In a society marked by social inequalities, the book’imposes itself as a powerful tool for transformation. But can it really lead to emancipation? La Criée – Théâtre national de Marseille organized the 1is December 2024 an exchange led by Marcelle with Alice Zeniter who signs with Edène an adapted adaptation of the novel Martin Eden by Jack London. The speakers debated the limits and promises of emancipation through culture and’art.
For Valérie Dufayet, philosophy professor, emancipation is a complex concept. The founder of the’association Phil’osons emphasizes that although it constitutes a crucial first step, it does not guarantee total liberation. She quotes the’example of the emancipation of slaves in the United States. Enacted by Lincoln in 1863, but questioned by Martin Luther King a century later. “ It clearly shows that this emancipation was recorded in the Constitution, but that the United States is still almost at the same point. “. She concludes that “ emancipation is a founding act, but the path to freedom is much longer “. Because, according to her, we never break all of our chains.
Dancing with her chains
The question of chains, which’whether they are social, psychological or symbolic, is central to the debate. Valérie Dufayet, quoting Nietzsche, states: “ To be free is’is learning to dance with your chains “. For Alice Zeniter, the chains are not the problem. The question is how do we keep our loyalties from the moment we move socially, when we become class defectors? How can we reassure the people we love who feel like they are losing us? A very difficult situation for the writer. “ Because, as soon as we do something that goes beyond usual practices, people say to themselves, but who does she think she is? » The author ofEden (bonus) describes through his character a constant tension between “ seek to belong to an environment that does not want us and remain loyal to an environment that believes we betray it when we take a step aside ».
A grueling adaptation
Alice Zeniter emphasizes that this tension, nicknamed “the rocking horse” in sociology, refers to the practice of code-switching, where’individual moves from one environment to another. “ Being a chameleon would be another way of saying it. “. According to her, we have the ability to reproduce the codes of the new environment to be accepted. And those from the original environment to seem to still belong there. But this requires exceptional skill, which can be grueling. “ A costly effort that we are only just beginning to talk about ».
A loving gesture at the origin of this transclass
The author and director, however, rejects’idea thatEden or a story of emancipation. “ Stories of ascension are stories always motivated by a desire for recognition, for glory, for “I want to put Paris at my feet”. We have them in Maupassant, in Balzac, where there is a desire to break away from a condition of initially painful servitude. But that’s not it “. The author explains: “ As Edène says, we consider that the encounter with beauty and the practice of artistic creation is not part of the stocks available for a certain social class “. The fact of intervening in a street fight means that, suddenly, there is a deviation and a start of movement. “ We are capable of recognizing this beauty, of being burned by it. It’s a loving gesture. It is the same tension that pushes Edène towards writing and towards Rose. It’s a question of desire, of admiration. And to say to yourself ”I want everything that is big and everything that is beautiful inside” ».
Be proud of your origins
An intervention in the room highlights the’importance of not perceiving emancipation as a denial of oneself. “ Like something ugly and problematic in us that we must abandon in order to move towards what society offers us. We cannot emancipate ourselves from what’we are. We’enriched with what’we are and we’brings to society », explains this woman, who emphasizes the luck of having had a mother who always told her that she was extraordinary and that she had to build a chosen life. A wealth that it offers today, among others, to the film school Court times. « We have extraordinary students, whom I support as a mentor. But there is a dangerous curve when they climb towards their dream. At some point, some fall. Because they are not proud of their origins, they want to resemble young people from an environment that is not theirs ».
♦(re)read Kourtrajmé, the school that trains the little hands of cinema
In the end, a possible illusion
This anecdote also connects, for Alice Zeniter, with the idea of the new paradise that we would reach. “ In fact, we come up against the obstacles of classicism, prejudice, rejection. Part of the tragedy of‘Edène is to realize that the paradise that’she imagined is illusion “. The problem, she continues, is that it is difficult to return to life before. Because there is a feeling of shift that comes from oneself but also from others, due to their changing outlook. A spectator in the room asks the author if, when she became famous, she lost the love of certain people around her. The author answers in the negative, but evokes intense emotional work to preserve her relationships since the publication and success of her book “The Art of Losing”.
Legitimacy in the writing process
The author explains that, for ”The Art of Losing”, she was inspired by the history of her family. “By reinventing it where there were holes, and there were a lot, but also by writing about people who weren’t going to read this book. My grandmother, because she is illiterate. And some of my uncles and aunts because reading a 500-page book is not possible “. The author therefore questions the legitimacy of her approach, fearing to “steal” the voices of those she describes. “ I have to grapple with the fact that my act of writing is shady and I would prefer to remain discreet, rather than having to respond to people who crown me by telling me ”this act of completely crazy courage is absolutely incredible ” ».
♦ France Culture podcast: Episode 3/3: “Martin Eden” by Jack London, “being there” at all costs
A fight against stereotypes
The debate also highlighted the weight of social and racial prejudices. A question asked by a spectator questioned the choice of’a black actress to play Eden. This choice, responds Zeniter, reflects the stigma that the body can carry in a society marked by discrimination. “ Today’today, being a racialized person, it’is to face projections that restrict possibilities. Just like Martin Eden was judged on his appearance and his social origin “. She shared a personal anecdote, linked to her father, when she was a young student. An ancestry illustrating how appearances influence judgments: “ Seeing an Arab man meant, for some, seeing a sweeper, never a reader or creator ».
The street library: a bridge to the possible
In the working-class neighborhoods of Marseille, the street libraries run by ATD Quart Monde offer valuable access to culture. Grégoire Kantoucar, Catherine Bouliot and Agnèle Flochel, facilitators of the Rue d Library’ATD Fourth World, say: “ With books, children travel. They discover worlds to which they’would never have access otherwise “. These open-air spaces are not limited to reading. They become places of sharing and’interaction where parents and children meet around the book. They’also include in a global approach: “ We don’t just read. We create a bond with families and open perspectives “. The animators emphasize the’importance of offering quality books, thus joining the’idea of’Alice Zeniter according to which beauty is a door to awakening.
♦(re)read Bringing reading to the street to end exclusion
A reported anecdote highlights the dynamic of emancipation: a child, initially reluctant,’is gradually brought closer to the activities of the street library, until he becomes an assiduous participant. This type of transformation illustrates the capacity of cultural initiatives to break down barriers and promote development. Grégoire Kantoucar, a host, also spoke of a notable moment: “ When’a child m’a dit ‘’With your books, I travel further than I could walk’’j’understood that reading offered wings to those who’didn’t have any ».♦
Bonus
#Edènea young woman from a working class background, falls in love with Rose, born into a cultural bourgeoisie family. In this social satire on the literary world, class violence and love, “heiresses” and workers in the laundry of a slaughterhouse meet, where Édène works to earn her living. At night, she writes, convinced that this is her vocation – despite fatigue and contempt. What legitimacy could literature then offer? Where does this conviction come from that one can become a writer even though one’s original social environment seems to prohibit it?
#The next performance dates:
January 15 to 26, 2025 at TPM, Théâtre Public de Montreuil, CDN
February 6, 2025 at L’Archipel, Fouesnant
April 3, 2025 at the Athéna, Auray
April 23 and 24, 2024 at La Maison du Théâtre with Le Quartz, Scène nationale de Brest
April 27, 2025 at La Halle Ô Grains, Bayeux
April 29, 2025 at the Jacques Duhamel Cultural Center, Vitré
May 19 and 20, 2024 at the Scène nationale 61 Le Forum, Flers
