Victor Hugo, Marion De Lorme

Matthew McMahan (Tufts University)

Ed. by Edward Forman, University of Bristol
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1829

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Victor Hugo’s drame about the famous seventeenth-century courtesan Marion de Lorme (1831) interweaves two thematic threads that tie together a plot concerning the effect of public policy on the private passions of an ill-fated love. The first thread tells the story of a man with no name (Didier) who loves a woman with no honour (Marion de Lorme). The second provides two visions of monarchy: an impotent King (Louis XIII) castrated by a tyrannical priest (Cardinal Richelieu). The stories intertwine when Marion de Lorme’s lover, the orphan Didier, is sentenced to death by Cardinal Richelieu, an act both she and the King are powerless to stop. At the play’s inception, the portrayal of Louis XIII would lead to censorship, …

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2583 words

Citation: McMahan, Matthew. "Marion De Lorme". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 12 July 2016 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11218, accessed 23 November 2024.]

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