History and the Redemptive Power of Memory in Flaubert’s L’Education sentimentale

History and the Redemptive Power of Memory in Flaubert’s L ’ Education sentimentale William C. VanderWolk I N SAUL FRIEDLANDER’S VIEW of collective memory, survivors of the Holocaust have a conception of the past which may or may not correspond to the official collective memory proposed by the states of Israel and Germany.1The memory of each group is obviously colored and can be revised without altering the collective consciousness and sense of purpose, whether that purpose be to always remember or to forget as quickly as possible. Individual and collective memory are often at odds, yet the historical events being remembered are the same for all and thus provide the framework on which a generally accepted collective memory can be built. Flaubert, in his definitive version of L ’Education sentimentale, is interested in a similar form of collective memory, but the memories of the revolutionaries of 1848 are not those of the protagonist, Frédéric Moreau, who bases his life on memories of the ideal woman. Flaubert’s novel chronicles some of the events of the Revolution of 1848 as seen through Frédéric’s eyes. The revolt is spurred on by the not so distant memory of 1789, but as events evolve a collective forgetting process takes hold, and the revolutionaries repeat many of the mistakes of their prede­ cessors. This process contrasts with the positive power which memory exerts on Frédéric as he rather ineptly seeks his sentimental education. The workings of memory, so central to Flaubert’s literary aesthetic, demand further examination in the historical context L ’Education senti­ mentale provides, for as the collective and individual memories inform one another, they provide us with valuable insights into the structure of this historical novel. Both Frédéric and the revolution are doomed to fail because they can­ not live up to past ideals. Frédéric will never conquer the radiant Madame Arnoux he first saw during the opening boat ride scene, and the combattants of 1848 will not come any closer to their revolutionary ideal than did their predecessors 59 years earlier. In each case, the failure stems from a lack of leadership, a fault Flaubert condemned in the individual, Frédéric, as much as the various factions vying for power. The Socialists, because of their debt to religion, looked to the past 74 Su m m e r 1987 Va n d e r W o l k instead of the future as they asserted.2The reactionaries lacked a leader who could guide them to true conservatism, and when they returned to power their cruelty and brutality equalled those of the Socialists. Finally, the masses, leaderless, brought about their own demise through their willingness to be bought by anyone who would feed them. The nation suffered from the same “ défaut de ligne droite” that afflicts Frédéric, and we are witness to the establishment of an “ architecture du vide.” 3 The historical process depicted in L ’Education sentimentale parallels Frédéric’s search for legitimization and his ultimate failure, but this his­ torical parallel also adds depth to Frédéric’s search for meaning through memory. Without the backdrop of historical events, Frédéric’s story would lose its universality and his eventual redemption through memory would seem hollow. The revolutionaries of 1848 are a mass of Frédérics, intent on attaining a goal yet continuously sidetracked and eventually defeated by a proliferation of desires. The parallel ends, however, with this real-world failure, for while Frédéric finds an understanding of his life in his past, France must wait for a future redemption. The marked contrast between the fate of Frédéric and that of the revolution points up the essential role of memory, whether individual or collective, in the understanding of the present. Flaubert was particularly attuned to the relation between the indi­ vidual and society during periods of crisis. On December 8, 1851, six days after Louis Napoléon seized power, Flaubert wrote to Henriette Collier of a “ continuous state of rage” which eventually results in what he calls “ public misery.”4The apprehension of this “ state...