How did Planches ethical and moral beliefs shape his writing?
Planche believed that art explores human nature. He was not fond of anything that struck him as lewd or gratuitously violent, but he also defended the works of foreign playwrights who were not well received in Britain due to sexual or violent story elements as having value if they were true to human nature (such as those of Victorien Sardou). In his own works, he was quite willing to display the female body as pretty scenery, to employ ethnic stereotypes common in his society, and to seem almost jingoistically patriotic at times. On the other hand, he was concerned for the treatment of the poor, offended by the ways non-white people were being treated in America, and hopeful that continued education and communication could eliminate much of human suffering. All these ideas are expressed in his works, especially in the original compositions. He objected to overtly didactic works, but instead hoped to make the power of the story deliver the desired message. In this way, he anticipated la
