Nicolas-Edme Rétif
Encyclopedia
Nicolas-Edme Rétif or Nicolas-Edme Restif (23 October 1734 – 2 February 1806), also known as Rétif de la Bretonne, was a French
novelist. The term retifisme for shoe fetishism
was named after him.
, he was educated by the Jansenists
at Bicêtre, and on the expulsion of the Jansenists was received by one of his brothers, who was a curé
. Owing to a scandal in which he was involved, he was apprenticed to a printer at Auxerre
, and, having served his time, went to Paris
. Here he worked as a journeyman printer, and in 1760 he married Anne or Agnès Lebègue, a relation of his former master at Auxerre.
It was not until five or six years after his marriage that Rétif appeared as an author, and from that time to his death he produced a bewildering multitude of books, amounting to something like two hundred volumes, many of them printed with his own hand, on almost every conceivable subject. Rétif suffered at one time or another the extremes of poverty. He drew on the episodes of his own life for his books, which, "in spite of their faded sentiment, contain truthful pictures of French society on the eve of the Revolution
". He has been described as both a social realist and a sexual fantasist in his writings.
The original editions of these, and indeed of all his books, have long been bibliographical curiosities owing to their rarity, the beautiful and curious illustrations which many of them contain, and the quaint typographic system in which most are composed.
The fall of the assignat
s during the Revolution forced him to make his living by writing, profiting on the new freedom of the press. In 1795 he received a gratuity of 2000 francs from the Thermidor Convention.
In spite of his declarations for the new power, his aristocratic acquaintances and his reputation made him fall in disgrace.
Just before his death Napoleon gave him a place in the ministry of police: he however died at Paris, before taking up the position.
He and the Marquis de Sade
maintained a mutual hate, while he was appreciated by Benjamin Constant
and Friedrich von Schiller and appeared at the table of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière
, whom he met in 1782.
Jean François de La Harpe nicknamed him "the Voltaire
of the chambermaids".
He was rediscovered by the Surrealists in the early 20th century.
He is also noted for his advocacy of communism
, indeed the term first made its modern appearance (1785) in his book review of Joseph-Alexandre-Victor Hupay de Fuveau who described himself as "communist" with his Project for a Philosophical Community.
The author Mario Vargas Llosa
has a chapter on Rétif in his novel The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto.
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...
novelist. The term retifisme for shoe fetishism
Fetishism
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others...
was named after him.
Biography
Born at SacySacy, Yonne
Sacy is a commune in the Yonne department in Burgundy in north-central France....
, he was educated by the Jansenists
Jansenism
Jansenism was a Christian theological movement, primarily in France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. The movement originated from the posthumously published work of the Dutch theologian Cornelius Otto Jansen, who died in 1638...
at Bicêtre, and on the expulsion of the Jansenists was received by one of his brothers, who was a curé
Cure
A cure is a completely effective treatment for a disease.The Cure is an English rock band.Cure, or similar, may also refer to:-Film and television:* The Cure , a short film starring Charlie Chaplin...
. Owing to a scandal in which he was involved, he was apprenticed to a printer at Auxerre
Auxerre
Auxerre is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.Auxerre's population today is about 45,000...
, and, having served his time, went to Paris
Paris
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...
. Here he worked as a journeyman printer, and in 1760 he married Anne or Agnès Lebègue, a relation of his former master at Auxerre.
It was not until five or six years after his marriage that Rétif appeared as an author, and from that time to his death he produced a bewildering multitude of books, amounting to something like two hundred volumes, many of them printed with his own hand, on almost every conceivable subject. Rétif suffered at one time or another the extremes of poverty. He drew on the episodes of his own life for his books, which, "in spite of their faded sentiment, contain truthful pictures of French society on the eve of the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
". He has been described as both a social realist and a sexual fantasist in his writings.
The original editions of these, and indeed of all his books, have long been bibliographical curiosities owing to their rarity, the beautiful and curious illustrations which many of them contain, and the quaint typographic system in which most are composed.
The fall of the assignat
Assignat
Assignat was the type of a monetary instrument used during the time of the French Revolution, and the French Revolutionary Wars.- France :...
s during the Revolution forced him to make his living by writing, profiting on the new freedom of the press. In 1795 he received a gratuity of 2000 francs from the Thermidor Convention.
In spite of his declarations for the new power, his aristocratic acquaintances and his reputation made him fall in disgrace.
Just before his death Napoleon gave him a place in the ministry of police: he however died at Paris, before taking up the position.
Assessment
According to 1911 Britannica,He and the Marquis de Sade
Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
maintained a mutual hate, while he was appreciated by Benjamin Constant
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
and Friedrich von Schiller and appeared at the table of Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière
Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière
Alexandre Balthazar Laurent Grimod de La Reynière , trained as a lawyer, acquired fame during the reign of Napoleon, for his sensual and public gastronomic lifestyle. Son of Laurent Grimod de La Reynière, he inherited the family fortune on the death of his father, a fermier général, in 1792...
, whom he met in 1782.
Jean François de La Harpe nicknamed him "the 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...
of the chambermaids".
He was rediscovered by the Surrealists in the early 20th century.
He is also noted for his advocacy of communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
, indeed the term first made its modern appearance (1785) in his book review of Joseph-Alexandre-Victor Hupay de Fuveau who described himself as "communist" with his Project for a Philosophical Community.
The author Mario Vargas Llosa
Mario Vargas Llosa
Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...
has a chapter on Rétif in his novel The Notebooks of Don Rigoberto.
Works
The most noteworthy of his works are:- Le Pied de Fanchette, a novel (1769)
- Le Pornographe (1769), a plan for regulating prostitution which is said to have been actually carried out by the Emperor Joseph II, while not a few detached hints have been adopted by continental nations
- Le Paysan perverti (1775), a novel with a moral purpose, though sufficiently horrible in detail
- La Vie de mon père (1779)
- La Découverte Australe par un Homme Volant (1781), a piece of proto-science-fictionFrench science fictionFrench science fiction is a substantial genre of French literature. It remains an active and productive genre which has evolved in conjunction with anglophone science fiction and other French and international literature....
notorious for his prophetic inventions. - Les Contemporaines (42 vols., 1780-1785), a vast collection of short stories
- Ingenue Saxancour, also a novel (1785)
- Les Nuits de Paris (beginning 1786: reportage including the September MassacresSeptember MassacresThe September Massacres were a wave of mob violence which overtook Paris in late summer 1792, during the French Revolution. By the time it had subsided, half the prison population of Paris had been executed: some 1,200 trapped prisoners, including many women and young boys...
of 1792 ) - Anti Justine (1793), an answer to the earlier editions of de SadeMarquis de SadeDonatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade was a French aristocrat, revolutionary politician, philosopher, and writer famous for his libertine sexuality and lifestyle...
's JustineThe Misfortunes of VirtueJustine is a classic novel by Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, better known as the Marquis de Sade. There is no standard edition of this text in hardcover, having passed into the public domain...
. - The extraordinary autobiography of Monsieur Nicolas (16 vols., 1794-1797), in which at the age of sixty he has set down his remembrances, his notions on ethical and social points, his hatreds, and above all his numerous loves, both real and fancied. In it, Rétif relates the beginnings of his sexual awakenings between 1738 and 1744, when he remembers experiencing the most pleasurable of sexual stimulations in very early childhood (see text for details). However, the last two volumes are practically a separate and much less interesting work in the opinion of the redactors of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
Sources
- "Bibliographie et Iconographie de tous les ouvrages de Restif de la Bretonne"
- Monsieur Nicolas: Or, The Human Heart Laid Bare, trans., ed., and abridged by Robert Baldick (1966) (Autobiography)
- A. Porter: Restif's Novels: Or, An Autobiography in Search of an Author (1967)
- Mark PosterMark PosterMark Poster is a Professor Emeritus of History, Film and Media Studies, and the Critical Theory Emphasis at UC Irvine. He received his Ph.D...
: The Utopian Thought of Restif de la Bretonne (1971)
External links
- Official Website of "Société Rétif de La Bretonne" with biography, bibliography, news, articles, etc. and subscription at newsletter. Terre de ecrivains