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Merimee

Achievements: A major French novelist and playwright.

Born: September 28, 1803; Paris, France

Died: September 23, 1870; Cannes, France (Aged 67)

Field & Discipline: Literature; Writer

Language: French

Father: Leonor Merimee

Mother: Anne Moreau

Siblings: None

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: Lycee Napoleon (later called College Henri IV), Paris; L’Ecole de Droit (law school), Paris

Major Work:

“Mosaique” (1833, collection of short stories)

“Colomba” (1840)

“Carmen” (1845)

Life & Times:

At the age of seventeen Merimee and his school-friend [a schoolmate of] J J Ampere*  translated the ‘Ossian’ epic by [translated work of] Macpherson*.

In 1822 Merimee met Henri Beyle (better known as the novelist [a pal of] Stendhal*) and they began a lifelong friendship. In the same year, Merimee wrote his first play, “Cromwell”, which like other French works on the same subject by [parallel work by] Hugo* and [parallel work by] Balzac*, was not a success.

Although he received his law degree in 1823, in 1825 he published a collection of his plays under the title “Le Theatre de Clara Gazul” which he presented as translations of plays written by a Spanish actress.

Merimee was fascinated by myths and historical drama, a passion stimulated by the publication of Froissart’s “Chronicles” and a visit to Paris by a company of English Shakespearean actors, among whom was [influenced by] Kean*.  In 1828 Merimee wrote “La Jacquerie” about a medieval peasant rebellion, and the following year brought out a novel: “Chronique du regne de Charles IX,” whose heroine, Countess Diane de Turgis, was modelled on Merimee’s lover, Madame Emilie Lacoste.

In 1828, he fell in love with [fell for] Mary Shelley* who was visiting Paris. It is uncertain whether or not he proposed marriage to the beautiful young widow.  At the end of that year, Merimee began writing short stories. In 1830, he made a three month visit to Spain,  where he visited art galleries and copied works by Goya, Murillo and Velasquez but spent most of his time mixing with bullfighters, gypsies and smugglers.

He also met the Countess of Montijo whose daughter later became the Empress [a pal of] Eugenie* of France. The revolution in France in 1830 favored the liberals and Merimee joined the civil service and became a bureau chief in the Ministry of the Marine. In 1831 he met a twenty-year old French girl, Jenny Dacquin, who had written him a fan letter and began a correspondence with her which lasted for the rest of his life. During a cholera epidemic in 1832 he was special commissioner for sanitary measures and visited patients in the hospitals.

He fell in with bohemians like the painter [a pal of] Delacroix* and the poet [a pal of] de Musset*. In 1833 he had a brief liaison with the writer [had affair with] Sand* and in the same year a collection of his short stories was published under the title “Mosaique” (“Mosaic”).  In one of the finest stories in the collection, “Mateo Falcone,”  a son is killed by his own father for betraying the honor of the family. “L’Enlevement de la redoubte” (“The Capture of the Redoubt”) is a military story. “Le Vase etrusque” is a psychological study of passion, and is one of the few stories in which Merimee portrays something of his own character.

“Mosaique” established Merimee’s literary credentials and is the work for which he is best remembered. Merimee was released from boredom at the ministry by his appointment in 1834 as inspector general of historical monuments. He embarked on an intensive course of archeology and architecture before traveling through France to inspect monuments. He was horrified at the neglect he saw and for nearly twenty years, helped by his protege [assisted by] Viollet-le-Duc*,  he worked to restore and preserve France’s building heritage.

He was fortunate to be undertaking this work during the [influenced by] Gothic Revival* and among the monuments he helped to save and restore are the cathedrals at Lyon and Strasbourg, the Palace of the Popes at Avignon and castles of Blois and Chinon.

A visit to Corsica in 1839 inspired one of his most famous short novels, “Columba” (1840), the story of a young Coriscan forced by his sister to murder two men in revenge for his father’s death.

In 1844 he was elected to the French Academy and the next day his novella: “Arsene Guillot” appeared. It told the story of a humble servant girl with tuberculosis who has a succession of lovers. Many suspected that Merimee had carefully orchestrated the date of publication in order to shock. His other more famous novella: “Carmen”, came out in 1845 and the story was adopted for the opera of the same name by [work adapted by] Bizet*.  Merimee had long been fascinated by Russia and had learned Russian. He translated the poems of Aleksandr Pushkin and also the work of  [translated] Gogol*.

In 1852 Merimee spent a brief period in prison, to which he was sentenced after defending the reputation of Gugliemo Libri who had been accused of stealing rare books and taking them to London. The director of the British Musuem in London, [a pal of] Panizzi*, also believed in Libri’s innocence and he and Merimee became close friends.

In 1853 [a pal of] Napoleon III* married Eugenie, the daughter of Merimee’s old friend the Countess of Montijo. Having refused the emperor’s offer of the post of keeper of the imperial archives, Merimee was virtually forced to accept another position as Senator of the Empire. Since this gave him financial independence and still left time free for his archeological investigations, Merimee agreed to accept the position.

During the Second Empire, Merimee came to like Napoleon III and helped him with the book he was writing on Julius Caesar. In 1860 he resigned as inspector of monuments. He made many visits to England as a guest of Panizzi and collected material there for the reorganization of the Imperial Library (now the Bibliotheque Nationale).

Through his contacts with British politicans such as Palmerston and [knew] Gladstone*, Merimee acted as liaison between the British and French governments. Merimee was greatly saddened by the outbreak of war with Germany in 1870 and correctly foresaw the defeat of France. He died during the war.

Extra Connections: The physicist [cousin was]  Fresnel* was his cousin.

In London he met [met] De Vigny* at [met] Monkton Milnes* house

Assessment: Merimee was a prominent member of society and government during his lifetime but is remembered now for his short stories.

Oneliner: Prosper Merimee, major French novelist

Bibliography:

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