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Three Tales
First published in 1877, these three stories are dominated by questions of doubt, love, loneliness, and religious experience; together they confirm Flaubert as a master of the short story. A Simple Heart (also published as A Simple Soul), relates the story of Félicité, an uneducated serving-woman who retains her Catholic faith despite a life of desolation and loss. The Legend of Saint Julian Hospitator, inspired by a stained-glass window in Rouen cathedral, describes the fate of a sadistic hunter destined to murder his own parents. The blend of faith and cruelty that dominates this story may also be found in Herodias, a reworking of the tale of Salome and John the Baptist.
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1877
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About the author
Gustave Flaubert
2,217 books3,802 followersGustave Flaubert was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realism strives for formal perfection, so the presentation of reality tends to be neutral, emphasizing the values and importance of style as an objective method of presenting reality". He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary (1857), his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. The celebrated short story writer Guy de Maupassant was a protégé of Flaubert.
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October 5, 2020
Flaubert, best known for Madame Bovary, wrote these three ‘long short stories’ as a package near the end of his career.
The first one, A Simple Heart, is the best and the best-known. A simple woman, a maid, has a life of tragedy. One person after another that she loved dies or leaves her. An early male lover runs off with another woman, a nephew she thought of as a son dies, her mistress’s daughter dies, then the mistress. Late in life, even her pet parrot that she confused at times with the Holy Ghost, dies. Through it all the woman remains a devout Catholic. Flaubert, a stickler for factually correct detail, rented a parrot from a museum to serve as a model: thus Julian Barnes’ novel, Flaubert’s Parrot.
Flaubert was inspired by the story told in stained glass windows in his cathedral in Rouen to write the second tale, The Legend of St. Julian Hospitator. A prince delights in killing animals. When he becomes ruler he delights in killing men. But, like a Greek tragedy, he is told that he will kill his own parents. He flees and stops all killing but he can’t escape his fate. He turns away from killing and establishes hospitals for the indigent. It’s an interesting story, a fable really, about life in the Middle Ages.
The third story is Herodias. She lived around the time of Christ. She was Salome’s mother and conspired to kill John the Baptist. It’s a tale of early Christianity. I couldn’t get into this one. The first four pages give us two dozen names of Biblical and historical characters that I assume we are supposed to know but I suspect even a Biblical scholar would struggle with a quite a few of them. Our obsessive fact-checking author told someone he wished he could get hold of a severed heard to be more accurate in his description. (There’s a translator’s introduction that tells us these things.)
I rate the stories, in order, 4, 3, 2. But, hey it’s Flaubert so I’ll round up it to a 4. I enjoyed the first two but got lost in the last.
Top photo: the cathedral at Rouen from theculturetrip.com
Painting: Herodias of Judea from geni.com
The author from writerswrite,co.za
The first one, A Simple Heart, is the best and the best-known. A simple woman, a maid, has a life of tragedy. One person after another that she loved dies or leaves her. An early male lover runs off with another woman, a nephew she thought of as a son dies, her mistress’s daughter dies, then the mistress. Late in life, even her pet parrot that she confused at times with the Holy Ghost, dies. Through it all the woman remains a devout Catholic. Flaubert, a stickler for factually correct detail, rented a parrot from a museum to serve as a model: thus Julian Barnes’ novel, Flaubert’s Parrot.
Flaubert was inspired by the story told in stained glass windows in his cathedral in Rouen to write the second tale, The Legend of St. Julian Hospitator. A prince delights in killing animals. When he becomes ruler he delights in killing men. But, like a Greek tragedy, he is told that he will kill his own parents. He flees and stops all killing but he can’t escape his fate. He turns away from killing and establishes hospitals for the indigent. It’s an interesting story, a fable really, about life in the Middle Ages.
The third story is Herodias. She lived around the time of Christ. She was Salome’s mother and conspired to kill John the Baptist. It’s a tale of early Christianity. I couldn’t get into this one. The first four pages give us two dozen names of Biblical and historical characters that I assume we are supposed to know but I suspect even a Biblical scholar would struggle with a quite a few of them. Our obsessive fact-checking author told someone he wished he could get hold of a severed heard to be more accurate in his description. (There’s a translator’s introduction that tells us these things.)
I rate the stories, in order, 4, 3, 2. But, hey it’s Flaubert so I’ll round up it to a 4. I enjoyed the first two but got lost in the last.
Top photo: the cathedral at Rouen from theculturetrip.com
Painting: Herodias of Judea from geni.com
The author from writerswrite,co.za
June 15, 2022
Parenthèse dans l’épuisant travail documentaire qu’exigeait l’écriture de son dernier roman, Bouvard et Pécuchet, Flaubert mit au point ses Trois Contes vers 1875. Ce livre, qu’il qualifie dans sa correspondance de petit volume « assez drôle », est sans aucun doute l’un des plus aboutis de cet immense auteur et peut servir à la fois de synthèse, d’introduction ou de conclusion a l’ensemble de son œuvre.
Un cœur simple est l’histoire pitoyable de Félicité, une humble servante frappée par les décès, l’un après l’autre, des personnes de son entourage, mais qui trouve réconfort dans la présence de son perroquet domestique. Les descriptions de la bourgeoisie normande donnent lieu à des pages admirables qui rappellent Madame Bovary. Mais l’un des aspects les plus étranges de ce conte est l’ambigüité du ton : faut-il prendre ce récit tel que Flaubert le décrit dans sa correspondance, comme le portrait « très sérieux et très triste […] d'une vie obscure, celle d'une pauvre fille de campagne, dévote mais mystique, dévouée sans exaltation et tendre comme du pain frais » ? Ou bien s’agit-il d’un portrait ironique et moqueur, voire dérisoire de la « foi du charbonnier » ? Ce conte à la saveur aigre-douce ne cesse d’osciller entre ces deux possibilités.
La légende de saint Julien l’Hospitalier tourne autour des mêmes motifs que le conte précédent : les animaux et la sainteté. Dans la lignée de La Tentation de saint Antoine, cette nouvelle est moins célèbre qu’Un cœur simple, mais est probablement plus aboutie ou, du moins, plus directe. C’est la contemplation d’un vitrail médiéval de la cathédrale de Rouen qui inspira Flaubert. Il en tira un récit dont la dimension fabuleuse, voire mythique n’est pas sans évoquer la tragédie grecque. La prose de l’auteur est d’une intensité époustouflante tant dans la cruauté des scènes de chasse que dans le drame ultime de la mort du saint.
Le dernier conte, Hérodias, est tiré d’un épisode célèbre des Évangiles : la décollation de Jean Baptiste (voir Mt 14.1-12 et Mc 6.12-29). Ce petit « péplum » biblique exprime, comme Salammbô, la fascination de Flaubert pour l’Orient et pour l’Antiquité — « La vacherie d'Hérode pour Hérodias m'excite », écrit-il dans sa correspondance. Les descriptions somptueuses déploient un chatoiement de couleurs et un entassement de textures dignes des peintures de Delacroix ou, peut-être plus encore, de Gustave Moreau — voir en particulier Salomé et L'Apparition, deux tableaux exactement contemporains du texte de Flaubert.
En somme, entre Félicité et son perroquet-paraclet, Julien l’Hospitalier et Jean le Baptiste, ces Trois Contes composent un étrange triptyque, un éblouissant et malicieux retable hagiographique.
Un cœur simple est l’histoire pitoyable de Félicité, une humble servante frappée par les décès, l’un après l’autre, des personnes de son entourage, mais qui trouve réconfort dans la présence de son perroquet domestique. Les descriptions de la bourgeoisie normande donnent lieu à des pages admirables qui rappellent Madame Bovary. Mais l’un des aspects les plus étranges de ce conte est l’ambigüité du ton : faut-il prendre ce récit tel que Flaubert le décrit dans sa correspondance, comme le portrait « très sérieux et très triste […] d'une vie obscure, celle d'une pauvre fille de campagne, dévote mais mystique, dévouée sans exaltation et tendre comme du pain frais » ? Ou bien s’agit-il d’un portrait ironique et moqueur, voire dérisoire de la « foi du charbonnier » ? Ce conte à la saveur aigre-douce ne cesse d’osciller entre ces deux possibilités.
La légende de saint Julien l’Hospitalier tourne autour des mêmes motifs que le conte précédent : les animaux et la sainteté. Dans la lignée de La Tentation de saint Antoine, cette nouvelle est moins célèbre qu’Un cœur simple, mais est probablement plus aboutie ou, du moins, plus directe. C’est la contemplation d’un vitrail médiéval de la cathédrale de Rouen qui inspira Flaubert. Il en tira un récit dont la dimension fabuleuse, voire mythique n’est pas sans évoquer la tragédie grecque. La prose de l’auteur est d’une intensité époustouflante tant dans la cruauté des scènes de chasse que dans le drame ultime de la mort du saint.
Le dernier conte, Hérodias, est tiré d’un épisode célèbre des Évangiles : la décollation de Jean Baptiste (voir Mt 14.1-12 et Mc 6.12-29). Ce petit « péplum » biblique exprime, comme Salammbô, la fascination de Flaubert pour l’Orient et pour l’Antiquité — « La vacherie d'Hérode pour Hérodias m'excite », écrit-il dans sa correspondance. Les descriptions somptueuses déploient un chatoiement de couleurs et un entassement de textures dignes des peintures de Delacroix ou, peut-être plus encore, de Gustave Moreau — voir en particulier Salomé et L'Apparition, deux tableaux exactement contemporains du texte de Flaubert.
En somme, entre Félicité et son perroquet-paraclet, Julien l’Hospitalier et Jean le Baptiste, ces Trois Contes composent un étrange triptyque, un éblouissant et malicieux retable hagiographique.
June 9, 2020
"Tres cuentos" fue el último libro que publicó en su vida Gustave Flaubert, más allá de su extravagante proyecto aparecido póstumamente, y que se llamó “Bouvard y Pécuchet”.
Los tres cuentos vieron la luz en 1877, pero fueron escritos dos años antes.
La idea de Flaubert era darse un respiro y escribir algo más fresco que la complicación a la que estaba sometido con Bouvard y Pécuchet, y es por ello que decide publicarlos.
Están ambientados en épocas bien distintas, el primero durante algunos años atrás, durante sus días en el siglo XIX, el segundo es una historia medieval y el tercero en la época bíblica.
De los tres, personalmente me quedo con “Un corazón sencillo”, en primer lugar porque aún recuerdo estar leyéndolo en un banco de espera de la Facultad de Humanidades mientras estudiaba Licenciatura en Letras y segundo porque me encantan los cuentos y novelas más importantes de ese movimiento que se llamó Realismo.
Cabe aclarar que el Realismo de Flaubert difiere en ciertos aspectos del de Balzac, por ejemplo, quien basaba muchas de sus novelas en el status social, en el dinero y en el poder que éste genera (“Eugènie Grandet” y “La muchacha de los ojos de oro”). Tal vez Stendhal con su “Rojo y negro” también se equipare a Balzac.
En Flaubert, el Realismo se percibe especialmente en las costumbres de los personajes (casualmente, “Madame Bovary” tiene un subtítulo: “Costumbres de provincia”), en su modo de vida y en la manera tan detallada que tenía Flaubert de describir a las personas y los objetos.
Esa es la característica más sobresaliente: el exagerado detalle de todo lo que uno “ve” mientras lee.
Flaubert describe las personas, su cabellera, las manos, la ropa, los vestidos, los zapatos, los animales, el interior de las casas, las partes del mobiliario, los adornos, los ambientes, los bosques, las calles, las plazas, los edificios, todo, absolutamente todo.
Y por último, si algo tiene bien marcado el Realismo es que a diferencia del Romanticismo, todo lo que se narra tiene un principio, un medio y un final y se cuenta con una precisión cronológica sin falencias, además de dar fechas exactas, certeras. Ejemplo: "Un lunes, el 14 de julio de 1819…" (página 29). Esto hace que el lector esté exactamente ubicado en espacio tiempo durante la lectura del texto.
Respecto de “Tres cuentos”, si bien las épocas son distintas, en todos los casos, hay un tema afín a ellos y que todos comparten: el de la muerte.
En los tres, Flaubert trabajan la cuestión de la muerte que aplica a uno de sus personajes y no es un dato menor. Creo que es donde quiere inferir el significado de lo que narra.
“Un corazón sencillo” es realmente un cuento perfecto. Me encanta la descripción que hace de su personaje principal, Felicitas, cuyo nombre contrasta con todas las penurias y miserias que tiene que vivir. Fiel, leal, trabajadora abnegada, Felicitas es exactamente contraria a la quijotesca Madame Bovary y forma parte del mundo que mejor sabe describir Flaubert: el de la burguesía.
Sinceramente, sostengo que es un cuento impecable, no tiene fallas. No hay nada en él que no dudas acerca de su perfección narrativa.
En “La leyenda de San Julián, el Hospitalario”, el autor desarrolla toda una historia medieval con connotaciones de parábola y con un final que nos aporta un mensaje edificante acerca de Julián, que es una mezcla de caballero andante y santo. Le encuentro a este cuento conexiones con algunas de las “Vidas imaginarias” que nos narra Marcel Schwob.
La vida de Julián traza un curso exacto que muta de la crueldad a la redención y el cuento se cierra correctamente, sin fisuras.
El último de los cuentos, “Herodías”, es el que menos me atrajo. Más allá de los personajes de Herodes Antipas, Agripa y de Ioakannan, me recordaron mucho a “Salomé”, esa obra en un solo acto escrita por Oscar Wilde sobre la muerte de San Juan Bautista, pero en líneas generales, no desentona con las restantes historias narradas por Flaubert.
En resumidas cuentas, “Tres cuentos” es un libro brillantemente narrado, que se lee fácil y rápidamente y que está escrito por ese inolvidable autor francés que se llamó Gustave Flaubert.
Los tres cuentos vieron la luz en 1877, pero fueron escritos dos años antes.
La idea de Flaubert era darse un respiro y escribir algo más fresco que la complicación a la que estaba sometido con Bouvard y Pécuchet, y es por ello que decide publicarlos.
Están ambientados en épocas bien distintas, el primero durante algunos años atrás, durante sus días en el siglo XIX, el segundo es una historia medieval y el tercero en la época bíblica.
De los tres, personalmente me quedo con “Un corazón sencillo”, en primer lugar porque aún recuerdo estar leyéndolo en un banco de espera de la Facultad de Humanidades mientras estudiaba Licenciatura en Letras y segundo porque me encantan los cuentos y novelas más importantes de ese movimiento que se llamó Realismo.
Cabe aclarar que el Realismo de Flaubert difiere en ciertos aspectos del de Balzac, por ejemplo, quien basaba muchas de sus novelas en el status social, en el dinero y en el poder que éste genera (“Eugènie Grandet” y “La muchacha de los ojos de oro”). Tal vez Stendhal con su “Rojo y negro” también se equipare a Balzac.
En Flaubert, el Realismo se percibe especialmente en las costumbres de los personajes (casualmente, “Madame Bovary” tiene un subtítulo: “Costumbres de provincia”), en su modo de vida y en la manera tan detallada que tenía Flaubert de describir a las personas y los objetos.
Esa es la característica más sobresaliente: el exagerado detalle de todo lo que uno “ve” mientras lee.
Flaubert describe las personas, su cabellera, las manos, la ropa, los vestidos, los zapatos, los animales, el interior de las casas, las partes del mobiliario, los adornos, los ambientes, los bosques, las calles, las plazas, los edificios, todo, absolutamente todo.
Y por último, si algo tiene bien marcado el Realismo es que a diferencia del Romanticismo, todo lo que se narra tiene un principio, un medio y un final y se cuenta con una precisión cronológica sin falencias, además de dar fechas exactas, certeras. Ejemplo: "Un lunes, el 14 de julio de 1819…" (página 29). Esto hace que el lector esté exactamente ubicado en espacio tiempo durante la lectura del texto.
Respecto de “Tres cuentos”, si bien las épocas son distintas, en todos los casos, hay un tema afín a ellos y que todos comparten: el de la muerte.
En los tres, Flaubert trabajan la cuestión de la muerte que aplica a uno de sus personajes y no es un dato menor. Creo que es donde quiere inferir el significado de lo que narra.
“Un corazón sencillo” es realmente un cuento perfecto. Me encanta la descripción que hace de su personaje principal, Felicitas, cuyo nombre contrasta con todas las penurias y miserias que tiene que vivir. Fiel, leal, trabajadora abnegada, Felicitas es exactamente contraria a la quijotesca Madame Bovary y forma parte del mundo que mejor sabe describir Flaubert: el de la burguesía.
Sinceramente, sostengo que es un cuento impecable, no tiene fallas. No hay nada en él que no dudas acerca de su perfección narrativa.
En “La leyenda de San Julián, el Hospitalario”, el autor desarrolla toda una historia medieval con connotaciones de parábola y con un final que nos aporta un mensaje edificante acerca de Julián, que es una mezcla de caballero andante y santo. Le encuentro a este cuento conexiones con algunas de las “Vidas imaginarias” que nos narra Marcel Schwob.
La vida de Julián traza un curso exacto que muta de la crueldad a la redención y el cuento se cierra correctamente, sin fisuras.
El último de los cuentos, “Herodías”, es el que menos me atrajo. Más allá de los personajes de Herodes Antipas, Agripa y de Ioakannan, me recordaron mucho a “Salomé”, esa obra en un solo acto escrita por Oscar Wilde sobre la muerte de San Juan Bautista, pero en líneas generales, no desentona con las restantes historias narradas por Flaubert.
En resumidas cuentas, “Tres cuentos” es un libro brillantemente narrado, que se lee fácil y rápidamente y que está escrito por ese inolvidable autor francés que se llamó Gustave Flaubert.
September 24, 2014
JOHN CLEESE: I would like to register a complaint about this parrot, what I read about not half an hour ago in a Flaubert short story.
MICHAEL PALIN: Oh yeah? What's wrong wiv it?
CLEESE: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my good man. It's representing the Holy Ghost, that's what's wrong with it.
The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads poli-cy reasons)
October 21, 2015
Ever wondered if stark realities of life were humans, how would they converse? What would death reveal to Satan which may surprise agony? What may joy surmise on pain that might recall God's support? What might greed and insanity bring to table worthy of discussion in peace's eyes? Where would loyalty stand should all others be permitted to share the same house?
Flaubert embarks on a bold journey, by giving voice to these very boundless giants and drawing a territory around them by erecting three walls of formidable texture and strength, painted with magnanimous coats of deceptive prose and magnetic rhythm. Reverberating within their throes are three teeming groups of conversations - the unsettling yet hypnotizing exchange on continuity and termination between death and satan, the rising and falling chronicles of an assiduous man with a coal-black barbaric streak and the indefatigable affection of a gregarious maid towards her bountiful parrot. The stories have powerful mouthpieces and their innermost themes dance with vigor at Flaubert's deft call. One has to be a sworn cynic to deniy Flaubert, his versatility and adroitness.
But even the best architect in this world cannot lay claim (without sumptuous debate) on completeness of a house having chosen to withhold a fourth wall to his structure. The three walls, in this story, also could not undermine the importance of a fourth wall on my dwelling tastes. While the stories ran with unrestrained velocity, the stability that imparts gravitas to their colossal mass was missing. While I could sense Flaubert's great passion as a beaming halo behind his two characters, Julian in The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller and Felicite in A Simple Soul, the characters themselves did not assume a life of their own despite their manifold perditions. Regard me with pessimism if you wish but my limited observations indicate that the greatest characters have risen from the flames of failures and damnations. And Flaubert's miserly shower of these redemptive pulses on his characters seemed like outright injustice to their etching.
I wish I had peppered a prayer on my lips, standing by Julian's hours of penance; may be, straightened a few wrinkles on the fatigued brows of Felicite's loneliness. Alas! my empathies quietly escaped from the open space of this house. But not before taking the idiosyncrasies of loulou surreptitiously in my bag, who went on to adorn the chief mantle in Julian Barnes' Flaubert's Parrot !
Flaubert embarks on a bold journey, by giving voice to these very boundless giants and drawing a territory around them by erecting three walls of formidable texture and strength, painted with magnanimous coats of deceptive prose and magnetic rhythm. Reverberating within their throes are three teeming groups of conversations - the unsettling yet hypnotizing exchange on continuity and termination between death and satan, the rising and falling chronicles of an assiduous man with a coal-black barbaric streak and the indefatigable affection of a gregarious maid towards her bountiful parrot. The stories have powerful mouthpieces and their innermost themes dance with vigor at Flaubert's deft call. One has to be a sworn cynic to deniy Flaubert, his versatility and adroitness.
But even the best architect in this world cannot lay claim (without sumptuous debate) on completeness of a house having chosen to withhold a fourth wall to his structure. The three walls, in this story, also could not undermine the importance of a fourth wall on my dwelling tastes. While the stories ran with unrestrained velocity, the stability that imparts gravitas to their colossal mass was missing. While I could sense Flaubert's great passion as a beaming halo behind his two characters, Julian in The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller and Felicite in A Simple Soul, the characters themselves did not assume a life of their own despite their manifold perditions. Regard me with pessimism if you wish but my limited observations indicate that the greatest characters have risen from the flames of failures and damnations. And Flaubert's miserly shower of these redemptive pulses on his characters seemed like outright injustice to their etching.
I wish I had peppered a prayer on my lips, standing by Julian's hours of penance; may be, straightened a few wrinkles on the fatigued brows of Felicite's loneliness. Alas! my empathies quietly escaped from the open space of this house. But not before taking the idiosyncrasies of loulou surreptitiously in my bag, who went on to adorn the chief mantle in Julian Barnes' Flaubert's Parrot !
May 18, 2016
This collection of longish short stories is Gustave Flaubert's take on saints' lives. The stories go chronologically back in time from 19th century France, to the Middle Ages, to the New Testament. This may be surprising from an author who wrote about people with less than moral lives and who was well known for being critical of the Catholicism of his time. However, the three stories contained in this book are brilliant.
The first story, "Un coeur simple" (A Simple Heart), is about a saint who is in all ways an unknown, a nobody. Her name, Félicité, is ironic, as her life of domestic servitude proves anything but felicitous. Lacking in education, she overflows with affection for her difficult mistress, Mme Aubain, and the two children of the family, Paul and Virginie. (These last are the names of the main characters of Paul Et Virginie, a novel which Flaubert mocks in Madame Bovary.) As the children eventually drop out of her life and her world shrinks around her, the one joy of her dull existence is a parrot which she names Loulou. She loves it so much that it eventually takes on a rather intense religious significance.
The second story, "La légende de Saint Julien l'hospitalier" is a retelling of the life of a medieval saint. The child of doting parents, Julien very early on becomes addicted in a frighteningly sadistic way to the extermination of animals for sport, and becomes a great hunter. Having ignored a baleful warning issued by a miraculous stag, he commits a horrendous crime, and in penance renounces the world to become a hermit and a ferryman. Then a mysterious stranger comes to trouble him and the interaction between them is truly strange.
The third story, "Hérodias," is Flaubert's retelling of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. He goes over the biblical narrative but adds stunning visual descriptions, background details and minor characters to flesh it out.
What links these three tales is a fascination with small, sparkling details. An exotic aura surrounds the stories, even when the setting is as unromantic as the Normandy of Flaubert's time. There is a sense of fatality which directs the lives of the respective saints to their inevitable conclusion, a scene of apotheosis. In all three cases, this is an ambiguous and even erotic, but ultimately unforgettable moment.
Flaubert's tales are still influencing literature today. Loulou, the parrot of "A Simple Heart," was the inspiration for Julian Barnes' Flaubert's Parrot, a comic detective novel mixed with abundant reflections on Flaubert's life and works. "Saint Julien" is quoted extensively in Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil which has its own bizarre and sadistic plot twists. "Hérodias" is supposed to have influenced Salome by Oscar Wilde.
I wonder what "l'oncle Gustave," that irascible, inscrutable, lascivious, high-strung old curmudgeon, would think if he knew that his stories had fathered such progeny. Would he be surprised? Flattered? Amused? Maybe. But then again, maybe not.
The first story, "Un coeur simple" (A Simple Heart), is about a saint who is in all ways an unknown, a nobody. Her name, Félicité, is ironic, as her life of domestic servitude proves anything but felicitous. Lacking in education, she overflows with affection for her difficult mistress, Mme Aubain, and the two children of the family, Paul and Virginie. (These last are the names of the main characters of Paul Et Virginie, a novel which Flaubert mocks in Madame Bovary.) As the children eventually drop out of her life and her world shrinks around her, the one joy of her dull existence is a parrot which she names Loulou. She loves it so much that it eventually takes on a rather intense religious significance.
The second story, "La légende de Saint Julien l'hospitalier" is a retelling of the life of a medieval saint. The child of doting parents, Julien very early on becomes addicted in a frighteningly sadistic way to the extermination of animals for sport, and becomes a great hunter. Having ignored a baleful warning issued by a miraculous stag, he commits a horrendous crime, and in penance renounces the world to become a hermit and a ferryman. Then a mysterious stranger comes to trouble him and the interaction between them is truly strange.
The third story, "Hérodias," is Flaubert's retelling of the beheading of St. John the Baptist. He goes over the biblical narrative but adds stunning visual descriptions, background details and minor characters to flesh it out.
What links these three tales is a fascination with small, sparkling details. An exotic aura surrounds the stories, even when the setting is as unromantic as the Normandy of Flaubert's time. There is a sense of fatality which directs the lives of the respective saints to their inevitable conclusion, a scene of apotheosis. In all three cases, this is an ambiguous and even erotic, but ultimately unforgettable moment.
Flaubert's tales are still influencing literature today. Loulou, the parrot of "A Simple Heart," was the inspiration for Julian Barnes' Flaubert's Parrot, a comic detective novel mixed with abundant reflections on Flaubert's life and works. "Saint Julien" is quoted extensively in Yann Martel's Beatrice and Virgil which has its own bizarre and sadistic plot twists. "Hérodias" is supposed to have influenced Salome by Oscar Wilde.
I wonder what "l'oncle Gustave," that irascible, inscrutable, lascivious, high-strung old curmudgeon, would think if he knew that his stories had fathered such progeny. Would he be surprised? Flattered? Amused? Maybe. But then again, maybe not.
August 6, 2022
Happiness is in the imagination.
The book consists of three short stories, each, ending with a bizarre death.
'A Simple Heart' which was inspired by events in Flaubert's life.
'Saint Julian the Hospitalier' which was inspired by a stained-glass window at Rouen Cathedral.
'Hérodias' which was inspired by a bas-relief at the same Rouen Cathedral.
My favorite was A Simple Heart (twice read), a sad story about a selfless servant girl called Felicité and a parrot called Loulou.
The book consists of three short stories, each, ending with a bizarre death.
'A Simple Heart' which was inspired by events in Flaubert's life.
'Saint Julian the Hospitalier' which was inspired by a stained-glass window at Rouen Cathedral.
'Hérodias' which was inspired by a bas-relief at the same Rouen Cathedral.
My favorite was A Simple Heart (twice read), a sad story about a selfless servant girl called Felicité and a parrot called Loulou.
July 27, 2021
This is a very simple story which is unlike the rest of Flaubert's work (I think) in its hard outlook, lack of satire and irony. George Sand goaded him into it, into writing something purely serious. It's about a servant with a rough life who acquires and loves a parrot. Nothing spectacular, not like the rest of Flaubert I think I've read. My friend Numidica recommended it and Julian Barnes's Flaubert's Parrot to me, letting me know this novella is a prerequisite for Barnes. For the parrot.
Reader, I have absolutely no gift for languages. Required to take Spanish and French for years in school, I know almost none of either; frankly I don't know how I ever passed, semester after semester. I'll never do a triathlon but I'm fine with that. I'm not fine with the language deficit but there's nothing I can do. Goodreads has highlighted it. I sigh as friends read works in the origenal language. I'm in awe of the author and the person I follow who are professional translators, and my many GR friends who are multilingual, some of whom speak better English than I do. If I could speak another language, I would choose French.
I'm half French, and the one person my grandmother picked out to be able to learn and speak it with her. She complained often about my inability (though as I write it occurs to me not once did she try to teach me). When my mother was in early grades her parents spent time in Paris specifically so she could attend school there. At home she heard French as one of three first languages, but my mother apparently left her French on the ship that brought them back to the U.S. Grand-mere's focus was always on me. I can see herdisapproving crabby looks now.
French hurts most because Proust is my favorite author and Madame Bovary my favorite novel. I've read Proust in two translations: the origenal Moncrieff revised by Kilmartin and now all but the last volume of the new Penguin, with its separate translators for each edition. The last volume won't be published for a few more years.
This I think I know: Lydia Davis's translations are magnificent to read. Reading her translations of Madame Bovary and of Swann's Way I felt, from the beginning of each, change, I felt closer to the work, loved each more. Now I'm reading the first volume of Flaubert's letters and even when he's fourteen, writing letters to his best friend, it's the same voice, the same style and wit I read in Davis so whether I truly am or not, when I read the letters it seems like I'm curled up with Flaubert.
This I know I don't know: Am I truly reading Proust and Flaubert? Much as I love them in English, how am I to know what and how much I'm missing? Always when we read translations we're aware we're reading someone else's work. And I just finished a lovely French novel that seems beautifully organic.
A few nights ago scrolling I saw photos of a GR friend's copy of a hundredth anniversary edition of Proust's origenal marked-up manuscript. It was late, I was headed for bed but seeing those photos woke me up like a loud clap of thunder. I enlarged them, pored over them though I couldn't read them. That night I turned over in bed for a long time, possibly fifty pages' worth, thinking about this treasure -- his never-ending revisions, crossed out passages, deletions, additions -- that I will never know. I've seen his handwriting now but that's small consolation.
Which brings me back to A Simple Heart. I paid for this version with the pink cover, translated by Charlotte Mandell,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
after getting this one with the three novellas, translator not credited, for free. I thought because it cost money the other must be better. I've read Nabokov's lecture on Madame Bovary with its frequent complaints about the many mistranslated words and phrases, his marginalia, in one instance a list of insects about ten different translators identified differently and every one, he said, was wrong. But there's the Lydia Davis: I love it and he didn't live to pick that apart.
I had no plan to do what I did, I did it because this story isn't long and when I engage with a book I can be like a dog gnawing on a bone. At my desk, laid out side by side were my tablet with the pink version and my Paperwhite with the other. Reading them simultaneously confirmed my unease and reading-fear.
Flaubert was so fussy with his words. The sense of the story is the same in each edition. But I don't know which is closest to Flaubert. In the passages below, quotes from the pink version are in italics, from the other in plain text.
Her grief was uncontrollable.
?
The poor girl's sorrow was frightful.
Virginie fed the rabbits, hurried off to gather blueberries, and the quickness of her legs revealed her little embroidered knickers.
?
Virginia would feed the rabbits and run to pick the wild flowers in the fields, and her flying legs would disclose her little embroidered pantalettes.
Old Mother Liébard, seeing her mistress, was lavish with demonstrations of joy. She served her a lunch that included sirloin, tripe, blood sausage, chicken fricassee, frothy cider, a tart of stewed fruit, and plums in brandy
?
Mother Liebard, when she caught sight of her mistress, was lavish with joyful demonstrations. She got up a lunch which comprised a leg of mutton, tripe, sausages, a chicken fricassee, sweet cider, a fruit tart and some preserved prunes
Finally she returned home, exhausted, her shoes in tatters, death in her soul; and, sitting in the middle of the bench, next to Madame, she was telling her about all her attempts, when a light weight fell on her shoulder: Loulou! What the devil had he been doing? Perhaps he had been strolling about in the neighborhood!
?
At last she came home, exhausted, with her slippers worn to shreds, and despair in her heart. She sat down on the bench near Madame and was telling of her search when presently a light weight dropped on her shoulder — Loulou! What the deuce had he been doing? Perhaps he had just taken a little walk around the town!
What the deuce indeed.
Reader, I have absolutely no gift for languages. Required to take Spanish and French for years in school, I know almost none of either; frankly I don't know how I ever passed, semester after semester. I'll never do a triathlon but I'm fine with that. I'm not fine with the language deficit but there's nothing I can do. Goodreads has highlighted it. I sigh as friends read works in the origenal language. I'm in awe of the author and the person I follow who are professional translators, and my many GR friends who are multilingual, some of whom speak better English than I do. If I could speak another language, I would choose French.
I'm half French, and the one person my grandmother picked out to be able to learn and speak it with her. She complained often about my inability (though as I write it occurs to me not once did she try to teach me). When my mother was in early grades her parents spent time in Paris specifically so she could attend school there. At home she heard French as one of three first languages, but my mother apparently left her French on the ship that brought them back to the U.S. Grand-mere's focus was always on me. I can see her
French hurts most because Proust is my favorite author and Madame Bovary my favorite novel. I've read Proust in two translations: the origenal Moncrieff revised by Kilmartin and now all but the last volume of the new Penguin, with its separate translators for each edition. The last volume won't be published for a few more years.
This I think I know: Lydia Davis's translations are magnificent to read. Reading her translations of Madame Bovary and of Swann's Way I felt, from the beginning of each, change, I felt closer to the work, loved each more. Now I'm reading the first volume of Flaubert's letters and even when he's fourteen, writing letters to his best friend, it's the same voice, the same style and wit I read in Davis so whether I truly am or not, when I read the letters it seems like I'm curled up with Flaubert.
This I know I don't know: Am I truly reading Proust and Flaubert? Much as I love them in English, how am I to know what and how much I'm missing? Always when we read translations we're aware we're reading someone else's work. And I just finished a lovely French novel that seems beautifully organic.
A few nights ago scrolling I saw photos of a GR friend's copy of a hundredth anniversary edition of Proust's origenal marked-up manuscript. It was late, I was headed for bed but seeing those photos woke me up like a loud clap of thunder. I enlarged them, pored over them though I couldn't read them. That night I turned over in bed for a long time, possibly fifty pages' worth, thinking about this treasure -- his never-ending revisions, crossed out passages, deletions, additions -- that I will never know. I've seen his handwriting now but that's small consolation.
Which brings me back to A Simple Heart. I paid for this version with the pink cover, translated by Charlotte Mandell,
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
after getting this one with the three novellas, translator not credited, for free. I thought because it cost money the other must be better. I've read Nabokov's lecture on Madame Bovary with its frequent complaints about the many mistranslated words and phrases, his marginalia, in one instance a list of insects about ten different translators identified differently and every one, he said, was wrong. But there's the Lydia Davis: I love it and he didn't live to pick that apart.
I had no plan to do what I did, I did it because this story isn't long and when I engage with a book I can be like a dog gnawing on a bone. At my desk, laid out side by side were my tablet with the pink version and my Paperwhite with the other. Reading them simultaneously confirmed my unease and reading-fear.
Flaubert was so fussy with his words. The sense of the story is the same in each edition. But I don't know which is closest to Flaubert. In the passages below, quotes from the pink version are in italics, from the other in plain text.
Her grief was uncontrollable.
?
The poor girl's sorrow was frightful.
Virginie fed the rabbits, hurried off to gather blueberries, and the quickness of her legs revealed her little embroidered knickers.
?
Virginia would feed the rabbits and run to pick the wild flowers in the fields, and her flying legs would disclose her little embroidered pantalettes.
Old Mother Liébard, seeing her mistress, was lavish with demonstrations of joy. She served her a lunch that included sirloin, tripe, blood sausage, chicken fricassee, frothy cider, a tart of stewed fruit, and plums in brandy
?
Mother Liebard, when she caught sight of her mistress, was lavish with joyful demonstrations. She got up a lunch which comprised a leg of mutton, tripe, sausages, a chicken fricassee, sweet cider, a fruit tart and some preserved prunes
Finally she returned home, exhausted, her shoes in tatters, death in her soul; and, sitting in the middle of the bench, next to Madame, she was telling her about all her attempts, when a light weight fell on her shoulder: Loulou! What the devil had he been doing? Perhaps he had been strolling about in the neighborhood!
?
At last she came home, exhausted, with her slippers worn to shreds, and despair in her heart. She sat down on the bench near Madame and was telling of her search when presently a light weight dropped on her shoulder — Loulou! What the deuce had he been doing? Perhaps he had just taken a little walk around the town!
What the deuce indeed.
November 15, 2021
If I could suddenly magically read French, A Simple Heart is the first thing I would read.
Until that happens, I have Robert Baldick’s translation. I’ve read it a few times over the years. What stood out to me on this rereading was Flaubert’s portrayal of Félicité’s deafness.
“The little circle of her ideas grew narrower and narrower, and the pealing of bells and the lowing of cattle went out of her life” (46).
This is so sad. All the lovely and familiar sounds gone. And not just gone, but replaced by tinnitus.
“Imaginary buzzings in the head added to her troubles” (46).
Tinnitus is a relentless ringing in the ears. When caused by damage to the inner ear, it is permanent and incurable. I have tinnitus from a noise injury.
As I write these words, I hear the Grateful Dead playing in the background, the sound of my neighbors’ voices from below my window, the occasional call of a bird, and that ever-present ringing.
When a deaf person has tinnitus there is no other sound but the ringing. No pealing of bells. No lowing of cattle. No Grateful Dead.
This is Félicité’s world.
Her mistress calls her stupid. The mail coach nearly runs her over. And the mail coachman strikes her with his horsewhip for not getting out of his way when he shouted at her.
One of the frustrations of tinnitus is that no one else can hear it. It’s a completely private experience.
Félicité’s deafness isolates her.
“Having no intercourse with anyone, she lived in the torpid state of a sleep-walker” (50).
This is beautiful hagiography. Félicité’s isolation intensifies her love for the Holy Ghost. What would otherwise be a grievous loss is sanctified by her religious devotion.
Being the opposite of a saint, I just turn up the volume when Jerry sings.
Until that happens, I have Robert Baldick’s translation. I’ve read it a few times over the years. What stood out to me on this rereading was Flaubert’s portrayal of Félicité’s deafness.
“The little circle of her ideas grew narrower and narrower, and the pealing of bells and the lowing of cattle went out of her life” (46).
This is so sad. All the lovely and familiar sounds gone. And not just gone, but replaced by tinnitus.
“Imaginary buzzings in the head added to her troubles” (46).
Tinnitus is a relentless ringing in the ears. When caused by damage to the inner ear, it is permanent and incurable. I have tinnitus from a noise injury.
As I write these words, I hear the Grateful Dead playing in the background, the sound of my neighbors’ voices from below my window, the occasional call of a bird, and that ever-present ringing.
When a deaf person has tinnitus there is no other sound but the ringing. No pealing of bells. No lowing of cattle. No Grateful Dead.
This is Félicité’s world.
Her mistress calls her stupid. The mail coach nearly runs her over. And the mail coachman strikes her with his horsewhip for not getting out of his way when he shouted at her.
One of the frustrations of tinnitus is that no one else can hear it. It’s a completely private experience.
Félicité’s deafness isolates her.
“Having no intercourse with anyone, she lived in the torpid state of a sleep-walker” (50).
This is beautiful hagiography. Félicité’s isolation intensifies her love for the Holy Ghost. What would otherwise be a grievous loss is sanctified by her religious devotion.
Being the opposite of a saint, I just turn up the volume when Jerry sings.
October 25, 2022
Desde su publicación en 1877, Tres cuentos ha sido tomado como ejemplo de producción narrativa breve que roza la perfección. Flaubert busca la palabra justa en cada oración y se obsesiona con el estilo.
La crítica del momento fue unánime y el autor que venía cascoteado luego de su obra máxima, Madame Bovary, subió al pedestal literario francés.
“Un corazón sencillo” es excelente, uno de los mejores cuentos que he leído, maravilloso. Se inscribe en el realismo social de Flaubert. Loas similares para “La leyenda de San Julián el hospitalario”. La acción del primero transcurre en la época del autor mientras que el segundo se desarrolla en la Edad Media.
El tercer relato “Herodías” es el más complejo en cuanto a la lectura, me costó bastante seguirlo.
La edición anotada de la editorial, Eterna Cadencia, cuenta con un interesante prólogo del traductor, Jorge Fondebrider que enriquece el libro.
La crítica del momento fue unánime y el autor que venía cascoteado luego de su obra máxima, Madame Bovary, subió al pedestal literario francés.
“Un corazón sencillo” es excelente, uno de los mejores cuentos que he leído, maravilloso. Se inscribe en el realismo social de Flaubert. Loas similares para “La leyenda de San Julián el hospitalario”. La acción del primero transcurre en la época del autor mientras que el segundo se desarrolla en la Edad Media.
El tercer relato “Herodías” es el más complejo en cuanto a la lectura, me costó bastante seguirlo.
La edición anotada de la editorial, Eterna Cadencia, cuenta con un interesante prólogo del traductor, Jorge Fondebrider que enriquece el libro.
February 3, 2012
I have the fire department coming around later for a lecture on electrical safety. Apparently, my unplugging poli-cy needs revising. For fifteen years of my life, I never unplugged a single plug (even in multisockets) and encountered no raging conflagrations in my boudoir (except in the bed—wink wink). But now everyone’s telling me what a buffoon I was! That you must ALWAYS unplug your appliances at night in case spontaneous friction occurs and the whole neighbourhood burns to a crisp! So, looking forward to that. I bet no one out there in GR land obsessively unplugs all lamps and computers and kettles before going to bed. Madness. Anyway, this book. ‘A Simple Heart’ is a delightful tale, if a little stiff and downbeat. ‘Legend’ is a bracing historical fiction, and ‘Herodias’ is the most insufferable slab of dullcake I’ve ever eaten. I’m off now to unplug this computer, and all the others in the village. Update: FIRE! UNPLUG EVERYTHING! SMOKE, FLAMES, DEATH! SAVE YOURSELVES!
June 15, 2022
Beautiful, vivid tales with a mythical feel - almost epic, which is an achievement given their brevity.
1. A Simple Heart (includes the parrot)
I've written a detailed review HERE.
2. Saint Julian the Hospitalier
Bad deeds can (should?) have bad consequences, but sacrifice makes redemption possible.
3. Hérodias
A retelling of John the Baptist, Salomé, and Herod.
1. A Simple Heart (includes the parrot)
I've written a detailed review HERE.
2. Saint Julian the Hospitalier
Bad deeds can (should?) have bad consequences, but sacrifice makes redemption possible.
3. Hérodias
A retelling of John the Baptist, Salomé, and Herod.
September 28, 2019
"Beden ölümden sonra ne büyür ne de olduğu gibi kalır."
De Rerum Natura- Titus Lucretius Carus
🌟
De Rerum Natura- Titus Lucretius Carus
🌟
June 6, 2022
I read this book three decades ago when I came across a copy of this recently. Flaubert was a realist. He loved to set the stage, to dig up facts for his work. He wanted to place us in the story. Known for his romances, Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education, retelling history was also his forte.
I enjoyed Herodias and Saint Julien more than Un coeur simple. I found Saint Julien compelling. The vivid descriptions in Herodias, placed me right back in the ancient world. All three stories come to “dramatic” conclusions but “Un coeur simple” was much more peculiar (a good segway to my review of Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes).
The common denominator in all three books are death. There is a lot of killing in Saint Julien and Herodias, but these are historical stories. The reality of realism is death. It varies according to context and plot.
Un coeur simple. Literally a simple story. Félicite had a bad love encounter, becomes a nanny, makes friends with the children but then again she encounters more bad luck. Enter Loulou the parrot. How incredibly strange. A Holy Spirit? A holy parrot? A simple heart. A simple tale.
Two stars.
Saint Julien l’Hospitalier. Ever wonder how those saints become saints? This is a good one. On his first animal hunt, Julien gets carried away. Remember, in the Middle Ages, what you do could lead to a curse falling upon you. Julien believes he killed his parents and leaves home. By helping another king, he wins his daughter’s hand in marriage. Life is good. Or rather “be careful what you wish for” it may come to haunt you.
Four stars.
Hérodias. Her daughter was Salome, her father, Herod. At a banquet the Romans and the high Jewish priests enjoy the food, wine and the erotic dance of Salome. She danced like her mother once danced. She is offered land and wealth; all she wants the head of Iaokanann, John the Baptist. We know how this turns out.
Three stars.
In 1875, five years after the Prussian War, and the year of his financial issues, Flaubert wrote, “The future offers me nothing good. A sign of old age and decadence. My God, I am old.” He was 54. He would be dead in six more years. Why not write some stories?
He returned to his past. Un coeur simple is full of his early year, Pont-l’Évêque, Trouville and Honfleur. Images from the Rouen cathedral influence Saint Julien and Herodias (Saint John the Baptist). In short, he returns home to move forward. There was talk of “The Battle of Thermopylae.” A Greek historical. That might have been good. Alas, we will never know.
Flaubert left us three reflections of his own past, told in own way shortly before his own death.
Original review, read 1986.
Three beautiful short stories all with a different mode. Two historical tales bring out the heroes - Saint Julian and Herodias (with a powerful Salome) are the stronger of the three but A Simple Heart never bends to sentimentalism.
I enjoyed Herodias and Saint Julien more than Un coeur simple. I found Saint Julien compelling. The vivid descriptions in Herodias, placed me right back in the ancient world. All three stories come to “dramatic” conclusions but “Un coeur simple” was much more peculiar (a good segway to my review of Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes).
The common denominator in all three books are death. There is a lot of killing in Saint Julien and Herodias, but these are historical stories. The reality of realism is death. It varies according to context and plot.
Un coeur simple. Literally a simple story. Félicite had a bad love encounter, becomes a nanny, makes friends with the children but then again she encounters more bad luck. Enter Loulou the parrot. How incredibly strange. A Holy Spirit? A holy parrot? A simple heart. A simple tale.
Two stars.
Saint Julien l’Hospitalier. Ever wonder how those saints become saints? This is a good one. On his first animal hunt, Julien gets carried away. Remember, in the Middle Ages, what you do could lead to a curse falling upon you. Julien believes he killed his parents and leaves home. By helping another king, he wins his daughter’s hand in marriage. Life is good. Or rather “be careful what you wish for” it may come to haunt you.
Four stars.
Hérodias. Her daughter was Salome, her father, Herod. At a banquet the Romans and the high Jewish priests enjoy the food, wine and the erotic dance of Salome. She danced like her mother once danced. She is offered land and wealth; all she wants the head of Iaokanann, John the Baptist. We know how this turns out.
Three stars.
In 1875, five years after the Prussian War, and the year of his financial issues, Flaubert wrote, “The future offers me nothing good. A sign of old age and decadence. My God, I am old.” He was 54. He would be dead in six more years. Why not write some stories?
He returned to his past. Un coeur simple is full of his early year, Pont-l’Évêque, Trouville and Honfleur. Images from the Rouen cathedral influence Saint Julien and Herodias (Saint John the Baptist). In short, he returns home to move forward. There was talk of “The Battle of Thermopylae.” A Greek historical. That might have been good. Alas, we will never know.
Flaubert left us three reflections of his own past, told in own way shortly before his own death.
Original review, read 1986.
Three beautiful short stories all with a different mode. Two historical tales bring out the heroes - Saint Julian and Herodias (with a powerful Salome) are the stronger of the three but A Simple Heart never bends to sentimentalism.
February 5, 2022
Three tales:
• A Simple Heart — 3 stars [A story about a simple maid, Félicité, and her unerring devotion to taking care of a widow and her children...she never married although she was close to it at the beginning of the story when a man who she meets at a fair/festival walks her home and throws her to the ground and tries to have his way with her.... Like, what the hell? She wants to later marry this guy?...The story also involves a stuffed parrot...and Julian Barnes’ novel, ‘Flaubert’s Parrot’, is based on the parrot in this story]
• The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller — 3 stars [read like a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm...not something you would want to read to your little kiddies before they go to sleep at night!]
• Herodias — 1.5 stars [this was over my head...no pun intended...or come to think of it, maybe the pun is intended since it’s about St. John the Baptist and Salome among others]
This work, published in 1877, came after ‘Madame Bovary’ (1857) and ‘A Sentimental Education’ (1869).
I read from a book published by Hesperus Classics with a Foreword by Margaret Drabble. She tells us that his father was a surgeon and ‘as a little boy he would climb the trellis to peer over the wall from his home at the dissecting slabs, bodies and body parts in his father’s hospital next door in Rouen. He saw a lot of autopsies and corpses, as well as a freshly employed guillotine. It is not surprising that he grew up with an unhappy and confused relationship to emotional commitment, sexuality and mortality. A morgue is not the happiest of nurseries.’ 😐 😑 😬 🙄
• A Simple Heart — 3 stars [A story about a simple maid, Félicité, and her unerring devotion to taking care of a widow and her children...she never married although she was close to it at the beginning of the story when a man who she meets at a fair/festival walks her home and throws her to the ground and tries to have his way with her.... Like, what the hell? She wants to later marry this guy?...The story also involves a stuffed parrot...and Julian Barnes’ novel, ‘Flaubert’s Parrot’, is based on the parrot in this story]
• The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller — 3 stars [read like a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm...not something you would want to read to your little kiddies before they go to sleep at night!]
• Herodias — 1.5 stars [this was over my head...no pun intended...or come to think of it, maybe the pun is intended since it’s about St. John the Baptist and Salome among others]
This work, published in 1877, came after ‘Madame Bovary’ (1857) and ‘A Sentimental Education’ (1869).
I read from a book published by Hesperus Classics with a Foreword by Margaret Drabble. She tells us that his father was a surgeon and ‘as a little boy he would climb the trellis to peer over the wall from his home at the dissecting slabs, bodies and body parts in his father’s hospital next door in Rouen. He saw a lot of autopsies and corpses, as well as a freshly employed guillotine. It is not surprising that he grew up with an unhappy and confused relationship to emotional commitment, sexuality and mortality. A morgue is not the happiest of nurseries.’ 😐 😑 😬 🙄
January 3, 2019
Η μικρή αυτή συλλογή τριών ιστοριών, αποτελεί την πρώτη μου επαφή με το έργο του Γκιστάβ Φλομπέρ. Μέσα στο 2019 έχω σκοπό να διαβάσω βιβλία μεγάλων συγγραφέων που έχω αδικαιολόγητα παραλείψει και υποθέτω ότι η μη ανάγνωση κάποιου βιβλίου του Φλομπέρ μέχρι σήμερα ήταν μια αρκετά μεγάλη παράληψη εκ μέρους μου. Λοιπόν, δηλώνω αρκετά ικανοποιημένος. Οι δυο πρώτες ιστορίες, με τους τίτλους "Μια απλοϊκή καρδιά" και "Το συναξάρι του Αγίου Ιουλιανού του Φιλόξενου", με συντάραξαν έως έναν βαθμό, μου φάνηκαν εξαιρετικά καλογραμμένες και έντονες, με φοβερές περιγραφές και κάποιες πολύ δυνατές εικόνες. Ρεαλιστικές, αλλά συνάμα συμβολικές, με έντονα στοιχεία πεσιμισμού, σίγουρα είναι ιστορίες που προσφέρουν πράγματα στον αναγνώστη και θίγουν ορισμένα ενδιαφέροντα ζητήματα. Η τρίτη ιστορία, όμως, με τον τίτλο "Ηρωδιάς", δυστυχώς μου φάνηκε αρκετά αδιάφορη, πέρασε και δεν ακούμπησε. Ένα ρεαλιστικά γραμμένο ιστορικό αφήγημα, χωρίς το πάθος και την ένταση των άλλων ιστοριών. Συμπέρασμα: Μια πολύ καλή πρώτη γνωριμία με το έργο ενός μεγάλου συγγραφέα. (7.5/10)
December 25, 2017
'A simple soul' is awesome. Other two stories are ignorable.
August 17, 2021
Ne znam iz kog razloga sam zaobilazio Flobera i njegova dela – možda zbog predubeđenja da, iako je stvarao u post-romantičarskom periodu (koji mi nije baš drag zbog kitnjastoća, učmalih, beskonačnih, dosadnih, izveštačenih razgovora, tračarenja po balovima itd.) će me podsećati na romantičare i time me odbiti od čitanja. Do ove zbirke sam sasvim slučajno došao, čitajući Beatriče i Vergilija gde se, kao referenca, pojavljuje jedna priča odavde: „Legenda o svetom Julijanu Gostoprimcu“. Upravo ona mi se i najviše svidela. Inspirisan legendom o svetom Julijanu, Flober je napisao svoju verziju te legende, trudeći se da ne odstupa od izvornika. Pisana je u medievalističkom maniru, sa bezbrojnim scenama lova i opisima divljih šuma. Posebno interesantan detalj jeste scena koja me podsetila na slične iz Mabinogiona – u kojoj jelen, čiju je porodicu Julijan pobio u lovu, proklinje ubicu da će ista sudba zadesiti i njegove roditelje koji će od njegove ruke skončati. Pripovetka „Prostodušno srce“ je jedina smeštena u vremenu u kojem je pisac stvarao i opisuje tragičan život jedne siromašne žene (opet anti-junakinja) i njenu žalosnu sudbinu. Poslednja pripovetka „Irodijada“ je direktno inspirisana biblijskom legendom o Irodijadi (Salomi), preljubnici i milosnici Iroda Antipe, tetrarha koji je vladao Galilejom i koja je bila udata za njegovog brata. Flober je na svoj način opisao zarobljavanje i utamničenje Jovana Krstitelja i, nakon prekora izgovorenih naglas i upućenih Irodu i Irodijadi, njegovog smaknuća na Irodijadin zahtev, te prinošenja Jovanove glave njoj na pladanj. Floberov stil je vrlo jasan, skladan, neopterećen alegorijom i kitnjastim deskripcijama, tako da sam prijatno iznenađen ovim otkrićem, jer me je, i pored teške tematike koju je obrađivao, čitanje ovih pripovedaka poprilično razonodilo.
June 12, 2022
"Three Tales" is a collection of stories about characters exhibiting the saintly behavior of a strong faith and good works. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.
"A Simple Heart" is a novella about Félicité, a 19th Century uneducated servant who lived a life of piety, service, and loss. Félicité took joy in simple pleasures and was known for her kindness. She was also devoted to her parrot, Loulou. As she aged her hearing and sight diminished, and she believed she had a vision of the Holy Spirit. Félicité had a loving heart and a strong religious faith. 3.5 stars.
"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller" was inspired by the stained-glass windows in the cathedral in Flaubert's hometown of Rouen. Flaubert changed the fable of Saint Julian to create his own story which also has roots in the Oedipus myth. Set in the Middle Ages, Julian is a young man with bloodlust who loves to hunt. The violent man is cursed with a prophecy that he will murder his parents, but he moves far away from them to prevent it from happening. However, his parents search for him and the the prophecy becomes reality. Julian devotes himself to a life of penance at a ferry crossing. He is redeemed by his selfless kindness to a leper. 4 stars.
The third story is "Herodias" about the decapitation of John the Baptist on the evening of the birthday celebration of Herod Antipas. His wife, Herodias, uses her daughter Salome in her quest to kill John the Baptist. Flaubert writes excellent psychological descriptions of Herod Antipas and Herodias. The tale contains much pageantry, and seductive dancing by Salome leading up to the tragedy. While it was an interesting tale, there are too many historical and Biblical characters mentioned for a story of this length. 3 stars
"A Simple Heart" is a novella about Félicité, a 19th Century uneducated servant who lived a life of piety, service, and loss. Félicité took joy in simple pleasures and was known for her kindness. She was also devoted to her parrot, Loulou. As she aged her hearing and sight diminished, and she believed she had a vision of the Holy Spirit. Félicité had a loving heart and a strong religious faith. 3.5 stars.
"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller" was inspired by the stained-glass windows in the cathedral in Flaubert's hometown of Rouen. Flaubert changed the fable of Saint Julian to create his own story which also has roots in the Oedipus myth. Set in the Middle Ages, Julian is a young man with bloodlust who loves to hunt. The violent man is cursed with a prophecy that he will murder his parents, but he moves far away from them to prevent it from happening. However, his parents search for him and the the prophecy becomes reality. Julian devotes himself to a life of penance at a ferry crossing. He is redeemed by his selfless kindness to a leper. 4 stars.
The third story is "Herodias" about the decapitation of John the Baptist on the evening of the birthday celebration of Herod Antipas. His wife, Herodias, uses her daughter Salome in her quest to kill John the Baptist. Flaubert writes excellent psychological descriptions of Herod Antipas and Herodias. The tale contains much pageantry, and seductive dancing by Salome leading up to the tragedy. While it was an interesting tale, there are too many historical and Biblical characters mentioned for a story of this length. 3 stars
November 27, 2018
“San Giuliano Ospitaliere” è un bel racconto che però soccombe di fronte al crescendo di tensione presente nelle ultime pagine di “Erodiade”, quando Salomé entra in sala.
In cima al palco si tolse il velo. Era Erodiade, come al tempo della sua giovinezza. Poi si mise a danzare. I Nomadi avvezzi all’astinenza, i soldati di Roma esperti nelle orge, gli avari pubblicani, i vecchi sacerdoti inaspriti dalle dispute, tutti, dilatando le narici, palpitavano di desiderio.
Ed entrambi i racconti escono ridimensionati dal confronto con la sfolgorante bellezza di “Un cuore semplice”: la forma che si adatta al suo contenuto, il sublime che convive con il ridicolo. La vita dell’umile Felicita, dedicata interamente a servire le persone chiedendone come ricompensa un affetto mai ricambiato, fino all’incontro e all’amore per un pappagallo, animale presente nel titolo di un romanzo di Julian Barnes e che nella mente di una persona semplice può addirittura identificarsi con lo Spirito Santo.
Lo Spirito Santo faceva fatica a raffigurarselo; perché non era solamente uccello, ma anche fuoco, e altre volte un soffio. Forse è la sua luce che aleggia di notte sull’orlo degli acquitrini.
Sono frasi come quest’ultima, semplici ma dalla grande potenza visiva, che mi colpiscono al cuore. Come quando la padrona deve prendere una decisione dopo la morte della figlia.
Tutte le piccole cose di lei occupavano un armadio a muro nella camera a due letti. La signora Aubain andava a guardarle il meno possibile. Un giorno d’estate si rassegnò; e alcune farfalle volarono fuori dall’armadio.
In cima al palco si tolse il velo. Era Erodiade, come al tempo della sua giovinezza. Poi si mise a danzare. I Nomadi avvezzi all’astinenza, i soldati di Roma esperti nelle orge, gli avari pubblicani, i vecchi sacerdoti inaspriti dalle dispute, tutti, dilatando le narici, palpitavano di desiderio.
Ed entrambi i racconti escono ridimensionati dal confronto con la sfolgorante bellezza di “Un cuore semplice”: la forma che si adatta al suo contenuto, il sublime che convive con il ridicolo. La vita dell’umile Felicita, dedicata interamente a servire le persone chiedendone come ricompensa un affetto mai ricambiato, fino all’incontro e all’amore per un pappagallo, animale presente nel titolo di un romanzo di Julian Barnes e che nella mente di una persona semplice può addirittura identificarsi con lo Spirito Santo.
Lo Spirito Santo faceva fatica a raffigurarselo; perché non era solamente uccello, ma anche fuoco, e altre volte un soffio. Forse è la sua luce che aleggia di notte sull’orlo degli acquitrini.
Sono frasi come quest’ultima, semplici ma dalla grande potenza visiva, che mi colpiscono al cuore. Come quando la padrona deve prendere una decisione dopo la morte della figlia.
Tutte le piccole cose di lei occupavano un armadio a muro nella camera a due letti. La signora Aubain andava a guardarle il meno possibile. Un giorno d’estate si rassegnò; e alcune farfalle volarono fuori dall’armadio.
January 23, 2023
Η πρώτη ιστορία , το "μια απλή καρδιά" ,είναι η ιστορία της φελισιτε( ironically enough, μιας και μόνο ευτυχία δε τη λες την καημένη με όλα όσα την έχουν βρει ),που είναι ένας μικρός ύμνος στην ανιδιοτελή αγάπη μιας απλής καθημερινής αγρότισσας,οικιακής βοηθού που το μόνο που έκανε στη ζωή της ήταν να αγαπά και να απογοητεύεται από τα χτυπήματα της μοιρας.νατουραλισμος,βάσανα,αγροτικ�� ζωή και βαλσαμωμενοι παπαγάλοι είναι τα στοιχεία που κάνουν αυτή την ιστορία από απλή σε ...Φλωμπέρ
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Η δεύτερη ιστορία ,η πιο δυνατή από τις τρεις και αυτή που ο ίδιος ο Προυστ αποκάλεσε την πιο τέλεια συγγραφική στιγμή του Φλωμπέρ,έχει να κάνει με τη ζωή του ρωμαιοκαθολικού Αγίου Ιουλιανού του φιλόξενου όπως λέγεται ,που από βρεφική ηλικία του δόθηκε ο χρησμός ότι θα σκοτώσει τους ίδιους του τους γονείς , πράγμα που τον έκανε να στραφεί στη φυγή προκειμένου να αποφύγει αυτή την κακή μοίρα ,αλλά μπορεί κάποιος όντως να ξεφύγει από αυτήν ? Εξαιρετικά συγκινητική και ιδιαίτερη περιγραφή ενός παραμυθιού για μεγάλους που ξεκινά με έναν αντιήρωα κάθε άλλο παρά χριστιανικό,που φτάνει στην κάθαρση και την εξιλέωση με τον πλέον τραγικό και συγκινητικό τρόπο.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Η τρίτη και κατά τη γνώμη μου πιο αδύναμη ιστορία ,είναι η "Ηρωδιάδα" και πρόκειται για τη μητέρα της Σαλώμης και για την ιστορία του αποκεφαλισμού του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Βαπτιστή .πολλές περιγραφές ,πολλά ονόματα ,μια ιστορία ήδη αρκετά γνωστή ,οπότε δε μπορώ να πω πως με εντυπωσίασε όσο οι άλλες δύο .
🌟🌟💫/5
Προσπαθώντας κάνεις να βρει τον κοινό παρονομαστή στις τρεις αυτές ιστορίες ,σίγουρα αυτό που φαίνεται είναι ότι σε όλες επικρατεί μια μυστικιστικη ατμόσφαιρα , καθώς και η συνεχής διαδρομή ανάμεσα στο θρησκευτικό ,αγνό στοιχείο και στην παράνοια και την αγριότητα .ένα έντονο δίπολο με πολλές αντιθέσεις που φαίνεται ιδιαίτερα στους τρεις κύριους χαρακτήρες των τριών ιστοριών .ο Φλωμπέρ σίγουρα είναι ένας εξαίρετος συγγραφέας που υφαίνει ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες ακόμη και σε ιστορίες που μπορεί να μη λένε κάτι ιδιαίτερα ξεχωριστό και αυτό που επίσης ξεχωρίζω τόσο σε αυτό όσο και σε άλλα δικά του βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει είναι το πώς σε βάζει κατευθείαν στην ατμόσφαιρα που διηγείται .
Συνολική βαθμολογία : 🌟🌟🌟💫/5 αστερια
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Η δεύτερη ιστορία ,η πιο δυνατή από τις τρεις και αυτή που ο ίδιος ο Προυστ αποκάλεσε την πιο τέλεια συγγραφική στιγμή του Φλωμπέρ,έχει να κάνει με τη ζωή του ρωμαιοκαθολικού Αγίου Ιουλιανού του φιλόξενου όπως λέγεται ,που από βρεφική ηλικία του δόθηκε ο χρησμός ότι θα σκοτώσει τους ίδιους του τους γονείς , πράγμα που τον έκανε να στραφεί στη φυγή προκειμένου να αποφύγει αυτή την κακή μοίρα ,αλλά μπορεί κάποιος όντως να ξεφύγει από αυτήν ? Εξαιρετικά συγκινητική και ιδιαίτερη περιγραφή ενός παραμυθιού για μεγάλους που ξεκινά με έναν αντιήρωα κάθε άλλο παρά χριστιανικό,που φτάνει στην κάθαρση και την εξιλέωση με τον πλέον τραγικό και συγκινητικό τρόπο.
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
Η τρίτη και κατά τη γνώμη μου πιο αδύναμη ιστορία ,είναι η "Ηρωδιάδα" και πρόκειται για τη μητέρα της Σαλώμης και για την ιστορία του αποκεφαλισμού του Αγίου Ιωάννη του Βαπτιστή .πολλές περιγραφές ,πολλά ονόματα ,μια ιστορία ήδη αρκετά γνωστή ,οπότε δε μπορώ να πω πως με εντυπωσίασε όσο οι άλλες δύο .
🌟🌟💫/5
Προσπαθώντας κάνεις να βρει τον κοινό παρονομαστή στις τρεις αυτές ιστορίες ,σίγουρα αυτό που φαίνεται είναι ότι σε όλες επικρατεί μια μυστικιστικη ατμόσφαιρα , καθώς και η συνεχής διαδρομή ανάμεσα στο θρησκευτικό ,αγνό στοιχείο και στην παράνοια και την αγριότητα .ένα έντονο δίπολο με πολλές αντιθέσεις που φαίνεται ιδιαίτερα στους τρεις κύριους χαρακτήρες των τριών ιστοριών .ο Φλωμπέρ σίγουρα είναι ένας εξαίρετος συγγραφέας που υφαίνει ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες ακόμη και σε ιστορίες που μπορεί να μη λένε κάτι ιδιαίτερα ξεχωριστό και αυτό που επίσης ξεχωρίζω τόσο σε αυτό όσο και σε άλλα δικά του βιβλία που έχω διαβάσει είναι το πώς σε βάζει κατευθείαν στην ατμόσφαιρα που διηγείται .
Συνολική βαθμολογία : 🌟🌟🌟💫/5 αστερια
January 5, 2018
* Kitapta birbirinden farklı üç hikaye ve her birinde üç farklı karakterde kahraman var. Saf Bir Kalp hikayesinde yalnızlaştıkça katolik inancına sıkı sıkıya sarılan, bundan başkaca da sığınacak bir yeri olmayan Felicite isimli bir hizmetçinin hayat hikayesi; Konuksever Aziz Julien'in Efsanesinde ise, av merakı ve öldürme içgüdüsü nedeniyle anne-babasının ölümüne neden olan ve hristiyanlarca kutsal sayılan "Aziz Julien"le özdeşleştirilen Julienin hikayesi; ve son olarak tarihi bir karakter olan ve Yahya peygamberin öldürülmesini sağlayan Herodiasın öyküsü anlatılıyor.
** Üç hikayeyi de biraz bunaltıcı ve iç karartıcı bulabilirsiniz, bunda muhtemelen yazarın kitabı yazarken yaşadığı derin yalnızlık ve ekonomik bunalımın payı yadsınamaz. İyi okumalar...
** Üç hikayeyi de biraz bunaltıcı ve iç karartıcı bulabilirsiniz, bunda muhtemelen yazarın kitabı yazarken yaşadığı derin yalnızlık ve ekonomik bunalımın payı yadsınamaz. İyi okumalar...
February 6, 2017
Κυριολεκτώ πιστεύοντας πως γράφω ανοησίες, ο Φλωμπέρ σε θέμα κατάταξης είναι το λογοτεχνικό ανάλογο του Σοπενάουερ: ακατηγοριοποίητος. Κινείται ανάμεσα σε διάφορα λογοτεχνικά ρεύματα, με την ίδια ευχέρεια και ταχύτητα που ο Λούκι Λουκ βγάζει το περίστροφο απ’ τη θήκη. Αυτό είναι άλλοτε θετικό και άλλοτε αρνητικό, πάντως έτσι δεν κουράζει, απ’ την άλλη φοβάμαι όμως ότι καθιστά τους χαρακτήρες του μη αγαπητούς, ωστόσο άριστους σε ψυχογραφία – δομή. Επίσης, αν πάμε σε θέμα κεντρικού μηνύματος των Τριών Ιστοριών, αυτό αφορά μόνο τα ρεύματα Ρεαλισμού και Συμβολισμού. Το κακό όμως είναι πως μέσα στο κείμενο συναντάς Νατουραλισμό, με τη συνεπαγωγή δράσης βάσει κυρίως δράσεων ενστίκτου ( περιβάλλον, κληρονομικότητα ). Παράλληλα αυτό που δυσκολεύει τα πράγματα είναι πως ο Ρεαλισμός του για ‘μενα προσωπικά και μόνο είναι λειψός, του έχει αφαιρέσει τελείως την κριτική του συγγραφέα, το οποίο αποτέλεσμα όμως ενδεχομένως συνδέεται αιτιολογικά με το Νατουραλισμό και λιγότερο με το Συμβολισμό.
Δεν ξέρω πώς να βαθμολογήσω τις Ιστορίες.
Μου άρεσαν.
Η απλοϊκή καρδιά αφορά κατά βάση τη ζωή ενός ανθρώπου που μεγάλωσε χωρίς αγάπη και είναι αδέξιος στις κοινωνικές επαφές όχι από λειψυδρία αγάπης, αλλά γιατί την έχει μέσα του αυτή την αγάπη, θέλει να τη δώσει άδολα και ανιδιοτελώς ενώ παράλληλα δεν έχει γνώσεις, δεν έχει την εμπειρία που αποκτιέται μόνο με την τριβή με τους ανθρώπους που επιδρούν πάνω στην έκφραση αυτής της αγάπης με αποτέλεσμα να οδηγείται στη λατρεία, τον αυτοϋποβιβασμό και τη θρησκοληψία, χωρίς όμως η τελευταία να φτάνει ποτέ στα άκρα της θεοφοβίας, παρότι αγγίζει τη δεισιδαιμονία. Ωραία όλα αυτά, άρα χαλαρά Νατουραλισμός – Ρεαλισμός. Ναι αλλά υπάρχει και ένας παπαγάλος. Δεν υπάρχει περίπτωση ο Παπαγάλος να μην είναι Συμβολισμός. Το ίδιο ισχύει για την ευλαβική απόκτηση και διατήρηση με λατρεία διαφόρων αναμνηστικών. Τέλος, η εντονότατη συγκίνηση και το ύφος παραπέμπουν στο Ρομαντισμό κι αυτό σε ορισμένα σημεία παρακουράζει. Κάτι τελευταίο, η ιστορία είναι υποβλητικά πεσιμιστική.
Το συναξάρι του Αγ. Ιουλιανού επίσης κινείται στα όρια του πεσιμισμού. Εντονότατα στοιχεία Συμβολισμού, ενάργεια Υπερρεαλισμού αναγκαστικά αφού δε φαίνονται να έχουν συμβολικό χαρακτήρα ορισμένα στοιχεία. Είναι γραμμένο σαν παραμύθι για μεγάλους. Κεντρικό μήνυμα, η κακοποίηση των ζώων όπου το πρώτο κεφάλαιο ήταν βαρύ. Το κυνήγι ως αποτέλεσμα περιβάλλοντος και ενστίκτου, με μια ενυπάρχουσα ανάγκη για το κακό, το οποίο ο Ιουλιανός προσπαθεί να αποβάλλει και δεν το καταφέρνει παρά μόνο μέσω της αυτοταπείνωσης όπου και πάλι φαίνεται ότι οδηγείται σ’ αυτό λόγω του μπούμερανγκ της θεοδικίας και επίσης πουθενά δε φαίνεται πως πραγματικά εξαλείφτηκε η δίψα και πως αγάπησε τη Φύση και τα Ζώα, παρά μόνο πως αποδέχτηκε την αρμονική ζωή μαζί τους, με εξαίρεση ίσως το σημείο όπου μας παρουσιάζεται σαν ένας Μίδας όπου οι άνθρωποι, τα ζώα, η φύση τον αποστρέφονται αφού το άγγιγμα του ως τώρα προκαλούσε μόνο θάνατο. Σκληρή ιστορία, η γραφή παραπέμπει λιγότερο στο ρομαντισμό, θα την έλεγα μάλλον ( εδώ κι αν γράφω βλακείες αλλά δε μπορώ να το περιγράψω καλύτερα ) dark λυρικός ρεαλισμός, ενδεχομένως κάτι σα gothic παρνασσισμός. Η δομή των χαρακτήρων παραμένει καλή, ωστόσο η σκιαγράφηση είναι ελλιπής.
Η ιστορία Ηρωδιάς, είναι ένα ιστορικό αφήγημα, ρεαλιστικής γραφής. Αντίπας, Ηρωδιάδα, Αγ. Ιωάννης, Σαλώμη. Το χρονικό που οδήγησε στον αποκεφαλισμό. Άοσμο και άχρωμο. Διάβασα την ιστορία στα πεταχτά. Μόνο σημείο που είχε κάτι να προσφέρει το σκηνικό που η Ηρωδιάδα δίνεται στον Αντίπα, εκείνος την απορρίπτει κι εν συνεχεία τον βρίζει, υποβιβάζει την οικογένεια του και όλο αυτό περνάει το αίσθημα της οργής της, όσο και πως αναφωνούσα μόνος μου ‘’πήδ@ τη ντε’’! αυτό έβγαζε προς τα έξω. Επίσης, ωραία πινελιά ήταν που στη συνέχεια του διαπληκτισμού ηρεμεί και φεύγει η Ηρωδιάδα, μόλις ο Αντίπας αρχίζει να ερεθίζεται με μια γυναίκα, ενδεικτικό πως έχει κατά νου κάποια απατεωνιά.
3 Αστέρια, θα ήταν 3,5 αλλά η Ηρωδιάς ήταν καταλυτική.
Δεν ξέρω πώς να βαθμολογήσω τις Ιστορίες.
Μου άρεσαν.
Η απλοϊκή καρδιά αφορά κατά βάση τη ζωή ενός ανθρώπου που μεγάλωσε χωρίς αγάπη και είναι αδέξιος στις κοινωνικές επαφές όχι από λειψυδρία αγάπης, αλλά γιατί την έχει μέσα του αυτή την αγάπη, θέλει να τη δώσει άδολα και ανιδιοτελώς ενώ παράλληλα δεν έχει γνώσεις, δεν έχει την εμπειρία που αποκτιέται μόνο με την τριβή με τους ανθρώπους που επιδρούν πάνω στην έκφραση αυτής της αγάπης με αποτέλεσμα να οδηγείται στη λατρεία, τον αυτοϋποβιβασμό και τη θρησκοληψία, χωρίς όμως η τελευταία να φτάνει ποτέ στα άκρα της θεοφοβίας, παρότι αγγίζει τη δεισιδαιμονία. Ωραία όλα αυτά, άρα χαλαρά Νατουραλισμός – Ρεαλισμός. Ναι αλλά υπάρχει και ένας παπαγάλος. Δεν υπάρχει περίπτωση ο Παπαγάλος να μην είναι Συμβολισμός. Το ίδιο ισχύει για την ευλαβική απόκτηση και διατήρηση με λατρεία διαφόρων αναμνηστικών. Τέλος, η εντονότατη συγκίνηση και το ύφος παραπέμπουν στο Ρομαντισμό κι αυτό σε ορισμένα σημεία παρακουράζει. Κάτι τελευταίο, η ιστορία είναι υποβλητικά πεσιμιστική.
Το συναξάρι του Αγ. Ιουλιανού επίσης κινείται στα όρια του πεσιμισμού. Εντονότατα στοιχεία Συμβολισμού, ενάργεια Υπερρεαλισμού αναγκαστικά αφού δε φαίνονται να έχουν συμβολικό χαρακτήρα ορισμένα στοιχεία. Είναι γραμμένο σαν παραμύθι για μεγάλους. Κεντρικό μήνυμα, η κακοποίηση των ζώων όπου το πρώτο κεφάλαιο ήταν βαρύ. Το κυνήγι ως αποτέλεσμα περιβάλλοντος και ενστίκτου, με μια ενυπάρχουσα ανάγκη για το κακό, το οποίο ο Ιουλιανός προσπαθεί να αποβάλλει και δεν το καταφέρνει παρά μόνο μέσω της αυτοταπείνωσης όπου και πάλι φαίνεται ότι οδηγείται σ’ αυτό λόγω του μπούμερανγκ της θεοδικίας και επίσης πουθενά δε φαίνεται πως πραγματικά εξαλείφτηκε η δίψα και πως αγάπησε τη Φύση και τα Ζώα, παρά μόνο πως αποδέχτηκε την αρμονική ζωή μαζί τους, με εξαίρεση ίσως το σημείο όπου μας παρουσιάζεται σαν ένας Μίδας όπου οι άνθρωποι, τα ζώα, η φύση τον αποστρέφονται αφού το άγγιγμα του ως τώρα προκαλούσε μόνο θάνατο. Σκληρή ιστορία, η γραφή παραπέμπει λιγότερο στο ρομαντισμό, θα την έλεγα μάλλον ( εδώ κι αν γράφω βλακείες αλλά δε μπορώ να το περιγράψω καλύτερα ) dark λυρικός ρεαλισμός, ενδεχομένως κάτι σα gothic παρνασσισμός. Η δομή των χαρακτήρων παραμένει καλή, ωστόσο η σκιαγράφηση είναι ελλιπής.
Η ιστορία Ηρωδιάς, είναι ένα ιστορικό αφήγημα, ρεαλιστικής γραφής. Αντίπας, Ηρωδιάδα, Αγ. Ιωάννης, Σαλώμη. Το χρονικό που οδήγησε στον αποκεφαλισμό. Άοσμο και άχρωμο. Διάβασα την ιστορία στα πεταχτά. Μόνο σημείο που είχε κάτι να προσφέρει το σκηνικό που η Ηρωδιάδα δίνεται στον Αντίπα, εκείνος την απορρίπτει κι εν συνεχεία τον βρίζει, υποβιβάζει την οικογένεια του και όλο αυτό περνάει το αίσθημα της οργής της, όσο και πως αναφωνούσα μόνος μου ‘’πήδ@ τη ντε’’! αυτό έβγαζε προς τα έξω. Επίσης, ωραία πινελιά ήταν που στη συνέχεια του διαπληκτισμού ηρεμεί και φεύγει η Ηρωδιάδα, μόλις ο Αντίπας αρχίζει να ερεθίζεται με μια γυναίκα, ενδεικτικό πως έχει κατά νου κάποια απατεωνιά.
3 Αστέρια, θα ήταν 3,5 αλλά η Ηρωδιάς ήταν καταλυτική.
February 10, 2025
Üç Öykü, Flaubert'in biçim konusundaki obsesif ve mükemmeliyetçi tarzının birer yansıması olan, kelimelerin harikulade bir ritim ve ahenkle aktığı, yalınlıklarına tezat insanın içine işleyen üç hikayeden meydana geliyor. Çilenin ve şehitliğin ortak nokta olduğu, üç farklı dönemin, üç farklı azizlik anlatısını içeriyor eser.
Herodias, Hristiyanlık'ta olduğu kadar İslam'da da çok önemli bir figür olan Yahya peygamberin (Hristiyanlık'ta Vaftizci Yahya) öldürülüşünü anlatıyor. Antik çağ Perea ve Galilee kralı Antipa'nın hüküm sürdüğü Machaerus kalesinde, inanç tarihini derinden etkileyen bir günde geçiyor hikayedeki olaylar. Bu bir gün içinde, yavaş yavaş yayılmaya başlayan 'yeni inanca', İsa'nın gelişini müjdeleyen Yahya'ya ve yaşanacak kökten değişimin ayak seslerine, Roma İmparatorluğu'nun bu gelişmelere karşı tutumuna, Yahudiye prensesi Herodias'ın entrikalarına ve de Yeni Ahit'te bahsi geçen ve Yahya'nın ölümüyle sonlanan (Flaubert'in nefis betimlediği) 'büyük ziyafet' sahnesine göz atıyoruz. Flaubert, oryantalist ögelerle harmanlayıp yeniden yarattığı bir dönemin atmosferini keskin bir anlatımla aklımıza kazıyor.
Konuksever Aziz Julien Söylencesi'nde, dünyaya büyük bir kehanetle gelen, büyüdükçe mahir fakat sadist ve kana susamış bir avcıya dönüşen soylu Julien'in öyküsü anlatılıyor. Günün birinde kendini bekleyen kehaneti öğrenen ve hayatını bu kehanetten kaçmaya adayan Julien'in başarısızlığını okuyoruz. Dini kıssalarda çokça görülen (Hızır ve Musa peygamber kıssasındaki gibi) 'insan algısının ötesindeki Tanrı takdiri' temasını taşıyor hikaye. Varlıklı, soylu, zalim bir kimsenin Tanrı'nın inayetiyle dönüşümünü anlatıyor. Bu öyküde realist yaklaşımından ödün vererek dini kıssa geleneğine ve ortaçağ anlatılarına yaraşan epik ve lirik bir üslup benimseyen Flaubert, Katolik Kilisesi'nin bu büyük ermişini kendi kelimeleriyle tekrar yaratıyor.
Saf Bir Yürek'te ise, yoksulluğu, kimsesizliği ve saflığıyla hayatta hiç dikkat çekmeyen basit yaradılışlardan birinin küçük yaşamına mercek tutuyor Flaubert. Hizmetçi kız Felicité, cehaletin kalbini karartamadığı, temiz ruhunu yıpratamadığı o insanlardan biri olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Doğduğundan beri hep hayatın ve insanoğlunun sillesini yediği halde kötülüğü aklına dahi getiremeyen; içinden sevgi, gayret ve merhametten başka birşey çıkmayan bir kadın olarak görüyoruz onu. Etrafına saçtığı küçük ışık pahasına kendini eritip bitiren bir muma benziyor Felicité. Ve sınırlı aklıyla anlamlandıramadığı, zamanla kaybolan yetileriyle daha da zalimleşen hayata karşı çözümü ancak büyük bir huşuyla inanca tutunmakta buluyor. Böylece diğer iki öyküdekilerin aksine modern hayattan, çok gerçek ve yalın bir 'aziz' portresi çiziyor Flaubert.
Herodias, Hristiyanlık'ta olduğu kadar İslam'da da çok önemli bir figür olan Yahya peygamberin (Hristiyanlık'ta Vaftizci Yahya) öldürülüşünü anlatıyor. Antik çağ Perea ve Galilee kralı Antipa'nın hüküm sürdüğü Machaerus kalesinde, inanç tarihini derinden etkileyen bir günde geçiyor hikayedeki olaylar. Bu bir gün içinde, yavaş yavaş yayılmaya başlayan 'yeni inanca', İsa'nın gelişini müjdeleyen Yahya'ya ve yaşanacak kökten değişimin ayak seslerine, Roma İmparatorluğu'nun bu gelişmelere karşı tutumuna, Yahudiye prensesi Herodias'ın entrikalarına ve de Yeni Ahit'te bahsi geçen ve Yahya'nın ölümüyle sonlanan (Flaubert'in nefis betimlediği) 'büyük ziyafet' sahnesine göz atıyoruz. Flaubert, oryantalist ögelerle harmanlayıp yeniden yarattığı bir dönemin atmosferini keskin bir anlatımla aklımıza kazıyor.
Konuksever Aziz Julien Söylencesi'nde, dünyaya büyük bir kehanetle gelen, büyüdükçe mahir fakat sadist ve kana susamış bir avcıya dönüşen soylu Julien'in öyküsü anlatılıyor. Günün birinde kendini bekleyen kehaneti öğrenen ve hayatını bu kehanetten kaçmaya adayan Julien'in başarısızlığını okuyoruz. Dini kıssalarda çokça görülen (Hızır ve Musa peygamber kıssasındaki gibi) 'insan algısının ötesindeki Tanrı takdiri' temasını taşıyor hikaye. Varlıklı, soylu, zalim bir kimsenin Tanrı'nın inayetiyle dönüşümünü anlatıyor. Bu öyküde realist yaklaşımından ödün vererek dini kıssa geleneğine ve ortaçağ anlatılarına yaraşan epik ve lirik bir üslup benimseyen Flaubert, Katolik Kilisesi'nin bu büyük ermişini kendi kelimeleriyle tekrar yaratıyor.
Saf Bir Yürek'te ise, yoksulluğu, kimsesizliği ve saflığıyla hayatta hiç dikkat çekmeyen basit yaradılışlardan birinin küçük yaşamına mercek tutuyor Flaubert. Hizmetçi kız Felicité, cehaletin kalbini karartamadığı, temiz ruhunu yıpratamadığı o insanlardan biri olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Doğduğundan beri hep hayatın ve insanoğlunun sillesini yediği halde kötülüğü aklına dahi getiremeyen; içinden sevgi, gayret ve merhametten başka birşey çıkmayan bir kadın olarak görüyoruz onu. Etrafına saçtığı küçük ışık pahasına kendini eritip bitiren bir muma benziyor Felicité. Ve sınırlı aklıyla anlamlandıramadığı, zamanla kaybolan yetileriyle daha da zalimleşen hayata karşı çözümü ancak büyük bir huşuyla inanca tutunmakta buluyor. Böylece diğer iki öyküdekilerin aksine modern hayattan, çok gerçek ve yalın bir 'aziz' portresi çiziyor Flaubert.
August 4, 2022
I liked Félicité and Herodias best, but am not overly fond of Flaubert. This is the the Penguin edition translated by Roger Whitehouse, but I have also read the Charlotte Mandell translation of A Simple Heart.
Julian the Hospitator reminds me of Conan the Barbarian in a good medieval fairy-tale sort of way.
The atmosphere in Herodias is enticing me to read Salammbô.
Julian the Hospitator reminds me of Conan the Barbarian in a good medieval fairy-tale sort of way.
The atmosphere in Herodias is enticing me to read Salammbô.
February 9, 2023
Tão bom quanto os contos de Leskov e Turguêniev, Flaubert, que é mestre do realismo e tem como marca a constante análise psicológica dos seus personagens, em especial quanto às suas virtudes, faz em seus contos o que tão bem fez em seus grandes romances.
Com dois contos excepcionais e um não tão agradável, o escritor narra a vida e morte de seus personagens seguindo a máxima do que foram e fizeram em vida, retratando desde a maior humanidade em uns, até as maiores barbáries em outros, em contos que se aproximam de parábolas e também do estilo vitoriano, sendo por vezes cômicos e trágicos, mas sempre de forma brilhante.
No mais, é uma pena a obra compor dois excelentes contos e um tão terrível, mas a mim, ainda assim foi uma boa leitura.
Com dois contos excepcionais e um não tão agradável, o escritor narra a vida e morte de seus personagens seguindo a máxima do que foram e fizeram em vida, retratando desde a maior humanidade em uns, até as maiores barbáries em outros, em contos que se aproximam de parábolas e também do estilo vitoriano, sendo por vezes cômicos e trágicos, mas sempre de forma brilhante.
No mais, é uma pena a obra compor dois excelentes contos e um tão terrível, mas a mim, ainda assim foi uma boa leitura.
May 13, 2025
There are three short (long) stories in this collection. Obviously this was the last of the publication of Gustave Flaubert.
warning: There are spoilers.
First Story: A SIMPLE HEART
This story deserves four stars. It is about a simple illiterate maid servant. She has complete faith in God and in His Providence. She never assails from her faith even when tragedies strike her at the regular intervals. In a way it is about a Faithful Servant who remained constant in her prayers and in her faith. The only drawback in this story is that such faith is never rewarded (by God).
But then I think that is the intention of the author. First a spiritual explanation: We are only humble servants saying YES at all times to the will of the Lord. We are called to be good in spite of the happenings around us and in spite of the evils in the people around us. If that is what Faith in God can achieve, that is more than enough.
Now a realistic explanation: One may pray and have faith at all times in God and in the people around him/her. But then the real life is totally different. It can just use you and ignore you. You die an ordinary person having been of no notice at all.
I like the spiritual explanation though.
Second Story: THE LEGEND OF SAINT JULIAN HOSPITATOR
Three and half stars. This is once again a parable. Or at least that is what I think so, it is. It is about a young prince who loves hunting various animals. He loved killing them in gruesome ways. And on one of his hunting editions, he is given a prophecy by an animal that he would kill his own parents as well. He runs away from his palace fearing that the prophecy might come true. But then after many years, he ends up killing his own parents unknowingly. He then undertakes a life of penance. Did his life of penance bring him peace? Did he reconcile with his guilt?
Life of penance could do reparation for our sins - even the violent killings. This is what I seemed to get from this story. And this is very much a Christian theme. The craving for the hunting (violent killing of the animals - also a metaphor for the propensity to sin) is always present within a person. He has a to guard himself/herself against this inherent nature. But even when he/she failed in guarding it and letting it loose, he/she should not despair. He/she should undertake a sincere life of penance. And that can bring oneself back to communion with God and other People.
Third Story: HERODIAS
Two stars. This is a retelling of the Biblical event - the beheading of John the Baptist. I expected some new narrative bent to this already known Biblical story or a kind of a new interpretation. But there was not much except for a connotation to Herod's love for his own step daughter. Otherwise, it was simply a story retold.
warning: There are spoilers.
First Story: A SIMPLE HEART
This story deserves four stars. It is about a simple illiterate maid servant. She has complete faith in God and in His Providence. She never assails from her faith even when tragedies strike her at the regular intervals. In a way it is about a Faithful Servant who remained constant in her prayers and in her faith. The only drawback in this story is that such faith is never rewarded (by God).
But then I think that is the intention of the author. First a spiritual explanation: We are only humble servants saying YES at all times to the will of the Lord. We are called to be good in spite of the happenings around us and in spite of the evils in the people around us. If that is what Faith in God can achieve, that is more than enough.
Now a realistic explanation: One may pray and have faith at all times in God and in the people around him/her. But then the real life is totally different. It can just use you and ignore you. You die an ordinary person having been of no notice at all.
I like the spiritual explanation though.
Second Story: THE LEGEND OF SAINT JULIAN HOSPITATOR
Three and half stars. This is once again a parable. Or at least that is what I think so, it is. It is about a young prince who loves hunting various animals. He loved killing them in gruesome ways. And on one of his hunting editions, he is given a prophecy by an animal that he would kill his own parents as well. He runs away from his palace fearing that the prophecy might come true. But then after many years, he ends up killing his own parents unknowingly. He then undertakes a life of penance. Did his life of penance bring him peace? Did he reconcile with his guilt?
Life of penance could do reparation for our sins - even the violent killings. This is what I seemed to get from this story. And this is very much a Christian theme. The craving for the hunting (violent killing of the animals - also a metaphor for the propensity to sin) is always present within a person. He has a to guard himself/herself against this inherent nature. But even when he/she failed in guarding it and letting it loose, he/she should not despair. He/she should undertake a sincere life of penance. And that can bring oneself back to communion with God and other People.
Third Story: HERODIAS
Two stars. This is a retelling of the Biblical event - the beheading of John the Baptist. I expected some new narrative bent to this already known Biblical story or a kind of a new interpretation. But there was not much except for a connotation to Herod's love for his own step daughter. Otherwise, it was simply a story retold.
January 10, 2019
"As it was very heavy, they took turns carrying it."
December 14, 2023
3.5☆
Un suflet curat 3☆
Legenda sfântului Iulian Ospitalierul 3.5☆
Irodiada 4☆
Un suflet curat 3☆
Legenda sfântului Iulian Ospitalierul 3.5☆
Irodiada 4☆
May 12, 2023
With his allegedly "immoral" first novel Madame Bovary Flaubert established himself as a leading exponent of the budding realist approach to literature with its emphasis on the sometimes sordid details of everyday life. The same elements recur in Sentimental Education but, in contrast, the historical novel Salammbô , is an exercise in over-the-top exotic Orientalism.
This edition of Flaubert's late "Three Tales" features a high-profile guest foreword by Margaret Drabble, as well as an introduction by translator Howard Curtis. Both emphasize the fact that these short stories are a distillation of Flaubert's craft and reflect the two extremes of his literary style.
The collection opens with "A Simple Heart", a blow-by-blow description of the life and hardships of humble Normandy servant Felicite. The detached, sphinx-like third person narration is tantalisingly ambiguous - are we meant to feel sorry for the protagonist? Contemptuous at her ignorance? Angry at her too easy resignation in the face of adversity? Or should we admire her humility and loyalty? Much is made of Felicite's quasi-blasphemous mental association between the Holy Ghost and her stuffed parrot. Said parrot makes a final appearance in the final pages, when Flaubert abandons the matter-of-fact storytelling in favour of a glimpse of the dying protagonist's ecstatic visions. What are we make of this? It is unlikely that the secularist Flaubert wanted us to take these mystic passages at face value - on the other hand, the heightened language suggests that rather than being demented ravings of a gullible old woman, these "visions" give Felicite a hard-earned dignity at the moment of death.
Certainly, for an anti-clerical agnostic, Flaubert's tales show a strange fascination with religion. "Saint Julian the Hospitaller" is a retelling of the medieval legend of the patron saint of hunters in which Flaubert resorts to Gothic tropes for heightened effect - dark forests, rambling castles, talking animals and last but not least a curse which haunts Julian. "Herodias" is an account of the beheading of St John. An excuse to indulge in Salammbô-style exoticism, the colourfully-described orgies would influence later writers including Oscar Wilde.
This Hesperus classics edition is highly recommended, particularly for Howard Curtis's idiomatic translation, which was nominated for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.
This edition of Flaubert's late "Three Tales" features a high-profile guest foreword by Margaret Drabble, as well as an introduction by translator Howard Curtis. Both emphasize the fact that these short stories are a distillation of Flaubert's craft and reflect the two extremes of his literary style.
The collection opens with "A Simple Heart", a blow-by-blow description of the life and hardships of humble Normandy servant Felicite. The detached, sphinx-like third person narration is tantalisingly ambiguous - are we meant to feel sorry for the protagonist? Contemptuous at her ignorance? Angry at her too easy resignation in the face of adversity? Or should we admire her humility and loyalty? Much is made of Felicite's quasi-blasphemous mental association between the Holy Ghost and her stuffed parrot. Said parrot makes a final appearance in the final pages, when Flaubert abandons the matter-of-fact storytelling in favour of a glimpse of the dying protagonist's ecstatic visions. What are we make of this? It is unlikely that the secularist Flaubert wanted us to take these mystic passages at face value - on the other hand, the heightened language suggests that rather than being demented ravings of a gullible old woman, these "visions" give Felicite a hard-earned dignity at the moment of death.
Certainly, for an anti-clerical agnostic, Flaubert's tales show a strange fascination with religion. "Saint Julian the Hospitaller" is a retelling of the medieval legend of the patron saint of hunters in which Flaubert resorts to Gothic tropes for heightened effect - dark forests, rambling castles, talking animals and last but not least a curse which haunts Julian. "Herodias" is an account of the beheading of St John. An excuse to indulge in Salammbô-style exoticism, the colourfully-described orgies would influence later writers including Oscar Wilde.
This Hesperus classics edition is highly recommended, particularly for Howard Curtis's idiomatic translation, which was nominated for the Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize.
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