140×215 (60×90/16), hard cover, 800 pp., 2004
ISBN 5-86793-279-6

Yampolsky’s latest comprehensive work focuses on the metamorphoses of power during the transition from absolute monarchy to democracy. The process of gradual weakening of the magic surrounding the royal body and shifting of power from the monarch’s person to the impersonal structure of relations between subjects is studied within the context of West European history and the period between the late Middle Ages and the French revolution. Yampolsky invites us to examine power through its representations – the forms in which it is presented. The metamorphoses of power are studied within a broad cultural context of philosophy, theatre and politics. The author conducts an in-depth theoretical analysis of phenomena such as symbols, allegory, mimesis and sovereignty, focusing in particular on the sovereign’s exclusion from the community he governs. This exclusion, argues Yampolsky, serves to create a symbolic link between king and executioner, king and Jews, autocrat and animals.

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