Charles de Chênedollé
Charles de Chênedollé (1769–1833) was a French poet with an aristocratic background, born in Vire, France. He received a classical education from the Franciscan order and Pères de l'Oratoire, showing an early talent for poetry. The upheaval of the French Revolution drastically altered his life; his family lost their wealth, and he was forced to emigrate, spending eight years in exile. During this time, he fought alongside other emigrants against the French Republicans across Belgium and Holland. After a series of personal and romantic challenges, including a tumultuous relationship with Victoire Bourguignon, he settled in Germany, where he began his writing career and developed friendships with notable writers like Antoine Rivarol.
Chênedollé's notable work, *Le Génie de l'Homme*, was a collection of poems that attempted to merge poetic expression with scientific understanding. He returned to Paris in 1799, where he faced personal losses and professional setbacks, including a poorly suited stint as a teacher. However, he later published *Les Études poétiques* in 1820, which reflects a blend of Enlightenment reasoning and Romantic appreciation of nature. Despite his troubled relationships and responsibilities, including a son from an earlier marriage whom he neglected, Chênedollé's contributions to French literature, particularly through *Les Études poétiques*, have earned him recognition as an important poet of the nineteenth century.
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Charles de Chênedollé
Poet
- Born: November 4, 1769
- Birthplace: Vire, France
- Died: December 2, 1833
Biography
Charles de Chênedollé was born on November 4, 1769, at Vire, France, to an aristocratic family. He was educated by the Franciscan order and studied at Pères de l’Oratoire, receiving a classical education. Although he early showed a proclivity for poetry, the French Revolution violently intervened in Chênedollé’s life and that of his family. His family lost all of their wealth, and Chênedollé was forced to emigrate, living in exile for eight years. He fought against the French Republicans with fellow emigrants in Belgium and Holland. After living two years in Holland with his lover, Victoire Bourguignon, he fled to Hamburg in front of Republican forces.
In Germany, he became friends with the writer Antoine Rivarol, serving as his secretary for three years. He began his writing career at this time, producing Le Génie de l’Homme, a collection of poems about humankind, society, the earth, and the sky. His goal was to write poetry that included the knowledge imparted by science. Chênedollé left Hamburg after a break with Rivarol. He then married Bourguignon, only to abandon her, seven months pregnant, shortly after their marriage.
Chênedollé next lived in Switzerland, where he began publishing excerpts from Le Génie de l’homme in journals. Chênedollé returned to Paris in 1799, and his hometown in 1801. During this period, he fell in love with the sister of writer François Réne de Chateaubriand. She rejected him, and then died in 1804. Chênedollé was dejected.
In 1807, nearly a decade after its writing, Le Génie de l’homme was published. The book was hotly debated. After failing as a teacher, Chênedollé next took a position as inspector of the Academy at Caen, another position for which he was ill suited. He inherited well, however, and was able to spend considerable time writing, publishing Les Études poétiques in 1820. The book eventually expanded to three volumes, and reveals the influence of other cultures as well as the classics. Chênedollé’s work is an interesting combination of the triumph of reason over passion characteristic of Enlightenment writers and the attention to the natural world more common in the Romantics.
In 1810, Chênedollé married Aimée de Banville, with whom he had six children. Chênedollé, however, failed to reveal his earlier marriage or the fact that he had a son through that marriage. In 1819, this son presented himself to Chênedollé asking for support for himself and his mother. Chênedollé barely met his responsibility, always promising Charles more than he would deliver. In 1831, Bourguignon died, but her son received no response from Chênedollé. In 1833, Chênedollé wrote to Charles, informing him that he would be sending more money. In less than three months, Chênedollé was dead, without sending the promised finances.
Despite the pain and difficulty Chênedollé caused himself and those around him, he is considered an important French poet. In particular, his Les Études poétiques stands as a significant contribution to nineteenth century French literature.