>
> But I wasnt trying to make a general argument, only that some works like the Marriage of Figaro, or Hamlet, wouldnt be possible. The answer to me though would be: but all the Sonatas, ensembles, concertos and symphonies would. I was almost about to change my mind about Marriage, because there is really only minor conflict there, and the general atmosphere is happy -- but there would still have to be a trivial leisured class to laugh at.
>
>
The next time you see or hear the opera, notice how it looks at
love/lust at every stage:
--adolescent, Cherubino --wedded-young Suzanna/Figaro --wedded-old Count/Countess --old-old Figaro's mother
There's plenty of potential tragedy, misunderstanding, comedy, and romance in looking at this spectrum of love/lust and how all these figures interact. The notion that without class conflict, there is no conflict is, uh, wrong. That's like saying that without neurosis, we'd all be happy. But there's plenty of normal human misery in the absence of mental illness.
...Although Lukacs did make a pretty sound argument for the fact that there is always a resurgence of drama in revolutionary periods. But, then, we're talking about a genre not about art as a whole.
Joanna