Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born, nobleman, thinker, writer and French politician.
Constant was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, to descendants of noble Huguenots who fled France during the Huguenot wars in the early 16th century to settle in Lausanne. He was educated by private tutors and at the University of Erlangen, Bavaria, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the course of his life, he spent many years in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain.
He was intimate with Anne Louise Germaine de Sta毛l and their intellectual collaboration made them one of the most important intellectual pairs of their time. He was a fervent liberal, fought against the Restauration and was active in French politics as a publicist and politician during the latter half of the French Revolution and between 1815 and 1830. During part of this latter period, he sat in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower legislative house of the Restoration-era government. He was one of its most eloquent orators and a leader of the parliamentary block first known as the Independants and then as "liberals."
i give a resounding five stars to the first part of this book, and three to the end.
overall, it is a perfect encapsulation of a love experience, from its initial obsessive beginnings to the eventual resentment and tender suffering for the sake of another's feelings. and then - silly silly melodrama.
it is unfair of me to judge the ending of this book. it is a product of its time and i can't hate on it for giving its audience what they wanted; what they expected. and i can't be a hypocrite and love wuthering heights and be unmoved by this. (although w.h. earned its ending, and this, being so short, has less character-imprinting to assist it)
but as far as a perfect rendition of the arc of a love affair, i have to applaud this. it manages to slow down the hyper-emotive feelings of personal experiences into universal and relatable ones in a way that is breathtaking...at first.
then it gets a little batshit, into overcalculating proust-territory. but for a while, i was alongside of him yelling "yes! yes! yes!"
and no one believes your preface, constant... everyone knows exactly what and whom this is about. nice backpedal, though.
i read this because it tied in with , and knowing the full story, this is kind of an interesting piece of literary history, and madame de stael comes across way better in this than byron ever did in , which was his own lunatic ex's take on their relationship. but if any of my former lovers decide to write a book about me, i am stopping that bitch at the press.
Adolphe is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816.
It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ell茅nore. Their illicit relationship serves to isolate them from their friends and from society at large. The book eschews all conventional descriptions of exteriors for the sake of detailed accounts of feelings and states of mind.
鈥淪ahip olunan 艧artlar谋n bir 枚nemi yoktur. 脰nemli olan karakterdir.鈥�
Her zamanki gibi karmakar谋艧谋k, yar谋 inceleme yar谋 莽emkirmeli 鈿燬POILER鈿� dolu bi yorum yazd谋m, ona g枚re.
陌nsan谋 delirten, psikolojik bi kitap Adolphe. Bunun temel nedeni, kitaba ad谋n谋 veren ve yazar谋n kendi hayat谋ndan do臒rudan izler ta艧谋yan erkek karakter Adolphe'in bir bencil, pislik, adi, riyak芒r, 艧erefsiz olmas谋ndan kaynaklan谋yor.
Adolphe, 22 ya艧谋nda, babas谋yla yak谋nl谋k bar谋nd谋rmayan bir ili艧kisi olan, ya艧谋tlar谋ndan ve 莽evresinden pek hazetmeyen ve hatta i莽ten i莽e hor g枚ren bir gen莽. Bir g眉n sevme ve sevilme ihtiyac谋na d眉艧眉nce, yeni tan谋艧t谋臒谋 P. Kontu'nun 10 y谋ll谋k metresi olup ona 2 莽ocuk vermi艧, toplumdaki yerini bilen ancak bunu k谋rmak ve sad谋k biri oldu臒unu insanlar谋n g枚zlerine sokmak zorunda oldu臒u i莽in davran谋艧lar谋nda son derece titiz, tedbir ve sab谋rla davranan, ve ger莽ekten ahlakl谋 olan 33 ya艧谋ndaki Ellenore ile tan谋艧t谋臒谋nda onu elde etme karar谋 verir. 陌艧in i莽indeki erkeklik gururu, sevilmenin verdi臒i o kibre duyulan ihtiya莽 da var. 脟ok k谋sa bir s眉re i莽inde ilginin tutku ve h谋rsa d枚n眉艧眉 ile Ellenore, ba艧ta reddetse de g枚r眉艧meyi, 'arkada艧 olal谋m, benden bunu esirgemeyin' laf谋n谋 kabul edip o臒lan谋n ilgisi, a艧k s枚zleri, ona olan ilgili tav谋rlar谋 nedeniyle Adolphe'e a艧谋k olur. Me艧k oyunlar谋 ile de ona teslim olur. 脰yle ki toplumda korumak i莽in didindi臒i yerinden, konttan ve 莽ocuklar谋ndan vazge莽er.
Adolphe ise, 枚nce zihni, sonra kalbi ve en sonunda bedenini elde etti臒i kad谋ndan, art谋k ona sahip oldu臒u i莽in, ufaktan vazge莽i艧ler ya艧amaya ba艧lar. Samimi olmama, yalan edilmi艧 laflar, sahte a艧k s枚zleri eder, b眉t眉n kitap boyunca. 3-4 y谋l s眉rer ili艧kileri, sonunda Ellenore kederden 枚l眉m眉 ile biter.
陌zninizle yard谋r谋yorum. Psikolojik bir roman oldu臒u i莽in, olaydan 莽ok karakterin i莽 konu艧mas谋 var kitapta. Zaten Adolphe'in a臒z谋ndan anlat谋l谋yor kitap. B眉t眉n o 莽eli艧kili laflara, a艧k san谋lan tutku ve h谋rsa, sevgi san谋lan ac谋ma duygusuna sat谋r sat谋r 艧ahit oluyor ve 莽ileden 莽谋k谋yorsunuz. Kitab谋n i莽ine girip 枚ld眉rmek istiyorsunuz. Yetmiyor diriltip diriltip 枚ld眉rmek hatta.
Ki艧i oldu臒u kadar toplum tahlilleri de 枚yle. Do臒ru de臒il demiyorum. Ya bir insan, toplumun ne diyece臒ini bile bile 'seviyorum' dedi臒i ki艧iye nas谋l b枚yle davranabilir! Hadi siktir edin el neder olay谋n谋, bir insan bir zamanlar ayaklar谋na kapand谋臒谋 bir insan谋 nas谋l b枚yle bedbaht bir hale s眉r眉kleyebilir!
艦枚yle bir 艧ey var; bu gibi hisler olamaz de臒il. Ancak Adolphe 枚yle biri ki, i艧ler sarpa sard谋臒谋 zaman, o bir erkek oldu臒u i莽in, yerini kad谋na g枚re yeniden 莽ok daha rahat kazanabilece臒ini bilmenin de verdi臒i bilin莽alt谋 g眉venle, hi莽bir 艧ey yapmayan biri kad谋n谋 kurtarmak i莽in. Kad谋n谋n fedakarl谋臒谋n谋 ve daha fazlas谋n谋 da verece臒ini bilip ona yapma demedi臒i gibi, yap谋l谋nca da reddetmeyen ama sonra t眉m h谋nc谋n谋 kad谋ndan 莽谋karan bir bencil pislik. Hatta 枚yle ki Ellenore鈥檜n s枚zde haks谋z oldu臒u yerleri s谋ralay谋p KEND陌 REZ陌LL陌臑陌N陌 HAKLI 脟IKARAN B陌R陌. T眉m o yalan t眉m o sahtelik ve t眉m ge莽i艧tirmeler adam谋 莽ileden 莽谋k谋yor. Hele sonlara do臒ru bir zamanlar kesinlikle ilgilenmedi臒i o arkada艧lar谋, evlilikler, i艧 hayat谋 ona gayet cazip gelmeye ba艧l谋yor.
Ellenore'a biri laf etti臒i zaman imkans谋z a艧klar谋n y眉ce sevgilisi gibi kad谋n谋 korumaktan 莽ekinmeyen o臒lan, ev yolunda sarf edilen d眉艧眉ncelere kat谋lmakla kalmay谋p daha beterini ediyor. Ancak hi莽bir 艧ey yapm谋yor. 脟眉nk眉 b枚yle bi durumda, ilk tan谋艧malar谋ndaki gibi o aradaki engeli a艧mak istiyor, ama莽 o. Yasak ve reddedilenin dayan谋lmaz 莽ekicili臒i. G眉n眉 kurtarmak ad谋na yapt谋臒谋 her davran谋艧 kad谋n谋 daha k枚t眉 duruma s眉r眉kl眉yor. Mesela yazd谋臒谋 k枚t眉c眉l bir mektubun amac谋 belli, ancak kad谋n 枚臒renince inkara gidiyor, ikiy眉zl眉 ve bencil olmad谋臒谋n谋 iddia ettik莽e bunu ispatl谋yor.
Bu bi tek kad谋na de臒il yani adam谋n b眉t眉n ili艧kileri riyak芒r. Ta en ba艧谋ndan, kad谋n谋 elde etme karar谋 ald谋臒谋ndan itibaren d眉艧眉nd眉臒眉m cinayet bi莽imleri 3 setlik polisiye roman谋 olur. Delirdim, 莽眉nk眉 o臒lan, at谋yorum 'baronu kand谋rm谋艧t谋m' diyor ama ikiy眉zl眉 ve yalanc谋 bir 艧erefsiz, bencil bir o莽 oldu臒unu reddediyor.
B眉t眉n bu sayd谋klar谋m谋n hepsini Adolphe size o dakika d眉r眉stl眉kle s枚yl眉yor; bencil, pislik, adi, riyakar, 艧erefsiz olduklar谋 hari莽 tabi. Bu hakl谋 ve az bile olan tahliller bana ait.
Toplum desen ayr谋 bok. B眉t眉n su莽 Ellenore'da, 莽眉nk眉 geli艧inden 枚yle (!). Biri de demiyor ki, ne o臒lan谋n ne babas谋, ne yak谋n dostlar谋 olan baron, ne kad谋n谋n ailesi, ne metresi oldu臒u kont, ne o 莽evre de demiyor ki ULAN G脰RM脺艦 OLDU臑UNUZ 艦U P陌脟 BU HALE GET陌RD陌 BU KADINI, DEM陌YOR K陌MSE! Ve bat谋 do臒u kuzey g眉ney zengin fakir so臒uk s谋cak diye ay谋rm谋yorum, hala de臒i艧medi bu. De臒i艧medi臒ini g枚rmek, 臑A臑A臑A! Anaerkil ya艧am s眉ren bir iki 莽枚l kabilesi d谋艧谋nda (bildi臒im kadar谋yla) alay谋m谋z b枚yle. Feminist de臒ilim, erkekleri bu hale getiren toplumsal evrilemeyi艧imizden nefret ediyorum. Kitapta di臒erlerine g枚re daha akl谋 ba艧谋nda olan ve 1o y谋ll谋k fedakarl谋k dolu ili艧kilerini yabana atmay谋p Ellenore'a y谋llar sonra bile 艧artl谋 da olsa iyi bir teklif i莽eren mektubu yazan P. Kontu sadece.
Kitab谋n sonunda, 'yay谋mc谋ya mektup' diye bir b枚l眉m var; okudu臒umuz bu kitab谋, Adolphe'u tan谋yan biri yazm谋艧-m谋艧. Pe艧i s谋ra 'cevap' ad谋nda son b枚l眉m var. Bu son b枚l眉m benim yapamad谋臒谋m谋 yap谋p iyi g枚m眉yor o臒lana. Adolphe'un onca laf ebeli臒i ve kalabal谋臒谋 yapt谋臒谋 i莽 hesapla艧mada fark edemedi臒i karaktersizli臒ini 枚zetliyor. Bir de Ellenore'un 枚lmeden 枚nce 'okumadan yak bunu' dedi臒i, muhtemel bir kriz an谋nda yazd谋臒谋, kendi de dahil olmak 眉zere ger莽ekleri 莽arpt谋rmadan yazd谋臒谋 k谋rg谋n ve k谋zg谋n mektup var.
G枚zlerinin i莽ine baka baka bo臒azlayarak yava艧莽a 枚ld眉rmektense, s谋rt谋ndan da olsa kalbine b谋莽ak saplayarak 莽abucak 枚ld眉rmek daha 艧erefli geliyor bana.
Yabana at谋lmayacak kadar harika tahliller ancak psikolojik metin s枚z konusu oldu臒unda 莽ok daha iyilerini okudum. Belki 莽eviridendir bilmiyorum ancak yavan ve eksik geldi.
Her kad谋n谋n hayat谋na az veya 莽ok benzer b枚yle bi erkek girmi艧tir, 艧眉k眉r 枚lmedik. xoxo iko
"No hay una de estas mujeres apasionadas de la cual el mundo est谩 lleno que no haya protestado que morir谩 abandon谩ndola; y no hay una de ellas que est茅 a煤n viva y que est茅 consolada" No me ha gustado mucho la verdad esta obra de Constant y s贸lo el final y algunas particularidades hacen que eleve mi calificaci贸n a tres estrellas. La novela cuenta la historia narrada por Adolphe sobre su tormentosa relaci贸n con una mujer mayor que 茅l, Ell茅nore, cuando el tipo de final de la obra me hizo pensar m谩s en la pareja ficticia de Adolphe y Ell茅nore es cuando m谩s gust茅 de la misma. Pues es bien sabido que en verdad Constant habla de s铆 mismo y de su relaci贸n con la 煤nica mujer que aterraba a Napole贸n: Madame de Stael. Me dio curiosidad pues luego de leer el pr贸logo (que siempre leo despu茅s de acabar una obra) de esta edici贸n en franc茅s que le铆, descubr铆 all铆 que todo lo que me hab铆a disgustado era en parte alabado por el editor. La historia se cuenta sola por el mismo Adolfo, en el cual no hay descripciones casi, pero no a la manera realista de minimizar detalles innecesarios sino prescindiendo de toda descripci贸n, pr谩cticamente la obra nos habla s贸lo de lo que piensa Adolfo de 茅l y de ella. No hay un desarrollo de trama muy importante m谩s que todo al final. Se menciona por ejemplo el talento que tiene Adolfo que es reconocido por todos, pero jam谩s yo lo percib铆 en la novela, ni en sus frases ni en sus pensamientos. Es una novela de introspecci贸n como dicen, pero si es tal creo que hubiese podido analizar o formular perspectivas m谩s interesantes de los propios sentimientos. M谩s bien me parec铆a estar sentado al lado de un joven que se quejaba constantemente de la relaci贸n que tuvo y que me aburr铆a cont谩ndome sus problemas, indecisiones y haciendo notar lo mucho que interes贸 a la dama en cuesti贸n, al tiempo que se justificaba de sus decisiones en lo referente a su destino y de lo importante que era. La misma relaci贸n en s铆 no me atrajo de una manera amigable, pues pienso que el actuar de ambos fue errado, aunque la actitud de Adolfo me pareci贸 soberbia e insufrible. Sinceramente no es que le tenga antipat铆a al personaje sino tambi茅n pienso que lo que se quiso contar careci贸 de trascendencia. Tiene algo de "Mar铆a" pero sin la pureza del amor entre los protagonistas, algo de "La Nueva Elo铆sa" pero sin las disertaciones filos贸ficas, algo de "Werther" pero sin los detalles de devoci贸n verdadera. Menos mal que me compr茅 una edici贸n con sus dem谩s obras, porque dudo si hubiese comprado m谩s de Constant, espero que luego de leerlas me gusten m谩s.
Terribile non essere amati quando si ama; ancora peggio essere amati con passione, quando non si ama pi霉
Mi piacerebbe capire il motivo per il quale ho fatto fatica a leggere un romanzo di un centinaio di pagine, dai capitoli ben rifilati e la prosa fluida. Non erano certo le elucubrazioni e i tentennamenti del protagonista a disturbarmi, lui ricopriva il ruolo di pusillanime che l鈥檃utore gli aveva affidato. Non era la passione cieca che aveva ispirato nella sua amante, in principio riottosa, poi coinvolta al punto di abbandonare la propria famiglia; non erano i consigli paterni che lo invitavano a ravvedersi, che lo invitavano a cercare una relazione con una donna pi霉 giovane e meno chiacchierata, a prendere in mano la propria vita invece di lasciarla scorrere. Il motivo di tanta fatica potrebbe essere il fatto che Constant trasformi il romanzo in un teorema dove la societ脿 dell鈥檈poca (e non solo) condanna il vizio solo quando si scontra con le convenienze, lo condanna quando genera scandalo e lo tollera altrimenti. Il rapporto fra Adolphe e la pi霉 matura Ell茅nore (di padre polacco) non 猫 mai del tutto personale 猫 sempre mediato dall鈥檕pinione che hanno di loro i membri del circolo borghese di cui fanno parte. Se la volont脿 di Constant era mostrare i danni che pu貌 provocare un uomo incapace di prendere decisioni nette, essa 猫 stata in parte annacquata dalla societ脿 in cui lo ha collocato. Adolphe ama Ell茅nore, allo stesso tempo la detesta perch茅 si frappone fra lui e la sua determinazione di uomo adulto con un ruolo di prestigio nella societ脿 del suo tempo. Ma lui vuole davvero quel ruolo? Ell茅nore non potrebbe forse rappresentare la scusa grazie a cui evita di mettersi alla prova? 脠 l鈥檕ttocento francese non manca il finale tragico e non mancano neppure due prefazioni dell鈥檃utore alle ristampe del suo libro, in cui piccato ribadisce di aver scritto un鈥檕pera di fantasia senza riferirsi a nessuna delle persone di sua conoscenza. Si malignava che Ell茅nore fosse la maschera di una sua amante.
Neupadljv klasik o fatalnoj ljubavi izme膽u 10 godina mla膽eg mu拧kaca i zrele 啪ene, ujedno i na temu da se zaljubljenost pa ljubav (posebno ona koja u o膷ima drugih apriori ogleda kao neodr啪iva, ukratko lo拧a ideja) odigravaju, ne samo izme膽u ve膰 dve osobe, ve膰 uvek i u sadejstvu javne (okolina, porodica, karijera - potencijalni polo啪aj u dru拧tvu) i privatne sfere 啪ivota (emocije, sloboda od svih stega); i kako te dve isprepletane sile uti膷u na li膷nosti protagonista i rasplet veze. Istovremeno Adolf je i pouka o tome da ljubav, od jakih spoljnih, a posledi膷no i unutra拧njih pritisaka, ni begom (egzilom, dobrovoljnim samoizme拧tanjem iz zadate sredine) ne mo啪e biti spa拧ena. Dapa膷e, beg survava bliskost u zahla膽enje i jo拧 ve膰i u啪as. "Adolf" je dobrim delom autobiografsko 拧tivo i smatra se za prete膷u modernog psiholo拧kog romana. Sa啪eti narativ je nabijen lucidnim i istan膷anim (samo)uvidom. Prevod, sad ve膰 davna拧nji, postoji u izdanju Novog pokolenja, i docnije Rada: edicija Re膷 i misao. Ovo bi bilo zanimljivo da neko od izdava膷a revitalizuje.
Benjamin Constant IS Adolphe, the eponymous protagonist. When the bon ton said so in 1816, he wrote to all the newspapers, protesting elaborately. I don鈥檛 know why it reminds me so much of Oscar Wilde suing the Marquees of Queensbury for libel (on account of the 鈥榣ove that dare not speak its name鈥� not being apparently a turn up the old chocolate highway. Umm, right) or Bill Clinton: 鈥� I did not have sexual relations with that woman鈥� .
Like all good orators, Constant was hanging on a technicality: its not a roman a clef, you see, because Ellenore is an amalgamated character: a monstrous splice up of two of Constant鈥檚 real lovers into an approximation of 鈥榯he human centipede鈥�
And so Ellenore: a delightful Frankesteinian creation embodying the best of Mme de Stael and Anna Lindsay. The former has the following delights to offer a prospective lover (thank you Wiki): 鈥榮he was the most distinguished and characteristic product of the period of sensibility 鈥� the singular fashion of ultra-sentimentalism 鈥� which required that both men and women, but especially women, should be always palpitating with excitement, steeped in melancholy or dissolved in tears. 鈥� Wow.
Constant, who only ever implicated himself with older women, was ensnared by Mme Stael for over twenty years, unable to break off the liaison, until it was Stael who chucked him over for a younger man (twenty years his junior). Wow again. But whilst she had him, Stael sure kept him on a tight leash: if he said he was popping out for an hour to town, and he wasn鈥檛 back in an hour, she鈥檇 harness up the coach and four and Bouadicca herself into town, hunt him down, bundle him into the coach and take him back to the Manor. Sometimes, he wasn鈥檛 even allowed to go out even for one hour. Wow.
This obsessive compulsive behaviour is transposed into Ellenore. From Anna she inherits her circumstances: a longstanding mistress to a prominent aristocrat who is seduced into leaving her position: although the real Anna never did, of course: she knew which side her bread was buttered on.
So, Adolphe: a young man who flits with older women and finally meets his match in Ellenore; having seduced her into leaving her protector, he finds himself encumbered with a shrew and unable to leave her, for years. (just like in real life). Blaming her for his lost opportunities in life (as if though if she weren鈥檛 around he鈥檇 have a proper career: poppy cock), this insecure, indecisive man wavers between despair, resentment and self deluded love through out the novella: every time he musters up a semblance of courage to break off with Ellenore, his subconscious, intolerant of strife and confrontation, convinces him that in fact he does, truly, love her.
An extraordinary love story told from the perspective of a man, and what I believe to be a victim of domestic abuse, this elaborate tale, honing in on deep psychology and the precarious balance of mental health, explores the stormy dynamics of the male-female relationship in an astonishing reversal of perspectives: Adolphe鈥檚 tale is one usually associated with 鈥榳omen鈥檚 business鈥�; and its remarkable to read about the insecurities and feminine type wiles of a deeply intelligent but perversely weak willed man.
My one gripe is the ending: At first I thought it was some arcane 19c formula for administering social justice, a one of those 鈥榦f the times鈥� denouements, but in retrospect I think its more cunning than that. Constant, the wily fox, unable to personally resolve his issues, in real life as well as in the novel, has to resort to natural causes in order to attain the freedom he so desperately craves, but is so ill equipped to attain.