A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World
This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of Puritan conventi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/15341 |
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| author | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| author_facet | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| author_sort | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of Puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, which was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1fe80e7f788c429f835c2b38f70e0510 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj-art-1fe80e7f788c429f835c2b38f70e05102025-01-30T10:43:50ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662020-12-01110.4000/transatlantica.15341A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the WorldAdeline Chevrier-BosseauThis paper will explore Graham’s revaluation of morality, as well as her Whitman-inspired conception of “physical morality” promoting the free expression of the body, and her conception of the universal beauty of the body performing true movement, free from the stifling falseness of Puritan conventions. Influenced by Nietzsche, Graham opposed the repressive forces of a Puritan “priestly mode of valuation” to a life-affirming, joyful urge in the soul that fosters creativity and doesn’t devalue the body. This opposition will be particularly examined in her use of Nietzschean Umwertung in her ballet Letter to the World, which was inspired by the life and work of Emily Dickinson.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/15341religionEmily DickinsonWalt WhitmanPuritanismMartha Grahamdance |
| spellingShingle | Adeline Chevrier-Bosseau A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World Transatlantica religion Emily Dickinson Walt Whitman Puritanism Martha Graham dance |
| title | A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World |
| title_full | A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World |
| title_fullStr | A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World |
| title_full_unstemmed | A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World |
| title_short | A New American “Physical Morality”: Martha Graham and the Revaluation of the Body in Letter to the World |
| title_sort | new american physical morality martha graham and the revaluation of the body in letter to the world |
| topic | religion Emily Dickinson Walt Whitman Puritanism Martha Graham dance |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/15341 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT adelinechevrierbosseau anewamericanphysicalmoralitymarthagrahamandtherevaluationofthebodyinlettertotheworld AT adelinechevrierbosseau newamericanphysicalmoralitymarthagrahamandtherevaluationofthebodyinlettertotheworld |