Benjamin Constant (1767–1830)

A forgotten classic. Written in 1807, the story is by a young man (mid-20s) who describes in detail his passion for an older woman. We follow the course of their relationship beginning before their meeting and to her eventual attachment to him. When her slow-to-ignite passion quickly outstrips his, he quickly becomes scared—and then repelled. And yet he is repeatedly unable to end the affair. Adolphe is, if nothing else, an exquisitely drawn 20-something: he knows better than anyone; show more anyone older or more experienced simply can’t, won’t, or doesn’t understand. His pigheadedness becomes more than a little ridiculous and verges on the unbelievable. Given the date of its composition, Adolphe is one of the world’s earliest psychological novels, the more realistic because it in fact retells the story of the author’s own infatuation (and 14-year relationship) with Madame de Staël. My edition is exactly 100 years old but the ever-so-slightly dated feel to the translation worked in its favor. It was hard for me to read about young Adolphe learning nothing over and over and over again and yet I easily recognized something of my own self in him…and that is part of the strength of the work. Constant’s achievement is beautifully insightful, at once acute and sensitive in its portrayal of both characters. The manners and language—an invaluable aspect of the novel—are very much of their time. And although the ending is more than a little melodramatic, this short novel is well worth the time to read. show less

Adolphe, Fransız edebiyatı ve siyaset felsefesinde çığır açan Benjamin Constant’ın duygusal yakınlıklar, tutkular ve arzuların modern bireyin oluşumundaki önemini ortaya koyan başyapıtı.

Etrafını saran insanlardan ve ilişkilerden sıkılan Adolphe, aradığı aşkı Ellénore’da bulduğunu düşünür. Adolphe’ün ilgisine başlarda kayıtsız kalan Ellénore genç adamı tanıdıkça ona daha çok bağlanmaya, duygularını uluorta paylaşmaya başlar. Adolphe ise show more Ellénore’u “elde ettiğinde” ondan sıkılmaya başladığını hisseder. Buna rağmen Ellénore’dan ayrılamaması, aralarındaki ilişkiye kördüğüm halini almış bir trajik boyut katar. Benjamin Constant’ın özel hayatından birçok otobiyografik unsur barındıran Adolphe, kalıcı duygusal yakınlıklar kurmaktan ısrarla kaçınan yaygın bir bireysel psikolojiyi derinlemesine ele alan ilk kurmaca yapıtlardan biri.

“Benjamin Constant’ın tek romanı olan Adolphe, yazıldığı tarihte bir başyapıt olarak karşılanmıştı ve Goethe, Stendhal, Puşkin, Hugo gibi yazarlar romana duydukları hayranlığı belirtmişlerdi.”
TZVETAN TODOROV show less

This is an unusual short novel. A story of a romance with virtually no context, however it suggests what Europe was like for a son of a wealthy family in the early 19th century. And, in one of the later chapters, Constant describes the physical geography of an area of Poland. But, beyond that, there's only Adolphe's emotions and his perceptions of Eleanor's. In its psychological approach it reminded me a bit of The Sorrows of Young Werther, but perhaps more closely resembles Lermontov's A show more Hero of Our Time.

The narrator, Adolphe, is an intelligent young man, given to analysis and raised in a household without much affection, who begins a relationship almost as an experiment – and also because he understands that this is what people are supposed to do. The woman is already the mistress of a Duke, and has two children with him but no real rights as acknowledged by society. He is young, 22 years old, and has just completed his studies at the University of Göttingen. He travels to a small town in Germany, where he becomes attached to the court of an enlightened Prince. During his stay he gains a reputation for an unpleasant wit. A friend inspires him to attempt the seduction of an older woman named Ellenore.

Eventually, the woman succumbs, and as far as the reader can tell she is entirely in earnest. She gives up everything for him. Rather quickly, Adolphe’s ardor entirely cools, but he feels unable to detach himself from her. He alternates between trying to be honest about his feelings and then, when he sees her getting more and more distraught, rapidly feigns emotions that he desperately wants to feel but no longer does. Adolphe becomes anxious as he realizes that he is sacrificing any potential future for the sake of Ellénore. She persuades him to extend his stay by six months, but they quarrel, and when she tends him after he is injured in a duel, he finds himself hopelessly indebted to her. He attempts to leave her only to have her follow him. The denouement leads Adolphe to return to a life of alienation more severe than that which he experienced before his affair.

I am not sure that I enjoyed this novel, but I certainly appreciated the approach - when, upon reflection, I realized the novelty of the psychological approach. It likely had a major impact on later "psychological" novels. According to a critic of Russian literature, Victor Terras, French literature of the nineteenth century influenced the major Russian writers, thus Dostoevsky likely was familiar with Constant. The fictional Adolphe is familiar with the things that he is supposed to say and how he is supposed to act, and in doing these things almost convinces himself that he is actually in love – for a short time, in fact, he might feel something similar to the real thing. show less

A slim volume of Benjamin Constant's autobiography and his novel "Aldophe" which mirrored his personal life.
Unfortunately the autobiography focuses largely on Constant's love affairs and little else is divulged regarding his career or family. "Aldophe" is about a selfish young man, who wants what he can't have, and when he gets it - doesn't want it any more. Even taking in to consideration it was written 200 years ago when social standings were vastly different than today, I was still unable show more to find much compassion for either Adolphe or Constant. show less