Mar 31, 2015
Here dramatic passions are measured by the standard of ‚real’ life, in relation to which they appear ‚extravagant’. However, things then get complicated, for in the commentary on this anecdote, we are told that it proves the actor lacks feeling. In the theatre, his gestures signal emotions that are much greater than the real ones, and such gestures would be ridiculous if he were to perform them in real life, and this in turn reveals the theatrical image of greatness to be false. The two anecdotes compare the actor on and off stage; great in one context is extravagant in the other, and the criterion of ‚truth’ works in favour of life rather than art.
Marian Hobson, The ‘Paradox sur le comédien’ is a paradox