Marcel Jouhandeau
Encyclopedia
Marcel Jouhandeau was a French
writer
.
, he embraced a mystical form of Catholicism
and for a time thought to enter the orders. However, in 1908 he left for Paris where he studied first at the Lycée Henri-IV, and then at the Sorbonne
where he began to write. In 1912 he became a professor in a school at Passy
.
As a very young man, Marcel Jouhandeau discovered his homosexual feelings which provoked great guilt as offensive to God. Still, his feelings of shame did not prevent him from engaging in numerous homosexual acts and his whole life alternated between a celebration of the male body and mortification of sexuality. In 1914, during a mystical crisis, he burned his manuscripts and attempted suicide. Once the crisis had passed, he turned again to writing and created the village chronicles which brought him his first literary successes.
During World War I, he was initially a secretary in his hometown of Guéret. In 1924 he published Pincegrain, a barely disguised chronicle of the inhabitants of Guéret, which shocked the people of the town. His voyages became an opportunity for him to give himself over to his love of men, as he recounted in the Amateur d'imprudences.
At age 40, he married a dancer, Élisabeth Toulemont, known as Caryathis « Elyse », the former mistress of Charles Dullin
and an intimate friend of Jean Cocteau
and Max Jacob
. She hoped to rid him of his homosexual leanings. During this period he undertook a work of Christian moralism (De l'abjection) before tumbling again into the arms of men -- much to the dismay of his wife -- which he wrote about in Chronique d'une passion and Eloge de la volupté.
Nevertheless Jouhandeau and his wife Élise adopted a girl named Céline who gave birth to a baby boy, Marc. Following the death of Élise in 1971, Jouhandeau finished his last days with Marc.
Jouhandeau has been described as antisemitic. He wrote an anti-Jewish lampoon, Le Péril Juif, in 1938.
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
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
Marcel Jouhandeau grew up in a world of women presided over by his grandmother. Under the influence of a young woman from the Carmel of LimogesLimoges
Limoges |Limousin]] dialect of Occitan) is a city and commune, the capital of the Haute-Vienne department and the administrative capital of the Limousin région in west-central France....
, he embraced a mystical form of Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
and for a time thought to enter the orders. However, in 1908 he left for Paris where he studied first at the Lycée Henri-IV, and then at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
where he began to write. In 1912 he became a professor in a school at Passy
Passy
Passy is an area of Paris, France, located in the XVIe arrondissement, on the Right Bank. It is traditionally home to many of the city's wealthiest residents.Passy was formerly a commune...
.
As a very young man, Marcel Jouhandeau discovered his homosexual feelings which provoked great guilt as offensive to God. Still, his feelings of shame did not prevent him from engaging in numerous homosexual acts and his whole life alternated between a celebration of the male body and mortification of sexuality. In 1914, during a mystical crisis, he burned his manuscripts and attempted suicide. Once the crisis had passed, he turned again to writing and created the village chronicles which brought him his first literary successes.
During World War I, he was initially a secretary in his hometown of Guéret. In 1924 he published Pincegrain, a barely disguised chronicle of the inhabitants of Guéret, which shocked the people of the town. His voyages became an opportunity for him to give himself over to his love of men, as he recounted in the Amateur d'imprudences.
At age 40, he married a dancer, Élisabeth Toulemont, known as Caryathis « Elyse », the former mistress of Charles Dullin
Charles Dullin
Charles Dullin was a French actor, theater manager and director.-Life:Dullin was a student of Jacques Copeau...
and an intimate friend of Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
and Max Jacob
Max Jacob
Max Jacob was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic.-Life and career:After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, France, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic career...
. She hoped to rid him of his homosexual leanings. During this period he undertook a work of Christian moralism (De l'abjection) before tumbling again into the arms of men -- much to the dismay of his wife -- which he wrote about in Chronique d'une passion and Eloge de la volupté.
Nevertheless Jouhandeau and his wife Élise adopted a girl named Céline who gave birth to a baby boy, Marc. Following the death of Élise in 1971, Jouhandeau finished his last days with Marc.
Jouhandeau has been described as antisemitic. He wrote an anti-Jewish lampoon, Le Péril Juif, in 1938.