(毛黎 S104319 胡雪松班)
Book report:
Camille
“Camille”,written by Alexandre Dumas Fils, it is the first work about prostitute presented on stage in French literature history , it is also the most important and the last work of Dumas Fils, which put him into an important place of French literature.
The whole story goes as follows: the heroine, Marguerite is a poor suburban girl, in order to make a living, she goes to Pairs. Unfortunately, she dwindles into a prostitute later, and gets into a habit of spending money without controlling, she makes merry crazily, but she hates such kind of soulless life. The girl still desires true love, moved by Armand; she falls in love with the smart young man, and begins a new life in a village near Pairs. But good things doesn’t always go smoothly, Armand’s father tries all means to break up the two lovers, in order to maintain his family reputation. At last, Marguerite has to leave Armand and back to the former life she disgusts, only by doing so, Armand would live a life that his father expected. However, due to misunderstanding, Armand makes a series of humiliation and hurts to her, Marguerite died mentally and physically exhausted in the end.
Camille originates from a true experience of the author; he falls in love with a prostitute named Arphonsina Pricy, and creates this novel. 1
Camille is mainly made up of dialogue; there is no doubt that Dumas Fils is deeply affected by his father, Alexandre Dumas Pere. But he also put more attention to psychological description, for example, the anxiety of Armand when he waits for date, and Marguerite pours out her inner feeling, that is all the psychological exploration of characters. In the novel, there is also a great deal of discussions; it shows that Balzac has a deep influence on the author. In a word, Dumas Fils mixes all the excellent techniques of other great writer together successfully. This is a excerpt of wonderful psychological description:
Suddenly, I recalled the question Madame Duvernoy had asked me:” So she’s not coming today?”, when I had told her Marguerite was ill. Simultaneously, I remember Prudence’s embarrassed reaction when I’ d stared at her after hearing her words, which had seemed to hint at a secret rendezvous. To this was added my recollection of the tears Marguerite had swept all that day which I had been pushed into the back of my mind by my father’s warn welcome.
Marguerite had insisted that I should go to Pairs. She had pretended to be calm when I suggested I should stay her side. Had I fallen into a trap? Was Marguerite deceiving me? Had she counted on getting back in sufficiently good tome for me to maintain unaware of her absence, and had some chances occurrence detained her? Why had her not said anything to Nanine, or why had she not left me a note? What was the 2
meaning of tears, her absence, the whole mystery?
Such were the questions which, with some trepidation, I put to myself as I stood in that empty bedroom, with my eyes fixed on the clock which, striking midnight, seemed to be telling me that it was too late now for me to hope to see my mistress return.
And yet, after the plans we had made, after the sacrifice which I had been offered and accepted, was it likely she should be unfaithful? No, I made a conscious effort to dismiss my initial assumptions.
(from chapter 22)
About the content itself, we can say that it is a tragic love story, because the two lovers separated and Marguerite died lonely in the end. What’s the true reason? In my point of view, there are three reasons for the tragic love.
I think the first reason comes from Marguerite’s vocation and herself. As a prostitute, she still desires true love, which is every girl dreams of. She wants to find out a person who really loves her, and then she could live a normal life as other ordinary women, there is no fault. But she can’t, from the day she began her work, she already has no chance to live a formal life as others, according to usually rules at that time. As to Marguerite herself, she has no friends and relatives in Pairs, what’s worse, she get on lung disease, Armand takes good care of her, which makes she believes that he loves her truly and she feels a kind of personality respect 3
and sincere admire, so her heart melts, she begins to love Armand and becomes Armand’s mistress. As a saying goes, when you deadly desire something, and it comes up to you at the certain time, most of the people will accept it without hesitation, though it may be a false decision. Marguerite is in love and has no idea to tell what is true and what is false, she just believe Armand loves her. So she throws herself into this love, abandoning everything. Harm to law: between husband and wife, one pay more and will suffer more when break up. It works for Marguerite; she died lonely and left nothing at last.
The second reason comes from Armand; he has never planed to marry Marguerite, and spends the whole life with her, loves her and looks after her forever. Since he was fooled by Marguerite in the box at theater the first time, what all he thinks is to get her even at the expense of bankrupt. From this aspect, we can say that he maybe just want to possess her instead of loving her heart and soul.
Love is so great that it has the power to drive people to work hard for their love. To Armand, it isn’t so, he didn’t try anything for their better life, on the contrary, he haunts in casino all day to win some money to make up his increasing expense. Because Marguerite writes a Dear John letter to him, which is demanded by his father actually, he denies everything Marguerite has done for him, furthermore, he gives her a series of humiliation and continual hurts. As a law major, he has never 4
think the true reason Marguerite leaves him, but only attributing to her not satisfy such kind of relative poor life and desire to go back to the luxury life. I a word, Armand never loves Marguerite and believes her, he always suspect her.
The third reason comes from social background. In Pairs, for a rich man, it is normal to have a mistress, but if one man has the plan to marry a prostitute, it is a crazy thing. When Armand’s father heard his son live together with a prostitute and don’t go home to see him and his daughter, and even has no time to write back to him. What makes him angry is that his son gives the property of a house to the prostitute, which is the source income of his life. Besides that, his father said his daughter would be going to marry an excellent young man, but Armand’s behavior has ruined their family reputation, which will destroy her daughter’s whole life happiness, so he asks Marguerite to leave Armand.
Although Armand’s father realizes Marguerite is a good-hearted woman later, when she was ill in bed, he even gives her some money, but the whole society would not permit such abnormal love. In the end, the y separated, and Marguerite died lonely.
In a word, the tragic life of Marguerite is doomed, not only by his vocation, but also by themselves and the society.
5
6