Historical Context
The German Occupation and the Rise of Resistance
In the tumultuous era of World War II, from 1939 to 1945, the Germans swept into Paris, casting a shadow over the northern and western landscapes of France from 1940 to 1944. Meanwhile, the Vichy regime, a puppet government led by Marshal Pétain and bolstered by many from the traditional French right, took control of the remaining parts of the nation. Amidst this occupation, General Charles de Gaulle tirelessly orchestrated the Free French resistance movement from his base in London. A pivotal turning point came shortly after the audacious Allied assault on the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944, when de Gaulle triumphantly entered Paris, poised to lead a new government into the light.
The Push Toward Modernization
The unexpected defeat of France by German forces catalyzed a wave of modernization following the fall of Nazi occupation and the dissolution of the Vichy regime. The resistance, a complex tapestry of France’s most progressive thinkers, emerged as a powerful force, despite its internal frictions. With the right-wing factions discredited and resistance leaders committed to profound transformation, the post-WWII liberation coalition, active until November 1944, enacted sweeping reforms. Massive nationalization efforts transferred significant control of the nation's economy to the central government, while the welfare state saw considerable expansion. Visionary technocrats, exemplified by Jean Monnet and his planning commission, eagerly grasped the levers of this new state power to steer a rejuvenated economy. Unlike many European counterparts, whose industries remained in private hands, France's postwar trajectory was markedly state-driven.
Political Turmoil and Transformation
However, the quest to construct new political institutions in post-Liberation France met with less success. A bitter clash between General Charles de Gaulle and the left over executive power culminated in de Gaulle's stormy resignation, as he decried the budding "regime of the parties." The Fourth Republic, born through the narrowly approved Constitution of 1946, concentrated power in the National Assembly. The assembly's majority coalitions, already volatile under the new proportional representation system, became even more unpredictable with the onset of the Cold War in 1947. France's pro-American stance forced the Communists—who commanded a quarter of the electorate—into perennial isolation. Consequently, governments were cobbled together from center-left and center-right factions, which seldom found common ground.
As the Fourth Republic drifted rightward, it became increasingly dominated by forces seeking to preserve colonialist ambitions. From 1946 to 1958, France was embroiled in costly and divisive conflicts, first in Indochina and later in Algeria. These postwar years dramatically reshaped French society, birthing consumerism, accelerating the growth of the service sector, and launching successful high-tech national projects. Economic modernization gradually eroded the influence of traditional aristocratic elements—symbolized in Ring Around the Moon by Madame Desmermortes—and ushered in the sway of industrial magnates like Messerschmann.
Literary Style
Setting
Ring Around the Moon unfolds its charming tale amidst the pastoral elegance of a French countryside estate during the season of renewal—spring. The choice of spring is fitting, for it is when love is said to blossom with fervor. An exquisite glassed-in rococo winter garden opens onto a "vast parkland," infusing the setting with an air of fertile promise. This enchanting estate is the abode of Madame Desmermortes and her kin—nephews Hugo and Frederic, and niece Lady India—served meticulously by the butler, Joshua. A parade of guests further populates this lively chateau.
Dialogue
Within Ring Around the Moon , the dialogue dances with social intricacies, devoid of solitary musings. Each exchange is a strategic interaction, aimed squarely at others, often morphing into persuasion, coercion, or confrontation. Recall, if you will, the financial parley between Messerschmann and Isabelle, Hugo's relentless manipulations of Romainville, Patrice, and...
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Isabelle, and Diane's playful torment of Frederic. Dialogue here is a deft instrument of control.
Music
The drama’s soundscape finds its primary voice in Act II, at the resplendent evening ball, where music enhances the notion that the characters’ myriad entrances and exits are a choreographed comedy of motion. When Hugo ensnares Patrice into feigning jealousy over Isabelle, the ensuing intellectual skirmish demands what Anouilh describes as a "heroic, warlike tune," elevating the verbal duel to an epic confrontation.
Movement
The choreography of Ring Around the Moon is a meticulous dance of well-timed entrances and exits, particularly of the twin brothers, Hugo and Frederic, portrayed by the same actor. In the play’s concluding act, Hugo orchestrates a pivotal offstage moment, sending a note declaring his affection for Diana Messerschmann, with Frederic already present on stage—a scene driven by context known to the audience. In Act I, Scene 1, Diana’s exit with Frederic follows her claim that Hugo is "capable of absolutely anything," immediately echoed by Patrice and Lady India’s entrance, linking disparate scenarios through Hugo’s omnipresent influence. Appropriately, in this kinetic narrative, the heroine Isabelle herself is a dancer, seamlessly embodying the play's essence of movement.
Compare and Contrast
1947: Nationalization and Cold War Policies
1947: A sweeping wave of nationalization firmly grips the French industrial landscape, transforming the economic framework of the nation.
1947: With the promulgation of the Truman Doctrine on March 12, the United States boldly declares its strategy to curb the spread of communism, marking a significant chapter in the emergence of the Cold War.
1947: Through the visionary Marshall Plan, orchestrated under the guidance of Secretary of State George C. Marshall, the United States injects substantial financial resources into the rejuvenation of Europe, bolstering governments aligned against communism.
1947: The French welfare state embarks on a path of remarkable expansion, broadening its impact and reach.
Today: Modern Economic and Geopolitical Dynamics
Today: The French government continues to wield significant sway over pivotal sectors of the economy. It maintains a controlling interest in essential industries like railways, electricity, aerospace, and telecommunications, though it has gradually loosened its grip since the early 1990s.
Today: Although the Cold War is officially a relic of the past, tensions flicker anew amid the Yugoslavian conflict. As Russia sides with Serbia and the United States and Europe back opposing factions, the specter of Cold War-era hostilities looms large once again, further inflamed by the U.S. bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Today: In a historic move, a united Europe, free from the shadows of communism, unfurls its inaugural common currency, the Euro, symbolizing newfound economic solidarity.
Today: France remains steadfast in preserving its social welfare benefits, choosing instead to pare down defense expenditures and increase taxes as a strategy to manage its fiscal deficit.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Anouilh, Jean, Ring Around the Moon, translated by Christopher Fry, Oxford University Press, 1950.
Archer, Marguerite, Jean Anouilh, Columbia University Press, 1971.
Della Fazia, Alba, Jean Anouilh, Twayne, 1969.
Falb, Lewis W., Jean Anouilh, Frederick Ungar, 1977.
McIntyre, H. G., The Theatre of Jean Anouilh, Barnes and Noble, 1981.
Pronko, Leonard Cabell, The World of Jean Anouilh, University of California Press, 1961.
Further Reading
Chiari, Joseph, The Contemporary French Theatre: The Flight from Naturalism, Macmillan, 1959. Chiari’s text charts the course of French theater from Naturalism to Realism to Theater of the Absurd.
Curtis, Anthony, New Developments in the French Theatre, Curtain Press, 1948. Curtis’s subject, like Chiari’s, charts varied approaches toward achieving realistic theater.
Grossvogel, David I., The Self-Conscious Stage in Modern French Drama, Columbia University Press, 1958. Grossvogel concentrates on psychological aspects of late nineteenth and early twentieth century French theater.
Kuritz, Paul, The Making of Theatre History, Prentice Hall, 1988. Kuritz’s ambitious study encompasses Asian and Occidental theater. The book is organized according to time period beginning with ancient Greek Theater and proceeding to the present.
