En ménage
Encyclopedia
En ménage is a novel
by the French
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
, first published in February, 1881 by Charpentier.
It tells the story of André Jayant, a novelist who marries a petty-minded woman called Berthe. When he finds out Berthe has been unfaithful, he leaves her to live first with a high-class prostitute called Blanche then with a working-class woman, Jeanne, with whom he had had a love affair five years before. When Jeanne is forced to leave for a job in London
, André decides he cannot cope with life on his own and returns to his wife. The novel also features the artist Cyprien Tibaille, André's best friend, who had already appeared in Huysmans' previous novel, Les Soeurs Vatard
. En ménage is partly autobiographical and both André and Cyprien contain elements of the author's own personality.
The novel was Huysmans' third and his most ambitious to date. According to Robert Baldick
, it differs from its predecessors, Marthe
and Les Soeurs Vatard in that "its most impressive feature is its characterization rather than description. This shift from pictorial to psychological interest is illustrated by the number of perceptive character studies - notably those of Berthe Jayant, her uncle M.Désableau, and the maidservant Mélanie - which are to be found in the novel. It becomes even more obvious when one considers the two friends André Jayant and Cyprien Tibaille [...]" (Baldick pp. 91–92). The novel was heavily criticised on its first appearance for its deep-seated pessimism about life. In this - as in many other features - it reflects the influence of one of Huysmans' favourite contemporary novels, Flaubert's L'Éducation sentimentale
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer Joris-Karl Huysmans
Joris-Karl Huysmans
Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans was a French novelist who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans . He is most famous for the novel À rebours...
, first published in February, 1881 by Charpentier.
It tells the story of André Jayant, a novelist who marries a petty-minded woman called Berthe. When he finds out Berthe has been unfaithful, he leaves her to live first with a high-class prostitute called Blanche then with a working-class woman, Jeanne, with whom he had had a love affair five years before. When Jeanne is forced to leave for a job in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, André decides he cannot cope with life on his own and returns to his wife. The novel also features the artist Cyprien Tibaille, André's best friend, who had already appeared in Huysmans' previous novel, Les Soeurs Vatard
Les Soeurs Vatard
Les Sœurs Vatard is a novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, first published in 1879. It was the author's second novel. His first, Marthe , had earned the praise of Émile Zola and Huysmans had come to be associated with the older author and his Naturalist school of fiction...
. En ménage is partly autobiographical and both André and Cyprien contain elements of the author's own personality.
The novel was Huysmans' third and his most ambitious to date. According to Robert Baldick
Robert Baldick
Robert Baldick was a British scholar of French literature, writer, joint editor of the Penguin Classics series with Betty Radice and a well-known translator. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford....
, it differs from its predecessors, Marthe
Marthe
Marthe, histoire d'une fille was the first novel by the French writer Joris-Karl Huysmans, published in 1876....
and Les Soeurs Vatard in that "its most impressive feature is its characterization rather than description. This shift from pictorial to psychological interest is illustrated by the number of perceptive character studies - notably those of Berthe Jayant, her uncle M.Désableau, and the maidservant Mélanie - which are to be found in the novel. It becomes even more obvious when one considers the two friends André Jayant and Cyprien Tibaille [...]" (Baldick pp. 91–92). The novel was heavily criticised on its first appearance for its deep-seated pessimism about life. In this - as in many other features - it reflects the influence of one of Huysmans' favourite contemporary novels, Flaubert's L'Éducation sentimentale
Sentimental Education
Sentimental Education was Gustave Flaubert's last novel published during his lifetime, and is considered one of the most influential novels of the 19th century, being praised by contemporaries George Sand, Emile Zola, and Henry James.-Plot introduction:The novel describes the life of a young man ...
.
Sources
- Huysmans Romans Volume One (Bouquins, Robert Laffont, 2005)
- Robert BaldickRobert BaldickRobert Baldick was a British scholar of French literature, writer, joint editor of the Penguin Classics series with Betty Radice and a well-known translator. He was a Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford....
: The Life of J.-K. Huysmans (originally published by Oxford University Press, 1955; revised by Brendan King, Dedalus Press, 2006)