An Obscure Man by Marguerite Yourcenar
"An Obscure Man" is a novella by Marguerite Yourcenar, featured in her 1982 collection "Comme l'eau qui coule." The story follows Nathanaël, a character deeply influenced by classical literature, medieval tales, and the works of Shakespeare, as he navigates life across different cultural landscapes, from Europe to the New World. Through his experiences, Nathanaël grapples with profound themes of existence, understanding life in an impressionistic manner that highlights the absurdity of human destiny, shaped by both chance and free will.
Set against the backdrop of 17th-century Amsterdam, Nathanaël works in his uncle's print shop, immersing himself in the study of ancient texts while becoming increasingly aware of the societal injustices of his time. His internal conflicts reflect the struggle between societal norms and personal desires, culminating in his tumultuous relationship with Saraï, a singer and prostitute. After a series of tragic events, including Saraï's execution for theft, Nathanaël experiences a profound existential crisis. Ultimately, he arrives at a unique understanding: that existence lacks a predefined order and that acceptance of life's inherent chaos can lead to peace and self-awareness. Through this journey, Yourcenar presents a nuanced exploration of individuality, love, and the quest for meaning amidst the unpredictability of life.
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An Obscure Man by Marguerite Yourcenar
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: “Un Homme obscur,” 1982 (collected in Two Lives and a Dream, 1987)
Type of work: Short story
The Work
Based on Yourcenar’s earlier story, “D’après Rembrandt” (1934; after Rembrandt), “An Obscure Man,” published in the collection Comme l’eau qui coule (1982; Two Lives and a Dream, 1987), describes the life and travels of Nathanaël. In the process he steeps himself in the classics, medieval tales, and plays by William Shakespeare while living the life dictated by his surroundings, whether in the relative refinement of Europe or the wilderness of the New World. In spite, or perhaps because, of his varied experiences in these settings, he only incompletely understands life, viewing existence in impressionistic fashion, as if his thought barely touches reality. Thus the author’s recurrent theme of an absurd world in which human destiny is directed as much by chance as by free will emerges.
In Amsterdam, Nathanaël works in his uncle’s print shop, where he continues his self-teaching by reading Greek and Roman texts. He compares the societies of Greece and Rome to his and sees with despair the religious, political, social, and economic injustice of his time. Although he fully embraces the grandeur of Christian principles, he rejects dogma and conventional religion as nonsense. Such conflicts between society’s expectations and individual passions resurface repeatedly throughout Yourcenar’s work, and they are resolved in large measure as a result of the strength of the protagonist’s personality.
Nathanaël falls in love with, marries, and is soon rejected by Saraï, a honky-tonk singer and prostitute. Then, through a series of events, he finds himself as game warden for a wealthy philanthropist, sailing to his employer’s island property. When he overhears that his wife has been hanged for stealing, he cries out her name, and then God’s, repeatedly, with no answer. All alone, he becomes a thing among things, merging with the night. Nathanaël now knows, regardless of the old philosopher’s wish “to give at least the appearance of order to chaos,” that God or the Self or Nothingness is not at the center of the universe, that ultimately all, including humankind, is guided not by design, but by accident, and that he will die soon like the other creatures around him.
Far from being the failure suggested by the title, Nathanaël succeeds, like the majority of Yourcenar’s heroes, in imposing his own view of the world, in this case through conscious open-eyed acceptance of the Self. Thanks to his sensitivity, to his love for plants, trees, birds, and animals, to his gentleness, and to his refusal to act according to preconceptions or judgmental ideas, his life can be considered successful because he has evolved the peace of mind and acceptance of cosmic darkness that others, powerful and weak alike, have been unable or unwilling to acquire.
Bibliography
Colvin, Margaret Elizabeth. Baroque Fictions: Revisioning the Classical in Marguerite Yourcenar. New York: Rodopi, 2005.
Farrell, C. Frederick, and Edith R. Farrell. Marguerite Yourcenar inCounterpoint. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1983.
Gaudin, Colette. “Marguerite Yourcenar’s Prefaces: Genesis as Self-Effacement.” Studies in Twentieth Century Literature 10, no. 1 (Fall, 1985): 31-55.
Horn, Pierre L. Marguerite Yourcenar. Boston: Twayne, 1985.
Howard, Joan E. From Violence to Vision: Sacrifice in the Worksof Marguerite Yourcenar. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1992.
Rousseau, George. Yourcenar. London: Haus, 2004.
Saint, Nigel. Marguerite Yourcenar: Reading the Visual. Oxford, England: Legenda, 2000.
Sarnecki, Judith Holland, and Ingebory Majer O’Sickey, eds. Subversive Subjects: Reading Marguerite Yourcenar. Madison, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2004.
Shurr, Georgia Hooks. Marguerite Yourcenar: A Reader’s Guide. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1987.
Watson-Williams, Helen. “’Vie obscure’: A Reading of Marguerite Yourcenar’s Le Coup de grâce.” Essays in French Literature 21 (November, 1984): 68-80.