Giselle | Origins of a Fairytale
Giselle is one of the oldest ballets that remains within the classical ballet repertoire, and is still performed every year by ballet companies all around the world. On its premiere in 1841 it was instantly a huge success, and now 182 years later it is still a firm favourite of balletomanes, having never diminished in popularity.
The libretto was written by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. Gautier was a French poet and dramatist, who headed the Romantic Movement in French Literature and had a huge interest in the world of ballet. Vernoy de Saint-Georges was a French playwright with much experience as an opera librettist. Together, they sketched out this two-act drama, depicting simple peasant life in the first act, and the dark realms of fantasy in the second. Their inspirations included the book of German folklore ‘De l’Allemagne’ (1834) by Heinrich Heine, and the poem ‘Fantômes’ (1829) by Victor Hugo, but before we explore the significance of those, here is the synopsis of the Giselle story…
Giselle:
Act 1: Set during the grape harvest in a small Rhineland village in Germany, Giselle is a beautiful and innocent peasant girl, with a passion for dancing. She has fallen in love with a man named Albrecht, who despite being the Duke of Silesia and betrothed to Bathilde, daughter of the Prince of Courland, disguises himself as a peasant named Loys, in order to court Giselle. Hilarion, a game-keeper, is also in love with Giselle, and knows that Albrecht is not who he seems, yet when he tries to tell Giselle, she mocks him and scorns him. Giselle and Albrecht dance together, until Giselle’ mother, Berthe, breaks them up, worrying that too much dancing may lead to the death of her daughter and for her to fall under the spell of the Wilis- vengeful ghosts of virgin-brides who were betrayed by their lovers. Nevertheless, Giselle continues to dance with her friends. The Prince of Courland, his daughter Bathilde, and his hunting party come by the village to taste the wine, stopping at Giselle’s cottage. Hilarion steals into Albrecht’s peasant cottage to find his discarded costume and sword, before revealing the truth about Albrecht’s identity in front of the Prince, Bathilde, and Giselle. As Giselle realises she has been duped by Albrecht’s duplicity, she loses her mind. She picks up his sword and plunges the point into her breast, dying in the arms of her mother.
Act 2: Set in a glade in the forest before midnight, Giselle’s grave is illuminated in the moonlight. Hilarion enters the glade, accompanied by his comrades, all in hunting attire. Hilarion tells them of the legend associated with the glade and how it is said to be the home of the Wilis, who appear at midnight and wait to lure unwary young men to their death by dancing with them until exhaustion. The huntsmen grow uneasy, and on the stroke of midnight, at the toll of a bell, they flee in terror, just before the Wilis and Myrtha, their Queen, make their appearance. They are there to welcome a newcomer who will join their ranks, Giselle, by conjuring her from her grave and bestowing her a small set of wings.
When warned that strangers are approaching, the Wilis disappear, and instead Albrecht enters the glade, racked with grief, come to pay his respects to Giselle’s grave. Visions of Giselle appear and disappear before his eyes. She dances around him and he reaches out to embrace her without success. He becomes increasingly distraught, until Giselle relents and sinks into is outstretched arms. The dance together, however after a while, the Wilis return, and Giselle instructs Albrecht to hide. The Wilis bring with them Hilarion, who had been hiding in the forest. He tries to escape but they seize him and whirl him into a mad dance that gets faster and faster before flinging him into a pool in which he drowns. The Wilis, in searching for new victims, discover Albrecht hiding as well. Giselle implores the Queen to spare him, however she refuses. Giselle tells Albrecht to go to her grave and grasp the cross to give him protection. The Queen, angered, tries to use her wand to stop this, but the branch withers in her hand. She orders Giselle to lure Albrecht away from the cross. Unable to resist the Queen’s compelling gaze, Giselle follows her orders. Once Albrecht is away from the cross, she begins to dance with him, her under the spell of the Wilis, and Albrecht under the spell of Giselle. The dance gets faster and faster until Albrecht falls to the ground from sheer exhaustion.
A bell chimes as the clock strikes four, the hour in which the Wilis must depart. Giselle is left alone with Albrecht and desperately tries to raise him from the ground. However, as she is also a Wili, she is impelled by an irresistible force and is drawn slowly but inevitably to her grave. Albrecht rises wearily, and attempts to hold her back, but his attempts are futile. Albrecht gently carries Giselle to her new resting place, after which, in a fit of despair, Albrecht falls to the ground.
The Legend of the Wilis
During the mid-1800’s, the legend of the Wilis seemed to be a common theme of interest within artistic circles, not only with the Giselle ballet (1841) as an example, but also two artworks, including La Légende des Willis by Hugues Merle and Les Willes (aka Les Ondines) by Ernest-Auguste Gendron that were both exhibited in 1847.
La Légende des Willis by Hugues Merle
Les Willes by Ernest-Auguste Gendron
It is understood that in the case of Gendron’s painting Le Willis, much of the inspiration was drawn directly from the ballet Giselle. Whereas, it is believed that the influence for Merle’s La Légende des Willis came from Heinrich Heine’s book of German folklore ‘De l’Allemagne’, published in 1834. This had, of course, been a key stimulus for the Giselle libretto.
Heinrich Heine was a German poet and literary critic, yet his book ‘De l’Allemagne’ (1834)had been published in French, hence why it was French writers and artists who were seemingly drawing so much inspiration from it. Within ‘De l’Allemagne’, Heinrich Heine had shared a particular passage that described the legend of the Wilis, which I will share below. You can clearly see why this legend would have been deemed perfect for the ballet, based on how it revolves around the love and power of dancing.
“There is a tradition of nocturnal dancing known in Slav countries under the name of Wili. The Wilis are affianced maidens who have died before their wedding-day; those poor young creatures cannot rest peacefully in their graves. In their hearts which have ceased to throb, in their dead feet, there still remains that passion for dancing which they could not satisfy during life; and at midnight they rise up and gather in bands on the highway and woe betide the young man who meets them, for he must dance until he drops dead.”
Heinrich Heine was also quoted in Cyril W. Beaumont’s Complete Book of Ballets (1938), further describing the Wilis and how they were completely captivating and enticing to the young men that they beguiled.
“Attired in their bridal dresses, with garlands of flowers on their heads, and shining rings on their fingers, the Wilis dance in the moonlight like the Elves; their faces, although white as snow, are beautiful in their youthfulness. They laugh with deceptive joy, they lure you so seductively, their expressions offer such sweet prospects, that these lifeless Bacchantes are irresistible.”
‘Fantômes’ by Victor Hugo
Lastly, we cannot forget the poem ‘Fantômes’ (Ghosts) from the French Romantic writer and politician Victor Hugo’s collection of poems titled Les Orientales (1829). The poem is long, with thirty stanzas spread across six numbered sections, and depicts the tragic fate of the young women who dance themselves to death, only to continue dancing beyond the grave. As it was incredibly difficult to find a complete English translation of the poem, it has been difficult to grasp the full meaning of the work. Nevertheless, I have found that many of the stanzas from the second section of the poem seem to portray a narrative that is very close to the Wilis, and will share both the original French version and a basic English translation below:
English Translation:
How many I have seen die! - One was pink and white;
The other seemed to hear celestial chords;
The other, weak, leaned one arm on her sloping forehead,
And, as the bird in flight bends the branch,
His soul had broken his body.
-----
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What, dead! what, already, under the stone lying down! What! so many charming beings without sight and without voice!
So many extinguished torches! so many flowers uprooted!...
Oh! let me tread on the withered leaves,
And get lost in the depths of the woods!
Two ghosts! it's there, when I dream in the shadows,
Let them come in turn to hear me and talk to me.
A dubious day shows me and hides their number.
Through the twigs and dark foliage
I see their eyes sparkle.
My soul is a sister to these shadows so beautiful.
Life and the grave for us no longer have any law.
Sometimes I help their steps, sometimes I take their wings. Ineffable vision where I died like them,
They, alive like me!
They lend their form to all my thoughts.
I see them ! I see them ! They tell me: Come!
Then around a tomb dance intertwined; Then go away slowly, by degrees eclipsed.
So I think and remember...
Section II from ‘Fantômes’:
Que j'en ai vu mourir ! - L'une était rose et blanche;
L'autre semblait ouïr de célestes accords;
L'autre, faible, appuyait d'un bras son front qui penche,
Et, comme en s'envolant l'oiseau courbe la branche,
Son âme avait brisé son corps.
-----
-----
Quoi, mortes ! quoi, déjà, sous la pierre couchées!
Quoi ! tant d'êtres charmants sans regard et sans voix!
Tant de flambeaux éteints ! tant de fleurs arrachées !...
Oh ! laissez-moi fouler les feuilles desséchées,
Et m'égarer au fond des bois !
Deux fantômes ! c'est là, quand je rêve dans l'ombre,
Qu'ils viennent tour à tour m'entendre et me parler.
Un jour douteux me montre et me cache leur nombre.
A travers les rameaux et le feuillage sombre
Je vois leurs yeux étinceler.
Mon âme est une sœur pour ces ombres si belles.
La vie et le tombeau pour nous n'ont plus de loi.
Tantôt j'aide leurs pas, tantôt je prends leurs ailes.
Vision ineffable où je suis mort comme elles,
Elles, vivantes comme moi!
Elles prêtent leur forme à toutes mes pensées.
Je les vois ! je les vois ! Elles me disent : Viens!
Puis autour d'un tombeau dansent entrelacées;
Puis s'en vont lentement, par degrés éclipsées.
Alors je songe et me souviens...
It is clear that the narrative is very similar to that of the legend of the Wilis, from their tragic deaths, to their return as ghosts with wings that dance the night away, so it is not difficult to see how it relates to the folklore depicted in ‘De l’Allemagne’, and the synopsis of the Giselle ballet. It seems that the poem is from the perspective of a young man bewitched by the beautiful ghosts before him, longing to join him in their dance, perhaps comparable to Albrecht or Hilarion.
As this poem was written five years before the publication of ‘De l’Allemagne’, there is no doubt that the Wilis are well and truly a European legend that Heinrich Heine was instrumental in recording and bringing to light. As with many folktales and legends, we will never know the true author or originator of the story, since it is likely something that has been developed and honed by communities who have passed it on through the generations. Nevertheless, we can be grateful to figures such as Heinrich Heine who took the time to record the folklore of their country and culture, so it may not be lost to time and forgotten about. For, it is through his efforts and endeavours that we have been able to enjoy Giselle’s story of love and betrayal for the best part of two centuries. And, I have no doubt that’s its fame and enchantment will continue long into the future.
Sources:
Giselle | The Story of The Ballet by Sandy Posner (1949)
ENB: https://www.ballet.org.uk/production/mary-skeaping-giselle/
Tales of Faerie: http://talesoffaerie.blogspot.com/2011/07/giselle.html
Gallery 19c: https://www.gallery19c.com/artists/50-hugues-merle/works/9394/
De l’Allemagne by Heinrich Heine (1834)
The Complete Book of Ballets by Cyril W. Beaumont (1938)
Hello Poetry- Fantômes by Victor Hugo: https://hellopoetry.com/poem/1976229/fantomes/
