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FromClarenstoHollowPark, IsabelledeCharrière'sQuietRevolution NADINEBERENGUIER Loveismorepleasantthanmarriageforthereasonthatnovelsare moreamusingthanhistory."1Inthislapidarymaxim,Chamforteffectivelycaptureswhatcharacterizestheplotsofeighteenth -centurynovels. Byplacingnovelsonthesideoflove,thisobserverofeighteenth-century moresremindsusoftheage-olddichotomybetweenloveandmarriage andunderlinesthat,unlikeloveandthenovel,thenovelandmarriagedo notmakeagoodmatch.Whathappens,then,whensuchagoldenruleis transgressedandtheintruder,thatis,marriage,becomesthemajortopic ofanovel?Whatistheimpactofsuchabreakwithtraditiononthe ideologicalcontentofthenovel?SuchquestionsareraisedbyLettresde MistrissHenley,initiallypublishedin1784,inwhichIsabelledeChar- rièredepartsradicallyfromthenovelistictraditionofhertime.2This breakdidnotescapetheattentionofthefirstpublicreviewerswhogavea criticalreadingofLettresdeMistrissHenleywithSamueldeConstant's Lemarisentimental,publishedtogether(anonymously)inthe1785Paris edition.3InLeMercuredeFrance,thereviewbeganthus:"Lefonddece doubleroman,dontlaformeestassezsingulière,alemérited'êtreabso- lumentneuf."4[Thecontentofthisdoublenovel,whoseformisquite remarkable,hastheadvantageofbeingabsolutelynew.]Itpointedout thattheauthorshadleftthebeatentracksofFrenchprose-fictionby omitting"aventuremerveilleuse,amantspersécutés,dispersés,réunis; 219 220 / BÉRENGUIER ...cesintriguesfilées,promenéesd'obstaclesenobstacles...Amants, passionsamoureuses"(186)[unrealadventure,persecuted,separated, andreunitedlovers;...theseendlessplotsmeanderingfromobstaclesto obstacles...Lovers,amorouspassions].Theseremarkswereechoedby theAnnéelittéraire:"Ceroman,monsieuraunemarchedifférentede celledesautres.Laplupartrenfermentdesintriguesamoureusesquise terminentparlemariage;celui-ci,ouceux-ci(carilyenadeux)commen- centlÃoùlesautresfinissent.Onn'imagineguèrequedeuxpersonnes mariéessoientcapablesd'exciterunintérêtbienvif."5[Thisnovel,Sir, takesadifferentpathfromtheothers.Mostofthemhaveamorousplots whichendinmarriage.Thisone(orthesefortheyaretwo)beginswhere theothersend.Itisdifficulttoimaginethattwomarriedpersonscan arousesuchgreatinterest.]Itseemsthatevenattheendofthecentury Chamfort'sremarkwasstillaccurate.Nevertheless,bothreviewers praisedthisattempttoprovideinsightintoamatterpreviouslyignored bynovels:the(mal)functioningofconjugalunions.TheMercurede Franceinparticulardisplayedanunambiguousenthusiasm:"Cettetenta- tiveadéjÃétéfaiteauthéâtre;maisnouscroyonsquec'estlapremière foisqu'elleaitétérisquéedansunroman:ilnoussemblecependant qu'ellepourraitêtrerépétéeavecsuccès,etmêmeinfinimentétendue" (186).[Suchanattempthasalreadybeenmadeinthetheater;butwe believethatitisthefirsttimethatithasbeenriskedinanovel:itseems nonethelessthatitcouldberepeatedsuccessfully,andeveninfinitely extended.]Novels,inordertofulfilltheiredifyingmission,shouldnot leaveanyaspectoflifeunexploredbutshouldrather"tracerlestableaux delavie,afinqueparmiceuxquiserapprochentleplusdescirconstances quinousentourent,nouschoisissionslaroutequenousdevonssuivre,les écueilsquenousdevonséviter"(187)[drawpicturesoflife,sothat amongthosewhichareclosesttothecircumstancesfamiliartous,wecan choosethepaththatwemustfollowandtheobstaclesthatwemust avoid].Assuggestedbytheformatofthe1785Parisianedition,thetwo novelswereperceivedasinseparablepartsofadiptych.InLemari sentimental,M.Bompréisledtocommitsuicidebytheselfishbehavior andinsensitivityofhiswife,whileinMistrissHenley,Mrs.Henleyis disenchantedbytheexcessivelyrationalattitudeofherhusband.6Intheir hastetoacclaimtheuniquenessofthisdoubleplot,bothreviewersprivi- legedtheissuesraisedbythecontroversybetweenLemarisentimental andMistrissHenleyandforgottomentionapriorattempttoinclude marriedlifeinanovel:Jean-JacquesRousseau'sJulieoulaNouvelle Héloïse(1761). Lemarisentimentalisexplicitlyinscribed(asweshallsee)inMistriss Henley,butthedialoguedoesnotstopwiththecompaniontext.Too RousseauandCharrièrre / 221 manyallusionstobeignoredpoint,inMistressHenley,toJulie.Itis unnecessarytorecallatlengththeimpactofJulieonthepublicofthe periodortodocumentthefactthatCharrièrehadreadRousseau's work.7IntheSecondPrefacetoJulie,Rousseau,anardentdetractorof contemporarynovels,proposestobreakwiththeliteraryconventionsof hisdayandtorevolutionizeprose-fictioninFrancebyfocusingonmar- riedlifeanddomesticconcerns.8Charrièredoesnotvoiceherownclaims insuchanoutspokenway,butherdeliberatechoicetodealexclusively withthebarematterofmarriedlifeanddomesticityconstitutesinitself anotherradicaldeparture.UnlikeMaryWollstonecraft,whoveryexplic- itlyrespondstoRousseauinherVindicationoftheRightsofWoman, Charrièreanswersimplicitlybutinfictionalterms;sheoffersaserious andsignificantcontributiontodiscussionsaboutmarriageandthefam- ilythroughacriticalrewritingofthemarriageideologydisplayedin Julie. IsuggestwithNancyK.Millerthat"Learningtoreadwomen'swriting entailsnotonlyaparticularattentivenesstothemarksofsignaturethat [shehas]called'overreading';italsoinvolves'readinginpairs(or,in NaomiSchor'scoinage,'intersextually').Bythis[Miller]mean[s]looking attheliteratureofmen'sandwomen'swritingsidebysidetoperceiveat theirpointsofintersectionthedifferentiatedlinesofa'bi-cultural'pro- ductionofthenovel—PersianandPeruvian—morecomplicatedthanthe familiar,nationalhistoryofitstropes."91donotproposeMistrissHenley foranexerciseinoverreading,butfor"readinginpairs,"takingJulieasa gridthroughwhichtoreadMistrissHenley,andviceversa.Thismethod doesnotmeanthatIwilllookattheinfluenceofRousseauonCharrière. Rather,IwillexamineCharrière'sfictionaltreatmentofRousseau'smar- riagenarrativeandofitsconsequencesforwomen.MistrissHenleyfully exploresthenewpathsopenedbyJulieand,Iwillargue,moreradically thanJulie.Charrière'snoveldepartsfromnarrativetraditioninareas whereRousseaufellshortofdoingso.Infact,Rousseaupreservedmajor rulesofthegenrehedespisedsomuch,afeatureofJuliewidelyacknowl- edgedbyscholarsstudyinghisfiction.10Forherpart,inMistrissHenley, CharrièreabandonsalltheconventionsstillfavoredbyRousseauand simultaneouslyprovidesaveiledironiccommentonJuliebygivinga verydifferentoutlookonmarriageasaninstitution,maritalrelation- ships,anddomesticaffairs(e.g.,runningahousehold,educationand child-rearing,socialfunctions). Whydidthefirstreviewersandlatercriticsignoreaprecedentaswell- knownasJMAe?Ontheonehand,Rousseau'sstatusandlegacymight explainthissilence.Rousseauwasnotconsideredmerelyanovelist,but ratheraphilosophe(inthegeneralsense),concernedwithvariouspoliti- 222 / BÉRENGUIER calandsocialissues(suchasthepassagefromastateofnaturetocivil society,thebirthofproperty,theroleofartsandsciencesinsociety). Therefore,thecharacters,relationships,andsituationsinRousseau's successfulnovelcouldbeperceivedaspartofawidersystemrepresenta- tiveofhisopinionsandprinciples.The"didactic"sideofJuliewas commenteduponbyRousseau'scontemporaries,suchasDuelos, d'Alembert,andMadameNecker,andhasbeenexaminedbymorerecent critics,suchasJean-LouisLecercle:"Hecouldnotavoidentrustinghis characterswiththemeswhichobsessedhim,totheextentthatthisbook hasbeencalledasynthesisofhisthought.""Theshortandbareformat oftheMarisentimental/MistrissHenleyduetseemsfarremovedfrom theall-encompassingprojectofJulie.Becauseoftheirfocusonthe severedrelationshipbetweentwospouses,thecriticsperceivedthenew novelsasverytopicalworkswhoseperspectivewaslimitedtothepsycho- emotionalandtheprivate.Suchaviewcouldconvenientlyaccommodate thebiographicalreadingofMistrissHenleyinitiatedbyPhilippeGodet, Charrière'sfirstmajorbiographer,whoqualifieditas"insignificant" despiteitsinterestasareflectionof"themoralstateoftheauthorduring thisperiodofherlife.12Thoughanautobiographicalviewishistorically justified,itisregrettablylikelytohideotherpossibleimplicationsofher departurefromnovelisticconvention.13Boththepolemicandtheautobi- ographicalapproachesreduceCharrière'sinnovationtoamereemo- tionalreaction,beittoanothernovel,ortoherownexperience.Inshort, thedifferenceofstatusbetweenJulieandMistrissHenleycanaccount forthefailureofliterarycriticstoestablishaconnectionbetweenthem. Boththepolemicandautobiographicalelementsthathaveprevailed amongthenovel'sreadersareactuallyembeddedinthefirstpageof MistrissHenley.Thereaderisimmediatelyinvitedbytheprotagonistto seeherwritingasaresponsetoa"crueletcharmantpetitlivre"[crueland charminglittlebook](Lemarisentimental)thathastormentedherever sinceshereadit.Areadingofthenoveltoherhusbandandhisreaction toitaredecisiveinpromptingher"confessions"toasilent"confidante." Hopingthatherhusbandwillperceivedifferencesbetweentheirsituation andthatofBompréinLemari,sheisdistressedtosensehisperceptionof similaritiesandhistendencytoidentifywiththeunfortunatehusband: Quandj'ailutoutcelaÃmonmari,aulieudesentirencoremieuxque moicesdifférences,commejem'enétaisflattéeencommençantla lecture,oudenepointsentirdutoutcettemanièrederessemblance,je l'aivutantôtsourire,tantôtsoupirer;iladitquelquesmots,ilacaressé sonchienetregardél'ancienneplaceduportrait.Machèreamie,ilsse croironttousdesMM.Bompré,etserontsurprisd'avoirpusupportersi patiemmentlavie(101).[WhenIreadallofthistomyhusband,instead RousseauandCharrièrre / 223 offeelingthesedifferencesmorethanIdid,asIhadflatteredmyselfhe wouldwhenIstarted,ornotfeelingthissortofresemblanceatall,Isaw himsometimessmile,sometimessigh;hesaidafewwords,pettedhis dogandlookedattheformerplaceoftheportrait.Mydearfriend,they willallthinkthemselvesBomprés,andaresurprisedthattheyhavebeen abletoendurelifesopatiently.] Besidesidentifyingitselfasapartyinacontroversy,thenovelintroduces thequestionoftheinfluenceoffictionon"real"life.Byaffordingthem acomparisonwiththeirownexperience,Lemarisentimentalbecomes partandparceloftheconjugaldifficultiesencounteredbytheHenleys. AfterinterpretingConstant'snovelaccordingtoherownexperience, Mrs.Henleytriestodecipheritsnegativeimpactonherhusband'sbehav- ior:"Ilvivaitetmejugeait,pourainsidire,aujourlajournée,jusqu'Ãce queM.etMmeBomprélesoientvenusrendrepluscontentdeluietplus mécontentdemoi.J'aieubienduchagrindepuismadernièrelettre" (108).[Hewaslivingandjudgingme,sotospeak,onaday-by-daybasis, untilMr.andMrs.Bomprémadehimmorecontentwithhimselfandless satisfiedwithme.IhavehadmuchsorrowsinceIlastwrotetoyou.] Fictionandpersonalexperiencefuseandbecomeconfused,asfiction becomessopalpablethatitintensifiesthepaininflictedbylife. Thewell-establishedbeliefthatnovelshadanimpactonreaders'taste andbehaviorwascentraltothedebatethatragedintheeighteenth centuryregardingthisrelativelynewgenre.14Becauseofthepreeminence ofloveintheirplots,novelswereaccusedofcorruptingthemoralsof theirreaders,especiallyofyoungwomen.InMistrissHenley,Charrière reformulatestherelationshipbetweentheeffectsoffictionanditscon- tentandgivesitacompletelynewturn.Evenwhenfictionpromotesa "serious"topic—andmarriageisone—itcanbeharmful.Even"good" models—devoidofseduction,adultery,abduction,disobedience,and life-theateningconflicts—donotguaranteeabeneficialeffectoffiction onreaderswhomightstillhavetopayanemotionalprice,contraryto whatonemightdeducefromJulie'sSecondPreface:"Silesromans n'offraientÃleurslecteursquedestableauxd'objetsquilesenvironnent, quedesdevoirsqu'ilspeuventremplir,quedesplaisirsdeleurcondition, lesromansnelesrendraientpointfous,ilslesrendraientsages"(22).[If novelsofferedtotheirreadersonlydepictionsofobjectsthatsurround them,dutiesthatcanbefulfilled,thepleasuresoftheirconditions,nov- elswouldnotrendertheminsane,theywouldrenderthemreasonable.] Asitrefutesthispoint,Charrière's"insignificant"novelbeginstotakea radicalstand. AcomparisonofprefatoryremarksintheSecondPrefaceofJulieand thefirstletterofMistrissHenleyillustratesanovel'spossibleeffectson 224 / BÉRENGUIER readerswhoidentifywiththeircharacters.Bothnovelistsinnovateby targetingnotindividuals,butmarriedcouples.However,eachshedsa verydifferentlightonthisenterprise.InJulie'sSecondPreface,inthe dialoguebetweenRandN,Rattributestothedepictionofadomestic lifethepowertoreformmoresingeneralandregenerateconjugalrela- tionsinparticular: J'aimeÃmefigurerdeuxépouxlisantcerecueilensemble,ypuisantun nouveaucouragepoursupporterleurstravauxcommuns,etpeut-être denouvellesvuespourlesrendreutiles.Commentpourraient-ilsy contemplerletableaud'unménageheureux,sansvouloirimiterunsi douxmodèle?Comments'attendriront-ilssurlecharmedel'union conjugale,mêmeprivédeceluidel'amour,sansquelaleurseresserreet s'affermisse?(23)[Iliketoimaginehusbandandwifereadingthis collectionofletterstogether,drawingfromitnewcouragetoendure theircommontasks,andperhapsgainingnewviewstorenderthese tasksuseful.Howcouldtheycontemplatethepictureofthishappy household,withoutwishingtoimitatesuchapleasingmodel?Howcan theybemovedbythecharmoftheconjugalbond,evendeprivedofthe charmoflove,withoutseeingtheirownuniontightenedand strengthened?] Inthispassage,Rousseaupresentshisnovelasaconduct-bookthat prescribesanewwayoflife(centereduponthehomeandthefamily)and thatshouldinspiremarriedreaderstohavemoreharmoniousunions. InthefirstpageofMistrissHenley,weseeMrs.Henleypracticing whatRadvocates:thatis,readingnovelswithherhusband;ironically, however,shereadsnotJulie,butLemarisentimental.Farfromprovid- ingamodeltobeimitatedbybothspouses(likeJulie,inRousseau's opinion),thisnovelcreatesasplitbetweenhusbandandwife,whoreadit verydifferently.Thelackofharmonybetweenthemisunderscoredby thepurposesuggestedbyMrs.Henleyforthepublicationofherown letters.Fromareadersheturnsintoawriter: Simalettreoumeslettresontquelquejustesseetvousparaissent propresÃexciterquelqueintérêt,seulementassezpoursefairelire...

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