Moravagine is a 1926 novel by Blaise Cendrars, originally published by Grasset. It is a complex opus with a central figure, the eponymous Moravagine, who emerges as a doppelganger of the author whom the author is ridding himself of through the act of writing. It took Cendrars a decade to write the book (Cendrars makes reference to it as early as 1917), and he never stopped working on it. In 1956, the author partially rewrote the text and added a postface, as well as a section titled "Pro domo: How I wrote Moravagine". In his final revision, Cendrars says the book is definitely incomplete, as it was meant to be a preface to a "complete works of Moravagine" that do not exist.
The narrator, Raymond la Science, is presented as an acquaintance of Blaise Cendrars, who himself appears in the novel. The narrator is a physician, and he recounts his meeting with Moravagine, a deranged murderer detained in an asylum. Moravagine is the last, degenerate heir to a long line of Eastern European noblemen. Fascinated by this man, the physician helps him escape, then recounts his picaresque journey around the world, encountering everyone from Russian terrorists to American natives and leaving behind a trail of crimes. In the end, they return to Europe just in time for World War I, when "the whole world was doing a Moravagine."
Style, Death, and Womenedit
While the plot is adventurous, the style is subdued and controlled (as opposed to, for instance, Journey to the End of the Night). This contrast contributes to the peculiar feelings some readers have when reading the novel.
"Moravagine" sounds in French like "mort-a-vagin", or in English, "death-has-vagina" or "death-to-vagina".[1] Indeed, Moravagine kills women: part of chapter I (about a woman named Masha) reads:
La femme est sous le signe de la lune, ce reflet, cet astre mort, et c'est pourquoi plus la femme enfante, plus elle engendre la mort.
Woman is under the sign of the moon, this reflection, this dead star, and that is why the more Woman gives birth, the more she engenders death.
The cover of the New York Review Books Classics edition ( ISBN978-1590170632 ) features a skeleton in feminine clothing.
Cendrars was keenly aware that Moravagine was a kind of doppelganger of himself. In pro domo, he wrote:
J'ai nourri, élevé un parasite à mes dépens. A la fin je ne savais plus qui de nous plagiait l'autre. Il a voyagé à ma place. Il a fait l'amour à ma place. Mais il n'y a jamais eu réelle identification car chacun était soi, moi et l'Autre. Tragique tête-à-tête qui fait que l'on ne peut écrire qu'un livre ou plusieurs fois le même livre. C'est pourquoi tous les beaux livres se ressemblent. Ils sont tous autobiographiques. C'est pourquoi il y a un seul sujet littéraire: l'homme. C'est pourquoi il n'y a qu'une littérature: celle de cet homme, de cet Autre, l'homme qui écrit.
I fed and raised a parasite at my expense. In the end, I no longer knew who was plagiarizing the other. He traveled in my place. He made love in my place. But there was never a real identification, because each one was self, me and the Other. It is a tragic tête-à-tête that makes it possible to write only one book, or the same book multiple times. That is why all good books are alike. They are all autobiographical. This is why there is only one literary subject: man. And it is why there is only one literature: the literature of this man, this Other, the man who writes.
Inspirationsedit
The following have been cited as real people who may have been used as models:
Moravagine, Paris, Denoël, coll. "Tout autour d'aujourd'hui", t. 7, 2003. Moravagine est suivi de La Fin du monde filmée par l'Ange N.-D, "Le Mystère de l'Ange Notre-Dame", et de L'Eubage. Textes présentés et annotés par Jean-Carlo Flückiger.
Critics referencesedit
Flückiger, Jean-Carlo, Au cœur du texte. Essai sur Blaise Cendrars, Neuchâtel, À la Baconnière, 1977.
Touret, Michèle, Blaise Cendrars. Le désir du roman (1920-1930), Paris, Champion, coll. "Cahiers Blaise Cendrars", n° 6, 1999.
Sous le signe de Moravagine (études réunies par Jean-Carlo Flückiger et Claude Leroy), Paris-Caen, Minard-Lettres modernes, série "Blaise Cendrars", n° 6, 2006.
Studiesedit
Oxana Khlopina, Moravagine de Blaise Cendrars, Bienne-Gollion/Paris, ACEL-Infolio éditions, collection Le cippe, 2012.
Referencesedit
^Blaise Cendrars himself explained: "La définition du personnage est contenue dans son nom : Moravagine, Mort-à-vagin" / "the character's definition is all in his name". In En bourlinguant..., entretiens avec Michel Manoll, Archives sonores I.N.A., http://boutique.ina.fr/cd/PDTINA001499
January 01, 1970
moravagine, 1926, novel, blaise, cendrars, originally, published, grasset, complex, opus, with, central, figure, eponymous, emerges, doppelganger, author, whom, author, ridding, himself, through, writing, took, cendrars, decade, write, book, cendrars, makes, r. Moravagine is a 1926 novel by Blaise Cendrars originally published by Grasset It is a complex opus with a central figure the eponymous Moravagine who emerges as a doppelganger of the author whom the author is ridding himself of through the act of writing It took Cendrars a decade to write the book Cendrars makes reference to it as early as 1917 and he never stopped working on it In 1956 the author partially rewrote the text and added a postface as well as a section titled Pro domo How I wrote Moravagine In his final revision Cendrars says the book is definitely incomplete as it was meant to be a preface to a complete works of Moravagine that do not exist MoravagineAuthorBlaise CendrarsOriginal titleMoravagineCountryFrancePublisherGrassetPublication date1926 Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Style Death and Women 3 Inspirations 4 Editions 5 Critics references 5 1 Studies 6 ReferencesSynopsis editThe narrator Raymond la Science is presented as an acquaintance of Blaise Cendrars who himself appears in the novel The narrator is a physician and he recounts his meeting with Moravagine a deranged murderer detained in an asylum Moravagine is the last degenerate heir to a long line of Eastern European noblemen Fascinated by this man the physician helps him escape then recounts his picaresque journey around the world encountering everyone from Russian terrorists to American natives and leaving behind a trail of crimes In the end they return to Europe just in time for World War I when the whole world was doing a Moravagine Style Death and Women editWhile the plot is adventurous the style is subdued and controlled as opposed to for instance Journey to the End of the Night This contrast contributes to the peculiar feelings some readers have when reading the novel Moravagine sounds in French like mort a vagin or in English death has vagina or death to vagina 1 Indeed Moravagine kills women part of chapter I about a woman named Masha reads La femme est sous le signe de la lune ce reflet cet astre mort et c est pourquoi plus la femme enfante plus elle engendre la mort Woman is under the sign of the moon this reflection this dead star and that is why the more Woman gives birth the more she engenders death The cover of the New York Review Books Classics edition ISBN 978 1590170632 features a skeleton in feminine clothing Cendrars was keenly aware that Moravagine was a kind of doppelganger of himself In pro domo he wrote J ai nourri eleve un parasite a mes depens A la fin je ne savais plus qui de nous plagiait l autre Il a voyage a ma place Il a fait l amour a ma place Mais il n y a jamais eu reelle identification car chacun etait soi moi et l Autre Tragique tete a tete qui fait que l on ne peut ecrire qu un livre ou plusieurs fois le meme livre C est pourquoi tous les beaux livres se ressemblent Ils sont tous autobiographiques C est pourquoi il y a un seul sujet litteraire l homme C est pourquoi il n y a qu une litterature celle de cet homme de cet Autre l homme qui ecrit I fed and raised a parasite at my expense In the end I no longer knew who was plagiarizing the other He traveled in my place He made love in my place But there was never a real identification because each one was self me and the Other It is a tragic tete a tete that makes it possible to write only one book or the same book multiple times That is why all good books are alike They are all autobiographical This is why there is only one literary subject man And it is why there is only one literature the literature of this man this Other the man who writes Inspirations editThe following have been cited as real people who may have been used as models Otto Gross physician and psychoanalyst Adolf Wolfli 1864 1930 a violent psychotic inmate at Waldau s Asylum near Bern known for his prolific Outsider art work Favez nicknamed Ropraz s Vampire a Swiss felon whom Cendrars may have met during World War I while in the French army Editions editMoravagine Paris Grasset 1926 Moravagine Paris Le Club francais du livre 1947 Moravagine Paris Grasset 1956 Edition revue et augmentee de Pro domo comment j ai ecrit Moravagine et d une postface Moravagine Paris Le Livre de Poche 1957 Moravagine Lausanne La Guilde du Livre 1961 version de 1926 Moravagine Paris Club des Amis du Livre avant propos de Claude Roy illustrations de Pierre Chaplet 1961 Moravagine dans Œuvres completes t II Paris Denoel 1961 Moravagine Lausanne Editions Rencontre 1969 Moravagine dans Œuvres completes t IV Paris Le Club francais du livre 1969 Preface de Raymond Dumay Moravagine Paris Grasset coll Les Cahiers rouges 1983 Moravagine Paris Denoel coll Tout autour d aujourd hui t 7 2003 Moravagine est suivi de La Fin du monde filmee par l Ange N D Le Mystere de l Ange Notre Dame et de L Eubage Textes presentes et annotes par Jean Carlo Fluckiger Critics references editFluckiger Jean Carlo Au cœur du texte Essai sur Blaise Cendrars Neuchatel A la Baconniere 1977 Touret Michele Blaise Cendrars Le desir du roman 1920 1930 Paris Champion coll Cahiers Blaise Cendrars n 6 1999 Sous le signe de Moravagine etudes reunies par Jean Carlo Fluckiger et Claude Leroy Paris Caen Minard Lettres modernes serie Blaise Cendrars n 6 2006 Studies edit Oxana Khlopina Moravagine de Blaise Cendrars Bienne Gollion Paris ACEL Infolio editions collection Le cippe 2012 References edit Blaise Cendrars himself explained La definition du personnage est contenue dans son nom Moravagine Mort a vagin the character s definition is all in his name In En bourlinguant entretiens avec Michel Manoll Archives sonores I N A http boutique ina fr cd PDTINA001499 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Moravagine amp oldid 1222365794, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
