Jules Renard
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Jules Renard or Jules Renard (February 22, 1864 – May 22, 1910) was a French
author and member of the Académie Goncourt
, most famous for the works Poil de carotte
(Carrot Top) (1894) and Les Histoires Naturelles (Nature Stories) (1896). Among his other works are Le Plaisir de rompre (The Pleasure of Breaking) (1898) and Huit jours à la campagne (A Week in the Country) (1906).
, Mayenne
where his father was working on the construction of a railroad. Renard grew up in Chitry-les-Mines
, (Nièvre
). He had three older siblings including Amélie (b. 1858), who died at a young age. A second sister was also named Amélie (b. 1859). A third child, Maurice, was born before Pierre-Jules in 1862. Renard's childhood was characterized as difficult and sad ("un grand silence roux" or "a great ruddy silence"). Although he decided not to attend the prestigious École normale supérieure
, love of literature would eventually dominate his life. From 1885–1886, he served in the military in Bourges
.
. He began to frequent literary cafés and to contribute to Parisian newspapers. Among his steady friends were Alfred Capus
and Lucien Guitry
. Jules Renard wrote poems, short stories, short plays, novels and his famous Poil de carotte. He was elected mayor ("maire") of Chitry
on May 15, 1904 as the socialist candidate and became member of the Académie Goncourt
in 1907, thanks to Octave Mirbeau
. He died of arteriosclerosis
in Paris.
and anticlericalism (apparent in La Bigote).
His journal (1897 to 1910, published in 1925) is a masterpiece of introspection, irony, humor and nostalgia, and also provides an important glimpse into the literary life.
The British writer Somerset Maugham was influenced to publish his own well-known journals by the example of Renard. In the introduction to his own work A Writer's Notebook, Maugham wrote an apt summary of the virtues of Renard's journal: "The journal is wonderfully good reading. It is extremely amusing. It is witty and subtle and often wise... Jules Renard jotted down neat retorts and clever phrases, epigrams, things seen, the sayings of people and the look of them, descriptions of scenery, effects of sunshine and shadow, everything, in short, that could be of use to him when he sat down to write for publication."
American
novelist Gilbert Sorrentino
based his 1994 work Red the Fiend on Renard's Poil de carotte
.
For a great part, the 2008 memoir Nothing to Be Frightened Of by British novelist Julian Barnes
is a homage to Jules Renard.
Renard is one of several popular philosophers whose quotations appear on the roadsigns of Project HIMANK in the Ladakh
region of northern India. On one such sign in the Nubra Valley
, he is quoted as saying Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author and member of the Académie Goncourt
Académie Goncourt
The Société littéraire des Goncourt , usually called the académie Goncourt , is a French literary organization based in Paris. It was founded by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt...
, most famous for the works Poil de carotte
Poil de carotte
Poil de carotte is a long short story or autobiographical novel by Jules Renard published in 1894, which recounts the childhood and the trials of a redheaded child...
(Carrot Top) (1894) and Les Histoires Naturelles (Nature Stories) (1896). Among his other works are Le Plaisir de rompre (The Pleasure of Breaking) (1898) and Huit jours à la campagne (A Week in the Country) (1906).
Early life
The child of François Renard and Anna-Rose Colin, Renard was born in Châlons-du-MaineChâlons-du-Maine
Châlons-du-Maine is a commune in the Mayenne department in north-western France....
, Mayenne
Mayenne
Mayenne is a department in northwest France named after the Mayenne River.-History:Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine...
where his father was working on the construction of a railroad. Renard grew up in Chitry-les-Mines
Chitry-les-Mines
Chitry-les-Mines is a commune in the Nièvre department in central France.-References:*...
, (Nièvre
Nièvre
Nièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
). He had three older siblings including Amélie (b. 1858), who died at a young age. A second sister was also named Amélie (b. 1859). A third child, Maurice, was born before Pierre-Jules in 1862. Renard's childhood was characterized as difficult and sad ("un grand silence roux" or "a great ruddy silence"). Although he decided not to attend the prestigious École normale supérieure
École normale supérieure
An école normale supérieure or ENS is a type of publicly funded higher education in France. A portion of the student body who are French civil servants are called Normaliens....
, love of literature would eventually dominate his life. From 1885–1886, he served in the military in Bourges
Bourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
.
Life and career
On April 28, 1888, Renard married Marie Morneau. He and his wife lived at 43 rue du Rocher in the 8th Arrondissement of ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He began to frequent literary cafés and to contribute to Parisian newspapers. Among his steady friends were Alfred Capus
Alfred Capus
Alfred Capus was a French journalist and playwright, born in Aix-en-Provence and deceased in Neuilly-sur-Seine.-Biography:Son to a lawyer from Marseille, Alfred Capus went to university in Toulon...
and Lucien Guitry
Lucien Guitry
Lucien Germain Guitry was a French actor.In 1885, while living in Saint Petersburg, he appeared at the French Theatre. His son, the future actor, writer and director Sacha Guitry, was born in Saint Petersburg and named in honour of Tsar Alexander III...
. Jules Renard wrote poems, short stories, short plays, novels and his famous Poil de carotte. He was elected mayor ("maire") of Chitry
Chitry
Chitry is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France....
on May 15, 1904 as the socialist candidate and became member of the Académie Goncourt
Académie Goncourt
The Société littéraire des Goncourt , usually called the académie Goncourt , is a French literary organization based in Paris. It was founded by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt...
in 1907, thanks to Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau was a French journalist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, novelist, and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, while still appealing to the literary and artistic avant-garde...
. He died of arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis
Arteriosclerosis refers to a stiffening of arteries.Arteriosclerosis is a general term describing any hardening of medium or large arteries It should not be confused with "arteriolosclerosis" or "atherosclerosis".Also known by the name "myoconditis" which is...
in Paris.
Work
Some of Jules Renard's works take their inspiration from the countryside he loved in the Nièvre region. His character portraits are sharp, ironic and sometimes cruel (in his Histoires naturelles he humanizes animals and animalizes men) and he was an active supporter of pacifismPacifism
Pacifism is the opposition to war and violence. The term "pacifism" was coined by the French peace campaignerÉmile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress inGlasgow in 1901.- Definition :...
and anticlericalism (apparent in La Bigote).
His journal (1897 to 1910, published in 1925) is a masterpiece of introspection, irony, humor and nostalgia, and also provides an important glimpse into the literary life.
The British writer Somerset Maugham was influenced to publish his own well-known journals by the example of Renard. In the introduction to his own work A Writer's Notebook, Maugham wrote an apt summary of the virtues of Renard's journal: "The journal is wonderfully good reading. It is extremely amusing. It is witty and subtle and often wise... Jules Renard jotted down neat retorts and clever phrases, epigrams, things seen, the sayings of people and the look of them, descriptions of scenery, effects of sunshine and shadow, everything, in short, that could be of use to him when he sat down to write for publication."
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist Gilbert Sorrentino
Gilbert Sorrentino
Gilbert Sorrentino was an American novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and editor.In over twenty-five works of fiction and poetry, Sorrentino explored the comic and formal possibilities of language and literature...
based his 1994 work Red the Fiend on Renard's Poil de carotte
Poil de carotte
Poil de carotte is a long short story or autobiographical novel by Jules Renard published in 1894, which recounts the childhood and the trials of a redheaded child...
.
For a great part, the 2008 memoir Nothing to Be Frightened Of by British novelist Julian Barnes
Julian Barnes
Julian Patrick Barnes is a contemporary English writer, and winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize, for his book The Sense of an Ending...
is a homage to Jules Renard.
Renard is one of several popular philosophers whose quotations appear on the roadsigns of Project HIMANK in the Ladakh
Ladakh
Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...
region of northern India. On one such sign in the Nubra Valley
Nubra Valley
Nubra Valley is about 150 km north of Leh, the capital town of Ladakh, India. Local scholars say that its original name was Ldumra . The Shyok River meets the Nubra or Siachan River to form a large valley that separates the Ladakh and the Karakoram Ranges. The average altitude of the valley is...
, he is quoted as saying Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Novels
- Crime de village (1888)
- Sourires pincés (1890)
- L'écornifleur (1892)
- La lanterne sourde (1893)
- Coquecigrues (1893)
- Deux fables sans morale (1893)
- Le coureur de filles (1894)
- Histoires naturelles (1894) ( text)
- Poil de carottePoil de carottePoil de carotte is a long short story or autobiographical novel by Jules Renard published in 1894, which recounts the childhood and the trials of a redheaded child...
(1894) (text) - Le vigneron dans sa vigne (1894)
- La maîtresse (1896)
- Bucoliques (1898)
- Les Philippe (1907)
- Patrie (1907)
- Mots d'écrit (1908)
- Ragotte (1909)
- Nos frères farouches (1909)
- Causeries (1910)
- L'œil clair (1913)
- Les cloportes (1919)
Plays
- La demande (1895)
- Le plaisir de rompre (1897)
- Le pain de ménage (1898)
- Poil de carotte (1900)
- Monsieur Vernet (1903)
- La Bigote (1909)
- Huit jours à la campagne (1912)
Quotes
- It is not how old you are but how you are old.
- Writing is an occupation in which you have to keep proving your talent to people who have none.
- Culture is what's left after you have forgotten everything.
- I don't know if God exists, but it would be better for His reputation if He didn't.
- Look for the ridiculous in everything, and you will find it.
- If money does not make you happy; give it back.
- Writing is the only way to talk without being interrupted.
- If one were to build the house of happiness, the largest space would be the waiting room.
- Dying serves no purpose so die now.
- The horse is the only animal into which one can bang nails.
- We don't understand life any better at forty than at twenty, but we know it and admit it.
- I find when I do not think of myself I do not think at all.
- Failure is not the only punishment for laziness; there is also the success of others.
- Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
- The only man who is really free is the one who can turn down an invitation to dinner without giving an excuse.
- Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money.
- As I grow to understand life less and less, I learn to love it more and more.
- I am never bored anywhere; being bored is an insult to oneself.
- If I were to begin life again, I should want it as it was. I would only open my eyes a little more.
- Love is like an hourglass, with the heart filling up as the brain empties.
See also
- Le Mondes 100 Books of the CenturyLe Monde's 100 Books of the CenturyThe 100 Books of the Century is a grading of the books considered as the hundred best of the 20th century, drawn up in the spring of 1999 through a poll conducted by the French retailer Fnac and the Paris newspaper Le Monde....
, a list which includes the Journal
External links
- Jules Renard Biography and Bibliography http://jules-renard.ville-nevers.fr/
- Jules Renard Biography
- Jules Renard Quotes - The Quotations Page at www.quotationspage.com
- The Journal of Jules Renard at Tin House http://www.tinhouse.com/books/catalog_jof_jr.htm
- Pour Jules Renard: Biography, quotes and many links