Publication

Le Juif errant was a serially published novel, which attained great popularity in Paris, and beyond. According to historian John McGreevy

John McGreevy

John McGreevy is an American historian. McGreevy earned his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has been on the Notre Dame faculty since 1997.He is the author of Catholicism and American Freedom.-Books:...

, the novel was intensely and deliberately "anti-Catholic." Its publication, and that of its predecessor Les Mystères de Paris

Les Mystères de Paris

The Mysteries of Paris is a novel by Eugène Sue which was published serially in Journal des débats from June 19, 1842 until October 15, 1843. Les Mystères de Paris singlehandedly increased the circulation of Journal des débats...

, greatly increased the circulation of the magazines in which they were published; in addition they are held to have influenced legislation on the Jesuits, and caused a general "jesuitophobie". The novel is over 800 pages long. An opera, Le Juif errant

Le Juif errant (opera)

Le Juif errant is a grand opera by Fromental Halévy, with a libretto by Eugène Scribe and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges.The opera is based extremely loosely on themes of the novel Le Juif errant, by Eugène Sue...

, by Fromental Halévy

Fromental Halévy

Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy , was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera La Juive.-Early career:...

, was based on elements of the novel.

Main characters

• Gabriel, Jesuit missionary in America, Rennepont descendant.
• Dagobert, friend of the Rennepont family and guardian of the orphans
• Rose and Blanche, twin orphans and Renneponts coming from Siberia
• Général Simon, father of Rose and Blanche, Rennepont descendant, unknown to his daughters
• Djalma, Indian prince, Rennepont descendant, coming from the far east
• Jacques Rennepont, Parisian workman
• François Hardy, progressive factory owner, Paris
• Adrienne de Cardoville, independently wealthy, Paris
• Rodin, Jesuit clerk, in charge of stealing fortune
• Père d'Aigrigny, head of the Jesuits in France, working with Rodin

Overview

The story is entitled Le Juif errant, but this is misleading; the figure of the Wandering Jew himself plays a minimal role. The prologue

Prologue

A prologue is an opening to a story that establishes the setting and gives background details, often some earlier story that ties into the main one, and other miscellaneous information. The Greek prologos included the modern meaning of prologue, but was of wider significance...

 of the text describes two figures who cry out to each other across the Bering Straits. One is the Wandering Jew, the other his sister, Hérodiade

Herodias

Herodias was a Jewish princess of the Herodian Dynasty. Asteroid 546 Herodias is named after her.-Family relationships:*Daughter of Aristobulus IV...

. The Wandering Jew also represents the cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 epidemic

Epidemic

In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...

— wherever he goes, cholera follows in his wake.

The Wandering Jew and Hérodiade are condemned to wander the earth until the entire Rennepont family has disappeared from the earth. The connection is that the descendants of the sister are also the descendants of Marius de Rennepont, Huguenot

Huguenot

The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...

s persecuted under Louis XIV

Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

 by the Jesuits. (Sue never explains how a Huguenot family came to be descended from an immortal Jewish woman who never married or had children.) The brother and sister are compelled to protect this very family from all harm. After this first introduction, the two appear only very rarely.

The Rennepont family is unaware that these protective éminences grises exist, but they benefit from their protection in various ways, be it by being saved from scalping by the Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, or from languishing in prison.

The conflict

The Rennepont family lost its position and most of its wealth during the French persecution of the Protestants (after the revocation of the edict of Nantes

Edict of Nantes

The Edict of Nantes, issued on 13 April 1598, by Henry IV of France, granted the Calvinist Protestants of France substantial rights in a nation still considered essentially Catholic. In the Edict, Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity...

 in 1685). A small fortune was given to a Jewish banker immediately before the Renneponts dispersed all over Europe and Asia, and this fortune has grown into a huge sum, through the miracle of compound interest. In 1682, the Rennepont family members each got a bronze medal telling them to meet back in Paris 150 years later, at which time the fortune will be divided among the surviving members. So much time has passed, however, that almost none of the still-living Renneponts have any idea why they need to come to Paris. They nevertheless set out from India, Siberia, America, France, and elsewhere to make their way to rue Saint-François #3 in Paris by February 13, 1832.

The members of the family are not only dispersed all over the world, but also all over the social ladder, as laborers, factory owners, princes (in India!) and the independently wealthy.

Role of the Jesuits

The Jesuits have heard of this huge fortune and want to get it for themselves. Two Jesuits (Rodin and Père d'Aigrigny) and their many recruited accomplices are in charge of obtaining the money for the Society of Jesus

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

 and dispossessing the Rennepont family. Their plan is to have only the unwitting Gabriel, the Jesuit missionary, show up to claim the fortune. Since he is a monk and can have no possessions of his own, the fortune will go to the wily Jesuits. Gabriel's entry into the order is not accidental — it is his pious mother, manipulated by the Jesuits, who persuaded him to become a Jesuit.

The Jesuits have spies and henchmen all over the world, from the remote Americas to Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

, and they use them to put obstacles in the paths of the Renneponts as they make their way back to Paris. Moreover, they also spy on each other, demonstrating that they don't even trust each other.

Main obstacles

The principal obstacles are as follows:

• Gabriel, Jesuit missionary in America, Rennepont. No obstacles, because he is supposed to collect the fortune.
• Dagobert, friend of the Rennepont family and guardian of the orphans Rose and Blanche (see below). Has his papers and the medal stolen by Morok, an animal tamer and accomplice of the Jesuits. Also has his horse, Jovial, killed by Morok's panther. Forced to travel on foot without papers and arrested for vagrancy. Freed by Hérodiade. Lured to a false meeting with a notary pretending to have messages from Général Simon (see below).
• Rose and Blanche, twin Rennepont orphans coming from Siberia. Since they are under Dagobert's protection, they are also arrested and put in jail for vagrancy. Also, they are put in a convent by Dagobert's wife while Dagobert is at the notary meeting. She is made to swear by the Jesuits that she will not tell Dagobert where they are.
• Général Simon, father of Rose and Blanche, is a Rennepont, unknown to his daughters. Général Simon has been so long exiled from France and his family that he doesn't even know he has daughters. He thinks he has one son. He does not arrive for the meeting, either, although his situation is less clear than that of the others.
• Djalma, Indian prince Rennepont, coming from the Far East. In Java, Djalma is accused of belonging to a murderous sect called the “Etrangleurs,” who closely resemble the Thuggee
  Thuggee
  Thuggee is the term for a particular kind of murder and robbery of travellers in South Asia and particularly in India.They are sometimes called Phansigar i.e...
  
  . One of the Jesuit henchmen tattoos Djalma with the Etrangleur tattoo on the inside of his arm while he is asleep. Djalma tries to prove that he is not an Etrangleur, but because of the tattoo is thrown in jail. This causes him to miss the boat to Paris. After finally arriving in Paris, he is poisoned by Farighea (whom he had thought was his friend), so that he goes into a prolonged sleep. The Jesuits then kidnap him.
• Jacques Rennepont, Parisian workman. He was given papers by his father that explain his fortune, but since he doesn't know how to read or write, he is unable to use them. The Jesuits send a money lender to him; when he cannot repay the loan, he is thrown into debtor's prison.
• François Hardy, progressive factory owner, Paris. He is betrayed by his best friend who, under the influence of Père d'Aigrigny, lures Hardy to central France, ensuring that he will not arrive on February 13.
• Adrienne de Cardoville, independently wealthy, Paris. Lives with her aunt, who is a former mistress of father d'Aigrigny. The aunt, the abbot Aigrigny, and a Jesuit doctor Baleinier connive to put Adrienne in an insane asylum that happens to be next to the convent where Rose and Blanche are trapped.

The consequences

Only Gabriel shows up to the meeting, but at the last minute Hérodiade makes an appearance. Gabriel recognizes her from when she rescued him in the Americas. Hérodiade goes to a drawer and pulls out a codicil

Codicil

Codicil can refer to:* Codicil : An addition made to a will* Any addition made subsequent and appended to the original* Any addition or appendix, such as a corollary to a theorem* Codicil : A poem by Derek Walcott...

 that explains that the parties have three and a half months from February 13 to present themselves. Upon this unexpected turn of events the Père d'Aigrigny is fired, and Rodin replaces him. He decides to take more drastic action by using cholera to annihilate some of the Rennepont family. He maneuvers Rose, Blanche, and Jacques in front of the cholera epidemic and thereby rids himself of them.

With François Hardy, Rodin shows him how Hardy's best friend had betrayed him. He also arranges for Hardy's mistress to leave for the Americas, and has Hardy's treasured factory burn to the ground (all this on the same day). Hardy takes refuge among the Jesuits, who persuade him to enter their order.

Djalma falls in love with Adrienne, so the Jesuits use his passion to destroy him: they make Djalma think that Adrienne has been unfaithful, and he poisons himself. But he dies slowly and drinks only half the bottle, so there's plenty of time for Adrienne to find out what he's done and poison herself, too. ( c.f. Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...

).

Conclusion

On the day of the second meeting, none of the Renneponts show up (Gabriel having quit the Jesuits), and Rodin alone presents himself. But Samuel, the guardian of the house, has realized the injustices that have taken place. He brings the coffins of all the Renneponts back to show Rodin his wickedness, and he burns the testament that would have given Rodin access to the money.

Gabriel and Hardy die as a matter of course, which means that the Wandering Jew and Hérodiade can finally rest in peace. The last pages of the novel recount their final “death,” which they joyfully encounter. It is not clear what finally happens to the vast fortune that was never claimed.

Critique

The first thing which careful readers should never fail to notice after passing through that long, highly diffused and complicated horror story broken in the middle by one of the most famous anti-climaxes in the whole literature, is the extent to which all good characters of this novel are exposed to the influence of evil ones (Père d'Aigriny, and Rodin, but predominantly the latter).

The whole story makes the impression that to be exposed to such machinations and evil as is unrolled against them, they all act in the dark, as if they would be mindless automatons unable to think, not humans.

Why Sue chose to show and propagate that reason is always on the side of evil, that only Rodin is so crafty, capable to think, adapting to changing situations (even capable to make a surgical operation on himself!) and is thus in full control of an action all the time, and all those so called "good characters," weak and pitiful as they are, are so easy prey to him, as if they would be just simple children, though most of them are adults?