"Matrimonial heritage is not a neologism, but a word erased by history"
Researcher and director Aurore Evain. devotes his research to the enhancement of the heritage and creators of the past. She notably directed an anthology of the theater of women of the Ancien Régime and published in 2001 an essay entitled The apparition of professional actresses in Europe with the editions L'Harmattan. She has also conducted extensive research on the history of the female word author. Today, it is trying to develop a production and distribution network that highlights these artists forgotten by the history of live performance. So many issues covered by the notion of heritage, which she defines at the microphone of Marie Sorbier.
"Matrimonial heritage is the heritage and cultural goods of women. It is not a neologism. It is a word that has a political history."
Aurora Evain
In the Middle Ages, when a couple gets married, both the patrimony (the property inherited from the father) and the matrimonial property (the property inherited from the mother) are declared. A few centuries later, only the European Heritage Days and marriage agencies remain ... The substantive matrimonial has faded to subsist only in the form of the matrimonial adjective which relates only to the private sphere of marriage. At the same time, heritage has received its letters of nobility: the term designates the property of the entire nation.
Aurore Evain seeks to show that matrimonial heritage exists, despite beliefs anchored in time and its erasure in the narrative of history. Matrimonial heritage is however a powerful notion which represents the fact that, whatever the contexts of production and creation, women have succeeded in creating, writing, thinking and inventing over the centuries. Author, this is another term that we could think of as new in our vocabulary when in fact it has existed since Antiquity.
"Since Antiquity, we have been waging war on these words," author "and" matefeuille ", which are part of a set of feminine words which have been erased, notably by the French Academy in the 17th century, when politicize language and create cultural institutions, grammar, dictionaries. "
Aurora Evain
The 17th century marked the beginning of the invisibilization of feminine words which expressed the presence and power of women as actors in society. This masculinization of the language took place particularly until the 19th century.
Aurore Evain, who came from the theater as an actress, author and director, works precisely on matheritage within the performing arts, working to give back a place to women artists forgotten by history.
"I did not know that women had written theater before the 20th century and Marguerite Duras. I was interested in the appearance of actresses, central figures in our culture today, and discovered that some had written theater, as early as the 16th century. It is in the registers of the Comédie-Française of this period that I discovered the word author. "
Aurora Evain
A research which consists in naming the contemporary authors of Molière, Corneille and Racine whose work was celebrated and translated in different countries. As a response to the writer Virginia Woolf who said in A Room of Her own that Shakespeare's sister could never have existed. An assertion also refuted by the essays of the American researcher Robin P. William, which suggest that Shakespeare was perhaps an author: Mary Sidney, Countess of Pembroke.
"A whole theatrical heritage must be cleared up. The theater has a special place: our cultural heritage and the prestige of the nation-state were built on Corneille, Molière and Racine. Show that this French literary genius puts aside from great authors like Madame de Villedieu, Catherine Bernard, Antoinette Deshoulières, Marie-Anne Barbier. "
Aurora Evain
These authors offer plays that resonate with our current concerns, because they overturn gender stereotypes: there are strong women, who choose politics over love.
"We are talking about the Cornelian dilemma, but we could talk about the Bernardian dilemma!"
Aurora Evain
With the help of two American researchers, Aurore Evain worked on these pieces to then edit them. In the United States, this research effort was initiated in the 1990s, when students already had access to the theatrical works of 17th century French authors, while most French people were still unaware of their existence.
After finding and editing these pieces, Aurore Evain decided to stage them. Thanks to Yoann Lavabre, the director of the Guyancourt theater, she is putting on The Favorite of Madame de Villedieu, the first cover of the play 350 years after its creation. This play had been performed by Molière and his troupe at Versailles in front of Louis XIV. Later, Yohann Lavable offers Aurore Levain a 4-year creative residency around matrimonial heritage, in order not only to create new shows, but also to create a network for the dissemination and production of matrimony in the field of performing arts, to which joined Stéphane Frimat, from Vivat, stage of Armentières. Carole Thibaut, the director of the CDN of Montluçon, also participated in the company by scheduling each year in her establishment of the Journées du matefeuille.
"It is about avoiding having 30 Bourgeois gentilhomme in one season, and having a little Catherine Bernard, by Marie-Anne Barbier, in order to open up our imaginary theaters."
Aurora Evain
To discover the work of these many authors, visit the Edifier notre matefeuille website.
https://www.franceculture.fr/emissions/ ... nvier-2021
