The Magician (Simenon novel)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Antoine et Julie (1953) is a roman dur by Georges Simenon. It tells the story of Antoine, a magician addicted to alcohol and his wife Julie, sufferer of angina.
Contents |
Production
Written in Shadow Rock Farm in December 1952.
Plot
Antoine and Julie got married around their forties.
Their first years of marriage were not without clouds: Julie's mother did not like her son-in-law whose profession she despised and whom she accused of having married Julie for her money. After the dead mother-in-law dies, the couple would live happily, were it not for Antoine's penchant for drinking.
From time to time, in fact, when his performance is over, the magician lingers, alone, in small cafes, drawn by an invincible need. He sometimes meets Dagobert, a failure who borrows money from him. The late nights out of Antoine are very painful for Julie: drunk, he asks himself questions, claims to be unhappy and overwhelms his wife with unfair reproaches, which he regrets the next day.
One night, on his way home, Antoine finds the family doctor at his wife's bedside: prone to angina attacks, Julie will now have to avoid all emotion, and above all she must always be in possession of certain medication, the deprivation of which could mean be fatal in a crisis. Nevertheless, on Christmas Eve, Antoine abandons his wife at the restaurant and goes to get drunk.
One evening, Julie realizes that she has no more medicine, and she instructs her husband to go get some for her. Antoine lets himself get drunk, fails to bring back the precious remedy, and, when he comes home, Julie is dead.
From that moment, Antoine knows that he has become a man - despised by his neighbors and faithful to the memory of the deceased. He will never drink again.
Particular aspects of the novel
The story of a married couple: she, from the start, had a love for her husband that will never change; He evolves from affection to a deeper attachment, and it is from his perspective that the facts are told.
Data sheet of the book
Spatio-temporal framework
Space
Time
Around 1920.
The characters
Main character
Antoine Morin. Magician. Married. 55 years.
Other characters
- Julie Travot, wife of Antoine
- Hubert Doër, calls himself Dagobert, Antoine’s drinking companion.
Editions
- First edition: Presses de la Cité, 1953
- Tout Simenon, tome 6 , Omnibus, 2002 Template:ISBN
- The Pocket Book n ° 32210, 2011 Template:ISBN
- Hard novels, tome 9 , Omnibus, 2013 Template:ISBN
Adaptation
- 1981: Antoine et Julie , telefilm French directed by Gabriel Axel, with [ [Michel Bouquet]] (Antoine), Juliette Carré (Julie), Renée Faure (Template:Mme Travot), Odette Laure (Template:Mme Arnaud), [ [Michel Aumont]] (Dagobert) and Brigitte Lahaie (Brigitte Simonin).
Source
- Maurice Piron, Michel Lemoine, L'Univers de Simenon, guide des romans et nouvelles (1931-1972) de Georges Simenon, Presses de la Cité, 1983, p. 170-171
