[PDF] A genetic study on Baudelaires“Be ´ne´diction”

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Except the prefatory poemʠAu Lecteurʡ,ʠBénédictionʡis the opening poem of Les Fleurs du

Malin both the firstʢʣand the secondʢʣeditions, in which Baudelaire, as well as most French Romanticists, presents the theme of dolorismeʣ . They lament their solitude but glorify it, regard themselves as persons selected by God like prophets . In case ofʠBénédictionʡ, Baudelaire, in addition to these Romantic themes, presents the leitmotiv of the Passion in order to emphasize the essentials of Christianity in dolorisme. It seems that this Christian viewpoint in Baudelaire is symbolized by its lengthʣ

ʠBénédictionʡis composed of seventyʵsix verses. As compared with the Romantic authors, for

example, Victor Hugo or Alfred de Vigny, although the length of verses i s considerably short,

Baudelaire expends on composition no less than seventyʵsix verses that should be relatively classified

as one of some long pieces in Les Fleurs du Mal. Thus, it would be necessary to divide this somewhat

long poem from the thematic viewpoints in order to make clear not only the significance of the Biblical

especially Jesus Christʟs Passion. On the other hand, however, there is obviously a heathen mot if, idolatry, in the middle strophes of this poem. Therefore, these contrad ictory themes coexist in ʠBénédictionʡ. In this article, the following points have been elucidated: due to th e influence of Joseph

de Maistreʟs doctrine ofʠréversibilitéʡ, Baudelaire could introduce into this piece the subject of a martyr

to sensuality, in addition, synthesize the contradictive problem between

Christianism and paganism. In

consequence, it seems that the significance ofʠBénédictionʡin literary history consists in the fact that

Baudelaire, influenced by Joseph de Maistre whom most Romanticists could not understand, ventured to publish in Les Fleurs du Malwhich contained considerable Romantic fragrance in spite of the era of

Realism.

ɿLʟÉcole païenne, idolatry, Joseph de Maistre, réversibilité, immolation, sensuali ty

It could be said thatʠBénédictionʡis composed of three partsʢbesides, because of space

limitations, whole seventyʵsix verses could not be citedʣ: ʣPart ʢv.ʵʣ: in this part, there are two speakers; one is a narrator who relates th e birth of ʠle Poèteʡof Les Fleurs du Mal, the other is the poetʟs mother . And it could be easily found that the whole narrations are based on the Biblical descriptions, especially the

Nativity, the Immaculate

Conception and the Passion. However, in regard to the Annunciation, con trary to the Blessed Virgin, the poetʟs mother blasphemes God, in a word, professes the words of Malediction w hich is opposite to the

titleʠBénédictionʡ. In short, from a different point of view, the poetʟs suffering inʠBénédictionʡ

becomes doubly sacred by his motherʟs Malediction. Thus, the narrator relates the poetʟs unreasonable

suffering since his birth and his way to the Cross, where a crowd of peo ple surround the poet and persecute him. ʣPart ʢv.ʵʣ: situated nearly in the middle, this part composed of four strophes cou ld be

namedʠthe middle strophesʡ. In the middle strophes, except the first verse that is assigned to th

e narrator who relates the amazing and unimaginable appearance of the poet

ʟs wife, rest of all verses

exclusively belongs to her tyrannical and terrifying narration. Expendi ng fifteen verses on her narration,

she insists that her husbandʦpoetʧshould idolize her and that his heart should be dug out of breast. It

goes without saying that her cruel acts are nothing less than metaphoric al representations. Although the importance of this metaphorical construction was already analyzed minute ly, it is not needless to say

again that the principal theme in the middle strophes is Baudelaireʟs aesthetical poetics named by

himselfʠla contreʵreligionʡ . The poetics of theʠcontreʵreligionʡseems to be closely connected

with the genetic problem ofʠBénédictionʡ, its importance will be considered in the last part of this

article. ʣPart ʢv.ʵʣ: presented in the first strophe of this part by the narrator who descri bes the poetʟs posture quite analogous to Jesus Christ on the Cross, the poet himself , expending five strophes on his narration, professes the gratitude to God who gave him suffering. T hus, it could be concluded that the place represented metaphorically in the middle strophes must be Calv ary for the poet of ʠBénédictionʡ, after all, of Les Fleurs du Mal. Besides, on the one hand, as we summarized the composition of this piece , it is obvious that ʠBénédictionʡis based on the Biblical leitmotiv. On the other hand, however, it seem s that the Cross for the poet himself is not so much on Calvary as in the region of pagan ism where his wife forces him to idolize her, maltreats him and digs his heart out of breast. Why does t his enigmatic and brutal woman

suddenly appear in the Christian context ofʠBénédictionʡ? In other words, how should we consider the

abrupt intrusion of this heathen figure into the context of Christianism in the poem? This is the first question. In addition, it would be quite natural to wonder why Baudelaire ventured to publish his first poetical works, in the ʟs, in a word, in the era of Realism, Les Fleurs du Malin which remained A genetic study on BaudelaireʟsʠBénédictionʡ

enough the fragrance of Romanticism or PostʵRomanticism. This is another question. It seems that

these questions would be connected closely with each other. Moreover,ʠBénédictionʡhad never been made public until June in when Baudelaire published the first edition of Les Fleurs du Mal; far from it, up to now, it is quite impossible to determine when Baudelaire, unifying seventyʵsix verses, accomplished this piece. Thus, it is

indispensable for us to consider the genesis ofʠBénédictionʡin order to elucidate those above two

problems. This genetic approach would also make clear how and when Baud elaire could synthesize the paganism and the Christianism ʢʣTestimony of Baudelaireʟs contemporaries Owing to several precedent studies, to say nothing of the day of publica tion, the period of

composition and even genesis of some poems, especially soʵcalledʠlove poetryʡsent by letters to

Madame Sabatier, one of the women who inspired Baudelaire, have been elu cidated to a certain degree

In regard to the first editionʢfor,ʠBénédictionʡalready appeared in ʣcomposed of pieces,

including the prefatory poemʠAu Lecteurʡ, the fact that poems had been made public by some way is known at the recent day. In addition, the genesis of some pieces amo ng those poems has been made clear in recent years. This fact means in the opposite way that, i n regard to the other pieces, there are relatively not a few poems of which the genetic process has no t been elucidated yet. And

ʠBénédictionʡis one of those pieces. In short, except the day of publication and a few of variants

between the first and the second editions, nothing is made clear concern ingʠBénédictionʡ. In that case, how in the world the genetic problem in this piece could be solved? To begin with, the testimony of Baudelaireʟs contemporaries should be considered. It is needless to say that there was a wellʵknown artistic custom that poets or novelists used to recite their own literary works in the presence of their close friends e ven in the th century. Baudelaire is not exceptional in the era of PostʵRomanticism in the ʟs. Ernest Prarondʢʵʣ, one of Baudelaireʟs comrades in literature in his young days who heard him recite his some verses, testifies

in his letter written in to Eugène Crépetʢʵʣ, biographer of Baudelaire, that the poet of

Les Fleurs du Malhad already writtenʠa great number of his versesʡin , and that, as far as he remembered in , he could enumerate the titles of verses . In addition to that, another

Baudelaireʟs lifelong friend, Charles Asselineauʢʵʣalso testifies thatʠa great number of

poems which could be printed for the first volume of Les Fleurs du Malhad already been accomplished

in this periodʢʵʣʡ. However, apart from Asselineauʟs testimony, it should never be failed to

notice that Prarond made the following additional remarks: swearing that he would be sincere witness to both Baudelaire and Eugène Crépet and citing the fact that Baudela ire continued rewriting without cease, Prarond affirmed that therefore he did not remember the pieceʠBénédictionʡ . In brief, Prarond would say that he could not remember hearing Baudelaire reciteʠBénédictionʡ. But, this utterance seems to be quite curious at all points. First of a ll, Prarond should have

rememberedʠBénédictionʡwhich is a very long opening poem in Les Fleurs du Malin both the first

ʢʣand the secondʢʣeditions; in addition, since the order ofʠBénédictionʡwas the same

in the posthumous editionʢʣthat naturally excluded the author from its editing, Prarond should not have forgotten this piece. Secondly, from the viewpoint of literary history, the fact that he didnʟt

have in his memory Baudelaireʟs recitingʠBénédictionʡ, which was too full of Romantic fragrance to

forget in the ʟs, is much more curious than the above first point. If this impressive piece in a sense had already been accomplished and Baudelaire had recited it, Prarond mus t have remembered this one, even a few verses. In fact, he suggested in the letter to Eugène Cré pet that he might have remembered

only a few verses ofʠBénédictionʡrecited by Baudelaire. At any rate, in regard to the utterance

concerningʠBénédictionʡ, it is impossible for us to accept Prarondʟs ambiguous words as it is. Thus,

this means oppositely, and in addition, very clearly that Baudelaire had not yet accomplished, at least in

the ʟs,ʠBénédictionʡwhich is composed of seventyʵsix verses, namely, the same text as one

reads at the present days.

On the other hand, there is a possibility thatʠBénédictionʡmight have been written in the second

half of the ʟs. But, due to the fact that Baudelaire was discontinuously making publ ic only five poems since May until April when he, as a selection titled Les Limbes, published

collectively for the first time eleven pieces in whichʠBénédictionʡwas not included, it is quite

impossible that Baudelaire had finished writingʠBénédictionʡand maintained the plan of presenting

this piece as an opening poem of his poetical works in the second half o f the ʟs. Thus, after , it

seems at least that Baudelaire, far from publishingʠBénédictionʡ, was, in a sense, too negative to make

public his poetry At any rate, since Prarondʟs testimony is not to be relied upon, other researching ways should be

selected in order to elucidate the genesis ofʠBénédictionʡ; there is no better way than to make

reference to the text itself.

ʢʣBaudelaire and the crowd As indicated in the Introduction of this article,ʠBénédictionʡis based on the Biblical descriptions.

For example, there are two strophes in which a crowd of hypocrites torme nt the poet in the same manner as Pharisee persecuted Jesus Christ: Tous ceux quʟil veut aimer lʟobservent avec crainte,

Ou bien, sʟenhardissant de sa tranquillité,

Cherchent à qui saura lui tirer une plainte,

A genetic study on BaudelaireʟsʠBénédictionʡ Et font sur lui lʟessai de leur férocité.

Dans le pain et le vin destinés à sa bouche

Ils mêlent de la cendre avec dʟimpurs crachats ;

Avec hypocrisie ils jettent ce quʟil touche,

Et sʟaccusent dʟavoir mis leurs pieds dans ses pas.

ʢʠBénédictionʡ, ed., , v.ʵ.ʣ

Most Romanticists introduce into their poems the theme of solitude, name ly, isolation from the society,

including their family. They wished to be alone. They didnʟt want to love others, much less the society,

at least in their literary works . However, contrary to the Romanticists, the poet inʠBénédictionʡ sincerely wants to love the crowd; nevertheless, the crowd who cannot un derstand his tranquilityʢʠsa tranquillitéʡʣpersecutes the poet. In brief, the gap between the crowd and the poet /

Jesus Christ could

never be filled. Thus, in point of this Biblical motif, it seems that t he theme of relation between the poet

and the crowd inʠBénédictionʡhas come to doubly acquire the important significances. One is the

theme of solitude in the society, the other is solitude itself, namely, the absolute solitude. Therefore,

concerning the genesis ofʠBénédictionʡand the situation of Baudelaire in the ʟs, especially after

, the problem of relation between crowd and himself should be taken into

account.In the th century, the crowd means in general theʠbourgeoisʡor the public who acquired new

power or civic rights under the Monarchy of July. Baudelaire began to o penly despise the public or humanity in the ʟs, in short, in his later life. However, it is said that he was favorab le to the crowd in the ʟs. In fact, Baudelaire was involved in the activity of enlightening the public by means of two artistic criticisms written and published under the titles of Salon de and Salon de . Baudelaire expressed there his principle of insisting on the necessity o f union between the artists and the bourgeois. According to several commentators, this Baudelaireʟs principle was influenced by the

socialistic philosophers or the Illuminists, for example, SaintʵSimon, Fourier, Lamennais, Proudhon,

Pierre Leroux, and so on

. Thus, it should not be natural that Baudelaire might have introduced the theme of absolute solitude in the ʟs. Moreover, around , Baudelaire, who had been influenced by those philosophers, was so interested in politicoʵsocialistic movement that he threw himself into the February Revolution and

participated in the laborsʟuprisings in June against the conservative turn of new legislature creat

ed after the success of the February Revolution. Under these circumstances, it d oesnʟt seem that he could have enough time to elaborate his poetical works includingʠBénédictionʡ . In addition to that, he was collaborating on journalistic activity with his comrades during the year of and was maintaining political interest until December , namely, Coup dʟÉtat by Napoleon III, by which he became ʠphysiquement dépolitiquéʡʢphysically nonpoliticalʣ . This means that Baudelaire became aware of the contradictive reality between politicoʵsocialism and literature. However, until December , Baudelaire was managing to collaborate with the public, in brief, the cr owd. Thus, it would be quite

difficult to think that the theme of being persecuted by the crowd inʠBénédictionʡand even this piece

itself could have already been written in the ʟs.

ʢʣBaudelaire and the mythology

Since there is little possibility that Baudelaire had already brought to completion seventyʵsix

verses ofʠBénédictionʡin the ʟs, his literary activity in the ʟs and other thematic viewpoints

in regard to this piece should be taken into account. To begin with, it is necessary to remember the following comment in the note of this article: ʠContrary to Vigny, Baudelaire follows almost faithfully the Biblical out lines and the basic stories in the

Gospelsʡ. The reason why the adverbial phraseʠalmost faithfullyʡis added to this note is that there

are some mythological descriptions, especially those of Greek myths that should be distinguished from the Biblical motifs inʠBénédictionʡʢed., , v.ʵʣ: Et dans tout ce quʟil boit et dans tout ce quʟil mange

Retrouve lʟambroisie et le nectar vermeil.

According to the Greek myths, the ambrosiaʢʠambroisieʡʣis the food of gods, and the nectar is the

drink of gods. The ancient Greeks believed that by eating and drinking them, they could keep eternal youth and immortality. It is true that the fact that there is mythologi cal motif other than Biblical context is considerably curious, but it seems that the context of ancient Greek myths is extremely significant. It

is because, due to the words ofʠambrosiaʡandʠnectarʡ, the lone poetʢthe original term in v.is

ʠlʟEnfant déshéritéʡʣcould acquireʠthe eternal lifeʡjust like Jesus Christ did. At any rate, the fact

that Baudelaire inserts into the Biblical context the above Greek mythol ogical theme is very significant. In addition, there is another motif of antique Greek myths that would be more remarkable in the middle strophes in questionʢed., , v.ʵʣ:

Et mes ongles, pareils aux ongles des harpies,

Sauront jusquʟà son coeur se frayer un chemin. It is necessary to remember again that the above verses are part of the middle strophes in which the tyrannical and terrifying woman insists that she is going to be idolized by her husbandʦpoetʧand that his heart should be dug out of breast. The meaning of idolatry and meta phorically brutal theme will be analyzed later in this article. Here, suffice it to say that in the ant ique Greek myths, Harpy is a horrible,

cruel creature with a womanʟs head and body, and with a birdʟs wings, tail, legs and claws. Thus, this

A genetic study on BaudelaireʟsʠBénédictionʡ mythological creature is nothing less than a kind of anthropophagous monster whose re al meaning will be made clear later in this article. At least, it could be said that th e appearance of the poetʟs wife who is similar to Harpy would determine the poetʟs destiny of being crucified much more tragically. Besides, it is obvious that a lot of mythological motifs or descriptions can be seen here and there in Les Fleurs du Malʢʣ; however, was Baudelaire originally positive concerning the introductio n of unchristian mythology into the Christian context? In truth, during the period of ʵ, Baudelaire was too negative to introduce any mythological subject into his own poet ry. Thus, it is indispensable to consider Baudelaireʟs conception in regard to the significance of mythology in order to eluc idate the

genesis ofʠBénédictionʡ. And there are two articles, which should be carefully observed, writt

en by

Baudelaire himself in this period.

According to F.W.Leakey, in the period of ʵ, Baudelaire published in the review Semaine théâtraletwo articles which are closely linked both in their publication and conc eptionʢthey appeared within a few weeks of each otherʣ . One is Les drames et les romans honnêtesʢNovember ʣin which Baudelaire criticized by nameʢfor example, Émile Augier ʵor Arnaud Berquin ʵ ʣthe literary tendency of attaching importance to the utility, morality o r virtuous behavior represented by them. However, this is nothing but a prelude; another on e, namely, L

ʟÉcole païenne,

whose descriptions are very ironic and difficult to interpret, is by far the more important for the purpose of this present article. In L ʟÉcole païennepublished in the review Semaine théâtraleʢJanuary ʣ, Baudelaire criticized the literary tendency as being nothing less than the renaissa nce of mythological Hellenism

produced by the neoʵpagan Romanticistsʢʠlʟécole païenneʡʣand expressed his hostility to them.

However, contrary to the manner in which he wrote Les drames et les romans honnêtes, he did not openly mention each name of authors who might composeʠlʟécole païenneʡ.

ʢ...ʣ. Depuis quelques temps, jʟai tout lʟOlympe à mes trousses, et jʟen souffre beaucoup; je reçois

des dieux sur la tête comme on reçoit des cheminées.ʢ...ʣ. / Impossible de faire un pas, de

prononcer un mot, sans buter contre un fait païen.ʢPl, II, p..ʣ Baudelaire, who had already been surrounded by the legion of gods and of pagans that seemed to him to be intolerable, cannot help but scream as follows:

La ville est sens dessus dessous.ʢ...ʣ. Que le diable vousʦthe neoʵpagansʧemporte ! QuʟIsis et

Osiris fassent beaucoup dʟenfants et quʟils nous f..... la paix !ʦʠfichent la paix !ʡorʠfoutent la

paix !ʡʧʢIbid.ʣ

It could be said at least that Baudelaire feels so much threatened byʠlʟécole païenneʡin .

Besides, it might be indispensable to identify by name some possible aut hors as neoʵpagan

Romanticists.

According to Yoshio Abe, who defines Baudelaire asʠone of the least pagan, the least Hellenic poets in the epoch, in that epoch so generally marked by infatuation wit h the Greek antiquityʡ, soʵ

calledʠlʟécole païenneʡ, namely the neoʵpagan Romanticists, could be enumerated as follows

ʣLouis Ménardʢʵʣ. He is known as an excellent Hellenist and wrote not a few

Hellenistic epopees. Baudelaire had already severely criticized his Prométhée délivréʢʣ.

ʣVictor de Lapradeʢʵʣ, pious Catholic poet who wrote Psyquépublished in . Baudelaire criticized his pantheistic tendency around . ʣLeconte de Lisleʢʵʣ, one of the Parnassians. His most important poetical works should be Poèmes antiquesʢʣin which he praises thoroughly the Greek antiquity. ʣThéodore de Banvilleʢʵʣ; in regard to the antiquity, he wrote two important poetical works in the ʟs: Les Cariatidesʢʣand Les Stalactitesʢʣin which he praises the

Grecian spirit

The following Baudelaireʟs remark in L

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