Antoine Furetière
Antoine Furetière (1619-1688) was a notable French writer and tax judge, born into a bourgeois family in Paris. He initially pursued a career in law but faced challenges that led him to resign from his position as a tax judge. Furetière then transitioned to a religious career, obtaining benefices within the diocese of Lyon and later the Abbaye de Chalivoy. He gained recognition in literary circles for his poems, fables, and particularly his satirical works, which critiqued contemporary writers and societal norms. As a member of the Table Ronde, he associated with influential figures like Jean de La Fontaine. His notable works include "Le Roman bourgeois," which humorously depicted the lives of the Parisian bourgeoisie, contrasting sharply with the extravagant heroic novels of his time. Furetière also dedicated himself to creating a Universal Dictionary, which he completed in 1685, although conflicts with the French Academy regarding publication rights delayed its release until 1690, posthumously. His writings are regarded as valuable reflections of seventeenth-century French manners and private life.
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Antoine Furetière
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- Born: December 28, 1619
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: May 14, 1688
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Antoine Furetière was born in Paris on December 28, 1619. His family belonged to the Parisian bourgeoisie. He studied law and was admitted to practice. Some time after May, 1652, he became a tax judge for the court of Saint-Germain-des Prés, making him one of only twenty-five such judges in Paris. He encountered difficulties in the performance of his duties and abandoned his office.
Furetière turned to a career in the Church and obtained two benefices in the diocese of Lyon. On August 22, 1662, he exchanged his two priories for the Abbaye de Chalivoy in the diocese of Bourges. He kept this benefice for his entire life and acquired also the priory of Chuisine.
A talented writer of poems, fables and satires, Furetière had made a name for himself in the literary world by 1645. He was a member of the Table Ronde, a group of men of letters who met, whenever he visited Paris, with the elderly poet François Mainard. The group included poets and satirists such as Jean de La Fontaine.
Furetière’s satirical verse and prose soon earned him a place in the literary society of his time. He was quick with his satirical pen and spared neither genre nor writer. Jean Chaplain (La Pucelle), Madeleine de Scudéry (Le Grand Cyrus and Clélie), and Charles Sorel (Histoire comique de Francion), among others, felt the sting of his pen. His satires Le Voyage de Mercure: Satyre, divisé en cinq livres (1653) and Nouvelle allégorique: Ou, Histoire des derniers troubles arrivez au royaume d’Éloquence (1658) earned him election to the French Academy in 1662.
In 1666, he published Le Roman bourgeois, ouvrage comique, a work in the tradition of satirical and comic novels; however, Furetière’s novel was original in that it depicted the manners and everyday life of the bourgeoisie of Paris. The novel remains the best source for the history of this class during Furetière’s time. The novel was also a protest against the heroic novels of the period, such as Le Grand Cyrus and L’Astré, in which fantasy, exaggeration and préciosité (over-refinement) abounded.
Sometime around 1650, Furetière had begun working on a Universal Dictionary. In 1685, he had completed the work and was eager to publish it. However, in 1674, the French Academy had obtained a privilege which gave it the exclusive right to publish a dictionary of the French language. All others were expressly forbidden to do so before the appearance of the official dictionary of the Academy. Furetière managed to convince Charpentier that his dictionary was a work of science and received a special authorization to publish it. However, other members of the Academy were not convinced and a bitter quarrel ensued, resulting in Furetière’s suspension from the Academy. Furetière died on May 14, 1688. His dictionary was published in 1690 in Holland. His writings are the best chronicle of manners and private life in seventeenth century France.