La Tentation de Saint-Antoine

Printed

13 pages

La Tentation de Saint-Antoine

| 1942 based on a text from the end of the 18th century | France
Characters
Pluton, Proserpine, Mutilo, Saint Antoine, Démons, Diablotins, Le Cochon, L'Ange
Number of acts
3
Note

La Tentation de Saint-Antoine (The Temptation of Saint Anthony) is one of the most popular plays performed by string marionettes theatres in the 19th century, and most notably in France by travelling troupes that performed in fairs. The present version is a reconstruction by Gaston Baty of the traditional text, based on the combination of several manuscripts. One of the manuscripts belonged to the Guentleur dynasty, who had been puppeteers since 1818. Another one is the manuscript that Louis Levergeois had learnt by heart circa 1875, based on the version performed by Auguste Legrain in Rouen for several decades and which Gustave Flaubert had attended regularly. Gaston Baty lists six other versions of this play.

The text for La Tentation progressively evolved during the second half of the 18th century; it started from a ragbag of libertine songs composed by Michel-Jean Sedaine circa 1750, and that the puppeteers readapted, erasing their salacious and anticlerical dimensions. The main event was the torment inflicted by the group of demons on the pig–Saint Antoine’s companion: a flaming piece of oakum was tied to its tail to make it cross the stage. Some puppeteers used a live piglet.

The plot of the play is based on the Christian tale of the temptation of saint Anthony the Great (251-356), a hermit confronted with the attacks of the Devil who used several trials, visions and seductions to try and make him turn away from his faith. The tale of his life, written by Athanasius of Alexandria in the 4th century, was readapted in the Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine.

Plot summary

A Saint resists different temptations

The play begins with a council of Démons (Demons) during which Pluton (Pluto), furious that Antoine (Anthony) is diverting the souls of the Underworld with his prayers, orders the Démons to capture him, and promises a reward for the one who will succeed. Proserpine (Proserpina), his wife, asks for permission to go alone to seduce the hermit. Antoine recognises her immediately and resists her charms.

Pluton then tries a different approach, and pretends to be a beggar caught in a storm. Exposed, he asks Antoine to surrender his soul to him, but the hermit reasserts his faith in God. The Démons then appear suddenly, drag Antoine in a hellish dance and set fire to the tail of his Cochon (Pig). They also destroy his hermitage and tell him that they will transform his faithful companion into a sausage. Antoine is exhausted and begs God, who sends down an Ange (Angel) to rebuild the chapel and turn Pluton into a basket of flowers. During the grand finale, Antoine rises to the sky followed by his Cochon.

Related works
Legenda aurea1261-1266
Composition date
1942

Publications and translations

Publication

Gaston Baty, Trois p'tits tours et puis s'en vont. Les théâtres forains de marionnettes à fils et leur répertoire 1800-1890. Paris: Odette Lieutier, 1942

Language
French
Literary tones
Religious, Comical, Fantasy
Animations techniques
String marionette
Audience
All audiences
Licence
Public domain

Key-words

Theatrical techniques

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Written by

Sofiia Hultiaieva