The Chouans by Honoré de Balzac
**Overview of "The Chouans" by Honoré de Balzac**
"The Chouans," first published in 1829, is a historical romance set in Brittany during the tumultuous period following the French Revolution, specifically in 1799. The novel explores the conflict between the revolutionary Republic and the royalist insurgents known as Chouans, who are peasants and smugglers united against the new government. Central to the narrative is Marie de Verneuil, a woman of noble lineage who becomes embroiled in the political intrigue as she navigates her feelings for the charismatic leader of the Chouans, the Marquis de Montauran.
Balzac intricately weaves themes of love, betrayal, and loyalty against a backdrop of guerrilla warfare and espionage, highlighting the personal stakes of historical events. The characters, including the conflicted soldier Hulot and the enigmatic Corentin, provide a multifaceted view of the era, revealing their motivations and struggles. Despite its engaging plot and character depth, the novel has been critiqued for its occasional narrative awkwardness and lengthy dialogues. Overall, "The Chouans" stands as an important work in Balzac's literary development, showcasing his ability to vividly depict French society while grappling with the complexities of human passion amidst chaos.
The Chouans by Honoré de Balzac
- FIRST PUBLISHED: Les chouans, 1829 (English translation, 1885)
- TYPE OF WORK: Novel
- TYPE OF PLOT: Historical romance
- TIME OF WORK: 1799
- LOCALE: Brittany
The Story:
In the years after the Revolution, the French Republic had many enemies. Abroad, the remaining monarchies watched the new government with cold disapproval; at home, the survivors of the old aristocratic regime intrigued with all the dissident groups at odds with the central government in Paris. In Brittany, peasants and smugglers, who came to be called Chouans, finally joined the aristocrats in guerrilla warfare against the Republic.
To put down the outbreak, Hulot, who commanded the Republican garrison at Mayenne, was on his way from Fougeres with his conscripted Bretons. He was uneasy, for the Chouans were active and would make every effort to rescue their comrades. When the Chouans did attack, he was partly prepared. Although all of the conscripts escaped, Hulot’s vigorous defense got his Republican troops safely back to Mayenne. A short time later, Hulot was ordered to escort the mail coach from Mayenne to Montagne. Passengers in the coach were Marie de Verneuil and her pretty maid Francine, who had become objects of great curiosity when they stopped at the inn in Mayenne. With them was a third traveler, Monsieur Corentin, a small, secretive man whom Hulot suspected of being a secret agent for the Republic. At Alencon, the two women accepted an invitation to breakfast with Madame du Gua and her supposed son, the Citizen du Gua Saint-Cyr. Marche-a-Terre, a Chouan skulking nearby in his rebel uniform of goatskin, observed the party with distrust and sent a message to Madame du Gua, warning her to beware of Marie, whom he suspected of being a Republican spy.
Hulot was also uneasy. He was sure that Madame du Gua’s son was really the Marquis de Montauran, called Gars, the fiery leader of the Chouans. At last, he forced his way into the dining room to question the man. Marie was attracted to the handsome young man and came to his aid by producing a paper, countersigned by the Paris ministry, which notified all local authorities to obey the bearer. Ordered to retire, the old soldier was furious at having to obey a woman. A loyal Republican, however, he released the son and announced his intention to resign his commission.
Since all were bound for Fougeres, the next day Madame du Gua and her son set out in a carriage with Marie and Francine. Marie’s letter had procured them an escort of soldiers to guard them through the dangerous Chouan territory. Once while they were ascending a long hill, Marie and the son walked up behind the coach. Their bearing was almost loverlike, and Madame du Gua seemed strangely jealous for a mother. Marie had little success in learning who the son really was. She, in her turn, was reticent about her own past.
Under an aristocratic leader, the Chouans ambushed the coach but were driven off by the Republican guard. The Chouan chief took the opportunity to whisper a warning against Marie to young du Gua.
After the excitement, Madame du Gua announced that they were close to the family estate at Vivetiere, and she and her son invited their companions to spend the night at the chateau. When the son promised safety for Marie and Francine and supper for the guards, the whole party went to the castle. Once inside, Marie saw that the hall was filled with insurgents who had come to lay plans for continuing the war against the Republic. Marie then realized that Madame du Gua’s supposed son was, in reality, the Marquis de Montauran, the famous Gars. She also knew that she had fallen in love with the handsome rebel.
Despite Montauran’s promise of safe conduct, the jealous Madame du Gua ordered an attack on the Republican guard. Under the fierce Marche-a-Terre, the Chouans massacred the guards and took Marie and Francine prisoner. Marche-a-Terre, however, saved Francine, whom he recognized as his former sweetheart. He was also able to rescue Marie, after Madame du Gua had turned the girl over to the smugglers, and the two women were returned to Fougeres in the coach.
In Fougeres, Corentin rented a house for Marie and installed her as a great lady. She was tormented by her memories of Montauran and wondered if he really loved her. While walking near the city limits, she saw Madame du Gua and Montauran with a band of skulking Chouans. When Madame du Gua tried to kill Marie with a rifle shot, while Montauran looked on, Marie’s love for him turned to hatred and a desire for revenge.
Marie tucked a jeweled dagger in her bodice and set out to kill Montauran. During her search, she ran from some roving Chouans and took refuge in a cellar. In an abandoned scullery, she found Marche-a-Terre and his band torturing a miser to get his gold. After helping the miser to escape, he was told of a nearby sanctuary, the cottage of Galpe-Chopine, who worked both for the Republicans and the Chouans. Galpe-Chopine’s wife Barbette helped Marie to return to Fougeres.
When Marie learned that the Chouans planned to give a ball, she resolved to attend. She induced Galpe-Chopine to guide her to St. James, where the aristocrats were gathering. By her great beauty, Marie attracted the admiration of all the men, and when she revealed that she was the daughter of the Duke de Verneuil, she removed the smirch on her reputation. Montauran was fascinated anew and escorted her from the ball.
Marie told Montauran her true story. Although she was only the natural daughter of the duke, she had been recognized by him. Unprovided for after his death, she had accepted the guardianship of a seventy-year-old friend of her father. Then, to her horror, she was accused of being the older man’s mistress. After two years of adventures, she became the wife of Danton. When he died, she entered the service of the Republic. Her present mission was to win the love of Montauran and betray him to the government. Even after hearing her story, Montauran could not restrain his love for her.
In Fougeres, Corentin, now revealed as an agent of the Republic, determined to use Marie as a lure to draw Montauran to his death. The lovers finally decided to get married and flee the intrigues of France. A priest was procured, and a small altar was set up in Marie’s drawing room. Then Marie sent word through Barbette to Montauran. Under cover of dense fog, Montauran slipped into Fougeres, and the marriage ceremony was solemnized. Corentin, however, had been on the lookout and warned Hulot, commander of the Republican garrison, that the rebel leader could be captured easily. Hulot stationed a heavy guard around Marie’s house, but because of the fog he could not be sure that Montauran was actually in the drawing room.
In the morning Marie, seeing the guard, roused her husband. In Chouan clothes, Montauran attempted to escape over the wall but was shot and captured. Meanwhile, Marie had put on Montauran’s dress uniform and had gone out the street door. She, too, was shot down. The lovers were carried to the barracks and died there.
Disgusted with spies and intrigues, Hulot drove Corentin out of town.
Critical Evaluation:
Sir Walter Scott’s influence is evident in THE CHOUANS. Honore de Balzac has selected a relatively minor episode in the history of the Republic and concentrated on figures of everyday life who become involved in the process of history. Their motives, military strategies, and love affairs help determine historical reality while, at the same time, take additional significance from it. Balzac is unexcelled in his grasp of those details of life which reveal social relations to their fullest; THE CHOUANS shows this talent in a way none of Balzac’s earlier work does and in a way that Scott never approached. Balzac is able to describe clothing, room, hairstyles, furnishings, facial expressions, attitudes, and food in such a way that the reader gains a complete vision of French life of the time. It is in this distillation of a total cultural experience that Balzac shows his true talent.
The novel, nevertheless, suffers from weaknesses; although Balzac attempts to mix the elements of love and politics, he is not quite successful in analyzing and representing the passions which bring his characters to commit extreme and dramatic acts. Balzac has a sense for the malignant in THE CHOUANS, which he inherited from his earlier novels, but not for the pathological, which he developed in his later work. Although instinctively a realist, Balzac had not yet overcome his romantic tendencies. Some direct personal knowledge or experience of the matters of which he wrote was always necessary for Balzac, and this lack of direct military knowledge shows in the narrative, which is at times awkward and cloudy.
The book contains the materials of a good romance; the opening skirmish, the scenes at Vivetiere, the incident of the attack on Fougeres, and the finale are exciting. Many of the characters are of more than casual interest; Hulot is one of the best of Balzac’s growling and grumbling characters, and Montauran is a thoroughly noble young man without being flat or false in tone. Marche-a-Terre is nearly a masterpiece, and many minor characters are well-handled. Mademoiselle de Verneuil is charming and Madame du Gua is well drawn; Francine surpasses her type, to become more than a mere soubrette. Unfortunately, these potentially interesting characters are often bogged down page after page in a boring conversation. Balzac had not yet learned to move the narrative using dialogue. The book is worth reading both for its important place in Balzac’s own development as a writer and for numerous passages of fine writing and glimpses of the vivid portrayal of the character who was to be Balzac’s chief greatness.
Principal Characters:
- Marie de Verneuilthe natural daughter of a duke
- The Marquis de Montauranthe leader of the Chouans
- Madame du Gua Marche-a-Terrea Chouan
- FrancineMarie’s maid
- Corentinan agent of the Republic
- Saint-Cyra Royalist in love with Montauran
- Hulota soldier of the Republic
Bibliography
Balzac, Honoré de, and Ferdinand Brunetière. Honoré de Balzac. Project Gutenberg, 2016.
Balzac, Honoré de. Honoré de Balzac - A Short Story Collection One of the Founders and Popularizes of Realism in World Literature. Copyright Group, 2023.
"Balzac’s The Chouans." LIBERTY, EQUALITY, FRATERNITY: EXPLORING THE FRENCH REVOUTION, revolution.chnm.org/d/584. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.
"Honoré de Balzac." New York Review Books, www.nyrb.com/collections/honore-de-balzac. Accessed 20 Oct. 2024.