Аннотация: Dumas and Maupassant. An experimental biography reconstruction essay
Dumas and Maupassant. An experimental a biography reconstruction essay
Alexander Dumas père (1802 - 1870) and Guy de Maupassant (1850 - 1893) were contemporaries.
Each of them is a talented writer.
Their biographies have a lot in common. There are many differences in their success stories.
1. The philosophy of being. The musketeer of the king (of Louis XIII) and a soldier of the army of Napoleon III, defeated at Sedan.
Before moving on to the details, let's talk about the main thing.
Alexander Dumas was a symbol. He embodied the old aristocracy, and the colonies, and the republic, and Napoleon, and victories ...
He understood the play that went on in France and in Paris. He began to play an adequate role in this play. The play was called "A Pleasant Life in Beautiful Paris." Conditionally, the role of Alexander Dumas can be called the role of the musketeer of the king.
Alexander Dumas was born in 1802. He began his literary career in Paris at the age of about 20 years.
He was a contemporary of Austerlitz (1805), other brilliant victories of the French army. He was (through his father, General Dumas (1762 - 1806) and military comrades of the general) involved in the victory at Marengo (1800).
Napoleon was defeated in 1814 and 1815. But, firstly, Napoleon was defeated, not France. At a critical moment, Prince Talleyrand advanced forward and won a diplomatic victory. Secondly, Alexander Dumas is in a dual position with respect to Napoleon - General Dumas was in disgrace after the Egyptian expedition (1798-...) ... Napoleon's victories could be recorded in his own (Dumas') asset, Napoleon's military defeats could be estimated from the point of view of Talleyrand's diplomatic victories.
So life is wonderful, and she needs to enjoy.
The musketeer feels great.
Guy de Maupassant served in the army. He witnessed the defeat of France at Sedan (1870).
In itself, this event was not catastrophic for France. But it made an unpleasant impression on contemporaries.
The coup d'etat (1851), as a result of which Charles Louis Napoleon Bonaparte became Napoleon III, was critically reflected in the work of Victor Hugo ...
A literary tradition was created. Hugo was one of the creative leaders of France. He spoke of duty, of oath, of conviction ... Guy de Maupassant, a former (ex-) soldier of a defeated army, a talented man, also had every right to speak out...
Maupassant's father went deeper into history, into archives, confirmed the fact of noble origin, through a court in 1846 he obtained the right to a particle 'de' ...
France had enough moral potential - this can be argued, knowing about the role of Gambetta, about the quick payment of indemnity as a result of a national (patriotic) loan ...
What could be the role of Guy de Maupassant in France after 1871? Could he become a supporter of Gambetta? An observer and literary artist of development processes? ...
A defeat is a difficult event.
Gerhard Scharnhorst, August Gneisenau and other military leaders of Prussia analyzed, investigated ... But about the writers of Prussia - who would describe the defeat of 1806 and the subsequent development of Prussia - there is no a widely available information about such a writers. Gerhard Scharnhorst, August Gneisenau - not writers by profession (although they lived at a time when many owned a pen, knew how to write and wrote books) ... The followers of Scharnhorst and Gneisenau was facilitated by the victory at Waterloo in 1815 - with the participation of the Prussian troops.
Which of the Russian writers described the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and the processes of subsequent development? There are memoirs of one of the British generals, who consisted of as an observer in the Japanese army ...
Not immediately, but the works of writer Novikov-Priboy and the song "Our proud "Varyag" does not surrender to the enemy" are coming to memory... "
Defeat gives rise to heavy emotions ...
It is difficult to get out of the heavy emotions created by defeat ...
In the period 1941-1942, lectures by Yevgeny Tarle on the victory in the Patriotic War of 1812, achieved despite initial defeats and a long retreat, were popular.
What other "creative directions" did Maupassant have? For example, Guy de Maupassant was close to Gustave Flaubert. In Flaubert, we can find another tradition - the theme of the province, family, family relations ... Perhaps this tradition was adopted by Dumas the son? ...
One way or another, the first widely known work of Maupassant is the short story "Boule de Suif" ["Butterball"] (1880). This work is about defeat in the war of 1870-1871 and about French society during this defeat ...
Did Guy de Maupassant play any part in the "great play of life"?
It is difficult to give an unambiguous answer to this question.
The answer may be this - perhaps it was the role of a critical person disappointed after the defeat at Sedan ...
2. Symbols and symbolic actions.
2.1. Alexandr Duma. The Brune's saber and Murat's headdress, the touch of Talma, an orders (awards).
Little Alexander Dumas, together with his father - a retired general - met in 1805 with the general's colleagues - Napoleon's Marshals Murat and Brune. To revitalize the atmosphere of the meeting, little Alexander was riding around the table on Brune's saber in Murat's headdress.
Approximately 1821, the famous actor Talma in the Parisian Comédie-Française compared the unknown provincial Dumas to Corneille and introduced Dumas to others people as the future Corneille. Dumas asked Talma to touch Dumas' forehead for good luck. He touched and called Dumas the poet - in the name [as a successor to the case] of Shakespeare, Corneille and Schiller.
Dumas had a penchant for orders (awards).
2.2. Guy de Maupassant. A fragment of the body - a dried human hand. The play "Rose Petal". (A disease).
Around 1868, a young man, Guy de Maupassant, met two young people who were relaxing in solitude on the French coast. Their home was decorated with various strange things. They gave young Maupassant a fragment of the human body - a dried, mummified human hand. This hand became in later life an almost constant companion of Maupassant.
The young Guy de Maupassant in 1875 wrote and at home staged a play (farce): 'Rose petal. Turkish house" ["À la feuille de rose, maison turque"]. (The boat in which Maupassant was sailing for a physical activity and entertainment along the Seine was also called the 'Rose Petal'). The play emphasized, cultivated the image of the phallus and a shamelessness.
Is the disease of Maupassant syphilis (approximately 1877) and its erotic passions during the treatment period considered a symbolic event?
3. Young years.
3.1. Home parenting.
In 1806, General Dumas died. Since that time, the education of Alexander Dumas was dealt with by his mother, Marie Louis.
When Maupassant was about 10 years old, his parents began to live separately. Since that time, mainly his mother, Laure, was busy with his upbringing.
3.2. Communication with nature.
Little Alexander Dumas lived in the town of Villers-Cotterêts. Significant forests were located near the town. Young Alexander Dumas had the opportunity to spend a lot of time in the forest, in nature.
Little Guy de Maupassant lived with his mother in the town of Étretat. There was a sea nearby. Young Guy de Maupassant spent a lot of time on the seashore, in walks, in communication with nature.
3.3. "Resorts" (Provincials plus metropolitan residents plus a persons in the field of art).
Villers-Cotterêts, where young Dumas lived, has long been a suburban estate of the Dukes of Orleans, the younger branch of the Bourbons. This status gave the town a unique reputation. The town has become a kind of resort.
Since about 1850, the town of Étretat has become a resort in which representatives of the bourgeoisie and artists gathered in the summer.
Such a 'status' of towns (a 'resort'), apparently, gave Dumas and Maupassant, the inhabitants of the province, the opportunity to meet different people, with the capital's inhabitants.
Through acquaintance with the capital's inhabitants, with representatives of literary, theatrical and near-literary circles, Dumas and Maupassant gained experience in independent creative activity.
3.4. Formal education.
Alexander Dumas avoided enrollment in a religious educational institution (Dumas mother had such plans - there was an opportunity to get a scholarship).
Guy de Maupassant studied for some time at the Theological Institute (school), from where he was expelled for inappropriate poetry.
Education at school (college) for Alexander Dumas ended, apparently, without a definite result. For some time he was taught at home by abbot Grégoire. Perhaps Dumas developed a very beautiful handwriting at school.
Guy de Maupassant, thanks to the persistence of his mother, completed his studies, and on July 7, 1869, he received the title of Bachelor of Literature.
3.5. The beginning of labor activity.
Alexander Dumas began his career as a junior assistant (delivery man) at one of the notaries in the province. A more serious matter was the work in the chancellery of the Duke of Orleans in Paris, where Dumas found some lovers of literature and some favor for his literary inclinations. Among the employees of the Duke of Orleans, he was listed from 1823 to 1830.
After receiving the title of bachelor, Maupassant began to study as a lawyer, but, after the outbreak of the war of 1870-1871, he volunteered for the army. After the army, he became an employee of the Ministry of the Sea. A long career in a bureaucratic system began (1872 - 1880).
4. "Political support." Between creative patrons and partners.
4.1. The theme of 'political pillars', of creative patrons, is easier to search, to inspect if Guy de Maupassant is in the focuse of attention.
Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880), familiar to Maupassant's mother, Laure, was the creative patron of the future writer. Flaubert was solving many issues of Guy de Maupassant's interaction with the authorities.
Flaubert occupied one of the central places in the life of Maupassant from about 1869 (the beginning of Maupassant's studies at the Lyceum in Rouen) and until 1880 (the year the "Boule de Suif" ["Butterball"] was published).
Gustave Flaubert and partly Maupassant's father assisted the future writer in his "movement" along career of an official.
Flaubert "taught" Maupassant literary skills, contributed to the formation of literary ties, tried to open the doors of newspapers in front of Maupassant ...
At Flaubert, Maupassant met, for example, Emil Zola and Ivan Turgenev.
A short story by Maupassant's "Boule de Suif" ["Butterball"] (1880) was published in a collection published under the patronage of Emil Zola. The work of Zola was put in the collection first. Next came the works of "novice" writers. Among the "beginners" was Maupassant. The calculation was made on the popularity of Zola among readers.
Thus, Flaubert combined in himself both the 'political pillar' and the creative patron of Maupassant.
4.2. The main 'political pillar' of Alexander Dumas was the Duke of Orleans, who became the French king Louis Philippe from 1830 to 1848. Having moved to Paris in 1823, Alexander Dumas began working in the office of the Duke of Orleans. "Under the direction" of the Duke of Dumas worked from 1823 to 1830. Dumas resigned as a librarian. The duke by the time of dismissal of Dumas became king. The duties of the librarian for Dumas were more nominal than real. His salary in this position was more like a scholarship or a grant.
Marshal Brune completed his earthly way during the event of the Hundred Days (1815).
General Foy died relatively quickly (1825).
Jean-Michel Deviolaine was in the "system" of the Duke of Orleans and patronized Dumas, but Deviolaine was far from theaters and literary life.
Has a creative patronage taken place? Or did a creative partnerships prevail?
Dumas preferred to write in collaboration, co-authorship. A creative product - especially in the theatrical sphere - was a product of collective performance.
Creative partnership allowed Dumas to always be in the creative community (to navigate the situation), to implement self-censorship in a non-stop regime, not to assume all possible responsibilities, risks, to save time and increase a creative efficiency.
A creative intuition replaced for Alexandre Dumas a creative patrons. In some cases, a good fortune (a happy occurence) came to the aid of intuition (a book open on a right page ...).
5. Circle of acquaintances.
Dumas sought friendship with wealthy and well-organized people with a position and reputation. After the appearance of big money in his life, he was often surrounded by people in need - from 'creative circles'.
Due to the constant workload of literary work and the need to solve organizational and creative tasks, Dumas, apparently, was forced to "filter" his communication.
Maupassant had connections with people from different walks of life. Often he made acquaintance with strange people, outsiders, or those who were outside (below) the middle class
6. A free time.
Dumas liked to spend free (from a writing work) time in the company of women and in a traveling.
The same hobbies were characteristic of Maupassant. In addition, he was inclined in rowing, - he tried to keep himself in a sports form.
7. Women.
Dumas, as a rule, dealt with women with a position in society. At the first stage of his life, women from the province appeared in his life, older than him in age, sometimes married.
His son Alexander was born from a woman who was older than Dumas in age. She was a seamstress (needlework) by profession. In a way, she was a model of virtue.
When young girls - mistresses appeared in the life of Dumas, he himself, with the own personality, created a position (in society) for them.
Under some external pressure, Alexander Dumas got married. By this time he had born (from another woman) illegitimate son Alexander.
In the life of Maupassant there were many random women. Visiting brothels was more or less familiar to him.
Maupassant was not married. His brother was married and had a daughter. There is a version that Maupassant had illegitimate children.
8. The main themes of creativity.
Dumas wrote, as a rule, on historical topics. The plots of his works were, as a rule, far from reality. Such topics not only ensured public interest, but also guaranteed against hostility from contemporaries.
Maupassant took a plots, a stories from his life. In some cases, this generated hostility towards him from others.
9. A financial situation.
Both writers were distinguished by the solvent attention of the public and the absence of special problems with receiving money.
Dumas spent money easily, almost without an account.
Maupassant showed interest in the process of selling own books, tried to control him. Maupassant in some cases showed economy, thrift.
10. Diseases and health.
Painful conditions began to significantly affect Dumas only at the final stage of his life. Dumas, his relatives, in general, look healthy and cheerful people. Dumas died in his son's house, been surrounded by a family attention.
Diseases (hereditary and acquired) pass through the entire adult (creative) life of Maupassant. Maupassant's brother suffered from mental illness and was sent to a hospital. Brother died before Maupassant (in a psychiatric hospital).
Maupassant died in a mental institution. Before that, he tried to commit suicide.
11. Luckiness. Confidence and caution.
Dumas was indisputably lucky in all matters. The level of his luck slightly decreased in the period after the "resignation" of King Louis Philippe. However, a luck continued to accompany Dumas and later. He was always distinguished by self-confidence, easy adventurism, a peculiar life insolence.
A famous, creatively successful, financially secure writer cannot to appear without a certain level of luck. At the same time, many problems were influencing the life of Maupassant. Often in "practical life", especially during the period of public (bureaucratic) service, he showed caution.
12. A comparison of the duration of periods of creative activity.
The period of creative activity of Dumas is approximately three and a half times greater than the same period of Maupassant.
(In the preparation of this essay, the following books were used: (1) 'Alexandre Dumas' by Henri Troyat, (2) 'Three Dumas' ["Titans: A Three-Generation Biography of the Dumas"] by André Maurois, (3) "Maupassant" by Henri Troyat, (4) 'Maupassant " by Armand Lanoux).
November 25, 2019 17:19, November 26, 2019 06:28, November 26, 2019 12:24, November 26, 2019 20:46, November 28, 2019 19:47.