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Eunuchs in London Theatre
Comparative Drama Pub Date : 2020-01-27 , DOI: 10.1353/cdr.2019.0000
Anne Greenfield

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Eunuchs in London Theatre
  • Anne Greenfield (bio)

“. . . and one may say of Eunuchs the same that is usually said of Bastards, that for the most part they are very bad, but that sometimes we may chance to find one that may prove good for something.”

Charles Ancillon, Eunuchism Display’d, 11

Charles Ancillon does not mince words when it comes to “eunuchs,” and in his authoritative treatise on the subject (see figure 1), he insists that castrated males are typically “awkward,” possessed with a “Sourness and Moroseness of Temper,” “impious. . . . always fierce and ill natured,” and “fearful.”1 Ancillon divides castrated males into three main categories: those who were born that way, those with both penis and testicles removed, and those with only the vein between body and testicles removed. Ancillon is complimentary of none of them, and he has no qualms about generalizing. In fact, if we take Ancillon at his word, disdain for castrated men was quite ubiquitous: “History informs us, that [the public] not only utterly despised and hated, but that they could not abide so much as to see [eunuchs].”2 [End Page 1]


Click for larger view
View full resolution Figure 1. Charles Ancillon, Eunuchism Display’d © British Library Board, 1081.i.21, title page.

[End Page 2]

In English theatres, however, the notoriety associated with castrated men was complicated, and sometimes it was even replaced with respect and praise. As this essay shows, in the decades surrounding the turn of the eighteenth century, there emerged a corpus of at least twenty-five productions featuring eunuchs, most of which were set in Turkish, Persian, or Indian royal courts (see table 1 for a list).3 While the sheer frequency of these Orientalist eunuch depictions is notable, even more striking is the versatility and complexity with which dramatists constructed these characters. Unlike some of the other “stock” characters found in these Orientalist productions—like mutes or janissaries who come on stage as icons of execution and war (respectively)—eunuchs were represented quite variously. These plays feature eunuchs who were powerful military generals, spiteful schemers, loyal confidants, pitiful sex objects, and more. This variety in depiction is particularly surprising when compared to popular views of castrated men at the time, which often reduced them to their sexual status and dismissed them as odious or perverse. In the hands of English dramatists, eunuchs proved far more than the medical curiosities and sexual deviants they were represented as being in the pages of Ancillon’s treatise.

Thus, this essay illustrates the remarkable disparity between attitudes toward eunuchs in life versus art, underscoring the degree of complexity, variety, and—at times—respect underlying Orientalist theatrical depictions of eunuchs. Not only were eunuchoid characters represented in strikingly diverse ways in scripts, but these roles were also played by a heterogeneous group of actors and even actresses. And even though responses to these characters sometimes overlapped with and echoed responses to other castrated men in art (most commonly, Italian castrati), these characters were also powerfully shaped and understood in light of their Orientalist settings and contexts. This analysis of eunuchs on the London stage not only underscores how better to interpret this substantial body of plays, but more importantly it calls attention to the unique ways the English public delighted in, understood, and responded to these sexual and geographical Others—when onstage. [End Page 3]

The Stigma of Castration

As popular and authoritative as Ancillon’s treatise on eunuchs was, he was hardly alone in stigmatizing castrated males. Other writers, particularly in the burgeoning field of medical treatises in the eighteenth century, show agreement on the matter. For example, Pierre Dionis writes, in his General Treatise of Midwifery (1719),

for Eunuchs are shunn’d and despis’d by all Mankind, not only as good for nothing, but of a disagreeable Aspect, that bodes no good where-ever they come: and even in a Hen-house, Capons and Pullets are chas’d up and down, and peck’d by all other Fowls, that have an Aversion to them, tho they know not what moves them to it. Thus, by the Appointment and Instinct of Nature, every Animal that cannot engender, or bring...



中文翻译:

太监在伦敦剧院

代替摘要,这里是内容的简要摘录:

  • 太监在伦敦剧院
  • 安妮·格林菲尔德(生物)

”。。。也许有人说太监与私生子一样,在大多数情况下他们都是很坏的,但有时候我们可能有机会找到一个对某些事情有好处的人。”

查尔斯·安西永(Charles Ancillon),《太监》,11

查尔斯·安西永(C harles Ancillon)谈及“太监”时并不会轻描淡写,在他关于该大臣的权威论文中(见图1),他坚持认为cast割的男性通常“笨拙”,并带有“脾气发酸和发脾气, ”“无能为力。。。。总是凶猛,性格恶劣”和“恐惧”。1个安西永将cast割的男性分为三大类:以这种方式出生的男性,去除阴茎和睾丸的男性以及仅去除身体和睾丸之间的静脉的男性。安西永对这些都不是很满意,并且他对泛化没有任何疑虑。事实上,如果我们信奉安西永的话,那么cast割的人就会无所适从:“历史告诉我们,[公众]不仅被完全鄙视和憎恨,而且他们忍受不了那么多以至于看到[太监] 。” 2 [末页1]


单击查看大图
查看完整分辨率图1.查尔斯·安西永(Eunuchism Display) ©大英图书馆董事会,1081.i.21,标题页。

[结束页2]

然而,在英语剧院中,cast割的男性所引起的恶名非常复杂,有时甚至被尊重和赞美所取代。正如本文所显示的那样,在18世纪之交的几十年中,出现了至少25种以太监为代表的作品集,其中大多数是在土耳其,波斯或印度的皇家宫廷中拍摄的(参见表1)。列表)。3尽管这些东方主义太监描写的频率惊人,但更引人注目的是戏剧家建构这些角色的多功能性和复杂性。与这些东方主义作品中发现的其他一些“股票”角色不同(例如分别作为谋杀和战争的偶像出现在舞台上的哑巴或门卫),太监的代表方式各不相同。这些戏剧的特点是太监,他们是强大的军事将领,可恶的策划者,忠实的知己,可怜的性爱对象等等。与当时of割的男性的普遍看法相比,这种描绘的多样性尤其令人惊讶,因为这种观点经常使他们沦为性状态,并以恶毒或不正当的态度将其驳回。在英国戏剧家的手中,

因此,本文说明了对生活中太监的态度与艺术之间的显着差异强调了复杂性,多样性的程度,并有时甚至尊重了有关东方的太监戏剧描写的基础。太监角色不仅在剧本中以多种多样的方式表现出来,而且这些角色也由一群异类的演员甚至女演员扮演。即使对这些角色的回应有时与对艺术中其他cast割的人(最常见的是意大利的castrati)的回应相互重叠并相互呼应,但根据他们的东方主义背景和语境,这些角色也得到了有力的塑造和理解。对伦敦舞台上的太监的分析不仅强调了如何更好地解释这种实质性的戏剧体,而且更重要的是,它引起了人们对英国公众喜欢,理解,[结束页3]

ration割的污名

正如安西永(Ancillon)关于太监的论文一样受欢迎和权威,他在alone割male割的男性中并不孤单。其他作家,尤其是在18世纪新兴的医学论文领域,也对此表示同意。例如,皮埃尔·狄奥尼斯(Pierre Dionis)在其《助产士通论》(1719)中写道:

因为太监是全人类的避难所,不仅无济于事,而且令人讨厌的方面,无论到哪里都无济于事:即使在鸡舍里,Capons和Pullets也很无聊被其他所有对它们有反感的家禽“上下颠簸,啄着”,以至于他们不知道是什么促使他们前进。因此,通过自然的任命和本能,每一个不能产生或带来……的动物……

更新日期:2020-01-27
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