Hunt of Henry IV
Chapter 9 of the fourth part of "War and Peace" we find a scene that at first glance may seem minor, but in reality is fraught with implications: Franco-Russian clash in the Napoleonic army is now on the run toward their home in a disgraceful retreat from the military point of view that will cost dearly in terms of human lives. The cold takes away many soldiers, who during the long march back over the cold also suffer from hunger. In this scene, Ramballe the officer and his orderly Maurel Russian and reach the camp, media exposure and hunger, can be understood by the enemy of food and getting a seat by the fire overnight. Maurel and flow of Spirit is probably not used to this drink, gets drunk and immediately starts to hum a song, which reads as follows:
"Vive Henri Quatre. Vive ce roi vaillant!
Ce diable à quatre
EUT Here the triple talent
de boire, de battre Et d'être
a vert galant '
Some Russian soldiers make fun of Maurel and like to mangle the song, imitating the sound of the language without know and then inventing nonsense words.
With a little research it turns out that the verses of this song are part of a comedy of the French theater in 1600, entitled "La partie de chasse d'Henri IV", whose source is an English tale reworked without too much trouble, as used in the past being totally missing the concept of copyright. That piece is a hunt of the French King Henry IV, entering a wood that is caught in a storm and takes refuge from his subjects of the peasants who welcome him into their home and pay homage, but in reality the work, that respects the aesthetic of the play, beginning with a storm to end happily with the "rescue" of King, has been reworked with the initial insertion of a scene politics, court intrigue, in which the minister Sully is able to clear itself of some of the accusations against him and regain the esteem of the sovereign.
Beyond this technical issue, the song above is a true cultural landmark, was in vogue until the 20th century, but today if we're not going to recall the original context from which it was extrapolated do not understand the meaning of these words. This illustrates the variable of knowledge over time, as though Tolstoy is Russian and French from the world knows why the fashion then, but now without mediation of others to recognize this quote would be impossible. Tolstoy is so expert on European history and man of letters, man of thought and intelligent writer, inserting a symbol of the French comic making, showing that the grandeur of this country's policy is exhausted.
This song evokes the spirit and practice of hunting theme in the play and "War and Peace", not only in the meeting between Russian troops and French officers, but also earlier in the narrative. The Rostov fact, in chap. III of the fourth part of the second volume in their estates organize a hunt that takes up a small part of the text, approximately 1, 87% of the total, but that stands out because of its overall work location and its unusual and unexpected flavor than the rest. The hunting here is as noble in the sense of virtuous activity that women can take part, although their role is secondary.
In this episode, the scene shows the presence of horses, which are fundamental in society and in literature until the nineteenth century, and that is when they began to be replaced by machinery as a means of locomotion. A demonstration of their importance, in the first book of the Essais to the cap. 48, Montaigne reminds us of the use of horses in battle at the ancient peoples, how the horses were removed from the Caesar conquered peoples as well as to drop their weapons, while in 1500 it is known in Indie the use of elephants for the same functions as in the West were fulfilled by horses. Today, the importance of the horse and hunting are difficult to understand if you do not proceed to make a comparison with some very expensive business elite.
The figure of the hunt which is then activated at two different points of "War and Peace" could be a symbol of reading throughout the Napoleonic Wars, where the French first and then chase the Russians to capture the opponent, as if it were of prey. And in truth the picture of the injured back, especially during the French retreat. Tolstoy writes: "The wounded beast at Borodino was lying there, at a point where he had left the hunter running away, but the hunter did not know if she was alive, had strong or if only he had hidden. Suddenly we heard the lament of this beast. The lament of this wounded beast, - the French army, - the expression of his loss, he was sending the General Lauriston to the camp of Kutuzov with a question of peace. "(Book 4, Part 2, Chapter 2.)
The hunt is a symbol in the novel and generally falls between the full literary topos used anymore. Think of the hunt in Hell of Dante Inferno Canto XIII vv. 109-129, where the damned are chased by two "black bitches, ravenous, and / as greyhounds ch'uscisser chain." They try to escape from these events described with an image loaded with violence, but they can not escape the danger and are torn: bitches tear the flesh of two and carry them around like trophies, such as the hounds are usually when they reach the game and trapping. In Dante lacks the physical design of the knight master of the dogs, which is only mentioned, because the emphasis is on fear of the two unfortunates who attempt to flee and hide, as well as on their moral and physical pain caused by bites.
The other known example we can cite is the hunting of the knight and the lady set out in the eighth story of Boccaccio's Decameron Nastagio degli Onesti. The author completely reverses the subject and suggests the image of a woman being chased by a knight, punished because he never loved.
The key element that unites these three works is therefore the moral purpose that hunting plays, acting as a punishment for those who have transgressed the rules: the two suicides, the French lady and the army, which implode without any rational justification, are all punished for their immoral behavior and their transgressions.
Beatrice Eleanor
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