Ethnologie

Staging the Buddha: Victor Segalen’s Siddhârtha and the Unsettlement of Western Culture

“…In 1907 he adds a comment in the margin of the text: 'I say it to you, in this only six-feet-tall animated body dwells the whole world.-The Buddha'. 61 As such, the character can be considered as a spatial principle of organization rather than a genuine psychological persona. Moreover, Siddhârtha is also at the center of a problematised and disordered economy of space.…”

“…62 In the Epilogue, the disturbance of space reaches a critical dimension both in its socio-cultural and cosmic dimensions, leaving the 'Master' surrounded by emptiness. 63 From the perspective of the scenic representation of space, it is even more noteworthy that, if we compare the stage directions and the characters' discourse, the play gives conflicting images of the city. In Act I, Siddhârtha first lays his eyes on the moats, sewers and slums surrounding the city, 64 creating a strong contrast to the ideal image of the city inside the walls given in the stage directions of the Prologue.…”

“…In Act I, Siddhârtha first lays his eyes on the moats, sewers and slums surrounding the city, 64 creating a strong contrast to the ideal image of the city inside the walls given in the stage directions of the Prologue. 65 It is only later in the play that he turns his back and contemplates the 'pleasant aspects' of the 'face' of the city. 66 The next stage direction gives a description of the city from the outside, from bottom to top, as if the audience could follow Siddhârtha's eyes 'climbing up aerial steps'.…”

“…65 It is only later in the play that he turns his back and contemplates the 'pleasant aspects' of the 'face' of the city. 66 The next stage direction gives a description of the city from the outside, from bottom to top, as if the audience could follow Siddhârtha's eyes 'climbing up aerial steps'. The palace is described as an intermediary place between earth and 'divine spheres where devas float'.…”

“…This vertical structure of the world is composed of seven floors dominated by the 'formidable snowy summits of the Himalayas'. 67 As it is, the drama will depict a progressive deconstruction of this fairy representation of a closed and finite world. The process culminates in the final Act, where this 'vision' will reappear as a second epiphany, while Siddhârtha 'caresses space'.…”