Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach (Book Analysis) E-Book

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• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
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• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 35

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Bruges-la-Morte with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Bruges-la-Morte by Georges Rodenbach, a fascinating exploration of its protagonist’s struggle to cope with bereavement. Hugues Viane is a widower living in Bruges who sees echoes and reflections of his late wife everywhere in the town. However, when he has a chance encounter with a charming dancer, he starts seeing his wife in her instead, and embarks on a complicated relationship with her that eventually ends in tragedy… Rodenbach was one of the most important Belgian writers of the 19th century and a leading figure in the Symbolist movement. He died in Paris in 1898.

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• Key themes and symbols
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Leseprobe

GEORGES RODENBACH

BELGIAN POET AND NOVELIST

Born in Tournai (Belgium) in 1855.Died in Paris in 1898.Notable works:Bruges-la-Morte (1892), novelHans Cadzand’s Vocation (1895), novellaThe Bells of Bruges (1897), novel

Georges Rodenbach grew up in Ghent, where he became friends with Émile Verhaeren (Belgian poet, 1855-1916). He studied law at university, where he became a part of Edmond Picard’s (Belgian lawyer and writer, 1836-1924) social circle, allowing him to mix with Belgium’s literary and intellectual elite. He also contributed to the literary and artistic revival led by La Jeune Belgique, a literary society and movement that published a literary review of the same name between 1880 and 1897 and which sought to challenge the conventions of the time.

Rodenbach moved to Paris in 1888, and became a key figure in the city’s literary scene. In particular, he was a regular at the weekly meetings held by Stéphane Mallarmé (French poet, 1842-1898). While Rodenbach initially made a name for himself through his poetry (of which he published several collections, including Le Foyer et les Champs [“Home and the Fields”], 1877; Les Tristesses [“The Sadnesses”], 1879; and La Mer elegante [“The Elegant Sea”], 1881), his greatest success came in 1892 with the publication of his novel Bruges-la-Morte.

BRUGES-LA-MORTE

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN A MAN AND A TOWN

Genre: novelReference edition: Rodenbach, G. (2009) Bruges-la-Morte. Trans. Mitchell, M. and Stone, W. Cambs: Dedalus.1stedition: 1892Themes: Symbolism, Bruges, personification, solitude, love, grief

Bruges-la-Morte was first published as a serial in the French newspaper Le Figaro in 1892, before being published in book form later that year. The novel tells the story of a man’s inconsolable grief after the death of his wife, and centres on the town of Bruges, which plays the role of a protagonist in its own right. The first edition of the novel was also notable for being one of the first novels to include photographs, which in this case depicted the town.

The novel met with tremendous success upon its publication, and it has come to be considered a masterpiece that is highly representative of Symbolism, a literary and artistic movement which aimed to go beyond realistic depictions of reality and create a spiritual conception of the world, using metaphors and analogies to produce highly abstract works.

SUMMARY

CHAPTER I

Hugues Viane has been living alone in Bruges since his wife’s death five years earlier. He is still besotted with her, and lives his life according to a strict routine. He spends most of his time shut away in his own home, where he reads, smokes and worships his mementos of his late wife, including portraits, objects and, most importantly, her hair, which he keeps on top of the piano like a relic, “preferring […] to leave it displayed, visible, as the immortal part of his beloved!” Viane’s solitude is only interrupted by the presence of Barbe, a taciturn, pious, elderly servant.

CHAPTER II

At twilight, Viane leaves the house to go for one of his routine strolls through the streets of Bruges. He feels a certain kinship with the town’s inherent melancholy, which is why he decided to live out the final years of his life there, as a widower. The town constantly reminds him of his wife; in fact, he sees Bruges as Bruges-la-Morte (which translates to “Bruges-the-Dead”): “He needed a dead town to correspond to his dead wife”. When he leaves the church of Notre Dame, Viane sees a woman who bears a striking resemblance to his wife. He then tries to follow her, but soon loses sight of her.

CHAPTER III