Ancient Myths in the 20th-Century French Theatre

The French theatre of the 20^th century willingly treats and re-visits ancient myths. Oedipus, Antigone, Electra, the Trojan War, Amphitryon appear in many writers’ works. The myth of Electra in Jean Giraudoux’s version entitled Electra (1937), as well as Jean-Paul Sartre’s The Flies (1942) are interesting examples of metatexts. Face to the threat of war, Giraudoux, who was a diplomat and a Germanophile, focuses on the problem of power, responsibility, and justice, while Sartre exemplifies the existentialist philosophy and its main element: a man who is responsible for his actions and condemned to freedom. This was a particular challenge during the period of war and occupation. Jean Anouilh, in his play Antigone (1944), interprets Sophocles’s text by taking away all the authoritarian characteristics from the ancient prototype of Creon. Due to this operation, Antigone’s heroic action in the ancient version of the play becomes worthless face to the arguments of the anxious sovereign. The metatextual presence of the ancient myths in the 20^th century French theatre lets the authors express their opinions, fears and anxieties concerning the threats existing in the world they lived in.