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I have found myself becoming a fan of this scary-looking guy. The Plague Doctor wore a complete hazmat suit that just also happens to look really creepy, and he's what I want to be for Halloween this year. Because, you know, plague. When I picked up my mask at the popup Halloween shop, I asked the cashier whether it was a popular mask this year, and he just laughed. So maybe I'm being unoriginal. Or maybe a lot of people just like the mask and don't know what it's about. Hanging near mine on the rack was a steampunk version with random pipes and eyes like an old-fashioned diving bell. 

I know people often misunderstand it. I was shocked to find an ad for this mask that identified it as Pantalone, the rich old man of the Commedia dell'Arte.

This is not Pantalone. Not remotely. If it resembles anything from the Commedia, it's maybe a bit like the Capitano or braggart soldier. But not much. For one thing, actors' masks leave the mouth free and don't have glass over the eye holes. The long snout on this thing was not a caricature of a human nose but was actually stuffed with herbs that were supposed to ward off infection. While the herbs didn't, the facial covering probably did, especially combined with the leather gown and gloves and a stick for social distancing. The herbs did smell nice, which would be useful when your mouth and nose are together in an enclosed space, as anyone who goes to the store in 2020 without having first brushed their teeth can appreciate.

Pantalone, on the other hand, looks like this.

I played that guy once, too, in Aurand Harris' children's play Androcles and the Lion. It was how I first discovered the art form that became my obsession. Pantalone is Venetian, and that fourth-position stance of his turns out to be very good for standing up in boats, which people do a lot in Venice. 

But back to the Plague Doctor. 

If someone had wanted to design a mask that would be immortally frightening, they couldn't have done better than the sharp beak and round, empty eyes on this thing. It would creep me out if I didn't know what it was for and think it actually rather clever.

At least our plague masks in 2020 only have to cover mouth and nose. Can you imagine looking out those little eye holes all day? 






 


Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 25, 2020 at 8:31 AM

    Before I met you I had no idea the origin of these masks. However, before I met you, I don't think I'd ever seen one! Is that a COVID silver lining?

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownOctober 25, 2020 at 7:42 PM

    Send me a picture!

    ReplyDelete

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