René is a short novella by François-René de Chateaubriand, which first appeared in 1802. The work had an immense impact on early Romanticism, comparable to that of Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. Like the German novel, it deals with a sensitive and passionate young man who finds himself at odds with contemporary society. René was first published as part of Chateaubriand's Génie du christianisme along with another novella, Atala; although it was in fact an excerpt from a long prose epic the author had composed between 1793 and 1799 called Les Natchez, which would not be made public until 1826. René enjoyed such immediate popularity that it was republished separately in 1805 along with Atala.
René, a desperately unhappy young Frenchman, seeks refuge among the Natchez people of Louisiana. It is a long time before he is persuaded to reveal the cause of his melancholy. He tells of his lonely childhood in his father's castle in Brittany. His mother died giving birth to him and since his father is a remote, forbidding figure, René takes refuge in an intense friendship with his sister Amélie and in long, solitary walks in the countryside around the castle.
When René's father dies and his brother inherits the family home, he decides to travel. He visits the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome which inspire him with melancholy reflections. He travels to Scotland to view the places mentioned by the bard Ossian and to the famous sights of Italy. Nothing satisfies him: "The ancient world had no certainty, the modern world had no beauty." He returns to France and finds society corrupt and irreligious. His sister Amélie inexplicably seems to avoid him too. As René explains:
"I soon found myself more isolated in my own land, than I had been in a foreign country. For a while I wanted to fling myself into a world which said nothing to me and which did not understand me. My soul, not yet worn out by any passion, sought an object to which it might be attached; but I realised I was giving more than I received. It was not elevated language or deep feelings that were asked of me. My only task was to shrink my soul and bring it down to society's level."
Disgusted, René withdraws from society and lives in an obscure part of the city. But this reclusive life soon bores him too. He decides to move to the countryside but he finds no happiness there: "Alas, I was alone, alone on the earth. A secret languor was taking hold of my body. The disgust for life I had felt since childhood came back with renewed force. Soon my heart no longer provided food for my mind, and the only thing I felt in my existence was a deep ennui."
René decides to kill himself, but when his sister learns of his plan, the two are joyfully reunited. But there is no happy ending. Amélie seems to be pining for something. One day, René finds she has gone, leaving a letter saying she wants to become a nun but giving no explanation why. René goes to witness her initiation ceremony where she reveals she has joined the convent because she wants to overcome her incestuous love for him. Devastated by this confession, René decides to leave Europe forever and travel to America. After spending some time with the Indians, he receives a letter announcing his sister's death. The novella concludes by revealing shortly after René told his tale, he was killed in a battle between the Natchez and the French.
(Note: according to the version in Les Natchez, the action of the story takes place in the 1720s.)
Literary significance and criticismedit
René walking with Amélie
As the title suggests, there are numerous autobiographical elements in the book, which draws extensively on Chateaubriand's memories of his own childhood in Brittany and his travels in North America in 1791. Chateaubriand was criticised for his use of the theme of incest and there is no evidence that his sister Lucile had any such passion for him in real life.
René proved an immense inspiration to young Romantics who felt it was the perfect expression of the mal du siècle their generation experienced. Notable admirers included Berlioz and Alfred de Musset. Its fame reached abroad; René's travels through Europe were imitated by Lord Byron in Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. Both René and Harold are restless outsiders with an aristocratic contempt for the banality of the world. Like Goethe with Werther, in later years, Chateaubriand came to resent the popularity of his early work. As he wrote in his memoirs:
"If René did not exist, I would not write it again; if it were possible for me to destroy it, I would destroy it. It spawned a whole family of René poets and René prose-mongers; all we hear nowadays are pitiful and disjointed phrases; the only subject is gales and storms, and unknown ills moaned out to the clouds and to the night. There's not a fop who has just left college who hasn't dreamt he was the most unfortunate of men; there's not a milksop who hasn't exhausted all life has to offer by the age of sixteen; who hasn't believed himself tormented by his own genius; who, in the abyss of his thoughts, hasn't given himself over to the "wave of passions"; who hasn't struck his pale and dishevelled brow and astonished mankind with a sorrow whose name neither he, nor it, knows".
Referencesedit
Chateaubriand: Atala – René – Les aventures du dernier Abencérage, ed. Jean-Claude Berchet, Flammarion (1996)
External linksedit
French Wikisource has original text related to this article:
René
René in French at ATHENA
(in French)René, audio version
English translation
February 15, 2024
rené, novella, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, april, 2023, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, rené. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rene is a short novella by Francois Rene de Chateaubriand which first appeared in 1802 The work had an immense impact on early Romanticism comparable to that of Goethe s The Sorrows of Young Werther Like the German novel it deals with a sensitive and passionate young man who finds himself at odds with contemporary society Rene was first published as part of Chateaubriand s Genie du christianisme along with another novella Atala although it was in fact an excerpt from a long prose epic the author had composed between 1793 and 1799 called Les Natchez which would not be made public until 1826 Rene enjoyed such immediate popularity that it was republished separately in 1805 along with Atala ReneRene tells his story to Chactas and Father SouelAuthorFrancois Rene de ChateaubriandCountryFranceLanguageFrenchGenreRomanticism novellaPublication date1802Media typeprint hardback amp paperback Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Literary significance and criticism 3 References 4 External linksPlot summary editRene a desperately unhappy young Frenchman seeks refuge among the Natchez people of Louisiana It is a long time before he is persuaded to reveal the cause of his melancholy He tells of his lonely childhood in his father s castle in Brittany His mother died giving birth to him and since his father is a remote forbidding figure Rene takes refuge in an intense friendship with his sister Amelie and in long solitary walks in the countryside around the castle When Rene s father dies and his brother inherits the family home he decides to travel He visits the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome which inspire him with melancholy reflections He travels to Scotland to view the places mentioned by the bard Ossian and to the famous sights of Italy Nothing satisfies him The ancient world had no certainty the modern world had no beauty He returns to France and finds society corrupt and irreligious His sister Amelie inexplicably seems to avoid him too As Rene explains I soon found myself more isolated in my own land than I had been in a foreign country For a while I wanted to fling myself into a world which said nothing to me and which did not understand me My soul not yet worn out by any passion sought an object to which it might be attached but I realised I was giving more than I received It was not elevated language or deep feelings that were asked of me My only task was to shrink my soul and bring it down to society s level Disgusted Rene withdraws from society and lives in an obscure part of the city But this reclusive life soon bores him too He decides to move to the countryside but he finds no happiness there Alas I was alone alone on the earth A secret languor was taking hold of my body The disgust for life I had felt since childhood came back with renewed force Soon my heart no longer provided food for my mind and the only thing I felt in my existence was a deep ennui Rene decides to kill himself but when his sister learns of his plan the two are joyfully reunited But there is no happy ending Amelie seems to be pining for something One day Rene finds she has gone leaving a letter saying she wants to become a nun but giving no explanation why Rene goes to witness her initiation ceremony where she reveals she has joined the convent because she wants to overcome her incestuous love for him Devastated by this confession Rene decides to leave Europe forever and travel to America After spending some time with the Indians he receives a letter announcing his sister s death The novella concludes by revealing shortly after Rene told his tale he was killed in a battle between the Natchez and the French Note according to the version in Les Natchez the action of the story takes place in the 1720s Literary significance and criticism edit nbsp Rene walking with AmelieAs the title suggests there are numerous autobiographical elements in the book which draws extensively on Chateaubriand s memories of his own childhood in Brittany and his travels in North America in 1791 Chateaubriand was criticised for his use of the theme of incest and there is no evidence that his sister Lucile had any such passion for him in real life Rene proved an immense inspiration to young Romantics who felt it was the perfect expression of the mal du siecle their generation experienced Notable admirers included Berlioz and Alfred de Musset Its fame reached abroad Rene s travels through Europe were imitated by Lord Byron in Childe Harold s Pilgrimage Both Rene and Harold are restless outsiders with an aristocratic contempt for the banality of the world Like Goethe with Werther in later years Chateaubriand came to resent the popularity of his early work As he wrote in his memoirs If Rene did not exist I would not write it again if it were possible for me to destroy it I would destroy it It spawned a whole family of Rene poets and Rene prose mongers all we hear nowadays are pitiful and disjointed phrases the only subject is gales and storms and unknown ills moaned out to the clouds and to the night There s not a fop who has just left college who hasn t dreamt he was the most unfortunate of men there s not a milksop who hasn t exhausted all life has to offer by the age of sixteen who hasn t believed himself tormented by his own genius who in the abyss of his thoughts hasn t given himself over to the wave of passions who hasn t struck his pale and dishevelled brow and astonished mankind with a sorrow whose name neither he nor it knows References editChateaubriand Atala Rene Les aventures du dernier Abencerage ed Jean Claude Berchet Flammarion 1996 External links edit nbsp French Wikisource has original text related to this article Rene Rene in French at ATHENA in French Rene audio version nbsp English translation Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rene novella amp oldid 1172001767, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
