The Popularity of the Tableau Vivant in the Victorian Age: Historical Facts and Its Representation in Literature

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24720132
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Literature in English
Research Institution	Kyoritsu Women's University
Principal Investigator	Urano Kaoru 共立女子大学, 文芸学部, 准教授 (80612746)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2017-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,430,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,100,000、Indirect Cost: ¥330,000)
Keywords	活人画 / 視覚芸術 / ヴィクトリア朝 / 劇場文化 / 芸術における検閲 / 英米小説 / 英米文学 / ジェンダー / 初期写真技術 / 視覚文化 / 絵画 / 写真 / イギリス小説 / 黎明期の写真技術 / イギリス文学 / イギリス文化
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This research looks at the Victorian popular entertainment called "the tableau vivant" from two perspectives: historical facts and its representation in literature. In the beginning, the tableau vivant was privately performed by the upper class as a refined amusement, but it gradually gained popularity and came to be practiced by people of other classes. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, the artistic legitimacy of the tableau vivant stirred a welter of controversy. In this we can see the mixture of desire, nostalgia, and hesitation people felt about visual arts while their visual experience underwent an unprecedented change. The representation of the tableau vivant in literature also reflects such historical situations.