Sovereignty as inviolability
Subtitle: Vondel's theatrical explorations in the Dutch Republic
By: Frans-Willem Korsten
Publisher: Uitgeverij Verloren BV
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Hilversum
Language: eng
Number of pages: 232
ISBN-13: 9789087041311
Subjects: Criticism and interpretation; Sovereignty in literature
Description: Summary: Sovereignty was a key issue in the baroque, and especially in the Dutch Republic with its incredibly complicated political organisation. Consequently, sovereignty was explored in and through Joost van den Vondel's theatre plays. Vondel sensed a fundamental problem in the construction of Europe's politico-cultural 'house'. The questions he asked with respect to that construction concerned the relationship between theology and politics, including in terms of gender and culture. Because these questions could barely be considered explicitly, let alone actually discussed, they had to be presented through literature--theatre. A close reading of a number of plays reveals not only a pivotal discussion that concerns Vondel's own times, but also an on-going struggle in the European exploration of sovereignty. In that context, power and potency--a distinction made by Spinoza--determine the status of sovereignty that anybody can acquire.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [208]-220) and index.