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La Comédie Humaine #62

by Honoré de Balzac

EARLY in the year VIII., at the beginning of Vend miaire, or, to conform to our own calendar, towards the close of September, 1799, a hundred or so of peasants and a large number of citizens, who had left Fougeres in the morning on their way to Rlayenne, mere going up the little mountain of La PBlerine, half-way between Fougeres and Ernbe, a small town where travellers along that road are in the habit of resting. This com- pany, divided into groups that were more or less nu- merous, presented a collection of such fantastic costumes and a mixture of individuals belonging to so many and diverse localities and professions that it will be well to describe their characteristic differences, in order to give to this history the vivid local coloring to which so much valde is attached in these days, - though some critics do assert that it injures the representation of sentiments. Many of the peasants, in fact the greater number, were barefooted, and wore no other garments than a l 2 Zhe Chouans. large goatskin, which BQtefqdthem from the neck to the c , kneds, nktru.upkrs of wiiite arid vev coarse linen, the ill- woven fetuii oC which- betrayed the slovenly industrial habits of the region. The straight locks of their long hair mingling with those of the goatskill liid their faces, which were bent on the ground, so completely that the garment might have been thought their own skin, and they tllemselves mistaken at first sight for a species of the animal which served them as clothing. Gut through this tangle of hair their eyes were presently seen to shine like dew-drops in a thicket, aid their glances, full of human intelligence, caused fear rather than pleasure to those who Inet them. Theirheads were covered with a dirty head-gear of red flannel, not unlike the Phrygian cap which the Republic had lately adopted as an emblem of liberty. Each man carried over his sliolder a heavj stick of knotted oak, at the end of which hung a linen bag with little in it. Some wore, over the red cap, a coarse felt hat, with a broad brim adorned by a sort of woollen cbenille of many colors which was fastened round it. Others were clothed entirely in the coarse linen of which the trousers and wallets of all were made, and shoed nothing that was distinctive of the new order of civilization. Their long hair fell upon the collar of a round jacket with square pockets, which reached to the hips only, a garment peculiar to the pensantrr of western France. Beneath this jacket, which was vorn open, a waistcoat of the same linen with large buttons was visible. Some of the company marched in wooden shoes others, by way of economy, carried them in their hand. This costome, soiled b long tlsage, blackened with swelt nncl tlnst, and less original than that of the other me, had the historic merit of seming as a transition between the goatskins and the brilliant, almost sumptuons, dress of a few inclivicluals dispersed here and tlicre among the groups, where they shone like flowers. In fact, the blue linen trousers of these last, and their recl or yellow waistcoats, adorned with two parallel rows of brass buttons and not unlike breast- plates, stood out as vividly among the white linen and shaggy skins of their companions as the corn-flowers and poppies in a wheat-field. Some of them wore wooden shoes, which the peasants of Brittany make for them- selves bnt the greater number had heavy hob-nailed boots, and coats of coarse cloth cut in the fashion of the old regime, the shape of which the peasants have re- ligiously retained even to the present day. The collars of their shirts mere held together by buttons in the shape of hearts or anchors...

Genres: Classics, France, Fiction, French Literature, Historical Fiction, 19th Century, Literature

380 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1829

About the author

French writer Honoré de Balzac (born Honoré Balzac), a founder of the realist school of fiction, portrayed the panorama of society in a body of works, known collectively as La comédie humaine .

Honoré de Balzac authored 19th-century novels and plays. After the fall of Napoléon in 1815, his magnum opus, a sequence of almost a hundred novels and plays, entitled, presents life in the years.

Due to keen observation of fine detail and unfiltered representation, European literature regards Balzac. He features renowned multifaceted, even complex, morally ambiguous, full lesser characters. Character well imbues inanimate objects; the city of Paris, a backdrop, takes on many qualities. He influenced many famous authors, including the novelists Marcel Proust, Émile Zola, Charles John Huffam Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, Henry James, and Jack Kerouac as well as important philosophers, such as Friedrich Engels. Many works of Balzac, made into films, continue to inspire.

An enthusiastic reader and independent thinker as a child, Balzac adapted with trouble to the teaching style of his grammar. His willful nature caused trouble throughout his life and frustrated his ambitions to succeed in the world of business. Balzac finished, and people then apprenticed him as a legal clerk, but after wearying of banal routine, he turned his back on law. He attempted a publisher, printer, businessman, critic, and politician before and during his career. He failed in these efforts From his own experience, he reflects life difficulties and includes scenes.

Possibly due to his intense schedule and from health problems, Balzac suffered throughout his life. Financial and personal drama often strained his relationship with his family, and he lost more than one friend over critical reviews. In 1850, he married Ewelina Hańska, his longtime paramour; five months later, he passed away.

Reviews

[Το Άθχημο γατί του θενιόρ Γκουαναμίρου · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chouans were royalist rebels of Brittany (in northwestern France), supporters of the Bourbons during the years of the French Revolution and Napoleon. Their uprising against the Democrats is due to a mixture of unwavering adherence to medieval feudalism, religiosity, and opportunism, as their usual war tactics include looting, robbery, extortion and even executions.

The Chouans are superstitious, not afraid of shedding blood, but Hell and ghosts can brake their morale. Balzac accurately exemplifies the emotional shifts depicted in the relationship between the two main characters, as they alternate between the roles of victim and perpetrator, via a story where love, seduction, passion are entangled with politics, espionage, war, betrayal and dedication.

Αυτό το μυθιστόρημα από μόνο του δεν θα είχε και πολλά να πει, αν δεν έκρυβε πίσω του μια ενδιαφέρουσα ιστορία. Προσπαθώντας να κατανοήσω καλύτερα τον συγγραφέα, βρήκα μια βιογραφία του, γραμμένη από την Nadine Satiat, η οποία κάνει ό,τι καλύτερο μπορεί για να φωτίσει τη ζωή αυτού του ιδιόρρυθμου συγγραφέα. Γνώριζα ήδη (από όσα σκόρπια είχα διαβάσει εδώ κι εκεί) πως ο συγγραφέας είχε μια δύσκολη παιδική ηλικία, έμαθα ωστόσο πως και η ενήλικη ζωή του δεν υπήρξε καλύτερη. Ο Balzac δεν είχε την πολυτέλεια να ζει με μία συνέπεια, με ένα πρόγραμμα και τάξη, είναι τόσες πολλές οι μετακινήσεις και τα σκαμπανεβάσματα της ζωής του, που απορώ πώς άντεξε έστω και τόσο ο οργανισμός και ο ψυχισμός του, με όλην αυτήν την αστάθεια.

Η οικογένειά του είναι προβληματική. Οι σχέσεις με τους δικούς του, μόνο ως βάσανο μπορούν να χαρακτηριστούν. Τον αγαπούν, τον στηρίζουν, τον καταπιέζουν, τον επικρίνουν, τον αγχώνουν, τον υποβιβάζουν, αλλά μετά σπεύδουν πάλι να σταθούν στο πλευρό του, τον διώχνουν και μετά τον αποζητούν, όλα αυτά δίνουν το στίγμα μιας αφόρητης μικροαστικής μιζέριας. Οι γονείς του, με τεράστια διαφορά ηλικίας, δεν αγαπήθηκαν ποτέ. Αυτή η άρρωστη συμβίωση πέρασε και στη σχέση τους με τα παιδιά τους. Ο συγγραφέας είχε δυο αδερφές κι έναν μικρότερο αδερφό που ενδεχομένως να προέκυψε από μια εξωσυζυγική σχέση της μητέρας του. Κι ο πατέρας του, στα 80 του χρόνια (εμμονικός με τα ελιξίρια της νεότητας και την μακροζωία) προκάλεψε ένα ενδοοικογενειακό σκάνδαλο, αφήνοντας έγκυο μια νεαρή κοπέλα. Η μικρότερη από τις αδερφές του, κακοπαντρεμένη, πέθανε από φυματίωση, αφήνοντας ορφανά τα δύο της παιδιά.

Ο ίδιος ο Balzac, στα 1820 ξεκινάει τη συγγραφική του καριέρα, συνεργαζόμενος με έναν ατζέντη, όπου αγόραζε σε χαμηλές τιμές λογοτεχνία του συρμού, κακής ποιότητας αντιγραφές συγγραφέων όπως οι Charles Maturin, Jane Austen, Sir Walter Scott κα, όπου το μυστήριο, το χοντροκομμένο χιούμορ, η περιπέτεια και το ρομάντζο, παραγεμισμένα με φλυαρίες και τραβηγμένους διαλόγους προορίζονταν για ευρεία κατανάλωση, χωρίς άλλες αξιώσεις:

"Οι συγγραφείς του Λεπουατεβέν (σσ. ο ατζέντης) αμείβονταν με το κομμάτι και αναλάμβαναν να του προμηθεύουν σωρηδόν υλικό για τρίτομα ή τετράτομα μυθιστορήματα. Τα βιβλία αυτά τυπωμένα αρχικά σε πεντακόσια ή χίλια αντίτυπα μικρού σχήματος και πολύ φθηνό χαρτί πωλούνταν από τον βιβλιοπώλη (τον εκδότη) στα "γραφεία ανάγνωσης". Αυτά ήταν δανειστικά καταστήματα, απλωμένα σε όλη τη Γαλλία, τα οποία έναντι δύο φράγκων τον μήνα δάνειζαν βιβλία στο αναγνωστικό κοινό [...] Ο Λεπουατεβέν είχε έτσι κάτω από τις διαταγές του, σαν δάσκαλος οπλισμένος με τη βέργα του, μια ντουζίνα νεαρούς τους οποίους αποκαλούσε "μικρούς κρετίνους". (Βλέπε Nadine Satiat, Μπαλζάκ ή η μανία της γραφής, σελ. 72 - 73).

Όταν λοιπόν στα 1828, ο Balzac, σε ηλικία 29 ετών, μετά από μια δεκαετία στον βούρκο της παραλογοτεχνίας (πειρατές, νεράιδες, βρικόλακες ήταν η συνήθης θεματολογία του) και μια επιχειρηματική αποτυχία με ένα τυπογραφείο όπου του άφησε ένα βουνό από χρέη, ξεκίνησε να γράφει τους Σουάνους (Les Chouans) είχε φτάσει στα όριά του. Στο σπίτι ενός οικογενειακού του φίλου στην Βρετάνη, και συγκεκριμένα στην πόλη Φουζέρ (Fougères), εμπνευσμένος από την τοπική ιστορία και παραδόσεις θα γράψει αυτό το μυθιστόρημα που είναι περιπετειώδες και ρομαντικό, φλύαρο και υπερβολικό, το οποίο όσο τα χρόνια περνούν θα το επεξεργάζεται (αλλάζει όχι μόνο το περιεχόμενο αλλά και τον τίτλο κάμποσες φορές). Ωστόσο το συγκεκριμένο έργο έχει κάτι από εκείνες τις ποιότητες που στην πορεία θα τον αναδείξουν ως μεγάλο συγγραφέα. Το γνωρίζει και ο ίδιος. Είναι το πρώτο έργο που υπογράφει με το όνομά του -χωρίς το "ντε" - σκέτο Honoré Balzac.

Οι Σουάνοι είναι φιλομοναρχικοί αντάρτες της Βρετάνης (στη Βορειοδυτική Γαλλία), υποστηρικτές των Βουρβόνων στα χρόνια της Γαλλικής Επάναστασης και του Ναπολέοντα. Οι εξεγέρσεις τους ενάντια στους δημοκρατικούς είναι ένα μείγμα παθολογικής προσκόλλησης στον φεουδαρχικό μεσαίωνα, θρησκοληψίας και οπορτουνισμού, καθώς η συνήθης πολεμική τακτική τους είναι ο κλεφτοπόλεμος, το πλιάτσικο, η ληστεία, οι εκβιασμοί ακόμα και οι εκτελέσεις και τα βασανιστήρια. Άνθρωποι βάρβαροι και απολίτιστοι πως δεν φοβούνται το αίμα, αλλά τρέμουν την κόλαση και τα φαντάσματα.

Ο Balzac περιγράφει με υποδειγματική ακρίβεια τις συναισθηματικές μεταπτώσεις της σχέσης των δύο πρωταγωνιστών, καθώς οι ρόλοι ανάμεσα στο θύμα και τον θύτη συνεχώς εναλλάσσονται, μέσα από ένα εξοντωτικό παιχνίδι όπου ο έρωτας, η σαγήνη, το πάθος περιπλέκονται με την πολιτική, την κατασκοπία, τον πόλεμο, την προδοσία και την αφοσίωση. Στο τέλος αυτή η ιστορία κατέληξε, παρά την υπερβολή της, να μου αφήσει θετικά συναισθήματα, αλλά νομίζω πως είναι από τα έργα που εύκολα μπορεί να απελπίσουν ακόμα και τον πιο αποφασισμένο αναγνώστη. Είναι στην ουσία το πέρασμα από το συγγραφικό παρελθόν, στο μέλλον εκείνο που θα αναδείξει τον Balzac ως μέγα ρεαλιστή και ψυχογράφο, ένα μεταίχμιο που αξίζει να διαβαστεί μόνο στο πλαίσιο κάποιας λογοτεχνικής έρευνας.

Εκτός κι αν κάποιος λατρεύει τις περιπέτειες με μια γερή δόση ρομάντζου, γραμμένα από την πένα μιας λογοτεχνικής ιδιοφυΐας.

[Araz Goran · Rating 4 out of 5]

الحكم على رواية في بدايتها أو منتصفها قد يكون فيه شئ من الخطأ وتسرع لا يجوز أن يفعله القارئ، خاصة إذا كانت روايةً لـ كاتب عملاق مثل " بـلـزاك " ..


هذه الرواية حيرتني بقصتها وتفاصيلها الكثيرة التي وجدت نفسي فيها غريباً وخارج أجواء الرواية تماماً في البداية، كنت أحسب أن الاستمرار في قراءة الرواية مضيعة للوقت ، تعبت حقيقة من كثرة التفاصيل والسرد المطول والنصوص المكثفة، بـلـزاك يصف لك كل شئ، حتى زر القميص عادة لا يخرج عن دائرة تفاصيله..


رجل ممل ويحب التفاصيل ولكنه جميل، بارع، ساحر، حبكته وأسلوبه مميزان جداً، يأخذ القارئ إلى عالمه بتلك التفاصيل الكثيرة التي تجد نفسك مرغماً على تقبلها بل والأنغماس فيها، فـ بعد شعور بالملل والضيق، تجد نفسك في ذلك العالم وقد تم رسمه لك بهدوء وأنت لم تشعر بذلك، فجاءة تنتمي إلى ذلك العالم وتتعلق بشخصيات الرواية وردود أفعالها حينها فقط تجذبك أحداث الرواية لتصل بك إلى عمق وأحداث ذلك الزمن الذي يتحدث عنه بـلـزاك...

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الرواية تحكي عن الحرب الأهلية في فرنسا عقب الثورة التي أطاحب بالنظام الملكي وحلت محلها فرنسا الجمهورية.. هناك كانت الحرب دائرة بين أنصار الجمهوريين حيث كانوا يمسكون بزمام الحكم والملقبين بـ " الزرق " وبين خصومهم الملكيين الذين كانوا يسعون إلى إستعادة الحكم وتنصيب ملك على عرش فرنسا وهولاء هم " الـناعـقـون " ومن هنا جاءت تسمية الرواية..


قتال ومعارك شرسة بلا رحمة تجري بين الطرفين في أرجاء فرنسا.. في " فوجير " تلك البلدة حيث تدور معارك دموية تصورها أحداث الرواية ،القائد هولو من جهة الموالي للجمهوريين ، ومن الناحية الاخرى يقود تمرد الملكيين المركيز " مونتوران " الذي يقع في غرام إحدى الجاسوسات التي إبتعثها الجمهوريون لأغواء قائد الناعقيين " مونتوران " .. يقع القائد التعيس في حبها ثم ما تلبث أن تقع الجاسوسة في حب المركيز بدورها.. وهنا تبدأ القصة، أحداث كثيرة ، مؤامرات ، خيانات وقصة حب عظيمة، كل ذلك يجعل من الرواية حافلة بالتشويق والإثارة..


هذه الرواية لا تُقرأ للتسلية فقط، قيمة أدبية عالية يُكتشف كنوزها أثناء القراءة ..

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بالنسبة للترجمة كانت أكثر من رائعة ، لم أشعر حتى أنها رواية مترجمة.. تستحق القراءة بلا شك.. ولن تكون هذه قرائتي الأخيرة لـ " بـلـزاك " بالتأكيد ..

[Davide · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un romanzo melodrammatico, rocambolesco e iperdescrittivo
(2017)

È ambientato nel 1799 (cioè proprio nell'anno in cui nasceva Balzac), in Bretagna.
Il centro dell’azione, in particolare nell’ultima parte, è Fougères, notevole per il suo castello



che qui Balzac definisce: «l’une des plus immenses constructions faites par les ducs de Bretagne»

Il periodo è quello delle sollevazioni a favore del Re e della Chiesa contro la Rivoluzione; ma c’è già un certo Bonaparte primo console.

All’inizio si potrebbe anche pensare che sia un romanzo totalmente autonomo, ma ad un certo punto (abbastanza avanti) fa capolino un giovane ambizioso e intrigante, con occhi verdi che annunciano «de malice et de fausseté», e con modi insinuanti; che ha «la police gravés sur la figure» ed è portato dal suo carattere a sospettare sempre più il male che il bene. I lettori di Splendeurs et misères des courtisanes lo riconoscono: l’hanno già trovato (molti anni dopo) come capo della polizia.

E infatti Les Chouans è uno dei primi testi della Comédie humaine (quindi ora che l'ho finito, mi mancano ancora quei centodieci-centoventi e poi li ho letti tutti!!) e penso che uno dei buoni motivi per leggerlo sia appunto l'opportunità di scoprire le "origini" di Corentin (fa un po’ l’effetto di quando nell’ultima serie di Orange is the new black veniamo a conoscere il passato di Piscatella! :-)

L’ambientazione nel 1799 significava storia recente: giusto trent’anni prima della pubblicazione. E a quanto pare Balzac poté confrontarsi coi racconti di chi aveva vissuto direttamente quegli eventi, a partire da un amico di famiglia, il barone di Pommereul, che aveva combattuto contro gli insorti. Inoltre, conosceva personalmente gli ambienti che così volentieri descrive.

Il romanzo si sviluppa in una narrazione continuata, con pochi rapidi richiami al passato, in tre grandi blocchi non ulteriormente suddivisi: L’embuscade; Une idée de Fouché e Un jour sans lendemain (ma nelle prime edizioni c’erano più divisioni interne, poi eliminate). E parte con una minuziosa descrizione di un gruppo di coscritti, seguita da altrettanto ampia descrizione del paesaggio (l’avrete già capito: se vi annoiano le lunghe, meticolose descrizioni, è meglio stare alla larga… oppure saltare qualche pagina). Ci troviamo nel paese dei "Gars", che sono paragonati ai Mohicani (Balzac era stato impressionato dal romanzo di James Fenimore Cooper): impermeabili alla modernità, pittoreschi e superstiziosi, selvaggi e bellicosi; ancora legati alle origini celtiche; devoti alla Madonna e a santa Anne d’Aurey.

Il punto di vista iniziale è però quello dei soldati repubblicani, comandati dall'esperto comandante Hulot, presentato fino alla fine con simpatia (simpatia che rimarrà anche molti anni dopo, quando Balzac lo ritrarrà, nella Cousine Bette, ormai 72nne, vecchio soldato, vecchio repubblicano, eroe del periodo napoleonico: «il luogotenente generale Hulot, il venerabile comandante dei granatieri a piedi della guardia imperiale, al quale venne poi dato, per i suoi ultimi giorni, il bastone di maresciallo. […] ferito per ventisettesima volta a Waterloo […] Il povero conte, fra le altre infermità, udiva solo con l’aiuto di un cornetto acustico!»)

È interessante vedere come la narrazione segua da una parte gli Chouans (alleati, ma non sinonimo, come pensavo, dei Vandeani), che hanno da poco accolto un giovane aristocratico comandante sbarcato dall’esilio e dall’altra Hulot e i Bleus, cioè i repubblicani.

Da entrambe le parti, senza schierarsi apertamente, Balzac mette in scena caratteri forti, indomabili e agguerriti; e anche buontemponi capaci di scherzare persino mentre fischiano le pallottole. Allo stesso modo, da una parte e dall'altra, si compiace nel fare riferimenti ai soprannomi e alle espressioni colorite della lingua militaresca o del “basso bretone”.

Dopo la prima parte – di battaglia e di rapina – si capisce però che il vero centro che domina il tutto non è la guerra civile, ma la passione: un amore contrastato, fatto di complicate schermaglie, tra spionistico e passionale; mascheramenti e rivelazioni che si confondono, con tanto di gare di cortesia, ribaltamenti da fiducia a sospetto, da amore a odio e viceversa, bon mots, atti di coraggio estremo e scene-madri del sentimento.

Per questo dicevo romanzo melodrammatico; e poi rocambolesco (anzi, vista la cronologia, bisognerebbe dire che Rocambole sarà "chouannesco"...): non mancano infatti sortite notturne, travestimenti, scene di gruppo magistrali, assedi e balli, rivelazioni, comprimari risoluti e subito riconoscibili, anche se a volte le motivazioni delle azioni e la meccanica di alcuni avvenimenti non sono proprio chiarissime.

Insomma, alla fine è una narrazione con qualche pecca ma anche una piacevole e intrigante lettura; e non solo per conoscere il passato di Corentin.

[Michael Finocchiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Balzac is one of France's greatest storytellers and this particular thriller is one of his most spine-tingling ones. The Chouans were a counter-revolutionary movement during the French Revolution that occurred in the region between Brittany and Nantes and Balzac places his story in this accurate historic contest. The book is fast-paced and an extraordinary read and highly memorable.

[Gabrielle Dubois · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1799, in France, the Chouans, royalist Breton peasants, in a guerrilla, oppose the Republicans. An aristocrat, Marie de Verneuil, is sent by Joseph Fouché, the terrible minister of police to seduce and capture their leader, the Marquis de Montauran, known as "the Guy" (le Gars). She must be helped by a skilful, ambitious and unscrupulous policeman, Corentin.
But Marie falls in love with her target ...

Balzac plunges us more than two centuries ago, in Brittany. His characters are so real; their names, in French, sound so poetic and Rabelaisian at the same time! In this troubled and bloody time, Balzac makes us feel that everyone must choose his camp: Chouans royalists or Republicans. Everyone is wary of the other: when you don’t know a person’s identity, how can you learn whether he’s with or against you? Conflicts and wars, whatever the countries, the eras, the ideologies, are absurd and horrible.
Breton peasants became Chouans to defend monarchy. The truth is that they were believers and that the Church, outlawed by the Revolution and the new Republic, had, through its priests, assured them that each Republican killed by them would be one more step towards paradise.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, love that seems eclipsed by men’s wars, is still there, hidden somewhere, ready to resurge in the form of "a daughter of Eve moulded with a greater mixture of gold in her clay". And the man tries to guess the secrets of "the mysterious woman in whom everything is a trap for the soul, a trap for the senses."
It’s through a woman’s mouth, Marie de Verneuil, that Balzac sums up in two sentences the Republican fighters: "Relying on the present, which they rule, they destroy the past for the benefit of the future.” And the royalist Chouan fighters: "Clinging to those fragments, they want to make a future from the past."
But what’s the point of a happiness that can run away? A beautiful story by Honoré de Balzac! Because Montaigu or Capulet, Chouans or Republicans, would there be beautiful love stories if the lovers had easiness to live their love?

In The Chouans, Balzac, always by Marie de Verneuil’s mouth, and with a great accuracy, helps us to understand the women of his time:
“Am I happy ? replied Marie. No. When I think that I am alone, hampered by social conventions that make me deceitful, I envy the privileges of a man. But when I also reflect on the means which nature has bestowed on us women to catch and entangle you men in the invisible meshes of a power which you cannot resist, then the part assigned to me in the world is not displeasing to me. And then again, suddenly, it does seem very petty, and I feel that I should despise a man who allowed himself to be duped by such vulgar seductions. No sooner do I perceive our power and like it, than I know it to be horrible and I abhor it. Sometimes I feel within me that longing towards devotion which makes my sex so nobly beautiful; and then I feel a desire, which consumes me, for dominion and power. Perhaps it is the natural struggle of the good and the evil principle in which all creatures live here below. Angel or devil! you have expressed it. Ah! to-day is not the first time that I have recognized my double nature. But we women understand better than you men can do our own shortcomings. We have an instinct which shows us a perfection in all things to which, nevertheless, we fail to attain. But, that which enhances us in your eyes is that we are all struggling, more or less, against a thwarted destiny.”

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dies war mein erster Roman von Honoré de Balzac. „Die Königstreuen“ – wörtlich übersetzt lautet der Titel „Der letzte Chouans oder Die Bretagne im Jahr 1800“– ist das chronologisch erste Werk der berühmten „Comédie humaine“. Das war aber nicht mein Grund, zu diesem Buch zu greifen. Es folgt der Lektüre von Hugos 1793. Beide beleuchten den Bürgerkrieg zwischen Anhängern der Revolution und des Ancien Régime in der Vendée und (Nieder)Bretagne, dem ländlichen Nordwesten Frankreichs. Während Hugos Roman zu Zeiten des Grande Terreur spielen, kämpfen „Die Königstreuen“ kurz nach dem Staatsstreich Napoleons am 18. Brumaire VIII (9. November 1799). Ihr Anführer, der „Gars“, ist der junge Marquis de Montaubon. Seine Gegenspieler sind der Militärkommandant Hulot, die vom republikanischen Geheimdienstchef Fouché ausgesandte bildhübsche Mademoiselle de Verneuil und der sie überwachende Agent Corentin. Fräulein de Verneuil soll den jungen Gars umgarnen und an die Republikaner ausliefern. Doch der Plan geht nicht auf, und es kommt zu einem Showdown in einer großen Schlacht zwischen den Aufständigen und den „Blauen“ in der Stadt Fougères.

Burg von Fougères


Dieser Historienroman auf hohem Niveau hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Wesentlich dazu beigetragen hat Balzacs auch in der Übersetzung bewahrter sprachlicher Reichtum. Selbst Landschaftsbeschreibungen sind beim ihm eine Lesefreude. Mit Ausnahme der für meinen Geschmack zu lang geratenen „Duette“ zwischen dem Fräulein und dem Marquis, hält Balzac den Spannungsbogen der Handlung bis zum Kulminationspunkt auf den letzten Seiten durch. Anders als der eher unparteiische Hugo, steht Balzac deutlich auf Seiten der Republik. Dies kommt in Passagen zu Tage wie Die Chouans sind ein denkwürdiges Beispiel dafür geblieben, wie gefährlich es ist die wenig zivilisierten Massen eines Landes aufzuwühlen - Wobei man dies auch von der revolutionären Pariser Canaille sagen kann. - Die Religion oder vielmehr der Fetischismus dieser unwissenden Geschöpfe entkleidete den Mord seiner Gewissensbisse. Auch die den Aufstand unterstützenden Adeligen bekommen ihr Fett weg. Anders als ihr idealistischer Anführer sind sie zuvorderst an Posten und Pfründen nach der Rückkehr des Königs interessiert.

Aimé Picquet du Boisguy. Anführer der Royalisten in Fougères

[P.E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

- The walls of the Stronghold in Fougères / Les remparts du Château de Fougères

This is a story firmly set in Romanticism, about the first labours of the counter-revolution in French Brittany and Vendée.

This book compels you to go and visit Fougères. Lively story, Dizzying pace and headstrong characters.

------

Une écriture romantique et romancée des premiers soubresauts contre-révolutionnaires de Bretagne et de Vendée.

Ce livre vous impose de visiter Fougères. L'histoire est trépidante, le rythme impétueux, les personnages représentatifs, emblématiques.

[Andrei Tamaş · Rating 5 out of 5]

Primul roman publicat de Balzac, "Les Chouans" (1829), este o capodoperă. Titlul iniţial al romanului, "Le dernier chouan", reflectă ideea ultimului capitol al operei, în care aflăm că cele mai preţioase informaţii despre evenimentele petrecute în 1799 în Bretania au fost oferite autorului, în urma unei munci "de teren", de unul dintre partizanii "șuaneriei", mişcarea contrarevoluţionară pe care numai Napoleon a reuşit să o înăbuşe, anume Marche-a-Terre, devenit, după 30 de ani de la evenimentele narate, în care ucisese peste 100 de oameni, un umil negustoraş care abia îşi mai duce zilele...

Orientările realiste ale lui Balzac au fost parcă înnăscute. Acestea sunt evidenţiate încă din Introducerea la ediţia princeps, unde autorul afirmă, printre altele, că el nu ridicularizeaza nici oameni, nici opinii şi că el respectă convingerile (!). "Persoanele îi sunt necunoscute şi nu e vina lui că faptele vorbesc de la sine şi că vorbesc aşa de puternic. El nici nu le-a creat, nici nu le-a provocat", remarcă autorul vorbind, nu fără uşoare nuanţe comice, despre subsemnat la persoana a III a. Pe de altă parte, romanul mi se pare însă o tentativă de realism. Criticile indirecte aduse la adresa societăţii se simt, e adevărat, dar altceva primează: pasiunea aceea nebunească, formă a pasiunii care, în opinia mea, exclude o dezvoltare perfectă a realismului.

Romanul se deschide cu o scenă de luptă, între trupele guvernamentale şi cele contrarevoluţionare, fidele exilatei dinastii regale.

În dialectul local, "Chouan" înseamnă bufniţă, cucuvea, poreclă dată acestor "sălbatici" datorită sunetului pe care-l utilizau pentru a chema la luptă. Acum... dacă ne uităm pe paginile cărţilor de istorie universală, mă îndoiesc că am putea da peste ceva legat de rezistenţa ţăranilor regalişti din Bretania. Evenimentele narate de Balzac au fost umbrite de altele, mai proeminente, cum ar fi căderea Directoratului sau ascensiunea lui Napoleon. Dar tocmai în aceste pete de istorie uitată constă frumuseţea rustică a vieţii.

Opera reflectă şi o lume divizată: ascensiunea crescândă a republicanilor şi lupta pe viaţă şi pe moarte a aristocraţiei pentru a îşi reimpune dominarea. Manipularea maselor, folosirea discursurilor regaliste ale iezuiţilor, intrigile, interceptările, scrisorile false sau dezinformarea sunt tot atâtea dovezi în sprijinul acestei afirmaţii. Dar... se pare că Revoluţia Franceză a fost un ideal atât de măreţ încât nicio josnicie feudală nu a reuşit să-l răzbată. E drept că s-au folosit şi mijloace mai puţin... "ortodoxe", dar "măreţia scopului scuză josnicia mijloacelor."

Deşi se desfăşoară într-un context istoric în care evenimentele influenţează întru totul viaţă "cetăţenilor", fiecare fiind, direct sau indirect, membru al unei "partide", romanul pare axat pe altceva: tema cea mai impunătoare care se identifică alături de război: iubirea. Povestea androgenică de amor între marchizul Le Gars şi Marie de Verneuil. Primul este comandantul trupelor regaliste, dânsa este trimisa Ministerului să îl asasineze "prin orice mijloc". Să te tragi de barbă şi nu alta!

Desigur, nu este vorba de o iubire spontană, aceasta începând după modelul acela aristocratic, în care manierele şi bună-cuviinţă determina apariţia unei temeri reverenţioase, care are să constituie ulterior sâmburele iubirii orbitoare.

Deznodământul este de o aşa intensitate încât, atunci când închizi cartea, trebuie să tragi la cârciumă şi să bei cu moşnegii, să-i asculți și să te dezmeticeşti.

"... beţie politică, cea mai periculoasă dintre toate, întrucât ea nu se răceşte decât în torente de sânge."

"Urăsc jurămintele. Prea au un aer circumspect."

"Gudin continuă cu o voce a cărei intensitate sporea mereu, căci bătrânul iezuit ştia că vehemenţa cu care vorbeşti reprezintă cel mai puternic dintre argumente pentru a-i convinge pe sălbaticii lui auditori."

"Da, aş putea mai bine decât oricare alta să fiu o mamă vrednică şi o soţie credincioasă; dar pentru a întreţine asemenea sentimente în sufletul unei femei, un bărbat nu trebuie să se căsătorească cu ea sub impulsul unei pasiuni."

Andrei Tamaş,
14 martie 2017

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

Les Chouans was a huge disappointment for me. I had expected the type of psychological and sociological analysis at which Balzac excels of the Breton peasants who participated in the Chouan Rebellion against the new Republic created by the French Revolution. Instead I got an historical romance in the tradition of Walter Scott for which the Chouan Insurgency was a mere background.

Les Chouans is one of Balzac's earlier novels and very simply one of his weaker efforts. Balzac has given us many excellent works. I cannot see any good reason for anyone to waste his or her time with this second-rate book.

[Burak Candan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balzac'ın bir takma isim kullanmadan yazdığı ilk roman olan Köylü İsyanı, ayrıca tüm eserlerini içeren ünlü İnsanlık Komedyası (La Comédie Humaine) külliyatının da ilk eserini oluşturuyor. Roman, Fransa'nın Bretanya bölgesinde 1794-1800 yılları arasında meydana gelmiş, devrim tarihindeki en büyük ve en kanlı ayaklanmalardan biri olan 'chouans isyanı'nın gölgesinde geçiyor. Bir yanda 'maviler' adı verilen cumhuriyet birliklerini, diğer yanda farklı ülkelere sürülmüş Bourbon Hanedanı'nın kışkırtması ve desteğiyle ayaklanmış chouanları (bölgenin fakir, yabanıl köylüleri) ve bunların merkezinde de aristokrat Marie de Verneuil ile isyancıların kumandanı kralcı Alphonse de Montauran'ın aşk hikayesini buluyoruz.

Öncelikle, tıpkı önsözde yazdığı gibi Balzac'ın hayatı nasıl bütün yönleriyle ele aldığına, onun ne denli detay takıntılı bir yazar olduğuna şahit oluyoruz romanda. Zira, Balzac bir yandan isyanın tarihsel arkaplanını resmederken öte yandan bölgenin coğrafi yapısını, cumhuriyetçi orduların ve kralcıların giyim kuşamını, chouansların kayda değer görünüşlerini, tavırlarını, yiyecek-içeceklerini vb. bir çok şeyi uzun uzadıya tasvir ediyor. Sonra bunların da ötesine geçip, -ana karakterler başta olmak üzere- karakterlerinin derin ruhsal betimlemerini de yapıyor. Yani tarih de, sosyoloji de, psikoloji de bütün bir bedenin parçaları görevini görüyor Balzac'ın romanında. Ayrıca -her ne kadar ön planda yer almasa da- romanın politik bir alt metni olduğunu da görüyoruz. Dünya tarihinde inanılmaz kritik bir öneme sahip olan bir dönemin aktörlerine, bugün dahi devam eden cumhuriyetçi/sekülerler ile monarşist/muhafazakarların iktidar kavgasına, bunların saf kaygılarına tanık oluyoruz. Komutan Hulot üzerinden cumhuriyet ideallerini; rahip Gudin ile dinin ve hurafelerin chouanların cehaleti üzerinde nasıl rol oynadığını, kralcıların bu yabanilikten faydalanmak adına dine ne kadar önem verdiğini görüyoruz. Yine, zamanının en faydacı siyasetçisi, dönemin polis ve savunma bakanı olan Joseph Fouche'un adının geçtiği birkaç satır ve onun ajanı olan Corentin gibi bir karakter, bize dönemin kaypak siyasi atmosferini de çok güzel anlatıyor.

Bu politik stilde devam etse kusursuz bir roman olabilecekken, gitgide romantizmin ağır basması kanımca romanın tek handikapını oluşturuyor. Zira, ne maceraperest Marie'nin ne de idealist Montauran'ın aşkları uğruna harcanan canlara, ödenen bedellere karşı bir empati kurabildiklerini görüyoruz. Dünyanın etraflarında döndüğü bu iki ana karakterle böylece çok yakınlık kuramıyoruz. Fakat bir açıdan da bu karakterler sanki romantik dönemin abartılı duygusallılığını, ağdalı romantizmini gerçekçi bir şekilde yansıtıyor.

Kısacası, yazarın ilk dönem eserlerinden olması sebebiyle romantik ögeler biraz ağır bassa da, muazzam Balzac karakterleriyle ve aşk, entrika, savaş, ihanetin içiçe geçtiği girift kurgusuyla eser keyifli bir okuma vaadediyor.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

(The Human Comedy #02/98)
This is an odd book. First off, you can tell the influence of Walter Scott - in good ways and also bad ways: good in that it's an exciting rollicking good yarn, bad in that he has to show off how much research he's done and digress about the clothing and cheese or grooming habits of the Bretons (this was the main problem I had with Ivanhoe, for example - the showing off of his background reading, not his knowledge of French cheese). Secondly, I never really knew what Balzac's position was on anything - who were we supposed to see as the good guys and who the bad guys? It certainly wasn't a Thackarey-style "novel without a hero" because we're often told how good some people are, when they also behave abominably (The Gars, for example, in a fit of pique orders the execution of 100 Republican soldiers who have been housed under his supposed protection - and he's the nominal romantic hero).

To be honest, by the end I was willing Hulot and even Corentin on to despatch The Gars and Marie de Verneuil, because the pair were just too damned selfish and didn't seem to care how many soldiers' lives they risked for their truncated love affair. I thought that Hulot was a much more interesting character.

So, the romance I didn't really buy into, but the action was cracking especially as it takes in a little-used period of French history, a civil war within a civil war. Like all Balzac, it's slow to start and he has to ensure that you know where all the pieces on his chess board are before he can actually tell you anything, but overall it was definitely worth reading - the scene where The Gars is pestered from all sides by allies wanting guarantees of preference if they help the King, just before a ball begins, is a masterpiece, especially when he throws his royal seal into the fire and proclaims that they can all go home and that he only wants people fighting for him who do so for principles; it's a tense and exciting scene. I have to say though, had it been another 100 pages longer it would have been pushing it.

[Armin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unheimlich spannend und schrecklich anstrengend, aber absolut lohnenswert, obwohl ich zu dem Buch eine ähnliche Hassliebe unterhielt wie das Liebespaar aus feindlichen Lagern. Ausführliche Rezi später.

[Comte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bien comme un Balzac : parfois on se fait vraiment chier, parfois c'est génial.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite Balzac novel. A ten day passionate love affair set in revolutionary France around 1799. The story was a bit to black and white. Marie meets the Gars or Maquis and instead of betraying him she falls head over heels. Then it’s basically all about them and sod the civil war. Marie does have an interesting backstory who basically is an expensive courtesan with a conscience.

What I did like about it were the Sir Walter Scott adventure aspects and the rough and ready Chouans. The town is also very atmospheric with the cliff like ramparts, foggy weather and also the intrigue and double crossing. The sub plots with the miser, the double dealer and everyone falling in love with Marie were entertaining.

[Alina Cristea · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a while since I last read a novel written by Honoré de Balzac, but I think his style is unmistakable, it felt familiar from the very first pages. I enjoyed reading this historical romance from the "Scènes de la vie militaire" section of "La comédie humaine". The plot was engaging and I found out interesting facts about the history of France.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about a period in French history that I know little about. While the French Revolution is well-known, the insurrections in the Vendee and Brittany are not. In this novel by Balzac, we learn of the Chouans of Brittany efforts to repeal what has happened in France since the Terror, and restore the monarchy. Since this is a novel, not a true history, it concentrates on the two sides, the Chouans under the Gars (Marquis de Montauran) and the Blues of the Republic, represented by Marie, the supposed Mademoiselle de Verneuil. Names and pseudonyms abound in the story so it can be difficult to keep track on who is fighting who.

The relationship between the two is at the heart of the story. Intrigue and betrayal are rife along with great protestations of love and sometimes of hate are heard on both their parts. In fact, the love angle dominates the historical one, which lessened my enjoyment although it is an interesting and fairly fast read. I still don't know that much about the Chouans, but I can see where it might encourage a reader to learn more.

[Irene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spies, deceit, bloody battles and fluttering hearts, this is a romance between a Royalist and a Republican set against a 1799 uprising by Royalists in north west France. I enjoyed the historical elements more than the romance which I could not accept. I find it hard to believe that two dedicated fighters would risk the lives of their comrades and the success of their mission for a romantic passion sparked in a chance encounter and fanned into flame in a few hours.

[Elisabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well at least I'm done with it.
So, where to start?
This was boring and hard to read. It was confusing, and just... not well written.
I do not appreciate the way Catholicism was shown at all. Merely the way of inspring religious fanatics and simpletons. (Literally the only "Catholics" who showed any interest at all in the faith, were the Breton peasants, who were shown as stupid, cruel, and barabaric. All the rest were above such things as religion. And an Ave Maria to a certain St Anne wouldn't have existed. Ridiculous.)
As for the characters... where to start. The only likeable characters were the revolutionary soldiers. Come on? Not any good royalists? Ugh.
ALL THE REPUBLICAN SOLDIERS WERE HONORABLE, BRAVE, AND MANLY. All the Royalists wre either conniving and honorless, or savage and cruel. This is not fair. I know this is about thirty years later than the most famous Vendéen rising (and Brittany I guess) but still no honour. Not going to believe it.
Now for the two main characters, our dear hero and heroine.
Well The Gars, or the Marquis whichever you prefer to call him, was the worst character (Barring Marie, but we will get to that in a minute.)First of all he falls madly in love with this extremly beautiful woman who he knows nothing about and acts annoyingly. But that isn't his worst crime. This is why I cannot forgive him. He massacred five hundred republican soldiers (not personally of course) How far is that from the great clemency showed by Cathelineau, Larochejaquelin, Bonchamps and the rest? And he did this because he thought his precious love was unfaithful. And it isn't even condemned. He never feels guilt about it. All this book is is PASSION, PASSION, PASSION. The Marquis and Marie's selfish passion (I can't call it love because love is self-sacrificing and giving and this was the opposite.)
But you think he was bad, well he wasn't, not compared to her.
Now for Marie the heroine of this annoying little story.
Well where shall we start. First of all she is hired to seduce a man and then kill him, and though she is vaguely uncomfortable with this she would have killed him if She hadn't developed a passion for him She is very beautiful and uses her beauty is such a way to seduce others and lead them astray. She flirts to try and make men do what she wants. (she literally is not worse than the villan Madame St Cyre de Gua. She isn't. And yet the madame is shown as the most horrible person and Marie is the good injured one.)
But even worse, twice she believes the Marquis unfaiuthful and almost kills him before she finds out he wasn't. And this isn't condemned either. How horrible is it that if you think someone is unfaithful to your passion you can just kill them?
And of course the beautiful ending, Marie and the Marquies get married at the last minute and die in each others arms. Romeo and Juliet anyone?
I apoligize for this very long, angry and sarcastic review:-)

[Benjamin Curry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Others have given this a rating below the other masterpieces of the Human Comedy, but for me this is one of my favourites. It is set in Brittany, Napoleon has just declared himself First Consul, and the Republican army in Brittany is fighting the Choan royalist guerrilla insurgency. Agaijst this background Balzac weaves a love story. Balzacs incredible power is his ability to transpose himself into the shoes of a peasant, a Republican military commander or a counter-revolutionary aristocrat and "rise to their level", capturing their psychology, their motives and manners with sympathy.

[Eu și cărțile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Această carte a fost o adevărată provocare. Eu iubesc descrierile, însă în această carte ele sunt total diferite de tot ce am citit până acum. Nu sunt descrieri “de decor”, ci par mai degrabă o hartă complicată, un drum printr-o Bretanie întunecată, aspră, plină de capcane, în care nimeni nu se mișcă fără să fie urmărit.
Multitudinea de personaje mi-a dat bătăi de cap, iar șirul continuu de scene, drumuri, întâlniri și tensiuni mi-a șters, pe alocuri, entuziasmul pentru lectură. Totul se petrece într-o stare de neliniște permanentă: bătălii, ambuscade, alianțe fragile, trădări posibile. Iar timpul… parcă nu curge normal. E mereu cețos, grăbit, fragmentat, ca și cum romanul nu te lasă niciodată să respiri.
La un moment dat, nici măcar nu mai înțelegeam de partea cui este domnișoara de Verneuil: a șuanilor sau a republicanilor? Dar, pe măsură ce am înaintat, mi-am dat seama că rolul ei este altul și că Balzac nu vrea neapărat să ne ofere personaje “clare”, ci oameni prinși între instinct, orgoliu, dorință și interese.

Spre final, am înțeles mai bine de ce romanul are această atmosferă confuză și apăsătoare: pentru că în lumea din Șuanii nimic nu e stabil, nimic nu e sigur și nimeni nu e doar într-o singură tabără. Totul se negociază, se joacă, se ascunde. Iar în spatele idealurilor — fie ele monarhiste sau republicane — se simte mereu frica, ambiția și nevoia de a supraviețui. Poate de aceea cartea mi-a lăsat impresia unei lupte care nu se termină niciodată, în care oamenii nu se pierd doar în păduri și drumuri, ci și în propriile alegeri.

3,5/5⭐

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: H. Balzac (1799-1850)
Title: Les Chouans
Genre: historical fiction
Published: 1829
Language: French
Themes:  love vs duty  (Royalists vs Républicans)
Setting: Brittany France

Quick Scan
What is the story about?
Balzac uses the guerilla warfare of  'La Chouannerie'  (1794-1800)
....as the backdrop in this novel.
Les Chouans from Brittany are supporters of the King.
This story depicts a monarchist Brittany in rebellion
...against the revolutionary national government of 1799.
This work heralded the creation of a new type of historical novel
 Balzac reveals historical narratives by
...creating  characters or “types” in the place of known historical figures.
Les Chouans  is also a love story at heart (romantique à souhaite)
...filled with seduction in mousseline dresses, spies, lies and revenge.
And....what a love story it is!
Motif: a phrase repeated several times by both lovers:
'un jour sans lendemain' (pg. 217, 231, 393)
..'a day without a morrow' sets the tone in this drama.

Characters:
Marie-Nathalie de VERNEUIL : Républicain, spy for the national government, 26 yr.
M. de Montauran: (nickname 'Le Gars') Young aristocratic leader of Les Chouans.
M.Corentin: Secret agent for Républicain police, 22 yr.
Comtesse  du Gua: Chouanne adventurer with a tumultuous past!
M. Hurlot: Républican commander for the  'blues' in Bretagne, 33 yr.
Marche-a-Terre: (nickname): Chouan - young fighter, Pierre Leroi.
Pille-miche: (nickname) : Chouan  young fighter, Jean Cibot.

Conclusion:
The book begins with a deluge of descriptions of the green and verdant road leading from Fougères to Ernée in Brittany France. I thought ...when will he start the story? Then before I knew it  I was in the middle of an ambush Les Chouans vs Les Républicans with the clicks of swords and howls of hand to hand combat! I had to get used to the frenzied action that ended in powerful  dialogue  that suprises the reader!

Strong point:
Balzac makes the past visible...in your mind! La Chouannerie' is a  civil war in French history that I would never have read about...had it not been for Balzac!

Strong point: local color and realistic details 
Balzac was a great admirer James Fenimore Cooper (The Last of the Mohicans). In the first chapter Balzac describes 'Les Gars' (the insurgents of Brittany) as 'Mohicans."....sauvagues .... à la manière dont les Mohicans."

Difficult point:
I accept the extra work reading french (looking up words). But this book adds another dimension to the situation. Balzac writes a novel drenched in historical facts. That means....even more work!
Difficult point:
the characters have nicknames and at times use false names....as if I wasn't confused enough!


Strong point:
Balzac saves the best for last...my favoirte chapter was 31 Sweeping in scope and intrigue..... and  a passionate  tête-a-tête between lovers. I couldn't stop reading and forgot time and place. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Read it in English...and discover  Balzac's perfect description of the powerful  men in government.

Last thoughts:
I've been reading French intensively for the past 5 years. I read Zola's Rougon-Macquart 20 novels in French.... but haven't really made Balzac a priority in the past. Having read Les Chouans I can understand why Zola considered Balzac as a role-model for his writing project Rougon-Macquart!

[Nick Garbutt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is concerned with the rebellion in Brittainy which took place just as Napoleon seized power in France. It is an early example of a French historical novel and was inspired, no doubt by the works of Sir Walter Scott.
It is an intriguing topic, an incident I knew nothing about and the novel contains interesting insights into the peasant way of life, guerilla tactics and church practices.
But it is not a great work. It is far too melodramatic and sentimental- the plot centring around a scarcely credible move-match between an aristocratic rebel leader and a government spy.
It made for a hard reading experience and I feel quite proud (and very relieved) to have finished it. The trouble is that the time it took is time I’ll never get back!

[Chrissie]

Available at Librivox.
Narrator Jim Locke.
Translator Katherine Prescott Worseley.


******************
Père Goriot 4 stars
The Unknown Masterpiece 4 stars
Cousin Bette 3 stars
Eugénie Grandet 3 stars
La Rabouilleuse 3 stars
The Chouans TBR
The Magic Skin TBR

[Elizabeth (Alaska) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This added further to my knowledge of the French Revolution. It takes place in 1799 in Brittany, where people of deep religious conviction resided. The Republic had virtually outlawed religion and gave the churches themselves "to the people." Though France and Napoleon were carrying on battles throughout Europe at this time, France itself had been relatively peaceful for a few years. The Chouans, those Breton Catholics, rose up in honor of God and King. Vive le roi!

There is a lot of plot to this. It opens with a skirmish between the Republican "Blues" and the Chouans at a promontory called La Pelerine. Much of this novel is the conflict between these groups. There is also a rather nice romance between a beautiful woman hired by the Blues (at 300,000 francs) to bewitch the chief of the Chouans - the Gars - and to betray him so that he could be killed. As the reader gets deeper into the novel, it becomes quite a good thriller.

Though there is the excellent plot, Balzac manages to find a way for decent characterization as well - decent, not excellent or perfect. Here he finds a way to express rage:

On this occasion the tone of smothered rage with which he uttered the words made his two friends silent and circumspect. Even the pits of the small-pox which dented that veteran face seemed deeper, and the skin itself browner than usual. His broad queue, braided at the edges, had fallen upon one of his epaulettes as he replaced his three-cornered hat, and he flung it back with such fury that the ends became untied.

I've often been surprised at Balzac's ability to draw believable women. On the other hand, this, his first novel, missed the mark slightly.

There is one thing remarkable about women: they never reason about their blameworthy actions, - feeling carries them off their feet; even in their dissimulation there is an element of sincerity; and in women alone crime may exist without baseness, for it often happens that they do not know how it came about that they committed it.

The edition I read is in the collection: Works of Honore de Balzac where Katharine Prescott Wormeley was the translator. I have no way of comparing this translation, but I thought it read wonderfully as you might know from my 5-stars.

[Ed Lehman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed by this one. The beginning was promising because I had never read much, if anything about the resistance to the French Revolution amongst the folks in the countryside…known as the Chuoans. However, Balzac quickly alienated me by making this a love story in the midst of war. An aristocratic lady, supportive of the Revolution, falls in love with an undercover aristocrat who is one of the leaders of the Chouans. BUT….. is anyone a spy? Can the parties really trust each other? They quickly fall out of love when they believe their suspicions…and fall back…and then out again…and then in again. It was too much. After a while, I just didn’t care enough to pay attention to the other characters….all whose allegiances were also suspicious. I found it all very confusing and it was a slog to finish.

[David C Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m giving this three stars only because it’s Balzac and it’s the first novel of fhe Comedie Humaine. Otherwise it’s an almost laughably over the top Gothic Romance - a love story across the political divide of the religious and monarchical resistance to the Revolution during the Directory (Napoleon has just taken power) - with incredibly broad over acting by all fhe characters. At one point even a mustache is twirled! I can’t even begin to summarize the parallel/intertwined plots and betrayals of love and politics. I will say it might have been helpful for one of fhe allied planners to have read this before DDay because Balzac gives a very detailed description of the Norman field system and the difficulty of military units passing through, let alone fighting in, the Bocage.

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried, I really tried. But I never did sort out who was on which side. The naming complications were as hard as Tolstoy. And the love story was just ludicrous. On the plus side, it led me to finding out more about the years following the French Revolution.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't a review; it's just a summary from my 2006 reading journal. There are spoilers throughout.

I thought I'd start reading Balzac with the Yahoo Balzac group but I couldn't source Les Chouans anywhere here in Melbourne. In the end I had to download it from Project Gutenberg but couldn't bear reading it on a computer screen and in the end I printed out all 248 pages of it. It was a horrible (and wasteful) way to read a book! (Thank goodness I now have a Kindle and can download Balzac from manybooks.com to my heart's content).

Since 2007 there has been a helpful plot summary and background info about the revolution on Wikipedia, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Chouans) but when I read it in 2006 I was on my own and found it a bit confusing. What follows is my interpretation of events...

Les Chouans is set in the aftermath of the French Revolution (and the execution of Marie Antoinette and Louis the XIV) when Napoleon is in power but there are outbreaks of civil war. The Royalists are still in rebellion and they have used the local Chouans to create an insurgency. Hulot, a professional soldier, has been sent to suppress it, and he's the only one in the whole story whose loyalty doesn't waver. He serves France, and he fights according to his code of honour.

These rustic Chouans rise up in support of the King-in-Exile and his supporters, (who include the British), their leader being one Marche-a-Terre. This man dresses in furs and seems indistinguishable in the rural landscape, a handy attribute for a guerilla. The Chouans are their own men, but they are also in league with 'Le Gars' (an alias for the royalist leader, the Marquis de Montauran).

In the beginning we are not at all sure about the loyalties of the other characters. Marie de Vermeuill has been sent by Paris to seduce Montauran and so subdue the rebellion, and she's been paid 300,000 francs to do it. She is accompanied by her maid Francine, whose lover is Marche a Terre, the leader of the Chouans i.e. on the other side. (Though it's not clear if she still loves Marche a Terre, later on when Marie is in peril, this maid draws on his love for her to protect her mistress.)

Anyway, although Balzac's story includes military operations, it's not really about the Chouans - the focus is really a love story about a treacherous woman who loses her heart to a man on the opposite side of the political fence, and it epitomises the human cost of the revolutionary period in France.

At the start of the story the Chouans (in support of the Royalists) attack the Republicans (led by Commander Hulot) and they attract many of the local peasants to their cause. Marie de Vermeuile (who is beautiful, of course, and a lady) turns up with her letters of authority from Napoleon's man Joseph Fouché and sends Hulot off to round up unwilling conscripts to fight for the Republican cause. This infuriates Hulot (a stolid old soldier who serves the government of the day whoever it is but likes to have his military judgement respected) and he resigns, but he has to come back when his replacement Captain Merle is shot in an act of treachery caused by Mme de Gua.

Marie meets up with this Madame de Gua at an inn on the road, and is immediately entranced by her 'son' who, as it turns out, is the leader of the Royalists, Montauran i.e. 'Le Gars' and the man Marie is meant to seduce and betray. Mme de Gua is instantly suspicious of Marie, not to mention extremely jealous. She's travelling disguised as the mother of 'Le Gars' but she's obviously much too young to be his mother...

The story sometimes verges on farce as the plot twists and turns. (This was Balzac's first serious story but the melodramatic influence of his previous pot-boilers shows in his style). Marie makes her way to Viveterre where she is supposed to have safe passage after 'Le Gars' gave her his grey glove. But Mme de Gua is there, and she suspects Marie. A rumour that she was a Parisian courtesan circulates, and Montauran goes cold on her. Marie denies the rumours but she has to flee and the suspicion of treachery leads to the massacre of 65 of Hulot's men by the Chouans.

Inevitably they meet up again and resolve the issue but the reader isn't sure who is duping whom. Marie hides out in the house of a miser and witnesses his torture at the hands of Marche a Terre's cruel offsider Pille-Miche. She's so beautiful that (after she pretends to be a ghost and the other men flee!) he proposes to her. Naturally she refuses but he helps her anyway and sends her off to the hovel of Galope-Chopin, a local whose help can be bought by either side. Hiding there, Marie is surprised by the Comte de Bauvac, also hiding out. He proposes too (!) but of course she rejects him although he's a wealthy Royalist who stands to have his fortunes restored if the monarchy is reinstated. Anyway, he gives her safe passage to go to a Ball that Montauran is holding (which seems a little odd in the middle of a war but I guess that's why the aristocrats lost the battle, eh?)

So off goes Marie, makes up with Montauran and confesses that yes, she is the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis de Vermeuill and has been forced by circumstances to fend for herself. After her mother went into a nunnery to absolve her shame and then died, her father the marquis took her in and left her money in his Will. But when he died his son challenged the Will and - having become used to a life of luxury - Marie went to live with an elderly gent of 70 who became her guardian. Paris society of course thought that she was his courtesan and he left Paris in embarrassment, leaving her penniless. Imprudently she then married Danton, rival of Robespierre, but had to embark on her life of intrigue when he died leaving her again penniless.

Montauran decides to overlook all this and to marry her so they agree to meet at Marie's house in Fougeres. He sets off to organise the priest and witnesses but meanwhile the hunt for him is on. Corentin, Fouche's wily spy, manages to find out about his whereabouts from Barbette, the wife of Galope-Chopin, who doesn't realise she's dealing with the Blues (Republicans) because Corentin has disguised himself as a Chouan. (It doesn't help the confusion that Balzac keeps using different names for his characters and the opposing sides.)

After Corentin has left, Galope-Chopin comes home, and discovers what Barbette has done. He's furious and sends her away, but it's too late. Marche a Terre and Pille-Miche arrive and behead him as a traitor. Barbette comes back to find his head swinging from the door and tells her son to serve the Blues to avenge his father's death. (She actually makes the child wear his father's bloodied boot!)

So now Barbette's allegiance really swings to the Republicans and she goes off to tell Hulot and Corentin about the smoke signal that will reveal Montauran's arrival at Fougeres. Now aware of Marie's treachery, Corentin plots her downfall using guile to do it. He arranges for her to receive a letter purporting to be a love-letter from Montauran to Mme de Gua. Marie is furious, denounces him to Hulot and then sets off to confront him. When they meet, of course, she realises the letter was from Corentin and bitterly regrets her actions. They marry, spend a blissful night together and then try to flee. Marie disguises herself in Montauran's clothes to try to draw fire away from him while he, dressed as a Chouan, climbs down a ladder provided by Marche a Terre but he is shot and they die in each others arms as Corentin and Hulot squabble about the dishonourable way the deed was done.

So, things went badly awry for Marie. She fell for Montauran and ended up double-crossing herself and everyone else. She abandoned Corentin, her co-conspirator from Paris and because she couldn't stand the rough-and-ready Chouans, she came up with her own plan - to marry their leader, i.e. Montauran. Corentin retaliated by fooling her into believing that Montauran loved her rival Mme de Gua and so Marie ordered Hulot to destroy the rebels. She found out the truth too late, and she couldn't save Montauran. They died, the day after they were married.

Well, what else could Balzac do? History was already written, and he couldn't have a Royalist leader and his traitorous bride live happily ever after, eh?

[mohab samir · Rating 5 out of 5]

تكمن أهمية هذا العمل فى كونه العمل الأول المنشور باسم بلزاك فى شبابه بعد سلسلة من الأعمال التجريبية المنشورة من جانبه تحت اسم مستعار .
ويبدى بلزاك الشاب بالفعل من النضج الأدبى الكافى للجرأة لنشر عمل تحت اسمه الحقيقى فى زمن كان الكتاب والروائيون فى أوروبا عموما وفى باريس محل إقامة الشاب على وجه الخصوص فى كثرة أعداد المحامين والصحفيين وهم جميعا يتصارعون على نيل الشهرة الأدبية والعظمة كتلك التى نالها شاتوبريان او فيكتور هيجو ورغم ان الغالبية لا يمكن لها حتى ان تقترب من هذه القامات الادبية ولو من بعيد الا ان عوامل الحظ والضحالة الفكرية لغالبية القراء وعوامل الرشوة والمحسوبية كانت تعمل احيانا على الفوز بشهرة مؤقته وسمعة ثقافية مشكوك فيها . وبتعدد امثال هؤلاء تضيع المواهب الحقيقية بين أكداس من الأعمال الغثة التى تمتلى بها المكتبات ودور الثقافة ويتيه معها القارىء فى محاولة بائسة لمعرفة أى منها يستأهل إهتمامه ووقته .
الا ان حس بلزاك المرهف والفكاهى فى كثير من الاحيان وسعة ثقافته وموهبته الأدبية المتطورة وخياله الذى يسع الكون والتاريخ ومثابرته لتحقيق مكانته الادبية التى يراها كل هذه العوامل لايمكنها الا ان تعلى من قدر صاحبها وسط هذا الانفجار الادبى فى زمانه .
ونعجب اذ نجد بلزاك الشاب يعمد الى التأريخ الادبى للحقبة الثورية الأولى وخصوصا للحروب الأهلية فى الڤانديه وبريتانيا غربى وجنوب غرب فرنسا حيث كانت المقاطعات المؤيدة لعودة الملكية فى حالة عصيان وحرب أهلية مع الجمهورية الفرنسية الثورية ويدخلنا بلزاك الى عالم الناعقين من الثوار الملكيين من أهالى المقاطعات البسطاء والفلاحين المؤمنين بعدالة قضيتهم ونتعرف على قادتهم من رجال الملك ونبلاء البلاط من ذوى المطامع او اصحاب البطولة والشهامة كما ننتقل بينهم وبين اعدائهم من رجال الجيش الجمهورى وعملاؤه ونشهد معاركهم فى الجبال والحقول فى وضح النهار وفى عتمة الليل حيث يستند بلزاك الى اماكن واحداث تاريخية واقعية متصرفا فيها تصرف الأديب والفنان وعالم النفس والقائد الحربى والانسان الواعى أولا وأخيرا .
وليست الرواية رغم ذلك رواية ايديولوجية او تاريخية ولكنها فى الاساس عمل واقعى يحمل طابع الرومانسية فى قصة الحب العميقة والعنيفة بين الفتاة الجمهورية والقائد الشاب للحروب الملكية ضد الجمهورية وهو الحب الذى سيتخطى شدة التناقض الواقعى بين المحبين ليبقى هو ذاته فقط .

[Ezechiel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The more I read Balzac the more confused I feel about him. This is not his best work (it’s also his first). I was expecting to learn about the Chouans and the socio-psychological reasons for their resistance to the French Republic. Instead I got a melodramatic love story I didn’t really care about at all, and that was somehow very predictable in the way it unfolded. The writing is dense and sometimes hard to follow, even for someone who is used to 19th century French novels.
Still 3 stars because who am I to give less to this French literature monster?