Theatre and Theatricality in Arnold Bennett’s Novels from A Man from the North to The Regent
Arnold Bennett, known principally as a novelist, also had a life-long interest in the theatre. He was a keen spectator, drama critic and dramatist who was also involved in theatre management. This paper seeks to establish that his concern with theatre, theatricality and spectacle is evident in a num...
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| Argitaratua izan da: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/cve, |
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| Egile nagusia: | |
| Formatua: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Hizkuntza: | Anglais |
| Argitaratua: |
Cahiers victoriens et édouardiens
2025
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| Sarrera elektronikoa: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Gaia: | Arnold Bennett, known principally as a novelist, also had a life-long interest in the theatre. He was a keen spectator, drama critic and dramatist who was also involved in theatre management. This paper seeks to establish that his concern with theatre, theatricality and spectacle is evident in a number of his novels from the most serious to the most fantastic. In Bennett’s universe life is often presented as ‘theatre’, as a series of mini-dramas, and in Clayhanger the performing arts are perceived as a means of initiation into life and as a reflection of social status. This article focuses mainly on A Man from the North (1898) and The Regent (1913)—two novels dealing directly with theatre as entertainment and as an industry. They reveal on the one hand Bennett’s fascination for the theatre and the lure of its commercial possibilities; on the other his exasperation with its instability and unpredictability. From an examination of these dualities it emerges that ‘theatricality’ is vital to Bennett’s fictional strategy, used to create the illusion of reality or for farcical effect. At the same time the novels can also be read for their social-historical interest in terms of the theatre of Bennett’s day. |
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