#Napoleon doing drive-by insults to French music will never not amuse me

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

“How miserable he had been in his previous life. Not only had he witnessed the destruction of his fellow men but he had also been punished because his soul, victim of illusion, excitement and apprehension, had been blind to the beauties and insensible to the pleasures of nature.”

What Napoleon did that was different with the pastoral form, but makes complete sense for him, was marry society and soldiers together. The division of Society and Nature is the mainstay of this form of fiction - with society being full of lies and wickedness etc. and nature is pure where your love and your soul can thrive. Nature is also innocence, it’s primordial in a certain way. Society is worldliness, it’s deceitful, it’s harmful.

Napoleon had his society that intrudes on Clisson’s self-imposed exile to nature be war rather than class and performing Civility (see Paul et Virginie). As Napoleon became an officer at 14, spent his youth in military school, and for the six years prior to this was navigating the French revolution and its resultant wars - this is obviously a natural division for him.

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So Napoleon goes into describing the two sisters and guys I am worried for Eugenie. “it was as if she were afraid to show her pretty hand, where the blue of the veins contrasted with the whiteness of her skin.” GIRL GO OUTSIDE. VITAMIN D. YOU SOUND ILL.

I mean classic Consumptive Aesthetics = Beauty BUT STILL. 

Also Napoleon goes on about how she had perfect straight white teeth and I really love every time people in history rage about other people’s good teeth. Coincidentally, as we all know, Napoleon was famed for his remarkably good teeth.

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Clisson is all “oh i’m falling in love with Amelie yet I can’t stop thinking about Eugenie. THIS IS MYSTERIOUS. WHAT COULD IT MEAN.” 

Napoleon’s clear affection for over the top romantic tropes is fantastic. How dare this man say novels are only for ladies’ maids. Napoleon. Honey.

Favourite bit: “Eugenie, meanwhile, had meditated a great deal upon some of the things the stranger [Clisson] had said; she did not know whether to hate him or to be impressed by him.” 

Maybe one day I’ll revisit Clisson and Eugenie and my Hot Takes on it. 

I forgot what a funny novella it is.