ABSTRACT
Ubu's Almanacs were written at a crucial time in Alfred Jarry's literary career. During the 1890s he had worked hard to gain access to Symbolist circles. He had made a fairly successful literary debut in 1893 with the prose text 'Guignol', published in L'Echo de Paris, and became a regular contributor to the monthly journal Mercure de France. Symbolism had provided an inspirational and experimental environment for Jarry in the 1890s and it had helped shape his ideas on literature. He always kept a sincere admiration for many Symbolist artists and writers. Ubu Roi also reflected Jarry's connection with cabaret culture and popular entertainment in other ways. The actress Louise France was a former cabaret performer and her appearance in Ubu Roi as Mere Ubu brought a slice of cabaret culture to the stage. The cabarets of Montmartre combined popular entertainment and commercialism with a bohemian counter-culture of rebellion and artistic experiment.
