Théophile Gautier (1811–1872)

This novel is suffused with a refined naughtiness, which was accentuated by the fact I should have been writing a dry literature review this afternoon. Instead, I read the second, more salacious, half of 'Mademoiselle de Maupin'. This French capital-R Romantic novel is a wonderful comedy-drama of gender and sexuality, largely set in a country château in summer. It is mostly epistolary, making me wonder what the correspondents thought of the extravagant and shocking letters they received. I show more suppose their response is that of the reader?

After a preface that rails at moralising critics, Gautier begins the novel by giving the point of view to d'Albert. Like Kiyoaki in 'Spring Snow', here we have an idle aristocrat in love with the idea of beauty and love, utterly self-absorbed and distinctly directionless. (Is this the ideal of the Romantic Hero?) He writes lengthy letters to a friend named Silvio, describing the ideal mistress that he yearns for. He unselfconsciously expounds his misogynistic view of women as objects of beauty, lacking intellectual calibre and never equal to men. His letters are dense with classical allusions and hyperbole. After tiring of lazing about sighing, interspersed with the odd bit of hunting, d'Albert deigns to take a mistress named Rosette. She can't live up to his ideals of perfection, but nonetheless they have fun together. Including a hilarious-sounding amorous adventure during which he dresses up as a bear. D'Albert is convinced that Rosette loves him utterly.

This relatively stable arrangement is thrown into disarray when d'Albert and Rosette end up staying at a castle and encounter the dashing Théodore. At this point, the narrative shifts to Théodore's letters to a friend named Graciosa and we discover that he is actually a woman called Madeline. It emerges that the persona of Théodore was invented by Madeline so that she could learn what men were really like. She was horrified by what she found. This part of the book is the most serious and striking, as it rings so true even now. As Madeline discovers, there is a terrible double standard for male and female behaviour. When talking to each other, men are cruel and dismissive of women. Madeline remains Théodore, finding that she cannot bear to go back to the limitations of female existence. Gautier critiques the gender binary impressively thoroughly, considering he was writing in the early 19th century.

I found Théodore/Madeline to be a wonderfully sympathetic and appealing character. She gleefully overturns assumptions of gender and sexuality, throwing d'Albert into an agony of confusion that his letters made me think he richly deserved. Initially taking Théodore at face value, d'Albert comes to terms with the fact that his ideal of beauty is in fact male. Moreover, it emerges that Rosette has never been in love with him, but has only ever truly loved Théodore! After the château guests put on a performance of 'As You Like It', with all its cross-dressing and gender confusion, these passions finally come to a head. The ending is best described as satisfying.

The whole novel is very enjoyable, sensuous but ironic, deliberately subverting conventions. The eponymous hero/heroine was a real person, a bisexual singer who dressed as a man, fought duels, and apparently burned down a convent whilst in pursuit of a lover there. I'd love to read a biography of her, as Gautier gives us a glimpse of what are clearly only a few of her adventures. To the other characters, she remains an elusive, fascinating, and confusing object of adoration. I can very well see why. The reader cannot help but love her at least a little.

It's also worth noting that this edition includes an excellent introduction by Patricia Duncker, whose novels I've previously enjoyed. As is apparently always the case with classic novels, it absolutely vital not to read this introduction first, otherwise the plot will be spoiled. (I always avoid such introductions now, after having too many endings ruined.) It makes for an interesting read afterwards, though. show less

My second Gautier book and a second triumph. Gautier has a very verbose style and never uses one metaphor when 8 will do, however his writing is so lyrical and poetic that it rarely seems too long.
They say people today have a warped view of the opposite sex due to film, porn, celebrity magazines etc. but evidently this is not so modern a problem, as our male 19th century hero is the same and all he had to work with was poetry and oil paintings, he despairs of ever finding a woman who meets show more his fantastic ideal. Our heroine on the other hand is determined to truly understand men before giving herself to one.
This is a romance i guess, although one of those very realistic ones something along the lines of '500 Days of Summer' . It has really interesting things to say about sexuality aswell, which again makes it seem quite modern.
Overall this is a beautifully written, funny, interesting and remarkably... human story (for want of a better description :) ).
Note: Some prior knowledge of Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' might be beneficial. show less

A little repetitive, Gautier has a bit of a one track mind although you might see that as the collection being nicely themed. The main issue is Gautier's languidly descriptive style which can be quite infuriating unless your in a very patient mood.
Still worth the price of admission for the very early vampire tale Clarimonde, aka La Morte Amoureuse (1836).

Super-self-consciously beautiful poems about beautiful things and horrors, with little in-between. Gautier drank deeply of German Romanticism and assumed its dark motifs, but he's much sexier.