La Maternelle
Encyclopedia
La Maternelle is a Prix Goncourt
winning novel by French author Léon Frapié
. It was adapted to film as La Maternelle
(1933). It is a kind of autobiographical novel by proxy since its author used not his own memories, but those of his wife, Leonie Mouillefert, whom he married in 1888.
(who died just a year before the novels publication), it differs as a scathing critique of public education and its values. While Zola saw education as the remedy for almost all ailments and social ills, including poverty and cruelty, Frapié is without pity for the negative traits it taught: resignation, obedience, servility. He perceives public education, far from being the cure-all for ills of the people, as a tool for casting people into a mold of docility.
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"...
winning novel by French author Léon Frapié
Léon Frapié
Léon Eugène Frapié was a French novelist.He first contributed to magazines and newspapers, then a few novels....
. It was adapted to film as La Maternelle
La Maternelle (film)
La Maternelle is a 1933 French film directed and written by Jean Benoit-Lévy and Marie Epstein. It was adapted from Léon Frapié's Prix Goncourt winning novel La Maternelle...
(1933). It is a kind of autobiographical novel by proxy since its author used not his own memories, but those of his wife, Leonie Mouillefert, whom he married in 1888.
Plot summary
Rose, a girl from a well off family faces a series of tragic events that leaves her penniless and without a home. She is hired as an attendant at a day-care center in Paris with 150 poor children. She finds herself tenderly caring for them and soon they become very fond of her.Analysis
La Maternelle is a first-person account of destitute children and hunger. While similar to the socialist realism of Emile ZolaÉmile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
(who died just a year before the novels publication), it differs as a scathing critique of public education and its values. While Zola saw education as the remedy for almost all ailments and social ills, including poverty and cruelty, Frapié is without pity for the negative traits it taught: resignation, obedience, servility. He perceives public education, far from being the cure-all for ills of the people, as a tool for casting people into a mold of docility.
External links
- La Maternelle at Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
(scanned books original editions color illustrated)