想像／創造されるパリ

―ジャン・ジロドゥ作『シャイヨの狂女』がはらむ共同体論について―

抄録

The Mad Woman of Chaillot is a play written by Jean Giraudoux during the Nazi occupation of France.

This play is an account of the manner in which Aurelia, a lady living in Paris, with the cooperation of the poor, gets rid of the mafia plotting to destroy their town. Thus far, this work has often been interpreted as a burlesque, depicting a conflict between materialism and the human imagination. It is believed that this Countess Aurelia and her associates' fantasy is an allegory that aims to expose the ugly aspects of capitalism, and idolize the supreme power of the human dream.

However, this play does not merely criticize the contemporary materialism. It can be read as a text that insists on an ideal nexus between art and politics. At first, I argue that this play lays a structure that foregrounds an inseparable relationship between the human imagination and human community, by analyzing the representation of the mafia. Furthermore, by discussing the theatrical imagination that Aurelia represents, I attempt to prove that this play idolizes the power that the medium of the theater possesses in reforming the world.