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Narrative, Genre, and Community in Marguerite de Navarre's "L'Heptaméron" and Baudelaire's "Le Spleen de Paris"Author(s): Bendi Benson SchrambachSource: The French Review, Vol. 81, No. 5 (Apr., 2008), pp. 930-943Published by: American Association of Teachers of FrenchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25481322Accessed: 22-12-2015 13:39 UTC

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The

French

Review,

Vol.

81,

No.

5,

April

2008

Printed in

U.S.A.

Narrative,

Genre,

and

Community

inMarguerite de Navarre's

L'Heptatneron

and

Baudelaire's

Le

Spleen

de Paris

by

Bendi

Benson

Schrambach

1

he

present

study

undertakes

an

examination

of

two

formes

breves

nar

ratives

frangaises:

the sixteenth

century

nouvelle,

as

observed

in

Marguerite

de

Navarre's

Heptameron,

and

the

modern

poeme

en

prose,

as

recorded

in

Charles Baudelaire's

Spleen

de Paris.

The

individual

tales selected

for

comparison,

Marguerite's

Nouvelle

32 and

Baudelaire's

"Portraits

de

mattresses," were chosen due to their thematic similarity (of amorous

vengeance)

and

framed

narrative

structures.

Exemplary

of

the

literary

production

of their

respective

eras,

these

texts

both

inaugurate

new

gen

res

and

remain

prototypical

of their forms

for

years

to

come.

Nevertheless,

when

limiting

the

examination

to recits

brefs, narrating

not

animal adventures

or

le

merveilleux,

but human

experience,

few

if

any

alternative

genres

would merit consideration.

In

fact,

the

conte

becomes

the

only

other

possibility.

The

divergent literary examples

of the

conte1

as

well

as

its

affinity

for unrealistic

or

fantasy

settings

in

the

mode

of

the

fable

explain

its omission here.

This

choice

of

literary

forms

separated

in

time

by

several centuries

derives from

a

desire

to

investigate

how

storytelling

evolves

over

time.

For

if,

as

Walter

Benjamin

suggests,

narrative

attempts

to

uncover

the

imperative

questions

of

a

people

or

society,

then

juxtaposing

the

compel

ling

issues

presented

within the

typical

literary

genres

of

two

eras

might

serve

to

trace

the

progression

of

metaphysical

theories,

ideological

move

ments,

and

sociological

concerns.

The

following

investigation

will there

fore endeavor to address the following questions: What

characteristics do

these

storytelling

forms share?

In

what

respect/s

do

they

differ? Does

the

nature

of the

concerns

these tales

represent

evolve?

How does the

func

tion

of

story

and

storyteller

change

over

time?

Finally,

what,

if

anything,

do these

changes

reveal about

the future

of

storytelling?

The

pious

Oisille

recounts

L'Heptameron's

tale. She

begins,

as

a

matter

of

course,

by

presenting

the

historical

setting:

a

chateau,

which

will

host

930






DE NAVARRE'S L'HEPTAMERON

AND

BAUDELAIRE'S LE

SPLEEN

DE

PARIS

931

a

servant

of

King

Charles VIII.

Typifying

the

Queen's

interest

in

royal

propagation,

these

two

personages,

along

with the

King's

own

por

traitist,

are

the

only

ones

important

enough

to

name.

Bernage,

traveling

through Germany for his king, comes upon the chateau late one

evening

and

there

requests

lodging

for

the

night.

The

host's initial

reluctance

to

admit his

guest

due

to

the

ill intentions

of

his

wife's

family

toward him

foreshadows the

grizzly

scene

to

come.

It

is

Bernage's

mention

of the

illustrious title

of his

master,

in

another

example

of

ceremonious

name

dropping,

which

finally

opens

the

door

of

the chateau

to

this traveler.

It

is

suppertime.

While

dining

with

his

host

on

delicacies

in

a

magnifi

cent

hall,

Bernage

observes

the

approach

of

"une

femme,

la

plus

belle

qu'il

etait

possible

de

regarder" (295).

Head

bowed,

she

wears

black

and

remains silent

for

the

duration of themeal.

When

thirsty,

she

drinks from

a

cup

made of

a

human skull.

The

host,

recognizing

his

guest's

mystifica

tion,

relates

her

story.

This

tale

within

a

tale

introduces

an

additional

frame into

the

narrative,

that

of the

husband who

describes his

wife's

betrayal.

Bernage's

host

relates

how,

passionately

in

love,

he

trusted his wife

implicitly

until,

after

a

long

voyage,

he

discovers that

she loves

another.

His

telling

reenacts

her

crime. He

narrates:

"[...]

bientot

apres

mon

parte

ment elle se retira; et y fitvenir ce jeune gentilhomme, lequel je vis entrer

avec

la

privaute

qui

n'appartenait

qu'a

moi

avoir

a

elle.

[...]

je

vis

qu'il

voulait

monter

sur

le

lit

aupres

d'elle

[...]"

(296).

After

witnessing

his

wife's

illicit

lovemaking,

the

husband

kills

her

suitor.2

Instead

of

death

for

the

adulterer

in

the

manner

first

established

by

One

Thousand

Nights

and

a

Night's

King

Shahryar

and his

brother,

the

gentle

man

of

Nouvelle

32

chooses

another,

harsher

punishment.

Indeed,

the

severity

of

the

assigned

penalty

composes

one

principal

theme

of

this

tale.

Oisille

explicitly

proposes

this

question

for

philosophical

debate

by

the

group

in the

preface

toher conte:which

punishment

proves

themost

severe?death

or

torture?

The

narrator's

own

remarks

leave

no

shadow

of

doubt

as

to

her

judgment

on

thematter.

She

states:

Je

suis

sure

que

vous

n'ignorez

point

que

la

fin de

tous

nos

malheurs

est

la mort.

Mais,

mettant

fin

a

notre

malheur,

elle

se

peut

nommer

notre

felicite

et sur

repos.

Le

malheur

done

de

Thomme,

c'est

desirer

la

mort

et

ne

la

pouvoir

avoir.

Parquoi

la

plus

grande

punition

que

Ton

puisse

donner

a

un

malfaiteur

n'est

pas

la

mort,

mais

c'est

de

donner

un

tour

ment

continuel si

grand

qu'il

la

fait

desirer,

et

si

petit

qu'il

ne

la

peut

avancer [...]. (294-95)

For

Oisille,

torture

only perpetuates

the

pain

of

existence.

On the

con

trary,

death

represents?not

punishment?but

the end

of

all

human

mis

fortune.

Bernage's

host

appears

to

agree

with

Oisille's

assessment

regarding

the

less

severe

nature

of

the

death

penalty.

He

judges

it

inadequate

for

his

wife's

crime,

and

prefers,

rather,

to

prolong

her

misery.

He

therefore






932

FRENCH

REVIEW

81.5

assigns

as

punishment

the

morbid,

incessant

reminder of

her

adultery.

He

relates:

Et

pource

que

le crime

de

ma

femme

me

sembla

si

grand qu'une

telle

mort n'etait suffisante pour la punir, je lui ordonnai une peine que je

pense

qu'elle

a

plus

desagreable

que

la

mort:

c'est de

l'enfermer

en

ladite

chambre

ou

elle

se

retirait

pour

prendre

ses

plus

grandes

delices,

et

en

la

compagnie

de celui

qu'elle

aimait

trop

mieux

que

moi.

Auquel

lieu

je

lui

ai

mis

dans

une

armoire

tous

les

os

de

son

ami,

tendus

comme une

chose

precieuse

en

un

cabinet.

Et

afin

qu'elle

n'en

oublie la

memoire,

en

bu

vant

et

mangeant

lui

fais

servir

a

table,

au

lieu

de

coupe,

la

tete

de

ce

mechant,

et

la

tout

devant

moi,

afin

qu'elle

voie

vivant

celui

qu'elle

a

fait

son

mortel

ennemi

par

sa

faute,

et

mort

pour

l'amour

d'elle

celui

duquel

elle

avait

prefere

l'amitie

a

lamienne.

(297)

This state of

unforgiveness,

of unabated

wrath,

introduces a

second

philosophical

issue

for

discussion

by

the

devisants.

The

woman's

appar

ent

contrition

inspires

merciful words from

Bernage

regarding forgive

ness

and

reconciliation.

His

courageous

counsel,

reflecting positively

on

his

master,

ultimately

convinces

the husband

to

pardon

his

wife.

Marguerite's

devisants

conclude this tale

by

debating

the

value of

honor

and

forgiveness.

"Comment sauriez-vous

amender

la

honte?" dit

Longarine,

"Car

vous

savez que, quelque chose que puisse faireune femme apres un telmefait,

ne

saurait

reparer

son

honneur."

"Je

vous

prie,"

dit

Ennasuite,

"dites-moi

si

la

Madeleine

n'a

pas

plus

d'honneur

entre

les hommes

maintenant,

que

sa sceur

qui

etait

vierge?"

"Je

vous

confesse,"

dit

Longarine, "qu'elle

est

louee

entre

nous

de

la

grande

amour

qu'elle

a

portee

a

Jesus-Christ,

et

de

sa

grande penitence.

Mais

si

lui

demeure

le

nom

de

pecheresse."

"Je

ne

me

soucie,"

dit

Ennasuite,

"quel

nom

les hommes

me

donnent;

mais

que

Dieu

me

pardonne

et

mon

mari

aussi,

il

n'y

a

rien

pourquoi je

voulusse mourir."

(299)

Ennasuite's biblical analogy toMary Madeleine establishes mercy as the

ultimate moral of the tale.

The

mention

of

the

biblical

heroine

moreover

affirms the

Christian lens

through

which

the

Queen

considers

all

things.

Indeed,

the

overarching

intrigue

of Nouvelle

32?conjugal

love,

unfaithfulness,

punishment,

re

pentance,

intervention and ultimate

forgiveness?faithfully

recreates

the

traditional

Judeo-Christian

story.

God's

love for

creation followed

by

human unfaithfulness

in

the

garden

resulted

in

punishment

in

the form

of banishment.

Only

the

intervention of

a

royal

visitor?an

envoy

of

the

King

in

the

nouvelle,

the

son

of God

himself

in

the Christian

story?inter

ceding

for

the

woman

based

upon

her

repentance,

ultimately

reconciles

the

husband

with

his wife.

This

ending

suggests

that,

although

death

represents

the

final

haven,

only

the

living,

as

witnessed

here

in

the

person

of

the

wife,

may

reap

the

earthly

rewards

of

honor

(earned

through

humility

and

repentance),

fame

(as

demonstrated

both

by

the

painter

sent

to

record

her

beauty

and her






DE

NAVARRE'S

L'HEPTAMERON

AND BAUDELAIRE'S

LE

SPLEEN

DE

PARIS 933

tale's

perpetuation

in

literature),

and

forgiveness

(returning

to

her

an

abundant

life,

including

children).

Because of

mercy,

the

wife

will

enjoy

all

of these.

This

nouvelle,

characteristic

of

L'Heptameron,

thus

concludes

with amessage of hope?whether in lifeor death.

Unlike

this

nouvelle's

descriptive,

historically-based

introduction,

only

a

few

incisive

details

provide

the

setting

for

Baudelaire's

poem.

In

"Portraits

de

mattresses,"

four

gentlemen

smoke and drink

in

a

men's

boudoir.

There

are

no

affected

mentions

of

names

or

explicit

omissions

of

the

same

serving,

in

the

nouvelles,

to

authenticate

the

reliability

of

the

devisants'

reports.3

Instead,

these

men

remain

nameless,

as

do

most

of

Baudelaire's

protagonists.

They

thus

signify

prototypes.4 Although

pos

sessing

a

certain

level

of

financial comfort

as

represented

by

their

"ele

gant" setting,

their

physical

ordinariness,

"ni

jeunes

ni

vieux,

ni beaux ni

laids,"

ascribes

to

them

the

common

experience

of

an

average

playboy.

Whereas

the

noblemen

of

the

nouvelle

enjoy

the

pleasure

of

each

other's

company

over

dinner,

Baudelaire's

"veterans

de la

joie"

fraternize

only

in

the

sense

that

they

all

find themselves

in

the

same

fashionable

men's

boudoir.

These

men

have

"fortement

vecu,

et

[...]

[cherchent]

ce

qu['ils

pourraient]

aimer

et

estimer"

(1:

345).5

The

conditional

form

of

this

state

ment

reflects

their

uncertainty

in

the

possibility

of

finding

the

same.

Imitative of L'Heptameron's overall structure and Nouvelle 32's internal

narrative,

this

poem

introduces

several

framed

tales

in

which

alternating

storytellers

recount

their

personal

anecdotes.

As in

Marguerite's

collection,

an

omniscient

narrator

introduces

the ensemble

and

occasionally

inter

venes

to

comment

upon

the

proceedings.

Also

similar

to

the

Queen's

com

pilation

is

the

underlying

impetus

for

the narratives:

group

boredom.6

Yet

in

"Portraits de

mattresses,"

storytelling

occurs

not

consciously,

methodi

cally,

and

enthusiastically

as

in

L'Heptameron.

Rather,

the

storytelling

rep

resented

here

arises

with

seeming

randomness

and

flippancy.

The

narrator

relates how "L'un d'eux jeta la causerie sur le sujet des femmes" (1: 345).

Unlike the

spiritual,

moral,

and

philosophical

enlightenment

sought

in

Marguerite's

tales,

storytelling

emerges

here from the

mixing

of

alcohol

("apres

boire,

[ils]

ne

meprisent

pas

les conversations banales"

[1: 345])

with

ennui.

Four

gentlemen

recount

their

amatory

prowess,

or

lack of the

same,

for the bemusement

of

the

group.

Recalling

the directive

remarks

of

the devisants

preceding

each

of

Marguerite's

nouvelle,

the

first

gentleman

announces

the orientation

of

his

conte?less

moral

than

salacious.

In

braggart

fashion,

demonstrating

a

desire

to amuse

his

fellows,

he

elaborates

his

sophistication

with

regard

to

love.

Having

passed

from

the

first

degree

in

which,

"on

embrasse,

sans

degout,

le

tronc

des chenes"

(1:

345),

to

the

second,

in

which

one

searches

after

beauty,

he

has

arrived

finally

at

the third

degree,

for

which

beauty

alone

can

no

longer

suffice.

The

first

gentleman

concludes

the

preface

to

his tale with

this confession:

"J'avouerai

meme

que

j'aspire

quelquefois,

comme

a un

bonheur

inconnu,

a un

certain

degre

qui

doit

marquer

le






934

FRENCH REVIEW

81.5

calme absolu"

(1: 345).

It

is

notable that

such "bonheur"

remains

for

him

unknown.

His

mistress's

fault,

ironically

evocative

of

her

lover's

exaggerated

ma

chismo, resides precisely in her yearning, as he claims, to be a man. The

gentleman

tolerates his

mistress,

despite

the

annoyance

her

masculinity

represents,

until,

like

the nobleman

in

Marguerite's

Nouvelle

32,

he

dis

covers

her

in

the

arms

of

his

domestique.

Instead

of

punishing

her,

the

first

gentleman,

"nerveux"

in

the face

of

his

mistress's

strength,

takes the

occa

sion

of

this

discovery

to

dismiss

her

in

the

same manner

as

he does

his

servant.

He

explains:

"

'Le

soir

je

les

congediai

tous

les

deux,

en

leur

payant

les

arrerages

de

leurs

gages'"

(1: 346).

No

marriage

or

sense

of

obligation

bonds them

as

in

Marguerite's

tale;

no

feelings

of

commitment

incite the

gentleman

to

attempt

to reform his

lady.

The ties that bind in

the

nobleman's

chateau

appear

enfeebled,

even

nonexistent,

in

Bau

delaire's

boudoir.

In

this

respect,

this

poem

suggests

the

impossibility

of

real human communion.

One notable

distinction

between

these

collections

appears

to

be

the

content

of the

tales.

Whereas

Marguerite's

nouvelles

generally

recount

the

lives

of

others,

Baudelaire's

framed

tales offer

as

subject

matter

the

exploits

of

their

tellers.

UHeptameron's

one

exception

to

this

rule,

the

"naked

narrator"7

ofNouvelle 62,who unsuccessfully attempts

to

relate

an

indiscrete

personal

encounter

as

having

been

the

conduct

of

another,

apparently

condemns

the

boastful

practice

of

recounting

one's

own

escapades.

Baudelaire's

poems

notably diverge

from

this standard of

eti

quette.

Indeed,

Le

Spleen

de

Paris's

narrators

appear

to

relish

first

person

disclosure

because

such

revelations

provide

a

way

for

the

poet

to

"get

closer"

to

his

reader.

Baudelaire's

poems

do

not

pretend

to

offer

impar

tial

accounts

and

refrain from

ascribing

any

"truthfulness"

to

themselves.

Rather,

by representing

the

illusory

feelings

of

sundry

individuals,

including and especially those of the poet himself, these pieces proclaim

the

validity

and

import

of

first

person

subjective experience.

Moreover,

unlike

the

prominent,

diverse

viewpoints

of

the

auditors

following

Marguerite's

nouvelles,

the

framed

narratives

of

"Portraits

de

mattresses"

canvass

only

the

utterances

of each

succeeding

romancer.

Foregoing

any

discussion

of the

first

mistress

or

of

the

aptness

of

her

suitor's

response,

Baudelaire's

poem

continues

immediately

with

the

tale

of the second

gentleman,

"interrupteur,"

who,

without

awaiting

solicita

tion

to

speak

in

the

manner

outlined

in

L'Heptameron, begins

to recount

his

own

experiences

in

love.

No

debate of

the

im/proper

conduct

of the

first

gentleman

follows

his

reminiscence.

Any

and

all

explanations

thus

stand

uncontested

as

illustrative

of

expected

behavior.

The

second

mistress,

although

"douce," "soumise,"

"devouee,"

and

always

"prete,"

lacks

passion. Describing

themale-female

relationship

in

combat

ive terms

not

unlike

those utilized

in

L'Heptameron,

the

gentleman

tires

of their

"duel

inegal."

Yet when

his mistress

weds

another,

the

narrator






DE

NAVARRE'S

L'HEPTAMERON

AND BAUDELAIRE'S

LE SPLEEN

DE PARIS

935

blames

himself.

Regretting

what

he

possesses

no

longer,

the

second

gen

tleman

now

admits

that he should

have

married her.

His

recognition

of

error,

however,

bears

little

resemblance

to

the

forms of

contrition

depicted inMarguerite's tales.8 Instead, relating this anecdote as a form

of

entertainment,

this

narrator

fosters?not

reform

or

justice

in

the

mode

of

Marguerite's

protagonists,

but?(self-)

derision

and

ridicule.

Pursuing

a

verbal

one-upsmanship,

a

third

gentleman

contends

that he

knows

some

pleasures

of which

the others

remain

ignorant.

This

narrator

speaks

of

"admiration"

for his

mistress

not in

the

sense

of

esteem,

but

of

wonder

and astonishment.

He

declares,

"J'ai

plus

admire

ma

derniere

maitresse

que

vous

n'avez

pu,

je

crois,

hair

ou

aimer

les

votres.

Et

tout

le

monde

Tadmirait

autant

que

moi"(l: 347).

He

recounts

his

comic

experi

ence with a

"phenomene

vivant"

(1:

347)

as

passionate

about

eating

as the

last

mistress had been

passive

in

love-making.

She left

him,

"C'est

du

moins

ce

qu['il

a]

suppose,"

for

someone

who could

better

gratify

her

insatiable

appetite.

His

attitude

of

seeming

indifference

indicates

that

the

departure

of

thismistress

procures

him less heartache than benefit.

Here,

it

provides

him,

in

themode

of

a

stand-up

comic,

with

interesting

narra

tive

material.

This

third

gentleman's

narrative

suggests

that

individuals

rank

subordinate

to

the

poetic

material

they

provide.

The fourth gentleman crowns this prospect of domestic misery and

woe,

claiming

to

have

suffered

more

hardship

than the

others with

re

gard

to

the

"selfish"

female,

and

in

a manner

contrary

to

that

expected.

According

to

him,

the

others

were

fortunate

to

have

endured their

mis

tresses'

imperfections.

They

should

not

bemoan their

fate

when

con

trasted

to

the

"souffrances

atroces" he endured.

In

one

of

the

only

breaks

in

dialogue

in

the

poem,

the

meta-narrator

interrupts

the fourth

gentleman's

discourse

to

provide

a more

detailed

portrait

of this

tale-teller,

the

only

gentleman

to

receive

such

attention.

The narrator describes, "[...] un homme d'un aspect doux et pose, d'une

physionomie

presque

clericale,

malheureusement

illuminee

par

des

yeux

d'un

gris

clair,

de

ces

yeux

dont le

regard

dit:

'Je

veux '

ou:

TI

faut '

ou

bien:

'Je

ne

pardonne jamais '"

(1:

347-78).

Whereas

a

breach

in

relation

ship

generating

the

misanthropic

reception

by

the

host

in

Marguerite's

nouvelle

harbingers

the dark

secrets

of the

chateau,

it

is

the

actual

physi

cal

countenance of the

fourth

gentleman

of Baudelaire's

poem

that

por

tends

doom.9

The fourth

gentleman's exigent

eyes

immediately

assess

the

shortcom

ings

of

his comrades.

He

determines

them

to

be

"nerveux,"

"laches,"

and

"legers"

(1:

348),

incapable

of

surviving

his

mistress.

This

gentleman

appears

supremely

capable

of

discernment?at

least with

regard

to

the

faults

of

others.

The mistress's

crime,

according

to

the

gentleman,

resides

precisely

in

her

perfection.

She

is

"incapable

de commettre

une

erreur

de sentiment

ou

de

calcul,"

and

possesses

"une

serenite

desolante de

caractere;

un






936

FRENCH

REVIEW 81.5

devouement

sans

comedie

et

sans

emphase;

une

douceur

sans

faiblesse;

une

energie

sans

violence"

(1: 348).

Her

very presence exposes,

by

stark

contrast,

his

person.

Consider

the

self-incriminating

nature

of

his

judg

ment against her. He narrates:

L'histoire

de

mon amour

ressemble

a un

interminable

voyage

sur une

surface

pure

et

polie

comme

un

miroir

[...]

qui

aurait

reflechi

tous

mes

sentiments

et

mes

gestes

avec

l'exactitude

ironique

de

ma

proper

con

science

[...].

[J]e

ne

pouvais

pas

me

permettre

un

geste

ou

un

sentiment

deraisonnable

sans

apercevoir

immeaiatement le

reproche

muet

de

mon

inse

parable

spectre.

(1:

3484-89,

emphasis

mine)

This

consummate

mistress

literally

mirrors her lover's

imperfections.

The

result

becomes

a

quite

unflattering

portrait?not

of

the

mistress,

for the

reader remains

ignorant

as to her

appearance,

mental

sharpness,

sexual

passion,

and

physical

appetite,

all

characteristics

chronicled

by

the

preced

ing

narrators

in

their

portraits

de

mattresses.

Rather,

this

mistress reflects

the

gentleman's

own

"sottises," "dettes,"

and

"folk personnelle."

After

admiring

her

for

years

with

a

heart

full

of

hatred,

the

gentleman

can

endure her

infallibility

no

longer.

He

determines

that he

must

"vaincre

ou

mourir"

and

kills

her.

Failed

human

relationship

summarizes Baudelaire's

poem.

Four

men

recount

tales of fourmistresses, yet

each

ultimately

finds himself alone.

Unlike

Marguerite

de

Navarre's Nouvelle

32,

which

expresses

the

possi

bility

for relational

regeneration,

Baudelaire's

"Portraits"

depict

varying

examples

of

conjugal

degeneration.

Even the

glimmer

of

hope

for

con

tentment

expressed by

the

first

gentleman

finds

no

confirmation

in

fact;

indeed,

his

interest

in

a

fourth

degree

of love

might

indicate

more

a

desire for

"calme,"

tranquility,

and

peace

than for love itself.

Yet such

a

state

of

serenity

proves

unrealized

for this

exclusively

masculine

group

of

narrators.

For

while the

first three

gentlemen

covet

precisely

what

they no longer possess, the fourth,having chanced upon someone he can

"admire"

or

esteem,

ultimately

rejects precisely

what

he

ostensibly

seeks.10

This

poem

thus reiterates

the

collection's

overall

depiction

of

the

impossibility

of

human

connectedness.

Nevertheless,

these

gentlemen

manage

to

ensnare

their

peers,

if

not

their

mistresses,

by

means

of

appealing

oratory.

Attempting

to

justify

their

actions

in

love,

they

make

use

of

tropes

and

figures.

The first

gentle

man

begins

with

association,

finding

common

ground

with his

confreres

by

asserting

the

universality

of his

situation.

He

commences:

"Tous les

hommes

[...]

ont eu

l'age

de Cherubin

[...]"

(1:

345).

He continues

by

describing

his

sage

Minerve

by

means

of antonomasia.

The

second

gentle

man

practices

allegory, asserting

that,

"Le

bonheur

est

venu

habiter

chez

moi,

et

je

ne

l'ai

pas

reconnu"

(1:

346).

The

third includes

equivocation

or

word-play

when

he

states:

"J'ai

plus

admire

ma

derniere

maitresse

que

vous

n'avez

pu,

je

crois,

hair

ou

aimer les

votres.

Et tout

le

monde






DE

NAVARRE'S

L'HEPTAMERON AND

BAUDELAIRE'S

LE

SPLEENDE PARIS

937

Tadmirait

autant

que

moi.

Quand

nous

entrions

dans

un

restaurant,

au

bout de

quelques

minutes,

chacun oubliait

de

manger pour

la

contem

pler"

(1: 347).

Additional

examples

of

hyperbole

("une

femme

qui

etait

bien la plus douce, la plus soumise et la plus devouee des creatures [...]"

[1:

346]),

irony

("Vous

donneriez la

bastonnade

a

ce mur

ou

a

ce

canape,

que

vous en

tireriez

plus

de

soupirs

que

n'en

tiraient

du sein

de

ma

maitresse les elans de Tamour

le

plus

forcene"

[1:

346])

and

circumlocu

tion

("Elle

mangeait,

machait,

broyait,

devorait,

engloutissait

[...]"

[1:

347])

amuse

and tantalize

the listeners.

The

rhetorical

sophistication

of

these humorous

anecdotes,

a

practice

shunned

by

L'Heptameron's

devisants,11

succeeds

in

removing

the dis

course

from

an arena

of

debate

and

dissension,

like

that

practiced

within

L'Heptameron,

to one of declamation. The

gentlemen's

use of seductive

language,

mesmerizing

their

listeners,

lulls their comrades

into

quiescent

receptiveness.

Consequently,

when

the

final

storyteller

confesses

to

the

murder of his

perfect

mistress,

his

companions

offer

little reaction.

Their

momentary

surprise

reflects

more

the

unexpectedness

of

the

story's

con

clusion

than

condemnation for the

crime.

In

their

silence

resonates

only

an

acknowledged inability,

"nerveux,"

"laches

et

legers"

that

they

are,

to

accomplish

such

an

act.

Depicting the imperfect nature of human experience, Baudelaire's

poems

function

much

as

the

perfect

mistress:

graphically

reflecting

their

society,

they

expose

its

many

blemishes. For these

gentlemen's

world is

characterized

by antagonism,

exemplified

by

the

hostile

first

mistress;

by

passive

acceptance,

witnessed

both

in

the

unresponsive

second

mistress

and

in

the

apparent

indifference

of

the first three

gentlemen

to

the

fourth's

confession

of

murder;

by

horrific

admiration?both

of

the

third,

ravenous

mistress and

of

the

fourth

gentleman's

ability

to

commit

such

a

crime

"quoique

suffisamment

expliquee

d'ailleurs"

(1:

349);

and

finally,

by violence and death.

What

then

defines the

generic

distinctions

between

the

two

examples

of

storytelling

considered

here?

One

notable

difference

seems

to

be

a

waning

sense

of

community.

Emphasis

on

the

group

and

relationship,

founding

the basis

for

Marguerite's

nouvelles,

dissipates

in

the

poeme

en

prose.

In

the

case

of

L'Heptameron

and Le

Spleen

de

Paris,

this

generic

trending

away

from

Other

appears

intricately

tied

to

their

forms.

For

while

Marguerite

undertakes

a

collective work of

100

interrelated

tales,12

Baudelaire

touts the

advantages

of

individual

"trongons",13

able

to

be

understood

and

appreciated

on

their

own.

With

regard

to

the

tales'

ultimate

arrangement,

L'Heptameron groups

them

thematically,

unifying

each

day

with

a

unique

topic.

The

ordering

of

Le

Spleen

de

Paris,

on

the

other

hand,

though

determined

by

the

poet,

remains

more

ambiguous.14

Unlike

L'Heptameron,

which

requires

an

understanding

of

the

narrators'

personalities

in

order

to

comprehend

the

global

meaning

of

the

work,






938

FRENCH

REVIEW

81.5

Baudelaire's

pieces

possess

meaning

both within and

outside of their col

lective

context.

No

narrative

thread

connects

these

pieces;

like the

poet,

they

stand alone.

Even the pretext forUHeptameron, a gathering of peers, dramatizes

social

intercourse.

Philippe

de

Lajarte

describes it

as

"un

processus

de

production

sociale fonde

sur

l'exchange"

(402).

This

characteristic is

not

surprising, given

that

community

literally

creates

the

conte,15

the

genre

from which framed narratives

emerge.

Canvassing

gossip

and the

dynamics

of

human

encounters,

L'Heptameron's

multiple storytellers

and

framed

narratives

manifest

a

celebration of

community

in

which

instruc

tion

and

amusement

intertwine

for the

participants'

mutual

benefit

and

health.

Conversely,

Le

Spleen

de Paris

generally

records the diverse obser

vations

of

a

sole

narrator

on

diverse

solitary figures.

The

rhetorical

priorities

of these collections further demonstrate this

evolution

toward

isolation.

Marguerite's

Heptameron

promotes

relation

ship

(between

men

and

women

in

Nouvelle

32),

while

Baudelaire's

Spleen

de Paris testifies

to

a

lack of human connectedness. From

the

structure

of

these collections

to

their

narration,

content,

and rhetorical

themes,

these

works

reveal

a

progressive

turning

away

from

others

to

focus

on

self.

The

sociologist

Robert

D. Putnam delineates

an

analogous

propensity

inmodern culture.

The dominant theme

is

simple:

For

the

first two-thirds of the twentieth

century

a

powerful

tide bore

Americans

into

ever

deeper

engagement

in

the

life of their

communities,

but

a

few decades

ago?silently,

without

warning?that

tide reversed

and

we were

overtaken

by

a

treacherous

rip

current.

Without

at

first

noticing,

we

have been

pulled

apart

from

one

another

and from

our

communities

over

the last

third

of

the

century.

(27)

Putnam

attributes this trend

in

part16

to

"Mobility

and

Sprawl"

combined

with "Pressures of

Time

and

Money"

(183-278),

factors

also

pertinent

in

Baudelaire's Paris.

Indeed,

and

as

highlighted

by

its

title,

Le

Spleen

de

Paris

features

the

bur

geoning

city,

while

appearing

to

offer

an

adverse

assessment

of

its effects

on

human

connectedness.

Chaos

("Le

Plaisant,"

"Le

Vieux

Saltimbanque"),

crowds

("Les

Foules,"

"Les

Veuves"),

noise

("A

une

heure du

matin,"

"Le

Mauvais

Vitrier"),

anonymity

("Perte

d'aureole"),

and mental

derangement

(^'Mademoiselle

Bistouri")

all

contribute

to

an

overwhelming

sense

of

isola

tion.

This

turning

inward

appears

to

alter

the

very

nature

of

storytelling.

Walter

Benjamin

bemoans

the

contemporary incapacity

"to

exchange

experiences"

(83).

He

explains,

"Experience

which is

passed

on

from

mouth

to

mouth

is

the

source

from

which all

storytellers

have

drawn"

(84),

trans

mitting

the "lore

of

the

past"

(85).

Interpreting storytelling's

demise

as

resulting

from

the

changing

nature

of

society, Benjamin

blames,

among

other

things,

economic

concerns

and violence17?issues

correlative

to

those

established

by

Putnam

as

factors

in

the

collapse

of

community

("Pressures






DE NAVARRE'S

L'HEPTAMERON

AND BAUDELAIRE'S

LE

SPLEENDE PARIS

939

of

Time

and

Money"

and

"Mobility

and

Sprawl,"

respectively).

According

to

Benjamin,

the

result

becomes

a

growing

reticence

on

the

part

of the tradi

tional

storyteller.

Lacking

suitable "communicable

experience,"

themodern

teller of tales prefers to remain silent.

Benjamin's

article

highlights

what

might

be another

generic

distinction

between

the Renaissance

nouvelle and

the

modern

poeme

en

prose.

For

Baudelaire's stories

generally

record,

not

the "lore of the

past,"

as

Ben

jamin

would

suppose,

but that of

the

present:

"la

chose

vue,"

the

guile

and

cunning

of the here-and-now. The

poet

notes

the

novelty

of

this revolu

tionary

thematic

change,

for

he takes

note

of

it

specifically

in

his letter

to

Arsene

Houssaye.

Instead of

finding

his

sources

in

history,

as

did

his

poetic predecessor,

Aloysius

Bertrand,

whose

poems

represent

"la

pein

ture de la vie

ancienne,"

Baudelaire discovers

inspiration,

"surtout de la

frequentation

des

villes enormes"

and thus

undertakes,

"la

description

de

la

vie

moderne"

(1: 275-76).

Baudelaire's collection

captures

the

broken,

transitory,

fragmentary

quality

of

the

modern world. These

poems

typify

the

more

violent

nature

of

experience

outlined

by

Benjamin,

for Baudelaire

records the

ruins

of

the

society

in

which

he lived.

The

poet

pens

such

illegal

acts

as

vagrancy

(f'L'Etr

anger"),

vandalism

("Le

Mauvais

Vitrier"),

assault

("La

Femme

sauvage et la petite-mattresse"), battery ("Assommons les pauvres "), and

even

murder

("Portraits

de

mattresses").

Unapologetically

confessing

to

and

even

advocating

the

perpetration

of

heinous

crimes,

Le

Spleen

de

Paris's tales bear

witness

to

the

"unspeakable."

The

poet's

version of

sto

rytelling

thus

conforms

story

to

the

nature

of

his

contemporaries'

experi

ence:

disconcerting

and

solitary.18

The

result

becomes

a

different kind of

story:

no

longer

asserting

"truth,"

no

longer

referring

to

historical

moments,

no

longer

naming

names

and

citing

sources.

The modern

story

gains

credibility

and

force

from

its

very

personal

character,

its

secretive

quality, and its resulting ability to relate personally and

secretively

to

each individual.

One

final

distinction between

these forms

appears

to

be

the

expanding

role

granted

to

the reader.

For

although

expected

to

recognize

the

jaded

perspective

of

the

gaulois

and

the

godly

wisdom of

Oisille

in

L'Hep

tameron,

Marguerite's

reader need

not

make

the

extended and

inexplicit

connections

required

of

the

reader

of

Le

Spleen

de

Paris.

For,

according

to

the

information

gleaned

from

L'Heptameron's

tales,

the

devisants

drama

tize

pertinent

discussions for

the

reader within

the

text

itself.

They

take

deliberate and

appropriate

action?whether

in

the

form

of

interpreting

the

tales

or

pursuing

moral

edification.

Baudelaire's

multiple

narrators,

provocative positions

and

absence

of

debates,

on

the

contrary,

oblige

the

reader

to

develop

a

personal

explanation,

evaluation,

and

ultimate

re

sponse.

Comprehending

the

story's

import requires

his

or

her

active

intellectual

participation.19






940

FRENCH

REVIEW 81.5

In

an

ironic

twist,

this makes

the

relationship

between the

reader

and

the

poet-narrator

of

Baudelaire's

poems

a

more

authentic demonstration

of

connectedness than

the

artificially-instituted

group

of fictional

peers

depicted

in

Marguerite's

collection. For the reader of

UHeptameron

can

witness the

intrigues

and discussions

of

the

nouvelles

only

third-hand.

An

extradiegetic

participant

to

the

storytelling,

s/he

cannot

debate with

the

devisants

the

appropriateness

of

the husband's

response

toward his wife

in

Nouvelle

32.

Instead,

s/he

must

read

on,

and

by

so

doing, implicitly

embrace

the

conclusions

as

espoused by

the

Queen's

diegetic

narrators.

Alternatively,

Baudelaire's

more

condensed

forme

breve

moderne

intro

duces

new,

unexpected

actors

into

the

storytelling

event:

silence

and the

white

page.20

Baudelaire's

poems provoke

an

echo of

emotion

on

the

part

of the

reader

by

means

of

their

elliptical

character.

For it

is the

reader

who

must

ultimately

participate

in

the

story's

construction,

building

it

from

the ruins assembled

by

the

poet.

This

is

the

feat of Baudelaire's

poemes

en

prose.

Concentrating

narrative into

its

sparest

parts,

these

poems

compel

the intellectual and emotional

engagement

of

the reader

himself.

Extending

Peter Brooks's

assertion

that

plot

is

fueled

by

the

reader's

desire

to

know

a

story's

conclusion,

I

would

suggest

that Bau

delaire's

minimalist

genre

realizes its consummation

through

the

read

er's desire to understand.

Consequently,

Le

Spleen

de

Paris's

community

is

interdiegetic.

Not

established

by

chance

plague

or

flood,

it

represents

the

conscience and

deliberate decision

of

the

reader

to

engage

the

text: to

decipher

its

mean

ing,

to

make

important

connections,

and

to

synthesize

the

"trongons"

in

order

to

comprehend

the

whole.

In

so

doing,

Le

Spleen

de Paris's

reader

becomes

a

fellow

wanderer,

a

fraternal

investigator,

an

intimate

confi

dante

of the

poet

himself.

What then seemed

a

waning

sense

of

community

within the modern

story

ultimately

turns into the creation of a new

community,

one tran

scending

paper

and

binding.

Baudelaire's

Le

Spleen

de

Paris,

symbolic

of

other modern

minimalist

texts,

throws

open

the

proverbial

doors

of

the

previously

select

narrative

circle,

extending

outward

the

storytelling

community

to

include the

reader?past,

present,

and future.

Inaugurat

ing

the

aesthetic

of

the

fragment,

of

possibility,

and

of

brevity,

these

ruins

of

story

at

last enable

the

poet

to

achieve

a

unique

brand

of

com

munion with his

audience,

one

that

remains unrealized

within

the

in

trigues of his collection. The modern storytelling community unites

not

protagonists

but author

with

reader.

Though

no

longer

literally

attain

able

in

themodern

world,

virtual

human

connection becomes

the

conse

quence

of

storytelling

itself.

Whitworth

University

(WA)






DE

NAVARRE'S

L'HEPTAMERON

AND

BAUDELAIRE'S

LE SPLEEN

DE PARIS

941

Notes

'The

versified

French

conte

of

the

seventeenth

century

(La

Fontaine)

evolves,

in

the

eigh

teenth, into the genre

of

the

fairy

tale

(Perrault)

as

well

as

that of satiric

philosophical

inves

tigation

(Voltaire),

while

contemporary francophone

contes return to

traditional oral

storytelling

for their

inspiration.

2The

origins

of

this

topos

of

cuckoldry

date

minimally

back

to

the

"Story

of

King

Shahryar

and

His

Brother,"

establishing

the

basis for One

Thousand

Nights

and

a

Night

of

sto

rytelling

by

the

ingenuous

Sheherazade.

Marie de

France's

Lais and the medieval

fabliaux

are

earlier

examples

in

the French

tradition.

The

treachery

of

unfaithful

wives

continues

to

provide

material

formodern

narratives,

as seen

in

such

poems

as

Baudelaire's

"Portraits

de

mattresses" and

"Deja "

3The devisants

occasionally

simulate the

truthfulness of their

tales

by

altering

the

names

of

their

protagonists

when

announcing

them

would

prove

indiscreet.

Parlamente's

prelimi

nary

remarks

to

Nouvelle

10

provide

an

example

of this. She

explains:

Et combien

que

je

ne

l'aie

vue,

si

m'a-t-elle

ete

racontee

par

un

de

mes

plus

grands

et

entiers

amis,

a

la

louange

de

l'homme

du monde

qu'il

avait

le

plus

aime.

Et

me

conjura

que,

si

jamais je

venais

a

la

raconter,

je

voulusse

changer

le

nom

des

personnes;

parquoi

tout

cela

est

veritable,

hormis les

noms,

les

lieux

et

le

pays.

(Navarre

94)

4Baudelaire

portrays

many

types,

including

such

personages

as

"UEtranger,"

"[...]

la

vieille,"

"Le Fou

[...],"

"La Femme

sauvage

et

la

petite

maitresse,"

"Les

Veuves,"

and "Le Vieux

Saltimbanque."

Although

possessing

a

proper

name,

"Mademoiselle

Bistouri,"

translated

"Miss

Scalpel,"

also

represents

a

caricature,

that of

a

surgical

enthusiast.

5Unlike

my

adaptation

here

adjusted

for

readability,

the

poem

formulates

this

statement

in the first

person

plural:

"Nous avons fortement vecu et nous cherchons ce

que

nous

pour

rions

aimer

et

estimer"

(1: 345).

Tndeed,

ennui

provides

one

impetus

of

artistic creation

for

the

poet

himself.

7I

here

adopt

the

terminology

proposed

by

Frangois

Cornilliat

and

Ulrich

Langer

in

their

article of the

same

name.

8The wife

of Nouvelle 32

exemplifies

contrition and

humility

in

matters of love.

Additional

examples

appear

in

L'Heptameron's

Nouvelles

5,

22,

33, 41,

and 50.

The

significance

of this

physical

description

might

be

partially

attributed

to

the nine

teenth

century's

interest

in

phrenology.

,0This

statement is

based

upon

the initial character evaluation

performed

by

the

meta

narrator at the beginning of the tale. See note 5, above.

"The

Queen's

storytellers

shun

the

artifices of the rhetor

in

their

own

milieu.

Parlamente

announces

the

procedure

to

be followed

by

the

devisants,

the

one

established

by

the

King

himself.

She

explains:

Et

promirent

lesdites

dames,

et

monseigeur

le

Dauphin

avec,

d'en

faire chacun

dix,

et

d'assembler

jusqu'a

dix

personnes

qu'ils

pensaient plus

dignes

de raconter

quelque-chose,

sauf

ceux

qui

avaient etudie

et

etaient

gens

de lettres:

car

monseigneur

le

Dauphin

ne

voulait

que

leur art

y

fut

mele,

et

aussi de

peur

que

la

beaute

de

la

rhetorique

y

hit

tort

en

quleque partie

a

la

verite

de

l'histoire.

(48)

Tropes

and

figures

detract

from the "truth" of the

stories,

while

a

tale's

import

lies

in

the

story

itself.

12The

ueen's

death

precluded

L'Heptameron's

completion;

the

resulting

work

includes

72

finished tales.

13The

poet

initially

sent

nine

poems

to

his

editor,

Arsene

Houssaye,

along

with

the letter

that

now

precedes

the

collection.

Baudelaire

takes this

opportunity

to

highlight

the

com

mercially

versatile

nature

of

the individual

pieces.

He

writes:

Considerez,

je

vous

prie, quelles

admirables commodites

cette

combinaison

nous

offre

a

tous,

a

vous,

a

moi

et

au

lecteur. Nous

pouvons couper

ou

nous

voulons,

moi

ma

reverie,






942

FRENCH REVIEW

81.5

vous

le

manuscrit,

le lecteur

sa

lecture

[...].

Enlevez

une

vertebre,

et

les deux

morceaux

de

cette tortueuse

fantaisie

se

rejoindront

sans

peine.

Hachez-la

en

nombreux

fragments,

et

vous

verrez

que

chacun

peut

exister

a

part.

(1:

275)

14Although

Baudelaire's

collection

reflects

the

order

established

by

the

poet,

no

logical

progression

has

yet

been discovered to

explain

this

ordering.

Margery

Evans finds

that,

"As

a

mobile

work,

a

work

whose

parts

may

be read

out

of

sequence,

Le

Spleen

de Paris

pushes

towards

an

ideal

of

non-linearity"

(155).

15For

more

on

the

conte,

see

Pierre Leon

and Paul

Perron,

eds.

Henry Schogt explains

the

resulting

problematic

literary

status of this

form

(mise

a

Vecrit),

"[It

is]

not

quite

clear

whether

'le conte7 becomes

a

'conte'

by

virtue

of

being

correctly

received

[.

.

.]:

is the

text

only

created

by

the

response

from

the

reader,

or

is

there

a

text

beforehand?"

(65).

16Putnam also cites

generational

changes,

television

and

electronic

media

as

contributing

to

a

collapse

in

the

American

community.

17Benjamin

cites

war

in

particular

as

contributing

to

the demise

of

the

story

(84).

18Although Marguerite de Navarre must have, likewise, found itdisconcerting to support

reform of

the

Church

in

an

era

of

growing religious

intolerance,

she

was

not alone

in

the

sense

depicted by

Baudelaire's

poems.

Indeed,

many

like-minded

thinkers

found

haven

and

protection

in

her

kingdom

of

Navarre.

"Margery

Evans elaborates

on

this

participatory

role

required

of the

reader

of

Le

Spleen

de

Paris.

The

unstable

structure

of the

collection,

and

the

absence

of

any

continuous

narrative thread

linking

the

different

poems,

encourages

the

reading

of

a

given

element

to

benefit

from

an

effect

of inner-reflection

or

collaboration

with other

elements

in the

whole

[...].

At

the

same

time,

it

implies

a

radically

modern

view

of the

readers' role

and

of the

degree

of control

exercised

by

the

poet

over

his

product.

Because of

its

mobile

structure

it is

a

work

[.

.

.]

which actively encourages the reader toparticipate in its creation by perceiving patterns and

associations

within

the

text,

in

the

same

way

that

Baudelaire

describes

the

poet

in

his article

on

Hugo

as

actively

discerning

the

correspondences

in

nature.

(9)

Evans concludes:

"[the]

dynamic

openness

of Baudelaire's

text

[signals]

the

opportunity

for

creative

participation

which

it

offers

its

readership"

(159).

20Jeanne

Demers

explains

the

benefits

of

the minimalist

text

in

this

way:

Dans

l'importance

enfin

accordee

au

blanc,

done

au

silence,

qui

contribue

a sa

cloture,

le detache

du

contexte

et

en

constitue

comme

une

sorte

d'echo

porteur

de

reflexion

et

d'emotions.

[...]

Plus

[le

lecteur]

est

appele

a

questionner

le

texte

qu'il

suit,

plus

il

le

desire

[...].

(269-70)

Works

Cited

Baudelaire,

Charles.

CEuvres

completes.

Ed. Claude

Pichois.

2

vols.

Paris:

Gallimard,

1975.

Benjamin,

Walter.

"The

Storyteller:

Reflections

on

the

Works of

Nikolai

Leskov." Illumina

tions:

Walter

Benjamin,

Essays

and

Reflections.

Ed.

Hannah

Arendt.

New York:

Harcourt,

1968.83-109.

Bernard,

Suzanne.

Le

Poeme

en

prose

de

Baudelaire

jusqu'a

nos

jours.

Paris:

Nizet,

1959.

Brooks,

Peter.

Reading

for

the

Plot:

Design

and

Intention

in

Narrative.

1984.

Cambridge:

Harvard

UP,

1992.

Burton,

Richard.

Selections

from

The

Arabian

Nights.

New

York: De

Luxe,

n.d.

Cornilliat,

Francois,

and

Ulrich

Langer.

"Naked

Narrator:

Heptameron

62."

Critical

Tales:

New

Studies

of

the

Heptameron

and

Early

Modern

Culture.

Ed.

lohn

D.

Lyons

and

Mary

B.

McKinley.

Philadelphia:

U

of

Penn

P,

1993.123-45.

Demers,

leanne.

"Forme

breve

et

conception

du

monde

ou

De

la

forme

breve

a

la brievete

lit

teraire."

La Licorne

21

(1991):

263-72.

Evans,

Margery

A.

Baudelaire

and

Intertertextuality:

Poetry

at the

Crossroads.

Cambridge:

Cambridge

UP,

1993.






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Heptameron M. Od Navare i Cveće Zla