Alfred Jarry (review)

Jill Fell’s biography is a welcome addition to the very few studies of Alfred Jarry published in English. Although his work and eccentric public persona continue to inspire writers and artists, a lack of documentation and letters has meant that Jarry’s personal life remains something of a mystery. Not only did he himself often deliberately identify with the fictional characters he had created, but the people close to him did not always distinguish between Jarry and his literary alter-egos. Fell acknowledges the inconsistencies in Jarry’s biography in her Introduction, where she discusses the many conflicting accounts of the incident in which Jarry shot at the sculptor Manolo. Considering the blurred boundaries between Jarry’s life and his work, it is unsurprising that Fell occasionally falls back on a biographical interpretation of Jarry’s literary texts to speculate on his personal life. Thus she devotes a long analysis to Jarry’s ambiguous tribute to Beardsley in Gestes et opinions du docteur Faustroll (1911), which might hint at Jarry either liking or disliking him (pp. 104–12). In similar fashion, Fell wonders whether a lyrical poem in the novel Le Surmâle (1902) might disclose something of Jarry’s emotional life, ‘about which his published correspondence reveals so little’ (p. 166). Separating facts from fiction is a daunting task for any Jarry biographer. For the most part Fell manages to work past the anecdotes and the self-mythologizing, portraying Jarry as a sensitive human being who lived for literature and whose life was cut tragically short by alcoholism. She shows us a Jarry who was well immersed in Symbolist circles, was an astute art critic, and who was acquainted with many of the most important writers and artists of the day. The book focuses in particular on Jarry’s connections with Gauguin and the Pont-Aven group, with Wilde, and with Apollinaire. Besides offering a nuanced insight into Jarry’s life, this biographical study also provides a perceptive discussion of his work. Apart from the necessary pages devoted to the Ubu Roi scandal, Fell highlights some of Jarry’s lesser-known but equally important achievements, including the highly innovative graphic arts magazine L’Ymagier, which he founded with Remy de Gourmont, and the subversive puppet theatre in which he was involved with Pierre Bonnard, Claude Terrasse, and others. This focus no doubt stems from Fell’s interest in Jarry’s relationship with the visual and performing arts, a theme she also explored in her previous book, Alfred Jarry: An Imagination in Revolt (2005; see French Studies, 61 (2007), 113). That knowledge clearly shows through in this biography. Although the book contains no new biographical information for those already familiar with Jarry, Fell does present a constructive overview of Jarry’s brief yet productive life, his work, and his influential role in the avant-garde. Suitably illustrated, this concise study will appeal to a broad readership and offers a relevant introduction to anyone (academic or non-academic) interested in Jarry’s work.