Anatole France's Fallen Angels
Wednesday, 23. May 2007, 11:29:30
The family d’Esparvieu had been living in Paris since the 1780s. They are not only remarkable because of their wealth, sophisticatedness and of owing high ranks in society and in politics, but also because of their marvellous collection of rare books. By the beginning of the 20th century they were in possession of one of the finest private library in Europe. The plot of the novel takes place in Paris and from this time on.
In the first chapters we get acquainted with Maurice d’Esparvieu, who is the son of the head of the family, and lives the life of young men about town. He is important because his guardian angel becomes the main character of the story. One day the angel manifests in front of Maurice and his lover Mme Des Aubels. He introduces himself: “I’m an angel; Maurice’s guardian angel.” He also tells that his name was Abdiel among the angels of Heaven, he was one of the lowest rank, a guardian angel, and his task was to protect Maurice’s innocence and virginity. But now he chose to manifest as a human, because: “Opposing the One, whom you worship as the creator of the visible and the invisible world, I am preparing the revolution of angels.”
But why would a guardian angel rebel against God? Arcade (the angel asked the others to call him that name) explains this still in that chapter (10th). Since he did not have the chance to protect Maurice’s innocence and virginity he decided to occupy himself with reading the books of the d’Esparvieu library. Among the rare and special books he founded lots concerning religion, theology and philosophy. He had reached that far in theorising that he lost his faith in God. So he decided to manifest and look for the other fallen angels to ally with them. Arcade also tells that the one who is worshipped as God is not else but a demiurge (A demiurge is a term used in Gnosticism and by the medieval Cathars. It refers in some belief systems to a deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. The word derives from the Greek word dēmiurgōs, which means ‘craftsman’ and ‘Creator’. Plato and Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable “God” and the demiurgic “creator” of the material. The demiurge is antagonistic to the Supreme Creator.), who is called Yaldabaoth. He is not spiritually, but a higher power and maybe that is why Arcade feels so passionately against this entity: he is not endless in space and time but a power who make others (angels as well) believe so. The angel also tells that Yaldabaoth is full of pride and that is why he leaves his worshippers suffer and live in pain, he is only interested in the sacrifice.
As for the development of the basic idea, it reveals with Arcade’s appear in the 10th chapter: the reasons why angels of Heaven decided to leave their life behind and to manifest. In the case of Arcade it was science and doubt that raised his disbelief in God – the only angel whose fall can be thanked to ration. The following chapters show some other examples of turning away from “God” and I am going to examine these.
The first angel with whom we get acquainted with is Mirar. He left the heights of heaven behind because of the lust he felt for a beautiful woman, called Bouchotte. Although he assumed a new form (and the name of Théophile Belais), he left as soft-souled as he was before. His only chance to get by among the people to earn money as a musician and composer. He is the only one among the angels who still holds love for God in his heart and tries to remain in the background when the other fallen angels plan the revolution. In my opinion he is the representation of the remorseful fallen angel. With his character the author can use the technique of fluttering and delay.
The second angel Arcade come across with is archangel Ithuriel, who took the form of a beautiful and poor woman. She lives in a hotel in Montemartre. The musician, Théophile/Mirar met her often. “Ithuriel took up the name Zyta. Théophile was never spurred by curiosity to get acquainted with the ideas of this archangel. She was told to be a Russian nihilist and the musician thought that she was an atheist and a rebel like Arcade.” She was also said to be of two different kinds in whom activity and passivity strived for balance. She was a perfect creature since she found perfect and permanent satisfaction in herself. She became a fallen angel because of lust – and when she reached this kind of satisfaction she lost what she desired the most: lust itself. That is why she remained unhappy among the people, but still she is for freeing the angels in Heaven.
Zytas’ chapter is important because she tells about the nature of angels, that is sometimes contrary to human nature and sometimes the two are really similar. She criticises the angels because they do not think – but it is not really possible in a place where the weather is always nice and it is easy to get by. In addition, Yaldabaoth can keep them well in hand. She also mentions that the way of freeing angels is not by enlightening them but overthrowing the tyrant, since “the realm of Heaven is a military dictatorship, where there is no place for public opinion.”
The third angel chose to be fallen because of his strong love of humans. He called himself Prince Istar since the day he took the form of a man and started working as a chemist. His love for humans made him similar to Prometheus and just like him he also devoted most of his time to the prosperity of the people. Istar is the representative of the French revolution, because of his love for people on the one hand, and on the other hand that he believes in the order- and harmony-creating power of anarchy. As a chemist he is able to make weapons (bombs) and he wants to use these when attacking Heaven.
The fourth angel, Alaciel – the way I see it – is the most interesting of all. He was referred as “the Gardener” by the others or as Nectaire. He lived in the forest of Montmorency in a tiny white house. The reason of his falling turns out to be freedom, curiosity and doubt – terms again closer to feelings and emotions than to ration. “Nectaire was a muscular old man: his head was thick, grey-haired, his forehead battered, his nose snub, his face tending to red and his beard was parted.” And when he plays his flute is like he would sound everything beautiful in the world.
In the following chapter Satan became mentioned at the first time. Nectaire tells in his long story (that is very similar to Madách’s The Man’s Tragedy), which is the most complex part of the novel and in itself is a history of man, that Satan was much more worshipped than Jahveh(Another demiurge – as it turns out in Nectaire’s story.). Satan was known and worshipped as Dyonisius, Evanus, Jakkhos, etc. and was extremely beautiful in form and in each action he made. He wandered the world and did good all the time. Satan and his followers (the fallen angels) taught the people how o survive and how to tame the forces of nature. So Satan is described as someone who takes care for the people and sympathizes with them. Nectaire also tells that only knowledge can make a human be a master: for example by taming lightning can make someone really powerful (light, electronics). And that was only one thing Satan presented to man … and this made him Lucifer – the light-bearer. He and the fallen angels are the redeeming devils who want to raise the human race.
Nectaire turns out to be Pan and he is also the representative of fallen angel closer to Satan than to God – the counterpole of Théophile/Mirar. The description of the form to which he was transformed when he joined Satan also enforces this idea: “When I joined him [Satan] I took up a form of a creature with goat-legs: two delicate horns grew on my forehead: my nose became snub. My ears pointed; on my neck two glands were dangling just like of a goat; my thighs were fanned by a goat’s tail and my hairy leg became black and ended in a hoof”.
The fifth angel in the row is Sophar. He loved precious stones and gold so desperately that Yaldabaoth made him his treasurer. But he became so obsessed with gold that he wanted to be part of the world of capital, bank and stock exchange. In France all of them were without supervision so he chose to manifest. He became very rich. The other angels turned to him for financial assistance, and he was willing to help only if they leave alone Thisworld and direct their revolution against Heaven.
When everything is ready for the battle they called all the fallen angels together. Almost 300 of them are present and they elect a honorary chairman: Nectaire. Before launching the attack Arcade, Nectaire, Zyta and Istar depart to visit Satan. “[…] they arrived to a garden in the depth of which they found the One to whom they came. The archangel was leaning on his elbows on black pillows on which golden flames were embroidered. Lions and gazelles were lying at his feet. […] Spotting his angel-guests his face clouded over.” Zyta told him why they were coming, and then she added: “Our prince, your army is waiting for you, come and lead them to victory!” But Satan asks for time to think. He waits for a dream that tells him how to decide.
This dream shows that they will win the battle and can overthrow the power of Yaldabaoth. Satan comes to the throne and he brings everything good to the people, while Yaldabaoth becomes captive and closed into Hell. Satan liked that he is praised, his power and wisdom is respected, and he becomes immune to empathy, and later prideful and arrogant. After a while he disliked ration and hated curiosity. He did not want to learn more because it might sign that he was not omniscient. He approved of being mysterious… while Yaldabaoth closed in Hell learned empathy and humility. Goodness was born in his heart, and leaving Hell he started teaching the people…
...Just like Satan after he was banished from Heaven. To put it in a nutshell: being God is only a condition: the overthrown God becomes Satan and the victorious Satan becomes God. Only time is what needed to perform this process. And victory – now Satan knows – would be in vain: nothing would change. And in the last lines of the book we get the moral that makes Satan’s decision (that why did not the fallen angels attack Heaven) clear: because Yaldabaoth (fear and ignorance) is inside us and victory can only be reached by recognising this, then attacking and destroying it within. Spirit must be victorious – and that is what Madách also mentions in his tragedy.
In the first chapters we get acquainted with Maurice d’Esparvieu, who is the son of the head of the family, and lives the life of young men about town. He is important because his guardian angel becomes the main character of the story. One day the angel manifests in front of Maurice and his lover Mme Des Aubels. He introduces himself: “I’m an angel; Maurice’s guardian angel.” He also tells that his name was Abdiel among the angels of Heaven, he was one of the lowest rank, a guardian angel, and his task was to protect Maurice’s innocence and virginity. But now he chose to manifest as a human, because: “Opposing the One, whom you worship as the creator of the visible and the invisible world, I am preparing the revolution of angels.”
But why would a guardian angel rebel against God? Arcade (the angel asked the others to call him that name) explains this still in that chapter (10th). Since he did not have the chance to protect Maurice’s innocence and virginity he decided to occupy himself with reading the books of the d’Esparvieu library. Among the rare and special books he founded lots concerning religion, theology and philosophy. He had reached that far in theorising that he lost his faith in God. So he decided to manifest and look for the other fallen angels to ally with them. Arcade also tells that the one who is worshipped as God is not else but a demiurge (A demiurge is a term used in Gnosticism and by the medieval Cathars. It refers in some belief systems to a deity responsible for the creation of the physical universe and the physical aspect of humanity. The word derives from the Greek word dēmiurgōs, which means ‘craftsman’ and ‘Creator’. Plato and Gnosticism presents a distinction between the highest, unknowable “God” and the demiurgic “creator” of the material. The demiurge is antagonistic to the Supreme Creator.), who is called Yaldabaoth. He is not spiritually, but a higher power and maybe that is why Arcade feels so passionately against this entity: he is not endless in space and time but a power who make others (angels as well) believe so. The angel also tells that Yaldabaoth is full of pride and that is why he leaves his worshippers suffer and live in pain, he is only interested in the sacrifice.
As for the development of the basic idea, it reveals with Arcade’s appear in the 10th chapter: the reasons why angels of Heaven decided to leave their life behind and to manifest. In the case of Arcade it was science and doubt that raised his disbelief in God – the only angel whose fall can be thanked to ration. The following chapters show some other examples of turning away from “God” and I am going to examine these.
The first angel with whom we get acquainted with is Mirar. He left the heights of heaven behind because of the lust he felt for a beautiful woman, called Bouchotte. Although he assumed a new form (and the name of Théophile Belais), he left as soft-souled as he was before. His only chance to get by among the people to earn money as a musician and composer. He is the only one among the angels who still holds love for God in his heart and tries to remain in the background when the other fallen angels plan the revolution. In my opinion he is the representation of the remorseful fallen angel. With his character the author can use the technique of fluttering and delay.
The second angel Arcade come across with is archangel Ithuriel, who took the form of a beautiful and poor woman. She lives in a hotel in Montemartre. The musician, Théophile/Mirar met her often. “Ithuriel took up the name Zyta. Théophile was never spurred by curiosity to get acquainted with the ideas of this archangel. She was told to be a Russian nihilist and the musician thought that she was an atheist and a rebel like Arcade.” She was also said to be of two different kinds in whom activity and passivity strived for balance. She was a perfect creature since she found perfect and permanent satisfaction in herself. She became a fallen angel because of lust – and when she reached this kind of satisfaction she lost what she desired the most: lust itself. That is why she remained unhappy among the people, but still she is for freeing the angels in Heaven.
Zytas’ chapter is important because she tells about the nature of angels, that is sometimes contrary to human nature and sometimes the two are really similar. She criticises the angels because they do not think – but it is not really possible in a place where the weather is always nice and it is easy to get by. In addition, Yaldabaoth can keep them well in hand. She also mentions that the way of freeing angels is not by enlightening them but overthrowing the tyrant, since “the realm of Heaven is a military dictatorship, where there is no place for public opinion.”
The third angel chose to be fallen because of his strong love of humans. He called himself Prince Istar since the day he took the form of a man and started working as a chemist. His love for humans made him similar to Prometheus and just like him he also devoted most of his time to the prosperity of the people. Istar is the representative of the French revolution, because of his love for people on the one hand, and on the other hand that he believes in the order- and harmony-creating power of anarchy. As a chemist he is able to make weapons (bombs) and he wants to use these when attacking Heaven.
The fourth angel, Alaciel – the way I see it – is the most interesting of all. He was referred as “the Gardener” by the others or as Nectaire. He lived in the forest of Montmorency in a tiny white house. The reason of his falling turns out to be freedom, curiosity and doubt – terms again closer to feelings and emotions than to ration. “Nectaire was a muscular old man: his head was thick, grey-haired, his forehead battered, his nose snub, his face tending to red and his beard was parted.” And when he plays his flute is like he would sound everything beautiful in the world.
In the following chapter Satan became mentioned at the first time. Nectaire tells in his long story (that is very similar to Madách’s The Man’s Tragedy), which is the most complex part of the novel and in itself is a history of man, that Satan was much more worshipped than Jahveh(Another demiurge – as it turns out in Nectaire’s story.). Satan was known and worshipped as Dyonisius, Evanus, Jakkhos, etc. and was extremely beautiful in form and in each action he made. He wandered the world and did good all the time. Satan and his followers (the fallen angels) taught the people how o survive and how to tame the forces of nature. So Satan is described as someone who takes care for the people and sympathizes with them. Nectaire also tells that only knowledge can make a human be a master: for example by taming lightning can make someone really powerful (light, electronics). And that was only one thing Satan presented to man … and this made him Lucifer – the light-bearer. He and the fallen angels are the redeeming devils who want to raise the human race.
Nectaire turns out to be Pan and he is also the representative of fallen angel closer to Satan than to God – the counterpole of Théophile/Mirar. The description of the form to which he was transformed when he joined Satan also enforces this idea: “When I joined him [Satan] I took up a form of a creature with goat-legs: two delicate horns grew on my forehead: my nose became snub. My ears pointed; on my neck two glands were dangling just like of a goat; my thighs were fanned by a goat’s tail and my hairy leg became black and ended in a hoof”.
The fifth angel in the row is Sophar. He loved precious stones and gold so desperately that Yaldabaoth made him his treasurer. But he became so obsessed with gold that he wanted to be part of the world of capital, bank and stock exchange. In France all of them were without supervision so he chose to manifest. He became very rich. The other angels turned to him for financial assistance, and he was willing to help only if they leave alone Thisworld and direct their revolution against Heaven.
When everything is ready for the battle they called all the fallen angels together. Almost 300 of them are present and they elect a honorary chairman: Nectaire. Before launching the attack Arcade, Nectaire, Zyta and Istar depart to visit Satan. “[…] they arrived to a garden in the depth of which they found the One to whom they came. The archangel was leaning on his elbows on black pillows on which golden flames were embroidered. Lions and gazelles were lying at his feet. […] Spotting his angel-guests his face clouded over.” Zyta told him why they were coming, and then she added: “Our prince, your army is waiting for you, come and lead them to victory!” But Satan asks for time to think. He waits for a dream that tells him how to decide.
This dream shows that they will win the battle and can overthrow the power of Yaldabaoth. Satan comes to the throne and he brings everything good to the people, while Yaldabaoth becomes captive and closed into Hell. Satan liked that he is praised, his power and wisdom is respected, and he becomes immune to empathy, and later prideful and arrogant. After a while he disliked ration and hated curiosity. He did not want to learn more because it might sign that he was not omniscient. He approved of being mysterious… while Yaldabaoth closed in Hell learned empathy and humility. Goodness was born in his heart, and leaving Hell he started teaching the people…
...Just like Satan after he was banished from Heaven. To put it in a nutshell: being God is only a condition: the overthrown God becomes Satan and the victorious Satan becomes God. Only time is what needed to perform this process. And victory – now Satan knows – would be in vain: nothing would change. And in the last lines of the book we get the moral that makes Satan’s decision (that why did not the fallen angels attack Heaven) clear: because Yaldabaoth (fear and ignorance) is inside us and victory can only be reached by recognising this, then attacking and destroying it within. Spirit must be victorious – and that is what Madách also mentions in his tragedy.
WIDGETIZE