Ferdinand Bardamu
Encyclopedia
Ferdinand Bardamu is the antiheroic protagonist
of Louis-Ferdinand Céline
's 1932 novel Journey to the End of the Night
(Voyage au bout de la nuit).
The antihero's first name, Ferdinand, is shared with Céline, the author/narrator for whom he acts as a surrogate
. His surname, Bardamu, is derived from the French
words Barda—the "pack" carried by World War I
soldiers—and mu, the past participle of the verb mouvoir, meaning to move. As the novel progresses, circumstances compel Bardamu to give up his "baggage" of conventional morality and the optimism
of youth.
's La Place de L'étoile (1968).
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
Louis-Ferdinand Céline was the pen name of French writer and physician Louis-Ferdinand Destouches . Céline was chosen after his grandmother's first name. He is considered one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, developing a new style of writing that modernized both French and...
's 1932 novel Journey to the End of the Night
Journey to the End of the Night
Journey to the End of Night is the first novel of Louis-Ferdinand Céline. This semi-autobiographical work describes antihero Ferdinand Bardamu....
(Voyage au bout de la nuit).
The antihero's first name, Ferdinand, is shared with Céline, the author/narrator for whom he acts as a surrogate
Author surrogate
As a literary technique, an author surrogate is a fictional character who expresses the ideas, questions, personality and morality of the author...
. His surname, Bardamu, is derived from the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
words Barda—the "pack" carried by 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...
soldiers—and mu, the past participle of the verb mouvoir, meaning to move. As the novel progresses, circumstances compel Bardamu to give up his "baggage" of conventional morality and the optimism
Optimism
The Oxford English Dictionary defines optimism as having "hopefulness and confidence about the future or successful outcome of something; a tendency to take a favourable or hopeful view." The word is originally derived from the Latin optimum, meaning "best." Being optimistic, in the typical sense...
of youth.
Footnotes
The two would later be combined as "Louis Ferdinand Bardamu" by the narrator Raphael of ModianoPatrick Modiano
Patrick Modiano is a French novelist born 30 July 1945 in Boulogne-Billancourt of a father of Jewish Italian origins and a Belgian mother, Louisa Colpijn . He is a winner of the Grand prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1972, the Prix Goncourt in 1978 for his novel Rue des boutiques obscures...
's La Place de L'étoile (1968).