Who are the Frogs? The Transmigration of a Symbol of Nationality
-
David Bindman
Abstract
This chapter is concerned to show that satirical national symbols, though seemingly immutable, like the English characterization of the French as frogs, in fact have a specific history. It involves the transmutation of the symbol from the Dutch, to whom it was first applied, to the French under specific conditions to do with the French Revolution. In fact the French were in English eyes until the end of the 18th century frog-eaters, clearly distinguished from being frogs until the aftermath of the Revolution. The transition from frog-eaters to frogs is explained by reference to Aesop’s Fables.
Abstract
This chapter is concerned to show that satirical national symbols, though seemingly immutable, like the English characterization of the French as frogs, in fact have a specific history. It involves the transmutation of the symbol from the Dutch, to whom it was first applied, to the French under specific conditions to do with the French Revolution. In fact the French were in English eyes until the end of the 18th century frog-eaters, clearly distinguished from being frogs until the aftermath of the Revolution. The transition from frog-eaters to frogs is explained by reference to Aesop’s Fables.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- About the contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Mapping the Field
- Satire and dignity 19
- The Authenticity of Play 33
- Cultural Flow 47
-
Space
- Reshaping the Border Zone. An Approach to Satirical Space 61
- Mediating satire 71
- Arab Sitcom Animations as Platforms for Satire 81
-
Target
- Contesting Political Boundaries in Contemporary Moroccan Satire 95
- How to Burlesque a Burlesquer 105
- Who is the ape, who the human? Reize door het Aapenland (1788) and Die Affenkönige oder die Reformation des Affenlandes (1789) considered 135
-
Rhetoric
- Looking backward. The rhetoric of the back in visual satire 147
- "A bull is a ludicrous jest": fable and the satiric bite in Arbuthnot's John Bull pamphlets 175
- Bas Jan Ader's Ludic Conceptualism 185
-
Media
- Absolutely Fabulous 197
- TV Satire and its Targets 207
- Enlightenment Subverted 217
-
Time
- On the power of Money and the King of Spain's son-in- law 235
- Who are the Frogs? The Transmigration of a Symbol of Nationality 247
- Hydropathe Caricature 259
- Conclusions 269
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgments vii
- About the contributors ix
- Introduction 1
-
Mapping the Field
- Satire and dignity 19
- The Authenticity of Play 33
- Cultural Flow 47
-
Space
- Reshaping the Border Zone. An Approach to Satirical Space 61
- Mediating satire 71
- Arab Sitcom Animations as Platforms for Satire 81
-
Target
- Contesting Political Boundaries in Contemporary Moroccan Satire 95
- How to Burlesque a Burlesquer 105
- Who is the ape, who the human? Reize door het Aapenland (1788) and Die Affenkönige oder die Reformation des Affenlandes (1789) considered 135
-
Rhetoric
- Looking backward. The rhetoric of the back in visual satire 147
- "A bull is a ludicrous jest": fable and the satiric bite in Arbuthnot's John Bull pamphlets 175
- Bas Jan Ader's Ludic Conceptualism 185
-
Media
- Absolutely Fabulous 197
- TV Satire and its Targets 207
- Enlightenment Subverted 217
-
Time
- On the power of Money and the King of Spain's son-in- law 235
- Who are the Frogs? The Transmigration of a Symbol of Nationality 247
- Hydropathe Caricature 259
- Conclusions 269
- Index 275
