Georges Bernanos
Encyclopedia
Georges Bernanos was a French
author, and a soldier in World War I
. Of Roman Catholic and monarchist leanings, he was a violent adversary to bourgeois thought and to what he identified as defeatism
leading to France's defeat
in 1940.
, into a family of craftsmen, and spent much of his childhood in the Pas de Calais region, which became a frequent setting for his novels. He served in the First World War
as a soldier, where he witnessed the battles of the Somme
and Verdun
. He was wounded several times. After the war, he worked in insurance before writing Sous le soleil de Satan. He won the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for Journal d'un curé de campagne (Diary of a Country Priest).
Because of his anti-democratic
leanings and his allegiance to the Action Française
(he was a member of their youth organization, the Camelots du Roi), from which he finally departed in 1932, he was able to see the danger in Fascism
and Nazism
(which he described as "disgusting monstrousness") before World War II
broke out in Europe. He initially supported Francisco Franco
and the Fascist Falange
at the outset of the Spanish Civil War
. But Bernanos spent part of the conflict in Majorca, observed 'a terrorized population' and became disillusioned with the Francoist cause, which he criticized in the book Diary of My Times
; "My illusions on the enterprise of General Franco did not last long - two or three weeks - but while they lasted I conscientiously endeavoured to get over the disgust which some of the men and means inspired in me." Most of his important fictional works were written between 1926 and 1937.
He emigrated to South America
in 1938, and stayed there until 1945, for most of the time in Barbacena
, Brazil
, where he tried his hand at managing a farm. His three sons returned to France to fight when World War II
broke out, while he fulminated at his country's 'spiritual exhaustion' which he saw as the root of its collapse in 1940. From exile he mocked the 'ridiculous' Vichy regime
and became a strong supporter of the nationalist
Free French Forces
led by the conservative
Charles de Gaulle
.
After the liberation, de Gaulle invited him to return to France, offering him a post in the government. Bernanos did return, but did not participate actively in French political life.
His writings are sharply critical of modern society and its inroads into personal liberty, both through government and through technical development. He was an isolated figure, but maintained a very high reputation among his fellow writers in France.
Bernanos died at Neuilly-sur-Seine
, in 1948.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author, and a soldier in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Of Roman Catholic and monarchist leanings, he was a violent adversary to bourgeois thought and to what he identified as defeatism
Defeatism
Defeatism is acceptance of defeat without struggle. In everyday use, defeatism has negative connotation and is often linked to treason and pessimism, or even a hopeless situation such as a Catch-22...
leading to France's defeat
Battle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
in 1940.
Biography
Bernanos was born at ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, into a family of craftsmen, and spent much of his childhood in the Pas de Calais region, which became a frequent setting for his novels. He served in the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as a soldier, where he witnessed the battles of the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
and Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...
. He was wounded several times. After the war, he worked in insurance before writing Sous le soleil de Satan. He won the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française for Journal d'un curé de campagne (Diary of a Country Priest).
Because of his anti-democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
leanings and his allegiance to the Action Française
Action Française
The Action Française , founded in 1898, is a French Monarchist counter-revolutionary movement and periodical founded by Maurice Pujo and Henri Vaugeois and whose principal ideologist was Charles Maurras...
(he was a member of their youth organization, the Camelots du Roi), from which he finally departed in 1932, he was able to see the danger in Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
and Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
(which he described as "disgusting monstrousness") before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out in Europe. He initially supported Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
and the Fascist Falange
Falange
The Spanish Phalanx of the Assemblies of the National Syndicalist Offensive , known simply as the Falange, is the name assigned to several political movements and parties dating from the 1930s, most particularly the original fascist movement in Spain. The word means phalanx formation in Spanish....
at the outset of the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. But Bernanos spent part of the conflict in Majorca, observed 'a terrorized population' and became disillusioned with the Francoist cause, which he criticized in the book Diary of My Times
Les grands cimetières sous la lune
Les Grands Cimetières sous la Lune is a book by novelist Georges Bernanos which fiercely condemns the atrocities carried out in Majorca by the Fascists and sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. Majorca had been secured for the Nationalist rebels by Manuel Goded Llopis at the outset of the...
; "My illusions on the enterprise of General Franco did not last long - two or three weeks - but while they lasted I conscientiously endeavoured to get over the disgust which some of the men and means inspired in me." Most of his important fictional works were written between 1926 and 1937.
He emigrated to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in 1938, and stayed there until 1945, for most of the time in Barbacena
Barbacena
Barbacena is a city and municipality in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. As of 2006, the municipality had 124,601 inhabitants. The total area of the municipality is 788 km²....
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, where he tried his hand at managing a farm. His three sons returned to France to fight when World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
broke out, while he fulminated at his country's 'spiritual exhaustion' which he saw as the root of its collapse in 1940. From exile he mocked the 'ridiculous' Vichy regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and became a strong supporter of the nationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
Free French Forces
Free French Forces
The Free French Forces were French partisans in World War II who decided to continue fighting against the forces of the Axis powers after the surrender of France and subsequent German occupation and, in the case of Vichy France, collaboration with the Germans.-Definition:In many sources, Free...
led by the conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
.
After the liberation, de Gaulle invited him to return to France, offering him a post in the government. Bernanos did return, but did not participate actively in French political life.
His writings are sharply critical of modern society and its inroads into personal liberty, both through government and through technical development. He was an isolated figure, but maintained a very high reputation among his fellow writers in France.
Bernanos died at Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...
, in 1948.
Major works
- Sous le soleil de Satan 1926 (published in English as Under the Sun of Satan, made into a film of the same nameUnder the Sun of SatanUnder the Sun of Satan is a 1987 French film directed by Maurice Pialat. It is based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Georges Bernanos, and tells the story of a devout priest who becomes involved with a murderess...
by Maurice PialatMaurice PialatMaurice Pialat was a French film director, screenwriter and actor noted for the rigorous and unsentimental style of his films...
in 1987, winning the Palme d'OrPalme d'OrThe Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
at CannesCannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
) - L'imposture 1927
- La joie 1929 (winner of the Prix FeminaPrix FeminaThe Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse . The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury, although the authors of the winning works do not have to be women...
) - La grande peur des bien-pensants 1931
- Jeanne relapse et sainte 1934
- Un crime 1935
- Journal d'un curé de campagne 1936 (winner of the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie françaiseGrand Prix du roman de l'Académie françaiseLe Grand Prix du Roman is a French literary award, created in 1918, and given each year by the Académie française. Along with the Prix Goncourt, it is one of the oldest and most prestigious literary awards in France...
, published in English by BoriswoodBoriswoodBoriswood Limited was a small London publishing house which was active from 1931 until 1938. The directors, at various times, were Cecil J Greenwood, Kenneth W Marshall, John Morris and the New Zealander Terence T Bond. It also incorporated another imprint Cranley & Day...
, London in 1937 as Diary of a Country PriestDiary of a Country PriestDiary of a Country Priest is a 1951 French film directed by Robert Bresson, and starring Claude Laydu. It was closely based on the novel of the same name by Georges Bernanos. Published in 1937, the novel received the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française...
, made into a film by Robert BressonRobert Bresson-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
in 1951) - Nouvelle histoire de Mouchette 1937 (made into the 1967 film MouchetteMouchetteMouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. It is based on the novel by Georges Bernanos. "Mouchette" means "little fly" in French...
by Robert Bresson) - Les grands cimetières sous la luneLes grands cimetières sous la luneLes Grands Cimetières sous la Lune is a book by novelist Georges Bernanos which fiercely condemns the atrocities carried out in Majorca by the Fascists and sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. Majorca had been secured for the Nationalist rebels by Manuel Goded Llopis at the outset of the...
1938 (A Diary of My Times) - Scandale de la vérité 1939
- Nous autres Français 1939
- Monsieur Ouine 1943
- Lettre aux anglais 1946 (originally published in Rio de Janeiro in 1942)
- La France contre les robots 1947 (originally published in Rio de Janeiro in 1946)
- Le chemin de la Croix-des-Âmes 1948
- Dialogues des carmélites (Dialogues of the Carmelites) 1949 — screen and later operatic librettoDialogues of the CarmelitesDialogues of the Carmelites , is an opera in three acts by Francis Poulenc. In 1953, M. Valcarenghi approached Poulenc to commission a ballet for La Scala in Milan; when Poulenc found the proposed subject uninspiring, Valcarenghi suggested instead a screenplay by Georges Bernanos, based on the...
adaptation of Gertrud von Le FortGertrud von Le FortGertrud von Le Fort was a German writer of novels, poems, and essays. She came from a Protestant background, but converted to Catholicism in 1926. Most of Gertrud's writings come after this conversion...
's Cries from the Scaffold - Les enfants humiliés 1949
- Un mauvais rêve 1950
- La liberté, pour quoi faire ? 1953
- Français, si vous saviez 1961 (collection of articles written between 1945–1948)
- 1961
- 1961
- La vocation spirituelle de la France 1975 (collection of articles assembled by J.-L. Bernanos)
- Les prédestinés 1983 (includes "Sainte Dominique" 1926, "Jeanne relapse et sainte," and "Frère Martin" 1943)
- 1983
See also
- Le Mondes 100 Books of the CenturyLe Monde's 100 Books of the CenturyThe 100 Books of the Century is a grading of the books considered as the hundred best of the 20th century, drawn up in the spring of 1999 through a poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde....
, a list which includes Under the Sun of Satan
External links
- English language biography
- Works by Georges Bernanos (public domain in Canada)