The sheer beauty of the gems and their sensory output holds the subject of the poem in thrall, just as the prostitute holds him in the same way. Baudelaire chooses to use very descriptive and intense words like ‘extase’ (ecstasy), ‘fureur’ (passion), ‘and rayonnant’ (radiant) to describe how the subject is feeling about effects of these gems, and indeed the woman wearing them.
The third stanza is where a wealth of sexual information is passed to the reader. Not only does line 9 contain a description of the woman laying ‘herself down’¹ and letting ‘herself be loved’² which is obviously a reference to sexual contact being made but then further indications of the arousal of the man are passed along in lines 10-12 when the reader is told that ‘she smiled contentedly upon my love, deep and soft as the sea, which to her rose as though to a cliff’. This is clearly meant to symbolise that with just a look from this woman the man achieved an erection.
To add to all this information, stanza 4 also admits the reader further into the desires of the subject by describing the woman as a ‘tame tigress’4 in line 13. This description hints at a submissiveness which the man desires, but also at the fact that this
woman is not tame, that she is a tigress underneath and knows how to handle herself. She
¹ ‘elle était donc couchée’
² ‘se laissent aimer’
³ ‘elle souriait d’aise à mon amour profond et doux comme la mer, qui vers elle montait comme vers sa falaise’
4 ‘un tigre dompté’
is well experienced in these situations and is running on auto-pilot almost, as demonstrated by the description of her striking poses with a ‘vague and dreamy air’1.
Though this description is a reference to the mannerism of the prostitute it is also an insinuation that she has reached a point where she knows exactly how to achieve her goals, and no longer needs to really think about it. The ‘candour’ and ‘lustfulness’2 with which she looks at this man give the impression that she quite likes the job she does, that she knows she is an object of desire and has no need to wonder whether she will be successful with a man or not. She is open to the forms of love which he can provide for her, and is indeed lusting after that love. By using the phrase ‘novel charm’ to describe the effect of mixing the candour and lustfulness, Baudelaire could be trying to imply a certain innocence, if only in a play acting manner, on the prostitute’s part. This could in itself imply the desires of the man are for young girls, who could not avoid an innocent air due to their extreme youth.
The fifth stanza is a descriptive picture of the woman’s body. By using words such as ‘shiny’ and ‘undulating’3 Baudelaire is painting a picture of erotic movement and the heat of that moment. The efforts of both parties are being depicted in their movement towards a climax. Line 19 of the poem suggests that the man knows exactly what is coming his way, and knows there is no need to rush any of it, it is inevitable; this is implied by using the words ‘clairvoyant’ and ‘serene'4. The final line of the fifth stanza is one which could intimate a certain sexual act involving the man’s penis and the woman’s breasts, given that the line, when roughly translated, means ‘and her breasts, the grapes of my vine’5 in which sentence ‘grapes’ would refer to the breasts and the ‘vine’ his penis.
Between stanza’s five and six there is no need for a physical break between the two, other than to maintain the formality of 4-lined stanza’s. The topic itself is continued into the sixth stanza, with further description of the prostitute’s beauty and how it affects the man. Baudelaire often compares the lack of separation between the nature of beauty and corruption, which could imply sin. The first line of the sixth stanza looks into this
1 ‘d’un air vague et rêveur’
2 ‘la candeur unie à la lubricité’
3 ‘polis….onduleux’
4 ‘clairvoyants et sereins’
5 ‘et ses seins, ces grappes de ma vigne’
aspect by saying ‘…more caring than the Angels of evil, to trouble the rest which takes my soul’1 which would appear to delve into the man’s belief that anything this beautiful could not possibly be evil or corrupt, but that in spite of this he accepts she is still going to be a ‘trouble’ to the ‘rest that takes [his] soul’ which addresses the issue of him having rather strong feelings or desires for this particular woman. By using the word ‘advancing’2 at the beginning of this stanza Baudelaire makes a reference to the ongoing sexual excitement and makes it clear that this deed will continue its throes to the point of an orgasm, which is further emphasised in line 23 where this ‘advancement’ is related to the ‘rock of crystal where calm and solitary she had taken her seat’3. It is interesting to see that Baudelaire describes this man’s penis as a rock of ‘crystal’, a stone traditionally associated with purity and goodness. The act in which the ‘rock’ is used, although a very natural one, the fact that it involves a prostitute means that the act in this situation would not be defined as pure and good. Rather that this action is a sinful one, full of errant and immoral behaviour.
The seventh stanza is a return to the description of this man’s goddess and the sheer beauty that she emanates. When reading this stanza it felt like an orgasm of compliments about the woman’s body, a true appreciation of everything she seemed to be. It lead to the conviction that this orgasm of compliments symbolised the orgasm of the sexual deed that was in progress. Line 25 seems to reinforce this when the man says ‘I thought I saw blended in a new design’4 which seemed to be an insinuation of a higher state being reached, one of achievement, possibly a fulfilment, which would support the idea of it symbolising an orgasm. The actual description of the woman is somewhat obscure in that Baudelaire uses a description which mentions Antiope, who was seduced by Zeus and bore him two sons before fleeing the wrath of her father, but ultimately being found and tortured by her uncle and his wife (The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006 - Antiope). This reference delves into the act of prostitution this woman is performing and the consequences thereof, perhaps insinuating that for each sin a crime is performed and
- ‘plus câlins que les Anges du mal, pour troubler le repos ou mon âme était mise’
- ‘s’avançaient’
- du rocher de cristal où, calme et solitaire, elle s’était assise’
- ‘je croyais voir unis par un nouveau dessin’
punishment must be a result of that. The description itself could be thought a bit unusual in itself given that it describes the obviously feminine characteristic of ‘Antiopes haunches’ and ‘the breast of a boy’1 which again plays on the idea of youth in this prostitute, but also another slightly paedophilic desire on the part of the man. Yet another possible way of looking at this is that this woman has not fully developed, or has not even developed at all, insinuating perhaps the fact that her choice in career relates to a lack of education and understanding. A point which was of interest personally was that in the final line of the seventh stanza, line 28, the woman’s skin is described as ‘tawny brown’2 which is not relating to the skin of a woman native to France or England.
In the period of Baudelaire’s life in which he composed these poems it was not fashionable to have tanned skin, in fact the women carried about parasols and stayed inside or in the shade very often to avoid catching any colour to the skin. Therefore, the natural assumption from this is that this woman was not a French woman but had the skin of exotic and foreign origin, which would have made the entire act more sinful as foreigners tended to be looked upon with suspicion. The novels of Georgette Heyer are a good source for the customs and fashion of that period.
The final stanza seems to be very much a way of winding down the poem, to link in with the time taken after a sexual act for people to get their breathe back, and return to their normal way of life. References to ‘the lamp so close to dying out’ in line 29 and that it was ‘resigned’3 to this dying out. The further bursts that are signified in line 31 are reminiscent of further bursts of passion or desire which can be felt after sex is over. But Baudelaire uses this reference to enhance the sensory image of firelight upon a woman’s skin, and the effect of that light, describing it as an ‘inundation’ or ‘flooding’ of a ‘blood colour’ on ‘that skin of amber’4 which is yet another reference to the cultural origin of this particular prostitute.
Baudelaire’s use of constant sensory descriptions give the poem a passionate and intense feel, leaving the reader in no doubt whatsoever of the emotions that are
1 ‘les hanches de l’Antiope au buste d’un imberbe’
2 ‘ce teint fauve et brun’
3 ‘la lampe s’étant résignée à mourir’
4 ‘il inondait de sang cette peau couleur d’ambre !’
channelled through both the subject and the object. Desire is a key emotion, but this poem also touches on the more specific side; forbidden desire, and the sinfulness that comes with a man’s desire. The sin of the woman’s occupation and origin are not forgotten though, with a multitude of comments regarding her attitude, manners and her skin colour. The poem also touches upon the desire of the older for the young, fingering more specifically the desire of some men for young boys. Throughout the poem very graphic images of sex are portrayed and used to symbolise each of the problems which Baudelaire perceives, as has been shown.
Baudelaire’s deftness with symbolism meant he rarely needed to state exactly what he was suggesting. Through a mixture of simile and metaphor Baudelaire conveys a multitude of implications by using a very select choice of words. And with this method he achieves the greatness for which he is now world-renowned, though he did not live long enough to see the appreciation of his works.
Words: 2038
Bibliography
Books
Charles Baudelaire Les Fleurs du mal Editions Gallimard 2004
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition 2006
Mention of the Regency Romance books by Georgette Heyer
Websites
http://fleursdumal.org/ Accessed 29th April 2007