Overview

Diderot was one of the most important philosophical thinkers of the French Enlightenment. His works are also milestones in theater history. This book is the first study to contextualize Diderot’s acting theory, as presented in the Paradoxe sur le comédien, within the broader landscape of eighteenth-century material culture, centering on four humanoid objects: the automaton, the statue, the jumping jack, and the mannequin, which Diderot employs as metaphors to articulate his ideas on acting. The book shows how the metaphorical use of these four objects is shaped by their material characteristics and distinct functionality in everyday life. Diderot’s humanoid objects demonstrates that a deep dive into eighteenth-century material culture is necessary to fully acknowledge Diderot’s aesthetic and anthropological concept of the ideal actor/actress. Thus, the book recovers aspects of Diderot’s acting theory that have been eclipsed by subsequent theater practitioners and theoreticians interested in humanoid objects as role models for actors (such as Kleist, Craig, Meyerhold or Schlemmer). It also sheds new light on the humanoid objects present in Diderot’s novels and Salons, thereby offering fresh insights into how people in the eighteenth century understood themselves in relation to mechanisms or machines – be it in cultural, societal or political contexts.

Full Product Details

Author:   Marie-Irène Igelmann
Publisher:   Liverpool University Press
Imprint:   Voltaire Foundation
Volume:   2025:11
ISBN:  

9781836245285

ISBN 10:   1836245289
Pages:   264
Publication Date:   11 November 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Forthcoming
Availability:   Not yet available  
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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Notes on Citations Introduction Conceptual Background Philosophical context Approach, method, & material Chapter outline Part I: Actors & Mechanisms Theatrical automata Automatic simulators A symbold for bad actors Diderot's strategy The limits of automation Sensitive machines Moralizing spasms The Cartesian passions & the sensibility doctrine Monism versus dualism Dreaming bodies Part II: Society & Authority The actress-automation Superficiality, rigidity, & artificiality Moral & immoral acts of dissimulation The Ancien Régime's isolated subjects Mechanisms of obedience The mechanics of fear Politics of anxiety Diderot versus Hobbes Satire & Subversion The society of jumping jacks Subversion of power relations About mechanisms and organisms Part III: Mimesis & Ideal Artists & tools Clothed anatomy Shortcomings Spatial models Mannequins & role models Point of orientation & place holder The actor's two bodies Materiality & malleability Conclusion Part I: Actors & Mechanisms Part II: Society & authority Part III: Mimesis & ideal Perspectives: Art & research List of Illustrations Works cited

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Author Information

Marie-Irène Igelmann studied theater in Paris, Toronto, Bruxelles, Princeton and Berlin, and completed her doctoral degree at FU Berlin. With Aurélia Gaillard, she co-edited a special issue of Lumières (2018/1, N°31) on Diderot et les simulacres humains: Mannequins, pantins, automates et autres figures.

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