Fangs of Malice : Hypocrisy, Sincerity, and Acting

by Wikander, Matthew H.

• ISBN13: 9780877458098
• ISBN10: 087745809X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of Iowa Pr

Summary

The idea that actors are hypocrites and fakes and therefore dangerous to society was widespread in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Fangs of Malice examines the equation between the vice of hypocrisy and the craft of acting as it appears in antitheatrical tracts, in popular and high culture, and especially in plays of the period. Rousseau and others argue that actors, expert at seeming other than they are, pose a threat to society; yet dissembling seems also to be an inevitable consequence of human social intercourse. The "antitheatrical prejudice" offers a unique perspective on the high value that modern western culture places on sincerity, on being true to one's own self.

Taking a cue from the antitheatrical critics themselves, Matthew Wikander structures his book in acts and scenes, each based on a particular slander against actors. A prologue introduces his main issues. Act One deals with the proposition "They Dress Up": foppish slavery to fashion, cross-dressing, and dressing as clergy. Act Two treats the proposition "They Lie" by focusing on so

Author Biography

Matthew Wikander is professor of English at the University of Teledo. He is a founding member of the North Coast Theatre, which performs in the galleries and for special exhibitions at the Toledo Museum of Art

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Prologue. The Actor as Hypocrite	xi
ACT ONE. THEY DRESS UP	1	(66)
As Secret as Maidenhead	4	(20)
Putting on the Cloth	24	(22)
Humanizing the Fop	46	(21)
ACT TWO. THEY LIE	67	(58)
Rousseau and the Cult of Sincerity	70	(9)
Playing Joseph Surface	79	(11)
Ibsen's Small Stage of Fools	90	(10)
Princely Hypocrite	100	(25)
ACT THREE. THEY DRINK	125	(69)
The Tavern	130	(16)
Liberty Hall	146	(12)
Harry Hope's Saloon	158	(23)
Contested Sites	181	(13)
Epilogue	194	(7)
Notes	201	(30)
Index	231