The Divisions of French Catholicism, 1629–1645: ‘The Parting of the Ways.’ by Anthony D. Wright (review)

the exotic lands in which Westerners seek a refuge have already lost their innocence due to colonial expansion. Equally problematic is his attitude toward religion . He scoffs at the institutions of organized religion, yet he displays a sincere admiration for Jesus Christ. He makes of the crucifixion of Jesus a symbol of his own sufferings and frustrations. In his Tahitian paintings he often includes a statue of a native deity to indicate the presence of mysterious unseen forces in the world. These forces are sometimes associated with female figures who appear to embody a kind of eternal feminine. As with all aspects of Gauguin’s art, one has a sense of deeper meanings that remain indefinable and ultimately beyond the spectator’s intellectual reach. The essays in this volume also reveal the literary dimension of Gauguin’s inspiration . For one thing, his search for liberation through escape from modernity into the exotic was either inspired by or parallel to similar aspirations written about by Gérard de Nerval and Pierre Loti. Gauguin himself became a role model for younger writers and artists, such as his admirer and early biographer Victor Segalen (see Charles Forsdick’s essay). It is also enlightening to discover that Gauguin was a writer as well as a pictorial artist. In journals, periodicals, and autobiographical texts, like Noa Noa, he explored answers to the same problems in life and revealed the multifaceted nature of his personality just as he does in his paintings, carvings, and ceramics. Another literary preoccupation is the importance he accords to titles for his works. In the later ones, they are frequently bilingual, in both Tahitian and French. He chose them to make the viewer feel that major questions about life and human destiny are being addressed therein. Sometimes the words spill over onto the surface of the painting, becoming iconic. University of Denver (CO) James P. Gilroy WRIGHT, ANTHONY D. The Divisions of French Catholicism, 1629–1645: ‘The Parting of the Ways.’ Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2011. ISBN 978-1-4094-2084-2. Pp. 216. $124.95. French political and religious maneuvers form the basis of this well-researched and carefully-documented volume. The author, noted for his scholarship on the Catholic Counter-Reformation, the Papacy, and the Society of Jesus, has traced the roots of division among French Catholics to well before the posthumous publication of Jansenius’s Augustinus in 1641. The book contains two sections, the historical and religious context before 1629, and the actual fragmentation between 1629 and 1645. Beginning with the devastating Wars of Religion throughout the second half of the sixteenth century, Wright addresses the controversial accession of Henri IV to the throne of France. This chaotic situation, coupled with the refusal of the French monarchy to accept the Tridentine decrees (1545–63) until 1615, set the stage for further conflict both within the Church and between Church and State. Differing interpretations of reform surfaced, notably by Bérulle, founder of the French Oratorians, and Richelieu, already making his ascent into power. Added to this, the banished Jesuits returned to France and to the field of education, thus entering into rivalry with the Oratorians. Meanwhile, all parties courted the favor of the monarchy, while seeking prestigious individual positions. During this time the dévots, or Catholics dedicated to internal church reform, and favorable to Rome, assumed an important role. The question of ecclesiastical Reviews 1187 discipline often outweighed doctrinal preoccupations, and provoked conflicts with the monarchy. Marriage issues, reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, and the role of secular clergy as opposed to religious orders achieved paramount importance. French foreign policies also blurred the religious sphere. The marriage of the Catholic Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henri IV, to the Protestant Charles I of England forged a brief temporary alliance. Richelieu’s hostility to the Catholic Hapsburgs in Spain and Austria evoked strong opposition from many dévots. During all of these conflicts, the papacy played a changing role, as national interests began to outweigh religious concerns, especially with the evolution of French Gallicanism. The year 1629 marked a watershed on the French scene. It witnessed the death of Bérulle, increasingly at odds with Richelieu...