FRENCH LITERATURE

New Zealand Listener, Volume 2, Issue 40, 29 March 1940, Page 15

FRENCH LITERATURE

A Glance At Some Moderns

language, Professor Saintsbury, one of the soundest judges of French literature, and perhaps our best modern critic, makes these observations: "There is no really great epic in French, few great tragedies, little prose like Milton’s, little verse like Shelley’s or Spenser's. But there are the most delightful short tales both in prose and in verse that the world has ever seen, the most polished jewelléry of reflexion that has ever been wrought, songs of incomparable grace, comedies that must make men laugh so long as they are laughing animals, and, above all, such a body of narrative fiction as no other nation can show for art and for originality, for grace of workmanship and for certainty of delight." It is no reflection on New Zealand readers to say that French literature is almost a closed book to the great majority, since they must of necessity depend on translations, and this means that much of the essence of the original French wit and studied grace is lost. But those who know nothing at all about the writers of France, and wish to know something, will find Saintsbury’s "Short History" an admirable introduction. I: his final analysis of the French A Logical Language The French are introspective and logical. This logic is apparent in their language, for it has not been affected by foreign influence and has evolved a precision and a clarity which we have not yet achieved. They are also respectful to their language. Any change must first be debated, and debated for long periods by skilled and tried men of the Académie Francaise, before it is admitted finally to use. Another striking characteristic is the Frenchman’s love of the soil, which shines through the literature like a great light. For many years the romantic writers, as in England, were preoccupied with Love, but to-day authors of importance are seeking to find, among other things, the secret of suffering. A few of the more advanced of the younger men are now writing novels which have become acute and _ penetrating psychological studies, and their outlook on contemporary manners suggests that of a surgeon studying the human body. Love is still there, but only as one facet in the bewildering behaviour of man to woman and the effect of their emotions on each other. * * * It is impossible here to survey, however briefly, the whole range of French literature. Some brief reference, however, may be made to contemporary writers whose works are obtainable in English and are worthy of study. One of the most important is Anatole France, a pitiless critic and brilliant writer. His’ best known books available in English, are "Penguin Island," "The Revolt of the Angels," Jocasta and the Famished Cat," and " The Crime of Sylvestre Bonnard." As a stylist he is unsurpassed. The secret of his flawless composition and economy of words is perhaps to be

found in his advice to young writers "Caress each of your phrases for a long time; it will end by smiling." De Maupassant’s Power Guy de Maupassant is no longer as popular as he was, but he remains one of the great short story writers of all time. He had an amazing power of observation, a clear-cut style and a distinctly French sense of irony. His economy of words was achieved partly by his having to fit his stories into a small given space in the daily paper for which he wrote. Georges Duhamel is the Galsworthy of France. His "Civilisation" is a poignant study of the war. " Salavin," the complete story of a simple soul, is a contemporary picture of millions of mankind. Love of the soil and respect for family, two great traditions in French writing, are the basis of Henry Bordeaux’s novels. He began as a barrister. "Les Roquevillard" is a magnificent study of a family, wedded to the soil, which sacrifices even its property to save the family name-an appalling sacrifice in France. René Bazin is another who writes of the soil and its hereditary demands on man. This theme dominates his work. Georges Courteline takes his characters from the streets of Paris, the home of the bourgeoisie, the terrace of the café. There is laughter in his writing, but he is one of the soundest of social doctors because he does not fear to go right to the root of the evil. Pierre Loti, who combined a naval career with that of writing, produced sentimental but highly artistic books of which " Pécheur d'Islande" is one of the most complete. Appreciation of the English Pierre Mille is perhaps the most interesting of the French humorists of tos day. Like André Maurois he has a great appreciation of English life and character. Both these men wrote for the better understanding of our two countries during the last war, and Maurois’s " Silence of Colonel Bramble" has enjoyed an immense sale in both France and England. André Gide heads the list of individualists. He insists that perfect fulfil ment must come through individual effort. "Are you not strong enough to walk alone?" asks one of his characters, a woman, in "La Porte Etroite." "It is alone that each of us must find God." She is refusing to act as a spiritual prop to the man she loves. The work of Pierre Louys is not suitable for translation into English, but each of his novels is a prose poem. His subjects are curious and extreme, as in " Aphrodite," a study of Alexandria in its decadent days, and " The Woman and the Puppet," a devastating study of a man Caught in the toils of the flesh. Among women writers, Rachilde produces penetrating studies of human relationship, but they are too outspoken for general consumption.