I. Theater and the Plague Summary and Analysis

Artaud tells a story about a man named Saint-Rémys, who was Sardinia's Viceroy in 1720. One morning, that man woke up from a dream during which he saw his entire kingdom devastated by an uncontrollable and vicious plague. Fearing that his dream was a premonition about to come true, Saint-Rémys gave orders to turn a ship called the Grand-Saint-Antoine around when the latter tried to dock at Cagliari, the province's port. After turning his ship around, the captain of the Grand-Saint-Antoine sailed to Marseille where the vessel docked a few days later. Almost immediately, a virulent form of plague erupted in Marseille, killing thousands of civilians. There were already cases of plague in Marseille, but the disease was contained. It was later discovered that the boat carried the Oriental form of the...