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La vagabonde
by
Colette
Translated from the French by Enid McLeod.
Thirty-three years old and recently divorced, Renée Néré has begun a new life on her own, supporting herself as a music-hall artist. Maxime, a rich and idle bachelor, intrudes on her independent existence and offers his love and the comforts of marriage. A provincial tour puts distance between them and enables Renée, in a moving s
...morePaperback, 287 pages
Published
July 1st 1992
by Livre de Poche
(first published 1910)
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'Cheri' and 'The Last of Cheri' are two of my favorite books and I thought it was about time I read more of Colette, and 'The Vagabond' didn't disappoint. It's hard to believe this was written in 1910 because the truth of what she writes is still so relevant today - a divorced woman struggling between the choice of a new love and her work, which allows her to be independent at last. Will she give up her job that enables her to provide for herself and do the things she wants, though the hours are...more
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This is probably one of the best books I've read in a long, long time. So beautiful and smart. Colette's voice, the musings and revelations of Renee in the novel, the conflict between carving out a self-sufficient and fulfilling life (even if it's a financial struggle) vs relying on a romantic partner to provide all that is missing . . . Even though back then the choice being between a married woman looked after by her husband or instead being a "vagabond," a "woman of letters gone bad" who supp...more
colette wrote the vagabond in 1910 after divorce from abusive husband who took credit for her writing before this (the very successful claudine books) making this the first book she published under her own name. colette was living on her own as thirty-something divorcee, supporting herself by working in music halls, and feeling terribly lonely and at liberty at once and both loving her freedom and hating her loneliness.
colette struggles with questions of - is the freedom worth the price of lone...more
colette struggles with questions of - is the freedom worth the price of lone...more
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There is a lot to find tedious in Colette's semi-autobiographical novel centering on a Parisian divorcée making ends meet performing as a dancing mime in various near-burlesque theaters shortly after the start of the twentieth century. The title character Renée is consumed with the freedoms afforded her by being utterly alone while fearful of the aging without a partner. Her flirtations with a wealthy fop that develop into a potential marriage drive what little plot there is in the novel, but he...more
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Apr 18, 2013
Kristin
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classic,
divorce,
epistolary,
gender-issues,
philosophy,
read-in-2013,
reader-s-advisory,
self-worth
An excellent examination of what it means for a woman to live freely and independently in modern society. While the style was at times a little dramatic and even awkward, Colette lyrically expressed the tension between the need for companionship and the desire for a life unencumbered by obligation, possession and compromise.
The vagabond of this book is essentially a projection of Colette at a time in her own life, in which she was embittered by a bad divorce but enjoying her freedom as a musical...more
The vagabond of this book is essentially a projection of Colette at a time in her own life, in which she was embittered by a bad divorce but enjoying her freedom as a musical...more
There is a lot to find tedious in Colette's semi-autobiographical novel centering on a Parisian divorcée making ends meet performing as a dancing mime in various near-burlesque theaters shortly after the start of the twentieth century. The title character Renée is consumed with the freedoms afforded her by being utterly alone while fearful of the aging without a partner. Her flirtations with a wealthy fop that develop into a potential marriage drive what little plot there is in the novel, but he...more
A glittering stream of diamonds came from Colette's pen to create this novel. It would have been sheer pleasure to read this just for the language alone, and I regret not reviving my French skills to read it in the original language. I had both admiration and affection for the protagonist, Renee, an "older" divorcee, making her way alone in the world as a cabaret performer, who meets a wealthy, respectable admirer who becomes her suitor. Renee cannot be too different from the author herself, int...more
This book is semi-biographical, as in Colette being a divorcée when she wrote it and she worked on cabarets to make end meet - as does Renée Néré, the main character in this book. The story in itself is quite simple, but simple as in uncomplicated and straightforward focusing just on Renée and her thoughts against the canvas of her work - NOT as simple as in the writer was trying to get away with making things easy for herself. It's quite the gem!
(I read the book in a Swedish translation - just...more
(I read the book in a Swedish translation - just...more
For those expecting "Diaries of a French Burlesque Dancer", prepare to be disappointed. While one may approach Colette's behind-the-scenes of a traveling pantomime artist in turn-of-the-century France expecting it to be flavored with salacious frivolity to match Colette's reputation, what you'll find is more an existentialist rumination on ambivalence, than story of a passionate life. In fact, if there's one thing that most defines the divorcee-turned-stage-performer Reneé Neré, it's her distrus...more
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I've been wanting to read this classic for years. Prob the first feminist piece of fiction, a study of a woman who divorces her cad-husband and supports herself as a performer in a music hall. WE get to join her smart actor friends for behind-the-French-scenes gossip and see her tempted by admirers, but changing the terms of relationships and love to suit her sensibilities. Was possibly published in the early 1950s, but Colette died in 1954, so I don't know if this was a posthumous work. Nice to...more
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Jul 27, 2012
Shellie (Layers of Thought)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
all women
A classic feminist translation from French that’s a “romantic” story told by a heartbroken performer named Renee, who must choose between freedom and love during Victorian times.
About: Published in 1910 this is a short book that is supposedly a semi-autobiography from the interesting bohemian author – Colette. The story is told in first person by Renee Nere, the main character who has divorced her wealthy, philandering, artist husband after eight years of emotional torture. Damaged, much wiser,...more
About: Published in 1910 this is a short book that is supposedly a semi-autobiography from the interesting bohemian author – Colette. The story is told in first person by Renee Nere, the main character who has divorced her wealthy, philandering, artist husband after eight years of emotional torture. Damaged, much wiser,...more
Alexandra can't spell. I just reviewed this book under the wrong spelling of Colette.
I don't understand why this book is not more widely celebrated. I read a stand-alone edition of The Vagabond and loved it. Renee's struggle with the difficult choice between the comforts of a conventional marriage and bourgeois life, at the price of her autonomy, and an often painful life of work and solitude is the same one many women go through today. Middle class social structures haven't changed much since...more
I don't understand why this book is not more widely celebrated. I read a stand-alone edition of The Vagabond and loved it. Renee's struggle with the difficult choice between the comforts of a conventional marriage and bourgeois life, at the price of her autonomy, and an often painful life of work and solitude is the same one many women go through today. Middle class social structures haven't changed much since...more
Sometimes I crave a good book. It's akin to opening the fridge and staring inside wishing for something to suddenly look good.
I was craving something with the smooth mouth feel of a The Thirteenth Stone or the tang of Grotesque and nothing seemed to fit. And then Edd handed me this book in paperback and I sat back and devoured it.
Renee is a divorcee. She's a writer turned music hall dancer. She has a small flat, an even smaller dog, and the world to herself. Lonely? Certainly. But Renee is the s...more
I was craving something with the smooth mouth feel of a The Thirteenth Stone or the tang of Grotesque and nothing seemed to fit. And then Edd handed me this book in paperback and I sat back and devoured it.
Renee is a divorcee. She's a writer turned music hall dancer. She has a small flat, an even smaller dog, and the world to herself. Lonely? Certainly. But Renee is the s...more
This is probably the most beautiful piece of writing I've ever found. If there is a more honest exposition, a more sincere appraisal, of the narrative we live when not consumed by mundane distractions, I look forward to your recommendations.
Colette's talent lies in enumerating the sensory details we barely notice and explicating the relationship between the tactile and the emotional. In an existential sense, this is a novel about nature and desire, surrender and choice. But forget the philosoph...more
Colette's talent lies in enumerating the sensory details we barely notice and explicating the relationship between the tactile and the emotional. In an existential sense, this is a novel about nature and desire, surrender and choice. But forget the philosoph...more
I really liked the subject and sentiments but found that the insouciant tone of voice stole any sense of urgency from the situation. I think the stakes are higher than the narrator lets on. And maybe it's easier for me to say that because I'm not struggling with any kind of immediate romance. More than anything this sparked an interest in the author's personal life. I'll probably read more from her at some later date.
A great book.
Recently divorced Renee Nere has made a career for herself as a vaudeville performer. When a new romance develops in her life she is torn between her desire for security and continued independence.
At times it's hard to imagine Colette wrote this in 1910. Some of what she describes here continues to be scathing in its brutal honesty.
Recommended.
Recently divorced Renee Nere has made a career for herself as a vaudeville performer. When a new romance develops in her life she is torn between her desire for security and continued independence.
At times it's hard to imagine Colette wrote this in 1910. Some of what she describes here continues to be scathing in its brutal honesty.
Recommended.
I liked the feminism of the book, but sometimes it was just a bit too wordy. I liked the ending and I was impressed with Renee. After reading Colette's biography, I expected her to be a staunchly independent and promiscuous woman, but Renee in the book was not that exactly. I like how she was not just one thing, she had duality and was a full person--not just a woman who was independant, but a woman was was independant but also felt things for men and had to decide what was best for her.
Colette's récit has everything excellent prose needs: sense of rhythm and direction, lush imagery and finely chiseled characters. And these are only a few examples.
So how come I was not really thrilled by 'La Vagabonde'? I can hardly blame her for failing to create tension, because indeed, she knows how to weave a plot. But then again, her protagonist's rambling speeches (conversations with herself, so to speak) and her melodramatic outbursts rather got on my nerves after a while. Maybe you hav...more
So how come I was not really thrilled by 'La Vagabonde'? I can hardly blame her for failing to create tension, because indeed, she knows how to weave a plot. But then again, her protagonist's rambling speeches (conversations with herself, so to speak) and her melodramatic outbursts rather got on my nerves after a while. Maybe you hav...more
A well written account of a woman's choice between independent loneliness and boring domesticity (the latter leading to disillusion). Set behind the stage in French musical theatre a hundred years ago; deserves to be better known.
Colette poses the question, "Is it possible for a woman to retain self-identity in love?" Her answer: no.
Her delicate, melancholic imagery and descriptions of life as a mime in early 20th Paris make it all the more beautiful to read.
Her delicate, melancholic imagery and descriptions of life as a mime in early 20th Paris make it all the more beautiful to read.
About a divorced woman making a living on the stage in Paris - I assumed it would be melancholy and romantic, but it was actually a little too melancholy for me! The fresh, cold, chilling breeze of freedom and all that...
Delicious. I understand that this is a vaguely autobiographical story from Collette. Instead of being a foiled love story, it's a beautifully told story of a woman learning to love and trust herself. Mmmmmm.
Jul 24, 2012
Vivian LeMay
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Any woman
Gabrielle Sidonie Colette did not believe in happy endings, only in truth. Her writings convey the most basic truths of human life so honestly that her stories should be cruel. But she expresses these truths––the good and the bad ––so beautifully, her writing never seems cruel or trite. It is what it is...perfection.
Take the Colette challenge.
Open this book, The Vagabond, to any page. Don't worry about character or plot, just read whatever page you find. It will captivate you. Every word belong...more
Colette has such a beautiful and sensual way of writing. "The Vagabond" has some particularly awesome sections about being single and lonely (whether you're a woman or not). This is a story of making a new start and the choices and consequences that are made after.
Delightful! I love how independent Renee is. Colette really captures what it is like to be a woman who must choose between career and love. A quick read and an overall enjoyable novel.
30 years ago, in my twenties, I read this and felt I had a serious kindred spirit. Since then I have learned French if just to read it again in it's original language.
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Colette was the pen name of the French novelist Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She is best known, at least in the English-speaking world, for her novel Gigi, which provided the plot for a Lerner & Loewe musical film and stage musical.
More about Colette...
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“I want nothing from love, in short, but love.”
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“I have found my voice again and the art of using it...”
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