Bashkirtseff
Orig | CZ

Theater (Théâtre)

Basic Aktualizováno: 2025-12-07

Research Status: Basic Last Updated: 2025-12-07 Diary Coverage: Up to 1874-01-01

Overview

Theater-going is a central social activity in Marie's Nice life during the 1873-74 winter season. The theater serves as both entertainment and crucial social observatory where she watches aristocratic society, tracks Gioia, and is observed by potential suitors like Lambertye.

Nice Theater Season December 1873

December 23, 1873 - Failed Ballet

Marie attends with Dina, Walitsky, and Paul:
  • "Le Legs" - One-act comedy by Marivaux (boring, Marie catches only the end)
  • "Lo specchio infernale" - Ballet that was a disaster
- "A succession of quacks, cracks, failures" - Audience whistling and shouting - Confusion about whether it ended - People still waiting for carriages at 11pm

#### Social Observations:

  • Howard family in adjacent box - Hélène and Lise
  • Galve family in rez-de-chaussée, all in black with white muslin collars
  • Gioia: Stage box opposite prefect, black dress with square antique neckline "showing almost all her breasts," forest of violets on head that Marie mistook for Scottish scarf
- "She looks miserable since she's not insured. She's lost a lot, no longer looks like a queen."
  • Vicomtesse Vigier and other society ladies
  • Parterre full of men including Lewin, Jarozinsky, Gros
  • Emile d'Audiffret-Latour ("this young pig is not bad at Nice")
  • Lambertye: Constantly staring at Marie, standing near them at exit

December 31, 1873 - New Year's Eve

"Le canard à trois becs" - Marie leaves early to be home alone for her midnight ritual with Hamilton's photograph

January 1, 1874 - Opera

Marie attends with the Howards wearing white dress, hair up:
  • Music deeply moves her
  • Sees Hamilton distinctly in her mind
  • Talks aloud to him while alone in carriage fetching Howards
  • Almost cries
  • "There are moments I mock myself with my feelings! But there are others when I love him so much, see him so well, am so melancholic I want to flee everything and everyone. Only then do I feel I live."
  • Not calm regrets but "sharp and painful"

Theater as Social Space

For Marie, theater serves multiple functions: 1. Social Display: Where to be seen, what to wear (detailed costume descriptions) 2. Observation Post: Watching Gioia, society figures, evaluating rivals 3. Romantic Theater: Lambertye's courtship via staring 4. Emotional Trigger: Music and drama intensify her Hamilton obsession 5. Class Marker: Table d'hôte = vulgar, private boxes = proper

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