Irish Review (Dublin)

The Renaissance of Alsace-LorraineAuthor(s): P. J. SheridanSource: The Irish Review (Dublin), Vol. 1, No. 12 (Feb., 1912), pp. 581-584Published by: Irish Review (Dublin)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30063134 .

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The Renaissance of Alsace-Lorraine

'By P. Y. SHERIDAN

THE position of Alsace-Lorraine after the war of 1870-1

was a peculiarly difficult one. Placed by the conquest or annexation under the tutelage of their western neighbours, for whom or

their new conditions they had no affectionate regards, they could not readily or willingly forget their former state, and, still less, the sympathy and understanding that had then existed between them and France.

To the fact that the change was not of Alsace's own seeking must be added the new difficulty of language, and we can recognise at once the rooted hostility of the people to the new conditions so rudely imposed upon them.

This and the determination of the victor to be master in his new home led to the inevitable policy of settlement and oppression, which, in turn, has had to be abandoned for the saner and healthier policy of conciliation and National Self-Government.

Alsace-Lorraine have not been for centuries either wholly French or German, and, interesting to relate, nearly all the works of a critical, historical, philosophical or scientific nature of its writers are written in French, whilst for the greater part purely literary works, whether in prose or in verse, are composed in German. The distinguished Alsatian writer and critic, Anselm Langel, makes an ingenious attempt to explain this peculiarity. The Alsatian genius, according to this critic, tends preferably towards the sciences when expressed in French, and towards Literature when expressed in German. He quotes long lists of writers in French and German in support of this view; and he adds- " What are we to conclude from this ? Are we to draw the conclusion that the genius of our Alsatian race is drawn, according as it becomes cultivated, towards studies more abstract, or that it becomes scientific when it thinks in French, and remains literary when it thinks in German? We shall let our readers judge. The question is not easily resolvable."

According to another writer, Henri Schoen, the reason is a much simpler one than the distinguished critic thinks. " The Alsatians, accustomed from their infancy to hear and to speak two languages,

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THE IRISH REVIEW

nearly always experience some difficulty in acquiring the qualities of form, the lightness of touch, and the brilliance upon which, in France, the success of a purely literary work depends. But their scientific honesty, their patience and their perseverance in the work of research, their regard for details and precision, their knowledge of several living languages, render them admirably adapted to all the works of pure science.

"On the contrary, the simplicity of German versification, the supple- ness of the German language and the liberty of its syntax, all contribute to render German poetry easy of access to the Alsatians. Sensible to the elegance and clearness of French prose, they impregnate the German tongue with some of the most precious qualities of French. That is why some of the writers who have handled the German language with the most elegance and clearness have been Alsatians !"

Prior to i87o-I1 very little was heard of the Alsatian tongue which was so disdained as to have been abandoned to domestics and peasants. Works written in that dialect were not played at the theatres until many years after they had been written. Thus the renowned little play " Pentecost Monday " of Arnold, published in I816 and again in 1820, was not played until 1835. And, according as the nineteenth century advanced, the municipal theatres were more and more at the mercy of the theatres of Paris. Every piece that had attained any kind of success in a theatre of the capital was represented during the year at Mulhouse, Strasburg and at Colmar. The writer, Lustig, celebrated to-day for his comedies and humorous pieces in Alsatian, used the French and German languages exclusively until 1870.

Everywhere, in the church and the school, in the theatre as well as among the aristocratic and middle classes, the local dialect was driven back by the literary language. Nor was this true of Alsace alone. During the first half of the last century in Normandy, Brittany, Gascony and in Provence the regionalistic literatures and speech were driven to the wall under the influence of the absolute centralization dreamed of and organised by Napoleon the First.

It was not until the regionalistic movement had taken root in these countries that a real live interest began to be taken once more in the history, the traditions, the language and literature of each one of

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THE RENAISSANCE OF ALSACE-LORRAINE

them. The new regional universities also have strongly contributed to this end.

Alsace, attached as its people are to the traditions of their country, was not likely to remain long outside the influence of this movement. The general revival of local patriotism in the annexed provinces had, however, another great cause.

After the war of 1870 the old Alsatian families resisted all foreign influences. The theatre was avoided-it was not good taste or right to assist at German pieces, played by Germans too. The cultivated people remained isolated thus for some time in the hope of the arrival of a new era. But it did not come.

The people were forced to rely on themselves, and began to do so. They remembered that they were before everything else Alsatian. People delved into the history of Alsace and local literature. Alsatian exhibitions were revived. It was sought to make known better the riches of Alsatian art throughout the centuries. Superb artistic publica- tions popularised the chefs d'aeuvre, ancient or modern, of the Alsatian masters. People started to cultivate the native tongue, so long aban- doned, and soon its strong and picturesque accents were heard again. And here at last was a common platform on which people of all parties could meet together in friendship on behalf of their common country.

In no other direction were the results of this movement so remarkable and successful as in connection with the Alsatian Theatre, which was brought into touch again with the National sentiments and ideals of the people, and became the reflex of their life and manners. The profession of faith of the National Theatre of Mulhouse is very characteristic on this point: " Asleep," it says, " during long years, Alsace, having at last become conscious of its own worth and of the situation it ought to occupy, awakens from the lethargic slumber in which it has been plunged almost for centuries. A current of new and beneficent ideas help generally to shake the Alsatian people from their sickly torpor and give them the force and character necessary to be able, once and for all, to recover for themselves the dialect and characteristics peculiar to them. It is with this object that the popular theatre known as the Alsatian Theatre of Strasburg has been founded. Praiseworthy initiative that

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THE IRISH REVIEW

has had its echo from one end of the country to the other, and notably at Mulhouse, where a similar society has just been founded."

The need to affirm the Alsatian personality and individuality became more necessary as the German immigrants became more numerous " When their country was incorporated with Germany," says Anselm Langel, in his fine study of the Popular Theatre of Strasburg, " the Alsatians had the sacred sentiment that in order to continue this self- affirmation it was necessary that they should be distinguished from the new compatriots that the laws of war had given them. The use of French having been forbidden and the official language not being suffi- cient to establish the distinction they wished to make, they were forced to cultivate and, so to speak, ennoble the National tongue which con- stitutes an incontestably rich inheritance."

The National Movement, which had already manifested itself in the domains of art, of political and social economy, was sooner or later to triumph at the theatre also.

And now comes the crowning gift of national self-government with its power of healing, of building up, and of development. The Alsatians still predominate over the immigrants, with whom they will now have an equal chance and a common interest in the development and progress of their country. With a national basis to build upon, the new Alsace- Lorraine should soon rival the old in the arts, in population and in commerce

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