CLAUDE-PROSPER JOLYOT DE CRÉBILLON

Claude-Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (1707-1777) is a prominent French author of stories and novels who is usually called Crébillon fils, to distinguish him from his father, who was also a well-known writer. He was born in Paris where he began his literary career in 1729 with a contribution to a satiric collection and some parodic theatre pieces, including Le sultan poli par l’amour. In 1729 he was one of the founders of the famous goguette// Caveau. His first story, Le sylphe, was published in 1730, and in 1734 Tanzaï et Néadarné appeared, which was applauded but earned him the suspicion of religious satire. He was imprisoned for several weeks but also gained admittance to the salons in Paris. In 1736 he published Les égarements du Coeur et de l’esprit ou Mémoires de M. de Meilcour, a novel depicting Parisian social life in the higher circles and subtly describing the common practices between women and their lovers. In 1742 his major novel Le sopha appeared which caused his temporary banishment from Paris, either because of hidden references to King Louis XV or because he violated a ban on the publication of novels. In 1746 a strange novel appeared which is speculatively attributed to Crébillon fils: Les amours de Zeokinisul, roi des Kofirans, written by a certain Krinelbol. Anagrams and references clearly satirize life at the French court. Later in life his writings were less successful and he acquired some pensions and functions which barely kept him alive. The novels and stories of Crébillon fils have greatly influenced 18th century French literature and especially set an example for later novels expressing social criticism and a certain libertine spirit. Particularly Les égarements du coeur and Le sopha are still quite readable today and reflect the spirit of the age.

The fragments:

The novels of Crébillon fils exemplify the way in which the material and structure of the Thousand and one nights generated experiments in the European literary field. Crébillon used the material and structure of the Nights as a source of inspiration for his literary experiments and exploration of generic possibilities. The result is a series of works which combined elements of exoticism with generic innovation. Besides, the novels breathed a libertine and critical attitude which both fitted into the spirit of the Enlightenment and challenged the authorities. Crébillon’s first ‘Oriental’ novel was Tanzaï et Néadarné, which appeared in 1734 and immediately caused a scandal because of its political innuendos and alleged obscenities. It was presented as a Chechian tale translated into Japanese, then Chinese, then Dutch, then Latin and finally into French from the Venetian dialect, a comical mystification which was popular at the time. The story is about a prince, Tanzaï, who marries Néadarné before his twenty-first birthday, thereby violating a pact. As a result, his sex is changed into a skimmer by a fairy. The curse will be lifted only if Tanzaï succeeds in having the skimmer licked by a high-priest. Néadarné undergoes a similar enchantment. Parallel to this story is the rivalry between the demon Jonquille and the fairy Barbacela. The novel is an example of Crébillon’s method of combining political and social criticism with stories of love and – Orientalized – supernatural elements. This method can also be perceived in Ah, quel conte! Conte astronomique et politique on which he worked from 1736 until its publication in 1754 and which combines the love story of King Schézaddin, enchanted by his dreams of the fairy Tout-ou-rien. It contains the love stories of the bird-king Autruche as an inserted episode. The novel follows motifs and procedures of the Thousand and one nights, and one of the early versions was divided into ‘days’. The most well-known orientalist novel by Crébillon is Le sopha (1742), an entertaining critique of morality in the aristocratic milieu, but also a gay apology of libertine freedom. The novel is constructed as a frame story. In the frame Schah-baham is bored and listens to stories by Amanzei, who, as a result of a curse, is confined to a sopha until he can prove to have witnessed a couple loving each other truly. As the protagonist is able to move from one sopha to another he is able to witness many love scenes in various boudoirs, and in his stories he gives a revealing insight into the erotic habits of the aristocracy. The book thus becomes an inventory of the different types of love and its concomitant intrigues. The novel clearly and explicitly refers to the Thousand and one nights, with its framed structure, its interruptions and sequences, its Oriental setting, etc., but it is no fairy tale or fantastic story. It should rather be seen as a ‘modern’ novel, making use of the generic possibilities of the Nights to experiment with the genre. A related procedure is followed in Les égarements du Coeur et l’esprit (1736-1738), which contains no Oriental elements, but which is based on a combination of seduction, postponement and dialogue. Crébillon’s novels inspired works by Diderot, Wieland, and others.

Tanzaï et Néadarné, histoire japonaise, Lou-chou-chu-la, Peking 1734, vol. 1, pp. I-XX, 1-120. (Gallica)

Ah, quel conte!, in: Oeuvres completes, vol. 3, Garnier, Paris 2001, pp. 299-323, 751-781.

Le sopha, Desjonquères, Paris 1984, pp. 7-59.