The Literary Revolution of 1789

TheLiteraryRevolutionof1789 ROBERTDARNTON 1havedividedthislecture*intotwoparts:onepartsociology,onepart heresy.Sinceheresyismoreinterestingthansociology,Iwillconcentrate onparttwo;andIwillannounceitscentralpropositionrightaway,so thatyoucanprepareobjectionswhileIworkmywaythroughsome preliminarystatistics.Mythesisgoesasfollows:oneofthemostimpor- tanttasksoftheFrench'RevolutionwastorewriteMolière. Nowtothesociology.Itconcernsasetofrelatedquestionsaboutthe factsofliterarylifeundertheOldRegime—questionssoseeminglysim- plethatyouwouldthinktheyhadbeenansweredlongago: Howmanywriterswerethereineighteenth-centuryFrance? Wheredidtheycomefrom? Andhowdidtheyfitintothesocialorder? Thosequestionssoonturnintoaninquiryaboutsources.Thereisagreat dealofinformationaboutindividualauthorsscatteredabouttheworld, butitissodisparateanduneventhatitresistsanyattempttocreatea coherentseriesofstatisticsaboutauthorsingeneral.Shortofenlistingan armyofgraduatestudentstorunadragnetthroughallthearchivesand librariesofFrance,theonlywayIcanimaginetoformapictureofthe literarypopulationasawholeistostudyoneexceptionallyrichsource: LaFrancelittéraire,aninformalguidetowritersandwritingpublished atregularintervalsthroughoutthesecondhalfoftheeighteenthcentury. 3 4/DARNTON LaFrancelittérairebeganasanalmanac,tinyenoughtofitintothe daintiestvestpocket,andendedasamulti-volumereferencework,part biographicaldictionaryandpartbibliography.Inthecourseofitsmeta- morphosesthroughadozeneditionsandsupplements,itbecameafix- tureofliterarylife,akindofWho'sWhoconsultedbyanyonewho wantedtolocateanyoneelsewithintheRepublicofLetters. Ithasdefects,ofcourse.Infact,itwasahackworkproducedbya hackwriter,theabbéJosephdeLaPorte.LaPortewasadefrocked Jesuitwhotookupwritingasawayoflifeandactuallymanagedtomake alivingfromit—oneoftheveryfewwritersundertheOldRegimewho actuallylivedfromhispen.Hedidsobyproducingagreatdeal—atleast 214volumesbymycount—oneveryconceivablesubject,fromtheecon- omyofChinatothedomesticlivesofEnglishwomen.Notthathewrote everythingheprinted."Theimportantthing,"hereportedlyremarked, "isnottowritebuttopublish."LaPortecompiled,abridged,digested, andanthologized.Hewasthesupremescissors-and-pasteman,theking ofthehacks,inanagewhenhackwritingfirstcameintoitsown. Giventhecharacterofitsauthor,oneshouldnotexpectLaFrance littérairetobeagreatworkofliterature.Itisnot,butitisaremarkably exhaustiveone.LaPorteknewhowtocompileinformation.Hekept files,issuedappealsforhelp,receivedreportsfromprovincialsavants everywhereinthekingdom,andimprovedhisbookasitprogressedfrom editiontoedition.By1757,itcanbetakenasareasonablyaccurateguide toFrance'sliterarypopulation.Anditslatereditions,especiallythoseof 1769and1784,showhowthatpopulationevolvedthroughoutthesecond halfofthecentury. Now,thatinformation,Isubmit,isimportant,becausewedonothave thefoggiestnotion,notevenaballparkestimate,ofhowmanywriters existedatanytimeineighteenth-centuryFrance.ByreworkingLaPorte's data—trickybusiness,sinceeveryentrymustbecheckedforduplications anderrors—onecansketchtheoutlineofaliterarydemography. Thenumberoflivingwriterswhoappearinthethreemaineditionsof LaFrancelittérairecanbesummarizedasfollows: 7757 1769 1784 1,187 2,367 2,819 Forvariousreasonshavingtodowiththeinferiorqualityofthe1784 edition,whichwaspublishedafterLaPorte'sdeath,Ithinkthelast figureismuchtoolow.IwouldestimatethenumberofwritersinFrance attheoutbreakoftheRevolutionasatleast3,000andprobablymany more.Theliterarypopulationhadmorethandoubledsincethemiddleof thecentury. LiteraryRevolution / 5 6/DARNTON Whatshouldwemakeofthosefigures?Threethousandwritersina countryoftwenty-sixmillion:weretheyaburdenontheeconomy?a sectorofsocialunrest?asourceofideologicaldiscontent?Thenumbers don'tmeanmuchbythemselves,andtheyraiseallkindsofdefinitional difficulties.LaPortedefineda"writer"asanyonewhohaspublisheda book(andhedidnotspecifywhathemeantbyabook).Veryarbitrary, youwillobject.Butnotsobad,whenyouthinkofit.AtleastLaPorte's definitionisworkable,anditavoidstheanachronismbuiltintothemod- ernnotionthatawriterissomeonewhosomehowmakesalivingfrom writing. Conditionsineighteenth-centuryFrancemadethatkindofprofession- alismalmostunthinkable.Thelackofeffectivecopyright,theprevalence ofpirating,thenon-existenceofroyalties,thecumbersomeconstraints ofthecensorshipsystem,andthemonopolisticpracticesofthebooksellers 'guildmadeitvirtuallyimpossibletolivefromthepen—withafew exceptionslikeLaPortehimself.Louis-SébastienMercierestimatedthat onlythirtywriterssupportedthemselvesfromwritinginthe1780s— thirtyofthreethousand,oroneinahundred.TheRepublicofLetters wassufferingfromapopulationexplosionontheeveoftheRevolution, anditofferednothingbutmiseryforanyonewhotriedtorisethroughits rankswithoutanindependentincome. Whatwerethecharacteristicsofthispopulation?Figure1showsits demographicprofilein1757,1769,and1784.Havingexpectedtofind youth,Iwassurprisedtodiscoveramiddle-agedbulgeinthecenterofthe bargraphs.Theaverageageofthewritersin1784wasfifty-three,and thereweremoreofthemintheirsixtiesandseventiesthanintheirtwenties andthirties.Thispatternmaybesomethingofanopticalillusion,how- ever,becausemanyaspiringwriterspublishedavolumeatanearlyage, failedtogainanyrecognitionorincome,gaveupwritinginorderto pursueanothercareer,andnonethelesscontinuedtoappearinLaFrance littérairefortherestoftheirlives.Thenumberoftheseinactiveauthors cannotbedetermined.Itprobablywaslargeenoughtomitigatethepopu- lationpressure.ButIdoubtthatFrancecouldhavesupportedtwothou- sandorevenonethousandactivewriters.Andwhatevertheirnumber,it seemslikelythattheinactiveonesidentifiedthemselves,atleasttosome degree,with"literaryFrance."TheybelongedtotheRepublicofLettersin spirit,eveniftheycouldproducelittlemorethanabriefentryinLaFrance littérairetosubstantiatetheirclaimtocitizenship. Thegeographicaloriginsofthewriterscanbestudiedontheadjoining maps(Figures2through4).Theyfallintoapatternlikethatonother mapsofculturallifeundertheOldRegime—mapsshowingvariationsin literacyrates,inthedensityofschools,andinsubscriptionstotheEncy- LiteraryRevolution / 1 Figure2.BirthplacesofAuthors,1757.Numberidentified:778,or66percentofatotalof 1187.NumberborninParis:190,or24percentoftheidentified. clopédie.Ineachcase,afertilenorth-northeaststandsoutincontrastto anunderdevelopedsouth-southwest.Theexceptionsarescatteredalong thecommercialarteriesleadingfromLyontoMarseilleandfromTou- lousetoBordeaux.In1784four-fifthsoftheidentifiedauthorscame fromtheprovinces,mainlyfromsmalltownsandvillages;andmostof themprobablylivedinParisatsomepointintheirlives.Idon'thave figuresonemigrationtothecapital;butiftheywereavailable,Isuspect theywouldbearoutsomestandardthemesintheliteratureofthetime: Parissoakeduptalentfromtheprovinces,anditmaywellhavecor- ruptedsomeofthecountryboyswhoarrivedwiththedreamofscoring hitsintheComédiefrançaiseandbonsmotsinthesalons. /DARNTON Figure3.BirthplacesofAuthors,1769.Numberidentified:990,or42percentofatotalof 2367.NumberborninParis:211,or21percentoftheidentified. Figure5showsthesocio-occupationalpositionsoftheauthors.Likeany sociologicalgrid,itraisesproblemsaboutdefiningcategoriesandsorting outdata;butIthinkitworksquitewell.Itcertainlyillustratestherelative importanceofthethreeestates,whichcanbesummarizedasfollows: 7757 7769 1784 Clergy 32% 24% 20% Nobility 9% 12% 14% ThirdEstate 55% 59% 59% Unidentified4% 5% 7% LiteraryRevolution / 9 Figure4.BirthplacesofAuthors,1784.Numberidentified:860,or31percentofatotalof 2819.NumberborninParis:170,or20percentoftheidentified. Theprivilegedordersoccupiedadisproportionatelyimportantplacein theRepublicofLetters.Althoughtheclergyandnobilitytogetherrepre- sentedlessthanfivepercentofthepopulation,theymadeuponethird ofalltheauthorsontheeveoftheRevolution.True,thepercentageof priestsdeclinedfrom1757to1784,butthepercentageofnoblemen increased.IfwemustcharacterizeliteraryFrancebysomeformula,it wouldbemoreaccuratetoinvokethe"mixedelite"favoredbyrevisionist socialhistoriansthanthe"conqueringbourgeoisie"oftheMarxists. Whenexaminedmoreclosely,thewritersofthethirdestateincludea highproportionofprofessionalmen:engineers,architects,lawyers,and especiallydoctors.Bycontrast,thecommercialandindustrialbourgeoi- 10/ DARNTON 1757 1769 1784 Number Percent NumberPercent Number Percent UpperClergy,secular 7 1 15 1 13 1 UpperClergy,regular 4 0 10 10LowerClergy,secular 120 14 194 12 196 13 LowerClergy,regular 151 17 168 11 91 6 TitledNobility,nooffice 9 1 21 1 50 3 Officer,upperadministration 8 1 20 1 17 1 Officer,military 38 4 85 5 109 7 Officer,sovereigncourts 17 2 64 4 42 3 Officer,highfinance 8 1 23 1 10Officer,lowercourts61171201Loweradministration 42 5 63 4 51 3Lawyer,Attorney6781691116211Lawpersonnel 2 0 3 0 3 0Doctor,Surgeon 106 12 231 15 244 16Apothecary10131131Engineer/Architect 17 2 30 2 35 2Rentier 3 0 2 0 0 0LowerFinance405060 Merchant 2 0 9 1 14 1 Manufacturer 10 2 0 0 0 Bookseller,MasterPrinter 5 1 26 2 295 20Intellectualtrades198233092029520Professor 93 11 165 10 167 11PrivateTeacher263443383Journalist 9 1 0 1 5 0Librarian 7 1 19 1 23 2Interpreter 5 1 8 1 12 1 Secretary 15 2 15 1 12 1 Scribe 2 0 8 1 8 1 Sinecure 26 3 15 1 14 1Actor,Theaterpersonnel 8 1 15 1 21 1Musician 7 1 11 1 4 0ProtestantClergy 18 2 7 0 8 1Student 0 0 10 10Employee 4 0 8 1 10Shopkeeper 101040 Artisan 8 1 17 1 15 1 Servant 10 10 0 0 Women,noprofession 14 2 42 3 49 3Other 6 1 30 2 29 29973%of totalof 1187Figure5.Socio-occupationalPositionofAuthors. 1577 67% oftotal of 2367100139353%of totalof 281998sieisalmostnon-existent:onlyfourteenwritersweremerchantsandnoneatallweremanufacturersin1784.ThelargestgroupofthembelongedtowhatIwouldcallthe"intellectualtrades":teachers,secretaries,scriveners ,librarians,journalists,andactors.Theycongregatedincafésand garretsattheheartoftheRepublicofLetters;andtheyprovidedmostof LiteraryRevolution / 11 itsenergyaswellasitsproseandpoetry,incontrasttothemorecasual varietiesofwritersscatteredthroughouttheprovinces—thecountrydoc- torswhopublishedpapersoncuresandepidemicsandtheparishpriests whoputoutcollectionsoftheirsermons. Itwouldbemisleading,however,toconsidertheseParisiansas"pro- fessionals,"evenifwritingitselfcanbeconstruedasaprofession.They supportedthemselvesbyintellectualoddjobs,notbysellingtheirwares ontheliterarymarketplace;andmostofthemlivedinmisery.Atiny minoritypenetratedintotheworldofthesalons,wheretheypickedup pensions,sinecures,andseatsintheacademies.Butmostwriterswithout anindependentincomesankintoGrubStreet,wheretheylivedlike Rameau'snephew,onwhateverscrapstheycouldfind.Itisimpossibleto calculatethepopulationofGrubStreet,becausehackwritershadno "état,"noclearlydefinedestateoroccupation,whichcouldbeattached totheirnameinLaFrancelittéraireandprovidethemwithasocial identity.Theyprobablymadeupthebulkoftheunidentifiedwritersin thestatistics,forty-sevenpercentofthetotalin1784.SoifImayhazard aguess,IwouldestimatethatFrancecontained1,000hungryhackswhen theRevolutionexplodedin1789. Didtheliterarypopulationincludemanywritersfromthelower classes?Afew,likeRestifdelaBretonneandJamereyDuval,wereborn...