eJournals Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature 40/79

Papers on French Seventeenth Century Literature
pfscl
0343-0758
2941-086X
Narr Verlag Tübingen
121
2013
4079

Hubert Carrier (ed.): «Un vent de fronde s’est levé ce matin». Poésies diverses attribuées à Scarron (1610-1660). Avant-Propos de Christian Péligry, Paris: Champion, 2012 («Sources classiques», 106). 168 p

121
2013
Francis Assaf
pfscl40790393
PFSCL XL, 79 (2013) Hubert Carrier (ed.) : « Un vent de fronde s’est levé ce matin ». Poésies diverses attribuées à Scarron (1610-1660). Avant-Propos de Christian Péligry. Paris : Champion, 2012 (« Sources classiques », 106). 168 p. The late Hubert Carrier (1936-2008), known for his works on Scarron and the Mazarinades, in addition to an abundance of editions of La Fontaine, Molière, Racine, Corneille, Alphonse Daudet, and other notable authors, has left us this posthumous work on sixteen selected pieces, which he classifies rigorously in four categories in as many chapters. I: Attributions certaines; II: Attributions probables. III: Attributions possibles, and IV: Refus d’attribution. The foreword by Christian Péligry, honorary curator of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, provides a history of the work’s elaboration following Carrier’s passing, and paying homage to Madame Carrier’s generosity in sharing her late husband’s manuscripts in order to bring the book to the reading public. The relatively short yet deeply personal introduction (14 pages) is extremely well documented (59 footnotes) and not only constitutes a veritable “user’s manual” for reading and appreciating the main body of text, but provides as well insights in Carrier’s erudition on Scarron and the Fronde. It also gives the reader glimpses of Carrier’s genuine fondness for “le malade de la Reine,” as Scarron liked to call himself. That text also manages, in such few pages, to summarize Carrier’s career as one of France’s premier Scarron scholars. The chapter subtitled “Attributions certaines” (“La Mazarinade [1651],” “Les Cent quatre vers”, “Les Réflexions politiques et morales”, “Les Triolets de la Cour”) reserves no surprises. A somewhat older article, “Les Fonctions du burlesque dans les Mazarinades: Analyse de La Mazarinade de Scarron” 1 , provides a careful analysis of the text, 2 albeit one that is focused on the functions of the burlesque in that mock epic. 3 In any case, its author takes it for granted that La Mazarinade is by Scarron. Carrier says essentially the same thing, but provides additional arguments to establish that fact once and for all. 1 Tadako Ichimaru-Nishiura (Sejio University). Etudes de Langue et Littérature Françaises, 1998; 72: 3-16. 2 Something Carrier does not —one might have wished at least for a summary. 3 Interestingly, Jean Leclerc does not even mention La Mazarinade in his chapter dedicated to the decline of burlesque (third chapter of Part One : « Le Déclin et le Fronde ») of his L’Antiquité travestie et la vogue du burlesque en France : 1643-1661 (Laval : P.U.L., « Les Collections de la République des Lettres », 2008). He does write in general about various mazarinades in the context of what he sees as a decline of the burlesque style, but the real focus of his work is elsewhere. PFSCL XL, 79 (2013) 394 An “attribution probable”, Le Passeport et l’adieu de Mazarin en vers burlesques is the subject of a rather detailed analysis in Chapter 2, resting chiefly, but not exclusively, on one verse: “adieu timon de ma brouette”, the latter being the wheelchair Scarron used for getting around. The rest of the analysis interrogates in detail various editions of the work, from 1649 to 1651, varying from 12 to 14 pages depending on the type size. Unlike the texts examined in Ch. 1, the author provides sizable excerpts of Le Passeport […], certainly a helpful choice. The Lettre joviale à Monsieur le marquis de Boulaies, en vers burlesques is not only analyzed according to Carrier’s exacting standards, but also printed in extenso, saving the reader a search in the 1970 Slatkine Reprint edition. The same goes for the “Réponse des vrais Frondeurs aux faux Frondeurs soi-disant désintéressés.” Between pages 80 and 81, a pleasant surprise: 16 frontispieces, all reproduced from the holdings of the Mazarine, with call numbers. The poem resumes then, closing the second chapter. Needless to say, each text examined is abundantly footnoted and merits careful reading. The first two texts examined in Chapter III, “Les Triolets de Mazarin sur le sujet de sa fuite” and “Le Carême de Mazarin ou la suite des triolets” are listed as possible attributions. Carrier makes much of the accusations of sodomy leveled at Mazarin, taking care, however, to emphasize that those pieces reflect the same anger as more certainly Scarronian ones do. On the subject of Mazarin’s alleged penchants for sodomy, it might have been helpful to point out that that was a fairly common topos in anti-Mazarin writings, to wit, the writings of Claude de Chauvigny (or Chouvigny), baron of Blot-L’Eglise (ca. 1610-1655), a “gentilhomme ordinaire” of Gaston d’Orléans and one of the more dissolute libertines of his time. He calls repeatedly Mazarin “le bougre de Sicile”, implying that young Louis XIV was his “bardache” (homosexual slave). Here as in the preceding chapter, I believe that the main interest for the non-specialist lies in the reproduction of both poems at full length, the same being true for the third one: “Relation burlesque de tout ce qui s’est passé dans la Fronde de Paris…”. It is unfortunate that the five texts that are examined in the fourth and last chapter under the subtitle “Refus d’attribution”, namely “La Berne Mazarine” (claiming to be a sequel to “La Mazarinade”), “Les Œufs rouges,” “La Débauche de quatre monopoleurs”, “Le Cœur des Princes,” and “La Calotte de Mazarin renversée” are present only in the form of brief excerpts, unlike preceding texts. The reasons Carrier invokes to deny those a place among Scarron’s anti-Mazarin works are doubtless excellent, and documentation is just as detailed and insightful as for the certain, probable, and possible attributions. It would have been most interesting to be able to read Comptes rendus 395 them in their entirety, if only for their entertainment (and possible historical) value. All in all, this slim volume, the final literary and intellectual legacy of a major 17 th -century scholar and Scarron specialist, is one eminently worthy of a spot on a research library’s shelves. I am uncertain as to the current status of attribution criticism, but Carrier’s superb research skills and his knack for relating deftly Fronde events to those lesser-known Scarron (or other-than-Scarron) works are well worth the reader’s time. Francis Assaf Neil Jennings and Margaret Jones: A Biography of Samuel Chappuzeau, a Seventeenth-Century French Huguenot Playwright, Scholar, Traveller, and Preacher. An Encyclopedic Life. Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012. 253 p. + Appendix, Bibliography, Index. The critical biography provides a detailed examination of the life of Samuel Chappuzeau, best known today for his Théâtre français, published in 1674. The lengthy title of the study announces the meticulous treatment of the subject by the two authors, Neil Jennings and Margaret Jones. They describe Chappuzeau as a figure who has been largely ignored in modern times, particularly in France, and express the hope that their book will “reestablish and enhance” his reputation (3). The ‘Authors’ Note’ stipulates that the biography is addressed not only to academics, but to Chappuzeau’s numerous descendants as well. Indeed, both authors claim “Samuel” (as they choose to call him throughout the study) as an ancestor and are currently working on a detailed genealogy of the seventeenth-century figure. The biography’s ‘Foreword’ is written by Christopher Gossip, Emeritus Professor of the University of New England (Australia) and author of the first critical edition of Chappuzeau’s Le Théâtre français (Tübingen: Narr Verlag, 2009). In addition to the ‘Introduction’ and ‘Conclusion’, the biography is comprised of nine other chapters, the first four of which (Chapters 2-5) provide chronological facts regarding Chappuzeau’s life. With the beginning of the sixth chapter, the book focuses on the issues surrounding the writer’s output as playwright, poet, novelist, traveller and scholar. Chapter 10 outlines Chappuzeau’s other careers, some more real than others, as preacher, lawyer, medic and schoolmaster. The appendix of the book includes a series of seven images concerning Chappuzeau’s life and works. This is followed by four sections: ‘Reprints’, providing a list of the writer’s reprinted works; ‘Genealogy’, containing information about Chappuzeau’s immediate family; ‘Selected extracts’, quoting passages from L’Europe vivante and from a letter