Monsieur (novel)
Encyclopedia
Monsieur, published in 1974 and sub-titled The Prince of Darkness, is the first volume in Lawrence Durrell
's The Avignon Quintet
. As a group, the five novels narrate the lives of a group of Europeans prior to and after World War II
. Monsieur begins the quincunx
of novels with a metafictional narrative in five major sections, each with a competing narrator. The novel does not resolve which narrative is 'real' and which are 'fiction.'
The novel draws extensively on Gnosticism
but was published prior to the English release of the Nag Hammadi library
. Durrell is referred to in the English edition of the Nag Hammadi, but this is largely in relation to his The Alexandria Quartet
. The Gnostic materials in Monsieur combine Serge Hutin's Les Gnostiques with contemporary newspaper reports of a Slovenian suicide cult. This has led to much scholarly and popular confusion over the sources for Durrell's Gnostic suicide cult, which is a plot throughout the rest of the Avignon Quintet.
The second chapter, "Macabru," recounts Bruce, Piers, and Sylvie's journey into Egypt where they meet Akkad, who initiates them into a Gnostic cult. Akkad takes them to Macabru in the desert in order to explain the group's rituals. There is an extended journey on the Nile in this section that parallels a later journey on the Rhone in Livia
.
"Sutcliffe, or the Venetian Documents" presents a new narrator, which renders the previous materials fictional, unless this is another fiction. Sutcliffe has various misadventures in Venice and recalls his failed marriage to Pia, Bruce's sister.
"Life with Toby" returns to Bruce and Toby in Avignon discussing a theory about the Knights Templar
that returns to the Gnostic theme; this section is interrupted by another text in "The Green Notebook," which returns to Sutcliffe. Monsieur was initially composed in a green notebook, and "A Green Notebook" consists largely of the unrevised notes that preceded the novel. This section becomes highly fragmentary.
"Dinner at Quartilla's" is the last section of the novel and introduces another author, Blanford, who is writing a book in which Sutcliffe is a character. He dines with his friend, the old Duchess Tu, who is actually long dead.
The novel ends with an Envoi that gives a continuing list of who begat whom throughout the novel but without a final resolution.
Lawrence Durrell
Lawrence George Durrell was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer, though he resisted affiliation with Britain and preferred to be considered cosmopolitan...
's The Avignon Quintet
The Avignon Quintet
The Avignon Quintet is a five-volume series of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1974 and 1985. The novels are openly metafictional and reflect the developments in experimental fiction following after Durrell's previous The Alexandria Quartet...
. As a group, the five novels narrate the lives of a group of Europeans prior to and after 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...
. Monsieur begins the quincunx
Quincunx
A quincunx is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, that is five coplanar points, four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center...
of novels with a metafictional narrative in five major sections, each with a competing narrator. The novel does not resolve which narrative is 'real' and which are 'fiction.'
The novel draws extensively on Gnosticism
Gnosticism
Gnosticism is a scholarly term for a set of religious beliefs and spiritual practices common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism , and Neoplatonism.A common characteristic of some of these groups was the teaching that the realisation of Gnosis...
but was published prior to the English release of the Nag Hammadi library
Nag Hammadi library
The Nag Hammadi library is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945. That year, twelve leather-bound papyrus codices buried in a sealed jar were found by a local peasant named Mohammed Ali Samman...
. Durrell is referred to in the English edition of the Nag Hammadi, but this is largely in relation to his The Alexandria Quartet
The Alexandria Quartet
The Alexandria Quartet is a tetralogy of novels by British writer Lawrence Durrell, published between 1957 and 1960. A critical and commercial success, the books present four perspectives on a single set of events and characters in Alexandria, Egypt, before and during World War II.As Durrell...
. The Gnostic materials in Monsieur combine Serge Hutin's Les Gnostiques with contemporary newspaper reports of a Slovenian suicide cult. This has led to much scholarly and popular confusion over the sources for Durrell's Gnostic suicide cult, which is a plot throughout the rest of the Avignon Quintet.
Plot summary
In the first section, "Outremer," Bruce Drexel is returning to Provence after learning of his lover / brother-in-law's suicide. His wife is institutionalized and has been for some time, and he revisits Avignon with his friend Toby while attending to the necessary funeral arrangements and reminiscing about his life with Piers and Sylvie. He recalls stylistically rich winter scenes when the three were first in love, as well as a novel written about them by Robin Sutcliffe.The second chapter, "Macabru," recounts Bruce, Piers, and Sylvie's journey into Egypt where they meet Akkad, who initiates them into a Gnostic cult. Akkad takes them to Macabru in the desert in order to explain the group's rituals. There is an extended journey on the Nile in this section that parallels a later journey on the Rhone in Livia
Livia (novel)
Livia, published in 1978 and sub-titled Buried Alive, is the second volume in Lawrence Durrell's The Avignon Quintet. The novel revolves around the novelist Blandford, introduced at the end of the previous novel Monsieur, and introduces us to the sisters Livia and Constance, both briefly figuring...
.
"Sutcliffe, or the Venetian Documents" presents a new narrator, which renders the previous materials fictional, unless this is another fiction. Sutcliffe has various misadventures in Venice and recalls his failed marriage to Pia, Bruce's sister.
"Life with Toby" returns to Bruce and Toby in Avignon discussing a theory about the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
that returns to the Gnostic theme; this section is interrupted by another text in "The Green Notebook," which returns to Sutcliffe. Monsieur was initially composed in a green notebook, and "A Green Notebook" consists largely of the unrevised notes that preceded the novel. This section becomes highly fragmentary.
"Dinner at Quartilla's" is the last section of the novel and introduces another author, Blanford, who is writing a book in which Sutcliffe is a character. He dines with his friend, the old Duchess Tu, who is actually long dead.
The novel ends with an Envoi that gives a continuing list of who begat whom throughout the novel but without a final resolution.
External links
- The International Lawrence Durrell Society Official website of ILDS
- Durrell 2012: The Lawrence Durrell Centenary Centenary event website and Durrell Journal
- The Durrell School of Corfu School dedicated to the works and lives Lawrence and Gerald Durrell
- The Literary Encyclopedia