Аннотация: Flaubert's mistress as a socio-cultural type. A literary Note
Flaubert's mistress as a socio-cultural type. A literary note
An interesting social type is the mistress [lover] of Gustave Flaubert - Louise Colet.
"She's thirty-six, he's twenty-five. Her name is Louise Colet. She prides herself on being a well-known poet, whose talent is recognized, leads a free lifestyle and has many love affairs. [In Paris] she does not hesitate to be in relations with famous writers-Chateaubriand, Sainte-Beuve, Béranger - in order to obtain a prefaces to collections of her poems, a support from publishers, a [state] subsidies, a patronage in a receiving of literary prizes. In 1838, she meets Victor Cousin, a philosopher, and becomes his mistress. As Minister of public education, he would promote the award of government benefits to her. She will give birth to a daughter from him. May 30, 1839 the French Academy awards a charming intriguer [Louise Colet] by a prize for the poem "Versailles Museum".... [In 1843] she receives from the hands of the king a gold medal - "reward and encouragement.".." (Here and further are quotes from the book 'Gustave Flaubert' by Henri Troyat). (The quotation - translation from the Russian-language text).
Louise Colet is interested in developing a relationship with Gustave Flaubert. She wants to meet his mother.
Flaubert tries to keep his distance. He doesn't mind having a mistress, but he doesn't want to get married.
Louise Colet continues to live in a "free style", despite the relationship with Flaubert.
The distance between Flaubert and his mistress sometimes increases, sometimes decreases.
One day, "... Flaubert tells that he was once driven to such despair by Louise that he almost killed her."
"I felt the bench of the Jury squeaked under me," - he says, rolling his terrible eyes."
Sometimes Flaubert to Louise Colet gives small gifts.
There was an occasion when he gave her a hundred francs. - She was complaining of financial difficulties.
"Meanwhile, Louise asked him to smuggle to her the mail of Victor Hugo, who lives in exile in Jersey.... In gratitude for helping to forward the letters, Victor Hugo sends him a photo of himself. Flaubert warmly thanks: "Since you stretch out your hand to me across the ocean, I grab her to shake. I shake with pride the hand that wrote "Notre Dame" and " Napoléon le Petit", the hand that created colossuses and carved bitter cups for traitors."
From that moment on, Victor Hugo is not a casual acquaintance of Gustave Flaubert, but a man grateful to Flaubert.
Perhaps this relationship of Flaubert with Victor Hugo was one of the explanations for the friendly protection by representatives of the creative circle of "Madame Bovary" from state prosecution for immorality?
"On March 10 [1876] he [Flaubert] learns of the death of Louise Colet. She died two days ago. He is in despair, despite the fact that his mistress viciously pursued him....
"... after spending the whole afternoon in the long-gone past, I decided not to think about it any more and went back to work."""
In some cases, the Russial reality repeats the foreign one. Happens, with delay... And with some distortions...
A modest France!
(In preparing of this note, in particular, the book "Flaubert" by Henri Troyat was used).
December 3, 2019 18:09
Translation from Russian into English: December 3, 2019 22:19.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Любовница Флобера как социально-культурный тип. Литературная заметка'.