Voltaire’s School of Suicide Learning from the Other and Killing Oneself in L’Orphelin de la Chine

• Publication type: Journal article
• Journal:
  European Drama and Performance Studies
  2016 – 2, n° 7
  . Le Suicide à la scène
• Author: Smith (Blake)
• Abstract: This article examines a moment in Voltaire's 1755 play L'Orphelin de la Chine, an adaptation of a thirteenth-century Chinese drama. The heroine of this piece prepares to commit suicide after a speech in which she cites the example of Japanese suicide practices. This episode marks a rupture in Voltaire's treatment both of China and of suicide. More profoundly, it questions the relationship between two of his goals for theater: depicting the customs of foreign cultures and inspiring virtue.
• Pages: 131 to 144
• Journal: European Drama and Performance Studies
• CLIL theme: 4028 -- SCIENCES HUMAINES ET SOCIALES, LETTRES -- Lettres et Sciences du langage -- Lettres -- Etudes de littérature comparée
• EAN: 9782406060994
• ISBN: 978-2-406-06099-4
• ISSN: 2045-8541
• DOI: 10.15122/isbn.978-2-406-06099-4.p.0131
• Publisher: Classiques Garnier
• Online publication: 08-30-2016
• Periodicity: Biannual
• Language: English

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