SOURCE: Lane, Christopher. “The Voided Role: On Genet.” Modern Language Notes 112, no. 5 (winter 1997): 876-908.

In the following essay, Lane examines Genet's conception of his play The Maids as a failure in light of his belief that modern theater was too “reassuring” to audiences.

Que je me vide! 

—Genet, Les Bonnes 38

It wasn't easy, or any fun, being obliged to live up to one's image. 

—Genet, Splendid's 41

Genet criticism seems increasingly concerned with identifying the transgressive potential of Jean Genet's life and works. We now hear regularly that Genet critiqued authenticity and coherent identities; that he emphasized the volatile proximity between dramatic characters and figures of speech, and did untold damage to Western conceptions of role and ontology.¹ Occasionally, we also hear Genet denounced as a traitor, fascist, and pervert who flirted so egregiously with hostile and oppressive forces that he palpably undermined our political freedom.² All of these...