No estoy yo muy en onda con los clásicos últimamente

If I could suddenly magically read French, A Simple Heart is the first thing I would read.

Until that happens, I have Robert Baldick’s translation. I’ve read it a few times over the years. What stood out to me on this rereading was Flaubert’s portrayal of Félicité’s deafness.

“The little circle of her ideas grew narrower and narrower, and the pealing of bells and the lowing of cattle went out of her life” (46).

This is so sad. All the lovely and familiar sounds gone. And not just gone, but replaced by tinnitus.

“Imaginary buzzings in the head added to her troubles” (46).

Tinnitus is a relentless ringing in the ears. When caused by damage to the inner ear, it is permanent and incurable. I have tinnitus from a noise injury.

As I write these words, I hear the Grateful Dead playing in the background, the sound of my neighbors’ voices from below my window, the occasional call of a bird, and that ever-present ringing.

When a deaf person has tinnitus there is no other sound but the ringing. No pealing of bells. No lowing of cattle. No Grateful Dead.

This is Félicité’s world.

Her mistress calls her stupid. The mail coach nearly runs her over. And the mail coachman strikes her with his horsewhip for not getting out of his way when he shouted at her.

One of the frustrations of tinnitus is that no one else can hear it. It’s a completely private experience.

Félicité’s deafness isolates her.

“Having no intercourse with anyone, she lived in the torpid state of a sleep-walker” (50).

This is beautiful hagiography. Félicité’s isolation intensifies her love for the Holy Ghost. What would otherwise be a grievous loss is sanctified by her religious devotion.

Being the opposite of a saint, I just turn up the volume when Jerry sings.

A Simple Heart is a naturalistic story in the style of Madame Bovary, but perhaps told with more kindness towards the protagonist (though personally I think Flaubert was pretty kind to Emma anyway). It was quite lovely, but I don't think it succeeded as well as Emma because it was shorter and its subject less morally suspect. Though that implies that the reason Emma is so good is because of its sensational aspect, which is not true. It's the way he deals with someone behaving so... strangely? (what she does isn't really 'wrong' as such) that is so extraordinary.

The other two stories were unlike anything I've ever read before. The Legend of St Julian Hospitator is effectively a legend, and as such didn't really make sense. According to the introduction, it was supposed to have a similar effect to a stained-glass window depiction of the life of a saint, and I think it succeeded in that. Difficult to identify with, though.

Herodias I found to be written in a very confusing style - it seemed to contradict itself often and say things that didn't quite make sense. Also I got all the characters confused, especially since many of them seemed to have two or three names. However, it was fascinating from a historical perspective.

JOHN CLEESE: I would like to register a complaint about this parrot, what I read about not half an hour ago in a Flaubert short story.

MICHAEL PALIN: Oh yeah? What's wrong wiv it?

CLEESE: I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my good man. It's representing the Holy Ghost, that's what's wrong with it.

The rest of this review is available elsewhere (the location cannot be given for Goodreads policy reasons)

Tão bom quanto os contos de Leskov e Turguêniev, Flaubert, que é mestre do realismo e tem como marca a constante análise psicológica dos seus personagens, em especial quanto às suas virtudes, faz em seus contos o que tão bem fez em seus grandes romances.

Com dois contos excepcionais e um não tão agradável, o escritor narra a vida e morte de seus personagens seguindo a máxima do que foram e fizeram em vida, retratando desde a maior humanidade em uns, até as maiores barbáries em outros, em contos que se aproximam de parábolas e também do estilo vitoriano, sendo por vezes cômicos e trágicos, mas sempre de forma brilhante.
No mais, é uma pena a obra compor dois excelentes contos e um tão terrível, mas a mim, ainda assim foi uma boa leitura.

Üç Öykü, Flaubert'in biçim konusundaki obsesif ve mükemmeliyetçi tarzının birer yansıması olan, kelimelerin harikulade bir ritim ve ahenkle aktığı, yalınlıklarına tezat insanın içine işleyen üç hikayeden meydana geliyor. Çilenin ve şehitliğin ortak nokta olduğu, üç farklı dönemin, üç farklı azizlik anlatısını içeriyor eser.

Herodias, Hristiyanlık'ta olduğu kadar İslam'da da çok önemli bir figür olan Yahya peygamberin (Hristiyanlık'ta Vaftizci Yahya) öldürülüşünü anlatıyor. Antik çağ Perea ve Galilee kralı Antipa'nın hüküm sürdüğü Machaerus kalesinde, inanç tarihini derinden etkileyen bir günde geçiyor hikayedeki olaylar. Bu bir gün içinde, yavaş yavaş yayılmaya başlayan 'yeni inanca', İsa'nın gelişini müjdeleyen Yahya'ya ve yaşanacak kökten değişimin ayak seslerine, Roma İmparatorluğu'nun bu gelişmelere karşı tutumuna, Yahudiye prensesi Herodias'ın entrikalarına ve de Yeni Ahit'te bahsi geçen ve Yahya'nın ölümüyle sonlanan (Flaubert'in nefis betimlediği) 'büyük ziyafet' sahnesine göz atıyoruz. Flaubert, oryantalist ögelerle harmanlayıp yeniden yarattığı bir dönemin atmosferini keskin bir anlatımla aklımıza kazıyor.

Konuksever Aziz Julien Söylencesi'nde, dünyaya büyük bir kehanetle gelen, büyüdükçe mahir fakat sadist ve kana susamış bir avcıya dönüşen soylu Julien'in öyküsü anlatılıyor. Günün birinde kendini bekleyen kehaneti öğrenen ve hayatını bu kehanetten kaçmaya adayan Julien'in başarısızlığını okuyoruz. Dini kıssalarda çokça görülen (Hızır ve Musa peygamber kıssasındaki gibi) 'insan algısının ötesindeki Tanrı takdiri' temasını taşıyor hikaye. Varlıklı, soylu, zalim bir kimsenin Tanrı'nın inayetiyle dönüşümünü anlatıyor. Bu öyküde realist yaklaşımından ödün vererek dini kıssa geleneğine ve ortaçağ anlatılarına yaraşan epik ve lirik bir üslup benimseyen Flaubert, Katolik Kilisesi'nin bu büyük ermişini kendi kelimeleriyle tekrar yaratıyor.

Saf Bir Yürek'te ise, yoksulluğu, kimsesizliği ve saflığıyla hayatta hiç dikkat çekmeyen basit yaradılışlardan birinin küçük yaşamına mercek tutuyor Flaubert. Hizmetçi kız Felicité, cehaletin kalbini karartamadığı, temiz ruhunu yıpratamadığı o insanlardan biri olarak karşımıza çıkıyor. Doğduğundan beri hep hayatın ve insanoğlunun sillesini yediği halde kötülüğü aklına dahi getiremeyen; içinden sevgi, gayret ve merhametten başka birşey çıkmayan bir kadın olarak görüyoruz onu. Etrafına saçtığı küçük ışık pahasına kendini eritip bitiren bir muma benziyor Felicité. Ve sınırlı aklıyla anlamlandıramadığı, zamanla kaybolan yetileriyle daha da zalimleşen hayata karşı çözümü ancak büyük bir huşuyla inanca tutunmakta buluyor. Böylece diğer iki öyküdekilerin aksine modern hayattan, çok gerçek ve yalın bir 'aziz' portresi çiziyor Flaubert.

Ba câu truyện kể về ba vị thánh.
Truyện đầu tiên kể về một vị thánh bình thường giản dị, với cái nhìn bao dung và tình yêu to lớn khủng khiếp, tình yêu ấy lớn đến độ khiến người ta xúc động, đặc biệt khi tình yêu đó đặt ở một bà giúp việc ít học, cần mẫn. Đây là truyện tôi thích nhất, vì cái cảm giác thấu hiểu của tác giả dành cho một con người tưởng chừng không có gì nhưng lại có tất cả.
Truyện thứ hai kể về một vị thánh với cái quá khứ thê lương, để đền bù cho những lỗi lầm trong quá khứ, ông đã từ bỏ phú quý, cám dỗ để cần mẫn chèo thuyền đưa khách quá sông,
Truyện thứ ba kể về một nhân vật có thật trong lịch sử, cá nhân tôi không thích truyện này lắm, có lẽ vì nhìn chung tôi sợ những thứ liên quan đến kinh thánh mà truyện này nhắc quá nhiều đến những điển tích trong đó khiến tôi hơi ngán và cảm giác lộn tùng phèo hết cả :)).

These three tales were all thought provoking in their own way. Flaubert has a way with words that can render you speechless. The first story in this collection is my favourite short story of all time and although the next two pale in comparison they were both great stories. I need to read more Flaubert and French Literature in general. What a writer.

"Three Tales" is a collection of stories about characters exhibiting the saintly behavior of a strong faith and good works. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 stars.

"A Simple Heart" is a novella about Félicité, a 19th Century uneducated servant who lived a life of piety, service, and loss. Félicité took joy in simple pleasures and was known for her kindness. She was also devoted to her parrot, Loulou. As she aged her hearing and sight diminished, and she believed she had a vision of the Holy Spirit. Félicité had a loving heart and a strong religious faith. 3.5 stars.

"The Legend of Saint Julian the Hospitaller" was inspired by the stained-glass windows in the cathedral in Flaubert's hometown of Rouen. Flaubert changed the fable of Saint Julian to create his own story which also has roots in the Oedipus myth. Set in the Middle Ages, Julian is a young man with bloodlust who loves to hunt. The violent man is cursed with a prophecy that he will murder his parents, but he moves far away from them to prevent it from happening. However, his parents search for him and the the prophecy becomes reality. Julian devotes himself to a life of penance at a ferry crossing. He is redeemed by his selfless kindness to a leper. 4 stars.

The third story is "Herodias" about the decapitation of John the Baptist on the evening of the birthday celebration of Herod Antipas. His wife, Herodias, uses her daughter Salome in her quest to kill John the Baptist. Flaubert writes excellent psychological descriptions of Herod Antipas and Herodias. The tale contains much pageantry, and seductive dancing by Salome leading up to the tragedy. While it was an interesting tale, there are too many historical and Biblical characters mentioned for a story of this length. 3 stars

I read this book three decades ago when I came across a copy of this recently. Flaubert was a realist. He loved to set the stage, to dig up facts for his work. He wanted to place us in the story. Known for his romances, Madame Bovary and Sentimental Education, retelling history was also his forte.

I enjoyed Herodias and Saint Julien more than Un coeur simple. I found Saint Julien compelling. The vivid descriptions in Herodias, placed me right back in the ancient world. All three stories come to “dramatic” conclusions but “Un coeur simple” was much more peculiar (a good segway to my review of Flaubert’s Parrot by Julian Barnes).

The common denominator in all three books are death. There is a lot of killing in Saint Julien and Herodias, but these are historical stories. The reality of realism is death. It varies according to context and plot.

Un coeur simple. Literally a simple story. Félicite had a bad love encounter, becomes a nanny, makes friends with the children but then again she encounters more bad luck. Enter Loulou the parrot. How incredibly strange. A Holy Spirit? A holy parrot? A simple heart. A simple tale.
Two stars.

Saint Julien l’Hospitalier. Ever wonder how those saints become saints? This is a good one. On his first animal hunt, Julien gets carried away. Remember, in the Middle Ages, what you do could lead to a curse falling upon you. Julien believes he killed his parents and leaves home. By helping another king, he wins his daughter’s hand in marriage. Life is good. Or rather “be careful what you wish for” it may come to haunt you.
Four stars.

Hérodias. Her daughter was Salome, her father, Herod. At a banquet the Romans and the high Jewish priests enjoy the food, wine and the erotic dance of Salome. She danced like her mother once danced. She is offered land and wealth; all she wants the head of Iaokanann, John the Baptist. We know how this turns out.
Three stars.

In 1875, five years after the Prussian War, and the year of his financial issues, Flaubert wrote, “The future offers me nothing good. A sign of old age and decadence. My God, I am old.” He was 54. He would be dead in six more years. Why not write some stories?

He returned to his past. Un coeur simple is full of his early year, Pont-l’Évêque, Trouville and Honfleur. Images from the Rouen cathedral influence Saint Julien and Herodias (Saint John the Baptist). In short, he returns home to move forward. There was talk of “The Battle of Thermopylae.” A Greek historical. That might have been good. Alas, we will never know.

Flaubert left us three reflections of his own past, told in own way shortly before his own death.


Original review, read 1986.

Three beautiful short stories all with a different mode. Two historical tales bring out the heroes - Saint Julian and Herodias (with a powerful Salome) are the stronger of the three but A Simple Heart never bends to sentimentalism.

Đọc xong mới hiểu tại sao "Một tấm lòng chất phác" được dịch từ lâu, còn hai truyện kia bây giờ mới dịch.

* Kitapta birbirinden farklı üç hikaye ve her birinde üç farklı karakterde kahraman var. Saf Bir Kalp hikayesinde yalnızlaştıkça katolik inancına sıkı sıkıya sarılan, bundan başkaca da sığınacak bir yeri olmayan Felicite isimli bir hizmetçinin hayat hikayesi; Konuksever Aziz Julien'in Efsanesinde ise, av merakı ve öldürme içgüdüsü nedeniyle anne-babasının ölümüne neden olan ve hristiyanlarca kutsal sayılan "Aziz Julien"le özdeşleştirilen Julienin hikayesi; ve son olarak tarihi bir karakter olan ve Yahya peygamberin öldürülmesini sağlayan Herodiasın öyküsü anlatılıyor.
** Üç hikayeyi de biraz bunaltıcı ve iç karartıcı bulabilirsiniz, bunda muhtemelen yazarın kitabı yazarken yaşadığı derin yalnızlık ve ekonomik bunalımın payı yadsınamaz. İyi okumalar...