse

myth as language

- are anything

meaning
FORM

(Barthes,

1976, p.lll), as a system in
myth

by means of signs.
such as natural language is that the
(the fQrm) is already a cultural sign which has
Thus (Barthes, 1976, p.llS):

What distinguishes

system.

} MYTH

CONCEPT

SIGN
lies in thp a~bivalent

which

Barthes

clothing.

suggests,

in Western

of the original

has its source in the com~lex~ty,o~

prior to the mythIC Sl~nlflcatlon',ls

This ambivalence
ritual affirmation
- and the parody of that affirmation,
the pressure

the white myth and its place in The Blacks, let us change Barthes'
nation
s~gn~fied (black

natur~ of this
th~ myt~lc form,
never en-
is evident both I~ the c~eatlon of the
of their identIty (whIch we never,see
which is recognls~d
is still felt, however ambIg-

The power of myth,
signification,
as a sign with meaning
which
obscured.
tirely
myth - the whites'
in its pure form)
as parody
because
uously.
To consider
examp 1e a lit t1e5 in favour of the more genera 1
m~tt * os~~
Negro
has/~anlngf~si:hre~~d
Th~Sosign
of a signifier
(medium,
CompoSltlon,
man in a suit-and-tie).
As such the s1gn
a form, distanced
its v~l~eh~~es~~~il~~a~~~n.~
for the moment,from
w I
knowledged
concept
- the reassurlng value 0
As Barthes
to connotation.
t'
1t
The use of mythic
here is not a modIsh a oer~~t~~~ as by procedure.
It is in
demonstrates,
is defined as much by,~nt to believe in this myth, espec-
myth
- conscious
the interests
or not,- of oWhI e~he duplicity necessary in the use
functlo~arles.
ia11y if they are colonial
of a suitable
(deformation)
image IS perpe ra
The essential
point ... lS that t~e
impove6ishes
it only
one's disposal
taneous
reserve
in a sort of rapid alternatIon.

i
it holds it II
it and ~uts ~ilabe for the form'like an inst~n-

t
form does not suppress t e mean ng,
t a distance'

••• The meanIng ~: h °t is possible to call and dIsmiss
of history:
; rm IIlIStconstantly be able to be

Inmythically to whites as
re sanunac-

ted by a sleight of hand:

sign of a Phr~Og~aPh c~~

unc 10ns ,

..oW l~

t e 0

h

o

,

0

0

61

an innocent

innocent,

is not a symbol

it needs for its

and to get what nature

.•. the Negro has too much presence,

rooted again
nutriment;
The form of the myth
he appears
the same time, this presence
the accomplice
attitude

in the meaning
above all it must be able to hide there (my emphasis)
as a .., spontaneous,
of the concept.

indis~utable
1stance
1976. p.118)
is difficult
to expose because
(faith in white civilisation,

..•
But at
image.
.•. it becomes
(author's emphasis).
it is not named.
say) is assoc-
provided by the photograph
so as to re-
made of
is confused.
••, is a formless
are above all

At the same time, this concept
A certain
to the world
Iated with the 'innocent'
treat behind
the knowledge
yielding
shapeless
'"
unstable
due to its function.

in the mythic concept.
••• the cOncept
1976, p.119).

contained
condensation,

whose unity and coherence

associations
(Barthes,

is tamed, put at a

it if examined

This attitude

too closely.

to reality,

information

(Barthes,

in the direction

significance

(of the photograph,

and naturally

a Westernised
(Barthes,

To the myth consumer,

ritual - which

opposed

p.131).
and unchanging

image and the "very presence"

and so to transform
the white myth:

On the one hand, this deciphers

of the meaning
into nature" (Barthes,

from (its role as) form and consequently

He does this by using familiar
(black)

of the con-
1976. p.120) so that
of the play -
Negro - simultan-
1976, p.142) of
this is a fact. not a
essentially

The myth is read as neutral, unpolitical,
- what-goes-without-saying.

is the deformation
history
simply
white civi1isation.

This function
cept.
"Myth transforms
the reader of the myth - the white audience at the beginning
sees in the photograph
eously
beneficial
sign (Barthes,
natural
What Genet does is to repo1iticise
~Ite
the audience
concepts
to the ritual's
It Into a counter-ritual.
distinguish
imposes
it as imposture.
clothing

the myth.
takes for granted - to communicate
original
in the
the meaning
the distortion
on the former •.• undo the signification
becomes
reference

(Barthes, 1976, p.128).
the alibi ~f colonialism.
- blacks performing

if we clearly
example)
which the latter
and receive
~th
The Negro
in white's
The Blacks,
the 'innocent'
posed as part of a white myth of supremacy.
further
contempt
IS a weapon.
Genet uses white myth to undermine
Whereas
(Barthes,
ceremonial
of their dup11C1ty.
.nd for a more arresting
ritual is not natural in the same sense as
&Pcause
of its sty1ised
_
the photograph.
s inver
publica"y
acknowledged
of shared audlence values
slon of the ritual destroys
in its stead a parody whose threat~ning aspect is clear: tho~gh
Ind provides
Its exact
of its mystification
of expo~ing the.~y~~on
'nowledgement
IS a false notion and of rEooening
so that the audience
to
pe.ceive
performance
and challenges wh~t apPtion of
the.trical
be formless
associations

it in ritual form.
ritual, as ~n ord~red serles of

discourse, discernible
for a more extend~d.artlcu1atlon

On the other hand, there is a
white myth is use~ as a form to e~pre~s

In the aud1ence s ac
co~n}ca
R1tua1 - as a me e ~ar

lies the possibility
the line between ~eremony an
this falsity.

the easy communication
may be remote or mystifY1ng.

1976, p.7) like the photograph,
gestures,

used are natural rather i~ that they h~ve a

exposure
execution
sionificance

only i~ snatches
of these ~ths

In terms of
for whites - is ex-

from the play - the ag9 omera

signification
for the whites.

which is not questIoned.

- thus both articulates

when abstracted

myth is usually

a fragmentary

Thus deciphered

the myth lS held at Genet s d1sposal

provides

The gestures

significance

might

operation:

itself by expressing

of

~net

62

~n the.form

in the audience

enough to appreclate

in the colonial

1963, p.191).

response

but they take for

one must confront

of rigour.

To establish

implications

For, as McMahon writes:

a Western play, dependent

governing

such a response.

'

attack on whites

" Any Negro who does

of the minstrel
we have
(McMahon,

intends to forge.
tradition

an aesthetic

moment would be so westernised

have about blacks and vice versa, particularly

removes from the playa

good deal of its power.
the insult.
breaks that link between author and spec-

that understands

vague
these notions,
by the presentation.
of masked

wi th a gross mi rror-image
show:

the importance of the
of Genet's pre-
in with due ceremony does
which informs the action, a

they must be present

blacks, nor to say that Genet's

if the audience is to be
It is not enough to say that the audience is
1977
is a'
instead of 'blacks' whom we know are
as (threat-
are valid in

of itse 1f on the stage" (Ess1in
clownsho~

'whites' whom we are forced to acknowledge

Both interpretations

the contrary
the idea of a token 'white' ushered
for white civilisation
the contempt
in a black audience
on the audience
must assume an audience
of whites

on a sense of Western
... An African would be puzzled by it and, white
any more than
as

ideas whites
situaticn.
However
affected
"confronted
p:210)
slmple lnverSlon
(safely) white,
black.
enlngly)
so far as they focus on the white audience's
granted
the paradigms
This is not simply a Question
whlte audlence,
face.
Wh!'e
make preclse
dummy white
An assault
The absence
tator that Genet
the play is undoubtedly
theatrical
dummy or no, would not have the equipment
that the play was in some wayan
understand
to be subjected
(McMahon,
whites
As important
as the theatrical
ence hovering
over the play - white fear about black nationalism
the 'backstage'
The connection
blacks remains
contempt
the other,
an audience "sophisticated
by the use (or abuse) of Western ceremony"
that the audience
is for this very sophistication
words,
msut start off adhering
ed in the image of the black in whites' clothing
can be attacked.
Once these preconceptions
of a familiar
they can be challenged
myth.
roles
The effect
Pa~tlcularly
and in their subsequent
when the actors
attackh07n
aware both of their own unarticulated
these assumptions.
In that case, meanlng and form co e~ls'f~~a~n
the manner
~perat~) ~o t~~;n~he ~~~n~o~cep~
ambiguous
bl~ck becomes the
ion
hides behing
the figures
the natural
that make up the court at the b~g nnllng(°h'tt)e Pan~ng for the sake of their
fusion,

the shooting of the Negro traitor.
this attack on Western mores and solidarity with the
On the one hand, there is Genet's undeniable
On
it ~re~upposes
the Shlfts ln tone lndlcat~d
1963, p.191), though 1t
(tkMahon,
,
to the naturallse~ myth - cont~ln-
thelr preconce~tlons
have been engaged.bY
the res1due
by the parody Wh1Ch exposes the

of the photograph.
way (both levels of signification
197?, ,P:

to the same level of attack as directed against the
1963, p.193).

the audlence ~s made
is not allowed s~mply to consum: t~etm~t

striking
assume or change ~oles,
assumpt10ns,and

is (con)fused wlth ~1~)neu ~~at~he
(Barthes

of the myth concept
the meaning
fact of beneficial

for the white audience

though the play is designed

that he insults on the blacks' behalf.

to condemn its audie~ce,

,so
wh te.clvl~ls~t10~~
me

w 1 e

or artistic

tradition

is the historical

enactment,

as dictated by the r1tua~.

trast

~~d~o~his p;ocess of

are emptied of thelr orlg na

of the parody is particularly

in th~ assignment,of

consciously

The audience

is conde~ned.
- before

In other

the audience

ritual,

the playas

action,
between
problematic.

to understand

refer-
- located in

the players

63

The precision of this opposition is crucial;

of black contempt - and the distorted tableau which parodies
The Queen here is an example (Barthes,

value as signifiers for the mythic concept made of associations contrary to
everything evoked by "beneficial white civilisation".
Thus the intention -
the communication
white culture are made clearly visible.
She retains just
1976, p.128) of colonial rule from a black perspective.
enough of her original meaning - the superb gown - to make the signification
process clear to the audience.
For the rest, once the connection between
lhis process and the end it serves has been established and the weapon "act-
ivated", the Queen is reduced to her nostalgia, her tears, her prudery and
her ineffectual rule, at the expense of any positive (white-centred) values.
The function of the blacks in this initial tableau is a precise mirror image
of the 'whites',
action begins, the ritual organised by these blacks can only be followed if
their initial attitude vis-a-vis the 'whites' is clear.
of the court are the blacks' view of whites, so the performing bl~cks are
the whites' view of 'blacks' - it is Genet's contemptuous assumption that
Hence Archibald's repeated
the white is incapable of seeing the real black.
reference to blacking, emphasizing white obsession with white as norm.. The
normative element applies also to white civilisation and its artifacts.
Thus
the blacks wear evening dress "in the height of bad taste" against the Queen's
the grotesque masks of
superb gown,
the 'whites' are set against the faces of the blacks, which are authentic
despite the blacking and so challenge the idea of white as natural.
The
They invert it so that black
blacks do not, however, transcend the myth.
is now the norm.
Because this is a process of inversion rather than a revolutionary departure,
one can justifiably subsume black nationalism/negritude under the same mythic
concept as white civilisation/white
In other words, the outer ac-
tion - the shooting of the Negro traitor - far from groundi~g the black
.
revolt in the reality outside the play, is presented as a r1tual alternatlve/
inversion of the white trial.
As Hayman writes:

This norm is offset by its opposite:

Just as the 'whites'

once the

culture.

"The fiction has one foot in the reality of black resentment against
white exploitation and the other in Genet's undisguisable glee at
the prospect of Western culture's overthrow" (Hayman, 1977, p.153).
The latter position can only be held by a (French! white who s~a~es (even
if he rejects) the associations surrounding "Chop1n, French cU1S1n~, Cart-.
eseian principles" etc.
This is responsible for the ton~ of the ntual ~h1Ch
For example, the Queen s and the court s
is sometimes close to petulance.
response to Felicity's threat:

"THE QUEEN (infuriated):
ALL (gloomily and without mov1ng):

Com1ng.

Gove~nor, Gene:al,.BishOP, Judge, Valet!

The register here is that of reprimanding a serv~nt (Fe~i~~~~~ :~~ ~~sr~~~~
impertinent and one may say that the petty tone.1S one
cule the Queen •
Yet the audience's response to th1S mme 1
on ruins is not likely to be o~tr~ge fostered ~n~~~st
constructive),
not but undermine the blacks' case, part1CU ar

d'ately after the Queen's discourse
pettiness, which can-
but deliberate lnd1fferen~e ltoly as regards the seriousness

'It (which may well be

. i

u

"We'll let out a fart and blow you out" (p.79)

namely the exchange:

64

is initially

into an attack that is both more powerful - since it takes
- and less - since it is entertainment:
The Question
to operate"
is "the whites",
of white domination.
(1anguage)";
to wrap ourselves
the whites'

no more than the killing of an old tramp (p.19).
"The only domain in
allowed by whom?
(p.22).
is:
then the black revolt is simply the impotent
"the
Meaning
a11 the blacks can do is "distort it suffi-
rather
since the whites can dismiss
use of white language as they dismiss their "bad

in it and hide" (p.23), which reinforces

is still defined by the whites:

self-confidence,

signification.

opposed to the whites'.
The original

from the black point
The ritual
is directly
over white, which is the
over black.
myth (white domination)
The meaning of the ritual ~r-
becomes the form of a new myth whose concept 1S the
of the black.
the
be a political

This is realised theatrically.in
act:

Th1S stereotype effectlvely
the murder of a white wom~n :
of famll1ar1ty

escape 1n the reassurance

Negro dance.

w1thheld

that makes

from identifying

from the whlte audlence

does not take the audience

from random to ritual act.

The value of this outer action

w~ic~
1llUSlon.
and so prevented

possible
the audience
is thus one of several transformations
complication
the murder

of the outer action.
(a I'~al rev~luti~n)
and. theatr1ca~
del1berately
"event",
So the outer action
myth and its inversion
ritual
and so brings
stage action
The progressive
illustrative
its transformation
This murder
This is elaborated
in all whites
which we're
allowed
If the answer
obverse
md sters contract
ciently
than undermines
incompetent
the blacks'
dress.
taste"
in evening
goes beyond this since it is enacted
The ritual murder
intention
of view and their
then enacts
inverse of white domination
in a further
reasserts
itself
der (violent
black revolt)
innate primitive
savagery
- the conventional
black movement
what might
depoliticises
and provides
whites
and their own superiority.
A similar
depoliticisation
grey host (p.26)
damned by becomi ng an "honorary wh ite", aband?ned
pOlitical
"Mother"
of the blacks'
this is as self-reflecting
black
savage.
This myth/anti-myth
in the excha~ge
explored
framed by the proC~edl~gs
explores
the ramlflcat10ns
act.
the level of signification:
bows implying
inversion
is the same as that of ~he openlng ta w~at~ver
filled by ~heir respect1ve

this with the trl~
the white myth of bla~
- effective attack th~ou9
concepts.

an
between ~e~~Cl~Yc~urt
of the
of the ~u~d~~ ~e~recedes
the trl:l b~gl~~ie~~e

hatred are, like the dolls, fabrica~ed
as the whites' elaborat10n

follows in the transformation
by Diouf, the collaborator,
import of this is defused by Diouf s al~ernatlve
of the dolls

concept of black resurgence

a.
su~;
~~rou"
a

with a temporary

is suggested

representing

Contrasting

the mythic

~ ~ro

w lte

the court.

is hel~ in doubt ~y ~he references
It lles rather 1n lts potential

lies not in its truth
to "backstage"
meaning which is
who are denied access to the

(with) the black cause.

embodied

beyond
a more complex articulation
all the more firmly back to the play.

the play, out of the
in the ritual, but offers rather a shadow
of the basic myth,
The back-
the ritual undergoes.
that these entail can be seen if one takes as
of the white woman - the central ritual - and trace

structure

d th

. nies it affords is later more fully

of th~ Mass.
The
who 1S therefore
by the.other blacks.
The
status as the.
by those very blacks:
of the myth of the

Th1S suggests that the obJects

This is •

of justice;

nd the Queen (p.78 ff.).
their exchange
ond that of a single criminal
it indicates a shift in
75 ff ) with the ceremonial
(
ju;taposed with the black
The ;ignification
process here
the figures are unambiguously
the original meaning - white

The

(-•.'~ticns of j~stice - has been distances in fayour of hlack contempt for
ltinceptlonS, This contempt is cOlTf11unicatedby ritual gesture.
precise example is the blacks' orchestrated laughter which, like their
~"_H
"~~lin~
•.is by its very orchestration a parody of the white courts's fear.
~.\t
S; when the Queen comes to face Felicity, it is on the latter's homeground
~~lc~ the court's platform.
The territory is Africa - which embodies, am-
~11(les and justifies the crime:
"No one cocld possible deny it ... that crime of mine is all Africa."
" Sulking Africa, wrought of iron, in the fire, Africa of the millions
of royal sl'aves '" drifting continent, are you there? '"
block of darkness, compact and evil.,.
from you •.. hypnotises them" (p.60),

~hls speech recalls her earlier negritude eyocations, for example:

It's a
A deep somnolence emantes

An eternal ruin ... It's death

"But what a ruin!
shape of a ruin.
(p.79)

The lyrical power of the words is reinforced by her stance hands on hips,
exploding.
But the extent of her power - the black antimyth concept - is
undermined as her role for form for this concept is undermined by her am-
biguous connection wit~ the Queen.
Initially, the two women seem directly
oPposed;. in her speech about the ruins:
And I haven't finished carving .,. myself in the
that's shaping me."
The Queen challenges Felicity.
Her faith in a decadent white civilisation
offers an alternative, however feeble. to negritude, which she perceives as
no civilisation at all.
Oespite this opposition, the Queen's second speech and the accompanying st~qe
direction suggest that the two women and, by implication the two cultures,
are not only linked but fundamentally dependent on each other.
The Queen's
cha l1enge:
"If I'm dead, why go on and on killing me in my corpse?"

Is echoed later (p.95):

"Without us their revolt would be meaningless. wouldn't even exist."
That this is more than an indication of white illusion about the impotence
of black revolt (part of the myth that white is naturally superior) is de-
monstrated by the stage direction: side by side, almost amicably. the two
women move forward to the front of the stage (p.80), and later (p.B2):
she
.nd Felicity talk to each other like two women exchanging recipes.
In be-
tween (p.81), is the yerbal parody of Felicity's negritude speeches.
If the
refuge available to the Queen is limited to Kipling and the White Man's
.
Burden, then the black alternative becomes nothing more than a self-reflect1ng
Inverse of white culture:
'50 will the opera to which we will go. black.as we are, in black ~olls
Royces to hail black kings - beneath chandel1ers of black crystal.
This reyolt is impotent.
show, s~fe for whit~S be-
c.use they can take refuge in the fact that what they see 1S really wh1te
property.
white violence
There are two pOSSible ways out of the "hall of mirrors":
(toe Judge suggests a hanging) or black violence (to demonstrate black,
It 1S
strength by first executing the Negro traitor and then,the,Court).
The Quest10n 15 whether the
the latter course which concludes the play.

It is like the minstrel

66

actors,

"Resume

in a more

this shock effect.

the ceremony
truncates

(from the
the shock effect
the ritual and

of the ritual after the traitor has been dispatched

lies in examining
the execution,
the firecracker

cue:
form, the more compelling
or whether

the tone", p.S?) produces
for having sustained
the exposure

resumption
Valet's
powerful
of the unmasked
cuts short its power.
By un-
The answer
to this question
the actors suggest that the ritual is no longer useful
themselves,
mask1ng
Nevertheless
now that the "real action",
this "real action"
trick, organised backsta~e.
is quite clearly a theatrical
Even at the cruclal
moment,
Sudden-
lya
against
though devastating
at an earlier
the progress
five black faces hitherto
to be the shock of reality.
for action

The sparks of fireworks are seen
the unmasking which,
Then follows
at this point, has in fact been hinted at and prevented
Newport News comes in to report on
the shock of the
hidden behind the masks of the Court seems indeed
the possiblities
the idea they'd like us
"Our aim is not only to corrode and dissolve
to have of them. we must also fight them in their actual persons. in
their flesh and blood.
only for display.

backstage
set (p.84).
stage in the play, when
of the traitor's

trial (p.62).
The myth has been deciphered.

As for you (the actors). you were present

has taken place.
is definitely

explodes
the black velvet

firecracker

not a gun:

liberated:

Initially,

Behind

'"

" (p.8S)

'"

is reinforced

the ritual may be attentuated

from the parody within parody to confront reality.

Most particularly.
effective
political
on stage, so that. while
recent perception
having broken
ibility
loud free laughter
Archibald's

there is the renewed possibility
that the execution as
act will be able to inform and intensify its parallel
by the audience's
it will be all the more powerful for
from the ritual - in particular.
the
the orchestrated
"Just a moment.
is coming to an end.
me first to thank you all - you've given an excellent
(p.9S);
of the Court take off their masks and bow - is a conventional

This poss-
laughter earlier. and
My friends. allow
performance"
The Court's response - the

of its exposure,
by departures
(p.88) as against
the performance

final praise:

behind the performance.

both imply a reality
members
It suggests
that the performance
is now over and that what follows
which
has nothing
the audience
by enacting
of the outer action
simply a preparation
for the next performance.
the last ~
In resolving
Village and Virtue - are significant
myth of negritude.
cuI ture:

here presented

this problem.

ending.
has been allowed to watch
for a further ritual with
to do.
this reinforces the va~ue
the burial of the traitor. or whether it IS

which the audience
is a preparation
Yet whether

is not revealed.

of the play ~ the e~change bet~een

in that they rema1n w1!h1n
alternat1ve

as a sentimental

the.ant1-

"At least you won't be able to wind your fingers
hair" (p.96).
is belied by the persistance
~jor

with the rest of the play:

Felicity's

waltz.

This kind of juxtapos1t~on

whose value as alternative
the form of the Don Giovanni
consistent
(p.6D) is undermined
The final action
again or the catafalque

reinforces

by being followed by the "s!ralnS of t~e Dle~ Irae •.
eIther the rltual.ls to beg1n
contains the traItor s corpse and the rltual has

this ambivale~ce:,

to wh1te
in my long. golden
of.~ite.cult~re
1S qU1te
negrltu~e speec~

in

67

neither outcome concerns this

This is not simply a formal difference.

A corpse
it reinforces the outer action

thus served its purpose.
Is not the same kind of prop as two chairs;
rather than the pure theatrical illusion.
Nevertheless,
the final message is clear:
audience since it can have no part in the execution of traitors nor can it
be affected by a second performance of the "ritual that never changes•• The
dranatic evidence (the persistance of white culture in the waltz) seems to
be 'in favour of the continuing ritual.
Genet's bias Is towards shattering
and~ombining
contemporary myth and its parody, pushing ceremony to its
limits as a form of communication, rather than communicating a programme of
action.
So the question of the blacks' colour is answered only to be posed
again and again.
References
Art~d,
A.

There is no answer

that initiates action.

(Trans. Me Richards),

1958

Barthes, R.

1976

1964.

Brustein, R.
Esslin, M.
Genet, J.

1977
1973.

Genet, J.

1975.

Hayman, R.
McMahon, J.

1977.
1963.

The Theatre and Its Double.
Grove, N Y.
Mythologies. (Trans. Annette lavers), Paladin,
london.
Theatre of Revolt, Little, Brown & Co., Boston.
Theatre of the Absurd. Penguin, Harmondsworth.
The Blacks. (Trans. Bernard Frechtman), Faber,
London.
The Balcony. (Trans. Bernard Frechtman), Faber,
london.
Artaud and After, OUP, london.
The Imagination of Jean Genet, Yale, New Haven.

1.

2.

3.

4.

S.

(Brustein, 1964, p.14).

As
"The rebel develops into the very image of the authority

Note that this defence of the blacks' case does not remain univocal.
Brustein writes:
he wishes to annihilate"
The term is quite currently used to imply false notions held by one about
another.
Though Roger Blin, Genet's director, denl~s any conn~ction between Genet
and Artaud (Brustein, 1964, p.37B), the 11nks, of whIch those Quoted
here are only a sample. are too obvious to ignore.
There is a non-trivial problem of translation here:
Esslin had .symbol".
prefer the precision afforded by the opposition:
~o either Esslin's or McMahon~5 translations.
Barthes' example is a Negro in French uniform, signifying mythically to
the French patriots during the Algerian crisis, the strength and univer-
sal validity of French imperiality.

instead of "sign"
In view of the analysis 5ketc~ed i~ thl~ pap~r, I
slgnifler/slgnifled,

68

6.

~1nks between this edistance" and Brecht's "alienation" Ire significant
1~ so far as Genet, like Brecht, makes his audience think by repoliti-
c1sing Ind so alienating familiar myths.
it should be
Nevertheless
n~ted that Genet's immediate concern is to shock Ind ~ilder
his au.
d~ence rather than to make them critical.
Once Igain the connection
W1th Artaud's "cruelty" is clear.

RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS:
DRAMA

Vols I-IV (1970-1974).

The Guide
ballet
•

"Some aspects of Drama in Education in Eastern Cape Schools,

Dept. of Drama, Rhodes University.

In progress 1980.

"Drama trainin9 in the Republic of South

~lAthesis.

University of Port Elizabeth.

"The understanding

In progress 1977.

"An Investigation of the dramas of Athol Fugard in the

IlAthesis.
T. and Shuler, A.:
In progress 1980.

of Zulu dance - Problems of Approach and
MA thesis. Dept. of Social Anthropology, University of Witwaters-

Centre for S.A. Theatre Source Guide.
conta1ns a systematic index of articles, reviews etc on theatre
radio. films, television appearing in South African newspapers ~nd
periodicals.
B~wker. V.J.:
l1ght of modern drama theories."
In progress 1979.
Clegg. J.P.:
Method."
rand.
Dickerson, B.:
1820-1980".
Hauptfleisch,
Africa~
HSRC.
Hauptfleisch, T., Viljoen, W. and Greunen, C.:
Guide~HSRC.
~tclntosh, A.M.P.:
creative drama in education, with reference to selected schools in Natal~
HA thesis.
Oliphant,A.:
"Socia-political
Afrikaans, Rhodes University.
Theaterform.
Dept. of Potchefstroom
Van Rensburg, J.:
geslaagde drama en teater~
MA thesis.
Weare, C.:
In progress.
RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS:
GENERAL
Glen, I.E.:
literaturf.~ Universities

"The sociology of literature with special referenc1ge79toAfrican

"Die Noord-Sotho drama getoets aan die vere;stes vir
Potchefsrtoom University.

Dept. Bantoe~le,

In progress 1979.
"The nature of theatre in Zimba~e~

In progress 1979.
drama in Afrikaans~
In progress 1979.

"Drama in education - an assessment of the role of

First issue Vol. I, No.1

May 1980.

Published by the Drama

In progress 1980.

University of Natal.

"Athol Fugard - I source

HA thesis.

Dept of

University.

MA thesis.

of Bordeaux and Paris.

In progress
•
(continued on p.80)

69