The Diary of a Chambermaid (novel)
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| - | '''''La Revue blanche''''' was a French art and [[literary magazine]] run between 1889 and 1903. The greatest writers and artists of the time were its collaborators. | + | '''''The Diary of a Chambermaid''''' (French: '''''Le Journal d'une femme de chambre''''') is a [[1900 in literature|1900]] [[Decadent movement|decadent novel]] by [[Octave Mirbeau]], published during the [[Dreyfus Affair]]. |
| + | First published in serialized form in ''L’Écho de Paris'' from 1891-2, Mirbeau’s novel was reworked and polished before appearing in the Dreyfusard journal ''[[La Revue blanche]]'' in 1900. | ||
| - | == History == | + | ==Plot== |
| - | The ''Revue blanche'' was founded in Liège in 1889 and run by the Natanson brothers (Alexander, Thaddeus and Louis-Alfred, aka "Alfred Athis"). In 1891, the magazine moved to Paris where it rivaled the ''[[Mercure de France]]'', hence its name, which served mark the difference with the ''Mercure'''s purple cover. Thaddeus's wife, Misia, participated in the launch of the magazine and served as a model for some covers.The critics [[Lucien Muhlfeld]] and [[Félix Fénéon]] from 1896 to 1903 served as secretaries, as well as [[Léon Blum]] himself. | + | The novel presents itself as the diary of Mademoiselle Célestine R., a chambermaid. Her first employer fetishizes her boots, and she later discovers the elderly man dead, with one of her boots stuffed into his mouth. Later on, Célestine becomes the maid of a [[bourgeois]] couple and is perfectly aware that she is entangled in the power struggles of their marriage. Célestine ends by marrying capitaine Mauger. |
| - | The journal served as a representative for the cultural and artistic intelligentsia of the time. Starting from 1898, at the instigation of [[Lucien Herr]], it contributed to the [[Dreyfus affair]], siding with the captain accused of treason. [[Octave Mirbeau]] published his ''[[The Diary of a Chambermaid (novel)|Diary of a Chambermaid]]'' in serial form in the ''Revue blanche'' in 1900. | + | ==Commentary== |
| - | The ''Revue blanche'' disappeared in 1903 after 237 issues. | + | Octave Mirbeau, libertarian writer, denounces domestic service as a modern form of slavery, and exposes the [[unsavoury]] secrets of the bourgeoisie. Told from the perspective of the chambermaid Célestine, Mirbeau’s story undresses the members of high society of their superficial probity, revealing them in the undergarments of their moral flaws: their hypocrisy and perversions. However, Mirbeau offers no sentimentalized image of the [[underclass]], as servants exploited by their masters are ideologically alienated themselves. |
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| + | With its fractured exposition, its temporal dislocations, its clashing styles, and varying forms, Mirbeau’s novel breaks with the conventions of the realistic novel and reliquishes all claims to documentary objectiviity and narrative linearity. | ||
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| + | ==Film, TV or theatrical adaptations== | ||
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| + | The novel has been very freely adapted for cinema twice: once in [[1946 in film|1946]] by [[Jean Renoir]], English speaking, starring [[Paulette Goddard]], and also in [[1964 in film|1964]] by [[Luis Buñuel]], starring [[Jeanne Moreau]], Georges Géret and [[Michel Piccoli]] (see: [[Diary of a Chambermaid (film)]]). | ||
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| + | It was also made into a play by [[Andre Heuse]], [[Andre de Lorde]], and [[Thielly Nores]]. Plenty of theatrical adaptations have been made during the last 20 years, in French, but also in Italian, English, Spanish, Dutch and German. | ||
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Revision as of 23:07, 21 February 2013
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The Diary of a Chambermaid (French: Le Journal d'une femme de chambre) is a 1900 decadent novel by Octave Mirbeau, published during the Dreyfus Affair. First published in serialized form in L’Écho de Paris from 1891-2, Mirbeau’s novel was reworked and polished before appearing in the Dreyfusard journal La Revue blanche in 1900.
Plot
The novel presents itself as the diary of Mademoiselle Célestine R., a chambermaid. Her first employer fetishizes her boots, and she later discovers the elderly man dead, with one of her boots stuffed into his mouth. Later on, Célestine becomes the maid of a bourgeois couple and is perfectly aware that she is entangled in the power struggles of their marriage. Célestine ends by marrying capitaine Mauger.
Commentary
Octave Mirbeau, libertarian writer, denounces domestic service as a modern form of slavery, and exposes the unsavoury secrets of the bourgeoisie. Told from the perspective of the chambermaid Célestine, Mirbeau’s story undresses the members of high society of their superficial probity, revealing them in the undergarments of their moral flaws: their hypocrisy and perversions. However, Mirbeau offers no sentimentalized image of the underclass, as servants exploited by their masters are ideologically alienated themselves.
With its fractured exposition, its temporal dislocations, its clashing styles, and varying forms, Mirbeau’s novel breaks with the conventions of the realistic novel and reliquishes all claims to documentary objectiviity and narrative linearity.
Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
The novel has been very freely adapted for cinema twice: once in 1946 by Jean Renoir, English speaking, starring Paulette Goddard, and also in 1964 by Luis Buñuel, starring Jeanne Moreau, Georges Géret and Michel Piccoli (see: Diary of a Chambermaid (film)).
It was also made into a play by Andre Heuse, Andre de Lorde, and Thielly Nores. Plenty of theatrical adaptations have been made during the last 20 years, in French, but also in Italian, English, Spanish, Dutch and German.
