In what sense and to what extent, in your view, could the literary term 'Romantic' be applied to Marion de Lorme AND La peau de chagrin?

In what sense and to what extent, in your view, could the literary term ‘Romantic’

be applied to Marion de Lorme AND La peau de chagrin?

In the early nineteenth century a new society was flourishing, where the aristocracy was seeing their wealth diminish and therefore there was a greater concentration on the position of the bourgoisie. This newfound wealth, status and increasing literacy amongst the middle classes created a larger market for forms of entertainment such as literature, previously less appreciated, and it brought about many new styles, primarily that of Romanticism. There was a struggle for freedom in society in both political and social terms and the artistic circles no longer wanted to be governed by rules that, according to them, were inhibitive and counter operative. Hugo, who wrote Marion de Lorme in June 1829, believed in ‘la liberté dans l’art’ and furthermore in ‘le libéralisme de la litterature.’ In his Preface to the aforementioned play Hugo even said ‘Maintenant l’art est libre: c’est à lui de rester digne,’ which was quite a contradiction to some unpeaceful reactions to Romantic literature. Therefore we can ask what characterised Romanticism in this play and also in the work La peau de chagrin by Balzac.

Very few novels are actually categorised as Romantic before 1830’s as the novel was not considered as proper literature. Only with Balzac did literature begin to be taken more seriously. At first in was mainly seen with theatre and poetry, such as Hugo’s play Marion de Lorme.

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The breaking of the classical rules comes through greatly in this work as Hugo is trying to emphasise the freedom of literature. Previously it was more common to create a specific place, timeframe and a grand figure at the forefront of the play. Here however the author is writing in 1829 but is setting his story, which unfolds over several days, back in 1638. In addition there are many shifts of place and plot going out in this play, which reflect different social factors of the time. We begin in the abode of Marion, the clichéd Romantic courtesan accompanied by a peasant orphan, Didier, who are both the protagonists of this tragedy and can hardly be called grand. Normally one would expect the tragedy to be stemming from the misfortune of the characters, but in this work it comes from the society. Hugo is sometimes reflecting the state of society during his time through the allegory, which is also a characteristic of Romanticism. Balzac also does this in La peau de chagrin by showing the effect of historical changes on his characters and he also manages to criticise society at the time by their attitudes towards life in the post 1830 period.

One of the most prominent features of Romanticism is Le Mal du Siècle and the alienation to which it leads. The author believes that he is a victim of society and is isolated because he is sensitive, lonely and misunderstood by others in society. It is not lack of money that worries him but the fact that he is apart from society and this leads the author to become introspective. This idea can be found in both the novels, with which we are dealing, as both Hugo’s Didier and Balzac’s Raphaël have a sense that they are missing something. Each has his own abstract yearning, which allows them to question their life and to become more subjective.

We can see in Didier’s attitude towards life and death that he is indifferent to being killed and he actually feels pity for himself and feels that he deserves to be taken away from Marion. ‘Non, laisse-moi mourir. Cela vaut mieux, vois-tu?’ He believes that in death she will only love him more, so is he dying just to increase her love for him?

Didier is very much selfish in how he is affected by everything and we see that in loving Marion, he is only really interested in maximising his own happiness. This concentration on ‘Le Moi’ becomes apparent with Raphaël at the start of the novel as he is yearning for ideal abstract possessions and then for more materialistic possessions and he concentrates on money, fame and celebrity, as in literature produced after the July Revolution. He is a Romantic hero in many respects. He is a gifted, yet melancholic young man with tendencies to commit suicide. He is depressed as he goes without food, money, clothes and entertainment just to win the love of Phedora, but he is humiliated when she exploits him, showing the materialistic society at the time. Then when Raphaël does acquire material possessions he is still not completely satisfied, which shows his disregard for what he actually does already have and, in fact, for life.

In Balzac’s novel Pauline is a typically Romantic character, that being of the token courtesan. She is pure, devoted and in love, not for material benefits but for real emotional reasons. Although she is poor she is presented as ideal by being honest, virtuous and clean. The role of the courtesan is also clearly apparent in Hugo’s Marion de Lorme where in Didier’s eyes, Marion is idolised as an ‘ange’ as he does not know of her sordid past, but even to the reader she is portrayed as the courtesan, reformed and purified by true love, which demonstrates that idealisation is also a major theme of Romanticism.

Other traits of this literary movement such as dreams, imagination and creating different levels of reality can also be found in these two novels. The fact that Marion is not completely honest with everyone about her name, her whereabouts and even her personal history causes other characters such as Didier to have a false image of her and therefore a distorted vision of reality, which is also what Raphaël was enduring in his dream-like states.

The Fantastic also played a part in Balzac’s novel as the ‘Peau’ supposedly grants him his wishes, but with every wish it shrinks and shortens his life at an equal rate. The idea of the Fantastic is that although there is a sense of the supernatural, there is nevertheless a doubt placed on it by creating a rational explanation. This is what occurs with the skin as Balzac introduces rational explanations for the granting of Raphaël’s wishes, which deny its use. Raphaël’s death however does give us an idea that the supernatural may also be present in this work.

As we have seen from the above examples there are many characteristics of the literary term ‘Romanticism’ which can be found in the two works analysed. Both were written around 1830, when this style was very popular, and both adhere to many themes associated with it. However, it is always difficult to say that a play or a novel is entirely ‘Romantic.’ We must also recognise other styles, such as the fact that Hugo wrote a play with twelve-syllable alexandrine lines and rhyming couplets, which would be considered quite old-fashioned. Furthermore Balzac actually challenged the layout of the play by writing a novel, which through its content can today be seen as a precursor to Realism. Therefore I would say that Marion de Lorme is more Romantic as it more typical of the time, whereas La peau de chagrin might be more noted as a philosophical text.

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