On the Uses of the Fantastic in Modern Theatre

IRENE EYNAT-CONFINO is Associate Professor, Department of Theatre Studies, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.

"Who are the monsters in Jean Cocteau s Infernal Machine ? Eynat-Confino s absorbing study gives us all facets of this central theme of Cocteau s modern classic and the ways monstrosity relates to Cocteau s self image as homosexual and poet. A must read for readers interested in Cocteau, modern French theater, and gender and gay studies. " - John M Clum, Professor of Theater Studies and English Duke University and author of Still Acting Gay: Male Homosexuality in Modern Drama and Something for the Boys: Musical Theater and Gay Culture

• Introduction The Infernal Machine The Sphinx Laius, Tiresias, and Jocasta Oedipus Dramatic Strategies and Stratagems Cocteau and his Monster Visibility, Invisibility, and the Fantastic Ethics, Alterity, and Designed Emotion