'' Electra '' (French title: ''Électre'') is a two-act play written in 1937 by French dramatist

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

. It was the first Giraudoux play to employ the staging of Louis Jouvet. Based on the classic myth of antiquity, ''Electra'' has a surprisingly tragic force, without losing the spirit and sparkling humor that made Jean Giraudoux one of the most important playwrights of the mid twentieth century.

Original productions

''Électre'' was translated into English as ''Electra'' in 1955 by Winifred Smith, and again in 1964 by Phyllis La Farge and Peter H. Judd. ''Électre'' was first performed on 13 May 1937 in Paris at the

Théâtre de l'Athénée The Théâtre de l'Athénée () is a theatre at 7 rue Boudreau, in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. Renovated in 1996 and classified a historical monument, the Athénée inherits an artistic tradition marked by the figure of Louis Jouvet who di ...

in a production by Louis Jouvet.Inskip, Donald, (1958), '' Jean Giraudoux, The Making of a Dramatist'', p. 182, Oxford University Press, New York.

Plot summary

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

, The King of Argos, had sacrificed his daughter

Iphigenia In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae. In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artem ...

to the gods. In revenge, his wife,

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (, ; , ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan p ...

, assisted by her lover, Aegisthus, killed him on his return from the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

, the son was banished, but the second daughter Electra was allowed to remain: "She does nothing, says nothing. But she is there". As the play opens, Aegisthus wants to marry her to the palace gardener in order to deflect towards "the house of Théocathoclès anything that might cast an unfortunate light on the

house of Atreus In Greek mythology, Atreus (, ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. His descendants became known collectively as the Atreidae ( ''Atreidai''). Atreus and his t ...

." Electra, with the assistance of her easily dominated brother Orestes, who has returned from banishment, relentlessly seeks the murderer of her father, while feeling an implacable hatred for her mother. Eventually Electra and Orestes themselves are destroyed by the curse that follows the house of Atreus. Giraudoux's play is a rewriting of the myth, taken from an epic passage in

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

. It had previously been rendered in tragedies by

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; ; /524 – /455 BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek Greek tragedy, tragedian often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek tragedy is large ...

Sophocles Sophocles ( 497/496 – winter 406/405 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. was an ancient Greek tragedian known as one of three from whom at least two plays have survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or contemporary with, those ...

, and

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

in the 5th century BC. With many anachronistic changes, including the role of the

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

couple as a burlesque reflection of the tragic couple, Elektra is another example of the timelessness of the tragedy. Written in 1937, it would in effect be a "bourgeois tragedy", according to Jean Giraudoux himself.

The quest for the truth

This is the main theme of the play. Electra comes from the Greek ''Elektra'' which means "light". Electra is there to shed light on the events, to illuminate the truth. Thanks to her presence, many characters will reveal "their" truth, such as Agathe in Act II, 6. In addition, Electra and Aegisthus declare themselves throughout the play. The character of the beggar (at once god, beggar and director) helps restore the truth. It is he who explains how the story unfolds, who recounts the murder of Agamemnon, and also that of Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. The last scene shows Electra, in restoring the truth, cursed and dispossessed, decimating the city. The splendor of this truth was too violent. The last line, "It has a beautiful name, Narses, it is called the dawn" ends the play on a delicious note of ambiguity.

Characters

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

. The titular and central character. Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, she hates her mother who killed her father with the help of her lover Aegisthus, who is now Regent to the throne. She awaits the arrival of Orestes in revenge. *

. Electra's brother, he was exiled while still young, after the murder of Agamemnon. Upon returning to his family, he appears as a mere alien. *

. Queen of Argos; Mother of Electra and Orestes; Widow and murderer of Agamemnon. *

Aegisthus Aegisthus (; ; also transliterated as Aigisthos, ) was a figure in Greek mythology. Aegisthus is known from two primary sources: the first is Homer's ''Odyssey'', believed to have been first written down by Homer at the end of the 8th century BC ...

. Regent, he holds the power in the city of Argos. The play begins on the consequences of his ideas: Electra married the gardener, and thus deter the Gods of their views on the line of Atreus. * The Chairman. Second President of the court, he cares for his peace and opposes Aegisthus. * Agatha. President's wife, she is young and pretty, and decides to deceive her husband. * The gardener. Future husband of Electra, he looks after the garden of the palace. He belongs to the same family as the President. * The Eumenides. Girls at the beginning of the play, they grow several years in a few hours. They are related to the gods and justice. * The Beggar. Enigmatic character: ((Citation , Never has there been a beggar as perfect as a beggar, as rumor has it that this must be a God)). * Narses. Friend of the Beggar.

Other characters

* A young man * A master * The Butlers * A groomsman * Beggars

Cast

* Renee Devillers: ''

'' * Gabrielle Dorziat: ''

'' * Madeleine Ozeray: ''Agatha'' * Raymone: ''Women Narses'' * Martha Herlin: ''Fury'' *

Monique Mélinand Monique Mélinand (9 March 1916 – 16 May 2012) was a French film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or ...

: ''Fury'' * Pezzani Denise: ''Fury'' * Vera Perez: ''Little Fury'' * Nicole Fitted Berny: ''Little Fury'' * Clairette Fournier: ''Little Fury'' * Louis Jouvet: ''The Beggar'' * Pierre Renoir: ''

'' * Romain Bouquet: ''President'' * Paul Cambo: ''

'' * Alfred Adam: ''The Gardener'' * John Deninx: ''the young man'' * Robert Bogar: ''Captain'' * Maurice Castel: ''best man'' * Julien Barrot: ''butler'' * René Belloc: ''butler'' * Andre Moreau: ''beggar''

References

External links

*
literary Comments: major scenes in the play
{{Electra Plays by Jean Giraudoux 1937 plays Tragedy plays Plays based on the Odyssey Plays set in ancient Greece Clytemnestra