Querelles internes, affaires publiques : le Théâtre Français et l’État sous le Consulat et l’Empire

Abstract

This article examines two different polemics abundantly documented by the archives of the Comédie-Française: the quarrel between Mlle George and Mlle Duchesnois, and the polemic of Les Deux Gendres by the playwright Étienne, member of the French Academy, accused of having plagiarized the comedy of an 18^th century Jesuit. Theses polemics show how the State interferes in the internal affairs of the theatre in the age of Napoleon. As they overflow into the public sphere, these polemics aim primarily at political and cultural institutions.