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THE EDUCATIVS PROCESS IN THE WORKS 
OF DUH.AMEL9 tl.ARTIN DU GAiiD ABD ROMAINS, 
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO 
QH@?JQUE D::S PAS'i? o ?S THIBAUL't 
.AND LES??OMME$? VOLONT? 
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED IN PARTIAL 
FULFILMENT O:B1 THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE 
OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
IN FRENCH AT 
MASSEY UNIVERSITY 
+ + + + + + + + 
NOEL REEFORD WATTS 
1 97 1  
ii  
PREFACE AND ACKNOW?DGEN?NTS 
The interdisciplinary approach on which thi s 
disser tation i s  based aro se from a de sire to  combine 
study intere st s in educat ion and twentieth century 
French l i teratureo 
The romans-fleuve s of  Duhamel , Ivwrtin du Gard and 
Romains provided scope for examining family and school 
life in the l ate nineteenth and early twentieth cen?
turie s  a s  seen through the eyes of the imaginative 
arti st9 and for relating the charac ters ' experience 
of the educative proce ss  to the educati onal background 
of the authorso 
Although Duhamel , Martin du Gard and Romains 
share an obvious intere st in educational pro cedures , 
as a t te sted by their percep tive portrai t s  of educator s 
and student s in  the ir novel s  and their frequent 
reference s to pedagogical pract i ce s  and educati onal 
priori t i e s  in their e ssay s ,  arti cle s and autooiograph?
ical no te s ,  li t tle critical  at tention has been given 
to this  a spect  of  their worko Wi th the notable excep?
tion of Andre Terri sse's brief stuqy, George s Duhamel?
Educateur , publi shed in 1 9 51 , no major evaluation  of 
the c ontribution to education of  Duhamel , Mart in du 
Gard and R omains has been undertakeno 
It i s  hoped that thi s di ssertat i on will provide 
some insight into  the educat ional views of the se three 
wri ter se 
i i i  
The abbrevi ations o.c. and H. B.y. employed in 
the footnote s refer respectively to the two-volwne eJ.i?
tion of Martin du Gard ' s Oeuvres c omplete s published 
by Gallimard in 1 955, and the four-volume edition of 
Les Homme s de bonne volcntd publi shed by Flammarion 
i n  1 958. La Nouvelle Revue Franc ai se i s  abbreviated 
a s  N . R.F. and La Nouvelle Nouvelle Revue Francai se as  
I should like to  expre ss  my grati?ude to 
Profe ssor J? Dunmore , Department of Modern Language s ,  
Massey Univer sity and Dr H.B. Beresford , Reader  in I 
Education , J;i:assey University , for thei r  valuable 
sugge sticns and advice in the preparati on of thi s 
study. 
N.R. WATTS 
ABSTRACT 
THE EDUCATI\? PROCESS IN THE WORKS 
OF, DUliAMEL, MA-::(TI"? DU GARD. 
-
AND ROMAINS9 WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE 
TO CHRONIQUE DES PASQUIER, LES THIBAULT AND 
LES HOIV.MES DE BONNE ?VOLONTE 
The main intenti on of this dissertati on is to 
examine the treatment of the process of education in 
the three romans-fleuves and to relate this to the 
general educational background of the writerso 
Duhamel,. Martin du Gard and Remains_ form a 
convenient trio of writers for a st-udy of ?this na.tureo 
Their respective novel-cycles - Chronigue des Pasguier I 
(10 volumes, 1 933-1945 ),  Les Thibault ( 1 1 volumes, 
1 922-1 940) and Les Hommes de benne volonte' (27 volumes, 
1 932-1 946) - constitute important social documents of 
the period of French history from 1898 to 1 933 o 
Against the background of the disruption of the 
ordered patterns of middle-class society in 191 4-1 8  
and its aftermath, we see the effect of social change 
o n  the educational roles of the family and the schoolo 
The study is divided into three main areaso In  
Part I a preliminary survey is made of developments 
in familial and formal education during the late nine-
teenth and early twentieth centurieso This is 
followed in Part II  by a brief examination of the 
views which Duhamel ,  Martin du Gard and Remains have 
expressed on their own educational experiences and on 
education generallyo The support of traditional 
middle-class priorities in education which is found 
in their later works is linked with their increasing 
2 
political and social disillusionment after World War 
I .  Their reaction to the social disequilibrium of 
the interwar years is a revival of the principles of 
order, discipline and authority 0f the pre-1914 
bourgeoisieo However, althpugh a cultural bias and 
an elitiste attitude towards education are found in 
the writings of all three authors, the point is made 
that Martin du Gard does not share to the same degree 
the close identification with middle-clas? ideologies 
of his two contemporaries. It is suggested that the 
circumstances of their upbringing and education h!llvc 
some "bearing on the dii.'f'erences in their atti tudeso 
Duhamel and Remains were boursiers who rose from lower 
middle-class origins and tend to prize more highly the 
middle-class culture which they made determined efforts 
to acquire than the he'ri tier, Jl..lartin du Gard, who was 
born into a family of the haute bourgeoisie and 
received these educational privileges as of right. 
This serves as a background to the analysis of 
the parent-child and teacher-pupil relationships in 
the romans-fleuves in Part III o The method employed 
is that of establishing case histories of the central 
figureo1drawing the appropriate details from the 48 
novels studied. The educational experiences of the 
characters are compared and assessments are made of 
the effect of formative influences on later develop-
ment. The conclusion is reached that the treatment 
of the educative process in the three romans-fleuves 
lt.as a ba?ic sj milari ty. The authors tend to emphasise 
the positive contribution of a middle-class education -
3 
tl?e inculcation of the bourge ois virtue s of thrift ,  
endeavo ur and hone sty, the development of  the rea son?
ing p owers  and the transmission of a broad , balanced 
culture . The ma:...,_ of culture who repre sents the ide al 
of  the write rs - Duhame l ' s civilise, Martin du G ard ' s 
ho.mne de valeur, Remains ' s  homme de bonne volonte'- is 
the product of  the pre-World War I middle-cl ass family 
and school  system. Laurent P asquier (Chronigue de s 
Pasguier ) , Antoine Thibault (Le s Thibault ) , Pie rre 
Jallez and Jean Jerphanion (Le s Homme s de bonne volontej 
closel y  re semble e ach other in their c onservati sm in 
matters  of f ormal education and in their firm belief 
that the principle s which have guided the upbr inging 
of the ycung in the p a st must be pre served. It is to 
the se members  of the bourgeoisie cultive'e that Duhamel , 
Martin du G ard and Remains l ook for the defence of  the 
French intellectual , spiritual and moral patrimony in 
the disordered s ocial and political climate of  the 
interwar years. 
C O N T ENT S 
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 
INTRODUCTION 
PART I - THE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 
Chapter I - The Family 
Chapt er II - The S cho ol 
PART I I  - THE VIEWS OP DUHAMEL9 MARTIN 
DU GARD ANTI RO MAINS ON THE 
EDUCATIVE PROCESSo 
Cha!)ter I - Georges Duhamel 
Chap ter II - Roger  l?:Jart in du Gard 
Chap te r III  - Jules Romains 
Conclusi on to Part II 
PART III - THE EDUCATIVE PROCESS IN 
CHRONIQU?DES PASQUIERj 
LES THIBAULT Al\iD LES liQMi? 
DE BONNE VOLONTE 
Chapter I - Chronigue des Pasguier 
Chap ter I I  - Les Thibault 
Chapter I I I  - Les Ho?s d? bo??? 
volontS1, 
Conclusi on to Part I I I  
CONCLUSION 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ii 
1 
6 
31 
6 2  
1 1 0 
1 62 
204 
208 
305 
409 
499 
5 1 1 
5 1 6  
1 
INTRODUCTION: 
Thibaude t  ( 1 ) see s  the rcman fleuve or the roman-
cycle which take s as i ts sub je et the hi story of a 
family or a collectivi ty as  one of t he mos t  important 
l i terary genr?? of  the nineteen thi rties wi th writ ers  
such as Robert Franci s (Histnire d ' ure famille sous la 
Tr.oJsieme Re'publigue )  ? Jacques de Lacretelle (Le s 
Hauts-Ponts) , Jacques Chardcnne (Les Destinees 
sentimentale s) and Henri Beraud (Qhronigue de Sabol as)  
at tempting to chrcnicle in imaginative  form the social 
and pol i tical events  of the near pa sto Geo rges 
Duhamel , Rcger Martin du Gard and Jule s Rnmains are the 
most prominent membe rs  of thi s group of no velists  and 
in their re spective rornans-fleuves - Duhamel ' s  ten?
volume cycle Chr::'nigue de s P asguier ( 1933-1945 ) ,  ( 2 ) the 
eight par t s  of ?artin du Gard ' s Le s Thibault ( 1 9 2 2-1 940 ) 
and Romains '  s 111ammoth  Le s Homme s de bonne volontl, 
publi shed in twent y--seven volume s ( 19 32-194 6 )  - they 
depict the collaps e of the ab solute rule of the 
b?urgeoisie and write against the background of th e 
lo st hopes  of the young ideal i st s  who , at the turn of 
the century ,  envi saged an age cf pe ace and prosperity 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
See Ao Thibaudet ,  Hi st oire de l a  lit terature 
francaise ?e 1 789 h no s jours ? PPo 54 3-7o 
Duha?e l's earlier rcman-fleuve - Vie e t  aventure s 
de Salavin (19 20 -19 32) - was  centred on the 
indiv idual not the group , fo llowing the example of 
Rolland ' s Jean-Chris tophe o The literary ante?
cedent s of Chronigue  des Pasguier ,  Les Thibault and 
Les Hommes de bonne volont6 are Balzac1s C omedie 
humaine and Zola 1 s Rougon-lVl.acquart serie s. 
2 
with the establishment of a reign of social justice and 
of communion between men. 
Duhamel, lv1artin du Gard and Romains, who were born 
within five years of each other - Martin du Gard in 
1881 , Duhamel in 1884 and Romains in 1885 - and who 
have certain similarities in cultural and ?3ducational 
background fe::-m a convenient group of novelists for 
comp arison, and a study of the close parallels whi eh 
Maurois (1) has noted in the curve of their literary 
activity would prove a profitable exercise as would a 
comparison of styles or treatment of character. How-
ever, in this study the trio will be examined more from 
the point of view of their contribution to education 
th an to literature. It is upon their representation 
of the upbringing of children in the bourgeois family 
and the .training of f.li tes in the school system during 
the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that 
attention will be focused, a.l though a con sidera ti on of 
the educative process in the three novel-cycles cannot 
be divorced from an understanding of the literary 
qualities of the authors and of their philosophical and 
social ideas. 
In Chronique des Pasguier, Les Thibault and Les 
Hommes de bonne volonte (to employ an order which 
follo ws that of the action of the three novel-cycles ) 
a panoramic view is provided of the period of French 
history which extends from 1898 (the commencement of 
(1) See A. Maurois, Etudes litteraires II, p .  165. 
Le Notaire du Havre, the first of the ten novels in the 
Chronigue des Pasguier seQuence ) to 19 33 ( volume XXVII 
of Les Hornrnes de bonne volonte') . Through these 
monumental reconstructions of French so cial life in a 
periud of rr"ajor change with the C'lrdered, stable, middle-
class society of the nineteenth century and the first 
decade of the twentieth shattered by world war, one is 
able to see educational practices and trends against 
the background of political and social crises. Thus, 
for the student of education the graphic descriptions 
of the age which the three writers create in their 
complementary studies, have considerable documentary 
value - a value enhanced by the wide experience of the 
writers and the fact that they bring to these works of 
their maturity a broad educational background and 
habits of scholarShip formed by the disci plines of the 
universities and the grandes e"'coles. For both Duhamel 
and Romains the writing of the novel-cycles was 
preceded by ten years of docurrentation and planning. 
The scrupulous con cern of the ex-chart is te, Martin du 
Gard, for historical accuracy, for establishing fiches 
and gathering precis6 background information, is in his 
own words a '... soin maniaQue ? ? ?  ' . ( 1 ) Hence, 
Chronigue des Pasguier, Les Thibaul t and Les Iiommes de 
bonne volonte may be seen as together forming a social 
laboratory in which the process of education in the 
( 1 )  Souvenirs autobi.ographioue s et li tterair e s, Oeuv:r.es 
c ?'::>!lip le t e s ' V 0 l ? I ' p 0 1 i ' 
b? 
family and the sch ool ( 1 ) can be examined histo rically ,  
as the educational functions o f  the school and the 
family are in a state of flux; psychologically, as the 
quality of the interpersonal relationships of teacher 
and pupil or parent and child are dependent upon corn-
plex :::ets of factors relating to the various school or 
home circumstances; and sociological1y , as the values , 
attitudes , waws of thinking and modes of behaviour 
reflect societal demands. 
In  Part III of this study , where a close examina?
tion will be made of the educative process in the three 
novel-cyc les , certcin conclusio1w will be drawn on the 
emphases whi eh Duhamel , Martin du Gard and Rowai ns 
individually p lace upon different aspects of familial 
and formal education. It will be suggested , however , 
that there is considerabl e sirnilari ty in their treat-
ment of the ch ild's response to the educative process , 
as well as in their conception of the ideal end-product 
of the prccess. Such resemblances in their judgments 
of the process itself and the product of the process 
wou ld seem to reflect the climate of educational 
thought in the milieu in which they were formed at the 
turn of the century - the bourgeoisie . As writers of 
the interwar years , gravely disturbed by tre threats 
to the social equilibrium after one world war and 
( 1 ) In  thi s study the generic term 'family' is used to 
c over a wide variety of family situations and 
'school' to include the many different institutions 
in which the learner is given  formal training in 
knowledge and skills.  
forced to gaze helplessly as Europe headed for a second 
major conflagration , they held views on the role of the 
family and the school which were in the main tradi-
tional and conservative, drawn from a past age of stabi-
li ty Q Their nostalgia for the ordered patterns of 
middle-cJass life in the period prior to 1 91 4 is 
apparent in their novels set in the early twentieth 
century which have a common 1 o Q o valedictory element. Q o 1 o ( 1) 
These points will be clarified by examining the 
traditional middle-class attitudes tNvards the place 
of the family and the school in Part I, and assessing 
the effect of social change on the middle-class institu-
tions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth 
centuries. In aJdition? in Part II, the middle-class 
upbringing of Duhamel? Martin du Gard and Romains will 
be studied and a comparison made of the general opinione. 
of the writers on the educative process in the family 
and the school as expressed in their other literary 
works , autobiographical notes, essays and articles, to 
supp0rt the contention that their increasing disillusion-
ment with the social developments since 1 9 1 8  has been 
accompanied by a closer identification with middle-
class thought on educational priorities. This will 
enable the three major works to be seen in historical 
perspective, linked not only with prevailing social 
attitudes and currents of opinion but also with the 
individual experiences of the writers and the develop-
ment of their ideas. 
?( 1 ) G. Brereton, A Short History of French Literature, 
Po 250o 
PART I:  THE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND 
CHAPTER I :  THG F AI11ILY 
6 
F'ew soc i al instituti ons have aroused such vi olent 
polemi cal debate as the French bourgeois  familyo In 
the nineteenth and twentieth centurie s middle-class  
family l ife has  be en  the target of intellectual s and 
writers from the romantic s to the exi stential i sts who 9 
while addre ssing the i r  anti-bourgeo is sent iments to a 
p redominantly bourgeoi s audience , have exposed the 
steri lity of marriage based on property value s and have 
attacked the repressive atmosphere in the foyer in  
whi ch the middle-class  pere de famille ha s exerci sed  
a quasi-Roman authority over hi s wife and children o 
Indeed, Nahas  trace s literary condemnati on of  bourge o i s  
family l ife back to Furetiere , the c re ator o f  the roman 
bourgeois in the seventeenth cen turyo ' La tradition 
le veut ainsi qu ' il n'y ait p as de roman franc ai s ? 
notable du mariage heureuxo' 
( 1 ) ( 2 )  But apologi st-s  for 
the middle-class family have not been lackingo 
and Bordeaux, for example, have defended the values of 
the c onventional p atterns  of family life, maintaining 
that the spirit  of the nati on i s  dependent upon the 
e stabli shed family customs and practice s o  
( 1 )  
(2 )  
li. Nahas, La Femme dans l a  l i  tterature exi stentielle, 
P o  86 . 
Note that satire of the bourgeoi s family is found 
in the lite rature of the middle age so See J . -Vo 
Alter, Le s Origines de la  satire anti-bourgeo i s? 
en Franc e ,  chapto IV. 
1 
Tradi ti onally , the family has been regarded  by the 
bourgeoi sie as the ba si c so c ial  uni t .  Thi s  concept 
was enshrined  in the Cede civil by the middle-clas s  
lawyers cf the Revoluti on who sought t o  ensure the 
stability of the fover and the p ro tec tion of the family 
patrimony by ve sting in the pere de famille exclu sive 
author ity 0ver the members  of the family and unassail-
able rights o-ver the managernen t of the family property . 
The legi sla t ion of 1 804 c odifie d  the middle-cla ss  
at ti tudes tovvards the inferior po si tion of  w?omen and 
children which were obvious in  the ancj.en regime for' 
as Pernoud ( 1) point s out, the r ight s whi ch women EJ.nd 
children en j')yed in  medieval society were ste adily 
e roded in  the r ise t o  pcwer of  the c ommerc ial cla sseso 
The growing preoccup ation wi th property and secur i ty 
amongst the bourgeoi sie brought legal strengthening of  
the authori ty of the father on the pat tern of  the 
paterfw.il i a s  of Roman law. The mentali ty of the 
honnete hr;mme of the seventeenth century who e schewed 
the sent imentali ty surrounding the place of women i n  
c ourtly tradi ti ons and cast  the female i n  a r ole a s  the 
servant o f  the male , denying her autonomy in all but 
narrowly dome st ic limi t s ,  persis ted into the nine teenth 
century a s  was evident in  Art i cle 213 of the Code: 'A 
husband ewe s protec tion  to h?s wife ; a wife obedience 
to her husband ' and Article 2 1 4 : ' A  wife i s  b?und t o  
l ive wi th her husband and to  fo llow him wherever he 
( 1 ) See R .  Pernoud, Hi stoire de la bourgeoi sie en  
Franc e9 vol o II, pp. 2 5-3 1 o 
8 
deems proper to reside'. The Code civil was patronis-
ing to women, regarding the mother as incapable of 
managing her property or of acting as guardian of her 
children. She was relegated to the position of 
eternal minor, subject to the absolute rule of her 
father o? the domination of her husband. Nor was the 
wife perml tted the escape of' divorce, except if her 
husband compromised the moral tenor of the foY-eK by 
?bringing his mistress to dwell in the family home. ( 4) 
If wives were treated harshly by the nineteenth century 
legal code the children fared no better. Sons and 
daughters were placed under rigid paternal authority. 
A father could have his son arrested for indiscipline 
and sent to a reformatory ( 2 ) and his consent was nece-
ssary for the marriage of sans under the age of twenty-
five and daughters under the age of twenty-onec ( 3 ) 
As well as recognising the family as a social unit 
Napoleon's Code civil acknowledged its economic func-
tions and regulated property rights and laws of succes-
si ono The arranged marriages and the systeme do tal 
of the ancien regime had existed as a means of protect-
ing the family patrimony. The property consciousness 
of the nineteenth century bourgeois was equal?y acute 
as Dupeux has declared? 'La famille est d'abord une 
societe d'acquets, et les sentiments viennent apres les 
Marriage, then, was considered as a 
! 1) Code civil: Article 2 30 .  
2 ) Code civil: Articles 375-7. 
3 ) Code civil: Article 14 8 .  
4 )  G. Dupeux, La Societ{ francaise 17 89 - 19 60 , p. 14 0 ? .:. 
rr1eans of accruing property and adding to the family 
patrimonyo In their study, The Family in the French 
Civil Code, Hoy t and f1ietraux have shown that in draft?
ing adoption laws for the Code civil the Conseil d'Etat 
ensured that the 11 out sider11 would not deprive the 
natural members of the family of their rightful 
inhe ri tc..nce, 'Tl? individual who is not born into a 
family may be regardc;d as a 11 stranger" when questions 
of family propert;:; ariseo' (1) A further safeguard 
for the family interests was the conseil de famille 
which uas accorded certain legal powerso This council 
was to consist of six members of the family chosen 
equally from the mother's and the father's side and 
could be formally presided over by a ?uge de paix to 
decide upon matters concerning the fami2.y as a whole, 
such as authorising marriage, appointing a guardian or 
settling an estateo 
The provisions of the Code civil which from 1804 
would have a major effect upon relationships within the 
family, form the background to  the nineteenth century 
cult of the familyo The idealisation of the role of 
parents in the training of the children and the crea-
tion of myths surrounding the harmony, solidarity and 
inviolability of the foy? find expression in middle?
class thought to the present day as is seen in 
Siegfried's eulogy on family solidarity: 
To its Latin origin, France owes primarily its 
( 1 ) No  Hoyt and R. Me?raux, 'The Family in the French 
Civil Code', Themes in French Culture, P o  78o 
1 0  
solid familial structure ,  founded on a deep and 
sincere devoti on t o  family t i es - comparable , 
perhap s,  to the clan , the cli entele, in the 
Roman meaning of the wo rd. In France the 
family is s tronger than the State; i t  ?rov ides  
a socia l f oundation of extraordinary stab i li ty.(1 )  
Official endorsement of the ?lace of the family  
a s  the foundati on of French socie ty has no t been lack-
ing . The Vichy government incl uded the family in i ts 
motto: Travail, Famill e2 Patri e. Government pol icy 
s ince 1 945 has b een directed t owards supporting and 
extending the fruni ly as an i deal. Speaking on the 
occas i on of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Uni on 
de s as sociations  famil iales , Monsieur G. Pompidou ,  
p res ident of  the French Republ ic ,  declared: 
? ? ?  De tous les  ins trument s a notre 
di sp osit ion pour rendre une ame a notre 
s ociete et assurer ains i sa survie, la 
famille est  le plus di sponible , le plus 
solide et un des plus efficace s. C'est  
a ce t i tre  que l ' act ion que vous defende z 
et  rejo int l'interet nat ional et les 
preoccupat ions humaines et morales les 
plus urgentes et  les p lus hautes. J ' ai 
voulu, par ma pr?sence , vous en p orter  
tE!moi  gnage. ( 2) 
This veneration for the family hns extended b eyond the 
conjJal unit of par ent s and children to the fam i ly as  ,. 
a whole. The sense  of relat ion and blood t ies  in  
middle-class  s ociety has b e en strong , acco rding to  
Ardagh, and has tended to  i so l ate the chi ld from social 
contacts. 'Many a Frenchman has spent his youth in a 
world where he was expected to  regard cous ins , uncles 
( 1 )  A. Siegfried, 'Appro aches to  an Unders tanding of 
Modern France' , Modern France - Problems of the 
Thi rd and Fourth Repub l ics ,  p .  1 1 . 
(2) Spe ech of the 7 Dec. 1 970 r eported  in the ?e????l&ll 
hebdomodaire  du _jQurnal 'Le Monde', no. 11 54, 3-9 
Dec . 1 970, p .. 7 .  
1 1  
and grandmothers as more important to him than friends 
?f his own age I ( 1 ) And Pitts, in his cross-0 0 0 
cultural study of the relationship of families and peer 
groups, has discovered evidence to support th.i s conten-
tion, for he states that: 'The French child lives in 
a world, where, outside of the relationships ascribed 
by kinship, his social initiative is lowo' ( 2 ) 
l\i1adariaga also has noted the formality in the rel at inn-
ships of the extended family and the predilection for 
tradition and ceremonyo He suggests that children 
have been nurtured with a respect for the obligations 
of membership in the wider family and an acceptance of 
the etiquet?e of family intercourse which is marked by 
0 0 0 an almost official dignity and rigidityo Hence 
that proclivity towards official stiffness to be 
noticed in French family gatherings, particularly in 
funerals. A French funeral is probably the most 
rigidly regulated ceremony of the present timeo' (3) 
However, one must remember that the archetypal 
bourgeois family nf the late nineteenth century when 
Duhamel, Martin du Gard and Romains received their 
early formation, with its authoritarianism supported 
by the Code civil, was a comparatively recent phenomenon. 
In his scholarly account of  family trends Aries (4) has 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
(3 ) 
(4) 
Jo  Ardagh, The New French Revolution - A Social and 
Economic Survey of France 1945-1967, p. 239. 
Jo Pitts, 1The Family and Peer Groups', A Modern 
Introduction to the Family, p. 267.  
S. de IV1adariaga, Englishmen, Frenchmen, Spaniards, 
Po 139. 
See P. Ari'es, Centuries of Childhood, pp. 26ff. 
indicated that the modern view of childhood as a 
separate stage of growth in which the child should be 
prepared in the family for adult tasks is a middle-
class developmento Before the discovery of childhood 
by the bourgeoisie in the seventeenth century the 
'child' had been considered as a miniature adult, 
capable at the age of seven or eight of leaving the 
family and entering into  serviceo During the seven?
teenth century the attitudes to the young underwent a 
radical change: the vocabulary of infancy became 
refined and the moralists and pedagogues associated 
with Port-Royal urged special treatment of the enfant 
whose weakness morally as well as physically demanded 
protection and trainingo In the bourgeois families 
the enfant becrune differentiated in dress from the 
older children and parents, encouraged by the treatises 
on education of the period - Varet's De l'Education 
chretienne des enfants ( 1 661 ) and Coustel's Regles de 
l'education des enfants ( 1 687 ) ?  - paid greater atten?
tion t? the needs of the child, isolated him from adult 
society and supervised his training in the home, whereas 
at the two extremities of society - the nobility and 
the working classes - the apprenticeship system, 
whereby the children were committed to the care of 
others, continued to be observedo 
The bourgeois family was reorganised around,the 
children. DUring the seventeenth and eighteenth cen-
turies the sentiment surrounding childhood developed, 
accompanied by the recognition of the duties of par?nts 
to prepare the children for adult responsibilities and 
to instil in them the values and attitudes of their 
class - hence the stress in the manuals of education 
on the importance of the parent providing the child 
with an example of moderation? probity and thrift -
the ?geoi? virtues - together with instilling in him 
a hor?or of excess and waste, a respect for endeavour 
and an esteem for cul tureo Through such training the 
personnage-tyRe of the middle-class citizen of the 
seventeenth century could be formed - the honn?te homme? 
the cultivated man of good tasteo Included in this 
complex of middle-class attitudes, values and ideals 
which parents tran?mitted to their children was the 
conscientious teaching of manners, habits and modes 
of behaviour which differentiated the bourgeoisie from 
the lower social orderso Such training emphasised 
the importance of reason and self-restraint? and the 
superiority of the cerebral over the physicalo Thi E', 
on the evidence of a ?ecent analysis of projective 
tAsts by Abel, Belo and Wolfenstein has remained a 
characteristic of middle-class education in France up 
to the present time. 
That the French are afraid of breaking into 
open hostility (in action, not in words), are 
taught control and repression of anger ("pas de 
drames" - no scenes), and are prevented from 
fighting it out and defending themselves in child?
hood quarrels, has been brought out time and time 
again in our interview material. ( 1 ) 
( 1 )  T. Abel, J.  Belo, M. Wolfenstein, 'An AnalyEis of 
French Projective Tests', Themes in French Culture, 
Po 115o 
The jeune bourgeois formed by his family and the 
col?eges of the Jesuits or the Oratorians learned the 
necessity of rigorously curbing his passions and gained 
his philosophical and moral orientation by combining 
classical humanism and cartesianismo For girls the 
? , J ideal was the jeune fille bien elevee, the gir .. of 
modesty and politeness, versed in the ? d'agrement 
- drawing, embroidery1 dancing and musico The belief 
that girls required little in the way of formal educa-
tion would persist into the twentieth centuryo The 
early hostility of parents of the bourgeoisie towards 
a secondary education for girls in a State institution 
is well illustrated in Ivlaurois' s Le Cercle de famille 
/ when it is suggested that Denise be sent to the lycee 
?eunes filles at Roueno '" Au lycee, di t la voix 
de ??e Herpaino Aucune jeune fille de notre monde ne 
va au lycee."' ( 1) Yet 1 as will be seen in the next 
chapter, the rapid increase after 1 880 in the numbers 
of girls seeking an education comparable in standard 
.to that of their brothers in the lyce"es and coll'ege s 
provides proof that social and economic changes forced 
parents to accept the fact that an advanced education 
would prove of benefit for their daughterso 
Fundamental to the process of education in the 
middle-class family since the seventeenth century has 
been the cultivation of a sense of class difference -
an inculcation of a notion of social privilege and 
(1) A. Maurois, Le Cercle de famille1 Po 67. 
re sponsi bili ty o Although the bourgeoisie has 
theoretically supported an open-class system and 
opposed the caste system and the particularistic and 
traditional values of the aristocracy of the ?cien 
regime it is clear from Pernoud's study that the 
bourgeoisie itself has shown only limited approval of 
social mobility and as a result the upbringing of chil-
dren in middle-class homes has been characterised by 
strong caste elementso (1) The obsessive fear of the 
bourge.Qi? of a return to his Vlorking-class origins is 
reflected in the pressure upon the children to conform 
to the norms of their class, to embark on a career 
appropriate to their status (Olough (2) has commented 
on the marked tendency for sons to take up their father's 
business or profession) and to choose marriage partners 
from the same mllieu in order to avoid the social dis?
grace of a mesallianceo 
If, as we have seen, in the development of the 
modern concept of the family the authority of the father 
as the master of the house was strengthened, that of 
the wife deteriorated. Yet if in bourgeois thought 
the woman was cast in a subservient social role she 
gained a compensatory idealisation in her role ns a 
mother and a teacher of her chiloreno Michael-Titus 
makes the following important comment on the position 
( 1 ) 
(2) 
See R. Pernoud, Histoire de la bourgeoisie en 
France, volo II, PPo 489ff? 
See S. Olough, 'French Social Structure?, Social 
Values and Economic Growth', Economic and Social 
Developments since the 01d Regime, P o  71. 
1 6  
of the mother in the middle-class familyo 
Lorsqu'il s'agit de la place que 11on r?serve 
? la femme dans la famille bourgeoise? la tradition 
de souche romaine y appara!t d'une evidence 
incontestableo L'epouse dans la pensee 
d'orientatio? bourgeoise la1que est encore une 
"uxor romo.na" Elle est con'iue pour @tre l'ele'ment 
stable, le gardien du bonheur de la familleo Si 
elle r'J..oit @tre a la fois epouse et maitresse pour 
.scnma!":i., elle n'en est pas mains con9ue pour @tre 
le ?remier lnstit?teur de ses enfantso Et c'est 
de cette conception concernant le role de la femme 
dans la famille bourgeoise que surgit le principe 
qui domine l'education en France, principe selon 
leauel la vraie education doit etre laiss$e a la 
familleo L'ecole dans la conception pedagog1que 
francaise donne une instruction et une education 
soci?le et civique mais c'est la famille qui doit 
donner l'lducation individuelle, doit former le 
caract?re et la personnalite de l'enfanto ( 1 )  
Although the chiJd would enjoy a more intimate 
relationship with his parents in the conjugal family, 
?he tightening of ties with the family would deprive 
him of his former freedoms and isolatE him from the 
adult society in whi eh he had been accepted on equal 
terms in the Middle Ageso Moreover the new concern 
with the moral health cf the child and the recognition 
of his susceptibility to corrupt influences brought a 
condemnation of leniency and 'spoiling' from the 
Churchmen and the moralists of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries and an advocacy of harsher methods of 
discipline o Such a call for strictness in the train-
ing of children is found in Montaigne' s Essais, for 
example. As Aries points out, the increasAd tender-
ness for children and interest in their education 
( 1 ) Co Michael-Titus, 'Aspects et orientation de la 
pensec bourgeoise laique en Fr?nce', Nottingham 
French Studies, volo II, no o 1, May 1 963, Po 40 o 
11 
would, paradoxically, bring a severity of treatment and 
a stress on the obedience of children to adult direction. 
Character, it was believed amongst the bourgeoisie, was 
best formed under duresso 
Family and the school together removed the 
child from adult society. The school shut up a 
childhood which had hitherto been free within an 
increasingly severe disciplinary system, which 
culminated in the eighteenth and nineteenth 
centuries in the total claustration of the 
boarding--school. The solicitude of fam::..ly, 
Church, moralists and administratnrs deprived the 
child of the fre8dom he had hitherto enjoyed among 
adults. It inflicted on him the birch, the 
prison cell - in a word, the punishments usually 
reserved for convicts from the lowest strata of 
sJciety. But this severity was the expression 
of a ver?/ different feeling from the old 
indifference: an obsessive lov8 which was to 
dominate society from the ej_ghteenJch century on. (1) 
This, then, is the background to the family 
relatj_onships within the mil;h_?? i?? which Lull_amel, 
Martin du Gard and Romains v1ere born. 1:!owever, if, 
as we shall see later, the writers tend to look back 
to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries 
as a period of stabili t;y and calm, with the patterns 
of family life clearly defined, it would appear that 
beneath the appearance of immutability the family was 
being subjected to social and economic pressures which 
would force upon it a profound transformation. The 
traditional patterns of authority would be disturbed: 
women would lose their inferior status in the middle-
class family and the children would become le ss bound 
by rigid parental controls. In addition the family 
as an educational agency would face increasing 
( 1 )  P. Ari?s, Centuries of Childhood, p. 413 .  
18 
competi tion from outside insti tutions. ( 1 ) 
These change s in family structure were to  ac com-
pany the so cial upheavals re sulting from industriali sa-
tion and war . As Charle s Se ignobo s wrot e in  19 21: 
'En aucun temp s ,  la transformati on de la societ? n ' a 
etr! Si rapide q_Ut; danS lC dGrDiG r demi - si'ecle I 0 ( 2) 
But although indu str ialisati on pro ceeded at the same 
time as the decline in p arental authori ty9 Goode warns 
that it  is unwise to a t tr ibute a di rec t c au se-effec t  
rela t i onship between the two . The i ssue i s  e ssen-
tially complex. ' ? ? ? F am ily and industrial f ac tor s 
or  v ariable s are independent but interac ting .  Neith er 
fully determine s the o ther , although both influence 
e ach other .  1 (3) His  the si s is th a t  no t only do some 
a spe c t s  of industriali sation enc ourage change in the 
family struc ture but also the accompanying trend 
t owards a nuclear or c onjugal family sys tera provide s 
the c ondi t i ons ne ce ssm';y for industrial growth . Bo th 
of the se develgpment s may be seen in France dur ing the 
Third Republic. 
One eff'ec t of tl::.e economic expansi on in  the nine-
teenth century was the improved status of women in 
socie ty. W i th the increased opportuni t i e s  fo r female 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
For a detai led con sideration of the evolution of 
the functiuns of the family in the twentieth 
centu1?y see P.-H. Chombar t  de Lauwe and M.-J. 
Chombart de Lauwe , ' L ' Evoluti on des be soins  e t  la  
c oncep tion dynami que  de la  famille 1 , Revue 
fran?ai se de soci ologie , no. 1, 1960, pp. 403-25. 
See G. Dupeux, La  Societe francaise 1789-1960, p .  
165. 
., 
W. Goode , The Fam ily ,  p. 110. 
labour in  fac t or ie s and sh op s ,  women ,  particularly 
those of the l ower cla sse s 9  gained more financi al 
independence o Dupeux ha s no ted that the trend t owards 
employing women in industry was we ll e stabli shed by the 
middle of  the nineteenth centuryo ' Aussi de s 1 847 ,  
c omptai t-on , dans les  ?tabli ssement s  oc cupant plus de 
dix o uvrie r s ,  ? cote' de 67 0 , 000 homrne s employe'c. , 
254 , 000 femme s et  1 30 , 000 enfant so ' (
1 ) However ,  
acc o rding t o  Simone de Beauvoir 9 up t i ll 'Norld War I 
the l ow wages  for women workers  prevented them fr om 
being Gomple tely  self- supporting : 
En France d '  apr'e s 1 '  enquete menee. en  1 8 89-
1 8 93 ,  pour une j ournee de travail ?gale h celle 
de l ' homme , l ' ouvriere n ' obtenai t que la  mo i tie' 
de la  p?e  masculine o D ' apr? s l ' enqu&te de 1 908 , 
le s plus haut s gai ns ho raires  de s ouvri?re s ? 
domic ile ne d?passaient pa s  vingt centime s s 
l ' heure e t  de scendaient j usqu ' a  cinq cent ime s: 
i l  e"'tait impo Fsible 'a la  femme ainsi e:xploi t?e de 
v ivre sans aumonc ou  sans un protec teur o ( 2 ) 
The scarc ity of manpower  during and after  World 
War I was t o  force a r ise in the wage s and salarie s of 
women workers.  Simi l arly , al though pri or to  1 9 1 4 the 
ma j ori ty of women worker s  came from the working 
classe s ,  the new oppor tuni tie s for women in  the profe-
ssions and in  cle ric al p o si ti ons were to  a t trac t  women 
from the moyenne bourge 0 i sie as  we ll as  the pe tit e 
bourgeo i sie. 
This movement of women int o the work force  was to  
affec t  family relatio nship s .  I n  hi s s tudy of the \ 
2
0 
modern Western family , Goode sugge st s that there is a 
0 c ? c orrel at ion be tween clas s  positio n  and the autho-
ri ty of the male ' ? ( 1 ) He p o ints out that in modern 
indus trial i sed socie tie s the new status of wives as 
earners  in the family has obliged lower-strata husbands 
to  concede autho ri ty . Thus ,  changing ec onomic circum-
stance s  have affec ted p at terns of authori ty in home s 
in  which the re are working mo the rs more than in  upper -
class home s where the fathe r ' s inc ome al one i s  suffi -
cient f or the family ' s  nee ds. However , even amongst 
the moyenne bourgeo i sis; and the hgut e  bourgeoi sie where 
patriarchal authori ty was mo st firmly ent renched in the 
nine teenth century the re we re  si gns that mo thers  were 
being allowed more ini t iative in educating the chi ldren 
and handling the family account s in the peri od  im e-
diately prior to  World War I .  
Although the femini st movement had be en active in 
France since the I 860 ' s ,  it seems t o  have had a l e s s  
significant i mpact upon the family than in England. ( 2 ) 
The gradual extension of civil right s t o  married  women 
appears to have stemm8d more fro m their newly discovered 
competencies in fact orie s and offices than direct 
agitation. In 1 884 divorce was reintroduced for w?men 
as well as men although the grounds f or divorce were 
not the sarre o It  would not be until 1 964 that the 
major legal inequali ties between husband and wife 
W.  Goode ,  The Family, P ? 74 o 
See L. Hubbard, The Individual and the Group in 
French Literature since 1 914 ,  P o  2 .  
2 1 
?one e rn -? ng d i vorce and property ownership were finally 
removed from the statute-books . 
In tbe matter of the vo te the inequality cf the 
sexes was also of l ong duration. Although Viviani 
had proposed in 1 90 1  the granti ng of vo ting rights to 
women ,  it  was to apply only to spinsters and divorcees 
on the grounds that as a husband was considered t o  be 
the head of the household the granting of the right t o  
vo te to \"Ji ves would undermine his authority.  After 
the failure ?f the bill for universal suffrage in  the 
Senate in 1 ? 22 9 women were not to receive  the vot e 
until 1 945 . 
As well as affecting the role of mothers in  the 
family , industri alisation was to con tribute towards 
the lessening of parental au thori ty over the older 
children . On one hand , the increasing importance of 
education for skilled workers and managerial staff 
meant that parents would have to relinquish more and 
more of their educational resp onsibili tie s to the State 
and on the o th er hand , the necessity for young people 
to seek work away from their homes meant tha t family 
ties would be weakened. 
In chap ter II it will be shown tha t the acceptance 
by parent s of the fact that social advancement depended 
largely upon standards of educational attainmen t 
re sulted in a demand for improved  schooling 9 not only 
by the bourgeoisie but al so by the working classe s .  
At  the same time the State recognised the social and 
political importance of controlling the educational 
22 
devel opment of i t s  c i t izens and engaged in a b i t ter  
dispute with the rel igi ous authori tie s  over the nat ion ' s 
youth o The rap id growth of the public  educ ation sys?
tem under the Thi rd Republi c  inevitably deprived 
parent s of certain of  thei r rights c oncerning the 
superintendence  of thei r children ' s  train ing o  'N j_  th 
the paEsin? of Ferry ' s laws which made education 
c ompulsory for all  chi ldren aged be tween six and 
twelve 1 the peasant ff'lrmers or craft smen who had 
preferred to keep the i r  sons at home to work on the 
farms ur  in the workshops were now forced to send them 
t o  scho ol  regul arlyo Simila rly 1 with the clo sure of 
the schools  conducted  by the teachi ng congregat i ons the 
bien pens&nt s members of the ?bourgeoi sie who had 
entrusted the educat ion of their  sons or daughters to 
the Je su i t s  or the si s te rs of the Socie ty of  the Sacred 
Heart we.re di sp o sse ssed of freedom of educati onal 
cho ic e o  Wi th the focus of attenti on on  the youth 1 
the end of the nine teenth century would see the 
emergence of  an articulate young generati on as a ma j or 
so cia l  and pol i t ic al force o Benefiti ng from gre ater 
educ ational oppo rtuni t ie s  than the ir parent s ,  the youth 
would become involved in arti stic 1 pol i t ical and 
religi ous contr cversy ,  questi oning accep ted dogma and 
seeking al ternative s  to the posi tivi stic  materi al i sm 
of the ir  antecedent s o  
A furthe r  challenge to farental au thor i ty came 
from the incre asing mobil i ty of the familyo  The l ack 
of opportuni t ie s  for employmen t of scho ol leavers  in  
country dis tricts  led to a rural migrat ion to the 
industrial c it ies .  The e:ctent of this exodus can be 
seen in the fact that  in the period 1 8 31 -41  the popula?
t ion of Roubaix rose from 8 9 000 to 34 9 000 and of St 
E t ienne from 1 6 , 000 to 54 , 000 . ( 1 ) C orre spondingly, 
throughou t the nine teenth century the percentage of 
rural dwel::'.ers was to show a steady decline - from 75 . 6  
in 1 846  to 64. 1 in 1 886  and 57 . 9  in 1 906 .  (2) Accord-
ing to Cayol, the enforced mobil ity of wo rk ing cla s s  
fam ilie s  was to have a serious effect upon family l ife . 
The exodus to me tropol itan areas contribu ted towards 
the break-up of the clo se-knit extended family.  'De 
A. I ' / I son cote, la famille ouvriere, souvent ecrasee de 
misere 9 ecarte lee par le travail de se s membre s, se 
decompose rapidemen t . ' ( 3 )  This trend toward s the 
dispersal of the members of the foo1ily would also 
affect the bourgeo is family . ?V i th improved publ ic 
and private transport the elder children were able to  
f ind employment away from the ir home s and aseure them-
selve s of financial independence from the ir famil ie s, 
thus e scaping the cl o se parental  surve illance in the 
foyer and the inhibit ing age hierarchy of the family 
c ircil e: ?. 
World War I was to render the problem of  parental 
authority more acute.  The absence of fathers at  the 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 )  
See J .  Bury, France 1 814- 1940-, p.  5 1 . 
See D .  Brogan, The Development of  h'iOdern France, 
P o  406 . 
J. Cayol, ' La Famille franfaise ', Le Franrais dans 
le mond?, no . 37 , Dec. 1 9 65 , P o  7 .  
' 
front during th e war years caused a disruption in t he 
home environment o Furthermore , tm war toll of  m ore  
th an a million and a half Frenchmen meant that in many 
families mothers were fo rced t o  rear their children by 
themselveso As Cayol  h as observed: ' La famille 
souvent mutile'e, se trouve prive'e d ' une autonomie 
necessaire ):, son e'panouisrement o ' ( 1 ) The immediate 
pos t-war years were no more canducive tn firm paren tal 
control a I n  reaction against  the privations o f  the 
war the so-called garcnnnes who m Odelled themselves 0n ., 
the sexually emancipated heroine of Victor lviargueri t te'  s 
novel, La Gar???' and th e gay veuves de guerre gained 
a certain  no torie ty for flouting bourgeois conventin ns 
of respectability c (2) Simila rly, some husbands who 
h ad returned from  the war were not eager to give up 
their freedoms and resume th eir family responsibilities , 
while ?n  their part th e yo?th  after a period o f  relaxed 
p arent al discipline were reluctant to accept a revival 
o f  auth oritarianism . 
The 1 9 1 4-1 8 war was also to affect t h e  relations 
between the nuclear family o f  father , mother and chil-
dren and t he extended family o f  aunts, uncles , cousins 
and grandparent So  The destruction o f  289 , 000 dwelling 
units aggravated the already severe housing sh ortage 
in the cities.  Few apartments had been built  during 
or after the  war because o f  the rent controls which had 
. i:1i ti ally be en imposed to protect t he  families of 
( 1 )  I bid ,  P o  7 o  
( 2 ) See. N. Ep-t C"n ,  Love' and the French, PPo 335-7 o 
soldie rs from profiteers . With the prosp ec t  of l i t tle  
re turn on  their investment ,  landlords had been reluc -
tant to 1?1ain ta in exist ing apartments  or con struct  new 
one s .  The unavai lab il ity o f  suitable accommodat i on 
made it diffi cul t to maintain the cus tom of sharing the 
househo ld wi th memb ers of the extended family - grand-
parents o r  urunarried unc les o r  aw1t s .  As we ll  a s  
leading t o  the weakening of t i e s  with the extended  
fami ly , this had the educational di sadvantage of  remov-
ing from the fami ly circle conservat ive , stab i l i sing 
forc e s .  
The economic uncertainty in  the post-war year s  led  
to  a furthe r drop in the bi rthrate  with the average 
number of chil dren in the fami ly falling below two . 
Howeve r ,  the annee s creuses can also  be se en as p art  
of the t rend towards a smal ler con jugal unit , w i th the 
l ife of the couple acquiring m ore importance than the 
intere s ts of the family as  a who l e .  ( 1 ) As S imone de 
Beauvoir  has suggested ,  the limitat ion of the s i ze of 
families  was ev ident even in the mi ddle of the eight-
eenth century . 
En 1 778 le  demographe Moreau ecrit : 
"Les femme s riches ne sont pas les  seules  qui 
regardent la propagation de l 1 esp?ce c omme une 
duperie  du vieux temps ; deja  ce s funestes  secrets  
inconnus a tout animal autre que l ' homme ont I J I pen?tre  dans la  campagne ; on  trompe la nature 
jusque dans les v il lages . " ( 2 )  
( 1 ) B e e  on this point G. Duplesse s-Le Guel ine l ,  Les 
Mariages en France ,  pp . 1 80 ff . 
( 2 ) S .  de Beauvoir , Le Deuxieme Sexe , vol .  I ,  p .  199 ? 
Amongst the bourgeoisie there were fears that 
large families would hinder the social advancement of 
the parents and dissipate the family fortunes.  ' La 
famille du XIXe sie cle, c 'est es eentielleu1ent son 
patrimoine o C ' est pour la protection de ce patrimoine 
que l a  famille , l a  large famille de l 'Ancien R?gime, 
avec ta us ses as socies, se restreint jusqu '? devenir 
celle du Prud' homrre d '  Henri Monnier , lvJ onsieur , Madai'IB 9 
lVlademoi selle. o o ' ( 1 ) Sauvy notes th at the birthrate 
varied according to s o cial cla sso 'En 1 89 7 o o o  le 
b dl nf t I 1t . t \ p . t . f ? nom re e an s par menage e al  a arls 9 rols  O l S  
/ I plus eleve dans le s quartiers pauvres qu:; dans les 
quartiers riches. Dans l a  suite , la b aisse de natalit? 
s ' est ?tendue aux classes ouvri?reso , (2 ) 
The spread of  neo-malthusianinm in France in the 
nineteenth century pro vided a philosophy for limiting 
familie So  Follnwing Thomas l'v1al thus 's  Essay on the 
Principle of Popula tion,  the prcponents 9f  smaller 
families argued that there should be  checks on  the 
population growth to ensure that the supplies of fo od 
and resources wou ld remain adequateo Furthermore ,  the 
neo-malthusianists cl aimed that the con j ugal bond 
between husband and wife would be strengthened if they 
were relieved of heavy family responsibilitieso 
affectionate relationship of husband and wife had 
This 
assul1l3 d more impo rtance as  arranged . .  marr.i_&gsA gave way 
( 1 )  J .  Cayol , 'La Famille fran?aise' , Le Fran?ais dans 
le monde, no o 37 , Deco 1 96 5 , P o  7 o  
( 2 )  A .  Sauvy, La Population, P o  88 . 
to  l ove mamhe s ,  parti cularly af ter property value s were 
depre ssed  in the perio d of  financ ial instabil i ty 
f ollowing World War I o A s  a re sult ,  the popul ati on 
of  Franc e remai ned static  be tween the middle of  the 
nineteenth cen tury and the 1 9 30 ' s , even sh owing a 
sl ight decline be tween 1 91 1  and 1 9 2 1 de sp i te the re turn 
to  France of  Al sace-Lorraine after the peace se t tlement 
of W orld War L However 9 a ft e r  World War II  the birth-
rate ro se steeply , reaching i t s  cu lminat ion in 1 949 
wi th a to tal of 873 , 000 live bir ths  as  compared wi th  
an annual average of  620 , 000 in  the immediate p o st-war 
year so ( 1 ) 
To many writ ers  after  the  First W o rld W ar the 
app arent dGcline of  t he family was a ma tter  of  grave 
co ncern :  they pointed  t o  the incidence o f  d ivorce  ( one 
out of twelve marria ge s  ended  in divo rce in 1 93 8 a s  
aga inst one out o f  twenty in  1 91 3 ) , the unwillingne s s  
of  parents  t o  c arry out th eir  re sp onsibil i tie s for 
training their children and thei r  rel iance on suppo rt 
from State  institu ti on s ,  the turbulence of youth and 
the ir increasi ng independence from the family c ontrol s o  
Hubbard , fo r example , i n  h i s  s tudy o f  soc ial t rends  a s  
repre sented i n  French l iteratur e  s ince 1 91 4 , reache d  
the co nclu sion tha t :  ' French wr it er s  sin ce  1 9 1 4 have 
c le arly reflected the increasing unrest  of  the family 
and the decline of  i t s  strengtho ' ( 2 ) These views  
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
See Sup?le'ment 1. "La Docurrent ati on fran?ai se 
illu?tr e" , PP o 30- 1 o 
Lo Hubbard , The Individual and the Gro up in French 
Lit erature s:ln ce 1914 , P o 3 o  
2 8 
will al so be found in the works of Duhamel , :tviartin du 
Gard and Romains .  
Neverthele s s ,  o ther ob se rvers  are le ss  pe ssimi sti c , 
agreeing with G o ode  ( 1 ) that in the modern industrial i sed 
soci ety the cur rent noti on that famili al educati on has 
de teri o rated is a myth o Ari'e s ,  while accep ting tha t 
there has be en a re laxation n f  f amily cm t rols  ( 2 ) , 
take s  the view  th at in  the small conjugal uni t the 
children are the f o cu s  of a t tenti on of the parent s ,  
indeed the r a i son d ' ? tre o f  the family .  The chi ld , 
then , ?e nefi ts  from greater at tenti on than in the 
l arger , fo rmal s tructure s of the pa st. 
For a l ong time it was bel ieved tha t the 
family c on sti  tu ted tre anci ent ba si s of our 
soci e ty ,  and tha t ,  star t ing in  the e ight eenth 
cent ury , the progre ss of l ibe ral individua li sm 
had shaken and weakened it c The hi st ory of the 
family in the nineteenth and twentie th centur ie s 
was suppo se d  t o  be that of a dec adence : the 
freque ncy of divor c e s  and the weakening of marit al 
and pa ternal authori ty were seen a s  s o  many signs  
of  i ts dec l ine .  The study of  modern demog raphic  
phenorrena led me t o  a completely c ontrary concl u?
sion.  I t  seemed to me ( and qualified ob servers  
have come t o  share my co nclu s ions ) that on tbe 
c ontrary the family occupied a tremendous place 
in  our indu strial s ocie tie s ,  and tha t  it  had p er?
hcp s never be fore exerc ised so much influence  over  
the human con di  ti  on. ( 3 ) 
Wyli e ,  (4 ) writi ng i n  1 9 63 , expre ssed  hi s opinion tha t 
educati0n  i n  the family i s  marked by an inherent 
c onservat ion  and that middle-cla ss parent s in France 
( 1 ) See W . Goode , ' Indu stri alizat i on and Family 
Change ' , Industrializati on and Soci ety, p .  239 . 
P .  Arie s ,  Centurie s of Chi ldhood , p .  285 . 
Ibid , P ? 1 0 . 
See also Wyli e 1 s e arlie r investigati on into 
famil i al e ducati on in a French rural set t ing: L. 
Wylie , Village in  the Vaucluse , chap t .  III. 
continue t o  view with disapp ro val th e  more p ermis sive 
child-rearing pr ac t ice s in o ther cul ture s c  
France i s  notable f o r  the imp o rtan ce at tached  
to  the training tha t c hildren receive in the home 
and the education they rece ive in the sch ool o 
Children are no t con sidered naturally  good:  they 
are born the produc t of na ture and it is the 
obligati on of parent s to train them ( dre sser ) t o  
b e  civili ses o  Parents  fe el thi s obli gatio n 
strongly, and one of the traditi onal reason s given 
by French couple s fo r no t having more ch ildren i s  
that i f  t here are t oo many they c annot be prope rly 
tra ined o  ( 1 ) 
Three o the r rec ent st udie s would 3.ppear to sugge st that 
certain of the traditi onal characteri s ti c s  of  middle-
cla s s  educ ati on remai n rel atively undimini she d in 
vigour :  parents  stri ve to  keep the ir children in 
i solati on from th e group and sub ject  t o  adult domina-
t i on in the family c Nimkoff , in his  survey of 
p atterns of family interaction has prop ounded the view 
that the French eh ild has tended to remain mo t;he r-
domina ted at an age when in Americ a this depe ndency 
i s  tran sferred to  the pe er group c  He fur the r c l  aims 
that the adult-dominated family cou ld lead to case s  of 
extreme indivi duali sm as the child i s  in this  si tuat ion 
fo rced t o  repre ss  emo tio ns and con ceal thoughts o  ' The 
French complex of child nurture is thought to le ad to 
the development of an inner-directed person al i ty o ' 
Simila rly , N"Eftraux ( 3 ) dis c overed in her intervi ew 
( 2 ) 
material a latent hostili ty of he r sub j e c t s  t owards 
their mothers for having for ced up on them an emo ti onal 
( 1 ) L .  Wylie , ' s?ci al Chang e at Grass  Root s ' , France  
Change and Tradi ti o n ,  P o  21 2 c 
M. NiL'lkoff , Comparati ve Family System s, P o 70 o 
See R. Metraux ,  Theme s in French Cultu re ,  p .  2 1 o 
?epe nde ncy a nd for  having s t ifled  the i r  i n i t ia t ive in  
childhoo? e F i nally , Ard agh ( 1 ) has  su?ges t e d  that  
over-dependence  upon  parent  d i re c t i on is s t ill  t ypical  
or the child-parent  inte r a c t i on. He  has  n o ted  that  
obse s s ive rela t i onships  be tween  children  and parent s ,  
par ? t i cularly  s ons  a n d  mothe r s , have heen  a c onstant  
theme in  modern  French f ict i on .  Such novels  a s  
Ma r guer i te  Duras ' s  De s J ourn?e s  entieres  dans  les  
arbres  and  Jacques B orel ' s  L ' Adora t i on  dep i c t  emo t i onal  
cr ipples  unable to  break away  from the ir  famil ies  a nd 
f o rm sat isfying a t ta chments  t o  others , Hence , if  in  
l i tera ture wr i te rs , as  Hubbard  has  found , r?veal a 
cr i s i s  in  the ramil i s t i c  sys tem they  a l so  p rovide  data  
to  support  the  c onclus i on tha t the  ch ild , nevertheles s , 
r ema ins ine s capably bound  b y  his  emo t ional t ie s  t o  the ? 
fnmil;y .  
( 1 ) See J . Ardagh , Thu New Fre nch R evolut i on - A Social 
and Economic Survey of France 1945-1967 , p.  240. 
CHAPTER I I :  THE SCHOOL 
While the traditi onal pa t terns of family l ife in 
the bou?geo i sie were undergoing a prof ound transfo rma?
t ion in the late nineteenth and early twent ieth cen?
turie s ,  the school sy stem wa s als o sustaining soc i o?
economi c pre s s?res for a radical alterati on o f  educ a?
tional structure s o  During the nine teenth century 
educati on ?  as opp o sed to instruction? was a virtual 
monopoly of' the middle cl a sses o  The fee-paying lycee s  
inst ituted by Napoleon  :for the training o f  the c adre s 
S1.1pe'r ieurs cre ated an almo s t  insupe rable barri er  for 
the wo rking cla sse s ?  denying them acce ss  to the culture 
?enerale and en try to the pr ofe ssi onso  Even wh en , 
towards the end of the century ? i t  bec ame obv ious tha t  
changing soci al and ec onomi c condit i ons ne c e s s i tated 
a re-evalua ti on of the policie s of previ ous g overnments  
towards the que sti on of  pr ov i si on of  educati onal 
opportuniti es  fo r  tre ma sse s ,  the supremacy o f  the 
lycee was no t placed in  doubt o  If  Ferry ' s l aws  of  
1 88 1  and 1 882 which  ushered in an age of  free , compul?
so ry , se cular,  p rimary educat io n  in St ate scho ol s ?  
appear in re tro spect  a s  the  f ir st deci sive steps  to 
reduce inequalitie s of opp o rtunity in educ ati on,  the 
middle - class republic an government of  legi ste s and 
profe sseur s th at pa ssed the se substantial ref orms had 
no inten ti on of undermining the posi ti on  o f  the lycees  
as basti_ons of  social privilege o 
A number of soc ial , e c onomi c ,  polit i cal and 
religi ous factors  combine d t o  give to  the educ a ti on of 
the masse s thi s ' 0 0 0  elan r?fldchi e t  enthousia ste qui 
e st la marque de c e t te f in de si ecle ' ( 1 ) l eading to 
? ?hat Cros  de scribed as ' ? ? ? the fir st educati onal 
explo si on ' ( 2 ) The se included an awarene ss  of  the 0 ,. 0 0 
necessity  to  devel op cadre s moyens t o  serve as f orerr?n  
and supe rvi ? nr 3 in  industry 9 a recogni ti on of  the 
importance of  in struc t ion in c ivic duty and responsibi-
l i  ty f or all  the members of a demo era tic St ate 9 for 
o the rwise , as  Renan warned ,  the re w ould be medi ocri ty 
of  g0vP-rnment - ' ? ? ?  une tete soc iale sans  intelligence 
n?. savo i r ,  sans pres t ige ni autori  te ' ( 3 ) 9 and a belief  
t h?t , aft e r  th0 defeat of  France in  1 871 , at tributed 
by many to the succe s s  of  the Germa n elementar?r scho ol-
master in  inst illing a feeling o f  nati onal pri de and 
uni ty , a State sy stem of educati on  for all must be 
insti tu ted to pr omo te sol idarity am patr i o t ic zeal . 
Hence , the stre ss  on the deeds o f  the French mili tary 
heroe s ,  the re so urcefulness  of the French pe ople 
( symbol i sed by the thr if ty , industri ous paysan s(4 ) ) and 
the reminder  of the humiliat ir1g los s of  Al sace-Lorraine 
i::1 the s chool  manuals used up to t he tirre of World War 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
F. P?nteil , His to i re de l ' en seignement 1 789-1964 ,  
p .  2 81 0 
L. Cro s ,  ' The Demand f o?r General Educ ati on in  
Franc e ' , World Year Bo ok of  Educ atio n 1 6 - The 
Educati on Explosi on , p .  2 1 .  
E .  Renan ,?La  Rdforme intellectuelle e t  moral e ' , 
Oeuvre s comple te s ,  v ol .  I ,  p .  361 . 
For a di scussi on of  th e part  played by the school s  
in propagat ing the ' culte du p e t it paysan ' see M. 
Gervai s ,  C .  Servolin and J. We il , Une Franc e san s 
paysans ,  p .  45 . 
----- --
I ,  such as  B O'lillo t 1 s Le Francais par les texte s. In  s 
addi t i on there wa s the impor tant que stion of the social 
divi siveness  of the Church ' s  con trol over a large sec-
ti on of the school popul ati on ,  f or the State monopoly 
of educ ati on which Nap ole on h ad ensured under the law 
of 1 0  May 1 8 06 , when he ve sted in the Univ ersi t e  
imperia le the control Gf educatio n ,  had gradu ally 
become eroded in the following seventy years ,  
part icu larly by the loi Gui z o t  ( 1 8 33 ) and t he l o i  
Falloux ( 1 850 ) . Be tween 1 8 50 and 1 866 the p ercentage 
of boys educ ated in Church p rimary school s r o se from  
1 5 . 7  to 2 0. 9 and tha t  of  girl s from 44. 6 t o  55 .4 . ( i ) 
In  addi ti on the secondary scho ol s co nducted by the 
teaching co ngregati ons su ch a s  the Je sui t s ( 2 )  and the 
si sters o f  the Socie ty of the Sacred  Hear t ( 3 ) were 
highly regarded amongst  p arent s of the upper  cla s se s. 
Thi s i s  revealed by the fac t  tha t in 1 877 there were 
2 7 Je suit  secondary scho Gls wi th a to tal roll  of mo re 
than 1 0 , 000 pupils . ( 4 ) In  the cause of nati onal uni ty 
the State cla imed the right to supervi se the educatio n 
of all i t s  ci t izens ,  t o  free the sch o ols  under i t s  
di re c t  c on trol from  sec tari an influence ( the l o i  
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 )  
(4 ) 
See P .  Spencer ,  PGli ti c s  nf Belief in 1 9th Century 
France , p .  1 66. 
See  .Arnold 1 s admirati on for tlle high teaching stan?
dards of t he Je suits , particularly at the college 
at  Vaugirard . M.  Arnold , Scho ol s and Universi t ie s  
on the C ontinent , p .  1 1 0 . 
See M .  O ' Leary ' s the sis  on the educ atio nal wo rk in 
Franc e of thi s Socie ty . Educati on wi th a Tradi ?
t io n  - An Account of the Educati onal Work o f  the 
Soc iety of the Sacred Heart.  
See  E .  Acomb ,  The French Laic Laws , p .  1 7 . 
Falloux had crantAd supervi e o ry powers  to  the lo cal 
cle rgy over rel igi ous in struc t ion in the e?ole s 
c ommunale s ) , and t o  imp ose stric t limi t s  on the ac t ivi-
tie s of the ecoJ?libre s. The State in i t s  attack 
on the Church scho ols in the two anti-cl eri cal cam?
paigns ,  the fi rst of :B,erry and the sec ond of C nmbes ,  
would c all on  the sup l.J ort  of  the l ay teache rs ,  
e spe c ially the insti tuteurs , who wi th the ir radi cal 
sympathie s had l ong been fru strated by Chur ch interfer?
ence in educ ati on . 
To  meet the se soci al , e co nomi c , poli tical and 
religious  imperatives the governr?nt of  Jule s Ferry 
passed l aws  aboli shing fee s in the ecole s primaire s  
( 1 6  June 1 88 1 ) and making primary educ atio n se c ul ar 
and compul sory ( 2 8  March 1 882 ) for all ch ildren between 
the age of six and thir teen ( o r  twelve if  by then they 
had obt ained the cert ifi cat  d 1 e?ude s ) . But althou?h 
the State budge t for educatio n rose over twent y-f ive  
time s from 1 870 to 1 9 1 4  to  match the expansi on  o f  
primary educ ati on , i t  was  sti ll obv ious tha t educati onal 
inequali tie s were not  ended. The transi tio n  fr om 
dl i ti sme t o  egali tarianism could  not be achieved over?
night in a country where the bourgeoisie were reluc tant 
to abandon their cul tural privilege s .  While t he 
dc oles  primaires  and the lyc?e s  remained c las s-oriented 
there could be  l i ttle opp o rtunity for th e sons and 
daughters  of the peuple to gain  more than the rudiment s  
of instruc t ion.  
The functi on of the element ary sch ool as  the 
planne r s  of the Thi rd Republic visualised i t , was to 
be  str i c tly utilit arian , gi ving the pupils  1 o  ? ?  a fund 
of prac t i cal knowlr;dge whi eh wi ll serve them in vnc a?
ti on 1 ? ( 1 ) In short , the s chool s would equ ip the 
e"colie r s  for their  inferi o r  p o s i ti ons as manual  workers 
with a 1 o o .  bag age de " sc i ences usuelles1 1 ? o .  1 ( 2 ) and 
an indoctrination in mor al and c ivic  du ti e s  which would  
prepare them for subse rvi ence to  the c la sse dirigeant e  
- the bourgeoi sie . Such a t  least is  the paternali stic 
interpre tation whi ch Pernoud ( 3 ) place s upon the teach-
ing in the elementary schools  at  th e turn of the 
centur:r . The double- track sy stem whi ch evolved,  in 
whi ch primary ?=;duc ati on and sec ondary educati on were 
conceived as two sep arate entit i e s ,  con tinued the 
p atte rn of educ ati on whi ch had been in exi stence sin ce 
the grand si? cle , wi th the mi ddle cl as f'e s  re serving f o r  
themselve s an educati on of  quality whi ch would enr ich 
the mind and spiri t o  
While economic and so ci al b arrie r s  effect ive ly 
de terred the chi ldren of the lowe r  cla s se s  from entry 
t o  the secondary scho ol s ,  the admini strative hurdle s 
r aised  made trans i ti on from the ?cole primaire to the 
lycee diff icult  even for the able pupil by differen ti at-
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
' Instruc tion ,  20 juin 1 9 23 , rel ative au nouveau 
plan d ' etude s de s eco le s ele"ment aire s 1  9 quoted in 
I .  Kandel 9 Studies  in Comparative Educ atigQ, p .  407 . 
H .  Canac 9  'VEnse ignement public du premi er degre' 
en Franc e '  9 Le Francais dans le monde 9 no . 1 9 ,  
Sep t o 1 9 6 3 9 p ? 3 o 
See R .  Pernoud, Histo ire de l a  bourge o i sie  en 
France ,  vol .  I I , pp . 599-600 . 
ing the teaching in the _?e ti t s  lyce'es  - the cla sse s 
elementaire s a t tached to  the lycee s  - from th at in the 
,. ecole s primaire s . If  in general outline the p rogramme s 
of th? peti t s  lyc?e s  were similar  t o  those of the 
/ ec ole s pr imaire s !  the character  of the instruction was 
more formal and abstract al lowing fo r easier transi ti on 
/ t o  the lycees  p rope r . In  addi tion the curriculum of 
the petit s lyc?e s included 1 unti l  1 91 7 ,  the tntro duc-
ti on of a modern language in the final years. The 
lack of c o-ordination be tween the two sy stems , primary 
and sec ondary , me ant that the pr imary pupil who had 
excel led in hi s studies for  the certificat d ' ltud e s  
primaires  would find himself f aced  wi th the nece sei  ty  
of  recommenc ing hi s studi es in sixi'eme wi th younger 
lyceens , in order to gain the foundati on in the 
cla ;- sic s  and modern language s .  N i  th such re strictions 
on movement from one sy stem t o  the o ther , the p re stigi-
ous p o  si ti on of  the sec ondary scho ol s c atering fo r a 
social  and intelle ctual ari stocracy remained 
unchallenged . As  C anac c omrnen ts ?  ' Il res te  qu ' au 
debut du XXe s i?cle , 95 enfant s  sur 1 00 ne c onnai ssent 
d ' autre hori zon scola ire que c elui de l ' ecole prirnaire 
de leur village . ' ( 1 ) 
While , ap art f rom the excepti anal bo-qrsi er ,  the 
working-class children entering the 6cole primaire 
would b e  restric ted to an elementary educat ion wit h a 
( 1 ) H.  Canac , ' L ' Ense ignement public du premier degr? 
en France ' ,  Le Fran)ai s dans le monde , n? . 1 9 , Sept .  
1 963 J P o  3 o 
:prac ti c al ,  f,?nc ti onal bia s ,  the sons of families  
belonging to the c olTllre rcia l and :profe ssional classe s  
/ \ gained  access  in t?e lycees  and college s to  the cul ture 
g?nclr ale with the t radi tional emphasi s on the training 
of the intelle c t  throu gh the agency of  the c las sic s  and 
mathemati c s . Moreover , the fo rmal , ac ademic training 
in the l:y?Efe s  whi ch Na:J oleon had inst itu ted in 1 802 but 
whi ch :p re served the :pedagogical emphase s of the school s  
of grarrmar a?ld r:1etoric whi eh had formed the hog?t? 
homme of the ancien r?gime , :p rovided the only avenue 
to higher educ ati on and to :profe ssional training . 
Both S3condary and ter t iary educati on were c lose ly 
linked in Napole on ' s :plan fo r th e Qpiv?rsi . . ?E/_:L.n.?E{ri_?_:J:e .  
They would t ogeth er consti tu te the ma trix by whi ch the 
child of the bourge oisi e  would be m0ulded for the ser-
vice of the communi ty and the State , with a broad 
cultural background in t he secondary scho o: s ac t ing as 
the basis f or l a te r  s:pe c ial i sati on in  the f acul t ie s or 
I the gran de s ecole s .  A :policy of educ ati onal malthu-
sianism was deliberately :pursued . 
which were socia lly selective the sujet s q_1 ?li t? would 
be drawn by compe t itive examinati on ( the ?9ccalaur?at  
o r  t he vari ous  co ncou r s  d '_?ntre? ) to  the facult i e s  of  
I art s ,  science , l aw or medicine or t o  the grandE.=:_s e c ole s 
- the sp e c i al school s of higher educatio n  whi ch had 
been organi sed to  fill  the higher e chelons of govern?
men t service , including the Ecole normale su:p6rieure 
and the Eco le :polytechnique (bo th founded in 1 7 94 ) . 
The educ a ti onal pre judice s of the pourgeoi sie 
extended to their  own number a Whereas  educati onal 
provi sion fo r  the sons of the middl e --cl a ss c iti zens in 
the nineteenth century was regarded as a mat ter  o f  
paramount importance 5 secondar;y educati on o f  the 
daughters  was con side red of less val ue . In t.hi s 
resp ec t  a t t l tude s t o  the instruct ion of gi rl s  were  
b ound up  wi th the bourgeois  conce-p t ion of the inferior  
status of  women as  enshr ined in  the  Code civil o 
Publi c  op inion  in the nine teenth centu.ry opposed  
advanced schooling for  gi rls on the grounds that  thi s 
wou ld be unnece ssary for their  future roles  as  wive s 
and mothers .  For  girl s the pr imary ob j ec tive in  
educati on should be charac ter t raining and th e develop-
tuent of  social  grace s and ac compli shments. For thi s 
re ason ccnvent schools  were favoured by the bourgeoi si e .  
A s  Dupeux says:  ' Le mari , souvent d?tach? lui-m8me de 
la rel igi on, co nsidere que celle-ci  doit  faire p art ie 
de l ' dduc ation fdnlinine c ar c ' e st un sur garanti de 
morali te, et  de stabilitd de foyer . , ( 1 ) Such 
attit?dcs caused Michele t to fulminate in 1 845 : ' By 
whom are our wives and daughters  educated? By our 
enemie s , we repeat ; by the enemie s of the Revo luti on 
and the futu re ' . ( 2 )  
Ye t changing soc ial patterns were t o  bring an 
increasing demand f or the educati on of gi rl s .  Thi s 
need was  fi r st recognised by the loi  Fall oux ( 1 850)  
( 1 ) G.  Dupeux ,  La Soci?t? fran9aise 1789- 12?Q, pp . 
1 39-40 . 
( 2 ) J.  Michelet ,  Prie st s, Women and Familie s ,  p .  60. 
which r equired communes  with a popul ati on of  more than 
800 to open an elementary scho ol for  gi rls . The 
e duc ati onal  laws of the Third Republic whi ch made 
pr imary educatio n  compul sory for gi rls as well  as  boys 
reduced dramatic ally tm illiteracy rate for  women. 
' Alors  qu ' en 1 8 81 , on c omptai t 23% de femme s ille t tree s 
l ors de leur mariage ( contre 1 5r? d ' homme s) l e  pourcentage 
passe en 1 900 a 6 p our tomber a 0 ,  9 en 1 9  27 .  ' ( 1 ) Up 
until 1 880 the sec ondary educati on of g irls had in the 
main been tre re spons;_bili  ty of the Church . Fears 
that  thi s monopoly might  be broken had bro ught opp o si-
t i on from the rel igi ous au thor itie s to Duruy ' s mode st 
proposal s in 1 867 t o  inst itute part - t ime c ou rs sec ondaire s 
for g irls .  A s imil ar re ac ti on  gree ted the l o i  C amille 
/ See  in 1 8 80 which  e s tabli she d  externat s  de  jeune s 
f i ll e s .  Thece lycee s  and col??ge s increased rapidly 
- from 23 in 1 883 to 71 in 1 901 ( 2 ) - and i f  at fi rst 
the c our se s offe red  were le s s  academi c in character 
than in  the lyc?es de  gar?ons , gradually the c la s sical  
elements of  the tradi tio nal c urriculmn fo r the boys 
were introduced in the gi rls ' school s.  In 1 924 Be'rard 
gave o fficial sanc t ion to t hi s  by making the c our se s 
o f  the lyc/e s  de jeune s f ille s and the lyc?e s  de 
?.Q.!l2 identical a s  a common preparati on for the 
/ baccalaureat . 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
The social c leavage whi ch affected the schools  
A,.  Michel and G.  T exi er , La Condi tio n de l a  
Fran?aise  d' aujourd ' hui , vol .  I I , p .  1 36. 
See A. Fro st , L'Ense ignement en France 1 800-1 967 , 
p 0 263. 
also had a bear ing on the s tatus o f' teachers and the 
atti tude s of t e achers  to the ir vo cati on. I t  i s  
intere sting to compa re the r ole s o f  the primary sch o ol 
teacher - the instituteur or maitre  d ' ?cole ( 1 )  - and 
the secondary school teache r  - the ?ro fe sseur - and to  
examine to what extent their standing in  the corrmuni ty 
was infl uenced by the  cla ss-linked educati onal system. 
The po siti on of the inst i tu teur was ambiguous .  
Al though he  tend ed t o  be  recrui ted from the l ower 
cl asse s ( O z ouf ( 2
) has  sh own that  up to  1 904 at the 
Ec ole normale de Saint-Lo , the l arge st group of  new 
entrant s were of peasant or igin and tha t after this 
period the teacher trainee s tended to come from the 
working cl asse s ) , hi s educ ation and hi s soci al advance-
rrent to  the  pet it e  bourgeoisie of  minor sal aried  o ffi?
c ials  isolated him from the milieu in whi ch he worked.  
Thi s is  shown cle arly in  Denux ' s Le  1'1agi ster .  
A ce tte  solitude ( geographique ) , j ' a j oute un 
i solemen t spiri tu el que seul peut connai tre 
l I insti tuteur ou le cure de campagne 0 0 .. Bergue 
souffrait du man?ue de conver sati ons , de 
c onference s ,  de c oncert s ,  d ' expo si tions , de 
theatre , de c our s , t out e s  cho_se s par quoi l ' homme 
un peu cul t ive aime a entre tenir , a renouveler 
l '  enthousiasme de son e sp ri t ? ? ? ( 3 ) 
Yet ,  alth ough w ith the reorgani sati on of  pri.rJary  educa-
ti on in the early years of  the Third Republic  th e 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
See the study by M .  Arrive of  the usage of the se 
terms in the nineteen th cent ury . ' l'11aitre , 
insti tuteur , p rofe sseur ' , Le Fran?ai s dans le  
@Onde , no . 44 , O c t .  1 9 66 ,  pp . 37 - ? 
See A.  Fro s t , L ' Ense ignement  en  France 1 800- 1967 , 
p .  380 . 
Quo ted in M.  Reboulle t ,  ' Permanence de l ' inst i tuteur 
fran?ais ' 9 Le Francais  dans le  monde , no . 1 9 ,  Sept .  
1 9 63 , P ?  34 . 
insti tuteur had become a symbol of republican virtues 
in the onslaught against the Church scho ol s , the 
pre judi ce s of the b ourgeoi sie remained  deeply ingrained  
and brought for the primary te acher small financial 
reward or so cia l rec ogni t i Gn outside the vi llage 
community o Ponteil has de scribed the mi serable exi st-
ence of  the instituteur in the nineteenth cen tury o 
With  a salary less  than that of many manual wo rker s he 
was f orced t o  suppl ement his  inc orre in var ious ways o  
' L ' instituteur se  liV1.'e 'a de s occupatiuns cornple"mentaire s :  
ferme , c ommerce , t&b ac ,  mercerie , auberge , c ab aret , 
charcuterie o ' ( 1 )  Such financ ial difficul tie s bese t  
the institut? even i n  the e arly twentie th century o 
Alegre in hi s study of  the p rimary teacher in  Eur ope 
quote s a letter of Louis Pergaud who en tered the Eco le 
no nnale de Besan9on in 1 902 : 
Je serai nomme" insti tuteur-ad j oint en so rtant , 
e t ,  pendant quelques mo i s ,  j e  toucherai exac tement 
53 franc s 1 5 centime s ,  de quoi  creve r de fairno 
Voila notre  si tua t ion  et l ' on ne cesse de nous 
p arler de no s futur s  devoirs d ' educateur s o ( 2 ) 
H owever ,  in spite  of th eir marginal soc ial po siti on , 
the ir p enury and the p ro fe ssional p roblems a ssociated 
wit h  the teaching o f  the chi ldren of farm workers  and 
l abourers  who were now obliged by Ferry ' s laws t o  
remain  a t  school t ill  the age o f  thirteen ( the pr imary 
teacher  was , as Thierry declared:  
( 1 ) F. Ponteil , H istoire de l ' ense ignement 1 789- 1 9?4 , 
P o  204 o  \ 
( 2 ) See J .  Alegre , ' Le s  Instituteur s ' , Eur ope , no o 
42 1 -2 , May-June 1 964 ,  P o  26 .  
bl? 
aux en:fan ts  1 ) ( 1 ) , the insti tu teurs remained ,  at least  
until the end of'  the nineteenth century , the :faithful 
servant s o:f the Third Republic - 1 l es hus sards noi r s  
de l a  Republique 1 as  Pe'guy de scribed th em. Reboulle t ( 2 )  
in hi s bri ef' study o f  the image of  the t eacher of the 
Thi rd Republic in li terature no te s that if from 
Lavergne 1 s Jean Ca ste ( 1 900)  t o  Denux ' s Le Magis ter 
( 1 948 ) or  Gamarra 1 s Le Ma?itre d 1 ec ole ( 1 9 56 )  the 
insti tuteur is asso c ia ted with poverty and servi tude , 
he is al so paid  tr ibute for hi s hone sty , dedi cati on and 
mi ssionary zeal  in s?reading t he republican ideal . 
However , a s  Pro st ( 3 )  p o in t s out , the institu t.eur in the 
e arly year s of the twent ie th cen tury  began to doubt hi s 
r ole . The ardent patriot ism turned t o  internati onal-
i sm and pac ifi sm .  The sense of  mi ssion of the 
inst itu teurs we akened as they que st ioned th eir so ci al 
functi on - a su spici on which Frapi e" v oiced in La 
Mate rnelle in 1 904 : ' Je me demande si 1 1  e"co le n 1 a p as 
pour principal ob j e t  de rendre c onvenable , pol ie , 
re?ignde , la  mi sere physique e t  mo ral e . ' (4 ) I t  was  
in thi s p erio d  immedi ately befo re Wo rld War I tha t many 
ins t i tuteurs  changed their  ideOlogy from a fierce 
p atrio t ism and radical i sm to int ernati onal soci ali sm. 
The post-war di sillusionmen t ( 22 . 6%  of' the institu teur s 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
(4 ) 
See R.  Pe t i t j ean ,  ' Albert Thie rry ' , Eur ope , no . 6 ,  
June 1 946 , p o 66 . 
See M.  Reboullet , ' Permanence de l ' institu teur 
fran9ai s ' , Le Francai s dans le monde , no o 1 9 , Sept ?  
1 9  63?  PP o 33-8. 
' 
A. Fro st , L ' Ense ignerrent en France 1 800 - 1967 ,  PP ? 
289-90 . 
L. Frap ie ,  La Maternelle , P o  1 61 o  
enlisted were killed in 1 9 1 4-1 8 ) ( 1 ) encouraged the 
Duveau 
sees  the primary teache rs after the war as 1 les . 
ar i st ocrates  ruine s 1  ( 2 ) wh ose utopian visi on of a 
better  society cre ated thrru gh the diffusi on of know-
ledge had crumbled. Wi th the increa se s  in salarie s 
sin ce 1 9 1 9  the te ache r has ,  according to Duveau , become 
less  associa ted wi th  the hope s and a sp i rations of  the 
working classe s 9  and the old image of  the instituteur 
has l ?s t  it s a?arpness.  
L ' image de l 1 instituteur s 1 e s t  diluee o  Le 
vieil  instituteur j ac obin 0u socialiste de nos 
campagre s avai t for ce  de symbole : qu 1 on l '  at  taquEtt 
ou qu 1 on le d?fendit , on le connai ssai t , on 
pouvai t  mesu re r  sa pui ssance . On connai ssai t se s 
manie s,  se s gad?J2, se s fie rt? s ,  se s enthousiasmes .  
L ' institu te ur conterrrp orain e st plu s e st ompe :  
autour de lui au cun grand myth e so c ial ne se 
c oagule plus.  ( 3 )  
I f  t he social  positi on of the insti tuteur in the 
l ate  nine teenth  and early twent ieth c ent ur ie s was 
surrounded by ambigu ity the saoo was al so true of the 
Like the primary teache r ,  the secondary 
teacher tended to be an arrivi ste o ?he recent study 
of Vincent (4 )  of 1 1 52 secondary teache rs who were teach?
ing between 1 900 and 1 91 4  Sh owed tha t almost a quarter 
were from a working-class  background wit h  the rural 
workers and the institu teurs p roviding more secondary 
See G .  Duveau , Les Instit u teurs ,  p .  1 55 o  
Ibid, P o 1 55o  
Ibid , Po  1 64 o  1 
See G .  Vincent , 'Le s Pro fe sseurs  du second degre 
au debut du xxe siecle ,  essai sur la mobilite 
soci ale et la  mobili te geographique ' ,  Le Mouvement 
soci al ,  Apri l-June 1 966,  pp . 47-73 o 
teache rs than any o ther group o Thus ,  as wi th the 
attrac t inn of  the p o sit ion of  the pr imary t eache r 
amongst  the lower cla see s the status of  the pr ofe sseur 
de lycee was seen , particularly by soci ally ambi ti ous 
p arent s of the peti te boli?Eeoisie , as  the mean s of 
advancerr.ent of their chi ldren to the moyenne 
bourgeoi sie o Similar? , Thibaudet ha s drawn at tenti on 
to  the fac t tha t the pro fesseur s tended to  be bour sier s  
rather than h?ri tier s and gained  acce ss t o  the middle -
class  culture by abili ty rather than birth o  He  no ted 
that :  ' Hui t ou  neuf sur d ix des e l?ve s de l ' E c ole 
normale sup?rieure ont fai t  l eurs ?tude s avec de s 
bourse s  de l 1 Etat o o o  , ( 1 ) Offering salaries  equivalent 
to  tho se in the magi strature  o r  tho se for army officer s ,  
the 1yc?e.? ( the State c ontrolled secondary schools )  and 
the QOllege s ( the sec ondary schools  maintained by the 
local authori tie s) a t tracted mo re highly qualified  
teache rs in  the Third Republic than during the Empi re o  
Each year seven t o  e ight hundred candidate s pre sented 
t hemselv e s  for the agr?gation seeking the hundred posi-
t ions dependent up on success  in thi s examinationo Yet ,  
a s  Frost has made clear , if f or the ?rofe s seur s there 
was respect  for the culture the y di spensed and f or the 
seal of approval of  the University which they bore in 
the ir diplomas and degrees ,  their s tatus  in soci ety 
remained that o f  1 o o o  bourge o i s-stagiaire s  o o ? , ( 2 )  as  
A.  Thibaude t ,  La  R?publigue de s profes seurs ,  p .  1 2 1 . 
A.  Frost , L ' Egseignement en France,  1 800-12?1,  p .  
365 . 
they lacked the  soci a l  background , the wealt h or t he 
family connecti ons of t he sec ti on of the ]2Q?.r:geoi sie 
wi th whi c h  they mixed. P rost  fur the r  no te s that the 
image of the gofe sseur  de 13ce'e in l i teratur e  from 
Bourge t '  s ??ta?Q ( 1 9 02 ) to P agnol ' s  Jop??? ( 1 9?8 ) has 
reflected  a low publi c  opini on of  the te ache r ' s profe?
ssi on. ' L ' op in?_on crurant e ,  que refle te la l it t?rature 
? ? ? fait du profe sseur un ?trc mddi ocre , mal adap td, 
besogneux ; el le ret ien t du lycde le s souveni rs  les  
plus ddri soire s :  le rabachage , le s chahuts . ' ( 1 ) Per?
hap s t hi s  explains  why the profe sseur s  who by thn ir 
intelligence have rai sed  themselve s up from infE-ri or 
social p o  si ti ons have tended to direc t  the ir  children 
tow ards profess i ons  of  higre r prestige . Thi s ?.1as 
clearly showr. in the re search of Gerbod . ( 2 ) For the 
di stingui sh :;d  _gormaJ,ieg as an al terna ti v.-? to teaching 
there was the attrac ti on of lit erature o r  pol i t ic s . 
Indeed , i t  seemed to 'l'nibaude t , lo oking back from the 
1 9 24 ele c ti ons , that thi s had be en the ' Rdpublique de s 
professeur s ' . (3 ) In additi on there was the po ssibili ty 
of e sc ape  t o  the facu ltie s.  If tre facultie s  of arts  
and science , unlike the facultie s  of law and medicine 
which  had developed a dis tinctive teaching , Le ld a 
reputation in the nineteenth century for somnolence and 
dry erudi tion with the ."Qrofe s seur s d? :fac_l!,)-t? serving 
(3 ) 
Ibid , P o 365 .  
See P .  Gerbcd , La Vie  
&
uo tidienne dans le s lyc6es 
e t  c ollege s au XIXe si c le ,  p . 409 
See A. Thibaudet ,  La Republique  de s pro:fe s seur s ,  
P o  1 0  6 .  
ki? 
a s  ? 0 ? machine s ? examens ? ? ?  ' ( 1 ) and in the absence 
b:f a real student body co nf'ining their " te aching" to 
occasi onal public  lec tures ,  a reorganisati on o:f the 
:facul tie s a:fter 1 877 and a reawakening o:r  the b1J i ri t 
o:f  schol arship under the influence o:f such out standing 
teacher s and admini strator s as Loui s Liard and Erne st 
Lavi sse increased the pre stige o:r  the ?ignement 
??eri?. ( 2 ) As Gerbod comments  on the temp t. cti on 
o:f  a university c areer?  1 Considtlre' l ongtemp s  comme un 
pis- aller ,  une c arri??e medi ocre , il apparai t ,  ? la  
veille de 1 S1 4 ,  comme l 1 une des clef' s maj eure s dS3 . 
l ' e<rasion universitai re .  1 (3 ) 
Neve rthel es s ,  one might say tha t :for the 
?ro:fe s? the period up to 1 930 was one o:f stability 
and c omparative c alm. I t  i s  since tha t  date that the 
difficul ti es  of the pro:fe sseur have mul tiplie d as  the 
social t rans:forma tions which fo llowed Wo rld War I have 
affec ted first the second ary scho ol s and then  the 
facult ie s. While the cul tural presti ge of the 
?r ofe ss? has dimini shed wi th the competiti on of o ther 
educ ati onal agencie s and new media , the widening of 
/ entry t o  the lycees  has brought larger cla s se s  and the 
pedagogical problems of adapting a tradi t ional sec on-
dary education :for a :few t o  the needs of  the many. 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
P .  Gerbod ,  La Vie guotidienne dans les lycees et  
?.Qllege s au XI?e si?cle , P o  244 . . 
See P.  Thibaul t?800 ans de rdfo rme s 
universi taire s ' , Nouvelles Littdraire s ,  1 4  Nov. 
1 968 , p 0 1 1 .  
P ?  Gerbod , 1a Vie guo tidienne dans le s lycee s e t  
c oll?ge s au XIXe si?ole , p .  245 . 
Simi larly , the rise  of youth and the derrand for 
increased  freedom ani fewer re strain t s  which  has  been 
no ted in the f amily have affe c ted the clima te of autho-
ri  ty in the cla ssr oom ani the sch ool . Thi s ha s 
I pr oduced a @alais? amongst the profe sseur s  de lycee , 
part icu la rly since World War II ,  and more recently the 
i professeurs_Qe faculj?, when the demographic wave 
reached the facult ies in the sixtie s and for ced a 
radical al t erati on of  the old s truc tures .  ( 1 ) 
With in the mi ddle-cl a ss scho ols  themselv e s  changes 
were o ccurring during the la te nineteenth and early 
twentie th centurie s ,  altho ugh the se were slow compared 
with the tran sf ormati ons to take place after  1 94 5 . 
The conserva ti  em of these inst itutions resi sted 
challenge s to the t r aditi onal curri c ulum and pa t terns 
of  instru ct ion as  it  had t he at temp t s  towards the 
democrati sati on of  educati on. The o rg ani sati on o f  
studie s  w as suppor ted by i t s  l ong h i story o f  f 0rming 
middle-cl ass c i t i zen s ,  f o r  t he antecedents of the 
lyc?e? instituted by Napole on were the schools  of  t he 
teaching congregati ons under the  .??ien_E?ime .  ' The 
syllabus ,  d isc ipline and method of hi s [Nap oleon ' s] 
lye?&? were modell ed on tho se of  the Je suit and o ther 
college s .  ' ( 2 ) 
The lycee s  refle cted the pri or ity whi ch  the 
bourge o i sie  pla ced on reason and prec i si on of  thought 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
See G .  Marin ,  ' Le s  Nouve aux ctudiants ' ,  Educat ion 
Nati on?:qe ,  no . 836 ,  1 9  Oc t .  1 9 67 , pp . 20 -2 . -
W . Fraser , Educ ation and Soci e ty in Modern France , 
P o 65 o  
- the preference whi eh  lViontaigne expre ssed for  the te te 
.Qien fai t e  rather than the t?te  bien ple ine o The a im 
has be en to produce an esprit  cul t ive  thrrug h the study 
of the culture gdndrale , wit h  th e empha sis  upon the 
mental training affo rded by the acqu isi ti on o f  the 
cultural herit age more than the mere bro adening of 
knowledge . As  Quignard has remerked: 
? ? ?  Il  ne s ' agit pas  tant de c onnai ssance s 
que de di scipliD.Q...?, au sens etymol ogique du terme , 
pa s tan?instructi on que de formati on , pas  tant 
de memoire que de reflexi on ? ? ? Dans l ' ense ignement 
secondaire l e s  c onnai ssance s  ne sont pa s d? buts ,  
mai s  de s moyens. ( 1 )  
From tte seventeenth century to the twentie th the 
e ssenti ally ce rebral nature o f  the instructi on in the 
middle - class  school s ha s undergone li t tle modification ,  
I as  Metraux att e st s:  ' The primary aim of Fren ch 
educatnr s i s  to develop l ' e spri t  and l ' ind?pendance e t  
l ' esprit  critique ' o ( 2 ) 
The bas i s  of instruc tion has been the propagat ion 
of the cultur e w{ndrale - a sty le of  educ ation  wh ich 
Kandel has de scribed as ' educati on for nati ona l 
solidari ty ' , ( 3) with the pupils  p rovided with a bro ad 
backgr ound of ?tud e s  desintdre ssde s  at the sec ondary 
level o The impor tance of  keeping the curri culum of  
I the lxcee broad and l iberal wa s firmly stated in the 
Instruct i ons to te achers in 1 93 1 : ' I t is no t the func-
t ion o f  secondary educ ation to p repare pupil s who haTe 
( 1 ) J.  Quignard, ' L ' Enseignement secondaire en Franc e ' , 
Le Franc ais dans le monde , no . 2 1 ,  Dec .  1 963 , p .  1 2 o 
R. Mdtr?ux , Themes  in French Culture, P o  33o I .  Kandel , Types o f  Admini strati on ,  p .  24. 
a defini te pr of e ssi on in  mind o o o I t  doe s some thi ng 
more and bet ter ; i t s  t ask i s ,  wi thout pr eparing for 
anything spe cifi c , to make the pupils ap t for every?
thing o ' ( 1 ) Such views  have als o affec ted  tertiary 
e ducat i pn ,  wit h the tendency of t he facul t ie s  to e schew 
pr ofe s si onal t a sks and the predilecti or_ for  the general?
i s t  rath er :.h an the spe c iali st o 
The cla ssic al humanitie s have dominated the sec on-
dary c urriculumo Sinc e  the scholars '  c ollege s of ?he 
th irteenth and f our teenth cent urie s th e  classi c s  have 
be en the  princip al means  of d3veloping th; c ap aci ty for  
re aso ning and exercisi ng judgement o With this  stre ss  
on  Lat in and Greek the  re  has been the tend ency for the 
teaching t o  be ba sed on  the s tudy o f  l i t erntur e o  The 
middJe -cla ss  cul t of belle s - le t tre s  has  resulted  in 
the pr iv ?leged place acco rded the le ttre and in the 
importance placed on verbal  abs trac ti on in  the school s o  
I n  addi ti on,  the f ormal te ach irg of  philo sophy has 
p r ovided th0 scho ol s  wi th  a vehicle Qar exce llence  for 
developing general reflec ti on and cri tical though t o  
The pr e stige of the fo rmal , academi c c urriculum has 
remained a cult ural ob stacle to  any revi sio n of  th e 
curri culum up to  th e
. 
p resent o ( 2 ) Middle-cl ass  
" c onservati sm i s  revealed in the ?que!? into educ a-
t ional refo rms publi sh ed in the spe c lal i ssue of Esprit 
in June 1 954 o From the teache rs  que sti oned came a 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Quoted in lo Kandel , Studie s in C omparative Educa?
ti on, P o  684 o  
See W .  Fraser , Educat ion  and Socie ty in Modern 
France , chap t o  V o  
spiri ted defence of  tradi ti onal pr ocedure s and a pro-
te st  against moves to democrat is e the sec ondary school 
and t o  modi fy the curric ulum. On the sub je c t  of the 
humani tie s one licenc i??..? lettre s rep l ied: ' I l s ' agi t  
? ? ? de consid?re r l ' ense ignement  du latin comme un 
\ ? I moyen tre s sur de bonne educati on moderne e t  de 
/ dr I d . 1t 1 repan e son etude dc:ns  t oute s le s cla sse s  e so c1e  e .  
Le lat in e st une congu? te soc i ale 'a ent reprendre . ' ( 1 ) 
Althou@l the disint erested nature of the sec ondary 
school  p:rn gramrne s was oppo sed to early special isati on 
o r  tG nar rowly vocati onal sub je c t s  as  such training was 
deemed inappropri ate f G r  the development of the 
universal man , du ri ng the nineteenth century the newly 
awakened intere st in sc ience  for ced school s to make 
more  de t?rmined  effort s to teach physic s ,  chemis try and 
the natural science s .  The enseignement c la ssigue 
widened and bifurcated in  1 8 52 into lettre s and 
In addit i on an e nse igneme.n t sp? cial  - a 
modern option - devel op ed , and  receiv ed reco gni t i on 
? t  "- I Wl h the _?,?re te of 3 1 May 1 902  wh ich abol i she d  Lati n 
I 
and Greek as compulsory sub je c t s  for the b accalaureat .  
In the ter tia ry insti tutions the cour se s for 
sci ence and medicine were  up dated. 
... 
After the  ?nguete 
o rdered by Duruy in 1 8 68 had revealed  the inadequate 
re se arch fac il i t ie s  in the science facu lt ie s ,  the 
laboratorie s  were prog re s sive ly re-equipped,  the teach-
ing of  science at the advanced l evel was expanded and 
( 1 )  See 'R?forme de 1' ense ignemen t ' , Esprit , no . 2 1 5 ,  
June 1 954 , p .  834 . 
..5..1 
with the decrees of 28 July 1 8 86 and 22  January 1 896 , 
greater spec iali sation was included in the studie s  for 
the licence es s cience s .  Similarly , in medic ine the 
nece ssity for pre liminary scientific studies  was 
recogni sed. In 1 878  an extra year of studie s was 
instituted in whi ch the medi cal student would undertake 
prac tic al wo rk in phy si c s , chemi stry and the natural 
sc ience s ,  and in 1 8 93 thi s training was transferred to  
the science faculties  with the requirement that 
student s gain a certificat  de science s physiques ,  
chimigues e t  naturelle s (P . C . N . ) before entry to  the 
Ecole de Me'decine . 
However , possibly more  important than the develop?
ments  in sc ientific studie s was the general infl.uence 
of science on the sp iri t and the me thod s of the school s .  
The nine teenth century cult of science as embodied in 
the wri t ings  of  Comte , Taine and Renan pervaded the 
approach t o  te aching .  The veneration for scientific 
method and scientific theorie s such as de termini sm, 
transformi sm and Darwini sm , as  well a s  the enthusiasm 
for the scientific philo sophy of  positivism, brou?ht a 
c oncern for prec i se documentati on, close analysis and 
the te s ting of hYPothe se s by experiment , with a concen?
trati on on the material and the readily observable and 
measurable . The student s educ ated in the State school s 
or the faculties  at the end of the nine teenth century 
would be formed in an atmosphere of scientific 
rati onal ism ,  imbued with fai th in  the progre ss of 
science and convinced of the abili ty of the savant to  
improve the condi ti on of  rMn .  Sc ience was opposed  t o  
religi on; reason t o  fai th.  The intellectu?l climate 
of the l ay school s was one of free enquiry with the 
e spr it  scientifigue rai sed to the s tatus of a creed.  
The widening of the ac ademi c curri culum during the 
nine teenth centur,y ,  with the science s ,  modern language s ,  
hi story and geography acc orded a more prominent place  
in the pr ogramme s ,  re sulted in an overloaded curriculum. 
Thi s was to bec ome a matter of  increa sing c once rn for  
educators .  De spi te periodic  revi sions of  the programme s  
from the turn of the century on , pupils  in 1 93 1  still 
spent be tween twenty- one and twenty-five  hour s e ach 
week on academi c sub j e c t s .  The weekly t ime-table for 
a student in the clas se de philo sophie included :  
philo sophy ( Bt hour s) , hi sto ry ( 2? hour s ) , geography 
( 1  hour ) , lite rary s tudie s ( 2  hour s) , mathemati c s  ( 1 t  
hours) , physics and chemi stry ( 4  hour s ) and natural 
science s  ( 2  hour s ) , The encyclopaedic range of sub-
j e c t s  in the secondary curriculum has drawn Quignard ' s  
c omment :  ' Si 1 1 on fait la  liste de s connai ssance s qui 
figurent au progrM1me d ' un j eune Franrai s de quinze ans 
on ne peut s ' empecher de penser a l ' enthousi a sme de s 
hommes de la Renai s sance pour toute s sorte s de savoir . ' ( 1 )  
At the Congre ss  of Le Havre in May 1 936 ,  whi ch had been 
c alled to  inve stigate problems in secondary education ,  
the que sti on of the exce ssive work load for the pupil s  
( surmena?) was rai sed.  I t  was claimed tha t  lycdens 
( 1 ) J .  Quignard , ' L ' Enseignement sec ondaire en France ' , 
Le Francai s dans le monde , no.  2 1 ,  Dec . 1 963 , p .  1 2 . 
were having to work at their studies twelve to fifteen 
hours each daye ( 1 ) The Congress was urged to prune 
the curriculum and modify the time-schedules as the 
overloaded curriculum was endangering the principles 
on which French education was based. It was argued 
that the lye/en or coll?gien was left little time for 
reflection, and instead of developing his cri tic.?._l 
powers and internalising the values of the cultural 
heritage t o  which he was exposed, he was being forced 
to concentrate on assimilating the factual knowledge 
which was easily examinableo Despite further reforms 
in the programmes the question of surmenage would remain 
a constant theme in French educational writing o 
A further criticism of the curriculum of the 
school s made at the Congrese o f  Le Havre concerned the 
lack of balance to the academic subjectse The claim 
was advanced that undue emphasis was placed on intellec-
tual training and that there was a tendency to neglect 
the physical, social, aesthetic and emotional develop-
ment of the child. Certainly, compared with the t ime 
allotment for philosophie in the classes terminales ( 8t 
hours) the official time-schedule for the l?cees in 
1 931 allowed a meagre half-hour for art appreciation 
in troisi?me, seconde and premiere o Similarly , apart 
from recreation periods and the ritual promenades f?? 
the internes, little provision was made for physical 
training in the secondary school o 
( 1 ) See D. Miles, Recent Reforms in French Secondary 
Education,  P o 31 o 
The concern vo i ced  by the participant s in the Con-
gre ss  of Le Havre at the academic bias  of the curri cu-
lum may be c ompared wit h the opini ons expressed by 
wri ters  in the nine teenth century that the French sy s-
tern of educ ation failed to  provide for the all-round 
development of  the pupil o  For example , Arnold in  1 865 
sugge sted that the educ ati on of the lyc?en wa s seriously 
deficient in charac ter training and affec ted overa?k 
dev 3lopment: ' I t is  hard to believe y and I do not 
believe , that the c onfinement y the scanty r e c r 9 a t ion , 
and the l ong school-hour s of a French schoolboy are 
without some unfavourable effec t on hi s health and 
development ' ( 1 ) o Taine at  the beginning of the Thi rd 
Republic  came t o  similar conclusi ons in  comparing the 
French and the Engli sh tradit ions: 
o o o  The French schoolboy , ab ove all the inmate s 
of  our college s ,  i s  wearied ,  embi t tered y rendered 
acu te , precoci ous , and too precoci ous , he i s  caged 
up , and hi s imagination ferment s o  In all the se 
re spec ts , and in what rel ate s  to the format i on of 
charac ter , Engl i sh educati on i s  superi or ;  i t  
better prepare s for the world and forms healthier 
mindso ( 2 ) 
Similarly , Hope at  the turn of the centur,y crit i c i sed 
the excessively cerebral nature of the teaching :  
1 o o o  Only when the ma sters , and e specially the head-
master ,  t ake a perso nal a s  well as  professi onal inter-
e st in the welfare of their boys  shall we find the 
education wor thy of the admirable ense ignement o ' ( 3 )  
' 1  ) M. Arnold , School s and Universi t ie s on the Contin?
ent , P o  92 o 
H o  Taine , Note s on EnglanQ, Po  1 2 6 e  
A. Hope , ' France' , Comparative Educ ation ,  P o  305 . 
Such comment s may be placed al ongside the replie s to 
the E spr i t  que sti onnaire in  1 954 whi ch make it  cle ar 
that  the cri t ic i sms are s ti ll val id a half-cent ury 
l ater o  As  one o f  the mor e  progre ssive teache rs  (A . -M. 
Goguel )  points out : 
Pour abstraite s e t  g?n/rales  qu ' elle s soient , 
la  lecture  de s Instruc t i ons offic ielle s qui 
accompagnent les  "programme s" de notre enseignement 
sec ondaire ne manque d '  intere t o  On y l i t  a to ute s 
page s que no tre ob j ec tif  princi pal doi t ? tre. 1 ' la  
formati on du jugement e t  de l ' e sprit cri t i que1 1 o 
De la formation du corns  e t  du caract'ere , de la 
pre.p aration  'b. l ' exercice d ' un met ier e t  de s droit s  
e t  devoirs  g '  un c i  t oyen ,  pas  un mo t o  Ce s 1 1
EJ spri t s" de sincarnes que nous aurons forme s - ou 
deforme s  - seront bien prg t s  8 continuer de vivre 
tout doucement a l ' interieur de s fo rme s 
ec onomiques et  soci ale s viei llie s que leur 
legueront leur s parents o ( 1 ) 
I t  ha s be en apparent from thi s brief examinati on 
of the curri culum tha t e ducati on in France has  been 
based  firmly on adult ne eds , no t on the needs of the 
child o Of overriding importanc e t o  the educator s who 
had drawn up the schedule s was not the lif e  of  the 
child in the school but the end-produc t - the member 
of the c aste di rige ante who would rule hi s life  by 
reason not p assion and wh o would pre serve the heri tage 
of p ast  value so Thus , the future engine er ,  the l awyer 
/ and the doc tor a s  well a s  the savant or the le ttre 
would be moulded by the c ommon academic die t  in the 
lyc6es and initi ated into the ways of thinking aL? the 
social  atti tude s and v alue s of the bourgeoi sie - a  
proce s s  which has been de scribed as  embourgeo i semento  
( 1 ) ' R?forme de l ' ense ignement ' ,  E sprit , no o 2 1 5 , June 
1 954 , P o  823 o 
Thi s  att i tude towards the child as  a receptacle t o  be 
filled w ith  the adult culture rather than as one to be 
assi sted towards the devel opment of individual i ty ha s 
pervaded the methods and procedure s of the school s as  
well as the curricul UITlo 
Quignard sugge sts  that the system of selec ting 
highly qualifi ed special i st teachers in each of the 
di scipl ine s has no t only tended to produce a 
c ompar tmentali sation of knowledge - a morcellement of 
cul ture - but al so i t  has brought  the methods of higher 
educat ion into the se condary school s :  I L '  . t o o o ? ense lgnemen 
se condaire e st devenu 1 1  enseignemement supe'rieu.:..? ; mai s  
le plus ui sparate - n 1 oubli ons pa s le s dix p ro fe sseur s 
diffe'rent s e t ? p our l ' enfant ? le plus  derout ant de s 
ense ignement s superieurs o  1 ( 1 ) Pro st ( 2 ) claims tha t 
between 1 800 and 1 902 a new pe1agogy had co inc ided _ wi th 
the change s in  recruitment of the profe sseurs ,  a s  from 
the end of the century the maj ori ty of secondary 
teache r s  would pass through the facultie s c  To  the 
school s they brought the pedagogical practice s of . ?he 
enseignement suplrieur - the di s sertati on, the c our s 
' ?stral , the theme rathe r  than the ver sion. The 
methods of teaching in  the secondary school s became 
those of the facultie s o  
The verbal methods of instruc tion in  French  
school s cent red on the l ec ture ex  cathedr? were noted  
( 1 ) J.  Quignard ,  ' L ' Ense ignement secondaire en Franc e ' , 
Le Francais dans le m?nde , no . 2 1 , Dec .  1 963 , . P ?  1 4 . 
( 2 )  A .  Fro st, L1Enseignernent en  France 1 800-1 961, p .  
354 . 
-? ?----
by Hope a t  the turn of the century . He c om ented on 
the p assivity of instruction wi th the exce ssive no te-
taking by the pup il s .  
The method  o f  instruc t i on i s  always collec t ive 
or  simult ane ous ,  no t individual : the chi ldren are 
expec ted to absorb completely the rathe r  narrow 
die t  assigned t o  them. They take far too many 
note s of  pep toni sed info rmati on down from dic ta?
ti on and c ommit them to  memory . ( 1 ) 
After a t our  through France inspec t ing schools  
immediately after  W orld War I the educ at ional i s t y  
Washburne , re turned to  Americ a c onvinced that the New 
Education movement  would make l i ttle headway again st 
the deeply entrenched  formal metho ds of instructi on in 
pr imary as  well as secondary scho ol s . He found that 
teacher s in  training at the e'co le s normale s were no t 
advi sed by their  tut ors to encour age pupil part ic ipa-
tion in thErtr l?r:."=nns. As one instructor t old him: 
At one time , a few year s ago , we encouraged 
the te achers  to  all ow children some freedoru 9 but 
we found tha t the children bec ame regular l i t tle  
cha tterboxe s .  They though t that  they had a r ight 
t o  di scuss any [.Ub j ec t ;  so we are now going back 
to the older  and stricter  metho ds. ( 2 ) 
Ye t de spi te the conservati sm in the school s ,  the 
experimental work  of Dewey , Decroly and Monte ssori a s  
well as  the p sychologi cal studie s of the child by Bine t  
and F i age t brought a pedagogi cal revoluti on fir st . in 
the ?coles  materne lles  and then  in the 'c ole s primaire s 
in the period be tween the wars .  One notes  that sinc e 
World War I I  the movement has  r e ached the secondary 
A. Hope , ' Franc e ' , Comparative Education ,  p .  322. 
C.  Washburne , New Schoo l s  in  the Old World, pp . 
90-1 . 
school s  w i th tre experimental c la sse s nouvelle s no t 
only bringing greater  c o-urdinati on between the sub j ec t  
areas but al so introduc ing act ive me tho ds and group 
ac tivity .  
If  the middle ?-cla s s  schools  have generalLy 
resi s ted new metho d s  and attempted t o  pre serve a forma-
l i  ty of ins tru cti on in a teache r-direc ted  clas sro om , 
they have als o str iven to maintain the ir auth ori tarian 
charac ter .  Gerbod i n  hi s s tudy o f  l ife in the French 
scho ols of tre nine teen th cen tury dispels  many o f  the 
no stalgi c legends surroundin g le  bon vieux temps. He 
ha s provided fac tual evidence of the monasti c austerity 
and the repre s sive di scipline of the bagnes de l ' enfance 
and the lyc?e s-pr isons of the time 9 and in part icular 
of the harsh regime t o  whi ch the inte rnes were subj ec t .  
? 
PI e\1 iacd by tre har sh a uthori tariani srn the pupils a t  
a number of  lyc?e s had broken  nut in open revo l t ,  a s  
at  Loui s-le-Grand i n  1 883 , whi ch r e su lted i n  the expul-
si on of 93 interne s ar.d t he excl usion  of 1 2  pup il s  from 
I all the lycee s of France , while  nn a le sFer  scale 
organi sed chahu ts  in class or in study ro oms were 
comnon . ( 1 ) If co r?oral puni shment was forbidden,  the 
pensum ( supplementary exerc i se s ) , su spension and expul-
sion were vigorously applied  t o  recalc i trants. 
Engli sh ob servers  of the t ime a l so c ommented on the 
strictne ss of the di scipline. 
rec orded hi s opinion that ' ? ? ?  
Hope , f or instanc e ,  
the French school still 
( 1 ) See? P.  Gerb od ,  La Vie guotidienne dans le s lyce?? 
e t_?oll?ges au XIXe si cl e ,  pp . 99-1 06. 
/ 
ret ains t o o  many trace s of i ts medieval and imper ial 
sp i ri t  t o  be an inspiring atmo sphere for the young ' .  ( 1 ) 
Of p arti cular co ncern t o  Hope  was the reluctance t o  
allow the pupils re sp onsibil i ty f? r managing the i r  0wn 
activities. While intelle ctual inqui ry was encouraged 
and the  pupil s were .expec ted t o  demonst-r-ate thei r 
maturi 4Y of  thought in the di ssertations  or th e 
explications de texte ? i t  was c onsidered tha t th ey were 
inc apable of self-control out side the cl assro om. In 
addi ti on , Hope criti c ised the rep?ti torat sy stem which 
the rigoro us c ontrol of pupils  required ? as in  h i s  
opini on the delegati on of re sponsibility fo r extra-
curri cular activitie s t o  non- teach ing as,i stants -
surveill ants  o r  r?p/t iteur s - inhibited the growth o f  
underst andi ng be tween teache r  and pupil . ( 2 ) Arnold, 
t oo ?  had no ted the re straint s placed upon pupils in ?he 
French schools but had at tributed thi s to the p0licy 
of pla c ing bo arding school s in the middle of c it ies  
' ? ? ?  where  space for e xe rci se and freedom of  range must  
be limi ted ,  and the b oys therefore must  be  kept more  
at  wor k  to  save them from the mi schief of be ing penned 
up tcgethe r in  idlene s3 wit h few or  no resource s of 
amusement . , ( 3 ) However ,  some recent writers  have 
suggested tha t  the reluctance  to allow children the 
opp or tuni ty t o  t est self-ini t iative in schools  goe s 
deeper than thi s and reflec t s  the t radi tional middle -
A.  Hope , ' France ' ?  C omparati ve Educ ation ,  p .  295 .  
Ibid , pp . 2 96-7 . 
M. Arnold,  School s and Unive rsi ties  on the C ont in?
ent , p .  92 . 
class e t t i tudes thQt 1 o  ? ?  all children are barbarians  
who must be  tamed and moulded ruthle s ely to  adult stan?
dards 1 ? ( 1 ) I f  since the middle of the nineteenth cen-
tury the repre s sive methods of di scipline have 
gradually ?elaxed and the boarding schools  a sso?i ?ted 
wi th this harsh regime have l o st favour ( Aries ( 2 ) 
point s  out tha t in 1 908  6gfo of lyceens were day-b oy s  
a s  against  1 0 . 5%  in  1 837-3 8 ) , i t  i s  still true that 
only c omparat ively recently have pupils  been encour aged 
to  accept re sponsibili ty in school ac tivi tie s . ( 3 ) (4 ) 
While such attitude s have been more characteri stic  of 
of the sec ondary schools thanAthe universities  which have 
a long traditi on of intellec tual freedom , the engu@ te 
in E spri t suggests  tha t aut ocratic control s remain in 
force in the g?ande s ?cole s .  There is  cri t ic i sm from 
the student s that ' ? ? ?  la pedagogie renforce l a  tendance 
k la deper sonnali sation : peu d ' ini ti ative s ,  t ravail 
c onsiddrable , c our s obligatoire s ,  di sc ipline stri c te ? ? ?  1 o ( 5 ) 
Thi s brief examination of the characteri stic s of  
the proce s s  of' education in  the middle-class scho ols  
has at tempted to  identify the tradi ti onal emphase s  of  
( 1 ) 
? ? ?  
( 4 ) 
( 5 ) 
J .  Pi t t s ,  ' C ontinui ty and Change in Bourge oi s France ' ,  
France : Change and Tradi tion?  p .  245 . 
See P . Ari&s ,  Centurie s o f  Childhood , pp . 282-3.  
See J.  Ardagh, The New French Revoluti on - A Social 
and E c?ic Survey of France 1945-1967 , PP ? 3 1 9-22 .  
F ?r  a glimpse of  the reac ti on of  the profe sseurs  
t o  the new student participati on in the lycde s  -
part i cularly after the s tudent disturbances o f  May 
1 968 - see ' La Revol te de s pro fs ' , Pari s Match , no . 
1 1 03 ,  27 June 1 970 , pp . 3-1 0 and ' Le Lycee malade ', 
L ' Exvre s s ,  no . 1 02 9 ,  29  M arch-4 April 1 97 1 , pp . 32-5 .  
See Re'forme de l ' enseignement ' , Esprit , no . 2 1 5 ,  
June 1 964 , Po 826 . 
?? 
the teaching o  1 9 30 marks a turning point in  modern 
French educati on. 
/ 
To  thi s  date the eliti?te charac te r  
of t he middle- cl as s school  sy stem triumphantly re si sted 
the pre ssure s for wider educ ati onal opp or tunitie s  whi ch 
had been building up since the nineteenth cent ury . 
Since 1 9 30 the changes  have multiplied as  the sp ir it of  
egalitarian? sm has  sought to make the  middle-class cul-
ture acce ssible to all ,  thus nece ssitating a radi cal 
re structuring of  the system. The law of 1 6  April 1 930 
whi ch made sec ondary educati on free , and the moves  
I . towarcis  the co?ncept  o f  an e c ole unlq ue wi eh a more 
effective liruc be tween the pr imary and secondary cycle s ,  
that were ini ti ated  by Jean Zay i n  1 9 37 , continued by 
the r epor t of t he Langevin-'Nal lon c ommi ssi on in 1 94 7 
and f inally emboc ?.ed  in the reforms  of  the Fifth 
Republic , have widened  the ent ry t o  the secondary 
schoo ls and brought a re-evaluat ion of the old  
pedagogical canons. Fo r the c on servative s, amongst 
whom may be numbered Duhamel , rv1 arti n du Gard and 
Romains ,  there have been  fears  tha t the pupil  explo sion 
will lead to a lower ing of  academic s tandards and 
re sult in  a debasement  of  the culture of the middle 
c lasse s .  The strength  o f  the oppos i t i on t o  new 
development s  by th ose who se experience had been of the 
I 
lycee s of the turn of  the century will be  gauged by the 
examinati on of the attitude s  to formal educati on of  the 
three writers  in the next  sec ti on. 
.?!. 
P .ART II :  THE VIEV'IS OF ?v:Eb_!J..RTIN DU  GARD 
.AND ROiv'iAI NS ON THE EDUCAT?PROCESS. 
GEORGES DUHAivlEL ( 1 884- 1 966) 
1 .  The Family ( a ) Autobiographical de tai lso 
(b )  Gereral views on the educativ? . 
pro c e ss o  
2 .  The School ( a ) Autobiographical  detai lso  
THE F.A1IILY: 
(b )  General  v iews on  the educative  
process o  
The comment s which Duhamel has offered on  the sub?
ject  of familial edu cat i on fal l into two broad  areas o  
There are , f i rstly , the references  t o  hi s own upbring?
ing , parti cularly those whi ch he has recorded in the 
Lumi'ere s sur ma vie series  ( 1 944-1 953 ) o The se 
constitu te an invaluabl e sour ce  of info rmati on on . th e ,  
effec t  on the writ er  of  the horn:; environment in  . .  a 
family of the Pari sian peti t e  bourgeoi sie . Secondly , 
there are the  general vi ews  whi eh Duhamel has expre ssed  
in  hi s memoire s ,  e ssays , arti cle s and fictional works 
( excluding Chronigue de s P asqui er which  will be studied 
in detail  in Part  III ) , on the place of the family , i t s  
func t:ion as  an educational agency and the atti tudes 
whi ch parents  should take towards the intelle ctual and 
moral formation of  their children. 
The events of Duhamel ' s  childhood and adole scence 
are de scribed in Inventaire de 1 '  abfme and Biographie. 
de mes fantSmes ,  the f irst two volume s of  Lurnieres  sur 
ma vie . In the se autobiographical note s he attempts 
t o  analyse the interac ting fac to rs  in  his  home whi ch 
have shaped his  abi l i tie s ,  interest s ?  a tti tude s and 
mode s of thinking , al though he recogni se s the difficulty 
of  viewing one ' s p ast ob j ectivelyo  He admi t s ,  further-
more , th at he ha s ser ious defic iencies  as a memorial i st :  
' La pen see d '  un arti s te experiment e  e st tou j, our s 
de'fo rmat ri ce ' o ( 1 ) At  tte same time he is  well aware 
that an ac count of  one ' s ori gi ns must nece s eari ly be  
incomplete as  there are lR rge areas  of ch ildho od expe-
rience  whi ch remain hi dden from  the intro spect ive gaze o 
There exis ts  in each per son ' s consci ousnes s  ' o  o o un 
monde enseveli , un ab ime ' ( 2 ) in whi ch is  lost  the 
fragrance of ' o  o o ce t te enfarce merveilleuse ' o ( 3 )  
Neve l' thele ss , wi th it s limit ati ons the Lumiere s sur ma 
y_ie sequence doe s ,  as  the ti t le sugge sts , she d :Ugh t 
on the author ' s  fo rmat ive influence s "  
George s Duhame l 9  wh o was  born on  30  June 1 884, was  
the seventh of  ei ght chi ldren , of wh om only fou r 
survived :  Ro se , Loui se 9 Ge orBe s and Vi c t or .  H i s  
parent s a t  the t ime of  his bi rth were livi ng in  Paris  
in  the rue Coypel ,  but thi s stay was  to  be brief " 
Soon there were t o  be  the unsettling ' o .  o migrati ons 
familial es o  o o '  (4 ) from and to  P ari s re sul ting from the 
abrupt charg e s  of occupat ion  of the re stle ss  father , 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
?G? 
Inven taire  de 1 '  abi'rne , P o 237 o 
Le s Plaisirs  et  le s jeux - Memoire s  du Cuib e t  du 
TiOL!J2. , p .  1 5 . 
Ibid,  P o 1 5 o  
!nventaire de l ' abtme , p .  1 90 .  
Pierre-Emile Duhamel - newspaper  c orre spondent in Le 
Havre , chL cken farmer in the Nievre , shopkeeper  in 
Pari s ,  before qualifying as a doe t or at the age of 
fifty-one . In all ,  Geo rge s Duhamel  was  to experiem e  
for ty-three such family d isplacemen ts .  Thi s nomadic  
exi stence would have a ma j or effect  upnn his  p er sonali ty 
and social development .  The instabil i ty of  his family 
l ife , whi ch  was direc tly at tribut able to  hi s fath er ' s 
inabili ty to achieve per sonal equilibrium and balance , 
c auseu him to  reac t again st  hi s father ' s  l ife- style . 
As he explains in J;,e Temp s  de l a  rechercJJ:e ? 1 o . .  Ma 
vie a etd une 1:?ngue re'ac tion c ontre l ' humeur de men 
p'ere , se s sursauts ,  se s lubies  ? ? ? 1 ( 1 )  On the othe r  
hand he w as drawn t oN ards the moderati on and calm of  
hi s mo ther  whn ende avour ed  to  preserve the mor al uni ty 
of the  foyer despi te  her husba nd ' s i rre sponsibili ty .  
' ? ?  c Le s vertus maternelles  m 1 c nt e't?  de grand 
l 1 ( 2 ) exemp e ? ? ?  Mau:L"' iac see s in Duhamel ' s d isordered 
hom? life  the gene si s of hi s strong defence of  tradi-
ti onal bourgeo is  -val ues :  
Ge orges Duhamel avai t trop sou:ffer t  dans son 
enfanc e et dans sa jeune s f.'e de tout  ce  que 
signifie 1 1boh'eme 1 1 p our n '  avoir pas  eu l 1 ambiti on ,  
des qu 1 il en eut ac qui s les  moyens , de batir  une 
vraie maison , un vrai :foy er , de fond? une :f?ille  
au sens le  plus t radi t ionnel . Non seulement il  
ne partag0ait p as la  haine et  le  mepri s  du 
bourgeoi s si rdpandus chez  les  ?crivain s e t  le s 
art i ste s depui s l e s  temp s roman t ique s ,  e t  dont le s 
ec r ivains le s plus bourgeo i s  ne se dd:fendaient pas , 
mai s il  savai t  d ' experi enc e que les  v ice s  bourgeo i s 
ne sent que 1' enve rs de vertus bourgeoi se s  o .  o 
e t  qu' il 1'\1 y a rie n  de p ire au monde que le  
Le Temps de l a  recherche , p .  46 .  
Ibid ,  p .  47 . 
deBordre e t  que le  tourment d ' une vie sans regle 
e t  san s freino ( 1 )  
Duh amel ' s rnemor ies  of hi s e arly childhood are 
filled with  the love and the at tentive  care of his  
mo ?her o ' Son e s'P ri t e st sur nous , vol tige autour de 
no us ,  ccmrne un ge'nie a t tentif o ' ( 2 ) The t imid, siekly 
child wa s drawn close t o  hi s mo ths r and bound to  her 
in emo ti unal dependency - a si tua t ion whi eh Pi t t s  ( 3 ) 
ha s sugge sted to  be charac teris tic of  the mo ther-eh ild 
interacti on in the French bou rgeoi s  family o Further-
mo re , thi s warm r6lati onship was to persi s t  through 
childhood and adole scen ce and the high regard in whi ch 
Duhamel ha s held hi s mothe r is  evident in the p age s of  hi s 
I . 
She was tte image of the rr{e re servante , the menlOlre S o  
mother dedi cat<Jd t o  the maint enance of  the securi ty and 
the welfsre of the foyer who ha s c oloured his  views of 
mo therhoodo  
J ' ai c onnu des cent aines de m?re s franc ai se s  
qui ont mene,  qui m?nent encore chaquc j ou r? ce t te 
noble v ie d 1 abn6gati on e t  de de'vouernent o o ? Que 
si , dan s mille et mille ans ,  nn me demande quel 
fut le pays dans le quel j 1 ai vu le j our ,  j e  
re'pondrai sans hesi t er :  " l e  pays de s femme s 
vertueuse s  e t  nobles qui , de l ' aube au soir  e t  du 
mariage 'a leur dernier souf fle , acc ompli s sent , 
silencieusement , entre le s quatre murs de leurs 
m3.i sons , d ' obscurs mi racle s ado rable s" o (4 )  
H i s mo ther ' s warr.1 nurtu ring helped t o  compe nsate 
f0r hi s father ' s example , f.o r in the p or trai t whi ch he 
has  drawn of his fathe r we see a man temperamentally 
( 1 ) 
(4) 
F o  Mauriac ' Duhame l parmi nou s ' , Geo rges Duhamel 
( 1 884-1 966) - Temoignage s , P o  9 o 
Inve?ire de 1 1 abime , P o 33 o 
See J o  Pitts ,  ' c ontinuity and Change in Bourge? i s  
Franc e ' , France :  Change and Tradit ion , P o  249 o  
Inven tai re de l '  ablrre , pp . 81 -2 . 
unsui t ed to family re Sp onsibilit ie s .  Duhamel writ es  
of  hi s father in  the se terms : ' J ' ai vu peu d ' hommes 
mo ins fait s pour por ter  l e  lourd  fardeau QU 1 il s ' e tai t  
d 1 ailleurs  l ibrerre nt donne? ce  farde au d 1 une famille 
encombrante . 1 ( i ) By nat ure ' ? ? ? all'egre e t  
11 I ( 2 )  h t ,_ . h Quere eur o o o , wi t a cha rac er  W1 . 1c was  
1 o o o difficilement intel ligible c o o ' ? ( 3 )  in  turns  
moody and high- spir ited , e asily dis c our aged and yet on 
occasio::1s c apable of stubborn perserveranc e , Pierre-
Emile Duhamel was a strange mixture cf tm rebel and 
the s oc i al climber .  I t  is  cert ain tha t t o  the son the 
father remained an enigma and tha t hi s a t tempt s t o  
understand hi s father ' s  mot ive s and t o  unravel hi s 
c omplex natur e were- unavailing. fu o rc over , preoccupied  
wi th hi s i-1ml t ifari ous  pl ans  and per sonal ambiti ons , 
ob se ssed by the vi si on of  making hi s for tune and 
achieving soci al advancement , M .  Duhamel abanci. oned the 
management of the ho!TB t o  hi s wife and ent e red l i t tle 
into the live s of the chi ldren . Yet , it i s  with  a 
note  of wonder  tha t Geo rge s  Duhamel se t s  down the fact 
that despi te the burden that family tie s mu st have 
meant t o  thi s individualist , he aecl ined to t ake the 
easier c ou r se of de serting hi s wife and children ? 
? ? ?  Quand il m ' arri ve de penser QU' il a porte 
ce fardeau , tant  mal que bien,  jus Qu 1 au terme , en 
depit de toute s sor tes de faux-pa s et de 
defaill ance s ,  j e  rec onnai s  e t  je salue l ' empire 
de la l o i  mor al e ,  meme sur ceux qui p rennent 
Ibid , P ?  1 99 .  
I"oid,  p .  1 99 .  
Ibid , P o 58 . 
plai si r  a en parler fr ivolement . ( 1 ) 
I t  w a s  the mothe r Vlho sup ervi se d  the educ ati onal 
devel opment of the  four ch ildren as the father was  
lacking the ti m2 or t he pa ti ence to  carry out  thi s 
duty . I n  Invent aire de l '  abfrre the inabili ty of the 
father to understand hi s son ' s ne ed for luve and a t ten-
ti on is  cle.arl y shown.  An example of the ab sGnce  of  
an effe c t ive c ommunic ati u n  between father ani  son 
c oncerns  the dis tre ss  o f  t he f our -ye ar- old boy at  the 
?' 
r ough behaviour of hi s fellow pupils  at the ?co le 
?rimai re and hi s yearning for  p aternal sympathy . 
Man p?re , enivrd de s mil le soucis  de son 
exi stencie personnel le , me regardai t avec  i rri t a?
ti C ?'l et  di sai t en haussant le  s epaule s: "Rends 
c oup su r coup , si non t u  ne seras  pas  heureux1 ' . 
Ivlai s ,  t au t  de sui te re ssai s i de ses  trac a s  
per sonnels , il  me lai secd. t a me s f'OITJbre s medit a?
t ions de p etit  gar? on anxi eux.  ( 2 ) 
On ano the r o c casion  tre small bo;y had tr ie d  to ple a se 
hi s fa the r  by admit ting that h i s  amb i ti on was to  s tudy 
rlle: di c ine . ' L '  homrre e'tonnan t fa it un so urire e t  re'pnnd: 
1 1 C ' e st un3 1Jonne idde? "  Puis il p ense a aut re chose . ' ( 3 ) 
I t  i s  not iceable in Inventair e de l '  ahlLTB 
that Pierre-Emile Duhamel ' s cha rac teri stic  phrase  is 
; 'P ourquc i  pa s? n when he wi she s to  avoid furthe r 
questi onirg by his  son . Thi s method of  e sc ap e  is seen , 
for instance , whe n Geor ges  Duhamel a sked his  father 
for perrr.ti ssion to transfer from the cou:r? comple'mentaire s 
t o  a lycee so that he might obtain the qualif icati ons 
Ibid , p. 1 99 ,  
Ibid , P ?  50 . 
Ibid, p.  1 23 .  
68 
necessary for co m enc ing medi cal studi es o  
Il hau ssa  legerement le s e'raule s ,  remua les  
sourcils  et  repondi t :  "Au lyc?e? P ourquoi p as'r 
Si  tu croi  s que c I e st ne'ce ssaire  0 i f  0 0 '  Il  repd tai t :  
"Pcurquoi  pa s? "  E t  jc;  comprenai s tres bie n qu 1 il 
pensait a autre  cho se . ( 1 ) 
As  vre have seen , i t  was from  hi s mo ther that 
Ge orge s Duh?nel gained emo ti onal securi ty o  She 
at temp ted throughout hi s chi ldhood and youth to provide 
the mo ral and soci al training whi ch her husband 
negl cc tedo C onsc ie nt iou s  and hardworking , she  led an 
' ? o .  e'ternell e exi stence de m? re servant e '  9 ( 2 )  always 
OCCUpied by her c:'.:!.ldren I S  ne eds ,  1 o o 0 attenti Ve a 
mille e t  mille traca s ' o ( 3 ) The conc e rn of ?ne Duhame l 
to  devel op moral j udgment in h ,_;r children is  be st  
i llustrated in  the incident when she tried  to  expla in 
to her son the meaning of honesty after  i t  v,;as  disc o-
vered that he had t aken some m()ney from hi s parents '  
r oomo 
Elle me prit  RlJ T' Pe s genoux et c ommen\! a de 
m ' expliquer le s chc se s de l ' honnetete c Elle le 
fai sait avec force , avec de s mo t s  ne t s  e t  surs 
c omri13 ceux d ' une religio n ;  rnai s e lle poussai t de 
temp s en temps , un l cng s oupir ,  parce  qu 1 .::. l allai t 
falloir  aussi  surveille r l e  feu sous la c oc o t te 
e t  repr iser l e  l inge e t  c irer les  chaus sure s .  
N ' impo rte , l a  l ec on fut donnee . (4 )  ; 
Ardagh ( 5 ) has de scribed  the  tradi tional taboos  
against di scussion of  sexual matters  in  fro nt of  the 
children in middle-cla ss  home s and the inhibi ti ons of 
p arent s whi c h  have l imited  the opp ortunitie s  of effect ive 
----- ---------
1 )  Ibid,  P o  1 5 1 .  
32 ) Ibid , : l o  8 1  o 
) Ibid,  P o 89 o 
4 )  Ibid,  P o  54 o 5 ) J. Ardagh ,  The New Fren ch Revoluti on - A Socia l and 
Ec ?nomic Surv??France 1945-12?1, p .  248. 
sex educ ati on., Duhamel ' s father was no excep ti on., 
When he di scovered tha t hi s so n was reading through hi s 
medic al text-books he pr eferred  to  ignore thi s obvi ous  
intere st  in the basic fac ts  o f  sex . 
Il c ommen? a de m ' expliquer , ironiquement , 
que ce n ' etaient point la de s lec ture s p our un 
garc on a peine pubere . C omme je  le regardai s 
d ' un oeil a t tentif , il fi t devier l ' entre t ien et 
s ' 8vada sans peine.  Et pui s , il n ' y pensa plu s.  
J ' y pensai l ongtemps encore o ( 1 ) 
One note s that Duhamel ha s always showed c ompassi on for  
the problems of sexual ad  jus  trr:e nt of  the adole seen t .  
He  ss:y s ,  for instance ,  that he has  ' ., .  o l cnguemen t 
refldchi c o o  aux problkme s que la sexuali te ne cesse de 
p o ser avec vehemence k t ous l es educ ateur s ' o ( 2 ) . Argu-
ing th at  a delayed age fo r marriage increase s the se 
difficul tie s , he sugge sts  tha t  le mariage precoce 
represen ts  1 o o o  une s oluti on o c a qui parait sedui sante 
en un temps ou le s prejuge's bourgeo is  e t  le s c onsidera?
tions financ ieres  n ' ont plus autant d ' empi re sur le s  
espri t  s 0 e 0 ' .( 3 )  
Although Duhamel was  e ncou raged t o  at tend ma ss and 
to  receive catechism instru c ti on at Notre-Dame de s 
Champs , hi s parent s do not appear to  have a t tempted t o  
exert a p o sitive influence on h i s  spir itual devel opment o 
S o on after hi s fir st communi on there was t o  be a lo ss 
of faith f ollowing a p er iod of sickne ss  and anxie ty o  
Duhamel reco rds that  after a period  of prayer in Notre?
Drune des Champs he had fel t suddenly 1 o o o  un ineffable 
? 1 ) Inventai re de 1 1 ab!me , pp ., 1 39-40 .  
2 ) _  Bi?graphie de me s  fant?mes ,  Po 33 . 
3 ) ? Ib?d , pp ., 34-5 o  
lQ 
alle'gerre nt ' ( 1 ) and he had begun to pray in his  own 
wo rds .  1 Cette pri'e re t out e  nouvelle O H  etai t comme 
o o o un libre entretien avec l ' e spri t  de Dieu , une 
cocnrrru.nion parfai te avec la pui ssance supreme 1 . ( 2 ) He 
felt  that this  expe rienc e cculd no t be reconciled -with 
the teaching s  of the Catholic  church regarding the 
indirect acce ss  of the ;lE:: l .LcYcr to God.  But it  i s  
with  regret tha t  Duhamel writes  that as a re sult of 
th b I f . / d  a t  experi ence he wo?ld no  longer e ? o ? avor?c e  e
la  foi  rel igieuse 1 ( 3 ) ? that i s  t o  say rel igious faith 
in any orthodox Catholi c sense .  
Duhamel has also regret ted  that his  paren ts  did 
not pro vide him with a music al educat). on. I t  i s  obvi- . 
cus that from an early age he had developed a passi on 
for music . We read, for instance , that during the 
years 1 890  to 1 894 he was imp rovi sing in strument s  out 
rf c igar boxe s and plant s talks .  But Duhamel was not 
t o  le arn to read music ti ll the age of thir ty-two .  He 
co njectu re s  tha t had he learnt music in hi s childhood 
' ? ? ?  j 1 aurai s pu di re , avec de s son s , l 1 e ssent iel de ce 
que j 1 aurai s a dire 1 o (4)  
Influencing Geor ge s  Duhamel 1 s intellec tual develop-
rrent was tte example of hi s father and the encouragement 
of  his  mothe r .  A s  w e  have seen,  Pierre-Emile  Duhamel 
had ne ithe r the time nor the inclinati on to  ensure that  
hi s s on gained  mind and imaginati on stimulati on in  the 
Invent aire de l 1 abtme , P ? 1 25o 
Ibid , P ? 1 26. 
Ibid, p .  1 26 .  
Ibid , P o 9 1 , 
l1 
home environment o The father p o sse ssed few bo oks  - a 
dic tionary , some wo rks of Gavarni and s ome medi cal 
text s - and indeed hi s studies left  him lit tle 
opp ortuni ty for cul tur al ac t ivit ies o  He did , however , 
admire the nove l s  of Balzac , Flaubert and Z ola  and hi s 
scorn of le sser  noveli stF was not l o st on hi s son. ( 1 ) 
Engro SSed in hi s ovm studie s ,  P ierre-Emile 
Duhamel did no t seem to  be c onsci ous that hi s sons ' 
l ack of  a secondary educ at ion would affect thei r career 
opportuni ti es o  Ho -vvever , when thi s was finally brought 
to hi s at tenti on he readily agre ed to accept the 
expense involved in transferring b o th hi s boys t o  a 
Perhap s c onscious of hi s mi stake in no t plac-
ing Ge orge s in a lyce? till he was f ourteen he made 
arrangement s at  the 1ycee at Nevers ,  when the family 
moved from Paris , for George s t o  be  promot ed from 
During his  later medical 
studie s George s Duhamel was to  continue t o  rece ive 
moral and f inanc ial  support from hi s parents o  But 
probably more important for Duhame l ' s ment al growth  wa s 
the stimulus value of hi s father ' s  scholastic  acti-
vi ties .  For at t he t ime when George s Duharnel was 
receiving his  primary educat i on hi s fathe r ,  then in his  
mid-fo rtie s ,  was  studying Latin and Greek in a bel a ted  
at tempt to  qualify fo r admit tance to  the Ecole de 
Mfidecine .  Later,  in Le?_Espoi rs  et  le s ?preuve s 
tribute i s  p ai d  to  Pi erre-Emile  Duharnel ' s efforts  to 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  p .  1 39 .  
gain acc e ss to  the learning whi ch hi s pea sant and 
artisan ance stor s in  the Ile de France had been deniedo 
Mon pere m ' a donne , de s que j 1 ai pu tenir 
l ' oe il ouvert ,  le spectacle d 1 un de ce s hommes 
partis de peu,  e t  qui ,  non sans  effor t s ,  non sans 
bonds et non sans chute s ,  ont doul oureusement 
montci la pente e t  prepare par ainsi le depart de s 
nouvelle s gen? rations o o o Je songe , avec une 
tendre sse :parfoi s  S?Ouri ante et  consolee ,  a 
l ' e trange a scensiOruii ste de l 1 intelligence , a 
celui qui nous avait  enseigne le re spe c t  du 
savoir , le culte de s livre s ,  l a  certi tude qu ' un 
travail acharn? parte en so i de s rdc ompense s 
magnifique so  ( 1 )  
Havighurst ( 2 ) sugge sts  tha t O.lle of the e ssential 
developmental tasks  of adole scence i s  to gain emo ti onal 
independence of parent s and other adult so As we have 
seen.J the emo tional ti e s  be tween George s Duhamel and hi s 
mo ther we re strongo The unse ttled exi stence of hi s 
family had robbed him of the opportuni ty of f orming 
l ast ing friendships  wi th hi s pe ers and would seem to  
have tended to  inc rease hi s dependence on hi s mo thero 
Cert ainly , the account of hi s childhood and adole scence 
emphasi se s  hi s soli tude 9 al though hi s affe c ti on for his 
younger bro ther , Vic t or ,  was some con solation for  hi s 
l ack of  companions o  N or  was there a clo se a ssocia tion 
wi th the members  of  the extended family as  the rela-
tions of Pierre-Emile Duhamel and hi s kin were strainedo 
Simil arly , the que rul ous nature of the f athe r  and hi s 
lubric ity tended t o  i solate the family from the so c ial 
group o I t  was only during hi s final years  at  the 
Inst i tuti on Roger-Momenhe im and during hi s medical 
Le s E spoirs  e t  les epreuve s ,  PP o 2 57-So  
See R .  Havighur st , Devel opmental Tasks  and Educa?
tion,  PP o 42-5 o  
studie s  that Georges Duhamel was ab le t o  make stable 
and enduring friendship s .  But if  gradually he was 
able to find support and accep tance out side the imme-
di a?e family,  final separati on from hi s family in 1 904 , 
when hi s p arent s were at Dourdan, hi s si sters about t o  
ma:.'ry and his brothe r  abro ad ,  leaving him al one in  
Pari s ,  temporari ly threw his  l ife int o di sorder o With 
independence c ame a b ohemian exi stenc e before hi s wi ll 
to succeed ?e nsserted i t self o  
After considering hi s family life George s Dw1amel 
has declarerl_: ' ,Je ne voudrai s ,  p our rien  au monde , 
revivre me s ann?e s  d 1 enfance . ' ( i ) Hi s father ' s  
irre sponsibil :i_ ty , hi s sudden whims and fancie s  vrhich 
had endangered the securi ty of the fo.Y?._r_, his irrfideli ty 
which had brought di stre s s  to hi s f?lily , as well as 
hi s irritabili ty and inabil i ty to communi cate effect?
ively with the children had c aused DuhatJJel 1 s childhood 
to be marked by anxie ty nnd de epai r .  Yet hi s faith 
in  the funct i on of the family to  trai n  the chi ldren for  
obedience to  the di sc iplines of social life would not 
be seriously impaired. He c ondemns hi s fathe r ' s pro-
found ego ti sm ,  his ' ? ? ?  sent iment tr.e s imparfai t de s 
obligati ons imperatives  que d?termine l a  vie en groupe ' ( 2 )  
and assert s  that if he himse lf subscribe s to the tene t s  
of  philo sophical individuali sm ,  neverthe less  he remains , 
unlike hi s father ,  ' ? ? ?  un individuali ste disciplin? ' . ( 3 )  
! 1 ) Inventaire de l 1 abime , p .  52 . 
2 )  Biographie.._.9&_mes fant 6me?, p .  62 . 
3 )  Ibid ,  p .  62.  
Indeed , he claims tha t  it  was hi s fathe r ' s failure to  
provide a stable home environment wh ich made him real i se 
that firm parental control i s  e ssential c  
J ' ai t ou j our s eu ? de la tamille ? une idee 
haute e t  rigoureuse .  Le s defaillance s de man 
pere me fortifiaient dans  c e t te pa ssion. I i  me 
semblai t p arfois  que j e  devai s ,  'a sa place , moi ,  
l ' a1ne/ de s garcons , veiller e t  refl?chir .  Plus 
tard , A._yant cre.3 moi-meme un foyer , j 1 ai touj ours 
eu un sent iment tre s  serre de s devoir s que do i t  
assume r le cap i t aine du navire . ( 1 ) 
Ap art from the tensi ons between father and son ,  
another experi ence  in  the life of  the family whi ch had 
reinforced hi s belief in  the imp ortance of resp onsible 
parenthood was the unhappy first  marri age of hi s si s te r , 
Rose .  Suffer ing from the ill ten?er of her husband ,  
Rose had taken refuge in  her parent s '  home. As a 
re sult of the painful scene when the enraged husb and 
had forced  entry to cla im custody of hi s son ,  Dw1amel 
was to experienc e for the fir st t ime the painful 
re spiration blo ck whi ch was to affl i c t  him through 
l ife . In c ommenting on thi s inc ident he has noted 
that  at  that  time he and hi s family had supported  R o se 
in her pe t it i on for divorce ,  although in the families  
of the bourgeoisi e  such a proceJure was accep te d  ' ? ? o  a 
contre-c oeur e t  comme une tre s facheuse extre'mi te' ' . ( 2 ) 
He state s ,  however , h i s  oppo si ti on in  principle to  e a sy 
divorce , c laiming that  there i s  a certain ' ? ? ?  cruelle 
sage sse ' ( 3 )  in the atti tude of  the C atholic  church 
towards divorce . 
lnvent aire de 1 1 abime , P o  227 . 
Biographie de me s fantame s ,  Po  66 o  
Ibid ,  P o  65 o  
A further fac t or whi ch had contributed towards 
Duhamel 1 s defenc e of tradi ti onal patterns of autho rity 
in the family was his  invo lvement  in  the c o- operative 
print ing venture of  the Abbaye - the phalanstery of 
artists  who had at tempted  to e st abli sh a 1 ? ? ? famille 
selon 1 1  e sprit  1 ( 1 ) at  Cre teil be tvJCcn Autumn 1 906 and 
Spri ng 1 908 . ( 2 )  As Duhnmel points out in hi s acc ount 
of the for tunes of the Abbuye in Le Temps de la  
J?e cherche 1 the other members  of the group had all , as  
he had , suff0red from thei r  experience of family life 
and were searching for a more comple te  family uni t 
whi ch would enr ich t he individual and no t impose  
re stric ti ons on his  pe rsonal developmGn t .  ( 3 ) Ye t . in 
their refusal to r enounce their  hard-won independence 
the Th?lemi tc s had so wn th? seeds of the fdilure of 
the ir ent erpri se o  The de c line of  the Abbaye 1 p re ssed  
by f inanc ial dif ficul ties  and riven by internal c on-
flicts ,  brought home to George s Duhrunel the fact  that 
the strength of the family as a soci al insti tuti on 
--------
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 )  
Le Temps de l a  reche rche , p .  2 7 .  
Romains  was cl osely asso ci ated  wit h  Duhamel and the 
Abbaye gr oup at  thi s time . Later the relationship 
of Romains and Duhamel became le ss  amical .  . ( See 
in Biogra?de mes fantome s 1  pp . 1 65-6 ,  Duhamel 1 s 
cri t ic i sms  of R omains ' s  imp eri ous nature and hi s 
early ambi ti ons o f  becoming a c hef_Q. 1 e'co le . ) For  
hi s pa rt 1 Romains  accuses Duhamel of undermining 
hi R effo rt s befor e Wor ld 'JVar I to uni te th e yo.ung 
generati on of  writ ers and artis ts  and f ound a ?? 
review.  ( See hi s reproachful article 1 Au Temp s de 
1 '  At.baye 1 ,  George s Duhamel ( 1 884-1 966) -
Temoignage s ,  pp . 27-33 .?  
? 
The theme of the  liberty of the individual runs 
through Duhamel 1 s early c o llecti ons of  poe try ,  
p arti cularly L ' Homme ente ?ce ( 1 9 09 )  and Selon ma loi  
( 1 9 1 0 ) .  -------
re sided no t only in the bonds of affecti on but also in 
the exerci se of di sc ipline and authori ty o 
Au j ourd ' hui , quand je  promene sur mon peti t 
domaine un regard qui est  celui du pere e t  celui 
du mai tre , je reviens a mes souvenir s e t  me ?rends 
a penser  que , j ustement , Ce  qui manquait , dan s 
no tre theleme , c ' e tait ce regard magi stral et  
paternel dont nous avi on s voulu prec isement nou s 
affranchi r o ( 1 ) 
In the essay s ,  arti c le s  and novel s of his  maturi ty 
Duhamel has stated hi s bel ief that human society 
depends upon equilibrium,  order and harmony and that 
me>dern man mus t be vigilant t o  pre serve tho se values  
whi ch have mainta ined pe ace and balan ce in social l ife 
in the past e He i s , as  Simon point s  out , the apol o-
gi st  of th e bourgeois  ideal s w i th hi s humani sm and hi s 
resp ec t  for t radit i on and indiv idual culture o I 0 0 ? Il  
repre sente  une certaine perfec ti on du bourgeo i s ,  
speci alement du bourgeoi s franca i s ,  qui en lui J 
s ' accomplit  en se depassant o  , ( 2 )  In par t icular , 
Duhamel has shown hi s concern at the divo rce between 
ma?1 and a me chanical civili sati on, exacerbated by the 
rapid  devel opment s in technology and sc ience , a trend 
which he fir st rec ogni sed as  a medical offic er at  the 
front in 1 9 1 6 .  Hi s l i terary effort s  since World War 
I have been directed tow ards the pre servation  of 
inherit ed value s ,  the advoc acy of the culture of the 
mind and the spi ri t  and the defence of the mor al 
c ivilisation against the onsl aught of ?echnigue - a 
Le Temps de la  recherche , p .  80o  I P . -H.  Simon, Ge orges  Duhamel ou  le b0urge ois  sauve , 
p 0 1 92 0 
I1 
theme that was eloquen tly expre ssed in yie de s martyr s 
1 91 4-.121.? ( 1 91 7 ) and Oivili sati on 1 914- 191 7  ( 1 91 8 ) with 
the evocation of suffering humanity in a wor ld shattered 
by the technology of war , and in tre bi t ter at tack on 
Americ an ma teriali sm in Scenes  de la vie future ( 1 930 )  o 
I t  i s  agai nst th i s  background that  one must  se t 
Duhame l ' s views  on the place of the family and the 
importance of famili al educ ationo  The family i s  seen 
as an instrument of order  and i ts c ontinued support i s  
rAgarded as es senti al fo r the stability of soc ie ty .  
I t  i s  through the guidance and training of the young 
that the moral and sp iri tual value s of the past  may be 
implanted in the new generati ono Thus he decla re s : 
' Je s ouhai te  0 0 0 que:; l n  fami lle , en tant que gr oupement 
ele'ment aire ' so it  non seulement t ole're'e ' mai s sou tenue ' 
mai s  defendu8 e t  nant ie o ' ( 1 ) With thi s high view of 
the family ' s  so cia l c onsequence he c ondemns tho oe who 
pour sco rn on traditi onal pa tterns of family l ife ,  
c rit ici sing Gide ' s celebrated comment - "Famille s ,  j e  
vou s hai s !  1 1  - as  ' ? ?  e le cri  d '  un enfant c ontrarie , 
d ' un enfant gate' , e t  non d ' ?n observateur re sponsable '  , ( 2 )  
and arguing th at the t endenc ie s in some count rie s to  
sub sti t?te State  agenci e s  fo r the family run counter to 
nature .  ' La famille e st inscrite  dans la chair mgme 
de l ' e spece ; e lle appelle , dans les  profondeurs . ' ( 3 ) 
One no te s ,  a1o o , tha t f or Duhamel the ide al i s  the 
Le Tern?? de la recherche , p .  25 . 
Ibid ,  p .  7Bo 
Ibid , p .  25. 
l oving hu sb and and the resp onsible f ather who works out 
his salvati on through orth odox soci al c hannels , as i s  
the c ase with Laurent Pasquier i n  Chronigue de s 
Pasouier , rather than the man like Salavin , the 
patheti c anti-he r? of the Salavin chronicles,  who 
leave s hi s f amily in a vain se arch for  grace .  
For George s Duhamel the r ai sing of a family had 
been one of the most  sati sfying experience s of hi s 
l ife , fulfilling the deep need tha t he had fel t t o  1 o o o  
m ' enraciner quelque part , d ' y a s surer  un foyer stable , 
d ' y nourrir de s habi tude s, d ' y  maintenir des tradi t i ons  
' ( 1 ) 0 0 0 0 In La Po sse ssi on du monde he represent s hi s 
feelings  on the birth of hi s fi r st son: ' Une j oie  
m ' e s t  echue pendant la guerre , une j o ie qui est  sans 
doutc la plus  grande de ma vie : celle d ' avo ir un 
enfant ' , ( 2 ) and in La Pe see de s ames ( 3 ) he de scribe s in 
lyrical terms hi s love fo r hi s ch ildren o (4 ) 
Thro ughout hi s works Duhamel makes numer ous  
references t o  hi s wife , the former actre ss of  the Vieux-
Colombier , Blanche Albane , hi s th ree  sons and th eir 
family life at their p astoral retreat  at Valmondoi s. 
Nowhere , however ,  doe s he explain the principle s which 
have guided the educat i on of hi s children bet ter than  
Invent air e de 1 1  abtme , p o 200o 
La P o sse ssi on du monde , Po 1 9 7 o  
See-La Pe see d?me8;" P o  2j9 c  
0? thi s vo ;:Lume 
One of the best examples of paternal l ove in 
Duhamel ' s novels  is f ound in  the relati onship of  
the p ainter , Cyprien ,  and his so n in L ' Archange de 
l?Y?Qture ( 1 955 )  o 
Terri sse makes the fo llowing comment : 
Je pense qu ' il ne serait pas  exce ssif de 
classer  parmi le s livre s pedagogi quc s 1  au m@me 
tit re que l ' Emile ,  ou le f ameux chapi tre de s 
Essai s 9  un ouvrage comme Le s Plai sirs et  le s jeux. ( 1 ) 
Such an e st imati on wou ld ap pear t o  be over-g0nerous ns 
Duhame l doe s  not at tempt to outline a complete pro-
gramme no r doe s  he expre ss idea s  on famili al educ ation 
wh ich are strikingly original o Nevertheless ,  Le s 
Plai sirs et le s jeux does reflect the humanity and the 
c onvent ional common sense of  t he wr iter and ha s 
pedagogical interest  in the keen observation o f  child 
behavi our o  
F irs t 9  Duh ?nel enj o ins  the educ ator  t o  study  the 
chi ld in an effo rt to under st and hi s physical 9 
intel lec tual  and moral needso  He pays p articul ar 
at tenti on to  the growth of language skill s and the 
exsrci se of t he imagination  ard 1 l ike Monte s sori 9 
emphasi se s  the importance o f  pl ay ac t ivi ty in child 
de vel opmen to 
"Je vai s j ouer . " Il di t cela d ' un a ir . 
pre'occupe 9 soucieux , c omme nou s di sons: " Je vai s 
travailler o 1 1  Il a rai son: j o uer est son 
occupati on essentielle , son devoi r o o o  Jouer , 
pour lui , c ' e st rever avec  tout son c orp s. ( 2 )  
Then , he reviews the various th eorie s on child train-
ing , suggest ing that the fundamental erro r in el?borat-
ing systems i s  the failure t o  take into account the 
uniquene ss  of  e ach ch ild o He claims tha t  e ach child 
mus t  be treated dif feren tly and tha t  the method s wh ich 
( 1 ) A. Terri sse , Geo rges Duhamel - Educateur , P o  ? 36 . 
( 2 ) Les Plai si rs e t  le s j oie s - Memoi re s  du Cuib e t  du 
Tioup , pp . 39-40 o 
80 
prove succe ssful for one chi ld may well fail with 
another .  Thus ,  Duhamel exp re s se s  hi s su spic ion o f  
dogmatic  utterance ?n  chi ld pedagogy and he di smi s se s  
Rous8eau ' s ?mile  a s  a ' reverie de doc trinaire ' o  ( 1 ) 
From hi s own exper ience of educating hi s elder s ons , 
Bernard and Je an ,  he sugge sts  that parents  sh ould 
respect  individual uifferences  a11d develop thei r own 
me thods wi t..h. out  necessari ly .feeling the obligati on to 
be guided by e xpe rts o H i s  advice the n i s: ' Observe 
te s enfants 9 apprends a le s connai tre et habille -2- es  
sur mesure o '  ( 2 )  
While Duhamel believe s that  th e  parent mu st sur-
round hi s child  wi th warmth o f  affec ti on and show 
t ow ards him tolerance and under standing , he sti ll i s  
c onvinced of the imp ortance of firm  di scipline o  H i s  
credo , expressed in  a lec tu re a t  th e Universite  de s 
annale s ( repor ted in C onferenc i a 9  1 5  December 1 936 )  i s :  
1 11 faut o o c aimer le s enfant s ,  mai s l e s  aimer sari S 
faiblesse o  ' ( 3 ) In thi s lec ture he att acks the trend 
towards permis sivene ss  in the family and in the school .  
Entre toute s  le s experi ence s poursuivie s  par 
la pedagogic mod erne , i l  en e st certaine s qui 
m ' inspirent beauco up plus que de l ' el o ignement e t  
m@me une tre s sincere horreur o  Ce  di sant , j e  
s onge a certaine s methodes que je  tr ouve 
demagogique s p arce  qu ' elles  ne vi sent pas ? 
instruire l ' enfant , mai s  d ' abord a le flat t er , s 
le  l ivrer sans defense a se s penchants et  a se s 
instinc t s o  Rendre le brouet du savoi r le mains 
amer? p o ssible , vo ila ,  certes ,  une bonne pensee . 
--- --------------
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 )  
Ibid ,  p .  1 91 o 
Ibid ,  P o  1 88 "  
' Le s  Chefs-d ' oouvre e t  l a  j eunesse ' ,  C onferencia ,  
no c 1 ,  1 5  Dec o  1 936 , p .  27 o  
81  
Dormer a l 1 enf ant e t  de la j o i e  e t  du plai si r ,  ?e  
trouve que c '  e s t  f ort  souhai table e  Mai s t ou-:e 
educ ation sage e st fondee sur l a  c ontrainte , 
pui squ '  elle  dc) i  t prepare r 1 '  enfant a une vie  fai te 
de contrainte s ?  d 1 obligati ons et de servitude s ? ( 1 ) 
Simil arl y,  in  the book,  M?n Royaume ( 1 932 ) ? whi ch 
rec ords hi s obse rvati ons of chi ldren at play , he . 
expre sse s hi s conviction t hat  in the absence of strict  
adult  superv i sw n children revert  to  lawlesEnes s  and 
cruelty .  
Howeve r ,  the se v iews whi ch  are typical of  hi s 
later wr it ing s c ontrast  w ith  the more liberal reflec-
t i ons on educ ati on found in La  P o sse ssion du monde o 
In 1 91 9  Duhamel could wri te :  ' La vie de l ' enfant 
qui pou sse s ans  contra inte e st un ench an tement  de 
de'couverte s , un enrichissement de chaque minute , une 
succe ssi on d ' ebloui ssement s o '  ( 2 )  I t  wo uld se em that 
by 1 930 Duhamel ' s  con cern for  re storing soci al or4?r 
and authori ty overri de s  hi s tenderne ss  and sympathy for 
the child. He rec ognise s tha t the maint enance  of 
eff'e c t ive  authori ty i s  a soc i al priority and that it i s  
the re sponsibility of the educ ator to en sure th at ? 
. re spe c t  for order and obedience  t o  the sanc tions  and 
the  due proce s ses  of the law which  regul a te c ommuni ty 
l i fe are instilled in the child.  But , if he has the 
conservative  atti tude s  of the bourgeo i s  towards c on-
trol s and a pe ssimi stic  view of natural tendenc ie s 
t ow ards dis o rder , he affirms that authori ty must be 
exerc i sed with re straint . Thi s belief he stated  in  
( 1 ) Ibid ,  pp . 27-8 .  
( 2 ) La Pos session  du monde , p .  1 04 . 
82 
the chapter entitled ' Gouvernement d ' un j ardin ' in 
Fables  de mo?rdin ( 1 935 ) . 
Tout , dans  la vie d ' un j ardin proclame 
l ' excellence du pr incipe d 1 autori t e .  Et  tout me 
demontre aussit6t  que ce principe nece ssaire , que 
ce princ ipe , a lui seul , ne saurai t diriger le 
monde ? ? ?  
Le bon j ardinier exerce l ' aut ori te mai s  avec  
regre t et  soll icitude . Il c o rrige a tout inst ant 
le  principe d ' aut ori te par le principe de 
pe rsua sion. ( 1 ) 
On the overarching gJal of educati on Ge orges  
Duhamel ha s def ini te  opini ons: ' Le bonheur de me s 
pe t i t s  homme s ,  leur  bonheur p re sent e t  futur , voi la ce 
qui m ' occupe , vo il? ce qui , en quelque me sure depend de 
mo? .' ( 2 )  Thr?Jughout hi s works i s  thi s theme o f  the 
p rimacy of the happine ss of the individual . Thu s ,  in 
La Po sse ssion du monde he wr ites :  ' Me voici quand meme 
sur que le bnnheur e st le  but de la v i e .  , ( 3 ) As he 
affir?s in La P o sse ssion du monde , human happine ss  
re side s no t in mater ial ?oss0 ssions but in  the value s  
o f  an intellectu al , moral and sp iri tual order .  The 
re al riche s are ' ? ? ? celles  qui assurent la po sse ssion 
morale du monde ' .  (4)  In a conversati on rep or ted by 
Roudaut he  has out lined  the element s of this mo ral 
c ivil i sati on whi ch he dppn se s  to a sc i enti fic  and 
technologi cal civ ilisation :  
? 1 ) 
2 )  
G? 
Dan s  l ' ordre mor al il  n 1 y a pas de 
civili sati on san s polite sse ( rapport s  entre  l e s  
humain s) , sans charite ,  sans l iberte , sans 
Fable s de mon jardi n, p .  26 .  
Le s Plai sirs e t  l e s  jeux , p . 1 81 . 
La P o s se ssion du mnnde , p .  2 2 . 
Ibid ,  p .  238 .  
de's inte're ssement . (L ' humani sme represente , dans  l ' ordre inte llectuel ,  l e  desintere ssemen t par 
exce llence . ) Sans cela  il n ' y aurai t pas  civ i l i sat ion ,  mai s barbarie . ( 1 )  
The humani tie s ,  particularly l i terature , musi c and art , 
are e s sential to  Duhamel ' s  vi si on of the moral civili sa-
tion .  As an educ ator he declare s that he ha s sought 
to teach hi s son s the cultivati on of the inner l ife , 
the nece ssi ty of  meditati on , re spec t for the intelle ct  
and apprecia tion of ae sthe tic experience . At Valm<>ndoi s 
the young Duhamel s were rai sed i n  an enriching cultural 
environmen t .  H e  refers  with pride t o  the place  o f  
music in  the life of  hi s family , the ir  formati on o f  a 
family orche str a ,  in whi ch he played the flute , and the 
enthusi a sm of hi s sons for Chopin and Wagner . He 
points  out tha t lacking musi cal training in his  chi ld-
hood he has endeavour ed t o  reme dy thi s si tua t i  on .VVi th 
his  sons . ( 2 )  Similarly ,  he takes  pleasure in rec ount-
ing the dramatic  performance s at Valmondo i s  in whi ch 
hi s sons had appeared , j o ined by the chi ldren of  the 
neighbourhood,  under the dire c ti on of his  wife , Blanche . 
For Duhamel , a s  i s  made cle ar in C onferenc i a ,  chi ldren ' s 
theatre i s  more  than entertqinment ;  i t  is  an invaluable 
means of introduc ing the chi ld to the gre at works 0:f  
l i te rature , immersing the chi ld  in the ac tion to  a 
degree not p o s sible in  o ther media.  ' La radio , .  le  
cinema , donnent un plai sir  p assif , un plai sir de 
( 1 ) J .  R oudaut , ' Ge orge s Duhamel , temoin d ' une civili sati on ' , P aru , no . 62 , July 1 950 ,  p .  25 . 
( 2 ) See Biographie de:mes fant$me s ,  p .  224 . 
pare sseux .  ' ( 1 )  Later ,  i t  will be seen that wi th the 
Baudoins in Suzanne e t  le s jeunes homme s Duhamel p ar-
tray s  a family who se musical and dramati c intere st s 
c l o sely re semble tho se  of  hi s own . Hi s bel ief  tha t 
moral and spiritual value s  should l ie  at  the hear t  of 
family life i s  devel oped in the reci t  de l '?e atomique 
which he wro te for children in 1 953. The member s  of 
the Fromond family  in  1e s V521L.?.geups de ' L ' E sperance ' , 
who after a nucle ar di saster are forced to l ive in 
i sol ation on an i sland , do  no t regret  the l .? ss of the 
mechanical aids of  modern civili sation.  Recogni sing 
that the cultivation  of the mind and sp irit i s  im?era?
tive for their  survival they embark on a family educa-
tional pro gramme whi ch include s reading ,  mathemati c s , 
natural science s ,  physi c s  and chemi stry , art and music . 
Yet if Duhamel 1 s  maj or concern a s  a p arent i s  to 
sharpen the intelligence , exerci se the imaginati on , 
stimulate contemplaticn and devel op mor al insight s 
thr ough cultural activi ty , he doe s no t ignore other 
aspec t s  of child  growth . He declare s that  he ha s 
sought to introduce  hi s sons to the j oy s  of physi cal 
endeavour - swimming ,  r owing , t ramping - but predict?
ably as a bon p?re de famille of the bourge o i si e  he 
voices  strong opp o si ti on to competit ive sport . 
J ' entends bien que ffi3 S tro i s  fil s  seront 
agiles , adro it s ,  r obuste s ,  si l a  vie me prete 
assi stance .  Je ne dedaigne pas  l ' exercice 
corpore l :  j e  l ' aime , je l e  recommande , j e  le 
( 1 ) I Les Che f' s -d f oeuvre e t  la j eunes se I ' Confe'renci a ,  no . 1 ,  1 5 Dec . 1 93 6 ,  p . 3 1 .  
souha ite souvent , au fond d ' une re trai te trop 
studieuse o Ivtai s ce tte  come'die du sp ort  avec 
laquelle on berne e t  fascine toute la  j eune s se du 
m:Jnde , j ' avoue qu ' elle me semble asse z bou:f:fonne ?. ( 1 ) 
I t  i s  in Scene s de la vie :future that he draws a 
satirical portrai t of American co llege youth wor shipping 
in the 1 o o ? nouveau temple ' ( 2 ) - the stadiumo To  
Duhamel , thi s spec tacle repre sent s the triumph o:f the 
muscular over the c erebral ; he condemns the cult  o:f 
sp ort :for  di sturbing the pri ori ti e s  o:f the young , 
creat ing :false ambi tions and unleashi ng primi tive 
:force 8 o  Even the j argon o:f sport  affronts hi s l ove 
o:f l anguage used wi th clarity  and pre c i siono  
Such then are the thoughts on  :familial education 
o:f a humani st , one who has  devoted 1 o o o [sa] vie 'B. l a  
c onnai ssance de l ' homme , ? l ' amour , a l a  de:fense , ? 
l ' eloge de l ' homme ' , ( 3 ) but who has :felt incre a singly 
out  o:f  sympathy with twent ie th century civili sat io n"  
Perhap s  the de spai r wh ich one o:f  the charac ters  in  hi s 
l a ter  ncvel s ,  the biologi s t  Patrice  Peri o t , experienc -e s  
a t  the trend s  i n  so c ial l ife and the waning o :f  :f amily 
influence e choes  the di sillusionment of the man who had 
c ommenced the century with optimism and who se naive 
:fai th in  mor al progre ss  had been shattered by the 
experienc e s  o:f  1 9 '1 4- 1 8 o  
"Est-il sage d ' engendrer de s enf'ant s ,  surtout 
dans ce s temps maudi t s? o o o  Il  n ' y a plus ni 
repo s ,  ni  re:fuge o Il n ' y a plus ni lumiere , ni 
voix qui t ombe de s e space s inf'ini s o  Nous  viv ons 
Scene s de la vie :future , P o  1 63 o  
I bid , p o 1 58 o 
ibid ,  P o 1 95 o  
86  
dans un monde mort . " ' ( 1 ) 
The c ontrast  i s  marked 1  then , be tween the young liberal 
who at the t ime of  the Abbaye had celebrated the righ t s  
of  the individual to  live ' selon [saj loi ' and the 
writer of Le Voyage de Pa tri ce PE!ri ot  who ,  profoundJ:y 
troubled by modern trends 1 preache s a return to the 
value s whi ch had supp orted family life in the pa st and 
a revival of  di scipline and order .  As one who 
realise s the anarchy which re sult s from unre strained 
individual i sm he write s  in 19 54 in hi s art icle on 
C ulette : ' .. . .  La vraie liber te supp o se l ' accep tat i on 
de s di scipline s f ondament ale s . ' ( 2 ) 
THE SCHOOL:  
Because of the impecuni o si ty of hi s family the 
introduction of Georges  Duhamel to  formal schooling was 
to be the predominantly working-cla s s  ec0l?ommunale . 
After a brief  peri od in an ecol?tnater?lle he entered 
I 
the ecole primai re in the rue de Reuilly ,  the first  of 
the many schools  whi ch he wa s to attend in Par i s  and 
the provinc e s  during hi s i tinerant chi ldhood.,  The 
p i cture whi ch Duhamel ha s given of l i fe i n  the elemen?
tary schools  at the turn of t he century i s  a bleak one . 
H i s  acquaintance wi th the pupil s who frequented  the 
1 o e o  bat iment s chagrins 0 0 0  , ( 3 )  of  the ecole s c ommunale s  
was to  create the impre ssi on that the wor ld was  p eopled 
( 3 ) 
Le Voyage de Patri ce Peri ot , pp . 1 87-8 .  
'Le Souvenir de C olette ' ,  Mercure de France , 
? 1 094 , 1 O c t. 1 9 54 , P ?  290 . 
Invent aire de l 1 abime , p .  1 1 1 . 
no . 
by ' ? ? ? animaux de pro ie ' .  ( 1 ) The timid , frail child 
leaves the shelter  of hi s lower middle -cla ss home and 
f inds himself among st :  ? ? ?  de s gar?ons vigoureux , 
querelleurs , habile s  a j ouer de s poings e t  de s savate s 
.:le a  
e t  qui reglaient selon  la loi  ? jungle tou s le s 
pr obleme s de l_ a vie en so c ie te ' . ( 2 ) The view that  
children tend to  bec ome vici nus when  they  are not sub-
j e c t  to  stric t adult controJ was confirmP.d by the expe?
rience s in a co lonie scolaire at Compibgne in 1 895 when 
the young Duhamel ' s holiday was marred by the quarre l-
ling and fighting of his  fellow pupils .  From hi s 
e arly schooldays come s  the theme of e scape and re treat 
which runs through hi s works and the thi r st for 
soli tude and medi t atio n. ' D? s  cet  age tendre , j 1 ai 
" ; I ' ' reve de retrai te s ide ale s ou les  es ?ri t s  assoiffe s de 
medit ati on pourraient cherche r asile contre  un monde 
furieux . ' ( 3 ) 
But in marke d con tra st with the behaviour of the 
e'colj_er s of the element ary scho ol s  was that of the 
pupil s  in the c our s c omplementaire s in  the rue Bl omet . 
Here , arter gaining the certific at d ' etude s in 1 8 95 , 
Duhamel  mingle d wi th a working-cla ss  ?lite who se taste s 
and gbili tie s were closer  to  hi s own. At primary 
scho ol in the rue de Reuilly or the rue de Vaugi rard he ? 
had shrunk from assoc iat ion wi th the other chi ldren. 
Now he found himself e agerly awaiting the recreation 
Ibid , p.  50. 
Ibid , p .  49-50 .  
Ibid , p .  5 1 . 
88 
periods whi ch were filled wi?h anima?ed discussions on  
the arts  and poli ti c s . Mo reove ry the cou rs 
?cmplebentai re s at tracted teachers of  high calibre who 
were intere sted in the academic pro gre ss  of their pupils , 
unlike the ' . < .  geoliers plus ou mains rude s ,  plus -ou 
mains tolerable s '  (1) of the eco le s c ommunale s.  One 
of these teache r s  ap pears  in Inventair e  de l ' ab ime 
Lalleman t ,  the profe s :::eur de li t tera tu re franc ai se  whom 
Duhamel remember s as an incomparable re ader whq 
enlivene d  the last  quarter of an hour of  le ssons . w_i,th 
his delivery of a scene from Cyrano de Bergerac . But 
if friendl;y re lat i onship s exi s ted  be tween t e achers  and 
pupils  thi s did not rr? an tha t the studies  were any le ss  
intellec tually demanding.  ' Le .  r?gime de  travail 
auquel se trouvaient soumi s le s enfants dans ce s e'c ole s 
etsit  for t  severe , le s mati?r?3 S innombrable s , le s 
composi tions e t  devoirs  frequent s c ' ( 2 )  Indeed ,  i -t. was  
later to  bec ome apparent to Duhamel that the acad?mic 
di scipline of the cour s com?lementaire s was in  no way 
inferior  to  that of the lycee s .  The boy who had been 
' ? ? ?  un eleve mediocre et nullement eveille 1 ( 3 ) was t o  
b e  challenged by the cour se of  s tudie s  at the rue 
Blomet to ut ilise  fully hi s intell ec tual power s. At 
the end of hi s fir st year in  the cours  c omplemen taire s  
he surprised  himself and hi s p arent s by hi s suc ce ss .  
' Le gar9on au tablier  noir  emporte  quinze nominations , 
Ibid , p .  1 33 .  
Ibid ,  p .  1 50 .  
Ibid , p .  96 . 
hui t premiers  prix ,  e t  meme le prix d ' excellence e t  en 
outre une medai lle d ' argent o , ( 1 ) 
After hi s second year of c ours  complement aire s 
Duhamel vvas  conscious of fau sse route , re ali sing that 
if  he was t o  become a doc to r then he must transfer to  
a lycee as the lack of a secondary educati on  would 
effectively block hi s acce s s  to the professi ons .  .Hi s 
reque st to his father for  the opportuni ty of a lycee 
educati on was followed by the deci sion trJ ente r  bot.b. 
George s and Victor in  the cla ssic s cour se at the Lycee 
Buff on - a f'chocl whi eh at tha t time ( 1 898 ) was ' o ? ?  
flambant neuf ' . ( 2 )  By thi s stage the financ i al p o si-
tion of the family had impro ved with M. Duhamel '  s 
c ompJe ti cn o f  hi s final medical examinations and i t  was 
p r:- ssible for the sons t .-:J be provided with the secondary 
educati on whi ch the fathe r had been denied be c ause of 
his  rural background . But a s  the re sult of hi s late 
start  j_ n Latin and Greek Ge orge s  Duhamel was  placed in 
_f?L?Cieme - thi s dP spi te the fac t  that at f ourteen he was 
c onsiderab ly older than the other  l:vceens and indeed 
had his younger bro the r  Victo r  irt the same c la ss .  To  
a sensi tive  boy  this.: was a humil iating expe rience a 
The period a t  the Lycee  Buffon was to be brief as  
in 1 89 9  the Duhamel family on one of its  peri odic 
migrati ?ns moved to Four s in the Nievre wher e  Pierre-
Emile  Duhamel set up p rac ti ce a s  a doc tor o The 
distance from Four s to Never s ,  the chef-lieu ,  
( 1 ) Ibid , p .,  1 42 o 
( 2 )  I bid , p o 1 59 o 
nece ssi tated the enrolment of the two boys at  the Lycee 
de Nevers a s  i nterne s .  However , as  the re sult of hi s 
fathe r ' s interventi on Ge orge s was promo ted to quatrieme .  
Al though this enabled him t o  c a tch up a year in his  
studie s ,  it  had -?he; effect  of separating the two sons  
and because Ge orge s  f ound the o ther pupil s hos tile t o  
newcomers  he was  to regret the lo ss  of  hi s bro the r ' $ 
c ompany. As Duhamel  remarks of hi s life in the board-
ing e stabli shment of the Lyce'e de Nevers: ' Pour la  
premi?re foi s ,  nous qui ttions la  vie de famille e t  j e  
me tr ouvai s transp or te soudain dans une exi stence ? la  
r igueur de l aquelle rien n ' avait  pu  me preparer o  , ( 1 ) 
He de scri be s the rough manners  of the interne s ,  the 
r i tual victimi sati on of new pupi l s  in the c ou? ,  the 
squabbles over fc od in the refe?to?r.? , the nights  in  
the ?ortoirs  with the invit ations  to  homo sexuality . 
More over , the har sh regime of the _!nter::nat with the 
l ong _t)erj_ cds of  s tudy for  the 1J oarder s  and the strict  
di sc ipline added t o  the privati o ns c aused by the 
antiquated building s and the primi tive  fac il i tie s . 
/ 
In many ways Duhamel found the provincial lycee s more 
c onservative than the Pari sian scho ol s.  The five  
hundred pupils  were still  expe c t ed t o  wear a uniform -
1 o o o Ve ste CrO i SE{e a bOUtOnS dore' s ,  C a Squet te e t  C ap o te 
o o o '  ( 2 ) - and we re obliged to at tend St?.nday mas s ,  
0 0 0 La reac ti on  
?nticleric ale qui battait al ors  son plein dans les  
Ibid , P o 1 81 o 
Ibid , p .  1 80 o  
.r 
grande s vi lles 9 etait , autant qu ' il m ' y p arut , 
absolument inoperante dans notre metropole nivernaise . ' ( 1 ) 
Ye t ,  as  he l o oks ?ack at hi s peri od at Never s ,  Duhamel 
c onsider s that if the authori tarian con trols  in the 
lycee appeared oppre ssive and unre asonable to the 
I lyceens ,  they were e ssent i al for character training ? 
? ? e  Dans le s lycee s de province ,  c omme le 
lycee  de Nevers ,  l a  di ec ipline scolair e  etait  
demeuree tout au s si rigoureuse que dans le s ecole e 
religieuse s de l ' anci en regime . P our apre et  
rebutante qu ' elle fut 9 cette di sc ipline etait 
energi que ' bien propre ? former de s homme s . Je 
l ' ai c onnue peu de temp s et subie avec peine , mai s 
j ' y  pense encore avec  un sent iment de re spec t  e t  
meme de rec onnai ssance . ( 2 ) 
The schoo lboy learned tha t  the c ontrolled environment 
cf the c l assrooms gave him refuge from the aggre ssive?
ne ss  of the other pup i l s  and ' ? ? ? pendant l e s  longues 
heure s de so litude et de silence dans l ' air c orrompu 
de ce tt e  chi ourme ? ? ?  ' he expe rienced ' ? ? ?  l ' enchantement 
et l ' ivre s se du travail ' . ( 3 ) 
As suddenly as  they had arri V"ed the DuJ?amel s were 
departing again. After one term at Never s Ge org6 s 
Duhamel re turned with hi s family to Pari s ,  dismayed at 
the prospect ? re suming hi s studie s  in a P ari si an 
lycee and following the order of c lasse s ,  always .oJ.,der 
than hi s fellow pupil s. To  avoid thi s 9  hi s p arent s 
made the deci si on to s end him to  a private sec ondary 
school where there would be more flexibili ty in  c our se 
structure . The Instituti on Roger-Momenheim in. the rue 
i 1 l Ibid,  p .  1 86 .  
2 Ibid ,  p .  1 85 .  
3 Ibid , p .  1 85 .  
Fo sses-Sai nt-Jacque s ,  a lay bo arding e stabli shment 
which also  admi tted externe s ,  admirably sui ted  hi s 
purpo se o Al though small and unprepo sse ssing in 
appe arance , R oger-lV!omenheim, for all i t s ' o  o o e'ternelle 
odeur de soupe et de ratatoui lle ' ( 1 )  po sse ssed a highly 
qual ified teaching st aff wi th an individual approach 
to the  instruct ion of the pupi l s, no t feeling bound by 
rigid pre scriptions or  syllabuse so  As  a re sult  of  
thi s per sonal ised teaching Duhamel ' s studie s  were . .. .  
accele rated so  that he was able t o  pa ss the fi r st p art 
of the b accal aureat ' o o c  sans eclat ni difficul te ' ( 2 ) 
at the age of seventeeno Having re covered from h i s  
late s tart at  sec ondary scho ol , he cou ld a t  thi s s tage 
have transferred to one of the larger lyc?e s ,  but he 
preferred to  spend his year of philo sophie at Roger-
Momenheimo 
There were two maj or reasons behind thi s deci s iono 
Fir stly , bec ause cf his  faxnily ' s frequent change s of 
address  George s Duhamel had never previou sly remained  
s1..:ffi c iently long a t  a scho ol t o  ad ju st to  new 
surrounding s o  At  RCger-Momenheim he had gained the 
accep tance of teache r s  and pupil  so During hi s f inal 
year a t  scho ol he was to spend much of hi s free time 
with hi s friends Jean-Jacque s C orriol and Alexan??e . G o o o o 
Together they  had rented a ro om , first  in the rue de s 
Carme s  and later in the rue Sai l:.?t-Jacque s 1 " o .. pour no s 
querelle s philo sophiques  ou no s re traites amoureus? s o  o .  1 o ( 3 ) 
! 1 ) Ibid , P o  1 93 o 
2 )  Ibid ,  P o  2 29 o 
3 ) Bi ographie de me s fantome s ,  P o  27 o  
Sec ondly , he was reluctant to  leave the teache rs  at the 
Although because  of i t s  si ze 9 the profe sseur s 
at Roger-Momenhe im were often requi red to teach more 
than one sub j e c t ,  unlike the spe ci ali s ts  of  the larger 
I 
lyce??. 1 D'.lhamel rep or t s  tha t the st andard of instruc_-
ti on was  uniformly high.  The de scrip tions  tha t ?e . 
g ive s of hi s teache rs  in  l??ntaire de?}2j.m? reves.l 
hi s respect  and reg ard for hi s masters . In  his  pen-
portrai t s  of F?i s ch  wh o taught Lati n and Greek as  well 
as  hi story 9 C oltas  who taught the physical sc ienc e s _ and 
the fashionable Edwardian gentleman who t aught E_ngli sh ,  
a s  well as  affec ti o nate ly di spl aying the ir eccentrici-
t i e s  and the ir  pe c uli ari ties  as  te ache rs ,  he emphasi se s 
their  broad culture and the ir warm relati o nship with 
the pupils .  However ,  it  was Emile  Le  Brun , a friend 
of Verlaine and the translator into  French of William 
Jar! 'e s ,  who made the g reatest  impre ssion on the young 
student in his  co ur se of French l ite rature in 
?he'?_ori que and phi?_Qsophie . Thi s 1 . " .  p arfait  l ettre' 
1 ( 1 ) ? ? ? posse ssed  the qual i tie s  whi ch  Duhamel has  con-
sidered  indi spensable in a go od  te ache r - strength of 
charac ter and the ability to communicate effec t,i?Y?-1?? 
Le Brun , as  Duhamel tel l s  us,  insis ted upon acc?racy 
and clarity in expr e ssi on and hi s strict  enfor cemen-t 
of  the rule s o f  grammar and compo s i ti on was  not wi thout 
l asting effe c t  on his  pupil .  1 1 1 m 1 arrive enc ore .. 
auj ourd ' hui de m' arrg te r ,  au fil  d ' une le c ture , e t  de 
( 1 ) Inventaire de l 1 abfme , p .  1 95 o  
5lli 
songer en  souriant : 1 1 Le Brun n 1 aimai t pa s c ela1 1 ? 1 ( 1 ) 
The studied style of  La P o sse ssi on du monde o r  Le s 
C onfe ssi ons sans penit ence wi th the c areful at tentio n  
p aid t o  choice o f  l anguage and to harmony and balance 
of sentence struc ture would seem to owe much to Le 
Brun 1 s influence " 
In 1 902  Duhamel entered the department of  the 
. . st ... c!:t ?or science faculty ln the rue Cuvler to l'rcg .. r? the 
certifi eat  d 1 e'tude s Ph.vsigue s 2 chimigue s e t  :1aturelle  s .  
He rec alls  tha t at  that t ime the buildings  were new and 
the student s few. C omparing the P . C . N .  e stabli shment 
as he knew it as a student and the inst ituti on  as he 
saw i t  in  later year s when  hi s so ns were enro lled y he 
st ate s that then ' ? ? ?  l ' apparei l  universitaire avait 
encore quelque ma j e ste ' ( 2 ) whic h has since  been l o st .  
I t  i s  hi s contenti on  tha t  the le c turer s y  Jane t y  Perrier 9 
Dagui llony  Joanni s wi th their  formal attire and their  
c onvinced  preaching o f  scientific  rati onal i sm to  the 
small ?lit? group of student s cre ated in the le cture  
theatre s and the l aborato rie s a t  the turn of the cen-
tury an atmosphere ' ? ? ?  de recueillement e t  d 1 inventi on 
mddi tative ' . ( 3 ) Now j acc ording to Duhamel , al l tha t  
remain  are buildings  wi th the appearance  of ' ? ? ?  quelque 
pauvre e t  austere co llege de pro.vince ? ? ?  1 whi eh are 
1 H .  grouillants  d 1 une pl?be pre sque enfantine ' ? . (4 )  
It  was  during the peri od of his  preliminary s tudies  of 
( 1 ) w 
Ibid , p .  1 95 .  
Biographie  de mes fant 8me s ,  pp . 47-8 .  
Ibid 9 P ?  47 . 
Ibid ,  p .  47 o 
sc ience tha t Duhamel di scovered the sat isfac tions of  
intelle ctual acti vity. ' P o ur la  premiere foi s ,  le  vin 
du savoir me montai t 'a la tE He et me gri sai t par 
bouffee s . ' ( 1 ) 
At the age of  twenty ,  af ter p a ssing his  P . C ., N. , 
Duhamel qualified  for entry t o  the School  of IViedi cine . 
From then hi s time was to be shared between vi si t s  to 
hosp i tals  to attend the morning c on sul tati ons ,  lec ture s ,  
and prac t ical work i n  the anatomy theatre a ?  the Ecole . ( 2 )  
I n  addi tion , he enrolled at  the Faculte de s Sc ience s 
in  1 9 04 with the intenti on of  prepar ing?? li cence e s  
sc ience s in  physi olog;y , hi stology and biology o As he 
l ooks back at this period  from the co m encement of  his  
medi c al studie s in  1 9 03 to  1 909  when hi s doc t or al the si s 
was accepted ( he had comple ted hi s li cence in 1908) 
Duhattle l has ' . o o le so uvenir d '  une acti  vi te' non p a s  
I I . 
de so rdonnee,  mai s  multiple , defricheuse et  parfaitement 
allegre ' , ( 3) for , in addi t i on to  hi s study commi tment s ,  
there had be en an intense l iterary ac t ivity , travels  
thr ough Europe and the inv olvement wi th the Abbaye I 
movement .  Tha t such varie d e xperience s were p o s sible 
he attribute s to a study progra1une whi ch was  flexible 
and did no t demand a stric t narrowing of interes t s .  
I Les e tudes medicale s et aient 9 en ce  temp s-la . . ? ?  , 
souple s e t  meme accommodante s '  0 ( 4 )  
Ibid , p .  53.  
Duhamel draws  upon hi s experience s as  a medi cal  
student i n  the novel  La  Pierre d' Horeb ( 1 92 6 ) . 
Le Temps de la  recherche , Po  46. 
Ibid , p .  45 . 
Duhamel ' s impre s si ons of the t eache rs at the 
Sorbonne and the Faculte de Medecine are faithfully 
recorded in Biographie de mes fantomes an d  Le Temps de 
As a student he preferred those 
instruc t or s who were ap pro achable and who of fered 
enc ouragement to their  pupils .  But he found that such 
teache rs  were rare in highe r educati on  where the ma j o-
ri ty of lectur er s  had with the i r  pupils ' ? o ?  de s 
relati ons l ointaine s ,  sans  chaleur , san s intimi te ' o ( 1 ) 
For  thi s  re a son Duhamel support s a reform of medi cal 
studie s whi ch would enable the relati onship of  te acher 
and student  to be brought clo ser and so reduc e the, 
imper sonality of higher educ ati on. He compare s the 
French sy stem wi th that in the Egyptian univ ersi ty of 
El Azhar where each m? ster is re sponsible for a small 
group of pupils and he c omment s :  
En F'ranc e dans nos  e'c ole s supe'rieure s ,  il 
feu t pa::-veni:r.? 'a un de grc' t r'e s  eleve de 
l ' ense ignement p our qu ' un tel c ontact ait quelque 
chance de se p rcdui re o  Devient-il pos ?ibl e ,  
i l  n ' e s t  p a s  necessairement fec ond. N ombre de 
maitre s ne sont p as de s mattre s  de vocati ono Ils  
ont  passe l ' agregati on e t ,  par la sui te , ils  se 
V oient attribuer une chaire ; tout cela ne 
signifie p as qu ' il s  aient le  goat  de l ' ense ignement o 
L ' agreg ation e t  le profe sserat font partie de 
l ' echelle ,  de la  hierarchi e o  Il faut gravir le s 
?chelons pour arriver  le  plus  hau t  p o ssible . 
Mai s les  vrais mattre s sont rare s ,  j 1 ent end s . ceux 
qui trouvent leur plus grande j oi e  e t  met tent done 
leur vertu a communiquer ce qu ' il s  savent e t  a 
f ormer de jeune s e sprit s o ( 2 )  
Amongst  the university teache r s  who appeared t o  Duhamel 
t o  combine intell ectual me rit , integrity and pedagogical 
( 1 )  Bi ographie  de me s  fantome s ,  p .  200 
( 2 )  Ibid ,  PP o 200- 1 o 
skill  we re D astre who instruc ted in  physiol ogy a t  the 
Sorbonne - I 0 0 0  ce t homme sedui san t  et d1 inte lligence 
ari st o crat ique ' ( 1 )  - and Charles  Ri che t who t aught the 
same sub j e c t  at the Faculte  de Medec ine . When he 
reviews the fa ith in scient ifi c progre ss  and the spiri t 
of rat i onal i sm in the l aborato ries  during the f ir st 
decade of the twent ie th cent ury ? Duhamel see s  R i.che t '  s 
l ate r involvement with me tap sychi c s  as ' ? ? ?  la revanche 
de l ' i rrati o nnel ' . ( 2 )  Thi s the me of "She declinG of 
the ?E.Ei t scientifigue and the triumph of  the irra?
ti onal would be devel oped in  La Nui t d '  or age ( 1 9_2 8 ) . 
A s  he surveys French so c ie ty at  the time whe n he 
was a student in the period pri or to  vv 0r ld 'N ar I 
Duhamel remarks :  ' Le monde e st heureux , candidement , 
avidemen t 9  stupidemen t heureux. , ( 3 )  This  was  a peri od 
of  act ive i de al i sm.  Natio nal p?ide had been  re s tored 
after the defeat of  1 87 1  and the ensuing pol i ti cal 
c ri se s ;  the religi ous and soc ial divi sio ns  ove r the 
Dreyfus c ase were heal ing ;  the eco nomy was  buoyant  
after  the slumps in the 1 880 ' s ;  and faith in  
rationali sm ,  science and the social i sm of  Jaur? s was  
undimi ni  she d. The mood  i n  the laboratorie s of :the . .  
Sorbonne and the School  of  Medicine was  one o f  scienti-
fie  opt imism as  Duhamel p o int s  out :  ' Le s  gens  de mon 
age avaient ete formes sou s de s mai tre s qui , t ou s  ou 
pre sque tous ,  et  meme le grand Pasteur , avaient , dans 
1 1 l Ibid , P o  2 1 1 .  
2 Ibid , p .  2 1 6 . 
3 Le Temps de la reche rche , p .  1 22 . 
.2?_ 
leur sai nt enthou siasme , c onfondu science e t  sage sse . , ( 1 ) 
Ye t for the savant s the new cent ury would bring a c ri si s  
in  scient ifi c confidence , parti cularly with the reveal-
ment ?f  the de struc tive pos sibilit ie s of  their  inven-
tions in 1 9 1 4- 1 8 .  The post-war di senchantment wi th 
sc ientific  pro gre s s  wo uld be accompanied by a slacken-
ing of the fervent rati onal i sm of the nineteenth cen-
tury and bring at temp t s  to  reconci le  re aoon  and revel a-
ti on.  Duhamel see s  thi s m?vement mos t  cbv?ous in 
sc ientific  circl es  around 1 93 0 . ( 2 )  
-Ni th the comple ti on  of hi s degre e s  Georg? s Duhamel 
was  faced  wi th the choice  between medicine and li tera-
ture , both of  whi ch he con sidered t o  be ' ? ? ?  un de7oir  
sacre ' ( 3 )  and hence  mutually exclu sive . Reluc tantly 
he made the de c i sion  to abandon hope s of pr ac ti sing a s  
a do ctor  and to ac cep t a p o si ti on in  biol ogi cal re search 
which would al low him time to wri te  ( in an industrial 
l ab oratory rathe r than one at tache d to  a univer sity 
because , as he declare s :  ' L ' unive r si t ? , trop souvent , 
e st tri ste  e t  craintive ? el le vi t de privati ons , se s 
laboratoire s sont mi serable s ,  son outillage desuet ' ) . (4 ) 
However ,  if  he turned hi s back on a medical c areer , he 
acknowledged the impor tance of hi s years of training :  
! 
? ? 3 )  
4 )  
J ' aime l a  medec i ne : 
formati on de man e e?rit , 
subordinat i on au mai tre , 
comprendre , l ' appe ti t de 
La Pe see de s ame s ,  p .  1 1 4 .  
j e  lui doi s  ? ? ?  la  
le sentimen t de la  
le  gout  d ' apprendre , de 
servir .  La medecine , 
See Bi ographie de me s  fant6me s ,  p . 
Le Temps  de  la  recherche , p .  1 42 . 
Ibid ,  p .  1 44. 
.2.2 
pour j eune e t  inexperimente que j 1 y  soi s , m ' a ,  
cho se citonnante , appri s a rever devant les  hommes o  
Elle m' a impose 9  de l a  souffrance e t  de la  mort ,  
une idee  non pas  l i t teraire , mai s veridique e t  
ma je stueuse o  ( 1 )  
H i s  study of the life science s and med:.. cine undoubtedly 
intensif ied his sympathetic  understanding of human 
problems and hi s compassion for  man ' s frail ty .  0 0 0 
Le mede cin, ' Santelli wr it e s ,  ' comme le confe sseur , 
penetre par pro fe ssi on dans les  se cre t s  :e s plus caches 
de s p auvre s exi stenc e s  humaines . ' ( 2 )  p ..... om hi s eXpE'ri-
ence in  the ho spi tals and laborato ries  Duhamel became 
aware o f  the complex  for ce s whi ch govern behavi our .  
Hi s knowledge that the duali sm between man ' s nature 
and hi s reason  c an be up s..:; t by bi o-chemical di sturb-
ances  over  whi ch he ha s no con trol make s him l e s s  
prepared t o  moral ise .  But although he  is  influenced 
by the scientific rati onalism of hi s age he doe s no.t 
accept a mechani sti c view of  life ; he believe s that 
the complexity of human exi stence canno t be expl ained 
solely by physico-chemic al criteria - in thi s we mqy 
see hi s debt to  Berg son whom he and hi s fellow artist s  
at the Abbaye cal led  their ma ster .  ( 3 ) Thus , by vir tue 
of hi s medi cal training ,  Duhamel is  well e quipped to  
examine sympatheti c al ly the educ ati onal ne eds of 
children. 
Duhamel ' s general views on the educ ative p?o c e ss 
l 1 )  Ibid ,  PP o 1 42-3 . 
2 )C?. Santelli , George s Duhamel , p .  37 .  
3 )  See Le Temp s de la recherche , p .  1 1 8 . 
DBRARY 
MASSEY UNIVERSIT't 
1 00 
in the school s  are cl o sely linked with hi s a t ti tude s 
towards fmnilial educati o n. There is  the same defence 
of author i ty and of the intellec tual and spi ri tual 
prior i t i e s  of education ,  Thus , he see s  it  imperative 
to pre se rve the tradi tional pat terns of instruc ti on in  
secondary and tertiary educ ation  and to r e si st pre ssure s 
t o  dilute  standards and t o  di E?card the notion of  train-
ing an eli te .  But if  Duhamel suppcrts  the view of 
reserving an educati 0n  of  quali ty for an intelle c tual 
?li te who would benefi t  from such training , he i s  con-
cerned tha t the divisi on of  educ ation  al?ng class  line s 
should no t de ter the able chi ld wi th a working-clas s  
background from seeking access  to  the enriched  instruc-
tion available to the chi ldren of the bourgeoi s];.?. 
For  thi s  rea son  he was one of  the earlie st  pr oponent s  
o f  t he Efc.Q;b?_ique whi eh would allow the able pupil  
an e a sier  transition from the primary to the se c ondary 
sector  o f  educati on. ( .1 ) He sympathi se s wi th the 
intelligent chi ld of the l ower classe s  who se intellec t-
ual hori zon is  l imited  to  the eco le primair? or  the 
co??s c omple?entaire s  and recogni se s that if ' o o ? 
l ' austere sage sse bourgeo i se ? ? ?  ' ( 2 )  has cre ated certain 
I p o ssibi l i tie s of transfer  t o  the lycee s ,  the methods  
of  sele c tion  of  the ?colie r s  who would benefi t  mos t  
from l ' en?eignement  se condaire  remained open t o  
crit i c i sm. ' La selecti on  se fai t vi te , elle e st 
( 1 ) See ' Questions  univer sit aire s ' , Mercure de Franc e ,  
no . 1 32 , 1 5  Jan. 1 9 1 9 ,  pp . 1 1 1 - 1 5 . ( 2 )  Inventaire de l '  ab1me , p .  1 2 2 . 
presque i rre'vo cable o , ( 1 ) The eco l ier of early p romise 
may later fail t o  achieve expec ted  result s and suffer 
anxiety in the highly competit ive atmo sphere of the 
sec ondary scho o l , while similarly,  because of the young 
age at which deci si uns must be made , some late maturing 
pupils  could be nve rlo okedo Perhaps Duhamel i s  think-
ing of hi s ovm scholastic experience when he says :  
Je c annai s beauc oup d 1 enfants  dont le depart 
ne s ' e st fait que de mani?re tardiv? , h la fin de 
l 1 adole scence , de maniere scudaine , en outre , e t  
dans un sens imprevuo ( 2 ) ? 
In Fable s de mon jardin he make s a plea for admini stra-
t ive flexibility in judging the cap acity of  the chi ld 
( Chap ter  XLV - ' Plaidoyer  p our les  cancre s 1 ) , wi th hi s 
fable of the slow devel oping laure l tree  in hi s garden 
which la ter pro duced an astoni shing growth spurt , and 
he conclud e s :  
Je voudrais dedier  ce t te fable aux legi slateur s 
temdrair e s  qui pretenden t j uger san s appol un 
ecervele' de dix ans 0 
J ' exige du legislateur non pas qu ' il ai t de s 
dipl8mes ,  ni  certes qu ' il a it du savoir e t  ni m?me 
de la sage sse m ais qu 1 il  ai t au mains des enfant S o  ( 3 )  
Yet although he que stio ns  the vali dity o f  examinati ons 
and teache rs ' opinions in selecting the bour sier  he i s  
of  the opinion tha t spe c i alised te sts  and me asurements  
pr?a.duce r esult s  whi ch are no more certain than the 
older  meth odso 
Assurement ces facil i t?s dtaient capricieuse s ,  
? incertaine s ;  tel ri squai t d 1 gtre oublie' qui ,  mi s 
1 1 ) Ibid ,  P o  1 2 2o 32 ) Ibi d ,  P o  1 43 o  
) Fab?e s de mon jardin , p o  91 . 
en bonne lumi?re , eut donne de s fleur s e t  de s 
frui t s ;  mais  nous avons lieu de croire que le s 
me'th ode s nouve lle s ,  avec  leur s  libe'ral i tc:!s  
mathemati que s ,  favori seront aussi de s erreur s en 
un autre sens et qu 1 il  y aura , par exemple, , . . bQn 
nombre de faux depar t so ( 1 ) 
For this re ason he advise s educator s against the r igid 
applicati on of tests  of selecti on whi ch would cla ssify 
' l  I d ? ?  t ' . I ( 2 )  pup1  s o o o e man1ere e a  egor1quc o c o  ? 
In general at ti tude to the pro ce ss of educa ti on  
in the school s George s Duhamel is  a tradi ti onali st o 
As  well as  supporting strict  di scip:ine to curb what 
he believe s i 2  the inherent viciousness of children , 
being convinced  tha t contrary t o  the Rousseaui stic  ideal 
of the natural go odness  of ch ildren there is . I 1n  o . o la 
societE{ enfantine , avec se s l o i s  barbare s et ce t te 
ab sence de pi tie  o o c 1 (3 ) a certain 1 o o o  sauvagerie  
naturelle ? o ? 1  , ( 4 ) he places  an emphasis on  the skills  
and knowledge whi ch the teache r  transmi ts  to  the child 
rather than on the n8eds of the chi ld himself . Thus , 
he se es  in the pupil 1 o o e  une mati?re molle e t  
malleable qu 1 il faut imprimer de for tes  habi tude s 1  ? ( 5 ) 
At the same time he clings to the noti on of the train?
ing of the facul ties  and stre sse s the value of the 
mental di scipline whi ch particular branches of s tudy 
provide , considering that there i s  a massive transfer  
of skills learnt in one area to  other areas .  F or 
example , Duhamel firmly be?ieve s in the importance of 
1 ) Le Temps de la recherche , P o  69 . 
2 )  Inventaire de l1 abrme , p . 1 43o  ?l Ibid ,  P o  97 . Ibid ,  P o  9 7  0 lbid , P o 67 . 
memory training and cast igate s teachers for no longer 
c onsidering thi s t o  be a primary educati onal aim. He 
declare s in 1 93 6 :  
Au  ri sque d ' g tre en  de sacc ord avec  l e s  
prot agoni ete s de s pedagogic s moderne s ?  j e  d is  que 
l a  memoire de s enfant s e st ,  au j ourd ' hui , lai ssee 
a 1 1 abaEdOn 9  de manitre sy stematfq.ue ? e t  j e  di s 
que C !  8 et deplorable o o o Quand j I e tai S e'colier  Et 
1 !  extreme fin du dernier  siecle 1 la me'moire  etai t 
enc ore une facul te hono rable ? apprcic iee , cultiv?e o 
On nou s fai sait apprendre , en cla sse, une foule de 
texte s ,  de date s et  de chiffre so N ' en deplai se 
a Rousseau ,  nous n ' cit ions p as tortures par ce s 
pratiqueso La memoire de l ' enfant , comme se s 
muscle s ,  ne demande que l ' exerciceo  Le s texte s 
latins ou franc ai s qu ' il nous fallai t tant .bien 
que mal aborder n' avaient eu eux-meme s qu ' une. tr\:; s  
faible importance o  ll s etaient , pour notre 
e spr i t ,  ce ?u ' e st l e  ballan de cuir p our l e s  
muscle s du jeune athl?te o ( 1 )  
In Inventaire de l ' abime he re turns to  thi s theme of 
the devaluing of memory skill s ,  expre ssing hi s regret  
that hi s s?ns have fai le d t o  devel op at school  a r ich 
and agile memoryo  ' C ' e st a peine si j e  peux leur 
arracher  un vers l atin ,  al ors que le s gens de mon Bge 
en savent encore un grand nombre o ' ( 2 )  Singing the 
? f ' ' \.._ d o o o 1 ( 3 ) l. n a pral se s  o mnemo syne , m?re e s  muse s 
chapter devo ted t o  thi s  sub je c t , he lists  the advantage s 
of a trained memory for  thr' doctor or  the lawyer and 
demonstrates  hi s abili ty to  remember fact s ,  name s , 
places ,  a s  well as  music al theme s o  
As  far as the content of  formal educati on  i s  c 9n-
cerned , Duhamel i s  a strong defender of the classi c s  
and a v ocal opp onent of any modi fic at i on o f  the. tradi-
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
' Lc s  Chefs-d 1 oeuvre e t  la j eune sse ' ,  C onferenc ia ,  
no o 1 ,  1 5  Dec o  1 936 1 P o  25 o 
Inventaire de l 1 abime 1 P o  66 o  
Ibid-;-p: 62 o 
t ional curriculum of the lycee s to  adjust to the ne eds 
of  le ss  academically minded pupilso 
L ' importanc e de l ' effort gratuit ,  s 1 i l  e st 
d ' o rdre intellectuel , n 1 e st pas  egalement sensible 
a l 1 homme de condi tion moyenne . Quand il n ? e st 
pas  favori se de dons  heureux , le s t aches 
intelle c tue lle s repre sentent pour lui de s 
a stre inte s fort penible s auxquelle s il  ne se 
re signe que sous la prome sse d 1 un l ayer manife ste 
et en  quelque sorte garan ti .  Ainsi peut 
s 1 expliquer l 1 abandon progre ssif ,  par le s . .  
g?n?rati ons nouvelle s ,  de ce s di sc ipline s  
humani ste s dont nous p ouvons juger l e s  frui t s  
apre s  plusieur s  sie cle s de pratique . Ainsi peut 
e ' expliquer leur remplacement par cet  enseignement 
di t " moderne1 1 , qui n 1 a p as  enc ore produi t le?-s -
preuves  de son excellence . ( 1 )  
Duhamel i s  co nvinced that  the study of the cla s si c s  
should be a p rerequi site for  advanc ed profe ssional 
training .  I n  P arole s de medecin  ( 1 946 ) he state s his  
mi sgiving s at  the change in  regul ations for entry to  
the Facul ty of  Medecine whi ch  admi ts  students who . have 
not pre sented Greek for the bacc alaureat . On the sub-
j ec t  of  the value of Greek and Latin he declare s :  
Que l a  connai ssance , a u  mlins scol aire , du 
grec et  du  latin , soi t  propre a eclairer le  
me'dec in dans l 1 intelligence  de sa  profe ssion ,  cela 
me semble indi scutable ? ? ? La vers ion latine e st 
une gymnasti que admir able p our qui doi t ,  p ar l.a 
sui te , se plier aux sour cilleux exercice s de la 
di agno se . ( 2 ) 
For  Ge orge s Duhamel the etude s desintere ssee s ,  particu-
larly the classical humanit ie s , are a means of off set-
ting the t rends tow ards over- spe c ial? sati on and of 
combating the harmful effe c t s  of  a mechani cal c ivili sa-
t ion. The student of the science s who befo re World 
War I had placed  hi s fai th in  sci entific pro gre s s  to 
lbid ,  pp . 1 58-9 .  
Parole s de medecin ,  P o  59 . 
improve the human environment , become s ,  after hi s 
glimpse of the lethal po tentialitie s of applied science 
in 1 91 4-1 8 ,  the sage who warns of the dangers  pre sented 
by uncontrolled technical devel opment . Con tinualJLy 
he oppose s  l ' humani ste - the br oadly educE ted man - to  
the technocrat - 1 '  automa te a ( 1 ) In an article in the 
Revue de Par is ( 1 5 April 1 93 3 )  he urge s an awarene ss  
among st  educ ator s of  the value of  preparing pupils  wi th 
a wide culture for leadership in  the machine age . 
Il e st bon que l ' on ai t donne ce nom 
d 1 humani tes OU lettre s hW1Ja ine s a 1 1  etude patiente 
d ' un cer tain nombre de connai ssances  qui ne 
semblent pas  suscep tibles  d ' applic ati on pratique 
imm8di ate e t  qui sont , plus qu ' a la scienc? , 
c onsacre'es a la  sage sse o  
Je pense qu ' un long stage dans 1 1  humani sme , 
une fr8quentation assiduo e t  prolongee de s grands 
e sprits , une applic at i on gene'reuse ? toute s so rtes  
de noti ons gratui te s ,  c ' e s t  pour l ' homrne du  XX:e 
sie cle , la  seulc ch ru1ce de temperer heureusement 
la fureur d 1 une rndcani sation exce ssive o o o  
Seule une c ulture humaine , humaniste ,  
individuali ste pe ut pe?me t tre a l ' homme de dominer 
se s conque te s ,  de n ' en etre pa s la  dupe e t  la . 
vi e time o C 1 e st dans un huu?anisme et  dans un . 
individuali z?e harmonieux que gi t le secret d 1 une 
di scipline grace ? laquel1.e , demain,  l ' homme 
pourra trouver  son  nouvel equilibre e t  vivre en 
b onne intelligence avec se s creature s . ( 2 ) ( 3 )  
The func tion of the secondary school , then ,  i s  t o  pro-
. 
vide thi s bro ad background of studie s ,  with the classi c s  
and philo sophy acc orded a prominent place in the 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
Sea, for example , uerelle s de famille ( 1 9 22 )  and 
L '. Humani ste et  1 '  automate ? 1 933 o 
1 Sur la uerelle du machinisme ' ,  Revue de Pari s ,  
1 5  April 1 933 , Po mo 15? .  
Similar sentiment s were expressed by Duhamel i n  a 
sp eech delivered in Budape st  in June 1 93 6  at a 
seminar organised by the League of  Nations. See 
the text of thi ? address  in ' Humanites ' ,  Mercure de 
France , no . 269 , 1 5  July 1 93 6 ,  pp . 2 25-8 . 
curri culum9 wh1le the tert iary inst itutions have the 
role of f orming spe cial i s t s ,  but no t to the e xclu si on 
of general culture . Duhamel ' s ideal of the e duc ated 
man is the scientist  such as Charle s Nicolle who i s  
al so a '  ? ? ?  parfai t le ttr? ' ( 1 ) and repre sent s one of 
the ' ? ? ?  spec iali s te s  do l 1 encyclopedie 1 . ( 2 ) Howevsr ,  
he fe ars that the scho ol s ,  influenced by  the mechanical 
c ivili sat? on ,  will l o se si ght of  the imrortance of . 
p romot ing an individual culture . Duhamcl v igorous?y 
opp o se s  the exaggerated emphasis whi ch some progre s sive 
educati onali sts  place on relating the curriculum to the 
physi cal and soc ial environment  of the ch ild . Thu.s , 
in Le s Jumeaux de Vallangoujard ( 1 93 1 ) he satiri se s  
the modern trends i n  educ ati on by pre senting a s.,chool 
in  whi ch the curriculum i s  based on technologi cal 
development s .  In place of  the humani tie s there is  
instruct i on for  the children in driving a car and 
operat ing a radi o a s  well as le s Eons in advert i si ng and 
industri al techni que s .  
Naturally Duhamel , a s  a writer , i s  concerned w.i th 
the teaching of French literature and language in  the 
schools .  He  deplore s  the fact  that the secondary 
schools  have tended to ignore the contemporary writ ers  
and concentrate on the writers  of the classic al period , ( 3 ) 
and he see s a trend t owards an imprecise and uncle ar 
( 1 ) ' RemarquP.s sur le s travaux scientifique s e t  le 
me ssage de Charle s Nic olle ' , Revue de P ar i s ,  1 Nov . 
1 935 , P o  7 o  
Ibid , p .  6 .  
See Defense de s le t tre s ,  p .  305 . 
use or language o ( 1 ) ( 2 )  According to  him, the schools  
should mediate  between the modern artist  and the public .  
' C ' e st grace a l ' a ssi stance de s ma1 tre s que le s 
ecrivains trouvent enrin ,  dans  le s prof ondeur s du pub?
lic , leur resonance la  meilleure o , ( 3 )  At the. same, 
time he mai ntains tha t a primary func ti on or the s'cfiool 
i s  to  promote cultural unity and ror thi s rc a son . he 
campaigns against the advocates  or regi onali sm and the 
proponent s  or the teaching or l ocal di alec t s  in the 
elementary schools o  0 0 ? L : ecole primaire d o i t  
c oncentrer son action  sur de s notions e ssentiell.e s  ? t  
d 1 abord sur la langue nati ona le o ' ( 4 ) 
Duhamel ' s atti tude t owards teaching me thods  i s  
marked by the same conservatismo  He is  rirmly against 
innovati ons in teaching , believing tha t  the only 
erfective instruction i s  that delivered orally by the 
classro om teache r o  Devel opments  i n  te aching technology 
he regards wi th suspic i on and he expre sse s  hi s convi c-
t i on that the introduction  or the rilm,  the gramophone 
and the radio into the cla ssroom threatens the learning 
proce ss. The new medi a ror instruction would provide 
entertainment but not nece s sarily promote learni?g o 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
... '? 
See ' Le Langage et  se s demons ' , Conrerenc i a ,  no . 1 ,  
1 5  April 1 933 , pp . 454-69 . 
Martin  du Gard rrequently rere rs  to  hi s rriend 
Duhamel as  a pur i st in  mat ters  or style  and 
language o In a let ter  to Gide (4  April 1 928 )  he 
de scribe s him as I 0 0 0  un Li ttre a lune t te s ' . ( See  
C o rre spondance Andre Gide - Roger Martin du Gard , 
vol . I ,  p .  338 o )  I t  i s  al so interesting t o  no te 
that Duhamel assi sted Martin du Gard to c o rrec t  the 
text or  Le s Thibault .  
Derense de s le ttre s ,  P o  304.  
Le s E spoirs  et  le s eprcuve s ,  P o 57o  
1 0 8 
La cul ture . veut le l abour , c ' e st-a-dire le 
l abeur , c ' e st-a-dire le fer qui tranche , la he r se 
qui tri ture et  l? rouleau qui tasse .  On 
n ' apprend r ien sans effor t .  On ne se forme p a s  
l ' e sprit en j ouant e t  e n  somnolant . ( 1 ) 
We see here that Duharnel ' s  horror of man bec oming a 
slave 0f machine s blinds him to  the princ?ple s underly-
ing the use of teaching technology . He fai l s  to see  
that modern pedagogy seeks to  involve the child more 
fully in the educative pro ce ss  and to avoid the .p a ssi-
vi ty of instructi on inherent in  the cour s magi s tral . 
The progre ssive school i s  linked in Duhrunel ' s wri tings 
with a de cline of  effort  and ski ll o  With the incre as-
ing use of machine s  in educati on the pupils will  l o se 
the will  to persevere at their  tasks . ' J ' annonce de s 
maintenant que le calcul va di spara'i tre de s programmes 
scolaire s ?  c omme l ' enseignement  de la  musique . Nul 
homme bien eleve ne saura plus faire une operation, 
ecrire avec une plume ou j ouer du piano . ' ( 2 )  
Acc ording to Georg0 s Duhamel , the pro ce ss of 
education  i s  dependent primarily upon the oral skill s  
of the teacher .  I t  i s  the effectivene ss of tDe 
teache r ' s expo si ti on in the le c ture or the formal 
lesson whi ch he j udge s the e ssent i al feature o? the . art 
of teaching. 
Si j 1 analyse avec so in me s souvenirs . j e. peux 
mesurer l a  place que tient l ' ense ignement oral 
dans la  formation d ' un e sprit ? ? ?  Je me rappelle 
encore , apre s quarante annees ,  cer taines  phrase s  
entendues de la  bouche du magister o Que j e  prete 
( 12 ) Defense des le ttre s ,  p .  53.  ( ) 1 Sur la  Qu.erell.e du machini sme 1 ,  Revue de Paris , 
1 5  April 1 933 , P ?  729o  
l ' oreille dans le silence de la nuit e t  je  perco i s  
l a  voix  de l ' honme , ave c le s inflexions , le 
? 
rythme e t  le s rep ri se s  d ' haleine . ( 1 ) 
As  we have seen e arlier , the notes  which he made on hi s 
own te achers  at se condary school  and in the science and 
medical faculties  emphasised their  fluency and the ir  
power to  comnand the at tenti on of  their audience . 
Indeed ,  Duhamel make s the claim t!'l at I 0 0 0 1 1  eloquence 
pedagogique ? o o 1 ( 2 ) i s  a peculiarly French gi ft o 
Throughout thi s  chapter  evidence has be en provided 
of Geerge s Duhamel 1 s deep intere st in matters  of  educa-
ti on.  N e  bet ter  conclu si on is  po s sible than the words 
he wro te in an ar ticle upon Alain (Emile Chartie r ) ( 3 )  
which summarise  hi s respect  for teachers  and teaching :  
1 J 1 ai recu  le s le cons de bons mal.tre s e t , le s Efcoutant , j ? 
je le s envi ai s 0 0 0 0 Dans l 1 enseignement du mai tre , 
dans le myst?re de l 1 e'cole , il  doit  y avoir un _p-lai sir 
comparabl e a cclui de la femme qui donne le se in r , ( 4)  
and he affirms t:1 at afte r literature and medic ine 1 o ? ?  
il e st deux 8tats o o o  qui m 1 auraient plu celui de 
libraire - un vrai libraire e st capable de modeler 
l ' ame d 1 une ville - et  celui de mai tre , d 1 instituteur . 
- lnstruire , c 1 e st co nstruire 1 ? ( 5 ) 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 )  
(4) 
( 5 ) 
Defense de s let tre s ,  p . 50 .  1Mys tere s fran? aiST,  Revue de s deux monde s , no . 1 3 , 
1 July 1 957 , P ? 1 7 . 
Note tha t Dw1amel 1 s  views on educat ion clo sely 
re semble tho se of Alain.  Alain share s Duhamel ' s  
di s t aste for a pedagogy whi ch aims to  1 instruire en 
S 1 amusan t ' and stre sse s  the imnortance of discip;:Line , 
effort and training the mind through the medium pf 
the etude s de sintere ssee s.  See Alain, Propo s sur 
l '  E!'duca  ti on. 
1Le Souvenir d 1 Alain ' , Mercure de France , no . 1 060 , 
1 Dec .  1 951 ,  p .  594 .  
Ibid , PP ? 594-5 .  
.112 
CHAPTER II : ROGER N?TIN DU GARD ( 1 88 1 -1 958)  
1 0 The Family ( a ) Autobiographical details . 
(b )  Gene ral views on the enuca t ive 
pro ce sso 
2 o The Scho ol ( a ) Autobi ographical det ai l s .  
(b ) General views on the educative 
proce s.J "  
THE FAMILY:  
Unlike Duhamel , Roger r11arti n du Gard has ob served 
I . t "  d " l  t ( i ) d h "  a o o o consp lra ... lo n u Sl ence o c .  as  regar s l S  
personal l ife o Jeal ously guarding his independence 
and hi s r igh t to privacy 9 he del iberately avoi ded being 
drawn into public revelation s  o f  hi s intima te rel ati on?
ship s w ith h i s  family o ( 2 )  Charac teri st ically he 
declared at a pre s s  conf' erenc e whe n he was  in St ockholm 
t o  receive  the N obel Prize for Li terature in December 
1 937 :  ' Un homme qu i livrG au public y dan s  se s 
Duvrages ,  le mei lleur , le plus intime de lui-meme , a 
bien le droit  de garder , po ur lui et  pour se s proche s ,  
le domaine de sa vie privee 1 o ( 3 )  Similarly , he 
c onsi sten? ly maintained that the v i ews he ex?ressed in  
( 3 ) 
C .  Borgal , Rvger Martin du Gard , p .  1 5 o  
The regard i n  whi ch both Duhamel and R Jmains  held 
Martin  du Gard f o r  the integrity of his l ife i s  
be st expressed  i n  the tri bute Romai ns pai d t o  N artin 
du Gard after his  death in August 1 958 when he 
de scribed him as  1 un homme vrai e t  simple ' o  See 
' Le C a.'llarade - R oger  Martin du Gard ' , N . N . R. F . , no o 
72 , 1 Dec o  1 958 , P o 986o  
Quoted  by R .  F romen t ,  ' Hommage "a Roger  Martin du 
Gard - Sa Mor t ' , N. N . R . F . , noo 7 2 ,  1 Dec o 1 9 58 , p .  
965 . 
1 1 1  
hi s l i terary works requi red no fUrther elaboratio n and 
that for an understanding of hi s ide0 s one must turn 
direc t ly to  hi s novel s :  ' . . .  Tout ce que j 1 ai  'a dire 
passe automatiquement ians me s Thibault ? ? ?  1 ( 1 ) I t  
i s  not su rpri sing , the n,  that C amus in his preface to 
Martin du G ard 1 s c ollec ted works should de scribe  him 
as a l i terary recluse . 
Martin du Gard est l 1 exemple , asse z  rare en 
somme , d 1 un de no s grand s ?crivain s  dont  personne 
'-'t I I I -I ? ? ne conna 1 le numer o  de telephone. Cet ccr1 va1n 
exi s t e ,  e t  d 1 une f or te fac on , dan s no tre societe 
li tte'raire .  Mais il s ' ;y- ? e st di ssous comme le 
su cre dan s l ' e au ? ? ?  Simple et mystdrieux ,  il a 
quelque cho se du pri ncipe divin ,  dont parlent le s 
Hindaus : plus on le nomme et plu s il fuit . ( 2 )  
However , de parting from hi s cu stomar?r reticenc e Martin 
du Gard did prepare a brief collecti on of souveni r s ,  
t ogether  with extrac ts  from hi s j ournal wh ich he kept 
from 1 9 1 9  t o  1 949 and hi s co rresp ondence wi th G ide , for 
the Ple'iade ecU t i on of h i s  Oeuvre s compl):; te s in  1 95 5 .  
These , added t o  the collec tions o f  corresp ondenc e 
publi shed since his death in August 1 9 58 - no tably the 
C orrespondance Andre Gide-Ro&?r Martin du Gard edited 
by Jean Del cw ( 1 968 ) , - provide a conc ise but valuable 
acc ount of his fc rmati on as wel?  as  confirma t ion of  hi s 
concern wi th the educativ e  proce ss .  
Roger Martin  du Gard was born on 23  March 1 8 81 at  
69  boulevard Bineau ,  Neuilly- sur-Se ine , the home of hi s 
p aternal grandparents . Hi s p arent s ,  Paul and M.adeleine 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Le t ter of introduction to Confidence africaine , Oeuvre s 
compl etes,  vol . II ( subsequently o. c .  II) , p .  1 1 07 .  
A. Camus , 1 Ro?er Martin du Gard ' , Preface t o  
Oeuvre s complete s ,  vol .  I ( sub seque ntly o . c .  I ) , 
p .  Xi. . 
1 1  2 
Martin  du Gard? were strongly linked wi th  the co nserva-
tive ,  legal and finan?i al c ircles  of t he upper middle 
c lass  - hi s father following family tradition  was  an 
avoue' de premi?re instanc e at the Tribunal de la  Seine 
and hi s mothe r was  the daughter of an  agent de change 
at the Bour se o Thus , unlike Duhame l ? Roger Martin du 
Gard would receiv e  his  famili ul educ ati on in a famil? 
of the Pari si an hau te bourge o i sie  whl ch wa s both 
affluent and of high so ci al  standingo :rv;oreover , if  
the Duhamel family ' s  ent rance t o  the middle cl asse s 
. dated from the end of the nineteenth century the 1viart in 
du G ards p o sse ssed a long lineage of solid mi ddle-c la ss  
c i  ti zens o Indeed ,  as Roger  Marti n du Gard trace s hi s 
ance stry he wryly p o int s out the extent t o  which  hi s 
art i s t ic v ocati on i s  at  odds wi th e stablished family 
customo 
Ma famille p ate rnelle etait or iginairc du 
Bourbonnai s ;  ma famille maternelle ? du Beauvai si s o  
L ' une et  l ' aut re comptaient dans son a scendance 
une ma j ori te' de gens de robe , - magi utrat s ,  
avo cat s ,  not aire s ,  fi nanc iers ;  quelque s 
proprietai re s  terrie ns ;  pas  de c ommercant s ;  pas  
de militaire s ;  p as d ' artis te s e ( 1 ) ? 
It  i s  clear tha t Roger  Martin du Gard ' s re j e c ti on 
of the  go als of hi s mil i eu and his  di sinclinat i on to 
follow h i s  father  into a legal c areer  were at the r oo t  
o f  hi s c onflict with hi s family . From an e arly age 
the shy , introverted boy had sho wn that hi s intere st s 
l ay in wri ting rathe r than in  the world o f  l aw ,  p ro-
perty am f inance in  which his family move do In hi s 
( 1 ) Souvenirs  autobiograJ?higue s e t  l it te'rair e s ,  0 .  C .  I ,  
P o xli o 
ill 
Souvenirs au tobiographigue s e t  lit tdraire s  he de clare s :  
' J ' avais  evidemment quelques predi sp osi tions ? ?anier 
la plume ( e t  le p aque t de ma c orre sp ondance d 1. enfant , 
retrouve plus tard dans le s t ir oir s de ma g rand-m?re 9 
t?mo igne que , d? s l ' age de sept ans , je griffcnnai s de 
longues  le ttre s avec un visi ble plaisir)  o '  ( 1 ) ? However , 
he sugge st s t ha t  hi s li te rary vocati on had firmly. e stab-
lished i tself when he was aged nine or teno At that  
tiiTB he had come under the influence of  a young lyceen 
barely twJ . year s  older 9 whom he identifie s simply as  
Jean o  This pupil  in  sixieme had written ver se tragedi e s  
and len t them t o  hi s younger  friend o So great was the 
impre s si on of these play s  wi th  their cl assical inspira-
ti on on the young Martin du G ard that even after  ? over 
sixty  years he s t ill  recal l s  the opening l ines and he 
comment s: ' o o ,  Ce be soin  d' ecrire , qui m '  a tourmente 
t oute ma vie 9 je croi s b ien qu1 il e st nd, un so ir de 
printemps 9 so us l ' envoutement de s oeuvres  dramatiq?e s 
de mon ami Jean ' o ( 2 ) 
It  wou ld appear tha t Martin du Gard ' s li te rary 
voc ati on  was to devel op de sp i te hi s p arent s '  act ive 
opp o e it ion t o  ac t ivi tie s whi ch could j e op ardi se statu s  
ancl sec uri ty . For  Paul Martin du Gard there was  the 
di .?spp ointmen t tha t hi s fi rst son , Roger ,  ( the younger 
son )'larcel> was born in 1 884)  preferred sol i tary reading 
rather  than mingling so cia lly with  o ther members  of  his  
class , and fai led to show scholastic  ambi tion to prepare 
( 1 )  Ibid,  P ? xliii . ( 2 )  lbid ,  p .  xliii . 
himself f or a pro fe ssio nal c areer  cui t able for one of  
hi s so c ial p o siti o n. I t  will be seen later  that the 
??. . . 
c ancre at the Eco le Fenel on and the Lycee C ondor ce t  
who se t ime was  spent reading Z o la ,  Lorrain and Mirbeau 
and wr iting sentirrental poems and scabrous  nouvelle s  
would be removed  from sch o ol by his  father and pl aced 
en pen si on wi th an ex-normalien in order to 1 o  ? ?  rat traper 
o o o  le temp s  que sa faineanti se lui avait  fait 
perdre I ( 1 ) 0 0 0 0 
Maur i ce Marti n du G ard 9 Roger ' s cou sin , has 
p ointed t o  a fundament al differenc e  of temp erament and 
p erson ali ty between fathe r and son whi ch inhibi ted the 
devel opment of mutual understanding . Paul Mart in du 
Gard with the sel f-as sur ance and poli she d manner of  the 
sncces sful lawyer was irri tated by the re t iring manner 
and taci turni? of hi s elder  son o  Indeed ,  a s  he corn-
p ares hi s uncl e with hi s c ou sin who vras  li ttle seen in  
hi s family , Maurice Martin du  Gard dec lare s that : 
0 0 0 P aul Marti n du Gard me fit  une plus grande 
impressi on - j '  e't ais  plus je?LLne ausE"i - que Roger. 
Il me parut , co mment dire?  ll me p arut moins de'mode'o '
( 2 ) 
Chaperon ( 3 ) also refer s to the fr icti on i n  the father-
son rel ati on ship wi th hi s de script i on of the inc iden t 
whi ch followed R oger Mart in  du Gard ' s pa ssing of the 
b accalaureat , when h i s  father ' s offe r of a rifle . so 
( 3 ) 
Ibid,  p o x.lvi . 
M.  Martin du Gard , ' R oger Mart in  du G ard ' , Revue 
de s deux monde s ,  1 O c t .  1 9 58 ,  pp . 47 1 - 2 .  . 
H.  Chap eron ,  ' Roger Martin du Gard ( Souvenir s) 1 ,  
Bulle tin  de la  societe l i t terair e de s P . T . T . , June 
1 95 9 ,  P o 1 0 .  
ill 
that the boy c ould learn t o  shoo t and hunt l ike o ther 
sons  of the upper  middle c lass , was declined . To the 
annoyance cf the fathe r Roger charac teri stic ally 
reque sted a Lar?usse dic ti onary inste ad - whi c h  he 
finally  receiv ed  sorre six months la ter .  
Ye t if Paul Mar"':  in  du Gard shared  the  p re judi ce s  
o f  h i s  cl a ss agains t the fre e life o f  the art i st and 
regarded hi s s0n ' s absorpti on in l i terature a s  a form 
of e scapi sm , thi s doe s no t imply tha t he wa s altDgether 
unsympathet ic to the ar t s . Mauric e Martin  du Gard 
recall s tha t the father was an enthusia sti c playgoer 
who had ac cumulated  a fund of knowledge on the theatre . 
? ? ? Iv?ai s surtou t il  p arl ai t the at re , e t  m0n 
p?re et  lui se  lancaient ce s noms fabuleux : 
lVioune t-Sully , Le b?rgy , t5arah , Re'j ane 9 Jeanne 
Granier que l '  on me rnenai t vo i r  9 mes parent s 
e'tan t b?n.s au ssi 9 le S'J i r ou le  l endemain. ( 1 ) 
How ever 9 in  hi s Sr.:uveni rs Roger  Martin du Gard seems  t o  
imply tha t the cul ture G f  the well e duc ated men of  hi s 
fathe r ' s milieu  l acked depth . Late r ,  in Devenir ?  he 
w ould  att ack the shallowness  of the intel lec tua l and 
ae sthetic  apprec ia t i on of the haute  bourge o i sie , 
sugge sting th at their  appearance of  monetary 
des intere sserr.ent  and their support  of  c ul tural activi- .  
ti e s  s temmed  from their  habi t of fo rtune and their need 
for di strac ti o n. 
If the f athe r ' s oppo sitio n to hi s son ' s incl ina-
tion towards writi ng and hi s pe rsi stent endeavou rs to  
impose on Roger hi s own life-go al s and values widened 
( 1 ) M.  Martin du Gard , ' R oger  Martin du Gard ' , Revue 
de s deux mondes ,  1 Oc t .  1 95 8 ,  pp . 472-3 . 
the gulf between them, so t o o  did conflict ari se from 
the attemp t  of th e parent s t o  give their  child a conven?
t ional C atholic upbringing .  R obidoux ( 1 ) has noted 
th at the Martin du Gards were staunch supporters of the 
Church. No doub t o ut of deferenc e f or the socia l 
po sitinn of the farnily ? R oger was app o int ed as  
intendant at  hi s fi rst communion and read in the narne 
of  the c ommuni cant s the Acts  of Fai th,  the Consecrati on 
and the renewal of vows o  It  i s  no t cl ear from the 
Souveni r s  i f  Paul Martin du Gard wa s  a devcut Catholic ? 
al though he regularly at tended mass with hi s family . 
P o ssibly l ike M. N:azerelle s in Devenir ! RC'ger Tv'iar tin  du 
Gard saw hi s fathe r ' s relig ion as one of convention 
rather than c onvi c t i on. 
Se s pri ncip e s  raligieux e t  so ciaux 9  QU 1 il 
Confondait d 1 ailleurs 9  etaient inebrs D?ables , 
parce Qu ' il ne cherchai t pas a le s  secouer , e t  
QU 1 il s  S 1 a ju staient exactement ? se S be so ins et  a 
ceux des gens QUi l ' entouraient.  ( Z) 
But Mme Martin du Gard vvas  a pious  b eliever.  Ma-ur ic e 
Martin du Gard ha s related how she would embarrass  him 
as a child by in terrogating him on the state of hi s 
faith. 
Un 2 our elle me tint de s heure s dans son 
salon du premier ? en tric otant pour de s oeuvre s ,  
c ar elle voulai t absolumen t savoi r si j e  communiai  s 
regulieremen t ?  si j 1 allai s aux v@pre s ,  au Salut , 
a la messe , p a s  a celle de midi , ? la grand-me sse o ( 3 ) 
Pre sumably , t hen,  i t  was the mo the r who to ok charge of 
( 1 ) See R .  Robido ux , Roger Martin du Gard e t  la  
religi on ,  p .  3 1  o 
Devenir! O . C .  I ,  pp . 1 3- 1 4 .  
M. Marti n du Gard, ' R oger Martj.n  du Gard ' , Revue 
de s deux monde s ,  1 Oct .  1 9 58 , P o  473 .  
ill 
the e arly religi 2 u s  t raining of her son  before  hi s 
relig i ous  instructi on was co nfided  t o  the pr iest s of 
th e E c ole Fe'nel on at the age of eleven - which Martin 
du Gard de scribes  as  I o o a  l ' ?ge ou l ' horiz on de s 
enfant s c atholiques  e st geile'ralement limi te' par 
l ' ingrate in struct ion scolair e ,  le tran-tran familial 
e t  le  c at?chi sme ? o ? ' . ( 1 ) But he claims tha t he  was  
unmarked by hi s religi ous upbri:i.1gin[!;.  In In  Jl/iemor iam 
he wri te s :  ' Je n ' avai s ,  p ar nature , aucun sentiment de 
pie'te' o c o 1 ( 2 ) and 1 Je n ' ai  j amai s re ssenti ? l a  table 
de c orr?union  le moindre tr ouble authentique o 1 ( 3 ) No 
doub t  i t  was  t o  avoid  the censure of hi s p arent s that 
he continue d as  a p rac tising C atholic  de spite  h i s  grow-
ing di sillu sionment with 1 ? ? ?  J 1 enre:\.. gnement catho lique , 
noyd dans un fatras  mythologique ,  qui me fait pen ser  a 
la r el igi on  pa1enne I ( 4 )  0 0 Q 0 Perhap s he wa s referring 
t o  the f am ily p re s sure s to c o nform wh en he wrote  t o  hi s 
fanner  teacher at the Eco l e  F?nelon , Marcel  Hdbert s 
when he was  twenty, that he  had a t tended high mass t he 
previous  Sundaw bec ause 1 o o o  un tas  de c irc onstance s ,  
de tradi ti ons me for cen t )3_ aller "pour l 1 exemple o o o 1 1 1 o ( 5 ) 
But in the same l et ter  he infc?med Hebert tha t  he had 
finally made hi s dec i si on to break with the Church :  
? ? ? Je m ' ecarte du culte c atholigue . 1 ( 6 ) 
( 5 )  
( 6 )  
In  Memo riam, O . C . I ,  p .  567o  
Ibid,  p o  Sb4. 
Ibid , p o  567 o 
Le tter of R. M. G.  to  Marcel Hdbert ( 8  Aug. 1 90 1 ) .  
Quo ted in R .  Robidoux , Roger Marti n du Gard e t  la  
rel igion, p .  60 . 
Ibid , p .  60 . 
Ibid , p .  70. 
1 1 8  
Roger Marti n du G ard cre ate s th e impre ssion tha t 
the dis cipline in his  h ome was  strict  and tha t  the two 
so ns were sub ject  t o  severe re stric ti ons  under the 
rigo rou s surveillance of  the parent s o  Mauri ce Martin 
du G ard al so recall s  t he pornp o s i  ty and formal i ty of the 
father bu t maintains  that  he VIas far from being an 
autocrat  and indeed showed e benevolent paternalismo  
Son  pe re etaik..:& dans le  reel , plein de 
gent ille sse , ma lgre se s grand s air s ;  on  di sait 
que ,  tr?s ge'ne'reux , il aidai  t le s vieux 
dome sti que s ,  pens ionnai t le s anc ienne s  nourri ce s 
de l a  famille 9 de s employc!s ,  de s re'gi sseurs 
malade s o o o ( 1 ) 
Nevertheless , the authori t ar ianism of  hi s home con-
trasted markedly with the f reer environment whi ch he 
found wi th the Meller i o s  when , in Januar;')r 1 89 6 ,  the 
young .Martin du Gard bec ame a bo arder at the home of 
Loui s Mel leri o ,  a former  student of the Ecole  no rmale 
supe'rieure 9 who was  t o  be hi s pr i vate tuto r for  s ix 
month s o  The stimulat ing atmo sphere of t he 1t?eller io 
home proved to be  conduc ive t m  hi s int ellec tual and 
ae sthe t ic devel opment o  But  even more imp or tant  was 
the fac t tha t  in this adult company he was made t o  feel 
that he  was accep ted as an e qual . ' o o .  Je me sentai s 
p ri s  au serieux, ecoute,  avec sympathie o , ( 2 )  I t  was  
a new experienc e fo r the adole scent to  be  released from 
the inhibi ting envir onment of hi s family circle and to 
be able to f ollow hi s passion for  reading 1 o G o  sans 
c ontrole ' o ( 3 ) As Marti n  du Gard remarks in the 
( 1 ) Mo  Martin du Gard , 
de s deux monde? , 1 
Souveni rs , O . Co I ,  
Ibid , P o  xlv:-
' Roger  Marti n du Gard ' , Revue 
Oct o 1 958 ,  P o  472 o  
P o  xlvi o 
Souvenirs :  1 11 me semblait  naivement nvoir tr ouve mon 
vrai cli? t .  1 ( 1 )  More over ,  he was  t hen fif teen and 
at an age t o  que sti on p reviou sly unch allenged  i de a s  and 
b elief so The freedom whi ch he en j ()yed . in the . Mellerio  
h ome  c:ffered. a contrast t o  h i s  con servative upbringing 
and brought into S.:1arp focus hi s inferi or p o siti on in 
hi s own family c 
C 1 e'tait l.a premi ?re f o :i_ s  que je  me se'p araj. s 
de mes parent s ;  et  pou? aller partager l a  v i e  
q?o tidienne d' un menage etrangero Dans l e  
de'vel opperre nt  d ' un /Ehre  jeune , assez naturellement 
po rte' a l ' observati 'l n ?  c 1 e't ai t  une expe'rien ce non 
neglige able o o o Je dec ouvrai s l ' exi sten ce du 
mili eu univer s .;_ J.;aire , tre s differen t de c elui ou 1 
j 1 avai s ete eleve ,  plus intelle c tuel , plu s cultive , 
plus 1 1 art i ste" o Je ne m'  e'tai s gu?.ee avi sd, 
jusqu 1 alo rs,  qu 1 il y avai t d '  aut res  ve'rite"s que 
celles de mon cl an so -:! i al ,  d 1  autre s fac cns ) - t ou t  
aussi  leg i "Simes ,  tout aussi  sat i sfai saAte s pour . 
l ' e sp ri t ,  sinon davan tage - de vivre , de penser , 
de jug er de s c ho se s  e t  de s genso  ( 2 )  
This p assage seems t o  j_nd:i. c ate  that  i t  waf:"  a t  thi s 
point that Martj_ n du Gard ' s per sonal c onflic t wi th hi s 
p arents  began to wi den t o  i nc:1 1J.de the m:-- re s of the 
class  whi ch they rPpre sented: 
o o o cette  bourge G i si e  spe'c iale ,  qui n'  e s t  pa s  
la  "Grande Bourgeoi sie" , mai s q'J.i e st c ep.endant 
une bou rge o i sie " de r ace ' ' o Pour en fa  i re p artie , 
il  faut Btre n6 bourge oi s ,  comme d' aucuns nai ssent 
gen t il shcmme s; c '  e st - ?-di re qu ' il faut gtre le 
fi ls de son p ere , ncn de se s o euvre s ,  comp te r  
avant soi plusieurs gene'rati. ons de gen s a i se's , 
}:'r obe s ,  e stime's , e t  av oir  he'ri te' cet  ensemble de 
vertus , de pre"juges,  d '  habi tude s. e t  d '  e'cus , dont 
se composent la cul ture morale et l ' educ ati on de 
l a  bou rgeoisi e o  ( 3 )  
Certai nly Schalk(4) note s tha t  Marti n du G ard e?ly 
121 )  Ibid , P o xlvi o 
) .. Ibid ,  p .  xliv .. 
43 ) Devenir ! ?Q. l ,  P o 1 3 o 
) See D. Schalk, R:;ger Marti n du Gard - The N oveli st 
and Hi sto r?, p . 1 9 . 
1 20 
developed social con sci ousne sso  Maurice Mart in du 
Gard ( i )  de scribes  how hi s cous in as  a young man refused 
t o  accep t the life of ease of hi s p arents and the 
delegati on of menial tasks t o  the servant s.  He forbad 
entrance of the dome stic s to hi s r o om which he cleaned 
himself and even went to the extent of prepar ing h i s  
own meals .  Perhap s the words of Jacque s in L ' E t? 1 914  
ech0 hi s youtl:l_ful sentirmnt s when he  admi ts that hi s 
revolt again st  hi s class had or iginated in hi s experi-
ence of family life . 
" Ce qui a fait de moi un re'volutionnaire ? o ? 
C I e S t  d I ctre ne i Ci ' danS Cette ffia iSOn o o o C I e st 
d '  c.. voir  Efte un fi l s de bourge oi s ? ? ? C ' e st d '  avoir  
eu , tout j eune ? le spe c tacl e  quo tidien de s 
injusti c e s  dont vi t c e  monde pri vile'gie'  o ? ?  
C ' e st d ' avo ir  eu , de s l ' enfance 9 c omme un 
sentirne nt de culpabili te' ? o o de compli ci tel Oui : 
la  sensatio n cuisante c;_ue , ce t ordre de cho se s 9  
to ut en le hai ssant 9 j ' en profitai s ! " ( 2 )  
Li t tle reference is made i n  the Souvenir s t o  
Martin du Gard ' s re lati onship s with the other member s 
of hi s family . I t  i s  known , however , that he had 
frequently stayed at the home of hi s blind greet-
grandmother  at Clermont . Hi s great-grancwothe r ' s 
house was  t o  be de scribed twice in hi s works - in Jean 
Baro is when the young Jean Baroi s  i s  an invalid at the 
home of h i s  paternal grandmo ther at Buis-la-Dame and in 
Noizemont-le s-Vierge so Thi s  l atter nouvelle  was a 
brief col?ec ti on of  souvenir s of  hi s chi ldhood  at  
Clermont whi ch had  been alt ered in  a few detai l s  t o  
( 1 ) See M.  Martin du Gard, ' Roger  Martin du Gard ' , 
Revue de s deux monde s ,  1 O c t o  1 958 , p o  472 ?  
( 2 )  L'Et? 1914, O . C. II , p .  1 52 .  
1 2 1 
meet the requirements o? a Belgian publishe r in 1 9 28o  ( 1 ) 
ln th i s  ? ragment we see the grie?  o? the boy a?ter  the 
death o?  hi s beloved gre at-grandmo ther . There i s  al so 
a rTBnti on o? Anna ? the children 1 s pr o te stant German 
nurse who would appear to  have exerted a considerable 
educatio nal in?luenc e on h er two chargeso  0?  her 
Martin  du Gard writ e s :  
Elle avai t une ide/e intransigeante du  Bier? 
e t  du Mal? et juge ai t a ce t te iolffiuable me sure le s 
moindres c:/venement s de 1 1  existence quo t idienne ; 
j e  lui doi s peut-etre une predisp o sition a prendre 
l a  vie  au seri euxo ( 2 ) 
Roger  Martin du Gard 1 s attemp t t o  gain independence 
?rom hi s ?amily ? t o  break  l o o se from p arental domination 
and ? orge a separate identi?v 9 was  a sl ow and pai nful 
proc e ss. Menti on has been made o? the strength o?  
?amily ti es  whi ch had ?arced tre young ag:::.o c t i c  to  
c ont inue religi ous obccrvance until hi s early twentie s .  
Similarly ? al thou gh he  had early dec ided to  ? allow a 
lit erary vocati on he did  no t a ?::. ? i'rst ris k a ruptu re 
wi th hi s ?amily by announc ing hi s intenti ons. Thu s,  
a?ter  hi s studie s ?or  a li cence at the Sorbonne had 
ended in ?ailure he sat  the co nc ours d 1 entree ?or  the 
Ecole de s Charte s ,  p artly , a s  Maurice  Martin du Gard 
points out ,  t o  avoid ?urther paternal crit i c ismo 
AJ.re s avoir e?houe a la  licence ? s le ttre s  
i l  y e tait ent re p ar ha sard et pour ne plus 
s ' entendre repr ocher par son p ere de n 1 ?tre pas 
encore avoue, no taire , inspe c teur de s ?inance s ou 
Souvenirs ,  O . C . 1 9  p .  lxxxiii o  
Noizemont-les-Vierges , pp . 21 -2 . 
Robidoux ,  Roger Marti n du Gard e t  
27 . ) 
(Quoted in  R. 
la  religi on , p .  
lieutenant de hussards comme le s c amarade s de son 
milieu e t  scn ?ge o ( 1 ) 
But th i s  was  al so a delaying tac t i c o  Martin du G ard 
readily admit s tha t hi s sudden dec i si on to become a 
chart is te was  a me an s of gaining time befo re declar ing 
to  hi s father tha t he wi she d  t o  be c ome a writ er - a 
posi ti on wh ich i s  s imilar to that of  Bernard Grosdidier 
in Devenir ! of \nom he hsd wri tten : 'IJ e'tai  t entre' a 
l ' Ec ole de s Charte s 9  tro i s  ans auparavant , corrme on 
entre so u s  une pcrte  c och?re pe ndant une aver se : p our 
a ttenire ' , ( 2 )  - and he col11!T'?nt s :  
C ' e?ait en  effet mon caso Pour a ttendre 
quoi ?  De vieillir  un peu o Pour attendre 
1 '  appel.:?.,??" service pili  taire s  Pour attendre surtout;_l age de declarer  a mon pere : - 11  Je veux 
ecrire ;  et  je veux e"crire o c o de s "roman S 1 1 o ( 3 ) 
I t  was  after he h ad c ompleted hi s diplBmQ_d ' archivi ste?
?aleographe at the Ec ole de s Cha rte s that he fe l t  
suffic ient ly independent t o  be ab}.e t o  devote himself 
t o  hi s wr it?ing , planning a novel in three par t s  
entit led Une Vie de sa:Lnt ( which wa s abandoned _after 
eighteen month s of  preparati on) o 
Literature would be f or Roger Martin du Gard a 
means of a sserting hi s individuali ty and of freeing 
himself from his  family and hi s mil ieua  Robidoux,  for 
instance , pre sent s the the si s that  gradually through 
his  novel s Martin du G ard  i s  moving away from the 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
M. Marti n du Gard , ' Roger Martin du Gard ' , Revue 
de s deux monde s ,  1 Oc t o  1 958 , p .  464 . 
Devenir! , O . C .  I ,  p .  1 7 o 
Souveni rs,  O . C .  I ,  Po 1. 
values impo sed  upon him in hi s upbringing in a C atholic  
middle-class family and groping t owards a humani stic  
philo sophy in whi ch supernatural explanations are 
re jected  and man i s  seen as having t o  work out hi s own 
salvation in c ommunion with o ther men o 
o o o  La lit terature n ' e st pa s  seulement le but 
auquel il aspire 1 elle e st en meme temps  
l 1 instrument efficace de son  emancipationo  T out 
progr? s dans la  pri se de c onscience de so i e t  dans 
l 1 affermi ssernent de son individuali sme e st pre sque 
t ou j ours la consequence de quelque tent ative 
l i t t?raire qui , meme vouee h l ' echec , perme t 
chaque fo i s  au jeune auteur de faire un pas  
dec i sif  en  avant o ( 1 ) 
Jona s  ( 2 ) make s similar conclusions  in hj_ s study o 
Yet if  Martin du G ard did revol t  against the rne_terial-
iem and the conventi onal religi on r;.f' his  cla s s :  hi s 
relationship with the ?bQ_U.[g_?_?'JJ_.?_i.?_ remained e s sent i al}_y 
ambiguous o  A s  many commentato rs have po inted out , 
although in DevenJs. ! ,  Jean B?po i? and the early bo oks 
of' Le s Thibaul t Martin du Gard exposed  the h;)-p o cri sy 
and the complacency of the af-t luent ]Jo?-:_g__??:i1?. living 
c omfortably on their  inheri ted  incomes ,  the author him-
self with his  chatedu at Le Tertre and hi s ap artment s 
at  Nice and Paris  showed li ttle inclinati on t o  abandon 
hi s c omfor t able middle-class exi stence o Indeed , the 
letters  of Martin  du Gard t o  hi s friend s Margarit i s , 
Lallemand , Bloch and Gide show l i t tle of  the soc i al 
rebel ;  rather one finds  the balanced, rati onal writer , 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
Ro Robidoux , Roger Martin du Gard e t  l a  religion,  
p.  23 . 
M. Jonas , L ' Humanisme de Mart?n du Gard dans  Le s 
Thibault , (rhesis  Abstract) University Microfilms , 
vol . XXVI , Dec o 1 96 5 ,  P o  3340 o 
the man of prope rty preoccupied with the management of 
hi s e state , the dutiful son who was deeply affec ted by 
the death of h i s  father in 1 9 24 and hi s mother in 1 9 25 , 
the loving husband who could de scribe hi s wife , Hilene , 
in  the se terms : 1 IVld femme e st e'patan?? e ,  comme toujour s ;  
courageuse , silencieuse , ?arfai te ' , C 1 )  and the father 
who took seri ously his  re sponsibil it ie s towards the 
educ ati on  of hi s daughter ,  Christiane , (born in  1 9 07 ) o 
In  an impnrtant letter t o  Marcel Lallernand in 1 937 
Roger Ivlartin  du Gard di scus sed  hi s bour?oi s inheri-
tance and agreed that with age his attitudes had become 
more conservati ve and traditi onal . 
Bien cher ami , j e  c ro i s  quG vous avez  tout 'a 
fait rai son a signaler  c e  que mon atavisme 
bourgeo i s  a lai s se' d I elements en moi o  On ne 
change pas  de peau ,  et c ' e st le c on?encement de la 
sage sse que de s '  ac cepter c omme une donne'e , et de 
partir  de lh . J ' ai toute  ma vie luttd contre ce s 
?lements ,  et ? k la fo i s ,  compo s? avec . 
Vie ill i ssant , et devenu be aucoup plus indifferent 
e t  plus sceptique , je me re tourne vers mon passe ,  
j e  regarde cette vie  qui n ' a ce sse d ' o sc iller 
entre deux pOle s ,  et je  ne regrette rien . Plus 
equitabl e que jadi s pour le poids de bourge o i sie 
que je traine col?i a ma peau ,  je cro i s  p ouvoir  
penser que c ' e st a ce poids  que j e  dai s ,  en  grande 
p artie , mon equilibre . Je veux dire un c er tain 
sens de la me sure , l ' horreur de s extreme s e t , si 
je di s t oute ma pensee , une certaine di sp o si ti on 
? la justi ce , une certaine ap titude a fai re ,  
touj our s e t  en tout , la p art de Cesar e t  la  part 
de Dieu  ? ? ? Je me desole de moins en mains  
d 1 etre tel quand je  voi s  dans le monde 
c ontemporain, le s dereglement s ,  le s sot t i se s ,  
voire le s crime s ,  dont s ' accompagne pre sque 
touj ours 1 1 e spri t part isan (les  gens qui ,  n ' ayant 
dans . leur atavi sme au?un c ontrepoids aux 
acquisi ti ons trop fraiche s ,  aux certi tude s 
recemment accep tee s ,  sont , tout  entiers ,  juchds 
( 1 ) Letter  of 1 9  Jano 1 935 . ' Corre spondance entre 
Roger Martin du Gard e t  Je an-Richard Bloch X ' , 
Europe , no . 427-8 , Nov o -De c o  1 964 , P o 248 o  
sur quelque po int extrgme , d ' oh il s n' aperco ivent 
qu ' une fraction de l ' univer s ,  et d ' ou ils  jugent , 
avec aveu?lement , com e s ' i ls  dominaient t out 
l 1 horiz on) o ( 1 )  
One may see , then ,  in Marti n du Gard the pa ttern of 
inc reasi ng conservat ism whi ch  was noted in DuhaQel 
( alt hough t o  the end Mart in du Gard remained  re solutely 
indivi duali st and never approached that close ident ifica?
ti on with middle-?la ss  ide ologie s of Geor ge s Duhamel)  L 
I t  i s  obvious from hi s j ournal and his  c o rre spondence 
that the left-wing anti-milit ari st be came more and more 
di sturbed by the threats  to  the so c i al equ il ibri urn in 
the pe ri pd leading up to W or ld War II , haunted  by the 
feeling tha t  he had outlived hi s age and that he had 
nothing to  say to a young generation  wh ose way of life 
was fo roign to himo Thus 9 in 1 946 he abandoned hi s 
wo rk on Enfant s de chaos  - a play taking the sub je c t  
of t he effec t  of so cial d isrup ti on on mode rn you th -
writi ng in his J ournal ( 20 January 1 947 ) tha t i t  had 
been a ' Succe ssion de tent ativ e s  et  d 1 avortement s , 
jusqu 1 au j our  oh j 1 ai c ompr i s  que j 1 e'tai s t r op vieux 
I . ? \ pour reusslr ma plece .  Je  pui s avo ir  une opinion sur 
cette j eunesse de'saxe'e par le s e've'nemen ts , ma is ,  en 
effet ,  elle m 1 est  fonc i?rement dtrangere 1 o ( 2 ) For 
Martin du Gard who , like Duhamel ,  had been wounded by 
hi s exp erience of  family life and had rebelle d  against  
h i s  milieu ( even though hi s revolt as expre s sed in  hi s 
literary wo rks was not as deliberately de structive Of 
( 1 ) Le t ter  of 8 July 1 937 .  1 Lettre s a un ami ' ,  N. N. R . F . , 
no o 72 , 1 Dec .  1 958 , p .  1 1 52 .  
( 2 )  Souvenirs ,  O. C .  I ,  PPo cxxix-cxxxo 
accep ted va ltle s  as tha t of his  friend Gide ) there would 
be a tendency after 1 930 to return to th e p ast for secu?
r?i ty ,  and he wou ld show a mor?e--ready ? accept ?nce of 
inherited value s  and of traditi ?nal middle -cla ss atti-
tude s t ow ards the family and the school . As  he wrote 
t o  Gide in 1 949 on the sub j e ct of Le .rournal de Maumor t :  
' Je m ' aper?o i s  que plu s j e  v ai s ,  plus je  me  refugie 
I ( 1 ) dans l e  passe , mc ins je  fais de place a l 1 actuali teo ' \ 
Unlike Duhamel ard  Romains,  Marti n du Gard 1 s 
literary output was small. There are few source s 
ap art frOm hi s novels  and play s  to which nne may turn 
f.::> r an understanding o f  hi s atti tude s  tow arc'l.s the 
educ ative pro ce ss o  Hence , one must rely primari ly 0n 
th e evidence of the literary works themselves .  
FI':)m hi s earl ie st novels  Martin du G ard showed a 
deep inte?e st in matters  of famil i al educ at ion. 
Devenir !  ( 1 90 8 ) , hi s fi rst suc ce ssful work , de scribe s 
in det ai l  the upbr inging of  a rate', Andr<f .rts.zerelJJ.es ,  
whose fai lure s a s  a writ er and  a s  a person are linked 
wt th the cramping effec t s  of an uncompromi singly strict  
middle -class upbringing .  In  Devenir ! , but even mere 
so in Jean Baroi s ( 1 9 1 3 )  , one finds the influence of. 
nineteenth century sc ienti sm on Martin du Gard ' s at ti-
tude s towards the educ at ive pro ce ss in the . family. As  
the d i sciple of  Tain8 and the bi ologi s t  .
-
Le . Dantec he 
sees  education and heredi ty as  the ma jo r 4eterministic 
facto rs  whi ch limit the growth of  human individuality. 
( 1 ) Letter of 10 March 1 949 ,  Correspondance Andr<! Gide?
Roger Martin du G ard , 7ol .  IT , pp . 448..!.9 .  
Indeed,  in his Journal ,  Gide writ e s  tha t  ivlartin du Gard 
i s ' ? ? ? t api dans  s cn materiali sme c ?mme un sanglier 
d b L . f " l  t ( 1 ) ans sa auge .  e Dantec , Ta1ne s ont se s evang1 e s  ? ? ? ? 
In the universe of Martin du Gard , freedom i s  illusory;  
man is unalt erab ly fixed by hi s f ormativ e  exp er ience s .  
I f ,  as is  the- c ase with Jean Baroi s ,  the charac ter s  
re ach the stage of  priding themselve s  on the ir  emancipa?
t ion from the value - systems of t heir upbringing , th is 
brief moment of tri umpl: of  the  human will i s  followed 
by crashing defea t  as remo i' sel essly they are drawn back 
towards their orig in s . Thus ,  the t ragedy of  the 
protagoni s t  of Jean Barois  repres.en t s  that  of ' ? ? ?  l 1 homme 
affranchi qui tombe , qu i flechi t a l a  fin de sa vie ' . ( 2 ) 
Written agai nst  the background of the cla sh of ideologie s 
at  the time of Dreyfus ,  Je an Baro i s  relate s the vain 
struggle of the savant Baroi s  against the we ight of hi s 
C atholic background. Although he denie s the faith 
th at hi s devout mo ther and grandmothe r have taught him 
and be ? ome s an intransigent l ibre ?enseur , he i s  still , 
like the fig ure on his mantlepie ce  which i s  a re c urrent 
symbol of the novel , Michelang elo ' s ' Sl ave ' , unable t o  
break the de termini sti<;: chain of event s ,  and at his  
death he returns  to  hi s chi ldho od faith o  The shape 
of  Baroi s '  s life wou ld substant iate the fear s he had 
expressed in hi s le c ture on L ' Aveni r de l ' incroyance 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Entry o f  1 March 1 927 .  A.  Gide , Jou rnal 1 889-1939, 
P o  831 o  
Letter of 1 - Aug .  1 91 1 .  1 porrespondance Bloch-
Mar tin du Gard I ' , Europe , no . 41 3 ,  Sept .  1 963 , p .  
29 . 
1 28 
when he was at th e height of  hi s p owers  as a polemi st  
of s c ience and reason ,  and had warned of  the danger s  
of  pe rmit ting the child tc receive a religious  upbr ing-
ing whi ch would indelibly mark hi s pe rsonality o 
" Ne v ous :-apj??  l 3: z  -VO'I.1S  pas  combien tenace 
peut etre une foi d 1 enfan?? o o o  He?as 1 l ' homme 
que la religi on a marque d? s l 1 enfanc e ne s ' en 
debarrasse pas  d 1 un simple mouvemen t d '  e'p aule 1 
comrre d 1 un vetement use cu devenu tr?p  etro it ? - I . l.Je s el e:::ent s religieu.x trouven t chez  l ' enfant un 
sol prep are' par dix-hui t aiecle s  d 1 a sservi ssement 
consenti ; il s se m8lent inextricablerrent a t ou s  
le s autre s element s  de sa f ormation intellec tuelle 
e t  mor ale " o ( 1 )  
I t  follows from thi s exaggerated vie w of  the p nwer  
of  the e ducator ove r  the chil d' s mind , wi th i t s grave 
impli cat io n s  f or his  future development ,  tha t the moral 
a scendency mu st be exerci sed with re straint and re spon-
sibility o  Je an Baro i s  ends  his  speech at  the Tro c ade1ro  
wi th the ple a: 1 o 0 o la  li  berte' pour la raison1  la 
li  berte' pour 1 1  enfant ' o ( 2 ) El sewhere , al s:J , we find 
in  Martin du Gard ' s writ ing s thi s  theme of freedom f ;r  
the chi ld - freedom from indo c tr inati on , from parent al 
pre judi c e s  and so c ial bi a s ,  from har sh re straint s  and 
Thi s i s  seen '\ adult-impc sed mode s  of thinking o 
negatively in hi s works wi th the gallery of characters  
who feel confined and impri soned by  the ir parent s or 
who fl ee from their families  in a search for per so nal 
autonomy such as Andrd Mazerelle s ,  Jacques Thi baul t ,  
Daniel de Fontanin and Nico\le Peti t-Dutreuil o Thu s ,  
we f ind that  the  bourgeo is family in Devenir ? imp o Re s  
( 12 ) Jean Baro is ; O . C .  I ,  P o  448 o ( ) Ibid , P o  450 o 
a tyrannic al c onf'o rrnism on i ts memberso  Although not 
al tngethe r devoid  of tenderness and affecti on towards 
their son ,  the lVIazerel1e  s c ouple 1 ack c omprehens:L on of 
hi s ne eds and attempt to fo rce him int 0  a mould, with-
out imagina t i on or tac t.  
[M. Mazerel1e s] se plai sai t 'a oppo ser son  
sens pratique , son experience , sa concepti on 
simpliste  de la  natur e  humaine et  de la  so ciete', 
aux ge'ne'reux enfant illage s d ' Andre'. Il  n(' 
so up?onnait guere ? quel p o int le s maladre sse s  de 
Ra crit ique affermis saient , en le heurtant , 
l ' orguei l du bambin; se s rai lleries ,  qu' il  
croyai t salutaire s ,  firent9  de  ce qui n ' eut sans 
dcute et? qu ' un travers  de l ' gge ingrat , la tare 
de toute une vie . ( 1 ) 
Nor  i s  the f ai lure of ra rent s to  understand the ir  chil-
dren limited  to the Mazerell e s  family . Andre' ' s 
fre q uen ti on of t he re'uni rns rnondai ne s - the ball s and 
recep_t i on?  arrang ed by so ci ety matrons seeking suit able 
marriage partners fo r th eir dti ughters amongst the 
eligible young bachelQrs of t he haute  bourge o i si e  -
introduce s him to th e pathetic  world of  the ,jeune fille 
bi en eleve!e ,  smo thered by ma te rnal pro tec tiveness  and 
thi r sting fo r friendEhip and sympathy . 
Elles  sou ffraient a ussi , pre sque  tou te s ,  de 
leur vie  de famille .  - "La famille , di sai t 
meflancoliquernent l ' une d 1 elles ,  c ' est  de manger  
ensemble ? ? ?  " Non pas  qu ' elles  fussent trai te'es 
san s tendre sse ; mai s qu ' ?tait l ' affecti cn 
grondeuse de s parent s pour cette  soif maladive 
qu ' elle s avaient d ' ?tre entieremen t compri se s  et  
exclusivement aime'e s? Le s unes souffraient de s 
mdsentente s qui , san s qu' il  en parut au-dehors ,  
bouleve rsaient l a  mai son. D ' autre s ,  au c ontraire , 
'a voir l ' intimi td de 16ur pere e t  de leur mere , 
dprouvaient  un sentime nt d 1 inavouable amertume , 
qui leur fai sai t trouver plus atroce leur 
i so lement ; a celle s-la ,  il  ne re stai t ?me plus 
( 1 ) Devenir ? , o . c. I ,  p .  7 .  
d ' int imite  po s sible avec leur m?re : le ur c oeur 
exclusif refusait le part age . ( 1 ) 
One finds in Martin du Gard ' s corre epondence 
co ndemnatio n of  parent s and educ ato rs  who at tempt to 
fo rce the i r  th inking on the children under the i r  c are . 
Not  only doe s  he criticiBe the members of the 
bourge o i sie  bien pensante who impo se upon the i r  sons 
and daugh ters  a stri ct regimen of  devo ti on but als?o hi s 
disapprobati on extend s t o  al l e ducator s who teach any 
doctrine dogmatic ally , whe th er they be Cathol i c  or 
c ommunist .  Thus ,  in  a le t te r  t o  Gide in 1 93 5 he warns 
against the fanati c i sm to whi ch the young Cathr"!rine 
Gi de i s  expo eed at Chabri s .  
( 3 ) 
O o o  Ce tte enfant e st elevee dans le s e'troite s  
li si ?re s de l a  f o i  communi ste .  Et pour mo i c ' e st 
un mode de formatio n t o?t aussi prejudi c iable p our 
le  de'vel oppement de jugernent : que si elle e't ait 
elevee par une vieille fi lle bigote a l ' ombre de s 
sacri stie s . . .  La ?ensee ne commence gu ' avec le 
gcu te . Toute educ atio n qui ecarte sy stematiquement 
le doute , - e t qui alimen te chez l 1 enfant ce t te 
assurance , trop natur elle , ce tte ascuran ce aveugle 
e t  mep risante qui e st le pro dui t fatal de l a  fo i ,  
quelle que soi t  cette  fo i 9  - n?n seulement ne 
p r ocure pas ? l ' intelligence une nourriture saine , 
mai s la fausse ,  au depar t ;  au po int que tou t 
redres sement ulterieur devient tr? s difficile , 
pour  ne pas dire im?o s sible . . .  La seule 
education rati onnell e , c elle  qui , seule , p eut 
preparer un etre a se former , plu s t ard, selon se s 
dons propre s ,  au c ont ac t de la vi e e t  par  de s 
experiences  personnelle s ,  - e st sceptigue . Ce  
n ' e s t  p as une thedrie to ute fait e que j e  defends. 
C ' e st le re'sul tat de que lque quarant e ans 
d ' observat ion , de souveni rs , de rdflexions ,  e t  
d '  expe'rie nce s .. ( 2 )  
G ib so n( 3 ) make s  the p o int tha t after the i r  
Jlbid , P o 1 44o 
Letter  of 10 Sept .  1 93 5 . C or respondance Gide?Martin du G ard,  vol . II , p.  45 . 
See R.  Gib son , Roge r  Martin  du Gard , pp .. 92-3 . 
experience s of family life the charac ters in Mar tin du 
Gard ' s nove ls show  a marked reluctance t o  accept mari-
tal re sp onsibili tie s and that th ose thet marry 9 such 
as Jean Barois ,  fai l to f ind la sting happine sso  I t  
i s  signifi cant tha t the se ctJ on of the novel v.?hi ch 
deals with Jean' s grorring disillusionment w i th hi s 
marri2ge to  the devout Ceci le is  headed with a qu ota-
tion from Herzcg : ' Le rr?riage n ' e st dangereux que p our 
l '  homme qui a de s idee s ' . ( : ) Indeed ?  Martin du Gard ?  
who also had married a c onventi onally ecucated C athol i c , 
would be co nscious of c0 nfl ict  of bel ie f be tween hus-
band and wife and of the p r:.blems surrc,unding the 
upbringing of a daughte r .  A s  he wr ite s  to G ide :  
' ? ? ? Quel pi'i:;be infernal que le mariage ! 1 ( 2 ) Hcwever ? 
if he doe s  expc se the nega tive side cf  family inter-
acti on cne cannot read t he novels of JViartin du Gard as  
attacking the instit ution of the family as  such . 
Ce :L'tainly 9 he avoids tne oen -clrn:mtal panegyri c s  o f  the 
fami ly whi ch we find in ?ome of Duhamel ' s  wr itings ;  
he explode s  the myth o f  fa'Tiily uni ty and npp o se s  a 
real i st ic estima te of the failings of famili al educa-
ti on to the cult of the foy?r._; but at the same t ime 
he would  seem to suggest  tha t wit h go odwill and t oler-
ance the se fault s  may be overcome .  Even in Jean ? 
Baro is th e di sc ord of Jean Bar o i s  and his wife (which 
ends with  tender reconc ili ati on when with-- .growing 
---- ------------------------------------------?-----
( 1 ) Jean?arois ,  O. C .  I ,  P o 26 1 . 
( 2 )  Letter  of 1 1  March  1 937 . Correspondance Gide-
Martin du Gard , v ol o I I  ? Po, 98 o  
infirmi ty he lo se s hi s uncompromi sing atti tude s 
t owards Cecile ' s religi on) i s  balanced by the harmony 
that reigns in the foyer of lV1arc-Elie Luce , the sena-
t or and member of the In sti tut who se lucidi ty , c alm-
ne ss and moderati on c ontrast with the j ac obini sm of 
the o ther free-thinkers ( and who ,  acc ording to Camus 
' ? ? o repre sente p robablement l '  ideal de lvlartin du Gard , 
a cet te ep oque ' ) c ( i ) From the beginning Luce i s  seen 
as a family man who rai se s hi s numerous children in  an 
atmo sphere of affec t i on and fre edom o  In the sec ti on 
enti tled "Le Semeur" the reader i s  introduced to  the 
intimacy of the foyer in the home at Auteuil where the 
father i s  directing the children ' s  school-work while 
hi s wife at tends to a si ck daughter o  
LUCE ( apparai ssant sur le  perron) o - "Allons ,  me s 
petit s .  o o Il  e st l '  heure ., o c Au travail! 1 1  
Une g alopade j oyeuse o Le s deux aine s 9  -
une fillette de trei ze ans ,  un gamin de douze , -
arrivent le s premierso  Leur e s ?oufflement , dans 
l ' air froid , le s envelnppe de bu?e o Le s autre s 
re j o ignent , un a un , jusqu ' a la derniere de la  
bande , une pe ti te de six anso 
Le poele de la salle a manger ronfleo Sur 
la  grande t able ciree s ' alignent les  encrier s ,  
le s sous-main , de s livre s de classe o  
Debout a la  porte du c ab inet , le pere regarde o 
Ils  s ' entr ' aident gentiment , sans t apage , en 
l iberteo 
Pui s le silence s ' etabli t  tout seul o ( 2 ) 
Years later on hi s de ath-bed Luce ' s final thought s will 
be with hi s children: ' " Qu ' i l s  sont beaux , me s enfant s ! " '  ( 3 )  
( 1 ) A .  Camus , ' R oger  Martin du Gard' , Preface t o  o . c .  I ,  
p o XVJ. J. l o 
(
3
2 )  Jean Bar oi s ,  O . C .  I ,  p .  335o  
( ) Ibid,  P o 555 .-
Martin du Gard adds to  hi s ple a for  liberty for 
the chi ld from parental indoctrinati on an appeal for 
parent s t o  understand the diff icult ie s  of  ad ju stment 
cf thei r ch ildren at ado le scence o In  Part III  i t  will 
be seen from the study of the adole scent develcpment 
of  Jacque s Thibault  and Jenny and Danie l de F?ntanin 
that  the author is deeply concerned wi th the problems 
of  puberty and the e ffec t of sexual maturati on on  moral 
and social devel opment o In hi s l ast , unfini shed work _, 
Le Journal de Maum?rt ,he suggests  that. more re search 
should be undertaken in to thi s sub je e t , expre ssing his 
conviction th at puberty is an importan t  deterr1inant 
fac tor in later growth and that the wall of silence 
surrounding the devel opment of sexual feelings shruld 
b k 1 1 1 e' te' e br o en downo He cone u de s: Di s-moi ce qu a 
ta puberte9 e t  j e  c onna1trai te s secret s  o o o  1 ( 1 ) How-
ever , ap art from  advocating a general a t t i tude of 
sympathy and under standing towards the adole seen t ,  
Martin du Gard ha s lit tle po siti ve to say on this 
questi ono I t  is  true tha t in hi s so j ourn a t  
Martinique in  1 939  he studied the sexual habi t s  of  the 
youth and repor ted  to Gide hi s ob servati ons on the 
absence of vice whi eh he attributed t o  the t o tal free-
dom al lowed adolescents in fo rming heterosexual 
re la ti on ship s, but he made no cl aims that  the se cu stl')ms 
would be appropri ate for Europe an s. ( 2 ) 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Extrac t from Maumort quoted in a le tter to Gide , 1 
April 1 948.  Correspondance Gide-Martin .du Gard ,  
vol . II , p .  405 . 
See le t ter of 1 0  June 1 93 9 .  C orre spondance G i de?
?i?_gu G ard , vo l .  II , pp . 1 7 1 -81 . 
Previously it  was sugge steQ t ha t  in his later 
years Martin du Gard became more co ns ervative in hi s 
socia l and educati onal vi ews.  This  is  evident from 
his  co rRe spondeLce  whi ch give s us a pic ture of  his  
relationsh ip with hi s only  daught er ,  Christiane , and 
hi s atti tude to wards the upbrin ging of  the grand?
children ( Christi ane marri ed her fathe r ' s old fri end, 
Marcel de C oppc.t , a man much her seni o r , in 1 9 29 ) .  In 
1 91 9  he cou ld writ e to Bloch o f  hi s wi sh to  rear 
Chris tiane wi th the minimum of  p aternal direct ion :  ' Ma 
f ille p ousse en liberte e t  m ' entou re de j Jie ' . ( 1 ) But 
later  he woula regret that  he had no t exerci sed firmer  
c ont rol over her educ ati on. Her rel igi ous sent iments  
br?ing from him an uncharacter i s ti c  outburst of  intoler-
ance in hi s le t te r  t o  Gide ( 5  Jan . 1 9 26 ) . ' Vous savez 
c ombien l ' ernpri se religieu se sur Chri stiane m '  a ir.ci td, 
bless? ,  rendu mauvai s 9  haineux.  , ( 2 )  One no te s als o 
that in a letter  of the f oll owi r? year he gave evidence  
of the prot ec?ivene ss which he condemned in other s when 
he admitted  hi s reluctance t o  allow hi s twenty-year-
old daughter  independence , confe ssing anxie ty at her 
wish t o  sp end the win ter in Engl and.  ( 3 ) 
Even more si gnificant  is  the long le t ter  he wrot e 
to Gi de in  1 944 when  he expre ssed his  re servations 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
Letter  of 29  July 1 9 1 9 . ' C orre spondance Bloch-
Martin du Gard III ' , Europe , no . 41 5-6 , Nov. -Dec. 
1 963 , p .  1 02 . 
Letter  of 5 Jan. 1 92 6 .  Corre spondanc e Gide-Mart in 
du Gard , vol ? I ,  P o  284 . 
Letter  of 1 9  Sept . 1 9 27 .  ' Corre spondance Bloch-
Marti n  du Gard VI ' ,  Eurcpe , no . 42 1 -2 ,  May-June 
1 964 ,  Po 2 62 . 
concerning pro gressive methods  of child rearing o He 
admi tted t o  Gide :  
o o o J ' en arrive a cr oire ? au j ourd ' llu.i ? que l a  plu s 
da ngereuse erreur ? c ' e s t  de voulo ir innover en 
mat iere d ' ?ducat iono , o  Je sui s devenu ,  en 
mati ?re d ' educ ati on ? terriblement traditi onal i ste ? 
Je vous parlerai un j our de me s pe tit s-enfant s o  
On les  mu ti le 8. plaisir , pour se c onformer  a des 
vues  pedagogiques c ompliquee s ,  sdduisante s parfoi s ,  
intelli gente s pour la ?lupart qu and on en ? i s serte  
ent re adulte s ?  mai s deplorables  quant au re sul tat ? 
des qu ' on les  app lique o ( 1 ) 
According t o  Martin du Gard the erro r in modern 
pedagogy i s  the stre s s  on indi viduali&?m and opt imum 
pe rso nal devel oprrent - ' o o o  de vouloir  fabri quer de s 
? tre s d '  excep ti on  o o ? '  o ( 2 ) The programtre he pr oposes  
i s  one w?i cn ha s a s  i t s  bas i s  soci al c onformi ty o 
( 1 ) 
La sa.se sse ? c ' e st d ' e'-lever se s enfant s  comm? 
tout le monde , sans autre  runbi tion que d ' en fai re 
de s art_i cle s de se'r ie . Si  l ' enfant a de la  
quali te , il  dep assera d e  lui-mcme le  niveau 
cc urant o o o Avant tou t , le devoir de s p arent s e st 
de faire de l ' enfant ( qui  est  appele , cout e  que 
coute ,  ? etre un e"lEfment s oci al )  s un egal de s 
aut r e s ,  e t  de le muni r ,  d ' abo rd , du bagage l e  plu s  
cour ant , p o ur qu ' i l  soi t k sa pla ce inter pare s ,  
un parmi l e s  autres ,  e t  non un phdn om?ne ? p art  
qui sera  tou j our s un dtrang er dans sa  generati ono  
Si  j ' ava is un enfant ? ele ver , j e  le met trai s a 
l ' dco le p rimai re , pui s  au lyc_e'e ; je  l 1 enverrais ,  
ave c taus  le s autr-?e s ,  au c atechisrm ; j e  l e  
traitera-i s ,  avec ap plicatio n ,  exac temen t c omme 
t ous le s paren?s d ' auj o urd ' hui trai tent leur s  
enfant s ?  p our qu ' il so it  s oci alement equipe  comme 
ta us ceux avec lesquels  il sera ? tout e sa vie ,  
appele ? vivre o E t  pui s , ce la etant ac qui s ,  j e  
chercherai s ? le d?velopper au del? du niveau 
c ourant  pour qu ' il soi t a la fo i s  tou t pareil aux 
autres , e t  supe'rieur o Ce fai sant ,  j e  c r oi s que 
je  lui evi tera;Ls bien de s souffrance s d '  inadapti on ; 
e t  a moi ,  parent , bien de s debo ire s o o o ( 3 )  
Le tter  o f  8 Dec o  1 944o C orrespondance Gide-Martin 
du Gard , vo l o  II , PP o 292-3 o 
lbid , P o 292 o  
I bid , pp o 292 -3 o 
Hence , as in the case of George s Duhamel , the 
later view s  of the wr iter on fmnilial educati on 
repre sent  a remarkable change  of at t i tude when compared 
wi th t he ideas  f ound in hi s youthful wo rks . The senti-
ments on chi ld devel opment exp ressed  in the abo ve 
passage conflict  sharply with the attack on the c onform-
i st pre s sure s  in the middle -cl ass  family in Devenir? 
and the stress on the dangers  pre sented by a religi ous 
training of  the young in  Jean Baro12? 
THE SCHOOL :  
As was befit ting ?he son  of C ath ol ic parent s in  
the ha ute bourgeoi sie th'? f ormal educati on of R oger  
Martin du G ard was  en trusted to the pretre s li bre s of 
, / ( the Ecole Fenelon in the rue du General-?oy.  In  
Octobe r  1 892 , at th e age of e leven , he  entered the 
Eco le Fenelon as  a demi=E?sionnai re while attending 
c la s ?e s at the Lycee Condorce t .  Since he commenced 
in cingui?me one pre sume s tha t prio r to the start of 
his sec ondary schooling he had received private tutor-
ing in hi s home - a c ommon pro cedure f or t he children 
o f  hi s milieu. 
The transi tion from home to school  was  an unhappy 
experience for the y oung Martin du G ard.  He rec alls  
th at as  a new ent rant he had found diffi culty adap t ing 
t o  s chool life and had withdrawn into  himself .  ? 0 0 
Pendant les recreati ons , j ' allais m ' asse oi r ,  seul , sur 
le  mure t ? de la pat inoire . , ( 1 ) During the f ollowing 
( 1 ) In Memoriam,  O . C .  I ,  p.  563 . i 
three ye ars that he spent at the Ec ole  Fe'nel on Martin 
du Gard was e. cancre , in all but Frencl: c ompo si tion  and 
hi story - I Pas  t out a fai t le cancre indc'c rot  table 9 ni 
le po tache indi sc iplind ; non ,  plut?t doc ile , mai s 
pare sseux et  resolument inattentif o  , ( 1 )  In hi s 
Souvenirs  he c cnfe sse s that much of  hi s time was  spent 
secr?;.; tly reading magc:t zine s  and novels whi ch were t aken 
from his fathe r ' s l ibrary or borrowed from hi s class?
mate s ( one of wh om was Gaston Gallimard at the Lycee 
C ondorcet who wa s t o  be instrumental in publi shing Jean 
At ?h at t ime hi s favourite author s were 
Emile Zcl a ,  Oc tave Mirbeau , and Jean Lo rre.in who se 
short sto ries  1 o o o  fort o se!s 1 ( 2 )  o o c appeared in the 
Echo de Paris o  H e  had al so writ ten sent imental p oems 
. and attemp ted ' real i stic ' sh ort storie s 1 o o o  d 1 un 
mauvai s gout inimaginable ' o ( 3 )  Already the young 
?_ol1.egie? was attrac ted by the the atre ( one may 
po ssibly de tee  t hi s fa ??i.c; J.? ! o i 1li'luence in thi s ) , and 
regularly a ttended the Thur sday matinee so Indeed,  
Martin du Gard claims that a s  a you?h he rarely mi s sed 
a play by Bern3tein ,  Batai lle , Porto-Riche , Donnay , 
Curel or Capus .  
However , i t  appears  that  hi s avid reading and 
delight in the the atre were not matched  by an interest  
in the sub j e c t s  appearing in the school curriculum and 
as  the result  of hi s evident lack of progre ss  Paul 
1 1 ) Souvenir s ,  O . C . I ,  p .  xli i i .  
? '  Ibid ,  P o  xli i i o  
3 ) Ibid ,  P ?  xliv. 
Martin du Gard wa s fc r ced to  withdraw him from th e 
Ecole Fenelon in January 1 896 .  A s  Roger Martin du 
Gard has commented on hi s period at the demi-pensionnat : 
De s licence s que perme ttait le  r?glement tre s  
lache de l ' Eco le , j ' avais  peut-gtre t ire quelque 
profi t p our ma formati on ?enerale , ma i s  aucun pour 
mon instruction scolai re . ( 1 ) 
But at le ast  at the Ecole he had di sc overed amongst the 
prie st s  one who se influence upon hi s general thought 
and intellec tual devel opment was to be c Jnsiderable -
I Marcel He be rt , In hi s Souvenir s 9  in the dedicati on 
of Jean Baro i s  and par t icularly in In Memori am which 
was wri t ten in 1 91 6  shortly after  H?bert ' s  death , he 
pays  tribu te to hi s former t? acher for hi s intellec tual 
integri ty. Shortly after his  arri val at the Ecole 
I 
Fe ne lon Roger rviartin d u Gard be came aware that cne 
prie st  in the recreati on peri cds was alway s surrounded 
by a group of pupils.  P o s sibly becau se .'Jf  hi s loneli-
ne ss  at thi s  time he was attracted by the animat ion of 
the discu ssi ons of Hdbert and hi s dis ciple s . At 
Chri stmas Martin du Gard cho se Hdbert t o  be hi s 
c onfe sso r .  Although he instinctively disliked the 
intimacy of the confessional he di sc overed  tha t  hi s 
interviews  with Hdbert  were t o  be an intellectual and 
moral revel ati on.  
, 
Hebert , a moderni st  in the ology , 
who was to be di smi ssed from his  post  as  director  of 
the Ecole F?nelon in 1 901  and finally forced to l eave 
the p riesthood be cau se of hi s views  on the symbolical 
truth of religion,  made use of thi s opportuni ty t o  draw 
( 1 )  In Memoriam,  o . c .  I ,  p.  568 .  . ---
the at tenti on o f  his  pupil t o  broad ,  moral princ iple s 
rather than t o  mat ter s  cf doc trine o  
Pui s , ayant ainsi raviv?, ra j euni , rapprochJ 
de no us la  grande loi  mo ral e do nt il  voulait  t ircr 
ense ignement ;  ay ant ainei ?ve ill e l ' imaginat i on 
de l ' enfant et rendu son attenti on plus recept ive 
par cet  inte're't d '  actualite', il entra1nait 
aussi tc t son penitent ? traver s  un monde de 
pense'e s  nouve lle s o  Il s I  e'levai t d I un elan s i  
ai se' aux plus haute s  concep ti ons moral e s ,  et , pour 
atte indre cc s cimes ,  il u sai t de ma t s  si simple s ,  
d ' image s si co nc re te s , qu ' il etai t im? o s sible de 
ne p a s  le suivre o ( 1 ) 
We c an glimpse in thi s  p aragraph the effect ivene ss  o f  
H?bert ' s  pedagogy - the cle ar expo siti on drawing on 
example s fr om the exp erience of the chi ld and the 
gradual devel 'lpment of  the theme t o  include general 
principl eso 
It i s  debatable , h0wever 1 whether Hdber t  1 s 
theologi cal beliefs  had a ma j o r influence on Roger 
Martin du Gard ' s spiri tual devel Gpment o R obido ux,C '2. )  
fer  inst ance , re j e c t s  the vi ew tha t  He'bert ' s  teaching 
precipi tated Marti n du Gard 1 s dec i s i on to leave the 
Church and Martin du Gard , himself , has rec orded that 
he owe s more t ?  the example of c onvic ti on and courage 
of the man than hi s ' doc trine ' . 
o o .  Nr.?'J.s  s cmme s ncmbreux ? pouvoir proc lamer 
que la  supr@me dignite de sa vie , son inlassable  
recherche du parfai t ,  e t  c e t te  j o ie spontane'e , 
fec onde ' que nous eprouvions 'a nous hausser  vers  
lui , ? le  ve'ne'rer comme un saint , nous a p our 
t ou j ours inculqud, avec le gout e s sentie l  du juste 
et du vrai , un respect  de la pure t? morale , dont 
il nous re stera  tou j ours  quelque chose . ( 3 )  
( 1 ) lbid ,  P o  566 o  
( 2 ) See R .  Robidoux , Roger Martin du Gard e t  la religi c? , 
chap t o  l o  
( 3 ) In Memor i am, O . C o  I ,  PP o 567 -8 o  
14Q 
Even after he left  the Ecole , the e x-pupil  c ontinued 
t o  vi si t He1bert o During one of  the ir diccussions when  
Mart in du Gard was  six?een or  seventeen,  H?bert intr o-
duced him to War and Peace - a work whi ch  was t o  be 
cruc ial for  hi s literary fo rmati on ?  fo r the reading qf 
Tolstoy was to turn him away from the theatre to 1 o o o l e  
roman de longue haleine , k per sonnage s nombreux et  h 
multiple s  dpi sode s 1 o ( 1 ) Thi s debt to  Tol stoy was 
acknowledged publi cly in hi s Nobel Prize  speech in 
December 1 937 o Bcth  in the p sychologi cal truth of hi s 
charac teri sati on  and in his  pe rsonal vi si on of the 
universe wit h  hi s search for the e ternal veriti e s  Tol stoy 
fo r R0ger Mart in du Gard would be 1 o o o  le grand Ma?t re 1 o ( 2 ) 
Bec ause of his  fai lure t o  apply himself to  hi s 
studie s at the Ec ole F?nel0n and the Lycde C ondor ce t 
Martin  du Gard was  placed by hi e father in the home o f  
Loui s Melle rio , a t0acher at t he Lycde Janson-de-Sa illy 
in order t o  be g iven remedi al instruct i ono E arl i er 
i t  has been sugge sted tha t t he boy f ound himself i n  an 
environment  markedly different fr om that of hi s  home 
in the rue Sainte-Anne o I t  i s  obvious from the 
descri p tion g iven in tha Souvenir s  th at the ex-
normalien was in all respec t s  an outstanding teacher -
1 o o o dou' d 1 une tre s fine intui ti on p sychologi que ' ( 3 )  -
who saw in hi s new pupil a boy o r' natural sensit ivity 
and intelligence who was under-achi eving bec au se of a 
( 3 ) 
Souvenir s ,  O . Co I ,  p o xlviii . T --- I Di scour s  de Stockholm , N. No R . F o , 
1 9 59 ' p 0 9 59  0 
Souvenirs , O . C .  I ,  PP o xlvi-xlvi i o  ---. --
no o 77 , 1 May 
restrict ive home backgroundo At le ast such a c onclu-
si on may be reache d from an exillninati on of thG treatment 
he pr ovided for the reluc tant learner entrusted to  hi s 
To  pr ovide  an envi ronment in which the boy ' s 
intere st s might devel op naturally he had ende avoured 
t o  free him fr om unneces 8ary re straints o  Nmrt in du 
Gard wa s given free use of  a l ibrary well  st ocked wi th 
c ontemp o rary fic t ion a s  wel l as the classic s and in 
contrast  to the c on trolled  atmo sphere of hi s home he 
was ? ermit ted to read wi thout re strictiono  ' Le so ir ? 
j e  pouvai s bouquiner dans mon li t jusqu ' k une heure 
tardive , sru1 s  m ' at tirer de reproche : b peine ? ne 
tenps  a aut re 9  une rec onmendati on amicale dG ne pas  
vei lle r trop tard o ' ( i ) His  reading habi ts  were guided  
discreetly  by  the Nwlle ri os  who di scussed  wi th their  
pensi onnai re the authors he was  studying and sugge sted 
o ther s  he could read wit h pr cfi t o  ' Dans ce t air  
satur8 de  littd'ratur e ,  e t  de lit t?rature " romane sque" , 
j e  re spirai s ave c delices ;  c ' ?tait nouveau p our moi 
e t  gri san t o ' ( 2 ) I t  seems that t?i s me tho d of allowing 
the boy the opportuni ty to  pur sue hi s intere st  in 
li terature was to  stimula te hi s progre ss in o the r 
di::?ec ti ons for 9 during the six month s that he spent 
under Me llerio ' s tui ti on , Roger  Mart in du Gard was to 
revi se from the beginning hi s studie s of Latin and 
Greek and to overcome hi s backwardne ss  in other sub jects o  
0 0 ? Il faut croire que ce t te fringal e ,  loin de nuire 
( 1 ) Ibid, P o xlvi o ( 2 ) Ibid , P o xlvi o 
a mon travail , lui en a ete' en  fin de c ompte sal u tai re ' 
parce qu' e lle m ' astreignai t ? un co nstant exerc i ce 
d ' at tent icm , de me'moi re ,  e t  qu ' elle entretenai t en moi 
t .  ? t / I I l , ( 1 )  une ac lV l e cerebra e j oyeu se e t  c onfu se o 
Even more imp ort ant for Martin du Gard ' s v oc at ion 
as a wri t er was IVie llerio 1 s teaching of  compositi on 
skill so  Mel le rio  had found tha t hi d pupil lacked in 
hi s wr it ten expre ssi on n concern for  structure and 
logic al development o  T o  impre ss the need for planning , 
the tut or had given a daily sub je c t  whi ch was t o  be  se t 
out as  a brief with t0pic  sen tence s and numbered para-
graphso  ' Le resultat ne s ' e s t pas  fai t at tendre : en 
d . \ "  \ t . eux mols , j c  c ommen1ais  a etre rompu a ce exerc 1ce , 
et  aucun , je  cro i s , nd m ' a dtd plu s utile o . o  De ce 
j our-1? , j '  ai rep < . .1usse' la tentati on , 'a laquelle j '  avai s 
touj ours cElde', de me lancer 'a 1 '  aveuglette en me fiant 
'a ma facilite de plume o , ( 2 ) 
After six month s of sp ecia l tui ti on Roger J\11artin 
du Gard was p ronounced veady to i'e sume hi s forml?.l 
schooling and cran sferred t o  rhe'to rique at the Lycee 
Janson-de- Sailly whe re 1 o o o  l e  cancre de Condo rce t  o o o  , ( 3 ) 
was abl e t o  p ass the fir st part  of the baccalaure'at in 
July 1 8  97 and t he sec ond in 1 8  98 o 
However , the t r ial s  of t he young student were not 
ye t over  - hi s years at the Sorbonne studying for the 
licence ? s le ttre s ( de sp ite  hi s father ' s  expre s sed  wi sh 
Ibid, P ? xlvi o 
Ibi d, P o xlviL 
Ibid ,  p .  xlvL 
that  he study law ) were t o- r e sult  in  1' aJ.lure . Ace ord-
ing t o  the chronologi e whi ch was incorporated in the 
Oeuvre s c c:gwle te s Martin du Gard  was an art s student 
at the S2rbonne from Novemb Gr 1 898  tc  July 1 8 99 , but 
R?bidoux ( 1 ) fr? an examinati on cf the register  of  the 
Eco le de s Charte s has revealed that in fact Martin du 
Gard sp ent a second year at the Sorbonne before hi s two 
succe ssive failure s prompted him t o  si t the c onc ours  
Q??trde for the Ec ole de s Cha rt e s  - a spec iali st 
scho ol  for training archivi st s  and pale ographers .  
Mart in du Gard recalls tha t the change of  direct ion in  
hi s academic trai ning re sulted  frPm hi s inability to  
face ' . c .  une nr'uvelle anne'e de theme s la  tins e t  de 
th?mes grec s ' ( 2 ) alth ough he had receiv ed the interest  
and lit erary encouragement  of  one of  h i s  lec tu,..e r s  at  
the S8rbonne - Emile Fague t .  
I t  was then ,  acco rding t c  Robidoux , the 2 8  O ct ober 
1 900 that  Roge r Martin du G ard gaine d  entry t o  the  
Ecole de s Char te s  where he w a s  to  spend four year s ,  
be ing fo rced t 0  repeat h i s  sec onn year of  studie s in 
1 9  03- 1 904 after the inter::up t ion of  hi s instruct ion the 
previ ous year t o  fulfil hi s mil i tary training requi re-
ments. Upon the comple t j_on of  his thesi s on Le s 
Ruine s de l ' Abbaye de Jumiege s the chart i ste , Mart in 
du G ard, qu alified for his  dipl6me d 1 archivi ste-
I pale ographe . I t  will be sugge sted  later  tha t the 
( 1 ) See R e  Robidc ux , R oger Martin du Gard e t  la  
rel igi on, pp . 51 and 82 . 
( 2 )  Souveni rs , O . C .  I ,  pp . xlix-: . 
atti tude s towards h i s  training at  the Ecole de s Charte s 
which he expre s sed in hi s Souvenir s of 1 9 55 appear t o  
have changed cons iderably from hi s e ar ly utte rance s o  
Certainly hi s ultima te vi ew o f  h i s  p eri od a s  a charti ste  
is  one of warm approbat i on for the meth ods of  instruc-
tion and the integr ity of the teacher s o  I n  the 
Souvenir s  he declare s tha t he le arnt from h i s  instruc-
tors ' .  o o une ccrtaine mc!thode de travail [e t J ? o o une 
certaine disc ipl ine intellec tuelle e t  morale 9 qui me 
sont  devenue s une seconde nat ure , , ( 1 ) Acc ording t o  
Mart in du Gard the example of the te achers at  the Ec ole 
de s Charte s helped him t o  overcome hi s tendency t owards 
impr ovi sati on and indi scipline and t o  adopt the prin-
cipl e of p atient re search before undertaking any maj or 
study.) for whi ch Meller io  had laid  the foundati on. 
Je doi s ? leur exe?ple de m ' gtre 
perpEhuellement de'fie' de s be so gne s impromptues e  
Par un fJtich isme peut-etre exc e s sif de 
l ' exac titude , - j e  pourrai s p re sque dir e :  par un 
be so in  per sonnel de securi t? - ,  avant 
d ' ent reprendre un nouve au l ivre 9 je me sui s 
t ouj ours a s treint h ras sembler le plus  de 
rense ignement s po s3ibles , a accumuler no te s  et  
fiche s ,  afin  de reduire au minimum les r i sque s 
d ' er ?eur , et  de me premunir c ontre l e s  
entra!nements  de l ' impr ovi sati on. ( 2 )  
The mettod s of work of the Ec ole de s Char te s became 
part of Mart in du G ard ' s l i terary technique .  He i s  
in Mall?t ' s wo?rds ,  ' un archivi ste monumen tal ' ( 3 ) with 
a Stendhalian addicti on to t he c ompilation of f i che s 
Ibid ,  P o  li o 
Ibid ,  P o  l i o  
R .  Malle t ,  ' Un Archi v i  ste monurr;ental ' , N.  N .  R .  F . , 
no . 72 , 1 Dec .  1 9 5o ,  p .  1 046 .  
and the p reparation of massi ve document ation.  ( 1 ) 
Indeed ,  wri t ing of the preparatory re search for  Je an 
?aro i s  he revealed to hi s friend Margarit i s  i n  1 9 1 8 :  
Baro i s ,  c ' e st tro i s ans de travail suivi , 
mai s c ' :e st dix ans de no tes  q'.lO tidienncs ,  d '  articl es 
de j ou:-naux de'c oupe's et cla see?s dans de s chemisP s 
eti qu etE{e s .  Baro i s  n '  a pas  ete ecrit  en fumant 
de s c igaret te s:-rnRj. s en  bGchan t pendan? dix ans ;  
en amass ant 1 fragment p ar fragmen t ,  de s idee s sur 
t out ;  en c onservant  e t  en reli sant ( car  je  rel i s  
c o nstamment mes archive s) de ces  art icl e s  qui 
n ' ont l ' air de rien e t  auto ur de squels le hasard 
a vculu que je secr?te de s idee s  'El. mJ L ( 2 )  
I n  additi on to a metl?od of  wo rk ,  hi s te achers  were 
t o  instill  in him a scrupuJ ous c oncern fer hi st orical 
truth. He rel ate s in h i s  Souvenir s hi s re spe c t  for  
the sc ientific exact it ude and profes sional i ntegr i ty 
shown by the te aching personne l at the Eco le de s 
Charte s .  ' J ' en ai connu s qui n '  ont pas he'si te 'a 
renier publiquement le re'sul t at de plusi eur s anne'e s  de 
labeur parce qu ' ils  s ' apercevaient qu ' ils  s ' dt aient 
fourvoyds dans leur recherche de l a  vdrite'. , ( 3 ) One 
see s  the training of  the chartiste  reflec ted in  a p ro se 
style which avo ids emotional exce ss  and in the atti tude 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
(3 ) 
In Ami tie's e t  rencontre s Romains refers  to the 
difference s in work p ro c edure s between himself and 
Martin du Gard. After the ?.ni tial p reparati on of 
materi al f o r  Le s Homme s de bonne volonte he had 
? 
rel ied on hi s memo ry and on a few note s which , 
filled ' ? ? ?  un dossier  ?pais  de quelque s centimetres 
? peine ? ? ? ' ? Martin du Garc. 9 however ,  h ad e sta?
bli shed for Le s Thibault ' ? ? ?  tout un sy steme de 
not e s ,  de fiches , de tablea? synoptiques  e t  autre s 
auquel il se referait  c onstamment. Il  n ' aurai t 
p u  se deplacer qu '  avec une ou deux malles de ? 
do s si ers ' .  See Amiti?s e t  renc ontre s ,  pp . 1 30-1 . 
Sec ond let ter  of b Fe?1 91 8 .  ' Le tt re s  ? Pierre 
Margarit i s ' , N. N. R . F . , no . 72 , 1 Dec . 1 958 , p .  1 1 26 .  
Souveni rs ,  o .c:-1?. li . 
whi ch the noveli st adop ts of sc i ent ifi c ob j ectivi ty .  
He i s  devoted ? as Gibson p oints out , to a 1 , ? ?  cult of 
impersonality ? ? ? 1 , ( i )  In addi ti on , f ollow ing the 
example  of hi s [Ilai"tre? , Roger  Martin du Gard possesses  
a hi ghly developed  cri ti cal sense ancl the moral  
s trength t o  ab andon pro jects  whi ch i"'a il to  reach his  
own r igorous standards . We discover from hi s 
?ouvei:?if,.Z and hi s corre spondence that a suc cess ion of 
novels  - .Un.e __ Vte d?__?? !li_ari ??? ' L 1  AJ?.I2_areill.?.M? 
Mawnort a s  we ll  as o the r unno.med works - were left ?- ?-- ? ? 
uncomp leted.  ,?;artin du Gard ' s arti stic  honesty and 
inte llec tual integri ty have b een ap tly desc rib ed by 
Carn us as  ' ? ? .  un j anse'ni sme de l 1 ar t  ? ? ?  ? . ( 2 )  
Final ly ,  h e  de clares  that hi s p e ri od a s  a 
_g__p.artt?iE;!. studying history and medieval archi tecture 
awoke in him a deep and lasting interest  in poli t i cal  
and soc ial affair s .  He confesses  that prior  t o  hi s 
entry to  the Ecol e  de s Chartes  he had talmn l i t tle  
no t ice of contemp orary events - even the Dreyfus case 
had attracted l it tle  attention on hi s ?art . But hi s 
training revealed to him the extent to  which  man i s  
bound by  history and soc iety .  
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
Cet  interet p our l 1 hi stoir e que j ' avai s 
acqui s aux Charte s ,  m ' a fr?qucmment amene a 
faire ? dans mes l ivre s , une place aux faits  
hi storique s _ do?t mes  personnage s  se 
trouvaient Ehre les  temoins . I 1 m '  etai  t 
devenu impos sible de c onc evo ir un pe rsonnage 
moderne de'tache' de s on temps ; de la s oc ie-te", 
de l 1 histoire  de son temps . ( 3 )  
R . Gibson,  Roger Martin du Gard , p .  1 1 5 . 
A. Camus , 1 Roger Mart in du Gard ' , Preface 
p .  xii . 
Souvenirs , o . c .  ? I , pp . 1- li . 
. ,...._ ?? ?-
One must also not ignore the in?luence on his s ocial 
attitudes o? the student milieu .  Particularly 
important  for the deve lopment of hi s politi cal and 
soc ial thinking was hi s year of mil itary service at  
Rouen in 1 902-3 where in  camp he  was associated with 
other dis?enses - students who were permitted to 
complete their  tra ining in one year instead of the 
usual three .  Amongst hi s fr::.cnds a t  Rouen were 
Marcel de Coppet and Jean-Richard Bloch who were to  
influence him s trongly by their ideali sm and their 
Left -wing poli tic s .  Earl ier we have seen tha t Martin 
du Gard reac ted aga inst the conservative att i tudes  of 
the ha?te QOU??i?i? as  repre sented by hi s fami ly. 
I t  would seem that at thi s stage of his  growth9 his 
personal ru1t ipathy gained a de?ini te  p oli ti cal 
orientat ion. As Robidoux comments : 
Le j eune bourgeo i s  q_u ' e'tai ,t Martin du Gard , 
sans toutefoi s  al j dn?r  son independance , e t  en 
demeurant toujours a l ' e?art des partis , devint  
lui aus si , e t  pour de  bon 9  un homme de  gauche . ( 1 ) 
Although Martin du Gard ' s ?ormal education ended 
wi th his p ass in g  of  the dipl:Dme d 1 archi vi ste -
pa1Efo.&r:t!-12.h? in 1 9 05 9 m ention must  be  made o? the course 
of clini cal lectures he attended  at  various  Par is  
hospi tal s  in  1 9 08 .  Aft er the fai lure of ? Une Vi e 
de saint in that  year 9  he sought entry to the hospi tals 
from an introduc ti on to George s Dumas , a speci ali s t  in 
psychiatric di sorders 9 in o rder to gain greater under-
standing of the personali ty and the mental p ro ce s se s . 
( 1 )  R .  Robidoux , Roger Martin du Gard et la religion , 
p .  84 . 
For several months he j o ined the ??te?e? at the 
H? te l-Dieu , Pi tie' , Salp?hriere and Sainte -Anne to 
attend the c lini cs of the psychi atris ts Ballet ,  
Babinski , Reymond and  Dumas . Not only di d Mar tin du 
Gard,  l i :-?e Duhamel , gain from thi s experienc e a know -
ledge of  ho sp itals and of the practi ce of  med icine which  
woul d be  seen in hi s nove ls but also , one suspec ts , an 
increased apprec iat ion of ' ? ? ?  cette nature secrete  qui 
re ste  c achee sous les  apparences  ? ? ? ' ( 1 ) which had been  
revealed to  him  in  Tolstoy .  l':o doubt  hi s b rief 
training in psychiatry has some links  wi th the studies  
of abnormal behav iour which are seen in  hi s works -
homosexual tendencies  in the play YJl_?raci?rne , sug-
ge sti ons of lesbiani sr;! in Les ?rhiba"???? (Anne de 
Battaincourt and the Engl i sh goverDess Mi ss  Mary ) , 
incest  involving a brot?er and a si ster  in the nouvell e ) 
Confidence afri caine , as well  as the writ er ' s ab i lity  
t o  suggest  de eper  mot ives b ehind apparently normal 
relationship s .  In Camus ' s v iew Mart in du Gard i s  a 
master p sychologi st who has the abi li ty to create  
' ? ? ? le portrait en  dpaisseur ? ? ?  , ( 2 ) of  hi s characters . 
1Ne shall f ind in examining the portrayal of  the 
educator-learner  interac t i on in Martin du Gard ' s works 
evi dence of ' c e t te troi sieme d imens ion qui elargi t s on 
oeuvre ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 ) 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
Souvenirs , O . C  ? .  I ,  p .  xlix .  
A.  Camus , ' Roge r Mart in du Gard ' , 
I ,  p . ix . 
Ibi d ,  p .  ix .  
Preface to  O . C .  
In. his ?ouveni rs , hi s corre spondence and the 
extrac ts  whi ch have been publi shed from his  j ournal > Roger  
Martin du Gard make s few c omment s of a general nature 
on the educative p roc ess in the schools  and in the 
absence of essays or art i cles one i s  forced,  as in the 
case of the fami ly , t o  rely heav ily on the referen ce s 
which  he make s t o  .s c;hoo l s  in the .n. ove ls  to evaluate hi s 
at t i tudes towards formal in struct i on .  In Vie:i,)J? 
???, for  instanc e ,  which wa s pub l i shed in 1 933 , the 
p roblem  of the instit];teur:, in a c ommunity hostile  to 
culture is handle d sympat hetically .  I n  thi s album de 
closed  minds , ignorance o.nd degeneracy of the country 
dvJe llers and the inhn bi to.n t s  of the sEJo.ll vi llage of 
Maupeyrou - a portrayal which he defended as  reali s t i c  
in  a reply t o  the cri t i cisms of Marc e l  Arland ( 2 ) - the 
two schoo l  teachers , Ennberg and his  unmarried s i st er , 
stand  out as  the only characters who re tain their  
ideal i sm and their  determinati on to suc ce ed .  But even 
their fai th in their missi on is te s ted to  breaking 
point by poverty , i solati on , the indifference of the 
authorit ies and the ap athy of the p arents .  At  the end 
of llilll??e Mlle Ennberg loses  the one pupil  in  
whom she had glimpsed  inte lligence ru?cl sensi tivity .  
Desp i te the teache r ' s entreat ies  and her offer of free 
tuit ion,  the mo ther of the girl , Mme Querolle , r emove s 
her daught er from the vi llage schoo l ,  adding salt  to 
( 1 )  Vie i lle  France , O . C .  I I, p .  1 01 5 .  
( 2 )  See  M .  Arland, ' Chroni que de s romans - Vie i lle 
Franc?' , N . R . F . , no . 237 , 1 June 1 933 , pp . 985-6 . 
the wounds with her ?inal remark:  ' "La petite  en sai t 
de'ja trop . Pour c e  que ea lui s ervira ? Nous ne 
voulons p as qu ' elle entre dans les  Pos te s .  Encore  
mo ins qu 1 e lle so  i t  insti  tu  tri c e !  1 1 ' ( 1 ) Hlle Ennber g 
i s  le.ft with grave doub ts  concern ing the :possib i li ty  o.f 
br inging enl ightenment to 1 ? ? ?  cet te humani te' animale 
?
? ? 
1 ( 2 )  e.nd whether the so c ia li st revolut i on would in 
.fac t bring about .fundamental changes in atti tudes .  
Her brother mus t also struggle to re tain his  op t imi sm 
in the .face of the general antipathy to  c ompulsory 
primary educ at ion ;  he to o i s  fi lle d wi th troubling 
thought s as to  the efficacy o .f  hi s work but he stoi cally 
holds to h i s  se lf --appointed taslz 1 ? ? ?  de faire chaque 
j our un .fJ C L1 :plus , un peu mi eux , que ln vc.;ille ? ? .  ' .  ( j )  
In addit ion to this depress ing pic ture of the state 
of :primary e 6.ucati on in c ountry areo.s v1hich i s  relieved 
only by the honesty and c ourage of the in9ti tuteurs , 
there are tlle ironi cal de scr ip ti ons of the .Q rivate  
school system in ?eve?!r! In thi s early work Martin 
du Gard ridiculed the so c ial pretentiousne ss  inherent in 
the Catholi c  dem i -)Jensi onnats  such as  the Ecole  Saint?
Thomas .frequented by ' ? ? ?  la jeune sse cathol i que e t  
doree ? ? ?  ' .  ( 4 ) 
( 1 ) t ? l 
C ' e'tai t un milieu as se z  .ferme': il  
fallai  t avoir 1 1 1 ' e sprit  de  la  mai son"  9 qui 1 
pratiquement , se  d?.fini ssai t : un papa riche 
et  b i en pensant ? ? ?  Les enfant s s 1 estimaient 
entre eux selon la s i tuati on sociale de 
Vie i lle Franc e ,  o . c .  II9 p .  
!bid ,  p .  1 1 02 .  
Ib i d ,  p .  1 1  02 . 
Devemi.r! , O .Q.  I,  p .  1 o .  
1 1  0 1  
leurs peres 9 e t  1 1  e'leganc e  de leurs  me re s 9 
qu ' on ape rcevai t ,  c er tains j ours de ??te 9  
de scendant de vo iture a la porte de l a  
chapelle . ( 1 ) 
ill 
Nor  i s  i t  sugges ted that the Q..?lni-peps:j_J2.,nna:t provi des  
care?ul supervi sion or  encourage s e??ective work 
habit s .  
i:lazer-elle s ,  retain.s as an ex-J:mpil o:;: the :b.:co l e  Saint?
Thornas 1 ? ? ?  un souveni r excel lent  ? ? ?  v ( 2 ) of the ?reedom 
whi ch he had b een  allowed , b ut he arun i t s  that he had 
drnwn li ttle  intellec tua l :pro? it  from hi s studie s .  
There i s  an unmi stakeabl e  aut obiographi cal e l emen t  in 
the acc ount o? Bernard ' s scholast ic  inac tivity : 
? ? ?  I l  avait  indi scretement abuse des 
lib erte's permi ses , ne t Pavaillant qu 1
'
a ses 
heures ,  et  ti'8.nS?Ormant SOn p upitPe d 1 etude 
en b iblio th?que i l l i c i te ,  ob tPBnai t l e  
iku sset  des quinzi emes  anne'e s ;  uussi  9 'b. la  
moPt de son :pe Pe , son tutcur , inquiet  de, 
l 1 approche du bo.chot 9 l 1 avai t-il  con?ie' a 
un j ew1e  normalien 9  cclectique e t  libre?
penseuP , qui , uti l i sant  la curi os i te' 
no.turelle du j eune homme , avait  comble  les  
?onclPi'eres  et  par?ai t son e'du catim1 .  ( 3 )  
The Eco l e  appears equally inef?ective in i t s  reli gio us 
?unctions 9 wi th the pPie st s  seemingly unwil ling to ri sl? 
ali enating their  cli en tele by  applyin8 a s tri ct  inter-
pretation of rel i gi ous ob servance . ' ? ? ?  La plupart des 
eleves quit taient l 1 ecole 9 munis d 1 w1e ?o i rel ativement 
sol i  de en son ?ond 9 et libre ,  en sa ?orme 9 jusqu '  a 
l ' indi?ference : c ' etait  a sse z ,  d ' ail leurs 9 pour 
consti tuep l ' ?l i te de la b ourgeoi si e  b ien  pensante . , ( 4 ) 
Ibid ,  
Ib i d ,  
Ibid , 
I b i d, 
P ? 
p . 
p .  
p .  
1 o .  
1 1 o  
1 1 .  
1 1 0 
However ,  in  Jean Ba.?.2.i.?. the Catholic  school  i s  no 
longer dismis sed  as an innocuous anachroni sm - an 
inst i tuti on whi ch has survived into the twent ieth century 
because of i t s  connect i ons vr i th  a soci al elite . In thi s 
worl\. Mart in du Gard p laces the _pri vate schoo l into 
hi stori cal _perspecti ve at  the c entr e o:L  the clash of 
ideo logi es .  As Daspre claims : 1 J???..,]l?rois  est  au 
coeur de 1 '  actuali te. ' ( 1 ) At the time of its  wri t ing 
( 1 _9 1  0 - 1 3 ) , the controversy regarding the educati on of 
the nat i on ' s youth had not' abated ;  the b i tter  struggle  
be twe en the Catholics  and the anti -clerical fac t i ons ove r 
the closur e of  the schools conduc ted by  the teach ing 
congregati ons we.s not  yet fo rgotten .  The Cathol i c  
scho ol in  .?9-n Baro is. whi ch i s  fight ing for i ts  exi stence 
at the end of  the nine te enth century , b e sie ged  by the 
cri t i c s  of the Left , i s  portrayed as b i t terly oppose d t o  
mo dern ideas and savagel y intolerant of thos e who 
que st ion i ts doc tr ines .  
Jean Baroi s ,  the son of a :free -thinking do c tor and 
a devout mother , i s  representative of the youth who a re 
the targe t of the opposing forces  of rat ionali sm and 
orthodox religion .  H i s  Catholic  upbr inging i s  not 
p roof against the scient ifi c  rati onal i sm of the Ecole  de 
Medecine and the natural sc i ence clas se s of the Sorbonne . 
I The compromi se whi ch hi s fellow student , abbe  Schertz ,  a 
young Swi s s  priest , offers him of the symbo l i cal truth 
of dogma i s  for him only a temporary expedient whi ch 
( 1 ) A .  Dnsprc , ' Sur le  Real i sme de Jean Baro i s ' , 
Europe , no . 41 3 ,  S ept 1 9 63 p .  42 . 
does not s a ti s fa c t o rily answer t he c ontradi c t i ons h e  
s e e s  i n  Chur ch doc trine . La t e r  Luc e w i l l  s ay of 
Baroi s I  s e xp e r i e nc e : I 1 1 S on edu c at i on ea tho l i que s '  e s t 
b ri see ,  un j o ur , c o nt re l a  s c ie:n c e ? t oute l a  j e une s se 
cul t i vee p a s s e  pa r l a . n ' ( 1 ) I t  i s  during hi s p e r i o d 
as a b i o l o gy  m a s?ter a t  a Ca tho l i e  s e c o ndary s choo 1 .9  
the C o ll ?ge Venc e s l as , tha t h i s  p o s i t ic n  as an athe i s t  
b ec om es f ix e d  o.nd l eads to  a d i r ec t  c onf'ronta t i on 
b e tween the s c i en t ifi c and the r e l i gi ous inte rp re t a t i o n s  
of exi s t en ce i n  the c l a s s ro om . 
The C o l lege Venc e s l a s  i s  a b oys ' s choo l c o n t ro ll e d  
by the Chur ch , d i rec t e d  b y  p r ie s t s  b u t  w i th a lay 
t e a ch i ng s t aff . For Jean B a ro i s ,  de sp i t e  h i s wav er ing 
fai t h ,  the .f i r s t  four ye a r s  t ha t  he spe nds at the 
c o ll e ge are f i l l ed w i th sat i sfa c t i on .  I n  a l e t t er 
wr i t ten t o  S che r t z .9  who i s  n o w  a t e acher at  the Ins t i tu t  
c a t ho l i qu e  a t  Berne , he de c l ar e s  t ha t  1 ? ? ?  l ' en s e i gnement 
y e s t r e l a tivement tres l ib r e , e t  l e  cours que je .f Gi s  
. ... i ( 2 ) ne sub l t aucun. cont ro le ? 
H oweve r ,  i t  i s  Baro i s ' s enthus i a st i c  t e a ch i ng of 
s c i ent if i c m at e ri al i sm whi c h  ala rm s  the Chur c h  
author i t i e s an d final ly c au se s  them t o  ac t .  The 
chap t e r  in ' La Rup tur e '  whi c h  de s crib e s  hi s le s s on on 
Darwini an ev o lut i onary theo ry in the p re s ence of the 
dire c teur , c b be M i r i e l , who has b e en aler te d  a s  t o  the 
di r ec ti on o f  hi s c o l l eagu e ' s  t e a ch ing fr om h i s 
insp e c t i on of a pup i l ' s n ot eb o o k ,  dramat i c a l ly opp o s e s  
( 1 ) Je an Bar o i s ,  O . C .  I, p .  549 .  
( 2 )  Ib i d ,  }_) o  263 .---
the two force s .  At the same  time Martin du Gard 
presents  a c onvinc ing pic ture  of c lassro om interact i on 
with the teacher he sitant at f irst at the entrance of 
the dir?eci;.eld?.9  temporari ly losing  control of his  
lesson ,  then gathering strength as he  launches into 
hi s exposition of transformi sm and re capturing the 
attenti on of his pup il s .  ' Entre Jean e t  sa cla sse , 
s ' e st retabli  un incessant echange de courants .  
la sent onduler et  fremir 'a son commandement . ' ( 1 )  
Il  
contrast  to Baroi s ' s openness  ru?d refusal to modify 
hi s vi ews to avoi d the disapproval of his superior s ,  
the directeut , abbe M iriel , i s  r epresented as hypo-
In 
cri ti cal and bigoted. Hi s feature s betray ins incerity 
and sanctimony :  ' ? ? ?  un regard pale , d ' une lucidi t? 
avertie  et  s ans  indulgence .  Sur les levres minc e s ,  un 
sourire d ' enfant ,  fac tice  peut-?tre , mai s d ; un grand 
charme . ' ( 2 ) Miriel ' s manner in the c lassroom , as we ll 
as the me thods he adopts  in gathering evidenc e on hi s 
colleague ' s  teaching and in  communi cating hi s crit i c i sms  
t o  him thro ugh a third person , b e ar out thi s e st imation 
of hi s character . Unable  t o  accept Miriel ' s ult imatum 
to restr i c t  hi s in struc tion to  the examinat i on syllabus -
whi ch he beli eves is  contrary to the higher obl i gations  
of  a teacher ' ? ? ?  de porter  h un degre plus eleve 
l ' educat ion generale de s es e1eves ,  et de donner de s 
motifS d 1 exaltation a leUrS p ersonnal i tE{S nai SS  all teS  1 9 
( 3) -
( 1 )  Ibid ,  p .  290 . (
32
) Ibid ,  p .  288 .  ( ) Ibid , p .  296.  
Baroi s  t enders hi s re signati on nndy  after  his rupture 
wi th hi s wife y founds  with other l i bre-uenseurs the ........ \5 
Thus y the descri?ti on of  the Church school  
emphasises  the narrowne ss  o:f  the teaching and the 
intolerc.:.:.nce of the admini strat i on .  The portrait  of 
the teacher -?riest  in Mart in du Gard ' s works i s  
generally unflatter ing.  We  shall see  in the examin-
ation of the p rocess o:f education in .k?? aul 't_ that 
the ?.ire2_.t..?u? of the demi..:;P.ensi onnat ill ;LEL.Qahier  l?:?i=??9 
abb? Binot, b ears a consi derab l e  s imilari ty to N iriel . 
However y if one i s  permi tted  to attribute to the author 
the viev7S on the Church s choo ls exrn?essed  by hi s 
pr inc ipal charac te r ,  Jeo.n Baro is ;. then Mart in du Gard ' s 
oppo si t ion to  the icqles  l ibre s does  not imp ly that he 
i s  an advoc ate of the ir s u:pp ress i on .  One no te s that  
Jean Baro i s y  unlike the more sec tar? ian member s of the 
S?..f!lellr:. grouj) , i s  not a v irulent  anti --c lerical . H e  
vi ews the J:) O s it ion  of the Catho l i c  schools  with the 
same res_pect  f or justice  a1 1d l ib erty which he had shovm 
at the time  o.f the Dr eyfus c ase . In his  spe ech at  the 
Trocadero he doe s not sugge st that  these ins t i tutions 
should be c losed ; rathe r he maintains tha t the 
opponents of the Church should op en their  own schools  
to counter i ts influence in ed:ucati on . S im i l arly Y 
later ,  at the t ime  of the law of separation and the 
Comb i st leg islat ion he condemns the exc e ss e s  of anti -
c leri cali sm .  
The tertiary institutions find frequent sa tirical  
reference in Martin du Gard ' s early writ ings . In 
Dev?nir) ? for ins tanc e ,  the c i r? cle  of friends of Andre 
Mazere lles mainly c omprises  s tudents  oX the erande? 
?? or the Sorbon.11.e . In the de scripti on of 
Cayrouse 9 a me.:nb er of' this  gr oup 9 !,Iart in du Gard mocks 
the affectat ion of  the fl,J:l,.D'Il?-1.:!-ei_} ? 
I l  p o s sede de l 1 esyri t , du meil leur ? 
ge'ne'ral e t  tres p ersonnel ; mai s i l  a une 
fac on de souligne r d ' un rire aver ti  e t  
satisfait ce  qu 1 i l  di t 9 e t  une manier e  
spec iale de :prononce r  ' i j e 1 1 , qui sent de 
l o in l 1 Ecole normale ? ? ?  PJJ. demeurant , il e s t  
d ' un. commerce sympathi que ; i l  ne :pose  j amai s 
l ' erudi t ,  au contraire ; il  poserai t :plus 
volontiers l ' homme du monde qui n 1 a besoin de 
rien savoir _; e t  c e  :pedant isme -la  es ?? ? Bas si 
de la :pui' e ti?adi t i  on normali  enne . ( 1 )  
Mazerelle s ,  himself 9 af'ter com:p l etint; hi s l i c??Q..e es  
]-?ttres. a"l; the Sorbonne enrols  a t  the Eco le  du Louvre 
where the study re qui rements  o.re minimal and the 
lectures fev1 ( one l ec tur e a we el;: in the winter  months 
dur ing the three year d lp .l oJna course at whi ch at tendance 
i s  not com}.)ulsory) . 
Son cour s du Lot:..vre avai t l ieu tous les  
lw1.di s :  i l  durai t  une heure entiere 9 
qu ' interrom:pai ent  de s :pro j ec ti ons . 
L ' erudi tion du :professeur,  onc tueuse 9 
legere ,  :parfumee c omme une brillantine , 
s ' epandait sur un ?ublic  de choix 9 presque 
uniquement c ompose  de j eunes filles  / accom:pagne e ::3 de leurs  femmes de chambre 9 
e t  de :p et i ts vi eillards desoeuvre.s ou 
:pddants . C ' etait  l es audi teurs : les  
eleves ne  :paraissaient j amais  qu ' aux 
examens . I l  flo t ta i t  sur l ' assistance  une 
insai si ssable  var eur d ' iris  e t  de v i ole tte , 
c omme aux sermons de careme ? ( 2 ) 
( 1 ) Q?enirj , o . c .  I ,  :pp . 32-3 . 
( 2 ) Ibid9 p .  8 1 . 
The Eco le  des Chartes , Mart in du Gard ' s forme r 
schoo l ,  is  acc orded no more  sympathet ic treatment than 
the Ecole  normale or the Ecole du Louvre . Laulan ( 1 ) 
in hi s s tudy of Roger h1art in du Gard ' s attitude towards 
the Eco l e  de s Chartes  q_uotes  extrac ts  :from Dev??ir_: to  
sugge st  that in 1 908 when thi s work was  wri t ten hi s v i ew 
of hi s training tended t o  be  de?recatory . Certainly , 
Berna rd Gro sdidier ' s  tho ught s on the appl i cat ion of 
scient ific  me thods to hi stori cal re search whi ch the 
charti ste? were  taught would seem to support Laulan ' s  
po int . 
Ces  pulsatiers e'taient d 1 une scrupuleuse 
conscience sc icntifiq_ue  et  d ' wLe b elle  
hon1J.etete'  morale ; i l s  avai ent _p resque  taus 
1 1  abne'go. t i on et la foi q_u i fan t les  vrai s 
Sa7an t s . Mai  s ils  fai saient S02 ?ger a 1 I aveu 
des Souvenir s d ' en:fanc e et de ?eune sse : 1 1Le 
regre?t de ma vie  e st d' avoiir=choisi pour me s 
etude s un genre de rechcrches q_ui _  ne s ' imposera 
jama i s ,  e t  r estera tou j ours ? l ' etat  d '  . 
intere ssan te S consi de rat ions SUI' W1e re'al i te. a 
jamai s di sparue 1 1 ' . ( 2 ) 
It  i s  of intere st to follo? the evolution of Mart in 
du Gard ' s thought s on the Eco le  des Chartes .  A few 
years after  P?Y?1Li r! he c onfe sse d  to his  fri end 
Margarit i s  tha t hi s formati on a s  a _9hartis te  was c on-
fl i c t ing wi th his vocat ion as  a :  l i terary B.:r t i s t . 
At this s tage ( 1 9 1 8 ) he wao di s sat isfied  with the 
histori cal approach whi ch had threatened to  s tifle  the 
movement of l?ap B?roi s - thi s ' ? ? ? :fatras i deologiq_ue , 
I d ' -'- d t . . 1 d ' t  B . I ( 3 ) d eru 1 ? , a cumen a1 re ,  q_u1 a our 1 aro?s ? ? ?  , - an 
( 1 ) R .  Laulan , ' Roger Martin du Gard e t  la formati on 
chart iste ' ,  Mercure de France ,  no . 1 1 47 ,  March 1 959 , 
pp 0 550-1  0 
( 2 ) Devenir ! o . c .  I ,  p .  1 8 .  
( 3 )  Let-te'r-of1-Sept . 1 9 1 8  ' Le t tres  ? Pierre Margari  t i  s', 
N . N o R . F . , no . 72 1 1 Dec . 1 958 , p .  1 1 30 .  
de termined t o  attempt a suppresG ion of document ary 
de tail in order to create an ' ? ? .  oeuvre de sens ibi lit?' .( 1 ) 
' I  1 fa ut Eft..Qu{..:fer le chart iste et  ressuc_i t er le po ote 
de mes quinze ans . ' ( 2 ) Yet ,  if Les T?ibault was 
c once iyed as a novel of charac te r and emotion the 
me thods of the Ecole  des Chartes  were too deeply 
ingrained for him to abandon. Furthe rmore 5 hi s form-
at ion as  a 912.1!?tt?t? vJOuld appear to meet the exigenc i e s  
of hi s natur e. For i s  not the precise , methodi cal 
documentation of Roger Mart in du Gard a legacy of hi s 
background of lawye rs and no tari es?  One s ees from the 
Souvenirs ( 3 ) that the writ ing o:f k_?hibault was also 
preceded by c areful preparat ion of ,fic;:_he? and drawing 
up of :plans .  Although in the early novels  of  the 
roman-f'leuve the emphas i s  i s  upon the psycho logical 
development of the characte rs vri th l ittle refer ence to  
the hi stori cal ba ckground , in  J_,? Et? 12_1.1:1. after the 
ori ginal plan for Les Thibault was abandoned ( for 
reasons whi ch Schalk( 4 )  l inks with hi s attainment of 
hi storical consciousne ss ) , ( S )  the ?ha?tiste  more 
obviously reappears and there is a reversi on to the 
( 1 ) ( 2 ) 
? e ?  
( 5 ) 
Ibid,  p .  1 1 25 ( First letter  of 6 Feb . 1 91 8 ) . 
Ib id , p .  1 1 27 ( Second letter of 6 Feb . 1 91 8 ) . 
See  ???, O . C .  I ,  pp . lxxx-lxxxii . 
D .  Schalk ,  Roger Mcg:tin du Gard - The Noveli st 
?d ?istory, pp . 99-1 03 . . 
In the original plan the saga of the Thibaults  was 
to be continued into the post-1 9 1 8 peri od. 
Antoine would marry Jenny and the p?ot  would 
revolve around the ir  relat ionship and the upbring?
ing of their d aughter ,  AruLe-Mari e ,  and Jean-Paul , 
the son of Jenny and Jacques . ( See  Souven?rs , 
O . C .  I ,  pp . xcv-c . ) 
oeuvr? 9-' t d?e s ,  w i th a minute  chronicle  of' the events  
leading up t o  the war interwoven ?:li th  the human drama . 
Af'ter hi s ea rly doubts regarding the re levance of' 
hi s training at the Eco l e  de s Charte s ,  Mart in du Gard 
would  f'i nal ly endorse  the va lue of' hi s studi es . 
letter  t o  Bloch in 1 935 he writes : 
??? otre  forma tion d '  hi s tor ien ou de 
chart iste e s t  quelq_ue cho se  de f'ort , de 
durable , qui exp l i que une part de nou s . 
Je 1 1 eprOUVe .QOUr ffiOi  o J 1  ai  <fte Wl. ffiaUVai S 
charti ste .  J ' y ai , du mains , appri s des 
methode s de travai l ,  une "prob i te'1 1  qui m ' ont 
serv i ,  enorme'ment, me servent encore chaque 
j our . ( 1 ) 
The S9.VV.?.D.?-r?9 as  we have seen ,  c oni'i rm h i s  warm 
In a 
app roval of' the di s c ipline and the scholarly procedures 
he had l earnt f'rom hi s pa1tr?e s at  the Ecole  des Charte s .  
Thi s gradual accep tance of' the value of' hi s 
tert iary educat i on may b e  s e en as part of' t he trend 
towards support of' m iddle -class  educ& ti ona l  prior ities 
in his wri tin?S af' ter  World  ?ar I ,  t o  whi ch reference 
ha s been made in the dis cus sion of' hi s att i tude s  towards 
f'am i l i al educat i on .  Mnuri c e  t:art in du Gard in  an 
art icle  which rec ounts  h i s  talks wi th Roger Mart in du 
Gard at H i ce ,  24-29 Dec embe r  1 934 , provides a valuab le 
ins ight into the s tage of' development of' hi s c ousin ' s 
general views on educat i on at  that t ime .  A c entral 
topic  of' their conversat i ons  was the educa t i on of' the 
sons of' Pierre Margar i ti s .  Roger Mart in du Gard , who 
af'ter  the death of' hi s f'r iend in World War I had f'elt  
i t  hi s duty to  superintend the children ' s  upbringing, 
( 1 ) Let ter  of' 8 Apri l 1 933 . ' Cor re spondanc e Blo ch -
Mart in du GardX ? Europe , no . 427-8 , Nov . - Dec .  
1 9 64 ' p 0 24 9 ? 
160 
stated his  c onvi cti on that they had b een lacking 1 ? ? ?  
une r'egle morale  ? ? ?  , ( 1 ) which would have suppor ted them 
against the moral laxi ty of the age . ' 1 1Les enfants 
vivent o.uj ourd' hui dans un monde de tentati ons . I l  
faut leur donner l e  moyen de n. e pas  y succomber .  " '  ( 2 ) 
Further1no re , he declared that it  rms the func ti on of 
the schoo l to  ins til  d isc i?line and resp ect  for 
indus try. ' "Quant a l '  ins true t ion,  on Ct vraiment trop 
tendance  b. en i'a ire  un ],)lai si r  ? ? ?  C '  est  UJ1e c onc epti on 
faus se . On do i t  s 1 a}!:pl iquer et  trouver sa recompense 
dans l 1 effort . 1 1 ' ( 3 ) Such an opi)os i ti on to soft 
pedagogy o ears a close s imilar ity to  Duhrunel ' s  views on 
the educat ive process  and i t  i s  interest ing to no te 
that in conversing wi th hi s c ous in 9 Hoger Mart in du 
Gard adm i t ted  hi s indeb tedne ss  t o  hi s friend 9 Georges 
Duho.mel ,  f'or  clari fying hi s i deas  on educ at ion.  ' I l 
(Roger .! me di t que Duhamel avo.i  t des i dees  sur c e  _.) 
sujet  et que je  fe rai s b ien de le  c onsulte r . ' (4 ) 
Martin du Gard ' s continuing c oncern with the educat i on 
of the sons of Pierre hlargari t i s is  evident in the 
letters he wrote to one of the b oys , Flor ian Margari ti s ,  
between 1 929 and 1958, whi ch were  publ i shed in the 
Cahiers  du Sud . Of parti cular interest  are the letters 
whi ch warn the young s tudent against moral contaminati on 
at the Eco l e  des Beaux Art s .  The writ er flays the 
generation o f  students  of the nine teen for t ie s ,  whom he  
( 1 ) 
( 2 l ? ?  
M .  Mart in du  Gard, ' Le s  Memorables  - L ' Educat i on 
des f i l s ' 9 Revue de s deux mondes ,  1 Nov . 1 967, 
P ? 48 . 
Ibid ,  P ? 49. 
Ib id , p .  49. 
Ibid , p. 49. 
1 61 
brands as  ' gro ssi ers-n?s ' , ( 1 ) lacking di stinc t i on and 
a sense of respons ibi lity .  ' Ce gout d ' epater , l es  B .  
Arts le pous sent jusqu ' aux limi te s du cro te sque et  du 
mauvais  gout . ' ( 2 ) 
Mar?tin du Gard in hi s later years is clearly 
against experimentat ion and a defender o? traditional 
methods of school  ins truc ti on .  He share s with Duhamel  
a hostil i ty towards Ameri can trends in  teaching , 
asso c iating the Ame rican school wi th extreme permi s sive-
ne  ss . Hi s somewhat reacti ona ry op inions  on this 
s tili j ec t  are outlined in a letter to Gide in 1 948 when 
he wri tes : 
La Dentali t? , comme on di t ,  de la  
j euncs se estudiant ine dans une universi te 
de s U . S . A . m ' est  un su jet  ineuui sable  de 
stupefac ti on .  No s gamins de? do uze ans ont 
plus cle maturite' physi que et inte1 lectuel le . 
Etra?1ge resul tat d 1 une incroyablc l iberte  et  
d 1 une edu ca t i on mixte  ? ? ?  ( 3 )  
I t  i s  ev i dent ,  then , t hat like  Duhamel e.nd Remains , 
Martin du Gard places  a high pri ority upon effo rt and 
discipline in formal education and i s  snxious lest  the 
distinc tive charac ter  of the teaching in the French 
middle-c lass s chools be obl i terated  by f oreign 
influence s .  
( 1 )  Let te r  of 2 8  Feb . 1 940 .  1 Le ttre s  a l ' archite c t e ' ,  
Cahie rs du Sud , no . 349 ,  1 95 8 ,  P ? 344 . 
(
3
2 ) Ibi d ,  p . 343 .  ( ) Letter  of 1 8 August 1 948 .  Correspondence Gide -
Martin  du Gard,  vol . I I , p . 41 9 .  
CHAPrER II I : .;;;.illJ.;;;.;L;E:::;S:;....:,R:,;;;O.:;:M.:.:A::;.;I N?S?(-:1?8?865 _-__ ) 
1 ? The Family ( a ) Autobiographi cal detai l s .  
( b )  General views on t he educat ive 
proces s .  
The School  ( a ) Al? t obi ograyhi cal detai ls . 
( b )  General v iews on the educative 
pro ce ss . 
For Jules  Romains 9 ( 1 )  born Loui s-Henri -Jean 
Farigoule on 26 August 1 885 at La Chapuze in the Haute -
Lo ire , the early :family experiences  would be  those o:f an 
only  son in the home o:f a Parisian ipsti tuteur o:f mode s t  
income .  LiKe Duhamel h i s  memories o:f  chi ldhood would 
be :filled with the struggles o:f his p arents to  maintain 
an adequate standard o:f living and to  prov i de :for :future 
needs . 
Nei ther o:f his  :Qarents was a nat ive  Pari sian ; hi s 
mother 9 11e'e Marie Richier  9 came from Saint-Julien-
Chapteui l  in the Haute-Loire to which she had returned 
:for the b irth o:f her child  at her mo ther ' s  home 9 while  
Henri Farigoule ori ginated  :from Loudes .  I t  is obvious 
:from his 'Nri  t ings that Rema ins holds in deep admiration 
this :father who had pulled himsel:f up from the milieu 
?opul?ire by hi s energy and in tellige ?ce . Henri 
Farigoule ' s  :father had been an ?ntrepreneur rural de 
ill??onneri? at Loudes and at the same t ime  the farmer of 
a small p roperty. The :forma l educ ation of the son had 
been neglected unti l  the :father ' s  remarriage ? when he 
( 1 )  A:fter the publi cation o:f L 1 Ame de s hommes Jules 
Remains b ecame the pseudonym of Louis Farigoule and 
hi s l egal name in 1 953 . For the sake o:f cons ist?
ency he will be  re:ferred t o  as Jules Remains through?
out this study . 
was sent as  a boarder to a school  conduc ted by the 
Chr ist ian Brothers .  Althou@1 ,  the? at  the age of 
fourte en ,  he could scarcely read or wri te , he soon 
proved t o  be an ap t pupil . Roma ins wr ite s of hi s 
father ' s abi l i ty in these terms : 
Et  b cmucoup plus tard ,  i l  ne cessai t de 
m i e'merve iller  par la suretd de son orthographe 9 
de sa gramma ire , de sa ge'ogra?hi e , par sa 
virtuosi te en calcul , de mgme que par ses dons 
de conteur ? par ses gouts your l e  grand style 
c las sique en l i tterature . ( 1 ) 
No do ub t  the Chri s tiru1 Brothers had di scerned in the 
young Henri Farigoule a suitable  recrui t for teaching 
in the ir scho ols , b ut ins tead ,  he vvas to talw advantage 
of the increased demand for j.nst:!;,?u"t..s?.:qrs laigue s whi ch 
res ulted  from the pass ing of Ferry ' s lavJs on compulsory 
primary educ ation and enter th e State  service to spend 
his teaching c areer in the ?E?, of hlontmartre . 
Fewer referen ces are made in Romains ' s  works to hi s 
mother , Marie Farigoule , but from his  comment s  on h i s  
background one has the impress i on that  she exempl if i ed 
the v irtues  of the pe tit e bourgeo iE?.?, - seri ousne ss  of 
purpose , dili genc e ,  economy and honesty . For Roma ins , 
then , the fami ly situation differed from tha t  of 
Duhame l in the resp ec t  that both parents p rovided an 
exampl e  of eminent resp ec tab i l i ty and were  acutely 
consc ious of their parental respons ibi litie s .  As 
Jule s  Roma ins declares : 
' J ' a?partenai s ? une fami lle d e  moeurs 
i rrep ro chables , et  qui p renai t la vie  tre s  
( 1 )  See A. Bourin , Connaissance de Jules  Roma ins 
di scutee par Jules  Romains , p . 25 . 
au se'ri eux ' . ( 1 ) 
Nor would the re be for him 1  as in the case of Martin du 
Gard ,  a fe eling of dissati sfacti on at the moral ity of 
hi s class ? the complacent acceptance of material ease 
and soc ial privileges . As the son of an ins tituteur 
who was by vocati on close ly associated with the working 
classes and their  emanc ipat ion ,  Romains wou?d be freed 
from this sense of guil t  of en joying unearned advantages 
whi le st il l developing a so cial c onsci ence and early 
forming a det e rminat ion to work towards the goal of 
jus ti ce and fraternity .  
The influence of  Henri Farigoule on hi s son was  both 
that of teacher and pa rent as from the age of four unt il 
hi s transfer to the Lycde Condorc?t  the boy attended his 
fa?ther ' s scho ol in the rue Hermet . In the ac c ount whi ch 
i s  given of Henri Fari goule ' s  educat ion of hi s son the 
emphasis  on intellectual training i s  c l early evident . 
To stimulate hi s s on ' s imaginat i6n he would oft en reci te 
to him , as was h i s  custom in class , tradi t i onal tale s 
such as Cqnp? de fer ,  each t ime embellishing the 
narrative wi th his own inventi ons . He would also draw 
on hi s b?owledge of the clas si cal authors ( who se books 
featured in the small b ut selec t  family l ibrary ) and 
at tempt  to explain to  hi s son the p erfecti on of s tyle 
and language ? 
? o o Je le  r6 entends enc ore me declarer , 
un soi r que j e  m ' etonnais  de le vo ir  rel ire 
pour la quatrieme ou cinquieme foi s  une 
trage'die , de Corne ille sau:f erreur : 1 1C ' e st  
( 1 ) Ai -je fait ce que j ' ai voulu? ? p ? .  26o  
si b i en di t !  n ( 1 ) 
In addi tion Jul es Remains was introduced by hi s father 
at an early age to the works of Zola ,  whi ch would have 
an important infl uence on hi s l iterary deve lopment . 
In Zol a e??op. exempl?. ( 1 935 ) he expresse s hi s admir-
at ion for  the archi tect  of the Rougo11-?,;acg?art  seri es 
and trac es hi s interes t  in Zola to hi s chi ldhood  
experience s . 
C ' e st  le l!lus net de mes souvenirs  
li  tte'rai res 9 en tout  cas le  J_)lus net  parmi 
les anc iens . J ' ava i s  dans les  c inq ou six 
ans . Je r evois  une peti te salle  a manger 9  
rue Harcade t ;  la table sous l a  s uspens i on 
a petrole . Mon p'ere 9 qui etait  insti tuteur 9 
nous lisait 9 h ma m? re et  a mo i ,  p ar fragment s 9  
d ' un soi r h l ' autre 9 l a  Debacle ? ? ?  I l  lisai t  
b ien e t  l ent ement . Certaines ?image s de  
guerre , telle s imp re ss i ons de  soldat s  couches 
dans un champ qui ent endent 1e s ba1 1e s vibrer 
au-dessus et autour de leurs tetes  c omme de s 
abe i l les , me s a isirent a ce p oint ? p ar un 
caractere qui devai t Ehre leur ver i  te'  humaine ?
i l  y a une ve'ri  te' humaine perc ep tib le a u  p lus 
j eune e s_pri t - qu ' e lles  dev inrent inse'parables 
pour moi de l ' ide'e de guerre . ? ? ( 2 ) 
Another  i:leJ:wry of thi s  .lJeriod  wa s vrhen the small  boy 
was taken by his .f:Jarents  t o  hear Zo la at the Trocade'ro 
rec i te extract s  from Lourdes .  
?-?? 
' L a m?re 9 fervente 
catholi que 9 avai t dec o uvert  ainsi l e  moyen de c onc il ier  
sa  fo i religieuse e t  son admirati on l it tdrai re . , ( 3 ) 
I t  i s  small w onder that wi th this  l iterary background 
and the example of e arnestness  and i deal ism whi ch his 
parents gave him that  Remains in his  wri t ing would be  
consc ious of  the high functi ons of l iterature and the 
dut ie s an.d responsib i l i ti e s  of a moral and intellectual 
See  A. Bourin,  Connai ssance de 
.Q.i scute'e ..J2?r Jules  RoP.'!a?.Jl?., p .  
Zola et  son exemple ,  pp .  7-8 . 
!b id , p .  9 .  
Jule s Remains 
26 ? 
order which are imposed on the arti s to  ' Dans un 
mi lieu comme c elui -lh 9 l ' on ne :pouva i t  s ' occuper  de 
littdrature qu ' en s ' interrogeant sur le  sens prof'ond 
de c ette ac tiv i te. , ( 1 ) Underlying his wo rk there 
would be the b el i ef that the only l i ?? erature of' worth 
i s  that of seri ous purpos e whi ch has ' ? ? ?  que lque chose 
a dire ? ? ?  ; , C 2 ) as thro ugh his a r t  tlle writer pos se sses  
the means  of'  a c t ing up on the c oll ec tive consc ience .-
?'T ' oub l i ons :pas que la l itte'rature . ? ?  re ste  
une de s hormone s les  :p lus ac tives d ' une 
CiVi l i sation comme l a  not re ? OU 9 Si On :pref?re 
une autre i mage ,  que l e s  cri stallisati ons qui 
s ' y  f'o rment servent d ' amorce et de mod'ele 9 
d ' exc i tant , a des cris tall i sations  b eaucoup 
:plus vo 1u ll1 ineuses de la  consc i ence pub l ique . ( 3 )  
In other wa ys Henri Farigoule ' s teach ing would b e  
impr inted on hi s son . As a ?rinc i?le of' educ at ion the 
instit??? b e li eved that there sho uld be  an organic 
connect i on between s chooling and soc ial l if' e .  In  
particular he encouraged hi s pupi l s  to exp lore their  
environment aad to  discover the quali ties of'  their  
communi ty . Each year, as Romains has recalle d ,  he  
would aslc the new intake of' :puj)ils  the i'ol lowing 
quest i on :  ' "Quels  sont c eux d '  en tre vous qui ont de"jk 
vu la  Seine ? " ' (4 ) and would be  di smayed at the l ack of' 
real knowledge of' the c ity which the children of' 
Montmartre p o ssessed.  Henri Fari goule , himself' ,  had a 
great love of' Pari s and a prodigi o?s knowledge of'  i t s  
:8-i -j? f'ait  c e  gue j ' ai  vouJ.u ? ,  :p .  26 .  
Hommes,  medec ins x machines , P ? 47 .  
Souvenirs e t  confidences  d ' un ecrivain,  PP ? 36-7 . 
See A.  Bourin , Connai ssance -de?Juies Romains 
di scutee par Jul es Romains 9 p .  1 1 2 . 
I 
hi sto ry and geograJ?hy which he communicated to h i s son 
on thei r regular walks through the c i ty .  Not only 
did Farigoule as si st his son to aypreciate the col our 
and the atmosphere of' the ci ty but also he impre s sed 
UJ On him the necessi ty of' reta ining the informat i on he 
had gained f' rom hi s balade? . In his rep ly to Bourin 1 s 
study of' hi s childhood inf' luenc eG , Jul es Romains des -
crib es hi s f'ather ' s  remarkable capaci ty f'or assim i l-
ating exact informat i on .  
M on p'ere ? qui n ' e'tait  :pourtant paG  vantard ,  
di sai t vol ontiers  qu ' i l  savai  t ob e'taient 
si tudes t oute s les rues de Pari s ,  et me 
demandai t de le ve'rif' i er en le questionnan t 
avec 1 '  indicateur en main.  Sat1f' excep t i on ,  il 
triomphait  de l ' e'preuve . Vous ne l ' imaginez 
pas n '  ayant rien transmi s de ce so.vo ir  'a son 
f' i l s  uni que . ( 1 )  
The collecti on of' extracts  s el ected b y  I.ti Jile Li se  Jule s-
Roma ins ,  the second vvif'e of' the author, and :h)Ublished 
in 1 949 a s  .Par i s  des Homme s Q.? bon.ne volon_:!& , would 
render obv ious the extent to which Jules Romains 
inheri tecl f'r oJn hi s f'ather a l ove o f' Pari s and the 
ab i lity t o  de scrib e the lif'e o f' the ci ty in e xact 
detail .  
In thi s section we have s e en that Henri Farigoule 
had a keen s en se of' parental obl igati on in direct ing 
the intellectual development of' hi s only child .  
Certainly 9 Romains ' s  recollect i ons of' hi s childhood  
would seem t o  indicate  that he  shared a closer  relati on-
ship  wi th his f'ather than e i ther Duhame1  or h1artin du 
Gard enj oyed . One might specula te whether the virile  
( 1 ) Ib id ,  P ? 1 1 2 . 
1 68 
masculini ty of Romains ' s  works ( 1 ) - the lucidity of 
gaze 9 the containment of ernot i on 9  a s  well  as the 
sardonic humour of the comedi es and the characteri stic  
dominance of  the mal e  over the female  in  the novels  -
has some connec ti on with  the strong ident ificati on of 
the chi lQ with his  father ? I t  i s  s ignifi ca.nt that 
Duhamel 1 whose wri tings are mo re  evidently based on 
feeling , had b e en drawn towa rds his mothe r rathe r than 
hi s fathe r in chi ldhood. 
Bo th Henri and rviari e :J:i'ar igoule shared in the mo ral 
and so c ial t raining of' the young Jules  Romains . 
'togethe r they p rovided an example of rect itude and 
social re sllons ibili ty .  Romains be li eves that i t  was 
because of the i r  efforts  to . ' ia intain the uni ty of the 
?r:. that they had c onc ealed from him 9 unt il the 
death of Henri Pari goule in 1 933 9 the fact  that hi s 
mother was hi ? father ' s  second wife - the first  having 
di ed after a few months of marriage . 
Il  faut vo ir  1? p lutSt une horreur de tout 
exhib i t i onni sme ; et  dav<mtage encore la 
convi ction qu 1 u..r1 enfant doi t garder de ses  
parents 9  et du  menage qu ' i ls  forment 9 une idee 
aus s i  exemylaire 9 aussi e'difiante que possible . 
Un premi er mari age , rompu par l a  mort 9 s ' i l  n ' a 
certes  rien de deshonorant ,  diminue tant so it 
p eu c ette  s imp l i ci te' exemylai re . ( 2 ) 
Thi s view that the parents ' affa irs are no busines s  of 
the chi ldren is a typical poqr?? is and nineteenth 
century at ti tude . 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Unlike other mili tant i!}.$ti tuteg_t.:.?. P.o.ri goule was 
See on thi s point J. Prdvos t , ' La Conscience  
c re'atrice  chez Jul es Romains ' ,  N . R . F .  9 no . 1 87 ., 1 
Apri l 1 9 29 ,  pp . 482-3 
A. Bour in ,  Connais sance de Jule s  Roma ins discute'e 
par Jule s  Romains ,  :p .  27.  
not a violent anti-clerical and acc eded ? in the ques tion 
of his son ' s r eligious instruction ,  t o  the wi shes  of his 
vvife who had b e en b rought up as a Cathol i c  in Le Velay 
an area  whi eh ac carding to Roma ins gai11ed its s trength 
of reli gi ous c onvic tion fro n the fusion of Catholic ism 
wi th e l em ent s of seventeenth century Pro tes tant ism and 
]}OB SeSSed 1 o o .  un es:pri t religieux p lU fJ eveille'9 plus 
vivant ,  un sens  moral ylus r igoureux que dans beauc oup 
de nos provinc e s .  , ( i )  
Jul e s  Roma ins re c ei v ed c a t G c hi sm instruc tion and 
made hi s f'irst  c ommw1i on at the chur ch of Notre-Dame-de-
Clignanco li.Pt . Like Duhamel ::1.nd Lart in du Gard , he was 
to rejec t  tile teacl?ings of the Church in early 
adolescenc e b ut in l1i s case  the cri  s i ::, of  i'a i  th appears 
to have b e en 11l OP e  s evere . H e  t 8 l l s  o.s tha t as a child 
his ex.Qeri enc e of r eligion hacl b e en drwnat i c .  1 ? ? ?  J ' ai 
pris la religion (catholique en l ' e s??ce ) au serieux 9 et  
_presque au  tragique . ' ( 2 )  His brealc yJith the Church was 
preciyitated by the spirit of rationalism in his  s tudie s 
at the Lyc ?e Condorcet .  As  with o thers of  hi s age 
Renan 1 B Y5.!L d?_Je'su? would  be instrwnental in 
liberating him from b elief in the l i teral truth of 
scriptures and I,ucretius  would release him from hi s 
religi ous t erro rs .  Yet ,  he confe sses  that his s tric t 
upbring ing a s  well  as  certa in ' ? ? ?  tendances nevropath iques 
naturell e s ? ? ?  ' ( 3 ) rendered more difficult his decis ion to 
abandon his childhood  faith . 
( 1 ) Ibid , p .  24 . 
( 
3
2 ) Ib id 9 1? ? 1 09 ? ( ) Ibid , P ? 1 09 .  
Mai s ,  j e  le re'pate , c e  qui a rc.; tarde' 
mon emancipation ,  ce f'ut le morali slile dont 
j ' dtai s impre'gne ( depui s ma p etite  enf'anc e ) , 
? quoi s ' a j out aient les tendances  
ndvropathiques  congdnitales  dont j ' a i dej? 
parle' ,  et qui m ' ont plus d ' une foi s menace 
d ' une re'cidive ( sous des  asp ec t s  qui 
d ' ai l leurs n ' avaient p lus rien de religi eux ) . ( 1 )  
Made leine !Jerry ha s also  noted this  tendency towards 
She ob se rve s that Roma ins 
has b een ' ? ? ?  d?s l ' enfance , un ?tre tourmente'; 
1 1  il1QUi e'tudQ 9 1 1  anzie'te', }JUi 3 1 1  ango i SSe  ll I On t CeSSe  U E:  
lui tenir  compagni e ? ? .  1 ,  ( 2 ) al  thou[<;l1 he llas managed t o  
prevent the se s trains from inhib iting hi s creat ive 
ac t ivity or unduly affec ting hi s social rela t ionships . 
To what ex -c. ent these neurop&thic disturbances  are 
heredi tary or  linked wi th his familial educ&tion is 
unc ertain .  However , one wonder s whethe r the theme  of 
soli tude and the i solati on of the individual whi ch i s  
found throughout his works , but st&ted vti th e sl) ec ial 
poignancy in his poetry , ( 3 )  reflects  the torments of 
the sensit ive , lonely child who was deni ed the so cia l  
exp eri enc es availabl e  t o  chi ldren i n  larger famili es . 
A further fac tor t o  c ons ider  was his  position as  a 
pupil  in hi s father ' s c lass  which  would tend to mark 
him off from the o ther chil dren , ??::ho in any case  were 
drawn pr incipally from a l ower so ci al s trata .  For  the 
only chi ld of imaginat ion and sens i t ivi ty , w ith hi s 
need f or soc i al bel onging, the attract i on of the gro up -
the unanime - is  st rong , b ut y  as well ,  the difficul tie s  
? 1 ) Ib id , p .  1 1 0 .  
3
2 ) M .  Berry ,  Jule s Remains , p .  1 05 . ) See  in parti c ular Odes et pri?res ( 1 9 1 3 ) . 
ill 
of' ad justment t o  relat ionships w i th i n  t he :peer grou.J 
exert a contrary :p res sur e 9  t o  wi thdraw wi thin himself . 
Berry sugaests  tha t Remains ' s  taste  for  sol i tude 9 which 
i s  as chara c terist i c of' hi m as his  j oyful immersi on in 
c orporate  a c t ivi ty and hi s c elebrati on of the ooul of 
grOU:p S 9  i S  the 1 o a o besoi n. qui G 1 iii1J)OSC  Et l 1 enfant S i  
sensible , et , toute la  vi e 9  h l ' @tre  trop parti culier 
p our e'veiller a u t o u r  de lui d e  g rande s rE:foonanc es , trop 
exi geant aussi  pour se contenter d 1 adhE!s ions rel at ives ' ,. ( 1 ) 
l.i:l. view of thi s  i t  s e e 111 s pos sible to as sert tha t 
Roma ins ' s concept of unanimism rv i th i t s analysis  of' the 
spiri tual relat i onshi.Q of the in6.ividual and the 
c ollectivi  ty i s  l inke d to  some degr ee v1i th his  early 
ex?eri ences in the family - the t ensi on be tween the aeed 
for soli  t ucle aml the thirst for involvement in the gro up . 
Indeed9  Romains has dec lared that  the inner motivation 
for unc:mimi sm was a reaction agains t a morbid pre-
o c c up at i on vli th th e self' .  
J' en etai s arriv?, ? la sui te de 
douloureuses  experiences per sonnel les , ? 
cons iderer le r e:pl iement ? ? ?  du moi sur lui ?
m@'me , et  l 1 exc?s  d 1 attent ion qu ' il apporte  
a ses  p ro:p re s  etat s ,  comme la  source des 
tourments l es plus incurable s , Denoncer 
l e  c ul t e  du m o i  9 detourner l 1 indi vidu de 
_rrendre l 1 ind ividu c omme f'in et ob jet , 
devenai t  l e  commandement supr@me . ( 2 )  
The t i e s  of' the li'ari goules  and the extended family  
were strong . During the summer holidays the young 
Pari s ian renewed acquaintances  wi th h i s  country cousins 
at La Cha:puze when he re turned on h i s  annual vi si ts t o  
( 1 )  M .  Berry , ?;Les Romains,  sa vie2  son oeuvre , p o  264. 
( 2 )  ?-je f'ait ce que j1ai voul?? ,  p .  40 . 
stay at hi s grandmother ' s  house where he had b e en b orn. 
Three of' these cousins b ecam e  his firm friends -
Jacques 9 the son of' his mother 1 s elder b rother 9 and 
Cami l le and Rose the childr en of' her second bro ther . 
From hi s hol idays in the Haute-Loir e  Romains would gain 
a sympathet :Lc  under s tanding of' the l@.J!S?nfl of' Le Velay -
the se ' ? ? ?  Ve llaves p re'c is 9 narquoi s 9  volontier s  
f'rondeurs  1 ( 1 )  with their r i gorous m orality.  Above  al l 
the Vellaves  were  noted story-te llers whose s trange 
tales and legends fed the introspec tive imaginat i on of' 
the young visi tor from Par i s 9  as  Ber ry has suggested .  
Rapt s 9  a.J!parit ion s 9  crimes impuni s 9  ces  
re'c its n 1 emp li ssaien t J)as seuls l e s  veille'e s .  
Gran.de etait la place  des ?  cont es  marques par 
l ' hwnour propre a c e s  Vellcves  ? ? ?  ( 2 ) 
Not only wo ul d  Roma ins draw on these exper ience s  for th e 
QQpain.?. - but al so it  appears l ilcely that there  is a 
relati onship b etween hi s taste  for the unusual 9  the 
myster i ous  and the myst i cal and the myth-making propen-
sit ies  of' the Vel laves . 
This  bri ef study of' the familial educa ti on of Jule s  
Romains makes i t  c lear that hi s relat ionship wi th hi s 
parents was not marked by the antagoni sms pre sent in the 
parent-child interac ti on in the homes of the other two 
wr iters . In his  references t o  his upbringing Romains 
invariab ly expresses resp ec t  and gratitude for the 
integri ty of' hi s parent s and the care with whi ch they 
supervi s ed his educat i on .  His home 9 then 9 was not  one 
( 1 ) ? .  B?r?y 9  Juies  Roma ins 9 p .  1 0 . 
( 2 ) Ibid 9  P ?  1 0 .  
ill 
which  aroused resentment or induced revolt . He counts 
himself fortunate that he belonged to : 
? ? ? Un milieu fami l ial  modes te , g_ui ne se  
m?lai t aucunement de nos l ectures ;  qui n ' avait  
'a nous transmettre aucun sr1ob i sme , aucune mode ?  
rien d ' arti.:t:iciel 9 mgme :pas  l ' envie  de contredire ; 
l ' envie qui vous :prend de dE!tester Bourge t 1  ou 
Samain , p our la seule raison que vo tre pere ou 
vo tre m'ere ne parl ent que d '  eux . ( 1 ) 
Apart i'ro.r1 h i s  first year at  the Ecole norma le and hi s 
period of mil i tary service at Pi thiviers he c ontinued to 
l ive  with hi s parents in the rue Lamarck unt i l  the age 
of twenty-four when he was appointed to the Lycde de 
Bre s t . 
Berry ( 2 ) suggests  tha t the young norm al ien was wary 
of marriage responsibil i t ie s .  Thi s is corrobo rated by  
Romains in bffiitj![??? ??encontre9 ( 1 97 0 ) , a coll ec ti on 
of remini scences  on his l i terary ac quaintances . 
During hi s period at the Ecole  aormal e he had often 
disc ussed w i th hi s friend Chennevi'ere 
? . ?  1 '  institution du mariage dans les  t ermes 
les plus libre s (non :p oint tant :parce que l e  
mari age mettait fin 'a la libe rte sexuelle , que 
:par l a  menace ge'ne'rale qU I i l  etai t pOUr 
l ' independanc e de l ' individu ) . ( 3 ) 
He arfi rms that Chenneviere ' s  sudden marriage had an 
important influence u:pon hi s views on this sub jec t .  
' Je doi s meme avouer que mes i ddes sur le mariage en 
sub irent une se'r ieuse mise au :p oint ? ? ?  , ( 4 ) .  I t  was in 
1 9 1 2  that Romains marr ied in his turn . C 5 ) 
( 1 
( 2  
f ? 
Souvenirs  et confidence s  d ' un ecrtvain 1 :p o 9 .  
M . Berry , Jules  Romains .  sa vieL. son oeuvre , I> ? 67 
Amities e t  renc ontre s ,  :p . 1 77 .  
Ibid , :p .  1 78. 
Romain ' s  f irst wife , who is referred to by his  
b iographer 1 Madeleine Berry , a s  G . G ? ? ?  , is  the 
model for  Juliette Ezzelin in Les Hommes de b onne 
volontt!. 
The fami ly i s  not accorded a p rominent  place in 
Romains 1 s  l i terary works . This may be partly expla ined 
by hi s involvement in the unanimi s t  movement.  After  
the semi -myst i cal exper ience whi ch he had rec eived whi l e  
walking i n  the rue Amsterdam in  Octob er 1 903 ?when he 
gained a direct  intuit i on of the p sychic life of groups ? 
Jules  Remains ' s l i terary ac tivity would  be direc ted  
towards the explorat ion of col le c t ive  phenomena in  hi s 
poe try ,  plays and novels , and the e laboration of  
unanimi st the ory in his  articles  and e s says . 
unanimi st like Jules  Remains the tendency in li terature 
for wr ite rs to  concentrate on small  groups such as  the 
family i s  to o restri ct ive ; he l ooks beyond t o  the fre e 
communion or men that transcen ds c onsiderati ons of' 
family,  communi ty or even country , and unites individ-
ual s  in a psychic c ont inuwn . Thus , F'i gueras comments  
on Remains : I ? ? ?  les v illes  du monde sont pour lui c omme 
une famille  1 ?  ( 1 ) ..t?-?o r Remains the re is  a c ontras t  
between so c i e ty with i ts  system of  insti tut ional 
res traints and ?e unanime - 1 ? ? ? la libre respirati on 
des groupes  humains 1 ?  ( 2 ) 
I t  i s  true , however ,  tha t in hi s early poetry he 
prai sed the family as  an example of la vie unanime . 
In the c o ll e c t ion of poem s  of  tha t  name , f irst  publi shed 
in 1 908 on the press  of the Abbaye , he describ es the 
solidar ity of the extended f amily  which ke ep s  v i gi l  
around the b ed of a grandparent ,  b onded in sympathy and 
A.  Figue ras , Jules  Rema ins , p .  74.  
'Essai  de  reponse 1iiO la plus vaste que st ion '  9 N . R . F . , 
no . 31 1 ,  1 Aug.  1 939 , p . 1 9 1 . 
consc i ous of i t s  s trength.  
Oh ! l ' ingenu plai s i r  d ' exi s ter ! La fami ll e ?  
Qui savoure s a  vie  e t  qui se trouv e belle ? 
Etale sur son  c orps  le regarQ bienvei llant 
De toutes  ses prune lles . ( 1 ) 
S imi larly in ?des e t  ?riere? ( 1 9 1 3 ) in the two praye rs 
to the family he expresses  the almost religious ex:per-
ienc e of oneness  in the fami ly which the poet 
fleet ingly fee ls before he  wi thdraws into soli tude . 
Les dicux n ' at tendent plus ,  m?me , que j e  le s prie , 
I l s  app rochent . Leur forc e est  i c i qui me cerne . 
Leurs levre s vont courir sur mon ame e'corchee . ( 2 ) 
Later there would b e  an abatement of this  idealis tic 
venera ?c ion of al l forms of family l if e . In the Psyche' 
tri logy of novels ( L uc i en11? ( 1 9 2 2 ) , _:r:,_? Dieu des c orps 
( 1 9 28 L  Q.uand l e  l'ifav i re ? ? ? ( 1 9 29 ) ) Ylh ich takes as its  
ma j or theJile the growth of  lov e  of  two young peopl e 9  
Lucienne and Pierre ]'ebvre , t o  the point where with the 
fus i on of their sp i rits  and bodie s ,  the union of husb and 
and \Vif'e in i ts ' ? ? ?  extase rel igi euse ' , ( 3 ) make s of the 
two individuals an unanime with a collecti ve soul or 
di??' there is a c ontrast be tween the w1derstanding of 
the couple  and the di scord  of the fami ly.  To Luc ienne , 
the hero ?ne of the  trilogy ?  who in the fi rst  nove l of 
the series is  engaged as  a musi c tut or at  F ? ? ?  -les-Enux 
in the home of a middle-class , prov in c ial family ,  the 
Barb e lenets , the family circle  appears at first intimate 
and harmonious . But gradual ly she b e c omes aware  of the 
( 1 )  1 La Fami lle '  , La Vie  unaniJ!Le . 
(
3
2 ) 1 1Secon de Priere'ii la famill e ' , QdelLe t  prieres .  
( ) Le Dj.? defL_c OrJ2?9 p .  222 . 
sources of fami ly fri cti on. The ?sprit de la famille 
i s  final ly seen as il lusory as the jealo usy of  the two 
daughte rs over the ir c ousin , Pierre Febvre , develop s  
into an open feud. If there is unity in the Barbelenet  
fami ly i t  is  the unity of se lf-inte rest - the c ommon 
re so lve that Pi erre should not be lost to an outs ider  
( Luc ien e ) . 
The suggestion tha t such o rgani sed groups a s  the 
fami ly have destruc ti ve potent iali t ies  as  _ynan;Lmes , 
whi ch was made in the Manw d?_ dei.f:Lcation ( 1 9 1 0) , i s  
i l lustrated elsewhere in .Remain 1 s works - parti cularly 
in the play ,Js;.?I]. Le Mauf'ra-!2.? ( 1 927 )  rvhere the principal  
character Beeks e scap e  from his  family v.rhi eh , l ike o the r 
mechani sms of the S tate , threatens to stifl e  his  
spontaneous en j oyment of la vie  lL'l.a.r.lj.m?._, and in _?.,ef?_ 
l ater ,  the Chalmers .family and th e Leblanc and Le Burec 
clans are examples  of' the group acting as a fo rtres s of 
individuali ty , anti-so c ial and posses sive . The danger 
that the tmanimity of the fami ly might b ec ome  one of  
propri etorial interests  i s  touche d upon in the collec?
t ion of  e ssays , Si tuati on ? la_???? ( 1 958 ) , where 
Remains briefly c onsiders the soci al condi t i ons whi ch 
have given ri se to  the fami ly : 
I l  se  peut auss i que le  sentiment de 
propri?te a it joue son r&le .  Tres faible  
chez l ' individu primit if ,  il  n ' a  cesse de 
s e  developper au cours des ?ges .  Et i l  est  
naturel qu ' il se  soi t  applique' non seulement 
aux biens  materi e l s  mai s aux p ersonne s . ( 1 ) 
( 1 ) S i tuat ion de la terre , p .  95 . 
ill 
In his more recent works Roma ins has turned to a 
consideration of the causes  of the; dis integrati on of the 
f'amily in nwdern so c i ety and the lo s s  of i t s  authority .  
The deve lopment of hi s thought has :follovJed .that of 
Dul'lamel  and lVIar tin du Gard .  The young ideali st who at 
the t urn of the century in La Vi e una11_i.D.l_? ( whi ch t o  
Duhamel \:.rho had ass i s ted  in the ty_pc  sett ing a t  the 
Abbaye seemed to have 1 ? ? ?  la contac;i eusc ferveur d 1 W'l 
6vangil e 1 ( 1 ) ) had expres sed the confidc:;nce of  hi s gener-
ati on in t he ir ab i l i ty t o  re-make  the world : -
N o u s  s omm e s  'a vingt ans 9 de  le. :flamme qui p ense 7 
De la  forc e qui part ; 
La va.peur .Cre'nE!ti q_ue agi te les  chaudieres ; 
E o u s  all ons ver s deoain 9 e t  no? s QUittons hier 
Comue un train CFLi  s '  e"branle et  qui sort de la 
gare o o o ( 2 ) 
wo uld se e the fadin G  of his utopian visi on in the 
thirtieG  and for t i e s .  Lo oking back on his  youthful 
op t imisr11 when he had had I ? ? ?  ce  1\. r eve que l e  xxe . \ l s1 ec e 
ob. no us veni ons d ' entrer serai t une de c e s  epoques de 
grands constru cteurs 7 une e'poque ob. l ' lrumani te' 
e'difi  crai t :Pl  u : ::J  qu ' elle  detruirai t 1 9 ( 3) Romains declared  
in  1 958  with b i t ter  i rony : ' A di stanc e 9 c ' e st risible ? 
n ' e st-ce  pas? ' ( 4 ) In  hi s  e s says s ince  1 945 he has 
expounded hi s vi ews on the cata strophe which c ontemp -
orary soc i e ty i s  courting wi th i t s  cult of the machine 
and technic al spe c i al i sat i on ( Le Pr?9?bl'err.1e num4r<L.lill 
( 1 94 7 ) , P13.ssag??_s de c ette plan'ete ob a llons-nous ? ( 1 955 ) , 
! 1 l  Le T..?..lllQS (te_l_cL I_'echerch? ?  P o  53 .  
2 1Nous1 , La Vie unanime . 
3 So?veni rs et c onf idences d ' un ecrivain ? p .  27 . 
4 Ib 1d 9 P ?  27 . 
Homme?...t medecino 2 machin?s ( 1 959 ) ) and made a savage 
indictment of the polit ical  and soci al decadenc e of his 
age - the fai lure of the inst itut ions of the Fourth 
Republi c , the greed of the sho.Qkeept1g cl asses  9 the 
effect  of the mass media on lowe ring cu?tural 
standards , the lac k of the humanit arillil sp irit 9 the 
( 1 954 ) , pQur _R?ison garde? ( 1 960-1 967 ) 9 ???e?uver?? 
.s:._oni;ire ?UI_l?__g_r?_.Qde c on?<U_i on ( 1 9 6G ) ) "  
Thi s di sabused t one s_p i l ls ove r into t he no ve ls 
which depic t family rel at i onships . I'adame Chauverel 9  
the adventures s  vvho i s  the principal cha racter of four 
novel s  - .T.Jn? _ Femm_e ?ingul i'ere ( 1 957 ) ; .L.? Beso.l.p de vo:Lr 
.9 12-.. t? ( 1 958 ) 9 i:??n9ires de Madame_ C!h?.ld.'L_er?l I ( 1 959 ) , I I  
( 1 960 ) , - is  pres ented by Roma ins a s  a type who has 
multipli ed i.i1. the upper  s trata of so ciety s ince the 
Second ?/orld ?i'/ar . ( 1 )  For Madame Chauverel 9 who had 
served her apprenticeship as a ?2ffi??ffiondain? under he r 
mo the r and been taught by her to  use he r s exual 
at tractivene s s  for so cial  advanc ement ,  chi ldren are a 
hindrance to her ambit ions.  She abandons her twins to  
a nurse in South ?neri ca to  seek a husband of s tanding 
in France .  After her marriage v1i th Chauve rel 9 a 
wi?dower who i s  a professor  at the Faculti de Droi t , 
she ensures that Henri , her stepson, i s  removed from 
the home - first  to  a mais on d 1 enfants in the suburbs 
and la ter to a pens ion? at  some di s t?nce  from Pari s .  
( 1 )  See Ai-je fai?ce que j ' ai voulu? pp . 1 60-1 
Because o:f the ci rcumstance s surrounding his upbr inging 
the attitude o:f Henri to hi s stepmother  will  be  one of' 
hosti li ty and he will  endeavour to uncover the scandal 
of' her past . 
A more no rmal f'ami ly si tuat i on i s  seen in  ?e Fil? 
de Jer??njon ( 1 95 6 ) . Thi s novel i s  of' p art icular 
interest  :lor the s tudy of' the educati ve pr- ocess in the 
f'amily as it f'ollows the theme whi ch i s  also touched on 
in Leg, l.?9Jt1flGS de bonnL,v olontEf: that in the ravages of' 
World War I the :family loo t i ts strength and i t s  
p osi tion has b een ileakened :further by  the: socio.1  con-
di t ions o:C 0he pos t-1 9 H 3  era . In h i s  comments on Le 
that thi f...> clo es  not consti tute  a di r e c t  cont inuat i on of' 
Jean and Ode tt e  J-e rl!hani on and the i r  son Jean-Pi erre 9 
feature in the ropan-f'leuve .  But he doe s maintain 
that thi s cho i ce of' characters  make s more obvi ous  the 
difference  of' the generations oi' f&ther  and son : 
? ? ?  Le contraste que j e  m 1 attachais  ? 
fai re sent ir  entre  une generati on nouvelle  
et la yrecedente avai t de s cho.nces  d ' ?tre 
plus evident si nous partions d 1 lli1 terme  de 
comparaison intimement c onnu. ( 1 )  
The contrast here  i s  b e tvJe en the generation of' Jean 
Jerphani on , ra ised  in a p eri od  of s tability a t  the turn 
of the century , and that of Jean-Pierre ,  b orn in 1 91 7 9  
whose upbr inging has b een affec ted by the overthrow of  
traditiona? value s .  I t  is suggested  that the war 
( 1 )  Ibid 9  P ? 1 59 .  
years with the lac};: of  :pate rnal authority and the s tate  
of anxiety of mo thers , toge ther vvi th t11e general 
feel ine of demorali sati on in the aftermath of th e war ,  
gravely afL' ec ted the educati on o f  t he chi l dren. 1 On 
:peut di re que ,  sauf excep t ion , t ous les  ele'ment s de 
leur fo ri!lat i on Ol1t etEf OU defaVOTD.hl e s  9 OU franchement 
de'testables . , ( 1 )  Whereas  certain of the chi ldren 
rai sed during World ?Nar I would f' L1d a re medy f'or? their  
si tuation by turning back to  the  p a s t  for gui danc e -
' I  1 est  remarquab le ? ? ? qu ' un ce rto. in nombre d '  en tre eux 
aiAnt plut6't re'ngi contre la  vague pre'cedente 9 ai ent 
montre  une nostalgi e des valeurs tracl.i t ionnell es ' ( 2 ') -
o thers  9 such as Jean-Pie rre 1 who 1,1er e  born in cata-
str ophe would be  marked by i t . After  the son , whose  
youth hacl iJe en charac teri sed b,y lack o:C di rec t i on and 
an inabLi..i ty to con.:form to conventi onal patterns  9 
drifts  int o criminal ac t ?_vi t ie s ,  the J!arents  ques ti on 
themselves whethe r w i th o more controlled home env i ron-
ment I o o o lli1e educa tion ffiieUX dir igee 9 p lUS SUrVei l lee o o o  I 
( 3 ) they could have provided him wi th a stronger moral 
defence against the corrupting influences of his  age . 
Jean Jerphanion ' s sense of blame  for  his son ' s di sgrac e 
is  c ommuni cated by Jean-J?ierre ' s  la-ivyer 9  Ma? tre De zobrit : 
1 1A coup s0r 1 m ' a-t-il  di t ,  i l  n ' avait  
pas  l ' e'toffe d ' un de ces  he'ros qui parvi ennent 1 
on ne sa it c omment , ? pre'server en eux 1  fut-ce 
au milieu des atroc ites du haut moyen ?ge 9 ou 
dans Qne tribu d ' anthrop ophages hurleurs 9 une 
c ons c ience de'li c ate e t  l es impe'ratifs d ' une 
( 1
2
) Le Fils  ? Jerphani o!_l, p .  1 ?- 1 .  ( ) Ib id , p ? 14 1 ? 
( 3 )  Ibj.d ,  P ?  206 . 
1 81 
moral e ete rne lle . Mai s 'a co te' de c e s  
exc e1) t i ons , i l  y a l e s  indiv idus d e  l ' honnete  
moyeru1e , dont on re'us s i t  a f'ai re de s gens 
p o s sibles  en ne l e s  exp o sruit a de s c on tagions 
trop massi  ves 9 en des inf'ec tan t  l '  eau qu ' i l s  
b o i v ent et  l ' air qu ' i l s  re sp i rent . Etait-il  
d e  c e tte  sorte -la , e t  s onun es -nous c o upab l e s  9 
s a  m?re e t  mo i 9  de ne p as l ' avo i r  m i e ux 
pro te' ge'? 11 ( 1 ) 
The re i s  9 the.:.-1 9 i n  J_,e Fil_9 d? _ Jerrl?DJ.211 cm adv oc acy of'  
greater p a ren t a l  respons ib i l i ty ru1d  an np pe a l  for  a 
return to stri c ter  methods  of chi ld control 
with t he i solat ion of ? ?  chi ld fro? moral dangers , 
tho se m e t hods in f'ac t vvhi eh have b e  en tradit ionally 
ac c epted amongst the b?l.frgeois:k_? , a s  vre have seen in 
Part  I .  
I t  i s  clear that i f'  Jul e s  Roma ins ha s b e en pre -
occupied  by the enri chm ent of' the ind iv idual thr ou gh 
hi s f'reEJ and S.t)Oll. taneoui:; en j oyment of ]??.? unanime 9 
hi s experienc e of the soc i a l  disequilibriuw. re sul t ing 
from two world wars has conv inced him of t he 
importance o? the cons t ra ints placed  upon the 
individual b y  s uch so c i al inst i tut ions ns the fami ly. 
THE SCH_9Qb : 
As with Geo rge s Duhame l 9 Jule s Romains ' s  earl i e st 
memories  of scho o l  are of' the ecqle  2rima i re . Unt i l  
the age of' ten he attende d  hi s father ' s  s c hoo l at 
Montmartre in the rue He rme l .  Although this  scho o l  
was ho used in  a woo den b araguem ent of the type which  
had b een ha s t i ly e re c ted  by the authori t i e s  to  cope 
( 1 ) Ibi d, pp . 206-7 . 
with the pup i l  explosion after the Ja ws on compul sory 
educat ion?  Roma ins remembers it as b eing light and airy 
and in E?any respec t s  provi ding a b etter  learning 
environment than t l1e older  establ i shed school in the rue 
Sainte -I saure to whi ch hi s  father later transferred. 
Even when the .?c<?.Jie!' made the transi ti on to  the :?_,ekt i?, 
.1JJ..?i.fl attached to the Lycde Condorce t in 1 895 9 
prof itine fpom the law of' tha t year whi ch offered fre e 
places in S tate secondary s cho o l r:3 to  the sons of teachers ? 
he re1?1aincd in clo se c ontac t YJ ith the world of th e  
Ih a conversat ion report ed by Al?gre 
whi cn was yubl ished in the p??tQil. Nai! ionale in 1 9 66 
he recalls that thro ugh hi s fathe r 1le gained an in t iiJ1a te  
lmowledge of' the hardshi:J!S and sati s:Lo ct ions o f  the 
teacher ' s  l ife . His  vi sits  to e-1e ?1omcs and schools  of 
his  fathe r ' s c olleagues would .i!rovide him with the 
' ? ? ?  souvenirs mul t iples ' ( 1 )  from uLi ch would be created 
the figures of the Jnstituteurs  in  hi s VJorks . He 
declares that he i s  unable to wallc thro ugh the s tree ts  
of Paris  wi thout reviv ing memori es of those days . 
Un nom de rue 9 tout ? coup , e've ill e dans 
ma me'moi re,  un visage d 1  ins t i  tuteurs9  la  
facade d ' une ecole . Voyez-vous ? Il  y a 
plus de soixante -dix ans que j ' ai qui tte  
1 '  e'cole primaire d? la rue He rmel : et  
pour tant , auj ourd ' hui enc ore ,  Paris re ste 
tou j ours pour mo i comme une verit able  carte 
de ge'o graphie sco1aire  ? ? ?  ( 2 ) 
The hi Gh qua lity of the te aching s taff at the Lycee 
Condorce t a t  the end o:f the c entury i s  shown by the 
( 1 ) J.  Albgre 9 ' Quand ils etaient eco l ie rs - Jul es 
Romains ' 9 Education Hati onale , no . 791 9 1 9 May 
1 966 , p . 32 . 
? 
( 2 )  Ib id , P ?  32 .  
fac t tha t one of th e chairs of phi l o o ophy was held by 
Emi le Cha rt i er ( the wri t er Alain ) and the othe r by 
Leon Brunschvicg .  Amon&;s t other ' ? ? ?  profes seurs  de 
haute qual i te' ? ? .  ' ( 1 ) vvere Hippolyte Par i got 9 Romains ' s 
I!J'Ofess.?Jd? _ __Q__e l e-? t re s  and Charles  Salomon wno t aught 
Lat in and Greelc .  Under the se mas ters Romains prove d 
to b e  a pup i l  of hi gh intel li genc e ru1d ori ?ina l i ty who 
was equally profi c ient in the classics , the sc i enc es 
and _phi::_ os o:;:::hy . 
I t  'Nas i n  the _c lass13 d? J2.hil_oso -tJhie  that he was 
taught by Brunschvi cg y the author of I,a r?!iodal i te du 
j_?JILe?:? v1ho vms later to  b e  appoint ed profes sor of 
general phi l oso_phy o.t the Sorb onne . Although the re was 
a relat ionship b etwe en Br unschvicg ' s criti cal i deal ism 
and Bergson ' s intui tioni sm y in that Brunschvi cg gave a 
pror.1 inent place to  the mind 1 s invent iveness and 
spontanei ty, his philoso?ohy , unlike tha t of Bergson , 
asserted  the superiority of reason as  the way t o  truth . 
1 l I . t Roma ins has attributed t o  Brunschvic g ? ? ?  e merl e ? ? ?  
de m ' avoir  immuni se! contre  les  tentations d ' un 
i rrat ionalisme fac i l e ,  q_ui commen?ait  d ' @tre a la 
mode 1 ? ( 2 )  In addi tion Brunschvi cg,  like Le'vy-Bruhl 
late r at the Ecole  normale  sup?rieure 9 imp re ssed upon 
Romains the importance of simplic ity of expres s i on .  
He  had , as  Romains reca lls : 
? ? ?  la conv ic tion ?ue m?e les pensee s  
profondes peuvent s ' exprimer dans un l angage 
acces sible , et q_u ' une certaine logomachie ,  
( 1 ) Souvenirs e t  c onfi dences  d 1 llil ecrivain , p .  9 .  
( 2 )  See  A. Bour ii1 ,  Connai ssance de Jules Romains 
di scute'e par Jules Romains , _p . 1_ 1 3 .  
philosophi que ou scientif' ique , est  w.1 f'l?au 
moderne , une f'orme de poudre au::;? yeux et de 
charlatani sme . ( 1 ) 
A year later  in .9_agn?,  whi ch af' tcr hi s suc ce ssful 
c ompletion o:f hi s year of' J21?.il__Q__SQJ?l1t?. in 1 9 02 Romains 
entered at  the insi stence of Blanchet ,  the ?LOVi seur 9 
to study f'or the entranc e exawinatio11 to  the Ecole  
norma le supe'rieure 9 it  was nec es sary for l:Iippolyte 
Parigot to  corre c t  the tendency t owards over -el aboration 
whi ch had reapp eared in his pr ose . 
Parigot  re'ussit ? m ' en gue'rir .  Il  
enracina de'f' ini t ivement en  moi  l a  co?wiction -
de'ja c onf'orme , j e  cro i s , a ma nature  - que l e  
grand s tyle est  fait  avant tout de veri te'  et  
de ;:;imj) l i  ci te'. La f'antais i  e et  le s ornemen ts  
ne  ;:; e  juu tif' ient  que dans la  mes ure ou tel les  
ntl.a;. l C e s  de la  ve'ri  te'  ne  s '  expriment qu ' b.  l eur 
aide . ( 2 )  
Although HomainD expresses  hi s gra ti tude to hi s teachers 
of B'renc::.l l i te rature at the Lyce'e C ondo rce t for provi ding 
him w i th ' 0 .  o lli1e sol ide discil_Jline:; intellectuellc , et  
d ' w1e horreur du m auvai s gou t ,  du ma11i e'ri sme en 
l i tte'rature ? ? ?  ( 3 )  he echoes  Duhamel ' s  cri ti c i sms that 
hi s J2.,.?.'2fr??..?.?\l?.?, whi le comp etent in c lassi cal l i tera ture , 
tended  to ignore the c on temporary writers  - ' ? ? ?  En 
ge'ne'ral ,  i ls  e'vi taient de toucher h la l it te'rature 
re'cente ,  e t  nous lai ssaient done  a c et egard ? ? ?  une 
enti?re responsab il i t?' . ( 4 ) 
Another teacher who was to  influenc e the young Jul es  
Romains a t  the Lycee Condorcet  was  Charles Salomon who se 
thorough teaching of' the c lassics  ancl the figures  of' 
Ib id ,  :p . 1 1 3 .  
Ibid ,  p . 1 1 4 .  
Souvenirs  et  c onfi dences  d ' un ?crivai? ,  p . 9 . 
Ib id , p . 9 .  
ill 
rhetori c  and p oe t i cs imp ressed  him pr ofoundly . ( 1 )  In 
the preface  t o  La Vi??Un?..nim? whi eh was included in the 
1 9 26 edi tion of the collection y Jules Roma ins acknowledges 
hi s debt as  a :poet  to the clas si c nl authors 9 Homer and 
Sophoc?es y for  their example  of creative power and b readth 
of vi sion . 
Jm clcl'but de c e  sib c le y  l e s  j euno G gens qui 
faisaient de fortes etudes -- surto ut dans un 
lyce'e c omme Condo rcet p rese rve de la  cohue de s 
provi.il.c iaux _pres ses d '  ab out i r y  e t  de leur 
e'nru.lati on gro s si ?re - parvenai eEt a une 
:famil iari tEf des oeuvr-es anci ennes ?ui exclua i  t 
l ' admi rat i on de commande et  tou t  pedant isme ? ? ? 
L '  on me dira que c ette  cul ture anti que se  
montre b i  en di  scr'etement dans la  Vie unanime ? ? ? \ ?-?-?-?-?? Justemen t a ;non s ens une culture qui se  vo i t 9 
qui s ' a:ffi che , es t  une culture suspe cte .  Et  
j ' ad.mirerai sans reserve les  critiques quand 
ils  sauront deceler que la descript i on d ' un 
autobus po.rt d 'une main q_ui a :feuillete' 1 '  I l iade. ( 2) 
I t  i s  intere s t inc to no te  that Romains 1 s  earl iest  
l i terary insp iration c ame from hi s studi es a t  school .  
Aft er he ha d attempted  a verse  comedy mode ll ed on l\'loliere  
enti tled ,hes Surprises du di v orc??. 9 the .lJL?fl was 
prompted to  write a H i s?Q?ilL,Gal_lorw-J_ after reading in 
c lass the ?ito11? and the ?viris Jll?strib??? Berry 
( 3 ) sugge sts  that Roma ins i s  cla s si cal by taste  a s  we ll 
as :format i on and that fr om hi s school-days he has 
revered the Anc ients .  She points out that a t  one time 
he even had his hair cut ' k  la 'r i tus ' and adds that  his 
ft pseud? TI apt ly exp res se s his  respec t for Roman c iv il-
i sat ion . ( 4 )  
( 1 ) Note in this
-
re spec t Romains ' s  skilful parody of  
the Lat in discourse in Les CC?J2.ains. Y  pp . 85 -9 " 
Preface t o  La Vie  unanime ,  pp $ 1 4-1 5 .  
M .  Berry , Jule s  RomainsL-sa vte2  son o euvre , p . 41 . 
Romains ' s  int e re s t  in Roman hi story remains al ive .  
In 1 968 he wrote the b i ography IA??Q-Aur?le ou 
l ' Empereur de bonne vo l onte .  
There is one aspect  of the t eaching of the c la s si c s  
a t  the LycEfe C ondorcet about whi ch Romains has re ser-
vati ons . In hi s view the practi c e  of close analysi s  
of structure and grammar whi ch h i s  teachers followed in 
the study of a text tended to diminish the beauty of 
the passage as we ll  as di srupt the sense of unity  in 
the worl{ . He  does  admit , never theles s ,  that thi s  dis -
sect i on of the text ,  if at times carried to excess , di d 
serve the J!Urpose  of making the pupils  aware of the 
need for accuracy in the us e of language.  So  th at the 
pup i l  m ight gain an apprec iat ion of the li terary values  
of  the text as  well  as  rec e ive a lingui sti c  training in 
prec i si on and exactness  in wo rd-usage , he  prop ose s a 
compromise  which would have suited his  experi ence  as a 
young 1-JlS?i?Il? 
I l  efr'c airne' ? ? ?  qu' avant de commencer 
p?rase  ? phrase  l ' explication d ' un texte 
figurant au programme - et i l  arrivai t que 
cet t e  ex}) l i cati on J:) iet inante ne dE!pass?t 
pas la  centieme ligne - 1 '  ol1 proce'd?t 'a une 
premiere l ecture du t exte  en entier 9  et le 
plus pres possib le  de l ' al lure qui e s t  c e lle  
de la lec ture normale . ( 1 ) 
Thi s  method, Romains maintains 9 -.. rould have b enefi ted  the 
more abl e  pupils  by increasing their  apprec iation of 
classi cal l i te rature - although he admit s that c orresp-
ondingly the weaker pupils woul d have suffere d from i t .  
Romains 9  i t  i s  clear 9 has l i t tle  s?mpathy .for the cancre_. 
Despite  hi s two years in c?gne the 1Y??e? fail ed t o  
gain entry t o  the Ecole  normale s uperieure on his se cond 
attempt .  Di sappo inte d by  his  results  in the c onc ours 
( 1 ) Ai-JL? ?ait c e  gue j ' ai  voulu? , p.  20.  
d 1 entre'? Romains then proceeded t o  the Sorbonne t o  
study Lat in and Greek for the ?i cense es let tre?o 
He admi ts that during his  year at the Sorbonne hi s 
att endanc e at  l ec tures was i rregular as ? relying on 
hi s p reparat ion in .??,.&..11.?' he spent much of his  t ime 
accom}_.)anying hi s fr iends Chenneviere and Cui senier on 
baladE{?? through Paris .  
Nou s en arrivions ? traverser Paris  dans 
les sens  les plus imprevus . Et , s 1 i l  en 
re'sul tai t pour mo i un r etCJ.rd tel que mon 
entre'e dans la sal le  cle c ours  e-Gt manque' de 
decence ,  j e  sacrii' iais  l e  c ou rs .  Dans 
certains c as le sacrifi ce s ' etendai t  a toute 
une j ourne'e o ( i ) 
Neverthele ss 9 in July 1 9 05 he succes sfully sat the 
examina t ions :fo r the _l;L?9 gaining the highest  
marks in Greek 9 and at the same t ime achi eved hi s 
ambi ti on of entrance  to  the :B;cole  no rHial e ?  receiving 
from his phil os?hy examiner 9 Le'vy--Bruhl 1 o .  o une note  
A 
e?louis sante 1 ( 2 )  and gaining se cond place in the 
overall classifi cation .  But b ec ause of his m i l i tary 
t raining it was no t until  October? 1 906 tha t the new 
entrant was able to tal<:e up r es idence in the rue d 1 Ulm o 
As Romains had already completed  his  l i c ence  'es 
let t?-??. he was given permiss ion to  enrol in NorJJ!a.l.??
Sc iences  fu!d study f or a l i cence de _ sQienc es naturell e s  
i n  physiology, hi stology and b otany . These sc ientifi c 
s tudies were  c ontinued into hi s second year when under 
Lalande , the Qr..9fes?eur  de philoso.J2.:flie  de s sc ienc e s  at 
the Sorb onne , he car ri ed out exper ioents f or a dipl8me 
( 1 )  See A. Bourin ,  Conna is sanc e de Jules  Romains 
discutie par Jules  Romains,  . P ? 1 26. 
( 2 ) Ibid ,  p ._ 1 27 .  
d ' etud?s Euperi eure? on the ???ions ?e l 1 individuali t? 
chez les th?llPJirYtes .  Romains declares that at  this  
stage hi s bi ological  invest igat ions provided an opportun-
i ty to explor e ideas  pe rtaining to unanimi s t  theo ry . 
He comment s ?  
Tout probl?me concernant la formation de 
groupes , et  les  formes de passage , dans le s 
deux sen s ,  entre l e  groupe e t  l ' individu,  e st 
es sentiel b. la pense'e unanimiste .  Et mon 
e'tude 1 q_ui  portai t principalement sur q_uelq_ues 
ve'ge'taux infe'rieurs et l es co lonnes  bacte'ri ennes 9 
m I amenai t a di Scerner ce rtainS rythffieS , et  ffi?e 
? formuler certaines l o i s  ? ? ?  ( 1 ) 
One note s tha t i t  was at the Eco l e  normal e tha t Jules 
Romains was introduced  to the work of the soc iologists  
Durkheim and Tarde . But desp i te c ertain simi lari t i es 
between thei r st udie s  of group s and his  doctrine of 
unanimi sm he has consistently deni ed that the soc ial  
inve st igat ions of  Durkhe im and Tarde have influenc ed 
the elaborat i on of unanimi sm . ( 2 )  His  final year as a 
norm?JlT? was devoted to the p rep arat ion of the 
?Jirdga?i on in philosophy . However ,  the future te ache r 
of philosophy ru1d writer did not lo se hi s enthus iasm 
for the s c i ences .  Betwe en 1 9 1 8 and 1 9 23 he undert ook 
re search into the existence of' sight organs independent 
of the eye s  which would be  pub li shed under the t itle  of 
La ..Y_t.?ion extt..a...::r?ini enne e t  le S<?n::> ..Q1?P9.P..tigue . 
If Romains benefited from hi s s tudi es at the Ecole  
normale supe'rieure it  would seem he  gained even more o:f 
value from hi s partic ipat ion in the l if e  of  the school .  
( 1 )  Ib id ,  p .  1 27 . 
( 2 ) See ,  for example , Ai-je :fait ce  gue j ' ai voulu? 
PP ? 37-8 . 
Although Romains has been quoted a s  de claring that as  a 
young student hi s motive s  for applying for entry to the  
Ecole norma le vvere  primari ly mat eri al i stic  - 1 "L '  Eco l e  
normale , c e  fut s impleJ7lent :;?Our n o i  1 '  acc essi on b une 
carribre qui :put m ' assurer la vi e Lwtdrielle e t  me 
permettre de poursuivre mon oeuvr e 1 ' ' ( 1 ) - it is clear  
that he :found at  the rue d 1 Ulm an a-G1.10splle re propi tious  
for hi s inte llec tual and soc ial deve lopment . The 
reforms inst ituted by Lo.vissu at the Ecole  normale  at 
the turn of the c entury h a d  IJrovi decl the s tudent s vri th 
more fre edom but the dis t inct ive features of tl1e  
institution had been retained . Like othe r ?,?rmaliens 
before l1im Romains exp erienced  the exal tat ion of 
sharing in the free  interchange o:f i deas  amongst 
students recru i ted from the el ite of' the..: 
r-T"C",.,._-?- .? 
]'ranee .  The l egendary s:piri t of' fal]_tfii.?ie in the 
Ecole  normale wi th its  expre ss ion in the elab orately 
planned ca.tl.ulars rel eased  Romains 1 s inventive wit  and ? ?-??=-
hi s del i@1t in pystificat io?.  Ind eed9 in hi s three 
years at the Ecole normale Romuins would win an 
env iab le reputat i on as  a 0ont?ur _ de ?an?ars . 
According to the evidence of hi s friends Romains was 
a lways prominent in the l ife  of the grouR - leading 
them on wild  chases  thro ugh the stree t s  of Paris  or on 
excurs i on s  to the c ountry dis tri c t s . ( 2 ) During one 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
Quot ed  by R .  Bourge t-Pai lleron in 1 La :iSiouve lle  
Equip e  - Jul e s  Romains ' 9 Fevue-=des deux monde s 9  1 5  
Nov. 1 933 9 p .  354 . 
See 9  for exam?le , c .  Vildrac 9 ' Sous l e  S igne de 
1'  ami tie'' 9 Les Cahiers des Hommes de bonne volonte 
II , July 1 948 ,  PP ? 1 -5 .  
vacati on he ru?d thre e companions fol lowed on b i cycles  
the c ours e  o:r  the Loir e to  Auvet'gne - a journey which 
would :form tbe basi s of' the invasi on of' Ambert and 
There  is  li ttle doubt that .:for him involvement in group 
activity was exhi larat ing  and that through i t  he 
reali sed him s el:f a c  a personali ty .  As v-ve ?w il l see  
the chap ters which dea l  wi th the flQP111C1l:Lell?l Jerl,)hanion 
and Jal lez ? Romains would draw on his  ovm exp e riences  
/ 
to  portray the _s;lan of' this  selec t s tude.:::.t b ody .  
dhe reas . in the c ase  of' !Iart :il1 du Gard one i s  
for ced  t o  rely mainly on the wo rks of' :f i c t i on for  
evi dence of  hi s in?tere st  in  the proc ess of educat ion 9  
i t  i s  p o s sibl e for an unde rstanding of Romains  1 s 
attitude s to education to  di scove r the di rect  expre ss ion 
of hi s views in e ssays  and arti cle s .  However , one must 
not icno re the pla ce of' educat ion in hi s  novel s , plays 
and poems , s ucJ:1 as the student verve of' L?s .Q.,opains 
( 1 9 1 3 ) and .sur l?s __ .Q__ua;UJ _ de la  Y.tllE;_tte.  ( 1 9 1 3 )  and the 
satirical  portrai t  of the pretentious Qrofesseur de 
_g_e'ogr'!Q,.,hi?9 Le 'l'rouhadec ( 1 )  9 in the  ]?lays :M . Le Trouhade? 
sai s i  ..12.ar la  debalJ-? ( 1 9  23 ) 9 L? Ma:r:i_a_w de Le Trouhad?..Q. 
( 1 925 ) and Dopogoo ( 1 93 1 ) .  Also , apar ?c from the homage 
( 1 )  Knowles  suggests  that the name  Le Trouhadec i s  
modelled on Gal louedec - an insp ec tor of' se c ondary 
schools  and an author of' manual s  of' geography . 
S ee  D .  Knowles ,  French Drama of' the Inter-war Years l'l li- l,?j> 
.P .  77 . 
to  the ;ip.sti tuteurs in Les Homme s de l;JOnne volonte', 
there i s  the cel ebration of the c ivil i s ing mi ssi on of 
L ' ec olc est neuve au flanc de l a  montagn e .  
L e  ve11t es t vi:f ; i l  g?le  dans l 1 a zur .  
Les ec oliers re'chauffent l eurs doi gts  gourds . 
Ne :faibli s pas ,  homwe q_u i les  ens e igne s ? ?  o 
Le tableau noir p e'p i ant somJ la crai e ,  
C arr e' mo.gi g_ue ob l e  j our v ient se :prendre , 
C 1 es t ton labour h to i ;  l es wo -Gs  ei1 rang 
OuvrEJ.nt le s ol aux s emai llc s cacrces ? . .  
Ins-Gi tuteur , c ' es t  to i ,  maitre d ' e'c ol e ,  
Que l ' homme blanc char ge de son dcssein ; 
Et ton so ldat , ton calme  f antassin ,  
C ' e st lui , 8 republiq_ue univers elle ! ' ( 1 )  
I t  Y.Ja s also to the Jnst i  tute1,1.rs a s  we ll as hi s friends 
Duhamel and i\io.rt in du Gard that H.oJi1EJ.ins addressed a 
spec i al p l ea in ll i s  spe ech releyed by t?1e  B .  B .  C o on 2 
August 1 940 thEJ.t  they Eli ght 1;reserve the freedom o.f the 
sp irit  in oc cupied France . 
Je vous vois  d ' avance , l 1 EJ.utomne , l ' hiver 
prochains , dans vos  p et ites  dcoles  de la 
montEJ.gne , de la ylaine , vos e'c oles  de v illage 
cache's par mil l iers dans le s J)lis  Qe la terre 
de l:'rEJ.nce c omr:1e l es  germes de l ' EJ.veni r . Je 
sai s  QUe vou s  ne trahi rez pas . ( 2 ) 
Romains ' G  ideas on the educative process  ga in 
val i dity from hi s :prac tical  experienc e as a :professe??_ 
de phi l?so?pi e at l29ee s at Brest EJ.nd Laon from 1 909 
to 1 9 1 4  and then :from 1 91 6  to 1 9 1 9  at the Coll ?ge 
Ro llin and the Lycde de Nic e. He recEJ.ll s  that at hi s 
first  post  he :fonnd  himself with classes in p!lil ospphie 
which had a reputat i on f or int imidat ing young teachers . 
' Hymme ' , L ' Homme b lanc ? 
Tex t  of the spee ch of the 2 Aug . 1 940 reprinted in 
the app endix to Ai -je fait  ce  gue j 1 a i  voulu? ,  p .  
240 . 
Si , ? la sui te du cours d ' ouverture , c e s  
chefs , repondant d 1 ai ll eurs au voeu de  l eurs 
camarades ,  de'cre'taient : "C elui -la va etre 
bon 'a chahuter 1 1  9 VOUS etiez  perdu:  et  l es 
pu.c1i tions que vous di stribui ez , force'rn ent 
anodines ( deux heures de c onsigne , par 
exemple ) , achevaient de vous couler . ( 1 )  
He resolved to  maintain c lass  control  not by a show of 
strength but by preserving an appearance of calmne s s  
and competence whi le remaining cons tant ly alert  for 
s i gns of inattentivene s s ,  to  forestall the spread of 
disorder . I t  would appear th2t the or?r wa s successfully  
translated i nto  pro. c t ice a s  Romains prides hims e lf on 
the fact tha t throughout hi s teaching career he wa s 
never obl iged to  punish  a pupil , f inding tha t a sharp 
reprimaild was suffi cient to  preserve disc ipline o Con-
f irmat ion of hi s ab i lity  as  a tc:;acher  c omes from a 
former pup il a t  the Coll?ge Rolli.o:"l. ,  Go.briel Audis io 9 
wri ting in the l'I.O?lQ?.__l,_j. tt:fs?a_lr_?2..?. 9  29  August 1 965 ? 
? 0 0 Il  emanai t de c et hO !;L.le de ses yeux 
tres clairs , de sa parole  mesurec ,  une 
autori te  calme 9 jamais  menac .__.n te  9 souvent 
souriante , parfois  i ronique ? e t  telle que 
pas une seule foi s notre troupe  cle gar9ons 
vifs ne se  la issa entraine r ,  j c  ne clis pas 
mgrne  a une hwneur chahuteuse . o .A W1 de se s 
rares eleve s qui aurai t eu quelque tendance a 
la rigolade evasive 9 i l  arr iva que J.L Farigoule 
demand?t doucement : 1 1Pourquoi ne faites-vous 
pas l ' effort de travailler ? Est-ce  par 
hygi?ne? Dans ce cas , c e  sera i t  tr?s 
respec tabl e . " Tel e'tai t son s tyle  de morale 
sans sane ti on . ( 2 )  
After his  resignation f rom the State servic e  in 1 9 1 9 
Romains engaged in a different form of teaching when he 
direc ted for a short peri od Copeau 1 s Ecol?e du Vieux-
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
See A.  Bour in , Conna issance de Jule?. Romains 
di scutG'e..J2.ar Jules  Romains , J ? ?. t&Z. G? J\,u1qi?i o , 
1Mon Prof1 de philo ' ,  f{Qllvel le s  
Ll tteral res , no . 1 982 , 29 Aug. 1 965 , p . 6.  
Colombier ,  whi ch formed the actors  for  the The?tre du 
Vi eux-Colombier . At the Ecole  he and his  fellow 
unanimist s Chennevi'ere , introduc ed a course  of poe ti cal 
technique , including both theory and practic e .  ( The 
material .for the se  lectures was pub l i shed in 1 9 23 in 
the Pe,ii t  'rL.a:!.._t e'  de ver sific;ut i on . ) In an art i c le in 
the NQll_velle  _ _Bevue F'rancai__?? ( 1 July 1 9 2 1 ) he defended s 
the princ iple  of such in struction,  refuting the  
criti c isms of  the teaching of the arts at  the. Eco1 e s  
des Beaux-Art s ,  the Conservatoi re s  and the Insti  tuts ., 
and claiming tha t there was no proof that  the te aching 
in these  ins titu tions inhibi te d  the creativ ity o:f the 
art ist . I ? ?  0 De s qu 1 i l  y a ac t i  vi tc! spc!ciale  ou met ier ,  
il  y a un sys t?me de proce'de's te chniques q_ui ne 
saurai ent survivre , se j_) erfe cti onne r ,  s ' ac croitre que 
}!ar un ense ignem ent . 1 ( 1 ) According to Remains , the 
need for instructi on in poetry uas urgent as the wr i ter 
alone of the art i Lts  is deprived o:f :formal training, but 
he declared tha t in the cour se which he envi saged there 
would be  a minimum of formal i ty and tha t the freedom of 
the s tudent in choice  of sub j e c t  matter would be 
respected.  
In his  general views on education Romains follows 
clo sely the conventi onal middle-class  a tti tude s whi ch 
we have seen in Duhamel  and Mart in du Gard , part i cularly 
in his pronounc ements on the functi on of the schoo l 
since 1 945 . He warmly defends the humani st tradi tions  
'? 
( 1 )  ' Petite  Introduc tion ? un c our s de technique 
poc!tique ' ,  N . R .F . , no . 94 , 1 July 1 92 1 , p .  2 2 .  
? 
against ; ' ? o o les  sabo teurs e t  de'mol isseurs 1 ( 1 )  o:f 
c lassi cal cul ture 
. - o ? ?  cet  te culture q_ui 
pre'ci sement  avait  pour ob j et de mettre l es 
j eunes es:pri ts  en contact avec les  sages d 1 il  
y a deux mil le e t  deux mille  c inq  c ents ans 9 
avec d 1 immortels  s:pecialis  tes  noll de la 
machine }:,. l aver et  de la  :fuse'e te l8guide'e , 
mai s du souverain b i er1 .( 2 )  
As well ,he shares Duhamel 1 s avers i on f o r  the spec ial i st 
who has no t r ec e i ved a b road cul tural baclcground o:f 
studies  at the secondary schoo l level o On behal:f o:f 
the homl_@te _h_opu_n? he as sai ls the hermet i c  world o:f the 
sp ec ialist who with hi s ' . o . vanite  :pro:fessionnel le . o .  , ( 3) 
and his  language intel ligib le only to the init iat e s ,  
repulse s examinat i on o f  his  methods and hi s po stulate s .  
L '  nhonnete  homme H ,  el1 consdQ.uenc  e ,  ne se 
cro i t  plus le droi t  de di scuter ,  de ?eser 
les arguments - n 1 en ayant p l u s  l es moyens -
ni meme 9 presque de s '  e'ton?i.er .  I l  e st en 
f'ace  de la s e  ience  corn me e11 :fac e d '  llil e 
source  miraculeuse . ( 4 )  
I n  J:???_?.ger_?3 de c et  te  .J2J..lllle?? o??Q))..9..ill3.,..:-nous ? he 
suggests  that sci enti:fi c development s have compromised  
the concept of cultural uni ty an cl  that this wi ll  have 
grave repercus si ons on so ciety ? 
? ? ? Un minimwn d 1 w.1i te dans la  :formati on 
mental e e t  la culture est  indispensable  pour 
que sub s i st ent une so c iete' ou ru1e c ivil i sation .  
Pour que sub si stent les  n$tre s ,  a u  :premier che:f . 
Or l es  spe'c ialistes ,  si on ne l es? c ontrSl e 
pas ,  e t  s 1 i l s  ne se  c ontr8lent pas ,  travai llent 
contre c ett e unite  ? ? ?  Le danger ,  estimeront 
certains , s e  limi te  au champ des acti  vi tes 
t?lssagers de c?tte plan?te ob. al?9ns-nous.? , p .  1 96 .  
Ib id  , :p ? 1 9b. 
Poyr Raison .,g_ar@r I 9 p . 26 o  
Ibid ,  p . 27 . 
intellectuelles o C ' est une erreur . La 
lezarde commence dans le haut de l a  
civilisat ion ,  mai s  elle  s e  p ropage d e  hau t 
en b as . ( 1 ) 
Roma ins reaffirms hi s b eli ef in the p rinciple  that early 
spec iali sation should b e  discouraged and tha t a pr imary 
functi on oi' the school  i s  to  p romote a cultural homogen?
e i ty , ( 2 ) and he adds hi s opinion that the school  should 
instil  in its pupil s the di strus t of sci ent ifi c  jargon 
and academi c  ob scur ity . ' S i  J. ' unive rs ite, l ' e'cole  
e'ta ient plus se'v?re s  au  galimatias  pre"tentieux ,  les  
j eunes ne contracterai ent  pas des hab i tudes aus si 
dJplorables .  ' ( 3 )  The discuss i on on thi s problem 
b e twe en Roillains and President ICi rk or Cohunb i a  Univer-
s i  ty , which is reported in pa;;sg_gers de gette  plan'et? 
o'b. allOil9.-:?h9A_?? ,  b rings fo rth the following suggestion 
on pedagogi cal p ra c ti ce f'rom the nr i te r : 
-Ne c royez-vous ?as QUe ce  serait w1e 
excellent e cho s e  g_ue <le so ume ttre  les  
e'tudiants , dans les  examens d? t oute s le s 
spe'ciali  tds ,  a 1 1  epreuve SUi van te ? eX}?OSer 
par e'cri  t une que st ion tr?s ?12_{q_i_?)?. en 
prenant pour r?gle de n ' user QUe du langage 
l e  plus clai r e t  que des encha!nements d 1 ide'es 
les  plus comprehensibles ?  M0me dans les  cas 
ou le re'sul tat ne p ourrai t pas @tre at teint , 
l ' effort p our l ' atte indre se rai t tr? s  ut i l e ,  
e t  servirait  ? c lasser les e spri t s . ( 4 )  
Thus , for Romains the schoo l i s  1une c i tadel le du 
l ib e'ralisme o ? ?  e t  au ssi  de l '  hwnanism e '  ( S )  whi ch must  
b e  pre served with i ts tradi ti onal emphases 9 as social 
-==-- -=-=-
( 1 ) Passa?r.13 de c ette  :12lan?t? ob al lons-nous ? pp .  
72-3.  
? ? ? Ibid , P o 77 .  Ib id,  p . 76 . f ? ? Ibid,  p . 77 . Ibid,  p . 65 . 
e quil ibrium i s  large ly dependent upon i ts  capaci ty to  
rec oncile speciali sati on and cultural uni ty by infusing 
I in the future specialist  a respec t for the e tudes 
des intdryssde? and providing him with the ba si s of 1 
une e'ducation philosophique suffi sante ? ? ?  1 ( 1 ) in  order 
that he might b e  able  to  we igh the advai.l.ces in t echnique 
against i t s  c o sts  in human terms . 
Yet ,  if he pra i ses  the school  for its  civi l i s ing 
potential , he do es not  fail  to see  the social l imitations 
on i ts  effec t iveness , as we l l  as the possib i l i ty of 
interventi on by the State to dive rt educati on from i ts  
higher ob jec t ives towards narrowly nati onal inte res t s . 
)n Le Pro9.leme nvmJfS9 un ( 1 947 ) he dwe l ls more on the 
negat ive as?ects  of the pro cess of educat ion ,  us ing the 
German exper ience as  an exam_kl le  of the way in which the 
ends of educ at ion may b e  p erverted ? 
? ? ?  I l  etai t reserve ? n otre epoque de 
contempler  jusqu ' 'a  q_uel point le niveau r:fleve 
de l 1 i i1s tructi on 9 la  diffusi on de s lumi'eres ,  
peut @tre sans effet  sur la  moral i td  ge'ne'rale 
d 1 un peuple 9 et  m?me 9 cho se J? l us Eft onnante 9 
sur la c ondui te d 1 o:p e'rat i ons mentales  ou l 1 on 
c ro i rait  q_ue 1 1  intelligence exerce'e 9 la 
l ec ture , l ' informati on variee 9 donnent w1 
avantage de'cisif .  I l  n ' y avai t pas  de peuple  
ou l ' instructi on fut plus  re'pandue q_u ' en 
Allemagne .  Il  n 1 y en a pourtant pas qui a i  t 
fai t p reuve d ' un t el aveuglement p oliti q_ue , 
d ' une credulitd  si  deshonorante , ni ensuit e  
d 1 llil. ret our s i  rapide e t  si  aisd  aux sauvager ies  
de  la  ho rde , aux c ruautds insane s du prim i t if 
q_ui arrache les  angles de se s Victime s ou l e s .  
regarde br&ler h p eti t feu.  C ' e s t  qu 1 en effet 
l ' ins tructi on n ' es t p as grand ' chose si ell e se 
b orne a distribuer des not ions  tout es fa it e s  ou 
a ens eigner des methode s  spe'c ia le s ,  sans  
cul tive r  d ' abord c e  qui e s t ? la racine de  
t oute not ion et  de  toute  me'thode , ? savoir  la 
( 1 )  Hommes,  medec ins. machines , PP ? 236-7 . 
rai son e t  l ' e spri t crit ique . Ma i s  l e  pire  
est  que la ra ison et  l ' esprit  cri ti que :p euvent 
e-tre clomes t ique's 9 el eve"s comme des animaux de 
basse-cour ; diriges vers des t?ches de?ini e s ; 
prohibe"s la ob ils serai en t  une Iilenac e .J! Our la 
?olie  regnante .  On l '  a vu aussi e;:1 Allemagne . ( 1 )  
Romains comment s that certain cri t ic s  would see in  thi s 
?ailure  o:f re as on in Nazi Germany a justi?i cat i on ?or 
p lac ing empha s i s  on the ?ormat i on of' character rather 
than the training o:f the int e llect , However 9  he states 
that he canno t concur with thi s view as he con siders 
that  character training as an educat ional a im i s  equal ly 
susceptible  to ideologi cal in?luences . 
? t  On ne reprochera certes  pas nux mal res 
de la jeunes se nazie d ' av oir  sacri:fie  la 
?ormat ion de s carac t?res au ra?finement de 
l ' intellect .  Dresser de j eune c b rute s ,  
:fanat iques e t  sanc;uinaire s 5 mdj)ri sallt lo. 
pense'e 5 l oyal es seulement h l eurG chefs 5 
c ' e st une :format i on du caract?re comme une 
autre . Elle nous est odieuse  b juste t i tre .  
1\I E:d  s e l l e  prouve que 1 1?ormer  l t;  C c1ract?re ; ;  
n ' e st paG  un pro gram111e . Enc ore ?aut-i l  
savoir que l  t i tre d ' homme on s e  propose 
d ' o bteni r . ( 2 )  
Romains i s  committed to the :primacy o ?  intell ec t ual 
development 9 p rovided tha t  such education i s  carried o ut 
in a spirit  o? ?reedom and liberality - in this resp ect 
Pour R.J?.iS__9lL,&arder with its  denunci at ion o? the wo rship  
o? the banal and the tri vial in c ontemporary so c iety 
repre sents hi s call to a return to  reason and c ommon 
sense . To ensure that the s chool  i s  ?ree to  ?ul?il  
this :function w ithout p oli ti cal  inte r?erenc e Romains 
proposes that educat i on should b e  overseen by an indep -
endent body 9  a sp iri tual p ower c omprising the highest  
Le  Probl?rne nurnero un 9 pp . 1 77-8 . 
Ib id 9 p .  1 79 .  
intel lectual and spir i tual author iti es . 
I l  entrerai t encore dans la  comp dtence  
du pouvoir  sp ir ituel d ' exaraine r les  r'egles  
et  ccutumes  qui president i c i  et  l?  a la 
forma t ion mentale  de l ' inuivi du.  Depui s 
le  phe:.'1om?ne nazi  -fasc i.ste 9 l 1 on c ommence  ? 
s 1 apercevoir  que l '  instruc ti on publique chez  
un peuple  n ' est  pas s trictement  une affaire  
int?ri eure ;  qu ' e ll e peut avo i r  de grave s 
c onse'q_uences  1) our l 1 ensemble  du mon.de ; e t  
qu' i l  e s t  vain en  part iculier d ' esperer une 
amelioration de la  moral i te  international e 
si chaque  gouvernement reste  l ib re d ' inculquer 
? la jeunesse le fana ti sme guerrier  9 le  mepri  s 
des autres peup les , le culte  de  la v iolenc e ,  
l 1 i dol?trie  de l ' Etat et c . ( 1 )  
As wel l  as  exprossing hi s conc ern at  education b eing 
placed at the servic e of the S tate,  Romains warns of the 
dangers of education fal ling into  the hands of sec tional  
interests  and be ing manipulated for  commerci al purpose s .  
Hi s cri t i c i sms of Ame ri can trends in e du c a ti on c losely 
resemble thos e  of Duhame l and l'Jartill du Garu. In 
Salsette  dec_ouv.re 1 1  Amerigue ( 1 942 ) a i.ld Let tres  de 
Salsette ( 1 95 0 ) he describ es the impress ions of America  
of  6alse t te 9 a bo urg?oi s__].et-t.?.i 9 who 9  b ecause  of the war 5 
has left hi s m1ive rsi ty posit ion in  Franc e to  seek a 
teaching post  in a New England universi ty .  If at f irs t 
he regards the ?neri can way of l ife  wi th naive wonde r ,  
later he will  show a more reali sti c  appraisal  of 
American cul tur e - r eali s ing its  faults 9 but  re si gned to 
i ts errors .  Even in  the fir s t  b ook where the new 
arrival i s  s t i ll  f il led with the freshne ss of hi s 
experi ence s 5  hi s acquaint ance wi th ?nerican universi ty 
life brings a realisation of the enfantillage of the 
( 1 )  Ibi  d, pp . 21 9-20.  
students . Inde ed , a Professor  F . , with whom he dis-
cus ses the differenc es of' F.rench ancl American educat ion , 
stresses  that the :i:<'rench s tudent vvho r eceives hi s 
tertiary educat ion at  Paris  or other main c it i es has a 
wi der experi ence than the American student whose 
env ir onment is res tri c t ed to the college campus . ' Les  
netres ,  f' orme's dans ces  m i l ieux artif'i ci el s ,  re stent de s 
enfants .  1 ( 1 ) While S alse tte i s  prepared to  ac cep t the 
fac t tha t the American s tudents tend to  be less  mature ,  
he c on siders that thi s i s  balanc ed by  the grea te r 
cama....r.?.._CJ.ertq of' the campus l if'e and the increased 
oppo rtunities  for parti c i_pati on in. student acti  vi ti es .  
But in Let  J?res de SalsE;Lt.te the traces  of' naivety have 
vani shed and in hi s c o rrespondence the ,W1i ye rsi  tai.?? 
provide s  an i roni cal c omment ary o n  Asne rican cultur e .  
As far a s  educat i on i s  concerned 9 the targe t  fo r his 
crit i cism  i s  the priva te universit i es ?ho c ompete  for 
students and are re luctant  t o  impose high s tandards 
whi eh w ou l d  reduce thei r sup _port amoagst the af'f'luen t 
u_pper  c lass .  In addi t i on to this ' ? ? ?  mollesse dans l e  
rec rutement et les  s ancti ons  ? ? ?  ' ( 2 ) the universit ies  are  
too  close ly allied with commercial inte res ts  w i th ,  in 
addi tion to the tradi t ional disc ipline s ,  s e c t ions 
sp eciali sing in indus tri al te chnique s or advert i sing. 
Such an equati on of' the humanit i es with pure  tec?nigue 
fills  Salsette with hor ror  as  he sees this as a further 
threat to the notion of' an intellec tual .i_lit e ,  and he 
( 21 ) Salsette d?couvre l ' Amer igue , p . 
223 .  
( ) Let tres de Salse tte , p .  3287 
200 
declares that such trends w ill  eventually lead to the 
disappearance ' ? ? ?  du public  d ' el i te ,  ou d ' w1 pub l i c  
hiEfrar?chise' ? ?  J ( 1 ) 
Romains '  s la t e r work , Pas sager? de cett e plan'Bte  
ob. al lons -nou?_? ( 1 955 ) ? which  i s  a coll ecti on of' 
arti cl e s  from L ' Auror? on h i s  vi s i t  to  the Uni ted  
S tates  in  that  year , talce s a different appro ach to  the 
educative proc ess  and emphasi se s  the posit ive c ontrib -
uti on whi ch educati on can make to 1-tards curing s oc i e ty ' s 
i l ls . The discussi ons  whi ch Romains held in 1 955 wi th 
Americans prominent in  educ at ion , the arts  and the 
s c iences  c onvince d him that the re was a nee d for  the 
schoo l to te ach an eth i c  of' progress  - a hierarchy of' 
values whi ch would serve man to ad jus t eo th e machin e 
age . Although he  ent ertains doub t s  whe ther public  
education has a s  yet measured i t s  ful l resR onsibil i ty 
for  dif'f'us ing a philos o_j}hy of' l ife which i s  concerned 
wi th the quality of human experienc e in o. technological 
soc i e ty - a new humanism whi ch draws its s trength from  
th? values of the past  - he i s  in  agre ement wi th Ber le 
and Oppenheimer that in thi s area the schools  have a 
vi tal task to p erform .  
Il  faut apprendre  h. l ' homme a se  servir  
des  c ommodi tcls , de s j ouets  ( car  ce  ne  s ont 
parf'o is  que des j oue ts ) , de s loi sirs  que lui 
pro diguera de p lus  en p lus ce progres matdri el . 
A s ' en serv ir pour real iser  peu h. peu l a  forme 
de vie  la mei ll eure 1 la p lus digne de l ' ?tre humain , la plus f'id?le  du mGme coup ? la  
Sages se de  taus l e s  temp s .  A choisir  parmi  
l es c ommodi t?s nouvel le s qu ' on lui propo se  ou 
qu ' on lui fait  prevo ir , c elles  qui repondent 
( 1 )  Ib i d, p . 31 7 . 
le  mieux a la nature ?terne lle du B i en ,  ? l a  
hierarchie imprescriptible des B iens . C ' est  
par  la pre s sion de ces  choix  que 8 1 orientera ,  
dans une  societ? d ' hommcs lib re s ,  l e  pro gr?s 
futur . D ' ob le r?l e  primordial  de l ' dco l e . ( 1 )  
However,  Romains ' s  ma jor  theme in his essays and 
arti cles s ince 1 945 i s  tha t wi th the disequi librium of 
soc iety caused by unchecked technol ogic al advances  i t  
is  necessary to create a spiritual power which would 
contro l the devel opments of techniQ?? and channel 
material p rogress in to di rec ti ons which would  benefi t  
man instead of imper ill ing hi s very exi stence .  Thus , 
in hi s article  in Confer_9Eci? ( 1 5  Oct . 1 948 ) ( 2 )  he 
outlines his theo ry of the thr e e  curves - of humru? 
nature 9 inst i tuti ons and techn:L_g_???? - which up t o  1 900 
ro se steadily and harmoniously , but who se balanc e s inc e 
that date  has b een upset by th e rap id progress  in t ech-
no logy.  I n  view of the moral def ic iences  of man and 
the limited eff ec tivenes s of his  institutions , Romains 
cons iders  that  the re is l i t tle  poss ibil ity of re storing 
equilibriwll unless  l)Ower i s  granted  to the few who 
possess the int ell ectual and spiri tual gift s to find 
s olut ions to thi s  problem . He then proposes  a counci l 
of sage? - ' ? ? ?  une Cour Supr?me dont l es fonctions 
serai ent loin de se l imiter  a l ' ordre judiciaire  ou 
consti tuti onnel ; dont l ' activ i te  serai t infiniment  
plus compl exe , positive , cre'atrice  ? ? ?  un organe ? ? ?  de  
medi tation , de previs i on universelle s ' ( 3 )  - who would 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
Pas sagers de cette plan?te oh al lons-nous? PP ? 
206-7 . 
' Les Chances  actuelles de l ' homme ' , Conferenci a ,  
no . 1 0 , 1 5  Oct .  1 948 , PP ? 397-4 1 0 .  
L e  Probl?me numero un , p .  2 21 . 
202 
act in a consul tat ive cap ac i ty t o  a dvi se nati onal 
governments .  
Thi s conc ept of an inte llec tual aristocracy 9 a 
reign of' mandarins , has obvi ous links with the not i ons 
of an e'l i  t? of the Q_our__geoi sL?? There  is  the same 
deni grat ion of the masses  and the assumption that the 
lower orde rs of s oc iety a re inc apable of ruling the ir  
lives by  rea son . 
L 1 humani t e'  - au rnoins dans sa moyerme -
e'?rouve en f ac e  de l '  intelli gence un com:plexe 
d inferiori te' q_ui la rend ho st ile , q_ui fa it 
q_u ' el le  renacl e et recule . L ' hwnanite' se 
m?f i e  de  l ' esp ri t  ? ? ?  
Elle  ne lai sse  entrer l ' e spri t dans la 
condui te  de ses  affai res q_u ' en c ontrebande 
ou sous df!'gui sement . El le  se mon tre bi en 
meil leure f ille  en fac e de l a  force ,  ou du 
mensonge . ( 1 )  ? 
Furthermo r'e 9 the ?? whom Romains nominates  as  a rep -
resentative of this  sp iritual p ower wou?d  appear to b e  
a tvvent ieth c entury vers i on of' the hC?_l}!let?_ homnl? ? 
Indeed,  he s ees  in the att itudes  towards _:techni g__ue of 
tl1e cult ivated  man of Montaigne ' s t ime a mode l for 
modern man ? 
? ? ?  L ' homme d ' el ite 9 nourri dans les  
b ib lioth?ques et fe'r u de  l e t tres anciennes 
? ? ?  loin de n ' ac corde r ,  com?e on le  croit  t rop 
souvent ,  qu ' un c oup d ' oeil  d i s trait  au monde 
de s struc tures mate'rie lles 9  et aux 
p erf'ec t ionnements que le g?nie humain peut y 
apporter 9 dtait  on ne peut p lus v igilant et  
1 1  sensi  b il  i s?"  de c e c$te' -la . ( 2 )  
As one sees  in Passagers de c et.1_e plan? te ob allons-nous?  
Romains ' s  s??? are drawn principally from the unive rsi ty 
( 1 ) Ib id  9 p ? 2 23 . 
( 2 ) Hommes .  medecins .  machines ,  y . 21 6 .  
world and are men who are both broadly cultured and 
highly trained in a specialist  a rea .  Thi s makes it  
clear that his  v is i on of sp i ri tual p ower i s  based on 
the conc ept of the c ompl ete man - the i deal o f  the 
bo\J.I'_g_E;_;ois scho ols since the sevent e enth c entury . I t  
i s  the l10.fll() J2lenarius ( 1 )  with hi s encyc lopaedic c ulture 
whom he:; ? l ilce Duhamel 9  sets  agains t the J:!ill'e spe c ial i sts  
and whom he pronounces qual ified  to  que st ion the 
legi timacy of  their enterpri s es . Yet there i s  a no t e  
of 1Jessi111ism in Rom'a ins ' s later  wo rks  a s  he recogni s e s  
that the tradi t i onal aim of producing sujets d 'dl i te 
i s  losing ground.  His  di splea sure a t  the direc ti on of 
French educati on in re cent years is  exp ressed in Ami tie? 
et  r..ill].?? ( 1 9 7 0 )  "v"Jhen he r ecal ls the small  clas se s  
of select  students  at the turn of the:; century and 
c ompares the se  w ith 1 ? ? ?  les  e'normes  a:ffluences  des  
classes  ac tuel les  ? ? ?  ' . ( 2 ) 
( 1 ) See Lettre ouverte contre  une vaste conspi rati on,  
PP ?  1 29-30 .  
( 2 ) knit ie's e t  rencontres .  p .  97 . 
CONCLUSION TO PART I I : 
In thi s  s e ction we have examined the extent to 
which the fami ly and the s chool  c ontr ibuted to the 
pe rsonal developmen t of the three  writers .  Although , 
as we have s een,  there are c ons iderable differenc es in 
the i r  backgr ound , the ir experienc es of family  l ife  and 
formal training in the 1-L??. and the facult ie s have 
reflected the general educati onal priorit ies  and 
emphase s of the nineteenth c entury middle clas ses .  
Mor eover ,  to their inheritance of' the values , a t titudes 
and pre judi c e s  of the 12...9urge o i s?, vvere  added the soc i al 
cl imate and the prevail ing cur rents  of thought at  the 
turn of the century . As lx?? and students  at  the 
Sorbonne or the ?,Lan9.e s  e'coles  they were  influenced by  
rat ional i sm and placed their  fai th in scienc e .  Fi red  
with the op timi stic bel i ef tha t the intellectual 
social i sm o f  Jaur?s would b ring an age of fraterni ty and 
humani tari ani sm they lo oked c onfidently t o  the futur e .  
But the twent ieth century would dash these hi gh hopes  and 
bring n more realis tic  unders tanding that the fault l i e s  
more in man ' s nature than in  the polit i cal and economi c  
organi sation of s oc i ety . Even if they retain some  hope 
for the future 9 despite the si gns of decadence in modern 
c ivilisat i on which they see 9 i t  i s  st ill true  tha t in 
their  l ater works there i s  an e legiac tone and a 
tendency t o  retreat to the p ast  for guidance  and solace . 
I t  i s  thi s  adduction to the pe ri od pri or to World War I 
to  whi ch Magny refers  in her  study of Mart in du Gard : 
On dirai t que sa montre s ' e s t  arr&tee au 
moment ob. meurt son her os 9 An toine 9 et qu ' i l  
n ' a p lus progre s s? spiritue llement ? partir 
de 1 9 1 8 9  qu ' il a cesse de voulo ir  accompagner 
l e  monde dans s on ?volut i on peut-?tre parc e 
qu ' i l ne s ' e'ta it jamai s int eres se' ?. c e t te 
evolut i on en tant que tel le . ( 1 )  
Similarly 9 Bree and Guiton ( 2 ) comment tha t Duhamel ' s 
social  views are cl early related t o  the value s and 
beliefs o:l.' the pre-Vvorld Wa r I I??ti_t?_ ?geois ie - a 
_point whi ch Michael-Ti tus ( 3 ) suggests  ap:;;;l i e s  equally 
to Romains . 
Their  works of maturi ty show evidence of their  
valuat ion of  the tradi tional rol e  of the family and the 
school in mi ddle -class thought as supports  of the 
balance and order of' soci ety.  Although thei r  own 
experienc e of the educative proc ess  in the b ourgeoi s 
fami ly aild schoo l  may have raised  doubt s  as  to the 
necessity for ri gid  soci al re strain ts and may have 
aroused p ersonal antagonism agains t the att i tudes  of , 
thei r educators , they were not driven to non-conformi sm 
nor to  blanket condemnati on of the pl2ce of the fam i ly 
or  the schoo l .  They appear to have been generally 
wel l-adjusted  soc ial ly 9 wi thout the burning hatred  of 
m iddle-class  conventi ons of certain of the ir c ontemp -
orari es .  The i r  youthful de sire  for independenc e and 
freedom from c ons traints would later  become a more ready 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 )  
c . -E .  Magny 9 Hi stoi re du roman fran?ai s __ d?puis  191 8 9  
vol . I 1  PP ? 349-5 0 .  
G.  Bree and M .  Gui ton9 An Age of Ficti on - Th?. 
French Novel  from Gide to  CaffiUS 9 p .  63 . 
See c .  Michael -Ti tus 9 1Aspects et  ori entation de l a  
pensEfe b ourgeoi se la1que en France ' ,  No ttingham 
French Studi es 9 vol . 1 1 9  no . 1 ,  May 1 963 1 p .  44 . 
206 
ac ceptance of the responsibi l it ies  of the educator  to  
prepare the chi ld for hi s s o c ial roles  - a task  whi ch 
requi re s discipline &?d di rect ion .  I t  has b een sug-
ge sted tha t  thi s movement towards endo rsing tradi t i onal 
patterns of chi ld rearing does not only refl e c t  the 
process  of maturation but mo re  importantly represents a 
reaction against what they c ons ider to be a cri si s in 
family authority in the intervvar years and a de c l in e  of  
the formal , a cademi c  scho ol cater ing for an ?l i te .  
But if f inally the three wri ters reveal that they 
have b e en de eply influenced by  the values of the pre-
1 9 1 4 pour::.geo i si e ,  this  generali sation mus t make al low-
ance for variat ions in tl? i r  overall accep tance  of 
middle-clas s ideal s ,  re sul ting from the ?artic ular 
circumstru?ccs  of their  upbringing.  Apart from the 
p ersonal fac tors which have affe cted their degree of 
identification with middle-class thought , there  has 
been the difference in a tt itude to middle-cla s s  cul ture 
of the b oursier  and the heri t ie_? , to em)J_oy the 
distinc t ion of Thibaudet which was quoted in Part I . C 1 ) 
Duh?me l and Romains repre seat the b oursier who has had 
to work himself up from his  lower-class origins through 
his inte ll igence and consc ientious effort , and who 
tends to value m ore hi ghly the cultural priv i leges he 
has won than ?fue he:ri t i er who has received this cul ture 
as of right . As Frost  suggests  1 ? ? ?  I l  e s t  c ertain que 
les  1 1he'ri tiers " p rennent plus fac ilement leur distance 
( 1 ) 
. . 
See also the study of the differing att i tude s  
towards _ education and culture of the heriti e rs 
and b oursiers  in P .  Bourdieu and J. -c .  Passeron , 
Les Hdritiers ; l es  ?tudiants et  la culture , 
PP ? 29 ff. 
a l !  egard d I une CUlture q_Ui ne leUr a jamai S ffianq_Ue'o I ( 1 )  
Whi l e  Duhamel and Romains 9 the b oursi ers,9 reveal them ?
selves  in the ir pronouncement s on the f'amily and the 
school  t o  be s taunch defende rs of' the middle-class  
culture and the prerogati ve s  of' the intellectua l  e'l i  t? 9 
Martin du Gard 9 the p?c i e r ,  has s tr'uggle d t o  ma intain 
his art i s ti c  independence against  the stereotyye of' 
mi ddle -class  thought . His  res e rvat i ons conc erning 
the inst i tut ional  r ituals  and trad i t i ons inheri ted 
f'rom the nine teenth century bourgeo i s i e  are apparent in 
. -
hi s novels 9 even though 9  f'inal ly , he accep ts that the 
strengths of' the middle-cl ass c ul tu ral patterns f'ar 
outvre igh the weakne sse s .  
Thi s  b r i ef' s tudy of' the educat i onal experi enc es of' 
the three writers and of the mo vement of the ir thought 
towards support  of' traditional m i ddl e-class  at ti tude s 
in regard t o  fami lial  and formal education 9  se rve s a s  a 
background f'o r the examinati on of'  the novel -cyc l es 
whi eh,  publi shed in the perio d leading up t o  World War 
II , pro vi de c lear evidenc e of the greater r igid ity wi th 
whi ch Duhamel ,  Mart in du Gard and Romains v iew 
educati onal i s sue s .  
( 1 ) A. Pro st , L ' Enseignement en France 1 800- 1967 , 
p .  366 . 
PART I I I :  
CHAPI'ER I :  
208 
THE EDUCATIVE PROCESS Il? CHRONIQUE DES 
PASQUIER. LES THIBAULT AND LES HOMMES 
DE BONNE VOLONTE . 
CHRONIQl.JE DES PASQUI]ill 
( a ) The Family 
( b )  The School 
( c )  Conclusi on 
I t  i s  clear tha t the wri ters of' th e three  roman-
fleuves consider that the chi ld ' s early rel at ionship 
wi th his  J:larent s i s an important determinant of' 
charact r:?r an d  :personali ty .  Constantly they relate the 
p ersonali ty charac ter isti cs , b ehavioural :patterns 9 
values and beli ef's of' their  charac te rs to the  dif'f'e rent 
soc ia l-p sychologi cal env ironments to which they have 
been exposed as members of' a f ami ly . The process of' 
familial  education - the consc ious or  unconscious 
transacti on between :parents and chi ldren in the home 
which i s  crucial f'or intellec tual , soc ial , emot ional 
and moral growth - is  a dominant theme in Chronigue des 
I 
Pasguier ,  Les Thibault and Les Hommes de bonne volonte . 
Chronigue des Pasgui er  i s  primar ily a s tudy in 
fami ly relat i onship s .  Duhamel choo se s a s  hi s sub jec t 
a fami ly who se c i rcumstances are simi lar to his  own , 
memb ers of' the urban pet i te b ourgeoisie  at  the turn of' 
the century . One might draw the :parallels  c lo ser and 
suggest  that the devote? harassed mother , Lucie-El?onore 
Pasquier , and the irresponsible  f'ather 9 Raymond Pasquier, 
are reflections of hi s own parents 9  whi le in Laurent 
Pasqui er , the ideali st  who i s  wounded by the quarrels  
and the be trayals of family  l ife , there i s  s om ething of 
Duhamel himself o I ,, Indeed ,  in Invent?i re. de l ab irne 
Duhamel readily admi ts  that  for the :portrai ts of the 
mother in fPr onigue des Pasgui er he has borrowed much 
from l ife , but he adds  that 1 ? ? ?  par la sui te et l e  
r?c i t  prel1ant de l ' ampleur 9  m e s  peinture s se  sont, en 
b ien de s facons , dloign?es des mod?les ' . ( 1 ) What J 
becomes obvious as the saga of t he Pasquiers  unfolds i s  
that the kinds of exper i ence which Laurent , Joseph , 
Ferdinand , C'cile and Suzanne Pasquier receive  in their 
fami ly are basi cally s imi lar to tho se which have 
influenced Dw'lamel 1 s deve lopment . 
The Pasqui er c lan i s  no t seen in i solati ono  The 
author has said that  the basis  of the work i s  an 
attemp t  to unders tand 1 ? ? ?  comment se formo.i  t l ' Efl i  te, en 
France , environ la  fin du XIXe si? cle  e t  le  debut du 
xxe ' . 
( 2 ) The psychological  s tudy of fami ly l ife i s  
doubled  by a so ciologi cal examinat ion of the forces 
whi ch l ead to the ri se of the fami ly .  If  a l l  but one 
of the Pasqui er chi ldren gain di st incti on in the ir 
chos en careers , the o ri gins of their motives  and drives 
may be traced to the atti tude s and values  in  which they 
were immersed in the ir  formative years o 
( 1 ) Inventai re de l ' abime , pp . 60-1 . 
( 2 )  Ibid , P ? 26 .  
It  i s , then , 
2 1 0  
the portrayal of fami lial  educati on in the fi rst thre e 
novel s  of Qtronigue des Pasguier  whi ch set s  the scene 
for later developments . 
Although Chronigu? de s Pasgui? :Loll ovvs the his to ry 
of a family ,  i t  tends  to  concentrate on the anne'e? 
dlwprenti s[3? of one memb er of the cl._??1 - Laurent 
Pasquier . I t  i s  Laurent who is  the narrator in Le 
Notaire du Havre , Le Jardin de s b etes  sauvage s and Vu? 
de la  terre promi se , the three novels  uhich depi c t the 
upbringing of the young Pasqui ers . The de s cripti ons of 
the proce ss of education gain immediacy by this first  
person approach as we are taken into the fami ly and see  
the interac ti on be tVJeen pa rents and chi ldren thro ugh the 
eyes of t he chi ld . Yet if  the sense of wonder and of 
mve with  whi ch the chi ld of limi  tcd  social  exp erience 
views fami ly relat i onships i s  ski lfully mainta ined , 
there are subtle shifts of focus whi ch remind us that i t  
i s  no t th0 chi ld who i s  direc tly relat ing hi s experience s  
but the mature s?yan_t, Laurent Pasquier,  who i s  at temp t?
ing to  re-create hi s chi ldhood  v i si on some forty  years 
after  the events had occurred and who is de liberately 
selecting those experience s which he beli eves were  sig?
nifi cant for his  character formation. 
From the b eginning of Le Notaire du Havre  Laurent 
acknowledges that through his  family he has rece ived the 
imprint of the ILetite bourgeoi sie . He si tuates  himself 
proudly in a middle  c lass  which if it is ' o ? o moyenne ? ? ? ?  
dans l ' o rdre de l ' argent ? ? ?  ' ( 1 ) i s  the c lass  whi ch gives  
spi ritual leadership t o  French soc ie ty ? 
? ? ? Elle brille par l ' esprit 9 le savoir , le  
ddsintdre ssement et  le s oeuvres au premier  rang 
d 1 une sociEfte"'a laquelle elle prodi gue sans 
c ompter  des maftres , de s chef s 9  des princ ipe s 9  
des m?thodes , des  clart?s ,  des exemples , des 
excuse s .  A p lai sir  le s demagogues di:l:fament 
cette el i t e  sans c omprendre qu ' e ll e  ap:porte ? 
leurs reveries  une legitimat i on mo.gni:fi que . ( 2 ) 
As we shall see 9 th e  Pasqui er :fm1i ly does in i tse l:f 
sum up the hopes and aspirat ions o:l the ?e tite  b ourgeo i s i e  
in the pre - 1 9 1 4  period > Wi th Raymond Pasquier ' s s o c ial 
amb i t ions and hi s belie:f that one may ' ? ? ?  s ' elever par 
l e  savo ir  ? ? ?  ' ( 3 ) ,  Luci e-Eldonore Pasqui er ' s  warmth o:f 
a:f:fect ion, p ractical i ty and thri:ft 9  as  well as  the 
importance that i s  placed  upon culture a.nd upon the family 
uni t as the b asi s of so c ial order ; the Pasqui er c lo.n 
reflec ts  the values o.nd at ti  tucles of thi s milieu .  'rhe 
pat terns of chi ld rearing are those o:f the Reti?e 
b ourgeoisie  and i t  i s  with the tradi t i onal yertus 
b ourgeoises  tho.t the yo ung Pasqui ers b ec ome impregnated . 
But as we ll as  the general influenc e of the cultural 
patterns VJhi ch are tra.."lsrni tted  to him through the f am i ly 9  
there i s  also  for Laurent Pasquier the spe c i:fic  inf'luences  
o:f the p ersonali ty and b ehavioural characteri s t i c s  o:f his  
p arent s .  I f 9  a s  we shall dis cove r in  the o ther romans-
:fleuves s  there i s  an overall  coherence  in the kinds o:f 
Le Nota ire du Havre , :p .  1 5 . 
Ibi d ,  p .  1 5 . 
Vue de la terre promi se , p .  1 1 6 .  
educational experience  which  parents provide f'or the ir 
chi l dren 9  s temming f'rom the c ultural sett ing and the 
e stab l i shed  s ocial  priori tie s 9  there i s  a ls o  wi thin each 
f'ami ly a s e t  of' educato r and l earner variables  whi ch 
inc ludes  the individual dif'f'erenc es in character; temper-
ament and outlook of' parent and chi ld .  In the intro-
duc?t ion to  Le Notaire du Havre Lnur ent see s himself' as  
the  9 roduc t of' both gro up s  of' influence s .  Whi le  hi s 
deve lopment owes much t o  the imprint of' the demands and 
expec tat i ons  of' the peti t e  bourgeoisie , he i s  also  
af'f' e c ted  by c i rcumstance s  p eculiar to  hi s f'ami ly .  He 
sugge sts  that hi s behavi our may be  explained in part as 
a consci ous  reaction against  hi s f'ather - a p rocess  which 
he de scr ibes  as  a ' ? ? ?  di sc ip line anti -he?Jdi tnire ? ? ?  ' . ( i ) 
? ? ?  :.?i on exi stenc e n 1 2 9  jusqu 'a ce  j our,  
e?? qu ' une perseverante et  v i c tori euse react ion 
contre un c ertain nombre de  cnrac tere s  trans?
missibles - je  ne d i s  pas  transmi s .  Par ce  
dire  je  ne me sens pas  en contradiction avec 
mon experi enc e de savant ? b ien au c ontra ire : 
j e  me rattache et  m&ne doc i l ement nu determin?
i sme he'redi tai r e .  Le reb ours1 e st  un des deux v isages evi den ts de l ' heredit e .  Je ne cri ti que 
p2s non plus 9 et  de s l '  abo rd ,  mon pa trimoine 
moral1 e t  J?hys ique . J '  ai reagi 9 so  it ! Mai  s on reagit d ' autant mieux qu ' il f'aut lut ter 
contre des pui ssances  plus vives . ( 2 ) 
Howeve r, i t  becomes readily  apparent in Chronique 
de s Pasguier. that there i s  no  hard and f'ast  l ine between 
the educati onal experi enc es  whi ch derive f'rom the 
personal interact ion of' the parent and the chi ld  and 
Le No tai re du Havre ,  p .  8 .  
Ibid ,  PP ? 24-5 ? 
those  that originate  in the tradi tions and beliefs  of 
the m iddle -class  soc ial s tructure t o  \'.,rhi ch the fami ly 
belongs . 'rhe two se ts of influeiJ.ces  merge a t  many 
p oints . 
Thi s may b e  i l lustrated by a bri ef examination of 
the atti tudes that the young .f'asqu i e r s  learn towards 
work .  'I'he J:.ihrase ' miracle  n' e st  pas oeuvre ' whi ch 
Laurent claim s to  b e  the key to  hi s sp iri tual life ( 1 ) 
may b e  interpreted a s  the reac tion of the chi ld  against  
the ' ? ? ?  onirologie  famil iale ' ( 2 ) - the wild  enthusiasms 
and op t imistic  dreams w i th whi ch hi s :Lo.ther had infec ted 
the family and which had never been reali sed . In  Le 
?u Havre the fami ly l i ves  in hope  tha t the 
expec ted  legacy from Mme Pasqui er ' s  mmt Delahaie will 
be  the dec i si ve event whi ch a s sure s the r i se of the 
tribe . Anti c ipat ing the inheri tance 9 the father incurs 
debts  to improve the ir s tandard of living and to  pursue 
his ambitions to become a doctor .  Finally , the l ong 
awaited  news fr om the lawye r at Le Havre brings t o  an 
end the great expec tations of the fami ly . The l egacy 9 
reduced  by l egal c osts ,  i s  b arely suffi c ient to cover 
the financial obl i ga ti ons of the Pasqui ers . At the end 
of Le Notaire du Havre Laurent de clares that he i s  
' / 0 
? ? ?  guer1. 9 pour jamai s 1  du miracl e 9  des  prodiges e t  des 
lv?nements magiques ' . ( 3 ) The lesson whi ch he  le arns i s  
Ibid,  p .  24. 
Ib id  ,p.1 0 2 ? 
Ibid,  p .  235 . 
that i t  i s  fut i l e  to hope ro r ou t si de i nterven t i on to 
change one ' s l o t . Rath er one mus t  re ly up on one ' s own 
re s ources of energy and de te rmina t i o n .  As l:ime Pa s qu i e r  
says t o  he r hu sb and af ter the fir s t  momen t o f  de spai r  
has pa s se d : ' - ? ? ?  c ' e s t f ini . Je ne veux p lus c omp t e r  
que sur nous , sur n o s  que tre bras , sur no s deux t?t e s . ' ? 1 ) 
If the fG.ther i s  incurably op t im i st ic o.ncl fai l s  t o  l earn 
f rom the harsh reali t ie s of life , tlle P3squi e r  chi l dren 
are qu ick to profit fr om hi s m i s take s . All a r e  marked 
by indus t r i ou sness and s tr i ve to suc c e ed .  Whe re a s  
later  Lauren t re ache s a p o s i t i on of eminenc e i n  s c i enc e 9 
hi s s ib l i ngs w i l l  d i s ti ngui sh themselves i n  o ther f i e l ds -
Jo seph i n  bus i ne s s , ce'c i l e  in mus i c , S uznnne in the 
the a t re . Only Ferdinand , the b ure auc rat , fails  t o  l ift  
him s e lf ab o v e  medioc rity . Howev e r ,  i f  the chi ldren ten d  
to  sc orn the ir fath e r ' s extrav agant vi si ons of  adv anc e -
m ent , they fo r ge t  that notwi ths tanding hi s false s t ar t s  
he had made the ini t i al a s c e n s i on t o  the middle c l a s s  
whi c h  had fac i li t a te d  their suc c e s s , and thi s desp i te t he 
difficulty h e  had fo. c e d  of r i sing in a society whe re 
so c i a l  mob i l i ty was a c omp ara t ive ly r e c ent phenomenon -
a s i tua tion whi ch had magni f i e d  hi s re li anc e on t he 
legacy t o  imp rove hi s posi tion.  
But ther e  i s  b ehind the de c i s i o n  of the yo ung 
Pas qui e r s  to cho ose wo rks rath e r  thru1 mirac l e s  a gene ral 
a s  well a s  a sp e c i fi c  mot ivati on .  ' M i racl e n ' e s t  p a s  
( 1 ) Ibid ,  P ?  234. 
oeuvre ' i s  a re?l ec ti on o? lower mi ddle -c lass attitudes 
to indivi dual e?f'ort  o One not e s  tha t at the end o?  Le 
Nota ire du Hav_?? the mother , Luc i e-Ele'onore Pasqui er , 
appears almost re lieved  at the disastrous news ?rom Le 
Havre , exclniming ; ' - o .  o Ca vaut m i ctlX comme e n . ' ( 1 ) j ? . 
?ro rise in soc ial status by other than the ?rui t s  o? 
one ' s  own e?forts  i s  no t the wo.y oi' t.he pet ite bourge-
o isie as  Curnier points out :  
? ? ?  Si l e s  malheureux Pasquier  ne re9oivent  
'a J,;>eu pres  rien 1 1 c et  vaut mieux" , di t la  iTl'ere . 
En e?fet , ils  vont &t re , de ce :fni t ,  obli ge's de 
.travailler , et ce n' e st que par le travail que 
1 1 le  menu p eu:ple 1 1  mEfri te " 1 ' c.scens i on1 1 , par le 
travail et  non grace ? d e  l ' argent qui n ' a pas  / I I ( ) ete  gagne . 2 
Thi s sam e  bel i ef in the sanct ity of  work i s  seen in  
Laurent ' s di s tin ction between the atti tude s of the 
members of the affluent bourgeois?-? ? such 8.S  his fri end 
Emmanuel dES Comb es  vvho se f'ar.ily tr?di t i ons are tho se o? 
:pre serv ing ancl passing on inheri ted  'Neal th , and tho se  
of  hi s c lass  who have  received l i t t le from the i r  for-
b ears except th e determination to  suc ceed . 
Je causai s ,  l e  moi s dernier , avec  mon 
ami Emmanue l des Combes  et lui cl.e'claret i s ,  j e  
n e  SCt. i S  plUS a quel  propos , C1U 1 i l  !TI 1 eto.it  
impossible de  j ouir pleinement d ' un b i en que 
j e  ne l ' eusse  conqui s moi -m?me o Il  me fit  
repeter c e t t e  c onfidence , re.flEbhit un i1 s tant  
e t  me di t e.vec sclrenite  qu ' i l ne  comprenai t 
rien a mes scrupules  et  qu ' il j ouissa i t  quant 
8. lui , d ' autant mieux des b i ens qu ' il le s 
trouve.i t :p lus ?ranc s de souvenirs  pe'nibles e t , 
si  l '  on peu t di re , moins trempes de sueur . 
Ibid ,  :p .  234 . 
P .  Curnier ,  ' Pre'sentation de Le Notai re du Havre ' ,  
Le Francais  dans le monde , no:-32 , Ap ril -May 1 965 , 
P ?  27 ? . .  
J ' al lai s repondre a des C omb e s  que tout b i en 
tem:porel  est  t ouj ours trem:p e' de la  sueur .de 
quelq1.: ' un ?  mai s  a quoi bon? Nous ne :pouvons 
:peser nu meme :poids les frui t s  de la terre : 
la  famille d ' Emmanuel e s t  de robe de:puis le 
seizieme s iecl e et fut t ouj ours tres b ien 
:pourvue . ( 1 )  
M ichael -Ti tus makes the fol lowing comment on 
Laurent 1 s  v iews : 
Laurent ap:parai t lcl  comme l '  exem:ple l e  
plus rep resentatif :peut-etre du b ourgeois  
lafque e t  la  mani ere dont i l  juge son ami 
Des Combes  e s t  celle de sa clas se, celle  que 
sa c lasse a tou jours adoptee envers  l ' autre 
b ourgcoisi e : l n bourgeoisie  de robe , bourgeoi s i e  
catholi que , c onse rvatrice , b ien :pourvue ? ? ?  Le 
merite intel l ec tuel ?  l ' int ell i gence ,  le suc ce s  
c ommercial  e t  l ' activ i te pol i t ique sont ? la 
b ase  des tradi t ions de la b ourgeoi sie  lafque 
e t  elle  s ' o:ppos e  ains i a cel l e  qu ' elle a 
trouvee en :p lace $ ?u ' el le do i t  surpasser e t  souvent combattre . ( 2 ) 
Laurent i s $  then , the inheritor  of ?m e tradi t ions of 
this peti...!? b ourgeo i sie  'v hi ch has s truggled up from i ts 
peasant ori gins . He i s  ever c ons c i ous of the t o il  of  
the generati ons whi ch had preceded him and which  had 
made the rise of hi s tribu :possib l e . As he looks about 
him he sees  that these tradi tions of  effort and striv ing 
are shared by those amongst hi s c ontemporari es  who have 
achieved greatnes s .  
Je sui s done , moi , Laurent , a deux 
generati ons  de  la beche e t  a t ro i s  de la 
charrue . Si  je  cherche dans mon voi sinage , 
j e  vo is  que la  :p lu:part de me s ami s ,  de mes 
:pai rs ,  hommes distingues par leurs talents ,  
:par leur s mer i te s ,  n ' ont qu ' a  
( 1 ) Le Notaire du Havre , pp . 1 5 -1 6 .  
( 2 ) C .  M i chael-Ti tus , 1 Aspec ts  et  orientation de la 
pensee  b ourgeo i se lafque en France ' ,  Nott ingham 
French Studies ,  vol . I I , no . 1 ,  May 1 963 ,  p .  39 . 
regarder derriere eux :pour nommer s::::> i t  un 
lab oureur 9 soi  t un t ou t  mocle ste nr-Gisano  
Vi cto r Legrnnd est  :petit-fi ls d ' herbagers 
et Vui llaume de vignerons o Le s anc?etres 
de Roch etaient quelque chose c ommc 
c outeliers et le pere de Schleiter a 
ravaud? de vi e ille s ni:ppe s o ( 1 ) 
One sees e lsewhere in Qhronigue _d?s .Pnsq_uier  c onfi rm-
ation of' the p ersistence of these  peaso.nt tradit ions . 
There i s 9  :fo r examp le 9 Rnymond Pasqui er 1 s  mania for 
gardening9 whi ch 9  thwarted by c i tJ dwelling 9 vi gorous ly 
re turns when the family takes up residence at Creteil . 
Mon p?re 9 fi l s  de peti tes  gens 9 mi ?
:paysans 9 mi - j ardini ers 9 s ' etai t detourne 
de la terre pOUr 1 1 8 V elever par le SaVOir 1 1  3 
comme il  di sait volonti ers . A peine eut?
il un jardin,  le  desir de gratter le sol  
aussi tet  le tourmenta .  Il  b?chai t 9  i l  
b inai t ,  il  sarclai t ,  b ientot rui sselant de 
sueur , la chemise bouffant e au-dessus du 
pantalon,  dedaigneux du s olei l ,  du vent , 
des ondee s 9  sai s i  de fureur georgique . ( 2 ) 
Joseph Pasquier  shares thi s need t o  return to  the soil  
and experiences  in ti lling hi s lo.nd 1 o  ? ?  un plai s i r un 
peu rageur 9 mai s glouton e t  vo lup tue lL? ' o ( 3 ) Indeed ,  h is  
:passi on for  posse s s ing property m ay be seen as  a reflec-
tion of the attachment to the land of hi s p easant 
ance stors . I t  i o  s ignifi cant in this re spect  that hi s 
f irs t  purcho.se i s  o f  a domain at  Nesles , the pays natal  
of  the Pasqui ers .  Similar ly9 a yearning for the 
country l ife i s  fe lt by others in hi s fami ly 9 in part-
i cular Ferdinand and Suzanne o As Suzanne says in 
Le Notaire du Havre pp . 1 4-1 5 . 
Vue de la ter re promise , pp o 1 '1 5 -1 6 o  
La :ijui t de la  Sain t-Jem19 :p o 1 L?Oo  
Suzanne e t  les jeunes hommes : ' I l me semble  qu ' al ler  a 
Nesle s ,  1a serait toucher la terre , me puririer , 
reprendre rorce et  c ourage . , ( 1 ) These details  b ear out 
the comment whi ch Laurent makes in the introduc tion t o  
Le Notai re du Havre : ' ? ? ?  Que notre pensee so it  c olor?e ,  
nourri e par la  seve rusti que , voi la c e  que mi lle raits  
e t  con jonctures s ' ncc ordent a prouv er . 1 ( 2 ) 
As he c onsiders his  inheri to.nc e Laure nt ob serves 
that each of the generat ions which had preceded him had 
c ontributed t o  the ascensi on or the :family . I t  is  to 
Charles-Bruno Pasquier , his paternal grand:father , that 
he traces  the c ommencement of' the slow climb or t he 
Pasquiers :from the ' ombre in:ferieure ' .  ( 3 ) The son of' a 
paysan , Charles-Bruno Pasqui er had raised su:fric ient 
capi tal to purchase a smnll  market garden at Ne sles-la-
Vallee . The impetus ror hi s change of s tatus had been 
an endowment o:f energy and inte lli genc e .  
Chcrles-Bruno , si  j 1 en cro is  ln rable 
ramilial e ,  Efta i  t un e sprit i.i.1cul te , ma is  
inventir et  cur ieux . Bien qu 1 i l ti enne 
encore b l ' humus e t  qu ' i l en t ire subsistance , 
c ' est ? parti r  de lui , dans l ' ordre intellectue l ,  
que la courbe s ' eleve . ( 4 )  
His  mother ' s immed iate  ramily had also  been characterised 
by  a vi gorous determinati on to improve thei r pos i tion .  
The rather , Mathur in Delahai e ,  who had b een in partner-
( 1 ) 
? ?l ( 4 
Suzanne et  les jeunes hommes ,  p .  58 . 
Le Notaire du Havre , p . 1 5 . 
La Nuit de la Saint-Jean , p . 1 1 2 . 
Le Notaire du Havre , p .  1 4 .  
ship with hi s brothe r  in Pari s ,  had l c:rt in 1 848 the 
small  E.fl.Ssementeri e whi ch they operated to  s eek his 
:fortune in Peru, undete rred by  the fact  that i t  was 
nec es sary f or him to l eave b ehind hi s a iling wi:fe and 
in:fant daughte r in his b rother ' s  c are . Consequently ,  
Laurent ' 5 mothe r hCtd be en brought up in the home o:r 
the s crupulous and prudent ProsJ)er De lahai e .  
Wi th thi s background of indus try ancl ambi t ion i t  
i s  not surpri sing tha t as educators Raymond and Luc i e?
Eleonore Pasquier  should cont inually urge their chi ldren 
to  strive for upward mobi lity  and emphasi s e  those  ski lls  
and habits  which  wo uld as si st the epru?ouis sement  of  the 
:family.  The father , despi te hi s Balzacian a i rs ,  hi s 
massive pride and self-indulgenc e ?  hi s extravagant 
dreams and v isi ons , i s  the insp irat ion :for the so cial  
ambit i ons of  the :family .  H e  has 9  a s  Laurent readi ly 
admi t s ,  a rat ional apprec iat ion o:r the direc ti cn in 
whi ch he must go to help his children and he sees  that 
he mus t g ive the examp le to hi s :fami ly by s triving t o  
ga in medi cal  qualifi cat ions in  late middle age . 
Mon p'ere etai t semblable  h ce s enrage's 
so litaire s ,  non par calcul egoiste , mai s 
par logique et  ra ison , parce que tout c e  
qu ' i l voulait dep endait d ' ab ord de lui -meme 
et que ,  s ' il  fal la i t  s ' instruire , s ' ?lever ,  
comme il disait , le  mieux etai t  encore de 
commencer tout de suite et de commencer par 
soi . ( 1 ) 
Raymond Pasqui er ' s energy as a parent is  directed  
towards impress ing upon hi s chi ldren the importance of 
( 1 ) Ibi d, pp . 1 59-60 . 
220 
intellec tual development ? which he firmly beli eves  to 
be  the key to the ' ? ? ?  ascensi on de la tribu ' . ( 1 ) In 
particular , he gives a priority to language ski l l s  as 
the basic t ool  for the acqui s it ion of knowl edge . 
I l  savai t tout e t  l ' expl iquei t  clairement . 
I l  e'tni t notre vivant lexique . J 1  ai c om:p ri s ?  
par l a  suite ? qu ' i l  avai t fait  un effort  
immense et nai"f pour apprendre le s mots  e t  
leur sens et que , dans  s e s  calculs , c ' itai t  
bi en l ?  l e  c ommenc ement de tout , l ' ichelon 
ini t i al ,  l e  premi er grade nec essaire h 
l 1 ascension de la tribu . ( 2 ) 
One finds that b e cause of the father ' s  fanati cal 
regard for c.c curacy in worcl-usage a Littre' i s  the most  
pri zed po sse ss ion in the Pasquier household  - ' le livre 
sacrosaint de la mai son ' . ( 3 )  Simil arly ?  li te ra ture i s  
held in h i@i esteem . Raymond Pasqui er , him self 9 is  an 
av id  render of Bo.lzo.c and at  ni t)lt studi es in a robe de 
bure in hi s honour . He has definite op ini ons on what 
the chil dren should or should n ot re2d . Laurent 
recal ls thut he was once admoni shed by hi s fathe r  at 
the age of fourteen for reading th e  Cll,?a:j_ier  de  Fo.ublae_. 
Even in s ?i:.raitened c i rcum s tnnces  when i t  is ne ces sary to 
send thei r  cho. ttels to the ivi ont-de-Piete , the Pasquiers 
cling to the ir books 9 ns i s  shown in be_ l?o tai re du Havre . 
( 1 )  
??l 
Mamo.n fit le voyage du Havre . I l  
fo.llut , p our parer A cette  dep ense immed iate , 
engager enco re quelque cho se , et  ce  fut la  
b ib l iotheque , Je parle d u  meuble , b i en sur . 
Pour l es  livres 9  nous nous serions fai t tuer 
plutot que de nous en dessai s ir . (4)  
Ibi d ,  p . 1 36 .  
Ibid. ? p . 65 . 
La Nui t  de  la Saint-Jean ,  p . 
Le-Notaire du Havre. p . 1 96 
67 . 
Raymond Pasquier  f irmly believes that academic 
qualificat i ons providE; the ' ? ? ?  c lef' de la terre promise . ?  ' 
( .1 ) It  i s  true that hi s own des i re to become a do ctor 
i s  part ly motivated  by selfi sh consi derat ions - the 
prest i ge of  the t i tle  and the we a l th cmd cons iderat i on 
which profe ss i ona l  status would bring - a s  wel l as by 
vocati onal inte re st . However ?  in  imp ress in g on hi s sons 
the de sirabi lity of p erforming wel l  in the ir s tudie s  he 
i s  not  merely considering the uti li tarian b enefi ts  of 
formal educati on .  He i s  convinced  that  through exer-
c i s ing the ir  minds men will  impr ove . ' c ' etait  vra iment 
un homme clu dix-neuvieme siecle 9 de ce siecle qui n ' a p9s 
voulu dou.ter du savoir souvc ra in ?  de ce s ikcl e qui a fait 
la sourde ore i lle  aux averti ssement s de Schopenhauer e t  
s ' e st p lu tenacement h confondre sc i ence e t  sagesse ' ( 2 ) 
Commenting on the vi olent temper  of hi s ne ighbour 9 
Wasselin9  in the rue Vandamme , he says : 1 1 1De telles 
vulgari tes di s_parai tront g_uand les  hommc s seront plus 
instrui ts . La cause de tout? c e tte  bassesse ,  c royez-moi , 
c '  est  l '  ignoranc e . 1 1 ' ( 3 ) 
Having dedi cated himself to academic  success , Raymond 
Pasg_ui  er has no sympathy for thos e \'!ho .  lack the same 
dedi c ation.  He is  profoundly di sappoint ed when hi s 
eldest  son , Joseph, announces his intention t o  leave  
school an d  seek commercial  employment and i s  scornful of  
( i )  Vue de?a terre Q;Omi se , p . 6 8 .  
( 2 ) Le Notaire du Havre , pp . 1 1 0- 1 1 .  
( 3 )  Ib i d ,  p .  1 1 0 . 
Ferdinand' s failure  in the certifi cat  d ' etudes .  
222 
Of the 
children i t  is Laurent who i s  most  suscep tible  to hi s 
father ' s  exampl e .  From observing hi o father ' s effort s 
to gain hi s diplome de cloc teur en mdd?9in? at an age when 
other men '7ould be considering re tirement , Laurent would 
gain s ome inkling of the  sat i sfo.c t i ons of mental effort . 
Pos s ibly the influence of the fathe r i s  he ightened b y  
the contrast with  the trib_g__ de s c_ourtoi_?. , the fo.mi ly from 
v;hom the Pasq_uiers borro'cv' ?whi le nwai t ing the Delahaie  
legacy . Certainly,  M .  Courtoi s ,  the  elder ,  who has 
achieved  the nmbit ion of  the commerci al clas ses of re ?
t ir ing early ,  di splays every s ign of moral and intel?
lectuo.l ?e cl ine . 
-Nhi l e  Raymond Pasquier  e stabl i shes the in te llec tual 
priorit ies  fo r the educnt i on of the chi ldren 9 their  
imp lemC:;ntat ion i s  mG.inly l eft t o  hi s vvife . There is a 
clear separation in  the ir educational roles ,  v1i th the 
father se ttin g the overall goals  and the mother 
provi ding the dire c t  instructi on , as M . Pt:lsqu i er lacks 
the pat ienc e to  teach the children and normally i s  too  
engrossed in hi s pe rsonal affairs  to  provide them with 
the vari ed exp erience s  es sential for the ir intellectual 
growth. Henc e ,  it  i s  chi efly from their mother that 
the children ga in m ental stimulati on .  She teaches  them 
to  read and wri tc before  they ent er  s chool . At the end 
of Vue de lJL terre prom? we see the mother at  the time  
when her older chil dren nre about to  leave the foyer 
recommencing her educational tasksby assisting Suzanne 
wi th her r eading. 
Her interest  and encouragement continue s when the 
chi ldren ent 3r school . The opening of the nove l-cycle 
shows the wother prepa ring the evening meal and at the 
same tim e supervi sing the horne\'J ork of tJ.1e e lder boys 
while  Laur ent , who b ecause of hi s health has not yet 
commenced his schooling , is rec iting multip li c at ion 
tab les .  For the chi ldren thi s period before tea when 
they gather abou t 1 o o o ce t te lumiere enchantee ' ( i ) to 
study or  to play in the dining room is one of c lose  
int imacy, thus  strengthening and adding to the idea of 
the ri sil1g tribe by assoc iating learning and p leasant 
memori es of the ir chi ldhood o  
Although Mme Pasqui er had received only an e lement -
ary educ at i on she , l ike her husband , real i se s  the 
imp ortance of a higher education. I t  i s  she who 
arranges f or Laurent a bou?? at the Lycee Henri -IV. 
As she says to Joseph in an effort to p ersuade him t o  
c ont inue w i th his studies : 1 1 1 D I ,  d . 1 '"'t  o o o  es  e?u es , l paral 
qu ' avec les  progres de maintenant c ' e st  ab solument 
ne'ce ssaire . 1 1 1 ( 2 )  
The re i s ,  then ,  a s trong intel lec tual emphasi s in 
the training of the Pasquier  chi ldren , b earing out the 
c omments made in Part I on the importance p laced on this 
aspec t of educati on in the French lower middle-clas s  
Ib id ,  P ?  33 o 
Ibid , p . 1 35 o  
home . Clearly , also , the chi ld-rearing p racti ce s  of 
the fami lies  belonging to thi s  soc ial class  radiate about 
the conc ept of achievement .  
Nor are cultura l va lues neglected .  Apart from the 
pri ority given to l iteratur e ,  musi c oc cupi es a dominant 
pos i tion in the live s of the c hi l j ren. From the moment 
when the p iano arrive s  in the i r  apartment in the rue 
Vandamme the mus ic  of ce'ci l e  becomes the accompaniment 
to  the moment s of j oy o r  de spair of the Pasqui ers . I t  
i s  ceci le ,  the gifted musici an ,  who i s  ab l e  t o  b ring 
calm and restore peace  in the family .  
S i  j ' ose , apres tant d 1 annees , raconter 
lc s tro.verses de notr?e  v i e  sans eclat , c 1 est  
que la  rnusique e s t  la , po.rtout prcsente , 
j ni llissante . C e  nobl e  et  ri che 
ac compagnemeat rehaussait  toutes ?1o s mis'eres . 
I l  y cut , en c e  t emps - lB. , y our chaque 
ins tant de chaque j our , ? our chacw1e de nos 
pensees , de s melodies , de s ac cords , des 
c oncerts ineffables . ( 1 ) 
As v1 i th the books which the Pasqui ers canno t part with 
even in t imes of  f' inancio.l embarrassmen t ,  Cec ile  1 s p iano 
i s  regarded as inv iolable  and i s  no t to b e  pavmed even 
when financial str ingency demands i t .  
A high importanc e i s  also placed upon charac ter 
training . In thi s  asp e c t  of familial education ,  as in 
the priori ty given to intell ec tual development ,  the 
Pasquier  family may be seen as  typi cal of the lower 
middle-class  famil i es . Pre'vost  reraarks on thi s  value 
placed on moral and s piritual development in hi s arti cle 
on Georges Duhamel : 
( 1 )  Le Jardin des betes  sauvages , p .  1 89 . 
I l  est avant tout l ' homQe ( et 1 1 enfant ) 
de l a  ye ti te bourgeois ie  - celle  qui ne 
:possede et transmet que des b i ens moraux et  
s:p i ri tue ls ,  c elle  qui veut :prodiguer a ses  
enfan ts u..r1 her i t a.ge de courtoi  si e s de 
tendre sse et de deli cate s se c  C 1 est  p ar l? 
que nous pourrons pre'c i ser  son humani sme 
mol"_' a.:&, ,  mot vo.gue s au trement 9 trop ?lar--ge-et  
tromp eur . ( 1 ) 
There i s  in Raymond Pasquier a strong streak of' the 
p reacher and the moralist , but opparently he see s no 
c ontradi c t i on between his  own behavi our and hi s condem-
nat ion of' simi lar conduc t in othe rs .  Thus , he is se lf'-
ri ghteous in  his censure of  the belligerent outbursts  of 
his eldest son, Joseph ,  - thi s de spi te the f ac t  that he 
i s ,  himself' 9 sub je c t  to sudden angers .  He  c annot  
conceive tha t the rage whi ch he vents on hi s :family to  
re l ieve hi s tensions , cause s  them deep distre s s .  As 
Laurent says 1 ? ? ?  Ses  colercs 
souc i s  de mon enfanc e . ' ( 2 ) 
1 I 1 ont cte  l un des grands 
M .  Pasqui er has ' ? ? ?  le gout 
des femme s 1 ( 3 )  yet he cri t i c i  se o the in.fidel i  ty o.f others 
and warns hi s sons against l oose assoc iations . 
Although insulting to strangers  in pub li c ,  p art i cularly 
tho se who su:ff'e r .from t i c s  or physical disab i li t ies , he 
impresses  the importance of goo d manners and courtesy on 
hi s chi ldren,  sho.r:ply reprimanding them for yawning at  
the table  or  making grimace s .  However , although by 
precep t  Rnymond Pasquier  encourage s  hi s fami ly to  accep t  
the vertu?ourgeoi se s  of c onsideration ,  se lf-discip line 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
J .  Pre'vost , ' Ge orges Duhamel ' 9 N . R .F . , no . 257 , 1 
Feb . 1 935 , P ?  2 1 7 .  
Le Notaire ?avre , p .  1 1 7 .  
La Nuit ?e la  Saint-Jean , p .  79 . 
226 
and rect i tude , his oym b ehavi our seriously illl.dermines 
the se vo.lues . Eis  moral influence  i s  most  apparent 
on hi s eldest  son . Joseph ' s aggre s s ive  manner , hi s 
lack of  s cru}?les  and hi s indifference to  the fe e lings 
of o thers  may b e  traced to the l if'e-s  tyl e  '?7hi eh he has 
learnt from hi s father . 
The moral qual i t i es ?ahi ch the otr1GP  s iblings adopt 
would seem to deri ve from the i r  mother .  She i s  the 
stable  element in the faoi ly who gives them securi ty 
nnd b inds t hen closely to he r \Vi th her  vmrmth of 
affecti on . I t  i s  the inexhaustible  love of a mothe r 
which il luL'.inates  the ear ly vo lwnes  of' C?1_ronigue des 
Thi s depict i on of the o.:ffe c tive t ies  of 
mother c?'l.C:c chi ld , the important f ir s t  stage s  in the 
personali ty formati on of the chi ld  ?he n rewarding and 
gratifying exper i ence s ,Nith hi s mothe r deve lop in him 
a sense of trust 9 i s ,  D.s  S imon sugf?ests ,  a uni que con-
tribut i on to French li terature . 
0?1 re s.}}ire ains i 9 dons ?? .i.?otair? du 
H? et  dans J,.e ;Jardin d?. bet?s _?_auvages_ , 
un charme d ' enfance e t  une ti?de _ odeur de 
nid , qui sont quelque cho se de .1.1e uf dans 
not re  l it terature de quali t e ,  puisque , 
seule jusqu 1 alors , a un niveau elementaire  
d ' a rt et  d? s tyle , la  Biblio the1u??? en 
avai t donne le pre ssentiment . ( 1  
The l ife of Mme Pasqui er revo lve s around he r  
chi ldren and she finds in caring for her family her 
fulfilment . I t  i s  her family that matte rs t o  her .  
Her approach t o  mo therhood i s  not intellectual in 
-- - ?-------------------------??------?----------?-------
( 1 ) P. -H .  Simon , Geor?s Duhame l ?? ??ourgeois  sauve, 
P ?  1 1 9 .  
that she does  not  attempt to gene ral i se the ro le  of 
mothe r  or  the flli?c tion of the fami ly . Instinctively 
she real ise s  that her chi l dren ne ed her and that her 
sati sfacti ons are b ound up in he r free offe r of love 
and unde rstanding. This is s een when Laurent SStYS to  
her : 
-l'oi 1 clu moins , tu  as des princ i:pes .  
Toi , tu sai s ou tu vas 9 t u  sai s ce que tu 
veux .  La fami lle ? A. t out p rix ? 
Her reply i s : 
- Oh? la 1'am i l le 1 c ' es t  b i eD grand, 
c ' est  b i en vague . Non 9 ma famille , voila  
tout . Je ne vois  pas  beaucouu plus loin .  
J.' :ai  tant d e  cho ses a faire . ( 1 ) 
The mo ther is ever attentive t o  the needs of her 
h d I I ? I I ( 2 ) usban , of whom she is ? ? ?  ce tte e:pouse extaslee  ? ? ?  9 
and of h er sons an.d daughters . ' Que l ' w1 de nous tousse 1 
ou meril. e s ir.1p lement soupire ,  e t  l a  voici , offrc:mt ses  
mains macicienne s ? ? .  1 ( 3 )  Her love and affect ion i s  
lavi shed upon each of her five chi ldren but 1 with an 
intens e desire for j ustice  fo r her chi ldren, she at temp ts 
to compensate wi th her materna l care for the fai lures  of 
the least endowed of them 1 the second son 1 Ferdinand . 
I l  ne sera pas di t ,  o mere , qu ' w-1 de 
ces  enfants de ta chair  sera p lus malheureux 
que les  autre s .  On pretend qu ' i l e st ma l 
doue? Rai son de p lus 1 alor s ,  pour le  cherir ,  
pour l e  choyer 1 pour chanter s a  louange , ? our 
le  defendre c ontre tout et  contre tous . ( 4 ) 
One notes  that  as  he  describes  the extra attent i on whi ch  
--?--?,.,..-------------? 
? 1 ? 
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
Vue de la terre promise , pp . 21 0-1 1 . 
Le Notaire  du Havre , p .  1 1 1 .  
Le Jardin des b?tes  sauv?ges,  p .  1 89 .  
Le Notaire du Havre 1 p . 1 85 .  
hi s b rother had rece ived , Laurent still retains some  
remnants of hi s chi ldhood  j eal ousy . 
C 1 est  ainsi . C ' e st b i en ainsi . Qui 
done o serait  s ' en plaindre ?  L ' homme juste 
doi t  recoru1ai tre qu ' on ne peut tout avoi r .  
Et pourtant 9 a certaine s heure s ,  i l  comp rend 
que l ' on :peut etre jalou:x de tout 9 meme de 
certaine piti? . ( 1 ) 
Undoubtedly,  i t  is  from Luc i e -Ele'onore  Pasqui er 
that the chi l dr en have gained u sense of securi ty . 
Because of the re st le ss  nature of the ir fathe r the  
fami ly had b e en frequently upro oted .  Thus 9 Laurent 
p oints out in the introduc t ion to Le Notaire du Havre 
that he vras bo rn a t  Honfleur , Joseph at I?esle s ,  
Ferdinand and Suzann? at  Pari s  and Cec ile  at Rouen . 
' Ainsi les  graine s vagabondes se  di s:p er se?1t au gre du 
vent . , ( 2 ) Ev en in the fi rst three  books of Qhronigu? 
des Pa??ie? whi ch follow the chi ldhood and adol escence 
of the young Pasquie rs , the family seems cont inual ly on 
the move - from the small apartment in chapter  I of Le 
Nota???l???Y?. to the rue Vandamme , from the rue 
vandamme to  the rue Guy-de-la-Bros se ,  '.7here the three 
years whi ch they spend i s  n ' re'p i t  mir ifi que ' ( 3 ) in 
their nomadi c exi stenc e . Then , they shift again to 
the suburb s 9  to Cretei l ,  b efore once more returning to 
the c i ty .  In  their  unsettled  chi ldhood the love of  
the ir  mother had been the one constant fac to r  whi ch 
shielded them against these unsettling changes of 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  PP ? 1 85-6 .  
( 2 ) Ib id  , p , 1 3 . 
( 3 ) Le Jardin des b etes sauvage s ,  p . 38 . 
en v i  ronmen t .  The mother had also offered protect ion 
from the abrupt chaJ1ges of mo od of the i r  fathe r  and hi s 
sudden explosi ons of' anger . If Raymond Pasquier ' s rash 
p lans 9 hi s whims &"ld  :fancies  threaten to di s ru:pt the 
l i:fe of the fami ly she :provides  s tab i li ty and order and 
strive s to r11 aintain an even cl imat e in the family 
relat ionGhi:p s . I t  is  fortunate for the well -being of 
the fami ly that she p osGe sses the- c almness and the 
:practical common s en se that he r husband lacks . As 
Laurent remarks 9 hi s mother i s  ' ? ? ?  lo. moins chiwe'ri que 
des creatures ? ? ?  petri e de prudence e t  de crainte ' . ( 1 ) 
Whereas he r husband i s  impatient and peremp tory in 
hi s dealings witlL the :family she shows kindne ss  and 
c onsi deration .  The ir different ctyles  are c ontrasted 
in the opening chap ters of Le  Notai?_ du Havr?,  When 
the chi ldren que stion thei r father o.s to  why they are 
b e ing sent to b ed early 9 he use s  hi s authori ty .  1 -Parce 
que c ' est c omme ea . , ( 2 ) There i s  instant obedienc e for 
the fathe r  as the chi l dren are in awe of  hi s unpredic tabl e 
temper  but i t  i s  noti ceable  that they show no such 
alacri ty to  c arry out their mother ' s  instructi ons . 
eve r ,  Mme Pasqui er makes no attempt to  b e  a stern 
How-
di s c iplinarian. Her aim is t o  create a c lose  relation-
ship b etween herself and her family so that  her children 
will  act out of love not fear . Her relaxed discipl inary 
manner i s  s e en at i ts b est  in chapte r  IV.  When the 
( 1 ) Le Notai re du Havre 9 p .  56 . 
( 2 ) Ibid 9  P ?  37 . 
noise  of' the chi l dren b ecomes  t o o  loud f'o r  her to sew 
the mothe r taps her thimble on the table and exclaims 
the ritual phrases : ' AJ.1. !  Bourdon de  No tre-Dame ! ' or 
'Ah !  Colonel ! ' ( 1 ) and ef'f'ec tively restore s  peace and 
harmony by thi s go od-natured approach. 
Thro ugh her examp le Mme Pasquie r te::;.ches her 
chi ldren the moral va lues  of the ?_etitc  pourgeoisie  9 
and 9 as well 9 a basic  at ti tude to  li f'e . Prdvost de s -
cribes  this process of  l earning in the se  words . 
? ? ? Cc qui reste n l 'e ni'an t ,  ce sont 
moias des sentiment s spontanement en:Cant ins 9 
que le s sent iment s communs n la  mere e t  a 
1 ' e?n f' llilt ? . ?  [Duhame l ] ou se s personnage s  
garderont c e s  souci s ? t  c e  gout du s ouci 9 la 
c rainte du nouveau,  le patient courage 
d ' ame'liorer et de p rese rve r 9 qui sont d 1llil8  
mer e de famille  chez los  pe t i te s  gens ? ? ?  
L\:?-u.'Un t pnuvre ne t i re pas de s& El ere se  ulement 
une tendrc sse inquiete , mai s son premier  sens 
prat ique , une def'ense humble e t  ef'ficac e 
contre la vi e ? ? ? ( 2 )  
Many of the atti tude s and values whi ch the young 
Pgsquie rs wil l adop t may b e  traced t o  the influence of 
the mo the r . If' there develops in each of the chi l dren 
a sense of' f'ami ly , a ' ? ? ?  discipline du clan ? ? ?  , ( 3 ) then 
one must see the beg innings of' thi s  feeling in the c lose 
b onds which the mother endeavours to establ ish amongs t 
them . She gathers them unde r her ' ? ? ?  o.ile  de c ouveuse ' 
( 4 ) and attempts  to implant in them the c oncept  of' 
c onside ring themse lves c oll ective ly rathe r than indiv id-
ual ly .  The use o f'  the f'irst  person pronoun ' mine ' or 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
Ib i d ,  pp. 63-4 . 
J .  Prevost , ' Ge orge s  Duhamel ' ,  N . R . F . , no . 257 , 1 
Feb . 1 935 , p .  2 1 8 .  
Vue d e  l a  terre promi se , p .  1 1 8 
Le Desert de Bievres ,  p . 77 . 
the adj ec tive ' my ' i s  disc ouraged . Such training fo rms  
a hab i t of  address  in  all  but Jose:ph , whose acqui si tive 
inst incts run counter to  such not i ons of group owne rshi? . 
Laurent  comments on thi s aspe c t  of hi s familial  educat i on 
in these  words : 
? 0 0 Je di sais  1 1 le  notre 1 1 , parce que , 
depui s l 1 enfance , mere ne nous apprenai t  
guere les  pronoms e t  le s ad jec tifs  que danc 
cette  forme :plurielle . H runan fut re'ellement  
stupe'fai t e  quand elle  decouvrit  que Joseph 
disai t inst inc tivemont "mon nom , ma mo.i son ,  
mon d:lner .  1 1 ( 1 )  
But if' Mme Pasquier b e lieves that through her exo.mple  
of selflessne s s  and considera tion for others her chi ldren 
will  learn t o  l ive in  harmony , then  her hopes  are do omed 
t o  fai lure . As the per sonali tie s of the chi ldren harden , 
c onflicts  deve lop . Between Laurent and Joseph , in  
part icular , there i s  a bi t te r  clash of  persona li ty . 
Thi s  confl ict  had originated  in chi ldhood , pos sibly as  
the re sul t of  the abuse of o.uthority of  the elde st  b oy 
over  the younges t .  
Quand nous eti ons peti t s , Joseph,  
cons6quent k sa doctrine d ' o.ut ori t? , nous 
di stribuai t des tal oches . Ce t te coutume  
a dure jusqu ' n ma douzieme annee , jusqu ' a  
certaine batai lle  en regl e  ou j ' eus p eut ?
etre le  dessous , mais  qui , du mains , 
m ' assura l ' autonomie . ( 2 ) 
One s ees thi s animos i ty deepening a s  they grow older , 
fanned by their fundamental diffe rences in  outlook . 
Jo seph i s  calculating , mercenary and anti -intellec tual , 
whereas Laurent i s  ideal istic  and imaginative . Each 
repudiates  the atti tudes of the o ther : Jose:ph di smi sses 
Vue de la  terre prom i se , p .  1 33.  
Le  J-ardin des be'tes sauvage s ,  :p . 1 5 1 "  
Laurent ' s  romanti c i sm ?  while Laurent desp i se s Jose.oh ' s 
materialism .  In  Vue de l a  terre promi se Laurent 
decl ares to  his  bro the r  that hi s so!'did  pursuit  of 
wealth has destroyed his faith in man ' s capacity to 
r i se above material c oncerns . ' -Tu di sai s des choses  
degoutantes ? des cho ses epouvo.ntable s .  Enfin ?  tu 
salissai s tout ce que je re specte au monde . 1 ( 1 ) As a 
symbolic  ge sture Laurent se eks to pur ify himse lf from 
thi s ob se s s i on with money by destroying the first  
thousand franc note  that he re ceive s .  
Whi le the princ ipal quarrel i s  tho. t between Lauren t 
and Joseph ? the other members of the fami ly are also 
involved in di sputes . In their  antagoni sms and clashes 
of wi ll the i r b ehav iour resembles that  of the caged  
animals ( 2 ) of  the Jardin d e s  PlantG s  which  l i e s  near 
their  home in the rue  Guy-de -la-Bro s se or like Ferdinand ' s  
s t i cklebacks whi ch bris t le at the ap.oroach of another  in 
the i r  fish bowl . ( 3 ) Mme Pasqui er ? di stres sed by the 
fri ction in the home 9 feels  that she has failed in her 
task of c reat ing 1.mi ty and co -operat i on amongst the 
members of the fami ly .  Despairingly the mother exclaims 
in Vue de la ?er re ??romi se :  I -A quoi me  sert de  vous 
aimer ,  s i  j e  n ' ai pas pu faire  que vous vous aimie z 
vous ? 1 ( 4 )  She longs to  re turn to the time when the 
children were ful ly dependent upon her and she 
( 1 l  Vue de la terre promis?, p . 29 . 1 2  See Le Jardin des betes sauvag??' p . 
3 See Vue cle la. terre Bromise , p . 1 60 .  
4 Ibid ,  p .  ?. ilt-5 
234-
c ould 
entre 
calm 
the i r passi ons . 
ivl on Dieu!  c omme j 1 aurai s voulu que 
vous restiez  touj ours me s p e ti t s , mes tout 
peti ts .  J ' avai s du mal ; mai s j 1 eta is  si 
heureuse .  Je vous  ecoutais , la nui t , 
respirer c ontre moi , et rien ne m ' etait  
trop dur . Maintenant,  voi l?  que vous 
etes l a ,  tous , avec vos i dees , -vos  tracas , 
toutes vos  hi stoires  a vous que je  ne 
comprends meme p lus et dont vous ne m e  
di tes ri en. ( 1 ) 
One notes  here that j?,1me Pnsquier  i s  no t able to accept  
the fact  that  her  functi on as  an educator i s  to  bring 
her children to  the po int where they c an exist  as  fully-
integrated individual s ,  While  her fami ly i s  in need 
of he r maternal care she is c ontented,  but once her sons 
and daughte rs star t to  think independently  and show signs 
of wanting to  leave the foJI!Jr her world b egins to 
crumb le . 1 1 1Comme j e suis  seule 1 1 ' ( ? )  i s  her  plaint ive 
cry a s  she .finds herself  displaced from a c entral posit ion 
in the lives  of her chi ldren .  
Yet ,  de s.Pi te the c onfl icts  e.ad feuds , there i s  indeed  
amongst the Pas q_ui ers a strong ?ttachement fami l ial .  
Jacques de Lacre telle points to thi s e ssenti al unity when 
he says that  the Pasquiers c onsti tute : ' ? ? ?  cet te cellule 
w1i que o? chacun reconnait  son sang ' , de sp i te  1 ? ? ?  ses  
j alousies  etouffe'es ,  se s abus de c oni'ianc e re"ciproques ? ? ? '. 
( 3 ) There i s  an esprit du c lan which endure s regardles s  
of how strained the relat ionships b ec ome .  If  Laurent 
and Joseph are often in  vi olent opposi t i on ,  they are 
--- ------------------------------ -----------------------
Le Jardin des  betes  sauvage s ,  p . 1 74 .  
Ibid ,  p .  1 38. 
J. de Lac retelle , 1 Georges Duhamel ' ,  Le Figaro 
l_i ttera?, no . 1 044 , 1 Apri l 1 966 , p .  8. 
Pasqui ers  first  and foremost and create a uni ted  front 
to the outs ide world . Even when the fami ly i s  
apparently di sintegrating o s  the ol der chi l dren begin 
to follow their  own careers , the bonds of kinship hold  
them in  c lo se fellowshiy . I t  i s  v1 i th a sense of woader 
that Laurent notes  in La Nui t de l a  8?i n t_:-Je an that  the 
fami ly has mi raculously survived ? 
? ? ?  Quand j 1 ai quitt? Crete i l  pour venir 
vivre seul , dans ma  chambre de la  rue du 
S ommerard , je  pensai s que c ' etai t fini , que 
la  famille etait  en miet t e s .  Qu8lle e rreur ! 
On 11 1 imagine pas  c e qu 1 une famille  a la vi e 
dure . Voila ,  nous sommes  tous pnrt i s ,  
chacun de son cote, sauf Suzanne , b ien entendu , 
pui squ ' e lle n ' a guere  que tre i ze ans auj ourd ' hui . 
Nous sommEs tous partis  e t  la fami lle  a c ontinue . 
C ' e s t  comme ea , e t  c ' e st  presque il1c ompr8
'
hensible . 
Elle  a continue , e l le  continue e t , qui mieux est , 
e lle  ne se  p arte pas trop mal . ( i ) 
As Mme Posqui er had emphasised :  ' -Nous sommes une 
famille  w1.ie ? ' ( 2 ) One feels  that  i t  i s  her  example  of 
se lf-sacrificial love , her warm , attentive mother ing of 
her chi ldren whi ch has p rovi ded them wi th a common fund 
of happy memori es of  infancy ? that i s  at the core of the 
fami ly u.ni ty . In addi ti on , her efforts to  teach eo-
opera t i on have made them c onsc ious or each othe r ' s needs . 
This  i s  evi dent in t imes  of  cri sis  vvhen the members o.f 
the family disp lay thei r solidari ty .  Although each of 
the Pasqui ers shares  thi s  sen8e of re sponsib i l i ty for 
the welfare of the other members  of the clan i t  i s  
Laurent who appears to fe el  most  s trongly hi s fami ly 
obl i gations . At the end of Qhronigue des Pasguier  he 
( 1 )  La Nu?t de la Saint-Jean , pp . 77-8 . 
( 2 ) Le Jardin des betes  sauvag?? ' :p .  220 . 
will  welcome into hi s home his aged mother and wi ll  
offer a haven for  the wife and daughter of  Joseph after 
the fai lure of hi s brothe? ' s marriage . This ?  may 
p ossibly be  attributed to  the extra respons ib i l i ty whi ch 
hi s mother had given him to  care for hi s younger 
si sters  - a task whi ch had caused him irri tation at the 
t ime and had made him envy the po sit ion in the fam ily of 
Justin Weill . ' -Fils  unique ? Je ne peux pas  imaginer 
ce que ?a  represente 9 mo i qui ai  toujours eu  une pet ite 
\ d \ f .  . , ( Ji )  soeur 9 a gar er $ a a1re  J Oue r .  
Apart from these  soc i al learnings , the prob i ty and 
sens ib ility  of i\I me  Pasqui er would  seera t o  hnve had a 
consi derable effect  upon the charac ter  formation of the 
children .  H er  honesty Gnd her self-abnegat ion 
count erbalanc e the inconstancy and the vanity of Raymond 
Pasquier .  The impe tuosity of  thi s  man who is  ' ? ? ?  badin , 
fuyant 1 insai s i ssable ' ( 2 ) i s  m atched by her cautious 
bus iness  sense 1 prac t ical i ty and thrift . Her personal 
conduct i s  exemp lary and she i s  anxi ous to guard her 
children against  he r husb and ' s  i rre spons ib i li ty .  
Although submis sive as a wife ? she i s  outs9oken in her 
condemnation of  intemp erate language or of act i ons 
c ommi tted in front of the chi ldren whi ch could endanger 
their  moral health .  
I t  i s  from their  mother that Cecile and Laurent 1 
in particular , would seem to gain thei r basi c at ti tudes  
( 1 ) Ibid 1  PP ? 31 -2 .  
( 2 ) Le Notaire  du Havre 9 p .  23 . 
and value s .  
236 
Whereas Joseph and Suzanne appear t o  take 
after the ir  father , wi th their  selfi shness and flamboyance , 
Cec i le and Lauren t  share thei r mothe r ' s sensi t ivity  and 
comp as si on. F'rom the beginning of ],.? )'Jota i re du Havr?. 
LaurE;nt underl ine s the resemb lance s b etween hi s nature 
and that  of hi s mo ther . Although he has the bui ld and 
the b lue eyes  of the Pasquiers he has the temperament of 
the Delahaies .  Like hi s mother hi s chin trembles  in 
moment s of distre s s .  I t  i s  also not iceabl e that Mme 
Pasqui er emphasi ses the s imilarity in outlook of Laurent 
and herself . From chi ldhood she appears to  have 
deliberately turned Laurent against hi s Pasqui er inheri t?
ance  by contrasting the in stab i l i ty and egot ism of the 
Pasqui ers with the honesty and prudence of the Delahaies .  
As  has b een m enti oned earl ier , the values of Mme 
Pasquier are essent i ally tho se of the ?jte b ourgeo i si e .  
She preache s  balanc e and equi libriwn and strives  for 
s tab ility in  the family . 3he i s  cautious , avoi ding 
sudden impulse s whi ch m ight  involve changes to the 
e s tabli shed order .  Al though her life i s  SRent in  a 
constant survei llanc e  of the financ es of her .family -
paring expense s ,  acc umulat ing savings against ?ossible 
emergenci es ,  - money i s  not an ob ses si on for her . 
M oney for Mme Pasqui er i s  not ,  as for Joseph , the avenue 
by whi ch one gains p ower and position ,  rather i t  is the 
means of ensuring the secur i ty of her family and of 
improving the quality of their  l ife . Above all she 
demonstrates by her examp le the moral and spiri tual 
gifts of  sympathy , understanding and love . Mme Pasqui er , 
then , represents an i deal  whi ch Laurent w i ll strive to  
incorporate in  hi s own life - the combinati on of  intel -
ligence and feel ing . 
Maman n ' e s t  pas  tres  instrui te ? ? ?  en.fin , 
e lle e?t  instrui te , b ien silr , mai s pas  comm? 
nous .. El le ne sai t rien du latin,  par 
exemple . ? bien ! e lle  e s t  extraordinairement 
intelligente . Elle comprend tout . Pas le 
latin mais  l es cha ses qui arrivent , ce que font 
les gens , ce  qu 1 i ls disent et  meme ce  qu ' i ls  
pensent . ( 1 )  
Hence , Mme Pasqui er personifie s thi s ' ? ? ?  regne du c oeur ' ( 2 ) 
whi ch Duhame l bel i eves  enriches human experience .  
Whi l e  Qhronique des Pasgui er fol lows in i ts later 
v olume s the ascensi on spiri tuelle of Laurent , i t  would 
appear that Lauren t ' s gradual deve lopment of a c ons i s t-
ent philosophy of l ife i s  bas ical ly an elaborati on of 
the moral and spiri tua l values  which he  had learnt in hi s 
home . As Simon points out , the b ourgeoi s ideal that 
Duhamel preaches is that  of ' l e b ourgeoi s sauve ' .  
Laurent will b e  saved from the egoti sm of an ? who 
have economic , soc ial and cultural advantages over the 
mass of the peop le by hi s love and compass ion. 
Si , comme l ' a  ecrit  Emmanuel Mounier , le 
bourgeois  s ' e st perdu pour avoi r  perdu l ' amour , 
en Duhamel i l  e st ?ermi s de saluer  le bourgeoi s 
sauve .  ( 3 )  
Although Laurent rece ives inte l lectual , moral and 
spiritual nurturance in hi s family whi ch will  deeply 
affect  hi s future development , his rel igious instruct i on 
( 1 )  Le Jardin des betes sauvages,  p .  33 . 
( 2 ) La Possession du b onheur , p . 226 . 
( 3 )  P . -H .  Simon , Georges Duhamel ou le  bourgeois  sauve , 
p .  1 94 ? 
follows ' pure s conventi ons mondaines .  , ( 1 ) Raymond 
Pasqui er repre sents the bourgeois i e  la:i:gu? which if not 
vio lently anti -clerical regards rel i gi on wi th an ' 
indiff?rence polie ' . ( 2 ) He i s  the man of the nineteenth 
century who se gods are s c i ence and reason .  Laurent 
suggests that his  mother who had received a Catholic  up -
bringing coul d  have remained1 in  other c i rcumstance s } a 
p i ous bel i ever .  But her fai th cannot resi st  the 
indifference of he r husband. Apart from her oft 
repeated phrase  in moment s of distre s s 1  ' Pour l ' amour de 
Dieu ! ' 9 God has l i t tle  p lac e in the l ife of the family 9  
although perfunctori ly bapti sms  and first  communi ons are 
observed . The re spons ib ility for ins truction in the 
c atechi sm i s  l eft to  an obliging neighbour , Mlle 
Bai lleul . 
In one sense thi s religious training whi ch  is  ' rien 
de fanati que : quelque cho se de calme et  de r?glementai re ' 
( 3 ) will  be  ephemeral for Laurent . At the age of 
fourteen he lo ses  hi s faith witho ut m1y real feeling of 
regret , but wi th the sensation ' ? ? ?  d ' un adieu 9 d ' une 
separati on prochaine ' ( 4 )  However,  i t  b ecomes obvious 
later that if Laurent re j ec ts Chri stian solut i ons he i s  
impregnated wi th Chri stian att itudes .  His  c ontinual 
search for :pardon and spi ritual salvation,  as  wel l as 
hi s longing to make a tonement for the sins of hi s family 
( 1 ) 
? ? < ( 4 ? 
Le Notaire du  Havre 9 p . 1 28 .  
!bid ,  p .  1 28 .  
Vue de l a  terre promi se ?  p .  1 53 . 
!bid ,  p 0 154. 
may be se en as the remnant of hi s re li gi ous educat ion . 
Unlike his si ster 9 Cec i l e ,  Laurent 9 the sc ientist  who 
has rece ived the imprint of hi s father ' s  ideas  on the 
p rimacy  of reason 9  is unable to re turn t o  hi s childhood  
fai th.  Hence 9 in Ceci  le  parmi nous he cannot b r ing 
himself to share w i th ce'c i le the solace of rel igi on "  
Mai s non 9 c e  n ' est pas poBsible .  J ' ai  
bu ,  des l e  commenc ement 9 des b reuvages qui 
m '  ont empoisonn.e pour le restant de mes 
j ours .  Il faut  iaaintenant que j e  me debatte 
avec c ett e pe sante rai son qui ne me comble  
pas 9 mai s  qui m ' a  donne des hab i tude s  
tyraru1i ques et  dont j e  sens b i en que jamai s 
je  ne pourrai me del ivrer .  Mai s j e  t ' envi e 9  
soeur 9 je  t ' envie . ( 1 ) 
Hampl adds thi s comment :  ' He cannot turn h i s  back on 
the question of salvat i on .  ?rhe intellec tual s ide of 
hi s nature will  not permi t him to be  conve rted following 
his  si ster Cec ile ' s  exampl e .  
nostalgia  for he r fai th .  , ( 2 ) 
Ye t hi s heart has a deep 
To thi s point we have discussed the kind of 
familial  education whi ch the Pasqui er chi ldren have 
rec e ived. I t  has b e en sugge sted that  this  training 
reflec ts the attitudes ,  m otive s ,  values and ways of 
thinking prized by the cultur e in whi ch the Pasqu?e r 
fami ly is s i tuated - the lower middle-c lass at  the turn 
of the century . A t  the same t ime 9 however ,  one mus t  
not neglect  the individual circumstances in the _i?arent-
chil d  interact i on whi ch  affect  developmen t .  As  we  
have already noted , Laurent , in the intro duc tion to Le 
' 
( 1 )  Ceci le  parmi nous ,  p . 277 . 
( 2 )  C .  Hampl , 1George s Duhamel  and the Problem of 
Rel igi on ' , :b'rench Revi ew ,  vol . XXII ,  no . 5 , 
March 1 949 9 p . 3/(. 
Notaire Q.u Havre expla ins  that the growth of his 
:personali ty has been influenced  by a ' ? ? ?  di sc ipl ine 
t .  h ' 'd . t . ' ( 1 ) E . . ddl h . d an 1 - ere 1 a1 re . . . . ven 1n m1 e age e avo1  s 
looking into mi rrors , possibly because  thi s act i on 
reminds him of hi s father ' s  vani ty 9 but al s o ,  one 
suspects, t o  avoid  recognis ing hi s fetther in hi s own 
features ,  and he i s  determined , unlike his  father , to  
accept  the :p rocess  of  aging grac efully.  For Laurent 9 
therefor e 9  there i s  constant v igi lance l est  t he traits 
and character istic s of hi s father  re ap1Jear . The act i on 
of the first  three nove ls  of the Pasq_ui er saga explains 
the violence of  th e  reac t i on of the son against the 
father . '?fhereas the re lati onshi.Q of Laurent and hi s 
mother undergoes only sli ght modifi cation as  he pro-
gre sse s  from chi ldhood  t o  adole scence the father-son 
interact i on po.sse s  through three dis tinct phases .  
In  the first  s tage the father i s  seen as an 
omnipotent fi gure who i s  infallib le  o.nd :p o s s e s s e s  
unlimited  :power .  The seven-year-old  boy at the 
beginning of Le l(o taire  du Havre hero -wo rships hi s 
parent as i s  obv ious in thi s extract :  
Avec  se s longues moustache s blondes ,  
pre sque rousse s 9  ses  yeux bleus 9 sa belle 
pre stance 9 i l  re ssemblai  t a Clovis  9 au 
Clovis  de mon l ivre . I l  etai t beau. 
Nous l ' a&nirions . ( 2 ) 
The :peri od from chil dhood  to  adol escence  i s  a trans-
i tional :phase in whi ch Laurent gradually becomes  aware 
of the defic iencies  in hi s father ' s character .  He 
Le Notaire  du Havre , :p .  8 .  
Ibid , p . 35 . 
b ecomes troubled by hi s father ' s  temp er and hi s treat?
me nt of hi s mo ther a s  ' ? ? ?  du pe t i t  b i en. '  .C 1 ) The 
reckl essne ss \'li th whi ch Raymond Pasquier borrows money 
against the expec ted inheritance and hi s rash speculati on 
on the Incanda share s sap the son ' s c onfidence in  hi s 
father ' s j udgment . He se es that the grandi ose schemes 
of hi s father c ome to no thing and ?cho.t becG.use of  hi s 
i rresponsib il i ty the family i s  p lunged int o  u1is ery .  I t  
i s  this experi ence whi ch de termines Lo.urent t o  choose  
works ra ther than miracle s ,  to translate into acti on the 
dreams of suc c e s s  which had diverted his father. 
' M iracle  n ' e s t  pas  oeuvre . , ( 2 ) 
However , th? de cisive b lows t o  the son ' s ideal i se d  
portrait of hi s fathe r c ome  at adolescence when Laurent 
i s  struggling with hi s burgeoning sexual i ty and ob se s sed 
wi th his ovm impuri ty . The agitat i on of the adolescent 
i s  c learly c onveyed i? the follow ing pas sage : 
Je sui s un adolescent . Eh bien ?  
p i t ie  pour moi ? Pi t ie pour t ous les  
adolGscents du monde ! Je  ne sui s pas  
heureux . Tout en moi  e s t  d iscordance  
et  c ombat  ? ? ?  Je sui s impur , j e  le  sai s ,  
j ' en a i  pris  mon parti , j e  l e  c ache avec 
h0nte ; mai s 9  heureusement 9  l e  monde e st 
pur autour de moi ? ? ?  Je donnerai s avec 
ardeur c inq ans de mo. vie ! Oui 9 c inq ans 9 
pour en avoir  fini de ce t te odieuse 
adolescence .  Cinq ans et j c  s erai tout a 
fai t un homme ! ( 3 ) 
The adolescent s eeks reas surance that only hi s values 
are in turmoi l and that outs ide ther e  is  s tab il i ty and 
purity.  It is the sudden knowledge that hi s father i s  
Ul Ib  id , p ? 1 53 ? Ib id,  p . 24 . Le Jardin de s betes sauvages ,  pp . 1 07-8 . 
incurably p romi scuous which  inc reases  Laurent ' s  d?sarroi .  
The intensi ty of the hatred whi ch he feels  for hi s fathe r  
a s  hi s infideli ty i s  reveal ed ind ic ates tha t there  i s  a 
strong sexual element in the confl i ct between father ancl 
son .  I t  would seem that  not only i s  Lnurent pro j ec ting 
onto hi s fa ther hi s ov,rn guil t  feel ings for hi s sexual 
fo.ntasies  but also  he i s  experienc ing jealousy of hi s 
father ' s  sexual  prowe ss  and attrac tiveness to women . 
Later 1 Laurent makes thi s  c onfes si on to his friend 
Just in \Jei ll : 
Ce  qui m ' a troubl? le  p lus - j e  ne l ' ai 
dit  ? personne , je  ne t ' en ai m&me pas  parld -
c ' e s t  que toutes  c e s  femme s  apre s qui man pere 
courait ? to?t?s ,.slle s m : avaient tro?b le 1 j e  . .  ( 'i )  le s a?ro.1 s de s 1 re es ,  enf1n el les  me ?c ourmenta1en-c . 
of' the thi rd s tage in  this  love -ho. t e  r e  la. t j onship of  s on 
end father . W i th the passing o :L  ado le scence  Laurent ' s  
passionate  loathing of hi s  father shov:s  s i gns of 
declining . l? evertheless 1 i t  v1ill  be  a ?mmb er of  years 
befo re he wil l be abl e  to  regard Raymond Pasqui er v;ith 
e quanimi ty and the re jec tion of  hi s fathe r ' s att itude s 
will  have an enduring effect  up on hi s personali ty .  
Vvhen Laurent , at the c onclus i on of the thi rd novel 
in  the cycle  1 asse.rtE  hi s indep endence from hi s p arents 
by  renting a room in the rue du Sommerard , the feeling 
remains that fami ly l ife inten sifies  imperfec t i ons of 
charac ter and hurts  and wound s  tho se who are sub j ec ted  
( 1 )  La  Nui t _ de la Saint-Jean , p 4  79 . 
t o  it . The dis i llusionment whi ch hi s rel at ionship with 
hi s father has caused  him is gene ralised into an ant ipathy 
t owards the family itself . He c annot ac cep t  his  mothe r ' s 
v i ew that all  social  re lat ionship s require c ompromise : 
' - ? ? ?  Quand on vi t ensemble  ? ? ?  i l  faut se faire des 
concessi ons mutuelles et  savoi r :fermer les  yeu.x . ' ( 1 ) 
With his  youthful i dealism offended by hi s experience  of 
:family interaction he declare s :  
t iEst-ce done ea une fami lle?  Des _, 
duperi es , des tra hisons ,  de s querelle s ,  
des chantages e t  des mensonges !  Cela 
vaut-il vraiment tant d ' amour , tant de 
peine s , tant de travail ,  tant d 1 angoisses?  ? ? ?  
Que ferai t-on de tant d ' amour , que 
ferai t -on de tout l ' amour et  de toute l a  
tendresse e t  de tout l e  travai l du monde , 
s ' i l n ' y  avai t pas t oute s  les  fami lles du 
monde p ou r  s ' en repa!tre e t  au b esoin pour 
en c rever !  ? ? ?  La fami lle est  un mono tre 
invente :pour devorer tout l '  exd?s d '  amour 
du monde . 1 1 ( 2 ) 
Yet , if Laurent se eks l iberat i on from the family  
which has brought him di sheartenr.1ent ,  the despai r whi ch 
he feel s  will b e  temporary . Maurois  suggests that the 
episodes of the novel follow ' ce tte  c ourbe , e spoir  suivi 
I ( 3 ) de chute . . . .  But this  order would seem to  p lace 
upon the novel -series  a more pessimistic interpretati on 
than i s  warranted . Rather ,  the order should be  dis-
c ouragement followed by  renewal of hope . If in one 
respect  Lauren.t takes after hi s father then i t  i s  in 
this basic  op timi sm whi ch triumphs over adve rsi ty .  As 
. ------
( 1 )  Le Jardin des betes sauvage s , p . 220. 
( 2 -) Ibid , p .  233.  ? 
( 3 ) A .  Maurois , Etude s lit terai res I I , p . 1 02 .  
he tells Just in in Vue de la  t erre promt?e : ' Je n ' ai  
aucune rai son d ' e spoir  et  je  suis  plein ,  mai s absolwnent 
plein d ' e spoir . ( 1 ) To b e  ' plein d ' espoir ' would s eem 
to be characteri stic  of Laurent ' s at t i tude to  the 
effi?,.??. whi ch he wi ll  experience in hi s s:p iri  tual 
ascens ion . Ne i ther Laurent ' s rel at ionship w i th his  
fami ly nor  his  experi ence of  the fai lure of  the famille  
.?lon l
' espr i t  a t  Bievres - thi s free asso c iation of 
arti sts  which is  based  on Duhamel ' s memories  of the 
Abbaye - will  make him wi thdraw into himself.  Even in 
the midst of hi s de spair he will  not turn away from the 
i dea  of rearing hi s own fami ly in an envi ronment more 
c ongenial -to  development than that whi ch he had known . 
' -Pour oublier  la  maison,  l ' anci en chez  nous , il  me 
faudrai t avo ir  un chez moi , fonder W1 foye r ,  creer mes 
tradi t i ons . ' ( 2 ) That Laurent suc ceeds in hi s aim will  
be  se en l ater  in thi s chap ter .  
Although tlle de scriptions o f  the upbringing of the 
Pasquier  children in  the first three novels  of 
Chroni_g_ue Q__es_ Pas qui er c onsti tute  the main body of  
informat i on on  familial educati on ,  there are glimp se s  of 
o ther fami l i es whi ch add t o  the p o ints which have b een 
already made . The other family  of the pet i te 
bourgeoisie  whi ch we  find in Le Notaire du Havre , the 
Wasselins , who are the ne ighbours of the Pasquiers  in the 
rue Vandamme ,  repeats  the theme o:f the irre sponsib l e  
( 1 )  yue de la  terre promi se , p .  1 52 .  
( 2 ) La Nuit d e  la  Saint-Jean , p .  82 o  
father and the steady mother who is  protective t owards 
her chilclren .  Unlike the Pasquiers 9 however , the 
Was selins appear larger than l ife ; they have the ai r 
of ' ? ? ?  un couple  de cab o tins j ouant leur vie ? la  faron 
d '  une p iece  tragi -comique ' . ( 1 )  I t  is the Q?t-? t 
bourgeoi9 quest  for soc i al advancemen t whi ch i s  again 
mirrored in the preoccupat ions of this  fami ly .  Whil e  
Raymond Pasquier attempts t o  lead his  family t o  the 
promi sed land by borrowing and speculating , lVi . Wasselin 
resorts t o  baser  means .  The resul t for  the Pasquiers 
is misery and humiliat i on but the con sequences of I\1 . 
Wassel in ' s gambling and embe zzlement are mo re far-
reaching . The father i s  taken to p ri son , the fami ly 
is evicted and in hi s grief and shame at the exposure 
of his father ' s  criminality ,  the youngest  son , De"sire', 
commi ts  suicide - nn act  which casts a pall over 
Laurent ' s  memories  of chi ldhood , as Desire had b e en hi s 
friend and protec to r .  Throughout Chronigue de,? 
.:E_asg\].ier vre see thi s pat tern in the fami ly . Greed , 
the obse ssive pursuit of wealth,  destroys the moral 
and spiritual values in  the family an.d v.ri thout these 
values the family i tself collapse s .  
I t  i s  amongst the membe rs of the money c ons c ious 
?purgeois ie  that these tendencies  are most  apparent . 
The tribu des Courtoi s ,  from whom the Pasquiers b orrow 
money in ? Nota?re du Havre , are representative of thi s 
group , with their  di s courte sy and thei r arrogance .  
( 1 )  Le Notaire du Havre , p . 80 .  
However?  the harshest  c ondemnati on of thi s b ourgeoisi? 
?pt i s  made in the las t  of the novel s in Chroniq?e 
des Pasgui er - La Pas9i on de J9?e?h Pa?uier . In thi s 
novel Duhamel exp o se s  the moral vacm:un of the fami ly 
which hns i ts bas i s  in self-interest rather than warmth 
of affecti on and collect ive re spons ibility .  
I t  i s  no ticeable that v-1hen Duham e l  1 s at tenti on 
shifts from the first  generation. fam i ly of the Pasqui ers 
to the Se cond generati on families  rrhi ch Cec ile ? Laurent 
and Joseph e s tablish y  hi s v is ion is e ssenti al ly that of 
a morali st y not a soc i ologi st or hi stori an .  His  concern 
i s  to sho?w tll.e strengths or weaknes se s  of certain fami ly 
en vi rom:1ent s .  Trends -.v i  thin the fami ly structure Y t he 
differences  betwe en a post-war famili al education and a 
pre-war upbringing are not explored  t o  the snme degree  
r emarks on thi s  point :  
Natho.n 
1 Les f'ai t s  hi storiques y tou jours  
p resent s ,  et  l a  marche  du temp s  modifient tres  peu les  
p ers onnages y  et  le contraste entre l ' avant et  l ' apres?
guerre reste di scret .  , ( 1 ) 
In La Passion de Jo se?h Pasguier it  becomes evident 
that the kind of education whi ch Jos eph has provi ded for 
hi s children i s  one which has warped  their  sense of 
value s .  Although y now , a s  a member of the caste 
dirigeante y Joseph Pasqui e r ' s soc ia l amb i tions force  him 
to affect  an interest in a rt and in cultural activities ,  
and to s imulate an admiration for the intellectual 
- .. -.... ----------------------?------
( 1 )  J .  Nathany Hi stoire de la  l i t terature francaise  
contemporaine , p .  1 74 .  
QUali t i es whi ch prev i ously he had deni grated ? the 
attitudes whi ch hi s family leQrn from him are a cyni c al 
disregard of' the rights  of'  o thers and an arrogant 
materia li sm . Jo seph may claim p on:pously that  he has 
brought up hi s chi ldren ' . ? ?  dans le culte des valeurs 
spiri tuel le s ' , ( 1 )  but the real ef' f'ec t  of hi s b ehavi our 
i s  to destroy the characte r of' those  who come in c ontac t 
with him . Hel?ne , hi s wif'e , whom Laurent had known as  
an intelligent ? gentle , fel low student at the Sorbonne 
i s  ' ? ? ? jo sephif'iee ' ? 2 ) Her maternal instincts are 
thwarted by her husband ' s insi stenc e that  the chi ldren 
be  reared by a nurse and increasingly  she turns away 
f'rom the fami ly dominated by he r husband, where she has 
no role ? to seek p leasures outside i t .  Luci en ,  the 
e lder son ,  share s  hi s father ' s  atti tudes towards weal th 
and :power and i s  f illed with the same egoti sti cal 
drives .  Although hi s father may at  time s appeal t o  a 
sense of fami ly loyal ty by addres s ing him as  ' ? ? ?  l ' homme 
qui t ' a  eleve ? ? ?  l ' homme qui te  nourrit  ? ? ?  ' ? 3 ) Luc i en 
feel s no resp ec t  for hi s father nor any obligat ions to  
hi s fami ly. 
Equally harmful is the influence of Joseph 
Pasquier ' s personali ty on his daughter Delphine and the 
younge r son Jean-Pierre . Although Helene admoni shes 
him for  treating hi s chi ldren harshly,  he appears  to  
believe that to o much sympathy or  affect i on would b e  
La Passion de Joseph Pasguier , p . 1 1 7 .  
Le s Maftre s ,  p .  2 1 . 
La Passion de Joseph Pasguier , p . 87 . 
undesirable  for their character  formati on .  ' - ? ? ?  Si je  
j e  ferai s de ce  garcon une moule, un ? vous ecoutai s ?  
inca.Qabl e .  ' ( 1 ) hi s domineering manner a?d hi s lack of 
understanding produce ?  in hi s chi ldren a lack of self-
confidence and a feeling of despai r at thei r personal 
deficienci e s .  
The c onclus i on of Chronigue des Pasguier emphasises  
the moral that tho se who ab di cate ethi cal re sponsib i l i t i es 
will bring upon themselves the i r  own destruction .  
a t  the end of La Pas sion de Jos eph Pasgui er ? Joseph ' s 
financial emp i re i s  threatening to collapse ? a contribut-
ing fac tor i s  the intri gue of hi s son , Lucien .  Sim i -
larly , h i s  lack of warmth and affecti on result  in the 
split in hi s family with hi s wife and children l eaving 
him . In the breakdown in fami ly relationship s gui lty 
and innocent alike suffer .  The family circumstance s  
which lead to  the suicide of  an unloved chi ld ( Desire' 
?,?ias selin ) in b.? :NQtaire du Havre are paralleled by those  
which motivate the at tempted suicide of Jean-Pie rre in 
the r inal v olume of Chronigue des Pasguier . 
But the unhappiness  of the chi ldren i s  more typ ical 
of those fam i l ies  in Chronigue de s Pasguier  which are 
corrupted by money . Against these home s Duhamel plac e s  
tho se which represent the bourgeoisie  cult ivee . In La 
Nuit de la Saint -Jean Victor Legrand, a memb er  of the 
intellec tual circle which meets  a t  the Res taurant 
Papi llon,  makes this  distinc t i on between the b ourgeoi si? 
( 1 )  Ib id ,  p .  1 0 1 .  
d I argent and the Q_ourgeoi sie  CUl ti  ve_'e : 
- ? . ?  Vous ave z  tort  de ne fuire aucune 
dis tincti on entre la b ourgeoisie  d ' argent 9 
dont j e  suis  loin d ' a?yrouver toute s le s 
fautes 9  et la  b ourgeoi s ie cul tivee , cette 
forte e l ite  b ourgeoise  qui fai t  la  grcndeur 
d ' w1 pays o ? . Un p ays  ne peut vivre e t  
t ravailler sans une clo.sse  intel ligente qui 
l ui fourni t des mai tres  et  des chefs 8 t  qui 
c oru1ait ,  depuis  l ongtemps 9  l es tro.di t i ons 9 
l es recet te s o  o .  ( 1 )  
A moving portrai t of D. mother ' s  ?ove i s  given in 
ce'c ile  parmi no uE?_. Cecile  9 the musi c ian 9 di s cove rs in 
motherhood the sat i sfo.cti ons that had eluded her in art .  
For her the chi ld  i s  an ob ject  of worship , ' . o . [un] 
t . t . .,- -,. t . t 0 ? I ( 2 ) Sh h . h pe  1 ro1  ? ?  o ,_ un_ pe  1 a1eu . . . ? e s ows 1 n  er  
relati onship with her two -year-old  s on 9  Alexandre 9 the 
same maternal care and warmth wi th which  her mo ther had 
surrounded her chi ldren . 
o . ?  Cec ile  sai sit  a plein b rns le c orys 
du petit  go.r1 on . C ' est b on .  C ' es t  chaud 9 
c ' est  douillet .  Quel fard6au preci?ux : 
Comme i l  est  lourd e t  leger !  Comme i l  
s ' applique b i en etroi tement a l a  poi trine 
de la  mere . 
Cec ile re garde avec  t ransport ce tte  
petite  creature qui n ' exi s t&i t pas , naguere , 
e t  qui e st apparue  soudain e t  qui remplit  ( ) maintenant si  b i en tout l ' e space  de l 1 univers .  3 
The descriptions of the mother playing with her child or 
teaching him to  speak have o. simple charm whi ch avoids 
the excesses of sentimentali ty and renders  more pathet i c  
the ending of the novel when the child  di e s  from a sudden 
i llness . One feels,  though ,  that had Alexandre ?lived , 
( 1 )  La Nui t  de la Saint-Jean ,  
( 2 ) cdcile  parmi nous , p .  7 . 
( 3 )  Ibid ,  P ?  169 o  
p 0 1 06 0 
Cec i le ' s  l ove  would not have been suffic ient t o  overcome 
the defic ienc i es in the chi ld ' s  environment . There i s  
fr icti on be tween husband and wife . ce?c ile  has soon 
reali sed  that  her marri age t o  Ri chard Fauvet  has b e en a 
tragic mi stake . She had been attrac ted  to  him by  hi s 
reputat i on in  the sc ientifi c and l i te rary world and h ad 
believed  that he would add t o  the ir  marriage the intel-
lec tual gifts  that  she b e l i eves  she lacks . 
Je ne vous connai ssais pus  c o?n6 j e  
vous connai s? auj ourd ' hui o ? ?  Je pEmsais que , 
che z nous , les  Pasqui er ,  nous eti ons trop 
instinctifs  et qu ' un  enfant pourrai t tirer  
benefi ce  de  ce t te sorte  d ' inte lli gence qui 
e s t  en vous e t  dont j e  pensai s etre vraimen t 
depourvue ? ? ?  ( 1 ) 
However , Fauvet ' s  c ulture is  proved  to  be  shal low and hi s 
intellectualism lacking humani ty .  He fails  t o  fulfi l 
hi s re sponsibil i ti e s  b o th as a husb clnd and as a father .  
T o  b e  effective a s  educ ators both  p arents must work 
.\ 
in par tnership to c reate  a warm, .TI'fec t ionate r e lat ionship 
with  the children and to provide the experi ence s  whi ch 
stimulate  anu enrich.  A?te r  exposing defic iences  in the 
family ,  Duhainel point s  t o  two homes  which  i llustrate  the 
heights  to whi ch the family c an r i se - the Baudoins , who 
are se en in 8uzanne e t  l e s  jeunes homme9_, and the family 
of Laurent Pasquier whi ch i s  glimpsed in La Pussion de 
Joseph Pasgui er .  
I t i s  suggested by s ome that the descri1) t i ons of the 
Baudoin tribu at  Cavee des Fo rtes in the Nesles  valley 
pre sent an o ver-ideal i sed  pi c ture of family interaction.  
( 1 ) Ib{d , PP ? 249-50 .  
25...1 
Santelli ( 1 ) questi ons whether the ep isode in Suzanne et  
les  jeunes homme s ,  when Suzanne , the actress , s tays wi th 
thi s family , i s  no t a figment of her imaginati on ,  
repre sent ing her yearning for past ornl simplic ity .  
Bar j on a lso  suggests that there is  a dream-l ike quali ty 
to the novel and infers that thi s stems from Duho.mel ' s  
I " ! ( 2 )  search for an ? ? ?  oasi s de reve ? ' 
On ren.contre partou t dt::ms l 1 oeuvre de 
Duhamel  se profilant sur l ' hori zon du reve , 
l 1 une ou l 1 autre de c e s  demeure s mi raculeuses , 
garadi s perdusd 1 ou l ' homme est  exclu,  mo.i s 
qui ne laissent pas ? d : cxercer sur l e  c oeur 
une invincible attiro.nce .  Frais go.zons , 
terrasses  sablees , chambre s profonde s ,  
compagnons fantaisistes  e t  charmants ,  ri en 
n 1 y manque pour assurer les  dEHices  e t  l e  
repos  de l ' hote d 1 un j our qu ' on . y convie . 
Tel c e  domaine heureux des Baudoin qui 
offri t un temps  refuge h Suzaru1e . ( 3 ) 
Certainly , in a l i terature whi ch , as  Hubbard( 4 ) 
p o ints out , has tended since 1 9 1 4 to c oncentrate on 
c onflicts  in the home , Duhamel 1 s repre sento.ti on of a 
family in whi ch the interpersonal relat ionship s are 
generally harmonious prov ides a striking contrast .  
Indeed , in a lecture on hi s work in 1 950 George s 
Duhamel crit icised the writers of ' ? ? ? la li tterature de 
maledi c t i on ? ? ?  ' who treat the fnmily as ' ? ? ?  le l i eu  de 
tous les  mensonges ,  de to ute s  le s hypocri si e s  e t  de 
t outes les  servi tudes . 1 ( 5 ) Furthermore , he defended 
See c .  Santel li , Georges Duhamel , p .  1 43 .  
L .  Bar j on ,  Monde s d1Jc rivains - Destinees d ' hommes , 
p .  1 1 2 . 
Ibid ,  .fJ .  1 1 2 .  
See L.  Hub bard , The Indivi dual and the Grou in 
French L ? terature  sinc e 1 1 , p .  3 . 
Les Auteurs e t  leurs  l ivres - Chronigue de s 
Pasguie.r' , Co.g.ferenci a ,  no . 3 ,  March 1 950 , p .  1 1 1 .  
his portrayal o? the li?e o? the Baudoins on the grounds 
that such ?amilies  exist and are part of the French 
tradi t ion .  
D&1s l e  tome 1 1  de L e  Chronigue , une 
autre ?ami l le est  p resent?e ,  celle -des Baudoin . 
J ' ai  trouve certains trai ts  de cette peinture 
dons une ?amil le fran<;ai se que j ' ni b i en c onnue , 
que j e  connn i s t ou j ours e t  dont le  nom ,  ?o rt 
anci en ,  ? i t:,rure dons La Chronigue de Roland . 
On sai t que l e  nom de Baudoin s1 y trouve auss i .  
J ' ai done voulu,  par un te l choix , montrer que 
mon reci t  pousse des racine s jusqu ' &u principe 
meme de notre hi stoire  na t i ona le . ( 1 )  
Of the Baudoins , NI .  Lavoine , c. close ?ri end o? the 
?amily says : 
"La Franc e e s t  grnnde e t  on aurai t  tort 
de la juge r en troi s mat s . Il  y a cette 
?amille Baudo in , par exemple  ? ? ?  P?! si le  
monde p ourrai t savoir  que la  }.?ranee est  
o.ussi  capable de  c e t te ?amille Baudoin . " ( 2 )  
The p riority o? the Baudoins i s  c learly the li?e o? 
the spi ri t .  -weo.lth has li t tle  mea ning ?or them . 
smo.ll .Qension o? the ?ather , Je'rome Bnudoin , i s  supple-
mented by the o lde r me,obe rs o? the ?ami ly but ' ? ? ?  i l  
etai t d ' usage , entre l es  gens du c l? ,  d e  parler le  mains 
possible  de  ce  su jet  ingrat et  de  s e  debrouiller  au p lus  
juste ' . ( 3 )  I t  i s  music  that unifies  the ?amily.  The 
?ather has taught  each o? hi s e ight chi ldren t o  read 
music  and to p lay an instrument , and the mother  has 
taught them t o  s ing. Although the di??erent memb ers o? 
the ?amily are o?ten ab sent during the day - Phi lippe i s  
a painter ,  Marc a sculptor and Hub ert i s  p repar ing a 
li cence e s  s c ience s  at  Par i s  - they retain the habit  o? 
( 1 )  Ibi d, :p . 1 1 4 .  
(
3
2 )  Suza? et l e s  jeune s homm?, p .  1 32 .  
( ) Ibi d ,  .P ?  1 26-7 . 
returning ror the evening meal nnd cont inue the tradi tion 
or rorming n ramily choir  around the piano , Mus ic  i s  
' ? ? ?  l e  t ruchement entre l es ames , le lnngage secret , la 
nourriture euchari st ique ' . ( 1 ) 
Fro? their  parents , the Baudoins have learnt t o  l ive 
unselri shly and co -operat ively .  One note s that a s  in 
the Pasqui er  home the use or the posse s sive ad jective 
' my '  i s  frowned upon . 
On ne di sai t pas " 'mon bonnet de loutre " ,  
ma is  " le b onnet de loutre 1 1 0 Cel a  n I etai  t 
certes  pas un s igne de desint ere ssement e t  
d ' abn?gati on ,  au  contraire , mai s b i en une 
maniere de montrer que chacun se trouvai t 
des droi ts naturels  sur toutes  cho se s de la 
tribu. ( 2 ) 
Whether in working ror the b eneri t of the .family ( Jerome 
Baudo in wears garments whi ch are s_t:;un by hi s daughters ) 
or  in e ntertaining each o ther with musi c or  theatri cals , 
the Baudoins demonstrate  thei r  basi c w1ity . They ar e 
.fi lled  wi th a family pride which has no relationship t o  
the collec tive egoti sm of the characters in Mauriac ' s  
novel s of  .family l i.fe .  Rathe r i t  i s  a .feeling o.f 
pleasure in memb ership o.f a group o.f talented individuals . 
One sees  something o.f thi s p ri de in Therese ' s  reci tal o.f 
her accompli shments :  
Therese repondi t avec une grande 
simplici te ?  -J ' ai de ma mere , j e  fai s  l a  
cui sine , j e  t ire l ' eau du pui ts . Je 
couds , j e  b rode .  Et pui s ? ? ?  
-Et puis?  
La jeune fi l l e  rougi t ,  sour i t  doucement 
et  dit : 
-Je sai s auss i  fai re  la lecture a haute 
Ibi d ,  .P ?  1 22 . 
Ibid ,  p .  1 48 .  
\ voix pour mon pere , chanter , danser et  
j ouer de l ' al to . 
-Vous savez danser? s ' e'cria Suzanne avec 
J O l e . Peut-etre avez-vous suivi des cours ? 
Quel e'tnit  vo tre profes seur? 
La jeune fille secouo. l o. tete  d ' un air  
effarouche' :  
-Mes  professeurs e'taient maman , e t  m?me 
papa , avant ? ? ?  avant la guerre . 
-Attendez ?  Attende z !  s ' e'cr i8. soudain l ' un 
des deux frere s ,  un grand gar? on aux longs 
cheveux boucles , a l a  gro sse vo ix en meme 
temps t rop grave et pu?rile . At tendez ,  
e lle ne dit pa s t out ce qu ' e lle sait  faire . 
Elle sai t saler l e  beurre , cuire le s 
confitures  de cassi s ,  preparer l e  sirop de 
mure s ,  t rouver l8 S mori lle s  G.U printemp s e t  
meme soigner les ab ei lle s ? ? ?  E t  je ne di s 
pas tout ! Non , non , je  ne di s p as tout . ( 1 ) 
Thi s group whi ch is  a kind of pho.lanstere i s  heavily 
ideali sed .  I t  has undertones of later Peto.inism with  
the re turn to  the land and the revival o f  the values o f  
Travail ,  Famille , Patri e .  We hav e , t he n , in the des-
crip tion gi ven by Duhalllel of the upb ringing of the 
Baudoins , w i th its  flavour of the s imple  country life 
whi ch is at  the base of  tradi ti onal ru1d conservative 
French values ,  c programme for fami lial e ducat ion whi ch 
appears both balanced and complete - the instill ing of 
moral and spiri tual values which are essent ial for the 
life of quality,  and the teaching of pract i cal arts  and 
skills  a s  a preparat ion for soc ial roles .  
From the reference s made to  the interac ti on in the 
family which Laurent and Jacqueline Pasqui er e stabl i sh ,  
( 1 )  Ibi d ,  P ? 5 1 . 
i t  would seem that as p arents Laurent and Jacqueline 
attempt to provide similar educational experiences for 
their  chi ldren.  Both husband and wife have a deep 
sense of social  uuty . If from his search for value s  
Laurent has been made aware that each pe rson i s  
responsible  for hi s own dest iny 9 he also fe els 
obligations towards others in soci ety. As he t ells  
Justin in Les Maitre s : ' ? ? ?  Je sui s un individuali ste 
tolerant e t  d i scipline ? ? ?  Je n ' oublie jan1nis  qu ' i l me 
faut vivre en soci ete .  , ( 1 ) In hi s career he has dis-
c overed tha t the only s ci ence  whi ch he can serve i s  
that whi ch proves  of benefit to men. He br ings 9 then 9 
to  his ro le of parent humani tarinn ideals and a strong 
be l i ef in th6 importance of the vie  de l ' e spri t .  
While  Laurent posse sses the quali ties  to carry out the 
func ti ons of the ]2_on pere de fami l l? hi s wife 1 
Jacqueline 9 p roves herself eminently fitted for  the 
role of mother .  She i s  int e l ligent 1 cul tivated 9 wi th 
the fai th in humani ty and the sympa thetic  unde rstanding 
of the former  soci al worke r .  
In  La Pas si on de Jo seph Pasguier  the warmth and 
stab ility of  thi s family i s  opposed to the spi ri tual 
emptiness of the family of Jo seph and Helene Pnsquier . 
Laurent ' s  home blends the tradi t ions of the past  with 
the new i deas and prac ti c e s  of the modern family as 
( 1 )  Les Mattres 1  p .  2 1 9 .  
three  generati ons dwel l unde r the same ro of .  The old  
mother ? after the death of  Raymond Pasquier  in  1 9 2 2 9  
has c ome  t o  l ive with Laurent , Jacque line and their 
three children9 as nei ther Jose?h nor Ferdinand are 
p rep ared to accept  the re sponsibil ity of caring for her . 
Ce  n ' est  pas t rois enfants que nous 
avons , Line et  mo i , mai s  quatre enfant s .  
Matin et soir , Line la peigne ?  la lave  et 
la p oudre , lui fai t toutes  sortes d e  petits  
so ins e t  de pe ti ts pansements  avec une 
adresse allegre , avec beaucoup d ' imagination 
dans la gentillesse  et la s impli cite . (1 ) 
One f'e els tha t  Laurent ' s f'ami ly gains f'rom thi s  
ex per ienc e .  For the children the grandmother will  be  
that link wi th f'am i ly ori gins and wi th the values of 
former gene rat i ons whi ch Duhame l beli eve s t o  be  of 
p rimary importance . Through her references to her 
childhood and her upbringing in the home of her unc le 
Prosper Delaha ie she will  imprint on her grandchi ldren 
a sense of' inheritance  of the atti tude s of the nineteenth 
c entury ?_etite bourgeoisie . 
Thus ? if Duhame l b egin s the .Q:lronigue de s Pasgui er 
by analys ing the flaws in the educational environment 
of the Pasqui er  faJlli ly which cause Laurent to revolt 
aga ins t  familial dom inat ion,  he concludes the novel-
series  by showing that  Laurent has l earnt from hi s 
parent s '  errors and i s  making an earnest eff'ort to 
prov ide a famil ial  education along tradi t i onal l ine s 
which wi ll  promote the opt imum development of hi s 
chi ldrene  
( 1 ) La ?assion de Jo seph Pasguier,  p .  1 1 0 .  
THE SCHOOL : 
In Qb?onigue de s Pasgui er  the reac tion of pupils 
to the ir formal schooling rece ive s  the same cri t ical 
at tention rrom the author as the re sponse of the 
chi ldren to  the informal educational exp erienc es in the 
family . As in the case of the parent-child inter-
ac t i on ?  the imaginati ve interpretati on which Duhamel 
makes of the teaching-learning p rocess  in the c lassroom 
app ears s olidly based on personal experienc e .  There 
i s  an obvious re semblance between Laurent Pasquier ' s 
formal educati on and that whi ch Duhamel  had received, 
w ith p rimary instruc ti on in an ecole communale fo llowed 
by a c las sical secondary training and tertiary studies 
div ided b etvveen the sc ience laboratorie s  of  the Sorbonne 
and the anatomy theatres of the Ecole de Medec ine .  The 
p arallel is drawn even closer  when one notes  that 
Duhamel ' s  own teachers - Dastre and Riche t ?  as well as 
hi s mattre b penser , the b iologist  Charles Nico lle ? ( i ) 
are referred to  in the nove ls . However,  i t  is  not 
intended in this s tudy to delve deeply into auto -
b iographical detai l s  in Chronigue des  Pasquier  o ther 
than tho se which support the basi c points that Duhamel  
has cho sen t o  set his charac ters in  the e duca tiona l 
s i tua tions which he is  mos t  competent to asse s s  and that 
through hi s personnages he gives  some glimp se of the 
development of  hi s i deas c oncerning the educative proc ess  
( 1 ) See Duhamel ' s tribute to Nicolle in  ' La Vie  est 
equilibre - Charles Nicolle ' ? Confe?enc ia , no . 1 1 , 
1 Jan. 1 939 , pp . 67-80 .  
generally , and sc ienti?ic and medical studies  in 
parti cular . 
The educational sett ing  is  princ ipally the system 
organi sed ?or the training o? the 9a?r?s superieurs . 
As has been mentioned ear lier ,  the c lass ical l,yce'es  and 
the ?aculties  are predominantly middle-class institut i ons . 
"Ne se e here , in Chroni que des Pasquie.J:, that the members 
o? the pou rgeoisie  c ul t i  ve'e gain the ir culture not  only 
?rom the ir frun i l i e s  but a l so from their schools . The 
secondary schools and the tertiary ins t itutions add to 
their  soc ial and economic superiori ty the advantages of a 
ri ch and varied formal education which i s  deni ed to the 
mas s  of the people . In Le Notaire  du Havre a contrast i s  
o?fered b e tween  the elementary instruc tion of?ered to  the 
I / children o:r the lowe r c lasse s and the culture  general e 
which the children o? the ?li te  rece ive . 
The emphas i s  in Chronigue des Pasgui er ,  a s  far as the 
proce ss of educ at i on in the school s  i s  conc erned , i s  
c learly upon t he nature o? the re lat ionship of  teacher and 
pupil . Thi s teacher-pupi l interacti on i s  treated 
primarily from the point of view of one learner - Laurent 
Pasquier .  Duhamel ?ollows Laurent ' s  progress from his  
c omm enc ement a t  primary s choo l in 1 889 unti l  the completion 
o? his two doc torat e s  in medicine and sc ience in 1 9 1 1 .  I t  
i s  the last stage o? hi s ?ormal training that i s  examined 
in mo st detail - the p eriod when Laurent , working on h i s  
research pro j ec t s , i s  in close  as soc ia tion with his mattres . 
In this  highly personal s ituat ion ,  as  Duhamel makes clear , 
the quali ty of the relat ionship of teacher and pupi l i s  
cruc ial for effec tive l earning . Apart from Laurent ' s 
exper iences , only minor reference s are made t o  the 
education of the other Pasquiers .  However ,  the re is  
s ome inte rest  in the attitude t o  educo.tion of Jos eph 
Fasquier .  Just ns Joseph appears to  provide a 
contrast to Laurent ' s views on the f'mlCti on o1' the 
parent , so to o does  hi s denial  of the importance of  
formal education conflict  wi th Laurent ' s  pri zing of 
intellec tua l  and cul tural values .. If the downfall of 
Joseph Pasquie r  is b rought about princ ipally by h i s  
failure t o  ob serve e thi cal standards , the c ollapse of 
his s oc ial  ambi t ions is  also direc tly attributable to 
hi s educational defi c i encies .  
As we ll a s  the close scrutiny of the personal 
transact ion b etween teacher and pupil  in Chronigue de s 
Pasguie_r , at tention i s  given to  the broader i ssues 
which  affect  the schools , part icularly the que s tion of 
the classical curriculum in the secondary schools  and 
of spec ialisat i on at  the t ertiary l eve l .  But a s  in 
the case of the family , only pas sing reference s  are 
made to the proce ss of change in education , though the 
nove l-cyc le does  chroni c l e  the decline of the universites 
populaire s  in the p eriod immediate ly pri or to World War 
I .  I t  i s  in La Nui t de la  Saint-Je?:n that Schlei  ter 
announce s  I ? ? ?  le crepuscule des Universi tes p opulaires  
ou les  bourgeois  sentimentaux viennent j ouer -a la 
fraternite ' . ( 1 ) Later , in Cec i le parmi nous , Laurent 
( 1 ) La Nui t de la Saint -Jean , p . 1 04 .  
260 -
Pasqui er and Just in Weill visi t the Elliversite populair? 
in the f'a.ubourg Saint-Anto ine . Although they accep t 
the sincer ity of' the o rganisers of' the universitds 
QOpulaire s who , l i ke Gagnepain in the f'aubourg Saint-
Antoine , are devo ted t o  the cause of' popular educa tion -
' . ? ?  la me i lleure f'ac on de l ib erer l e  peuple9 c ' e s t  .) 
d ' abord de l ' instruire ' ( 1 ) - they  f'oresee that these  
instituti ons are doomed ,  as  ac ts of' mi dd le -class  bene -
volenc e are no l onger suf'f' icient to  remove the 
f'rustrations of' the working classes at educat ional and 
soc ial inequali t ies . As Justin says :  ' Le temp s du 
sent imentali sme e st f'ini . 
I mal gre , dans un nouvel ?ge du monde . 
1 '  e'conomie  pure . ' ( 2 ) 
Although, apart f'rom this ref'e rence to the f'at e of' 
the w?i versitds populaire s , Chronigue qes Pasquier 
ref'l ects f'ew of' the deve lopment s in fo rmal educat ion in 
the early twentieth c entury,  it  doe s  pro vide inf'ornwt j on 
on the tradit ional patterns of' in structi on in the 
schools .  In trac ing the educati onal step s by  which  
Laurent Pasqui er has secured his p osition in  the 
inte llec tual e'lit e ,  Duhamel give s c lear evidence of' hi s 
suppo rt of' the classical  educati on whi ch the lyceen 
receive s , and the value placed upon the development of' 
the reasoning powers in the secondary s chools  through 
the s tudy of' the culture generale , b ef'ore embarking upon 
ce'c i le parmi no us , p .  1 5 6 
Ib id ,  p ? 1 58 . 
special i sed training in the insti tutes of hi gher learning. 
The Laurent Pasqui er who introduce s  him se lf ? the 
beginning of Le Notaire du Havre i s  the produc t of thi s 
kind of inte llectua l t raining. He sees himself as 
inde libly impr inted with the attitudes of' the savant . 
The hab i t s  of his sc ientific training invade hi s 
at tempt at  an analysis of hi s physical , mental and moral 
quali tie s .  
L '  exan1en auquel j e  m e  sui s  l i  vre' e s t  
parfai tement ob  j ec  tif . Pas de compla isance 
b i en stir . Et  mo ins encore de cet ??e c ruaute' 
que l ' on se reserve a soi -meme  en se tutoyant 
avec  degout et qui e s t  une manife stati on 
ordinaire de l ' e'goi sme eperdu ? ? ?  l'Ton , non .  
Du c alme , du  d8tachement ,  ce t te tendre s se 
aus si , c e tte  tendre sse  attentive que j e  voue 
naturellement  aux ob j e ts  de mon ?tude et qui 
se  c olore de curiosi td,  de p ie'te', de 
scep t ici sme , d 1 i roni e , selon les heures .  
Atti tude profes si onnell e ,  che z l ' homme de 
laboratoi re e t ,  part iculi?rement , chez le 
b io logis te  qu ' i l faut dire que je  sui s avant 
tout . ( 1 ) 
I t  is  obv ious ,  here , tha t the sc i entif'i c atti tudes of 
Laurent in whi ch reason co-exi sts  wi th feel ing have 
li ttl e  relat i onship w ith the excesses  of nineteenth 
c entury sci enti sm . Laurent i s  the sci ent i s t  of the 
twenti eth c entury who has lost  the naive enthusiasm of 
Renan and Taine for sc i entific  rat ionali sm . 
But if Laur ent Pasqui er ,  who occupies  the chair of 
biology at the C ollege de France ,  i s  a man ' ? ? ?  blanchi 
sous le rude harnai s de la s ci ence , dans la lumi.'ere 
glacee du laborato i re ? ? ?  ' , ( 2 ) he i s  al so a man of wide 
Le Notaire du Havre , p . 9 . 
Ibid ,  P ? 27 .  
cul ture , who se interests are ?ree-ranging and who draws , 
to  il lustrate hi s points , on  hi s knowledge of musi c ,  
l iterature and history .  Even hi s pro se , with i ts 
harmony and s tudied eleganc e  betrays that the wri ter  
has not sacrifi ced aesthetic  value s to  the ut il itarian 
imperatives  of hi s profession .  
Thus , Laurent Pasqui er repre sents the ideal of  the 
tradi tional mi ddle-class  educat ion .  With his double 
culture he is equipped for l ife ' s  demands , pro tected 
against the fragment ing ef?e c t  of the hi gh degre e of  
specialisation whi ch advanced c i  vili  sa  ti on requi re s ,  by 
a l ibe ral education whi ch c ombine s the best  of anc ient  
and modern thought . 
Neverthe less , b efore i t  was possible for Laurent 
to take hi s p lac e in the social  ?li tE:;. o.t the secon dary 
school  and acquire the e lements o i' the classical  culture 
pri zed by the middle clas se s , he had first to pass  
through the working c lass  school . vVhen , in Le Notaire 
du Havr?,  Duhamel describ e s  Laurent ' s exper iences  a t  
the ecole primaire , one detec ts unmi stakeab le trace s  0? 
middle - c lass c onde scens ion t owards the lower c lasse s .  
There i s  unre served admiration for the insti tuteur who , 
as a repre sentat ive of the b ourgeoisi? >b rings enl ighten?
ment to the lower orde rs o? soc iety .  Yet , a t  the same 
t ime  there i s  a stres s  on the disorderly b ehaviour of 
the pup il s ,  their roughne s s  and the ir  ignoranc e .  
Duhamel tends t o  exaggerate  the di?ferences in  attitude s 
b e tween the pet i te bourgeois ie  and the  peuple ,  
contrasting the vir tues of the former wi th the fai l ings 
of the latter ? as i s  seen in the fol lowing passage : 
C ' e'taient des enfants de manouvriers . 
Ami1 ennemi 1  nourri ture e t  p o i son ? le  vin 
etai t me?le sans c e sse aux p ense'es ? aux 
effusi ons et aux chama illes  de leurs 
famill e s .  Pouvai s- je  expl i quer au bon 
maitre que j e  ne connai ssai s pas le  vin 1 
que che z nous jamai s nous ne buvions de 
vin ? que mon pere b rassai t lui -meme dans 
une futail le ?  a la cave ? une boisson 
e'c onomique tan to t e?c wnante  e t  le'gere ? 
tant?t ine rte  e t  doucereuse ? ( 1 )  
From the first 1 tl? middle-c lass  chi ld f inds him-
self at the eco le primaire in an atmosphere whi ch 
differs markedly from the secur i ty of hi s home 
environment .  
1-Jous arrivions rue Desp rez . La 
cour fourmil lai t d ' enfant s dont les  
cri s  me  terrifi erent , i gnorant  que 
j I etai S encore de 1 I e'c ole  e t  de SeS 
coutwnes .  Un gringale t grima9ant 
s 1 approcha de moi , sai s i t  mon beret et 
pri t la .f'ui te . J 1 e'tai s perdu . ( 2 ) 
Amongst  these  children status depends upon physi cal 
s trength . It is De's i re'  Was sel in 1  the cancre ? 1 ? ? ?  un 
colo sse 1 9
( 3 )  who wi elds authority in the .?2Jd? of the 
school  and who prote c t s  Laurent from the aggressiveness  
of  hi s fel low pup i ls . 
Control of a dif.f'erent kind is  exerc ised over the 
e coliers by  M . Jol i c l erc 1 the dir?c teur of the schoo l 
in the rue Desprez . His  ab i li ty  t o  restore  order when 
he appears in the .?.9..?f: makes him a reassuring f igure . 
The pupils  of M . Jol icl erc a re accustomed t o  a military-
(
2
1 )  Ibid ,  P ? 77 ? 
( ) Ib id 9 p .  72 . 
( 3 ) Ibid 1 P ?  70.  
l ike d i sc ipline . Following the blas ts of hi s whi stle 
they form into lines and pro ceed t o  march in order into 
the c lassr.ooms .- When a pup i l  approaches  him in the 
? he gives a ' ? ? ?  salut mil i taire ? ? ?  , ( 1 ) as  a mark of 
re sp ec t  to hi s superior . Yet , i t  i s  appar?nt that M .  
Joliclerc ' s  c ontro l of hi s pupils  i s  far from b e ing 
harshly authoritarian.  From the manner in which 
Laurent de scribe s  the di recteur ,  i t  is evi dent that  he 
has won the affection and the respect  of the eco liers . 
In c lass there i s  a clo se rapport b e tween te ache r and 
pup i ls .  Indeed ,  Laurent maintains that thi s sympathet ic 
and good-humoured insti tuteur has taught him mo re than 
any o ther the value of d i sc ipline and obed i ence to 
external authori ty . 
I l  m ' a  des mes premiers pas dans la  
batai l l e ,  donne', de  l ' autori te,  une image 
a la foi s  forte et suppo rtab l e .  Mervei ll e !  
Supportable est faible .  Mettons plaisante 
e t  mettons che re .  Si , par la  suite , 
beaucoup plus tard , dans  le  grand debat  
inte'rieur que j ' ai du s outeni r ? ? ?  j ' ai pu  
conserver une pos i t ion raisoru1able 9  j e  le 
do i s  tant a ma nature que sans doute aux 
enseignements d ' un honne te  maitre d ' ecole  
qui faisa i t  avec  b onheur et  bonhomie b i en 
des chases  que j e  t i ens p our les plus 
difficiles  du monde . ( 2 ) 
In hi s c lassroom procedures M . Jolic lerc exhibits  a 
c lear understanding of the principles of learning . The 
lesson in ari thmet i c  whi ch he takes with hi s c lass  i s  
based on the exper ienc e of t he pupils . For pract ice  in 
divi sion each child  mu st choo se a d ifferent group of 
Ib i d ,  P?  73 . 
Ibi d ,  P ?  75 . 
ob jects  t o  b e  distributed t o  illustrate the problems  
wri t ten on the blackboard. ' 1 1En vingt-hui t  c omb i en de 
foi s c inq ? ? ? ?  Cela si gnifie  que , si j 1 ai vingt-huit  
b ille s  a partager ? ? ?  " ' ( 1 ) In thi s way the reasoning 
process  i s  as s isted  by r ef erence to concrete examples 
and the practi cal application of the exercise  i s  
emphasi s ed .  
In o ther ways , also , Joliclerc 1 s  pedagogical skills 
and sensi t ive  apprec iat i on of  the chi ld ' s problems ar e 
apparent . When the chi ldren are swnmoned into line at  
the beginning of class  they begin to s ing in uni son - a 
daily ritual which not only curb s their natural res t-
lessne ss  b efore thei r  entry int o  the regulated  a tmos-
phere of th8 class room but al so instils  in them a 
sense of corp orate identi ty . 
La musique acc ompl issai t son prodi ge 
naif e t  l ' on oubliai t  qui son mal de dents ,  
qui la c olere mat inale d ' un papa ,  qui 
l ' embuscade e t  l a  batai lle au coin de la 
rue de l ' Ouest ,  qui son ventre creux , qui 
ses galoches p ercees . ( 2 ) 
M .  Jolic lerc from hi s exp eri ence of children knows that  
a t  t imes the child is filled wi th anxieties whi ch affect  
hi s schoo l  p e rformance . When on one occas i on Laurent 
i s  inattentive in class and confuses ' Le Havre ' with ' un  
havre ' b ecause of hi s preoccupat ion with the f inancial 
problems of hi s family , the ins titute? is  sympa the t i c  ? 
? ? ?  Il  me mi t un mauvai s point , p our 
le princ ipe 9  sans c olere , car il savait que 
les enfants , meme  peti t s ,  apportent de chez 
Ibi d ,  p . 75 . 
Ibi d , p .  74. 
eux toutes  sortes de souc is caches que l ' on 
?eut re specter ? b i en sur, sans chercher a 
les  comprendre . ( 1 )  
Thus 5 in M .  Jolicl erc ? the directEL_ur o:f the ec ole 
communal?? in the rue Despre z ?  Duhamel shovifS the virtue s  
o:f the primary teache r  o:f  the Third Republic  whi ch? as 
we have noted in Part r ?  have b e en c onsecrated by 
literary tradi ti on - dedication , r ec titude and compas si on .  
He i s  the leader , the dominating personal i ty who ? a s  
Romains would decl are , uni tes the group and transforms 
it  into an ?a?ime . The dependence  o:f the ecoli ers on 
Jo lic lerc is  made c lear when , a t  the end o:f the te rm ,  
the c onsc i entious effort tha t the inst i tuteur has main-
tained to teach the rudiments o:f in struction to the 
re luc tant 1JU?ils  b egins to  tell  on hi s strength and his 
enthusiasm flags . With the teache r ' s exhau stion the 
energy of the pupils  whi ch had been challi1elled into 
productive thought i s  released and there is  a return to 
violence and di sorder in the p layground . Only occasi on-
ally doe s Jol icle rc recapture thei r  a ttention and restore 
the spi rit of  the class : ' M .  Joli clerc, exte'nue, 
s ' endormait  au gouvernail . Par:foi s ,  il  se revei llai t 
pour nous l ire une hi stoi re ,  et  l a  c lasse retrouvai t une 
ame 0 ' ( 2 )  
Amongst  the ecoliers  there are  di fferent attitudes 
to  the schooL Laurent ,  :for example , has mixed  :feel ings 
regarding his primary educat ion .  As he reflects  on his 
( 1 ) Ib id , p . 1 08 .  
( 2 ) Ib id ,  p ? 1 1  5 ? 
\ 
?El 
p eriod a t  the eco le  primaire he is f'illed wi th a ' ? ? ?  
tendre tri s te sse ! .  ( 1 ) There i s  grat i tude for the 
benevolenc e and even temper of Joli c l erc but a certain 
mel ancholy at the pos i t ion of the chi ld who , conscious 
of hi s dif' f'erent social class o rigins , i s  conf'ined in 
a c lassroom '.-; i th the chi ldren of labourers and workmen.  
One glimpses in the f'ollow in.g pa st:. age the f'e elings of' 
the lower mi ddl e-clas s chi ld who f' inds himself' in a 
f'orei gn envi ronment : 
J ' allai s ,  saisi , ecoeure , enivre pour 
la prem i ?re f'oi  s par 1 '  odeur de. 1 '  e'cole , 
par ce tte odeur d ' humani te 111 i serable , de 
cenure ref'ro i di e ,  de pap erasse ,  de col le , ( 2 )  
d ' encre , de nourri ture et d ' eau de Jave l ? ? ?  
It  i s  also possible to see in Laure? t 1 s description o f  
the c las sroom ac t ivi ty a cri t i c i s? of the inadequacy 
of' the elementary educ ation whi ch fai ls  to me et the 
deep er needs of the p upils , Desp i te Jolic lerc ' s  
ef'fo rts , ??e dai ly rout ine of' le ssons doe s  no t hold  
the attenti on of' the ecol i ers . At t im es the passivi ty 
of' instructi on create s  boredom : 
La lecon se p oursuivai t dans un 
ronronnemeAt assoupi que troublaient 
parfoi s la chute et l e  roulement d ' une 
bill e  - cinq mauva is  points ! - ou les  
appels d ' un impatient qui sol licitai t 
en claquant des do i gts  1 1 autori sati on de 
descendre quelque s instant s dans la cour . ( 3 ) 
Occasionally ,  the c lass erupts into boi sterous act iv ity 
as a reacti on against  the restri cti veness  of' the school ? 
? ? ? Parf'ois  toute la classe , de'sembourbe'e ,  
saisi e  par l e  demon , se prenait a jacas se r ,  'a 
ruer dans les  pupitres , 'a f'rapper  sur les  
Ib id ,  J? ? 74 . 
Ibid , p .  74. 
Ib i d ,  P ? . 1 08 .  
tables , a barbo ter dans l e s  encriers de 
p lomb au rebord c orrode'. M .  Jol iclerc 
toru1a i t 9  lourdement, orage contre orage . ( 1
) 
Yet 9  even i? there a re moments of discouragement 9  
Laurent appears to find sat i sfacti on in his s tudies .  
For the child  consci o us o? hi s intel lectua l  superi or-
i ty the school is : ' ? ? ?  l ' un de ce s lieux benis ou 
l ' orguei l seme et reco?e avec un bonheur cons tant ' ( 2 ) 
and later , in 1 89 1 , Laurent will  gain hi s cert i?icat 
d ' dtudes primaires  ' ? ? ?  de  manie re precoce e t  
b rillante ' o ( 3 ) 
In contrast with Laurent whose se l?-resp ec t  i s  
strengthened by  scholas t i c  succes s ,  two o the r e'c oli? -
Desir? ?as sel in and Ferdinand Pasquier - s?fer ?rom 
thei r lack o? academi c abi l i ty .  
who has be en held back wi th pup ils thre e years hi s 
r 
juni or , l_)rov ide s a.r1. inte res t ing case -study of ?ac tors 
which c ontribute towards pup i l  ?ai lure . H i s  charac ter 
and p ersonali ty exc i te Laurent ' s  admirat ion ; his  cheer -
fulness  and courage despi te hi s i?erior , ignored 
pos i t ion in his ?amily  and hi s gentleness of spirit , 
make the younger b oy look to  him ?or support aga inst 
the cruelty  o? the o ther pupi l s  in t he rue Desprez . 
Yet Desird, whose clumsiness i s  a continual targe t of 
p aternal r i di cule , i s  p a thet ically aware of hi s dullnes s  
and hi s evasi ve answe rs t o  Ferdinand ' s  p ersi stent 
questi oning on hi s schoo lwo rk demonstrate the demoral-
Ib id , p .  1 09 o 
Ibid ,  p .  1 38 .  
Ib id ,  p .  2 1 2 o  
i sing effects  of  adverse  home c onditions on hi s 
experience of formal education .  
-Tu ne travai lles pas?  
De/s ire' secoua la t<!.h e .  
-Tu n ' aimes pas ga?  
-NOll o  
-Tu ne comprends p as  ce  qu ' i l  y o. dans tes 
l ivre s ?  
-Si . 
-Alors?  fit  Ferdinand s tuperait . 
Desire hochait lentement sa grosse te te . 
-Qa ne m ' int?resse pas .  
-Ah! Et qu 1 est-ce  qui t 1 inte'res se 7 toi ? 
Rien ?  
-Si . 
-Quoi ? 
-De s cho se s ,  des cho ses ? . ?  ( 1 ) 
But , if D?sire i s  condi ti oned to accep t  fai lure at  
school he  shows in  othe r act iv i tie s whi ch are sui ted to 
his ab il i t ies  and in which he receives  encom1agement 
and reward, abundant effort and deterninat ion. Thus , 
I ' 
Desire takes pride in mem ori s ing the catechism in the 
lessons that  he and Laurent re ce ive from Mlle Baill eul . 
To the surpri se of Laurent , Desire 9 the e a? of the 
rue Desprez ,  .J:?roves t o  be  1 ?  o o un ai gle du ea te?chi sme ' . ( 2 ) 
Ferdinand represents the c onsc ientious chi ld who 
attempts  to compensate for hi s inte llectual l imi tat i ons 
by his industriousness .  
I l  e'tai t lui -meme consi de're comme un 
eleve me'di ocre e t  mal doue ; ma i s  il 
travaillait  et il en tira i t  orgueil , car 
il ne pouvai t d?s c e t  ?ge enfantin, 
concevo ir  qu ' un effort grand e t  douloureux 
dut , en bonne justice , demeurer sterile . ( 3 ) 
Nevertheles s , if Ferdinand does ga in pleasure from his 
effort in hi s s tudie s ,  despi te hi s mo derate abil i ty ,  the 
[ 1 l Ib-fd, -p . ? 72 . 
2 Ibi d, p .  1 32 .  
3 Ib id, P ?  7 1 . 
comp et i t ive exam inati on system wil l  publi c ly brand him 
as a :failure .  To  be  :forced t o  repeat th e  certi:ficat 
d ' etude s is a sourc e o:f  deep hwniliat ion :for  him and 
one which robs  his  work o:f its  satis:facti ons . 
In the c ase o:f Joseph Pasquier ? who has continued 
hi s prima ry educat i on in the cour:.?L_Qomple'mentai res  in  
the rue Blomet , the dec is ion t o  l0ave schoo l wi thout 
quali  :fica  tion.s  is mo t ivated no t by the increasin g 
di:ffi culty of the sub j ec t s  but by their  inut i lity  in 
hi s eyes . Jo seph c onsiders tha t  the per i od  spent in 
the school vvi ll  not provide him wi th  the ski lls ne ces- .. 
sary :for a care er in c omoerce and he bel i eves  that 
the se are bes t  learnt in employment ? 
? ? ?  Je ne sui s pas  plus bete qu ' un 
autre p ma is t outes  ces  hi sto ire s ne me  
di sent rien du t out . C e  n ' e st pas  mon 
genre . Et je suis meme sur que l e s  
tro i s  quarts d e  c e  qu ' on apprend , c ' e s t  
parfaitement inuti le ? au moins pour c e  que j e veux f'a ire . ( 1 ) 
'l'he different  reactions to primary s choo l ing whi ch 
are seen in be Notai re  du Havr e are paral leled in Le 
Jardin des betes sauvages by  the portrayal o:f the 
atti tude s  of the byceens to their  se condary educat i on .  
However , unlike the direc t  descrip tions o :f  the c la ss-
room interact i on o:f  teache r  and pupil in  Le No taire du 
, .  Havre the relationship o:f the ??9:fesseur and the lyceen 
rece ives scant  attenti on in Le Jardin des betes  
sauva???? The one o cc asion in which Laurent is  shown 
in c lass  i s  when he i s  asked to rec ite :from memory the 
( 1 )  Ib id ,  P ?  1 36 .  
ill 
passage ?rom Virgi l ' s Georgi cs :  1 Mundus ut ad Scythiam 
Rh ? 1 ( 1 ) lp ae sque . . .  and i s  sharply reprimanded ?or standing 
with hi s hand in hi s po cket by hi s teacher , M .  
Cortai l lod .  Apart ?rom thi s  re?erence  t o  the ?ormal-
i ty o? the classroom there is  also a sugge s ti on tha t 
the pup i l s  ?ind the lesson uninterest ing - ' ? . ?  la  c lasse 
langui t 1 ?  ( 2 ) 
For Laurent Pasquier ,  who has suc ceeded in trans-
?erring ?r om his  e'c ole in the rue Desp rez to the Lyce'e 
Henri -IV as a boursier 9 there i s  the reali sation that 
hi s ?uture depends upon the maste ring o? the clas si cal 
curriculum o? the se condary school .  He has b e?or e  him 
the example o? his ?ather who had had to teach hims el? 
Lat in and Greek lat e  in l i?e in order  to r ealise  hi s 
amb it  i on to enter the pro?ess ions .  H i s  preoccupat ion , 
then , is  with his  c las sical studi es .  For the child  
whose evenings are ?ill ed wi th the preparat ion o? hi s 
Latin t?eme? , or the memor i sat ion o? hi s Lat in verses , 
a Thur sday brings a lib era t i on ?rom hi s s cholast ic 
endeavour s .  ' Le j eudi est  un j our magique , un jour 
chaleureux , sucre , ri che de rayons et de par?ums . ' ( 3 ) 
Ye t ,  despite  the anxie ty whi ch hi s schoolwork produces 
in him , there i s  a lso ?or the lyceen a ?eeling o? 
emp t ines s  when the summer holidays arr ive , a s  is  seen 
in the ?allow ing pas sage : 
( 1
2
) Le Jardin des b?tes  sauvage s ,  p .  1 0 1 . 
( ) Ib id ,  . .  P .  1 01 .  
( 3 ) Ib id , P ?  77 . 
Virgi le  et  Sal luste sont en vacances .  
I l  n ' y  a :plus :pour moi , que d 1 immenses 
j our nee s desert e s ,  des v i  re' es dans 1 '  omb re 
sans mi s?ricorde , au l ong des ruelles 
assoup i e s ,  un j ardin sec  ou j e  m 1 e'gare 
avec  mes l ivres  et  mes rgve s . ( 1 ) 
The esteem in  whi ch Laur ent ho lds the liberal arts and  
hi s convi ct ion that  the study of  the classi cs  :prov i des  
a broadening of  the mind and an  enri chment of  the 
spiri t obviously reflects  Duhamel ' s  atti tude s towards 
the ?tudes disint?resscie s .  However , the author doe s  
not :present  merely a one -sided view of the quest ion of 
the humani tie s .  The beli ef of the lye??? that there  
are long-range va lues in  s tudies  whi ch are  not  directly 
related to  l ife i s  co untered by Jo se:ph ' s op ini on tha t 
the worth of the curriculum should be  assessed by  the 
immedi ate benefi ts  it brings . 
-Le s gens de t on es:pece , gronda 
Jo seph enf'in sai s i  de sa quere lle , ont 
tendance a s ' imagine r qu ' on ne :peut :pas 
faire de grandes chose s sans avoir , au 
:prealable ,  r e? i te Vi rgi l e  :par coeur . 
C ' e s t  un :point de vue de :pion . ( 2 ) 
Jose:ph a lso cri tic i ses  the v i ew tha t  through the 
classics the pup il i s  taught t o  thinlc analytical ly . 
He :points  out that de spite  the class ical educat i on 
which he i s  rec e iving, the lye? i s  s till  naive and 
unobservant . But , a s  w e  sha ll see  later , Duhamel ' s  
descrip tions of the two b rothers in adulthood w i ll 
justify Lauren t ' s contenti on that the student nurtured  
on the classi cs posse s se s  speci al skills and apt i tudes .  
( 1 ) Ib id  , :p ? 1 8 7 ? 
( 2 ) Ib id ,  :p . 1 58 .  
ill 
Moreover ,  with h i s  broad culture and trained intel-
ligence , Laurant Pasquie r will  gain the acceptanc e 
and respec t in the bourgeoi sie  that Joseph ,  desp ite  
his meteoric ri se  in the business world ,  w ill  b e  
deni ed b e cause of  his lack of education .  I t  i s  to  
be  noted,  however , that Joseph ' s at titudes to  a class-
i cal educat ion will  change once he becomes  prominent 
in financ ial c i rcles . He will  ins ist , pr imarily for 
social reasons ,  that his sons receive a gro und ing in 
the class i cs at a lJLc?e . H i s  elder  s on ,  Lucien,  
will  conform to  hi s father ' s  w i shes but with a b latant  
di sregard fo r the less  tangible values of' hi s studie s .  
1 -Je ne sai s plus un mot de lat in .  J ' ai retenu tout 
5a juste  le  temps  qu ' i l fallai t p our passer l ' examen . 
Et ap re s ,  pfuit t  ? ? ?  en quelque s j o urs , tout etai t 
evapore . ' ( 1 ) I t  i s  pos sib le that  Lucien ' s at t i tude 
i s  not only intended to rep re sent the imprint of hi s 
father ' s materialism but als o  t o  i l lustrate Duhamel ' s  
beli ef that the re has been a tendency to  devalue the 
c las si cal humani ties  in the lycees after  1 9 1 8 .  
OE the lyceens in Chronigue?es  Pasgui er , i t  is  
Laurent ' s  friend , Jus t in Wei l l ,  who seems mo st at  
home in t he intellec tual atmosphere of the secondary 
schoo l .  An academi cally girted pupil , Jus t in i s  
stimulated b y  h i s  formal studie s  and carries  thi s 
feeling of mental exc itement away from the schoo l .  
I l  dtai t encore t out chaud du lycee 
( 1 )  La Pas si on de Joseph Pasgui?, p .  43 . 
et  de nos querelles  ? ? ?  Ses  larges yeux 9 
visi t?s de lueurs inte lligentes , 
s ' e largi ssaient enc ore pour suivre le 
vol d ' une ide-e , l ' ex:p losion d ' une image 9 
la course d ' un mot . ( 1 )  
Just in posse s ses  a retentive memory and an 
inquiring mind . He is ' ? ? ?  enivre de l i  t te'rature ' ( 2 ) 
and his  passion f'o r p oe try 9 unsati sf'ie d  by the 
tradit ional works in the manue ls  de li  tte'rature9 
directs  him towards the contemporary writers,  partic-
ularly Verl aine and the Symboli s ts .  I t  i s  Justin 
who inf'uses Laurent with his enthusiasm f' or  literature . 
In this as in o ther ways Justin ' s  wide-ranging 
interests make Laurent aware of' concept s  and ideas 
which he had not met in his  f'ormal school  experienc es . 
Late r 9  Laurent will think wi th grat itude of' hi s 
associ at ion with this eage r 9  intell igent s tuden t who 
had been his  mentor as  wel l n s  hi s f'riend . 
I l  y a vingt ans envi ron qu ' au sortir  
du lycee  Henri -IV tu t ' e s mis  a m ' exp liquer 9 
un so ir 9  sur l a  place du Pantheon , que le s 
mots qui parvena ient d ' un verbe latin 
etai en t f'orme's , en  gene'ral , du supin , e t  
non pas  de l ' inf' ini tif' d e  l '??ica ti f' ,  
comme un vain peuple pourrai c roire . 
Aucun de mes pro.f'e sseurs ne m ' avai t  jamais  
m i s  le ne z dans cette  evidence  phi l ologique . ( 3 ) 
However , Jus t in ' s involvement in the educative 
proce ss  a?pears to  be  marred by hi s sensi t ivity to 
hi s Jewishness .  A t  school in the 1 890 ' s he i s  
c onsc ious of' a c limate of' anti -semi ti sm .  His  
f'e eling of' persecuti on a.f'f'ec ts  his  relationship w i th 
( 1 ) ?e Jardin des bete s sauvage s 9  p . 9 .  (
3
2 ) Ibid , P ?  1 92 .  
( ) Le Combat contre l es ombres 9 pp .  53-4 e  
hi s teachers .  Thi s is  evident at  the beginning o?  Le 
Jardin deJLbetes  sauvages  when he s tate s t o  Laurent 
his beli e? that one o? the teachers , Lyon-Despre
'
s ? has 
describ ed him as a 'sale Jui?' to the ?r. 
-Sal e Juif ? . ?  Sale Jui ? ? ? ?  Oh ! rien 
qu 1 ?l leur ?a9on d '  avancer les  l evres 9 
r ien qu ' a  leur ?aeon de sourire 9 j e  
comprends qu ' i l s  p arlent des  Jui?s 9  j e  
devine qu ' i ls parlent de moi . ( 1 )  
Not even Laurent ' s  pro te s tat ions that the pro?esseurs 
at the Lycee Henri-IV c onsi der him a remarkable  s tudent 
wi l l  ?ully convince Just in that they do no t de sp ise  
him ?or hi s Jewish b ackground. 
At the end o? Le Jardin de? etes sauvage s 
Laurent dec l are s tha t hi s intenti on i s  to study to  
become a savant . Thi s prepares  ?or the change in 
scene to the physi ology laboratory of M .  Dastre in 
Vue de Jq__ te rre promi?_?_ when Laurent i s  engaged in 
carrying out re search . During the f ive years whi ch 
have e lap sed betwe en the two nove ls  Laurent has 
completed his sec ondary educat ion and gained his 
lic enc e at the Sorb onne . In thi s  as in the suc ceeding 
nove ls  - La Nuit de la Saint -Jean ; Le Deser t de 
Bievre s 9  Les Ma!tre s  - Laurent will  pursue hi s dual 
interests  in b iology and medic ine . As much o? hi s 
time i s  spent working in the laboratori e s  o? hospi tal s , 
ins t i tute s  and ?acult ies  under the clo se supervis ion 
o? eminent sc ient i s t s  he becomes al ive t o  the ir idio-
syncracies , atti tude s and trai t s .  Whereas the 
( 1 ) Le Jardin des b? tes sauvage s ,  p .  1 1 . 
professe?? in the se condary schools are shadowy 
figures who barely enter int o the action of the no vels 9 
the mattre? at  the Sorbonne , the Colle ge de France or 
the Insti tut nati onal de biologie are delineated  with 
grea t clarity .  
The teaching whi ch Laurent hop es t o  rec eive from 
hi s mai tre s goes  beyond the acQui sition of ski ll s  or 
knowledge in a sub j ec t  area .  H e  looks to  them for 
evi dence that involvemen t in sci ent ifi c research 
pur ifies and ennobles  the human sp irit . For Laurent 
there i s ,  as &imon ( 1 ) suggests , a need to f ill  the 
rel igious void left by hi s re j ecti on of Cathol i c i sm .  
Influenced by hi s father ' s  bel ief that thro ugh the 
ge?ie  scientifigue man will  be  perfected 9 Laurent had 
turned to sc ience for hi s sal vat ion.  But if Raymond 
PasQui er , who had appeared to hi s fami ly to b e  ' ? ? ?  la  
statue de la  sc ience ' , C 2 ) had c laimed that s c i ence 
would  impr ove men - ' "Le s travaux des grands savants 
c omme Pasteur rendront l ' humani te p lus sage e t  plus 
heureuse " ' , ( 3 ) - his own example  had deni ed the se 
redemptive possibil i t i e s  of sc ience which he professed .  
As  Laurent tells  Valdemar Henningsen, the tut or of 
Cecil e ,  in a fit  of' depre ssion a t  hi s father ' s  
hyfJ ocri sy :  
( 1 ) 
-Ils  disent ? ? ?  QUe la science e'l eve 
l ' homme . Je p eux t ' affi rmer que non. 
Je ne t ' explique rai pas pourquoi , mai s  
See  P .? -H . Simon ,  Georges Duhamel ou le b ourgeois  
sauve, PP ? 1 27-37 .  
Le Jardin de s b?tes sauvage s ,  p .  201 . 
Ibid , P ?  200 . 
je peux t ' affirmer que non. ( 1 )  
For Laurent 5 then 5 there is a ne ed t o  seek mai tre s  
who se examples  would restore hi s fai th in scienc e and 
exorcise thi s  mem ory of hi s father ' s betrayal of the 
image he had f ormed of the savs;mt .  
In  some of his te achers he seems to f ind c onfirm-
ati on of the values for whi ch he is looking. Le on 
S chle iter ,  the as sistant of M .  Dastre 5 impresse s  
Laurent by his  reasoned approach t o  the life science s . 
His the s i s  on La Struc ture des grai s ses phosph.Q?.!2??. 
dans les o euf's d ' oi seaux , with i ts basis  in fi gure s  
and chemi cal  formulae ,  repres ents in Laurent ' s  eyes 
' ? ? .  la charte de notre sc i ence , la  somme de toutes les  
idees raisonnable s sur la vie ' . ( 2 ) To Justin5  Laurent 
declare s that the example of Schlei ter has cured him 
of the di sgus t whi ch hi s father  had produced  in him . 
' C ' est S chle i ter qui m ' a  redress?5 d?fini t ivement 
redresse'. " ' ( 3 ) It  is  not i ceabl e  that thr oughout hi s 
ascensi on spir i tuelle  Laurent Pasquie r ,  with his  ne ed 
to  admire , which must be l inked wi th his failure to  
identify wi th hi s father ,  will  t end to magnify the 
abilit ie s and the quali t i es of his teachers . If at 
f irst he re spec t s  Schleite r ' s mathematical  rigour in 
hi s sci entific  s tudie s  and hi s p enetrating mind , 
increasingly he b e c omes  di senchanted with his  cyni c i sm 
I 
and lack of feel ing.  Later  Laurent will reach the 
Ib id ,  p . 204 .  
Vue de l a  terre  promi se , p .  43 . 
Ibid , p .. 1 50 .  
c onclusi on in Le Desert de Bievre s that Schleiter  i s  
' ? ? ?  sec d ' ame e t  de corp s ,  tranchant d ' e spri t  e t  de 
vi sage ? ? ?  ' C 1 )  
M .  Dastre ,  himself' ,  obviously exerci se s a profound 
influence on his  pupi ls . I f  Schlei ter has a corro sive 
intelligenc e and a tendency tow?ards do gmat ic  utteran ce , 
Dastre  is  moderate in hi s views and app ears to Laurent 
to possess tho se qualit ies  of benevolence and c ourtesy  
' ? ? ? tels on veut imaginer le s gentil shomme s de 
legende ' . ( 2 ) Although in Vue _d? l a  terre promise 
the summer term at  the Sorbonne has c onc luded and the 
patro-D. is  absent , working on his own re search , hi s 
presence is s t il l felt  in the l ab oratory where his 
students are continuing their experiments .  Bo th 
Schleiter  and H?l?ne Strohl ( Laurent ' s  fellow student 
who will  later :narry his  bro ther j-oseph ) have uncon-
sciously adopted Dastre ' s  mannerisms  and address  
Laurent as  ' mon peti t ' . The persist ing effects  of' 
thi s ass ociati on are seen in Le Combat  c ontre  l e s  
ombres where one finds that Schleiter , now involved  
in p oli t i cs , has retained this  hab i t  of' spe ech , 
although unlike hi s mai tre , ' ? ? ?  i l  col orait  le  mot  
d ' un rien de  c ondescendanc e ' . ( 3 ) Similarly , Laurent 
i s  profound ly influenc ed by Dastre and will be 
constantly reminded o f' his  wise counsel to cauti on 
and order .  
( 1 )  Le Desert d e  Bi?vre s ,  p .  1 65 .  
( 3
2 ) Vue de la terre  promise , p .  5 1 . 
( ) Le Combat c ontre l es omb res , p .  253 . 
I t  i s  in Vue de la  terre promise  that Duhamel 
introduces the l ife of the lab oratory whi ch will  
provide the sett ing for Laurent ' s  slow climb towards 
intel l ec tual and moral maturi ty . The sci ent ific  
activity in  whi ch hi s charac te rs are involved i s  not 
pervaded by the exci tement of dramatic  re search 
developments . Rathe r i t  i s  the methodical rout ine 
of sci ent ists  who p ainstakingly gather measurement s 
and no te ob servati ons . As Laurent says : ' ? ? ?  Je 
m 1 assoupi  s dans ces  fades pet i  tes beso gnes g_ui sont 
mon pain quo tidien . ' ( 1 ) Yet it is  thro ugh the 
p erformance of the se ' fade s besognes ' that sc ientifi c 
progress  i s  made . For the student of b iology such as 
Laurent Pasquier ?  the atmo sphere or.., the laboratori es 
in the insti tutes of hi gher learning bree ds a re spect  
for  prec i s i on and for att ent i on to  de tai l .  Duhamel 
makes i t  clear tha t creativ i ty in sci ence a s  in othe r 
f ields does not preclude disciplined effort . Thus , 
Laurent who feels ' ce t te passion des savants en que te 
d ' i lluminat ion ' ( 2 )  real i ses  the importance of the 
tedious accumulat ion of data out of whi ch he hope s  to 
bring o rder and inte l li gibi l i ty .  
C reer ? en def ini t ive ? est l a  seule 
j o ie  digne de l 1 homme et c ette j o ie coute 
beaucoup de p eine ? ? ?  Et nous nous 
assoupi ssons volontier s dans de p etite s 
b e sognes mediocre s . :Nous rampons sur 
notre chemin en esperant l ' heure du b ond ? 
l ' heure de l ' envo l ?renant . ( 3 ) 
? 1 )  Vue de la  terre promi se ? p .  1 71 . 
3
2 ) Ibid ,  P ?  94. 
) Ib id, pp ? 94-5 ? 
280 
As wel l as Dastre in Vue Q&__l_a  _terre promise ? 
certain o ther real -l ife mai tre s  of Duhamel reappea r  
in Chronique des Pasguie??  in particular Charles  
Nico lle and Charl es Richet .  Nic olle i s  referred t o  
a s  a fri end of Chalgrin in Les f,t%1.tre s and hi s 
re jec t i on of a narrow sc ient i sm i s  compared with 
Chalgrin ' s  b el i ef that there are o ther avenues to  
truth than the exerc ise of  rea son . S imi larly ,  in the 
same novel Rohner '  s insensi ti vi ty i s  contrasted v1 i th 
Richet ' s  compas sion .  
But the main int e rest  i n  the novel -cycle c entre s 
on the f i c t i onal characters .  I t  i s  in  La  Nuit d e  la  
Saint-Jean and Les  IVIaitres that  Duhamel probes  deep ly 
into the relat ionship of the tertiary teacher  and the 
pupil . If s as Bruner says , there are three  dimensi ons 
to the t eacher ' s  rol e - he i s  not only a ' ? ? ?  c ommunicator 
of lmowledge ? ? ?  ' and ' ? ? ?  a model of competenc e '  but 
also ' ? ? ?  an immediately personal symbol  of the educati on-
al proc e s s ,  a figure with whom s tudents can ident ify 
and compare themselves ' ( 1 ) - then i t  i s  thi s lat t er  
function that i s  emphasi sed in  Laurent ' s  interacti on 
'=" wi th his  m? ? As Laurent tells Justin in Les 
Maitre s ,  he has chosen t o  l ive in ' ? ? ?  le rayonnement 
des grands ' ( 2 ) as i t  is  on these  men that he hope s t o  
model hi s att i tude s  and value s .  
Je veux apprendre - c ' e s t- a- dire 
prendre , sai sir  - je  veux m ' accro1tre , 
:peut-?tre parce que j ' apparti ens a une 
( 1 ) See J .  Bruner,  The Process  of Education , p .  90 .  
( 2 ) Les Ma1tres , p .  28 . 
famille  en p le ine poussee de seve 9 en 
pleine ascension ,  c omme di t Jo seph qui , 
lui 9 confond l ' ascension e t  la  ri che ss e .  
Ce que je demande ? ? ?  c ' est  de la 
nourri ture , de la sub stance . Je veux 
un ensei gnement . ( 1 ) 
In La Nui t de la  Saint-Jea? and Les Ma1tres 
Laurent demons trate s  his t endency to over-idealise  
the quali ties of hi s teachers . I t  is  hi s need to  
admire that make s him ini tially blind to their 
imperfect ions , ar. d the gradua l realisation that hi s 
maitres are also sub ject  t o  human frailty brings with 
i t  the same cru shing disil lusionment and discourage -
men t whi ch he had experienc ed vthen he discovered 
faults in hi s father ' s  charac ter .  
To Laurent hi s thoughtful , unassuming patro11 at 
the Hopital Bouc i caul t 9 Renaud Censier ,  appears to  
aggregate  all  that is best in  the man of knowledge . 
-Les  i dees d e  gratui te, de gendrosi te ,  
de speculation pure ! Qui nous aurai t 
parl e de ra ?  dans ma famille ? ? ? ?  Il  faut de 
grands lolsirs  pour arriver au l ibre j eu 
de s id?es ? ? ? I l  nous a fallu les  chercher en 
gemissant .  Ou? Dans l es livre s ,  en nous , 
dans la vi e ,  da11s 1 '  entretien des ma1 tres . 
M .  Censier rn ' a fait  c omprendre b i en de s 
choses . ( 2 )  
The fac t  that in La Nuit de l a  Saint-Jean Laurent 
see s in C ensi e r  a father-sub s t i tute  i s  develop ed 
further when he tel l s  h i s  fellow? student Laure 
Desgroux that if i t  had been p oss ib le for him to 
choose a fathe r  he would have preferred ' un  homme 
c omme le patron ? ? ?  un homme du caract?re de M .  Censier ' .(3) 
? 1 l Ibid,  P ?  30 . 
2 La Nui t de l a  Saint-Jean , p .  1 1 2 . 
3 Ibid9  1 76. 
But Laurent does not perceive Censier ' s increasing 
sense of frus tration wi th hi s re search . His  l ong and 
successful c areer as  a b i ol ogist  no longer gives him 
c ause for sat i sfaction .  Moreover , the teacher-pupil  
relat i onship wi th hi s young student ,  Laure Desgroux has 
b ecome  comp l i c ated by love . Like Laurent 9 C ensi er i s  
attracted t owards Laure and his  de spai r at  the gulf 
vvhi ch separates  him from hi s young student ?  the dif-
ference in age as well as the barrier of hi s marriage ? 
makes him question the values he has held and the goals  
he  has s ought o He b egins to  reali se the fut i l i ty of 
hi s sol itary exi stenc e and hi s se lf-sacrific i al 
absorpti on in s c ientifi c  research . Laure ' s  youth and 
b eauty make s him agoni singly armre of the s igns of old 
age - the taches de vieill es se on the back of hi s 
hands . ' -Ces  tach e s - la , j e  n ' a i commence' de les  
voir  que depui s  quatre ou  c inq moi s , dep uis que je  
vous conna i s .  , ( 1 ) 
In Censier ' s inner turmoi l 9  then, Duhame l indicates 
tha t even the savant who has trained hi s mind and 
moulded hi s l ife on a di scipline sci entifigue i s  
defenc eless against the me taphysical cri si s 9  whi ch,  
according to Dastre , C 2 ) c omes  in l ate middle age . If 
the reawakened  sexuali ty whi ch Da stre links wi th thi s  
experi ence i s  ridi culed elsewhere , as in the prurience 
of the b iologist  Rohner ( Les Ma'i tre s ) , or in t he 
infatuation with an ac t?ss of the philosphy pro fess or 
( 1 ) Ibid , P ?  89 . 
( 2 ) See  Vue de la  terre prom i s e ,  p . 1 55 .  
Cherouvi er  ( Suzanne et  les  jeunes homme s ) , Cen sier ' s  
conLli ct between his passions and hi s sense of 
responsib i l i ty t owards hi s s tudents  is  treated in 
La Nui t de l a  Saint-Jean with sympathy and compass i on .  
F or  Laurent Pasquier  the di scovery that ther e are 
Llaws in the :personali ty OL CeJ.l.Sier  whom he had 
b el i eved to b e ' ? ? ? un vrai mai tr e ' ( 1 ) is more than a 
personal di sappo intment ; i t  t hreatens to destroy his 
wor ld-v isi on .  There i s  ev idence OL thi s  i n  hi s b it ter 
remark , v1hen reminded that Censie r is sep arated  Lrom 
hi s WiLe and has re jec ted hi s s on ,  tha t : ' -Le monde 
est p lus  malheureux ,  p lus p i t oyable et moins inte l?
ligent qu ' on ne  saurait  l ' imaginer . , ( 2 ) Yet ,  
al though he i s  de eply wounded by th e disclosure that 
an intimate re la ti onship has deve loped between Cen sier  
and Laure , hi s l oyalty to  hi s teacher remains undim-
ini shed , as i s  se en in  the tribut e he pays to  his  
' . ? ?  ma!tre amical ? ? ?  ' ( 3 ) in the preamb le to  the novel . 
I L  C ens i er ' s human quali tie s OL chari ty and p i ty 
are tho se that attrac t Laurent to  him , the same 
quali t ie s  draw him to M .  Hermere l , Censier ' s  successor 
at the Ho:pi tal Bouci cault .  I t  is  Hermerel ' s  ? ?  un 
bougre de premier  ordre ? ? ? , ( 4 ) who , when in Le Desert 
de Bi?vres Laurent inocula te s himselL with the v i rus 
they are studying in the laboratory, shows in the 
treatment OL hi s assi stant a therapeut ic concern LOr 
! 1 l ;,;;L?a?N.;;;u-.i..;;t__,;;;:d?e?l-a...-S.;;;::a-.i?no.;;t_--.J. e an , p . 56 .  
2 Ib id , p ? 1 76. 
3 Ibid ,  ? ?  1 0 . 
4 Les Ma1t res , p .  27 . 
the patient which provi des  a sharp c ontast with the 
di agnostic  intere st in the c ourse of the di sease of 
the profes seur , Rohne? in a s im i lar  case in  Le s 
I t  i s  in thi s sixth nove l ,  ?es Maitres , that 
Laurent eme rge s from hi s s tate of dev endency as a 
pupil  who looks to hi s teachers  for moral guidance  as  
wel l a s  int e ll ectual training . At the b eginning of 
Lesj?l tr?s  he i s  still  searching f or maste rs who 
po ssess  the ideal quali ti e s  of the ?ayant .  1 0n ne 
choisit  p as s a  fami lle - et c ' es t  b ien regrettable  ? ? ?  
Pour ma consolat ion , je  cro i s  que l ' on cho is i t  se s 
ma! tres . Je suis  sur que l ' on peut et que l 1 on doi t  
choisir  se s mai tre s .  ' ( 1 )  Durin g the cour se of the 
ac t ion of this  nov el Laurent ' s mode o? thinking 
unde rgoes  a radi cal transfo rmation as he is pa infully  
forced to  acc ept  the fact that the consc i ous cho i ce 
of r ol e mode l s  prod uces  results that are no more 
satisfac to ry than the parent-chi ld in terac tion .  
Un wit t ingly , Lauren t sel ects two professeurs 
whose views on sc ienc e are implacably opposed - Ol ivier 
Chalgrin , the sc ienti s t  of the Bergsonian age who 
bel i eves  that  knowledge cannot b e  gained  by the 
exerc i se of reason alone and Nic olas Rohner , who 
re j ects  a l l  but rational exp lanati ons ru1d c lings  to a 
positivi stic  approach .  Laurent , who spends the 
mornings studying under Chalgrin a t  the Coll?ge de 
( 1 ) Ibi d , P ?  55 .  
France for a doctorate in s c i ence  ru1d the afternoons 
in Rohner ' s labora tory preparing  a doc toral thesis  in 
medic ine , is in a w1i que positi on to  asse s s  the ir 
differences in att itudes and pe rsonal i ty .  Whe reas 
Chalgrin is a ??nt of b road cul ture and wi de v i s ion 
who i s  apprehensive of the so c i al effec ts  of  a s c ienc e 
whi ch  i gnores hW11Em values , Rohner is  p r esente d by 
Duhamel as the narrow special i s t ,  the res earch worker  
who worships at  the shrine of t. ec lmi__guy and imperils  
human existence wi th hi s obses sion w ith sc i entific  
progress . The s tyles  of Chalgrin and Rohner as  
educators are in contrast .  vfui le Oliv i er Chalgr in 
i s  informal  in hi s approach and doe s not  force hi s 
ideas  upon his  s tudent ,  l'? i colas Rolmer is  dogmatic  
and int olerant , as  is  seen in hi s harsl1 c ri tic  isms of 
Laurent ' s  paper . ( 1 )  Eis scorn of op inions c ontrary 
t o  his own l eaves  hi s pupil  with a sense of inferior-
ity - ' Si je qui tte  son entreti en avec le  sent iment 
de n ' avoir pas ? t? ridi culement au-dessous de moi ?
m@me , j e  peux m ' e stimer sati sfai t . ' ( 2 ) 
Nevertheless , if  we accept Brtu1er ' s c ontenti on 
that an essent ial function of teaching i s  to provide 
a mo del  of compe tenc e ,  then in this resp ec t  both of 
He had sought the ir tui t i on 
because of thei r acknowledged authority in b iologi cal  
re search but  it soon b e come s  readily apparent 
( 1 ) See Les Ma!tre s , pp . 93-4 .  
( 2 ) !bid ,  p .  1 55 .  
286 
that reputations f'or accuracy and impartiality do not  
preclude the distort ion of'  fac t s  or  the di sregard of  
evi dence to prove theories or to  discredit contrary 
opini ons . Rohner fails  t o  show in his  study of 
streptococci  the espri t  crit ique_ whi ch he vaunts . As 
Laurent observe s ?  in hi s eage rness to substantiate  hi s 
hypothe si s that the s treptococcus he had i solated 
cause s nephri t is  and endocardi t i s  he appears t o  be  a 
man with an ide'e fixe , 
E t , soudain , j ' ai c ompris  ? ? ?  Qu ' i l 
ne cherchait  pas la  ve'ri te ,  mai s seulement 
la confirmat ion de ses  songeries  et QU 1 i l  
al lai t f'ai re en sorte de t rouver c e t te 
confi rmat ion , coute QUe coute 9 QU 1 il  alla i t  
interroger  les  t i ssus de t elle maniere QUe 
les  ti s sus ? tourmente's , repondraient  
n ' imp orte  QUoi . ( 1 ) 
Similarly? Chalgrin ' s de terminat ion to  disprove 
Rohner ' s  theories  by reworking his experiments , has a 
touch of' the fanatical . For Laurent , then ? there i s  
the dis tress ing sp ectacle o f'  two di st inguishe d  
sci ent ists , e ach unwil ling to  admit  that the o the r 
possesses  a valid  point of' v i ew ?  who allow the ir 
evaluati ons of' each o ther ' s work to b e  di storted by 
the p ersonal antagoni sms whi ch had stemmed from the 
t ime  v1hen both were in the .?.l.?de rhetorigue at  
I the Lyce e  Henri -IV. The denigration of' a c ol league ' s  
ab i l i ty s e ems  t o  Laurent a ?eni al of the sc ient if i c  
spi rit t o  whi ch, in their teaching , they have pai d  
homage . 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  P ?  203 . 
? ? ?  L ' ide? qu ' i ls  pourrai ent  ne pas 
s ' estimer ? ne pas s ' admirer , m ' offense 
et me  d?concerte . I l s  sont inte lli gents 
au supreme degrt:i , que diable : I ls n ' ont 
qu 'a l i re ,  a reflechir et  a comprendre .  
Qui pourrai t mieux qu ' eux le  fai re? ( 1 ) 
The impact  which the personal i t i e s  of hi s maftre s  
make s upon Laurent has a signifi cant influenc e on the 
extent to whi ch he accepts the ir  diffe rent appr oaches 
t o  scient ifi c research . He i s  drawn to Chalgrin by  
hi s considerati on and c ourtesy t owards his students , 
while Rohner ' s aloofness  and cold  precision rebuffs 
him . Desp i te the divis i on of hi s loyal ty b e tween 
hi s two teachers , i t  i s  only Chalgrin whom Laurent 
ad?es affe c t i onately as patron. Thi s regard fo r 
Oliv ier Chalgrin m ake s Laurent rec eptive t o  hi s vi ews 
on the limitat ions on the appli cab ility of the 
sc ientific  1me thods of the ninete enth century savants ,  
which had been based on a s tr ingent exerci se of 
reason ,  and to hi s f irm beli ef tha t  there are 
spiritual truths that may be reached only by the 
exercise  of the intuition and the imag ination .  
Rohner ' s  forc efulness  both attracts  and repels  
Laurent . At fi rst he is  full of admirat ion for hi s 
co ld  effi ciency and energy whi ch reminds him of 
Joseph ' s dec i siveness  . 
? ? ?  Dans certains de s e s  propos , i l  
me  sembl e  que le  profes seur Ro?er 
s ' exprime c omme le ferai t mon frere 
Jos eph ? s i  toutefo i s  Jos eph etait mille  
foi s  p lus instruit qu ' il ne  l ' e st .  Or , 
ce  qui , chez Joseph, me deconcerte e t  me 
( 1 ) Ibid , p .  89 . 
, 
revo lte , me devient , chez M .  Rohner ,  theme 
d ' etonnement et d ' admiration. ( 1 ) 
Howeve r ,  fur ther acquaintance with Rohne r di spels  
his  illus i ons . The callous manner in which Rohner 
treats hi s ass i s tant , Catherine H oudoire , who has 
contracted the vi rus they are s tudying in the lab -
oratory ,  fills  Laurent with ho rror at a s c ient ifi c 
sp irit  YJhi ch i s  devoid  of feelings of p i ty .  Roh.rwr 
shows indifference to  the suffer ing of hi s pat i ent , 
concerned only that the course  of the fatal di sease 
should b ear out hi s prognos i s  an d  p rove hi s the ori es 
on endocarditi s .  As  a resul t  Laurent decl ares :  
' .  o . M .  Rohner e s t  en train de me faire comprendre que 
la p lus b e lle  des ve rtus , c ' e s t  la  chari t?, dont il  
est  cruellement depourvuo , ( 2 )  Finally ,  the 
insensi tivi ty with whi ch Rohncr :p erforms the autopsy  
after hi s assis tant 1 s death makes Laure11.t feel  for 
hi S mal tre 1 o o o une Veri table haine I o ( 3 ) 
The Chalgrin-Rohne r confl ict  clili1axes in a scene 
whi ch le ave s Chalgrin p aralysed and incayable of 
speech. The tragi c result of thi s  quarrel app ears 
to have a cathartic  effect upon Laurent . The 
feelings of hosti l ity whi ch he had felt towards Rohner 
b ecause  of hi s inflexibili ty and his  uncompromi sing 
att itudes  toward Chal grin a re purged and he faces  the 
prospect  of having to continue wo rl<ing with him with 
resignation.  
( 1 l Ib id  9 p ? 9 3 .  
( 2  Ibi d ,  P ?  1 83 .  
( 3  Ibid , p .  202 . 
Although Laurent ' s  search for the i deal in hi s 
mattr?? ends in failure , similar to the disi llusi on-
ment w ith hi s father whi ch is a :prelude to thi s 1 the 
tone of' the concluding chap t er of ,;Les Ma!tres i s  not 
one of despair .  Thi s ,  as Simon :points out , i s  in 
keeping wi th the r rthme moral of Cpronigue des 
Pasguie,r . 
Ce  qui carac te'rise ? ? ?  la volontEf de 
Laurent  ? ? ?  c ' e st , a:p re s chaque eche c , un 
:per:p?tuel rebondi ssement , non seulement 
:parce que l ' echec meme  c om:porte une 
le9on ,  une exp erienc e ,  une secrete 
riches se et souvent , :par un signe de 
:plus grande force que l ' 'Eime en recoit ,  
tme e spece  de vi c toi re . ( 1 ) ? 
Laurent learns from thi s exp erience  the fo lly of 
exp ecting hi s teache rs to  b e  masters of thei r fee lings 
and :passions as we ll as of thei r inte llec t - to b e  
saints as well  a s  in structors .  Hence , h e  declares 
that  he wi l l  now lo ol<: to Rohner only for the skills  
and knowledge tha t he  i s  c ompetent t o  impart to him . 
' I l m ' ap:prendra st1rement quelque chose o  Je ne lui 
demanderai que ce qu ' i l :peut me donner . ' ( 2 ) 
I t  is  at the end of  Les Ma!tres that there 
emerges a more mature Laurent who has :painful ly 
acquir ed mental and moral e quilibrium and who has 
abandoned hi s :pursui t  of absolute s .  ' I l faudrait  
se contenter de ce  que l ' on :possede o o ? J ' a:p:prends tout 
doucement ? vivre avec  des ?tres  im:parfai ts  qui ont 
:parfois de b elle s  heures ,  :parfoi s  des minute s  
( 1 )  P. -H .  Simon , Geo rges Duhamel ou l e  bourgeo i s  
sauve, PP ?  1 37-8. 
( 2 )  Les Mat tres ,  :p .  267 .  
ebloui s santes ' . ( 1 ) This experience de termine s him 
t o  work ' ? ? ?  pour l ' ordre et  l ' equi libre ' . ( 2 ) 
The portra its or Laurent ' s  0at tre s ,  Dastre , 
Censier , Hermerel ,  Chalgrin and Rohner are among the 
mo st J:)ercep t ive in Chronigue des_.E,asJ.Lt?_;L_er .  Wi th 
r ine psychological de tail  Duhamel ha s exposed thei r 
w?aknesse s as we ll as their strengths as e ducators . 
Ir later i t  i s  suggested that Romains shows a deep 
understanding or the atti tudes and asp irat i ons or the 
insti tuteurs then i t  i s  also c ertainly true that rew 
wri ters have .9ainted more accurate ly than Duhamel the 
world of the savant . 
In s.ddition to the teaching of the ma!tres  who 
have dir ectly guided him in hi s research , Laurent 1 s 
h. general formati on as a ?n? and a future  ?a1tr? is  
inrluenc ed by the example  or other mer:1b e rs of' the 
racultie s .  Ri cha rd Fauvet ,  ( 3 ) Cec i le ' s husband, 
re inforces , ror instance , Laurent ' s  ant ipathy towards 
an inte llectualism which is lacking in warmth of' 
human c on cern. 
Fauvet , who has excell ed academi ca lly in phi lo-
sophy as well  as the natural sci ences , hol ds a posi t i on 
in the l ab oratory of' experimental  psychology a t  the 
- . 
( 1 ) Ib id  , p ? 2 68 ? 
( 2 )  Ib id ,  P ?  1 67 .  
( 3 ) The satiri ca l portrait or Fauvet expre s se s  
Duhamel ' s  susp i c i on or  those who set  themselves 
up as l eaders of' l i terary fashion .  ( See the 
earl i er note on Duhamel ' s  relati onship with 
Romains . Note also that Fauvet ' s  educational 
background closely paral lels tha t of' Ro mains . ) 
Sorb onne . But it i s  in the field of li terature that  
hi s real interests  l i e .  Indee d ,  he considers that 
as an intellec tual he should of ri?1t be  granted  the 
freedom t o  fol low  hi s own ?ursui ts . 
I l  etait  asse z peu b avard en tout 
ce  qui :pouvait  toucher ses fonctions 
universitaires et il se l amentni t 
seulement , par des propps  al lusifs , sur 
la ndc essi t? fftcheuse oh p euvent se 
trouve r parfo is les serviteurG de 
1 1 inte lli gence  d ' avoir  ? gagner leur 
vie  c omme l es autres mortel s . ( 1 ) 
Yet ,  despi t e  Fauve t ' s  reputat ion as a brilliant 
conve rsational ist  and the esteem in which he is held 
as the insp irati on o:f a l i terary group - the M oncel iens , 
the :fom1der of u review - Les Cahie rs du Nouveau 
Port i???' and the ori ginat or of t he doc trine o:f 
l ' inve s t igation incondi t i_on.ne'?, the re i s  concealed  by 
hi s verbal  facility  an ari dity of m ind ru1d sp i r i t .  
The di alectical exerc ises with which he daz zle s hi s 
I +> t d .  . l I ( 2 ) +> tl ..., b h ? ? ? ?  ? erven es l Sclp e s . . .  O L 1e oor onne or  lS  
former  colleagues at  the College de  Fr ru1ce  are not  
proof of  a produc tive and creative mind. Indeed , 
Fauvet i s  an intellec tual parasite  who :feeds on the 
genius of o thers . 
I l  souffrai t 1  sans  en rien dire , de 
sa grande aridit?. I l  avait  eu longtemp s 
l ' espoir 1 a nul e tre humain confess?,  que 
la pr?s ence , l 1 in:fluence , p eut-etre meme  
l ' amour de C?c ile 1 art i s te douee a miracle ,  
l e  feconderai t ,  le transformerai t 1  mieux 
enc or e , le d?nouerait 1  :ferai t jaillir  ( 3 ) quel que fontaine  de c e  terrain rocailleux . 
;I . ( 21 ) Cec i le parmi nous , p . 1
27 .  
( ) Ibid ,  p . 48. 
( 3 )  Ibid ,  PP ? 57-8 .  
Self'-engro ssed ,  ' . ..  o sec e t  cynique o ? ?  , ' ( 1 ) 
lacking in humani tari an feelings or  spiritual aware-
nes s ,  Fauvet  repres ents the pur e intellectualism to  
which  CEfcil e  i s  referring when she vmrns Laurent of' 
the dangers of' a philosphy based  narrowly on reason ? 
' - ? ? ?  L ' intelligenc e est en train de vous t ransfo rmer  
e t  de vous corrompr e . ' ( 2 ) 
Tl1e difference b e tween Fauvet '  s parade of' c l ever-
ness  and true c reati ve abil ity i s  further emphasi sed 
by other referen ces in ChroniJlue des Pasgui er o There 
is , f'or examp le , J"oseph Pasquier ' s crit icism that the 
teaching of' the Sorbonne is  ' ? ? ?  pure  vani te ' .  ( 3 ) He 
c laims that  it  i s  upon the students who are prepared 
in the ?coles  spec iale?,  not  the -??ci?s of' the 
faculties  tha t p ro gre ss in sci ence depends . ' Vous 
autres ,  vous @tes  de s ob jets  de l1ue , des  p ersonnages 
repr?sentatif's ,  des manieurs d ' idees ,  de s symboles  de 
la scienc e ,  ri en d ' autre o , ( 4 )  Laurent Pasquier i s  
equally aware that many of' the research pro jects  
of' the ' ? ? ?  savants s te'ri le s . o .  , ( S ) such as  Vaxelaire 
(Vue __ de la terre promise ) or Blomb erg (La Nui t  de la  
?-Jean ) make no r eal contr ibuti on to knowledge . 
' ? ? ?  C es chercheurs  infortunes . o . se refugient dans  
l ' drudit i on qui les  trompe c omme elle  trompe tout  le  
monde : entre l e  t rouveur et  l ' erudi t ,  l e  p euple  ne 
( 1 ) 
? ? ?  
(4 )  
( 5 ) 
Ib id ,  p .. 58 . 
Ibi d, ? ?  1 4 o 
Les Ma?tre s ,  p . 48 o  
Ibid  '? pp . 48-9 . 
Vue de la  terre promis e ,  p .  95 . 
voi t  point l ' ab1me . , ( 1 )  Moreover , the further 
Laurent advances in his  career the more he reali ses 
that while the re are  a few l il(e Nicolle or Dastre who 
have creati ve abi lity and are devo ted di sciples  of a 
' ? ? ?  sci enc e re'demJ:)tri ce '
( 2 )  -vvhich serves humani ty , 
there are many savant_? who run after honour and glory . 
I t  i s  in  Le Combat contre l es ombre s when Lauren t ,  
now a ?hef de servi c? at the Institut nati onal de 
b iologi e ,  b ecomes involved in a di spute wi th hi s 
director , Larminat ,  over  the ineff ic i ency of hi s lab -
oratory assis tant , that Duhamel reveals the extent to  
which the sc i entifi c world  i s  f illed with intrigue and 
hypocri sy . Previ ously , Laurent had as a pupil  seen 
only the fault s  of hi s mait?. Now , as he  b ecomes 
the vic tim of  a v irulent newspaDer c ampaign following 
the publ i cat i on of hi s art icle  a t tacking sc ient ific  
adminis trat i on ,  he dis covers the real ity t o  which hi s 
naivety had b linde d him .  The re luc tance of  the 
profes...w?s Blot and Chartrain t o  come to his ass i stance 
after they had ini t ial ly c ongratulated him on hi s 
article ,  the revelation tha t o the r ??ts ,  including 
hi s colleague Vui llaume , are using the opportuni ty t o  
di scredi t him for p ersonal gain , c ause Laurent to see  
that in  s c ience as  in  other forms of human endeavour 
one finds ' ? ? ? la lachete de s hommes ? ? ? la betise  des 
horn me s ? ? ?  '. 
( 3 ) 
( 3 ) 
Ib id ,  PP ? 95 -6 .  
P . -H .  Simon ,  Georges Duhame l ou le bourgeo i s  
sauve, P ?  1 34 . 
Le Combat contre les  omb re s , p . 283 . 
The p i cture which Duhamel  paint s of the men t o  
whom hi gher  e ducation in s c ience is  entrus ted i s , 
therefore , one which shows c learly p ersonal 
inadequaci es and lack of professional compe tenc e .  
Ye t ,  despi te  hi s exp eri enc es , Laurent Pasqui er remains 
f'undar11ental ly optimis tic . 
Les grands hommes se  chamaillent ; 
la pensee marche quand meme .  Le monument 
du savoir s ' edifie , malgre l es querelles . 
Toute s l es  feuilles  sont g?t?es , tous les  
arb re s  sont malades , mais  la f'oret est  
magnif'i que . ( 1 )  
The exampl e  of hi s Batrons , Das tre , Censi er ,  Hermerel 
and Chalgrin , is for him an ind icati on of the exi stence 
of' a humble , human s c ience whi ch recogni s es the l imi t-
ati ons of rat ional inquiry . From them he has learnt 
a balance b e tween mind rul e and heart rule , an 
equi librium of'  spiri t resul ting from the fusi on of' a 
disc iplined inte lligenc e and ideal ism.  I t  is  thi s 
view of' sc ienc e which comb in es humanitariani sm and a 
resp ec t for the EBpri t cri tigu? which in turn Laurent 
\ will transmi t to his pupil s  at the College de  France .  
'I'hroughout Chronigue d.iLL:Pas_g__11_ier we have seen 
the theme of the function of' education deve lope d .  In 
Le No taire du Havre Raymond Pasquier had s tated the 
firm convi ction of the man of' the nineteenth c entury 
that through educati on men would be p erfected.  
Laurent ' s  experienc es both in  the family and in the 
world of s c ience cast doub t s  on the validi ty of  this  
( 1 )  Les Mattres , P o  268 .  
b el ief' .  The ?avant has not ne cessar ily learnt 
wisdom , nor has he l earnt t o  rule hi s pass ions . 
Laurent ? whose  v i ews reflect  the mo re cauti ous 
appro ach of the twent ieth c entury sc i entist  who sees  
both the benefit s  t o  mankind of sc i entific  develop-
ments  and the dangers which c ertain sci entific  and 
technologica l advances  p re sent , i s  less  prepared to 
e stablish a definite  correlati on b e tween the expansion 
of factual knowledge and charac ter  development . 
i t  i s  equally certain that  Laurent Pasquier ?  who has 
b een formed by the c ultur? general? of the lyc{e and 
whose ' ? ? ?  discipline int ellectuelle  ? ? ?  , ( 1 ) and 
' at ti tude professionnelle ? ? ?  ' ,  ( 2 ) which is  characterised  
by a ' ? ? ?  tendresse att entive ? ? ?  1 ( 3 )  and a poignant 
awareness  of' ' ? ? ?  1 1  effrayant e humil i  te  de no tre , 
condi tion ? ? ?  ' ( 4 ) derived from his  spe c i al i st tra ining 
in medi cine and b i o logy ,  i s  c onvin ced that the s tudy 
of t he disciplines prov ides the possib ilit ie s  of mental 
and moral growth. For the man who seeks enlightenment ?  
the man who seeks t o  extend his powers of inquiry t o  
understru1d himself and othe r men , the man who seeks to  
refine hi s moral and aestheti c percepti ons , education 
provide s  the essential t ools by whi ch s ome degre e of 
self-mastery may b e  achieved .  
It  is  f i t ting that Duhamel ,  who has traced in  hi s 
Le Nota i re du Havre , p .  27 . 
Ibid,  P o  9 o  
Ibid , :P ? 9 .  
Les Ma!t res ,  p . 1 9 8 .  
nov e l-cycl e  the educati onal deve lopment in the ]ycee?9  
the faculties  and the inst itutes of Laurent Pasquier 9 
shoul d in the concl uding volume examine the po si ti on 
of Joseph Pasqui er ,  the cri t ic o.f educati on 9  who had 
stead:fastly maintained the irrelevance of highe r 
learnin g. 
contrast b etween the si tuation of Laurent who has been 
mouldecl by th e di scipl ines  and who has internalised  
their  values and tha t o:f Joseph '.!ho se  educati on had 
been t erminated at the e lementary level . I:f Laurent 
has :found peac e with himsel:f and9  with his equi librium 
and calm 9 shows a .?Jl.A?-s? which  Duhamel beli eve s i s  
lacking amongs t  men in a techno?ogi cal  age 9 Joseph is 
tormented  by doubts and torn by contradi ctory force s .  
The s trength of hi s p e rsonali ty f'or whi ch Laurent had 
been unable t o  conc eal his admira tion i s  reveal ed to 
be devoid  o:f a solid  :foundat ion . Wi thout educat i on 
Joseph i s  not an integrated indivi dual equi?p ed :for 
dealing wi th l ife as a whol e .  Despi te hi s a:f:fi rm-
ati ons to  the contrary the trained intel ligenc e  o:f 
the h ighly educated compel s his  attention and resp ec t .  
Thi s i s  di scernible  in hi s relationship w ith hi s wife , 
He11Eme . 
Comme e lle  etai t in tel ligente ! I l  
e'tai t al le la  chercher 9 au temps  jadis , 
dans c e tte Sorbonne qu ' i l execrait 
d ' instinc t .  Lui qui 9 de si bonne heure 9 
s ' etai t detourne de s choses  de  l a  cul tur e 9  
i l  e'tai t alld p rendre s a  femme  dans le 
temp le m?me de c ette  maudite  culture . 
Elle l ' intimidai t tou jours quand ell e  l e  
regardai t a ins i ,  avec c e  regard 
at tentH' . 
tout . ( 1 ) 
Elle  l ' intimidai t malgre 
The infer iority he  ?eels towards the cult ivated 
members o? the social class  in whi ch he move s make s 
him over-compensate ?or hi s lack of educat ion by 
attemp t ing to p rove hi s intelle c tual worth wi th 
patronage of the arts . His  reasons for offer ing 
himself as a candidate for the Insti tut may b e  
glimp sed  in thi s passage : 
L ' Inst itut , c ' etai t  autre chose ? 
D iable ? c 1 etai  t vraiment de la besogne 
ep ineuse . Mais bah ?  i l  reussirai t .  
I l  montrera it aux autre s ,  a Laurent ? a 
Cecile , a Suzanne , par exemp l e ,  qu ' i l  
etai t ,  lui auss i ,  a sa  mani?r e ,  W1. ma1 tre 
de 1 '  intelligenc e moderne . ( 2 ) 
Increas ingly , Joseph is  distrac ted from the 
control of hi s finc:mc ial interests by  this imp erious 
need  to emulate the succes s of the othe r memb ers of 
hi s fami ly in intell ectual and artistic  c ircle s .  
Duhamel , one note s ,  underline s the irony o:f thi s 
si tuati on by choosing imagery whi 6h relate s Joseph ' s 
att itudes and ac ti ons to the schools  whose value he 
had decried.  
1 Avec une appli ca t ion d '  e'colier qui c opie son 
model e , Joseph commen?a d ' ecrire ? ? ?  , ( j ) 
' Sur chaque p iec e ,  eta it  c o l lee  une eti que t te 
avec une date ,  un chi?fre , p ar?o i s  une remarque ecrite  
a la main , de  la  gross e ?criture scolaire  de  Joseph 
Pasquier . ' ( 4 ) 
Jos eph Pas?ier ,  pp . 224-5 . 
' Il b redoui llait ,  lamentab le soudain , cherchant 
se s mot s  c omme un ecol ier honteux . ' (
1
) 
' Joseph s 1 excusai t ,  b redouillant comme un e'colier  
pri s en faute . 1 ( 2 ) 
Although he will not admit tha t  hi s de c i si on to leave 
school early with only an elementary educ ation i s  at  
the root  of' his present di ssat i sfaction , he is  unable  
to  pr event hi s mind from turning to hi s s choo l days . 
' Des  s ouvenirs  confus , naif's , scolaire s ,  se  pressaient 
dans l ' cspri t  de Joseyh . I l  revit  un livre d e  
1 1  le9ons de choses 1 1 , avec le des sin de la grande ours e .  1 (3) 
There i s ,  then , this  u..71.avowed regret i'c? pass ing 
up hi s e ducat ional opportuni t ies  which is  at  the heart  
of' Jose;)h Pasquier ' s .d_e?._?,r.?oj, in the final vo lume of' 
Preoc cupied by intel lectual 
amb i t i ons  but without the educational background to  
achi eve them , Jo seph , who with hi s single-minded 
determination and agg?? bbi vely compet itive natur e  had 
been a dominating personal i ty in  the earl ier  volumes  
weak and p i t iable  figure . 
Thus ,  Duhamel. by prob ing the confusi on of the 
uneducate d  man> leaves us  in no doub t as  to the 
importance of a de ep and broad personal culture and 
the p lace  of school  as the means by whi ch the element s 
of thi s culture  may be  acquired . 
? 1 l i?i? :  ? :  ?65 . ? 3  Ib id , p .  66.  
CONCLUSION : 
In ? Chronigue de s Pasguier ? then ? there i s  
abundant evi dence of Duhamel ' s  interest  in the two 
main sociali sing agencie s - the family and the scho o l .  
As Duhamel ' s  vi s i on i s  charac terist ical ly limited  to  
the mi ddle c lass , the patterns of instruction in  the 
family and the school which are seen in the novel-
se ri es tend to reflect  the educational priorities  of 
thi s illJli eu - the stress  upon inte llectual deve lopment , 
the emphas is  upon a broad ,  general culture . 
Duhamel vie?ws both l earning in stitutions , the 
family and the school , with a crit ical but tolerant 
eye . I t  i s  obvious that hi s apprec iation of the 
importance of fami li al educ ation avoids the sentiment 
of Bordeaux , Bazin or Bourget , who , in the pre- 1 91 4  
p eriod had preached the virtues of the fami ly as the 
means of re sto ring national strength . But ne ither 
does his descript ion of family interac ti on incorpo rate 
the pessimi sm of Mauriac or  the hatred of fami lial 
domination of Gi de . Duhamel ' s  approach to  the 
family ' s role  in the process  of education would appear 
to preserve a sat isfac tory balanc e b e tween these  two 
extremes .  
I t  i s  c ertainly true tha t he exposes  the deficiencres 
in familial  education when the parent , not sub jec t t o  
checks or  balanc es or  outside control s ,  abuse s  hi s 
authority and fai ls to provide a home atmosphere in 
whi ch healthy chi ld development may take plac e .  In 
Chronigue de s Pasgu i er the consequenc es  upon the 
mental health of the chi ldren oE a harsh parent such 
as M . ??:'las selin or Jo se:ph Pasqui er are c learly shown . 
Similarly ,  the i rresponsible  parent s - the Raymond 
Pasquiers or the Richard Fauve ts  - are condemned as 
agent s  of' di sorder who di sturb the equi libriur11 of 
thei r fami l i es and harm the moral growth of the child . 
As Tison-Braun s ays : ' [Duhamel ] ne ni e rien de s 
imp erfections de la so cie'te  et  de l 1 homme : la fami l le ,  
les  groupes  professi onne ls sont p eints avec leurs 
peti t esses . 1 ( 1 ) 
Yet ,  i f  Duhamel prooes  the faults  and weaknesses  
of parents as  educators he does  so ,  one feels ,  almost  
ui th regret . According to Arland the mo st remarkab le 
1 ? ? ? ? la  fo i s  c a lme et tourment e? ,  sombre , mais  
traversc{e d 1  elans 1 9 ( 2 ) i s  the at ti tude of the wr i te r : 
' ? ? ?  un lo11g c onse il de scrupuleuse at tent i on e t  de 
grondeuse ,  mai s active charit e ' . ( 3 ) Although Raymond 
Pasquie r  c ontr :!_bute s towards the moral and spiritual 
confusion of Laurent with hi s dec eit  and his 
ego centri c i ty ,  Duhamel takes pains t o  em}.Jhasise  the 
redeeming features whi ch enliven hi s personality - his 
unfailing op t imi sm and i rrepress ible high spirit s as 
well  as his sincere b el ief in the primacy of reason . 
Even Jo seph Pasquier , who as a parent has a baleful 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 )  
M .  Ti son-Braun , b.?_Qpise  de l:_h_:gj}lai}.i SJ11e ,  vol . II , 
p .  387 . 
M ? .A.rland , 1 Chroni que des romans - Le Not?ire du 
Havre ' 9 N . R . F . , no . 236 ,  1 May 1 933 ,  P ? 823 . 
Ibid? p ;-8-23?? 
influence on his family , arouses  the sympa thy of the 
reader as one senses  behind h is aggres sive de termin-
ati on to suc ce ed an imperi ous ne ed i' or atten ti on and 
reassur ance o 
.Above a l l  iD the mo thers  of .Ql].rq_ni_gu? de s Pasgui er 
Duhamel demons tra te s hi s de ep respect  for the women of 
the middle classe s c  From the numerous studies  of the 
mother-child relati onship - Mme Pasq_ui e r  and Laurent , 
u ?r.r l ? d D 1 ? I C 1 ? l ., .A l d l'!lme .? as se ln an e sl re 9 eel  e ana. . exan re , 
Jacqueline and h er three  chi ldren, - there  emerges an 
image of the respons ible mother wnose love and attent-
ivene s s  to the chi ld ' s wants lay the affec t ive  
foundat ions :for .versonali ty growth o There  i s  
expre s sed  in 9hrolliQ..ue  _sles _ .PasguJe.?. a be li ef in ; 
o o o cer -Gaino sentiments  1 1ele;nen taire s ' 1 : 
hm1ilite' ,  patienc e , amour d 1 w.J.e m'ere  pour 
son en.fan t 9 d ;  une femme pour son ep oux ; -
l '  oeuvre de Duhame l e s t  l a  louange de s 
vert  us  es senti ell ement fe'minines o  ( 1 )  
If the 1I10 thers  tend  to b e  excessively protec tive and 
over-anxi ous in  the ir atti tude s towards the ir 
chi ldren ' s behavi our , thi s i s  excused as  evidence of  
the ir  maternal warmth , I t  may b e  sugge sted  that thi s  
portrai t of the mother lacks c redibi l i ty as there i s  
l i t tle  variation i n  the s te reotype of the middl e-class 
( 1 )  Ib i d ,  P ? 823 . 
mothe r  who is  both affec tionate and eff ic ient . 
Whereas consi derabl e diff erences  eoci st be twe en the 
att i tude s  of  fa thers to  thei r chi ldren , there i s  a 
b as ic similarity in the r elat ionships of mothe r and 
chi ld . The harsh mother , the c asual mother , the 
unrespons ive mother and the ineffective mother f ind 
l i t tle  place  in Qhroni gue de? PaJL?te?. I t  would 
seem that Dull.ame l ' s v is i on of the mother-chi ld 
re lati onship i s  a narrow one , cen tred on the capac i ty 
of the mother t o  provide security ru1d understanding , 
and the position of the mother in performing thi s  
rol e i s  i deal ised . 
Pre'vos  t supports  this  :point  in hi s di scussion of 
Duhame l ' s at t i tude t o  family l ife :  
Dire  que Duhamel d?cri t ?  defend e t  
prefere  a tout l e  reste la  famille e t  le  
foyer ,  c ' e s t  trop l arge encore ? les 
inst i tut ions  ne l ' interes sent guere . 
C '  e s t  1 '  amour du nid et  de la nichee 
qu ' i l  faut di re ; c 'est lh so1-l instin ct ,  
son c limat ; c ' es t au nom des nids e t  
de s ni chee s hurnaine s qu ' il juge e t  
condamne le  monde ; c ' est  du fond de son 
nid que parfois il tourne le dos aux 
e spoirs et  aux efforts des hommes . ( 1 )  
The school i s  treated in Chronigpe des Pasgui et 
in the s ame  equi table  spirit as is the fami ly . 
There is again the unmasking of the hypocrisy , egotism 
and ambit ion of some educators , but t his  is  b alanced 
against the idealism of a Jolic lerc and the warm 
humani ty of a Dast?e , a Censier , or a Chalgrin. If 
wi th c ertain of hi s mai tres Laurent experiences  
( 1 ) J.  Prevost , ' Ge orges Duhamel '  ??. , no . 25 7 ,  
1 Feb ruary 1 935 , p .  2 1 7 .  
di sillusionment at  an apparent lack of sensi tivi ty 
and fel low-feel ing, thi s will not prevent him from 
expre ssing admiration for the i r intel lec tual gifts , 
their ski lls  and abi l i t ies  and their compe tence  a s  
ins tructors . The crit ic isms whi ch Laurent makes of 
the teaching p ersonnel do not di sgui se hi s strong 
belief in the value of the f ormat i on he has rece ive d ,  
no t only as a sp ec ifi c training for hi s career a s  a 
b i ologi s t  but also as  a general p rep aration for l ife . 
His  condemnati on is of individual educators - not of 
the system as  a whole .  There i s  in Chronigue des 
?? a  firm defence of the traditi onal emphasis  
of the educat ional system on the training o:f  the 
intellec t and the development of the reasoning powers . 
Between the attrac t ion of phys ical  and mental prowes s  
Laur ent ( and Duhamel ) opts  :for the deve lopment of the 
powers of the mind . 
I l  aurai t aim? , j adi s ,  de reuni r les  
m?rites  de l ' athl?te  e t  du  c lerc , d ' avoi r  
des membres pui ssants  aux ordre s d ' une 
cervelle  ingenieuse . I l  parait dec idement 
que ce  n ' es t  pa3 :fac i le .  Il para!"t q-qe 
l ' on se trouv e ,  en :fin de compte , et meme 
au deout de tout compte , dans l ' obliga tion 
d 1 op te r ? ( 1 ) 
With thi s s tress on the educational },)riori t i e s  of 
education ,  there i s  also the value placed upon a b road,  
general cultural baclcground based on the s tudy of the 
humanit ie s  as the instrument  through whi ch the spi ri t  
might b e  refined and  the moral will  informed.  As 
( 1 )  Le Combat  contre les  omb re s ?  p .  8 .  
Laurent dec lares in Le Jardin des b?tes pauvap;e s ,  
these  di s inte rested studies are the foundat ion of 
inte ll ec tual and moral di scipline : ' -Ivleme ceux qui 
trac ent les  route s ,  m?rne c eux qui c onstrui sent des 
bateaux ou des locomot ive s ,  i l s  ont recite Vi rgi l e . ' ( 1 ) 
Final ly , Duhame l makes  effort and determinat ion the 
p rincipal virtue of the s tudent .  Learning 9 he 
sugges ts , involves s e lf -di sc ip l ine fuLd the willin??ess 
to p ersi st  with tasks which appear repeti t i ous and 
ari d .  ' I l faut pour q_u ' une seule  idee heureuse 
vienne k maturi tcf, beauc oup de gri se besogne ? ? ?  ' ( 2 ) 
Thus , in phronigue des Pasgui?._r, Geo rge s Duhamel ,  
with the ob servation of the b iologi st , the c ompassion 
of the doc to r and the ir:.o ight of the imagina t ive 
arti st , as sesses the impact  upon the learner  of hi s 
educ ati onal experiences  in the fami ly and in the 
schoo l .  The c onc lusi on that he reache s on the far-
reaching effec ts  o.f thi s  tw in group of influences  may 
be summed up in the words o.f Laurent Pasqui er who 
states :  ' ? ? ?  un homme 9 c 1 est  un ensemble  inex;tricab le 
d ' ame s ,  de forces  et  d ' in.fluences 1 . ( 3 ) 
( 1
2
) Le J?rdin des bete s sauvages .,  p .  1 58 .  
( ) Le C?bat_c ontre les  ombres , P ?  2 1 . 
( 3 )  Le? Ma?tre s ,  p .  2 21 . 
CHAPTER IJ.:  
THE ..FJUVII L Y ;  
/ 
LES THIBA.UL_! 
( a )  The Family 
(b ) The Schoo l  
( c )  Conclus ion 
In L?.? ':r.h.tbault one penetrate s into the so c ial  
world to  whi ch Raymond Pasqui er had asp ired  - the 
a?fluent middle clas s .  Of his  children only Joseph 
would come c lo sest  to thi s  mil?? in terms o? materi al 
possessions , but , as we have found , his lack o? 
culture as well  as hi s J?Oeiti on as a llii_rvenu bar him 
?rom entry to a haute bourgeois i? with established  
family tradi tions , an in-bui lt conservatism and a 
strong l ink with the Cathol i c  Church. There is , then,  
the sharp contras t in the sett ing for familial education 
b etween Qh??gue de s Pasguier and Les ?ibaul t  whi ch i s  
reflected in the pat terns of child  rearing. Agains t  
the warmth of  the lower middle-c lass home of the 
Pasquiers , vvh ich ,  acc ording to Prevost , ( 1 )  typ ifie s  the 
spirit  of this  c lass 9 Mart in du Gard p lace s the b i gotry 
and authoritarianism of the Thibault fo;i?r . I t  i s  
Oscar Thibault , the widower ,who directs  autocratica lly 
the educat ion of Anto ine and Jacques ,  whom Tison-Braun 
sees  a s  the archetype  of the  pre-1 9 1 4 pourgeo i s  in a 
dying , paternali sti c system in which o rder and 
authori ty appear synonymous ru1d the social hie rarchy i s  
( 1 )  See  J o  Prevo st , ' Georges Dubamel ' ,  N . R .l4'. , no . 257 , 
1 Feb . 1 935 , PP ? 2 1 8?9 . 
justif ied as part of God ' s  p lan.  1 L 1 ordre de  M .  
Thibault est  e s sent iellement l ' accep tat i on d ' une 
certaine hierarchi e qu ' i l cro i t  voiJ.lue par Di eu e t  la  
nature parc e qu ' el le sati sfait  se s besoins ? ? ?  , ( 1 )  
Whi le the Thibaul t s ,  as members of the p...,Qurgeoisie  
b i en .Q_y_,nsant? represent the last ves t iges  of an 
orgp.ni c soci ety base d on authori ty , conservatism and 
tradition,  the Protestant Fontanin family , who also 
belong to the uppe r mi ddle-c lass s o c i ety of acquired 
wealth and e s tabli shed p osit ion, s tand f'or the forces 
of so c ial and rel igious l iberty. As Th$rive po ints  
out , there i s  in ??? Thibauli a confl ict  between con-
formity and nonconformi ty ,  whether thi s i s  stated in 
rel igious t erms or in the c onfl ict  or generations over 
soc ial OP educational i ssues . There  i s  a c onfrontation 
' ? ? ?  entre deux morales ,  entre deux so ci etes , entre le 
tradi tionali sme e t  le lib ertarisme - mieux encore , ent re 
la jeunes se e t  la vieille s se du monde'. ( 2 ) Ho-wever , the 
opp osition b etween the tw o sets  of forc e s  doe s  not 
reso lve i tself into  a s imple  condemnat i on of one or  
endorsement of  the othe r.  Thi s is  obvi ous in studying 
the princ iples  whi ch guide the upbringing of the 
Thibault s and the Fontanins . Wher eas the intolerance 
and the harsh authoritariani sm of the Thibault f oyer 
cause Jacques  to revolt against paternal dominat i on ,  the 
lack of a moral lead in the Fontanin home i s  reveale d  to  
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
M .  Ti son-Braun , La Gri se de l ' humanisme , v ol .  II , 
p .  1 96 .  
?--
A. Therive , ' Les Thibault  - La Consul tation ,  La 
Sore llina ' , N . R . F . , no . 1 78 ,  1 July 1 9 28 ,  p .  1 27 .  
jg]_ 
be  at the root of the psycho logi cal , social and moral 
disequil ibriwn of Daniel and  Jenny . 
As well  as  be ing s eparated from the Pasqui ers by 
soc ial clas s ,  the Thibaults and the Pontanins share 
signifi cant diff erences in fami ly structure which affect  
the patterns of fam i lial interact i on .  The int er?
personal relat ionships within the fami ly are di ss im i lar 
becaus e o:t. .... the di sp ar ity in t he compo sit ion of the group . 
Whereas the Pasquier fami ly is  comJ,Jle  te and with the 
parent s and f iv e  chi ldren const itute s a warm , living 
tribe , in both the :primary i'amily groups in  Le s Thibaul t 
one J?arent i s  abs ent . O scar r hib aul t ' s wife had die d 
following the birth of the younger s on ,  Jacques ,  and the 
aged gou_yernant?, Mlle de Wai ze , i s ,  for all he r good 
intentions ? aa inadequate surro gate  mo ther o  S imi larly , 
in the Fontanin home the mo the r ,  Th?r?se de Fontanin , 
must  supervi se the upbringing of her two children , Danie l  
and Jenny , w ithout male support a s  her husband, the 
:p rofl i gate  Jerome de Fontanin , negle c ts the ne eds o:f h i s  
fami ly and r eturns infrequently to  the ?o?er.  Hence , in  
ne ither home in L e s  Thibault  do  the c ondit ions :f or a 
normal p arent-chi ld interac ti on ex ist  and the difficul t ie s  
o:f so c ial  and emot i onal ad jus tment of the chil dren o:f 
both :fami li e s  are l inked wi th the unfavourable envi ron?
mental s i tuations in early chi ldhood .  
The dep ic t ion o:f the pro c ess o:f :fami lial education 
is  also  affected  by the technique whi ch the author  
employs o Unl ike Duhamel  who unfolds the ac tion o:f the 
Pasqui er saga through the eyes o:f one o:f the 
parti c ipants y  Roger Mart in du Gard in ?es Thibault 
as sumes  the posit ion of the omni scient  ob server and the 
.?J.;y:le? ind?rec t l ibre whi eh he em1J loys is a techni ca..i 
tour de  __ ?or??? liru{ing eff ecti ve ly repor ted speech and 
narrative co@ment y whi le maintaining an appearance of 
author inl neutral ity .  This  thi rd per son approach i s  a 
flexible  instrument which faci li tates a VJi dening of the 
range o? reactions to the educntive proce ss  in the 
family9  as  the writer i s  perm i tt ed  to vrob e the 
response s  of different members of the fami ly to  the same 
evenL The s it ua tions are not l imi ted 9  as  in the early 
vo lumes of .Qhro_p.ique de?.... PaSQ..U:l,_E;r,9  wi th the ir basi cally 
linear s truc ture 9 to th ose 11i th in the im1aedia te exp e r-
ience of the narrator . By this Ji1 ethod Mart in du Gard 
inj ec t s  into the world of the T:1 ibaul ?c s the app earance 
of real ity .  He create s  a solid  world in which the 
complex mechanisms of the charac ters are revealed by  
sub tl e  p sychologi cal touche s ;  the ir hy_pocrisy and self-
decep ti on be ing expo sed by the discrepanc ies  between 
thoughts  and acti ons 9 words a?d deeds . P ic on make s 
this comment on I:Iartin du Gard ' s sl{i l:ful characterisation :  
Une p art e ssent ielle  des personnages e t  
d e  l eurs rapports e s t  l ai s see dans l ' ombre : 
e t  le romancier montre c et t e  ombre d ' un do igt  
leger sans le dissiper.  Quelque s mot s 9  
quelques gestes  qui peuvent echapper au 
lectt'Jur inattent if 9 suggerent que les  ?v-rai s 
rapport s  de Jacques e t  du p?re ne se rAdui sent 
pas a l ' ho sti l ite qui  gouverne leur conduit e ; 
mais l ' auteur ne nous en dit  pas plus que les  
personnages n ' en savent eux-memes - qui ont 
enfoui l eur tendresse dans la region la p lus 
obscur e de leur coeur . ( 1 ) 
( 1 )  G .  Picon 9 ' Portrait  et si tuation de Roger Martin 
du Gard ' 9 Mercure de Jtran9..?.9 no . 1 1 41 9 Sept . 1 958  9 .Q .  20 .  
.2.Q2. 
The p sychologi cal  depth ( 1 ) of' the portraits  of' the 
members of the :fami ly in Le Cah??j??' ?? Penitenc i e? 
and La Belle Saisoq, the :firs t three novels in the 
cycle  which are most re levant t o  the study of' :fami l ial 
education,  comp ensates  f'or the c om.Qarati ve ab senc e of' 
detail  on the early stages of' chi ld  nurture in the 
Thibnul t f'atni ly . ?hereas in 1 889 at the beginning of' 
yhroniq_ue d?s ?C;J.s_q_uie? Laur ent is  st i ll n child , in 
1 904 , when the ac t ion of Les 'J'hib ault  commences , 
Antoine has re ached adulthood  ru1d Jacque s is  in mi d-
adolescenc e .  As we have s een , ];,e.? :N oi?.ire du_Havre 
de scrib es  chronologically Laur ent 1 s education :from the 
age of' seven to the age of' ten at  a period  when h i s  
na ture i s  e s  sen t i  al ly J?last i c  and J.1e is  still  f' ully 
depende11t UJ!On hi s 1)a re nt s  and rec ep tive to the ir 
inf'l uence . But in the corresponding vo lume in the 
Thibaul t cycle , J..?t?, Jacque s i s  al ready at  
:fourteen years of  age &bser ting hi s emot ional indep-
endence of' hi s fathe r.  The cri t i cal i'o rmnti ve  years 
are behind him and hi s defiance of' external control s 
demonstrates  his  increas ing self-awareness . I t  is  
true that :from the bri ef' ref'erenc es of Antoine and 
Jacques to  the ir chi ldhood ,  the f'm7 reminiscences  of' 
Oscar Thibault or Mademoiselle  de ?ai ze and the 
gl impse whi ch one i s  given in Oscar 'rhib aul t '  s diari es  
\ in La hlort  du per? of hi s r elat ionship with his  w ife in 
( 1 )  On this  ques ti on of' the c ompl ex psychology of' the 
characterisat i on in Les Thibault see J. Vrolyk , 
' The Psychological  Mutat i ons ?n some of' the Ma jor 
Charac ters of' Roger Mart in du Gard ' s Les Thibault  
resulting :from World War I ', .Jlll.er-Uni versi t.y French 
Seminar 1969, pp . 5 7-66 . 
31.Q 
the early years of the i r  marriage 1 one do es gain some  
insi ght into the nature of the famil ial educat ion whi ch 
the chi ldren had rece iv ed .  Tha t the perspe c tive  of 
past  ac ti ons inf' luenc ing the pr esent i s  maintained 
without lengthy flashbacks VJhi ch vvo u l d  break the flow 
of ac ti on 1 is a tribut e to 1 -iartin cl u  Gard 1 s skilf ul 
interwenving of' sig...'l.ificant de ?ca i ls :from the past  int o 
the narrat ive . dowever ;  the basic  differenc e in the 
depic tion of the educative pro ces8  still  ex i sts  ? 
.Q.hron:i.c.L\1..? . des Pasg_ui?r deals wi th the educa t i on b o th of 
the chi ld and. the ado l es  cent  whi le Le?.._ ']'l1i b aul t i s  
pr imarily co11ce rned v1i th the latter  development al  
period ? 
.?-Uthough i n  treatment the examination of fami lial  
education l a  the two  novel--seri es  ofi"'ers c ertain di s-
s imilari t ies , in two re spects  Duhrunel  and Martin du  
Gard are in  ac cord . F irstly , ?o o th base  the ir analysis  
of' fami ly interac ti on upon thei r own experience of' 
family l if e .  \ie have no ted  the resemblanc e in broad 
outl ine of  Duhamel ' s  i tinerant lower  middle- class  
fami ly with the Pasqui er  ?+??g. S imi larly , Mart in du  
Gard centres hi s cyc l e  on a fami ly of the same soc ial 
c irc?1stance s as  that in whi ch he had received hi s up-
b ringing. The a cc o unt of Ja cques ' s  development from a 
2ancr? to an able  pupil  who wins a p lace  in a EL?ande 
.?Q.o;Le follows c losely the shape of Mart in du Gard 1 s 
adol escence  as related  in the Souyep??? At the same 
time in Anto ine the s teady, balanc ed do ctor of' robus t 
mentali ty one might see  a refl ec ti on of the di sc ipline d ,  
ill 
methodical chartists  he la ter became . 
Indeed ? the writ er admits  to a dddoublement in Les 
Thibault v1hi ch vmuld al low him to  explore the contra-
dieta ry s ides of his nature . 
Des j anvi er ,  yendant l e  rep i t  que j e  
m ' etai s  acc orde ap r?s  la  reouverture du 
Vieux-Colomb i er ,  j I avais  ete! brusquement 
seduit  par  1 1 ide!e d ' ecr ire l 1 hi stoire de 
deux frere s :  deux 8'tres  de tempe'rGments  
aussi  dif'f' e'rent s ,  aussi  divergent s ,  que 
p ossible , mai s f'onc i?rement marques par les  
ob scures  similitudes  que cree , entre deux 
c onsanguine , un tr?s pui ssant  atavisme  
commur1. Un te 1 su j et  m 1 offrai t 1 '  oc casi on 
d '  w1 :Lructueux dedoublement : j 1 y voyai s l a  
possib i l i te'  d ' exprimer simul tane'ment deux 
t endances  contradi cto i res  de ma natur e :  
l ' instinc t d ' indepe'ndnnce , d ' evasion,  de  
re'volt e , le  refus de  taus le s c o:cJ..1' ormismes ; et  
c e t  i?s t inct d ' ordre , de ? e s urc , c8  rcfus de s 
extr2mes que j e dei  s 8. m on hcredi te . ( 1 )  
I t  i s ,  then , the effects  of an upbringing in an upper  
middl e-class fami ly which Martin du Gard sets  out to  
explore  in ?s=-Tll?. The ?att erns of educat i onal 
experi enc e whi ch the sons  anddaughter s of' the .?? ?. 
??.Q...i?i? rec e ive  in the i r  fami lies  are the sub j e c t  
of hi s enguiry in the early novels  of the cycle . Like 
the author , the Thib aul t s  a re imprinted wi th 1 ? ? ?  c et 
ensemble  de vertus ,  de prejuge's ,  d ' habitudes e t  d ' e'cus , 
dent se composent la cultur e mo rale et  l ' educati on de 
la b ourgeo i si e '  . ( 2 )  
However ? if  one i s  ab le  wi th justifi cation to  po int 
to general  s im ilarities  in the shape of educat ion of 
the young Ro ger Martin du Gard and that of the 
Thibaul t s ,  one mus t avo i d  overemphasising parallels  of 
( 1 )  Souvenir s ?  0 .  C .  I ,  p .  Jxxx . -?:::-r=-- ? ( 2 ) Deveni r . , O . C .  I ,  p .  1 3 . 
inc ident or ?ersonal i ty .  Althoug..h. -?he Thibaul t s  and 
the Martin du Gards b el ong to the same so c ial class  the 
composi ti on o:L the fo.mi  ly is d ifferent .  Similarly , i t  
is  w1v1ise t o  su gge s t  that the reJ at :'..onshi_p of the 
father 211d the sons in -?? ..Q?CJ.J1ifl.L&..r:t? nece s sari ly 
r ep r o du c e s  the si  tus.ti on in the 1 : art in d u  Go.rd home . 
I n  fac G ?  i : o.nri c c  :.1 o. r t i n du Go.r d ,  tJ ?c: '."Jri t er 1 s c ous in, 
deni e:J thu t  ll i s  u.n.cle  rms c.har? ac t c r :L c; ed b y  b igotry o r  
insensi t i  vi t y  a l  thou[jl :ni s tcndenc:/ to '.'/ards pompos i ty 
w a s  a sourc e o f  fam i l y  anu sement . 
On ? ' n so uven t demandd s i  do.ns Ln Mort 
d'?2?? cJUi e s t  un dc rJ beaux r.1o r c e DU/? des 
.'-?l.?i]J...Cl??l. L,. , e t  a up2ravc?n t clans .?e. _Q?:?.t?? .. gr i  ? 
et  V:; Peni t enc i er , Roger ava i ?[; cl.JiJ G Llt  le  
S i l:l_l? ? ?  ? "? 'Ce -11:r-C . .i'hi baul t ? .!_.I O l.;_p : . :0 j_ 9 ll 1 0. 
j oJii c. i s  r?e sse ,11b le  au  1-? re de Roe er  qui , 
_p on t i l' i a  1t 9 eJil}J e se/ ;.3 ans doutc ( o:1 r:l e  d i sai t .  
cc t -G C1lt.L on ! tu  o.s  ov2ld  lCJ. ca.iLle d e  Paul ! )  
e'tai G tonif i d  j_.. o. :c? unc es_ucc c d 1  i ro 11 i e , e t  
tres  b on , J) as l e  uw ins d Ll. mon de e;arde ?
chi ourn.e . ( 1 ) 
I f  f o r  tht: de scrip t i ons of fami l ial int e rac ti on b o th 
Duhafilel  o .. < ld  l>l art in du Gard te11d to choose  characters  
from ?Lhe ir? s o c ial  b ackgrow1d , tl1ey also share a b e l i ef 
that clasu  diff erences in educat i on a s  we l l  as  the 
indi vidual differences p re sen t in the training of the 
child  in the fami ly have persi stent nnd endurin g  effects  
up on development . The impo rtance whi ch Hartin du Gard 
attaches to the upbringing of chi l dr en in J_,es Thib aul t 
i s  note d by Boak ( 2 ) v.rho c laim s tha t educ at i on i s  an 
essent ial theme of the novel-cyc l e .  The s truc tur e of 
( 1 )  M .  Martin du Gard ? ' Roger Mar t in du Gard '  9 
des deux monde s , 1 Oc t .  1 958 , p .  47 -1 . 
( 2 ) D. Boak,  Roger Mart in du Gard , p .  20 8 .  
I?evue 
Le s 'rhibaul t ma1-ce s cleo.r this prco c cul_]ation with the 
educati on of tile chi ld in the hom e whi ch 'ai l l  have a 
ma j o r  b e a rinc on intel lectual , soc ial  illld emo t ional  
.Les?bault be gins and en d s  '7/i th  o. c ons id-
ora t i on o: the educ ati onal nee ds of children . The 
r-espons e s  to the i r  ;J_pb ringing of A.n to ine and Jacques 
Ti1ibaul t, c.nd Do.nie l and Jenny de ::.? o11 t w1 L1 .  Although 7 
s o c i  e t?r overshadovvs the portr?ayal of the int er!." ela  ti  or1-
chi ld  cc1uc?  . t  i on i s  re G t o r 0d ?L, o }::? rou incncc . I t  i s  ll. O'il 
i mC:.t te ;:; o11 ,  ':rhi ch o cc up i e s  the tho ugll t r-3 o :C  A.r1to ine )' vrho 
i s  dyinE f rom the eff ects  of B2G Gin2 in the war . In 
i: 1i s diary tl le YJ2?f/ makes  no te s  for the guidance  o f  
the chi ld  who v1i l l  gro'.7 up in  t he ?c roub l e d  ye ar;:; after 
the war , and hi s last entry c onc l udes with the words 
' Jean-.l-'aul 1 ,C 1 ) 
LiLe Laurent Pasqui e:;r ,  Ant o ine an d ,Jac que s Thibault  
s t ruggle against  the de teriD ini sia of the ir  upbringing as  
wel l  a s  their  heredity . Just  a s  Laurent attemp ts to 
shak? -G-ff the va lue s and attitu des  of his  fathe r ,  so 
too doe s  Jacque s repudiate his fathe r ' s l ife -style and 
striv e  t o  free  himself from the influence of' hi s family 
and the regul at ing p ressure s of the cultu ral group of' 
------- ---?------------------------
( 1 )  182_ilogue , O . C .  I I , p .  1 0 1 1 .  
whi ch h i G  1'am ily  i s  a part - tne upper 111iddle c las s . 
Nhereas  Duham el in Chroni que des  P?g_y:j.e_r: al lows Lauren t 
parti al enanci1j at i on - the ab i l i ty t o ove rcomE:: hi s 
fath er 1 s cxam.Jle by a ' re'act ion ant i -he're'di  tair e '  -
whi l e  em?!hasising  in o the r v1ay s ho\'1 c lo se ly he  i s  b ound 
to  hi s fani ly and t ::ne extent t o  ,-,l 1 icL Li s noral  form-
at i on i s  indeb ted  to  the educat ional e:x .:,eri ences he  hnd 
rt:c <:: ivcd  in hi e hom e ,  i.: a rt in du Ga rrl ' s charo cte r s are 
more  f ir ??!lly enme sbt;d in the ir  hereditJ and educ at ion . 
As Ikor dec lo. re s : 
Le 3 tro i s Thibaul t son t v raiment l e  p?r e 
et  se s deux fi l e .  L ' idon ti td  se  trouve ? l a 
rac inc m&?e de leurs  carac t?re s et s an s  
truqua :::;e . l l fJ p o.rle ?1t l a  l!lB'me l angu c , i l s  
c on ?t de le.; ;:1??rJc cho.i r ,  i l s s ont de s Thib aul t , 
c omne 1 1  ex_0 l ique w1 j o tlr 9 ave c  une exo.l tat i on 
juve'ni :Lc:; 9 Ant. o inc h Jac (LU8!3  ? . ?  D0..t1 G to us l es 
m ome nt ;-_; c ri ?ci ques l e s  deu:c fr?r c? ;:;  c ' e't onnc:;n t 
c:; t  s ouvcnt s '  ind i ,_::;nen t dr:: dc!c ouvrir  en eux , 
e t  surtout l '  Lm en 1 1  autre , de s ressemb lances  
o.vec  lcur pbr e . ( 1 )  
?owever 9 such a s tre s s by  ?art in du Gard upon the 
twin f o r c e s  of he redi ?L.y and e duc at i on cloe :::; not ne ce s-
sari  ly  i m  . .1 ly  that the 2c  t i ons o..C h i e  charac t ers are 
l imi ted  at  every turn by a mechanistic de termini sm .  
Picon  r efers  t o  Jacque s ' s s i lence  after hi s return from 
the p eni tenti ary at  Crouy when one would  have imagin ed 
his reacti on to  hi s impri sonment by hi s fa ther t o  be  
vi olent reb e l li on ,  a s  an example  of  ' ? ? ?  les  trouvailles  
par  lesquelles  9 e'cha:ppan t b l a  dcfte  rminat ion de leur 
caract?r e ,  l e s  personnage s  a c c'edent ? 1 '  impre'vi s ibili  te' 
de  l a  vie ' . ( 2 ) One might c ite  in  support of this 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
R .  Iko r ,  ' L ' Humani te de s Thibaul t ' , Europe , no . 6 9  
June 1 946 , p .  33 . 
G .  Picon ,  ' Portrai t et si tua tion de Roger Mart in du 
Gard ' ,  r?.'l e rcure de Franc? y  no . 1 1 Lj. 1 , Sept . 1 958 , 
:p .  2 1 . 
c onten ?cion Anto ine ' s c omment that if he has b een aware 
o:f the strength o:f  atavi st i c :forces  ru1d the potency of' 
heredi ty and upbringing he has not  :felt  helple s s  in 
their griv ? 
( Savons trop , nous autres ,  que nos actes  ' - / d t son"t., .La  c on sequence e ce  que nous somme s e 
de cc  aui nous entoure . Rc suonsables  de 
no ?L;re  he're'di t e'? de notre e'c1ucat ioil ? de s 
exeJi1p les  dorwe's ? des c ir c onsto.11ce s ?  Lon 1 
c '  e st  1 1  dvidcnce m@'me . ) 
Mai s j ' ai toujours aGi comme s i  j e  
croyai s b mu. resp onsab il i te'  ab solue.  ( 1 )  
The Thibaults of Mart in du Gard ' s novel -cycle of 
ei ght part s , vvi th the ir comfortab l e  but not os ten tat i ous 
tmvn house  in the rue de l ' Unive rsite'  and their country 
hous e at It!ai sons-Laf:C it t e 9 thei r re t inue of se rvant,? and 
tradi t ion of a i'lUl' se or  governe s s t o  ass i st  v1i th the 
education of th c chi ldr en ,  the i r links \ .' i  th the Cat ho l ic 
hi erarchy o.nd the Inst i tut de France,  and the ir con-
nect iolls  through the father ,  Oscar 'i' '?1i bo.ul t 9 a forme r? 
Q?fu.\Lte.' of the Eure 9 with extreme Ri&1. t rep ublican 
?oliti c s ,  move in a differen t worlJ  to tha t of the 
fallli l ies  of the k?.tj_k_ b our?O?.?j.??. in Chronigue de s 
Pasgu:t-eF. ? They belong to the powerful pourgeoi si e  
of inherited  weal th which i s  deterlflined to hold  fast 
to what i t  possesses  and is conscious of i ts obligati ons 
to protec t  the honour of the fami ly .  As O scar Thibaul t  
i s  proud t o  dec lare : ' N ' avons-nous pas derri?re nous 
deux siec l es de roture 9 dBme nt justifie'e ?  C ' est  
quelque  chose . Pour ma part , j ' ai conscience d ' avoi r ,  
s elon rnes moyens ,  accru c e  patrimoine respec tab l e  ? ? ?  , ( 2 ) 
( 1 ) Epilo?e ,  ?? II ,  P ? 958 . 
( 2 ) La Belle Saison , o . c .  I ,  pp . 9 1 3-1 ?- ?  
For Oscar Thibaul t the not i on of fami ly ,  the sense of 
dynasty or ' race ' , is s trong.  The fami ly i s  more than 
a so cial 1..mi t to protec t  and train i t s  memb ers ; i t  is 
the means of preserving influenc e 9  o:f reta ining the 
reins of the Republi c in the h&J.ds of the cap i talists .  
I t  is thi s concept of the all powerful P??l.Y"'.,K?Oj_? 
family that he at tempt s  to exj:!lain sonw;,vhu t incoherently 
to  hi s eldest son .Antoine , from hi s s i ck-b ed in La 
.s;orelJ-in??? . 
i 'Toi , tu  a s  W1e f?cheu se tendance 'a 
l ' individuali sme ? "  fi t-il tout ? coup ,  en 
j e tant vers lu1toine tm regard courroucEL  
1 1Tu changeras sans  doute quand tu  seras grand. " 
I l  rectifi a :  " ? ? ?  quand tu auras viei lli , quand 
tu auras , t o i  auss i 9 fonde' une fami l le ? ? ?  
Eff'ec tivement , mon che r ,  s i  l ' on ad.met que la 
famil le d o i  t res ter  la c e llul e _premi? re du 
t i ssu soc i al ,  ne  fau t-i l p a s  ? ? ?  ne faut-i l  ?as 
qu ' elle constitue c ette  ? ? ? cette ari stocrat i e  
.t? l e'bei enne ? ? ?  oh do renavant s e  recrutent les  
eli t e s ?  La fam i l l e ,  la  fam i l le ? ? ?  Reponds : 
ne sommes-nous _pas l e  p ivot sur l equel ? ? ?  sur 
1 equel tourne l ' Etat bourgeois  d 1 auj ourd ' hui ? 1 1 (1 )  
Yet i t  \lvould seem that Oscar Thibaul t '  s urging of his  
sons to succeed and t o  add to  their inheritance is  akin 
to Raymond Pasqui er ' s efforts  to obtain for  hi s fam i ly 
soc ial elevati on .  
L...?..s Thj,baul t the writ ers c learly indi c at e  the competi  t-
ivene ss  of' the middle  c lasses , thei r refusal to  remain 
stat i c , the ir aggressi ve drive f'orward. Thus, the 
Thibault  sons like the Pasqui ers are filled with a 
tribal instinc t to dominate  and they , t o o ,  trace the 
ori gin  of the vigour and de termina t i on of their  ' race '  
to  Norman p easant s to ck .  The cult of  d ifference has 
( 1 ) La _ Sorellina , o . c .  I ,  p . 1 1 52 . 
been handed down .from .fathe r to son . The pride o.f 
Oscar 'l'hibaul t in h is own achievements and in those of 
hi s predecessors i s  communicated to  Antoine and Jacques  
and .finds express ion in  Anto ine ' s  demarrogi c rec ital  of 
Nous ne sor.1mes pas s eul ement deux indi  v idus 9 
AntoinG et  Jacques : nouc sommes deux Thib aul t 9  
nous somLl e s  le s Thibaul t ? ? .  Et ce  (1Ui e st 
terribl e 9  c ' est  justement d ' avo i r  en so i cet  
elai1 9  c e  m&'Iile e'lan ,  1 1  e'lnn de s Thib ault ? ? ?  Nous 
autrcs 9 les  Thib nult 9  nous ne som;:te s iJD. s  comme 
1\. -tout le monde . Je cro i s  mcme que nous avons 
quelque cho se de plus que les  autrcs , ? cause  
de  ccci : que nous s omme s  le s Thibaul t .  Moi , 
partout o? j 1 ai passe', au coll?ge , h la Faculte',  
a l ' hO'pitn l'. , partout ,  j e  me  suis  senti  un 
?rhibault , Ui.1 e'tre 'a part , j e  n ' o se pas dire  
supe'rieur , et  p ourtant si ,  .Q ourquoi pas ?  oui , 
SUJ!eri eur, arme' d 1 w1e .fo rce que l es autres  n' ont 
pas . ( -1 ) 
As wi th the Pasqui ers , the cult ivation o.f the inte l-
l igence is a meai.1S o.f channelling thi s aggres s ive 
competitiveness to achi eve personal ambi t  ions : the 
acqui sit ion o.f a career in the ?ro.fe ssions , the earning 
o.f a rep utation in soc i al and intellec tual c ircl e s ,  the 
w inning o.f titl es and honours ? Oscar Thibaul t , who 
.from his  father ' s .factory ,  had through the ? at 
Rouen and hi s studies  o.f law gained entry to the 
.fashionable circle s  o.f Tout-Par? i s 9  urge s his two sons to  
.fo llow hi s example . Although hi s satisfac t ion with 
their  a cademic  ac compl i shments is rarely expres sed 
d irec tly,  nevertheless it is  real - a .fact which Anto ine 
di scovers later , when , i n  a c onversation with hi s 
.father ' s goi.f.feur , Faub oi s ,  he is  told o.f hi s .father ' s  
( 1 )  Le Pe?i t enc ie r ,  9. 0 .  I ,  p . 763 . 
pride at Jacque s 1 s pas sing of the pc.c__<1.,alaure'at, and hi s 
own successful p rogres s through the Ecole  de Medec ine o (1 ) 
While  thi s cult of ene rgy , this  de termination t o  
succeed? to deve lo? one ' s powers to  the fullest , to 
impo se on e ' s will  by the forc e of intelligenc e ,  is one 
ma jor  tlle11ie in the educat i on of the yow1.g Thibaul ts , 
the o t her is  the contradicto ry pressure t o  p reserve 
the equilibrium and orde r of soc iety ,  to  respec t 
custom and tradi ti on and to conform and obey . Thi s 
opposite  tendency t owards conservati s1:1 in the 
b9ur?oi ?t E} is  evoked by AJ.J.to ine at the funeral of hi s 
father as he gaze s at  the represerttatives  of hi s 
fathe r ' s so c i e ty :  
? ? ?  I l s sont tous parei l s .  Interchangeabl e s .  
En de'crire un ,  c ' est les  mary_uer to us . Des 
i'r ileux , des c l ii;no tants , des myope s ,  yui ont 
peur de tout : peur de la J!ensee ,  p eur de 
l ' evolution so cial e , peur de tout ce QUi de'ferle 
c ontre l eur forteresse ! ( 2 ) 
The c onfl i c t  b e tween the two set s of forces , the one 
indivi duali sti c ,  the other conformist , i s  equally 
apparent in the upbringing of the Pasqui ers with the 
s tres s upon indivi dual effort and ent erpri se ,  temp ered 
by the c ounsel ?to caut ion and order , the necessi ty to 
c ontrol the passions by the exerc i s e  of reason - the 
lay morali ty of the Reti te bourgeoi si e .  But in  the 
educat ion of the Thibaults  the oppo si ti on b e twe en the 
twin patterns of b ehaviour i s  more pronounced ; the 
conservative pressures are s trengthened by an auste re 
Catholic ism,  the establi shed family traditi ons af 
( 1
2
) See  La Sorellina , O . C .  I ,  pp . 1 208-9 . 
( ) La .Mort _du p?re , o . c . I ,  pp . 1 360- 1 . 
authority and ob edi ence , the higher s o c ial  s tatus as 
well as the particular  circumstances of the :family -
the absence of a mother who would shield the chi l dren 
:from paternal dominati on . That Oscar Thib ault7 him-
self' 9 i s  unable  to synthesise the c ompet in g  demands of 
free  individual exp ress i on and respec t for order and 
authori ty b ecomes evident as Mart in du Gard uncovers 
facets  o f  hi s complex personal i ty and achi ev e s  what 
Camus de ucrib es as ' ? ? ?  l e p ortrai t e?l. e:pai s seur ? ? ?  '.( 1 )  
Outwardly , Osco.r Thibault appenrs an autocrnti c , 
insens i t ive , proud, paterfamiliaA? At hi s appearrul. ce 
he rece ives news :from the teachers  of the Catho lic 
Ecole  t l1a t Jacques has ap:Qaren tl,y run away , the abrupt-
ness  of  hi s sp eech , hi s commandint:; mBil.1ler ,  hi s ready 
censure of his  son ' s act i ons create the impre ssi on of 
into lerance and auster i ty .  The S ffil.se of authority 
whi ch the :rather :posse sses ,  hi s psychological  domin-
ation of those  near him - hi s two sons , hi s servants , 
his secretary , M .  Chasle ,  and the governess ,  Mademoise ll e 
de Wai ze , - i s  exphasi sed by  the physi ca l  de script ions 
which di late him into a monolithi c figure .  
M .  Thibault , ramas sd sur  lui -m?me ,  
gardait une immobilite massive ; i l  :fai sait 
songer a ces pachyderme s dont la puissance 
reste cachde tant qu ' ils  sont au rep os ;  de 
l ' dldphant d ' ai lleurs il avait  l e s  larges 
ore ille s  plat es , e t  aus si , par eclair s ,  
l '  oei l rus e . ( 2 )  
His t i tle s proclaim hi s importanc e ,  the posi tion 
which hi s vigorou s pursuit of wordly suc ces s  has brought 
( 1 ) A. Camus ,  ' Roger Martin du Gard? Pref'ace t o  O . C . I ,  
p . ix .  
( 2 ) Le  Pen?encier ,  o . c .  I ,  p . 723 .  
him $  and indic ate  the extent of' hi s involvement in the 
Church and in phi lanthropic  organi sat ions , part icularly 
those  c oncerned with the m oral educati on of' the child .  
r Anc i en depute'  de 1 '  Eure - Vi c e-president 
de la Ligue morale de Pue'riculture . - Fondateur 
et Directeur de l 1 0euvre de Prdservati on 
social e .  - Tre'sori er du Syndi cat  de s oeuvres 
catlloliques du Dioc'ese de  Pari s . '( 1 )  
I t  i s  to b e  expected , the!) tha t Oscar- Thib aul t '  s style 
as an educator is  he avi ly authoritar ian . The atmo s-
:phere in  the Thib ault home in the rue de l ' Universi te  
i s  re:prec sive ; the :pattern of' li :Ce of the two sons i s  
rigi dly c ontrolled.  The descript i on of the family at 
the dinner table  indi ca tes  the nature of' the inter-
personal relat i onshigs  vrhich exis t  ill the home v A 
ri tunl o:f si lence i s  impos ed on Anto inc and Jacq_ue s who 
mus t s i t  paGsively in  subn1 it tanc e to  tlle o.uthori ty of 
the :fa the r. 
Aux rep o. s $  !Anto ine] restait s il enci eux ; 
i l  e'coutai  t son p1 re . D '  ail  le  urs 9 le gros 
homme eta i  t si  autoritair c et  d 1 U...."l com!l1e rce 
si rugueux , que tous les etre s  oblige's de vi vre 
a 80Il foyer se r8:fugiaient si lenci eusemen t 
derri?re un masque ? ? ?  r.i . Thibaul t  j oui ssait  de 
ce  s ilenc e cldf'erent , qui lai ssai t libre cours b 
son beso in d 1 imposer  ses  jugements ,  et  qu ' i l 
coni'ondai t nai vement avec  un.e approbat i on 
genE!ral e .  ( 2 )  
The sons see  their father as one who i s  s tern and 
unresponsive and who arbitrari ly limi ts  their f'reedom s .  
A stric t  censo rship , for instance , has b e en imp o sed  on 
Jacqu es ' s reading - ' "  . . ..  On ne me donne jamais  que l e s  
gros  bouquins rouge e t  or , a images , genre Jules Verne , 
( 1 )  Le Cahier gri__?,, O . C . I ,  p .  596 ." 
( 2 ) L?.PJhLt enc i e r, 0 .?. I ,  p . 766.  
ID 
des imbe'cill it e's ? ' ' , ( 1 )  he comple. ins bi tterly to Daniel .  
The fathe r ' s v1rath i s  aroused  vvhen a t  the beginning of' 
Le Cah_?_s;r l?J:Jl? he le arns :from .Anto ine tha t Jacq_ues  had 
borrowed books from hi s ?riend , Dani el de Fontanin , 
during the summer hol idays at Mai sons-La:ff' i tte . 
- ' 1 C OT?tmen t ? Des l i  vres  vr6"ce's ?  
que t n  n 1 a urai  s pas  du r:1 1 avc r ?C. i r ?  
Es t-ce 
- 1 1ga ne me semblai t :.,: s s  ui  c:;n dangercux 1 1  Y 
re'pl i qua Ai.'lto ine ? ? ?  i 1Du Vi ctor  Iiu[;o 1 1 , 
exp l i c_tuo. - t - i l , 1 1 ci u  Lamartine . Jc lui 
conf'isquai s sa lampe  pour le fo rcer a 
s 1 endormi I' o  1 1 ( 2 )  
Ever;;- move of the younger son i s  ?:m ?cched  :for s igns 
of' vice . Even o. t  fourteen Jacques  i s  cont inuously 
under the surveillance  of' hi s f atl1c r an u il'lacler;w iselle  
de ?;rai z;e . Thus he ill.fo rms Dnniel  tha t he i s  not  even 
:pe rmittcC::. to remain alone in lli :-:3 room .  ' I l s  ont 
devis sd mon c orru1utateur 9 croic-tu '? :t_)our guc .j e  ne 
pui sse iJ O.D toucher h 1 1  e'lectr icitc'. 1 C1 ) 'l'he devi at ions 
:t'rom the norma l pa tte rn of behavi our -v-1hich the fathe r 
r igidly impo se s are seen by Oscar  Thioaul t as  no t only 
challenges  to h i s paternal authori ty iJut also as  
c omJ:lromis ing the honour of  the family.  Jacque s y with 
his r eb e ll i ous nature? i s  branded as  a 1 ? ? ?  vauri en ? ?  o 1/
4) 
hi s f'u..&,.? - the fl ight from hi s school  and family to th e 
South of Franc e with Dani el  de Fontanin y whi ch is  the 
central episode in Le Cahi er gri?, - is de scribed as a 
I ? d l , ( 5 ) ? ? ? SCa11 a e ? ? ? ? 
? ?? 
1 3 ) 4 ) 5  
1-.? _ Capi e_t, gr i s ,  
Ibid , P ? 585 . 
Ibid ,  p . 649 o 
Ibid ,  P ? 669 . 
Ibidy  P ? 669 . 
Thi s attitude of the fathe r 
O o C .  I ,  P ? 649 .  
towards the indis c ipline or hi e oon i o  clearly stated 
later  when , in  de liriUJil brought on by  fever ,  O scar 
Thibaul ?t; r e lives  the pa s t  and c a st i go.t c s  Jncques 1 s 
def ianc e .  
_ ava-t 1 en ! ; ; repri  t-i l .  HTu as oubl ie' 
tou?[; CO  Cj_Ue tu doi s a ton p?rc , Ct SOn nom , h 
son rant? !  Le sal ut d 1 unc ?de ? L 1 honneur 
d '  llil.\.'; fwnille ?  Il  y a de s ac tes  ? ? ?  des actes  
qui clei_,asc,ent  ll.o tre j,lersonne ! Q,ui 
com}!romette11t toutes  les  tradit ions ! Je te  
bri serai ! ; 1 ( 1 )  
Nor io  tlle adult son , Anto ine ? ex enp t from hi s 
father ' s dominat ion Anto ine ,  who a t  the c ommenc ement 
completing his  1:1edical  s tudies  s re.mai:1s sub jec t to hi s 
father ' s ' . ? . gouvernem ent  de dro i t  divin ? ? ?  ' . ( 2 ) One 
note s t hc d:; , in the intervi e'i! 'aith abi)e' Bine t a t  the 
Eco l e ,  Anto iDe 1 s oppo s i t ion to hi s fat?er  i s  hinted  at  
and thi s b e comes  mor e  exyl ici t in the second  novel when 
he confronts h i s  father over the harsh treatment of 
Jacques . Dut altho ugh Anto ine make s an effort  t o  
avo i d  a c lash of ? i l ls , Oscar Thibaul t i s  harsh in  his  
condemnati on of  hi s son ' s insubordination .  He 
correc ts  Anto ine like ' ? ? ?  un g?nin ' ( j ) for  oppos ing hi s 
vi ews a11d brands hi s action in go ing to Crouy to  inter-
view Jacq_ues at the J?eni tentiary as  an ' ? ? ?  acte  
d ' indi s c ipline ? ? ?  ' . ( 4 ) 
To both Anto ine and Jacque s ,  Oscar Thib aul t 1 s 
reacti on to  hi s younger son ' s rebellion and hi s flight 
La S?ellina ? 0?. I ,  p .  1 1 53 . !@. Mort  du J2E::re , O . C .  I ,  P ?  1 343 . 
Le Penitenc ier , o . c .  I ,  p . 729 . 
Ib id ,.  _p ._ 729 . 
to Toulon appears consi stent vvi th his  att itudes towards 
child  disc ipline . Os car Thibault  bel i eve s in the 
efficacy of' harsh re stra ints  and s trict  c ontrols to 
teach the chi ld to sub j ec t  hi s m ind. and body to the 
dis c i?line  of hi s reaso? . Unlil;:.e Mme de Pon tanin ' s 
forgivene ss  of Daniel wh en the 1J O licc  capture the two 
b oys and return them to  tlwir fami lies the r?e vvil l  b e  no  
pardon :for J acq_ues . I t  is  to ' ? ? ?  broyer sa  volonte 1 ( 1 )  
that the f' ather c ommi ts  his  son to  the 1 Colonie 
ye'ni tentiaire your l es ca:rants  vi c i eux ' which he had 
f ounded at  Crouy and whi ch rep resents tl1c f'rui t s  of' 
twenty years ' study of the treatment of juvenile  
offenders o There ,  JacCJ_ues  wi ll  s:pen<l nine months in 
solitary confinement until  as the r esult o:r Anto ine ' s 
intercess i on his  father con sents to hi s re l eas e . ( 2 ) 
As v1el l as  attempting to  eradicate  the evil  
tendenci ? s  in his sons ' nat ur e Oscar Thibault strive s  
t o  :pro tec t thel!1 :from corru.t?ti on from \ ti  tho ut o I t  i s  
:for thi s r eason tha t he has supe rv ised the ir read ing ,  
direc ted the ir choice o:f comyanions and sought in  their 
upbringing to ensure that they mee t only those in:flu-
ences  which  uil l  be beneficial  :for their moral growth. 
As he says in La S orell ina : 1 1 1Est-ce  que j e  n ' ai pas 
veille a leur educa ti on , a l eur ins tructi on ? 1 1 1 ( .3 )  Hi s 
primary conc ern to p rotect  hi s 'i:O.f?.J'. :from the 
( 1 ) Ib id , P ? 680. 
( 2 ) Thi s epi sode appears based on the exp er ience  o:f 
Pierre Margaritis  to whom Les Thibault  i s  
dedicated. Margari tis  had al so a t  thi s age 
been imprisoned in a mai son ? correction at  hi s 
father ' s request . 
( 3 ) La Sorellina 9 o . c .  I 9  p . 1 1 53 .  
encompass inG evil  is reflected in his  condemnat i on of 
Daniel  cle Fontanin to  whose  malignant influence he 
attributes hi s son ' s waywardness . 
"De s voyous c omme c e  Font anin , 1 ;  gronda-t-il , 
en s e  l evant , ,  ' 1 e st-ce que :;a 11e devra i t pas  
e'tre  enfcrme dans nP. s .,is ons speciale s ?  a?,., .<h .. "bl 
Est-c e qu 1 i l  e st  adtnra"]3...; c que nos cnfan ts  
soi e.i.1t exyose'r:> a de semblables  contaeions ? ; 1 (  1 )  
He argues  t.i1E\t apart from IH,ovi dine; the dis c i:p l ined 
environr!l ent in whi ch Jacq_ue s ' s anti -soc ial behaviour 
might b e  correc ted the p.Qvillon_??9ial at Crouy to 
Yv1li ch ]:!arents are abl e  to comui t voluntari ly their 
recalc i  tr&'l t sons ??.70 uld effectively i solate  the boy 
from hi s u...n.des irabl e  as sociat ion vri th Daniel . 
1 7Ainsi , mis  k l '  abri des t entat ions 
perni cieuses , purge de ses  mauvai s instincts  
par  la  sol i tude , ayant pri s gout au travai l ,  
i l  atteindra sa sei z i?me  an.nee , e t  j e  veux 
esperer qu ' alor s  il  pourra sans  danger  
reprendre au:pr? s  de nous la  vi e :fmail ial e . " (  2 )  
One notes tha t the middle-clas r3 educ o.tors in J..?_q, 
Thibaul1 are a l l acutely aware of the contagi ousnes s o:f 
corruption . In her turn , Daniel ' s mothe r 9  Mme de 
Fontanin , entertains fears that her SO.i.1. and daughte r  
might  b e  affec ted  by the example o:f the ir :fathe r ' s 
l ibertinism :  ' L ' exemple  peut ?tre :funeste , le mal e st 
s i  c ontagi eu-"C . 1 1 1 ( 3 ) For Mademoi sel le de Wai ze , who 
supervises the upbringing of her nie c e ,  Gi se , in the 
same household  as  the two young Thibaul ts , moral atJ.d 
physical  threats  are l inked.  ' Depui s qu ' el le avai t 
recueilli Gi se , la p auvre demoiselle  vivai t  dans  la 
( 21 )  Le Cahiey gri s,  O . C .  I ,  p . 597.  ( ) Le PE?ni tenci er , O:C. I ,  p . 680 .  
( 3 )  Le Cahier gri s ,  ? ? I ,  p .  606 . 
terreur des c ontagions . ' ( 1 ) She fearsAntoine Thibault 
for the diseases  which he might b ring into the home 
from hi s work o.t the hosp i tal , a s  we l l  as for the 
p o ss ible  moral contaminat ion of her ni ece ' s  mind.  
' I l va onns dire q_u ' Ant oine , avec son relent d ' h8'.Pi tal , 
ses trousses et  ues  l ivre s , lui se,Jb lai t un danger 
permanent . 1 ( 2 )  For Gi se , the young Creole .sC2.r_ellina 
of Anto inc:::: ::,ad Jacq_ues vvhom Li lle de Wo.ize  has intro-
duc E;d  into  the f2,yer_, the restrain?L:.s  on indivi dual  
ac t ion are even mo re p ronounc ed. One see s in ?a Bell? 
?.,_a_ison. tha t even at  the age of sixteen she i s  not  
pe rmitted to  l eave the ho use v1i thout :;;> ermi ssion .  Nor 
i s  she allowed to read vvork s such as .Q"-:eat Expectations 
until  Jac que s conv inces he r aunt tl1at thi s is  necessary 
f or her progrc:; ss in En.gli sh .  Ho',veve r, unl ike Anto ine 
and Jac(:_Ues 9 she do e s  not aj! pear to b e  affec ted unduly-
by her restric tiv e  upbringing. She i s ' ? ?  ?une plante 
saine QUi se  de'vel opperai t n 1 imJ:!Or te  OU , e'chapperai t a 
toutes l e s  tutel les ' . ( 3 )  
'l'he repressiv e  atmosphere of the home i s  as sociated 
in the minds of the chi ldren v1ith an austere Catholic-
ism .  I t is Mademoi se lle  de Wai z e ,  hi s late wife ' s 
chilillLood nurse , a woman of proven picty and integr ity 9 
whom Oscar Thibault has engaged t o  SUJ;Jervise the moral 
and spiritual  training of his two sons . Her age and 
her l egalist ic  int er?retation of Chri stianity create 
Le_renitenc ier , ?. r ,  p ? - 747 . 
Ib i_d ,_ P ?- . 748 . 
Ibid ,  lJ ? 750. 
a barrier  between her and her charges despi te he r 
efforts to show them affecti on and to compensate  f or 
their lack of a mo ther ' s  love . The faith whi eh she 
has taught them is  one whi ch sharp ly divide s  b e tween 
good anc.1 evi l .  The word l2._e'cll_E{. i s  constantly on her 
lip s . The pass c:tge in which  the re turn of Jacques to 
the fc:tmily is des crib ed at the end of ];..,gM Cs:tll:Ler gr:_.t? 
i llus trate s bo th her puthe ti c at t em?t to ?rovide 
sympathy <:::nd understanding and her s tri c t  rel igi ous  
b eli efs V'Thich link s in and divine vJra th . 
Ell e  l ' avait sa i si et  l e  devorai t  de 
caresse s ?  tanclis  que sa voix tre\mchante 
p salmodi a i t ? sur une seule  note aigu? : 
- ; rQ,uel pe'che'! Le sans-coeur ! 'l'u voulai s 
done n.ous Ea ire mourir  de chagrin ? Dieu 
bon ,  quel pdche! Tu n ' as done p lus de 
coeur? 1 ; Et ses  yeux de lamo. s '  em?. l i s saient 
d 1 eau . ( 1 ) 
The Cettl1.oli ci sm of Oscar Thibault io  even more  
phari sai cal . His is  a yuri talli ce. l  :L ai th rJi th 
s tringent moral demands whi ch finds express i on in 
philanthropi c ac tivi ti es and worlcs of servi c e  f or the 
Church , but ?which lacks a spirit  of charity . Bo th in 
their re lat ionship wi th Mlle de Yvai ze and the i r fathe r 
Anto ine unc1 Jacque s would see  the negative s ide of 
rel igion - its  restric tiveness  and infloxib ility .  As 
Anto ine later  te lls abbe'  Ve'card , his father ' s  spiri tual 
direc tor : "' ? ? ?  Je n ' ai jamai s vu Di eu ,  he'las , qu ' a  
( 2 )  travers mon p?re . 1 1 1  ? 
I t  i s  c lear that emot ional undercurrents affect 
( 1 )  Le  C ahi e r  gri s ,  O . C .  I ,  p . 668 . 
( 2 ) La Mort du per?, o . c .  I ,  p o  1 389 . 
the re sponse of b o th sons to their  religi ous training.  
Fil led ?wi th resentment at the repr ess ive atmosphere o:f 
their  l1ome , they fail  t o  internal ise  the b el i efs and 
doc trines whi ch aro taught to theEl . m?to ine makes the 
p o int that he has deve loped no real rel igious fee l ing 
a.nd a t  best ms only sup erf icia lly ac cepted  the 
:practi ces  and hab i t s  of reli giouG o1J s e rvance when , in 
hi s dis cucs ion with Mm e de Fontanin, he describe s the 
process  by uhich he has abandoned ?che f'o.i th in whi ch he 
has b een brought u_p . 
La. ver-i  te'  e s t  que j I ai pratique' fort tard . 
Je suivais  la routine , sans vrai e D i?te'. Dieu  
e'tai t ?your r,10 i  une esj_)?ce  de  proviseur auquel 
rien n e  _;_wuvai t e'chaj_)per , et qu 1 il e'tai t 
prudent de GBt isfai re a 1 I aide de certainS  
gestes , d 1 UJ.'1e certaine dis ci11 l  ine ; j 1 obe'i ssai s , 
mais j e  n 1 y trouvai s gu?re  c_:_ue de 1 1  ennui . ? ?  
CoGlment a i - je l;erdu l a  foi ? Je n 1 el1 sai s plus 
rien .  Lorsque je  m 1 en suis  avi se - il n ' y  a 
1 1 t . . I . d / . \ :pas  _,) us  c e c:1.ua re  ou c 1nq ans - J ava 1 s e J u  
var o.illeurs at teint  un c1egrcf de cultur e  
sci ent ifique qui lais sa i t :peu de plac e 'a des 
croyances religieuse s . ( 1 )  
For Jacques as well it  i s  the h2. rshness of hi s 
father which c olours  hi s j_mage of' religi on ,  At 
fourteen at the beginning of 1_e Q_?tl}__i_er. ois, he has '  
according to Robidoux ,  a de ep need for rel igious b elief.  
Chez lui , le  sent iment reli gi eux est  l 1 un 
des preJ11iers canaux a recevoir l e  j aillissement 
:passi onne d 1 w?e nature  riche et violente . I l  
a des asv ira tions , de l ' i deal ,  une force vague 
et  juveni le , son ?me pas sionne'o n besoin de 
croi re . ( 2 ) 
His correspondence wi th Daniel be trays a rel igi ous 
fervour as does the o c casion at Marsei lle when he 
enters a church and fe el s hims elf in ' ? ? ?  une :presence  
Le Penitencier , o . c .  I ,  p .  796 . 
R .  Robidoux , Roger Martin du Gard et la  religion , 
P ?  189 ? 
surnaturelle ? ? ? ' ( 1 ) But the expe rienc e he rec eive s of' 
a f'o rmal i s t i c 9 unf'orgi ving Chr i s t ianit y  in hi s home is  
one whi ch wi l l  turn him  re solut e ly again st organ i s ed 
rel i gion .  
O scar Thibault would blame out side f' o r c e s  f'or hi s 
sons ' re j ec t i on of C a tholic  iSi1l - the inf'luence of' the 
Prote staj_1t Daniel  de Fontanin on ,Jo.c c?_u cs and o:f sc ien -
tif i c  studi es  on Anto ine . He :fail s to s ee that  the 
:fault li e s  in hims elf' ; that hi s au ste re b ehav i our has 
hidden from them the emo tion whi ch he fe e ls and whi ch 
he ex.i}resse s in h i s  private communion vvhen , alone in 
hi s bedro om , s ur rounded by the furnitur e  he has 
inherited  from hi s parent s ,  he retu rns to  a chi ld-l ike 
s im.?::-> l i c i  ty . Yet if b oth sons re j e c t  the fait h  whi ch 
they ha.ve been t nught , the y remain fi rmly bound by the 
code of morality whi ch the i r  fa. tlle r? has transmi tt ed t o  
them . Although Jac ques  revo l t s  against hi s father ' s  
mantl e of divine ri ght and hi s God-l ike demands for 
hwni l i  ty- and ob edi enc e 9 and at tempt s to  cnst  of:f the 
conventions imposed  up on him by hi s fawily nnd by  
soci ety , he  is  unable  t o  free himse lf from a sense of  
faute or a burning awar enes s  of hi s impurity . 
S ' il n repudie certaines contrninte s 9  
de l a  morale chre't ienne , il en a con serve' 
pratiquement l e  princip e  fondfu ental , la 
divisi on ob j ective entre le b ien et  le mal , 
se  maintenant de cette mani e re ,  a quelque s 
l i cences prbs , dans une vo i e  tout h fait  
tradi tionnelle . ( 2 )  
For Jac ques there i s  an instinctive antipathy to the 
Le C ahier gris , o . c .  I ,  p . 636 .? 
R .  Rob:i,dou?, Roger Mart in du Gard e t  l a  r_eligion ,  
p . 1 97 .  
_g_i di f?mE? of' hi s f' r i end Dani el who bui l ds h i s  l i f' e  
phi l o spby around Les _Nourri ture s__:t e_cre?tr:?..?_ . The 
l i c enti o u sne s s  of' Dani e l  he b r an ds a s  ???? - 1 To ut e s 
l e s  aven ture s de Dani e l  e'ta i en t  im};) ure s ? ? ?  Im:p ur s 9 t ous 
l e s des i r s  charne l s .  1 ( 1 ) Ikor sumJi1ar i s e s  Jac qu e s  1 s 
r e a c t i on t o  gidi sme in the s e  wo rds ; 
Po ur Jac que s , en ef'f' e t , l e  g i di s te e s t  
sur t out un '8tre :f a l o t  e t  s an s  [Sran d e ur 9 
m?p r i s ab l e p a r  c e l a  m eme ; w? e t re qui i gn o r e  
l a  nob l e s se , l a  d i gni t e ,  l a  re s? onsab i l i t ? .  
8 i  Jac qu es c ondamne , c i e s t  par s en s  d e  la A 
dro i t ure !:rLC?l'..?.J?, p a r  gout du s t o'i qu e e t , au 
f' ond , p a r  un s ent iment qua s i  lean ti en du 
dev o i r  ? ? ?  ( 2 )  
Sim i l arly , Ant o ine who , a s  w i l l  b e  seen l a te r ,  
dev e lo p s  from hi s s tudi e s  of' s c i en c e  and h i s  exp e r i en c e s  
a s  a doc t o r  a cul t of' ac t ion whi ch i s  b o th m a t e ri al i s t i c  
and p os i t iv i s t i c , di s c o v e r s  that al though h e  d i s c l aims 
the re levance of any mo ra l  law , hi s a c ti ons a r e  gov e rn e d  
by a transc enden t m o ra l i ty .  the rea s on why he ma i n -
t a i n s  hi s s c rupul ou s  a tt i t ud e s ,  h i s  dedi c a t i on a s  a 
d o c t or , i s  on e ?1 i ch c o n t inual ly exer c i se s hi s m ind . 
' "?u n_gm _  d,?JlUQi ? 1 1 1 ( 3 ) Anto ine a sks him s e lf' af' t e r  
r efus ing the s o l ut i on of' euth ana s i a  t o  end the suf'f' e r ing 
o f' H e quet 1 s  daught e r  in La?onsul?SQt ioQ and he re turns 
t o  thi s b as i c  que s t i on of' moral m o t i v a t i on i n  h i s  con?
v e r s at i on w i th abb e'  Vecard in ;,La J1o?_!,..Q.l_l .l2?r e . 
( 3 ) 
[Ant o ine] s ent a i t  b i en ,  une f' o i s  d e  p lus , 
que , ent r e  son m anque de croyanc e 1nor a l e  e t  
l ' extrem e  c on s c i en c e  qu 1 i l app o r t a i t dan s sa 
v i e , i l  y ava i t  une inexpl i c ab l e  i nc ompa t ib i l i te .  
I l  f'aut ai m e r  c e  qu ' on f'a i t . E t  :p our quo i done 
La B e l le Sa i son , O . C .  I ,  p .  954 . 
R. Ikor ' ' L' Human i't'Erde s Thib aul t ' ,  
Jun e 1 946 , P ?  37 .  
L a  C onsul t a t ion , O . C .  I ,  p .  1 1 26 . 
le faut-i? ? Farce que l 1 homme 9 animal social , 
doi t c oncour ir  par son effort 'a la bonne marche 
de la soc iete', a son progres ? ? ?  .Af'firmat i ons 
gratuit es , postulats deriso ires ? Au nom de 
.9_.1l_OJ,. ? Tou j ours cette  que s t ion, ? 'iaquelle  ? 
j amai S i l  n I avai t trOUVe de Veri table re"}!OnSe o ( 1 )  
In the Ji:.?:hl..o,?!:1e_ as  he li es clying on his hosp i tal bed  
Antoine  finds himself no  closer  to  ebtab l i shing a 
rat ionale for h i s  act ions : 1 Au ?10J,l de quoi l es sentiment s 
de'sinteresse's , le  de'vouement9  la  conscience professionnelle 
etc?  ? ? ?  Au nom de ri en, voila  tout . ' ( 2 ) The close s t  he 
can come to an answer is that a moral ins tinct has b een 
im:f!lant ed in him by his heredity and educat ion ( 3 ) - a 
concep t which h e  had expressed  earli er  in hi s dialogue 
with abbe' Ve'card after hi s father 1 s :r une ral .  1 1 1 Cette  
c onscience ?  De'pot , l a  is  se' en chacun de no us par dix-
neuf s i ecles  de chri stianisme ? ? .  :?eut-@trc me suis- j e  
tr0p h.@:te ,  tOUt a l I heure 9  en e'valUant h zero le  
coeff ic ient de mon e'duca tion-ou plu tSt de  r110n he're'di te'. ; 1 1 (4) 
'.'/hi le  one gro up of influences  in the ?J:hibaul t home 
acts asarestraint on the chi ld ,  c reating within him an A 
awarenes s  of hi s soc i al obli gations , im};lrinting on him 
a patte rn of c onformity to the more s of the middle-clas s 
society, prepa ring him for submis sion to group c ontrol , 
another  set of influence s  o?era tes to release the chi ld ' s 
indiv iduality and to  encourage his aggressivenes s .  The 
apparently c onformi s t  education of Al1to ine and Jacques  
Thibault also includes a training of the i r  wi ll and a 
nurture of their  egoti st i cal  drives . 
> ? ?  ( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
ka?ort  du per?, o . c .  I ,  p .  1 388 .  
EpiloguE}_, O . C .  I I ,  P ? 964 .  
See  Epilogu? , O . C .  I I ,  p .  962 . 
La Mort du pere , g. c .  I ,  p .  1 388 .  
lli 
The example of the father i s  one of excess ive 
amb ition ,  Dride and oppress ive strength. Oscar 
Thi baul t 1 s servic e  to the Church nnd to so c ia 1 welfare 
organi sati ons , his  pos it ion on c ommittees and boards is 
?art of hi s need  to  dominate . O sc ar Thibault  in hi s 
var ious rol es - the dom ineering father ,  the over-
b earing employer ,  the forceful o r3,ani ser - is essentially 
an egocentri c  individual , wh o ,  although he reli shes  the 
adrnirat ion and re spec t of others,  has an aristocratic 
scorn o.f hi s fellow men who do not J)OSsess  the E{l..?11 o.f 
a Thibaul t .  In hi s relat ionship with hi s sons one 
senses a tens i on b etween hi s nee d to  impose hi s will  and 
to exac t the ir obedience , and a hi dden admirat ion .for  
their independent spi rit s whi ch p rovide _f) roof that  they 
share hi s yp?ont? . Thus , he urges them t o  adopt a 
competit ive att itude to li f'e . Thi s is  seen in hi s 
reaction t o  Jacqu es 1 s accep tance f'o:{' the Ecole normale 
I . sulJerleur e .  
1 1Eh b i en 1 1 , f i  t-i l ,  apr'es avo ir de'pl ie'  
sa  serviette  e t  pos? le s po ings d e  chaque 
cote' de son couve rt , 1 1 il  s '  agit maintenant 
de ne pas t 1 en tenir lh . Nous ne sommes 
pas des imbe'c i  les et , s i  tu es  entre' 
tro is i?me ,  pourquoi ne  .Qourrais-tu pa s ,  
en travai llant , sortir premi er? 1 ; ( 1 )  
But when their vital i ty i s  directed t owards resi s tanc e 
of hi s paternal aut hority ,  his wounded pri de demands 
stern reprisals - I ? ? ?  Les extravagance s  et les  ecarts  
de  Jacques l ' atte ignaient toujours au point le plus 
sens ible , dans son amour-propre . ' ( 2 ) Yet , it  i s  
La  Belle  Saison,  O . C .  I ,  P ?  904 .  
?__?__ Ca?r gri ?., 0 .__Q. I ,  p . 588 . 
noti ceab l e  that b eneath hi s condemnation o? their ac ts 
of' independence there is  a c ertain sat is?ac t ion at the 
strength o? their will . The ?ather ' s  att itude towards 
Jacques  is  not s imply the hostil ity which appears on 
the sur?ace . I t  would s eem that in hi s son Oscar 
Thibault  unconsc iously recogni ses u reflec t i on o? hi s 
own nature wi th the ' ? ? ?  meme s s ens ib i l it e's con trac te'e s 9 
meme ViOlel1C e  Secrl;te des inst incts 9 m?mes rudesses ? .  o , ( 1 ) 
Similarly 9  if  the f3ther res ists ??he growing independ-
enc e of Antoine 9 at  the same t ime  he b etrays an approval 
o? his endowment o? energy .  After the angry sc ene in 
whi ch he reproaches hi s son for hi s o?posit ion to 
Jacques ' s  incarcerat ion at Crouy in b_?_J)e'nit enc ier 9 he 
relate s Anto ine '  s ac ts of defiance t o  abbe' vflcard.  
Toutefoi s ,  la c onsid?ration qu ' i l  
portni t h ili1to ine ? augment ee m?me h son 
insu pu r c e s  ac tes d 1 ind8J endanc e qu ' i l 
lui reprochait 9  ne ce ssn it d 1 Btre sens ib le 
a t rave rD SeS  paroles ? ? ?  ( 2 ) 
However ;  ther e are other  facto rs whi ch add to the 
amb iguity o:I' the father-son relat ions hip .  As Br enner 
seys ? ' Le personnage d 1 Oscar  'I'hibaul t est tr?s complexe 
et .Qourrnit  symb ol i ser aussi  b i en ( et mieux ? ? ?  ) 
l 1 ambivalcnce des rapport s  p?res-fils  ? ? ?  ' C 3 ) The 
religious  and moral p rinc iples which the father has 
adop ted  forc e him to at tempt to discip l ine his pass i ons 
and those of hi s sons . It  i s  while reading hi s ?ather ' s 
papers ?ter hi s death that Anto ine glimpses the inner 
turmoil  of Oscar Thibaul t - the con?l ic t betwe en hi s 
La Mort du p'e-t?.9  O . C . I ,  p . 1 338 . 
Le P?nit encier , O . C .  I 9  p .  729 . 
J. Brenner 9 Illartiil'"du Gard , pp . 95-6 .  
nature and h i s  cons cience . Oscar  'rhibaul t i s  ke enly 
aware of the r esponsib i li ti es of parenthood.  Even in 
the first  year of' marriage he had c ommenc ed compiling a 
hi story of paternal author ity .  I t  i s  perhap s because 
of' hi s Jesui t upbr inging that he i s  so profoundly 
aware of' the dut i es of the father to teach h i s  children 
ob edience to the will  of God ru1d accep tance of' authority .  
H e  be l i eve s that the educator must  b e  harsh towards him-
self' to forc e the esteem of o thers . To teach effec t ive 
self-contro l he must  first res train hi s own pas s i on s .  
Thus y Os car Thibaul t has delib e rat ely sought 1 1  enroidissement 
- the curbing of hi s wil l ,  the repress ion of his  sens i -
?b i l i ty . The letters whi ch Antoine reads wri t ten by  
hi s father t o  hi s mother are f i l led wi th a t enderne ss 
which he had not known him to poasess . But there i s  
also evidenc e that  Oscar Thibaul t had attempted t o  force  
upon his  y oung br ide y  Luci e y  the same ? r i gorous self -
disc ipline and asce t i c ism which he has str iven t o  
incorporat e in h i s  own l ife . An ins ight is  giv en into  
the relati onship of' the c oupl e  in the :Lo l lowing letter : 
Je t ' en c on jure ,  Luc i e ,  ne  profite  pas 
de mon ab senc e pour perdre ton t emps ? 
etudier  t on p iano . Cro i s-moi . Cette  
sorte d ' exaltati on que pro cure  la  mus i que 
exerc e  sur la  sensibili  t e' d '  un ?tre enco re 
j eune une ac tion ne'f'aste ; elle  a ccoutwne 
? l 1 o i s ivete,  aux ecart s  d 1 imaginat i on ,  et 
risque  de detourner une femme des vrais  
devoirs  de son ?tat . ( 1 ) 
Thus , one gains the impression that the wife  whom Osc ar 
Thibault describes to  hi s s ons  as  11 1Votre Sainte m?re " '
( 2) 
O. C. I , pp. 1 33 .0-1 ? 
had,  dur ing her short married l if e ,  been moulded as  
ruthlessly as  the children .  
I t  i s  from reading hi s father ' s pal'e rs that Anto ine 
gains some appreciat ion of the intens ity of hi s father ' s  
inne r c onfli ct between hi s instincti ve nature  and the 
system o:f i deal s wrJ.ich l1e has ir11p o se d  u_pon himself, wi th 
the conseQuen t mutilation of hi s U.e s i re for love and 
affect i on o ..i>.d e:;nforced i solation f rom hi s fami ly.  The 
despair  o:l the man vvrho f inds himse lf unabl e  to  a ttain 
the  sp ir i tual goals he has se t is  mirrored in  phrases  
such as the following : ' Gardez-vous de moi , S e igneur , 
car j e  VOUS trahirais  Si V OU3 m 1 abandonnic z  a moi -meme . 1 ( 1 ) 
Ti son-Braw1 makes this  comment on  Oscar 'I'hi baul t 1 s 
struggle b e tv-ve en his  :passi ons  and hi o be liefs : 
I,J . Thib aul t est  la  -oremiere v ictime  de 
la stdrili  tr! de son syst?me . Asc ?te  sans 
runour , i? est t raqud par l ' ango i s s e . ' La 
sdrehi te  se1nblai  t d '  anne'e en a.l1.;.1e'e se  cle'rob er  
tou j ours clavantage ? cette  ElPe empesie de 
certi tude s . 1 A.ngois se  de son insuff' isance  
S.;!i ri tuelle ,  prote stati on d '  w1e a"i11e e'crasee ,  
angoi sse de la l iberte'  du pechff, ou simp l e  
ant;oi sse huf:laine ? ? ? ?  L .  Thibault n ' est  pas  l e  
pri v i le?i e' du droi t di v in ,  i l  en e st le  
martyr . \ 2 )  
If Arl"i.:.o ine only b egins to unde rstand hi s father 
after  hi s death and does not real ise  t ill  then that hi s 
p ri or  knowledge has b e en l imi ted to 1 ? ? ?  la fonc t i on 
pa  ternelle o ? ?  ' , ( 3 ) the reader is  permi tted, from the 
opening oi' the novel-cycl e ,  to perc eive the contra-
dict ions  in  the  fath er ' s personal ity and the? ambiguity 
in the relat ionship of fathe r and sons which li e hidden 
( 1 ) - ( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
Ibid , P ? 1 340.  
M . Ti son-Braun, La  Crise  de  .l._'lp?.anism?,  vo l .  II , 
p .  1 96 0 
La Mort  d_u _Eere , o . c . I ,  p .  1 343 . 
from the characters themselve s .  Thus ? when Jacques 
confronts his  father after hi s fJ;lg:qe, in Le Cahi er g?i ? 9  
the reader can glimp se the agi tati on of Oscar  Thibault 
which i s  not ap:parerlt  to the onlookers and wi tne ss  the 
struggle of the fathe r to control his natural feel ings 
of compa ssion . 
Du pre1, i er c oup d '  oei l i l  aper?o i  t 
Jacqucs et ne  peut se defendre d ' ?re emu. 
Il s :  arr'E?'te c ep endant et r?ef'ern1e le s  
pmlJ:I ieres 9 il s embl e  a t  tendre que l e  f i ls  
coupable  se  pre'ci:pi  te  a? ses  genoux ? comme 
dans le Greuze 9 dont la gravure es t  au 
salon . ( 1 ) 
The reference to the works  of Greuze  emphasises  the 
fact t ha t  the father i s  playing a ro le ; he model s his  
b ehav iour on the authori tarian style of the eight e enth 
century p'er??-ci? _famill?. ?  Thi s scene 9 the puni shment 
of the di sobedier:t chi l d 9  i s  play ed b efore  an audi ence 
of servants and the harsh att i tude which the fathe r 
adop t s  i s  influenc ed by the ne ed to  pr.eserve 
appearance s . 
Gibson ( 2 ) points'  t o  o ther cro s s-currents of 
emot ion v1hi ch compli cate the love-hate re lat i onship of 
Oscar T?1i b auJ t ancl J acques . He suggests  tha t  M .  
Thibaul t ' s  feelings t owards Jacques are exacerbated  by  
the si tuation of  the son as  the cause of h i s wife ' s  
death in chi ldb irth .  Aga in 9  Magny 9 ( 3 ) L1 her analysi s  
of the F??t12 of the chi ld and the father 1  cla ims  
that the father s ees his son as  one who will  ensure the 
surv ival of hi s race ye t with hi s  grea t will  to l ive he 
be ?CaEter gri s 1  o?c . I 9  p . 668 . 
See R .  Gibson 9  RaRer  Mart in du  Gar? ?  p .  74 . 
See C . -E .  Magny 9 H i stoire du roman francai s 
j_91 8 9  vo1 . I ?  PP ? 334-5 .  ? - . 3 
depui? 
i s  unconsc iously ho sti le  towards the child  who wil l  
inevi tably rep lace him . 
Jac ques suffers  from hi s father ' s  fai lure to  sho w  
him love nnd affec t i on .  nS  Robidoux says : ' La 
rf!vol t e  du j eU.il.e garcon ne provient  p e. S  de la haine ?  ? 
elle e s t  plutO't. l e  re'flexe de l '  amour decu.  1 ( 1 )  Hi s ? -
need for understanding is inc reased by the absenc e o:f a 
mother  in the f22Q?? Mademoi sel le  de Wai ze  ha s con-
scientiously attempted to fill  thi s void but wi th age 
her ab i lity t o  grat ify the chi ld ' s needs has waned .  
C '  e s t  entre  ses deux b ras  e'cartes qu ' un 
so ir ? trebuchant sur l e  ta? i s  du couloi r 9  
Jacque s avait  fa it  vers e lle  son premier  
pas ? e t  quatorze  ans d e  sui te , e lle avai t 
trembld pour lui , comme e l le tremblait  
maintenant pour Gi sele , Tunt d 1 amour e t  
une  incompre'hension to t3.le . ( 2 )  
Deprived o:f a mother ' s  warmth Ja cques looks t o  hi s 
father t o  p rov ide him Yii til symp o. the t i c  understanding 
and attenti ve c are . H i s  despe rate need for affe cti on 
and hi s de sire  t o  love and re spe c t  hi s father i s  seen 
in hi s conve rsat ions  with Danie l  on the road to Toulon 
in the fi rst novel and with Anto ine a t  the p eni t entiary 
in the second .  Despite  the sev eri ty of  hi s treatment 9 
he strives  to  c onvince himself tha t hi s father has his 
interests  at heart .  ' i 1Papa est  b on ,  tu sai s ? ? ?  tres 
b on meme 9  je t ' as sure . 1 1 ' ( 3
) 
1 1 1Pap a  est b on ,  tu sais, 
dans le fond ? ? ? 1 1 1 ( 4 )  
Hmvever 9 the role  which Oscar 'rhibault has 
( 1 ) R .  Robidoux 9 Roger Mart ir? du Gar.d et  la  religi on 9  
p . 1 90 .  
( 2 l  Le Peni t encier ,  o . c .  1 9  p . 748 . ( 3  Le c a., hi ?J'? i s  9 o . c . 1 9  p . 649 . 4 Le l?eni t enc t,e r 9 o . c .  I ,  1-' . 706 . 
adopted as the autocrat ic , inf'le:x ib le  father frus trates  
Jacques 7 s  l onging fo r ?arental affection ,  The chi ld 
reacts  to the emo t i onel deprivat i on in his  upb ringing 
by aggress ive b ehavio ur .  One .feels  that th e bellig-
erence which Jacque s shovvs in hi s c onfrontat ions with 
hi s fa ther i s  a trai t whi ch he has structurali sed into 
hi s self for i t s  func tional value of gaining attenti on .  
The t cnde11cy towards self-dramat i sati on i s  apparent in 
the descripti on he gives to Dan i e l o.f his tempe r 
tantrum s . 
; ; Oh ,  m o i "  9 repr i t Jacques en .fronian t 
les  sourc i ls 9 1 1 j e  sais b i en que je sui s 
inoup?ortabl e .  ea ne peut pas etre 
au trement . Ainsi 9 ti e11s , j 1 ai  des colere s ,  
que lquef'oi s 9  j e  ne connai s Dlus rien , j e  
cassc 9 j e  cogne , j e  crie  de s horreurs 9 j e  
serai s capable de sauter par l a  fenetre ou 
d '  assommer quel qu ' un!  Je te  cU s 'ia  p our 
que tu sacl1es tout 1 1 , a j outa-t-i l .  Et i l  
e'-'ca it  vi sible qu 1 i l  eyrouvait  une s ombre 
j oui ssa.ac e ? s 1 ac cuser . ( 'i ) 
One sees in the f i rst tn?ee  novels o f  Les Thibault 
the resentment of the adolescent  at hi s .father ' s 
apparent re ject ion deepening . The cold recepti on 
whi ch he rec eives aft er the return .from Toulon whi ch 
contrasts  wi th the demonstrative  affec t ion of  Mme de 
Fontanin for Daniel  and the harshness  of hi s puni shment 
as  against Dani el ' s  pardon , increases hi s bi tterness . 
In addi tion ,  as  his  self-as surance develops his strong 
will  clashes with that of hi s father . He  i s  t oo proud 
to b eg for forgivenes s  and res ists  the res tr i ct ions  and 
l imi tations which are p laced on his  freedom . Already 
at f ourteen hi s ho stility t owards paternal dominati on 
( 1 )  Le Cahier  Kri s ,  O . C .  I ,  pp . 648-9 . 
has b ecome generalised  into an ave rs ion towards the 
fami ly as a s ocial  inst i tuti on which suppre sses the 
free expre ss i on of' individuali ty .  Hence 9  a t  the end 
of ?hie???r?? when he i s  res tored to  hi s  f'a the r 1 s 
authority he f eels  that he  i s  a '  ? . ?  ?risonnie r de s 
me'cani srl1e s  de la fami l le , de la  yoli ce , de la  
soc ie'te'1 ? ( 1 )  
The p eri od of conf inement n t  the ) eni t entiary  at 
Crouy whi ch i s  related i n  the sec ond novel l eaves  
Jacques temporarily sp i ri tles s a nd ap athet i c o I t  is  
&'1. toine \7ho real i ses the dangers  to  tne menta l. and 
moral heal th of th e adolescent which incarc eration at 
Crouy p re s ents  o After  pro curing hi s release Anto ine 
i s  entrus ted by hi s fa ther with the respons ib i l ity of 
caring for his b ro ther .  H i s  immediate  a im i s  t o  
revive t? 1e spirit  of Jacques and t o  reiatcgrate  him 
int o so c iety o As Boak( 2 ) sugge st s , the r e stora t ion o:f 
JacqlJ.es ' s  vvi ll after hi s dehwl aJ.l.is ing exp erience s at 
the peni tentiary where, i t  is hinted ,  he has suffered  
the homosexual at tell.ti ons of' hi s guard?-; , i s  stated 
mainly in s exual terms , I t  i s  Lisb eth Fruhl ing , the 
niece o:f  the .c onci e?_?? of' the Thibaults  who, at the 
urging of Antoine, b ecomes the instrument of Jacques ' s 
sexual liberation . But , as well ,  Antoine arranges  a 
study programme whi ch will enab le his brothe r  t o  resume 
hi s schooling and prov ides him wi th the independence he 
needs t o  mature .  Unlike  his  :father Antoine b elieves 
Ib id ,  :P ? 667 . 
D .  Boak , Foger Martin du Gar2, p . 7 1 . 
that Jacques 1 s  l ife - energy must  not be res trained ? 
1 I l avait  c onsc ience que la  nat ure  de Jacques dtait  
ri che , e t  qU I il  y avai t fort ?- gagner a la laisser Se 
( 1 ' de"veloppe r  ? sa gui se  et dans son }_Jropre sens . 1 ) 
The gradual reawakening of' Jacques 1 s personal ity which 
takes place  in the latter purt of .k?Reil:..iJ;encier  i s  
ac c ompani ed by a renewal of the antagonism to?ards the 
father : 1 I l  avai t l e  sentiment que l '  injustice  passe'e 
ne s erai t j amai s efface'e ? ? ?  1 ( 2 ) 
afte r  five years have e lap sed ,  one f inds that Jacque s ,  
novv aged twenty , has b een unable t o  gain equi  l i  bri  wn 
and balance . He is  fil led wi th a savage hatred of the 
oppres sive forces  of s oc ie ty and a des ire to : 
? ? ?  stimuler l e s forces de destructi on 
qui o 1 agitai ent en lui , se j eter ,  de toute 
sa ro.ncune , contre ? ? ?  - i l  n 1 aurai t su  dire 
quo i - contre l 1 ex istence  toute faite , la 
moro.l e ,  la  fami l le , la s o c idte'! Rancune 
ancien!1e 9 qui datai  t de soil enfance ;  
sentiment confus d 1 avoi r  E!te' un etre 
me'connu , auquel E!ta ient dus c ertains 
e'gards , e t  auquel ,  sans re'J;Ji t , tout le 
genre hwnain avai t manquE! . ( 3 ) 
The b i t terness  he feel s  towards hi s father i s  no\'/ 
pro jected onto  the soc iety whi ch his  father represents 
and he revolt s  against the mi ddl e-c lass attitudes 
towards worldly succe s s ,  prop erty and posi t i on.  At 
Mai sons-Laffi t te , where  the Thibault s  as  we ll as the 
Fontanins sp end the summer holidays , he reaches the 
deci si on to b re ak wi th hi s past  - a dec isi on whi ch i s  
( 1
2
) Le P?ni tencier , O . C .  I ,  p .  766 . 
( ) Ibld, ?. 767. -
( 3 )  La Bel le SaiSOQ9 O . C .  I ,  P ? 8 1 8 .  
precip itated not only by his  unwi llingness t o  compromise  
wi th po?r&eot? conventi ons but al so by the ambivalence 
of hi s re lati ons with his sorelJin?J  Gise , ru1d Jenny de 
FontanL.1 .  ThereafterJ  Jacques disappears :from the 
f?1ily for three years , until  his  reappearance in ?a 
'rhe later  developments in Jacques '  s l ife are firmly 
l inked with the inadequaci es of his home backgro und.  
Hi s continuing ins tabil i ty and inability to  achi eve 
sat isfac tory human relat i onships  are  related to the 
emoti onal unresp onsivenes s  of his  father and to  the 
severe dep rivations he had su:ffered in hi s fami ly 
environment and in the p eni tentiary at Crouy .  The 
analysi s which Ant oine makes o:f hi s brother ' s  person-
ali ty in the ??- would seem to support the sug-
gesti  on tha t these  defi cienc i e s  in hi s f o rr:ta t i on have 
arrested his emot iono.l and soci o.l growth at the 
adolesceat s tage of deve lopment . 
Je pense a Jacques ? ? ?  Juvenile : e?ith?t e  
qui lui c onvenai t s i  b ien !??-N1a-3amai s  ete 
qu ' un adolescent.  (Voir  dans les dictionna ires 
les  caracteres typ i ques de l ' ado lescent . Il  
les  avait tous : fougue , excessivite9 pudeur,  
audace et timidi teJ e t  lo. go Gt des abstrac t i ons J 
e t  l ' horreur des demi -mesures , e t  ce  charme que 
donne l ' inapt itude ?u scept i c i sme  ? ? .  ) Aurait -i l  
ete, dans son gge mur , autre chose  qu ' un v i e i l  
adolescent ? ( 1 )  
The confli ct  b e tween fa the r and son has J as has 
b e en menti oned J  broadened into a re jection by Jacques  
of  the value s  and ideal s of Oscar Thibault ' s so c ial 
c lass . Involvement in soc iali sm i s  the logi cal out-
come of thi s ali enation with the mj?jl?u in which he has 
been brought up and the  e vents in ].; ' Ete' J.214 concern 
Jacques ' G participati on in  revolutionary groups  which 
are implacably opp osed t o  the ?ourlleo?s ideologie s .  
Yet ,  a s  u soc ialist  mili tant  who .finally gives  his lif' e  
f'o r  hi s cause in an abo rti ve mis si oD to  halt  the war by  
dropping leaf'lets  over  the f' ront lL1es ,  Jacques  retains 
the imp rint o:f hi s mi ddle -class :familial  educ ation . 
He i s  w1able  to esc ap e  the we ight o:f hi s :pourgeois  
heri tage . As Wood po ints out ,  ?art in du Gard ' s chara? -
ter s are J:l r i soners of' the i r  environment and although 
Jacques s eelG:l f'reedom f'r om what he :fe el s  t o  be the 
hypocri t ical  att itudes  and the mater iali st ic value s  of' 
hi s background , his ef' :forts  are doomed to f'a i lure . 
His  characters  b elong t o  the pourgeoi_si e ;  
they have their roo ts  in a c ertain kind of' 
soc iety ,  f'rom whi ch  they deri ve the ir  ideas  
and to  whi ch they rea c t .  Ac co rding to  thei r 
temperament they will  b e  more or  less pas sive 
rec ip i ent s of' an ac cep ted s c al e  of va lues ,  
more o r  less  hosti le , or  mo re or  less ready 
to  ac cep t a c ompromise . 3ut all o:C them , 
men or v-vomen , measure the pre s ent and the 
f'uture against the her itage o.f the po.st ; 
none o:f them , not even the rebel Jacques can 
c ompletely sever  the roots f' rom whi ch they 
have sprung. ( 1 ) 
Henc e ,  in Swit zerland vmere he has f'led  f'rom hi s 
f'ami ly in an attempt t o  l o se  his  old i de.il.ti ty Jacques 
di scove rs a?ter  his mee t ing with hi s b rothe r the indi s-
solubility  of' the ties  whi ch b ind him to  his  f'amily . 
I l  venai t  d ' aperc evo ir  c ombien vite  i l  
se  rattachai t mal gr? lui h son f'r?re ? ? ?  et , 
par ce  f'r?re , a t out l e  pas s?! Hier ,  
enc ore , un f'osse' inf'ranchi ssable  ? ? ?  Et la  
moi t i e  d ' un j our  avait  suf'f'i ? ? ?  I l  cri spa  
( 1 ) J .  Nood,  ' Roge r Mart in du Gard ' , French Studi es , 
vol . XIV , no . 2 ,  April  1 960 , p .  1 33 .  
les  poings, bai s sa la t?te , e t  se tut . ( 1 ) 
His  inabil ity t o  suppre ss his  emot i onal and intellec tual 
attachment t o  the pas t prev ents him from b ecoming a true  
revolut ionary. Through the process  of familial  edu-
ca :tion which has indoctrinated him with the cul ture of 
the bour_g_eoi s is:_ he remains fundamenta lly Efli t i s te in 
his att i tudes and bel i efs . His  accep tance of soc ialist  
doc trine is fi l led with contradi c t i ons . H i s  p roud 
ideal ism and burJl.ing sense of j usti ce  attract him to the 
soc iali st cause but he is unabl e  to share the t otal c on-
demnati on of mi ddle-c lass value s  of the more se c tarian 
soc iali sts and he retains doubts  about the po s sib ilit i e s  
of foundill.g a new and bette r  soci ety by syst?matical ly 
des troying all  ve sti ges of the mi ddle-c lass c iv i l i sat ion .  
Lui , il ne p arvenai t pas  ? - b ien qu ' i l 
fut , autant que ses  camarades ,  persuade' que ,  
dans le domaine de l a  c ivilisat ion , la 
bourgeoi sie  avait  atte int le terme  de sa 
missi on historique - i l  ne p arvenai t pas b 
ac cepter la suppre ssion systen1at i que et 
radi cale de c ette  cult ure b ourfo.eoise  dont 
i l  s e  sentai t encore t out penetrd. I J  se  
mettait  ? la defendre dans c e  qu ' el le avait 
de mei ll eur , d ' Eft erne l , m1e sorte 
d ' ari stocrati sme intellectue? tr? s 
francais  ? . .  ( 2 ) ? 
One notes  that if Jacques c laims that  since the age of 
twelve or thi rteen he has b een in revolt against the 
world of his  father whi ch w i th its  g onnes o euvre s ,  i ts 
paternali st i c  benevol ence towards inferior s ,  its exampl e  
of energy and  dil igenc e ,  i s  the world of the ?assessors , 
the ' ? ? ?  j oui sseurs ? ? ?  ' who l ead ' une vi e de 
( 1 )  La Sorellina , O . C . I ,  pp . 1 249-50 .  
( ) ?--,= 
--
2 ? 12L?' O . C . I I , P ?  35 . 
3!?.2 
priv i ldgi?s ? ? ?  ' , ( 1 )  nevertheles s 9  he caru1ot prevent 
hims el? from fee ling a deep-rooted  re sp ec t  for  the 
material comforts  with which the pourg_eo  if:i sur rounds 
himself . Hence , when he v i s i t s  Anto ine at  the family 
home on his  return to  Pari s :from Geneva hi s reac tion t o  
Antoine 1 s redecorati on o f  the  hous e w ith his  share of  the 
inheri tc.ncc i s  hosti li ty t m"'l<:trds ' l a vanite ari stocratique 
dU b OUrgeO i S 1 ( 2 ) mingled  With I o o o lliie ?O inte  d 1 envie 1 ( J ) 
as  he c ompares thi s opulent installation wi th the bare 
room whi ch he rents . 
Jacyue s ,  ?who se upbringing has both cau sed his  
rebell i on against hi s mtlie? and prevented hi s full  
identif icati on with othe r  group s ,  is  a vic t im of  deter-
minism . Hi s i solat ion , hi s re stless  sp irit  and hi s 
instab il ity  prej_)are him for t:1e apparen.t ab surdity of 
hi s death.  Be , himself , s ee s  that  his final ges ture , 
the flight over  the trenche s wi th Meynestrel , wi ll  not 
achieve i t s  pacifi s t  ob j ec ti ves ,  but in a mystical sense 
thi s  ac t is the only means of  hi s salvation. ' "Je ne 
sauverai  personne , personne d 1 autre que moi  -m&me o o ? .  
Avoir  rai son contre tous ! Et  s 1 e'vade r dans la mort . ? ? 1 1 1 (4) 
His  sol  ut i on to  the confl icts  and c ontradictions o? 
personali ty which have origina ted  in his  chi ldhood 
experi ences  is , in effec t ,  sui c ide  - a means of escape  
from h i s  inner turmoil  and the hostil ity of  soc iety  
which he had considered as  a chi ld at  the moment of h i s  
( 1 l Ibi d ,  P ?  
( 2 Ibi d ,  p .  
( 3 Ibid ,  p .  ( 4 Ibi d ,  P ?  
1 53 .  
1 23 .  
1 23 .  
706 . 
rec apture by  the p ol ic e  at Toulon . ( 1 ) 
From the beginning y Anto ine Thibault ' s  development 
proceeds in a di:f:feren t direc t i on :from that of hi s 
younger b ro the r .  There i s  s igni:fi cance i n  hi s pos i t ion 
in the :faini ly as the el der son., ?cl1e one in v1hom the 
father tends to c oncentrate hi s hop es  ?:::.ncl ambi tions for 
the future ar1d who incarnates the youthful love of the 
parents . As wel l ,  as the elder son in the family  y 
Antoine feels  a sense of responsib i l i ty for hi s you..'"lger 
brother and hi s eff orts to re -educate  j-acques with 
sympathy and unders tanding in .?l?e2l.:J-t_ynger::_ i s  the 
f irst s tep in the breaking dovin of' hi s egot isti cal se lf-
interest y a p rocess whi ch will b e  continued wi th hi s 
love affai r  w i th Rachel Goe_pfert  and completed by hi s 
war exp eri ence s whi ch bring him c lo s er to suffering 
humanity . Ano the r important fac tor v1hi ch must b e  taken 
into acc ount i s  the  exp er ienc e whi ch he had had of hi s 
mother ' s  l ove during hi s formative years . The 
feel ing ' ? ? ?  de tendre chaleur ' ( 2 ) 1.7hi ch Antoine expe ri-
?en c es as  he gaze s a t  the photo graph of his  mother 
amongs t his  fathe r ' s papers  suggests  that the mo ther-
child re lat i onship has b een warm and gratifying . 
Nevertheless 9 Anto ine also suffe rs from hi s 
experi ence of familial educ ation .  The desire of the 
b oy to feel secure  in his father ' s  love and attenti on 
i s  frustrated by the father ' s  c o o lne so  an d  aloofness . 
'rhe inflexible di sc i}_)line to which  the chi ld is  sub j ec t  
( 1 )  S_ee. _Le Cahi er gris 9 O . C . I 9  p . 65 2 . 
( 2 ) La Mort  du pe?9 O . C .  I ,  p .  1 329 . 
prevents  him from coming c lose  t o  his  father and 
establishing a strong i dentif ication with him . 
Anto ine will  declare tha t there had b een no real c orn-
muni cation between father  and son - 1 ? ? ?  entre  ce  p ere  
et  c e  fi  l s  9 o. ucun l angage pour c ommuniquer 9 aucune 
possib i l i td d ' dchange :  deux dtrilligers ? , ( 1 ) 
The react ion of Antoine to  hi s fathe r has a s im i -
larity w ith tha t of Jacques  but Yf ithout the intensi ty 
of "li s b ro the r ' s revolt . There i s  a cer ta in ambi -
valence in the fil ial a ttachment .  At one moment he 
affi rms  his loyalty and devotion to hi s .f ather , the next 
he is fi l l ed with ' ? ? ?  w1e haine s ub ite  ? ? ?  1 and he 
exc laims 1 - 1 1Rassurez-vous  9 iVIadar,1e : je  n '  aimais  pas 
mon p?re . n 1 ( 2 ) S imilarly , although he doe s  no t b reak 
out . i nto  open rebel l i on ,  there is in hi s re lat ionshi_p 
with hi s rather a conc ealed  ho stility betrayed  in hi s 
speech 'oy 1 ? ? ? une facon p rovocante  cle fai re  sonner la .i 
fin de se s phrases , qui fouetta la  colere  de M .  
Thibault ' . ( 3 ) 
Hov1eve r ,  b etter  b al anc ed and l ess  impuls ive  than 
Jacques ,  Ant oine findB a pos i t ive means of asse rt ing 
his indivi duality and wiru1ing independence from 
paternal dom inat ion ;  hi s e scape from hi s father ' s 
influence  i s  in the exerc is e of  his  vo cat i on a s  a 
doctor.  But even in thi s  cho ice  of  a career Antoine 
i s  direc ted  by  forces  and drive s  from hi s home back-
ground. . For Anto ine medi cine is less an avenue of 
( 2
1 ) I bid ,  p ? 1 344. ( ) Ib id  9 p ? 1 31 4 ,  
( 3 )  Le  Peni tencier 9  p.Q. I 9  p . 721 .  
servi ce than a way of' develop ing hi s .9.-ul te _ du mo i .  
Descloux com,nents  on thi s  point : 
? ? ?  r, algre' tout ce  qu ' i l re j ette ,  Antoine 
demeure dans les  grandes l ignes un Thibault h 
l 1 ili1age du ;re re . Tou t  c e  qui l 1 entour e :  
l 1 aus te'ri te d e  l ' habit at , l a  rigueur du ton , 
l 1 at  ?en t i on de la mai son pliee ? l 1 autori  te'  
paterne lle 9 t out cela  contribue ? f'aire  
naitre l ' i dee d u  respec t .  I l  sera grand , 
important , resp ectd  avant to ut . ( 'l ) 
The e1m} of the Thibaul ts , thei r pride of' rac e and 
sense of tribal  superior i ty ,  manifest thsmsel ves in 
different  \'Jay s in each of  the Thi bo.ult s , but they share 
thi s same need to achieve greatness - Oscar Thibaul t 
seeks grandeur o.s a philant.hroyist  an G a p i llar of' the 
Church , JEJ.cques as B. revolutionary and a martyr end 
Antoine a& a medical speci ali st . But if Al?toine like 
hi s father i s  excessively amb itious and f i l led with  an 
inflated  s ense of hi s own imp ortan.ce , even to the 
extent of appear ing to Jacques t o  b e  to.king on the 
p ompos ity of' manner and the ' ? ?  e ton p.cudhommesque ? ?  o '  ( 2 ) 
of Osc ar Thibault , he i s ,  for al l that , a m an  of' bonne 
vo lonte'. He i s  not the pre dato ry po?qrgeoi? of' the 
fi ction of Flaubert , the exploiter  who ruthlessly uses 
others to  ?at isf'y his  greed for p owe r and wealth -
although i t  i s  true tho.t after he rece ive s  the inherit -
ance  from his fo.ther he suc combs temporari ly t o  the 
1 ? ? ?  empoi sonnement par l 1 argent ' ( 3 ) and briefly 
experiences  1 ? ? ?  le p lai  sir de dominer> , par l 1 argent 1 ? (4) 
( 1 ) A.  Descloux,  Ps_,ychanalJse du 9-o c  t?r _.!Pi baul_:b p .  
88 .  
L ' Et e' 191.!?' 0 .  c D I I ' p ? 1 5  
2 
? 
Epil ogue , 9? C .  I I , P ?  8
2
0 .  
Ibi d ,  p .  82 1 . 
Antoine ' s  amb i ti ons are channelled into s oc i ally useful 
ac tivity  - he chooses  a conformi st role to make his way 
in l ife , c ons istent with hi s sense of responsib i l i ty 
and duty . As  he says of himself in the ?!=lilo_g_??: 
I o o o J 1 aVCJ.i S tr?S fort l e  Sentiment 9 - educat i on 
chre't ienne ? - du merite e t  du deme'rite o I ( 1 )  Although 
he share s v1 i t h  hi s fnthe r socio.l  myopia and polit i cal 
c omplacer1cy in the pre-v;ar period y  he:; bears  also  the 
itilprLl.t oJ' the strong sense of soc ial  obl i gation of 
O scar Thibault , ?ho , llro ud of hi s posi t i on in the 
clas se  a i se e ,  re cognised tha?c 1 ? ? ?  cette  a isance impo se 
t ? d ? I ( 2 )  c e r  a1ns evo1rs ? . ?  o 
T11us  9 vJith _i s prudence and b cJ.lance - 1 c e  fameux 
e'quil ibre cl ' Anto ine ' 9 ( J )  - hL3 re sp ec t  for orde r and 
conv e?1.ti on and his de terminat ion to  succeed by hi s own 
effo rts ,  Anto ine is  clo sely identified with the att i tudes 
and values  of the middle-clas s home in whi ch he  was 
formed.  
'rhe upbringing of Antoine and Jacques Thi baul t in 
the R??te s oc i e't? cnjJlQlique is  contrasted wi th that of 
Daniel  and Je??Y de Fontanin in the lla?t? socie'? 
protesj:;ante . As educa tors O scar Thibault and The'r?s e  
de Fontanin v1ould b e  placed  at op:posi  t e  ends o f  the 
restr ic tive  - permi ssive c ont inuum .? For Mme de  
Fontanin, a s  i t  is  for M . Thibault , the attitude whi ch 
the parent must take towo.rds the educat i on of  chi ldren 
( 21 ) Ibi d ,  p .  958 .  ( ) La So re ll  ina , 0 o C o I 9 p ? 
1 1 
5 2 ? 
( 3 )  r,-'E.i_e 1_21J?, -p. C .?I I 9  P ?  1 43 ?  
i s  dic tated by  a system of religi ous  b el iefs . As a 
Protestant 9 a m ember of the Church of Christ , Sc i ent i st , 
her empha s i s  i s  on nonconfo rmism and :personal freedom as  
against Oscar Thibault 1 s  ri gid C atholi c i sm .  For thi s 
reason neithe r  of her  children i s  b ound by the prohib i -
t ions v1hi ch 2re p laced on the members  o f  the Thibaul t 
fo.mily by the i r  tyrannic al father . The stern d i s c ipl ine 
and har sh puni shments whi ch Oscnr 'J:lhibaul t considers 
essential to  charac ter  formation have no p lace  in  her 
_philosophy . Her way i s  love llil.d tolercmce .  She 
b e li eves that the child  should not b e  forc ed to ob ey the 
will  of hi s parents  as f inal ly the des t iny of the child  
i s  in God ' s hands . Her faith has taught her res ignati on 
to the will  of God , a s  i s  seen in the prayer  that c ome s 
to  her lip s  in  moment s of  cri s is :  ' ?uc Ta vo lontd soi t 
fai te  1 , ( 1 ) The"rese  d e  Fontanin ' o reluctance to at  tempt  
to interfere w ith God ' s p lan i s  de scribed by  Daniel  in  
the f ollowing pas sage : 
C '  e s t  avec  c e s  principe D-la , que tu 
as tou j ours l aisse  ? ? ?  les autres ? ? ?  suivre 
seuls e t  l ib rement leur - de-st:CriE?e ,  sans  
intervenir ,  - m?ne quand la  voi e  qu ' i l s  
suivnient e'taient manife stement mauvai se 9 -
m'Bme quand c e tte  destine'e ne pouvait  
apporte r que de  la  souffranc e  dru1.s leur 
vie  ? ? ?  et dan s  la t ienne ! ( 2 ) 
The reference whi ch Dani el  makes to l?s autres  i s  
, "" clearly directed at the father , Jerome de Fontanin , 
to  whom the children f eel hosti l i ty as  the outside r in 
the foy?, but the remarks could equal ly be  app li ed to  
the  mo ther-chi ld relationspip . 
There i s  a great disparity betwe en the way she 
regards her chi ldren and the way Oscar Thibault regards 
his . When M .  Thibaul t reads in Jac ques s cahier the 
correspondence betwe en hi s son and Daniel he immed i-
.a t ely suspects  a homosexual relat ionship . Mme de  
Fontanin ,  how ever , instinctively re j ec ts  any condemna-
tion of her son .  It  is  only vi th reluctance that she 
brings herself t o  accept that her chi ldren could lie to  
her .  She tends to  expect  the best  f'rom Dani el and 
Jenny whereas  Oscar  Thib ault is alert ror signs of 
immorality in his sons .  Similarly , her fo rgivenes s 
contrasts  with Oscar Thibaul t ' s stern admini strat i on of  
just ic e .  Dani el , for instance ,  i s  certain that hi s 
mother would have pardoned him roi' the di sgrace into 
which  he  had fallen following the dis covery of the 
cahie.r......B?..!.?. and wo uld have taken hi s s ide agains t the 
school  authori t i es if he had gone to her for help ? 
? ? ?  Pas un instant , il n ' avai t pu se 
debarrasser de c ette  certi tude , que si , au ' l i eu de fui r ,  il avai t c ouru tout expliquer n 
Scl mt:re ? ? ?  el le l ' e.Ut :pro te'gE:f cont re tous , 
et  rien de mal ne :t U't arrive'. ( 1 )  
When they are discovered by the police  at  an inn on the 
road to 'roul on , Daniel  i s  rel i eved : ' C ' Eftait f ini ! 
DE:fjh sa m?re l e  savait vivant , l ' at tendai t .  I l  lui 
demanderait pardon; e t  ce :pardon eff?cerait tout ? ? ?  ' ( 2 ) 
Thi s contrasts  wi th Jacque s ' s desperate thoughts  of 
sui c ide as  he envi sages par en?cal retribut ion.  
But Mrne de Fontanin ' s  s tres s on the l iberty of  the 
( 1 ) Le Cahi er  gr?, o . c . I ,  p .  639 . 
( 2 )  Ibid ,  p .  65
2
. 
individual does not nec essar i ly mean that she adopt s  a 
laiose.r-f'aire  attitude towards the educat i on of' her 
children in  the home . Her princ i?al concern i s  :for the 
moral 8..i.ld sp ir i tual welfare of' Dan.i el and Jenny . For 
her the quality of life is  of' paramou.nt imiJortanc e .  
Henc e ,  her a im i s  to ' ? ? ?  inculquer o:ux enf'ant s ? ? ?  qu ' i l 
n ' y a rien de plus preci eux que la vi e ,  et qu ' e lle  est  
incroyab lement courte . ' ( 1 ) From the ir mo the r ,  the 
daughte r o.f Pns tor Perrier of' the Church of' Chri s t ,  
Sc ienti st , Daniel  and Jenny cle Fontanin would gain the ir 
moral  scru.l)les . The moral demands tha t  she makes  of' 
herself ru1d of  her childr en are as  exac ting as those of' 
O scar Thibault , altho ugh they are c ouched in different 
terms . I t  i G  be cause the i r  rel at i onship v;i th thei r 
mother i s  so  c lose that  they are rece? t ive to her  
teaching , whe reas the de e.J! -ro o ted an?cagonisms whi ch 
Oscar Thibaul t arouses  in hi s sons  inhibit  intro ject ion 
of' the father ' s  values .  The effec t of  hi s mother ' s  
examp le i s  seen in Daniel 1 s  ' ? ? ?  manic d ' e'valuat i on 
moral e ? ? ?  ' . C 2 )  During his adoles c enc e he i s  s tri cken 
by feelings  of' gui l t ,  torn b e tween his  consc i ence and 
his stronG sexual appetite s .  One notes that  after  hi s 
sexual ini tiation by a young woman at Marsei l leS., he is  
overwhelmed by a sense  of'  shame . Later ,  f'or two years 
after he had l eft school , Daniel suffers a s e ri es of' 
1 ? ? ?  cri se s  de scruiJules  ? ? ?  ' . C 3 ) His eventual l ib er-
ation from hi s mo ther ' s moral influenc e is  due to  
( 1 )  Le Penit encier,  o . c .  I ,  :p . 792 .  
(
3
2 ) ?? Bell.e ?o? , ? o . c . I ,  p .  830 . 
( ) Ibid , p .  o2 o . 
fac tors over whi ch Ther?se de Fonto.nin has no control -
the predispositi on to  sensuality and the contagion of 
hi s father ' s  exarnple , al though the immediate cause i s  
the reading of Gi de ' s  Les Nourri tu_??e s __ t_?rrest-tt.s .  
Les sent iments , auxquel s  jusqu ' alors il  
ne  s '  abandonnai t qu ' 'a contre-volonte', se  
liber?rent soudain et  yri rent j oyeusemen t la 
premi? re p lace ; cette  nui t-la , en quelques 
heure s ,  s e  trouva rcmverse"e 1 1  Efcl1elle des 
valeurs que 9 dermis son enfan ce 9 il  croyai t 
imtimable . ( 1 ) 
TJ:-1e moro. l impr int of the J ?1 0ther ' s Protestantism i s  
more enduring in the case of Jenny . Her hypersensi t ivity  
o.nd lacl<: of c onficlenc e may al so stem  from a desire  t o  
emulQte her u o thc r ' s moral  exam? le . Although like 
Daniel  she ha.s not c ome to  share  her (tio the r 1  s rel i gious 
beli ef' s 9 she b ears the mark of her  upb ringing in her 
' . ? ?  raideur pro testante ? ? ?  ' . ( 2 ) A t  each lapse  she 
sui'fers from her  inadequacy , I t  seems likely that the 
mysteri ous  fever whi ch affl icts  J?ermy in Le j<ahier  gr:!-.?.9 
following Dani el ' s di sappearanc e ,  i s  intended t o  app ear 
psychosomat ic  ( though the melodramat ic  circumstances  
surrounding he r cure by the fai th-healer,  Pastor  
Gregory ,  when she i s  on the brink of  death, cast  s ome 
doubt  on the medi c al or psychologi cal validity of  a 
reacti on of this  intensi ty ) . Her i l lness app ears to b e  
partly mot ivated by her anx iety for her brothe r ,  but one 
could also pos tul ate that a furthe r  cause l ies  in her 
delib erate dec eption of her mother and the ?we ight of the 
secret on the chi ld 1 s mind . Before leaving, Daniel  had 
( 1 ) !b id ,  p .  830 
( 2 ) ??ilogue , 0 .?.  I I , p .  844 ? 
made Jenny promi se that she would  nottell the ir mother 
that she knew of hi s plans . Her fever devel ops  from 
the moment she tells her first  lie  to her mo the r - that 
she had not seen Dani el return home on the Sunday 
morning . Although she de ceives  Antoine by her innocent  
replies , Mme de  Fontanin glimpse s  her inner to rment . 
Ell e o ' assit  et se  releva pre sque 
aussi  tot . Son vi sage etait  tourmente'.  
1 1Elle  sai t ,  elle sa it , maintenant j 1 en 
SUi S SUre : l 1  S I e'cria-t-elle S0Uclai11 o 
1 1Et je sens aussi qu ' e lle !Jlourrait  plut 6t 
que de laisser e'chap}_)er son secre t .  1 1 ( 1 )  
Jenny i s  frightened by the strength of her emotional 
respons es  as is seen in the development of her r elation-
shi? wi th Jacque s Thibault . Her inhibi ti ons prevent  
her from responding t o  hi s advances when at Mai sons-
Laffi tte  in  J,a? ?B?lle S?Li?.21l thei r c ommon interests  have 
drawn them toge ther . The c onsci ousne ss  that she i s  
attracted to  Jac?ues i s  p rofoundly disturbing fo r her . 
La honte l 1 oppres sai t ,  empgchai t les  
larmes de  monter j usqu ' aux yeux . Et  elle 
etai  t domine'e par un sent iment nouveau : la 
peur . La peur d ' e lle-meme . ( 2 )  
Later in ;L_'IDe ?1914 when she rev iews  her past l ife she 
remembers 1 ? ? ?  son enfance inqui1t e  et  scrupuleuse ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 ) 
Mme de Fontanin ' s  effo rts are also di rected to the 
inte llectual s ide of her chi ldren ' s development . At 
the b eginning of Le Penitenc ier  we s ee her reading 
aloud to her chi ldren. Li terature  i s  obviously more 
highly prized in the Fontanin household than in the 
home of O scar Thibault . Madame de Fontanin appears to  
( 1 ) Le  Ca4Ler  gri s ,  O . C .  I ,  P ?  595 . 
(
3
2 ) La Bel le_Sai son, o . c. I ,  P.? 967.  
( ) L 'Ete" 1914, . O . C . II , P ?  374 . 
read wi dely ;  apart ?rom moral works and the Bible  
whi ch she habi tually consults ?or comfort and gui dance y  
she reads Engli sh as well as French novelist s .  There 
appear to be no restri cti ons on her children 1 s  reading . 
Indeed i t  is  ?rom Dani el tha t Jacques Thibault has 
borrovred Rousseau '  s CQ!},f.?.,SS i..Qns. and Zola 1 s 1.? paute de 
]-1  abbE{J?LQ.1_;l,;,t:,e? whi ch are di sco vered in 'li s desk at the 
Ecole . 
Along vri th the ma jori ty of' :p arents  of the bou?eoisie. 
in the rom?nf3-f:J_e"\l_ye?, The' re se  de Font an in b el i eves in 
the importanc e of fo rmal educat i on . The mother ' s  pride 
in her s on ' s scholastic  achi evement s at  his  l.yc{Y. i s  
revealed when she shows t o  An.toine her ]:;Lf{g,orf3 . 1 Dans 
un tiroir  de son secreta ire y gisaient , al igndes , une 
vingtaine de couronnes de l aurier  en carton peint . , ( 1 )  
Jenny i s  t aught at home by an in?t?cyj?J??? To 
Jacques 1  s gib e  that educati on is of li ttle importanc e 
to a gi rl Jenny repl i es :  ' Ce n ' est pas 1 1 avi s de maman. 
Ni de DruJ.i el . ' ( 2 ) Yet ,  cons i stent wi th he r belie? that 
each individual has a right to fo llow his own way , Mme 
de Fontanin do es no t oppose Daniel ' s  dec i s i on to l eave 
school onc e  he has obtained his Q?Q??laure'a1? Nor does  
the p eri od from s ixteen t o  eighteen when , temporarily 
disorientated , he spends hi s t ime in ske t ching , br ing 
from her any reproach, desp i te the fac t that the fami ly 
resources  are already s trained by her husband ' s  
( 1 )  1,_e
.
Pe'nit enc ier ,  O . C .  I ,  p . 806. 
( 2 ) Ib?d,  p . 8oo .  
prodigali ty . 
Apart :from reading 1 other cultural and recreati onal 
pursui ts are encouraged in the Fontanin home . Whereas 
Oscar Thibault di smi sses  art i st i c  ac comiJ li shments as 
tri  vial 1 The'rcbse  de F1on to.nin ay:proves o:f cultural 
act ivit i e s .  Jen y i s  a p roficient  p ianist and 9 a s  in 
the case  of Ce'c ile  Pasquicr , the GUGi c o:f Bee thoven or 
Chopin i u  :for her a means o:f release :from inneP tensions .  
At  Mai sons-Lnffitte  the Fontanins as wel l  as  the 
Thibaults  arc members o:f a tenni s club . Thi s 9  inde ed 1 
i s  one of the rare o c cas ions in whi ch o. ref erenc e to 
sport i s  raade in the ?91TI?l}s-fle?.? Tenni s appears 
to meet with the approval of the se  parents  of the 
bourge?,is:!:_e_ primari ly :fo r social clo.ss reasons . Mll1e 
de Pontunin evi dently sees  in the ?c elli1i s club an oppor-
tuni ty  for  Jen...'1y 1 YJl1o se so c ial circle  is  re str i  cted 9  to 
meet o ther young yeople  of her illiJi e_\!? 
I t  may b e  se en ,  then 9 that The'rese  de Fontanin has 
c onscientiously endeavo ured  to  provide a :free  and 
generous educati on :fo r her chi ldren , In the contrast 
b e twe en her chi ld-rearing prac ti ces and tho se o:f O scar 
Thibault it  i s  he r openne ss and her forgiving nature 
that gains the sympathy of the reader 1  particul arly at 
a time when the cold,  re jecting home climate is  consid-
ered to have a harm:ful effect  on the chi ld ' s mental 
health. ( 1 ) Yet ,  one must  remember  that if Anto ine and 
Jacques Thibault have difficult ie s o:f ad justment the 
( 1 )  See K.  Bernhardt 1 Disc ipl ine and Child Guidanc e 9  
PP ? 1 49-50 .  
same i s  equal ly true of  Daniel  and Jenny de Fontanin. 
I t  has been suggested that Therese  de Fontanin i s  
a p ermissive parent . This is true to  the extent that 
she will  no t s tand in the way of her children if they 
have decided on a c ourse of ac t ion .  Neverthele s s ? she 
effec tively limits  the extent to whi ch they can 
init i ate indej::Bndent act ion by her emotional domina ti on ., 
Her  chi ldren are c losely b o und to her and it would  
appear that thi s  warm relationshij_j vrhi ch she has cul-
t ivated with her chi ldren i s  as restri c tive on the ir  
thought3 and acti ons  as  Os car 'I'hibault ' s overt authority 
ove r  Ant oiJ.1.e and Jacques .  In p ractice  she i s  ove r-
sol i c i tous and de spite her consc i ous aim to allow her 
chi ldren the maximum of indep endence 9  thi s results in 
a loss  of p ersona l f reedom ,  a s  i r:> seem in the 
following passage : 
? ? ?  Si  Daniel  s ' 2visai t  de vouloir  
relever les  buche s croulant es, sa  m?re , avec 
un geste  j oueur,  l ui enlevait  p restement 
les  y inc ettes  des mains : 1 'Non ? non1 1 , 
disai  t-elle en rian t 9 "lai s se 9 tu ne 
c ormai s pas l es ?rs du feu? 1 1 ( 1 )  
Verville ( 2 ) s uggests  that thi s kind of mo ther domination 
may have a harmful effect on the chi ld  a s  the emo t i onal 
dependency on the mo ther may cause him to  distrust hi s 
own ab ilit ies .  
In som e ways one may regard Mme de  Fontanin a s  a 
v i ctim of c i rcumstance s .  If her home i s  s trongly 
matriarchal jus t  as Oscar Thibault ' s  i s  patriarchal , 
L ' Ete 191? , O . C .  I I ,  p .  374 .  
See E .  Vervi lle , Behaviour Problems of Children , 
PP ? 381 -2 . 
thi s i s  largely b ecause of the charac ter  of the father , 
JerSme de Fontanin , who has opted out of his parental 
respons ib ili ties ru1d who retains li ttle  of hi s own 
Protestant upb ringing exc ep t  vague regrets  at hi s 
l ibertine ex istence and at the way in whi ch he has 
squandered hi s fortune and reputation .  Mme de 
Fontanin ' s  mot ives for her dec is i on to isolate the 
chi ldren from her husband ' s  influence  are mixed .  Her 
stated reason i s  that hi s example would  be injur ious .  
"Le mal que vo us m ' avez fait , JerSme , 
il  ne m ' at teint plus , moi seule , dans mon ? ? ?  
affec ti on :  i l  entre i c i  avec -vous ,  i l  est 
dans l ' air de notre  mai son ,  il e st dans 
l ' air  que re sp irent mes en?ants .  Je ne l e  
supporterai pas . Voyez ce qu ' a  fait Daniel 
cette semaine . . ?  Je sui s  sGre que votre 
exemple l ' a ai dd ? faire le mal .  Serait-il  
parti auss i fac i lement ,  sans s ouc i de mon 
inquietude , s ' i l  ne vous voyait  di spnrai tre 
sans ce s se ? ? ?  pour vos  affaires ? 1 7 ( 1 ) 
One notes  in this p assage , in the referenc e to 
' mes enfant s ' , an unmi stakeable  el ement of exclusiveness . 
Thi s I A is  confirmed afte r the death o f  Jerom e :  ' Sans 
qu ' elle se  l '  avou?t , la dispari t i on de J?ercSme 
eclairc i s sait  l ' hori zon .  Dorenavant , el le serait  seul e  
et  libre 9 entre s e s  deux enfants ? ? ?  1 o( 2 ) Like Mme 
Pasquier she needs the continual demonstrat ion of her 
chi ldren ' s love , pos sibly as a com_h)ensat ion for her 
marital mi sfortunes . One sees  how in Le Penitencier  
she insi sts that  Dani el embrace her  in  front of Anto :i:ne , 
thus proving her emot ional hold ove r  her son. ( 3 )  
Further  evi dence  that the ir a?ttachment t o  the ir 
( 1 )  Le Cahier  gri s ,  o . c .  I ,  pp . 662-3 . 
( 2 ) L1EtJ 191?, O . C .  I I , P ?  286 . 
( 3 )  See ? i t enci er ,  O . C .  I ,  p .  794 . 
mother has influenced thei r att itudes i s  se en in the 
way in which the children regard their  father . ? For 
b oth there is  a tension b etween the i r  need for a 
fathe r 1  s love and the feeling tl1 a t  to expre s s  this  would 
he an act o.f di sloyal ty to  their  J!lother .  Hence ?  al-
though Danie l  is  strongly attracted t o  the mas culine 
role  which hi s father represents ? he s t ill  re tains some  
vestiges  o.f the ' ? ? ?  tendresse  exc lusive 5 j al ouse ? ? ? ' ( 1 ) 
whi ch he had fel t  for hi s mothe r in early chi ldhood .  
Jenny also  feel s both love and hat e  .for  her father . 
Jenny avai t ve?u 9  toute son enfance ? si  
p r?s de sa m?re , qu ' el le avai t tr?s j eune ? 
sub i le  contrecoup des souf.frances  maternelles , 
et qu 1 e l le avai t ,  tr?s j eune , porte' sur s on 
p ?re  un jugement sans indulgenc e .  ( 2 ) 
I t  i s  Danie l  who is shown to be @Ost affec ted by 
the influence of Je'r5me de  Fontanin. Throughout ??s 
??! Martin du Gard demonstrates hi s bel i e? in the 
strength of atav istic  forces .  The characters  revert 
to type . Thus , Antoine and Jacqucs Thibaul t  d i sc over 
in themse lve s the characteri s tics  and trai ts  of Oscar 
Thibault and Daniel  finds tha t he sl?res  the sensual 
nature of hi s fathe r. But if D??i el doe s  have  the se 
predispos i tions to act in ce rtain ways ,  Martin du Gard 
makes hi s behaviour all  the more c red ible  by emphasising 
factors in hi s upbringing which would  magnify these 
c ongeni tal conditions . As has b een seen, a careful 
psychological foundat ion has been laid for Dani el ' s 
personality development . If in childhood he was drawn 
( 1 )  Le Cahi er gris ,  O .Q.  I ,  p .  656 .  
( 2 ) La Bel le 8ai son ,  o . c .  I ,  p . 984 .  
c lose  to hi s mo ther ,  in ado lesc ence  his  ne ed t o  fre e 
himself from l ib i dinal  attachment t o  hi s mother and  
forge hi s own identi ty make s him more  aware of  the 
masculine role  mode l  which hi s f a ther repres en ts and 
by the process  of i dentificat ion he unc onsc ious ly 
adopts hi s father ' s behavioural patterns . His  later 
development, c er tainl? closely paral lels  hi s father ' s 
sear-ch for erot ic  experience  unt il  el!1asculat i on from a 
shrapnel wound in the war l eaves hiLi embi t tered and 
wi thdravm . , Ye t if D?ni el ' s immaturi ty and inabil i ty 
to  adapt himself  to  the p rac ti cal r?eali ties  of life  
appear t? b e  primari ly the re sul t of hi s fathe r ' s 
influence one mus t also recogni se that Mme de Fontanin 
has indirec tly prepared him for the life of a voluptary 
by her over-attenti vene ss  and her  indulgenc e .  Thus 9 
Jenny te lls  Antoine in the ?J-??. when they discuss  
Dani el ' s refusal to  emerge from hi s self-p i ty ing 
isolat i on : ' 1 7Da.niel a toujours eu la  v ie trop fac i l e  ? ? ?  
Tout lui e'tai t dti . n '  ( 1 )  I t  is  the mother who has fed  
his  egoti sm and developed  in him the habit  of expec t ing 
others  to  gratify his needs . Her mihealthy at tacrunent 
to her son which in it self i s  an expres si on of the deep 
sensuali ty which a t trac ts  her t o  males ? as  i s  s e en in 
her rel at i onship with Je'rame and Antoine Thibaul t ,  
contributes t owards hi s sense o f  superi ority and of 
sexual dominanc e over women. 
If Dani el ' s  mo ral and emo t i onal growth i s  p ro-
foundly influenc ed by the home  envi ronment , thi s is  
( 1 )  Epilo?e, O . C .  II , P ? 846 .  
also true in the c ase  o?  Jenny de  Fontanin.  Her 
insecurity and introspectiveness  would  seem t o  b e  
clo sely l inked \"Jith he r isolati on i n  the ?ami ly . 
Dani el emphasi ses her  lone line ss VJhen he describe s  he r 
as a ' "Pet i te ?1 e mal v ousse'e ?  mal p art i e ?  sans 
equilibre ,  ? ? ?  trop murie p ar l a  r?flexion ?  la soli tude , 
les  l ec tures ? ? ? 1 1 ' ( 1 )  Jen11y stli'fe r:::; f rom  her posi tion 
in the fami ly a s  the psychologically re j ec ted child .  
Magny prov ides  thi s valuab le insight into the relat ion-
shi.J? o.f E1o ther and daughte r  in the F'ontanin home : 
Pour q_ui aime Jenny? i l  est  e'vident que 
Mme de Fontanin n 1 est  pas  l a  m?re a?nirable 
qu ' el le ::para! t ;  elle  ne c omprend sa ? il le ?  
ni ne la p rd.fere veritablement ;  au .fond ? 
c I est Daniel  seul ( et  Jerom e ) 9 les  males de 
la  fami ll e ?  sans  que Jenny puisse  evi ter de 
le  s enti r  c onfus?ment  et  d ' en s ouffrir ;  et 
si Jenny est  ? ce :p o int t imide et re'-tracte'e ?  
devant Jacques c omme de van t  toutes  cha se s ?  
c 1 est  qu 1 el l e  a t ou j ours e'te' l a  petite  .fille  
que :p crsoru1.e n'  aime . ( 2 )  
Lil<:e Jac<Jues Thibaul t ,  Jenny fee ls al ieD;tated from her 
fami ly . She i s  sep arated  from her father by hi s 
ab sences  from the [q_y_?r_ and sens es that Daniel  i s  the 
:preferred child of her mother . Although Daniel  and 
Jenny appear t o  c oexi st  harmoniou sly in the fam i ly 
scenes in Le C ahier gr??' ?e Pdni tenc i e? and La ?11? 
Sai s on ,  i t  i s  suggested  that  no deep understanding has 
develop ed between them.  
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
? Ah! c ' avai t toujours e'td une souf'?ranc e  
de l 1 a ime r tant , c e  grand ?rere e t  de n ' avo ir  
j amai s trouve ri en ? lui dire ,  rien qui put 
faire tomb er une b onne f'o i s  c es cloi sons ?ue  
la  v ie , l eurs natures ,  que l eur ?raterni te  
p eut-gtre , dlevai ent  c ontre  eux? ( 3 ) 
?elle Saison ,  O . C . I ,  P ?  983.  
c.  -E ?. Magny , Histoire  du roman t.r;EP-lais  ?? , vol .  I ,  pp . 326-7 . 
L Ete' 1914 , O . C .  II , P ?  266. 
depui s 
A further contributing factor  to the feeling of 
lonel ine ss which Jenny experienc es i s  the ab sence of 
adequate  pee r asso cia t ion . Jenny has been brought up 
as a Pro tes tant and i s a memb er of a :fami ly whi ch  would 
appear to have few intimate  friend s  except Pastor  
Gregory ,  because  of the father ' s  poor re?utat ion . In 
Le Cahi_?.r____gr=k_? Osc ar 'l'hibaul t r efers to  this  soc ia l  
unacceptability o:C the F'ontanins , ' 1 ;A l'lai sons , 
p ersoru1e ne les  regoi t ;  c ' est  t out juste s i  on le s  
salue . " '  ( 1 )  Jenny ' s so ci al contac ts , the refor e ,  are 
seve rely l imi ted . Moreover , UJ.""llil{e her brother she i s 
kept  at home by her mo ther and receives her education 
privately.  Her lac k of oppo rtuni ?i:;y to develop 
relat ionship s with her pe ers whi ch wo uld help her  to 
prac t ise soc i al te chni ques ,  nould se em to be at the 
heart of her nervousness  in the comlJO.ny of o the rs and 
her tende11cy to wi thdraw into herse lf o.nd to  b e  
' ? ? ?  indechiffro.ble ' . ( 2 ) 
The r:>i tua ti on in which  Jeru1y de Fontanin :finds 
herself has a basic  s imilar i ty witb that of Jo.cques 
Thibaul t .  Both feel  that the ir posi ti on in the family 
is marginal and that the a ttention of  the ir  parents is 
c entred on their  elder b rothe rs ; both also are  alien-
ated from their soc ial group . The love of Jacques and 
Jenny which r ipens from its  adolescent  b eginnings in La 
Belle Sais..2n. to its consummati on in L ' Ete' 1914 i s , in 
effec t ,  the union of two solitudes . 
( 1 )  Le Cahi er gri s ,  o . c .  I ,  p .  585 . 
( 2 )  Epilogue , O ._Q. I I , p.  88 1 . 
Apart from the rela tionships in the Thibault and 
the Fontanin families  li ttle is  seen of the int eraction 
in o the r  middle-class  fami lie s . However9  in two of 
the homes c losely c onnec ted with the Thibaults  and the 
Fontanins one sees  the effect  on the child  of the 
unfai thful wife . The prodi gal  husband who endangers 
the security of the foy?e? i s  a theme s tudied by Duhamel , 
but the promi scuous middle-cl ass wife who neglec ts her 
chi l dren i s  a figure foreign to the .?Qmans-fleuves of 
Duhamel and Romains . Nod!nie  Peti  t-Dutreu il ? the 
cous in of' The'r?se de Fontanin9  i s  ano ther of Je'rome ' s 
conquests and the deci s i on of the daught er ... Ni c ole> t o  
leave  home i s  precipi to.ted b y  the lmowledge of thi s 
l iaison .  However , an even more di s turb ing portra it  
of the lack of  mate rnal sentiment i s  found in  the de s-
crip ti ons of .Anne d?e B ::>.ttainco urt - ' ? ? ?  la  terrible  
Anna ? ? ?  , ( i )  as  Jacques desc ribes  her  in La Belle Saison .  
Wilful , independen t ,  seli'i sh ,  An.ne de Battainc ourt ,  who 
b e c om es the L1i s tres s  of Anto ine in L ' Ete' t2J..!?, abandons 
the c are of he r inva lid daughter to her husband and her 
governess  whi le she leads the life  of a ?ondain? at  
Pari s .  I t  i s  the second husband, Simon de Battaincourt 9  
cut  off from hi s Protestant upper-cla ss fami ly by hi s 
dec ision to marry against their wi shes a woman fourteen 
years hi s senior vn th a reputati on as  an adventure ss , 
who prov ide s  the affecti on and unders tanding for hi s 
s t ep-daughter that the mother refuses ,  and who teaches 
the child at  Berck French 9 hi story BJ."ld geography . 
There is  al s o  in La Be lle Sai son a bri ef gl imps e of 
the lower middle-class  fo.mily o:f Cho.s l e ,  the se c retary 
of Oscar Thib ault . The memb ers of thi s fami ly are 
grotesque f igures .  The mothe r of  Chasle is  irasc ible 
and tyrarillic al  and forces  her adult son ,  whom she 
hab i tual ly addresse s  as ' Dadais ' 9 ?eo endure humiliati on 
and servi tude . 
As in Qht?Qd?ue des Pasgui e? , the no vel-cycle 
concludes with a consider at i on of the a ttitude s  t owards 
famil ial education of the se concl generat ion of parent s .  
Jacques ' s  death i n  Augus t 1 9 1 4  leaves Jenny to  care 
alone :for their  son ,  Jean-Paul . Jenn.y, as Ant oine 
di scovers during hi s convale scence \Vi th the Fon tanins 
in the early summer of 1 9 1 8  at i?:; ai sons-La:ffi t te , has 
not b e en crushed by the sho ck of J2cques 1 s dea th o r  the 
s t igma of b earing an illegitimate  chi ld . On the con-
trary , vri th maturi ty J-enny has gained assurance  and 
b alance and now b egins to resemble  her mo ther in manne r 
and appearance .  She finds fulfi lment in her role  a s  a 
mothe r and lavi shes upon Jean-Paul an attentive  car e .  
Jenny , though , has a clear v iew of the difficult ie s  
:fac ing her a s  a solo p arent  in rearing he r chi ld . 
1 1Le devoi r qui me  re ste e s t  lourd" , dit?
elle , n:faire de Jean-Paul c e  que Jac que s  
aurait voulu faire de son fils . Par instants , 
?a m ' E(pouvante ? ? ?  " Ell e  releva le  fron t :  une 
lueur d 1 orgueil gl i s sa dans son regard . Elle 
semblai t penser ;  "Mai s j '  ai  c onfianc e en mo i . 1 1  
Elle di t :  - 11Mai s j ' ai confiance en c e  peti t ! " ( 1 ) 
Educati on i s  a c entral is sue in the concluding 
volume of Les .Jhtbau_l t - Jenny i s  conc erned that  Jean?
Paul might rec eive the advru1tages of a good 1 
dduc ation f'ran<_iai se ? ? ?  ' ; ( 1 ) Gis e ,  v1ho nov.r lives  with 
the Fontanins , is t roubled by Jenny ' s refusal to al low 
the chil-d o. trndi ti ona l reli gious u:pbr?inging ? 1 1 1Qu ' e l le 
en fas se un petit  _prot e stant , si ellc  veut ? l\lais  
qu ' elle  n ' cl ?ve  p us le  i'i ls de  Jac que s c omme un 
chien ! n 1 ;  ( 2 )  and Antoine ' s thoughts arc;; never far from 
the Chi ld  illid  the imp ortance Of I o o o lliie educati on 
c onvenable  ? ? ? v ( 3 ) whi ch would release  in him the inner 
strength oi' the Thibaults  
Jenny demons tra te s in  her  c onversati ons with 
Anto ine thu t she has s tudi ed her child and a t tempted 
to unde rs tnnd hi s natur e .  Not  only does  Jean-Paul 
resemble hi s father in phys ical  appearance  but  al so  he 
has inherite d  ident i cal pa tterns of behaviour .  Inde ed , 
-vvi th thi s insi stence  in the E?.1J.M??. that the thr ee -
year-old chi ld  should pre sent fuL exact repl i cat i on of 
his father ' s charac ter i st i c s ,  Martin du Gard 1 s atavism ,  
one suggests , s trains credib il ity .  However , Jenny , in  
her interact i on with the infant is  determine d not  to 
repeat  the mi s takes  of Oscar Thibault by applying harsh 
restraints to hi s strong wil l  and in?dent spirit ,  
thi s 1 ? ? ?  force interieure i rresistible  ? ? ?  ' . ( 4) 
Punitive measures ,  she declares , increase his  stubborn-
ness , but affection and attenti on gain his confidence .  
( 1 )  Ibid ,  P ?  882 . 
( 2 ) Ibid ,  P ? 797 .  
(
3
) Ibid ,  P ?  9 1 5 .  
( 4) Ibid , p .. 840 .  
Yet one de tect s  in Jenny ' s  warm nurturing of' he r son 
the same possessive  l ove  which her mother had shown 
towards her chil dren . Here 9  there i s  a :further 
example of the working of' atavisti c in:fluenc es and 
heredi to.ry forces whi ch re-creo.te  the :patterns of' the 
:pas t .  Like Th?r? se de Fontanin 9 Jenny finds sati s -
fact i on in  a fa therless  family sitt,_a t i on in vvhi ch she 
has exclusive rights  to the chi ld ' s affecti on .  Her 
firm refusal to ac cept Antoine ' s ofi'er of marriage 
to l egi timat ise the child ,  is mot ivo.ted ,  one suspe c ts 9  
l ess  b y  respect  for Jacques ' s memory or scorn of' 
b ourgeot? conventi ons of' marriage , than by her reluc t -
anc e t o  share her chi ld with an outs i de r .  Thus , Jenny 
wi l l  rear her son in  an environment as potentially 
harmful :for the chi ld ' s p sychologi cal and soc i al growth 
as that  in which she had been form ed .  
?ntoine is  at tracted t o  the chi l d  who reminds him 
so insis tently of' hi s brothe r .  H i s  observat ions of' 
Jean-Paul at play are rec orded wi th the detail  of the  
trained observer of' chi l d  behaviour , parti cularly the 
two inc ident s which highlight  the infant ' s  stubbornness 
and r efusal t o  be  direct ed - hi s p ersi stent attemp ts to  
c limb out of a d itch  and hi s rage when Anto ine declines 
to allow him to touch hi s knife . It becomes obvi ous 
to  the onlo oker tha t Jean-Paul p o ssesse s  the ?la? of 
the Thibaul t s .  
"L ' e'nergie des Thibaul t "< songea Antoine complaisamment . 1 1Chez mon :pe re ,  autori te 9 
goat de dominati on ? ? ?  Chez Jacques ,  impetuos it e, 
rebelli on ? ? ?  Che z moi , op iniatre te . Et 
maint enant?  Cette force que ce  peti t a 
dans le san? 9 quelle forme  va-t-elle 
prendre ? " ( 1 )  
During the last few weeks  of his l ife Anto ine ' s  
thoughts c ontinual ly turn to  the education of Jean-Paul . 
In analysine: the rea sons for  hi s inter cot in the child ' s 
upbr inging 9 he lays bare some of the deeper motivations 
behind the pro cess  of e ducat ion .  A primary mot ive i s  
a s ense  of duty , a fee ling of respons ib il i ty for the 
chi ld ' s welfare becaus e of the i r  b lood relat ionshi? . 
The chi ld i s  a Thibaul t by  natur e if no t in name and 
Anto ine uonoide rs that he must make an attemp t  to 
instruct him how to uti l ise  the inner strength whi ch hi s 
father 9  un.c 1e  and grandfa ther have p os sessed . For 
Antoine tl1ere is the hope thn t in Jean-Paul the  ming?
l ing of the tv/0 heredi t ie s ,  the vigour and elan of the 
Thibaults  and the generosi ty and warmth of the 
Fontanin.s , might produce  the c ulminati on of the  Thibaul t 
race which has b e en sl owly ascending from its  farming 
origins in Normandy . 
Et pour?uoi c et enfant ne serai t-il  pas 
le predestine? 1 '  aboutissemen t de 1 '  obscur  
efEort de  la  race pour fabriquer un type 
par?ait de l ' e sp ?c e  Thibault ? ( 2 )  
Hence ,  in  hi s dia ry Anto ine c ompos es notes  addressed to  
his  nephew which are des igned to help him reach his  
de stiny : on vocation ( 8  Augus t ) , truth ( 1 4 August ) ,  
morality ( 20 August ) , use of his life-force  ( 29 Augus t ) , 
p ersonali ty ( 7  September ) . 
Anto ine forese es grave dange rs whi ch could ai'f ect  
Jean-Paul ' s  development .  He seeks by hi s counsel t o  
counteract  the effec ts of  Jean-Paul ' s  indoctrination by 
Jenny wi th J?acques '  s 1 doc trine ' - or  at  least his sup-
posed system of pol i t i ca l  and soc ial vi ews as nei ther 
Anto ine or Jenny appear to 1?a l i s e  fully the hesitat i ons 
and doub ts that had marked Jac que s 1 s  attitudes to 
so c iali sm .  Hovrever ? An to ine is anxious that Jean-Paul 
should avo id  the intel lec tual bl indne s s  of the doctrin-
ai re  and hG is  convinced thn t the ' do c trine ' whi ch 
Jenny i s  de termined t o  teach he r s on in his father 1 s 
memory is  ' ? ? ?  plus dangereuse ? ? ? pour le  d?veloppement 
d ' un j eune cerveau9  que l 1 exemple  oi sif de l 1 oncle  Dane ? 
ou que le  chauvini sme ? c ourte vue de la grand-m?re ' . ( 1 ) 
Thus ? .Anto ine vmrns hi s nephew to retain hi s intel lectual 
f'reedom : ' N?e te  l aisse  pas aff'j.l i?r .  1 ( 2 ) Also 9 he 
b el i eves  that in the aftermath of the war the soc ial 
conditions will make  it harder f'or "Lhe boy to  develop 
into an pomme de val eur . Like a middle-class bon pe? 
de f'am!l.JLe he enjoins hi s nephew to accept  a ' discipline 
patiente 1 ( 3 ) and not to  re ject  the counsel of' tho se who 
pass on the accumulated w isdom of' the preceding gener-
ati ons . ' Je voudrai s ? ? ?  que tu ne r e j ettes  pas trop 
impat i emment les  avis de te s maitres , de c eux qui 
t ' entourent 9 qui t ' aiment . ' (4 ) 
But b ehind thi s f inal role of' educato r whi ch 
Anto?ne adopts  the re a r e  more personal reasons . For 
? 1 ) 
( ? ) 
( 4 ) 
Ibi d .; ?p ? 848 . 
Ibid ,  p . 982 
Ib id , P ? 967 . 
Ib id ,  p .  950 .  
him there i s  the feeling that to pass on to  the next 
generati on what one has received - ' Assurer la  
continui te  ? ? ?  'l'ransmettre ce  qu ' on a re?u,  - le  
transmet tre amdliord, enrichi ' ( 1 ) - gives s en se and 
purpo se t o  life.  There i s  in Anto ine a ' be so in 
superb e  de lutte r contre l ' effacement , de la isser s on 
empre inte ' . ( 2 ) Like hi s fathe l, he determinedly 
endeavours to ensure for  hims e lf a kind of immorUliity .  
One remembers the horror of di sappearing without trac e 
which Osckr Thibault had experienced. Throughout hi s 
life he had endeavoured to crea te symbols of hi s 
presence  which would resist  the passage of t ime - the 
P ond 1..1t i on Oscar-Thibault ,  the pri ze for virtue , the 
desire to have his  hyphenated name continued  by hi s 
descendants .  As Borgal ( 3 ) says , the characters  in L.?.?. 
ThibauLt are haunted by the fear of death. A.ntoine 
feels tha t  thi s will to survive comes from his father 
' Beso in que j 1 ai hlrit6 de lui . Mo i auss i ,  secret 
e spoir d 1 attacher mon nom b. une o euvre qui me prolonge , 
? une ddcouverte , etc . 
On n ' e'chappe p as ? son p?re ! ' ( 4 ) 
When he write s  of hi s hope that Jean-Paul will one day 
read the notes addres sed  to  him by his uncle and 
di scover there hi s ' ? ? ?  derni?re empreinte ? ? ?  ' ( 5 )  i t  
becomes c lear that he i s  s eeking to p erpe tuate himse lf 
through Jean-Paul . 
1 )  Ib ici ,  -p .- 989 . 
2 l Ibid , P ?  92 1 . 
435. See  c .  Borgal , 
Epilogue , o . c .  
Ibid , P ?  933. 
I s  not , then , the parent , b y  
Roger Martin du Gard , P ? 1 1 5 .  
II , P ?  9 21 . 
368 
consc iously attempting t o  mould the chi ld to  hi s own 
ideal 9 not only s triving to pre serve the values and 
b eli efs which he cheri she s ,  but also trying to  transmi t  
something of himself - his personali ty and hi s 
charac ter which wil l endure ? For Antoine who i s  
deprived of the op:portuni ties of fatherhood and ?who i s  
deni ed the possib i l ity of  the con.tinunt i on of his name 
by Jenny ' s  steo.df'ast refusal to  marry him the ro le of 
surrogate :p arent whi ch he adopts in the last weeks 
before hi s death in November 1 9 1 8  is hi s final resourc e 
to defeat the transi ence of' life . 
I t  is thi s ri ch p sychologi cal detai l that one finds 
in Mart in du Gard ' s study of' the parent -chil d inte r?
ac tion that  reveals the extent to whi ch the educat ive 
pro cess is affected by  the hidden drives and uncon?
sc ious needs of' both the educator und the l earner .  
THE SCHOOL : 
Even if the desc ript ions  of' i'amilia l  educat ion and 
the study of' the ei'f'ects  of' early training in Les 
Thibault are more detailed than the examination of' the 
teacher-pupil  interaction and the analysis of' the extent 
to  whi ch the s chool  influences the development of' the 
chi ld ,  there i s  s t ill  in the novel -cycl e  a considerab le 
p lace  given t o  the schoo l in i ts  ?'unct i on of' re ini'orcing 
the middle-class values and attitudes and in p romoting 
the intellec tual enri chment of' the l earner .  In thi s 
respect  the s choo l is seen by Martin du Gard a s  
supplementing the cultural training given in the home 
and rep re senting an imp ortant de terminant o? the p erson?
ali ty .  
'I'he _de'douJ?l.,yment whi ch we have ob served in the 
di??erent reactions o? Anto ine and Jacques Thibault to 
?ami ly l i?e - k1to ine the conformi st , Jacques the 
rebel - i s  again evident in the way in whi ch the 
Thibaul ts  regard formal educat ion The author ' s  early 
di?f' i cul t ie s  o? ad justment at sec ondary scho o l  link him 
with Jac que s ' s revolt  aga inst  the teaclung at the 
Catho lic Ecole whi ch he attends a s  a ,dy;nJ--pensi onnaire . 
In the b?ne way,  in fuito ine 1 s s teady and unsyec tacular 
progrec;s through hi s medi ca l  training one might recall  
the ins tructi on o?  the young studen? Roger Martin du 
Gard, at the Ecole des Charte s .  The contrast ing nature 
and temp er?en t of the t??.v o Thi baul ts p roduce sharply 
divided views on the ?unc t i on of tl1e schoo l .  Jacques ' s 
non-con?ormi sm tends t o  b ring him into  con?li c t  with 
school  dis c ipline o His  experience of  the authoritar i ?
anism of the sec ondary s cho ol  whi ch l eave s  him w ith a 
burning hatred of teachers and a b el ief that the school  
is  a social  insti tut i on des igned to  restri ct  the ?ull  
development o?  the indiv i dual , i s  fundamental ly di??
?erent ?rom .Antoine ' s ?eel ing s  o? satis?ac tion  with the 
instruct ion which has prepared him for his position in 
the ruling c lasse s .  Hence , the attitudes t owards the 
school  of Jacques and Antoine  Thibaul t highlight the 
two a spects  of the schoo l system between whi ch there i s  
c onstant t ensi on - Jacques emphasises the c ondi tioning 
func t ion of formal education and Antoine its  l ib erat ing 
func tion .  
Although, as regards the p arent-child  relat i onships ,  
a wide variety of responses to  fami ly l ife ? found in 
?es Thiba?l? ,  the teacher-pupi l interac tion i s  c oncen?
trated  UlJOn the experi enc es in the schools of Anto ine 
and Jacques Thibaul t .  Only b ri ef reference i s  made to  
the l-..Y..<???-Q educati on of Daniel  de  Fontanin,  who ,  a l though 
an abl e  student 9  shares his fathe r ' s l ack of amb i ti on 
and fails  to proceed furthe r with his  educat ion after  
obtaini11g hi s ]?accalaure'at . Hi s s i ster , Jenny , does 
no t rece ive formal in struct ion in the schoo ls  but i s  
provided  with private tui ti on by an in?itutri c? in her 
home . However ,  no de tai ls are g iven of the content of 
her instruction .  
A f'urthe r restri ction in  the depicti on of  the 
l earning si tua tion s tems from the so cial  background of 
the Thibaul t s . ?t/hereas fo r Laurent Pasqui er the intro -
ducti  on to  f'ormal education i s  in the .Ef.co?._EL..I2.?ifiW}.re 1 
for Jacque s and Anto ine Thibaul t ther?e  is  direc t entry 
to  the educat i onal insti tuti ons of the middle c lasse s , 
the S tate l_x.c e'es or  the Church  schoo l s .  Primary 
educat ion ,  for thi s reason,  i s  not c onspicuous in the 
predominantly bourgeois  world . of the Thibault s .  
only a few references are made t o  insti tuteurs  o r  
ins t i tutr?9?9 mainly in L ' Ete ?1? when Jacques  m ixes  
wi th those  outs ide lu s social  class  in the soc i al i st 
groups . The c leavage b etween the mi litant younger 
teachers imbued with internati onal soci ali sm and the 
m .. 
older generation of teachers who had preached a 
bell i co se nat i onali sm i s  emphasised .  Ferry' s primary 
schools  are blamed for fomenting mi litarism and ant i -
German feeling.  As Antoine ' s  as socia te ,  Studler , says 
immediate ly pri or tO the OUtbr82.k Of V!D.r ? 1 1 1De s 1 1 ecole :; 
les gosses  ont l ' espri t  faus se - p a r  la fa?on dont on 
leur parle  de s guerres anc iennes ,  de la gloi re , clu 
drapeau ,  de l a  Patrie ? ? ?  Nous  payons cher ,  au jourd ' hui , 
ce s insani te's .  ; r ' ( 1 ) 
There  i s  a concentration ,  then, on the role  o f  the 
secondary s cho ol in forming el ite_?.? Jus t as  Jo s eph 
Pasqui er ac ts  as the cri ti c  of the school  sys tem in 
Chroni que des_ Pc:tsouiet,  so t oo doe s  Je.cq_ue s ThibEml t 
underline the weaknesses  in  the proce ss of educat ion in 
the p rivate and pub l ic secondary s c?lO o l s  he attends in 
Les 'rh;JJ@u+ ? .  rtis  ho st i li ty t o  authority , which we 
have obs erved  in h i s  relat ionship wi th hi s father , makes 
him unable  to  ac cept the mouldin g process  whi ch p roduces  
el ite s .  
?---?' 
He i s  an individuali st who i s  incapable  of 
conforming to the dic tate s of an,y sy stem and hi s 
rebellious natur e tends to  br ing down upon him the full 
forc e s  of repre s si on whi ch ac t in defence of the sys tem . 
Thi s i s  ev ident in the ac count of the inflexible  dis-
c ipline a t  the Catholic  c o llege he  attends as  a demi?
I:._ensionn..a.ir? in tro isibme at  the beginning of Le Cahie r  
.&.ri s .  I t  is  obvious  that  Jacque s ' s s trong wil l has 
created fri c t ion be tween him and his teachers and that 
this has made them &11 the more unprepared to a c c ept  hi s 
( 1 )  L '?:F;.,_t?{__1914, O . C . II , P ?  483 . 
explanati on when the entrie s  in the ??h?lU:-B?1s they 
di scover hint at a homo sexual relat ionship between him 
and the ??c???? Daniel de Fontanin.  At  t he  same time , 
the pr ies ts at the Ecole in the rue de Vaugirard appear  
to lack the neces sary moral and inte llectual quali t ie s  
to handle the ir  reluctant 1mpi l  v; i th sympathe ti c 
unders tancling. They seem to sha re Oscur Thibaul t ' s  
vi ew that thG chi ld in their care has no freedoms or  
ri ghts . There is  at the Ecole the s 2.m e  authoritarian-
i sm as in the home of  the Thib aul ts , wi th severe  
res tr? i c t ions  on the chi ld ' s movement s 9  s tr i ct  s uper-
vi s i on or hi s reading a nd denial of hi s rights  to 
p rivacy . Indeed ,  it i s  the fac t that the priests  have 
searched through hi s b elongings and removed from hi s 
desk the .9.alli?...?. that c ontains hi s c orrespondenc e with 
Daniel that provokes Jacque s '  s angry outburs t  in the 
office  o:f th e d? rec teur ,whi ch re s ul ts in hi s b eing 
p laced in solitary conf inement in a _c_ellule de 
re'c i  tati2l1 and vvarned of po ssib l e  expulsi on. 
Moreover ,  the directeur of t..he Ecole 9 abbe Binot , 
reveals himself to b e  hypocri t ical  and small-minded .  
Jncques  describ es t o  Daniel  Binot ' s  ' o  ? ?  air m i elleux ' ( 1 )  
as  he attemp ted to make the ?li?r reveal his  guilt  
and he claims that the pri ests  had delib erately exag-
gerated reports  of hi s m isbehav iour to  ingratiate  
themselves  with his fa ther . 
1 1Papa ne m ' a j amai s pr is au serieux . 
A l ' Ec ole , l es abbes lui di sent que je  sui s  
un monstre , par leche 9 pour avoir 
don11er beaucoup de mal en e'levan t 
H .  Thibaul t ,  qui a le  bras long a 
tu com:p rends? 1 1 ( 1 ) 
Xl.l. 
1 1  air de se 
le  fils de ' "' , l Archeveche , 
Thi s appraisal of Binot ' s  character  i s  c onfirmed by the 
manner of the 9-? r?c teur Vlhen he informs Oscar Thi baul t 
and Anto ine at the Ec ole  of J.s.cques ' s misdemeanours . 
His  ur1C ti 01 ..: snes s  is  d isp layed when he refers t o  the 
:pup il as ' le cher  gargon ? ? ?  1 ( 2 ) an.d attempts  to m inimise  
Jacq_ues '  u :part in the a:ffo.i r by  1J lo.c ing t he blame for 
the o:ffence on the influence of the ?JL???Q 9 Daniel de 
Fon tanin , ' ' '  ? ? ?  un camarade dangereux 9 comme il  y en. a 
tant , helas,  dans les  lyce'e s  de l ' Etat 1 1 1 , ( 3 ) who , wi th 
his Protesto.?1 t bac kgrou.il.d and his  father 1 s reputation 
as ' ? ? ?  ux1 sauteur ? ? ?  ' ( 4 ) has li t tle  chanc e  of defending 
himself . Furthe rmo re , Binot irritate s Antoine by the 
descripti on he give s of  the di s c overy of  Jacques ' s  
ill i c i t  reading material - c op ies  of Roussea.u ' s Q.Q._rbf....?L??
.s:L_onf:!. , Zola ' s 1?. Faute de l ' ?_.i hi_Q1J..r.?t and the trans-
lati on of :.m Ital ian nove l ,  Les _ V??r..R??.....E??.?.9..9.?? 
Thi s account delivered ' H . sur un ton presque j oyeux ' ( 5 ) 
and with knoVIing winl{S to  Anto ine creates  the impress ion 
that the pri est takes a genuine pleasure in ferret ing 
out corrupti on .  Later ,  the vl c i ous side of Bino t ' s 
nature  is lai d  bare when in the p resence of the Thibaults  
he  confront s  Daniel ' s  mothe r .  Confident that he has 
Oscar Thibault ' s support in the at tack on the s on of the 
( 1 ) 
! ? ? 
4 )  
5 )  
Ibid 9 
Ib id ,  
Ib id ,  
Ib id , 
Ib id , 
:p .. 649 -
P ? 583 . 
}_) o 583 . 
i) o 585 .  
:P ? 584 .  
:rlJ? 
1 ? ? ?  hi.Jguenote  1 ( 1 ) he cruelly thrust s the ev idenc e of' the 
cahi er ?ts, befor e  her 1 ? ? ?  avec w?e joie  de roquet 
b?tard 1 ( 2 ) and replies  to  her protestat ions of her son ' s 
innocence wi th 1 ? ? ?  u.r"le intonat i on x?ailleuse 1 ?  ( 3 )  
Whi l e  the pri ests  of the C 2 t.L1o l i c  _sleJ}1 i -pensiQQ.IJ..?.t. 
are painted in an Wlsym:pathe t ic l i ght ?Jith the i r  
b igotry ancL the ir hypocri sy 9  the J2.?:.C?fes;.??,ll.r::O. at  the 
Lycee .AJnyo t 9 the c lasses of vvh ich J:J. cques al so at tends 9 
are not  exemp t from criti cism .  When Qui llard 9 the 
ce11se"\).r of thi s  .lyce't:; 9 i s  infor m e d  b,y t he priests  ut 
the Ecolc o:f their  findings in t he ?_a}li}?l.: z.r.D> 9 he too  
leaps  to  the conclus i on that a homoscxunl relat i onship 
exists  b etween the two b oys 9 in the s e  matte rs apparently 
having b ee?1 di oabused  b y  ' ? ? ?  J. o. tr iste  expE!rienc e des  
internats  1 ? ( 4 )  LiKe B inot he b ases  hi s ac c us a t i on on 
the tone o:f thG letters be tween the t?ao pup ils 9 c ontained 
The slendernes s  of this evidenc e 
i s  obvi ous from the content s of the .9?QJ2.i pr gri s  '<Vhen 
these  are revealed in chap ter VI . I t  i s  true that  
there i s  a certain amb iguity in  :phrases such as  1 ? ? ?  notre 
in t ime  union 1 , ( 5 ) Jacques  1 s use of the term 1 o mon 
amour ' ( 6 ) nnd in the referenc es to  the fri endship as 
... ' ? ? ?  c e s  moments , trop rares 9  h?las 9  et  trap c ourts ? ou 
nous sommes ent ierement l ' un a l ' autre . ' ( ? )  However,  
one might interp ret these  equa lly as  well as  the 
1 Ibid 9  P ? 601 . 
2 Ibid , P ? 599 . 
3 Ibid ,  P ? 600. 
4 Ibid ,  p . 585 . 
5 Ibid , p . 620.  
6 Ib id 9  :P ?  62.1 . 
7 )  Ibid , :pp . 6 1 9-20 .  
outpourings of adolescents  who grope for wo rds to 
desc ribe the deep inte llec tual and emotional sat is-
fac tions  which their  friendshi? brings . As O ' Brien 
suggest s ,  the ir comradeship i s  1 ? ? ?  passionate  ? ? ?  sudden ? ?  , 
a.r.l.d _tiurc 1 ? ( 1 ) 'rhe ir exclusive love i s  exal ted by  the ir 
overwhelmLl.g desi re to be lli1.dersto od. and to ga in 
ex_per ie11c e of thl:: world out. side; the nnrrov-1 c onfines  of 
the i r  fami lies .  The pro of that there i s  no sexual 
elem ent in the ir  rel at ionship is prov ided 'Nhen in the 
hotel  Oll. the road to  'I'oul on they o.re too embarras sed to  
undress b efore each o the r .  Both Qui l lard and B inot ,  
then , show in the way they h<IDdle thi s incident a 
cynic al v ier/ of h wn rul. nature and n tendeac?r to  ac t on 
supposition rathe r tho.n on c lear evidence . 
The note V!hi ch i s  interc epted  btd.;,,-,een the two 
pup ils  th e day before  they ab sconcl t o  avo i d  the 
threatenecl expulsions  i s  a fair comment<1ry on the kind 
of justice  which  they have rece ived : 
1 0Aux cens qui o.c cusent lncheE1en t et  
sans p reuves ,  ? ceux-1? ,  Honte ? 
1 1HOH'::'E ET LALHEUR ! 
1 1Toute c ette  intri gue est  mone"e par 
une curios ite' ignoble !  Ils  voulai ent 
farfouiller dans no tre amit i e  et leur 
procc'de' e s t  inf&'me ! ( 2 ) 
Apart from the d i sc ipl inary at titudes of the  
te ache rs , o ther references  t o  the way in which Jacques 
has been taught would  se em to imply that there were 
serious de?icienci es in hi s experience of  f ormal 
education .  
( 1 )  J .  O ' Bri en7  The Novel  of ?.dolescence in Franc e ,  
p .  1 60 .  
( 2 ) Le Cahier gris , o . c . 1 7  p .  627 . 
Judging by Binot ' s horrif' ied reac t ion t o  Jacque s '  s 
fo rb idden reading - the works of Rous seau and Zolo. whi eh 
are discovered in the search of hi s desk - the range of 
l i terature taught in the Ecol e  vwuld. seem to be  narrow. 
One notea that  Jo.cques ' s  interest in l iterature has 
b e en av;o.kene d not by hi s teachers b ut by Daniel . 
Daniel ' s  enthus iasm for modern noveli s ts nnd the 
Romantic  poets  has devel oped in Jacques a desire  to 
wri te . In the 9ahier gri? one observes tha t he has 
c omposed a poem in imi tation of the Harmodius e t  
Ari stog:j. t o!l 9  c ommenced an ode on  martyrdom and i s  
p lanning a novel . ( 1 ) 
The schoo l s  have not  suc ceeded in taming Jacque s ' s 
independent sp irit  nor in cap turing hi s  interest  
througl: the programme of studies . He is undervalued 
by hi s teache rs at b o th the Catho lic  _c!?1]1j.-pen..?j.onno.t 
and the l4Y_iQ and considered t o  be  o. 9ancre . But his 
failure to make academic progress  i s  not due to lack of 
ab ility ;  rather the cause l i es i n  h i s  inab i lity t o  
di scipline hi s mind in t o  conventional channel s .  
Unlike hi s fri end ,Daniel , who i s  untroubled by  the 
demands of the school - ' L ' e sprit  clair de Danie l  e'tai  t 
en avru?ce sur l ' effort qu ' on exi geait de lui ' 9 ( 2 ) 
Jacques refuses t o  adapt to the routine of s chool  life -
an attitude whi ch earns him a certain prestige amongst 
hi s 1'e llov1 pup i ls and even a grudging respect  from his 
teachers .  
( 21 ) Ibid 9 pp . 624-5 
( ) Ib i d ,  p . ?63o: ? 
37_7 
? ? ?  Parmi c es  enfants ,  dont la personnali t{ 
s omilolai t dans l ' habi tude et  lo. di scipline , 
auprcs  de ces  mai'tre s ,  dont l ' age et  la  rout ine 
avai ent USe l 1 energie 9  c e  CGncre 9 au v isage 
ingrat , mais  qui avai t des ex?losions de 
franchi se et de vo lonte', qui p nrai s sa i t  vivre 
dans un univers de f i c ti on ,  c red par lui et  
pour lui seul , qui n ' he'sitai t :pas a se  lancer 
da.11s le s aventures  l es plus saugrenues sans 
ja.liwis  en craindre les risques 7 ce petit  
mons tre provoquai t 1 '  effroi 9 mais  imposai t un e  
inc onsc iente estim e . ( 1 ) 
Jacqucs ' s un.fortunate experie11ce of formal educat j_on 
cont inues o. t  the p enit ent iary at Crouy after  hi s 
recapture from the mad fli ght to Toulon with DanieL  
The reform school whi ch Osccr  Thibault has founded at 
Crouy wi th the assi stanc e of the archdi ocese  of Paris is 
far from be ing a repress ive bnp.;n?c d ' ep.:(p.nts as  Anto ine 
at f irst fears . "' The princ ipal , M . Fai sme 9 pri des him-
self on hi s l ib eral attitudes to  the reform of  young 
offenders  fu'1c1 takes a l ively interest  in modern pedo.gogy . 
Corporal pw1i sn?e nt is  balli1e d  8nd the young inmates 9  
aged b etween ten and e ighteen , s:pend their  time :profi t-
ably l earning trade s and v,rorks?1op skill s .  But the 
treatment of Jacques has obv ious  defi c i encie s .  The 
mi ddle -clas s  child  i s  i so lated from the o the r inmates  
and c onfined to  the pav illop spdci?1 in the sol e  charge 
of a guard . The academic  programme which  he i s  set  does 
not c omp ensate for hi s lack of so ci al contac ts . Desp i te 
the claims  of Faisme that the pupille is  studying c on-
scient iously for  ei ght hours each day , Anto ine  is  
informed by Jacques that the truth of the matte r  is  that 
his t ime is  spent in i dleness ,  l i s tening to the rambl ing 
( 1 )  Ibid 9  I? ?  631 . 
remini scences  of the old teacher .from Compi'egne who is 
employed to supervi se his se condary studi es . From his  
examination o.f Jacques at the p enitentiary i t  is  
ev ident to  Anto ine tha t without inte lle ctual st imulus 
Jac ques ' s  mind is becoming dulled o.nd that contrary to 
Oscar Thibaul t '  s theori es  o:f the co rrec tion and the 
reformation o.f the chi ld through i so lat i on ,  the with-
drawal o:f the child  .from as sociat i on w i th his p eers  and 
the plac ing o.f him in the hands o.f a guard ' ? ? ?  sans 
instruction ? ? ?  , ( i )  and a teacher  who i s  c l early  incom-
petent  has produced a s i tuati on i n  which the b oy su.f.fe rs 
moral , emot ional , soc ial and int el lectual depriva tion . 
Therefore ,  .Anto ine vmrns hi s .fa ther : 
1 1  ? ? ? I l  est  vi sible que de'j? son inte ll igenc e 
devi ent incapab le du moindre  e.f:fort ? ? ?  I l  est  
tombC dllil S Wl te l etat d 1 indi.f.ference ? e t  sa  
:fnibles se est telle , que s 1 i 1  rc stai t quelques 
mois  &1core  dans cet? e . t orpcur , i l  serait  trop 
tard pour lui rendre?"'f[f sante'. 1 1  ( 2 )  
Although with the as s i s tnnc e o.f abbe ve'c ard , hi s 
:father ' s  sp iri tual advi sor ,  Anto ine succeeds in gaining 
hi s :father ' s  c onsent to Jacqucs ' s  release and ensure s 
that  he i s  yrovided with remedia l  ins truction whi ch 
p ermit s  him to resume hi s s tudie s  at the l.yce'e ,  the 
associat ion o:f the school  wi th repressi on and incompet-
ency will  r emain with Jacques . Even though he makes 
rap i d  p rogress in hi s schoo l work and :finally shows hi s 
academic potential by p as s ing the .Q?qp?s d '  en tree :for 
the Ecole normale superieure 1 hi s interest  in hi s 
( 1 ) Le P?nit encier , ?.Q. I ,  p . 730. 
( 2 ) Ibid, P ? 723. 
studies is never c omplete .  H e  i s  sub j ect  to sudden 
enthusiasms  f or poetry ?  for mo.themo.ti cs ,  fo r philo sophy , 
fo r reli gion ,  followed by periods of  lassi tude when 
' ? ? ?  les le? ons , l es ergotages des t extes , la belle  
A 
morale des honne tes  gens ? ? ? ' seem t o  him to  b e  1 ? ? ?  d ' un 
ennui mortel 1 ? ( 1 ) 
The reasons for Jacques ' s  di ssatisfact ion wi th the 
aims and ob j e c t ives of fo rmal educat ion are stated with 
more c le:u?i ty v1hen he makes hi s deci si on not to continue 
to higher  educat i on ,  after  being acc epted for entry to  
the Eco l e  normale . Foremos t  amongst his ob j ecti ons t o  
a tertiary education i s  that the conformis t atti tudes 
in the s econdary s chool  are pres ent al ao in the higher 
schools  of l earning . He b elieves  that  even in the 
Ecole  normale there i s  an inherent conservati sm v1hi ch 
stifles  indiv iduality .  To Ja cqu e s ,  the l ife of  the 
p.ormaliei? wo ..::.ld b e  merely a 1 ? ? ?  prolongement de'gui se' du 
college ' ( 2 ) wi th i t s  re str ictivenes s  ru!d the nece ss i ty 
to  c onform to  the s oc ial dic to.tes of the instituti on .  
To Jacq_ues,  the indiv i duali st , the; spirit  and the 
camara?? of the s tudents are abhorrent . 
nces  cours , ces le gons ,  ces  gloses  }3. 
l ' infini ! Ce re spect  de tout !  ? ? ? Et  c ette 
promis cui td! 'l'oute s les i dc!es mise s en 
commun,  p ietine"es po.r le troupeau,  dans 
ces  redui t s  sans ai r ,  l eurs .t.?rB.,?S ! Rien 
que leur vo cab ulaire  de c???' t ien s ? 
Leur 12.Q.1, leurs cnlmans ! H \ 3 )  
We se e here c lear evidence  of Jacques ' s  s oc ial 
maladjustment . He i s ,  as Martin du Gard , hims elf , 
( 1 ) La Belle  Sai son , Q. C .  I ,  p . 960. 
( 2 ) LEL,_.????..1-_lir.lli , 0 .  C .  I ,  p .  1 231 . 
( 3 )  Ibid ,  p . 1 231 . 
expressed in a le tter to L.allemand ; ' ? ? ? sur l e  p lan 
int ellectuel et soc i al ,  un ' e spr it  faux ' , i rrem?diablement 
faux ? ? ?  ' ( 1 )  Excess ive ly romantic and ego t isti cal , 
Jacques i s ,  for reasons whi ch appear to  be linked 
primari ly v1i th l:i s home background , unable to adap t 
himself to the di s c ip l ine of a systeiil . In thi s  re s-_!_) ec t 
his hatr ed of regimentati on ,  of s e t  syLLabuses  and of 
ordered so c ial l ife in the schoo l s  111ay b e  conside red as  
a manifestation of hi s proud reb elli on against paternal 
authoritariani sm 2Ild the norms of hi s fathe r ' s soci ety . 
Hov1eve r ,  Jacque s '  s de ci si on to  abandon his  plans 
to  enter  the Ecole no rmal e is based not only  on hi s 
reservati ons about the educat ive proc ess in i ts e lf but 
al so on hi s belief tha t as the end result of this 
pro cess  ther e would  be for him a ' ? ? ?  vie deriso ire ' ( 2 )  
a s  a teacher . Al though he admit s that the re are some 
ideal ist ic  teache rs who have fai th in the ir profe ssion -
I " I l s  sont touchants , b i en sur , a cnuse de leur digni te', 
de leur  effo rt ep iritue l ,  de c e tte  fid?lit d  s i  mal 
re'tribue'e 1 ; '  ( 3 )  - Jacq_ues  i s  f irmly c onvin ced that they 
have been de luded as to the i r  ac tual soc ial function .  
For 1  acc ording to  Jacques ,  the Qr?Sse?s are in 
reali ty agents  of repression who p lace re straints upon 
indivi dual expre s si on and who l imi t the :pos s ib il i t i es 
of men reaching thei r  full s tature .  Henc e ,  aft er  his 
initial exci tement a t  having pas sed the entranc e exam-
inati on for  the Ecole normale has waned , he b egins  to  
( 1 )  'Le ttres h un ami ' ,  ( 1 
1 Dec . 1 95 8 ,  p .  1 1 46 .  
( 2 ) La Sorellina , O . C .  I ,  
( 3 )  Thief? p .-1 23 1 .?? 
Feb . 1 945 ) , ?.?. R . F . , no . 72 , 
p 0 1 23 1  
reproach himself bit terly for  having submit ted  himself 
to the judgement of men like the Greelc examiner who 
have b een c onditioned into p edantry. 1 I l  reve'cu t 
quelques secondo s de son examen oral de grec 9 l 1 instant 
exact  o? il avai t commi s sa faut e :  il  revoyai t l e  ve rt 
du tnpis e t  le do igt du profe sseur 9  ecrase sur Je s 
QJ1oe'..I?J?J'?l?.1 avec  son ongle b omb e' c or11 E1e un copeau de 
corne .  ' ( 1 ) As we l l 9  hi s pride makes him t'eel  nshamed 
of having contemp lated a career  s uch as theirs  in which 
he would  perpetuate the con.formis  t tradi t i ons and 
at ti tudes wi th which the schoo ls had attemp ted  t o  mould 
him . 
"J ' en suis  hont eux .  Oui 9 honteux !  Non 
seulement d ' etre re?u ,  mai s hontcux d ' avoi r 
acc epte' le ? ? ? le jugemen t de tous ces  ? ? .  ! Ah 1  
s i  vous savie z ce  qu ' i l  s son. t !  'l'ous fabriqw:!s 
par l e  m erne moule 9 p ar les  m ernes  li vres !  Les 
l ivre s 1  et touj ours l e s  l ivre s !  Et i l  a 
fallu que 9  moi , j ' ai ll e  mendier leur ? ? ?  Moi ! 
Je me sui s  J? li e a . . ..  Ah! ? ? ?  Je ? ? ?  n Les mots  lui 
manq_ua ient . ( 2 ) 
If Jacq_ues  has b i tter m emories of the teachers  at 
hi s Cathol ic schoo l and the ]-.vct/(}.9 hi s di senchantment 
wi th teaching is deepened by his acquaintance YJi th two 
por m0liens , Fnvery and Jali court . Favery , who i s  
teaching at  Saint-Louis 1 i s  among the first to  congrat-
ulate  Jacques after the affi ch?? of the result s  of  the 
<,:!O.QCOUrf3, ?  Yet ,  as they walk away from the Ecole 
normale 9 Favery c learly indicates  his dissati sfacti on 
with hi s vocation .  To  him teaching i s  s imply ' ? ? ?  le  
gavage ? ? ?  ' . C 3 )  The recital  he makes o f  hi s day ' s 
( 1 ) L.A, Belle Saison ,  .Q... C . I ,  p .  823 .  
( 2 ) Ib id ,  P ?  962 . 
( 3 ) Ibid 9  P ? 824 .  
ac tiv ities  emphasi se s the dull routine of the teacher ' s  
l ife in which all  ac tions are governed by  the c lock.  
Moreover 9  Favery 9 who se interests l i e  in wri ting more 
than in teaching - ' i l mdpri sai t le  pro fe ssorat , 
revait de j ournalisme ? . ?  , ( i )  - declares that his 
teaching p rogramme allows him insu:f:Lic i en t time  for 
hi s persona l  work . ' "A hui t heures ta:pant 9 je  monte 
en chaire , et  l e  gavage c omr:tenc e .  Vous voyez 'a quel le 
heure i l  f init ? . ?  Quand vculez-vous q_ue j e  travai lle?1 ; , ( 2) 
But the key ep i sode,  acc ording to Boak 9 ( 3 )  i s  
Jacques ' s  meet ing wi th Jali court , a lecturer at  the 
Ecole normal e .  The impo rtance  vvhi ch Hart in d u  Gard 
places on thi s incident for Jacques ' s  future development 
i s  seen in the fac t that it i s  describ ed twi ce , the 
first time when Anto ine hears Jalicourt ' s bri ef ac count 
of the intervi ew 9 and the second when ,Jacques ' s relate s 
to Antoine detai ls  of the conversation whi ch Jalicourt ' s  
pride had made him reluctant to disclose . 
Por Jacques 9 Jalicourt had been  an insp i ration .  
There had been for him the feeling that the atmosphere  
of  the Ecole  normale could be  endured if he  were  the 
pupil  of  Jali court .  
1 1 Il  e'tait  le  seul quj_ nous paraissait 
valoi r la  peine , c omprends-tu? Nous savions 
par coeur se s vers .  On co lportait des  
trait s  de lui , on c i ta it ses mots ? ? ?  Un type 
enthousiaste , lunati que , extravagant , ma is  
richc et  genereux, une grande consci enc e 
moderne ,  c elui qui ,  pour nous , avait su 
mettre l e  doigt sur t ous  les po int s s ensib les ! "(4 ) 
Ib i d  , p ? 8 23 ? 
Ibid ,  p . 824 . 
See D.  Boalc ,  Roger  Martin du Qard , 
L..?. So_r_ellina , O . C . I ,  p .  1 23 2 .  
P ? 74 . 
I t  had seemed to Jacques that as a te ache r  Jal icourt 
was one at least who had not los t  hi s integr i ty and had 
retained hi s or iginal ity and :flexib il i ty o:f mind, as  
evi dent in hi s published works and hi s lectures - ' ? ? ? de 
longues improvisat ions lyri que s ,  p leines de vue s  hardies , 
de di gres si ons , de brusques  c on:fidc;nc cs , de mot s  
1 ( 1 ) t crus . . .  ? Henc e ,  i t  is wi th a sens e o:f trust  tha 
Jacques  comeG  to Jali c ourt seeking advi ce as  t o  whe ther 
or not he should };)ursue his s tudies  at the Ecole  normale .  
But the Jal i court whom Jacques s urprises  at  his 
home bears l i ttle  resemblanc e to  tl1e distingui shed 
' ? ? ?  vieil  ai gl e ' ( 2 ) o:f the lec ture theatre . Jacques 
di scovers instead 1 un Jali court voute9  sans  monocl e ,  une 
viei l le vareuse 'a p ell i cules  9 WlG pipe  e'teinte 9 la levre 
maus sade ' o ( 3 )  Ivioreover ]  just a s  Laurent Pasqui er had 
:found :flaws in the charac ter  of' hi s ma_1:tres 9  so t o o  do es 
Jacques gl imp se in  Jalic ourt ego tism and ins inceri  ty o 
As the intervi ew progres ses  and Jacques ' s di s i l lusion-
ment becomes  more ev ident 9 Jal i co urt 9 obses sed  by the 
fear that  he i s  losing hi s influence over the young 
generation 9  allows his :fe eling o:f fai lure t o  appear.  
In  a pass i onate speech he  warns Jacques against  repeating 
hi s m i stalce o He admit s the :falsene s s  o:f the c onventional 
argwnents wi th whi ch earlier he had advi sed  him t o  con-
tinue hi s education and he  declares tha t i t  i s  not in 
an academic atmos?here but in the world o:f act ion that 
one develops the wri te r ' s craft .  
( 1 )  Ibi d, P ? 1 232 o 
(
3
2 )  Ibi d 9  P o  1 233 o 
( ) Ib id 9  P ? 1 233 . 
At the urging o:f 
Jali court to ' Al lez  vivre 1 Jacque s abandons hi s plans 
to enter the E cole  normale and in o rder to f le e  hi s 
family and the complications of hi s relat ionship with 
Gi se and Jenny he leaves  France nnd spends the 
fo llowing three years in a bohem ian existence in North 
A?rica and Euro?e .  
Neverthele s s y  Jacques is  unable  to  shake off  the; 
effects  of his experienc e of fo rmal educati on .  Although 
he becomes a so ci ali st and mingles  wi th  revoluti onari es 
who p lan the downfall of the b9?r?eo???e and the 
destruction of its  ins ti tut ions y he i s  marked by hi s 
middle-class  intellectuel format ion. In a le t ter  to 
Lallemand in 1 936 Martin du Gard remarked that Jacques 
i s  unal te rably bound by hi s middle -class educati on :  
I l  y a du flou dans l ' inte ll igence de 
J-?cCJ.ues o ? ?  C '  est un in tel lec tue l ,  :par formation 
et  p ar gout naturel .  Et un fils  de fami lle , 
quoi qu 1 i l  fasse ? Tunique de Nessus o ? ?  Il ne 
peut pas devenir tout 'a coup semb lable  a un 
enfant du peuple , qui p ar sa naissance meme e t  
s a  j eunes se 9 s '  es t trouve' ; ;nourri i l  des l e  
b erc 38.U e t  n I a eU qU I a grandir parmi leS S i en S o  
. ? . Perpetuel decalage en lui y flottement . 
Trop ra isonneur , trop hab i tue' h voir le pour 
et  l e  c ontre de tout .  I l  e s t  fr?re d 1 Anto ine y 
par l e  sang ! par son pas se! ( 1 )  
Jacques in his poli tical  debates  with Ant oine  in 
L ' Et{. 1.91J? voice s  hi s sense of in j usti ce at the privi ?
leged pos ition which the educated  men of the midd l e  
c lasses hold  in s ociety wi th the ir  en joyment of mental 
sati sfactions - ' o  ? ?  toutes le s j o ie s ,  tous le s 
amusement s ,  que pro curent  l e  travail intelligent ? ? ?  ' ( 2 ) -
and their consolidati on of the ir p ower through an 
( 1 )  'Lettres  'a un ami ' , ( 1 9  May 1 936 ) , ?. N. R. F . , no . 72 , 
1 De c ? 1 9  5 8 ,  p . 1 144 o 
( 2 )  ?-Ete??19?4, ?Q. I I , P ?  1 53 o  
educat ional Ii1onopoly which reduce s  the posi t i on of' the 
worker to  that of' a ' ? o .  servitude ab rut i s  san te ? ? ?  ' .( 1 ) 
Ye t ?  although J.1i s humani tar ianism leads him to be 
critical of' a s ituat ion in whi ch the ?s instruit?. 
re se rve f'or themselves ' ? ? ?  la part inte llec tuelle  ? ? ?  ' 
and delegate to the proletari ate ' ? ? ? la part 
manuelle ? ? ?  , ( 2 )  it i s  evi dent tha t  Jacques is not fully 
convinced that the men of' the ?.GUJ2.l? posses s  the intel ?
lectual capac i ti es to replace the m iddle-class e? ite . 
One no tes hi s reservat ions in this  extract : 
1 1  rLe travailleur] do i t avo ir  le temps 
de songer a lui-meme ;  il  do it  pouvoir 
developper au  maximum , selon ses  ap titudes ? 
sa qual i te d '  homme ;  deveni r?  dans la 
mesure ou il le p eut - et cette  m esure 
n ' e st p as aus si res treinte qu ' on le croit ?
Ul1e Ver itable  pe rSOnne humaine . o o I f  
Il  avai t di t :  1 1et c ette  mesure n '  est  
pas aussi  restreinte qu ' on le  cro i t " ? ave c 
la f' orc e persuasive d ' un convaincu ; mais 
avec une int onation sourde , o-0. \.m 
observateur plus averti  que s on f'r?re e?t 
peut-etre p er?u la resonanc e d ' un doute . ( 3 )  
Amongs t  his f'e l low social i sts  Jacques ' s defence of' 
an inte llectua l elite i s  more ex?l i c it . To Pe'rinet ' s  
cri t ic i sm of the expJ.oi tation of the workers by a min-
ori ty who hold the pos i t i ons of power he repli es : 
1 1Non s eulement ils les t i ennent en 
fait  ? ? ?  mais ,  pour l ' instant , i l s  ont 
presque un certain droi t ? les?eni r ? ? ? 
Car ? enfin, ou trouverait-on ? ? ?  du j our au 
lendemain , en nombre suf'f isant , des hommes 
instruits , specialises ,  capab le s  de prendre 
leur place ? H  ( 4 )  
He , himself' , feels  that hi s educat i on marks him of'f' 
f'rom tho se amongst the cir cle who have thei r  origins  
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
Ib id ,  p ? 1 55 ? 
Ib id ,  p . 1 55 . 
Ibid , PP ? 1 58-9 . 
Ibid ,  p o 41 .  
in the lab ouring clas ses and who lack hi s culture . 
The training which he has rece ived in the schoo ls has 
deve loped in him a habi t of examining bo th side s of a 
question ;  he i s  unable to ignore the discrepanci es in 
the doc trines  of internat ional so cial i sm or  to accep t  
the naive fnith of Meynestrel or  Mithoerg in the 
utopian soci e ty v1hich would be  e stablished  after  the 
revoluti on .  
Jacques songeai t ? son dducntion .  
1 1Cul ture clnssique ? ? ?  Formati on 'oourgeo i se ? ? ?  
ga donne a 1 1 inte lligenc e un pli qui ne 
s ' effac e pas ? ? ?  J ' ai to u j ours etd tellement 
plus enclin n regarder $ a enregi s trer$  qu ' a  
juger ,  qu ' a  conclure ? ? ?  Une faiblesse 9 
evidemmen t 9  J:,)OUr un revoluti onnaire ! 1 1  se  
dit-i l ,  non sans  angoi sse . I l  ne trichai t 
gu?re avec 1 ui-meme ; du moins :pas  
c onsc i emment .  I l  ne  se  sentai t ni 
inferi eur ni superieur a se s camarades : il  
se  sentai t autre ; et , ? tout prendre , moins 
1 1b011 iflStl"'Uffient de reV0 1Uti on1 i  9 qU I eUX o 
Pourrai t-il j amai s ,  c omme eux ,  abdiquer sa 
consc ience personnel le ; fondre sa  pens?e ,  sa 
volonte , dans la doc trine abstrai te , dans 
l ' ac t ion commune , d ' un p art i ? ( 1 )  
To Mithoerg Jacques remains  a ' . .. . dile t tante rat i onali s te 
? ? ? , ( 2 ) not a t rue revo lut i onary , who lacks commitment 
to an i deal . ' "Ce qui t e  plai t , ? toi , c ' e st  de 
b alancer d ' abord d ' un cbte e t  ensuite d ' un autre  ? ? ?  
Comme le  b ourgeoi s ,  sur s on sofa , avec  sa p ip e ,  qui 
j oue , b ien tranquille , avec  l e  ?2ntrE!. et  ave c  le I?our .  1 1 1  ( 3) 
Whereas Jacques has reac ted against scho o l  
authority and res iste d i ts enc roachment upon the free 
expression of his individual i ty ,  Anto ine has experi -
enced no such conflict  b e tween his pe rsonal goals and 
-
( 1 )  Ib id ,  P ?  78 . 
(
3
2 ) Ib id , P ?  82. 
( ) Ib id , P ?  82 . 
the ob j ec tives  of the schoo l .  For Nito ine the schoo l 
provides the means  by which he may real ise his 
amb i t i ons . The role in l ife whi ch he seeks i s  the 
grand one whi ch will  g ive him prestige and importance 
and yet a t  the same time will  allo c7 him to  di splay 
those  s trengths and ab il i ties  whi ch he :feels  he 
possesse s .  Unl ike Jacques who i n  ado lescence is 
plagued by insecurity ruid w1certainty , &1toine ear ly 
lays p lans for  hi s :futur e .  ' Depui s l ' ?ge de q_uinze 
ans , la  medec ine n ' avai t cesse' d ' exercer sur lui  une 
at tracti on s ingul iere . ' ( 1 ) Thi s fasc inat ion wi th 
medic ine  is in large part a real i sation o:f its  potent-
ial i ties  to  sat i sfy his exalted  pride , b oth by  the 
challenge i t  presents as wel l  as b,y the opportuni ty 
given t o  guin  rec ogni tion and honours . Hi s se lf-
sat isf ied  musings in Le Peni tenc ie?. reveal these  
egoti sti cal mot ivat ions : 
C ' e s t  b i en une carriere pour de G Thibault ? 
Dure , ma i s  que lJ. es sati s:fact ions q_uand on a un 
:p eu J.e gout de la  lut te , un peu d ' orguei l ?  
?uels  efforts  d ' attent ion , de memoire , de 
vo lonte?  ? ? ?  Et pui s , quand on e st arriv?! Un 
grand medecin ? ? ?  Un Philip , par example ? ? ?  
Pouvo ir prendre cet  air  doux,  assure ? ? ?  Tr? s 
courtoi s ,  mais distant ? ? ?  M .  l e  Professeur ? ? ?  
Ah ,  etr e que lqu ' un ,  Btre a:ppel? en consultat i on 
:par l es c onfreres qui v ous  j a lousent le  p lus ! ( 2 )  
The educative proce ss i s, then, an es sential  p art 
of Anto ine ' s  culte  du moi  - thi s deliberate utilisation 
of his abilities  to ' ? ? ?  d?passer l es autres !  
S'imposer l ' .  ( 3 ) The f'orc e  o f  wi ll  with which Jacques 
La Consultation+ O . C . I ,  p .  1 1 30 .  
Le Peni tenc ier,  o:c7 I ?  P ?  753 . 
Ib?d ,  P ? 764 . ---
re si sts threats t o  hi s freedom i s  transmuted into 
Anto ine ' s  f ierce determinat ion to suc ceed scholas t ically .  
H e  remembe rs himself at the age of  nine as  ' ? ?  ?un  pe t i t  
t "" t  l .  / l I ( 1 ) d gar?on e u ?  app lque , personuc ? ? ?  o Less  g ifte  
inte llec tually than hi s b rothe r  ( in the ??ilogue he 
will adm i t  the extent of hi s l imitntions - ' Faculte's 
moyenncs , en harmonie  avec c c  que lc:t v i e  ez igeai t de 
mo i .  Int elligence moyenr1e , mcfmoi re , don d '  as similat i on1(2) 
) , Antoinc has su:ff?ered from hi s weakness in handling 
abstrac ti ons . ' ? ? ? Je traversai s p nrfois  des heures 
morti.fiante s  ? ? ?  Un lourdaud qui veut jongler  avec des 
bulles cle savon . ' ( 3 )  Essent ially pragmat i c ,  with li t t le 
aptitude :for philosophy , ?ntoine ?as .fo rced to repeat 
hi s year in J2llil_g?sophie, at Loui s-l e-Gr::md to gain his  
baccals.1J-????L? o 
However ? i t  is in the exac t sc i enc es that he di s -
covered a t? ield  o f  inquiry tha t nas challenging and 
stimulating.  ' Le gam in qu ' on lanc e ,  peu a p eu ,  dans 
les mathernati ques ,  dans la physique , dans la chimi e o . o 
trouve brusquement devo.nt lui t out l ' espace pour se  
di later ! ' ( 4 )  The scient ifi c  sp irit  wi th which he i s  
indoctrinate d in the laboratori e s  a t  the turn of the 
c entury will  b e  the means of l ibe rati on from hi s 
father ' s  religion .  To the young lLc?en rel ig ious 
b elief appears ' ? ? ?  ?troi te ,  fallacieuse , ir rai sonne'e'. (5) 
( 1 ) La !viort du l2??re , O . C o  I ,  .P ?  1 329 o 
( 2 ? Epilogw?, o ?c .  II , P ? 989 . Ibid, , .P ? 9"b3: ? ? )  La Mort du :2? re , o . c . I ,  p o  1 385 o 
( 5 ) Ibid ,. p .  1 385 .  
Yet ,  the ma teriali sm which he consciously adop ts owes 
as much to hi s nature as to hi s s c ient ific  format i on 
f or Antoine ac cording to the ob servations of the 
directeu? of the Ecole , ab bd Lecl erc 1 pos ses ses  no 
real reli gi ous sens e .  I t  i s  only to  p lease hi s 
fathe r  that he has mainta ined his pretence of fai th o.r1d 
has cont inued t o  practi s e  religi on w i th 1 ? ? ?  une 
indiff?renc e poli e 1  . ( 1 )  
As well o. s  the influence ot: .! ... i s  s cientif ic studi es , 
the atti tudes of the teachers at hi s JLce? have made him 
q_uest ion the val idity of the doctrines whi ch he has been 
taught by the pri ests at the Eco l e .  The teaching of 
the ??..Q.;ty_sse1lrS l_glgueq insp ired Anto ine wi th .c onfi -
Qenc e .  Whereas the priests  appeared t o  lack assuranc e 
in the ir  teaching and to ' ? ? ?  se mouvo ir  avec g@ne dans 
\ ces  tenebre s ,  d ' aller ? l ' aveuglette , de t ourner avec  un 
inconsciei1t malai se autour de cc-; s  dogmes herm?t iq_ue s ' ,  ( 2 ) 
the lay te achers showed pro of of competence and under-
standing of the ir sub j ec t matter .  Above a l l ,  it 
seemed to Antoine that in the lYs_e? there was more 
inte llec tual honesty g.nd a greater  readiness  amongst the 
profe sse?s to admit the limitat ions of their  ?1owledge . 
Mgme q_uand l eur science se  trouvai t en 
defaut , l eur att itude n ' avait  rien de 
troub l e :  leurs hes itati ons , l eurs ignorru1c e s  
memes , s ' etalaient au grand j our u Qa 
doru1ai t confianc e ,  je  vous assure ; ga ne 
pouvai  t eve ille r la  moindre arri? re -p e.nsee 
de ? ? ?  tricherie ? ? ?  Plus j ' avangais  ver s  les 
hautes  classes ,  mo ins les pr?tre s  de l ' Ecole  
m ' inspiraient cet te e spece  de  securite que 
j 1 eprouvais  aupre s  de nos professeu?s de 
l 1 Universi tcL ( 3 )  
Ibi d ,  p .  1 386 .  
Ibi d , p.  1 384 . 
Ib id ,  P ?  1 385 . 
The admira ti on which A.D. to ine showed f'or these 
I?..rof'e?seurs laigues contras ts wi th Jn cq_ue s ' s sharp 
cri ticism of' his  secondary teache rs both at the lye? 
and the demi -:-_pens iorma t .  There i s  here , then,  the 
dif'f'erence in impressiC'n o:f the schoo l b e tween the 
convergent chi ld and the divergent chi ld . 
Although,  a s  Almerns suggests , Anto ine i s strongly 
influenced by hi s 1-Jeriod  at the E c o l e de Medecine - ' De 
la  me'decine , lui vi ent 1 '  ac c eptation de la  vi e telle  
Q_U I elle est , e t  de Sa f'orm ati 011 medi cale dU debut dU 
xxe si ecl e ,  
so i t '  , ( 1 ) -
l e  ref'us  de toute mystique q_uelle  qu ' elle  
he , himself' ,  makes f' ev,r direct  references to  
hi s teachers or  to the kind of' training he had rec eived 
as  a student of' medi cine . An to ine does , ho1.'Veve r, sug-
gest that al though by the t ime he had commenc ed his 
medical training his bas ic  atti tude s to lif'e had 
f'o rmed ( t iJe n ' avai s  pas attendu les  etudes semi -
scientif' ique s de prem iere anmfe pour m '  avi ser qu ' on ne 
peut croire sans p reuves ? ? ?  et qu ' il f'aut renoncer a l a  
not ion de verite stab le ? ? ?  ! ( 2 ) )  9 the p eriod at medi cal 
school  had helped him to synthe s i s e  these princ iple s 
and b el ief's into a personal philosophy of' action.  
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
D ' assez  b onne heure ( des ma premiere  
annee de medecine ) , ? ?  j ' etai s  asse z  b i en 
arrive a conc i l i er toutes  mes tendance s , a 
me conf'ec tionner un cadre sol i de de v ie ,  , 
de ?ensee ;  une f'a? on de morale ? ? ?  Je 
m ' etai s c ommodement ins talle au centre de 
quelques princ ipes ? ? ? qui convenaient aux 
besoins de ma natur e ,  et a mon existenc e 
de md'decin . (En gros : une philos_ophie 
G.  Alme'ras , La M?decine dans ' Les Thibault '  de  M .  
,Rogtt Martin du Gard , p .  41 . 
La Mort d?re , Q:,C .  I ,  p .  1 386 .  
eleJnentai re d I homme d I ac tion_,  base'e SUr le  
culte de  l ' energi e 9  l ' exerc ice  de la volonte9 
etc . ) ( 1 ) 
" 
The esteem in whi ch Antoine holds  hi s maitre 9 
Phil ip9 is a further  re sult of his training at  the Eco le 
de Medec ine .  F'or two yenrs he hnd. b e en a student 
under Phi lip and during thi s period  he  hnd come to 
appre ciate his  considerable  p rofess i onal ski lls  and the 
humanity and wisdom whi ch at firs t si ght was hi dden by  
his  ab ruptness  nn d  acerbity .  But hi e manner rebuffed 
only ' ? ? ?  les  nouveaux venus ou les mediocres ' . ( 2 ) 
I 
En fait ? ? ?  nul ?rac t ici en n ' e tait plus 
. en faveur aupres  de ses malades 9 nul mai tre 
plus e stime de ses confr?res ni recherch? 
avec p lus de ferveur p ar les 8'leves 9 ni 
davantage respecte' par l n  j eUt.J.es se 
intrans igeante des hSp i taux . ( 3 ) 
Antoine ' s  deep admiration for Phi l ip closely resembl es 
"' 
the way in which Laurent Pasq_uier regnrds his  mai tres .  
Just as  Laurent f eels  inferi or as he compares h i s  
gifts  1v i  th those of hj. s !]laltre?_ 9  so  too  does  the p re s-
ence of Phi l ip make Antoine feel hi s dependency desp i t e  
the seven years which they have worked together a s  
colleagues and friends sinc e Antoine has qualified .  
Des q_u' Anto ine se  trouva it  aupre s de 
Phi lip ,  insensiblement , sa p ersonnalit e se  
modifin i t 9  sub issa it c omme une diminut i on de 
volume : l ' etre indep endant et complet  q_u ' i l 
e ta i t  l ' instant d ' avant retombait  
automatiq_uement en tutelle . ( 4 ) 
In effec t ,  the teacher-pupil  relat ionship has c ontinued 
with m?to ine , the ' ? ? ?  fils sp iritue l ' ( S ) of Phil ip 
( 1 ) EJ?ilo?e, O . C .  II , P ? 947 ?  ? ? ? L?o?sultati on ,  Q.:_Q. I ,  P ? 1 065 . Ibid ,  p .  1 065 . 
? ? ?  
Ibi d5 p . 1 060 . 
Ibi d , P ?  1 063 . 
consciously modelling hi s techniques u?on those  of hi s 
patrol:).  It  is  the pro:fe ssi onal attitudes that Phil ip 
has taught him which dominate hi s ac tions a s ,  f or 
ins tance ,  in hi s re jec t i on of the solution of euthanasia 
for Hequet ' s  suffering child  in ?a _CppsuJtation . ' Il 
crut entendre la  vo ix nasillarde de Phil ip : "Pas l e  
droi t ,  mon petit , pas l e  droit ? 1 1 , ( 1 )  
'l'he death of' Oscar Thibaul t re leases Anto ine from 
Phi l i}J ' s dominati on - morally ,  as hi s admini s tration of 
the drug which hastens hi s father ' s death rep r esents a 
deni al of Phil ip ' s  medical ethi c s  and profe ssio?ally , 
as 'IV i th hi s inhei?i tance  he is abl e  to  carry out 
research ?or the agregat io?. In order to real i se hi s 
amb i t i on to  b ecome a m.aitre. Anto ine establishe s the 
Lab oratoires  A. Oscar-Thibaul t with a small team of 
research assi stants .  
I t  i s  in J.' Ete' 191!? ?when Anto ine has the financial  
indep endenc e to  fo l low his own study inte re s ts that it  
becomes obvi ous tha t he  is  continuing hi s fathe r ' s life-
long intere st  in educat i on and the welfare of  children .  
Previously , he had been content to  b e  a chi ldren ' s 
doctor ; now he has the resources  to init iate  research 
into b roader aspects  of chi ld development - ment al 
growth , language d iffi cul t ie s . Through the b i ometrical 
studi es of school  chiilidren and the accumulati on of tests  
Antoine Thibaul t ' s research team propo se to prepare 
reference material for educators as wel l as  medical  
spec ial i sts . Thus , up till  the outbreak of war ,  
( 1 )  Ib id , p .  1 1 23 .  
Ant oine ' s worlc i s  closely c onnec t ed ;vith the f'ie ld of' 
educati on.  Even af't er his  lungs and thro at are 
af'f'ec ted by mustard gas he has :plans of continuing hi s 
re search during hi s convalescenc e .  Ironically i t  i s  
the consul tati on with his l2.._atr2!'29 Phili:p , who se 
reputati on as a chi ld specialist  he has attempted t o  
emulate that gives Anto ine the sudden realisat ion that 
he is  do omed . 
From the en tries  in hi s j ournal in the Epilo_gse 
which describe the course  of hi s i l lne s s  one gathe rs a 
c lear  impress ion of' the extent to  v1hich m edical 
training and the study of' sci enc e have influenced 
Antoine Thibault .  U:p to  the t ime of' hi s sui ci de he 
keeps a dossier  on hi s state of' health whi ch he hope s 
may be  of servi ce to specialists  s tudying such cases  a.s  
hi s .  The ob j ectivity and luc idi ty of the scientist  
and the doc tor are obvious in  the manner in whi ch 
Antoine observes hi s symptoms  and analyses hi s thought s 
at the approach of' death. 
But more important ly 9 his medi tations on the 
meaning of' lif'e  reflect  the sc ienti?ic ori entat ion of' 
the process  of' e ducat ion at the turn of  the c entury . 
Like Laurent Pasquier 9 the scient ific  spirit  of the 
schools ru?d facul ties  in which he has rec eived hi s 
inte ll ec tual formation prevents him from ac cepting 
religious interpr etations  of' exi s t ence and enjoying 
the security of faith .  Sci enc e f' ills his vacuum of' 
b eli ef' and the relative optimi sm with which he sees  
man ' s f uture gathers its  strength f'rom thi s source . 
However ,  he does  no t attribute to  scienc e any miraculous 
powers to change the wo rld or to im}?rove  human nature  
drasti cally - in  thi s he  shares Laurent ' s  reali stic  
appreciation o:f  the l im i tations o:f s c ienc e .  As 
Mauroi s suggests , the aggres sive  :fai th in sc i ence and 
reason vvhi ch VJas evident  in the nineteenth century 
savants in ?ea? Baroi s has turned to  scep ti c i sm in the 
s c i ent ists  o:f the twenti e th c ent ury in Les 'r::tllba1Jl_t .  
' Le s gr::mds savants  se re:fusent a :faire  
de lo.  s c ience une rel igi on .  Les  gro.nds 
medec ins doutent . Lo. s cienc e n ' est  pas 
infGi llible ,  ma i s  la mtthode sc ient i:fi que 
demeure la s eule }?etite  lwniere qui 
permet te de voir  un :peu cla ir en c e t te 
immense et hos t ile  ob scuri t? . ( 1 ) 
However ,  Anto ine does  bel ieve in progres s  even i:f 
he r e j ec ts the not ion o:f ' ? ? ?  la b elle avnnc e ' ( 2 ) - the 
utopian vision o:f tho se who see man. on the threshold o:f 
hi s millenium . From hi s study of' b i ology he envisages 
a slovv but steady avance to11wrds a higher state .  
Cet etat  d ' intui t i on j oyeu se 9 de 
c on:fiance active , qui m ' a  perp?tuellement 
soulevd et so utenu , c ' e st 9 j e  c roi s ,  dans 
le commerce  de la sc i ence qu ' i l a pri s sa 
source  et qu ' i l a t rouve de quoi s ' alimffi?te r 
chaque j our ? ? ?  
Si  j e  voula is au jourd? hui justi:fier c et 
elru? continu qui m ' a p o rt? durant quinze ans , 
si  j e  cherchais  le :f in mot de cett e  
indomptab le con:fiance ,  c e  que j e  trouverais  
serait  peut-etre assez  proche  d ' une :fo i ? ? ?  En 
quoi ? Eh b ien , ne serait-ce  qu ' en la  
cro i s sance p o s sible  e t  sans doute in:finie  
des  :formes vivant e s .  Foi  dans une accession  
uni y__erselle D. des etats.-. sup-ttTEn;t...rs=-:7[3?? 
Again,  in a later  entry in hi s diary Anto ine declares  
that s c i ence give s him a :feeling of' calm and resig-
nati on as  he contemplates  his  obl iv ion . 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
A. Mauroi s 9  ' L ' Univers  de Mar tin du Gard ' , N . N . R . F . , 
no . 72 , 1 Dec . 1 95 8 ,  ll ?  1 033 . 
Epi logue ,  O . C .  I I , :P ?  994 .  
Ibi d, P ? 965 . 
I"Lo. sc iencel peut enseigner h l '  homme a 
accep ter ses lim1 te s naturel les , les  hasards 
?ui l ' ont fa it nai tre , l e  p eu QU 1 i l est . 
Elle :peut l I ai!lener de fac;on durable ,  a ce 
calme que j ' eprouve ce  soi r , ( 1 )  
Camus sugge s ts thtit of the two bro thers  the 
characte r  of' .h.nto ine i s  the r icher 1 ? ? ?  par sa com:plexi t? 9  
sa souples se romo.nes?ue . o .  , 0 ( 2 ) 
Quoi  de ? lus prof ond o . o e t de :plus 
persuasif , ?ue ce grand mouvement ?ui s ' opere 
b. 1 1  in  terieUr d I Ul'l homme heureUX 9 e?Ui libre 9 
plein de force et  d ' une sincere  e stime de 
soi-m@me  ( mar?ue de la nob lesse , selon Ortego. y Go.sset ) :pour l ' amener a la reconnaissance 
d 1 une misere commune ,  ou il  trouvero. a la 
fo i s sa l imi tation e t  un epanoui ssement . ( 3 )  
Certa inly , in the Epi logue J'..ntoine 9 fsr from wa llowing 
in self-p i ty ,  fo.ces deo. th sto i cally O.Jld experiences a 
b ond of sympathy v1i th his fellow m en who sho.re hi s 
mortal i ty o.x1d who suffer and die <-"'- S he doe s  o Par from 
recording the last ,  b it te r  thouehts  of a l one ly man , 
the ?l9K? i s  a hymn to fraterni ty and solidar ity 
amongst suffering mankind . I n  the sense that Anto ine 
ab andons his egocentric i ty and takes hi s p lace among 
men , the ?..i2.i)og? is the acc ount of a vi ctory , not a 
defeat . Although the  immediate cause of thi s change 
from the fashi onable young doctor  wi th hi s grandio se 
ambit ions , hi s smug complacency and hi s exagge rated  
sense of imp ortance to  the c ontemplative , compass i onate  
invalid who anxi ously ponders the fate of humanity  i s  
the war and hosp ital i sat ion , one s enses that  the study 
of sc ience and the :practi ce  of medicine have :prepared 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
Ibid ,  :p .  971  o 
A .  Camus ,  ' Roger Mart in du Gard ' , Prefac e to O o C o  
I ,  p . xx o 
Ibid ,  P ?  xx . 
the grow1d fo r thi s transformat ion .  Ilwr suggests  
that rather than an ab rupt reversal there has  b een a 
slow evoluti on .  
En s o i ,  la me'dec ine e s t  capab le 
d ' ensei gner l ' homme a qui sait  la  comprendre ; 
et  Antoine e st acc essible aux l cqons . 
Aus s i ,  grace a son met ier ,  s ' habi tue-t?
il  dans le rlel l e  _tJ lus concret ,  celui de la 
souf:franc e ;  il devient aisemen t indulgent 
aux f'aib l esses  humaines et  adme t tout l 1 homme . / ??-- - ? En meme  temp s  9 d? s le  d ebut - et  d I abord a son 
insu, i l  p rat ique cette  solidari t?  agi ssante  
qui , rampant la solitude individuell e ,  ouvre 
le chemin de l ' homme . Il en eprouve un 
orgueil  sain qui l e  fait  s ' accep ter aussi  
bien qu ' i l ac cep te les  autres . En somme 
dej a son ac tivite  profe ssi on11e lle  le p lace  
au niveau de l 1 hwnain . ( 1 ) 
But , it i s  no t t i ll  the iso lat i on and the enforced 
inactivity o:r the xpe'ri t{ al low t ii:le for meditation 
and reflect i on on the; broa der  i s sues affec ting c ivil-
i sation ,  the human value s  threatened by  the wo r-ld 
holocaust , that the full e'Pill1.?.UisseJ)1en1 of lillt o ine  
Thib ault b e c omes evi dent . .l?revi ously , he had b een 
the s lave of' hi s :pr ofes sion ,  as he _puts it in L ' Et._? 
' n Je n ' ai _b)lus j o.mai s l e  t emj)s de r?flE?chi r ? ? ?  
RdflBchi r ,  ga  n 1 est  pas .blenser a mes  malades ,  ni  meme 
? la  medec ine : ref'lechi r ,  c e  devrait  etre : medi ter 
sur le monde . '" ( 2 ) In the Ep:\,}_9..&.11? he regrets  that 
hi s culture has been limited t o  hi s p rofessi on and that 
he , unlike the real  lwmmes de va?, has b e en too  
narrowly spe cial i sed .  
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
Les grru1ds , Jes vrais gr??' ne sont 
pas limit?s ? leur spdc iali sat ion.  Les  
R .  Ikor , ' L ' Humanite des Thibault ' ,  Europe , no . 6 ,  
June 1 946 , p .  43 . 
L ' Et(? 1914, O . C .  I I , P ?  1 45 .  
grands m?dec ins , l es  grands ph:ilosophe s ,  les  
grands math?matic i ens , l e s  grands pol iti q_ues ,  
ne sont pas uniquement medec in s ,  philoso?hes , 
etc .  Leur cerveau s e  meut a l ' ai se dans 
l es autre s  domaines ,  s ' ?vade au dela des 
comwis saJlces  :particul i eres . ( 1 )  
It  is now in the months of July to November 1 9 1 8  
that J?to ine exhibits  the flexib i li ty of mind and broad 
vis ion whi ch is  the mark of Laurent Pasq_uier , the 
savant in Qhronigue des Pasgui?, or the normal iens. ,  
Jalle.z an d  Jerphani on ,  in Les Hommes de bonne volonte, 
wi th hi s meditations on the possib il i t ie s  of wo rld 
peace ,  disarmament and world fede rati on .  
The Anto ine Thibaul t of the EDi logue has ,  l ike 
Laurent Pasq_ui er,  r ece ived his format i on in the middle -
class schools .  He  has been inte ll ec tually and morally 
condi tioned by the general studi es and broad r ange of 
I 
mental discipl ine s of the l,yce e?. as  we ll  a s  by hi s 
professi onal training in sci ence and medic ine in the 
facultie s ;  he ha s had a l l  the educational a dvantage s 
of those of hi s m?l i eu - ' instrui t s ,  nourris de 
lecture s ,  ayant vecu dans l ' intim i t6 do gens intell igents  
e t  l ibres dans l eurs propos  ? ? ? ' .  ( 2 )  The inte llectual 
qualit i es whi ch he p o ssesses  are those  whi ch the French 
m iddl e-cla ss traditi ons of e ducati on have sought to  
insti l :  luc i dity ,  c alm judgement , preci sion of thought . 
He  i s  an ?spri t pond?r? who face s death wi th logi c and 
reali sm .  Above all , he place s hi s fai th in the 
exercise  of reason as the means of gaining knowledge of 
( 1 )  Epi?ue , ?. II , p .  990 .  
( 2 )  Ib id ,  p . 950 .  
oneself and understanding of other men , and a s  the 
instrument by which  improvement of mfu1 1 s condi tion may 
b e  won .  Antoine ' s suic ide on 1 8  Novemb er 1 9 1 8 
at  the age of thirty-seven i s  not a desp erate gesture . 
Rather i t  i s  a rational ac t ,  m etpodically p lanned and 
prepared over  a period of four months for the t ime when 
mind and b ody reach the limit  of endurance .  By his 
self-aili?ini strat i on of the drug which kills him 9  
An toine 'l'hibaul t :performs  an act  of reason whi ch  
proves to  him that finally he is  the master  of  hi s 
destiny. 
COJiCLUSI O?;  
Whereas our examinati on of  .CJ:l.rollt? des Pa?E!,_?. 
has di scovered an emphasi s upon the warmth of the niq 
in the family of the pet it e  bou?E&oJLsje - the attent ive 
nurturing of the yo ung chi ldren in the fami ly which 
lays the affecti ve foundati on fo r healthy emot i onal and 
social  devel opment - in Les Thibault one di scovers a 
?-:..? 
stress  upon the other s ide of family interacti on - the 
lack of understanding in the middle -class family 9  the 
inab il i ty of parent s to communicate with thei r children 
or of one sibling to c omprehend the motives  or feelings 
of another . 
As we have noted at the b eginning of this chap ter , 
the parti cul ar c ircumstances of  the Thibaul t and the 
Fontanin families  increase the p os sib iliti e s  of dis ?
harmony and misunderstanding.  In each case  the family 
is  mut ilated as an es sential  member  or thG fami ly i s  
missing and i t  i s  c lear that  the development or the 
children has suffered from the absence of' e i ther 
maternal or paternal care . For this  reason 9 the 
famil i e s  are 9 as Ikor points  out 9 atypical . 
En fai t 9  ?as ?lus que J?9? Daroi?5 l es 
Thigault ne nous presenteat une vraie 
f'amille ? ? ?  Nul le part de r?elle  intimit?  
con jugal e ;  tous ces  etre s 30nt au fond de s 
soli taire s .  I l  semble  que del ib?r?ment 
Martin du Gard ai t e'vi te' de p eindre la vie  "" -?_9mmune. de deux etres autour desquels  
s 1 agglomerent des enfants 9  l a  vi e de  ramille 
proprement di t e . ( 1 )  
( 2 '  Savage 1 note s  that the mothe rless  family i s  a feature  
or Martin du Gard ' s fi ct i onal world .  Apart from the 
Thibault s ?  Leandro and Amalia 9 the b ro ther and si s ter  
who share an ince stuous rel at ionship in Confidence 
?fricaJ&?? have no mothe r 9  nor do Thierry and I sabe lle  
in Un _ 'ra9i tuzr? and Jean Baroi s  also suffers ma ternal 
deprivati on .  In  one sen se the ab senc e or  mothe r 
fi gures is pos it ive proof or the importanc e or  the 
mothe r ' s role in creating uni ty in the family ci rcle 
and in surroun.d ing the chi ldren w ith affect i onate care 9 
as  the p ersonal i ty problems  which these characters 
experience may be l inked with their unbalanced home 
l ife . But Martin du  Gard ' s conc entrat ion upon 
abnormal fam i ly s i tuati ons i s  p robably an expre ss ion 
or his vi si on or man as an es senti ally lonely creature9  
who feel s hi s metaphysical  sol i tude and must  wo rk out 
his destiny wi thout outs ide interventi on in thi s 
??------------
( 1 ) R .  Ikor 9 ' L ' Humanite des Thibault ' , ?urope , no . b }  
June 1 946 ,  p .  31 . 
( 2 ) c .  Savage , Roger Martin du Gard 9 p .  48 . 
400 
' univers s ans i s sue '
( 1 )  in whi ch he finds himself o 
I t  is  thi s  cont inual search of the characters for 
personal values and l ife meaning that  merit s his 
title  as ' the Cornei lle of the ??rgeoi? nove l .  , ( 2 ) 
The ab sen ce of mate rnal f i gures in the portrayal of 
family l ife hei ghtens the possib i li t ie s  of dramati c 
confli et  and widens  the gulf between the survi v ing 
parent or the surrogate parent and the chi ldren. 
Thus , we have found tha t the members  of' the families  
in  L?pibault move  in i solat i on 9  div ided by an '  ? ? ?  
aveugle _ incomprehensi on ? ? ? ' . ( 3 ) They are s trangers 
to  each o the r , separated in thei r own. worlds and 
unable to  reach out to gain sympathy and unders tanding .  
The sense of  regr et that they fe el  at the incomple te-
ness of thei r interpe rsonal rela t i onships i s  expres sed  
by  Antoine who , after  the death o f  hi s father , b ec omes  
deeply aware of hi s loss . 
11 ? ? ? J ' ai ma intenan t avec  certitude le  
sent iment que , malgre tout , - b i en que jamai s 
j e  n ' ai e  cons tat ? entre nous l e  moindre 
commencement d ' echange - malgre tout , j amais  
i l  n ' y a eu e t  jamai s p lus il  n ' y aura dans 
l e  rnonde un autre etre , - m?me pas Jacques-s i  
b ien fait  :p our etre  com:pris  d e  mo i dans l e s  
profondeu
?
rs ,de son e ssence  n i  m ieux fai t p our , " ol' ? . p enetrerA ans  les  profondeurs  de la m1enne ? ? ? 
Farce  qu ' il ltai t mon pere , parce que j e  suis 
son f il s !  ? ? ?  Et il  est  trop t ard" s conclut-il 9 
1 1 c ' e st fini , ? tout jamais " . ( 4 )  
However ,  if  we ac cep t the p o int tha t Mart in du 
Gard ' s f igures are individuali s ts who are cogni sant of 
the insuperable  barriers  which s tand between them and 
( 1 )  c . -E .  Magny , tljstoire  du roman francais  depui s 
.12..:1..?. , vol .  I ,  p .  
3 2
8 .  
. ?? 
( 2 ) G.  Bree and M . Gui ton,  An Age of Fic tion - The 
French Novel  from Gide to Camus 9  p . 76. 
( 3 ) R.  Robidoux , Roger Martin du Gard e t  la  religi on ,  
p . 1 72 .  
( 4 )  La Mort du pere , o . c .  I 9  pp . 1 344-5 ? 
the other members of their famil ie s , we must al so  admit  
that  a t  a deeper level of their consc iousness they 
apprehend the b onds whi ch have b een f orged by the i r  
heredity and env ironment . Beneath the ir surface 
ho stility there i s  an ? between Oscar Thibault and 
his  two sons and a fe eling of onene s s  a s  the represent-
atives of the Thibault ' rac e ' .  In thi s sense the 
Thibault s  are a collec tive enti ty ,  although the 
t enderness that they fe el for each o ther is  rarely 
directly expressed - more often they reveal the ir 
regard obliquely or in conversat i ons  ,.,i th a thi rd 
party . Jus t as there i s  a clan, Pas qui er so too  do 
the Thibaults  form a c oherent , t r ib al group . As 
Antoine says to Jacque s in an effort to rev ive his 
feeling of group membership afte r  the divisive exper-
ience of the penitent iary : ' 1 1N?ous ne sommes :pas 
seulement deux indiv i dus ? ? ?  nous s ommes les  Thibault . " ' ( 1 ) 
The Thibaul t fami ly has an essential  unity and the 
sense of lcinship survive s internal rifts ,  the despotic  
rule  of the father and the natural desire of  the young 
to free themse lves from the cons traints of the group . 
Not even the rebel , Jacques ,  i s  abl e  to destroy the 
homogenei ty of  the group ; hi s attemp t  to sever hi s 
bonds w ith the fami ly and to  liberate himself from 
emotional d ependency on hi s kin ends in failure . 
In thei r v iew of the family a s  an educational 
instituti on the re appears to  b e  considerable  agreement  
( 1 ) Le  Penit encier , ?? I ,  p .  763 . 
between Duhame l and Martin du Gard.  
bl:_02 
Both show that the 
upbringing of the chi ld has far-reaching effects  upon 
moral ?  emo ti onal 9 inte llectual and soc i al devel opment . 
I t  i s  apparent that Martin du Gard concurs wi th Duhamel ' s  
bel ief that at the heart of the cduc ati ve _process  there  
i s  love &?d understanding and the wi llingness of  parents  
to  allow thei r chi ldren to grow up in  an environment 
which ? while maintaining the secur i ty of parental 
au thority ?  does no t impose  harsh res traints upon indi v i ?
dual expres si on .  The ma j or  difference in  the ir v iews 
vwuld seem to l i e  in the i r  estimati on of the po ssibili?
ties  of the middle-cl ass  family providing these  opt imum 
condi t i ons for chi ld  educat ion .  Duhamel in  Qhro_g? 
des Pa?vJ?-? express es hi s fo.i th in the ab il ity of 
mothers to  create  a c lima te of warmth and affection in 
the f..9]!_fl_? and dep ic t s  the interac ti on in two families  
whi ch come close  t o  the ideal in p arent -chi ld relat i on?
ship s - the Bnudoins o.nd the family of  Laurent and 
Jacqueline Po.squier . Mart in du Gard ?  however ? on the 
evidence of ?es Thibault , i s  l es s  optimist ic . His 
portrayal of the educators in Les?bault i s  bas i cal ly 
sympathet i c ?  stre s sing the ir  go od intent i ons , but al so 
revealing the full extent of the human failings of 
parents as we ll as of chi ldren whi ch diminish the l ike ?
l ihood of real understanding existing between father 
and son o r  mother and daughter. Ac cording to Magny : 
' ? ? ?  La dialectique la  plus convaincante des rapports  
familiaux , c ' e st sans doute chez Martin du Gard qu ' on 
la  trouve ? ? ?  ' .< 1 ) 
The de scrip t i ons of' thG educative process in the 
families  of' the b ourgeo is? in  1e? -?h]bault cons ti tute 
a reasoned ac count of' the ills of f'run ily life , the 
weaknesse s  whi ch re s trict  the effic i ency of' the 
family ' s teaching f'lli? c t i on . But these  cri ti c i sms 
mus t in no VJay be  i nterpreted as an attack on the place 
of the family as the basi c cell  of soci ety.  Mart in du 
Gard, like Duhamel , i s  a morali st of family life ; 
unlike hi s f'ri6nd Gide , he i s  too anchored in middle-
class  c onventions , too p rop rietori al t o  question the 
family ' s role . I t  is true that the re are echo es of' 
Gi de in L?s ?? - bo th Jacques and Daniel  are 
haunted by the ' Chambres  qui ttees ! Herve illes  de s 
departs ! ? ? ?  J:i.,ami lles , j c  vous hais ! ' of Les Nourri tures 
terre stre s . ( 2 ) But the condemnat i on of' &?dis? i s  
severe , as Ikor po int s out : ' ? ? ?  Les Th?baul t  
m ' apparais sent c omme une sorte de r?pli que a Gide ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 ) (4 ) 
The t emptat ion to l ib erty l eads to  ruin and de s truct ion . 
J?rome de Fontanin and Danie l ,  who incarna te the 
tentation?idi ste , lack digni ty and fai l  to  find f'ulf'il-
ment in the ir s earch f'or sensual plea sure . Even 
Jacques Thibaul t  finds i t  impos sible  to  accept the ir 
l ibertarianism ; despi te his s truggles  against family 
restraints , his morali ty i s  clo ser to that of' hi s 
father than that of' the Fontanins .  But i t  i s  through 
( 1 ) c . -E .  Magny , Histoire du roman f'ran<(ai s  depui s 121?., vol . I ? .P ? 333 . 
See La Bel le Saison, O . C .  I ,  p .  8 1 9 .  
R. Ikor ,  ' L1Humanite des Thibault ' ,  Europe , no . 6 
June 1 946,  P ?  36 . s .  Spurdle in her a rti cle , 'Andre Gide , Roger Martin 
du Gard aud some cha racters  in Les Thibault ' ,  Trivium , 
no . 4 ,  1 969 , J?P? 76-95 , deal s m'ore fully w1 th th1 s 
question of'  g1disme in Les Thibault and Martin du 
Gard ' s overt disapproval of' Gide' s ideas . 
Antoine that  Mart in du Gard expres ses the ant ithesi s of 
gidisme . Although he prizes  hi s individuali sm ,  he 
sees the necess ity for order and disc ipline and supp orts 
the inst i tut i onal role of the family in preparing the 
child for his p lace  in so c iety .  
Apart .from the general comment on the importance  
of  familial training ? it  is  apparent tha t Martin du Gard 
is  concerned w i th the specific  c ontribution of the 
middle -class fo.mily to fo rming 81U?ELq, in thi s period 
b ef ore 1 9 1 4.  Again, we might suggest that his 
guiding princ iple is stri c t  impartial i ty .  Gib son ' s 
view( 1 )  that in h i s  portrayal of middle-class  soc i ety 
Martin du Gard avo ids the distort ion of satire  appears 
closer to the tru th than the c ontent ion of Massi s ( 2 ) 
that in Les Thibaul t he is  taking his  revenge on the 
bourgeoj.?? and the Church. The faults  of the 
bourgeoi s  - the p re judices , the c onservati sm ?  the 
c omp lacency, the paternal ism whi ch are transmi tted 
from one generat ion of ??jvilegi(? to the next - are 
carefully delinea ted .  But there  is  no  sweep ing c on-
demnati on of middle-class  values and attitudes .  The 
posit ive features of a mi ddl e-class upbringing are 
stated with  equal c larity.  One finds that the parent s  
of the paute .J2.9urgeoisi? teach thei r children b el iefs 
and ways of thinking that are e ssent ially similar to  
thos e in  the l ov1e r  m iddle-cla s s  families of  Chronigue 
( 1 )  R. Gib son , Roger  Martin du Gard , P ? 67 . 
( 2 ) H.  Massi s , ' Le Romantisme de l ' adolescenc e ' , La ?Y.?_e universelle ,  1 5 Sept . 1 92 2 ,_ p . 753 . 
des Pasguier . Although there are obv ious di??erences 
in style as educators between Oscar Thibault and 
Raymond Pasquier or There se de Fontanin and Luc i e ?
Eleonore Pasquier  they pass on t o  their  children the 
same clus ter of' i deas and concep ts  whi ch may broadly b e  
described as  middle-class . Despi t e  their higher social 
status an d  acquired wealth? the Thibault s share wi th the 
Pasquiers a puri tanical respect  ?o r the vi rtues o? hard 
work and indivi dual e??ort .  From Oscar Thibault who 
has rece ived hi s ?inancial inheri tance ?rom hi s ?ather ' s 
?actory a t  Rouen but has declined to  live  os tentatiously 
or self-indulgently Antoine gains his resolution to 
avoid exc ess  and to  l ead a use?ul l ife .  It  i s  true 
that in the peri od immediately p rior  to the war Antoine 
is in danger o? losing hi s equi libr ium ru1.d sense  of' 
perspective under the strain o? sudden acquired weal th 
but there are s igns b efore the outb reak of war that he 
i s  beginning to t ire of his faci l e  exi stenc e . Ji:::ven s o  
in 1 9 1 8  he records the danger tha t hi s inheri tance o? 
the fortune care?ul ly amas sed  by hi s ?ami ly ove r two 
hundred years has p resent ed to his values .  His  t i rade 
against ' l ' empoisonnement par l ' argent .  Par l ' argent 
herite surtout . J ' ( 1 ) L ' argen t qu ' on n ' a pas  gagn? ? ? ?  , 
in the ?ilogue recalls Mme Pasqu ier ' s remarks in Le 
Notaire dq_Havre which have b een  quoted earlier .  As 
Tison-Braun says : ' La ?amille  IJ:ihibaul t a laisse sur 
ses f'il s  une  empreinte de vol onte et de rigueur 
morale ' ,  ( 1 ) and b oth these qualitie s ,  the will to 
progress  and the scruples  attached to the manner in whi ch  
such advances  may b e  won , are shared by the Pasquiers a s  
wel l  as  the Bast ides  and the Jerphanions in Les Hommes 
de bonne v o?ont? and would seem t o  represent deep-
rooted middle-class beliefs . 
Less i s  seen of the middle-c lass schools in Les 
Thibault than the middle-class  family.  There is not the 
same depth of p sycho logical  analysi s in the de scription 
of the relati onship of the pupil  and the teacher that 
exi sts in Chronigue des Pasguier ? though the interacti on 
of Antoine and Dr Philip has some  s imilari ti e s  with that 
of Laurent Pasqui er and hi s patron?. In Les Thibaul t 
Jacques and Antoine view the educo.tional systems  from 
two different angles . Jacques ref us es to conform to 
the dictates of the sys tem and his experiences  expose 
the ?bility of the lyc?e? and c9jJLeges and the 
re stri cti ons upon individual expre ssion in b oth publ i c  
and p rivate s choo ls . Anto ine ? on the othe r hand , i s ? 
well motivated in hi s studie s and di scovers in the 
sc iences a deep source of intellec tual sat isfac t i on .  
The ir attitudes towards the scho o l  are reflected in their 
image of the t eacher . For Jacques  the teacher l eads a 
I . d I . . I ( 2 ) h A t . . t th ? ? ?  v l e  erl SOlre . . .  w ereas n o 2ne as soc2a e s  e 
?rofe?seur de lyc?e wi th profe ssi onal competence , 
maturity of thought and b ro ad knowl edge . But if' as 
I lyce en? the i r  at ti tudes to  the s chool  dif'f'er,  there i s  
( 1 )  M .  Tison-Braun ? La Grise  de l 1 humanisme , vol . II , P ?  1 96 .  
( 2 ) La Sorellina , o . c. I ,  p .  1 23 1 .  
a marked re semblance  in their  impressions of the effec t  
of  formal educat ion upon thei r intellectual development 
after they have passed through the system . Both 
.. endo rse the intellectual training given in the lycee s 
and just ify the creat ion of an ari stocracy of ski l ls 
and disciplined inte lligenc e .  Even Jacques , the 
revoluti onary , i s  unable  to c ondemn a system whi ch 
produces  the _g?ns instruit s equipped with the special?
i sed knowledge and skills  balanced by  a broad cultural 
backgrow1d which f i t  them for leadership in the Republic . 
As we have se en ,  i t  is  in L ' Ete ?1? ( which was 
published in 1 936 after a break of seven years in the 
saga ) and the Epilogue ( 1 940 ) that the author ' s  sense of 
loss at the di sintegrat ion of the old order becomes more 
apparent . As 8chalk( 1 ) has noted ,  the political and 
soc ial cl imate of the late thirti es  made Martin du Gard 
acutely aware of the detrimental affect of the First 
World War on the inheri tance of nineteenth century 
bourgeo?? value s .  Bo th Anto ine and Jacques in L ' Ete 
? endorse the contribut i on of the Q9?geoisie  t o  the 
inte llectual and social  l ife of modern France .  However , 
it  i s  in the Anto ine Thibault of the Epilogue that  Martin 
du Gard give s . fine s t  express ion to the qualit ie s  whi ch 
have led to  the rise  of the bou?eo is ie .  Antoine c omes 
close to  the concept of the homme de valeur and takes on 
the qualitie s  of the author ,  himse lf .  Indeed ,  Lalou 
sugges ts that  ' ? ? ?  des deux freres Thibault ,  le  plus 
( 1 )  D.  Schalk ,  Roge?r Mart in du Gard - The Noveli st  and 
History , cbup t .  IV . 
. 408 
?roche de son coeur est ? ? ?  c e t  Antoine qui affronte la 
vie sans i lluminisme et sans  decouragement '  . ( 1 ) The 
homme de valeur i s  c leqrly the desired end-?roduc t o:r 
the tradi ti onal middle-class  home and the middle -cla ss 
schoo l .  H e  views the world wi th lucidi ty and calm 
judgement , b elieving in the efficacy of reason and the 
esprit scient ifig?, and basing hi s moral and in tel?
lec tual l ife upon the va lue s of ' ? ? ?  l a  mesure ,  le  b on 
sens , la sagesse e t  l ' expdrienc e ,  la vo lonte de 
justi ce ? ? ?  ' ? ( 2 ) Moreove r ,  with these  qualit i e s  of 
mind he po ssesses  feeling , com?assi on ,  the revolution-
ary spirit  of fre edom and libert? and the gi ft of 
imaginati on .  ' I l faut b eaucoup d 1 imaginat i on pour 
etre un homme de valeur . , ( 3 )  I t  is the homme de 
valeur whom we see in Anto ine in the E?tL?, pro?
foundly d isturbed by the disequil ibrium he fore se es in 
the ?ost-war era and the threat to the value s he pri zes .  
The man of  the generation of  1 91 4-1 8 defends the tradi-
tional bel i efs and values of hi s .!!11lielJ.. Through hi s 
diary he speaks to the younger generation di s oriented 
by  war ana urges them to  heed the teaching of the pas t . 
The dat e of publi cation of  the last part of the novel ?
cyc le , 1 940 , makes the ?lea of the dying soldier in 
1 9 1 8 al l the more ?o 1gnant . 
? ?l ( 3 R. Lalou, Roger Mart in du Gard , p .  27 . L '  Ete j?1 tt,, ?.&? II , p .  5 16. Epil ogue , O . C .  II , ? ?  982 .  
CHAPTER I ll LE G  HOMIIES DE BONNE VOLONTE 
1HE F M([;.LY : 
( a ) The Family 
(b ) The School 
( c ) C onclusi OE 
In Les Hommes  de bonne v olonte ... the focus  of at ten-
tion i s  shifted from a f8JTiily of a p articular milieu 
to  e. viev1 of society a s  a wh ole o  Bo th Chronigue de s 
Pasouier and Les Thibault are family sagas ;  the first 
three volume s o f  each o f  the se novel-cycles examine 
the influences  in the home whi eh affect  the later 
deve lopment of the characters o  It  i s  true that as  
the mern"tors of the fernily gain independence and leave 
the foyer the persp ec t ives  widen to include a view of 
so c ie ty as a whole - in thi s sense the no vel-cycle s  
meri t the term fre sque s histo rique s o  However ,  even 
in  Le s Thibault ,  which after the revi si on of  Mart in du 
G ard ' s orig? nal plan in 1 93 1  introduces  in L ' Ete 1 914  
the sweep and movement o f  hi sto ry ,  the ori ginal 
charac ters  9 the Thibaul  ts and the Font anins , remain 
at  the centre of the acti ono Rom?ins re j ec t s thi s 
structu ral focus fo r reason s  whi ch he explains in the 
1 932 Preface to Le s H ommes  de bonne volonteo He 
sugge sts  that if th.e primary aim of the writer i s  t o  
trace the ri se and fall of a family a s  in the romans 
I de developpemen t ,  then such a frarrework f o r  the novel 
i s  beyond crit ici sm, but that i f  the interrelationship s 
in  the family circle are a sec ondary c onsideration and 
the p rincipal aim of the author i s  to make a tableau 
of soc ie ty there i s  the po ssibili ty that  the interac-
tion of the different membe rs o f  the family will become 
a mere artif ice of compositi on  t o  al lo w the autho r to  
enlarge hi s canvas  2?d include different milieux or 
Introduce a variety of se t tings and incidents. This ?  
Romain s  c laims y  i s  the weakne ss  o f  the theme o f  tlle 
family  in Z ola ' s R0ugon-Macquart .  C onsequently ,  the 
unanimi st novel whi ch he introduce s i s  one which i s  
not centred on  an individual 9 nor on  a parti cular 
family y but on so c ie ty i t sel f and the group s or 
unanime s within whi ch the indiv idual c omponents merge 
in a p sychi c c ont inuum. Central to  the ununimi st ic  
l ( 1 ) 
novel , then , i s  1 o o o  la  vie e t  le mouvement de l a  
socie'te' en  elle-meme, de s groupe s dcmt elle se c omp o se 
Neverthele s s ,  if in Le s hommes de boru1e v ol ont? 
0 0 0 0 
the emphasi s i s  upon the collec tivi ty and in parti cu-
lar tho se area s  of  la  vie un?m ime in which men j o in  
freely and spont aneously , rather than soc ial institu-
t i ons  as such ,  the relationship of child and family i s  
not overlooked. As  Cuiseni er  observe s ,  the characters  
in  Le s Homrre s de bonne vol ontd are no t mere abstrac-
ti ons but gain the ir indiv iduali ty from their home 
b ackground : 
Au sein de s groupe s si varies e t  si c omplexe s ,  
les  individus n ' apparai ssent plus - tel s l e s  
passants d 1 une rue ou l e s  atome s d ' une molecule 
- c omme de simples elements intercharigeables .  
I l s  sont  d ' une maisOll ,  d ' un quarti er y  d ' une 
( 1 ) Souvenir s et conf idence s d ' un ecrivain,  p .  1 46. 
f'amille ( 1 ) c c c 
Ye t ,  one mus t admi t tha t  the l inks of' many of' the 
charac ters with the ir famil ie s are of'ten tenuous . 
The pe rsonnage s wh om Romain s choose s f' or his  novel-
cycle are representative f igure s who se individual 
p sychology i s  of' le ss impor tance than the att i tude s 
of' the milieux f'rom which they are drawn . The author 9 
himse lf' , admi ts  that  hi s sub j ec t and the p arallel 
method of' narration whi ch he employs render it  di f'f' i-
cult to  achi eve p sycholo ,zi cal  depth in the chnrac ter-
i sa t i onc 
En donnant b l ' ac ti on centrale , ou au 
f'ai sce au d ' ac ti ons cent rale s , un carac t?re enc ore 
plus eloigne de l o. de stine'e indi viduelle 9 j e 
rendai s  l ' oeuvre encore moins acce ssible nu 
le cteur 9 qui e st malgre t ou t un individu ; e t  j e  
m'  enlevn.is le s o cc a ei ons  d 1  exprimer sur la  
psychologie individuelle , e t  se s re lations avec 
celle de s divers  1 ' unanirne s ; ; , de s fa? ons de vo ir  
qui ne me parai P sai ent nullemen t negligeables o ( 2 )  
Thus , Jalle z ,  Jerphanion,  Loui s Bastide and 
Clanr ic ard are individus- synth? se s who ,  a s  Martin?
De slias  points  out , ' c o o  ne p arviennent b no tre 
c onsci tjnce que p ar leurs paroles  et par leur s  ac ti ons ;  
ce s ont  ce s paroles  et  ce s a c t ions qui de ssinent le 
type v.uquel il s appar tiennent ' . ( 3 ) It  is  the general 
influence s  of a p arti cular c lass which Romains analyse s 
in sketching the background of hi s charac ter s o Unlike 
Duhamel and Martin du Gard who explore what migh t be 
( 1 ) A. Cuis enier , Jule s Remain s  e t  Les Hommes de bonne 
vol onte?, P o  27 o 
Ai-je fait ce que j 1 a i  voulu? , p c  1 35 o  
N.  Martin-De slia s ,  Jule s  Romains ou Quand le s 
Homme s de bonne vo lonte se cherchent , PP o 68-9 . 
termed the pqychology and the soc iology of the educa-
tive p roce s s  in the farr1ily - the per sonal transac ti on 
of parent and child whlch influence s the growth of 
personal i ty ?  as  well as the a t t i tude s and value s pre-
scribed by the mili eu which are transmi tted  by the 
family - R omains i s  c onc erned wit h the lat ter  function 
of the farnilyo H i s  ma j or interest  is the currents , 
for c e s  and pr essure s which uni te men rather than tho se 
which p ro duce indiv idua? diffe rence so Although there 
may be mi ssing th e rich interplay of char ac t er s  that 
exist s in the famili es of the Pasquiers or the 
Thibnult s , there is gained a close examinati on  of the 
patte rns o f upbringing at  different levels of soc iety 
and the ways in whi ch the class  struc ture de termin es 
what the child will be  taugh t and what he will le arn c 
In Chronigue de s Pas?uie r and Le s Thibault the 
acti on  revo lves  ar ound families  of the bourge oi sie .  
Le s Hommes de bonne volonte", o n  the o ther hand ,_ p re-
sent s a w ide range of  familie s extending fr om the 
lower  orders of  so cie ty - the pe asant farmers  such a s  
Je an Jerphanion '  s relati ves at  Saint-Pierre in the 
mcunt ain s of Le Velay ( 1 ) - t o  the highe s t  so cial c aste 
- the old l anded gentry repre sen ted by the Saint?
P ap ouls o  ( 2 ) However ,  i t  mu st be admit ted that many 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
See the cons erv?tive atti tudes  of  the p?ysan , 
Pie r re Crouziol s ,  Jerphanion ' s maternal uncle , t o  
child education in  Le  Drapeau noir , Le s Homme s de 
bonne volonte',  vo l o  II  (subsequently  .?i .B .V .  II) , 
P o  1 1 33 o  
The caste element s in the training o f  the children 
amongst the ari st ocrat ie de nai ssance  are vi sible 
in t he s tre ss  on f amily honour and p o s i ti on ,  and 
the shel te ring of the children from s oc i al conta?
mination. Note  the re stric ti ve upbringing of 
Jeanne de Saint-Papoul in Le s Amour s  enfantine s ,  
H . B .V .  I ,  chapt o VIII . 
of these groups are allowed only a brief generalisa-
ti o n  and that the detail on familial educati on tends 
to be confined to the middle classes, on  whom atten-
tion is fccussed in this studyo Although Romains 
with his ' ? o o  esprit encyclop?dique '
( i ) carries his 
investigati on to virtual1y all corners o f  French 
society , the ' Men of  Goodwill ' who animate this vast 
panorama belong almost exclusively to the bourge oisie 
_Qultiv?e and have their ro ots in the E_eti -te bourgeoisieo 
It is this mili? in which the young Louis Farigoule 
had received his early educati on that holds the 
predilecti on of Jules Romains , the writer, as i s  
obvious from his f ollowing comment in which he admits 
tD a close identification with the class of Louis 
Basti de : 
Que dans Louis Bastide et ses voyages "au 
cerceaut t  j '  ai mi s certaines de mes experiences 
d'enfant , ce n ' est pas douteux . Dans sa 
psychologie aussi , certaines de mes tendances.  
Le milieu de toute p etite bourgeoisie , travailleuse , 
honne te , eco nome , qu ' une menue p erte d 1 argent 
tou:me:nte et inqui);te, que la perte d'une place 
affole , m ' e'tait familier ; et je n ' avais pas 
besoin , pour m ' identifier ? ces gens, de me 
"pencher" sur eux ,  dans un mouvement de pitiEf 
condescendante . I?1ais, il n ' y a en somme, 1??
dedans,  qu ' assez peu d'autobiographie proprement 
dite o ( 2 ) ? 
Madeleine Berry underlines Romains ' s  debt to the 
E_etite bourgeoisie in these words: 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
'Ce petit peuple est , d e  t?te evidence , la s ource 
mere de 1 1 auteur ;  c ' est ? lui que va sa 
A. Rousseaux , ' La Fin des Hommes de bonne volonte1 , 
Prance-Illustration, no . 68 , 1 8  Jan. 1 947 , P ?  75 . 
See A .  Bourin, Connaissance de Jules Romain? 
discutde par Jules Romains , p .  99 .  
pre'dilec t .ion; c ' e st en  lui , finalement , qu 1 il 
pla ce se s derniere s e spe'rance s Q ' ( 1 ) 
As well as the broadened  social p erspe c t ive ? 
there i s  in Les Hommes de bonne volonte the widening 
o f  the perspecti ve s  in  time c M o re obviously than 
Martin du Gard or D<.lhamel , R ome. ins i s  co ncerned with 
s oci nl change o Lc s Thibault , whi ch c onclude s in 
November  1 91 8 ,  dep ic t s  the c ollap se of the old order 
and m akes only oblique  references  to the new age , 
while  Chronigue de s P asquicr , which sp nns the l c. te 
nine teenth nnd the early twenti eth centuries ,  fail s 
t o  make a clear di st inc ti on between the pre-war and 
the po st-war so cial envi ronmcmt o H owe ve r , Romains , 
who bel ieve s in the exi stence o f  onde s hi storique s -
rhy thms of event s whi ch c o rre spond app r o x imatel y to 
a period of  twenty-five years  - i s , within the l imi t s  
o f  the onde hi storique he het s cho sen , 1 908  to 1 933 ? 
involved in a senr c h  for trends , for tendenc ie s  and 
fo r influence s  on the ten or of event s o  It  i s  Verdun 
that stands at the ape?<: o f  the onde hi storique and 
divide s the interval into  two di sti nc t peri ods of t ime 
- the one leading up t o  the battle i n  which nn orde rly , 
op t imi stic  soci e ty i s  inevi tably drawn t o  i t s  de struc-
ti on ,  and the o ther de scribing the p oli ti cal and 
soc ial unre st in the po st-war year s c  Wi thin thi s  
hi s tor ical  framework R omains attemp t s  t o  i llustrate 
the di srupti on in family life wh ich oc curred after 
( 1 ) M.  Berry , Jule s Romai ns , sa vie , son oeuvre , P o  278 o 
World War I ?  with the dec line of' pa rental authority 
and dis turbance s t o  f'a?ily sol idar ity . In Les Horr.ll11e s 
de benne vol onte' the author pursues  an inquiry into 
the nature of' p arent-child rel ati onship s in  middle-
cl ass  f amilie s during the interwnr years  and c ont rasts  
the p attern of'  family lif'e in the "cvwnti8 s and thi rtie s 
against that of'  the pre-war ern .  
Foremost  amongst the f'omilies  o f'  the rural pe tite 
bourge o i sie in Le s Homme s de benne vol ontd i s  the 
family  of J e an  Jerphanion in Le Ve lay - the regi on t o  
which R emains i s  l inked by  uirth and ance stry . 
Jerphanion 9 who i s  first  intr oduced in chap ter VI of' 
Le 6 oc  tobre bee  ome s one of' the pri ne ipal parte-paroles 
of the autho r in the novel-cycle . Indeed ? one 
de tec t s  that t he relati onship of' Jerphani on and ?h i s  
fellow normaJ.. i en 9 the Pari  f'i an9 P i erre J2llez 9 to  
Jul es Remai ns?  i s  simil ar ? t o  th?t of'  Anto ine and 
Jacque s Thibaul t to ?-oger  Iliar tin du Gard.  I\u:mr o i s 
sugge st s that t hese two c harac t e r s  - Jall e z  who 
choo se s a ref'lec t?ve role as a lite rary art i st and 
Jerphanion the man of' ac ti on , comni tted s oc ially and 
pol i t ic nlly - repre sent a dddoublement of' Homai ns ' s 
perso nality . 
Ils  reprE{sentent deux aspec ts de 1 '  auteur , 
l ' un s on cSte lyrique ,  l ' autre son cat?  r?al i ste . 
Ce  n ' e st peut-?tre pas  p ar hasard que leur s  deux 
noms c ommencent par le J de Je . Une c onver sati on  
de Jalle z e t  de  Jerphanion est  un dialogue de 
Jule s Remains avec Jules  Romains. ( 1 ) 
In  reply to  a simila r  statement by Bourin,  Remai ns has 
given hi s qualifi ed agreement : 
( 1 ) A. Iviauroi  s ? Etude s  J..i t teraires  II , p .  1 48 .  
' Ce que vou s  di te s de la part de moi-meme 
que j ' ai mise  dans le s deux principaux 
personnage s indi viduel s de s Homme s de Bonne 
Vol onte e st j us te en somme o o o  En v?ritd j e  n 1 ai 
p a s  proced? h une di stributi on reflechie et 
so igneusement ponderde de s trai ts  d ont j e  do tai s 
l ' un et l ' autre o ' ( 1 ) 
Like Jule s Romei ns ? Jean Je rphani on 9 the son of 
an insti tuteur who se f8!11ily are peasant formers in Le 
Vel ay ? at tribute s hi s real ism nnd h i s  strent.;; th of  pur-
pose  t o  hi s o:ri g in s  umongst  the montagnnrds of ? the 
Hnu te-Loire .  He h a s  been  brought up u t  Boussoulet  
whi ch  is  the home di strict  of  hi s mother and ha.s 
ga ined hi s ele ment Rry educati on in hi s father ' s scho ol .  
Althou[:;h he bel ieve s th2t  in  build he  take s after his  
father who i s  from a p ea sant family at  Bri oude ? in 
charnc ter he tends to  re semble hi s mo ther .  Very few 
de tails  are p rov ided on the nature of Jerphanion ' s 
famil ial education  or hi s re lati onship with  hi s 
parent s 9  although he doe s inform Jalle z that  hi s f2ther 
WaS 1 o o a peU baYard o o o 1 ( 2 ) clDd tha t  there Wa S little  
c ommunicRt:ion be tween fath er and son. ' Il ne s ' e st 
j amai s ouvert  ? mo? ni devant moi 9 de c e  qui pouvait 
?tre sa fa?on de c omprendre la vie .  1 ( 3 )  In ano ther 
referenc e he sugge st s th at hi s upbringing has been 
s tr i c t  and tha t hi s father ' s  vocation a s  an insti tuteur 
ensured that he would no t receive the indulgence which 
i s  frequently ac c orded the only child. 
( 1 ) 
o o o  Le s ins t i tu teurs e??vent mieux 9 en general ?  
See A. Bourin ? C onnaissance de Jule s Remains 
discutee par Jule s Romains ?  p .  67 . 
Rech erche d ' une egli se ? H . B. V .  I ?  p .  1 02 1 . 
lbid,  p .  1 02 1 . 
leurs  eni'ant s ,  meme Uniques ,  qu I On ne fai t danS 
les  milieux e quivalentso  Pourquoi? p arce qu ' il s  
sont imbus de science e t  de s avoi r -faire 
pedngogique s? Non a mon avi s ;  mai s ,  par ce que , 
t out en se devouant aux enfant s ,  ils  ont ; r  souye11  
d ' eux ,  comme on di t ;  i l s  c onnai ssent a satiete' 
leur s defaut s ,  leur s  malice s ,  leur s pe tite s 
c omedie s;  e t  quand il s rentrent ? leur propre 
fo;rcr ,  .il s  sont hOl .tJ d '  ti'tat  de s 1  attendrir sur 
de s pleurnicho.i llcrie s e t  du cabotinage de meme 
aloL E: t 1 1  enfant de son c'O te sent tre s bien 
que 13. r-e.u s se- monna.ie sentiment ale qu 1 i l  
uimerai t t c:u1t fabriquer ne; passera pa s aupr? s du 
changeur fatigue qui en manie e t  refuse du matin 
au soi r o ( 1 ) 
A further  reason why his  father and mother were 
strongly of the or-ini on that parent s should no t be 
over- at tentive to the wants  of the child stemmed from 
the pe asant tradi ti on s  of large families  and the nece  s-
si t y  fo r stric t rule of the parent s over the numerous 
children o 
Jrioi', j I Ctni S bien f i l S  unique ; mai S o 0 0 j I etai S 
eleve dans un milieu oh se gardait l a  tradi ti on 
de s famille s de sept ou hui t enfant s ,  et oh l e s  
humeur s d ' un morveux n 1 etaient p as encore 
c onside're'e s  comme de s rmmife stati ons  cele ste s ,  
digne s d ' ? Hre etudie'es de pr'es par le s aruspice s .  ( 2 )  
From his  mo ther he has gained a religi ous educa-
tion in  the Catholic  faith - he i s ' ? ? ?  c atholique de 
nai ssance e t  par l ' educati on maternelle I ( 3 )  0 0 0 0 I t  
i s  out o f  re spe c t  for  her piety that Jerphanion , dur-
ing the holidays that he spends wi th hi s p arent s while  
at tending the Eco le  normale , oc casionally accompanie s 
her to worship o However , the influence  of hi s 
religi ous upbringing appears  to  have l i t tle la sting 
effe c t  upon him and by t he time he enter s the Ecole  
Journee s  dans la  montagne , H . B .y. III , p .  1 069 .  
Ibid ,  p .  1 069 . 
Le s Amours enfantine s ,  H. B .V. I ,  p .  3 2 2 .  
normale the emotional as  well as the spiritual a tt ach?
ment t o  hi s childhood faith  have vani shed. 
The references  of Jean Jerphanion to  hi s upbring?
ing and the manner in  which he de scribe s hi s mo ther 
and fathe r create the impre ssi on of austerity rather 
than int imacy in the ir family relat ionships.  Hi s 
a t ti tude tovmrds h i s  p c?.rent s i s  that of the dutiful 
son who re sp ec t s  the integ:r i ty of their  life and who 
c onsider s tha t they have v:e ll acquitted  their  re spon-
sibili ties  as  parent s .  But there i s  n notice able 
absence of warmth of  feeling t owards them. There i s  
l i t tle hint of the tenderne s s  vthich Lo.urent experi-
ence s for  hi s parent s or even of the hidden affecti on 
of the Thibault s for the i r  fathe r .  The de tache d tone 
i n  whi ch in  Journde s  dans la  montagne Jerphani on  di s?
cusse s  the inab ili ty of his  parent s t o  f.?dap t to  tovvn 
l i fe a t  Saint-Julicn  aft e r  his  father ' s  re tirement , 
and criti c i se s  hi s mo the!' 1 s t!'ea tment of his father 
a s ' ? ? ?  un enfant pare sseux ' ( 1 ) be cau se of hi s failing 
memory , bears little trace of real filial devoti on. 
It t s  p o s sible that the re a sons for thi s lie in 
the different circumstance s of  the parent s and the son. 
Between Jean Jerphanion and his  parents  there i s  the 
gulf of formal educ ati on , cul ture and soci al class.  
It  is  true that hi s father  had also r isen in status 
by gaining hi s brevet in the school  at the chef"-lieu 
of  the canton. But as  a village schoolmaster his  
( 1 ) Journees aans la  montagne , H . B .V .  I ll ,  p .  9 91 .  
links wi th the rur al communi ty had no t been severed. 
As Jerphanion  declare s :  ' ? ? ?  Ce  n ' e st pas  au milieu 
" inst ituteur 1 1  qu ' i l  appart ient . C 1 e st au milieu 
rural , et de peti t pays . ' ( 1 ) However , for Jean 
Jerphani on , wh o from hi s father ' s scho ol has pr oceeded  
to t he Lycee du Puy and th en from t he ?gne at the 
Lyce"e de Lyon g a in e d  en t ry t o  the Ec ole  normale , the 
status of the normalien amongst the intellec tual ?li te 
and his  role in the cl asi?e s dirigeantes, , effe ct ively 
lirni t hi s a?bili  ty to i dentify himself wit h the milieu 
of h i s  family.  Ye t ,  if  soc i&lly and intellectually 
he f inds himself nt var iance with hi s origins , he 
d I ? I re ali zes  that he canno t be a. eraclne  in  any real 
sense as the hab i t s , a tti tude s and value s of the 
Ee tite  bourgec i si e  are firmly imprinted on his  
personali ty .  
Je an Jerphani on  shows a re sembl ance to  Laurent 
Pasqui er and Jacques  Th??a? l t  in that he f inds that  
the influence of  his  f amilial educ at ion i s  pervasive 
and prof ound . As  a young studen t t ravelling to Pari s 
at  the c ommencement of  his  f i rst year at the ?cole  
normale he de spair s  at hi s ?r ovinc ial manners:  
mouvement s qu1 il  ob serve par l 1 intdrieur ne lui 
' Se s  
plai sent p as.  
de pay san. 1 1 ' ( 2 ) 
1 1 Je manque de grac e .  Je sui s  un f il s 
At  the Eco le normale he sense s hi s 
inferior ity  t o  the students l ike Jalle z  from the 
Pari sian b?cee?: ' Je manque de pre st ige i c i , parce 
( 1 ) Recherche d ' une dgli se , H . B. VD I ,  p .  1 02 2 . ( 2 )  ?e 6 o c tobre , ?B.V. I ,  p .  3 9. 
que regu dan s un mauvais rang ,  provinci al frais  
debarqud, peu  brillant c auseur ' , C 1 ) and he  i s  self-
c onsci ous of hi s rural accent which though dimini shing 
still bears trace s  of  1 ? ? ?  l a  lourdeur pay sanne ? ? ? ' . ( 2 ) 
But apart from thi s  embarrassment at hi s country b ack-
ground he share s the feeling of  the Pasqui er s and 
Anto ine Thibault that hi s capac ity as  a man of ac ti on 
and hi s re serve s of strength which create a di sposi-
t i on for intense physical a s  well a s  mental ac tiv ity ,  
are drawn fr om hi s peasant ance stors and the traditio? 
of hard work of the lower cla sse s.  ' Je me rends 
campte que j 1 ai un app?tit inassouvi de travail manuel ;  
e t  quand je c ommence h y ceder , j e  ne m' arr?te plus. 
He're'di te', sans dou te . ' ( 3 ) 
However , even if Jerphanion  a s  a young normalien 
feels  wi thin himself the energy to  become a grand 
homme d ' ac ti on and l ike Anto ine Thibault has  proud 
dreams of grandeur , to  the extent of adopt ing as hi .s 
mo tto Memento magnitudinus ,  he , too , i s  saved from 
mega l oman ia or de structive egoti sm by the stric t 
mo rali ty of his upbringing. I t  i s  sugge sted that he 
shares  the puri ty of  hi s race , the peasants  of Le 
Velay , who se Catholi c ism  i s  enlivened  by ' ? ? ?  un re ste 
de r?eur prate stante ? ? ? ' . (4 ) The ideali sm whi ch  
Jerphanion later shows  in hi s political c areer as  a 
d?put? for the Haute-Loire in the Radical-Sociali st 
Le s Amours  enfantines ,  H . B . V .  I ,  p .  31 7 .  
Ibid, P ?  31 8 .-
Crime de Quinet te , H . B .V .  I ,  p .  273. 
Les Amours enfantine s ,  H . B .V .  I ,  p .  322 . 
p3rty i s  attributed to hi s family background. Thus , 
his  patron , Boui t t on 9  declares  that the p ro?i ty and 
e arnestness  of hi s pro t?? and hi s inabili ty to  accept 
poli t ic al c ompromise s  repre sent a? ' o o ?  exc? s de 
' t - . 1 ( 1 ) d I d t d . 1 ( 2 )  purl anlsmc o , o  an are o c o  e s  rac e s  u V lrus 
of  his  nonc on?f:'ormi st ance stry. In addit i on ,  
Jerphani on sees  in  hi s own dedic at ion t o  the cau se of 
removing social in justi c e s  a reflecti on of hi s p o si-
t ion a s  a village teacher ' s  son. From the 
inst ituteurs like hi s father who incarnate the sp irit 
of 1 848 he has le arnt  resp ec t  for liberty and just ice o 
Despi te his  metnber ship of  the _pe ti te bourgeoi sie he 
has been intima tely involved wi th the working cla sse s  
and , i n  consequence , acquainted with soc i al inequali-
t ie s  ' dan s se s repli s t out suint ants de douleur 
CJ.Uo tidienne 1 ( 3 ) unlike the typi cal 1 o o ?  f il s  de 
bourge oi s qui se " p enche" sur les  que st ions  soci al e s 1  o (4)  
Although Jerphanion ,  the grand homrne d 1 e'tat , will 
re je c t  subterfuge s and avo id  the duplic ity and c 0nniv-
ing of cert ain of  hi s c olleagues , he will no t prove 
himself  to be poli tic ally naive . There i s  in hi s 
reali sm, further evidence o f  the permeati on of hi s 
personali ty with the hab i t s  and way s of  thinking of  
As Pierre Jallez say s of Jerphanion ' s 
native c auti on and shrewdne ss in his pol i ti c al ro.le :  
' Pas  si  bete qu ' on veut bien le  di re , not re ruse 
l 1 l Le s Travaux e t  le s joie s , H . B. V . 
2 Ibid,  p .  60 . 
3 Les Amours enfant ines ,  H . B. V . I ,  
4 Ibid ,  P ?  322 . 
IV , P o  60 .  
P o  322 o 
montagna rdo  ' ( 1 ) 
The hones ty , moral streng th and sense o f  duty 
which R omains a ssoci ates  w i th the rural petite  
bourgeoi sie t o  which the Jerphani ons belong are al so 
the charac teristic s of the fillnilies  of the minor 
sal ar ie d  employees  and offi c ial s in the urban environ-
men t o  I n  c o nsi de ring the stratification soc iale of 
P ari s ,  Torchecoul , the e c onomi st , stre sse s  that the 
tradi tional c ategori es  are inexac t  and that a mo re 
appr opriate measure fo r cxu.rnining the s oci al struc ture 
i s  the pouvoir d 1 achat o f  each group o The e co nomic 
basi s f or his  divi sion between 1 o o o  de s humble s  e c c 1  
and ' o  o o de s gens 'a leu r ai se o o o '  ( 2 ) is  a pur chasing 
power  of ten franc s a day o Thereaf ter there i s  a 
grada tion in category unti l fi fty fran c s  a day o 
1 A p r  rtir de l a  ce sC?nt deja  le s r i ch e s Q . .  I l  
e st bien evi dent aus si qu 1 ent re une famille a so 
e t  une famille a 1 50 fr an c s  par j our , il y aura 
de s difference s  no table s o  Iviai s elle s ne se ront 
pas  e s sentielle s o  La vraie coupure se fai t a 
50 franc s par j o ur ' o ( 3 )  
There i s ,  then , in  Le s Homme s de bonne vol onte' a 
distincti on betv;c en le s humbles  and le s superbe so  
Amongst le s humble s we f ind the Bastide family 
who l ive in the rue Duhe srre in Montmartre o The 
father o f  Loui s Bastide  i s , in 1 908 , a supervisor  in 
a po rcelain fac tory e arning seven francs a dayo Thus ,  
Mme Bastide who mus t budget on  thi s  meagre sum f o r  the 
househol d  expense s ?.h ? s ,  like Mme Pa squier , 1 o o o  l ' e spri t 
? 1 l Nai s sanc e de la b ande , H o B.V . lV , P o  287 
2 Les Humbles , H . B. V. I ,  P o  922 . 
3 Ibid ,  P o 923 o 
t t / 1 ( 1 )  1 ourmen e o c o and o ? o une su scep tibilite nerveuse 
Aga in ,  a s  in Chronigue 
de s Pasguier  the relationship of  mother  and ch il d in 
the family of  the pe tit e bourgeoi si e  i s  por trayed a s  
v;arm and accept ing , even though Mme :Sasti de seems t o  
exerc i se more direc t anthori ty over her so n. 1 IVialgre' 
sa tendresse ? ell e  aimai t cont redire et avoi r  le 
derniG r mo t .  1 ( 3 ) The fa ther ,  also , has ce rtoin 
similari ti es with lV.l . P asquic:; r .  I n  the c ircumstance s 
which le ad t o  hi s di smi ssal from hi s place of work he 
i s  shovm t o  be proud and intransigent . De spi t-z the 
h ardship vvhi cL unemployu:e nt eau re s  hi s family he can-
not bring himsGlf t o  offer the apology t o  hi s fo rmer 
employer , M e  Yvoy , whi ch  would rest o re hi s po si ti on .  
Thi s  uncompromi si ng a tti tude had al so charac teri sed 
h i s  rel ati onship wi t h  hi s children . A s  the re sult 
of  the:; p a ternal infl exibil i ty ,  the el der  s on ,  P aul , 
had broken wit h hi s family in a dramatic man ..ner whi ch 
re calls  the sudden di sappearance of Jacque s Thibault o 
H owever , Loui s has  benefited fr om thi s earl ier family 
cri si s a s  hi s fa the r has ende avoured to treat  hi s 
remaining s on le ss  harshlyc  
Loui s Bas  ti de 1 s po si tio  n i s ,  the? eff ec t i  vely 
that o f  an only eh ild c He has been thrown onto hi s 
own resources  and has devel oped an inten se inner l i fe o  
The acco unt o f  h i s  soli tary travel s  through Pari s w ith 
Ibid ,  p.  830 .  
Ib i d ,  p .  83 1 c 
Ibi d ,  P o  829 o  
his  hoop provide s  an insight into the wc rkings of  the 
child' s mind who se vivid imagination invests  hi s 
errands with exci tement and dangero  
I . I I \ 
o o o  Il  e talt ne pour une p re sence tre s  
grande de l ' e sprit o  Mai s son at tention ne 
l ' empe chait pas  de s ' exal ter c o o  La cour se ? 
tra-vers  le s rue s devenai t une aven ture  touffue 
et mysterieuse 9 dont l ' enchalnemen t re ssemblai t 
? celui de s r?ve s 9  e t  dont l es peripetie s 
inexp\icable s l ' amenaient peu h peu9  e t  tour a 
t our ,  a de s moment s d ' enthousi asme 9 ou d ' ivre sse 
ou  de soulevante me'lanc olie o ( 1 )  
The mo ther-dependency which was apparent in the 
Fontanin househ):c i n  Le s Thibault and in the Pasquier  
foyer i s  again evident in Louis  Basti de ' s  rel ati unship 
with his  mo t? ?ro His to rments in Le 6 octobre over  
whether or no t he  deserve s the reward of the 
chaus sure s jaune s which his  mo ther ha s bought him f or 
the scho ol pri zegiving ari r= e  fr om hi s knowledge of the 
f inanci al sacrifice  whi ch the new shoe s  c o st her 9 a s  
well as hi s remor se fo r creating the impre sei on that  
he has defini tely won a prize f o r  hi s scho ol wo rko 
He has a deep-ro o ted  fear of causing her distre es  and 
of l o sing her love  and a t ten tiono Bo th hi s dep endency 
on hi s mo the r  and hi s mo ther ' s  p r0 te c t ivene ss are 
glimp sed in the following quo ta ti on: 
Il serrai t plus fo rt l a  main de sa  m?re o 
Elle fut sai sie t c ?t ? coup 9 atteinte au c oeur 
par la  pensee qui tourmentait  son enfant o o o  
Penchee sur lui , care ssant se s cheveux , son 
beret 9  el le lui di t ,  sur un t on d ' effusi on 
sourde: - Mon pe ti t  garcon!  mon pauvre pet i t  
garc on!  mon p e t i t  Loui s cher i ! ( 2 ) ? 
Thi s pic ture of mo the r-child l ove  r ival s any found in 
( 1 ) Le 6 o c tobre , H . B . V. I ,  p .  1 01 o  
( 2 )  Les Humbles , TI. B. V.  1 9  pp . 834-5 . 
Chr onioue de s Pasguier  or  Le s Thibault . 
The p sychological p or trait  which Romains  makes 
of Loui s Bas t ide emphasise s hi s ' ? ? ? fond de scrupule 
et d ' inquie?ude ? ? ?  ' . ( 1 ) He i s  conscientious  t o  a 
faul t ,  applying himself de terminedly to  hi s t a sks . 
F or  Loui s ,  every ac tivity must have some purpo se o r  
goa l and mu st involve e ffort  and sacrifice . The p res-
sure s in the lower middle- class home fo r soc i al . 
advance;ment , a phenomenon o f  whi ch bo th Duharnel and 
R omain s are acutely co?n.sci ous , spur his  Gchievement . 
One no te s that the fir st action  of the ec ol ier  after  
hi s return ho!l'B from sch oo l  is  to  p re sent to  hi s 
mothe r hi s exerc i se books and hi s marlc s. C onsci ence 
for Loui s Ba stide i s  le ss  a ques tion of  ab ?o lute s th an 
of discr iminati on between ac t ions which would please 
or displease hi s parent s .  For  instance , later  at  the 
Coll?ge Chap tal , which he has  entered on a bur sary ,  
Loui s de spairs  at his  l ack of matre .matic al abi l i ty ,  
primar ily because he feel s  tha t  he i s  failing t o  ful-
fil hi s parents ' expec t?ti ons .  
N ' e st-ce pas  un abus  de c onfiance que de 
lai sser de s parent s vous  nourrir , vous  entretenir , 
parce  qu ' il s vous c ro ient de stin? ? un avenir 
brillant ? Si vous leur di sie z la vdri  te:  1 ' Je 
ne c omprends pa s le s rnathemat iques ;  j e  ne pui s 
plus continuer ? ? ?  " , i l s  s '  imagineraient peut?
@tre que vou s ete s pri s  d !  une cri  se de pare s se '  
c omme il arrive k d ' aut re s  qui ont votre  age ; 
que vous en avez  a s se z  de s li vre s ;  que vous avez  
envie de train ? dans le s rues c omme pet i t  livreur , 
ou de rire avec de s c amarades dans un atelier d ( 2 ) 
Although Louis i s  sent t o  c atechi sm e ach Tuesday 
(
2
1 ) Le 6 octobre , H . B8V. I ,  P o  1 01 . ( ) Mi s si on h Rome , H . B. V . II , P o  970. 
after school , hi s parent s d o  no t seem to be strong 
C atholics .  At least  this i s  the imp re s s  ion of  abbe 
Jeanne who has  Loui s Basti de in hi s fi rst year c atc-
chism cla SS o  ' Il se peut que la frunille san s etre 
hos t ile , l ' ai t  tenu en dehors  de l ' atmo sphere 
chretienne ' .  ( i ) One ha s the feeling that w ithout 
thi s background nf parental intere st in hi s relig ious 
education ,  Loui s will so on ou tgrow hi s early training. 
Already h e  has begun to que sti on what he has been 
t augh t o  It  i s  true that h e  seeks co nfession with 
abb6 Jeanne to exo rci se hi s guil t at his  thoughts of  
Mme Yvoy , in which sexual feel ings are admixed with 
revenge f or the humilia t i on wh ich he had experienced 
when he had at tempted to intercede wi th her on hi s 
fathe r ' s behalf , "J.:.1ut thi s ap pee.rs  t o  be a nervous 
reaction mot ivated by sel f-disgust rather than an 
expre ss ion of true  rel igi ous sentiment o 
Adole scent cr isi n with i t s  moral , psychol ogi cal 
and religious element s reappears in the desc r ipti ons 
of hi s ch ildhood and youth given by Pierre Jal lez , the 
Pari sian who se academic brilli ance c ause s Jerphanion 
t o  sense the inadequaci e s  of hi s p rovinci al b ackground 
at  the Ecole normale o As  in the case of  Loui s 
Bastide he is  ' ? o o  voue k l ' inquietude , au scrupule 0 0 0 
and sub j ec t  t o  f-its o f  de spair at  hi s own unworthine s E o  
Je revo is  ce t te imperi ale de tramway du 
dimanche. J ' allais  au boi s de Boulogne avec  
Les Humbles , H. B.V .  I , p . 909 . 
Les Amours  enfantine s ,  H . B .V. I ,  P o  487 .  
me s parent s .  Le s gens du dimanche ne prenaient 
pas garde a ce p auvre peti t homme de tre i ze ans 
qui ,  serrant les  levre s ,  p o rtait  l ' abime chret ien 
sur l 1 imperi ale ensole illee . ( 1 ) 
For Jallez ,  religious educati on had no t brought calm-
ness  and pe ace but terror of l o sing the state of . grace . 
Hi s f ir st c ommunion had been for  h im a ' j ourn?e 
d 1 affre s et  de tremblement ? ? ?  1 ( 2 ) and from hi s read?
ing of the Gospel s  had come ' l a han tise  du pdchd 
mortel e t  de l a  co m union sacril?ge ' .  ( 3 )  But thi s  
cri sis  whi ch  had reached i t s  apogee when Jallez  was 
thir teen was  not solely fed by religious de spair . 
Hi s 1 o . o  h&nti se s  sexuelles ? ? o '  also figured  in this 
inne r torment  ' nourri ssant la  nude de s scrupule s 
sec ondaire s '  c (4 ) 
Although del ivered of thi s  fir st cri se by the 
re ading of Luc re tius and Renan' s Vie de Jesus , Jallez 
would suffer  a second mor al crisi s at  the age of 
seventeen , whi ch represented  the ' o  o ?  devoration de 
l ' e sprit p ar le cancer de la conscience moral e ' o ( 5 ) 
As  with  Laur ent Pasquier  and Jacque s Thibaul t , the 
adole scent i s  t orn between hi s thi rst for purity and 
hi s sen suali tyo  Hi s recovery from the se obse ssions 
in  late adole scence is p ainful and slow. 
Romains  leave s the reader in li t tle doubt  that 
the sto rm and stre ss of Jalle z ' s  adole scence i s  in 
p art at le ast  a pro duct  o f  the moral atmosphere of 
!!I Eros  de P ari s ,  Ibid , P ?  525 o  Ibid ,  p o 525 o Ibid , p .  528 .  Ibid ,  P ? 52 9. 
hi s home . As  in the other l ower middle -class  fami-
lie s  whi ch we have seen there are strong pre ssure s 
exerted on the child to  confonn t o  adult standards  of 
behavi our . There i s  the father who i s  ambi ti o?us and 
who seeks t o  bet ter his soc i al po si ti on - M. J alle z 
has ri sen from the p o si ti on o f  a clerk in  a b ranch of 
the Credit  Lyonnai s at Chartres  t o  t hat of an a s si s-
tant manager  at P ari s , - and the archetypal lowe r  
middle-class  mo ther who i s ' ? ? ?  d 1 une moral i td 
irreprochable ? c ?  , ( 1 ) ,  scrupul ou sly hone st ,  c aut ious 
and thrifty  and who exerc ise s a stri ct  control  over  
her s on ' s ac t iviti es .  
1ia rn?re avait ? ?  ? le s gout s polic  iers de 
beauc oup de se s pareill e s. Elle e ssaye encore 
parfois  de les  exercer a me s depens.  C omme a 
ce t te e'poque -H'< el le n '  aurai  t pas  do-ute une 
seconde de travailler pour man bien ? ? ?  ( 2 ). 
The influence of hi s upbring ing may be seen in 
Jalle z ' s at t i tudes t owards se curi ty . As  a s tudent , 
hi s tendency t owards dile t t ant i sm and his avi d  curia-
si ty f or all fo rms of intelle ctual ac tivi ty whi ch 
cont rast  wi th Jerphani on ' s s teady application , c ause 
him acute anxiety . He feel s the di strust  of  hi s 
mili eu for profi tle ss ac t ivity which  would comp romi se 
hi s chances  of future succe s s.  Thi s co nflic t  between 
hi s nature and the moral imprint  of h i s  familial 
educ ation i s  evident in tre sel f-analysi s the 
normali en a t tempt s  in Ero s  de Pari s. 
Il y a bien la  ha nti se du concours ,  ? la  
Le s Amours enfantine s 9  H . B .V .  I ,  p .  482 .  
Ibid ,  P ?  49 2 .  
f in de la  tro i sieme ann?e ? qui ne me qui t te 
j amais  t ou t  a fai t ;  qui tend pe ut-@tre mene a 
s ' aggra....-er , parce que j ' ai l ' impre s sion  d ' etre 
parti  pour une serie de vagabondage s de l ' e spri t 
qui m ' eloignent de plus en plus du trava il 
sc olai r?e . Encore une inc onsequence de ma  nature . 
Je sens en moi le plus extreme 9 le plus s in c(:re 
detachement pour les  bien s materiels , et  en meme 
temp s un be so in,  tr?s fr ileux a certaine s heure s , de securi te materie lle . Le decla sse , a la 
recherche d '  une situat i on qui lui echappe ? 0 ? 0 
ce t te visi on-la m ' ango i s se .  ( 1 ) 
Linked with  thi s need for security is  Jallez ' s  a tti-
tude t owards money . He confe s se s  t o  Jerphanion: 
o o o  Je t iens de mon educati on de pet i te b ourgeo i sie 
une pr obi tE{ vet illeuse en mati ere d 1 argent . I ( 2 )  The 
dec i si on which he takes afte r c ompleting hi s 
?gr1?gati on t o  refuse the p r,  st o ffered to him at  the 
Lycee de Digne and to  empl oy the fi ve thousand francs 
whi ch hi s uncle has se t a si de for  him to wards 
e stabl i shing himself as a writ e :!.' le ave s him 
1 ? ? ?  tourmente et  inquie t I ( 3 ) 0 0 ? 0 The accep tance 
of thi s inheri tance offends hi s middle-class morali ty 
- 1 1Vleme s i  je  rembourse un j our  mon oncle ? j ' aurai 
admis par le fai t qu ' un homme de mon age peut accepter 
de vivre sur l ' argent de la  generati on precedente , 
done en p arasi te ' . (4 ) 
Earlier  i t  ha s been sugge sted tha t  wherea s  
Jerphanion i s  the man o f  ac ti on1 Jalle z i s  the luc id 
observer of event s , who avoi ds  commitment , p referring 
t o  remain aloof fr om the poli tic al and soc i al world,  
! 1 l Eros  de Par i s ,  H . B . V. I ,  pp . 524- 5 .  
2 Les Amours enfantine s ,  H . B. V. I ,  p .  487 . 
3 Rec ours ? 11 ab1me , H . B. V.  II ? p .  61 8 .  
4 )  Ibid, p .  61 8.  
bU.Q 
affec t ing 1 o o o  le dE?tachement du sage I ( 1 ) 0 0 0 0 Thi s 
t hi rst for freedom and independence will divide him 
early frcm hi s p arents  a s  we ll as hi s contemp orari es .  
O ne supp o se s  that i t  i s  his  opp o si ti on to  the 
re stri c t i veness  of family life which  result s i n  his  
l eaving his  hQme in  the avenue de la  Republi que and 
entering the ?c ole nonnale as  an interne for the f i rst 
two year s of hi s studies  and then in his  thir d year 
applying for  a demi-pensi on d ' externe and rent ing an 
apartrrent in the rue Lhomond . Eventually Jalle z will 
b l ame himsel f for failing to reciprocate  the love and 
attention of  hi s parent s and to  expre es  hi s f ilial 
devoti on in gratitude for t heir  co nscient iou s  effort s 
a s  educat or s  - 1 un fils qu '  on  a si fidelement aime' 9 
Si BO igneu sernent eleve?  1 ( 2 )  I n  the pri son at 
Simbirsk vvhe re he is hel d in 1 922  becauoo  of his  
article s on hi s mi s si on to  Ea stern Eur ope and Ru ssi a 9  
he i s  f illed  w ith  bi t te r  self-repro ach for  hi s fa il-
ings  a s  a son. 1 0 1 J 1  aur ai s du les aimer plus 9 ?rnieux 
' ? ' le leur montrer , mieux les  aider a e tre heureu:,: a c e s  
epOqUeS-la , mO i qui pOUVai S t ant  pOUr le S Y ai c_er o  ll I ( 3 ) 
Pierre Jalle z ' s oppos i ti on t o  group cons train t s  
also affec t s  his atti t ude t o  marri age . Whereas Jean 
Jerphanion  and Loui s Bastide experience no difficulty 
in adapting to the roles  of husband and ?ather , Jalle z ,  
who l acks the ir emot i onal maturit y and t heir  sen se of 
Montee de s peril s ,  H . B. V .  II 9 p o  378 .  
Le Monde e st t on aventu re ,  H . B . V.  III , p. 967 . 
Ibid,  p .  969 . 
socia l  re sp onsibili ty 9  i s  unwilling to give up hi s  
bachelor freedoms by entering int o a l a st ing 9 sharing 
relati onship o He avo ids se ri o us entanglements and 
i s  sat i sf ie d  wit h  a se r ies  o f  br ief liaisonso The 
ove r- abundance o f  erot ic de tail  in Les Homme s  de bonne 
v ol onte whi ch many con??ent ators  h ave no ted , particu? 
larly in Le Tapi s magigue 9 where Ja lle z se eks  throu gh 
the libe rati on of the sen se s t o  enter a different 
plane of re al i ty , may create the superfici al imp r6 c:-
si on that R emai ns si des  with th ose who fl out c onve n-
ti or:. and de spi se c onformi ty o Such i s  no t the c a se ,  
an  Cui seni er declares :  
Le  r o.rnan ne gl0ri f i e  null ement , du re ste ,  
l ' uni0n l ibre e t  adu ltere : l ' amo ur c o n j ugal y h A I app aralt men? le p oint culminant , le chef-d o e uvre 
ae l ' aventur e amoureu se , ch ef-d ' oeuvre auquel 
chaque couple imp rime sa marque p ropre o ( 1 )  
Ever: Jalle z in  middle age will  t ir e  of the unfettered 
exi stence of the c?libatai re c oureur and at the 
eo nclusi on of the novel- cycle  hi s love f or ??ra?n<io i se 
Maleul will  overco me the l a s t  of  hi s re se rvati ons 
abuut the obl iga ti ons and dut i e s  of  marriage o 
I t  i s  clear from the examinati on of the famili al 
educ ati on o f  Jean Jerphanion , Loui s Bast ide and P ie rre 
Jalle z ,  who w ith  the institut eurs Clanri c ar? and 
Sampeyre are amongst the f_ine st represent ative s  of the 
' Men  of Go odwill ' in the r oman-fleuve , t hat Remains 1 s 
c oncept  of la  bonne volonte i s  clo sely asso c iated  with 
the proce ss of  edu c at ion _ in a family  of the l ower 
( 1 )  A. Cuisenier, Jule s  Romains. L '  Unanimi sme e t  Le s 
Hom?es de bonne  volont? , P o  1 7So 
? 
middle c lass - th i s  gro up of brav 3 s  gens who se virtue s 
t I i ? ? " I ( 1 ) ere oppo sed  o o o ?  pare sse , de so rdre , praoigall te o o o  , 
who are energe tic  and hone st and inve sted with reserve s 
1 ? ?  o de savo ir , de c ompetence , de c ou rage 1 ( 2 )  0 0 0 0 
Alth o ugh the famil ie s of Jean Jerphani on?  Loui s Bastide 
and Je an Jnllez are separated by a number of geographical ,  
economi c and soci al fac tors , morally and sp iri tually 
they belong to thi s  Qli te of the pe tit  peuple .  The 
impre s s ion  whi ch i E'  created  in Le s Homme s de bonne 
v olonte i s  that i t  i s  up on  the chi ldren educated in 
such families  tha t Romains  p ins hi s hopes  for the 
defence of the cul tural p a trimony . 
The fac t  tha t  e ach of the se l ower middle-class  
f ami l i es co nstitut e s  a sma ll dome st i c  uni t is  signi-
ficant : Jerphanion i s  an only chi ld wh ile Jalle z and 
Loui s Bastide are the younger sons , separated from 
the ir brothers  by a large age-gap. In  each  of  the se 
c a se s  the child en j oy s  almos t exclu sively the affec-
t i on and at tenti on of h i s  parents . I t  wo uld  seem 
that thi s i s  the kind of environment which Romains 
con s iders  pre sents the be s t  opportuni tie s f or the 
chi ld ' s educati onal development , po s sibly because thi s  
repre sen t s  hi s own experience of  family lif e .  
Ce rtai nly , the tri bu o r  c lan , the large l ower middle-clas s  
family wi th  i t s  i ntric ate rel ati onship s i s  treated 
harshly in Le s H omme s de bonne volonteo For  example , 
the Chalmers family whi ch Jalle z  de scribe s in  Recour s  
( 1 ) Le 6 oc tobre , H . B. V .  I ,  p .  9 2 .  
( 2 )  Le 7 octobre , H . B. V. IV , p .  1 0 64 .  
A 
a l ' abime i s  se en t o  be de struc t ive of  the i ndivi du al 
freedoms o f  i t s membe r so Jall e z , who hae  w i tne s se d  
how , i n  a dining ro om i n  the F ond de s Terne s, t he f i f-
teen membe r s  of  the exte n?ed family are welded  into 
an unanime f i l led w i th ail ' 0  0 0 exce s de c oh0 s i o:n 
ego i st e  o o o 1 , ( 1 )  de sc ribe s  the gro up a s  ' une pi euvre 
de p e tit e bourge oi s i e ' o ( 2 )  N o t  only doe s t he I<'amille 
Chalme rs th ink wi th one mind but a l so i t s  exclur:> i v i sm 
i s  int o l e rant and se lf is h ,  i t s  acti ons opposed  t o  l a  
bonne vo lonte. 
On se dit sans  d out e qu:; 1 '  ep o que n '  e s t  plu s  le 
r?gne de s Fami l le s ,  qu ' el le e st pluto t un age 
d ' i ndiv idu s et  de g r0 up e s .  Depui s hi e r , j e  
SOnge qu 1 il y G sU reme nt , acc roch ee s  a de s 
empl aceme nt s de pr emi er ordre , de s Fami lle s 
Ch al mer s ,  do nt on ne p arle p a s , e t  qui n ' ont  qu 1 a 
al longer un de leur s me mb re s p our t oucher  un 
point  v i t a l  de l a  Soc iete , ou pour f'a i re une 
effray ante ponc ti on a la sub stanc e  C 0l t.UUUD8 o ( 3 )  
The Le Bu re c family v1hi ch one al so finds i n  Re c ou r s  
a 1 1 abime i s  a sma ller gr oup but . it  to o f o rms a tri bu. 
Here , th ere i s  co ndemnat i on of thG e vil a tmo sphere i n  
whi c h  t he young are rai sed.  De spi te th e f ir st 
appe ar ance s of orde r &nd decen cy in thei r apartment 
in the rue de Chal igny , the Le Bure c s ,  s imilar  t o  the 
ince st-r i dden pe a sant f ami ly , t he Leb lanc s (4 ) a t  
Vaurevauze s i s o l ated i n  tl:e mo unt a in s  o f  L e  Vel ay ,  are 
moral1y c orrupt and all members  of th e family , th e old 
fathe r ,  hi s elde r  son and daughter-in-law , h i s  daughte r 
Rec our s a l ' ab tme ,  li. B. V .  II , P o  624 .  
Ibi d , P o  623 o 
Ibi d ,  PP o 623-4 c 
See Journee s dan s la  mont agne , H. B. V. Ill , chap t o  
IV . 
and younger son , are marked by sexual deviancy . I t  
i s  even sugge sted tha t  the young brother has been 
sy stematically initiated into v ice by the o ther me m-
ber s of the family . ' I l s  doivent se mettre a t ou s  
? faire son instruction.  
de s igno rances . ' ( 1 ) 
Il  ne ri 2que pas d 1 ?vo i r  
Ap nrt from  the se aberrat ions 9 the image of the 
faraily of the pe t i te bourgeoisie in Le s Homme s de bonne 
volcnte' :j._ s  almo s t  unfailingly one of honeE: t endeavour 
nnd vir tue . But thi s i s  no t the case of the affluent 
middle- class family . The bourge ? isi e  d ' argent as  
opp o sed to the bourgeoi si e  de f ormation liberal e  i s  
repre sen ted by such  f igure s as Ivlme Yvoy 9 the wife of 
the porcelain manufacturer  who di smi s se s  Loui s 
Bast ide ' s  father  from hi s p o s t .  She i s  p r oud 9 
insensi ti ve and conde scending towards her soci al 
inferi ors .  
la colere . 
1 Elle re spirai t l ' orguei l 9  la dominati on , 
Elle re ssemblait  aux de spo te s  tumefies 
de l ' Ec r i ture Sainte e t  de l ' Hi sto ire ' ( 2 ) The p i e-
ture which Romains paints  of  tLc wive s of the r i ch 
industriali st s  and the nouveaux-riche s busine ssmen i s  
as  savage a s  hi s repre sentati on  of the mo ther s of the 
pet ite  bourgeoisie  is  comp assi onate . R omains has the 
same respect for the membe rs  of the l ower mi ddle? c lass 
as  Duhamel  and he , t oo , feel s that the temptat i on of 
the bourge oi s to become engros sed wi th profi t and 
p o se s sions de stroys hi s endowmen t o f  moral  v irtues .  
( 1 ) Recours a l 1 ab ime , H . B.V .  I I ,  P?  730 . 
( 2 )  Le s Humble s ,  H . B. V. I ,  p .  905 .  
However } the ego t i stical tendenc ie s of  the bourgeo i s  
are revealed more di rec tly i n  the w omen of the 
b ourgeoi sie d ' argent ?  wherea s ?  a s  Berry po int s out , 
R emains show s more t olerance for the men invo lved  in 
the monde d ' affai re s  wh o ' o  o o  ne sont pas denues de 
tendre sse ? de chari te '  ni meme de 1 1b onne volon t? 1 1 ! 0 ( 1 ) 
The reasons  for  this d iscr iminati on are ob scur? .but 
may possibly refl ec t the e ssent ially masculine vi ew-
p oint of Jules  R emains t o  which attent i on ?as drawn 
i n  Part  II o 
The a t t i tude s  t owards the educat i on of children 
in thi s mil ie u  o f  the superbe s  are di sclo sed  i n  the 
de scripti ons of  the family l ife of the Sanunecauds o  
By  marrying the daughter of an oil  magnate ? R o ger  
Samme'caud has bec ome a member of  the Cartel du Petrole . 
Ye t hi s w ife , Bcr the Sanrnecaud , la cks breeding and her 
vulgari ty i s  i ll-c oncealed under  a veneer of re spec ta-
bili  ty . 
Be rthe Sam ecaud ;::ar ti t ,  la-de s sus ?  dan s une 
de ce s c olere s ,  ou l ' educ ati on di spara1t soudain 
c omme un maquillage dans la  sueuro Sammecaud 
constata qt'. ' une fille de gro s industriels  po s sede 9 
san s qu ' on s ' en explique  bien l ' origine , un 
bagage de mot s  orduriers a pe ine moins riche que 
celui d ' une blanchi sseuse o ( 2 )  
Berthe Sammecaud i s, then , the st ock f ig'UI'e o f  the 
b ourgeoi se orgu?illeuse who . I l s 0 0 0 repue d ' argent 0 0 c 0 
She i s  as  harsh in he r handling of  the children 
as  she i s  in  her management of  the s ervant s ,  sharply 
! 1
2
) M .  Berry , Jule s R emains ?  p .  95 . 
) Le s Superbe s ,  H . B. V .  I ,  p o  731 . 
3 )  Le s Amours enfantines , H . B .V . I ,  p .  409 . 
( 3 )  
critical of he r husband ' s  more sympathetic  treatment of 
their  two s ons and daughter y and jealous of the 
preferenc e the children plainly show for the ir father ? 
? ? ?  Si elle ava it a se plaindre un peu 
serieusement de l eur c ondui te , en part iculier 
lorsque telle de leurs incartades accusai t 
avec evidence  les  defauts de son systeme 
d ' educati on , e lle exigeait que Samme'caud se 
chargeat de la  reprimande ; et  elle ne ie  
trouvait jamais ass ez  rude . "On dirai t q_ue 
vous avez _peur d 1 eux . Si  v ous m ' aimiez , 
vous me  ferie z  re s?ecter . Mai s j e  sens 
td?s b ien q_u ' au f' ond vous l eur donnez raison.  
I l  est  fa tal q_ue des enfants se moq_uent de 
leur me re ,  q_uand i ls  savent q_ue leur p ere se 
met tra de leur cote."( 1 )  
If the younger s on y  Raymond , late r appears t o  
follow after  hi s father , sharing hi s father ' s  esteem 
for educat ion and s tudying for a care er in indus trial 
management at the Ecole c entral e ,  Didier  Samme"caud y the 
elder son , i s  uns tab le and inac t ive , al though he is 
seen to share hi s mo the r ' s grasp ing nature . ' . ? ?  Il  
gasp i llai t mains d ' argent qu ' i l ne  s ' en donnai t l ' air . 
Il  tenait de sa mere un fonds d ' avari ce . '
( 2 ) His  
habi t s  of life which r e em t o  Roger Sammecaud to  be  ' ? ? ?  
d' une vulgarit?  insurp assable '
( 3 ) are a further l ink 
with hi s mothe r ' s c oarseness . 
Nevertheless , thi s image of the upper middle-class 
fami1y i s  re lieved by the Ma?ieuls . Although M .  
Ma1eul i s  a succes sful busines sman. and until  the 
economic crises  of the interwar years he illLd hi s w ife  
and daughter  are accustomed to  the p riv ileges of  wealth? 
the Mal eul fami ly be longs more to the pourgeoi s i e  
( 1 )  L?? Supeyb?, H . B . V . I ,  p .  73 1 . 
(
3
2 ) Les Travaux e t  les jo ies , H . B .V .  
( ) Ib id, P ?  86. 
IV, :P ? 86 .  
gy.lt ive!:_ than the bourgeois ie <i' ar.&m-.."t? The f'ormali ty 
and affectati on o:f the S amm8.cauds give way to the 
intimacy and simplic ity of' the Ma'ieuls . Moreover 1  in 
be.s HOf)1?!lCf? ge ]Jonne volontEf the Ma1euls have a place  a s  
a transit iona l family who il lustrate the profound 
change s affec ting the yarent-child  relat i onships in the 
modern fami ly . 
The ma j ority of famil ies  who t?.ave been dis cus sed 
up to this po int are nineteenth century fami lies wi th 
the children being b orn at the end of the century and 
brought up ac cording to the r i tuals and traditi ons of' 
that peri od. Fran? oise Uai eul , on the other hand, i s  
of' the new age . She is born in 1 9 1 0 and will  benefit 
from the increased fre edom a llowed girl s  after  World 
War I .  
Of all the charac ters who appear in Les Hommes d? 
bonne volont{ Fran?ois e ( 1 )  i s  the only one whose l ife  
is  trac ed from birth, through chi ldhood  and adolescence ,  
to maturity . I t  i s  from studying her development that  
one gains valuab l e insight s into patterns of'  chi ld-
rearing in thi s transi t ional p eriod . 
The home of' the Mai eul s  in  the rue de Saint-
Petersbourg reflects  the self-sati sfi ed c omp lacency of 
the pre-1 9 1 4  b ourgeois i e . ' Les  meubles f'id?les9 les  
etof'f'es entret iennent un op t imi sme de  foyer 
( 1 ) Berry suggest s  that Francoise  i s  modelled on 
Romains ' s  second wife , Lise  Dreyf'us , the young 
l ic enci ee en dro i t  aTl.d l i  cenciee es  lettres  whom 
he marri ed  in December 1 936 after hi s divorce in 
Jm1e of' that year . See M .  Berry , Jules  Roma?ns , 
sa vi e,  son o euvre , p .  253 . 
b ourgeo i s . ' ( 1 ) The girl  who is  b orn in this fami ly 
wil l rec eive all  the educati onal and so cial advantages 
of her c las s .  The attention o f  I?.lme  Maleul i s  centred 
on her daught er .  Romains i s  moved to p ity by  the 
spectac le of the middle-c lass mother '.7ho gazes  with 
solic itude at her feverish child in Mi ssio0 ? Rome . 
Deux ans et  deux moi s et demi " Pauvre 
petit  chef'-d ' oeuvre ! Un s i  b eau visage , 
deja  t endre et  f i er ;  de si  beaux yeux sous 
leurs paupi?res  closes , des levre s qui f'ont , 
en s ' ecartant  a peine , celle du dessus 
depassant l ' autre d ' w1 rien ,  une de ces  
moues qu ' on appell e adorables , parce qu' une 
foul e de s i?1if'icati ons y sont 
merve illeus emen t c ontenue s ;  dont b eaucou_p 
s ont f'utures . ( 2 )  
Capron
( J )  suggests that Romains ' s  theatre i s  s ingularly 
l acking in warmth . Scenes  such as the above make  it  
cl ear that this  criti c i sm cannot be l evelled at  L? 
Hommes de bonne volont6. 
The descrip t i on of the day ' s activities  of' the 
/ 
young J...JlQeeru1e in L? Do?eur ? la vi?. shows the care 
wi th whi ch Mme Ma"i eul has supervised her daughter ' s 
upb ringing. Fran?o i se ' s time -table  fo r Thur sday is as  
minutely organi sed as her  em?loi  ?u teJ?? at the ??{?, 
filled with activi ties  which wil l  develop in her the 
attributes cons idered de s irable  in he r mil ieu - in 
particular the cultivated mind and graceful manners 
which are the s ign of goo d  breeding . At breakfas t  
she c onverses in German w ith her institutri c e 9  Mlle 
( 1 )  Mont?e dSJ.? per.:_ils 9  H . B .V .  II , p . 2 23 . 
(
3
2 )  Mi s st? Rome , H . B . V. II , p .  772 . 
( ) M .  C apron , 1 Le Th6gtre de Jul es Romains et  la  
tendresse ' , Cahi ers de  la  C ompagni e Madeleine 
R??ajl?-_Jean-Loui s Barrault ,  9 e cahier 9  1 955 , 
PP ? 35 -42 . 
Hengs i ,  and at ten she attends her piano lesson with 
M lle Courtaud . Then :follows a hal:f hour o:f g.ymnastigu? 
rythm:j.s.ue. I t  is  hlme Ma1eul who att ends to  these 
arrangements and who accompanies her daughter to 
lessons . Later  in the a:ft ernoon there i s  :for 
Franqoise  a rehea rsal in costume :for a per:fo rmanc e at a 
f?te e.nf'an t i??? At thi s stage , :from her parents ? 
Fran?oise  has gained some inkling o:f her importance in 
soc iety and sees no in justi ce in the privileges whi ch 
she enjoys . However?  she has also b e en taught to show 
courtesy towards in:feri ors who are not ' ? ? ?  ":favorises 
du sort '" . ( 1 )  
Francoise ' s  :famili al education appears at :first .) 
restrictive but there i s  in her relati onship wi th her 
mother more intimacy than i s  evident in the mother-
daughter interac ti on in ea rl ier :families  such as  the 
Saint-Pa:::' oul s  whom we :f ind in ?.?_?__Am9urs en:fantine s .  
Mme Maleul , indeed ? b el i eve s tha t ' la situa t i on d ' une 
mere et  d ' une :fille ? autre:foi s ,  c ' etait  peut-etre d 1 ill18 
s tupidite moyenageuse ? ? ?  ' . ( 2 ) Fran?oise and her 
mother discus s  sexual relations and pregnancy without 
vis ible  embarras sment . Nor is  Frangoi se pressured 
into  marriage at an e arly age . She i s  permit ted to  
study at  the Sorbonne in preparation :for a care er ,  I t  
i s  only when the :father ' s busines s interests  :fail that 
Mme Maieul broaches the sub j ec t  o:f mar?riage with a 
wealthy suitor , but although p sychological pressure i s  
. . . . . . 
( 1 ) La_pouceur de la vie ,  H . B . V. II I , p . 5 1 3 .  
( 2 )  Nai ssance de l a  bande ) H .??? IV, p.  220 .  
appli ed to Fran? oi se  t o  marry in the family ' s  interes ts , 
the final dec ision is  left in her hands . 
Romains appears to  be  of the opini on that the war 
years gravely affected family relat ionships  and that 
with the soc ial di sruption caused by the abs ence of 
fathers from thei r homes , di scipl ine in the family con-
siderab ly weakened .  To this re laxat i on of home contro l 
he at tributes the break-down of manners and morals in 
the post-war years ? 
? ? ?  Les meres , desemparees e t  un peu 
folles , apr?s avo ir  hesite  entre une gifle  
e t  un bai ser passionne, op taient pour le  
baiser et pressaient dans leurs b ras un 
gos se qui haussai t les E{paules : 1 1Mon 
petit  monstre ch?ri ! comme tu me fai s de 
la peine . " Les :pere s ,  quand i l s  sont 
revenus , ont mi eux aime'  faire semblant de 
ne s ' ap ercevoir de rien.  I ls etaient si  
fati gues ? L ' urgent , pour eux , c ' etai t de 
rattraper  un p eu de b onheur , e t  non de 
moucher des morveux . ( 1 ) 
Obvi ously , Frango ise  Maleul i s  not one of those 
whose upbringing has b een neglected . Her pet ite 
enfance was ove r b efore the war had b egun and her 
father had been s eparated from hi s family for only the 
first two years .  Moreover,  Mme Maleul  posses sed the 
qualities  of charac ter to ' . ? ?  reussi r une educati on 
normale dans une epoque qui l ' ?tait  si peu ' . ( 2 ) 
Fran?oise ,  whose  familial educ ati on i s  closer  in 
character to  tha t of the pre-war pe riod  will  find her?
self to have li tt le in c ommon wi th other eni'ants de  
guerre in the post-war era . The young men, in 
( 1 )  Cett? Grande Lueur ? l ' est , !hlh_Y.? III , p .  631 . 
( 2 )  ?a Douceur de la  vie ,  H. B . V. I I I , p .  5 1 8 . 
:particular , she c onsiders to be ' ? ? ? d ' une telle  
:pr?tenti on, d ' m?e telle grossierete. Une vulgari tff 
d '?e a faire :p eur ' , ( 1 )  a factor which attrac ts  her to  
Pierre Jallez , whose tradit ional upbringing and back-
ground are clo ser to her own. 
The educati on of the children of the younger 
generation of parents brings into sharp focus the trans-
format i on in fami ly l ife after \'lorld ?'.Jar L As 
fathers  Clar1ri co.rd , the ins t i  tuteur 5 Jerphani on and 
Louis Bastide appear to be  more involved in the up?
bringing of their  children than those of thei r father ' s  
generation . Whe reas the fathers of the ninete enth 
c entury had retained overal l authori ty but delegated 
the education of the chi ldren to the mothers ,  the 
twenti e th century fathers parti c ipate in the management 
of the household  and share the responsibility of child  
training with the i r  wive s .  
Ode tte Jerphani on and Mathilde Clanricard are 
representative of the new generat ion of middle -class  
mothers . Both are inte ll igent and cul t ivated and have 
trained for careers  :pri or to marriage . As Odette  says : 
' J ' aime entendre parler de toute s sortes de choses  qui ,  
j e  sais  b ie? auraient profondement ennuye ma mere ; ou 
elle n ' aurai t abso lument r ien e ssaye de com:prendre .  , ( 2 )  
For these young :parents who are less  bound b y  convent i on 
and less  forced to  maintain hypocr it ical  pretenc e s  of  
c oncord and uni ty than the :previ ous generat ion , the 
( 1 ) Naissanc e de l a  b ande , H . B .V .  IV,  P ?  229 . 
( 2 )  Le Drapeau noi r , H. B . V . II , p .  1 201 . 
?oyer nevertheless  has a value which transcends 
personal considerations .  It  is  true that there are 
cases  o? in?ideli ty but they do not  result in drames  
whi ch disrup t the home ,  Thus , hlathilde Clanricard 
resumes brie?ly her liaison wi th her forme r lover 9  
Laulerque , and he r husband in hi s turn takes as  hi s 
mis tress the young Russian,  Nadi a .  But there i s  no 
thought of having recourse  to the easi er divorc e 
procedures  availab l e 9  nor are the re re?roac?ul 
scenes which would cause di s tres s to the chil dren . 
Indeed,  Ode t te Jerphanion ' s  attitude towards occas ional 
marital lapses  i s  understanding . As she admits  to 
Jal1ez : 
1 1Si  tant.  d ' homme s d 1 Un cer tain age , 
maries a des ?emmes d ' ?  certain age vo is in ,  
prenr. ent de jeunes maitres ses  - sans etre 
pour cela des dBbauches , sans c e s ser d ' a imer 
leur ?emme - il faut b ien que celu reponae a 
une f'atalite  de la  nature ? ? ?  " ( 1 ) 
She agrees  that provided such a liaison i s  conducted 
wi th discret ion and wi thout caus ing harm to the family , 
., [cela] n ' altere pas gravement l ' atmosphere con jugale' . ( 2 ) 
On the ques t i on o? whether o r  not the fami ly has 
weakened , Odette  Je rphanion has also de?ini te  v iews 
which she declares are unashamedly dif?erent ?rom those  
0? ' ? ? ? une petite  bourgeoi s e  d ' une autre epoque ' . ( 3 ) 
' 
She believes that despite  appearanc es young parents are 
more consci entious  than thei r  elders in attempting to 
understand thei r children and she makes a comparison 
( 1 )  Franioise ,  H . B . V . IV , p .  893 .  
( 2 ) Ibid , P ? 893 . ( 3 ) Journ?es  dans la  montagn?, ?. B .V .  II I ,  p .  1 1 07 .  
b etwe en the wny she endeavours to  educate her son ?  Jean-
Pierre?  and the kind of upbringing whi ch Pierre Jal lez 
had received. Jallez had had n tormented childhood 
wi thout ei the r of his parents having p aid  nttenti on to  
hi s problems and as a re sul t he had fel t alone and 
abandoned in the midst of hi s despair .  But Odette ,  
l ike ot?er young p arents ,  has de termined t o  act  differ?
ently towards her own children . 
, ' 'Nous sommes de s parent s  plus evolues, voila tout . Nos enfants  ne sont Eeut-?tre 
pas plus nerveux ou plus t ourmentes que 
ceux des generations precedentes .  Mais  
nous y f'nisons plus at tent ion. Nous y 
attachons p lus d ' importanc e u  Nous ne 
pensons pas que c ela s ' arrangera t out s eul . 
I l  s ' ensui t ?  evidemment , que dans WLe 
. 
ccrtaine mesure nos enfants h6s i tent moins 
Q etaler leur s  p e t ites miseres et ? se  
rendre int eres sants .  C ' est vrai surtout 
pour la nervo s i te pure ?  les  capri c es ?  les  
coleres . Et  c ' es t  peut-etrc le  cas  de  
Jean-Pierre ,  en effet .  Mai s lorsque , 
derri 6re ces troub les pluto t  physi ques , se 
cachent des c ompl i cations morales ,  nous 
avons p lus de chances que nos predecesseurs 
de nous en np ercevoi r ;  et c ' e s t  tout de 
m?me la premie re c ondit i on pour y porter 
rcm?dc ?'( 1 )  
Bo th Odctt c ' s son ,  Jcan-Picrrc , and Jean ,  the son 
of Edouard and Mathi lde Clanricard , prove to b e  
turbulent children who s eem t o  b e  affected by  the rest-
lessncss of the pos t-war years .  But whi le Jean 
Jerphnni on i s  concerned at his young son ' s frequent  
temper  tantrums Odctte b el i eves that this is  a s tage 
of development whi ch wil l  soon pas s .  Similarly , 
although Jean Clanricard ' s  rebelli ous  nature causes 
problems at the ??tit  lyc?e he attends , hi s mothe r 
( 1 ) Ib id ,  p .  1 1  07 ? 
refuses t o  b e  over-conc erned at these  signs of hi s 
unruliness . ' "Tous les  enfants ont leurs dE!fauts . 
Ce la se c orri gc p eu ? peu s i  l 1 on n ' cn fait pas  des 
montagnes . " ' ( 1 ) However 9 it is  noticeable that  the 
husbands are unconvinced by the i r  wiv(j ' s  theori es  on 
upbrincing and tend to retain op inions on child  di sci-
pline vvhi ch are  mor e  con servat iv e . They are anxi ous 
for the n10 ral hea lth of the ir chi ldr en in the uns ett led  
years following World War I and res ist  the weakening of  
parental authori ty .  Again , in thi s is sue , one de tects  
Remains ' s  b i as for male rather than femal e att i tude s .  
C lanricard and Jerphanion do not  envis age tha t the 
modern con jugal fami ly w ith  i ts greater intimacy should  
attempt t o  re-c reate the au thori tarian climate o f  the 
foyer in a previ ous age , but they do be lieve that  an 
over-sol i c i tous at t i tude towards the child wi th an 
exaggerated  emphas i s  on the chil d ' s integrity and free-
dom c ould inhib i t  easy social i sation .  Hence , 
Jerphani on declares that ' la t endresse familiale  ? ? ?  ' 
must be c oun te rbalanced by a ' ? ? ?  goutt e  de discipline 
r?gimentaire ? ? ?  ' , < 2 ) and he chides  hi s wif e for he r 
indulgenc e of Jean-Pierre whi ch i s  turning him into an 
enfant g&:?e. 
similar aversi on to the princ iples  of the chi ld-centred  
theorie s of  modern p edagogy . He i s  of the opinion 
that firm handling is re quired of p arents in de aling 
with the ir chi l dren . ' Il faut surveil ler ses  enfants 
( 1 ) Le 7 octobre ,  H . B .V .  IV , P ?  956 .  
( 2 ) ?ourpde s  dans la  montagne , ?B.?. III , p . 1 069 . 
de ?lus pr?s que ne l e  cons e ille le lai sser -aller 
mode
.
rne . 1 ( 1 ) Wi th their  conservative v i ews on child 
discip l ine the 1 1 i?;] en of' Goodwill ; ;  demonstro.te their 
affini ty to  the at titudes of' the p re -war lower middle-
class  families  in whi ch they had been formed . 
Finally,  one se es the link with the old traditions 
in the hom e of Louis Bast ide . In 1 933 the chi ld who 
had played with o. hoop in the streets of' Montmartre at 
the commenc em ent of' the :fir s t  vo lume in 1 9 08 ,  has 
b ecome an 1 ? ? ?  agent de l ' Empir e ' ( 2 ) o.nd as an engineer 
b rings to North Afr ica the te chilical skill  as well as 
the culture of' French c iv ili sati on.  Just as  at the 
end of' Ch:t;OY,liJLue _ dcs .,Eusgui er 9 Laurent Pasqui er ' s  foyer 
links with the _past thr ough the old mother 9 so  t oo has 
the presence  of Mme Bastide seni or in the home of Louis 
and .Annett.e  Bastide in Morocco  been a cons tant reminder 
to the fami ly of the ir moral and cultural heri tage of' 
pet i t  bourgeoi? values . One notes that  the mother ' s  
pres sure on her son to  improve  hi s pos it ion through 
education has been repeated in the relati onship of' 
grandmother and grandchild .  Louis Basti de , as  he 
medi tate s on his  family whi le dr iving towards the South ,  
recal ls  that befor e her death I?me J3astide had imp lanted 
in hi s younger daughte r  the i dea of becoming a docto r .  
I l  y a un an 9 quelques s emaines avant 
de mourir dans la mai son de Casa , la maman 
Bast ide a dit  e lle -meme devant la petite : 
"Mo i ,  s i  j ' avai s  des :f illes , et  que j ' hab i te 
ce  pays , il  y en a m1e au mains que j e  
( 1 ) Le_l octobre , H . B . V. IV, P ? 968 . 
( 2 ) Ibid? ?p . 1 058 . 
:pouss erais vers l a  medec ine 1 1 ? ? ?  La peti te  a 
entendu; et de:puis elle  a repete" :plusi eurs 
fo is : 1 1Moi , je veux etre une femi,1e docteur , 
comne grand-mere 1 '  a di  t . i l  ( '1 ) 
Also it  is ap:pro:priG. te tha t. at the end of k2. 
octobre , the t?wen ty-seventh and final volume of his 
magnum O.J:2.ll?. , Romains , who has stressed the extent t o  
which his characters are influenc ed by  the events of' 
their chi ldhood ?nd the milieu into whi ch they were 
born ,  should indicate the freshne ss of  the memorie s of 
chi ldhood of Loui s Basti de ?nd hi s tender r egard f or 
hi s .P nrents .  There i s  hidden in the soul o f  the 
engineer and the b on _pere de fami_l..=J..e_ ,  the boy w ith the 
hoo:p in the rue Duhesme . As  Loui s reali ses , the facts 
of upbringing are indelib ly imprinted on the mind , 
heart o.nd spirit of man . 
Un e vie d '  homme est une substanc e  
etro.n?e , qui semble n e  :pas avoir  de 
dimens ions certaines et fixes , Les point s  
de votre vi e ne garden t :p a s  les 1:1emes 
dis tances . La nui t ,  p ar exem:ple , quand on 
va s ' endormir , un moment de vo tre enfance  
e Gt  soudain tout :pr? s ;  b ien ?lus :pre s  que 
la conversation que vous avez eue avec  le 
directeur dans la j ournee ; et 1,; lus 
im:portant . ( 2 ) 
THE SCHOOL : 
The school looms l arge in ??_.Hommes de b onne 
volont?; the :principal figur es in thi s  monumental 
reconstruc tion of French society from 1 908 to 1 933 are 
e i ther active :partic ipants in the educative :pro cess  in 
the insti tuti ons of learning as students or teachers , 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  :p . 1 059 .  
( 2 ) Ibi d ,  :p . 1 060 . 
or as  gens instrui ts with their  trained intel ligence  
and broad c ulture fo rmed by the common academi c diet  
I of the ? and further deve loped  by  spe c ial ist  
training in the fac ul tie s and inst i tutes , they bear 
the mark of the p roces s .  Indeed , the ' Man of Goo dwi ll ' 
i s  seen in this  fresgue hi st???? to b e  endowed with 
ene rgy ancl charac ter  by his  lower mi ddle-c lass  fami ly 
backgro und and to  be  equi.bJp ed by the middle-c lass  
educat i onal sys tem with the lucidi ty and the discern-
ment to  judge and evaluate the soc ial trends and to 
re s i s t  threats t o  the French mo ra l and cultural ci v i l i -
sation.  
If  the primary ,  s econdary or tertiary teacher in 
a secondary f igure , n ow one finds that the teacher i s  
prec ipi  tnted to the fo refront oi' the ac t i on "  Thi s i s  
part i cularly the c as e  of the jnsti?uteur? - the 
cultural  1:1i ssionari es of the lower middle class . A 
brief co1n:pari son of th e si tuat ion of the .insti  tuteur , 
Jol i cl erc , in Chronigue des PasQ?i?? and the posit ion 
of his  c oun terparts , Clanricard and Sam_peyre , in Le? 
Hommes  ?nne volon?? makes c l ear  the e ssential 
differences in treatment . Des?ite  the obvi ous 
sym:pathy with whi ch Duhamel portrays the di rec? of 
the :t:'r imary school whi ch Laurent Pasquier attends in 
Le Not_a?re du Havre , Jol iclerc  remain s a humble , 
i so lated figure who se  sphere of activ ity i s  l imited  to  
the working-cl as s  chi ldren of the ??a?tje?? But 
Romains ' s  inst i tuteurs  exert a sp i ri tual  influenc e 
over the nat i on 9  for 9  as Berry sugges ts ,  Romains 
possesses  ' ? ? ?  c ette foi  b la Ui chel et  qui ne trouve 
ses predi cateurs d ' e'lection que :parmi  les  1 1 calmes 
fantassins ' j  de s ecoles  c ommunales  I .  ( 1 ) He sees  that 
s trength of the Repub lic . The pr imary te ach ers such 
as C lru1r icard ru1d Sam:peyre are noble  figures who 
p o s sess  the ability  to  lead and ins?ire  others ; they 
are la,'l saint s who personify the moral and sp iritual 
resources of the Republi c .  As Jer?hanion proclaims : 
' ? ? ?  La Republique  est  une espece  de grande cathedrale  
p opulaire , avec  b eaucoup de p ortai l s 7  d e  chap i teaux , 
de niches , qu ' i l faut meubler Par de s figures 
insp irantes , qui a i ent vertu de symbole . Sampeyre 
en ?tait  une ? ? ?  Clanricard en est w1e ? ? ?  , ( 2 ) 
Of the role  of the teache rs in Le? H()mE}_?de 
, bon?e -???OYL?? Cui senier says ; 
Les  insti tuteurs e t  normaliens ne se  
1 . t ' . t .... 11  / d p acera1en ?as a un n1veau res  e eve e 
la 1 1 s trati fi cat i on so c ial e ; 1 ? M a i s , par 
leur vocati on d 1 o l intel lec tuel s 1 1 , i ls  sont , 
mieux que d ' autres , de s tcnoins de 
1 1  epoque . ( 3 )  
The teachers  c learly see  the danger of the dir ect i on 
in whi ch Europe i s  heading ancl they struggle to create  
a climate of op ini on w hich would force the pol i t icians 
to  take urgent step s t o  ave rt the impending di saster .  
I t  is  the Wednesday evening meetings of the J?_e t it  
no.ya? which Sampeyre has formed arouJld him ,  based on 
his former students a t  the Ecol e normale  d ' .A.uteui l ,  
M .  Berry , Jules  R,oma inJh .. sa v i e$ son oeuvre , P ?  276 .  
Francoi se ,  H . B . V. IV,  p .  840 . 
? -? ... ??-?-? A. Cuisenier , Jul es Roma ins ??s Hommes de b onn? 
y_o!ont? , p .  21 ? 
that  constitute  the nucleus o:f such ai.l. effort to over-
c ome yublic c omp lac ency " For t!:w ideal i sts who are 
consci ous of thei r powerlessnes s as individuals to 
move the collec tivity - a fe el ing whi ch is  represented 
in the t i tle  of Clanricard ' s e ssay ? ?somme? 
?tel]-e!l}.?llL_ll-?..tl???-( 1 ) - the re is  the ne ed t o  search f or 
effec tive meo.Es of ac tion ?  f or group s or ?gli ses  
thr ough 11hi ch thei r i deas  c ould be di s s eminated "  
Amongst the teachers ?  then , the re is  the attract i on 
of polit ical p ar ti es , fre emasonry or private organisa-
tions a:ncl s yndi c at e s . 
I t  i s  this dedicati on to  the caus e of y eace whi ch 
the m i l i tant Jns?t_uteg..rs such m=; C lanr icard or 
Laulerque t o ok into the c lassro oms of the _ecol? 
J2.fi[[)airs:;_s in the eo.rly years of the tv1ent ieth c entury . 
At the b eginn.ing , as  at  the end of' 1?ti?._.:l..J:Olill}l?S ds;_bQnn(3 
vo??:mtc ,  the :i,.nsti tuteur appear?s as  a prophet-l ike 
figure warning of the approach of war o  In 1 908 , 
Edouard Clanrico.rd , a young teacher imbued wi th these 
pacifist  v i ews whi ch are oppos ed t o  the bellicos i ty 
and fi erce patri otism of hi s nine te enth c entury pre -
dec essors , feels  that i t  i s  hi s duty to inform hi s 
pupils  of the p o tential  dangers of  the European 
si tuat ion . The expos i ti on tha t he give s to hi s clas s  
of the c on sequences  o f  an outbr eak of war in the 
Balkans i s  simple  and direct  but effective in that it 
makes the &oliE)r? in the Montmartre schoo l aware for 
( 1 )  See .?? Humbles ,  H . B . V . I ,  P ?  963 "  
the f'i rs t time of' the real i ty of' war , stripp ed o f' the 
romanti c ap?eal  of' glory and hono ur ? 
? ? ?  Les pet i ts  vo i ent tout a coup la 
guerre noi rc ir  au lo in comi1le un terrib l e  
nuage 9 t ournoyer et se  c reuser  en cercles  
de plus e1.1 :plus vastes  c omiile une ef'f'rayante 
i'tl.rnee .  Les batai lles  br i llantes qu ' on 
l eur a c ontee s dan s d ' a utres  classes 9 le s 
iinages des generaux vainqueurs  q_u' ils  ont 
c ontewplees sur des couverture s de cahiers 
a deux SOUS o ? o t outes ces  f'antaSJi1agori e s  
ont disparu . ( 1 )  
I t  i s  the q_u i et s incerity oi' thG teacher whi ch 
impresse s  hi s words on hi s pup i l s .  Clanri card  i s  
fully aware of' the importance of' hi s rol e a s  a teacher 
and cons c ious that he must  exerc i se hi s p ower over  the 
yolli"lg minds in  hi s cla s s  responsibly .  For , even as  a 
young teacher wi th a new clas s ,  Clanr icard senses  tha t 
he holds c omplete author i ty - a control asserted not  
by eni'orced d isc ipl ine  but rather  by hi s c apo. c i  ty t o  
ad juut hi s teaching to the needs of' his pupils . 
I l  e s t  c apab le d '  en suivre les  reacti ons 
l e s  Dlus f'ugit ivG s ,  sans aucun retard ,  e t  de 
se re'gler la-dessus . S i  Clanricard pense 
w1 e chose  pour sa  classe 9  p our qu 1 elle passe 
dans sa  c lasse , et s 1 ins tal le im;nediatement 
da.ns l a  c inquantaine de p et i tes  tetes 
ebourif'f'?es , il n ' a  qu ' ?  voulo ir ,  et  
aus sit8t i l  lui v i ent des mots , un t on de 
vo ix , un tour de phrase t e ls que personne 
ne  b ronclle p lus , e t  que la classe  v isiblement 
pense cette chose  qu ' i l veut . ( 2 ) 
The sc rupulous concern that Clanricard shows not 
to  abuse his .JOSi tion to ind octrinate  the pupi l s  wi th 
his own bel i ef's has b een taught to  him by his  ??tt;?, 
Sampeyre , a t  the Ecole  normale  d ' Auteuil who had 
impressed  upon him that  ' ? ? ?  l e  met i er ne consiste  pas  
? di scourir ,  devant les  enfants ,  sur l es id?es qui 
vous sont ch? res ' . ( 1 )  The teacher ' s  influence should 
b e  wore di scre et :  1 0n laiss e  un rayonnement d ' i dees , 
pOur ain.Si  di re un Champ d I i deal S I etablir  aUt OUr de 
vous et ori enter s ilenc ieusement  les  e sprits . '
( 2 )  
Yet , one noti ces  that al though Clanric ard consc ient iously 
a t teJJIQ tS  to avo id c ommunic at ing hi s value- judgement s 
in his  l esson Oil. the Balkans , the reaction of the c lass  
to  hi s manner of' p resenting the inf ormati on and to hi s 
cho ice  of' words makes  it  obvi ous that he i s  unable  to 
achi eve the ob j ec t ivity he se eks . rle is not aware 
that his  voi c e  b etrays an emo tion and gives dramatic  
impac t to  the words ' la guerre 1 and ' l es gouvernements ' . 
' M@me le  mot  est  neuf : la guerre o .(l o  Clanri card e s t  
le  premi er homme qui leur en ai t p arl? . 
gouvern.emen ts . l i 
a imen.t p a s . ' ( 3 )  
Ils  les  vo ien t aussi . I ls ne les 
ClnDr icard in 1 908 i s ,  theref'or e 5  one of' the 
younger generat ion of' t eachers of' the Thi rd Republic  
who re ject  m il i tarism and t urn towards s oc iali sm and 
pacifi sm , However , el sewhere ther e i s  c onfirmat ion 
that the t ext-books of' the period cont inued to glorify 
war and t o  take the theme of' l???l.c?e .  For 
example ,  Jerl_}hani on r e cal ls  that at  hi s v illage school 
the b o oks had recounted  the deeds of' the French 
mil i tary heroes .  
Les  couve rtures de ses  cahiers  d ' ec ol ier 
lui montrai ent Mac-Mahon ,  Chanzy , Fa idherbe o . o  
Ib i d ,  p . 3 1 o 
Ib id ,  p .  3 1  . 
Ibi d ,  p .  31  o 
Le l ivre de lectures lui contait des 
hi stoires de franc -tireur s 1  de si?ge 
de Paris , de charges b la  ba1onnette . 
La lecon de reci tat i on lui fa isai t 
apprendre le Clairon de Deroul?de , 
des 1jage s  de ? AIJp...ilcL...i.err?. ( 1 )  
If , however ? the internati onalism o:f the young 
teachers c ommencing the i r  care ers at the turn of the 
century rep resents a b re ak wi th the ardent republican-
from the p i oneer s of com?ulsory State p rimary educat ion 
a fw."ld of' ideal i sm and dedicat i on .  Clanri card b el ongs 
to thi s tradit ion . 3ehind hi s atti tudes to t eaching 
there i s  a sp i rit of op t imism .  He b eli eves that 
de spite  the meanne ss  of their c ondit i on the .hJUp ils  may 
be  i Jnproved in r:1ind and sp iri t through educ ation .  
' I l s  ne  sont pas encore incurables . ' ( 2 )  Horeover , 
the chi ldren are the inst rwJent s through whom the 
p opulac e may be reached ; the agents by whom educ at ional 
ideas may be spr ead . ' 1 1Un not raisonnable  qu ' un enfant 
rapporte de l ' ecole  exerce parfo is  une pe t i te 
influence .  ; 1 1 ( 3 ) I t  is  hi s strong convic ti on in the 
importance of hi s mis si on that renders tolerable  the 
depre s sing condit ions in which he i s  c all ed to  serve -
the clas sroom crowded with fifty-four J!Up il s ,  from whom 
emanates  a smell  l ike that of 1 ? ? ?  une mei"lagerie  de 
petites  betes tr iste s ?  suret tes 1 musquees ' . ( 4 ) Yet ?  
although as a man of the petite bourJL?1 Clanricar d  
( 1 ) Ib i d1 PP ? 93-4 . 
( 2 )  Ib id ,  P ?  30 . 
( 3 )  1? .l. oc:tobre 1 H ._!). V. IV,  p .  959 . 
( 4 )  ?-Qqtob?? H. B o V? I ,  P ?  30 . 
experi ences a natural revulsion for the atmosphere of 
the school in whi ch he i s  call ed to serve and acutely 
fee l s  the loneliness  of his posi tion ,  hi s a t t i tude 
tovJBrds the eco:J-j_ers 9 most  of whom are from a working-
class  b ncl:ground - though they include Louis Bast ide 
whose  lower middl e-c las s  family of mode st means i s  
unabl e  to afford the expense of a ]JLQ..?e educat ion - i s  
one of sympathy and understw1ding , His p i ty i s  
evi dent as  he looks arow1d hi s c lass  and imagine s the 
reac t i ons of his pupi ls if he opened the windows of 
the poorly ventilated c lussro om an d  le t the cold  
October  air  in . 
Aucun de ce s pauvre s gosscs  ne se  
plaindrai t peut-@tre . Mais  Oil en verrai t 
qui ??liraient un peu  plus . Ils  sont  d? j? 
b i en asse z pales .  D ' autres  ra1nEmerai ent  
l eurs genoux nus s ous leur tablier . Cet  
autre,  au p remier  banc 9 qui a de si  beaux 
yeux bleus , et si  graves , se  tournerai t ? ; ' vers 1 &  fenetre ,  et avec w1e toux l egere 
qui serre l e  coeur, regarderai t le  dehors 
non pour se plaindre d ' etre expo se au fro id ,  
mai s comme pour s ' excuser d ' &tre faible e t  
frileux . ( 1 ) 
Like Jol i clerc his  rel at ions with hi s class  are warm . 
The fri endly manner i n  whi ch he speaks t o  his  pupil s , 
whom he addres se s  as  ' me s  enfants '  9 and the impres si on 
he conveys to  them that he posse sses  a high es t imation 
of the ir capacity to  understand, inv i te c o-ope ration 
and at  ten ti on . The scene when the teacher l eaves  hi s 
c lassroom in the ecole  in the rue Sainte-I saure and i s  
surrounded by chi l dren ' ? ? ?  dont c ertains lui ?p renai ent  
la main , le  ti raient par  la  manche ' ( 2 )  shows the extent 
( 1 ) Ibid 9  P ?  30 . 
( 2 )  Ibid 9 p . 57 . 
to which this humane and genero us teacher has won t he 
affect i on of his ilUp i l s .  
I n  the twenty-five years tha t elapse between 1 908 
and 1 933 the cha ract?r of Clanricard and his t eaching 
style chru1ge l i ttle . He is still  a nob le but 
unassuming figure 9 who 9 de sp i te the disappointmont s of 
hi s p ersonal l ife , r etains hi s idealism  and hi s sense 
of v ocati on . Nor i s  he amb i ti ous to  leave Montmartre 
and the school  in the rue Foyati er of whi ch he is now 
the direc teur 9 even though he i s  offe red by Boui tton 
and Jerphani on a p ost  in a central schoo l wher e  ' la 
besogne est moins l ourde ' , and where he would f ind 
' ? ? ?  certains  avantages materiel s ' . ( 1 )  
I t  is in his c apaci ty as Q.ir??l.CtEf...u? of hi s small  
school that one sees  C lanricard ' s  general  at ti tude s 
towards disc i?line . Previ ously , when he was a class-
room teacher , l i tt l e  reference had b e en made to his 
me thods of contro l .  However ,  now as a head teacher 
he must assume re spons ib ility for  the overall  discip l ine 
of the ecol iers and as si st young teache rs in the main-
tenance of authori ty.  Although Clanri card s trives for 
a relaxed manner of  teaching and for the establishment 
of a close r?pport between te acher and pupil  based on 
mutual trust 9 he i s  c onvin ced that the teacher must be 
v igi lant and firm . He entertains no illus i ons a s  t o  
the resul ts of permitting the working-class chi l dren 
who are c ompel led  by law to attend t he eco les  primair?s 
to  have increased freedom . ' ? ? ?  Nos garnement s sont  
tre s  c apab le s  d '  abuse r d 1 un homme i'aible . 1 ( 1 ) The 
quali ties  he looks for in hi s teachers are authority 
and the teaching skil ls t o  cap ture the intere s t  of 
the pupils , as  distrac ti on leads to  indisc ipline . 
Thi s is  evi dent in hi s report on the teaching style 
of the new i?sti tuteu:r;: Illi che l  whose  c lass he inspec t s  
short ly afte r the commencement o f  term .  
I l  a fort apprec id  le s dons d ' exposi t i on 
de M iche l .  I l  a surtout fa i t  a tt enti on aux 
eleves , aux rapports qui s ' etaient deja 
e'tabl i s  entre eux et  l e  maitre , ? la premiere  
habi tude qu ' i l s  av& ient ?r i se de recevoir  s on 
influenc e .  W: ichel e s t un doux ,  e t  p eut-
etre un t imide . Mais  i l  o. de  l ' acti on ,  I l  
sedui t ce pet it  aud i  to  i re .  I l  ne  le  p erd 
pas de l 1 oe il . C '  est un timide , mais  un 
t ira ide vigilant . I l  n '  aura po.s  une 
di scip line de .fer .  I l  p arlcmentera un p eu 
trop avec les mauvai ses  t?'tes .  Mai s les  
gro s inc idents ne sont  pas  a craindre ; 8t  
l ' ensem b l e  de la  clas se travaillera comme i l  
f'aut . ( 2 ) 
' Le p?re  Clanricard ' 9 himself , in spires re sp e c t  in hi s 
pupils . His  air of authority i s  based ?artly on hi s 
s trength of character and the p o?,o.rers of hi s o.fr.-, ic e and 
p artly on the prest ige whi ch his  rep ut ation as a ?war 
hero , supported by hi s mis sing arm and hi s Legi on 
d ' honneur , gi ves him in the eyes of the :pupils . As 
in the case of Jol i clerc  in Qhp?gue des Pasquier  he 
wields an almost magneti c p ower over the :pu? i l s  in the 
s chool  yard . 
Les gamins d ' une cour d ' ecole  ne s e  
flatt ent ce rtaineme nt :pas de l ' int imide r .  
Au moment de s j eux le s :plus criards , i l  
n ' aurai t qu ' a  s ' avancer  de quelque s :pas 
Ib id , p ? 9 58  ? 
Ibid ,  :p ?- 958 . 
e t  qu ' ? l ever le  bras qui lui reste  pour 
que tout e  la cour soudain devlnt immobile . ( 1 )  
Yet ,  the direc t e ur is able  to c ommuni cate in the c lass-
room as  effec tively a s  of o ld , Thi s i s  se en in  the 
mov ing addr ess he makes to the pupils  in Michel ' s  class , 
recalling tha t twenty-five years  b efore he had spoken 
to  his class  about the pos s ib i l i ty of a European c on-
flagrat ion and warning that even amongst Frenchmen 
there were some who were foment ing vJar .  How 9 in 1 9 3 3 , 
he declares that the si tuati on has changed ru1d that i t  
i s  not the French who a re endangering the peace  but 
I o o o le s  autre s en face ? . .  I . ( 2 ) Whereas as  a young 
teacher he had b e en hes i tant  to vo ic e his op inions , 
Clanricard ,  the mature  insti_!,uteu_? who se experience s  
of war have c onvinced him of the importance of wo rking 
for peace  through a l l  me ans pos s ible , now speaks 
directly to the e'coli ers about his views on the inter-
nuti onal s i tuat ion and e ven suggests  to  the children 
tha t they should report to their parents his s tatement 
and hi s conclusi on :  
1 1Comme nous .Qensons que la F'rance e s t  
dans l e  vrai , e t  c omme nous n ' avons ? our 
ainsi dir e plus la re?ourc e d ' agir sur l e s  
aut res , soyons le  mains diviscs poss ib le 
pour ne  pas trap nous affaibli ir . " ( 3 )  
Thus , Clanri card , a teacher who i s  de ep ly involved 
w ith his pup i ls , who i s  certain that  they a-re capabl e  
of understanding pol i t i cal and soc i al issues -
' Clanricard e st s?r ,  s ' i l s ' en donne la  p e ine , de 
( 1 ) Ibid ,  PP o 956-7 . 
( 2 )  Ib id ,  p .  960.  
( 3 )  Ib irl ,  p .  960 . 
f'aire COffi:prendre a SB ClaS Se n I importC  quoi  -
n ' im?orte quo i d ' es sent iel ' ( 1 ) - and who be l i eves  
that di s cus sions of' contem?orary i ssues are of  more 
educati on.:..l value than rigid  :pre scri{,t i ons  and se t 
syllabuse s ?  visualises  that the school is  an effective 
o rgaa :for s:pr e;&ding the l_Jri.i1c i}!le of ,1Q.?_bonne volontf{. 
l.il. the admir:::tbl c figure of' Cl<:Lnri c urd. Roma ins 
combines the char?cteristics  of the ideal i st ic ,  dedi?
catedy  sympathet ic  ,1.nst i?ut?r. of Ji  te rary trndi t ion.  ( 2 ) 
I t  i s  obvious tho. t in pe rsonali ty and in manner there 
are s trong similariti es  b e tween C lru1ricard and the 
in st? tut?gr9. who have b e en refe rred to eurlier ? such 
as  Joliclerc in ?bs_onigue de s J?o.?.J1U.t?? and Ennb erg in 
'rhese  same feu ture s o.re ol so apparent in S amp ey?_' e 
who at t he Ec o l e  norm al e d 1 buteuil has shap ed the 
atti tu<les  of' a gene rat ion of' yowl.g teachers , :t?ior  has 
his influence diminished after  hi s retirement from hi s 
position in 1 9 07 . To hi s home in Montmartre where he 
l ive s  surrounded by hi s booka cmcl the :portraits  of' 
hi s mas ters - lvlichelet y Hugo y Renan - come  hi s form er 
students - Clanricard y Laulerque , Darnould ,  Legraverend -
toge ther with othe rs who f ind insp iration in hi s calm 
wisdom and hi s humani tari anism.  
In  the meetings of' the pet it nov?? Sampeyre 
demonstrates  the same freedom from :prejud i c e  which had 
characterised hi s hi s tory l e ssons at the Ecole normale . 
( 1 )  Le 6 octobre ? H . B . V .  I ,  p .  30. 
( 2 )  See1?1feboullet , 1Permnnenc e de  1 1 inst ituteur 
f'ran?ai s ?  ?e Fran?nis  dnns Lc?ELQg?e, no . 1 9 ,  
Sep t .  1 9 63 ?  pp .  3 -8 . 
Although hi s polit ical sympathie s  ore to the Lef't he 
has attemp ted  to prevent h i s  p e rsona l views intruding 
into his lecture s ? ' ? ? ?  dnns son ensei gnement ? i l  se 
pl?i sai t n rcndre just ice , du  point  de vue histori que , 
au cnthol ici sme . ' ( 1 ) Similarly , he respec t s  the 
opini ons of' hi s s tudents and encourages them t o  expre ss 
their own views 9 reserving hi s intervention to  clnri -
f'icotion of' the points  rai sed.  r.I'hus , in the p oli t i cal 
discussi ons of' the ?e ti t n?u. Sampeyre has a ' ? ? ?  ?ag on 
d '  1 1at tendre la reponse; ; 1  ? ? ? i whi c h  recC!.ll s ' ? ? ?  telle  
classe  de j adis n Normnl e Primai re d ' Auteui l '  . ( 2 ) 
Sampeyre ' s teaching style f'alls , then , int o an inte ?
grative pat tern rather thsn a dominntive patt ern o ( 3 ) 
Clanric ard and S acp eyre contribute  to the formation 
of' the im.s.ge of' the teacher os one who i s  a ?oin - a 
lucid ob server of' the age , but al so Elll. Gn?'J.ge - one who 
strive s to translote h i s  i de c:, l i sm an d hmnnni tari anis.rn 
into acti on . Yet ,  i f'  these two exemplary characte r's 
dominate  the world.  of' the .?I?--??LtutEl..\l?S. in Romains ' s 
nove l-cycl e  there aPe .Qortrai ts of other teachers whi ch 
indicate that Clanr icard and Sampeyre c.re not  neces-
sarily typ i cal of' primary teachers . I t  i s  Jer.Qhnnion 
VJho suggests  that the village schoo lmaster wi th 
minimal educat i onal qual ifi cati ons like hi s f'a ther , 
although equally dedicated ,  lacks the soc i al awarene ss 
of' the b etter educated and tr&ined Parisian teachers , 
Mor eover ,  having spent  the ir teaching servi ce in the 
Fe??rche d ' une  egli se ? H . B .V .  I ,  P ?  1 0 14 . 
Crj?_ de?uin?tt? , H . B .?. I ,  P ?  298 . 
See N . Flanders ,  ' Teacher Influence ,  Pupil  
Attitudes ,  and Achi evement ' ,  ?u?ing Teachi? ? 
pp . 42-68 .  
ecoles gommunale s of villages or small towns they 
bec ome i dentif ie d wi th the attitudes of the rural 
communi ty . 
o o .  Ce  n '  est  yas au ,n ilieu 1 1 insti tuteur "  
qu ' i l  a?partient . C ' e st au mil ieu rural , 
et de petit  ?ays o Son a tmosph?re est  l a  
meme  que celle d u  juge de  paix ,  du receveur 
buraliste ,  du garue -fore stie r 9  du patron de 
l ' hotel , de s deux ou tro i s p roprietaires  
chas seurs ? . ?  Ses  atta.ches avec  1 e  n corp s 
ensei gnant"  sont d ' ordre o.dministratif ou 
corporatif . ( 1 ) 
But J?erphanion b el i eves tha t as m o r? e  of' the younger 
teachers pO.S8 through the ecoles  nor?a? of the 
departem_ent? they will  bring int el lectual and 
spi ritual leo.dershi? to th0 countrys ide .  
o ? o il s  emportent dans l e  froid de 
l eurs village s de montagne le  souvenir de 
ces  troi s  ans de chal eur commune ; d ' un 
mo.!tre qui o.vai t du p restige , de l ' influenc e 
sur eux ,  qu i interrompai t  les  lecons pour / , > parler de s evenements o.ctuel o ,  qui l eur 
fai sai t ,  dans l eur peo.u Gure de Daysan s  x / - ? "' venus 1? pour acquerlr  w1e p la c e sure avec 
retrai te ,  de s ill j ect i ons d ' i deali sme et 
d 1  enthnusiasme .  ( 2 )  
Henc e ,  J-erphanion, who from his  posi tion of a normo.lie.n 
refers disparagingly to  the low sto.ndards of education 
in the country, feels more in common wi th the members 
oi' ::>amp eyre ' s  12.?ti ? no.yau,  who wi th the ir primary 
training at the Ecole normale  d ' Auteuil c onsti tute an 
?lite  of ln_stituteurs wi th a high profe s s i onal s tatus 
within thei r profess ion . 
But even amongst  the ?tL1? whi ch rep resents  
amongs t  the Pari sian teachers  ' ? ? ?  un secteur privilegie, 
? conc entration except i onnel le ' ( 3 ) ther e i s  the 
( 1 ) Recherch?__ d ' une eglise ,  liol??.Y.? I ,  p . 1 022 o 
( 32 ) Ib id ,  p ? 1 0 2 2 . 
( ) Ib id ,  p ? 1 02 2 ? 
., 
activi st , Laulerque , whose vi olent revo lutionary 
sp irit and ins tabil i ty of cha rac ter are  in sharp 
contrast wi th Clanricard ' s  moderat ion and balnnc e .  
The view whi ch i s  given o f  Laulerque i n  the - clas sr oom 
in iVJonte'e des pe'ril s ( 1 )  indi cates  that his poli t ical 
p reoc cu.Pations im_0inge UJOn hi s performance as  a 
teacher , wi th the chi l dJ:'en fai ling to res.l!ond to  hi s 
lesson on the clas s ific at i on of  mammals and be ing  
summoned to  attenti on by thr eats ,  whi le he himself 
finds it  diff icult to concentrate  on his sub je c t .  
Laule rquc ' s  support o f  violent ac t i on t o  avert war 
( ' l e 1 7 Brumaire vei lle du 1 8 1 ( 2 ) ) and the contra-
diction between his fanati c i sm and hi s responsib i li t i es 
as a teacher to  prov ide  mora 1 gu idance for children 
cause Jerphanion to offer thi s cynical  comment : 
ce ty-ge - la e S t ins ti tuteur da.i1S U.i1e ecole  de l a  
Vi lle d e  Pari s ? ? ?  ?uand on dit qu ' u..n. mc!ti er comme c e lui ?
la tue son homme ! C ' est  consol&.i1t . ; ; t ( 3 ) Mathi lde 
Cazal i s , the l.n....stitutric e. at  the Peti t Lyc ee Condorce t 
who b ecomes  the mi stress  of' Laulerque in 1 9 1 1  and 
renews her l iaison with him in 1 922 after her marriage 
to Clanricard , i s  another  whose  com@itment to teaching 
i s  in doub t . ?.lhereas  Clanr icard i s  clos ely ident ified  
with the wo rking-class .o opu:}.ati on ,  she ,  ac cording to 
Laulerque ,  al though expre s s ing soc ialist sympathie s  
retains middle-class  pre jud i ces  against the children 
of the ???? - ' El le se  flat te d ' op ini ons avanc{e s .  
( 1 )  See M9n.:tfe des peri l s ,  H . B .I[..  I I ,  p.  31 2 . 
( 2 ) See  Fecherche d
1une dgl i se , li??Y?  I ,  chap t . VI . 
( 3 ) Ib id ,  p ? 1 029 ? 
' 
Mais  les  ga sses  de Montmartre 9 de pres 9 sentent un 
peu l ' a igre .  Elle pens e gent iment ? eux 9 t o u t  en 
racontru!t des fables aux gasses  de bourgeo i s .  , ( 1 ) 
If Clanricard shows a marked re semb lance in 
mam1.er ru1d atti tude to Jol i clerc 9 the inst i tuteur in 
Chror1-_lg_?s f'a_12.9uier  ,there  i ::>  al so considerable  
I 
s imilarity in the way Laurent Pasquier as an ?col i er 
regarded hi s teacher 9 and Loui s  Bastide 1 s  atti tude 
t owards Clanri card in the early novels of Les Hommes 
He lo oks upon hi s teache r wi th 
the same mixture of at'f e ct i on ,  loyalty and re sp ec t .  
Again 9  i t  i s  the affectivity  o f  the t eacher ' s  role 
whi ch is clearly evident in the teacher -pup il  
interac tion .  The chi ld ' s esteem fo r hi s teacher i s  
seen when Clanricard asks Louis  t o  take a message t o  
hi s ?arents  and h e  se ts  off ' ? ? ?  ro se d e  fiert? et  de 
reconnai ssanc e 1 ? ( 2 ) The ami cal  fashi on in ?whi ch 
C lanri card addresse s  h im is inJi cative  of the way in 
which he has won h i s  pup i l's confidence and di sp ell ed 
his  fears , for , as Lo ui s  admi t s ,  at the beginning of 
each year the chi ld i s  a??rehensive o f  hi s new 
teacher .  ' . ? ?  L ' on ne sai t jamais  s i  beaucouv 
d ' at tent i on e t  de travai l suf'firont a plai re au 
1'). nouveau fllal tre . La faveur de s grande s personnes 
cont ient t ou jours  des elements  mystEfrieux . De  b ons 
et  de mauvais  hasards ne ces sent d 1 interveni r .  , ( 3 )  
Wil son ( ? )  makes the point that the t eacher ' s 
( 1 ) 
( 2 )  
( 3 ) 
( 4 ) 
Ibid ,  :p .  1 035 . 
Le 6 octobr e 9  H . B . V. I ,  p .  57 .  
'Les:Humbl es ,  H:--:B:-v? r 1 P .  87 1 . 
See B .  Wils on-,?,The Teacher ' s  Rol e '  9 
XIV , nos - 1  and 2 ; Feb . -March 1 9 65 1 
Education ,  vol . 
:pp . 20-Bo 
role in the educ at ive pro cess is  essenti ally diffuse . 
The teacher 1 s  relat i onship wi th the pup i l  i s  not 
l imi ted to intellec tual training in the classroom but 
p ervades o the r areas  of hi s life .  Certainly , thi s i s  
true of the interacti on of Louis .bastide and Clanricard. 
I t  is to hi s teacher that Loui s turns when his  father 
loses hi s pos i t ion . Similarly , l ater , when it  i s  a 
question of' Loui s ' s educa tional future > it i s  Clanricard 
who intervenes  to persuade the parents that Loui s 
should attempt t o  obtain a bursary for the College 
Chaptal . Eo r does  the bond b etween pupil  and teache r 
f'ade once the pup i l  has l eft  the i?21? in the rue 
Sa inte-I saure .  I t  i s  as a mark of' hi s enduring regard 
for his f'ormer inst i tuteur that fourteen years later 
Louis Bastide 9 now qualified as an. engine er , calls 
upon Cla."l ricard t o  introduce to hiEl hi s f ianc ?e and 
announce the ir  plans to set tl e  in l!io rocco " The fact 
that the re lat i onship of primary schoo l t eacher and 
pup i l  has features of the mother-child interac t i on i s  
made obvious in  this  scene when C lanri card regards 
Loui s wi th a ' ? ? ?  do uce stupe'fact ion materne lle '. ( 1 )  
Just as Clanricard is  unable to escape the vi si on of 
the child he had t aught ' ? ?  o le  p e t i t gar?on , grave et 
consc iencieux ,  du premier  banc de la classe ? ? ?  , ( 2 ) and 
prevent a note  of parental pro tec tiveness  c reeping 
into his vo i c e ,  s o  to o does Loui s Bastide show by his 
increasing emot ion as  thei r conve rsat ion progresses  
( 1 )  Qette j}rande Lueur ? l ' e s t , fu]._y. I I I , p .  764 . 
( 2 )  Ibid ,  P ? 763 . 
that he ? al so , i s  transported back to  the clas sro om to 
the t ime  in 1 908 when ' ? ? ?  c et homme si  bon ? ? ?  en clas se 
parlait  si doucement c ontre la guerre ' . ( 1 ) 
I Neither  Loui s Bastide nor the o th er lyceens in 
Les H?m?s_de bonne vo lont? tend to  look upon the 
I ??urs de ?cee  with t he same unmixed admiration 
and re sp ect . There i s  a clear divi s i on in atti tude 
towards the scho o l  betwe en the ?5?? and the  ?ceen 
as  is  seen in the case of Louis  Bastide .  Like Laurent 
Pasqui er , Loui s Bast ide ? a consci entious pup i l  from a 
lower middl e-class backgrou...'1.d ?  must  leave the ecole. 
prim_aip?? fo r the secondary scho ol  in order to  gain the 
qualificat i ons  nec es sary for  entrance  to the profes-
sions .  He  ente rs the more impersonal world of  the 
secondary school  wi th its  intense c ompetition and i t s  
demands ror di sc ipline and obedience o  For  the 
dil igent y conforming pupil caught Uj) in thi s sys tem 
which is geared to  p roducing an ?JJL?? by elimination 
through examination ,  the re is  an ob session with marks 
and placings and an anxiety to p roduc e the right 
responses .  
The s tress  produced b y  the failure-oriented 
system is ref lec ted in Loui s ' s s tat e of mind as  he 
awaits  the announcement of the re sults of the 
c ompopijjon de_mat?tigues at the College Chaptal . 
C et te  annonce offi ciel le des p lace s  
est  toujours  quelque cho se de tre s  
impressi onnant ; et  dans l es minute s  qui 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  p .  7 67 .  
prdc?dent , Loui s cesse  vraiment de vivre 
po ur i-l ' etre J,) l us q_u 1 un malade de l 1 at tente 
aux genoux brises par l ' evenement prochain . ( 1 )  
I t  i s  in the inc i dent of Loui s Dastide ' s seven-
teenth :plac ing in mathemat ics that Romains analyses 
the reacti ons of b o th the col)?gi?? aild the ?SOfesseS? 
to pup i l  failur e .  For Louis  there i s  despair that 
hi s low _L)Osi t i on in thi s sub jec t will  compromise hi s 
chances of reaching the ??i te . He has visi ons of 
being trapped in a cycle  of fai lure wi th hi s inabi lity 
to  comprehend b ecoming increasingly obvious , for he is  
already commi tted to a course of  s tudies in which 
mathemat ic al apt i tude is  of :primary importanc e .  
1L I epouvan te  y c '  est  de ne  :pas  c omprendre ,  quand on 
s '  est  justemeilt engage dans une v oie  oD. , faute de 
com:prendre , on s ern tSt ou tard :perdu . ' ( 2 ) The di s?
tress  of  the .P?Ql legien is  deepened by t he atti tude of 
hi s teacher , who , when he di s cov ers that hi s :pup il  has 
not understood the p oints  in the l esson ,  shows 1 ? ? ?  m! 
:peu de cole re ? ? ?  ' ( 3 )  and then ?while  he reads out the 
placings for the c omposit i on betrays that he i s  
already beginning to class  Loui s amongst  the failures .  
' Louis a et' dix-septi?me ! Le  :p rofe ss eur a manifestt 
une trace de surpr ise , mais si  b ri?vement ! Lui-m?me 
semblait  s ' ?tre vite  consol? . , ( 4 ) One see s in  the 
contrast  of att i tude b etween the ir1sti tuteur,  
Olanri card, and the professeur de J].l?.th?matigues the 
??----------- ---
( 1 ) 
m 
Mission a Rome , H .  B .  V .  II , p . 968 .  
Ibid ,  p . 969 . 
Ib id,  P ?  969 . 
Ibid ,  p .  968 . 
difference betwe en the position of' the primary teach er 
dealing with young chi ldren of' lower-class  or igins whos e  
inte llec tual llinb i t i ons  are l imi ted 1 ru?d the secondary 
teacher whos e  relationship wi th his older pupils  is  
af'f'ected by  the c omp etit ive atmosphe re of' the college 
and as a re sult has b ecome  le ss  s ensi tive to the ef'f'ec t  
of'  :failure . nov1ever 9 one must  add that Loui s is  less  
the vi ctim of the  rigid academic  standards of the 
secondary school  than of an unreali st ic assessment of' 
hi s ab il i ti es which  had p laced him in a co urse for 
which  he 1-vas unsui ted. Th6 diffi cul t ie s  whi ch Louis 
experiences at  the Col lege Chaptal and later at 
Central e are at tributable in part to the advi ce  of 
Clcmri card who had direc ted the pup i l  whose s trengths 
were in language s and l i tera ture to n sc ientifically 
or iented progran?e of' studies .  Later Clanricard ?will  
recogni se in  Louis  Bastide ' s  struggle to gain an 
engineering degr e e 1 un  exemp le de vo cati on manq_u$'e ? ? ? 1 ( i ) 
Other glimps es of' sec ondary school pupils 
emphasise the pressures exerted by  the comp et i t ive 
examinati ons .  Thus one finds the lyce?gs in thei r  
st udy-ro oms in PrEfsentation d?L.Pa.r.:ig; ?- c ing heures  du 
soir 1 ? ? ?  mordillant leur porte-plwne  ou fourrageant  
l eurs cheveux ? ? ?  1 ( 2 ) and at the end of the s cholasti c 
year we see the candi dates f'or the bac calaur?at 
completing the ir composit ions $'cri? with 1 ? ? ?  le  
coeur b arboui l l6 ? ? ?  1 . ( 3 ) For the prof'?sseurs who 
( 21 )  Cet te Gran de Lueur 'a 1 1  e s  t 1  H .  B.y.  I I I , p .  763 . 
( ) Le 6 QC to  b re 1 H .  B .  V.  I $ p ? 1 08 ? 
( 3 ) Provinc?? H. B . V. II 1 P ? 75 . 
are consc i ous of the imperqtives of the examinat ion-
oriented sys tem the re i s  the obl igat ion to  remain 
clo sely b ound to the pro grammes of study . I t  is only 
when the requirement s  have b e en fulfill ed , that the 
teacher can w?bend and intDoduc e the class to works 
outs ide the syl labus : ' C ' etait  l ' epoque des c lasses  
de fin d ' annee 9 qui ont l ieu toutes  ?enetres  ouvertes .  
Pendant la derni?re heure de  l ' apres-mid i 9 le  
professeur prend dans sa servie t te un l ivre d ' un 
aspect  inac coutume , et lit  a haute voix un fragment 
d ' un auteur moderne . ,
( 1 )  
, Nor are the lxceennes exempt from these inte llectual 
demands . It  is  in the area of gi rls ' education that one 
i s  mos t  aware of dramati c change s in e ducational pro-
visi on duriug the twenty-fi ve years which Roma ins ' s  
nove ls span . Les Hommes de bon,pe volon te' chroni cle s 
a shift of emphasi s amongs t  midd le-c lass parents from 
an educat ional provi si on whi ch will  f i t  the ir daughters 
for future ro les  as wives  and mothers to one which will  
prepare them for a career . As Jal lez  says in 1 91 4 ,  i t  
i s  n o  longer  the age ' ? ? ?  des jew?es f ill es elevee s  au 
' couvent 9 ou au pensi onnat 9 les  petite s  sauvagesses  a 
bonnes ?m ani'eres ' . ( 2 ) Germaine Baader , the a?  tress , 
i s  rep resentat ive of the women who had b een amongst the 
firs t to acquire the cultural opportuni ties  and the 
academic  ins truc t i on of the men of the bourgeoi si e .  
Even so , a t  the Lyc?e Fenelon at the end o f  the . 
----?-??==?=--??----------------
( 1 )  ??v??-?' H . B . V . II , p .  75 . 
( 2 ) ?rapeau no ir , H . B .V .  I I , p .  1 201 . 
ninete enth century, i t  had proved neces sary for her 
to  obtain private l es sons to pas s both secti ons  of the 
But for the younger women,  
such as Ode tte Jerphani on or Frall($O i se li!a'ieul , the 
pr og1?amme s followed in the 1-JL:cc{?s de???9. 
leading to the bac?J-a.]J'_i_ci:t. were s imilar to those  in 
the ]....y:,ciEi?. d?  even if , as F?ranc;o i se declare s :  
' L ' ens ei gnement chez  l e s  garco.i.1G  est  J)lus s?ri eux . ' ( 1 ) ? 
For the twenti eth century 1..YE.ie..D-Ll8?.9 therefore , the 
p er i od o:f se condary s chooling is r11arkecl by tension 
and stress similar to what the 1-1!2?rfef).f? experienc e  and 
their anxiety to gain academi c success  is increased in 
l ike mc:l.l1n.er by parental demands and the knowl e dge of 
the insecure :futur e for the unqual i fied .  The 
changing views of parents ,  part iculArly in the post-
war p eriod, are expr essed  by ??!me l',laleul in Fai ssance  
de la  bande .  
-Nous ne sommes plus du tout a une 
epoque comme celle  d ' i l  y a encore quinze 
ou vingt ans . ? ?  J ' e spere bien que tu n ' auras 
jamais  "h gagn.er ta v ie .  Mais autrefois  
des parent s dans une c ertaine po si tion 
pouvaient se di re :  "Nous somme s stirs que 
notre f ill e n ' aura jamai s  ? gagner sa  vie  ? ? ?  
Il  e s t  tr?s  b i en qu ' elle  s e  cultive 
suivant . ses go?ts . Mais pourquoi 
etudierai t-el le des matiere s ingrates ,  en 
vue d ' un diplome qui n e  lui servira j amai s  
a ri en ? "  Qui peut avoi r  cette  as suranc e 
aujourd ' hui ? ( 2 )  
Fran?oise  admits  to Jallez  that in order to pass her 
bacca??ur?at ( lat in-langues and Q_hil?sophi?) she was 
:forced to concentra te on what i s  examinable  and that  
( 1 )  F?n?o i?, ?. B .y. IV , P ?  852 . 
( 2 )  Nais(?ance de la bande , H . B. V .  IV , pp . 2 1 5-1 6 .  
this rapidly memorised ? unass imilated knowledge was 
ra? idly l o s t  onc e i t  had oerved the purposes  of the 
c onven t ional examinat i ons . ' ; ; J?e sais tres pe u l e  
la  tin.  Je l 1 ai aypris trop vi te . Pour la 
philosophie ? ? ?  j 1 ai apyri s ce  qu 1 i l fallait  pour 
l 1 examb1.  1 1  1 ( 1 ) 
I I The a ttitudes  of the J_,yceen.s. and the .?..zceenne?_ 
to  the teaching they have rece i ved in the secondary 
schoo ls  range from high este em t o  sharp cri ti ci sm , 
Thus , Germaine Baader prai ses the ab l e  9 cultured 
teachers at the Lyce'e Fenelon and in parti cular 1 ? ? ?  une 
mat trcsse  qui savai t tout ob tenir  d ' el le ?  parce  qu 1 e lle  
avai t l 1 ai r de c onsi dere r comme e'tab li  que de  Germaine 
Baade r ,  la  pe tite  blonde aux yeux bleus du deuxieoe rang, 
on pouvai t tout obtenir ' . ( 2 ) S imilarly , Jerphanion 
expre sse s his re spec t f o r  the outsts.ncling t eachers of 
the Paris ian lyce.es such as  Brw1schvicg  and Chartier .
( 3 )  
The minority opini on o f  ho stility towards the 
school  and antipathy for  the ro le of the ?rof esseur? 
/ 
llcee  is he ld by  Pie rre Jallez ,  though even in hi s 
c ase , despite  hi s repeated comments on the deadening 
routine of school life one finds evidenc e of his sat i s-
fac t i on with the inte llec tually st imulating atmos?
phere of the higher  c las ses of the LycEfe Condorc et . (4 ) 
The v iews that he exp re s se s  on the secondary schoo l 
when he i s  a student at the Ec ole normale echo the 
raservations of Jacque s  Thibault . 
( 1 )  
m 
Frari?oi se ,  ? ? IV , p .  85 2 .  
R_e,__q?7..?-tche d une egli se , ?1. B .  v_.  
Ibid , P ?  1 1 80 .  
Ibi d, P ?  1 077 . 
Like Jacques ,  
I ,  p .  1 070 . 
Pierre Jal lez i s  an individual i st who has l eanings 
t owards li tera ture and has a horror of a conformist  
role .  ?;/hen he refuse s the pos t whi ch i s  offered  to  
him  at  Dign e, after :passing hi s p._gr?a "t:!J?n in 1 91 1 ,  
he declares in hi s let te r of exp lanat i on t o  Jerphani on 
his fear that  buried in the country a t  Digne , away 
from the inte llec tual l ife of Paris, hi s existence as  
a teache r would  resemb l e  tha t of  a Trappist  monk .  ( 1 ) 
His ma j or c ri ti c i sm of teaching i s  tha t it  lacks 
variety and challenge , and the very securi ty it offers  
imperils creativity and invites stagnation . 
Note que si , en ce moment , j e  sortais  
du lycee de Digne , ma serv iet te so us le  
b ras . . .  je  n ' aurai s  que sarcasmes interieurs 
pour ma s ituation 9  je  la verrai s avec 
ep ouvante se pro longer ??s l 1 avenir , en 
l igne dro ite comme une al l6e san.s surpr ise 
e t  sans  esperance s qui ver s l e  bout devient 
allee de cimetiere :par transi t i on naturelle . 
Et je E1 e represent erais avec de s bonds de 
nostalgi c au coeur une l ibre  vi e hasardeuse , 
des rue s  de Montmartre,  des reunions de 
camarades ecri vains et pe intres , touo 
divorc?s d ' avec  la  securi te. ( 2 )  
Nevertheless , one notes  tha t wi th i tmturi ty Jalle z '  s 
atti tudes to the schoo l  wil l cha1ge . In Fran.c o i s? s 
his approbat i on of the tradit ional emphases  of the 
secondary schoo l , in :particular  the prominence of 
Lat in and philosophy in  the curri culum , wil l J:Jrov ide 
evi denc e that his v i ews on the educat ional system 
have become more conservative . ( 3 )  
Hi s fe llow norm&!_e?.Q;' Jean Jer-ghanion ,  whose 
exp erience oE the secondary school has been ga ined at  
I I , P ?  61 6 .  
:P:P ? 852-3 .  
I I the Lycee  du Puy and the Lycee de Lyon , has fewer 
ob j ections to a career as a te acher ,  al though it  i s  
true he ha s  mom ents of doubt when confronted at  the 
Sorb onne by the co lourless and pedantic lecturer ,  
Honor? . 
? ? ?  Voic i  Honor?, l ' ?rudi tion v irulente , 
les  embuscades successives des examens et 
des conc ours ; e t  si  par miracl e t out s e  
passe b,?-en , de s le9ons a p r ej_)arer et des 
cop i es a corriger ?endant quarante ans ;  
l ' ennui de ma j eunes se a revomir 
in tari ssablement sur de plus j eUi.1es , ga , 
jusqu ' o.ux cheveux blancs .  Comme supreme 
perspectiv e ,  la s it ua tion d ' Honore . Chemin 
fai sant , une femme  a lunett e s , un peu 
osseuse ,  moderement emmerdante . Quatr e 
go s ses . Un ec zema . Et la  ro sette de 
l ' Ins tructi on Pub lique . ( 1 )  
Yet a:fter thi s student react ion Jer-i'?hani on will a ccept 
wi thout seri ous reservati ons app o intments to teach 
phil osophy at ?? in La Rochelle and Orleans befo re 
the outbreak of war and a temporary pos it i on at the 
Coll?ge Rollin after  demobi l isati on ,  b efo re  entering 
poli t i c s .  
F'rom the references  which are made to  Jerphanion ' s  
I 
short ru1d suc cessful  career as a Rro?e?S?Ur de l?c?? 
i t  i s  poss ible  to comp ile a l ist of the quali t ie s whi ch 
Romains conside rs es senti al in the secondary teacher .  
I t  i s  suggested  that  a s  a teache r  Jer-?hanion possesses  
t . I d . 1 I ( 2 )  . t 1 cer aln ? ? ?  ons exceptlonne s ? ? ?  , he i s  ln e -
l igent , eloquent , s incere and ene rge t i c .  Above all ,  
he  has an air of  authori ty ,  Like Clanri card, 
Jerphani on i s  certain that the teacher must  have the 
capacity to exert f'irm contro l over hi s pupils . 
Il avai t un autre  don , l ' un des p lus 
rares e t  de s plus mysteri eu:z: ? l '  autori td, 
l ' art de s e  f'aire r esp ec te r e t  obeir sans 
en prodiguer les moyen s e t  nH?'me parf'o is 
Sill13 les avo ir .  Il n ' avai t jamai s et? un 
prof'esseur 1 1chahutG' l l ' meme dix minutes  a 
ses  de'buts .  I l  avait pa sse des trimes tres  
sans avoir a donn.er une p-cm i  t i on ( les 
}:mniti o.i1S e'ta ient d ' ai lleurs  dcvenues si 
anodine s ! ) ? ? ?  A s on avi s ,  e t  d 1 a? r?s le s 
comparai sons qu ' i l avai t pu f'aire , aucun 
metier ne demandai t p l US d I aut or ite' 
naturelle que celui de prof'esseur ,  surtout 
da11;:3 l es grandes classes , ou tout se  comb ine 
pour f'avoriser l '  indiscipl ine des 1 1 gouvernes 1 1 : 
pdtulru?c e . de l ' a?e encore intac t e ,  mali ce et 
cruaute de  la nature hlliuaine dans toute leur 
f'ra!cheur , aptitude de ja mure a l a  
preme'di tat ion et au complot , abs ence de 
toute san ction reelle . ( 1 ) 
But if on the basis o:f thi s passage Jean Jer}?hanion 
appears to  have a somewhat pess imi st ic view of' the 
chi ld ' s nat ure and to hold authori tarian atti tudes  
towards di scipl ine , hi s rel ati onship wi th hi s pupi l s  
has , ac cording to hi s wife , Odet te , been friendly 
rather than form al .  In.deed , Odette i s  of' the op inion 
that  with his trust and sympathy Jerphanion i s  b etter  
sui ted t o  teaching than to the \'Jorld of' p oli t i cs ? 
. ? ?  Il  a imait  avoir co l?iance , et  lier  
les  gens }:)ar la  confiance . La methode 
lui avai t en somme reussi  avec les el?ves 
et  l es soldats .  Elle  avai t mains de 
chances  a l ' egard des  parlementaire s . ( 2 ) 
Af'ter hi s war experienc es  Jer?hanion leaves  
teaching to enter politics  but thi s de cision is  
p rompted by  his  politi cal and  so cial ideali sm and hi s 
f'eeling that he must  choose a direc t  means o:f a c tion 
to work f'or peac e  and s tabi l i ty rather than a 
( 1 ) Ib i d , p ? 71 ? 
( 2 ) Ib i d  , :p ? 7 1  ? 
di s sati s?action w ith the p ro c es s  o? educati on in the 
schools  or with the dut ie s which fall  to  the lot  o? 
the teacher - the di??i cult conditi ons of service  which 
his wi?e ? Odette , describes aC' . O o  I I ? ? ?  se s  co rve es , se s 
rout ineG ,  scs heures  de c lasse trop nombreuse s  ? ? ?  ' . ( 1 ) 
Thus , ,}e rphc:mi on ,  in announc ing hi s candi dature ?or  
the Radical-Soci al i st party in December 1 923 at hi s 
speech at  the banquet of the Anlic ale des Insti  tuteurs 
de la Haute-Loi re ,  pays tr ibute t o  hi s ?o rmer p ro?es si on .  
The v ocation of  the 1!?0? esseur .. , d? g_i? i s  ' ? ? .  un beau 
met i er ,  Ull. des }? lUS beaux qu ' on pui ss e  avoi r  ? ? ?  1 . ( 2 )  
Jerphanion and Jal le z are products  o? the State 
schools  as indeed a re the ma jor i ty of the princ ipal 
However , as  
in Les _ Thj??lt there are re?erences to schools out -
side the Sta te sys tem , some of' ?which ,  i t  i s  implied , 
are l ess  inte llec tual ly demanding than the ?ormal , 
/ academic ?e?. Gilbert  Nodiard , ?or example , the 
s on of' a wealthy busines sman , rec e i ved hi s education 
at the country board ing schoo l ,  the Bcole des Roche s .  
S imil ar ly , Fran?o ise Ma1eul ' s e lder b rother ,  Jacques ,  
has been p laced  en pen?ion by his upper middle-class 
parents at an exc lus ive private schoo l  set  in rural 
surroundings . The Cathol ic schools are al so  
?requently ment i oned.  The sons o? the lliarqui s de 
Saint-Papoul a ttend a Catholic inst i tution ( Ecole  
Bos sue t )  as  wel l  a s  a }Yc?e ( Loui s-l e-Qrand ) , while  
( 1 )  Ibid,  P ? 70 .  ( 2 ) ?yn?es dans la  montag?, H?.v. II I ,  p .  1 000 .  
their  si ster , Jeanne , i s  a pupi l at the Pens ionnat 
Sainte-Clot ilde.  I t  is  sugges ted that  such a s chool  
caters  p rimarily for the children of  upper-class 
fami lie s .  One notes  tha t Jearm.e ' s ' ? ? ?  traces 
fugitive s d '  affe ctation ? ? ?  1 ( 'l ) are attributed to the 
influence of the ?io?pa1 she at tends o Another of 
these  private girls ' s choo ls i s  the Insti tut ion Sainte -
Marthe . From the comment s which abb' Jeanne makes 
about this  school  i t  wo uld  appear that s cho lastically 
it is infe ri or  to the S tate schools  and prepares i t s  
yupil s  for  a 
maman ' . ( 2 ) 
' ? ? ?  rO'l e ,f de future epouse ,  de future 
The emphasi s is  u?on the soc ial graces  and 
al though i t  i s  nominal ly a Catholic  insti tution the 
pupils have only ' ? ? ?  que lque s vague s r?p?ti tions de 
catechisme ' ( 3 ) and it appears that the headmi s tres s  
regards religious inst ruction ' ? ? ?  e:xac tement comme une 
heure de piano ou de danse ' . ( 4 )  One must also add 
Jalle z '  s comment on teaching in the :private gi rl s '  
schools  when he compares the hone s ty of  I:'rango ise ' s  
writ ing in the fi rst letter she addresses t o  him , wi th 
the mode lled eleganc e of the handwri ting of the 
products  of the Catholic  :pensi onuatq_. 
l icette j eune personne n ' a pas ?te 
formde p ar les Oiseaux ,  ni par aucun de 
ces  pensi onnats mondains-rel igi eux , ob 
l ' on p ers i ste a do ter l es demoiselle s de 
cette ecri ture  parfaitement ri di cule , 
que l ' on c onsidere sans  doute comme une 
savonnette a vi lains , mai s dont l ' effet 
est de rompre la main a un exerc ice de 
--------------------------?--------?-?-----------------
( 1 ) 
? ? ?  
( 4 ) 
L e a  Amours enfantine s ,  H . B .V .  
Le???l?, H. B .y. I ,  p 7' 978.  
Ibid ,  p .  978.  
Ib id ,  P ? 979 . 
I , p .  370. 
vani te et  de faux-semblant .  Une fi lle de 
ferb lantier  enrichi d ' apr? s -guerre n ' est  
un comple t chef d ' oeuvre qu ' avec l ' ecri ture 
des Oi seaux ? ? .  Cec i  e s t  llil.e ecri -cure de 
lycee e t  de Sorb onne . Tant mieux . Je 
n ' avai s  jamais  si bien sent i que l ' ecri ture 
de lycee est ?i sa maniere un indi ce 
d '  holm?tete' intellectuelle . ( 1 )  
The imp re ss ion i s  given tha t the suppressi on of 
the schools  under the contro l of' ?chc te aching congre-
gat ions whi ch hacl grov itled an edacat ion of qual i ty 
before  the Camb i s t  legi slation has crea ted a vacuwn 
in private education . However ? fr om two s o urc e s  
comes evidenc e  that the orders are s ti l l  alive and 
quietly reswning their act iviti es . In 1 908 Haverkam:p 
act s  as the intermediary in  a tran.sac tion 9 the :purp o se 
of whi ch is  t o  prevent the former Jesuit c ollege at  
Saint-Cyr-sous-Dourdan fall ing back into the hands of 
the order . ( 2 ) In ano ther reference to the congre-
gations in 1 9 1 0 ,  i t  i s  sugge sted that at the town of 
M ? ? o ,  v1here abbe Eionnet i s  t em};'o rar i ly stat ioned ,  
the Si ste rs of the So c ie ty of  the Sacred Heart are 
renewing connections with the J:L?ru:>Jonnat from whi ch 
they have b e en expel led . ( 3 )  
I f'  the Marqui s de baint-Papoul fo llows tradi t i on 
and sends hi s children to Catholic  schools  until i t  
becomes obvious that thi s will  pre jud ice his chance s 
of e l ecti on as  a candidate of the  Left ,  Marie de 
Champcenais ,  at the urging of her lover , Roger 
Sa??caud, makes the dec i s ion t o  send her backward 
son , Marc , to an English college . The reasoning 
( 1 )  Franlo ise , [. BL[? IV , P ?  797 . 
( 2 )  See es Superbes 9 H .?. I ,  chapt . VI . 
( 3 )  Se e ???' ?_B.V.  II ,  chap t o XIX. 
behind thi s move is  that  the ne eds of' the child of' 
below average abil i ty are negl ec ted in the French 
schools  &?d that the character trsining given in the 
Engli sh college s  wo uld be more ap:propriate :for Marc 
than the ' ? ? ?  morne travGil  dano l es c c:J1iers e t le s 
livres ? ? ?  1 ( 1 ) of' the lye:???.? l?.: o reover ? the s tress  on 
all-round deve lopment would  allo\/ the child  to 
compenc<.::. t e  :fo r hio  intel lec tual inferio rity and hi s 
rough m an .... 1er by  hi s ab i l i  t ie ::> in other dir ecti ons 9 and 
corres?ondingly enable him to  gain the acceptance of' 
the teachers and :fellow ?u?i l s  . 
? ? ? Les  Anglais 9 meme a cet  age-la ? sont 
p lus tolerants , p lus resp e c tueux des 
singular i tes d 1 autrui . I l  suf':fira qu ' il 
ac?uiere w? r ien de superio ri t8  dans un 
sp ort quelconque ; e t  je  l ' en c ro i s  tr?s 
capable . I l  ne s era pas  malheureux de 
tout . ( 2 ) 
Later gl imp se s of' Marc de Champ cenai s ,  thE; :future 
had a me.rked e:f:fect upon hi s pe rsonali t;  deve lopment .  
The .Ell?:fo.-nt?arri_i.re on hi s re turn :from hi s English 
co llege has the a ir of' ' ? ? ?  un :fil s  de lord des 
montagnes d ' Ec osse ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 ) As Samm?caud had pre-
dieted , the chi ld  has :found the atmosphere of' the 
college more sat i s:fying than the int ellectualism of' 
the French scho ol s  and has rel ished the opportunities  
:for outside activiti e s .  ' Il s e  classai t tres 
honorab l ement dans les c ompet i t i ons  sportives .  Son 
peu de gout p our l es l ivre s  ne lui nuisait pas aupre s 
de ses  crunarades . ' ( 1 ) 
I t  would seem that with these references  to  the 
characte r training which  Marc rec e ives  in his Engli sh 
school , Remains i s  at tempting to p lace the French 
approach to secondary education into  international 
_persp e c t i ve . The generalisati on \7lli ch he makes 
clearly indi cates  a fundamental differenc e in att i tude 
towards the child ,  ?w ith the Etlgli sh tradition which 
aims t o  educate  the who le child  con trusted 'Ni th  the 
French stress  uyon training the m en:c al faculties  and 
equippin.g the child wi th the povJe rful in strument of 
reason - a simplificati on of nat ional characteri s t i c s  
in educati on whi ch nevertheless in  Halls ' s  v iew 
contains more than a gra in of truth . ( 2 ) 
Vvhe?1 one proceeds beyond the secondary schools  to  
the tertiary ins t itut ions in ??!L)i<2ill.!ILes de b onne 
volonte , one finds more overt  cri t i c i sr,l of  the teaching 
methods ancl of the calibre of the teaching personnel . 
Laurent Pasquier ' s experi ence  while  a student  of  
sc ience and medi cine ,  of' the hypocrisy ,  intellectual 
di shonesty,  overwhelming amb i t i on and s teri l i ty of' 
thought in the world of' the savant? is paralle led by 
Albert  Viaur ' s dis illusionment wi th the lack of 
integri ty of' the tertiary teacher s under whom he 
carri es out hi s research . H i s  suyervisor  :for the 
agr?_g__ati o.?1 i n  bi o logy is  Pe't iaux , who holds the chai r 
of' hi stology. Petiaux ?  a s  Viaur soon di scove rs , 
( 1 )  Ibid ,  l? ?  1 1 60 .  
( 2 ) See W .  Halls , ooc iety 9 Sq_l:wl.s and Progres s  in  Fr?, PP ? 1 -2 .  
' ? ? ?  comme savant e t  comme prof'esseur manquai t de 
s?rieux ' , ( 1 ) having gained hi s repute tion as an 
original m ind by plagi arising f'ore igrl sources and 
attributing as  his own the research findings of his 
students . Viaur ' s late r experience of' the refusal 
of' the represent atives of' officia l  sc ience , the two 
' ? ? ?  yol i chinelles ? ? ?  ' ( 2 )  Jan t c aum e a.;1 c.1 Rob ert et , to 
give care:f 0l consideration to his exp er im en t s  into 
the ef'f'ec t o:f the will on cardiac rhythm and the ir  
obvious disbeli ef' that a humble  doc tor  at tached t o  
the spa at Celle -le s-Eaux i s  capable of' seri ous 
se ien t ifi c inqui ry, conf'irms  the lov1 op ini on he has 
formed of' ' ? ? ? les  moeurs des  ?ontife s ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 ) 
Indeed , it would seeD from the trea tme11t of' thi s 
theme of sc i entific creati vity that Romains (4 )  i s  of'  
the opini on that  the academic  atrilosphere inhib i ts 
research and that consequently it  is from men such as 
Dr Viaur who work independently,  outside of' academi c 
circles ? that scientific advan.ce s come 9 rather than 
from the memb ers of' the sc ientific  establishment who 
are motivated  by  a vain search fo r ' ? ? ?  le s places du 
concours , l es sieges d ' Acad?ni e ,  le s trai tements , les 
decorat ions ? ? ?  les bustes  de marbre a l ' entree des 
b ib liotheque s ' . ( 5 ) Certainly Viaur , himself' , b eli eves 
that the sc i ent ist must re s ist  the destruc tive nature 
of' universi ty teaching whi ch drive s  out originali ty and 
? 1 ) ( ? ?  
( 4 ) 
( 5 ) 
?C.re'ateurs , H. B'!..,.Y.? I I , p .. 768 . 
Missi on h ]tom?, H.  B .  V. I I ,  P ? 950.  
Les Createurs , H . B .V .  I I , p . 769 .  
Perhaps thii3-also refl ec ts Remains ' s  di sappointment 
at the reaction of' the sci en tific world to his 
theories on "eyeless  s ight 1 1 ? 
Les Cr?ateurs , H. B . V .  I I , P ?  797 . 
???--- -=-=? 
substitute s dull uniformity .  
Il  s entai t d ' instinc t QUe les  grande s 
entrepri ses de l 1 intelligence n ' ont jamai s 
ete possibles QUe parce  qu 1 i l y avait des 
hommes c apnbles de s ' ac corder , en dep i t  
des fonc tionna ires du savoir ,  cet te 
inso lente liberte de jeu . ( 1 ) 
The di ssati sfnc t i on vvhich Viaur feels  with the 
sc ience .fnculties i s  echoed by s tuden t s  in other 
de:partmen ts of the universi ty . For example , 
Fran'ioi se  Mal eul , the post-war s tude.i.rc Dt the Sorb onne 
and the Facult$  de  Dro it ,  c ri t i c i ses  the conservatism 
of her lecturers in the law s choo l ru1d tl1e reactionary 
S.l}iri t in the student body ? 
? ? ?  Je trouve les cours horriblement 
en.n.uyeux . Et je n 1 aime p as 1 1 e spri t de 
la Facultd .  Tu n ' imaginc s pas c ette  c ohuc 
cle peti t s  j ennes gen s  paresseu:;c , i.n.f'a tues , 
chahuteurs 9 reac tionnaires .  COEL1e si on 
avai t ro'uni to us l es cancres de b enne 
fata ille  des lycees et  de s bolte s rel igi euse s .  ( 2 ) 
However,  the mo st damning judgeD1ents on the inef-
fi ci ency of  tert iary educnti on c ome from the two 
i:, s  fi rst-year 
students at the Sorbonne in 1 908 they are i rritated by  
the pedantry ru1d dry erudi tion of -?ieir lecturers 
I Honore , Ivlaudillt and Leroux . Nor i s  thei r main 
ob jection to the failure of such a 1 ? ? ?  studieux 
imbecile  1 ( 3 ) as Honor? to st imulate their  minds wi th 
his dul l recital of facts  and references and the 
c oncei ted maru1er in whi ch he pre sents hi s material 
1 ? ? ?  ses  vaines elegances  e t  ses  redi tes  ? ? ?  1 ( 4 )  - but 
( 1 ) ?? l 
Ib id ,  P ? 799 . 
Nai ssance de la  b ande , H . B. V. IV , p .  2 1 5 .  
Les Amours enfantines ,  H . B .V. I ,  p . 325 . 
Eros de P?rj&, H. B . V. I:-p?576 . 
more parti cularly the p seudo-scient ifi c approach to a 
li te rary text whi ch i??ores i ts value as  a work of art . 
Jerphanion ' s censure of thi s method  i s  seen in the 
following pas sage . 
A c oup s?r y  Honor? ?tait content . I l  
di sai t sur les  po?tes  de la  Renaissance y 
des cho se s Qu ' i l avai t s tudieusement 
prepar?es  et qu ' i l croyai t deli ca tes . I l  
c i ta it des  ref<:{rences, dic tait  des notes  
b ibl iographiques ? ? ?  .:Gnsui t c  Je rphani on 
n ' ?couta plus . Il  r ?vait .  Il  transformai t "t , - . t I . 1 1 . ' d 1 d e?? acre e 1n -erleur e a urnere ? es  am:pe s e 
la sal le ,  e t  l e  b ruit des plwne3  sur l e  
J:)ay ier . 
i ' J '  ai  vingt-e t-un ans , e t  j e sui s 11 . 
Et j e  m ' occui.Je  ? ?a .  Un poeme qui glorifie  
l ' amour se  decompose  en une grappe de notes 1 
.Qhi lologique s ,  comme une b elle cha ir at taguee 
par le mal se  fai t bourgeons de lu:pus ou 
chapelet de pustules .  1 1 ( ?1 ) 
The aversion of Jall ez  and Jer.J)hanion to  thi s ' ? ? ?  
?rudi tion virulente ? ? ?  ' ( 2 ) which des troys the aestheti c 
values of a l iterary work i s  mo tivated by their bel i ef 
that the methods of sc i ence are inappli cab l e  to 
literary apprec iation .  S l ightly younger than Laurent 
Pasqui er  or JU?to ine Thibault 9 t hey would seem to be  
less influenced by se  ience and the positivi st spiri t .  
As wil l  b e  seen l ater ,  the i r  a t t i tudes towards the 
study of s c i ence tend to b e  deprecat ing - even in the 
case of Jean Jer?hanion who has excell ed in s c i ence s  
and let?re ? at the secondary l eve l and c o uld  have pro-
ceeded to the Bcole  polytechnique . 
One notes  that their  ob j e ct i ons t o  the ri gidly 
analyti cal nature of the ex?l?cjltion de ?e are 
( 1 )  Ib id , p .  576 . 
( 2 )  Ibid , p . 576 .  
rep eated by the post-war generati on of students . 
Tangui er declares  to his fellow s tudent at the 
SorborL.le , Franqoise  Maieul? that : 
!Le poem? n 1 a pas  Eft? fait p o ur q_u 1 on 
s 1 arr?te  trois  fo is p ar ver s et qu 1 on 
intercale des remarq_ues  a n 1 en ?lus finir 
sur l ' emploi  du conditionnel , sur llile 
allusion hi storique ou b i ographi que , sur un 
emprunt de 1 I auteur a Tibul 1e  et ? Properce .  
Ces  gens-lh ne  se demful.den t j amai s si  ce  
v i eux po?me , tel guel , est  encore capable de 
nous e'mouvoir ,  ou si nous sommes capable s ,  
nous 9 de le sentir ,  de sentir qu ' i l  e st beau . 
9a ne les  interes se pas I ls  sern ient  
e::_;atnnts ]:)Our faire  llil c ours sur Rni_lha.el b 
deD aveugles .  Et  i l s  dicteraiei.lt des no te s ,  
de3 IlOteS  o ? ? e t  a l I GX8.ffiel1. de fin d I annee leS  
aveugles  seraient re?us  ? ? ? ( 1 ) 
If the s tudents asso ciate  the .&rand??et_:?i ta:j?_? 
with dry scholnsti ci sm ,  thi s i1:1 age does no t :f i t  one o:f 
the lecturers , Zabiesky , to  who se lecture on the concept 
of age in il:ionta igne s Romains devo t es a chapter in 
Zab ieslcy impre s se s  wi th hi s 
dep th of lul.owledge ru1d genuine m1derstanding of  his 
sub j ect  as  well  as hi s abi l i ty to  cap ture the interest  
of hi s s tudents ?ith hi s  oratoric al skill . Although 
hi s material i s  but loosely linked wi th hi s lecture 
t opic , the development o f  hi s i deas and the conclusions 
he  draTis are  always stimulat ing. Above all  Zabiesky 
demonstrate s the same intuit ive  understanding of the 
thoughts and feelings of' hi s audienc e and the same 
capacity t o  clothe his ideas in  wo rds that stir  the 
imaginat ion whi ch Clanri card shO\'VS in his less ons at  
the ?cql? in the rue Sainte-Isaure or Jerphani on in  
H . B . V . 
??-? 
IV , pp . 2 1 2-1 3 . 
his address at  the banque t of' the Inst ituteurs de l a  
Haute-Loi re . 
Although Zab ie sky ' s lectures  entertain wi th the i r  
digre ssi ons and flashes of  wit 9 they al so 9 Romains 
suggests9 have an educationa l value not found in the 
formal , ,-,etho dical analyse s of the pedants .  
Les renseignement s pricis , les 
de'velopp ements tout arranges , cela se 
trouve t ouj ours  dans l es bouquins . 
Znb iesky ,  nu milieu de s e s  fariboles 9 vous  
jette  de temps en temps une i c.l?e que vous 
n1 auriez  rencontrde nulle part . Il vous 
e'moust ille  l 1 esprit . Il VOUG habi tue a 
ne pas o.ligner des pens? es c onnues d 1 avance , 
et  qui ont leur place nwile'rotcie .  ( 1 )  
of the l imitnti ons placed upon thei r studies  and the 
restri ctions on the fre e development o:L the ir int el-
lectual inte rests by examinati on pre ssure s .  The 
frustrati onu of the cnndi dates  :for the .agre'gatio.r:l who 
feel confined by the programmes of  study are expres sed 
by Jer.J:)ha.J.'lion : ' En c e  moment , helas , je ne li s pas  
' les _poete s ,  j e  les expli que . Mai s plus tard 9 q_uand 
je  pourrai l es lire sans ?enser au concours 9 quelle  
revanche ! 1 ( 2 )  Jerphanion i s  one vvho s uffers from 
I 1 1  b ? d I ( 3 ) I l t d ? ? ?  o sessl on es  examens ? ? ?  , ? ? ?  e spec r e  e s  
examens 1 ? ( 4 ) He i s  aware that 1 ? ? ?  rec;u dans w1 
mauvais rang ? ? ?  ' , ( 5 ) in the c oncours d ' entree for  the 
Ecole  normal e and wi th the hru1dicap of hi s prov incial 
education he must  impose upon himself a ri gorous self-
Ib id9  P ? 201 . 
Eros de Pari?, H . B . V. I 9  p .  577 , 
Ibi d 9  p . 625 .  
L? Dra?ur n?ir t. H . B .V. I I , P ? 1 1 04 . 
L.?..s Amours enfant ines , H..:..B . V .  I ,  P ? 31 7 .  
d i s c ip line in orde r t o  suc c e e d . Behind the energy 
, 
and c on c entra t i on wi t h  whi c h  he p r epare s  hi s mem o i r? 
f o r  the .li.c ell9_e. on the sub j e c t  of F.9?i?.?eau l?gi s l a t eJd?_  
and the de terminat ion wi th whi c h 9  after his  l i cence 
ha s b e en p a s sed w i th di s t inc t i on , h e  pursue s hi s 
research f o r  the agre(ga t iQ.Q 9  is  Lhe knowledge that 
VJ i th hi s rura l b a ckgro und and hi s 1)aren ts 1 l ac k  of 
f inanc ial r e s our c e s  he mus t  rely up on his own s trength 
to a c hi eve hi s ac adem ic Etilcl s o c ial amb i ti on s .  H enc e  9 
as he te l ls Ja l l e z  a s  they d i s c us s  the agr ega t i on 9  hi s 
fai lur e would b e  ' ? ? ?  un drame ' .  ( 1 ) ' 1 1 ? ? ?  Je sui s p r ? t  
a tous les  sac r i f i c e s  provi s o i r e s  pour 6v i t er 
l '  exp?r i enc e . 1 1 ' ( 2 ) 
Among s t  o ther academ i c a l l y  highly t a l ented s tudent s 
a t  t he Ec o l e  normal e the exam inat i on sy s t em i n  h i gher 
educ n t i on b re eds cyni c ism . As C aule t remarks : 
' HJ ' ai cho i si l a  gramma i re parce que c ' e s t  l a  gramma i re 
qui :p a s se pour la p lus f a c i l e .  S ' i l  y ava i t  e u  lliLe 
agr:ga t i on d ' a lp hab e t 9 j ' au ra i s  cho i s i l ' a gr ega t i on 
d ' alphabe t . n , ( 3 ) VYi th the s c ep ti c s  and the cyni c s  in 
.. 
the ra1uc s of the no rmal i ens there are the ' ? ? ?  p e dant s 
friv o l e s  ? ? ?  ' 9  ( 4 ) the bQcheurs who s e  v i s i on is narrowe d 
t o  t he f ormally academ i c .  Although Jerphan i on h a s  
' ? ? ?  un c ? t? b on ? l?ve ? ? ?  ' ( 5 ) h e  i s  s c o rnful o f  hi s 
f e l l o w  studen t s  who fa i l  t o  t ake a dvanta ge of t he 
wi de r  cultura l  opp o rtuni t ie s  whi c h  are affo rde d by  
hi gher education . Thus 9 he exp re s ses hi s c ont emp t 
.for : 
? ? ? t oute ru?e bande de pauvres diables  
en  train de p iocher dans les  thurnes . 
EraployE{s honn?tes . Rayon des oeuvres de 
1 1 esprit . Pindare et  Lucrece , qu ' i l s  
mettent sur fiches , leur tien.nent au coeur 
c omme une paire de chaussette s .  Leurs I A. I predecesseurs ont prete serment au Second 
Empire ;  et san s  restriction mental e ,  h?:}..as ! 
I l? ereintaient Hugo dans les c las ses de 
r het o ri g_ ue ? ( 1 ) 
Nor , as v;e have seen ,  i s  a norlll.?-liE?__n o.f the b ri llianc e 
o.f Pierre Jal lez who i s  I recu avec eclat I ( 2 ) exempt ) 
.from the stres s o .f  competit ion .for exam inations and 
.?smcourf:3. 9  even if  wi th his high inte ll igence and keen 
inquiring mind he is not .forced , as  in the case o.f  
Jerphani on ,  to regulate his ac tivi ties  nor sacri.fi ce 
his many-sided interes ts in the arts  to :fulfil  hi s 
study requi rements .  Besides , Jerphanion i s  aware 
that b ehind his :friend' s a ir  o:r de tachment .from the 
travail scolai re and his r eputat ion as  a di let tante 
and a f2Ptaisisj& there i s  a .fru?damental se riousnes s 
o:f purp ose - 1 1 1 ? ? ?  Tu te  .fiches moins d 1 ?tre re9u a 
1 1  agregati on. que tu n 1 en a s  1 '  air 1 1  1 ? ( 3 )  
Jerphani on ' s com ent reminds uc that the 
expressed views o.f a student such as Jallez  do not 
nec essari ly indicate his true position Nor should  
the cri t ici sms  o.f the process  o.f education in the 
tertiary insti tut ions o.f the s tudents seen in LW 
Hommes de b onne v olonte be  taken t o  represent .finali ty 
o:r opinion .  Inde ed, Romains in hi s s tudy o.f  the 
( 1 l Le? Amours en.fantines , H .?.y.  I ,  p . 3 1 7 .  
(
3
2 Ibid ,  P ?  3 1 7 .  
( Mont? des p?ri ls , H. B . V. I I ,  P ?  363 .  
react i ons of studen ts t o  the educati ve process under-
l ines the difference  betv;een the tendency of the 
young learner s to  b e  intolerant of the weaknesses  of 
the system and their  later v iew v1hi ch is one of gene ral 
approval . For exampl e , Fran?o i se T?,ia1 eul 9 after gaining 
her ]._i_c_s:;j_l.C.!/. 9 wil l  revise her est imnti on of the value of 
her training a t  the Sorbonne . Whereas before she had 
concurred wi th Tanguier ' s  condemnati on of the methods 
in the .?2?121-i c ati on de texte now she defends the Sorb onne 
against the ac cusation that i t  promotes  an 
e'rudition de ssechee o ? ?  ' ( 1 ) and declares  to  J"allez that 
the re sults of her ins truction have b een largely b ene -
ficial 9 developing habits  of accuracy and prec i s i on . 
Maio n ' est-ce pas , s '  8'tPe habi tu6e 1 
c omprendre un texte dans l e  ae'tail , a ne 
j amai s coni' ondre deux em:plo is  d ' w1. mot 9 'a 
ne la i ss er pass er aucw?e allusi on sans 
t?cher d ' y voi r c lai r ,  ce n ' est  pas ce qui 
empeche d ' etre sensib le ? ? ?  o Le s  exylic at ions 
de la 8orb onne ne m '  ont _pas g?rH:fe ( au 
c o1Ttraire , quand je me sui s mise a lire 
Proust ou Gide , ? ?  ( 2 ) 
The metamorphos is  i s  even more  s triking in  the case  of 
Pierre Jallez  who had expre ssed his  c ontempt for the 
steri l i ty of the teaching at the Sorb onne in 1 908 , but 
who ,  fifteen years  l ater ,  in hi s conversat ion wi th 
Fran?o i se r eveals himself a staunch supporter of the 
tradi tional procedures  of higher educat ion. Romains 9 
obvi ously , i s  not one of those  who questions the 
effectivenes s  of higher educat i on in developing the 
analytical mind. 
( 1 )  Fran?o i se ,  H . B . V. IV , p .  853 .  
( 2 )  Ibid > P ?  853 .  
There  i s one tertiary ins titut i on which e s capes 
the cri t ici sms of the s tudents - the Ecole normale  
I . superleure . I:f the :facul ties an.d the ins ti tutes are 
sub ject  to conformi s t  pressure s  the impression remains  
that the sp ir it  of free  inqui ry prevails  amongst the 
Thi s i s  best  exemp l if i ed in the dis-
cussions of the students in their  .tlL-q,I'lJ..?..?. ? The 
lively exchange of i deas between students  who have 
been dravTi  from different parts  o:f FraDce - Jalle z 9 
the Paris ian 9 Jerphani on from Le Velay 9 Caule t from 
the Beauce 9 Sidre 9 the Bourbonnai s - each of whom has 
different convic t ions and i deal s 9 i s  vi tal to the 
development p roc ess  of  the esprit  __ :Q.ormaljen .  
Of all  the educational in sti tuti ons in  ?es?Hommes 
d?1J.e yolonte' none is painted with such c lari ty an d  
evident sympathy as  the Ecole normale supe'rieure in 
the rue d 1 Ulm .  I t  i s  as if Romains 9 like Jean 
Jerphani on in ?es  Travaux ?es joies 9 is  making a 
pilgrimage b ack t o  the Ecole to reca}.)ture  hi s 1 ? ? ?  ?lan 
ini tial . ? ?  ; 9 ( 1 ) his youthful i deal  i sm .  F'rom the 
moment that in Crime de Quinette  Jerphani on step s  
inside the unprepossessing bui ld ing in the rue d ' Ulm 9 
with i ts fa9ade creating the impre ss ion of a '  ? ? ?  
tri stes se arunini stra tive ? ? ?  1 9 ( 2 ) the reader i s  plunged 
into an. envi ronment redolent with the exuberance of 
youth and the cama??derie  p ecul iar to  those  who dis?
cover that they share the sam e insatiable hunge r f'or 
( 1 )  1es Tr??EX et  les joies 9  li. B.V .  IV 9 p .  2 2 . ( 2 ) C?ime de Quinette?  H . B . V . I 9  p . 265 . 
knowledge and the same pas sion f or new experi enc es . 
Thi s heady ,  intellec tual a tmosphere of ?che Ecole  
normale i s  ev ident in the desc rip t ion Roma ins makes 
of the ??h?-?? 
1 Chaque " thurne ' i  de p remiere aru1?e 
e tai t une p iec e  d ' env iron tro is  m?tres  
c inquante de  large , sur cinq de  p rofonueur ,  
avec  un pla:fond lleve. Le mobil i er se  
com:posai t de quatre  ou  c inq tabl es 
rectangulaires , d ' autant de chai ses  et de 
de LU rangees de p e t i  tes armoire s-Eftageres , 
:fix?es aux deux murs lateraux .  Un gro s 
calori:f?re rond o ccupait  un de s angle s . Le  
t out ressemblai  t a un bureau de  !\1 inist?re 
desa:f:fec te. Et :pourtant , choque :fo i s  
qu ' on ouvrait  une de c e s  porte s 9  i l  en 
sortait  une es?ece  de  bou:f:fee ? sychique 
dont la teneur n ' etai t pa s  penibl e  ? . ?  I c i  
on resp irait  Gans doute  l ' arome de s j eunes  
yensEfes ,  qui est  un t oniquc i11comparable . ( 1 )  
'i1he I::c ole no rmale  whi ch Romi:l ins reveals in .J::.-.?_2_ 
!Is>mtll?.s. _?9-.e. E.92! .. ne.._y?19n!:i i s  one wlli eh ha s  lost  i ts  
ma jor  teaching role t o  the Sorbonne in the 1 9 05 reforms 
but whi ch under the benevole11t eye of the Secretary 
General ,  Dupuy ,  s t i ll  retains its  traditions and it s 
reputation for lib eral tho ught . l?'or the s tudents 9  
the :freedom which they are allowed in thi s uni que 
institut i on ' ? ?  o qui t ient du s?minaire , du lab oratoire , 
,. .I / '  ( 2 )  de l ' ho tel meuble , de l ' abbaye de Theleme ' i s  
conducive t o  intellec tual endeavour and bro ad spe cu-
lati on .  The Ecole  normal e i s  an ?Lan??? which 
spi ritually strengthens and brings moral and mental 
el evati on ,  and takes  i t s  place  amongst the personnage? 
I of LELS Hommef??4e bonne vo lgn..t,y with a charac te r  and a 
( 1 )  Ibid , p . 265 . 
( 2 )  A.  Cuisenier , Jules  R_omains e ?.? .Les  J!.s_m??onne_ 
volonj;? , p . 237"-
personali ty of it s own . 
I t  is  the s timulus of the group which Romains 
indi cates to b e  a powerful fac tor in educ at ion .  Even 
the traditi onal exuberance and delight in m_ystifi catio_l}. 
whi cr1 the pormaJ_ien b rings f'rom hi s Parisian or  
provincial ?.?1?)..?...? where 1 Chacun s 1 ingei.'lie ? i .nvente '  and 
attemp ts  to create 1 ? ? ?  une sorte de vie  inimit able 1 ( 1 ) 9 
wi th its  manifestation in the cB,m1l . .fLC:?. nt the Ecole  
nor male , are seen as :part of  the p ro c e s s  ? of int e llec tual 
development - a means of mental sharpening and of exer-
cis ing the imaginative and c reo.t i ve powers.  It would 
appear that in a real sens e the t??lien?? educate each 
other aDd by sharing their  ideas anu opinions ,  they 
br oaden their vis ion and av oid the dangers of narrow 
special isation . Henc e?  Jer_Jhanio?J. ,  the provinc ial , 
becomes infused with Jalle z 1  s gre a t  love of Pari s and 
hi s enthusiasm for al l form s of JUo de rn art , and he in 
turn influences  Jalle z w ith his absorption in p o l i tical 
and so c ial i s sues .  The narration of' the debates  of 
Jallez ru1d Jerphanion ,  whe the r on thei r balades through 
the s treets  of' Paris  or in the ir .?J:n,lrns; at  the Ecole 
normale ,  ( 2 ) with the encyclopaedi c range of topic s 
that they sub jec t to judgement by their highly deve-
loped  ?SprjJ c?tigu?,  prov ides a sharp c ontrast wi th 
the p ass iv i ty of instructi on at the Sorb onne and the 
general lack of s tudent involvement in the proce s s  of 
education a t  the tertiary level .  
Recherche d 1 une eE}is?, ?? I ,  .P ?  1 077 . 
See in p arti cular the chap ter ent itl ed Jeune s s??
Travail-Poe'sie in Les Amours enf'antines , H .  B .  V .  I .  
??-??--??------? ,.....,?--...-=------ .:L!..?---?-
However ,  it is  obvious tha t Romai11s in hi s 
:p i cture of' the Ecole  norma le attem:p ts to avoid  
nos talgic di storti on .  
Jal lez and  Jer:phani on ,  c onsci ous o:f their positi on in. 
an intel lec tual ari stocracy , are sub jec t to  intelle ctual 
arroganc e and tend to undervalue the a'J ili  ty o:f those 
I I 
who have no t the ir  b ack ground o:f the ,cy].J?--?re __g?nEll'-?1?. ? 
'rhi s i s  :found in Jerphanion ' s s el:f-satis:fi eel rausings 
on the roof of the Ecole  normale  which Nadeau de scribe s  
a s  ' ? ? ?  une :peti te gigue faust ienne ? ? ?  1 ,. ( 1 ) or  in hi s 
estimation of the quali ti es whi cll differentia t e  him 
from the ????!Jtut???? Clanricard or Laulerque ? 
.Le 1 1primaire 1 1  dif:f?rerait  d ' un homme 
de :format ion c lasBique , meme Si leurs origines 
soc ial es s e  ressemb l ent , :par une susceytibilite  
d e  sens crit ique b eaucou:p mains vive . D ' ou un 
ce rtain defaut de di stinct ion .  ( 2 ) 
Yet , shortly b efore ,  Jerphanion had ackaowl edged 
Clanri card '  s superior krwwledge of :politi cal and social 
affairs and had fe lt as int imi dated as a 1 ? ? ?  :petit  
gar9on ? ? ?  devant c e  timide insti tuteur du dix-
hui ti-eme  ? ? ?  1 ? ( 3)  Similarly 9 the e:pi sode in whi ch 
Jer?hanion consul ts Clanri card in connect i on with hi s 
search for an ?gl i??  exp ose s his weakness  i n  criti cal 
argument . Romains suggests  that the eagerness  of the 
???i?? to  construct  s trikingly or iginal arguments 
pre sent s the danger of confusing form for sub stance . 
The 1 ? ? ?  i T  resse  royale ? ? ?  1 ( 4 ) which Jerphanion 
( 1 ) M .  Nadeau, Litter_?j;ure pr?sent?, p .. 99 . 
( 32 ) Recherche d?une eglise , H. B .?. I ,  p .  1 046 .  
( ) Ibid , :p .  1 01 8. 
( 4 )  Ib id ,  p .  1 01 2 .  
experiences in the formulat ion of balanced arguments 
and the symmetri cal :presentation of ideas - a habi t  
which i s  formed by the :p rac t i ce of the lit erary and 
philosophi cal dissertat ion - make s him a 1 ? ? ?  dupe de 
la syrne t.rie  des idee s  ? ? ?  1 ,  ( 1 ) and inclined to place 
over-relirulc 8 on the validi ty of thi s approach . As 
a re sul t ,  when Clanricard indi ca t?s the error in his  
reasoning Jerphani on i s  ' ? ? ?  Ul1 peu dt!'contenance ? ? ?  
devan -c le s de"g?ts  que l 1 ob j ec ti on venai t de fai re dans 
la belle  synH?trie toute neuve . 1 ( 2 ) 
'rhe into lerance  of Jalle z and Je r:phani on i s  al so 
turned towards those of thei r fellovJ students -vvho do 
not  sha re the ir atti tude s o r  i deals - the pedant s ,  the 
.ill?l..?s ,  -- the c onservat ively-minded Catho lic minority -
The student 
of the hwnani t ies  mocks the inelegance and the lack of 
culture  of the s tudent in N ormale-Sc icnces  wi th ' ? ? ?  sa 
blouse crasseuse , sa  t ignasse ,  sa t rogne de potard mal 
emb ouche' ? ? ?  1 ?  ( 3 ) 
But , as Jer:phanion :progresses  through the Ecole  
normale and gains a more mature judgement of hi s 
indivi dual worth and a deepe r cri t i cal  sense , one see s 
the development of the ?malie?. The miracl e 
of the Ecol e ,  as Romains demons trates ,  resi de s  in the 
forma tion of a trained mind whi ch combines clari ty of 
thought and breadth of  vis i on .  I t  i s  thi s mental 
------ --------------------------?-?---=-------------?--
Ibid ,  p .  1 0 14 .  
Ib id ,  p ? 1 01  3 ? 
Eros de Par i s ,  H . B .?. I ,  :p .  607 . 
sharpness and fl exib ility whi ch the students of the 
Ecole normale take into the i r  vari ous careers . 
Later views of the normalienf? shovv the extent to 
whi ch they have b een imbued wi th the spirit of the 
Ecole normale .  The :purity of  v isi on of Jean 
Jerphanion,  hi s ideal ist i c  fai th in the efficacy of  
the twin forces  of l?JO!.llllL.Y...9l ont_? an.d l a  rai son to 
usher in the re ign of justi ce , are at tributable in 
great part to hi s exper ienc e s  a s  a ;}Ormalien ,  t o  the 
training he has rece ived and to the contacts  he has 
made . If  his b ackground in a family  of the pet i t? 
?.Q...srgeoi_si? of modest  means has developed in him 
humani tarian i deal s and a feel ing of solidarity with 
the oppress e? these sent iment s have be  en broadened 
and deep ened by his stud ies  of phi losophy and 
literature .  His hopes  and his  ideals for  an 
equ i tab le so c iety are linked wi th a chain of radi cal 
thought wl1i ch extends back through Hugo and M ichelet 
to Rousseau.  Jerphanion 9  in hi s pol iti cal involve?
ment? prov ides proof tha t the gg??1al?e? allies  flexi ?
b i l i ty of  mind and independent judgement with honesty 
of purpo se ru1d scorn of subt erfuge , as  do hi s fe llow 
normaliens  in their chosen areas of acti vity - Ja llez ?:=---
in l i terature 9 Budissin in l i terary cri t ic ism and 
Sidre and Caulet in teaching.  
Nevertheless 9 one notes  that the qual i t ies  of  
the normal ien are cal led to question by  the p ol i t i c ian 9  
c.?.___.,.,... 
Reibeman , in Nai ssance  de la  bande 9 who attacks the 
e sprit normali en and cri ti c i ses  the prest ige which the 
t itle of normalteg posse sse s y  parti cularly in p oliti cal 
c ircles : 
"Dans le cas p art iculi  er qui nous 
occupe, a cote des de'faut s indi vi duels y 
il  y a ceux qui provi ennent de la  
formati on ? ? ?  En ce  moment-ci , nous avons 
w1 peu trop de Normali ens dans le.s cadres 
sup?ri eurs de la p oli  t ique .  Outre qu 1 ils  
s e  poussen t entre eux,  i ls  se res semb lent 
tous .Qar certains c&te's ? ? ?  Pendan t la  guerre , 
ll0U8 aVOn S etr! Ull p e U  Vic timeS de l I eSJ:)ri t  
polytechrli c ien.  I l  n e  fau<lrai t _b) a s  que 
no us l e  fus sions aujourd 1 hui de 1 1  e spri t  
non!wlien.  ; r  ( 1 )  
But Jallez  i s  of the opinion that the poli t i cal 
arriv5????s su ch as Reibeman are pre judic ed against 
the intellectual qual i t ie s  of the l10.,t>m?lie.Q..? of the 
'Re'publ ique des yrofesseurs 1 ,  who se sha rp cri ti cal 
sense an.d formidable  logic  dei'ea t the attempts  of the 
opportuni s ts to ga in influence , and unmask the ir  
intr igues and machina ti ons . ' " Il  n ' aime pas  le s 
Normal ien s ,  et j e  le  c omprends .  Son p?danti sme ?e -
banquier penseur y son machiav?li sme infatud n 1 ont pas 
chance  de  produire w.1.e gros se imp re ssion sur les  
archicube s . 1 1 1 ( 2 ) 
Caulet , Jallez , Sidr e  o r  Budi ssin ,  the ?9rmali?ns of 
Jerphani on 1 s ?romot ioB, whom Romains sees a s  the 
spiritual leaders  of Prance , and who in thei r dif-
ferent spheres of influence , whether p oli t i cs ,  
li te rature  or education ,  ac t upon hwnan destiny as 
representatives  of ' ? ? ?  la volont? humaine , b onne et  
( 1 )  Na issanc e de la bande , 
( 2 ) Ibid, p. 287 . ------
H. B .V. 
? .... ?- IV , p .. 287 . 
. . b l  I ( 1 ) ra l s o n.aa e ? ?  o o They a r e  th e .&? .. n.s -?ns t ru:j._i?_ to 
whom Laul e r que l o oks :for a r e c ons t ru c t i on of' s oc i e ty : 
t ? ? ?  [ de s ] hommes t o ut a fa i t  mode rnes 9 d 1 une f o r t e  
c ul ture pllilo sa_l)hi que e t  sci ent if' i q_ue 9 d 'un  n i v e au 
inte l l e c tuel emi n en t ' .  ( 2 ) W i th the ?J.E?? gro up o:f 
inst :j. t._u ?S. formed by the B c o l e  norr:1al e d 1 Aut eui l  -
Samp eyre , Clanr i car d 9  Lau l e r que - they sha re the 
int e l l ec tual and m o r a l  c ha rac t e ri s t i cs of the 1 M en of 
Goodw i l l ' whi ch 9 i n  hi s no t e  to the r eade r s  wr i t t en 
at the c onc lu s i on of' the n o v e l - s e r i es , Roma ins de s -
C r ib e S  a S  I o o o W? C e r t a i n  goQt de l a  l ib e r t ?  e t  de 
l ' honne t e t? int e l l e c tue l le s ; une c ertaine t en dre s s e 9 
exe.mp t e  de na'ive t ff  e t  de faux - semb l an t s , p ou r  
l ' av ent ur e du genr e huma in o ? ?  Un e horreur f'?ndam en tal e 
p our l a  b ? t i se ? ? ?  ' . ( 3 )  I t  i s  true thc.t .l..2..J2.Q.? 
yo l on?A an d +?a i son are n o t  exc l us iv e l y  he l d  by thi s 
gr oup and tha t th e ' M en of' Goo dwi l l '  are found a t  
o t h e r  l ev e l s  o f  s o c i e t y  b u t  i t  would seem t h a t  i n  
thi s  com? any the c oncep t gai n s  i t s  :ful les t exp re s s ion . 
I t  i s  c l ear , ther efo r e , tha t if Roma ins ha s 
p er t inen t c ommen t s t o  m a ke  on the p r o c e s s  of e duc a t i on 
i n  the scho o l s , he supp o r t s  the gene ra l p rinc ip l e s of 
the French appro ach t o  form al educ a t i on 9  p a r t i cul arly 
the t radi tional t r ai n in g  of the r e a son through the 
s tudy o:f the Q_?1 tur,_? wfne"ra:J:.El? The ?1Jt.._e 
int e l illt.ue ll,e fo rm e d  in the l;y?{e ? 9  the fa cul t{s 
and the grand?? /co l e?. w ith a bal anc e d  c u l t ur e 9 are 
those who wi ll  preserve and enr ich the values of' 
French c ivi li sation .  For if Jerphani on and Jallez 
are f'i lled with the humani tarian ideal and look forward 
to a brave new world of polit ical and social jus t i ce 
they do not envis age a society in ?which the moral and 
spiritual val ues which they have  inheri ted from the 
past wo uld b e  replaced by a mas s  culture . Jal lez  1 s 
ho?ror of su ch a soc iety i s  expressed in thi s passage : 
A Il  y a une bassesse  du gout _public  
QUi tient non a la SUpre'matiC  de 1 I argent 9 
mai s a la supr?mat ie du grand nombre . I l  
ne suffira p a s  pour am?l i orer l e  go?t 
d 1 emal1.Ciper economi quem en t le grand nombre  ? 
Yi ?l1?.2Q..ill??'llil e  plai t  a ,...beaucOUJ.? :plus de / gens que l?me de Mel i sande dans ,Pellea?_ ,  
J 1 a i  ?eur que pour beaucoup l ' image de l n  
soci et? :future ? ce s o it de fredonner Viens  
r?u??uL? en p?chant ? la ligne.  Il  ne 
suffira pas de supprimer l e  capi tal i sme  
pour que le s ouvriers  aient moins de 
plaisi r a chanter Vi ens _goy.I2.Q_ul?. ? I l  
faudra le s en dego?atiemElent ? e t  
faire  non seulemen t qu ' i ls aiment autre 
cho se , mai s ou ' ils  cro ient n 1 avoi r chang? 
de c onditi on --que le j o ur ou ils aii:J.eron t 
autre chose ? ? .  La Re'volut ion sera bonne dans 
l ' ordre de l 1 e sprit  si elle remplace  l 1 e'lite  
de l ' argent par une ?l ite intellec tue lle qui 
donnera alL"<: masses  de s mats d 1 ordre 9 de s 
gout s ,  de s s uscep tib i lites ? ? ?  ( 1 )  
The f' inal tableau of Roma ins 1 s  pageant of French 
hi story from 6 October 1 908 to 7 October 1 933  repre-
sents the dashed hope s of the _g?J?tps"c,rui ts who had 
set  o ut wi th s tudent ideali sm i n  the early years of 
the century to re structure soc iety with the ins tru-
;rhe par t i -
c ipants in  this ]?eti te ceremqnie s_9_ll__juratoire  d? 
1 1 ami tLe et  de l '  amour are members of' the same 0 0 ? 
? 
f'ami lle  spirituelle ? ? ?  , ( 1 ) and belong to the sam e  ' ? ? ?  
rac e de 1 1nobles 1 1  ? ? ?  ' 0 ( 2 ) Apart from the Engli shman , 
Bartlett , each o f' the six  has been moulded by the 
dis c iplines of' the French middle-cl ass  educational 
inst itut i ons 1  Jerphani on ,  Jallez ,  Caulet and Budi ssin -
the normaliens 1 Ode tte and Franc oi se - the repre senta-
?-? ? - - ? 
ti ves  of the new int e l lectual ?)JJ&. of vJOmen who have 
b een trained in the .J.Jice? o.nd th e  facul t i es 1  represent 
the kind of inte llectual aristocracy whi ch the 
traditi onal French classical. educat i on has sought t o  
produce .  
Al though they have not lost  thei r hope f'or human 
progre s s ,  they :reel strangely out of place in  the p o st-
war era wi th it s p opular  culture 1 its  brash commercial-
ism ,  i t s pouyeaux riche s 1  i ts  worship of' sc ienc e and 
technology, and they sh<:.ux; ?\ nostal gia f'or the period of' 
thei r f'ormation whi ch w i th i ts order and i t s  s tab i lity 
had allowed a place of' honour to the giy?li s e  - the man 
of' sharp intellect and b ro ad cul ture whose  educa ti on 
had preserved the tradit i onal balanc e b e twe en the 
intrinsi c  and the extrins ic , the ?912.ri t apollinien and 
the e SJlr?t prom?thien . ( 3 )  The ir  reservati ons c oncern-
ing the new age are summed up in Jal lez ' s f' inal r emarl? :  
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
( 3 ) 
( 4 )  
-Ce monde moderne serai t tout de mgme 
que lque cho se de b i en epatant , s i . o . Aucun 
des autres  n ' avait besoin qu 'll expliquat 
le s i .  Aucun non ?lus n ' avait sous la 
main une reponse . ( 4 ) 
L ' Auteur aux l ec t eurs , H .?.?? IV , p . 1 1 29 .  
F?anco ise , H. B .V .  IV , p .  79 7.  
See rtomains' s  historical  analysi s  of' the growth 
of' the disequilib rium b e tween the humanit ie s  and 
??ru1iqu? in be 7 o c tob??' ??Y? IV 1 chapt . XXIV. 
Ibid ,  P ?  1 1 25 . 
CONCLUSION : 
Throughout thi s chap ter we have examined Remains ' s  
treatment of the dual contribution of the fami ly and 
the school to the deve lopment of personality and 
character . If one do es no t f ind in Les_Hommes de 
qon.ne y2)onte' a psychological study in depth of  the 
interac ti on of teacher and learner or parent and child9  
one doe s gain a valuable  insight into the role p layed 
by  the family and the school  in enculturat ion - the 
process  by  which culture i s  handed  on by the s oci ety 
and acquired by the individual ,  whether by the 
informal training in s o c ial ly accepted  form s  of 
behaviour and the cultivat ion of appropriate attitude s 
and value s in the home or  the formal teaching of 
skills  and knowledge in the schoo l .  
As we have seen ,  Roma ins ski lfully probe s  the 
determinant  influence s of  the ???1?? and expos e s  the 
soc ial pres sures and forces  b rought to  b ear on the 
child  through the inst i tut ions of the family and the 
s chool .  H e  stresses the differences  in value 
orientations b etween the child who has b e en b rought 
up in a lower middle-class home and has rec eived an 
/ e lementary education in an ?cole?gn?unale  b efor e  
gaining entr&?ce to  the eli t? via  the ? and the 
tertiary instituti ons , and the child  whose early 
training has been in a family of the pourgeo is ie 
d ' a?t.  
Of the soc ial gro up s  and classes in Les Hommes 
de bo?e volonte i t  is without doubt this  pe ti te 
bour_geQiSie whi ch is  seen t o  best advantage . I t  is  
thi s class which produce s  the rac e of ? :noble s 1 1 -
Jerphani on,  Ja llez 9 Sampeyre ,  Clanr icard - who act  as 
a consc i enc e ,  an animating inte lle ctual sp ir it on 
their age . Jallez ,  the wr iter ,  Jerphanion ,  the 
homme _Q.' ?tat , Loui s Bast ide , the engineer of  the new 
Empire , have in common thei r rear ing in a modest  
middle-class family in whi ch the child-rearing 
practi ces  radiate about the concept  of achi evement 
and gi ve emphasi s to the vi rtues of determinat i on ,  
honesty,  caution and thrift , a s  well  as thei r fo rmal 
endowment in the 1;t_c??fi and .9.2.1-???? ?vi th  the 
apt i tude s and att i tude s of mind pri zed by the middle ? 
classes  c larity and prec i s i on of  thought and 
respec t for order and ba lance . 
Romains doe s  not bl ind himself to  the rest-
rictiveness of  the small , neo-malthusian family unit 
in whi ch the at tenti on of the parent s of the pet i te 
bour_geoi sie is c entred on the chi ld , although he 
appears to prefer the nuclear :family to the older 
pattern of the extended fami ly in which  individual i ty 
i s  los t when the members are sub j ect  to a '  ? ? ?  
solidarit{ par la tripe ' , ( 1 ) as  in the c as e  o:f the 
Famil le Chalmers . Nor do es  he ignore the conformi st 
practices in the secondary schools  and the defi ci en-
c i e s  in the teaching at the terti ary level . But in 
the final analys is  Romains l ends hi s support t o  
( 1 )  R?cours ? l ' abtme , ?. B .V .  I I ,  p .  624 . 
these ins t i tuti ons whi ch !lave formed the homme de  
bonD? voJ2llL{ with a broad culture by whi ch he may 
view the age and compare the pre sent with the past ,  as  
well as  a ke en mind to search for new solutions and 
abundant re serves of go odwill  to draw him in a sp iri t 
of fraterni ty clo ser to his fellow men .  A s  Michael-
Ti tus points out , Roma ins ' s  ideal of  the homme de 
b onne ,..Y,2lonti i s  ste ep ed in the tradi t i ons of the 
bo?llr?si e _la'igue . 
L ' homme de b onne volontd,  depeint sous 
tant d' as:pects  par Jules Rome. ins n '  est 
autre que 1 1 le  bon pere O.e famille 1 1 , c 1 est 
le nbonhomme"  de nos j ours qui so rt de  
l 1 e'c ole et  de la  fami lle  que la pensee 
bourgeoi se la'ique lui a donnees , qui vi t 
dans la societe et dfuLS . la patrie que cette 
pens?e lui a donnd'e s et  qui ne pense qu ' ?  
vi vre en paix et en l iberte. ( 1 )  
If J alle z ,  Jerphanion and Loui s Basti de , to  name 
but few of the figures  in Romains ' s ' ? ? ?  roman?
Or!noque ' ( 2 ) who attempt to  inje c t  into an ail ing 
soci ety a dosage of reason and goodwi l l ,  owe a deb t 
t o  the middle-clas s fami ly and the mi ddl e-clas s  s chool , 
i t  i s  primari ly to these ins ti tuti ons as they exi sted 
in the period prior to World ?ar I .  ;L_?s Hommes de 
b onne yol?c? reco rds the progress ive disi llusi onment 
of the men educated  at the turn of the century in an 
age of easy op timi sm at  the turn o f  events in the 
p eri od from 1 908 to 1 933 . I t  would not be  true to 
say that they are l ef t  ut terly de spondent but the i r  
early opt imi sm has faded b y  the twenty-seventh and 
( 1 ) 
( 2 ) 
C .  Michael -Ti  t us ,  ' Aspects  e t  orientat i on de l a  
pensee bourgeoi se l aique en France ' , ?ttingham 
French S tudies , vo l .  I I , no . 1 ,  May 1 9  3 ,  p . 44 . 
M . - Nadeau, ?tttEfr..?..ture_,I?re'?ente ,  p . 97 . 
final volrune of the serie s . Jerphanion, Jallez  and 
thei r  c om?ani ons on thi s j ourney int o  the twenti e th 
century cannot he lp but look back with nostalgia to 
the age in which they were  formed as they :find 
evidenc e that the ways of thinking 9 the bel iefs and 
values wi th which  they had been brought up , are 
ignored or derided. To employ Franco ise Maleul ' s  ? 
general i sat i on of ;:1c::mners and atti  tude s 9  the hommes dEl 
Q?nne volont1 are the products  of one of 1 ? ? ?  l es 
/ - . 1l I 1 d th _., . d th l epoques D l en e evees . . .  an ey .1. ln emse ves  
after the b ouleversements in  s o c ie ty occasi oned by  
the war in an  ' ? ? ?  e:po que ? ? ?  mal  ?levie . ' ( 1 )  
The t one o? regret in the f inal vo lumes  of Les  
Hommes ge_ borul.t::; _ vo lonte' is  unmis talceab le and no doub t 
reflects  the fading faith  of the author himself . As 
Bourin comment s : 
Est-ce  a dire que le Jules  Romains 
d ' au jourd ' hui a renie  les  e'lans de sa 
j eunes se et de son ?ge mur?  Ce n ' e s t  pas 
c ertain , mais l e  monde d ' a  present n ' offre 
?lus de tremplin a sa ferve ur et  il  lui 
s emble  qu e les hommes  d '  ? present 
s 1 engagent dans de s vo i e s  qui ne peuvent 
que l e s  c ondui re ? leur p erte . o . C ' e st  peut?
etre pour S I  gtre ffiOntre danS Sa jeuneS Se 
trop encl in a l I o:pt im i sme  que Jule s Romairis .. 
l 1 est  s i  p eu de'sormai s .  Mai s toute son 
oeuvre e s t  la pour attester  quel le confianc e 
i l  fi t a l '  homme du xx:e siecle .  Impossib le A de conna l tr e  c et homme , s e s  luttes e t  se s 
rgyes ,  sans ou?rir  l e s  romans de Jul es  
Romains . ( 2 )  
( 1 ) Naissance de la bande , H? B .V .  IV, p . 230 . 
( 2 ) A.  Bourin ,  ' Jules  Romains-romancier 1 , Bibl i o , vo?.XXXI? 
no . 8 ,  Oct . 1 966 , p . 7 .  
- CONCLUSION TO PART III : 
In  Part I? we establi shed certain paral lel s in 
the f ormati on of Duhamel ,  Martin du Gard and Romains 
and in  their  general views on educati ono Such 
p aralleli sm extends  to the treatment of  the proce ss 
of education ,  particularly as  it affec ts  the child in 
the home and the pupil in the school , in the i r  three 
r0mans-fleuves o  
Each of the thre0 wri ter s  see s  the family and the 
sch?ol  a s  prime de terminant s of the mental , moral and 
soc ial quali tie s of the individual o I t  i s  through 
the experience of  familial educat ion and fo rmal train?
ing in the schools  that the child acquire s hi s ma j or 
impul se s and habi t s ,  atti tude s and value s ,  sentime nts  
and ide al s o  But i f  there is  agreement on general 
principle s  there are significant differenc e s  in 
empha si s o  As  we have seen , Martin du Gard  employs 
a modified form of nineteenth century determini sm in 
whi ch the individual i s  firmly bound by hi s p articul ar 
heredity and educ ational environment . Duhamel , 
similarly , lays stre s s  upon the twin force s of  heredi ty 
and education - like the Thibault s ,  Laurent Pasquier 
i s  deeply consci ous  of  his inseparable bends of  union 
with the members  of hi s clan and hi s susceptibil ity  
t o  the trai ts  and characteri stic s of  hi s f athe ro  
However ,  in  Chronigue des Pasguier one has not the 
sense that the charac ters  are a s  narrowly co nfined  a s  
their  c ounterparts  i n  Le s Thibault o If in  Le s 
Thibault Daniel  de Fontanin bec omes a philanderer like 
hi s father 9 and in the pre-war peri od Antoine Thibault 
i s  seen to  be a ssuming the attitude s and even the 
rr1anneri sms of 0 scar Thibaul t ,  l.auren t P asquier i s  
allowed p artial e scape from the imprint of hi s family 
by a ' reacti on anti-heredi taire ' o Romaine. ,  on the 
o ther hcmd , shows le ss  c oncern f or hereditary fac t or s  
or the particular set of  so c i o-p sychol ogi cal c ircum-
stances  whi ch affect  the p arent-child or teacher-pupil 
rel&ti onship o Por Romains , i t  i s  the general in1'lu-
ence  exerted  by the milieu or the group which i s  of 
overriding imp o rt ance o 
L ' heredite semble comp ter peu pour Jule s 
R or;J.ains 9 mai s le t,li l ieu , le genre de vie e t  le 
me'tier de'terminent inflexiblement 1 1 hom e , son 
aspe c t 9 se s ge s te s ,  se s Gpini ons et  se s amours o ( 1 ) 
A family o r  a sch o ol , then ,  may have a group per sona-
l i ty of i t s  own but it i s  also  p art of wider group s 
or sec ti ons  of  colle c t ive l ife t o  which i t s  individual 
member s are linked in p sychi c continui tyo 
The family whi ch is  accordea most  prominence  in 
e ach of the three novel-cycle s i s  the conjugal family 
of the middle cl as s  iL the period  irmnediately p ri or 
t o  World ivar L Al though there are obvious difference s 
in  s oc i al sta tus , ec onomic c ircumstances ,  religious  
belief and even in  the quality of  family relati onship s ,  
from the p oint of  view of familial education the 
Pa squiers of Chronigue de s P a sguier , the Thibault s and 
the Font anins of Les Thibault and the Bastide s  and 
( 1 ) j, Nathan, His toire de la li tterature fran1ai se 
c ontempo raine ,  P o  176e 
the Jerphanions of  Le s Hommes de benne volonte have 
fundamentally the same at t itude s and the same 
appro ache s o  In  each of  the se familie s the parents  
are concerned wi th the welfare of  their  children and 
prepared to  make sacrifice s for their  educati on. 
I t  is true that the familie s of  the ?e tite 
bourgeoi sie in Chr onigue de s Pasquier  and Le s Homme s 
de bonne volonte appear to  have more in comrr1on with 
e ach o ther than wi th the wealthy middle- cla ss  families  
of  Le s Thibault o The charac teri st ic s of the l ower 
middle- class upbringing of the Pasquiers  reappear in 
the family of Loui s Bastide o  The values whi ch the 
P a squier s are tm:ght - compe titivene s s ,  integrity , the 
abhorrence of e a sy money - are evident in the training 
of Pierre Jallez and Jean Jerphani ono Yet such at ti-
tude s and value s are also learnt by Antoine and 
Jacque s Thibault in their family of the affluent I 
bourge oi sie o The l ay mor ality of the Pa squiers  or  
the Bast ide s is  replaced by an austere Catholici sm and 
the warm relati onship of mother and child in the l ower 
middle- cla ss  f amily i s  super seded by a har sh authori-
t arianism ,  but the moral inheritance of the children 
i s  similar .  The Thibault s, like Laurent P asquier or  
Jean Jerphanion, are endowed wi th energy and a compel-
l ing drive to succeedo  They , to o ,  are men of go od-
will who are concerned more with pe ople than property 
and their  ambit i ons are directed t owards the liberal 
professions rather than industry or  commerce . 
The view ,  then ,  whi ch Duhamel , Martin du G ard  and 
502 
Romains g ive of the middle-cl ass  family i s  far removed 
from the savage p ortraits  of Flaubert or Maupas sant 
in the nine teenth cen tury o r  even o f  Gide or Maur:.ac 
in the twentietho The ir  familie s of the bourge o i sie 
are no t the large , extended familie s who se members  are 
cultural phili stine s ,  avari ci ous and rapac i ous ,  
obse ssed by the no tion o f  property , that one finds  in  
the fic t i on of naturali smo However , wheth.er the 
middle- cl ass  family of  the romans-fl euve s i s  nece ssa?
rily any more repre sentative of the bourge oi sie a s  a 
whole , i s  open to  que sti ono  As ha s been p o inted out , 
Duhamel ,  Martin du Gard and R omains tend t o  c oncentrate 
on that sec t i on of the bourge o i sie with whi ch they are 
best  acquainted o  The ir  upbringing in  familie$  
involved  with the profe ssi ons - medic in3 , law ,  teach?
ing - oriented t owards inte llec tual achievement and 
the ac quisi ti on of a broad cu lture , obviou sly influ?
ence s their  soci al vi si ono In Chronigue de s Pasguier , 
Le s Thibault and Le s Homme s de bonne v olonte the 
empha si s is placed upon a bourgeoi sie cult ivee whi ch 
i s  acu tely conscious  of i t s  cultural inheritance and 
of  i t s  obligati ons t o  pass  i t  on enriched  to the next 
generationo 
The reac ti on of the children to the i r  upbringing 
follows similar l ine s in e ach of  the romans-fleuve s o  
The theme o f  t he adole scent who flee s  the re straint s 
whi ch  the family places up on hi s personal development 
c onstantly reappear s o T o  different degree s , Laurent 
P asquier , Jacque s Thibault and Pierre Jalle z  rebel 
.2.92 
against  famili al dominati on and assert the ir indepen-
dence of  their p arent s o  But if  there i s  e strangement 
from the family , thi s is temporary o Even the cla ssic  
rebel , Jacque s Thibaul t ,  finds that he  is  unable to  
de tach himself permanently from the family cir cle o 
Nor in  the nillne of indiv idualism  do the se characters  
show an  enduring  ho st ili ty to  the family as  a general 
c oncep to Their bi tte rness  i s  directed  against p art i-
cular ci rcumstan ce s in the paren t-child  interactiDn ,  
no t against the family insti Gutiono Laurent 
P asquier  prize s hi s autonomy but will accep t the 
re sponsibilitie s of  fatherhood and the management of 
the foyer ; Clanxic ard , Jean Jerphanion and Louis 
Bastide wi ll  seek t o  f ulfil  to  the be st of  the i r  
abil i ty the middle-cla ss ideal o f  the bon  pere de 
famille ; even Pierre Jalle z who se art i stic  nature 
instinc tively re j ec t s  re strict ions en hi s perso nal 
freedom wi ll weary of a l ife of e9lf-grat ific ati on and 
bec otre prepared to  subordinate hi s personali ty t o  the 
obligati ons of the marriage p artnershi p o  I t  i s  t rue 
that the war cut s short Jacques and Anto ine Thibaul t 
in  the ir manho od befo re they have  c ontrac ted marriage o 
But bef ore the outbreek  of war Antoine had b egun to 
t i re of hi s e a sy exi stence and hi s fle e t ing li aiso as 
and,  a s  we h ave  seen , the entries  in hi s j ournal indi?
c ate the depth of hi s l onging for family life o  I t  
i s  perhap s p ointless  t o  con jec ture how Jacques would 
h ave f ared as a p arento  No doubt the comment whi ch  
Th?r? se de Fon tanin make s that wi th their  similarity 
in  nature and the ir emoti onal and social immaturity  
the conjugal life of  Jenny and Jacques Thibaul t would 
have cau sed both deep suffer ing , is a fair e st imati on 
of  their futur e y  based on thetr  p ast behavi our " Yet 
the abrup t change which mo therho od brings to Jenny i s  
a hopeful sign and one that sugge st s that even Jacque s y  
g iven time , might have di sc o vered the equilibrium and 
the sense of duty whi ch O sc ar 'Il1ibaul t had shown 
t owards hi s - sons . 
The young middle-class wives, -well educ ated and 
wi th the advantage of greater  freedom than their  
mo thers _ enj.oyed , _ are almos t inv ariably con sci.entious,  
mnrally ? upright and warm in the ir  relati onsh:Lp 'Ni th 
their children. In  atti tude and manner there . i s  
l i ttle t o  separate Jacqueline Pasquier and Ode t te 
Jerphani on or  even ce'c ile Fauve t and Jenny de Fontanin L 
In this they tend t o  follow the ir mo thers for if they 
are over-p ro te c t ive _ and incl ined t o  bind the lr chil?
dren clo se to them in emo tional dependency , Mme 
Pasqui er , Mrne Bast.ide and Mme .de Fonta11in _surr-ound 
their children with affection and po ssess - a zealous  
de sire to shield them from mo ral threat s .  
Although, in Chronique de s Pasguier and _ Le s  Hommes  
- d? bonne vol onte" the pi-cture of  a middle-class  family 
_ _  upbringing app-ears to emphasise the po.si-ti ve - co ntribu?
tion which the mi ddle-class  morali ty taught in the 
home make s t o  the l ife of the Republic , the reverse 
side of this portrait  i s  also  shown. Raymond 
Pasquier and M o  Wasselin are marked by irre sponsibility 
in financial ma tters  and thei r lower middle- cl ass  
ambiti on to rise in soc ial status has found expre ssion 
in extravagant dreams rather than the accepted avenue s 
of  prac ti c al act iono Duhamel also seems to  sugge st 
that c ompetitive atti tude s towards wor?ly succe ss , the 
pur sui t  of wealth and power 9  have corrupted Jo seph 
Pasquier o Hi s har shness  towards hi s family st?ms 
from hi s di sregard for  human value s and fo r o rder and 
stabili ty in soci al relationship so  Like Duhame 1 ,  
Romains tends to  divide hi s middle- c la s s  families  
between tho se of  mode st means who are the defenders  
o f  the  middle-class v irtue s ,  and the powerful bonnes 
famill e s ,  the members  of  the money c on sci ous 
bourgeoi sie , who are the c aptains of industry and the 
le ade rs  of c ornmerce , wh ose empire s  have extended dur-
ing the c our se of  the ninete enth century o As  we have 
seen , the rich bourge o ise such a s  Berthe Srunmecaud i s  
shown to l ack t he moral awareness  of her peti t e  
Qourge oise counterpart s  and her management of  her 
children shows le ss  evidence of warmth or  understand-
ingo Iviarti n du Gard , however ,  viev1 s the edu cati onal 
value s of the middle -class  family w i th more impartia-
l i  ty o He has  not t!.:te obvi ous sympathy for secti ons 
of the middle-cla ss soc i ety that affec t s  the portrayal 
of 6a vie familiale  in Chronigue de s Pasqui er and Le s 
I Hommes  de bonne vo lonte o  The haute so c iete 
c atholique as repre sented by the Thibault s  and the 
hau te societe pro te st ante a s  shovm in the Fontanins 
are bo th ob served critical? and the strengths and 
weakne sse s of the two principal families  are se t down 
wi th  pit iless  accuracy o  The dangers pre sented to  the 
normal development of  personal l ty and the growth of  
moral and soc i al atti tude s by a har sh upbringing in  
an austere C atholi c environment or  by  indulgence and 
exce ssive freedom are clearly revealed o 
Yet if there i s  one gener al attitude that e ach 
of the writers  share s it  i s  tha t  of supp ort , no t 
alt oge ther unqualified but  neve rthele ss  real , f o r  the 
tradi tional pri ori ti es  of the middle-class  family -
probi ty , endeavour , prac ti cal i ty , e conomy ,  equilibrium 
and balance o If the Pa squie rs , the Thibault s ,  the 
Ba st ide s  and the Jallez s  suffer from middle- cl ass  
c ompla cency  in  soci al  or  p ol i ti c al mat ters, if  they 
share the pre judices  o f  the ir kind against working-
c la ss att j  tude s  and ideal s, if they accep t  the pri-
v ilege s of  t.?le ir c a ste w i th smug assurance ? they are 
sti ll members  of the. race of hone st  1 energeti c c i ti zens 
in  whom the intelle ctual and moral  spiri t of  the 
Republic  ? s  inve stedo  
Where as  the familie s  of  the bourgeoisie vary in 
quali ty while reflecting the general pr inc iples of 
middle -class  child rearing , the school sy stem p -re sents  
a coherent wholeo  The feature s  of  the ?coles  
primaire s which  the middle c lasse s  have provided for  
the e lementary instruc tion  of  t he masse s are rec orded 
in  a similar way in Chronigue de s Pasgui er and Le s 
I Hommes de bonne vo. lonte . The insti tu teur , the 
pe t i t  bour,geoi s who i s  f'i l.led wi th ide al i sm and 
50:Z 
humani tari an conce rn to bring the rudimen ts of  instruc?
ti on to the peuple , i s  portrayed wit h  equal symp athy 
by Georges Duhamel  and Jule s Romain s. The primary 
teache rs ,  Joliclerc and Clanricard, heroically c ombat 
apathy amongst the working- c la ss p arent s and ho stility 
amongst the less  l iberal-minded sec ti on of the 
bourge?1 si e o  As  teachers  they are patient and con si?
derate ye t inspi re re sp ect  by thei r fi rmne ss  and sense 
of  justi c e .  On the other hand the profe sse urs 9 
wh0 the r in the lyce? s or  the facul ti e s 9  receive le ss  
generous treatment . Di sapprobati on of  th e authorita?
riani sm , the pedantry and the formality in the 
teacher-pupil relati onship in the scho ol s i s  expre ssed 
in all th ree cyclical novels o  Ye t here , a s  in the 
case of the family , there i s  no generalised  crit i c i sm 
of the fu_nc ti on and the practi ce s of the middle-clas s  
educ ati onal sy stem o  If  as  art i st s  and intellectual s 
Duhamel 9 Ivlar tin du Gard and. R omains have l i ttle 
patience fo r co nformi st pre ssure s  in the scho ol s whi ch 
curb creo ti vity , or for teaching which i s  dull and 
spiri tl ess  and which deforms the culture which i t  i s  
the functi on of  the profe sseur t o  t ransmi t and diffu se , 
they show through their charac ters  the i r  app roval of  
the general direc ti on of the formal educati on  which  
the French school s  have tradi ti onally rrovidedo  The 
mental d i sc ipl ine , clarity  o f  thought and flexibil i ty 
of mind which Laurent Pasqui er 9  Jacque s and Anto ine 
Thibault , and Je an Jerphani on and Pierre Jallez g ain  
from the ir experience o f  formal scho oling is  a clear 
indication of  support for the b asic  p rinciples  o f  
such a training for  the ca ste s dirigeantes .  
Finally , one might sugge st  that in  the bilan 
whi ch the three novel-cycles  t oge ther e stablish of  the 
half-century of French life from the 1 880 ' s  t o  the 
1 930 ' s there i s  a clear no te of c onservatism and 
tradit ionali sm a s  regards the educ ative proce s so 
R on?mins  provide s an eloquent warning tha t  the effe c t?
ivene ss  of  the middlG-class  family t o  past:  on  t o  the 
next generation  the middle-class  virtues  has become 
weakened by the war and the s ocial upheaval in .. i ts 
aftermath o He sugge sts  that the traditional co?ntrol s 
of p arents  over  the behaviour of  the ir  children have 
slackened and tha t even in  the families  of the ' Men 
of Goodwill ' where the parent s such a s  Jean Jerphani on 
and Edouard Clanricard are charac teri sed by robu st 
c ommon sense and b al e?cP- , the soc ial c limate undermines  
the  example of integri ty and probi ty wh ich the chil-
dren are sh owno In  such c ircumstance s 9  R omains 
implies 9 even more care and di sciplinary vigilance i s  
required on the p art  of parents o  I n  Chronique de s 
Pasguier Duhamel plac e s  the empha sis on the c ontinua?
tion of the practi ce s of  child-rear ing of the p a s t a  
Jo seph P asquier ' s  refusal t o  allow his  wife t o  a ssume 
the traditi onal r ole of  the pri ncipal educ ator  of the 
child whi ch the pet i te bourgeo i si e  accord t o  the mother , 
his  failure to fulfil wi th consideration and re straint 
the re sponsibili ty  en tru sted in him for  the leadership 
of the family and the defence of the foyer as  the bon 
pere de famille , in additi on t o  hi s denial of the 
importance o? culture and intellec tual development , 
are con trasted with the homo of  Laurent and Jacqueline 
Pa f quier , who in the post-war period  bring  up the ir 
children in the be st traditi ons of the pre-war middle 
cla ss .  Mar tin du Gard ,  al so , thro ugh Anto ine Thibaul t 
in the Epilosue to  Le s Thibault  c ounsel s order and calm 
and warns the post- war genera ti on not t o  be led a stray 
by current enthusi asms  in an age of di sequilibrium. 
He foresees  1 ? ? ?  un grand desarroi ' ( 1 )  re sulting from 
1 ? ? ?  la rup ture brusque avec le p asse'9 l 1 effondrement 
de s ancienne s valeurs ? ? ?  1 o 
( 2 ) Anto ine Thibaul?t , 
then , i s  the repre sentative of the old order who 
teaches to the new the virtue s of patient di sc ipline 
and the autho rity of  reason.  
In Le s Homme s de bonne vol onte Bouitton e stab-
li she s a ?oral di stinc tlon between the gr oup s of men 
he ob serves  in 1 92 8 , b ased on a chronologi cal 
classific ation: 
o o ?  Il y a ceux qui ont cte formes p ar l ' avant?
guelre , pui s par la guerre ; il y a ceux qui ont 
e'te formeis seulement par la guerre ; il y a ce::.x 
qui pend-ant l a  guerre n '  e'taient que de s gamins 
abandonne's a eux-m?me s ,  qui ont ete forme?s p ar 
les  bars et  le s danc ings ? ? ? Trois  tranche s ,  
se'paree s chronologiquement par un tre s mince 
intervalle ,  mai s moralement ,_ chacune de la 
suivant e ,  p ar un bon demi-sie cle ? ? ? ( 3 )  
The maj or cha racters  i n  the romans-fleuves bel ong 
t o  the fir st  group , a s  do their  creat ors. They have 
rece ived their upbringing and their schooling in an 
! 1 ) Epilogue , O . C .  II , p .  98 1 . 
2 )  Ibid , p .  981 . 
3 )  Nai s sance de l a  bande , H . B. V .  IV , p .  364 . 
optimi stic , stable s oci ety  which was to  be shaken to 
i t s  foundations by the tragedy of 1 91 4-1 8 . I t  i s  
their di sillusi oning experience tha t the three  maE sive 
rec ons truc tions of bourge o i s  l ife portray o  The at ti-
tude s and values which Laurent Pasquier , Antoine 
Thibault  and Jean Jerphanion de terminedly cl ing tc  are 
the tradi ti onal v irtue s ,  ide als and bel iefs of  the 
middle classe s ,  which at ti1e time of writing of  the 
three novel- ser ie s were in  p eril .  In Chronigue de s 
Pasguier , Le s Thibault and Les Hornmes de bonne vol onte, 
the well educ ated middle-class man of di sc ipl ined 
intelligence and abundant goodwill in his  various 
guises :  the bourgeo i s  cul ti ve;, the homme de valeur , 
the c ivili se", the homme de bonne vo lonte', wh o has 
rece ived his  format ion at the turn of the century , in 
the name of the French 1no ral and spiri tual heritage 
p oints t o  the le ssons of  the past and reminds the. 
gene ration which has not been permi tted  t irre to  
rec over from the experience  of one wo rld war before 
embarking 01.  the sec ond , of the value s of their  
c ivili sa ti on which lie  in  the  balance . 
ill 
CONCLUSI ON : 
!n thi s  study we have traced the development of  
the thought s on  familial and formal educati on of  
Duhamel , Martin  du  Gard and Remains fr om their e arly 
wri tings  through to their works of matur ity o  The 
romans-fl euve s , t o  which parti cul ar attention has been 
accorded ,  stand as  the ir  me. j or  achi evement s and pro?
vide a substant ial rec ord of the ir views on the educa-
tive pro cess  in the ir later year so Evidence has been 
provided in the novel-cy cl e s as we ll as  in their o ther 
literary wo rks  that although e ach of  the three write r s  
might approach the que st ion o f  the p rocess  of educ a?
tion from a di fferent vi ewpoint or  shed light on 
ano the r aspe c t of  the educ ator-learner interacti on , 
the trio  are linked by their di ssatisfacti on wi th 
modern trends in educat i on and their visorous defence 
of the tradi ti onal contr ol s in  the family and the 
fonnal , academic curriculwn of the school s o  
Thi s c onservatism in matter s of  education would 
appear to have bec ome more apparent in the p o st-1 9 1 8 
peri od and to  be influenced  co ns iderably by the ir  
exper ience o f  war and the sub sequent soc i al upheaval s o  
Al though thi s pattern of  increa s ing con servat ism may 
also be attr ibuted to the natural process of hardening 
of atti tude s wi th age , the abrupt change from y outhful 
optimi sm and ide al i sm to middle-aged disillusionment 
suggests  a def inite hi storical  bRsi s t o  this 
transformati ono  For men born into a balanced ,  
orde rly , middle -cl a ss  soci ety and educ ated in an age 
of scienti fi c op timi sm ,  the t rials  and tribulati ons  
of  the twentie th century would bring discouragement o  
But i f  they de spair  a t  the transformation of so c i ety 
since 1 9 1 8 1 they are able to find c omf or t and guidance 
in the p ast , in the peri od of the ir early formati on o  
In  t hi s  Duhnme l 1 Iviart in  du Gard and Romains with  their  
humani sm, de sp ite the fading of i t s  early fervour 1 
differ fr om the younger generation of writers  such as 
Sartre and Camus who have no t t o  the same degree their 
inheri tance of a stable moral i ty nor the ir abili ty to  
identify with the soc i al patterns  of  the past , and so 
must seek new philo sophie s and value- sy stems for .  
twent ieth century men o The charac ters  in Chronigue 
des Pasguier , Le s Thibault and Le s Homme s de bonne 
v olonte - wo rl:s whi ch may be interpre ted as spi ritual 
te stimoni es  of the author s as well as chronicle s o f  
an age - are l e ss incl ined t o  look for new soluti ons 
than to turn back to old ono s o  Indeed 1  the  romans-
fleuve s may be seen as  forming an integral p art o f  the 
educative pro ce ss - acting as  the medium by whi ch  
Duhamel , Mart in du Gard and Romains 1 who received 
their upbr inging in the l ate nineteenth century -
' ? \.. l ' ( 1 ) t t . d o o o  ce grand Sl?c e o ,  o , - di rec helr  rea er s 
t o  the values  and ideal s  of a past era as a c o rrec tive 
to  the s oci al and moral ills  of  th e  pre sento The 
didactic tone of the final volume s  of  the cycles i s  
obviously linked with the rise  of fasci sm and the fear 
( 1 ) Le 7 oc t obre , H o B .V .  IV , P ?  1 086 o 
ill 
that the feature s of  the French middle class  c ivi li sa-
ti on whi ch had been eroded by one w orld war would  be 
utterly de stro yed by the next c  
Il ne  faut pas perdre de vue que 1 933 , 
1 1  anne? o'h p arut Le No taire du Havre , est  une 
date que les  his t oriens ret iendront comme l ' une 
de s plus dramatiques dan s J a  vie de s peuple so 
On en trait dans le royaur;-1e infernal de la  " nui t 
e t  du brouil lard" o Aussi , dans la merne per io de 
e t  dans le meme esp rit  9 Roger  Martin du Gard 
relanqai  t -il  dans un nouveau sens son 1 1  cycle ; '  
de s Thibault ( 1 922- 1 940 ) , t andi s que Jule s 
R omains c cmmen9 ait 'a publier se s Horrune s de bonne 
vol ont? ( 1 932- 1 946 )  o ( 1 ) 
I t  i s  no t sugge sted in  this  study of the educ ative  
proces s  in  the works of Duhamel ,  Martin du Gard and 
R omains  t ha t  the three wr it ers should be incl uded 
among st  the grands ma1 tres d ' educ ation in the sense 
that Rabelais  (Gargantua) , Montaigne (?ur 
1 '  ?.nsti  tut  i. on de s enfants) , Milton  (Of Educati.?!} ) o r  
Rousse au (Emile )  may be c onsidered both  as  great 
art i st s  and as educ ati onal i st s o  They have not  broken 
new ground in educ ati onal thought , nor have they 
e stabli she d coherent sy stems o r  elaborated prograrrme s 
fo r the educat ion of  children o Neverthele ss  one i s  
able to  affirm that the examinat ion of the v iews on 
the pro ce s s  of educ ati on of thi s tri o of writer-s . i s 
useful fr om three points  of view o  Firstly , Chronigue 
de s Pasgui e r ,  Le s Thibault and Le s Hommes de bonne 
volonte chronicle a peri od  in whi ch educ ati onal g o al s 
were under clo se scrut iny and in  whi ch  family and 
( 1 ) P .  Curnier , ' Prdsent ati on de Le N o taire  du Havre ' ,  
Le Francai s dans le monde , no o 32 , April-May 1 965 , 
P o  25 o  
school li fe were uniergoing a radical transformati ono 
The well documen ted acc ount which  Duhamel ? Mar tin du 
Gard and R omains give of thi s slice of French hi story 
i s ,  then?  valuable to those who wi sh t o  observe the 
backgr ound to modern ? development s in French educat iono  
We are able to  j udge from their wo rks the we ight of  
tradi t ion and the strength of  middle -class  conserva?
t ism which have re si sted move s towards a moderni sation  
of  the educat ional systemo Sec ondly y the fic t ional 
repre sentati on of the educ ative  pro ce ss whi ch the 
writers  pr ovide in the ir novel-cycles adds to  the 
knowledge o f' the educ ati onal experience s  to which the 
child was ex?osed in the middle- cla ss foo1ily and 
school sy stem during the late nine teenth and e arly 
twenti e th centu rie s o  Thi s i s  c omplemented by the 
p sychologi cal insi ghts  of the imaginat ive ar t i st into 
the p ersonal transac ti on between te acher and pupil  and 
parent and child whi eh l ie s  at  the heart  of the edu?
c ative p roce ss o  Finally ? the reflec tions  of  Duhamel 9 
Martin du Gard and R omains on the place of man in 
modern soc ie ty are relevant to  the formulat ion of 
goal s  and a ims for education in a technologi cal age o 
I t  must  be conceded  that  the bias  of the three novel?
i sts  tcw ards a l i terary cul ture and the ir defence of 
the p rerogative s of  an intel lec tual e? ite appear more 
appropria te to  a p a st age of  le i sured upper cla sse s 
in rig idly hi erarchical soc i al structure s than to  
modern demo cratic socie tie so  Similarly their  empha?
si s on authority , effort  and the mental training 
afforded by the study of the traditi onal sub j ec t  
matter curri culum may seem dated at a time when 
educ at ors are concerned wit h adapting curricula mate-
rial s  to the needs  of the child and st imulating the 
pupil ' s  ac t ive curio si ty by induc t ive methods o  How-
ever ? the c ontention that a l ibe ral educat ion i s  the 
be st p reparation for life remains valid in a 
technologi c al age whe n, as Philip  Phenix ( 1 ) point s 
out 9 a broad ? general educati on i s  more than ever 
nece ssary t o  minimise the di spe rsing and deper sonali s-
ing effec t s  of  the mechani sat ion wh ich i s  transforming 
man ' s environment o 
( 1 ) See P .  Phenix ,  Realms of Meaning - A Philosophy of 
the Curriculum for General Educati on9 chapt .  I II .  
BIBLIOGRAPHY:  
A s  the field c overed i n  thi s  di ssertation i s  a wide 
one i t  i s  p o ssible t o  include in the bibli ography only 
the wo rks which have pr oved of particular impor tan ce 
in the? c ourse of re se arch . The bo oks by Duhamel , 
Mart in du Gard and R omains entered in the bibliography 
are those to which sp eci fic  reference  i s  made in the 
text . Further bibliogr aphical info rmati on may be 
f ound in the crit ical studie s  li sted.  The biblio-
graphy i s  grouped for  c onvenience in four main  sec-
t ions:  
I Books  and arti cle s  whi ch are relevant to the 
study o f  George s Duhamel .  ( pp .  5 1 7-22 )  
I I  Books and article s  wh i ch are re levant t o  the 
study of Roger  Martin du Gard. (pp .. 5 23-8 )  
Ill  Books and art icles  whic h  are relevant to the 
study of  Jule s Romains. (pp . 529-36 )  
IV General . Books and art i cles whi ch relate 
to the general educati onal , l it er ary or 
soc i al background of the period studied.  ( pp . 537-49) 
Each o f  the fir st three sec ti ons  i s  divided into two 
sub-sec tions:  
A Works by the author s .  
B Crit ical studie s of the autho rs ' w orks .  
In  all four sec ti ons books are sep arated from article s 
and c ontributi ons.  
I GEORGES DUHAivJEL 
A WORKS BY DUHMiEL 
( a ) CHRONIQUE DES PASQUIER o 1 0  v ol s .  1 9 33-1 945 . 
I Le Notaire du Havre ( 1 933 ) . Par is :  Mercure de 
France , -1 961 o 
II  Le Jardin de s bete s sauvage s ( 1 934 ) .  Pari s :  
Mercure de France , 1 962 o 
I II Vue d.e, la  terre promi?e ( 1 934 ) .  
de Franc e , 1 962 . 
Paris : IYlercure 
IV La Nui t de la Saint-Jean ( 1 935 ) o 
Mercure de France , 1 96 2 .  
Pari s : 
V Le De?ert  de Bi?vre s ( 1 937 ) o 
de France , 1 963 . 
Par is :  Mercure 
VI Le s Ma? tre s ( 1 93 7 ) . 
1 955 .  
Pari s :  Mercure de  France , 
VII Cfic ile parmi nous ( 1 938 ) . 
France , 1 963 . 
Pari s :  Mercure de 
VIII Le Ccmbat co ntre les ombre s ( 1 939 ) . Pari s: 
Mercure de France , 1 95 7 o  
I X  Suzanne e t  le s .4eunes homrne s ( 1 941 ) .  Pari s :  
Mercure d e  France , 1 962 . 
X La Passi0n  de Jo seph P a sauier  ( 1 945 ) . Par i s :  
Mercure de France , 1 957 . 
The date in bracke t s  i s  tha t  of the f ir st edi t i on.  
( b )  OTHER BOOKS BY DUHAivJEJ ,. 
L ' Archange de l ' aventure . 
1 9 55 . 
Paris :  IVIercure de France , 
Civili sati on 1 91? ( 1 9 1 8 ) .  
?uerre vol . I (pp . 1 39-292 ) .  
France , 1 949.  
Le s Confessions sans p?ni t ence . 
France , 1 941 . 
In Re? i ts  de s tern? 
P aris : Mercure de 
Paris :  Mercure de 
Dlfense de s lettre s.  P aris : Mercure de France , 1 937 . 
Fables  de mon jardin. Paris :  Mer?cure de France , 
1 936 ? . 
L ' Homme en t,ete .  Pari s: ' Vers  et  p ro se ' , 1 909 . 
I. ' Humani ste e t  1 1  aut omat .?.  Paris :  Hartmann ,  1 9 33 9  
Le s Jumeaux de Vall angoujard.  Paris :  Hartmann p 1 93 1 . 
Lumi?res  sur ma vie .  
,__ 
5 vol s .  1 944- 1 953 .  
Inven t aire de 1 '  ab fme ( 1 944 ) . 
de F'rance , 1 94.9 . 
P ar i s? Mercu re 
?iographi e de me s fan t0mes  ( 1 944) . 
Hartmann, 1 948 .  
Pari s: 
Le Temps de la recherche o  
1 947 0 
Par i s :  Hartmann 1  
La Pe s?e de s ?es .  
1 949 . 
Pari s: Nlercu re de France , 
Les E spoi rs e t  le s e'preuve s .  
de France 1 9 53 .  
Pari s:  .Mercure 
Mon Royaume . Par i s :  Hartmann , 1 9 32 .  
La Nui t d ' orage . P ari s :  Me rcu re de France , 1 928 .  
Parole s de m!decin.  Monaco :  Edi t i ons  du Rocher , 
1 94b. 
La P ierre d ' Horeb. Par i s :  Mercure de France ,  1 9 2 6 .  
Le s Plai si r s  et  le s ,je ux - lviEfrnoi re s du Cuip e t  du 
Tioup.  P ari s :  Mercu re de France ,  1 9 2 2 .  
L a  Posse ssion du monde ( 1 91 9 ) .  
France , 1 9 61 .  
Par is :  Mercure de 
Querelles  de famille . 
1 932 . 
Pari s :  Mercu re de France , 
Sc?nes de l a  v ie futu re ( 1 '330 ) .  
France , 1 956. 
Par i s: Mercure de 
?21on ma loi .  Paris : F igui?re , 1 91 0 .  
Vie des martyrs 1 914- 1 91 6 ( 1 91 7 ) . In  R?c its  de s 
??de gue?? , vol . I (pp . 8- 1 35 ) . Paris : Mercure 
de France , 1 949 .  
Vie  et  aventure s de Salavin. 
edition in 2 v ols .  Paris :  
5 vols .  C ollected  
Mercure de France , 1 958 .  
Confe ssion de minui t ( 1 920 ) . 
3 7- 1 83 . 
In  vol . I ,  PP? 
Deux Hommes ( 1 9 24) . In  vol .  I ,  pp . 1 87-369 . 
Journal de Sal avin ( 1 927 ) . 
9-1 31 . 
In vol . II , pp .. 
Le Club des Lyonnai s ( 1 929 ) . In vol . II , pp . 
1 35-31 9 .  
Tel gu' en lui-m?e ( 1 932 ) . In vol .  I I , pp . 323-
495 . 
Le Voyage de P atrice Pdriot . 
France , 1 950 . 
Les Voyageurs de " L ' E spe'rance" .  
Gedalge , 1 953.  
Pari s: Mercure de 
Paris .  Librairie 
( c )  ARTICLES AND CONTRIBUTIONS . 
' Les  Auteurs et leur s  l ivre s - Chronique de s Pasquier ' ,  
Conferenci a ,  no . 3 ,  March 1 950 , pp . 1 04-1? 
' Le s  Chefs  d ' oeuvre et  la j eune sse ' ,  C onferencia , no . 
1 ,  1 5  Dec .  1 93 6 ,  pp . 20-31 . 
' Explorati ons et expdrience s ( Souvenirs ) ' ,  Revue de 
Par i s ,  Dec .  1 9 52 ,  pp . 5-30 . 
' Fables  de ma mai son ' , ?igaro lit tdraire , 28  Aug . 
1 954 , pp . 1 , 5 .  
' Humanit,s ' , Mercure de France , no . 269 , 1 5  July 1 936 , 
PP o 225- 8 o  
' Le Langage et  se s demons ' , Confdrenc ia , no . 1 ,  1 5  
April 1 933 , pp . 454-69 . 
' Myst?res  francai s ' , Revue de s deux monde s ,  no . 1 3 ,  1 
July 1 957 ,  pp . ?3-20 , 
' No tes  l imi taire s p our un cahier de souvenirs ' , Mercure 
ge F??P?, no . 1 030 , 1 June 1 949 , pp . 1 93-202 . 
' Notes  sur l ' e spri t encyclcpddique ' , Mercure de France , 
no . 273 , 1 5  Jan. 1 937 , P? ? 2 25-59 . 
' Quest ions universi tai?e s ,  Mercure de France , no . 1 32 ,  
1 5  Jan .  1 91 9 , pp . 1 1 1 -:15 . 
' Remarques sur le s travaux sc ientifiques e t  le  me ssage 
de Charle s  Nico lle ' ,  Revue de Paris ,  1 Nov . 1 935 , pp. 
5-39 , 
' Le Souvenir d 1 Alain 1 , Mercure de France , no . 1 060 , 1 
Dec .  1 95 1 , pp . 594-6.  
' Le Souvenir de C olette ' ,  Mercu re de France , no . 1 094 , 
1 Oct.  1 9 54 ,  PP ?  2 89-91 . 
' Sur la Querelle  du machini sme ' ,  Revue de P ari s ,  no . 
2 , 1 5  April 1 933 , pp . 1 21 -5 2 .  
' Le Temps de la recherche ' ,  ?ercure de France , no o 
1 002 , 1 Feb. 1 947 , PP o 280-31 6. 
' La Vie e st e'quilibre - Churlc s Ni col1e; ' , Conferenc i a , 
no . 1 1  9? 1 J&n. 1 939 , pp . 67- 80 0 
B CRITICAL STUDIE S OF DUHAIVlEL ' S WORKS 
( a ) BOOKS. 
Anto ine , Avel ine , c .  , George s Duhamel.  Par i s ? - - - ,E9-i ?
Therive , A. e t  al.  t ion? de l a  R?vue Le Capito l e ,  
1 927 c 
Keat ing , L .  
Sant ell i ,  C .  
Saurin,  M .  
Simon ,  P . -H .  
Terri sse , A .  
Ge orges  Duhamel o 
Mormier , 1 920 . 
Pari s: A .  
Cri t ic of C ivilizat ion - Ge orge s 
Duha?l anQ._ hi s wr itings . 
Lexingto n: Univer si ty of 
Ken tucky Press , 1 965 . 
Ge orge s Duhamel .  
1 947 . 
Paris :  Bo rdas 9  
Le s Ecri t s  de George s  Duhamel-= 
Essai de bibl irgraphie gdn'E?rale . 
Par i s : lviercure de Franc e , 1 9 51 . 
Gc or&e s  Duhamel  ou l e  bourgeoi s 
sauve . Paris :  Editi ons du 
Temps pre'sent , 1 946 o  
Ge orge s Duhame1 - Educa teur . 
Paris :  Fernand Nathan, 1 95 1 . 
( b) ARTICLES AND CONTRlBUTI ONS o  
Albe're s ,  R . -M. 
Arlahd , M.  
Brett-Jone s ,  E . ,  
Shackleton ,  M.  
Brunet , G.  
ChBTI.ebenoi t ,  A.  
' Un Gentilhom?e bourgeoi s '  9 
Nouvelle s Li tte'rai re s ,  no . 20 1 6 , 
21 April 1 966 , P ? 6o 
' Chr oni que de s rom8ns - Le Notaire 
du Hhvre ' ,  N . R . F. , no . ?  236 , 1 May 
1 933 , pp . 82 1 -5 .  
Introdu cti on to  Le  Notaire du 
Havre . London : Harrap and e o ,  
1 959 9 pp .  7-43 . 
' Ge o rge s Duhamel e t  la civili sa?
ti on amlric aine ' 9 Mercure de 
France , 1 Jan. 1 93 1 ,  PP ? 5-38 . 
' Ge orges  Duhamel , un humani ste  
de'?u ' , Le  Monde , no . 661 1 , 1 5  
April 1 966, pp . 1 ,  1 2 .  
Cre'mieux, B.  
Curnier 1 P .  
de Dainville , F.  
F ite 1 A o  
F oraste', s .  
G [avo t ty J ,  A.  
Guillaume , L .  
Hampl ,  C .  
Heywood , T .  
de Lacre telle , J. 
Lalou,  R .  
Marti n-Chauffier , L .  
1 Cecile parmi nous ' , N.R . F . , no . 
3?1 March 1 939 , pp:- 5 1 5-1 8 .  
' Pre'sen tati on de Le Notai re du 
Havre ' ,  Le Fran?ai s dans le monde , 
no . 3 2 , Ap ri l-May 1 9 65 , PP ? 25-9 . 
1 Texte eo mmen te': Av'enemen t du 
lo i sir 1 , Les Humanites , June 1 963 , 
PP ? 1 7 -21  o 
' Chroniqueur moderne and t he 
r oman-fleuve ' 1 Modern Language 
l?' vol . XXX , no . 4 ,  Dec . 1 945 , 
pp . 93-9 . 
1 A portrai t of Man in the Novels 
of George s Dubamel ' 1 (Di sserta?
ti on Abstract ) . Dis sertati on 
Abstrac t s  - University Mi crofilms , 
vol . XIV , 1 954 , pp .
? 
1 407-8. 
' George s Duhamel 1 ,  Revue de s deux 
monde s ,  1 May 1 9 66 , p .  7o  
1 Ge orge s Duhamel : le t?moin de 
bonne volonte'' , France-Asie , vol . 
IX, no . 85- 6 ,  June-July 1 953 , pp . 
591 -3 . 
' Ge orges Duhamel and t he Problem 
of Religion ' , French Re view , vol .  
XXII ,  no . 5 ,  March 1 949 , PP ? 
3 71 - 82 0 
' Le Me ssage humain de Ge orge s 
Duhamel ' , French Studies , v o l .  
I II , no . 3 ,  July 1 949 , PP ? 2 84-5 . 
' Ge o r
,.
ge s Duhamel ' ,  Le Figaro 
li t terai re , no . 1 044 ,  2 1  April 
1 9661 PP?  1 , 8.  
' George s Duhamel et  le sens de 
l ' humain ' , Bibli o ,  vol . XVII , no.  
6 ,  July 1 949 ,  pp ? 3- 6 . 
' Le s  Mdmoires  de Ge orge s Duhamel ' ,  
Mercure de France , no . 1 0 1 2 ,  1 
Dec ? 1 94 7 1 pp . 69 8-700 o 
'fu>op humai n ?pou1 ... le de?se$po1r,  trop 
lucide p our le bonheur ' , Le 
Figaro l i tteraire 1 no . 1 044 , 21  
Apri l 1 966, Po 9 o  
Mauriac ? F e  
Mounin,  G .  
P . L .  
Pre'vost , J . 
Roudaut , J . 
de Sacy , 8 .  
Santelli , C .  
Simon , P . -H . 
Soubiran , A .  
Therrien , V .  
Triebel , L .  
' Duhamel pa rmi nous ' , qeo rge s 
Duhamel ( 1 884- 1 966)-Temoignage s . 
Par i s: Mercure de France , 1 967 , 
pp . 7-1 4 . ( See also co nt ribu?
t i ons by A.  IVlauro i s ,  Iv1 . Genevoix , 
J .  Romains , H .  Jlllassi s ;  M . Boegner , 
L .  Binet , C .  Vildrac ,  c .  Marbo , Y .  
Florence . )  
' lVlon Ami Lauren t P asquier ' , 
C ahiers du Sud , no . 290 , 1 948 ,  pp . 
1 1  6- 2 5 . 
' Hom age ? Georges Duhamel ' ,  
Bibli o , vo l .  XXXIV , no . 5 ? Ivlay 
1""?bb-;-p. 23 .  
' Ge o rge s Duhamel ' , E. R . F . , no . 
257 ? 1 Feb.  1 9 35 ,  pp . 2 1 7-31 . 
' Ge orge s Duhamel , temoin d ' une 
civili s a ti on ' , Paru , no . 6 2 ? July 
1 <} 5 0 ,  pp . 23-7 .--
' George s Duhamel ' ,  Biblio , no . 7 ,  
Aug . - Sept . 1 95 1 ,  pp . 9- 1 2. 
1 George s Duhamel ' , f11ercure de 
Fr??' 1 5  Aug . 1 9 24 , pp . 5-b6 . 
' Le s P asquier?  Farnille fran?ai se ' s 
L ' Anneau d ' o r ,  no . 20 ,  March-April 
1 948 , pp . 96-1 00 . 
' L ' U?1 de nos grands patrons ' , Le 
figa?_lit?erai re ,  no . 1 044 , 2 1  
April 1 9b6 ,  p .  1 2 . 
' L ' Imag ination de George s  Duhamel 
d ' ap re s  la  Chr onique de s Pa sguier ' 
E tude s fran?ai se s ,  no . 3 ,  O c t .  
1?b5, pp . 8 - 1 00 . 
' Ge o rge s Duhamel - A French 
Galswo rthy ' ,  C ontem?orary Review ,  
vol . CLXXIII ? no . 9 8 , Apri l 1 948 , 
pp . 237-40 . 
II 
A 
( a ) 
ROGER l\?,AR.TIN DU GARD 
WORKS BY MARTIN  DU GARD 
LES  THIBAULT . 1 1  vol s .  1 922-1 940 . 
in 8 p &rts  in the Oeuvre s complete s. 
Par i s :  Gallimard (Bibli otheque de la 
1 9  ss .  
Publi shed 
2 vol s. 
PlE!iade ) , 
I Le C ahie?is ( 1 92 2 ) . In  O . C .  I ,  pp . S79-674 o 
II  Le  Pe'ni tenc ier ( 1 92 2 ) . I n  O . C .  I ,  pp . 675-81 3 . 
Ill  La Bel le Sai son ( 2  vol s .  1 923 ) 0 In O . C .  I ,  pp . 
81 4-1 0 so. 
IV La C onsultati on ( 1 928 ) . I n  O o  C. I ,  PP ? 1 051 -
1 1 33 .  
V La G0rel lina ( 1 9 28) . I n  O . C .  I ,  pp . 1 1 34- 1 2SO . 
VI La 11ort du :e'ere ( 1 929 ) 0 In  0 .  C .  I ,  pp . 1 2S1 -
1 394 . 
VII L ' Ete 1 914 ( 3 vols .  1 93 6 ) . I n  O . C .  I I ,  PP ? 9-7S8 . 
VIII Epilogue ( 1 940) . 
( b ) OTHER BOOKS BY r1i.ARTIN DU GARD . 
Conf id?.nce africaine ( 1 93 1 ) .  
1 1 27 0 
Devenir ? ( 1 909 ) . 
In  IViemor iam 
Jean Baro i s  
( 1 921 ) 0 
( 1 91 3 )  0 
In O. C ,  I ,  
In  o.c. 
In o . c .  
In  O . C .  II , PP ? 1 1 0S-
pp . 1 - 203 . 
I '  pp . 56 1 -76 . 
I ,  pp . 20S-SS9 .  
Noizemont-les-Vierge s. 
1 928 . 
Liege : A la  Lampe d ' Aladdin ,  
Souvenir s  autobiographigues et l i t terai re s ( 1 9SS ) .  
In ?Q. I ,  pp . xl i -c?xJ.i i., 
Un Tac i turne ( 1 9 32 ) . In  O . C .  I I , pp . 1 239-1 3S3 . 
Vieille France ( 1 933 ) . In O . C .  I I , pp . 1 0 1 3- 1 1 03 . 
( c ) SPEECHES AND CORRESPONDENCE . 
Corre s  ondance Andre Gide-Ro er  Martin du Gard ( ed .  J .  
Delay ? 2 vol s .  P ari s :  G allimard ,  1 9  ? 
' Corre spondance ent re Roger  Martin du Gal"d et  Jean?
Richard Bloch I ' , Europe , no . 41 3 ,  Sept . 1 963 , PP ? 5-
37 . 
I I  , Euro.J2f? ,  no . 41 1+ ,  Oct .  1 963 , PP ? 47-
78 .  
____ I II ? , Euro?e , no . 41 5- 1 6 ,  Nov . -De c .,  1 963 , 
pp . 3- 1 1 7 . 
IV ? , Europe , no . 41 7- 1 8 ,  Jan . -Feb . 1 964 , 
pp . 226-36 . 
V ?  , Europe 9 no . 4 1  9-20 , March-Ap ril 1 964 , 
pp . 1 96-205 . 
VI ? , Europe , no . 421  - 2 ,  May-June 1 96!+ , 
pp.  252-65 . 
------- VII ? ,  Europe 9 no . 423- 4 ,  July-Aug . 1 964 , 
pp . 234-5? 0 
-----?VIII  , Europe , no . 425 , Sept . 1 964 , pp . 59-
75.  
IX , Europe , no . 42 6 ,  Oct . 1 96 4 ,  pp.  1 00-
1 1 .  
X , Eur ope , no . 42 7- 8 ,  Nov . -De c .  1 9 64 , 
pp . 239-49 .  
XI , Europe , no . 429 -30 9 Jan. -Feb . 1 965 9 
pp . 354-6 1 . 
------- XI I , Europe , no . 43 1 - 2 ,  Ivi arch-April 1 965 9 
pp . 256-65 . 
' Di scour s  de Gtockholm ', N.N . R . F. ,  no . 77 9 1 May 1 959 , 
pp . 956-60 . 
' Le t tres  a l ' archi tecte ' 9 Cahiers  du Sud , no . 349 , 
1 95 8 , pp . 327-54. 
-------
' Le t tre s h P ierre Margar iti s ' , N . N .R . F .  9 no . 7 2 , 1 Dec .  
1 95 8 9 pp 0 1 1 1  7-3 5 0 
I Let tre s 'a un ami . ' N...,? ! L  R .  F ... ' no... 72 ' 1 
Dec .  1 95 c',. , pp . 1 1 37-6 1 . 
? 
B CRITI CAL STUDIE S OF MARTIN DU GARD ' 8 
( a )  BOOKS. 
Alme'ra s ,  G .  
Bo ak ,  D .  
Borgal , c .  
Brenner , J.  
Daix, P .  
WORKS 
La Me de' ci ne dan s 'Le s Thi baul t 1 de 
R oger Martin  du Gard. P ar is :  
P .  Fournid, 1 946. 
R oger Mart in du Gard. Oxf ord: 
Clarendon Pre ss ,  1 ?b3 .  
Rnger Ivlartin du Gard . P ari s :  
Edi tions univer sitaire s ,  1 957 .  
Martin du G ard. Pari s:  
Gal limard, 1 961 . 
Reflexi ons sur la  methods de 
Roger Mart in du Gard, suivi  de 
Le ttre )i Maur ice Nadeau e t  aytres 
?ai s.  P ar i s: Le s Edi teur s  
francai s re'uni s ,  1 957 . ? 
Descloux , A. 
Jacob sso:n,  H. 
Lalou , R .  
Rice , H .  
Robidoux,  R .  
Savage , C .  
Schalk ,  D .  
P s,rchan2lyse du docteur Thibault .  
P aris :  Edi ti ons universi taire s ,  
1 965 . 
R o?r Martin du Gard. London: 
Bowe s and Bowes,  19b1 . 
L ' Expre ssion imagee dan s I.e s 
Thi baul t de Roger Iv1arti n du Gard. 
Lund : C . W . K. Gleerup , 1 968 . 
R oger Martin du Gard ( 1 7th ed. ) .  
Par i s: G all imEtrd , 1 93 7 .  
R oger Martin du Gard and the 
;Vorld o:f the Thibaul t s .  New 
Y ork: Vikin? 9 1 941 . 
R oger Mart in du Gard e t  l a  
rel igion .  Par is :  Aubier , 1 964 . 
Roger Mart in  du Gard. New York: 
Twayne Publi shers ,  1 9 68 .  
Roger Martin du Gard -- The N ovel?
i st and Hi st ory.  Cornell :  
C ornell University Pre s s ,  1 967 . 
( b )  ARTICLES AND CONTRIBUTIO NS . 
Arland , M . 
Barberet ,  G .  
Berl , E .  
Beuclier ,  A .  
Bo rgal , c .  
Camus , A .  
' Chroni que de s romans - Vieille 
Fran ce ' , N . R . F ? ?  no . 237 , 1 June 
1 933 ' PP o -985=6., 
' R oger  lV1artin du Gard : Recent 
Crit i ci sm ' , Fren ch Review , vol.  
XLI , no . 1 ,  Oct . 1 967 , pp . 60-9 . 
' Journal d ' un ecrivai n - Roger  
Martin  du  Gard ' , Table R onde , no . 
1 30 ,  O c t .  1 95 8 ,  pp . 1 73-6.  
' Pro?enade s dans Nice ave c  R oger 
Martin du G ard 1 , Revue de s deux 
monde s ,  1 May 1 965 , pp . 1 77-91 . 
' A  l a  Recherche du temp s ' , N . N . R . F . , 
no . 72 , 1 Dec . 1 958 , pp . 1 0 92-8 . 
' Roger  Martin du Gard e t  le s 
probleme s de l a  creati on  
romane sque ' , Le  Francai s dans le  
monde , no . 1 0 , July-Augu?t 1 962 , 
pp 0 1 5-1 7 0 
Pre:face to Oeuvre s co4Si'ete? vnl . I .  
Pari s :  G allimard,  1 95 , PP ? lX?
xxxi . 
Chaperon , H .  
Charpentier , J .  
Daspre , A .  
Fernandez ,  D .  
Froment ,  R .  
Gro s j e an ,  J . 
Gu?henno , J .  
Hal l ,  'I' .  
Iko r ,  R .  
Jona s ,  M .  
Judr in , R .  
Kanters ,  R .  
de Lacretelle , J.  
Lal ou ,  R .  
' Roger ??Jartin du Gard ( Souvenirs )  ' ,  
Bulletin de l a  so ciete l i t teraire  
de s P . T . T . , June 1 959 , PP ? 9-1 1 . 
I Roger rv;artin du Gard I ' Mercure 
de Fran ce ,  no . 78 2 ,  1 5  Jan .  1 931 , 
pp:-333-7.  
' Sur le Rdali sme de  Jean Baroi s ' , 
Europe , no . 41 3 ,  Sept . 1 963 , pp . 
41 -6.  
' Le Romancier des Thibault : 
Prou st ou Martin du Gard 1 , N.  N .  R o  F . , 
no . 72 , 1 Dec .  1 95 8 ,  pp . 1 07 9-9 1 . 
' H ommage 'a Roger  Martin du Gard -
&l Mor t ' , N .  N o  R ? F o , no ? 72 , 1 De c ? 
1 950 , pp . 965-72 . 
' Un Grand .aagiographe ' ,  N .N . R . F . , 
no . 72 , 1 Dec . 1 9 58 , pp . 1 1 07-1 6 .  
' Le Sens d ' un certain honneur ' ,  
N. N . R . F . , no . 72 , 1 Dec . 1 9 55 ,  
pp . 1 036-41 0 
' A No te on the so-c alled Change 
of Technique in Les Thibault of  
Roger  Martin du Gard1 , French 
Rev iew ,  vol . ?lii , no . 2 ,  Dec.  
1953 , pp . 1 0 8- 1 3 .  
' L  ' Humani t d  de s 'I'hi baul t '  , Europe , 
no . 6 ,  June 1 946 , PP ? 28-47 . 
' L ' Humani sme de hlarti n du Gard 
dans Le s 'I'hibaul t '  (Dissertati on 
Abstrac t) Di ssertati on Abstrac t s  
- University Microfilms , vol . 
X..'{VI , Dec .  1 9  65 , p .  3340 . 
' Roger Mart in du Gard et  le style 
du roman ' , N . N . R . F . , no . 72 , 1 
Dec .  1 958 , pp . 1 074- 8 .  
' Simple Adieu aux Thibault ' ,  
Cahi ers du Sud , no . 2 2 7 ,  Sept . 
1 940 , pp . 433- 5 .  
' L ' H o? , l '  ami , Roger Marti n du 
Gard ' , N . N . R . F . , no . 72 , 1 Dec .  
1 9:'8 , PP ? 973-5 . 
' Roger Martin  du Gard' , Les I --Annale S  - Conferencia ,  no . 96 , 
Oct .  1 958, PP ? 3 1 -4 .  
Laulan , R .  
Malle t ,  R .  
Mart in du G ard , IVI .  
Massi s ,  H .  
lVwuroi s ,  A .  
Picon , G .  
Roudiez , L .  
Roza ,  R .  
\ 
Spurdle , G .  
Therive , A .  
' R o ger Martin du Gard ' , Revue de 
Pari s ,  no . 1 0 ,  Oct .  1 95 8 ,  p p . 6o-
4-. -
' RQger !vi nrti n du Gard e t  la 
formati on cha rt iste ' ,  Mercure de 
f!:.?f!ce , no . 1 1 4  7 9 h.arch 1 959 9 pp . 
550-1  0 
' Un Archi vi  ste monumental ' 9 
?N. R . E . , no . 72 ,  1 Dec .  1 95 8 ,  
pp . 1 046-52.  
1 Le s .rv?e'morable s - L ' Educati on  de s 
fils ' , Revue de s deux monde s ,  1 
Nov . 1 967 , pp . 48-51 . 
_' :R oger Martin du Gard ' , Revue de s 
deux ffionde s ,  1 O ct .  1 958 , pp . 
4 63-74. 
? 
' Le R omanti sme de l ' adole scence ' ,  
La Revue universelle , 1 5  Sept . 
1 922-; pp . 75o-'bo-. -
' L ' Univers  de kartin du Gard ' , 
??N?R. F a 9 no . 72 , 1 Dec .  1 958 , 
pp 0 1 0 29 -3  5 0  
' Portrait et  situati on de R oger  
fv1artin du Gard '  9 Mercure de 
France , no . 1 1 41 ,  Sept . 1 9 58 , pp . 
5-25 .  
' Si tuat i on de Roger harti n du 
Gard ' 9 French Review , O c t . 1 960 , 
pp 0 1 3-25  0 
' Le Theme de l '  affranchissement 
dans le s r omans  de R oger  Marti n 
du Gard ' , D issertati on Abstr ac t s  
- University  Microfilms ,  vo l .  
?JI, Nov. 1 965 , PP ? 2759-60 . 
' Andre Gide , R o ger Martin du Gard 
and some ch aracters in Les 
Thibault ' ,  Triviwn ,  no .? 1 969 , 
PP ? 76-95 . 
' Le s  Thibault ?Jia Consultatinn , 
La  Sorellina' , N. R . F . , no . 1 7 8 ,  1 
July 1 928 , pp . 1 25-7. 
' Roger  Martin du Gard ' , Revue de 
P ari s , no . 6 ,  June 1 96 1 , PP ? 1 34-
49 . 
Vaudel , J o 
Vrolyk , J o 
' Epilogue ' , N o R o F o , no o 32 1 , 1 
June 1 940 , PP o 847-SOo 
' The P sychological Mutati ons in 
some of the Ma j or CLaracters of 
Roger Martin du Gard ' s Le? 
Thibault re sulting from Wo rld War 
Yr;-Inter-University French 
Seminar 1969 , Massey Univer sity , 1 969 , 
PP o 57-66 o 
' Roger  Marti n du Gard' , Fren ch 
Studie s ,  vol ? XlV , no o 2 ,  Ap ril 
1960--, PP o 1 29 -40 o 
Ill 
A 
JULE S R ONl.A IN S 
WORKS BY ROMAIN S 
( a )  LES HOIVuviES DE BONNE VOLONTE . 27  vol s .  1 9 _:<j2-
1 946. Pu9li shed in 4 vol s. Pa;r:>:j.? :  Flamm,?:i on. , 1 958 .  
Preface ( 1 9 3? ) . In H . B. V .  I ? p? . ?- 1 ? .  
I Le 6 Oc to bre ( 1 932 ) . In  H. B .V .  I ,  pp.  1 5- 1 7 3 . 
II  Cri me de Quine t te ( 1 932 ) . 
309 .  
In H. B .V .  I ,  PP o 1 77-
III  Le s Am0urs enfantine s ( 1 93 2 ) . In H . B . V.  I ,  PP o 
3 1 3-492 . 
IV Eros de P ari s ( 1 9 32 ) . In  H. B. V .  I ,  PP o 495-640 . 
V Le s Superbes ( 1 933 ) . In ?B. V. I ,  PP o 643-825 o 
VI Le s Humbl? ( 1 93 3) . In  fl. B . V .  I ,  pp . 829- 1 003 o 
VII Recperche d 1 une e"gli se ( 1 934) . 
1 0 07-1 205 . 
In  ?!. B.V .  I ,  pp . 
Vll l  Province ( 1 934) . In  H . B .V . I I , PP ? 7-1 78 .  
IX M?nt?e de s perilR  ( 1 935 ) . 
385 . 
In  Q. B . V .  II , PP ? 1 81 -
X Le s P ouvoirs  ( 1 9 35 ) . In  ?B. V. II , PP ? 38 9-565 .  
XI Recou r s  a l 1 ab?me ( 1 936 ) . I n  H . B .V . II , PP o 569-
756.  
XII Le s Createur s ( 1 936 ) . 
XIII Mi ssion ? Rome ( 1 93 7 ) . 
1 0 96 . 
In ?B. V "  II , PP o 759-9 1 4 . 
In H. B. V .  II , PP ? 9 1 7-
XIV Le Drapeau no ir ( 1 93 7 ) . In H. B. V .  II , PP ? 1 0 99-
1 268 0 
XV Prelude 'a Verdun ( 1 9 38 ) o In ?!. B. V .  I l l ,  pp . 7-
1 71 0 
XVI Verdun ( 1 93 8 ) . In H . B. V . Ill , PP ? 1 75-342 . 
XVII Vorge contre Quinet te ( 1 93 9 ) . 
345-480. 
XVIIILa Douceur de la vie ( 1 9 3 9 ) . 
483-623. 
In H. B. V .  III , PP o 
In H. B. V.  III , pp . 
XIY Cet te Grande Lueur ? l ' e st ( 1 945 ) . 
III , PP o  627-790 . 
In H. B. V .  
XX Le Monde e st ton aventure ( 1 945 ) o  
pp . 7 93-982 0 
XXI Journee s dans la mont agne ( 1 946 ) o  
pp 0 985-1 1 .:)2.  
XXII Le s Travaux et le s joie s ( 1 946) . 
pp . 7-1 94 . 
XXIIINai ssance de la bande ( 1 946 ) .  
1 97-374 .  
In H . B. V.  III , 
In H . B . V.  III , 
In H .  B. V .  IV , 
XXIV Comparutd.Qn? ( 1 946 )  o In H . B. V .  IV , pp . 37 7-557 . 
XXV Le Tapi?gi?? ( 1 946 ) . 
753 . 
In ?. B. V . IV s pp . 561 -
XXVI Francoi se ( 1 94b ) . I n  ?. B.V.  IV , pp . 757-9?9 .  
? XXVIILe 7 o c to bre ( 1 946 ) ? In  li? B. V. IV , pp . 933- 1 1 25 . 
L ' Auteur aux le cteur s ( 1 946 ) . 
1 1  27-1 1 2 9 .  
No te : The fir st public ation  date s refer to the Paris  
edi tions.  Vol s. liX-XXlV were also  publi shed 
in New York 1 941 - 1 944 . 
(b )  OTHER BOOKS BY ROIVIAIN S. 
?i-je fai t ce?_j?i voulu? 
Charli er , 1 964. 
Pari s: We smael-
L ' Ame de s homme s.  Par i s :  Bibli .J th'eque de la Soc ie'te' 
de s po?te s f rancais , 1 9 04 ? ..) 
Par i s: Flammarion,  1 970 . 
Le Besoin de vo ir clair . P ari s :  Flammar ion , 1 958 . 
P ari s :  N. R. F .  1 922 . 
Cromedeyre-le-Viel ( 1 920 ) . Par i s: Gallimard, 1 952 . 
Donogoo ( 1 931 ) . Par i s :  Gallimard, 1 9 50 .  
Examen de conscience de s Franc ais. 
Flammar ion,  1 954. 
Paris :  
Une Femme singuli'ere . Pari s :  Flammari on, 1 957 . 
Le Fils de Jerphani on. Pari s :  Flammari on , 1 956 .  
Gr?ce encore pour la terre ! ( 1 941 ) .  
Gallimard, 1 947 . 
Pari s: 
L 1 Homme blanc . Paris : Flammari on ,  1 93 7 .  
Homme s, medecins, machines .  Pari s :  Flammari on , 1 959 . 
Jean Le Maufranc ( 1 92 7 ) . Paris :  G allimard , 1 95 9 .  
Knock ou le Triomphe de ln  medecine ( 1 924 ) . Pnris: 
Gallimard , 1 951 . 
Let tre ouverte co ntre une va ste c onspirationo  P ari s :  
Edi t i ons  Albin Michel , 1 96? 
Lettre s de S al se t t e . Pari s :  Flarrrnar i on 9  1 950 . 
Le lVi anuc l de deifica t i on o  P 2 r i s :  Sans o t , 1 9 1  0 ? 
Iviarc-Aurele ou L ' Empereur de bonne vo lonte'. 
Flammari on , 1 9 68o  
Pari s :  
Le ?ariage de Le Trouhndec ( 1 9 25 ) . 
1 95 9 .  
Par i s :  GalJ imard , 
Memoires  de Madame Chauverel .  I Pa::-- i s : F'l armnar ion 9 
1 9 59 o 
II P ari s :  Flammarion , 
1 960 . 
M. Le Trouhadec sal sl par la debeuche ( 1 923 ) . 
Ge.llimo.rd 9 1 952  o 
Pari s :  
Ode s  et  pri8re s ( 1 9 1 3 ) . Pari s:  N. R .. F o  9 1 92 2 .  
Par i s  de s Homme s de bonne volonte ( ed. L.  Jule s?
Romains) . Par i s: Flamrnarion ,  1 949 .  
Passager s de ce t te planete  ou all ons-nous? 
Grasse t ,  1 9 55 . 
Pari s:  
Pet i t  Trai te de versific at ion.  Par i s: N o R o F . 9 1 923 . 
Pour Rai son garder . I Pari s:  
II  Pari s :  
I I I  P ari s :  
Flammarion , 1 9 60 . 
Flammarion9  1 9 63 . 
Flammari on ,  1 967 . 
Le Probleme numero un. Pari s:  Plan , 1 947 . 
P syche ( tril ogy ) .  I Luc ienne ( 1 92 2 ) . Pari s : N. R. F . ,  
1 9l.J.7 .  
I I  Le Dieu de s c orps ( 1 92 8 ) . Paris :  
N o  R o F. 9 1 94 7 ? 
I I I  Quand le Navire ? ? ?  ( 1 9 2 9 ) . Pari s :  
N. Ro F . ,  1 946. 
Salse t te dec ouvre l ' Amer igue ( 1 942 ) .  
Flrurrnaricn,  1 950 . 
Paris :  
Si tuation de la  terre . Par i s: Flammarion,  1 958. 
Souveni rs et confidence s d 1 un ecrivain. 
Artheme Fayard , 1 958. 
Paris :  
La Vie unanime ( 1 908 ) . Pari s :  Gal limard , 1 9 26 . 
Le Vin blanc de la Ville t te ( 1 91 3 ) o 
1 9 23 . 
Paris :  N . R . F . , 
La  Vie i on extra-rdtinienne e t  l e  sens paroptique ( 1 9 20 ) . 
Pari s :  G al limard,??-----
Z ola  e t  son exem?le . P ari s:  Flamtilari on , 1 9  35 . 
( c )  ARTICLES AND CONTRIBUTIONS " 
' Au Temp s  de l ' Abbaye ' ,  Q:eorge s  Duhamel_i1 8?- 1 96 6) -
Temoignage s .  Pari s :  Mercure de France , 1 9  7 ,  pp . 
27 -33 . 
' Au Temps de l ' Abbaye ' ,  N ouvelles Li t teraire s ,  no.  
201 6 ,  2 1  April 1 966 , pp . 1 ,  7 .  
' Le s  Auteur s  e t  leurs l ivre s - Le s Homme s d e  bonne 
volcnte'', Conf'erenci a ,  no . 1 ,  Nov . 1 950 , pp . 3-1 6. 
' Le Camarade - Roge r Martin du Gard ' , ?. N . R . F. , no . 72 , 
1 Dec.  1 958 , PP ? 985-9 . 
' Ce que j ' ai voulu. Un j ugemen t d ' auteur sur lui?
meme I '  Revue de P ari s ,  no 0 4 ,  Apri l  1 964 ' pp 0 1 - 5 . 
' Le s  Chanc e s  ac tuelle s de l ' ho?e ' , Confe'renc i a ,  no . 
1 0 , 1 5  Oc t .  1 948 , pp . 3 97-41 0 . 
' Le C inquantenaire du 6 oc t obre 1 9 08 ' 9 Revue de s deux 
Q!Qnde s ,  no . 2 1 , 1 Nov.  1 958 , pp .  ) - 1 3 .  
' Le s  Copains d ' al o rs ' , Le  Figaro  l i tterai re , no . 1 044 , 
2 1  April 1 966 , P o  9 o  
' Di sc ours  de M .  Jule s Romains ' ( La Libertd e t  l ' e spri t ) , 
XVe Congr'e s internat i onal de l a  Fe'de'rati on P . E . N . , 
Par i s  2 0- 2 7  June 1 93 7 ,  pp . 8-1 5 .  
' Essai de reponse s la  plus vaste questi on ' , N . R . F. , 
ne., 31 1 ,  1 Aug . 1 9 39 , pp . 1 7 7-96 . 
' Le Meti er d ' ecrivain , Nouvelle s Litteraire s ,  no . 1 91 0 ,  
9 April 1 9 64 , P ?  3 . 
' Pensee s ' , Biblio ,  vol . XXXIV , no . 8 ,  Oct .  1 9 66 ,  pp . 
1 7-2 1  0 
' Pe tite  Introduc t ion ? un c ou r s  de technique  podt ique ' , 
N. R .F . , no . 94 , 1 July 1 92 1 , PP ? 1 8-25 .  
' Pour que l ' Europe  so i t ' , H ommes e t  monde s ,  no . 2 2 , 
May 1 948 , pp . 1 - 7 .  
' Pre'face pour la  r adi o ' , 
1 958 ,  pp . 1 0 9- 1  ? .  
T able Ronde , no . 1 31 ,  Nov.  
' Rabelai s et  le pantagrueli sme ' ,  Revue de Pari s ,  no . 5 ,  
May 1 953 , pp . 8- 1 4 . 
' Le Siecle avait  dix ans - une jeune sse l i t teraire ' ,  
Conferenc ia , no . 1 2 ,  1 5  Dec .  1 949 , pp ? 483-96 . 
' La Table du fond ' , Le s Cahier s de s Homme s de boru1.e 
volonte I I . Par i s: Flammari on ,  July 1 948 , pp . 65-9 .  
B CRI TICAL STUDIES OF ROI'aAll'TS '  S BOOKS 
( a) BOOKS.  
Bourin ,  A .  
Cuisenier , A .  
Figueras , A .  
Martin-De slia s , N.  
Norri sh ,  P .  
Widdem , w .  
Jule s Romains.  Pari s :  Edi t i ons 
universi taire s ,  1 959 . 
Jule s Romains2  sa  vie , son oeuvre . 
Pari s :  Edi tions du Conqui stador , 
1 953 . 
C onnai ssance de Jule s Romains 
di scute'e par Julc s Rornains ?. 
Pari s :  Flamrnarion ,  1 961 . 
L ' Art  de Jule s Romains.  Paris : 
F? ammarion ,  1 948 .  
Jules  Romains e t  Le s Homme s de 
bonne volont? Pari s:  
Flammari on ,  1 954 . 
J ules  Rornains, L ' Unanimi sme e t  
Les Hcmme s de bonne volontd'G 
Paris :  Fla?mmrion ,  1 969 . 
Jule s Romains . Pari s :  Edi ti on 
Pierre Seghers , 1 95 2 .  
Jule s Romains ou Quand le s homme s 
de bonne volonte se cherchent . 
Pari s :  Edition Nagel , 1 951 . 
Drama of the Group.  C ambridge : 
Cambridge Univer si ty Pre ss ,  1 958 .  
Weltbejahung und Weltflucht irn 
werke Jule s R omains , Geneva:  
Librairie Dro z , 1 960 .  
( b) ARTICLES AND CONTRIBUTIONS .  
Alegre , J . 
Arland, M . 
Audi si o ,  G .  
' Quand i l s  etaient ecoli er s  -
Jules  Romains ' , Educati on 
Nati onale , nv . 1 7 91 , 1 9  May 1 966 , 
P o  32 . 
' Le s  H?n?e s de bonne vol onte ' ,  
N. R . F . , no . 277 , 1 O c t .  1 936 , PP ? 
7 1 4- 1 8 .  
' Mon Prof de phi l o ' , Nouvelles 
Lit teraires ,  no . 1 98 2 , 26 Aug . 
1 965 , p .  6. 
Beaunier , A o  
Berry , M .  
Bourget-Pailleron , 
Bourin ,  A. 
C apron ,  r?? . 
C arat , J .  
Chastene t ,  J .  
Dumas ,  J .  -L . 
E tienne , R .  
Jolive t ,  P .  
' Un Ecrivain 'a idtie s ,  M .  Jules  
Romai ns ' , Revue de s deux monde s ,  
1 Feb . 1 9 24 , pp . 688-99 .  
' L ' Oeuvre poet ique e t  romane squc 
de Jule s Romains ' , Cahiers de la  
Compagni e Madele ine Renaud-Jean?
Loui s Barrault , 9e cahier 9 1 955 , 
pp . 27-34 . 
R . ' La N ouvelle Equipe - J. Romains !  
Revue de s deux monde s 9 1 5 Nov . 
1933 ,  pp . 352-8. 
' M . Jule s Romai ns e t  Le s Hommes 
de bonne volonte ' , Revue de s deux 
monde?? 1 March 1 938 , pp . 207-1 9 .  
' Jules  Romains romancie r '  9 Bibl io ,  
vol . XY?IV 9  no . 8 9  O c t .  1 9669 pp . 
4-7 , 
' Le The?tre de Jul es  Romains et  
la  tendres se ' 9 Cahiers  de la  
Corr.pagnie Madeleine Renaud-Jean?
Loui s Barrault , 9e cahier , 1 955 , 
pp . 35-42 . 
' Dernie r viSage de s Homme s de 
bo?De volonte ' , ParQ , no . 2 8 ,  
March 1 947 9 P:J ? 1 5- 1 9 .  
' Temoin d ' un monde  ( Jule s 
Romai ns) ' ,  Nouve lle s Li tteraire s ,  
no . 1 982 , 26 Aug. 1 965 , p .  6:---
' L ' Ami t ie' normalienne 1 ,  Le s 
C ahiers de s Homme s de bonne 
v olonte-Ir (L1Ami t ie) Par t s :  
Flammarion ,  July 1 348 , pp . 32- 8 
( Al so c ontributions  by C .  Vildrac , 
A.  C?i senier , P .  Labracherie , J. -L .  
Bony , R .  W ieder , P .  Guth, G .  
Kornmer , R .  Lalou ,  A. Laun'3.y , M. 
Blancpain ,  V.  Bloch ) . 
' Jule s  Romains or  the Peril s  of 
Deificati on ' , Parti san Review , 
no . 8 ,  Aug . 1 941 , PP ? 258-65 . 
' Le s  Homme s  d3  bonne volonte de 
Jules Romai ns , technique e t  
style ' ,  No ttingham French Studie s ,  
vol .  I , no . 1 ,  May 1 962 , pp . 39-
49 .  
Lalou , R .  
Mansell-Jone s, R .  
Martin du Gard , M .  
Naughton , A .  
Norri sh ,  P .  
I Prevo st , J. 
Richer , J .  
Rousseaux, A .  
Schaffer ,  A .  
' A  l a  Recherche de s Homme s de 
bonne v olonte ' , Le s Cahie r s  de s 
H omne s de bonne volon td I (La 
Notion d 1 H omme de bonne volon te). 
Paris : FlammarL Jn ,  April  1 948 , 
pp . 2 9-33 ? ( Al so contributi ons by 
A. Cui sgnier , G .  Marcel , M. 
Thiebaut , Vercors ,  R .  Are a s , N .  
Marti n-Desli as ,  G .  Reuillard, U .  
Rouch on , L .  Mazoyer ,  J .  -J.  Bernard , 
M .  I sraE:n) . 
' Jule s Romains ' , Revue de Paris , 
no . 1 934 , pp . 1 67 -88 . 
I 
' Le s Homme s de bonne volonte , un 
seul roman' , Nouvel le s Li tt?raire s , 
no . 1 982 , 26  Aug . 1 9 65 , P ? 7 .  
' Talks with French poet s i n  1 91 3-
1 4 ' , French Studie s , v ol .  I I , no . 
3 ,  July 1 948, PP ? 20 1 -2 2 . 
' Le s  Me'mo rable s - Jule s Romai ns 
dan.3 la  Haute-Loi re ' , Revue de s 
deux monde s ,  1 5  Nov . 19b6 ,  pp . 
1 94-20L? . 
' Jule s  Romains ' , Bibl i o , vol .  
XXXIV, no . 8 ,  Oct . 1 9 66 ,  pp . 2-3 . 
' Le Saint-Simon du XXe siBcle ' ,  
Nouvelle s Li t te'rair e s ,  no . 1 9 82 , 
2 6  Aug . 1 965 , p. 6. 
' Jule s  Rnmains past icheur ' , 
Modern Language Revi ew , vol .  LVI 
no . 1 ,  Jan. 1 961 , pp ? . 24-7 . 
' Romains and L 1 Abbaye ' , ? Modern 
Language Revi ew , vol ? .  LI I, no . 4 ,  
Oct . 1 957 , pp . 51 8-25 . 
' La C 0nscience crdatrice  chez 
Jule s R emains ' , N . R . F . , no . 1 87 ,  
1 Apr il 1 929 , PP? 473-92 , 
' Jule s  Romains et  la tradi ti on 
oc culte ' ,  Cahiers du Sud , no . 22 2 ,  
March  1 940 , pp . 1 53-61 . 
' La Fin de s Hommes de b onne 
vol onte ' ,  France - Illustrati on,  
no . 68 , 1 8  Jan.  1 947 , P ?  75 . 
' Jule s Romains de spair s of Men of 
Goodwil l ' , Ameri can Scholar , vol .  
XVI I ,  no . 2 ,  Spring 1 948, pp . 
1 9 1 - 200 . 
Stolzfus , Bo  
Thi baude t , Ao  
Thiclbau t ,  Mo  
Thi8lmann , L .  
Vildrac , c .  
Walter , F .  
1 Unanimi sm Revi sited ' , Modern 
Language Quar t e rly ,  vol .  XXI, no . 
3 ,  Sep t .  1 960 , pp . 239-45 .  
' Unanimi sme ' , N. R . F - , no . 94 , 1 
July 1 9 2 1 ' pp . 85-92 .  
' Parmi le s livre s - Le s Hon?e s de 
bonne vol onte ' , Revue de Pari s ,  
nn:-4, Apri l 1 94? pp . 1 1 5- 18. 
' P arrrQ le s l ivre s - Jule s Roma ins 
sa jeune s se , se s personnage s ,  
Revue de P ar i s ?  no . 4 ,  Apri l 1 958 , 
PP ? 1 4S-5o . 
' The Problem of Uni ty  and 
Individuali sm in Romains ' s Soci al 
Phi l o sophy ' , Modern Language 
Q,uarterl;y: , v o l o  IT, no . 2 ,  June 
1 941 , PP ? 249-62 . 
' Sous le Signe de l ' ami t i e' ' , Le s 
Cahi ers de s Homme s de bonne 
VOI'Onte II , P ari s :.  Flammari on,  
July 1 948 , pp . 1 -5 . 
' Unanimi sm in  the nove l s  o f  Jule s 
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IV GENERAL 
( a ) BOOKSo  
Ackerman , N o  
Acomb , E .  
Alaino 
The P sychodynamic s of Family Life o 
New York :  Basic Bo oks , 1 9 5 8 o  
The French Laic Laws o  
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Le s Origine s de la sati re anti ?
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Librairie Dro z ,  1 9660 
Ambassade de Rrance a  ducat i 0:r::.[ll Reforms. in Fr..au ce 
Anshen, R o  
Ardagh , J o  
Arnold , I\'l o 
Barber ,  E o  
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Barnard , Ho  
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The Problems of Higner Educ ation  
in France (no d.): 
The F amily: I t s  Function  and 
De stinyo  New York: Harper , 
1 9 59 o  
The New French Revolution - A 
Soc ial and Ec onomic Surv?y of 
France 1 945-1 967 o  London: 
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Centuries  of Childhood ,  London : 
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Democratic  Educati onc(lgt.f). AUchigan: 
University of Mi chigan Pre ss ?  
1 96 2 o  
Schools  and Universi t ie s  on the 
Continen?lMi chigan: Univer si ty 
of  Michi gan Pre ss ,  1 964o  
The Bourgeoi sie in 1 8 th century 
France o Princeton ?  N o J . : 
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Monde s d ' ecrivain s.. - De stinee s  
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1 960 o 
Educ ati on and the French Revolu?
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The French Traditi on in Educati on.(t'l.2l) 
Cambr idge? C ambridge Universi ty  
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