The Mandarins
Encyclopedia
The Mandarins is a 1954
roman-à-clef by Simone de Beauvoir
. Beauvoir was awarded the Prix Goncourt
prize in 1954 for The Mandarins. It was first published in English in 1957.
The book follows the personal lives of a close-knit group of French intellectuals from the end of WWII to the mid fifties. The title refers to the scholar-bureaucrats
of imperial China. The characters at times see themselves as ineffectual "mandarins" as they attempt to discern what role, if any, intellectuals will have in influencing the political landscape of the world after WWII. As in Beauvoir's other works, themes of Feminism
, Existentialism
, and personal morality are explored as the characters navigate not only the intellectual
and political landscape but also their shifting relationships with each other.
The British novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch
described the book as "endearing because of its persistent seriousness".
) is the editor of the leftist newspaper L'Espoir. He is unhappily married to Paula. Henri primarily sees himself as a writer and struggles with his increasing involvement in the political arena.
Robert Dubreuilh (considered to be Jean-Paul Sartre
) is the founder and leader of the SRL, a liberal, non-Communist political group. He is partly responsible for Henri's literary success, and the two are close personal friends.
Anne Dubreuilh (considered to be Beauvoir herself) is the wife of Robert. She is a practicing psychoanalyst. She has an affair with the American writer Lewis Brogan. Her reflections on the lives of the other characters comprises a large portion of the text.
Paula Perron is Henri's wife. She is unrelentingly committed to her relationship with Henri, despite his indifference. She develops severe delusions and paranoia regarding this relationship and is forced to seek medical treatment.
Nadine Dubreuilh is Robert and Anne's daughter. Nadine is haunted by the death of her boyfriend Diego during the French Resistance
. She has an affair with Henri early in the course of the novel and later marries Henri and has a child by him.
Lewis Brogan (considered to be Nelson Algren
, to whom the book is dedicated) is an American writer with whom Anne has an extended affair.
Scriassine David Cesarani
in his biography Arthur Koestler, The Homeless Mind, suggests that Scriassine's character is drawn on Arthur Koestler
.
1954 in literature
The year 1954 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Jack Kerouac reads Dwight Goddard's A Buddhist Bible, which will influence him greatly.*John Updike graduates from Harvard with a thesis on George Herbert....
roman-à-clef by Simone de Beauvoir
Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
. Beauvoir was awarded the Prix Goncourt
Prix Goncourt
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year"...
prize in 1954 for The Mandarins. It was first published in English in 1957.
The book follows the personal lives of a close-knit group of French intellectuals from the end of WWII to the mid fifties. The title refers to the scholar-bureaucrats
Scholar-bureaucrats
Scholar-officials or Scholar-bureaucrats were civil servants appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day governance from the Sui Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, China's last imperial dynasty. These officials mostly came from the well-educated men known as the...
of imperial China. The characters at times see themselves as ineffectual "mandarins" as they attempt to discern what role, if any, intellectuals will have in influencing the political landscape of the world after WWII. As in Beauvoir's other works, themes of Feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
, Existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
, and personal morality are explored as the characters navigate not only the intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
and political landscape but also their shifting relationships with each other.
The British novelist and philosopher Iris Murdoch
Iris Murdoch
Dame Iris Murdoch DBE was an Irish-born British author and philosopher, best known for her novels about political and social questions of good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious...
described the book as "endearing because of its persistent seriousness".
Characters
Henri Perron (considered to be Albert CamusAlbert Camus
Albert Camus was a French author, journalist, and key philosopher of the 20th century. In 1949, Camus founded the Group for International Liaisons within the Revolutionary Union Movement, which was opposed to some tendencies of the Surrealist movement of André Breton.Camus was awarded the 1957...
) is the editor of the leftist newspaper L'Espoir. He is unhappily married to Paula. Henri primarily sees himself as a writer and struggles with his increasing involvement in the political arena.
Robert Dubreuilh (considered to be Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
) is the founder and leader of the SRL, a liberal, non-Communist political group. He is partly responsible for Henri's literary success, and the two are close personal friends.
Anne Dubreuilh (considered to be Beauvoir herself) is the wife of Robert. She is a practicing psychoanalyst. She has an affair with the American writer Lewis Brogan. Her reflections on the lives of the other characters comprises a large portion of the text.
Paula Perron is Henri's wife. She is unrelentingly committed to her relationship with Henri, despite his indifference. She develops severe delusions and paranoia regarding this relationship and is forced to seek medical treatment.
Nadine Dubreuilh is Robert and Anne's daughter. Nadine is haunted by the death of her boyfriend Diego during the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. She has an affair with Henri early in the course of the novel and later marries Henri and has a child by him.
Lewis Brogan (considered to be Nelson Algren
Nelson Algren
Nelson Algren was an American writer.-Early life:Algren was born Nelson Ahlgren Abraham in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Goldie and Gerson Abraham. At the age of three he moved with his parents to Chicago, Illinois where they lived in a working-class, immigrant neighborhood on the South Side...
, to whom the book is dedicated) is an American writer with whom Anne has an extended affair.
Scriassine David Cesarani
David Cesarani
David Cesarani OBE is an English historian who specialises in Jewish history, especially the Holocaust. He has also written several biographies, notably Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind.-Early life:...
in his biography Arthur Koestler, The Homeless Mind, suggests that Scriassine's character is drawn on Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler
Arthur Koestler CBE was a Hungarian author and journalist. Koestler was born in Budapest and, apart from his early school years, was educated in Austria...
.
External links
- Hot and Epistolary NYT Review of Books review of Algren-Beauvoir letters and the facts behind that plot line of the novel.