''Athalie'' (, sometimes translated ''Athalia'') is a 1691 play, the final
tragedy
A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
of
Jean Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...
, and has been described as the masterpiece
of "one of the greatest literary artists known"
and the "ripest work" of Racine's
genius
Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...
.
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve
Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic.
Early life
He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he se ...
deemed it comparable to ''
Oedipus Rex
''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...
'' in beauty, with "the true God added."
August Wilhelm Schlegel
August Wilhelm von Schlegel (Schlegel until 1812; ; ; 8 September 176712 May 1845) was a German Indologist, poet, translator and critic. With his brother Friedrich Schlegel, he was a leading influence within Jena Romanticism. His translations o ...
thought Athalie to be "animated by divine breath";
other critics have regarded the
poetics
Poetics is the study or theory of poetry, specifically the study or theory of device, structure, form, type, and effect with regards to poetry, though usage of the term can also refer to literature broadly. Poetics is distinguished from hermeneu ...
of drama in the play to be superior to those of
Aristotle
Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
.
History
After the success of ''
Esther
Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...
'', Racine published ''Athalie'' in 1691, another play drawn from the
Bible
The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, which he expected would have the same success.
Plot
Athalie, widow of the king of
Judah, rules the country and believes she has eliminated all the rest of the royal family. She has abandoned the
Jewish religion for the worship of
Baal
Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord
Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...
. However, the late king's grandson
Joash was rescued by the wife of the high priest.
*Act 1 -
Joad, the Jewish high priest, assures Abner, a military officer, that he would support a possible descendant of the king of Judah if he appeared. Then he agrees with his wife
Jehoshebath to reveal the existence of Joash and dethrone Athalie, thus bringing the country back to the true religion.
*Act 2 - Athalie goes into the Jewish temple and finds a baby she has seen in a dream. (She does not know that this child is Joash and that he has been brought up by Joad in the Jewish religion.) She asked Joad to bring the child and she invites him to come to live with her at the palace.
*Act 3 - Fearing a plot by Joad, Athalie wants Joash sent as a hostage. The high priest is preparing to proclaim Joash as king to hasten things.
*Act 4 - Joash reveals he is the descendant and successor of the kings of Judah. The priests barricade the Temple.
*Act 5 - Athalie prepares to dislodge the rebels from the Temple. She comes to claim the child. Joad tells her that the child is Joash. Outside, the attackers panic and flee. Joad executes Athalie.
Reception

''Athalie'' was the victim of opposition from moralists at its creation. Represented on the public scene after the death of
Madame de Maintenon, it was never part of the most popular plays of Racine, though
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
saw it as "perhaps the masterpiece of mankind", and
Flaubert's character Monsieur Homais, the pharmacist, in ''
Madame Bovary
''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...
'' calls it the most "immortal masterpiece of the French stage", and names one of his daughters Athalie.
Adaptation
The oratorio ''
Athalia'' by
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
, with libretto by
Samuel Humphreys, was based on ''Athalie''.
References
External links
Text of ''Athalie''(French)
*
*
Text of ''Athalie'' (French and English translation)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athalie
Plays by Jean Racine
1691 plays
Plays based on the Old Testament
Tragedy plays
Plays set in antiquity
Works set in the 9th century BC