Carmen
By Prosper Merimee
une beauté étrange et sauvage, une figure qui étonnait d abord, mais qu on ne pouvait oublier. Ses yeux surtout avaient une expression à la fois voluptueuse et farouche que je n ai trouvée depuis à aucun regard humain ( a strange, wild type of beauty, a face that took one by surprise at first, but which one could not forget. Her eyes, especially, had an expression at once voluptuous and fierce, which I have never seen since in a mortal eye ). Carmen is a short novel ( novella ) set in a mysterious, primitive and exotic Spain, in Andalusia; Its main character is a sensual gypsy that attracts José Navarro, an exemplary and serious soldier turning him into a deserter and a murderer. It combines therefore love, jealousy, passion and death, expressing to perfection the fatality of loving desire and the self-destructive drive that goes with it. In this work we can see characteristics of three literary movements: Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism. Without a doubt, the romantic character predominates, as in many romantic novels the focus shifts from man to the woman, reason ceases to be the only important fact in order to submit to feelings. And death, as the only possible fate, takes on a relevance that did not have since the end of the Middle Ages. The language that Merimee uses, however, is more typical of neoclassicism than of romantic writers. In addition, there are clear elements of realism in the description of ethnic groups and social classes of the time and place where the plot takes place, with an implicit criticism of social injustice and hypocrisy latent in the bourgeoisie of nineteenth-century Spain, widely studied by Merimee in his travels to Spain beginning in 1830 The work was first published in 1845 in the Parisian magazine Revue des Deux Mondes without the appendix on the customs of the Romany people, which will appear in the first edition in book form, offered here. It consists of three parts or chapters. The first describes the narrator's journey through Spain during which he meets D. José, who has become a burglar and deserter; the second chapter refers to the narrator's meeting with Carmen; and the third and last chapter tells of the tragic fate of both protagonists. As said, It includes a fourth part that contributes nothing to the plot and describes the origin, language and customs of the gypsy people, as if to justify that the author has a scientific knowledge of Carmen's ethnicity. The true success of the story came from the hands of the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet, in 1875. Subsequently, more than the story, the Carmen herself was object of inspiration for numerous other works. That's why Carmen is one of the greatest myths in the world universal literature. Prosper Mérimée (Paris in 1803 - Cannes in 1870) pretended to be a painter in his youth, however his father persuaded him for studying law. Although he finished his degree in law, during his studies his passion for literature began and in 1825 he had already published his first play, Théâtre de Clara Gazul, of important success. His second publication, The Gusle, in 1827, included a collection of Italian folk songs, which were in fact Mérimée's own composition. The immense success of the ballads led to their translation into the German and even Russian. It wasn't until later, however, that he started with the short stories, when Mérimée manages to create the ones that are considered, until today, his masterpieces. These are Colomba (1840) and Carmen (1845). Another of his passions was the study of architecture and archaeology, of which he was a great connoisseur. In addition, his constant concern led him to study Russian and to translate the works of writers such as Pushkin and Gogol, claiming for that reason so much the honor of having introduced Russian literature into France. Octavo mayor (21.5 x 13.5), pp. [5] 2-363 [3]. XXth century hardcover binding by famous French binder DEVAUCHELLE. First edition extremely rare and very s
Published by: Michel Lévy Frères, 1846
Vendor: Balboa Rare Books
By Prosper Merimee
une beauté étrange et sauvage, une figure qui étonnait d abord, mais qu on ne pouvait oublier. Ses yeux surtout avaient une expression à la fois voluptueuse et farouche que je n ai trouvée depuis à aucun regard humain ( a strange, wild type of beauty, a face that took one by surprise at first, but which one could not forget. Her eyes, especially, had an expression at once voluptuous and fierce, which I have never seen since in a mortal eye ). Carmen is a short novel ( novella ) set in a mysterious, primitive and exotic Spain, in Andalusia; Its main character is a sensual gypsy that attracts José Navarro, an exemplary and serious soldier turning him into a deserter and a murderer. It combines therefore love, jealousy, passion and death, expressing to perfection the fatality of loving desire and the self-destructive drive that goes with it. In this work we can see characteristics of three literary movements: Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism. Without a doubt, the romantic character predominates, as in many romantic novels the focus shifts from man to the woman, reason ceases to be the only important fact in order to submit to feelings. And death, as the only possible fate, takes on a relevance that did not have since the end of the Middle Ages. The language that Merimee uses, however, is more typical of neoclassicism than of romantic writers. In addition, there are clear elements of realism in the description of ethnic groups and social classes of the time and place where the plot takes place, with an implicit criticism of social injustice and hypocrisy latent in the bourgeoisie of nineteenth-century Spain, widely studied by Merimee in his travels to Spain beginning in 1830 The work was first published in 1845 in the Parisian magazine Revue des Deux Mondes without the appendix on the customs of the Romany people, which will appear in the first edition in book form, offered here. It consists of three parts or chapters. The first describes the narrator's journey through Spain during which he meets D. José, who has become a burglar and deserter; the second chapter refers to the narrator's meeting with Carmen; and the third and last chapter tells of the tragic fate of both protagonists. As said, It includes a fourth part that contributes nothing to the plot and describes the origin, language and customs of the gypsy people, as if to justify that the author has a scientific knowledge of Carmen's ethnicity. The true success of the story came from the hands of the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet, in 1875. Subsequently, more than the story, the Carmen herself was object of inspiration for numerous other works. That's why Carmen is one of the greatest myths in the world universal literature. Prosper Mérimée (Paris in 1803 - Cannes in 1870) pretended to be a painter in his youth, however his father persuaded him for studying law. Although he finished his degree in law, during his studies his passion for literature began and in 1825 he had already published his first play, Théâtre de Clara Gazul, of important success. His second publication, The Gusle, in 1827, included a collection of Italian folk songs, which were in fact Mérimée's own composition. The immense success of the ballads led to their translation into the German and even Russian. It wasn't until later, however, that he started with the short stories, when Mérimée manages to create the ones that are considered, until today, his masterpieces. These are Colomba (1840) and Carmen (1845). Another of his passions was the study of architecture and archaeology, of which he was a great connoisseur. In addition, his constant concern led him to study Russian and to translate the works of writers such as Pushkin and Gogol, claiming for that reason so much the honor of having introduced Russian literature into France. Octavo mayor (21.5 x 13.5), pp. [5] 2-363 [3]. XXth century hardcover binding by famous French binder DEVAUCHELLE. First edition extremely rare and very s
Published by: Michel Lévy Frères, 1846
Vendor: Balboa Rare Books
