Journey to the End of the Night

by Louis-Ferdinand Celine

  My friends had been looking for me for at least an hour. Especially because they’d noticed that I wasn’t in very good shape when I left them … Gustave Mandamour was the first to sight me under my gas lamp. “Hey, doctor!” he shouted. Mandamour, I can assure you, had some voice! “This way! They want you at the police station. They want your deposition. —You know, doctor,” he added, but now he was whispering in my ear, “you’re not looking well.” He walked beside me, in fact he held me up. Gustave was fond of me. I never found fault with him for his drinking. I was full of understanding. Whereas Parapine was rather severe and sometimes made him feel ashamed of himself for drinking so much. Gustave would have done practically anything for me. He admired me in fact. He told me so. He didn’t know why. Neither did I. But he admired me. He was the only one.

  We went down two or three streets together until we saw the lantern outside the police station. After that you couldn’t go wrong. Gustave was worrying about the report he’d have to write. He didn’t dare tell me so. He’d already made everyone sign at the bottom, but a lot of things were still missing from his report.

  Gustave had a big head. Like me. I could actually wear his kepi, which goes to show, but he tended to forget details. Ideas didn’t come easy to him, it cost him a struggle to speak and even more to write. Parapine would have been glad to help him write his report, but he hadn’t seen the crime, he didn’t know the circumstances. He’d have had to invent, and the inspector didn’t want any inventions in his reports, he wanted nothing but the truth, so he said.

  Climbing the stairway at the police station, I was shivering. I couldn’t tell the inspector much either. I really wasn’t feeling so good.

  They’d put Robinson’s body down beside the rows of big filing cabinets.

  All around the benches the floor was littered with printed matter and cigarette butts. On the wall the inscription “Fuck the Fuzz” was only partly erased.

  “Did you get lost, doctor?” the secretary asked me, quite amiably I must say, when I finally got there. We were all so tired we couldn’t really talk straight.

  Finally we were agreed about the phrasing and the trajectory of the bullets, one of which was still embedded in the spinal column. It hadn’t been found. He’d be buried with it. They looked for the other bullets. The other bullets were embedded in the wall of the taxi. It was a powerful revolver.

  Sophie came and joined us. She’d gone back for my overcoat. She kissed me and pressed me close to her, as if I were going to die too or fly away. “I’m not going away,” I kept saying. “Be reasonable, Sophie, I’m not going away.” Nothing I said could set her mind at rest.

  Standing around the stretcher, we chewed the fat with the inspector’s secretary, who’d seen worse in his time, crimes and noncrimes and disasters, and he wanted to tell us about all his experiences in one breath. We didn’t dare leave for fear of offending him. He was so affable. It gave him pleasure to be talking with educated people for a change instead of thugs. We didn’t want to hurt his feelings, so we hung around.

  Parapine had no raincoat. Listening to us lulled Gustave’s mind. His mouth hung open, and his thick neck was thrust out as if he was pulling a hand cart. I hadn’t heard Parapine pour out so many words for many years, not since my student days, to tell the truth. All the things that had happened that day went to his head. But we decided to go home all the same.

  We took Mandamour with us and Sophie too. Now and then she gave me a hug, her body was filled with the strength of worry and tenderness, and so was her heart. Her strength was all over her, it was wonderful. I, too, was full of her strength. That bothered me … it wasn’t mine, and it was my own I’d need if I were to go and die magnificently one day, like Léon. I had no time to waste on grimaces. To work! I said to myself. But nothing came of it.

  She even wanted me to go back and look at the corpse again. So I left without turning around. A sign said: “Close the door.” Parapine was thirsty. From talking, no doubt. From talking too much for him. Passing the bistrot by the canal, we knocked on the shutters for a while. It made me think of the road to Noirceur during the war. The same little light over the door, on the point of going out. Finally the owner in person came and opened. He hadn’t heard anything. We told him all the news, ending up with the murder. “A crime of passion!” Gustave called it.

  The bar opened just before dawn for the benefit of the bargemen. As the night draws to an end, the locks open slowly. And then the whole countryside comes to life and starts to work. Slowly the banks break away from the river and rise up on both sides. Work emerges from the darkness. You begin to see it again, all very simple and hard. Over here the winches, over there the fences around the work sites, and far away on the road men are coming from still farther away. In small chilled groups they move into the murky light. For a starter they splatter their faces with daylight as they walk past the dawn. All you can see of them is their pale, simple faces … the rest still belongs to the night. They, too, will all have to die some day. How will they go about it?

  They move toward the bridge. Then little by little they vanish across the plain, and other men come along, paler and paler as the light rises all around them. What are they thinking about?

  The owner of the bar wanted to know all about the tragedy. He wanted us to tell him everything.

  Vaudescal was the owner’s name; he was from the North and very clean.

  Gustave gave him an earful.

  Gustave kept chewing over the details. But that wasn’t the essential, again we were losing ourselves in words. Besides, he was drunk and kept starting all over from the beginning. But there really wasn’t any more to say, nothing at all. Even so, I’d have listened to him for a while yet, quietly half asleep, but the others started contradicting him and that made him mad.

  In his rage he clouted the little stove. The whole thing collapsed and turned over: the stovepipe, the grate, the glowing coals. Mandamour was as strong as an ox.

  To make matters worse he wanted to show us the genuine Fire Dance. He wanted to take off his shoes and prance around on the coals.

  There had been some bad blood between Gustave and the bar owner about a slot machine that hadn’t been licensed … Vaudescal was a snake in the grass. You couldn’t trust him. His shirts were too clean for him to be really honest. He was vindictive and he was a stool pigeon. The riverbanks are full of that kind.

  Parapine suspected that he was laying for Mandamour, hoping to take advantage of his drunkenness and get him fired.

  Parapine had stopped him from doing his Fire Dance and made him feel ashamed. We pushed Mandamour to the end of the table. There he finally collapsed, as quiet as a mouse, amid Gargantuan sighs and smells. And fell asleep.

  Far in the distance the tugboat whistled; its call passed the bridge, one more arch, then another, the lock, another bridge, farther and farther … It was summoning all the barges on the river, every last one, and the whole city and the sky and the countryside, and ourselves, to carry us all away, the Seine too —and that would be the end of us.

  Glossary

  Glossed words in the text are indicated by asterisks throughout.

  vii Littré. Emile Littré (1801-81), French lexicographer. His Dictionnaire de la langue frangais enjoys the prestige of Webster in the United States and of the Oxford English Dictionary in England.

  2 Sarabbath . A combination of witches’ sabbath and saraband.

  3 Ganate. Probably derived from ganache , meaning “blockhead.”

  3 Poincaré . Raymond Poincaré (1860-1934). Then President of France, a largely ceremonial office at the time.

  3 Le Temps . A daily newspaper. Regarded as the semi official organ of the Third Republic. Liberal in tendency. Became rightist after the First World War.

  8 Déroulède . Paul Deroulede (1847-1914). Writer and politician. Extreme nationalist, supporter of General Boulanger and founder of the League of Patriots.

  9 General des Entra
yes. Entrayes derives from en-trailles , “entrails.” (Old Blood and Guts.) As will be seen later on, his first name was Celadon, which suggests a languishing lover.

  11 Belisarius . Byzantine general (500-65). According to the legend, he was blinded by order of Emperor Justinian. Numerous paintings show him as a beggar, holding out his reversed helmet for alms.

  14 Fragson . Popular cabaret singer early in the century.

  15 Kerdoncuff. Ker = “house” in the Breton language. The name suggests a Breton yokel. “Doncuff” seems to be a transliteration of the German Dummkopf —jughead.

  16 Major Ping on. Pinçon = louse in argot, but Céline probably had in mind the expression “gai comme un pingon ’’—merry as a louse.

  17 Barbigny. Connected no doubt with “barbant,” “barbe,” meaning “boring,” “annoying.”

  24 Lieutenant de Sainte-Engeance. “La sainte engeance” means roughly “the no-good crew.”

  28 Noirceur-sur-la-Lys. The Lys River is partly in Belgium and partly in northern France. The word lys = “lily.” In French as in English lilies are proverbially white. Noirceur = blackness.

  41 Hôtel Paritz . A combination of Paris and Ritz.

  42 Boston 1677. This is typical of Céline’s cavalier treatment of history. He was well aware that the Mayflower landed neither in Boston nor in 1677.

  45 Madelon, viens. “Madelon, come.” An allusion to the words “Quand Madelon vient nous servir a boire …” (“When Madelon comes and serves us drinks …”), from the popular First World War song.

  57 Carnot. Lazare Carnot (1753-1823). Statesman and general. Member of the Convention and of the Committee of Public Safety under the French Revolution. Surnamed “Organizer of Victory” for his work in organizing and directing the Revolutionary armies.

  57 Dumouriez . Charles-Frangois Dumouriez (1739— 1823). Went over to the Revolution and in collaboration with Kellermann won the battle of Valmy against the Prussians in 1792. In the following year he was defeated at Neerwinden and denounced to the National Assembly as a traitor. Whereupon he deserted to the Austrians.

  57 Goethe . Goethe was indeed present at the battle of Valmy, and Céline’s quotation is reasonably accurate.

  57 Barris . Maurice Barres (1862-1923). Writer and politician. Extreme French nationalist, obsessed by the German menace.

  57 Elsa the Horsewoman. Elsa la Cavaliere , the title of a novel by Pierre MacOrlan (1882-1970). A slight anachronism because the novel did not appear until 1921.

  59 Madame Herote. From erotique— “erotic.”

  59 Impasse des Bérésinas. This street figures prominently in Death on the Installment Plan and is no doubt the Passage Choiseul, where Céline grew up.

  61 Pont d’Auteuil . Céline’s geography is as free and easy as his history, though he knew Paris like the back of his hand. Both extremities of the wide end of the wedge are slightly displaced, the one linguistically, the other geographically. Pont d’Auteuil should be Porte d’Auteuil, which is far away, and Porte des Ternes should be Porte Maillot, which isn’t far at all. Then you get the eastern edge of the Bois de Boulogne, hence the trees.

  63 Petain. Philippe Petain (1856-1961), general. Took part in the battle of the Marne. Commanded victorious French troops at Verdun. Made commander-in-chief of the French armies in 1916 and created a marshal of France in 1918. After French defeat in World War II became premier of unoccupied France. Tried and sentenced to death in 1945. Sentence commuted to life imprisonment by de Gaulle.

  63 Variétés . Theatre des Variétés, a theater in Montmartre devoted chiefly to operettas and light comedies. Several of Offenbach’s operas were performed there.

  65 Pont de Grenelle . The bridge with the Métro on it is not the Pont de Grenelle but the next one in a northwesterly direction, the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, then called the Pont de Passy.

  66 Claude Lorrain . Claude Gellee, known as le Lorrain (1600-82). French landscape painter who spent most of his life in Rome.

  70 Val-de-Grace . A former abbey, converted into a military hospital in 1795.

  74 Père Birouette. From hiroute , a familiar term for the male sex organ.

  75 Sergeant Branledore. From branler , to masturbate.

  77 Vandesquin . Probably fictitous.

  77 Dupre . Ernest Dupr6 (1862-1921). An eminent specialist in neurology and psychiatry.

  77 Margeton . Probably fictitious.

  86 Puta. From pute, putain , meaning “whore.”

  88 Voireuse. From foireux , argot for “coward.”

  95 Bragueton. From braguette , meaning “fly” (of trousers).

  95 Pilett . Transmogrification of Gillette.

  101 Frémizon. From frémir , to quiver, quake, shake (with passion).

  102 Mangin . Charles Mangin (1866-1925). General Mangin owes his fame largely to his prowess in the First World War, but he began his career in Africa and Indochina.

  102 Faidherbe . Louis Léon Cesar Faidherbe (1828-89). General and colonizer. Began his career in Algeria and Guadeloupe.

  102 Galliéni . Joseph Galliéni (1849-1916). General and administrator. Distinguished career in the colonies. It was he who requisitioned the Paris taxicabs to carry reinforcements to the battle of the Marne.

  106 Bambola-Fort-Gono. From bamboula , meaning roughly “whoopie,” and “gonococcus.”

  106 Bugeaud . Thomas Robert Bugeaud, Marquis de la Piconnerie (1784-1849). Figured prominently in the conquest of Algeria.

  109 Marchand . Jean-Baptiste Marchand (1836-1934). General and explorer. Took part in various expeditions in West Africa. In the course of an expedition begun in 1897 reached Fashoda on the Upper Nile, but the French government ordered him to evacuate when British troops arrived under Kitchener.

  109 Pordurière. A combination of port, meaning “seaport,” and ordures , meaning “garbage.”

  120 Tombat. A combination of tomber, meaning “to fall,” and combat , meaning “combat.”

  120 Charleroi . City in Belgium. Scene of a battle in 1914, ending in a French withdrawal.

  120 Verdun. City in eastern France. Scene of a long drawn-out, and extremely bloody battle in which the French withstood a powerful German offensive and were finally (1917) victorious.

  122 Avenue Fachoda . See note on March and above, p. 109. A bit of a joke. Since Fashoda represented a French humiliation, an Avenue Fachoda in France or the French colonies was unthinkable.

  128 Lieutenant Grappa . From the well-known Italian alcoholic spirit.

  148 Nord-Sud Métro . One of the earliest Métro lines, crossing Paris from north to south. Since unification of the Métro lines, known as Line 12.

  154 San Tapeta. From tapette , argot for “homosexual.”

  156 Combitta. From con = the female sex organ and bite = the male sex organ.

  170 Laugh Calvin . The reason for this odd name is that Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States from 1923 to 1929, was never known to smile, much less laugh.

  184 Chabanais . Le Chabanais on the rue Chabanais was one of the most celebrated and luxurious of Paris brothels.

  184 Invalides . A group of buildings put up in 1670 by Louis XIV as a home for wounded soldiers. The tomb of Napoleon is situated in the church of Saint-Louis des Invalides, the most prominent building in the compound.

  191 Coué method . A method of self-healing devised by Emile Coué (1857-1926), pharmacist and psychotherapist. Very popular in the United States for a time. You repeated to yourself several times a day: “Every day in every way I’m getting better and better.”

  204 La Garenne-Rancy. There actually is a La Garenne (La Garenne-Columbes) in the Paris suburbs, not far from where this imaginary town seems to be. The word garenne means “rabbit warren.” Raney suggests ranee , meaning “rancid.”

  204 Porte Brancion . All other indications are that La Garenne-Rancy was situated north-northwest of Paris. The Porte Brancion is on the southern rim of the city.

  206 fortific
ations . These fortifications were built between 1841 and 1844, in the reign of Louis-Philippe, to protect Paris from foreign invasion. They consisted of a circular wall thirty-nine kilometers long with ninety-four bastions. Used during the siege of Paris by the Prussians in the war of 1870, they were destroyed after the First World War.

  206 Fortified Zone. Propertly “le Zone Militaire de Paris,” commonly referred to simply as la Zone , “the Zone.” The strip of land between the fortifications and the suburbs, where for military reasons construction was prohibited. In late popular usage the more depressing suburbs on the outskirts of Paris.

  206 tollhouse. Up to the late twenties a tax was levied on certain foodstuffs entering Paris. There were toll stations (octroi ) at all the city gates.

  209 Dr. Frolichon. From folichon = ‘ ‘frolic some.”

  210 Gagat. From gaga , feeble-minded.

  226 the Tower . The Eiffel Tower.

  239 Joseph Bioduret Institute. Bioduret seems to suggest the prolongation of life. The institute is clearly the Pasteur Institute. True, the Pasteur Institute is at the opposite end of Paris from La Villette. But this is just Celinian mystification. The institute is accurately located off the Rue de Vaugirard a few pages further on.

  241 Jaunisset. From jaunisse , “jaundice.”

  246 Rue de Vaugirard . Here the institute is correctly situated.

  248 the château . The Louvre, which is never referred to as a château.

  250 Caulaincourt Bridge . From this point one would look out over the Montmartre cemetery and the “great lake of night.” But only in a dream is one anywhere near the fortifications or the suburbs.