A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2

by George Saintsbury

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER I

  PAGE

  MADAME DE STAEL AND CHATEAUBRIAND 1

  Reasons for beginning with Mme. de Stael--_Delphine_--Thetone--The story--_Corinne_--Its improved conditions--Anillustrated edition of it--The story--The character ofNelvil--And the book's absurdities--Compensations: Corinneherself--Nelvil again--Its aesthetics--The author's positionin the History of the Novel--Chateaubriand: his peculiarposition as a novelist--And the remarkable interconnectionof his works in fiction--_Atala_--_Rene_--Difference betweenits importance and its merit--_Les Natchez_--_LesMartyrs_--The story--Its "panoramic" quality--And itsremarkable advance in style--Chateaubriand's Janus-positionin this--Illustrated.

  CHAPTER II

  PAUL DE KOCK, OTHER MINORS OF 1800-1830, AND NODIER 39

  The fate of popular minor novelists--Examples ofthem--Paul de Kock--_L'Enfant de ma Femme_--_Petits Tableauxde Moeurs_--_Gustave_--The caricatured _Anglais_--_Edmond etsa Cousine_--_Andre le Savoyard_--_Jean_--_La Femme_, _leMari et l'Amant_--_Mon Voisin Raymond_--_Le Barbier deParis_--The Pauline grisette--Others--The minors before1830--Mme. de Montolieu: _Caroline de Lichtfield_--Itsadvance on "Sensibility"--Madame de Genlis _iterum_--Theminor popular novel--Ducray-Duminil: _Le PetitCarillonneur_--V. Ducange--_L'Artiste et leSoldat_--_Ludovica_--Auguste Ricard: _L'Ouvreuse deLoges_--The importance of these minors notinconsiderable--The Vicomte d'Arlincourt: _LeSolitaire_--Nodier--His short stories--_Trilby_--_Le Songed'Or_--The minors--_La Fee aux Miettes_--_Smarra_ and _SoeurBeatrix_--_Ines de las Sierras_--Nodier's special quality.

  CHAPTER III

  VICTOR HUGO 96

  Limitations--_Han d'Islande_--_Bug-Jargal_--_Le Dernier Jourd'un Condamne_--_Claude Gueux_--_Notre-Dame de Paris_--Thestory easy to anticipate--Importance of the actual_title_--The working out of the one under the other--Thestory recovers itself latterly--But the characters?--Thethirty years' interval--_Les Miserables_--_Les Travailleursde la Mer_--The _genius loci_--Guernsey at thetime--_L'Homme Qui Rit_--_Quatre-Vingt-Treize_--Finalremarks.

  CHAPTER IV

  BEYLE AND BALZAC 133

  Beyle: his peculiarity--_Armance_--_La Chartreuse deParme_--The Waterloo episode--The subject and generalcolour--_L'Abbesse de Castro_, etc.--_Le Rouge et leNoir_--Beyle's masterpiece, and why--Julien Sorel andMathilde de la Mole--The resuscitated work: _Lamiel_--The_Nouvelles Inedites_--_Le Chasseur Vert_--Beyle's place inthe story--Balzac: conditions of the presentdealing--Limitations of subject--And of Balzachimself--Balzac's "general ideas"--Abstinence fromabstract--The _Oeuvres de Jeunesse_--_Les Chouans_--_La Peaude Chagrin_--The short stories--The _ContesDrolatiques_--Notes on select larger books: _EugenieGrandet_--_Le Pere Goriot_ and _Les ParentsPauvres_--Others: the general "scenic"division--"Balzacity": its constitution--Its effect onsuccessors--And its own character--The "occult" element--Itsaction and reaction--Peculiarity of the conversation--And ofthe "story" interest.

  CHAPTER V

  GEORGE SAND 176

  George Sand: generalities about her--Note on _Elle etLui_, etc., and on _Un Hiver a Majorque_--Phases of herwork--_Indiana_--_Valentine_--_Lelia_--The moral of thegroup and its tragi-comedy--_Consuelo_--Much better inparts--The degeneration--Recovery; but not maintained quiteto the end--_La Comtesse de Rudolstadt_--The "making good"of _Lucrezia Floriani_--The story--Its balance of power--The"Idylls": _La Petite Fadette_--_La Mare auDiable_--_Francois le Champi_--Others: _Mauprat_--_LaDaniella_--_Les Beaux Messieurs de Bois-Dore_--_Le Marquisde Villemer_--_Mlle. La Quintinie_--_Flamarande_--Summaryand judgment--Style--Conversation and description.

  CHAPTER VI

  THE NOVEL OF STYLE--GAUTIER, MERIMEE, GERARD DE NERVAL,MUSSET, VIGNY 208

  Gautier: his burden of "style"--Abstract (with translations)of _La Morte Amoureuse_--Criticism thereof--A parallel frompainting--The reality--And the passion of it--Other shortstories--Gautier's humour: _Les Jeune-France_--Return to_Fortunio_--And others--Longer books: _Le CapitaineFracasse_ and others--_Mlle. DeMaupin_--Merimee--Carmen--_Colomba_--Its smaller companions:_Mateo Falcone_, etc.--Those of _Carmen_; _ArseneGuillot_--And _L'Abbe Aubain_--_La Prise de la Redoute_--The_Dernieres Nouvelles_; _Il Viccolo di MadamaLucrezia_--_Djoumane_--_Lokis_--_La Chambre Bleue_--The_Chronique de Charles IX_--The semi-dramatic stories: _LaJacquerie_--_Le Carrosse du Saint-Sacrement_, etc.--Musset:charm of his dramatised stories; his pure narrationunsuccessful--_Frederic et Bernerette_--_Les DeuxMaitresses_, _Le Fils du Titien_, etc.--_Emmeline_--Gerardde Nerval: his peculiar position--_La Boheme Galante_, _LesFilles du Feu_, and _Le Reve et la Vie_--Their generalcharacter--Particular examples--_Aurelia_--And especially_Sylvie_--Alfred de Vigny: _Cinq-Mars_--The faults in itsgeneral scheme--And in its details--_Stello_ less of anovel, but containing better novel-stuff--Its framework and"anecdotes"--The death of Gilbert--The satiric episode:contrast--The Chatterton part--The tragedy of AndreChenier--_Servitude et Grandeur Militaires_--The firststory--The second--and third--The moral of the three--Noteon Fromentin's _Dominique_: its altogether exceptionalcharacter.

  CHAPTER VII

  THE MINORS OF 1830 281

  Sainte-Beuve: _Volupte_--Its "puff-book"--Itself--Itscharacter in various aspects--Jules Sandeau and Charles deBernard--Sandeau's work--Bernard's--Sue, Soulie, and thenovel of melodrama: _Le Juif Errant_, etc.--Melodramaticfiction generally--_Le Chateau des Pyrenees_--_Les Memoiresdu Diable_--Later writers and writings of theclass--Murger--The _Vie de Boheme_--_Les Buveurs d'Eau_ andthe Miscellanies--Reybaud: _Jerome Paturot_, and Thackerayon its earlier part--The windfall of Malvina--The differenceof the Second Part--Not much of a novel--But an invaluabledocument--Mery--_Les Nuits Anglaises_--The minorstories--_Histoire d'une Colline_--The "Manchester"article--Karr--Roger de Beauvoir: _Les Cabaret desMorts_--Ourliac: _Contes du Bocage_--Achard--Souvestre,Feval, etc.--Borel's _Champavert_.

  CHAPTER VIII

  DUMAS THE ELDER 323

  The case of Dumas--Charge anddischarge--Morality--Plagiarism and devilling--Thecollaborators?--The positive value as fiction and asliterature of the books: the less worthy works--Theworthier: treatment of them not so much individually asunder heads--His attitude to plot--To character--Todescription (and "style")--To conversation.

  CHAPTER IX

  THE FRENCH NOVEL IN 1850 343

  The peculiarity of the moment--A political nadir--And almosta literary zenith--The performance of the time in novel--The_personnel_--The kinds: the historical novel--Appearance ofnew classes: the historical--Other kinds and classes--TheNovel of Romanticism generally--The "ordinary"--Discussionon a point of general novel criticism.

  CHAPTER X

  DUMAS THE YOUNGER 365

  Division of future subjects--A confession--His generalcharacter--_La Dame aux Camelias_--_Tristan leRoux_--_Antonine_--_La Vie a Vingt Ans_--_Aventures deQuatre Femmes_--_Trois Hommes Forts_--_Diane deLys_--Shorter stories: _Une Loge a Camille_--_Le DocteurServans_--_Le Roman d'une Femme_--The habit of quickening upat the end--_Contes etNouvelles_--_Ilka_--_Revenants_--_SophiePrintemps_--_Affaire Clemenceau_--Story of it--Criticism ofit and of its author's work generally--Note on Dumas _fils'_drama, etc.--Reflections.

  CHAPTER XI

  GUSTAVE FLAUBERT 397

  The contrast of Flaubert and Dumas _fils_--Some formerdealings with him--His style--The books: _MadameBovary_--_Salammbo_--_L'Education Sentimentale_--_LaTentation de Saint-Antoine_--_Trois Contes_--_Bouvard etPecuchet_--General considerations.

  CHAPTER XII

  THE OTHER "NON-NATURALS" OF THE SECOND EM
PIRE 414

  Feuillet--His novels generally--Brief notes on some: _LeRoman d'un jeune homme pauvre_--_M. de Camors_--Otherbooks--_La Petite Comtesse_--_Julia de Trecoeur_--_Honneurd'Artiste_--_La Morte_--Misters the assassins--AlphonseDaudet and his curious position--His "personality"--Hisbooks from this point of view and others--His"plagiarisms"--His merits--About: _Le Roi desMontagnes_--_Tolla_--_Germaine_--_Madelon_--_Maitre Pierre_,etc.--Summing up--Ponson du Terrail and Gaboriau--The first:his general character--The second--_L'AffaireLerouge_--Feydeau: _Sylvie_--_Fanny_--Others:_Daniel_--Droz--_Mr., Mme. et Bebe_ and _EntreNous_--Cherbuliez--His general characteristics--Short surveyof his books--Three eccentrics--Leon Cladel: _LesVa-nu-pieds_, etc.--Barbey d'Aurevilly: his criticism ofnovels--His novels themselves: _Les Diaboliques_ andothers--His merits--And defects--Especially as shown in_L'Ensorcelee_--Champfleury--_Les Excentriques_.

  CHAPTER XIII

  NATURALISM--THE GONCOURTS, ZOLA, AND MAUPASSANT 459

  The beginnings--"Les deux Goncourts"--Their work--Thenovels--_Germinie Lacerteux_ and _Cherie_ taken asspecimens--The impression produced by them--The rottennessof their theory--And the unattractiveness of theirstyle--Emile Zola to be treated differently--Some points inhis personality: literary and other--The Pillars ofNaturalism--"Document" and "detail" beforeNaturalism--General stages traced--Some individual pioneers;especially Hugo--Survey of books: the short stories--"LesRougon-Macquart"--"Les Trois Villes"--"Les QuatreEvangiles"--General considerations--Especially in regard tocharacter--[Maupassant]--_Bel-Ami_--_Une Vie_--_Fort commela Mort_--_Pierre et Jean_--_Notre Coeur_--_Les Dimanches_,etc.--_Yvette_--Short stories: the variouscollections--Classes: stories of 1870-71--Normanstories--Algerian and Sporting--Purely comic--Tragic--Talesof Life's Irony--Oddments--Generalconsiderations--Huysmans--Belot and others.

  CHAPTER XIV

  OTHER NOVELISTS OF 1870-1900 518

  The last stage--Ferdinand Fabre--_L'Abbe Tigrane_--_Norine_,etc.--_Le Marquis de Pierrerue_--_Mon OncleCelestin_--_Lucifer_--_Sylviane_ and_Taillevent_--_Toussaint Galabru_--AndreTheuriet--_Sauvageonne_--_Le Fils Maugars_--_Le Don Juan deVireloup_ and _Raymonde_--General characteristics--GeorgesOhnet--_Serge Panine_--_Le Maitre de Forges_--_Le DocteurRameau_--_La Grande Marniere_--Reflections--Edouard Rod--_LaVie Privee de Michel Teissier_--_La Sacrifiee_--Note on _LaSeconde Vie de M. T._--_Le Silence_--_La-Haut_--_La Course ala Mort_--_Le Menage du Pasteur Naudie_--_MademoiselleAnnette_--_L'Eau Courante_--_Scenes de la VieCosmopolite_--Catulle Mendes.

  CONCLUSION 556

  APPENDIX 571

  INDEX 577