Synopsis of Hugo's dramatic work "Lui Bras".
Victor Hugo (1802-1885)Wikipedia.
Hugo's "Lui Bras" was first performed in 1838.
I read "Lui Bras" translated by Masaki Sugiyama in "Victor Hugo Bungakukan Vol. 10" published by Ushio Publishing House.
Before we talk about his works, let's look a little at Hugo as a playwright. The commentary at the end of the book states
In Japan, Victor Hugo is famous as the author of "Les Misérables" and "Notre-Dame de Paris. In fact, "Les Misérables" has been translated and adapted into many different versions since the translation of "Yes, I am heartless," by Rinka Kuroiwa, and has also been made into many movies, most memorably the movie starring Jean Gabin, which was broadcast on TV a few years ago. I am sure that many of you have seen this movie and wept when you saw it.
The musical "Les Misérables" is still performed every year, inspiring many young people. Notre-Dame de Paris" has also been made into many movies, especially the Disney animated film "The Bells of Notre-Dame" a few years ago, which has impressed many people.
Thus, in Japan, Hugo is known exclusively as a novelist, but in France, his reputation as a poet, and a great national poet at that, is unshakable. Hugo was a poet, novelist, literary theorist, social critic, and playwright, but unfortunately Hugo as a playwright is almost unknown in Japan.
Tide Press, Victor Hugo Literature Museum, Volume 10, p372
Some line breaks have been made.
As mentioned here, we Japanese have an image of Hugo as a great novelist.
But he remained a poet throughout his life. He continued to use his powers as a poet to create novels and plays. The reason why his works of fiction are so captivating is largely due to his poetic talent for stirring human emotions.
Biography previously published on this blogVictor Hugo, "Poetry, Love and Revolution."In the following section, we will see exactly that clearly.
We become familiar with Hugo by reading translated texts, but the French listen to his words in their native language. There are rhythms of sound and phrases that soak in like waka poems, haiku, and ancient texts for the Japanese. Hugo was a genius of words that moved the hearts of French people.
In the 1830s, Hugo produced many plays. This was partly because it was far more profitable than writing novels, but also because Hugo was fighting to revolutionize the old literary world through theater.
The story is too long to tell here, but Hugo aimed for a free theater that was not bound by the old rules. His style of theater and literature is called Romanticism. Hugo reigned as the king of Romanticism. Please refer to our previous article on Romanticism for an explanation of Romanticism.
In 1838, he published a work titled "Lui Bras" which is introduced here.
The play is set in Madrid, Spain at the end of the 17th century.
Don Salusto, a great nobleman who was forced to lose his position because of the queen, vows revenge to avenge her wrongdoing.
Don Sallust, a cunning and shrewd villain, sends his subordinate, Ruy Blarth, a handsome man of commoner descent, to the vicinity of the queen, pretending to be her relative, the noble Don Cesar, in order to frame her for adultery. Don Cesar was a man who had fallen into debauchery and disappeared. He sent Luy Blas into the aristocratic world under the guise that he had returned.
Lui Blaas, originally a commoner, was in love with the queen, and he was in love with the queen, and he was in love with the queen, and he was in love with the queen, and he was in love with the queen, and he was in love with the queen. It is a love that can never be fulfilled because of their different status. But later, through Don Sallust's trickery, he really falls in love with the queen.
The beautiful queen married the king of Spain in a political marriage at a young age. However, the king was obsessed with hunting and showed no sign of caring about the queen. The queen was left alone, feeling bored in everything she did and living a life of depression.
But then Ruy Bras, aka Don Cesar, appears on the scene. With the help of chance, the two fall in love.
This may have seemed like a happy ending, but it was not.
After years of satanic plotting, Don Salusto finally launches his attack.
The queen's authority would be undermined if her love affair with Ruy Bras was exposed.
Ruy Bras also manages to escape from Don Sallust's plot, but all is not well. Finally, he is cornered.
But in the end, he decides to protect the queen and kills his former master, Don Salusto. He tells the queen that he is not Don Cesar, and dies after drinking poison.
The queen forgives Ruy Brász for deceiving her, confesses her love to him, and the story comes to an end.
A rough synopsis of the play goes like this. Of course, the real Don Cesar is also an important character in this play, and there are many other important scenes.
However, the major flow of Ruy Blaas will center on the demonic conspirator Don Sallust, his subordinate Ruy Blaas, and the queen.
Later ArticlesZola's Critique of Hugo: Zola's Literary Theory, which categorically rejects Hugo's idealism."Now I would like to present a critique of this work by Emile Zola. What was Hugo's greatness? We will also learn what Zola's criticism of Hugo was.
Hugo was a poet and playwright.
Hugo's most famous novelLes Miserables.is a work that incorporates many of Hugo's skills as a poet and playwright. Hugo had already incorporated into his works the kind of staging that could easily be adapted for the stage. Hugo was also working from the aspect of how to make his works theatrically exciting and how to incorporate them into his novels in the most effective way.
It was a very interesting experience to experience Hugo's dramatic works in order to learn about such things.
As I will discuss in a later article, Zola makes a tremendous statement on the subject of this work. This is a must-see for Hugo and Zola fans alike. I was quite shocked when I read it.
However, I feel that this has made Hugo's and Zola's characteristics more clear.
Zola's critical eye is incredibly sharp. It is almost frightening to think that he would go so far as to criticize the king of French literature.
We would be happy to continue our relationship with you after this time.
The next article will introduce Zola's "Literary Essays," which contains Hugo's critique.
The above is a synopsis of Hugo's theatrical work "Ruy Blas" and my impression of it - a play full of Hugo's character set in Spain.
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