La fausseté des vertus dans Bérénice

Abstract

Bérénice, more than any other play by Racine, has aroused contradictory interpretations because one cannot reach truth about human beings and behaviours in this play, and because the most heroic actions and the most beautiful feelings may be reversed, under the corrupting influence of the ego, into defeats and self-centered thoughts. For the reader not blinded by the mirage, Titus’s glory, Antiochus’s worth, Bérénice’s love turn out to be mixed with ambition, jealousy, self-interest. Thus, Bérénice appears as the opportunity for the playwright to initiate a reflection on the falseness of virtues, brought to light by the investigations of the Augustinian moralists, La Rochefoucauld, Nicole, Esprit. And although the queen’s ultimate renouncement ends the reign of amor sui, the reader faces a final question: is Bérénice’s heroism only human or is it guided by divine grace? The tragedy plays on perspectives, and the debt of Racine’s theatre to Port-Royal is still to be completely explored.

Keywords

• virtues
• vices
• Augustinism
• tragedy
• vanity
• glory