Gil Blas
Encyclopedia
Gil Blas is a picaresque novel
by Alain-René Lesage
published between 1715
and 1735
. It is considered to be the last masterpiece of the picaresque genre.
in Cantabria
, and is educated by his uncle. He leaves Oviedo
at the age of seventeen to attend the University of Salamanca
. His bright future is suddenly interrupted when he is forced to help robbers along the route and is faced with jail. He becomes a valet and, over the course of several years, is able to observe many different classes of society, both lay and clerical. Because of his occupation, he meets many disreputable people and is able to adapt to many situations, thanks to his adaptability and quick wit.
He finally finds himself at the court as a favorite of the king and secretary to the prime minister. Working his way up though hard work and intelligence, Gil is able to retire to a castle to enjoy a fortune and a hard-earned honest life.
(1709). In both works, Lesage uses witty valets in the service of thieving masters, women of questionable morals, cuckolded yet happy husbands, gourmands, ridiculous poets, false savants, and dangerously ignorant doctors to make his point. Each class and each occupation becomes an archetype.
This work is both universal and French within a Spanish context. However, its originality was questioned. Voltaire
was among the first to point out similarities between Gil Blas and Marcos de Obregón by Vicente Espinel
, from which Lesage had borrowed several details. Considering Gil Blas is essentially Spanish
, José Francisco de Isla
claimed to translate the work from French into Spanish in order to return it to its natural state. Juan Antonio Llorente
suggested that Gil Blas was written by the historian Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra
by arguing that no contemporary writer could have possibly written a work of such detail and accuracy.
in Directions to Servants, a satirical piece, dated 1731, with recommendations for the servants of rich masters to take the most advantage and have the least trouble in their daily tasks. In the chapter aimed at "the intendent and the administrator", Swift specifically instructs the reader to look up what Gil Blas has to say on the matter, as a more qualified source thus acknowledged.
Gil Blas is also mentioned in Thomas Flanagan
's The Year of the French, in which poet Owen MacCarthy mentions having it with him "on [his] ramblings, years ago." Flanagan uses Gil Blas to connect the poor Irish citizens and their French allies in the 1798 Rebellion, illustrating that the Irish may not all be as simple as Arthur Vincent Broome, the loyalist narrator, presumes. This allusion to Gil Blas also connects the somewhat roguish MacCarthy to the picaresque protagonist Gil Blas.
"Gil Blas" is alluded to in Leopold von Masoch's Venus in Furs
. The character Wanda von Dunajew describes the cause of her own free thinking to come from the early introduction to classical works, among these is reading Gil Blas at the age of ten.
Gil Blas was the title of a five-act farcical opera adapting Lesage's novel by John Hamilton Reynolds
, perhaps assisted by Thomas Hood
, and first performed on 1 August 1822. It was famously five hours long on its first night at the Theatre Royal
on the Strand
and was then cut to three acts and the title changed to The Youthful Days of Gil Blas. According to Reynolds's biographer, Leonidas M. Jones, no text of the play survives.
In a letter to William Dean Howells
(July 5, 1875), Mark Twain
tells of just completing the manuscript for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (written in third-person) and deciding against taking Tom into adulthood: to do so, he says, "would be fatal . . . in any shape but autobiographically—like Gil Blas." Walter Blair (Mark Twain and Huck Finn) thus concludes that Twain's new novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which, picaresque-like, "would run its protagonist ‘through life,' had to be written in the first person; Gil Blas was the model."
In his plan for the novel The Life of a Great Sinner, Dostoevsky notes that the concision of this work will at times mirror that of Gil Blas.
In 'A Rogue's Life' by Wilkie Collins the rogue declares '...I am as even-tempered a rogue as you have met with anywhere since the days of Gil Blas.'
composed Gil Blas von Santillana, with libretto by F. Zell and Moritz West. It was first performed in 1889.
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
by Alain-René Lesage
Alain-René Lesage
Alain-René Lesage was a French novelist and playwright. Lesage is best known for his comic novel The Devil upon Two Sticks , his comedy Turcaret , and his picaresque novel Gil Blas .-Youth and education:Claude Lesage, the father of the novelist, held the united...
published between 1715
1715 in literature
The year 1715 in literature involved some significant events.-Events:* Nicholas Rowe becomes Poet Laureate of Great Britain.* Peter the Great takes lessons in maritime affairs from Hermann Boerhaave, before departing for Holland....
and 1735
1735 in literature
The year 1735 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Samuel Johnson marries Elizabeth "Tetty" Porter, twenty years his senior....
. It is considered to be the last masterpiece of the picaresque genre.
Plot summary
Gil Blas is born in misery to a stablehand and a chambermaid of SantillanaSantillana del Mar
Santillana del Mar is a historic town situated in Cantabria, Spain. Certain features of this historical town includes Altamira Caves and many historic buildings, attracting thousands of holiday-makers every year....
in Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
, and is educated by his uncle. He leaves Oviedo
Oviedo
Oviedo is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain. It is also the name of the municipality that contains the city....
at the age of seventeen to attend the University of Salamanca
University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca is a Spanish higher education institution, located in the town of Salamanca, west of Madrid. It was founded in 1134 and given the Royal charter of foundation by King Alfonso IX in 1218. It is the oldest founded university in Spain and the third oldest European...
. His bright future is suddenly interrupted when he is forced to help robbers along the route and is faced with jail. He becomes a valet and, over the course of several years, is able to observe many different classes of society, both lay and clerical. Because of his occupation, he meets many disreputable people and is able to adapt to many situations, thanks to his adaptability and quick wit.
He finally finds himself at the court as a favorite of the king and secretary to the prime minister. Working his way up though hard work and intelligence, Gil is able to retire to a castle to enjoy a fortune and a hard-earned honest life.
Literary significance and reception
Gil Blas is related to Lesage's play TurcaretTurcaret
Turcaret is a comedy by Alain-René Lesage, first produced on 14 February 1709 at the Comédie-Française. It is considered one of Lesage's most important works....
(1709). In both works, Lesage uses witty valets in the service of thieving masters, women of questionable morals, cuckolded yet happy husbands, gourmands, ridiculous poets, false savants, and dangerously ignorant doctors to make his point. Each class and each occupation becomes an archetype.
This work is both universal and French within a Spanish context. However, its originality was questioned. Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
was among the first to point out similarities between Gil Blas and Marcos de Obregón by Vicente Espinel
Vicente Espinel
Vicente Gómez Martínez-Espinel , was a Spanish writer and musician of the Siglo de Oro.He is credited with the addition of the 5th string to the guitar and the creation of the modern poetic form of the décima, composed of ten octameters, named espinella in Spanish after him.Espinel was born in Ronda...
, from which Lesage had borrowed several details. Considering Gil Blas is essentially Spanish
Spanish literature
Spanish literature generally refers to literature written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the state of Spain...
, José Francisco de Isla
José Francisco de Isla
José Francisco de Isla was a Spanish Jesuit, celebrated as a preacher and a humorist and satirist of the stamp of Cervantes.-Early career:He was born in Vidanes, León...
claimed to translate the work from French into Spanish in order to return it to its natural state. Juan Antonio Llorente
Juan Antonio Llorente
Juan Antonio Llorente was a Spanish historian and liberal activist....
suggested that Gil Blas was written by the historian Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra
Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra
Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra was a Spanish dramatist and historian. His work includes drama, poetry, and prose, and he has been considered one of the last great writers of Spanish Baroque literature....
by arguing that no contemporary writer could have possibly written a work of such detail and accuracy.
Allusions in other works
Gil Blas is referred to by Jonathan SwiftJonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
in Directions to Servants, a satirical piece, dated 1731, with recommendations for the servants of rich masters to take the most advantage and have the least trouble in their daily tasks. In the chapter aimed at "the intendent and the administrator", Swift specifically instructs the reader to look up what Gil Blas has to say on the matter, as a more qualified source thus acknowledged.
Gil Blas is also mentioned in Thomas Flanagan
Thomas Flanagan
Thomas Flanagan or Tom Flanagan may refer to:People:*Thomas Flanagan , English Catholic priest and historian*Thomas Flanagan , Irish civil engineer and politician...
's The Year of the French, in which poet Owen MacCarthy mentions having it with him "on [his] ramblings, years ago." Flanagan uses Gil Blas to connect the poor Irish citizens and their French allies in the 1798 Rebellion, illustrating that the Irish may not all be as simple as Arthur Vincent Broome, the loyalist narrator, presumes. This allusion to Gil Blas also connects the somewhat roguish MacCarthy to the picaresque protagonist Gil Blas.
"Gil Blas" is alluded to in Leopold von Masoch's Venus in Furs
Venus in Furs
Venus in Furs is a novella by Austrian author Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the best known of his works. The novel was part of an epic series that Sacher-Masoch envisioned called Legacy of Cain. Venus in Furs was part of Love, the first volume of the series...
. The character Wanda von Dunajew describes the cause of her own free thinking to come from the early introduction to classical works, among these is reading Gil Blas at the age of ten.
Gil Blas was the title of a five-act farcical opera adapting Lesage's novel by John Hamilton Reynolds
John Hamilton Reynolds
John Hamilton Reynolds was an English poet, satirist, critic, and playwright. He was a close friend and correspondent of poet John Keats whose letters to Reynolds constitute a significant body of Keats' poetic thought...
, perhaps assisted by Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood was a British humorist and poet. His son, Tom Hood, became a well known playwright and editor.-Early life:...
, and first performed on 1 August 1822. It was famously five hours long on its first night at the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal is the name of many theatres, especially in the United Kingdom. The name was once an indication that the theatre was a patent theatre, with a Royal Patent without which performances of serious drama would be illegal.United Kingdom:...
on the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
and was then cut to three acts and the title changed to The Youthful Days of Gil Blas. According to Reynolds's biographer, Leonidas M. Jones, no text of the play survives.
In a letter to William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells
William Dean Howells was an American realist author and literary critic. Nicknamed "The Dean of American Letters", he was particularly known for his tenure as editor of the Atlantic Monthly as well as his own writings, including the Christmas story "Christmas Every Day" and the novel The Rise of...
(July 5, 1875), Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
tells of just completing the manuscript for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (written in third-person) and deciding against taking Tom into adulthood: to do so, he says, "would be fatal . . . in any shape but autobiographically—like Gil Blas." Walter Blair (Mark Twain and Huck Finn) thus concludes that Twain's new novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which, picaresque-like, "would run its protagonist ‘through life,' had to be written in the first person; Gil Blas was the model."
In his plan for the novel The Life of a Great Sinner, Dostoevsky notes that the concision of this work will at times mirror that of Gil Blas.
In 'A Rogue's Life' by Wilkie Collins the rogue declares '...I am as even-tempered a rogue as you have met with anywhere since the days of Gil Blas.'
Operatic adaptations
Théophile Semet composed a comic opera on Gil Blas in five acts (1860). Alphons CzibulkaAlphons Czibulka
----Alphons Czibulka, Alfons Czibulka, or Czibulka Alfonz was an Austro-Hungarian military bandmaster, composer, pianist, and conductor....
composed Gil Blas von Santillana, with libretto by F. Zell and Moritz West. It was first performed in 1889.
Publication history
- Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane, Books 1-6 (1715)
- Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane, Books 7-9 (1724)
- Histoire de Gil Blas de Santillane, Books 10-12 (1735)