Contribution to the study of the liquid element in the theater of Paul Claudel: the sea in the Fourth Day of the 'Soulier de satin' and in 'Protee'

Instead of studying the importance of the liquid element in Claudel's theat re in general, we are going to limit our approach to the sea in the Fourth Day of Le Soulier de satin and in Protee, two plays which take place on wat er, an element which is used in a triple way by Claudel. First the sea crea tes sensuousness, mainly on a visual level through its aesthetic associatio n to daylight or to the moon and stars but also on an auditive one thanks t o the music created by this everlasting orchestra, not excluding the other senses, as the fishermen in Le Soulier for instance assimilate the sea to w ine. Second, water also represents a source of comedy, because of the tende ncy of theatrical conventions to create exaggerated sea settings evoking ca ricatures, and essentially because of the laughable lack of balance introdu ced into the relationships between thus ridiculed characters. However, the sea represents the deeper meaning of the plays, magnifying freedom and life on the one hand, a communion between men, or even between them and God, on the other.