ce Et quil vous plat dappeler en moi de la magie, cest un naturel sans contrainte qui laisse voir quelquefois des sentiments divers et des penses opposes, sans travailler les mettre daccord; car cet accord, quand il existe, est presque toujours factice, et la plupart des caractres vrais sont inconsquents. (Corinne writing to Oswald, 159)
Chapter 1: Germaine de Stals Corinne ou lItalie
Germaine de Stals Corinne ou lItalie portrays a utopian vision of feminine empowerment and creativity. The work embodies the possibility of drastic social change for women by depicting ambiguity at the levels of genre, nation, and gender. As Corinne remarks above, a lack of accord in ones thoughts and feelings does not ensue from magic, as Oswald would hold, but rather from a natural ambiguity present in all people of consequence. This ambiguity, therefore, accounts for Corinnes freedom and yet also explains her eventual destruction by a rigid society that cannot accept her undefined status. To explore the ambiguity that exists in the novelogue, I will one by one discuss the terms nation and gender as they appear in the work. While separating these issues seemingly simplifies the interrelatedness of the terms, we will see that this separation is not always possible. Therefore, by examining each term individually, I will also show that nation and gender are inextricably connected. Moreover, by deconstructing the universal binarism of self/other, this study will equally deconstruct the oppositions that exist between colonizer and colonized, masculine and feminine, and fiction and non- fiction. I will discuss the relationship between Corinne and Oswald using the terms colonization and ambivalence, two terms of postcolonial theory, to illustrate how Mme de Stal conscientiously blurs the barriers that separate what have traditionally been considered binary oppositions and opens up an in-between space. In the same vein, I will also show that her efforts to break down these oppositions are often irregular and sporadic, thus leading to contradictions that allow her characters to cross previously taboo boundary lines. These contradictions have traditionally frustrated those critics who search to neatly categorize Corinne in terms of its gendered and national identity and its generic categorization. 19
The importance then of this study is that it allows for more freedom in the reading of Corinne by embracing the in-between space that the work inhabits, and justifies the lack of a fixed categorization of the work. The very duality of the works genre both novel and travelogue is reflected in the characters in the work who also occupy a space of duality by taking on dual nationalities and genders. Therefore, instead of condemning the multifaceted nature of Corinne as hesitant and indecisive, this reading embraces its different sides while still taking into consideration the possible pitfalls of ambiguity.
Nation
Due in part to the hybridity of genre in Corinne ou lItalie, it is not easy to label Corinnes national identity. By simply introducing a hybrid genre, the possibility for national hybridity becomes more plausible and logical. In other words, it is the very dual style of the work that allows Corinne to belong to and embody more than one nation in that the travelogue itself is multifaceted, thus laying the groundwork for multiple ideologies and viewpoints. With the readers mind already receptive to different possibilities because of having to negotiate the texts hybridic genre, the complexity of Corinnes national identity is less shocking. While critics have regularly concluded that Corinne is Italy, 1 the question that I would like to introduce here is not simply one of representation (What/Who is Italy? England? France?), but rather, what does the portrayal of these nations show and teach us about the budding notions of nation that were directly related to the role of colonialism and colonization. For as France and other Western-European countries began their colonial expansions, their national identities came to be self-defined in opposition to the colonies that were seen as Other and exotic. While we cannot truly look at this text as a postcolonial text, we can and should still use a post-colonial lexicon in this study since nation building is a key category within post-colonial studies. Moreover, Italy in the early nineteenth century was a grouping of city-states on the cusp of nationhood. Throughout this study, then, I will take into account terms borrowed from post-colonial studies such as exploratrice sociale, autoethnography, and ambivalence to demonstrate that Corinne, in addition to and perhaps in spite of its political and social agendas, clearly illustrates the
1
Marie -Claire Vallois states: Italy is the metaphorical double of the heroine (Old Idols 89).
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conflicting questions of nation that faced Germaine de Stal at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Stals National Identity On a very personal level, the question of nation plays an important role in Stals own life. There are several reasons for this interest, the first of which is Stal's own national identity. As someone who was born in Geneva, banned from Paris, lived in Germany, and traveled extensively throughout Europe, Stal, understandably, suffers from somewhat of her own nationality crisis. To which nationality does she belong? France claims her (now) as she is seen today to be one of Europes most influential Romantic writers and political thinkers and is included in the academic canon of French literature. The exile that Napoleon imposed on her leads to another reason that nation was an important issue to her, for exile in its essence brings to mind the issues of belonging and exclusion that go along with nation. While Napoleon banned Stal only from Paris, enforcing an internal exile, or relgation, it is still somewhat of a national exile in that Paris is the capital he forced her to leave her country of Paris, the place she considered home. Therefore, as a result of this forced exile, she found herself trapped in a nomadic life that had the potential of stifling her and leading to her death because for her il nest pire torture que de vivre hors de sa patrie, loin des siens (Balay, ELV 48). Clearly then, Stal understands the importance of national identity and its loss her very being is connected to Paris, and without the place that represents so much of who she is, she feels lost and deprived of that identity. Exile for Stal, then, represents a loss, a displacement, of nation and consequentially of self. Both during and before her exile, Stal also took part in numerous voyages to England, Germany, and Italy. During these voyages she began comparing France to other European countries, examining the way other countries dealt with their political and social problems. Upon making these observations, she often took to writing them down, and it is from these journeys that such works as De lAllemagne and Corinne ou lItalie were born. Balay, in her collection Les carnets de voyage de Madame de Stal discusses Stals desire to travel: Mme de Stal a une curiosit insatiable des autres peuples, des hommes et des
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ides. Elle pense aussi quon ne peut parler dun pays sans le connatre dans sa vie physique [. . .] (15). Finally, Stals very international salon exemplifies the importance of the nation question to her. In Balays introduction to Corinne ou lItalie, the reader learns that Stals salon brought together men and women of letters and politicians alike from England, Germany, Italy, and France (8). Obviously, this international circle of hers would have caused an active interest in her friends cultures, languages, traditions, etc., and, as Balay mentions, a great disdain for the inherently exclusive nature of nation. For, as with any group, that which unites its members also excludes others. Understandably, then, Stal calls into question the necessity of a singular national identity in Corinne. Her two main characters, Corinne and Oswald, both have dual nationalities: Corinne is English and Italian while Oswald is Scottish and English. This purposely constructed dual nationality expands the identity of these two characters and we will see that it illustrates the resulting richness and complexity of their personalities, thereby counseling the reader to be conscious of the limitations of nationality. Stal further illustrates the importance of an unrestricted national identity by juxtaposing the free, open- minded Italy to the inhibiting, narrow- minded France.
Representation of France The role of France in Corinne ou lItalie cannot be overlooked due to the fact that the work is indeed one of French literature and appeared during Napoleons time as Emperor. Moreover, the part that France and French people play in the work further proves the point that national boundaries can greatly limit the free expression and exchange of ideas. The Comte dErfeuil is one of the most important secondary characters in the work and is Stals portrayal of the typical Frenchman. He is frivolous, egotistical, and chauvin. Upon first meeting him, he announces to Oswald: je naime, en fait de nation, que les Anglais et les Franais; il faut tre fiers comme eux, ou brillants comme nous; tout le reste nest que de limitation (9). Regularly throughout the work he boasts of his or of his countrys greatness at the expense of others. He is proud, vain, and overblown. Still, his innate goodness does come out sporadically. The narrator explains that le comte dErfeuil en conversation aimait beaucoup mieux montrer de lesprit que de la bont. Sa bienveillance naturelle influait sur 22
ses actions, mais son amour-propre sur ses paroles (180). At several times in the work, though, the reader witnesses his kindness. He comes across as someone with the kindest of hearts who, in spite of his goodness, blunders through social events, offending all without meaning to do so. At the beginning, we learn of his devoted service to his elderly uncle. Upon the death of this uncle, Erfeuil decides to go to Rome pour y retrouver un de ses parents dont il devait hriter [. . .] (34), which allows him to meet Oswald. Erfeuils main purpose in the work is to present the ideas of the average Frenchman about nation and gender. By playing a rather buffoon- like character, he stands in for the absurd idea that the French way is the only way. In other words, this character whom the narrator makes fun of epitomizes the simplistic ideas about nation and gender attributed to the French. He stands in complete opposition to what Corinne represents a multilingual, culturally diverse, and open- minded woman. For instance, before traveling from Germany to Italy, Erfeuil thanks Oswald for taking him out of cette Allemagne o je mennuyais prir (34-5). Then, on the way to Italy, Oswald asks him if he is looking forward to this trip to Rome. He responds by saying: Mon Dieu [. . .] je sais ce quil faut croire de ce pays- l, je ne mattends pas du tout my amuser. Un de mes amis, qui y a pass six mois, ma dit quil ny avait pas de province de France o il ny et un meilleur thtre et une socit plus agrable qu Rome; mais dans cette ancienne capitale du monde, je trouverai srement quelques Franais avec qui causer, et cest tout ce que je dsire. (36) Clearly Erfeuil, unlike his friend before him, expects nothing good from Italy and believes that while there may be worthwhile aspects to Italys culture, he would be much happier to simply causer with a fellow Frenchman. Additionally, Erfeuil refuses to learn any other languages. It is unclear whether or not he speaks English, but he certainly does not speak German or Italian, the languages of the two countries through which he is traveling. Prince Castel-Forte, an Italian, calls him and his country to task for this monolingualism during a discussion in which Erfeuil insists on the perfection of French literature and claims that French art should not be contaminated by foreign influences. Castel-Forte responds to him saying: 23
Il me semble que nous avons tous besoin les uns des autres; la littrature de chaque pays dcouvre, qui sait la connatre, une nouvelle sphre dides. Cest Charles-Quint lui mme qui a dit quun homme qui sait quatre langues vaut quatre hommes. Si ce grand gnie politique en jugeait ainsi pour les affaires, combien cela nest- il pas plus vrai pour les lettres? Les trangers savent tous le franais, ainsi leur point de vue est plus tendu que celui des Franais qui ne savent pas les langues trangres. Pourquoi ne se donnent- ils pas plus souvent la peine de les apprendre ? ils conserveraient ce qui les distingue, et dcouvriraient ainsi quelquefois ce qui peut leur manquer. (177) Clearly Castel-Forte critiques the singularity that he sees in France; he believes that all people should strive to learn other languages and study others literature and ideas. As Giulia Pacini points out in her article Hidden Politics in Germaine de Stals Corinne ou lItalie, the chapter is brought to an end at this point, and his [Castel-Fortes] comments are thereby granted a particular weight (168). In other words, this very clever criticism of France by Castel-Forte allows the text to have the last word on the subject of Frances isolationist practices. Here, the reader witnesses a sort of reverse civilizing project. Castel-Forte criticizes France an established nation and empire for its uncivilized attitudes towards other countries. Stal deflects the virulence and risks of this anti-French critique by using her character as spokesperson. The text, therefore, indirectly shields itself from the censorship of Napoleon. 2 Through this strategy the text not only permits Stal her critique of France, but it also gives a voice to Italy, allowing it to speak out to its powerful and menacing French neighbor. This issue, then, leads us to the question of colonization. Where does France fit into the question of colonizer/colonized? Based on what we have just seen, it seems obvious that Italy is the colonized and France the colonizer. The novels action takes place from 1794-95, before Napoleon declared himself emperor of Italy. Regardless, the text makes a very persuasive argument that Italy has no need for Napoleon or for France. Corinne spends many pages discussing the Italian character, extolling the virtues of Italian arts and literature, and explaining what Italy must do to return to her former glory
2
Stals volatile history with Napoleon and the fact that he had her exiled from Paris caused him to pay close attention to the works she published. More information on this subject can be found in Doris Kadishs article Narrating the French Revolution: The Example of Corinne in Gutwirth, Goldberger and Szmurlo, 113-21.
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not once mentioning a need for international interference, nor that Italy should give up her sovereignty and become a French colony. Corinnes discourse here qualifies as autoethnography a response to the colonizer in that she responds to Frances desire to occupy Italy, to colonize Italy and make it French. She enters into a responsive dialogue with France, answering the claim that Italy needs Frances intervention. In Corinne ou lItalie, therefore, Corinnes numerous and lengthy discourses on Italys greatness are an autoethnographic response to the French colonizer, cached in her introduction of the country to Oswald. France, then, represents the threat of imposed order and rigidity in Italy and the absurdity of such a change in a country that prides itself on its freedom.
Contrasts between England and Italy The more dominant presentation of nation in the work comes to the forefront of course in the presentation of England/Scotland and Italy. Stal intentionally juxtaposes these nations so as to illustrate the two sides of the binary opposition England is rigid and Italy is free. The mixed nationalities of the two main characters, however, complicate this polarization. Corinne is both English and Italian, and Oswald, while Scottish, is depicted as being of English character. The combination of opposing nationalities in Corinne and the quasi-dual national status attributed to Oswald promote the overall theme of the work that such categorizations are limiting and ineffective. Due to the political conflicts of the time between England and France, it was much safer for Stal to have her hero hail from Scotland rather than England. In so doing, she allowed him to have an English character without causing offense to French readers. As April Alliston points out in her article Of Haunted Highlands: Mapping a Geography of Gender in the Margins of Europe: Scotland is here [. . .] politically indistinguishable from England, and is sometimes referred to as Angleterre (72). Therefore, the text has a typically English character but in the guise of a Scotsman. This displacement presents even more problems for what are we witnessing here if not another colonization? It is at this juncture that the project starts to undermine itself. While touting the evils of French Imperialism, it glosses over the same evils present in British Imperialism. Why is it
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permissible for England to colonize Scotland and yet not for France to colonize Italy? 3 It seems that the text sacrifices one colonized state for the good of another. Even so, Oswald embodies the Empire rather than the colony. His role in this work is one of Imperial mastery rather than of colonial victimization. In other words, Oswald is not presented as the underrepresented voice of Scotland, but rather as the traveler from the United Kingdom who is touring through Italy and observing the country with the eyes of a British explorer. It could be that, because the English and the Scots both speak the same language, this equating of English for Scottish is permissible. Perhaps this contradiction exists merely because Oswalds dual nationality allows the plot to develop as planned. Regardless, the fact remains that the text establishes early on a direct opposition between England/Scotland and Italy, thereby illustrating the common thinking of the time. To further signify the opposition between England/Scotland and Italy, the text relies on the dynamic of civilized versus uncivilized, even though the uncivilized is only hinted at or symbolically present. We see this dynamic in references to the exotic, the untamed, or the inferiority of anyone who is not British or French. Take, for example, the Comte dErfeuils comment mentioned above. As he so plainly put it, Italy is not even worth mentioning except as an imitation of the greatness of France and England. Not only is it not worth mentioning, it is seen by both Erfeuil and Oswald as uncivilized, uncontrolled, and trapped in its past. Oswalds encounter with the people of Ancone introduces us for the first time to the opposition that exists between the English and the Italians. With the city ablaze, only Oswald remains calm. The Italians, however, couchs par terre dans les rues, couvraient leurs ttes de leurs manteaux, comme sil ne leur restait plus rien faire qu ne pas voir leur dsastre, dautres se jetaient dans les flammes sans la moindre esprance dy chapper: on voyait tour tour une fureur et une rsignation aveugle, mais nulle part le sang-froid qui double les moyens et les forces (41). The only thing missing here is to say outright: le sang- froid que lon trouve chez Oswald, lEcossais. For indeed only Oswald keeps his head and saves the city with the pumps found on the English boats. The superstitious Italians, however, see Oswald as an angel rather than a quick thinker and begin to ask him to work
3
While the union between England and Scotland was a peaceful one, the history of conflict between the two calls to mind similar issues of colonial power much like those we witness between France and Italy.
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miracles. Oswalds first impression of Italians, therefore, underscores an image of them as childlike, superstitious, and cowardly. Oswald only alters his opinion of the Italians (specifically the women) when he meets Corinne: Oswald avait beaucoup de prventions contre les Italiennes; il les croyait passionnes, mais mobiles, mais [sic] incapables dprouver des affections profondes et durables. Dj ce que Corinne avait dit au Capitole lui avait inspir toute une autre ide [. . .] (69). The Comte dErfeuil, however, simply uses Corinnes exceptionality to further illustrate his point that Italians, on the whole, are uncivilized. Take, for example, his explanation about how Corinne could still be single: il se peut quelle nait pas rencontr dans ce pays un homme digne delle, cela ne mtonnera pas (72). Again, only an Englishman or a Frenchman could truly satisfy this awe- inspiring woman. The uncivilized Italians are not worthy of her. Even the narrator tends to give a negative view of the Italians when she writes: Lindolence des Italiens les porte ne point montrer en socit, ni souvent daucune manire, tout lesprit quils ont. La plupart entre eux ne cultivent pas mme dans la retraite les facults intellectuelles que la nature leur a donnes; mais ils jouissent avec transport de ce qui leur vient sans peine (75). The language used here by the narrator indicates a disdain for this lazy people who, even dans la retraite, have no interest in their natural facults intellectuelles, but prefer lindolence and ce qui leur vient sans peine. The intrigue comes when we meet Corinne. For here is a woman who is beauty, elegance, grace, and intelligence personified. And she is Italian. At least we are led to think she is Italian. Even at our first meeting of Corinne, a shroud of mystery concerning her identity envelops her. We do not know her origins or her patronym. All we know is that the Italians love her, her speech is pure, and every Italian wants to claim her as coming from his/her region: On se disputait pour savoir quelle ville dItalie lui avait donn naissance, mais les Romains soutenaient vivement quil fallait tre n Rome pour parler litalien avec cette puret. Son nom de famille tait ignor. Son premier ouvrage avait paru cinq ans auparavant, et portait seulement le nom de Corinne. Personne ne savait o elle avait vcu, ni ce quelle avait t avant cette poque [. . .] (50) 27
This introduction does little to clarify Corinnes (national) identity to Oswald or to the reader and thus renders her mysterious. From the beginning, then, the theme of ambiguity appears in the work. To address the unfolding of Corinnes national identity, it is useful to examine how the metaphor of colonialism can elucidate the relationship between Corinne and Oswald, Italy and England. While we cannot say that Italy is colonized by England, we can say that a type of colonization exists between Corinne and Oswald. Oswald comes into Corinnes home, asserts his English values, and desperately wants for Corinne to behave in a proper way, a way that is English. Oswald laments the fact that Corinne is neither English nor protestant, and wants her to become those things out of devotion to him: Que ntes-vous, scria-t-il, de la mme religion, du mme pays que moi! (250). Later, while in Naples together, Corinne and Oswald receive an invitation from English travelers to board their ship and take part in their Sunday worship. While on the ship, Corinne feels saddened by the solemnity of the English in her happy Italy. Oswald, seeing her with her eyes lowered, however, thinks that she can indeed be the perfect English wife: [. . .] en la voyant assise au milieu des femmes anglaises, ses paupires noires baisses comme leurs paupires blondes, et se conformant en tout leurs manires, il prouva un grand sentiment de joie (296). Here, Oswald seems to believe that he has in fact colonized Corinne made her English and has convinced himself that she could indeed be an acceptable wife for an Englishman. Even more interesting is that at certain points we see that Corinne actually wants to be colonized, to be exactly what Oswald wants her to be. For example, during their trip to Tivoli, Oswald drives their carriage with the utmost attention to safety for Corinnes sake: Il avait ces soins protecteurs qui sont le plus doux lien de lhomme avec la femme. Corinne ntait point, comme la plupart des femmes, facilement effraye par les dangers possibles dune route; mais il lui tait si doux de remarquer la sollicitude dOswald, quelle souhaitait presque davoir peur, afin dtre rassure par lui. (228, my italics) Corinnes reaction to Oswalds chivalry shows that she is almost willing to compromise her independence to enjoy the attentions that come with accepting Oswald as her protector. In 28
other words, she could almost give up her very Italian self- sufficiency and thus be colonized. The use, though, of presque indicates that she still carries some uncertainty in her mind, still some quiet rebellion to this possible colonization. Corinne, then, feels both attraction and repulsion toward Oswald, further extending the ambivalence seen in her national identity. The issue of ambivalence, therefore, involves a complex attraction and repulsion between the colonizer and the colonized. 4 With Corinne and Oswald, this ambivalence becomes partic ularly obvious as they fight their feelings for each other. Take, for example, their first encounter, when Oswald is taken aback by Corinnes position in society: Ce mystre et cette publicit tout la fois, cette femme dont tout le monde parlait, et dont on ne connaissait pas le vritable nom, parurent lord Nelvil lune des merveilles du singulier pays quil venait voir. Il aurait jug trs svrement une telle femme en Angleterre, mais il nappliquait lItalie aucune des convenances sociales; et le couronnement de Corinne lui inspirait davance lintrt que ferait natre une aventure de lArioste. (51-1) The combination of attraction and repulsion that we witness here perfectly exemplifies ambivalence. Oswald does not hold Corinne to the same standards as he would an Englishwoman. Therefore, he allows himself his attraction to this marvel. However, if she had been English (and we later find out that she is indeed half English), he would have judged her severely. In other words, his attraction simply derives from the exotic, the unknown that exists in Corinne an attraction that is of course completely acceptable. Just a few pages later, though, he quickly renounces his attraction to and thereby admits his repulsion from Corinne: Cest la plus sduisante des femmes, mais cest une Italienne; et ce nest pas ce cur timide, innocent, lui- mme inconnu, que possde sans doute la jeune Anglaise laquelle mon pre me destinait (94). Corinne, however, never seems to express a similar ambivalence towards Oswald. On the contrary, she is always attracted to their differences, never repulsed by them. Only when Oswald directly insults Italy or, at the end of the work, when he abandons her, does she
4
For more on the question of ambiguity, see Homi Bhabhas chapter The Other Question: Stereotype, discrimination and the discourse of colonialism in The Location of Culture, 66-84.
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feel any disdain for him. For example, after Oswald has insulted Italian women, saying that they are incapable of a deep, sincere love, she refuses to see him because: elle tait douloureusement afflige de lopinion quil avait tmoigne sur les Italiennes, et cette opinion mme lui faisait une loi de cacher lavenir, si elle le pouvait, le sentiment qui lentranait (154). Her role, then, is rather that of the go-between or the contact zone between England and Italy. She reacts to Oswalds opinions on women as a defender of Italian wo men, rather than as an Italian woman. As Balay points out: Corinne jouera donc le rle de mdiatrice entre Oswald et Italie (L&L 141) and this role then leads us to the issue of ethnography/autoethnography.
Ethnography and Autoethnography Oswalds role in Italy is more often than not that of an ethnographer. Following the definition that Paul Atkinson gives (13), Oswalds ethnographic narration documents both individual and collective character. Throughout his tour through Italy, Oswald unhesitatingly draws conclusions and proffers his beliefs on the character of the Italian people. 5 This commentary comes through most obviously in a letter he writes to Corinne after having insulted Italian women. His letter, supposedly an apology, continues to plead his case that Italian men and women are unworthy of Corinne. He buttresses his argument by listing the problems with each sex in Italy: Les hommes, en Italie, valent beaucoup moins que les femmes; car ils ont les dfauts des femmes, et leurs propres en sus (156). He further critiques Italian men by attacking Italys politics and military: dans un pays o il ny a ni carrire militaire, ni institution libre, comment un homme pourrait- il se former la dignit et la force? (157). Finally, he attacks Italys history and pride in that history: Ce qui leur reste de souvenirs de lantiquit, cest quelque chose de gigantesque dans les expressions et dans la magnificence extrieure; mais ct de cette grandeur sans base, vous voyez souvent tout ce quil y a de plus vulgaire dans les gots et de plus misrablement nglig dans la vie domestique. Est-ce l, Corinne, la nation que vous devez prfrer toute autre? (157, my italics)
5
He also offers an ethnography on gender which I will discuss in the gender section of this chapter.
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These critiques that Oswald posits are two- fold. On the one hand, they serve as his ethnographic response to Italy. These are his reports of what he has witnessed in Italy. On the other hand, they are desperate attempts to turn Corinne against Italy so that she will be willing to leave this country and return to the civilized, domestic bliss of England. Oswald fails to see, however, that these observations specifically belong to him. He cannot fathom the possibility of another viewpoint that could differ from his own English ideology rife with national bigotry. Corinnes letter in response to Oswalds represents her autoethnography one of many times that she plays the role of autoethnographer. She responds, on behalf of the colonized and as the colonized, to the critique that the colonizer has made. She begins her letter by telling Oswald that she is only answering his letter because he has attacked Italian women in general, not only her: ce nest pas de moi dont je veux vous parler, cest de la nation infortune que vous attaquez si cruellement (159). She goes on to tell him that he is superficial in his analysis of Italians and that he must pntrer plus avant pour juger ce pays qui a t si grand diverses poques (160). She then explains that Europe has ravaged and colonized Italy and therefore has no right to critique the Italian people today: Les trangers de tout temps ont conquis, dchir ce beau pays, lobjet de leur ambition perptuelle; et les trangers reprochent avec amertume cette nation les torts des nations vaincues et dchires! LEurope a reu des Italiens les arts et les sciences, et maintenant quelle a tourn contre eux leurs propres prsents, elle leur conteste souvent encore la dernire gloire qui soit permise aux nations sans force militaire et sans libert politique, la gloire des sciences et des arts. (160) Then, city by city, she illustrates the greatness and individuality at work in Italy. She clearly and methodically enlightens Oswald and works to dispel his ignorance about the place that she loves. This letter, therefore, clearly exemplifies autoethnography in that Corinne engages in a dialogue with the representation that Oswald has made of Italy, refuting his arguments. In addition, the literary strategy of placing Corinnes letter at the end of the chapter lends the argument particular weight in that she has the last word and the final say on this issue.
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Corinnes half- English identity complicates her position as the defender of Italy. Balay states that this characterization gives more credence to Corinnes defense of Italy: Corinne voit dautant plus clairement ce quelle souhaite pour lItalie quelle connat mieux les ressorts moraux de la puissance anglaise. En elle, les deux nations se fondent harmonieusement, le nord et le midi, lclat et la mlancolie, le sens moral et le sens du beau ; elle ralise dans sa sensibilit et son intelligence, lunit des tendances diverses, tant quelle trouve le bonheur dans lexercice de ses puissantes facults. (L&L 139) We witness here that exact in-between area to which Corinne is privileged. Corinne refutes the commonly accepted notion that one must be either self or other, colonizer or colonized. Corinne is both, and it is this characteristic that renders her such an innovative character. The text, through Corinne, has opened up a brand new possibility concerning nation. One does not have to be either/or one can be both.
Civilizing the Exotic In spite of Corinnes dual nationality, Oswald still cannot accept the part of her that is Italian and embarks on a civilizing mission, a post-colonial term that elucidates the colonizers desire to render the colonized more civilized according to the rules of his/her society. In this text, though, both the colonizer and the colonized undertake a civilizing mission. Not only does Oswald eagerly try to civilize and transform Corinne into the perfect Englishwoman, but Corinne too hopes to civilize Oswald and make him aware of the wonders that Italy has to offer. They differ, though, in that Corinne does not want to change Oswald only to enlighten him. Consider, for example, the aforementioned letters that discuss Italian men and women and marriage in Italy. Oswald implores Corinne to see that the English way is better, while Corinne simply asks Oswald to look again, more deeply, at the Italian ways. The discussion on Italian literature also offers an example of the civilizing efforts in the text. M. Edgermond argues that Italian literature lacks tragedies and therefore proves Italys childishness:
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il me semble quil y a moins loin des enfants aux hommes, que de vos tragdies aux ntres; car les enfants, dans leur mobilit, ont des sentiments lgers, mais vrais, tandis que le srieux de vos tragdies a quelque chose daffect et de gigantesque qui dtruit pour moi toute motion. Nest-il pas vrai, lord Nelvil? (184) Lord Nelvil, of course, adamantly agrees with his countryman and goes on to say that Italian tragedy needs the influence of Shakespeare. He complains that Octavias representation of Nero lacks vraisemblance and that Shakespeare would have done a much better job: Mais si Shakespeare avait reprsent Nron [. . .] la terreur net-elle pas t mille fois plus grande? et pour une rflexion nonce par lauteur, mille ne seraient-elles pas nes dans lame [sic] des spectateurs par le silence mme de la rhtorique et la vrit des tableaux ? (185-6). Oswalds argument, then, focuses on the lack of complexity and depth in Octavias work. He complains that the presentation of Nero is too simple, too black and white. He believes that had Shakespeare written a play about Nero he would have looked more profoundly into the intricacies of the relationship between Nero and Seneca. In other words, Shakespeare would improve, even civilize, Italian tragedy by making it less childlike and more vraisemblable. Corinnes response to this critique simply explains the lack of tragedy in the Italian canon. She does not place Italian literature above any other, but only encourages another way of seeing what Italy has produced: En gnral notre littrature exprime peu notre caractre et nos murs. Nous sommes une nation beaucoup trop modeste, je dirais presque trop humble, pour oser avoir des tragdies nous, composes avec notre histoire, ou du moins caractrises daprs nos propres sentiments (186-7). In order to prove her acceptance and appreciation of foreign literatures, Corinne is very eager to perform her translation of Romeo and Juliet. This action serves as an example for her British friends of her acceptance of foreign influences. However, this gesture seems to be lost on them and her civilizing mission therefore fails. Everyone finds her ability very impressive including the English but they do not understand the significance of her performance for national
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literatures. Oswald, of course, sees only the similarities that exist between the story of Romeo and Juliet and his and Corinnes story. 6
The Exoticism of Italy The question of the civilizing mission takes on even more importance if we consider the possibility the text offers that Corinne, and therefore Italy, truly needs to be civilized. The work introduces this concept in order to show the complicated relationship between the Western ethnographer and the Other object being examined. While Oswald comes into Italy with a preconceived notion of what Italy is and represents, Corinne shows him that his ideas are too simplistic and unfounded. The use of the exotic in the work illustrates this point. The exotic, while attractive and exciting, discloses the presence of an Other one who should be colonized or civilized. The argument of this analysis, then, is that the text presents Corinne/Italy as an Orient that is physically located within the Occident. In other words, by discussing her as an exotic Other through the use of Oriental symbols, the reader views Corinne/Italy as Oriental. This argument only works, though, because the text itself has equated Corinne with Italy, thereby allowing us as readers to see the exoticism tha t exists in Corinne as a reflection and imitation of an exotic Italy. Whether or not Italy can truly be seen as an Oriental Other, therefore, is directly tied to Corrines Orientalness. Corinne and Italy, then, become synonymous with the Orient and the marginal. As Alliston explains: [Italy is] inscribed within the margins of a Europe that is beginning to define itself on a map drawn of shared but mutually exclusive boundaries. Inscribed within the margins of that map, Italy, like [. . .] Scotland, is denied the clear borderlines of property that would make it recognizable as a cohesive and independent state (70, my italics). With Italy relegated to the margins of Europe, it is understandable that Corinne, too, occupies this marginality. What is que stionable here is that Corinne, while theoretically representing a free (both socially politically), and independent Italy with no need of France, nevertheless presents an exotic, untamed, and uncivilized place. In other words, at times the text implies that Italy does indeed need a civilizing influence. Or, it could also be argued that the exotic
6
This reference to Shakespeare bespeaks French Romanticisms interest in one of Englands most beloved playwrights. See Stendhals Racine et Shakespeare. It also reminds the reader of Stals praise of Shakespeare in De la littrature.
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Italy/Corinne requires this very exoticism in order to enjoy the social freedoms that cannot be found in England or in France. Nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind here that Italy is not only a savage place, but also a place that corresponds to a poetic idealism as seen in Corinnes talent and the texts numerous references to Italian art and architecture. Moreover, Corinne regularly reminds Oswald of Italys influence and impact on Western European civilization. The question, then, of exoticism in this text falls in line with the works established pattern: the events in the work can sometimes be exotic and sometimes not, and the final judgment of both Italy and Corinne resides somewhere in-between the binarisms of exotic and civilized. Consider, for instance, Corinnes dancing of the Tarantella. On the one hand, she agrees to perform the dance sans se faire prier, ce qui tonna assez le comte dErfeuil, accoutum quil tait aux refus par lesquels il est dusage de faire prcder le consentement (147), which illustrates the freedom that one has in Italy to admit ones desires without shame. On the other hand, though, the dance itself blatantly exemplifies Orientalism and exoticism: Elle se mit danser, en frappant lair de ce tambour de basque, et tous ses mouvements avaient une souplesse, une grace [sic], un mlange de pudeur et de volupt qui pouvait donner lide de la puissance que les Bayadres exercent sur limagination des Indiens, quand elles sont pour ainsi dire potes [sic] avec leur danse, quand elles expriment tant de sentiments divers par les pas caractriss et le tableaux enchanteurs quelles offrent aux regards. (1478) This dance equates Corinne, and therefore Italy, with the Oriental and exotic Indian danseuses and thus fetishes them while relegating them both to the margins where the exotic Other lies. However, there is an ambiguity and even a sense of power in this scene. The narrator states: Il y a un moment dans cette danse napolitaine o la femme se met genoux, tandis que lhomme tourne autour delle, non en matre, mais en vainqueur. Quel tait dans ce moment le charme et la dignit de Corinne ! comme genoux elle tait souveraine ! Et quand elle se releva, en faisant retentir le son 35
de son instrument, de sa cymbale arienne, elle semblait anime par un enthousiasme de vie, de jeunesse et de beaut, qui devait persuader quelle navait besoin de personne pour tre heureuse. (148-9) While the question of Orientalism here cannot be ignored, the question of ambiguity must also be examined since Corinne does not feel exploited or abused, but rather invigorated and joyous. Even during the most humbling moment of the dance she was still souveraine. In other words, the text has once again opened up an in-between space for Corinne. She does not have to belong only to the debased category of the exotic Other, but can profit from it and still remain in control. This very duality, though, problematizes the possibility that anyone could enjoy such freedom and power by implying that Corinne is the only person who can achieve this freedom because of her dual nationality. While Corinne is depicted as the epitome of culture, grace, intelligence, and beauty, the average Italian person is not nearly as fortunate. In Naples, the narrator describes the Lazzaroni people as: couchs sur les pavs, ou retirs dans un panier dosier, qui leur sert dhabitation jour et nuit. Cet tat sauvage qui se voit l, ml avec la civilisation, a quelque chose de trs-original (290, my italics). She does go on to tell us that the Lazzaroni are not mean but still insists on their laziness and avarice: Il est vrai que cest le peuple du monde qui aime le mieux largent ; si vous demandez un homme du peuple votre chemin dans la rue, il tend la main aprs avoir fait un signe : car ils sont plus paresseux pour les paroles que pour les gestes ; mais leur got pour largent nest point mthodique ni rflchi ; ils le dpensent aussitt quils le reoivent. Si largent sintroduisait chez les sauvages, les sauvages le demanderaient comme cela. Ce qui manque le plus cette nation, en gnral, cest le sentiment de la dignit. (291, my italics) Here we have the very typical nineteenth-century representation of the Other: the exotic savage, the lazy natives, the uncivilized, and the ignorant. The narrator, in contrast to Corinnes efforts to show the grandeur of Italy, portrays the general Italian public not as grand, but rather as grandly inferior to their European neighbors. This image of the commoner simply reinforces Corinnes uniqueness that comes from her being half- English.
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The result, like Corinnes nationality, is two-fold. While there is indeed a newly opened space for a person to occupy both sides of a binarism at once, this space is only available if one has a dual nationality. The role of gender in the text, however, will further complicate the question of self versus other by introducing even more ambiguity. By examining the complex gender(s) of Corinne, we will see that she, and consequentially Italy, have both been colonized and feminized. Corinne and everything she represents, therefore, ultimately symbolize the quest for the freedom to occupy a richly intricate and multifaceted identity.
Gender
Undeniably, the most analyzed question in studies on Corinne ou lItalie has been that of gender constructions. For the purposes of this study, though, we will not look at the question of gender by itself, but rather at how it relates to the terms used in the discussion on nation. The two issues have already been related in Stals chapter Des Femmes qui cultivent les Lettres of De la littrature: Eclairer, instruire, perfectio nner les femmes comme les hommes, les nations comme les individus, cest encore le meilleur secret pour tous les buts raisonnables, pour toutes les relations sociales et politiques auxquelles on veut assurer un fondement durable (331). We see here that Stal places the role of the nation on the same plane as that of gender. She calls for a refutation of the accepted idea that Man, the individual, is the most important element of society and encourages instead a broadening of those categories to include both women and nations. This call emerges in Corinnes themes.
Stals Personal Views on Gender Stals refusal to accept traditional gender roles for herself and others in her personal life clearly explains why that same refutation would exist in her fiction. Balay notes that Stal questioned these gender roles from the moment she began writing: Germaine Necker avait commenc crire de bonne heure, toute son ducation ly portait. Cependant son pre napprouvait pas que les femmes se fissent aut eurs et ses moqueries la paralysrent, semble-til, un certain temps. Mais M. de Saint-Ecritoire, comme il lappelait, finit par lemporter (L&L 24). Having convinced her father of her talents, Stal goes on to persuade others not only of her own literary and intellectual value, but of that of other women as well, 37
encouraging society to extend the same educational rights of enlightenment to women as to men. Christine Plant explains that Stal creates Corinne out of the ideas (non- fiction) that she presented in the same chapter of De la littrature cited earlier: Le chapitre de ce livre consacr aux femmes crivains constitue bien lhorizon thorique ncessaire la lecture de Corinne, comme lvolution de la socit franaise doit tre prsente lesprit pour en clairer les enjeux (De Corinne Sapho, 157). Indeed, Stals very history as an advocate for womens (and specifically women writers) rights to participate in the intellectual and elite community convinces us of the importance of gender in her work. Her writings, both fictional and non- fictional, grant her readers a very clear understanding as to the significance of gender issues in her work. As Marie-Claire Vallois points out: Les questions de la femme et de lamour, toujours ine xtricablement lies dans les romans de Mme de Stal, sont en effet loin dtre absentes des autres crits. Des Lettres sur le caractre et les crits de J.-J. Rousseau aux Dix annes dexil, Mme de Stal ne cesse de parler de la femme, que ce soit par le biais de lanalyse philosophique, du commentaire sociologique ou de la confidence autobiographique. Cest mme cet intrt et cette proccupation constante qui la fait apparatre comme une des premires fministes de lpoque. (Les voi(es) de la Sibylle 181) In other words, we cannot simply read Corinne ou lItalie as a novel, but also as a political manifesto claiming the rights of women. In so doing, we must again take into consideration the generic hybridity of the work and further realize that the texts duality shows through on multiple levels.
Corinnes Gender Switching Mirroring the generic hybridity of the work, Corinne takes on a gendered hybridity, regularly morphing from masculine to feminine. Her change from masculine to feminine is directly related to Oswalds colonizing and civilizing presence. Given that we have already established that Italy is the colonized and that Corinne is synonymous with Italy, it therefore makes sense that Corinne, like Italy, is the colonized. The inverse is also 38
true: Italy, as the colonized, is feminine, and if Corinne is indeed Italy, she too is feminine. Stal herself gives us permission to equate Corinne with Italy as witnessed in the title of the work: Corinne ou lItalie. 7 Notwithstanding, Corinne very often embodies the exact opposite of what has been traditionally called feminine. At least at the beginning of the work, Corinne falls more into a masculine categorization than a feminine one. The argument of this study holds that this gender switching is due partly to the very displacement of women because of the colonization of the feminine. In other words, because Corinne was left no place in the realm of the feminine, she appropriated masculine traits. The conflict, though, lies in the fact that Corinne does not limit herself to one gender. Margaret Waller discusses this issue in her book The Male Malady and defines Corinne as at best a bizarre hybrid, at worst a monstrous hermaphrodite (60). 8 This reading, however, takes Corinnes gender hybridity to be a positive narrative device; embracing Corinnes dual gender roles illustrates the freedom that comes from less rigidly defined categorizations. There are times when she is masculine and times when she is feminine an androgyny claimed by the male romantic, from which the female romantic was excluded. The narrator highlights this gender switching so as to call attention to the extraordinary and unclassifiable nature of Corinne and to remind the reader of the possibilities opened up to her because of this ability to be more than one. Of course, as the story concludes, we will see that the text punishes her dearly for her ambiguity. As already mentioned, it is at the beginning of the work that Corinne is more masculine. By taking on this more masculine role, Corinne rejects the patriarchal order and thereby refuses colonization. For example, our first introduction to Corinne comes at her coronation as Italys premier poet, an honor previously bestowed on the likes of Virgil and Petrarch. She, a woman, receives copious amounts of attention for a role traditionally reserved for men. In other words, she has a voice, an authoritative and heeded voice that marks yet another contradiction with traditional femininity. Alliston, in defining womans
7
The use of the French ou in the title acts as a renaming of Corinne, much like if we were to say Mary or the Virgin Mother. Regardless of which name is used, the meaning is the same. In reading Corinne ou lItalie, then, when we see Corinne we can also read Italie. 8 Wallers reading also equates gender and sex, implying that Corinnes gender switching is the same as the sexual condition of hermaphrodites. This equation, however, undoes the work of feminist theorists like Judith Butler who championed a distinct separation between sex and gender.
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place in the Romantic era, proves that Corinnes place in Italy is indeed unique: Femininity, in the post-Enlightenment era, is domesticated by its exile to that private realm on the separation from which the idea of the nation state is founded (55). In other words, with woman confined to the domestic sphere, which has no influence on the public sphere or on the nation state, there is no way for her to influence society and this exclusion in turn constitutes femininity. The influential role that Corinne plays in the Italian public sphere implies that her dual gender roles open up a privileged in-between space that showcases the possibilities open to women once gender restrictions imposed by the nation state are removed. Vincent Whitman gives his explanation of how Corinne is able to perform this role: This capacity is of course grounded in the particulars of Corinnes history. Her voice is more-than-one not only because she speaks for/as a whole society, but also because her identity is culturally dual in the first place. Corinne is Italy, but she is also England, as we learn when her secret is revealed. She is both: South-and-North. This duality helps account for a public and self-sufficient lifestyle exceptional even for Italian society. Corinne is free because she is different, not only from others but also within herself. No one person, institution, or even culture can claim her exclusively because she slips out of the categories that must provide the basis for such a claim. Her allegiances can therefore be virtually universal. (59) I would emphasize that her duality is also one of gender. She does not correspond completely to the rules of gender at that time, and therefore no one gender can claim her either. She is not relegated to the domestic sphere but rather is lauded in the public sphere. Thus, as Whitman pointed out, her uniqueness in every realm grants her this position. She exerts this uniqueness throughout the first half of the book. As Oswalds teacher, she introduces him to Italy, describing Italys richness and worth. He is her pupil, her follower. Regrettably, this idealized portrait of a free and independent woman of the nineteenth century is not without its pitfalls. Even in the beginning of the work, when Corinne is still at the height of her grandeur, we see that Oswalds presence has a weakening, and at times
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debilitating, effect on her. From the first moment that they are together at Corinnes salon,9 she begins to doubt herself: Oswald la regardait en silence; sa prsence animait Corinne et lui inspirait dtre aimable. Cependant elle sarrtait quelquefois dans les moments o sa conversation tait la plus brillante, tonne du calme extrieur dOswald, ne sachant pas sil lapprouvait ou sil la blmait secrtement, et si ses ides anglaises lui permettaient dapplaudir de tels succs dans une femme. (76) Although wanting to impress Oswald, Corinne falters. She hesitates, wondering whether or not her life can be understood or approved of by an upholder of traditional (English) patriarchal values. The reader even receives a false glimmer of hope that Oswald will accept Corinne for who she is when he says: ...les rgles ordinaires pour juger les femmes ne peuvent sappliquer elle [Corinne] (86). However, due to their conflicting ideas about womans place in society, which are directly related to their nationalities, Oswald finally cannot accept Corinne. His English attachment to discipline and tradition corresponds to, as we know, an attachment to traditional, masculine ideas. Corinne, therefore, stands in direct opposition to Oswalds masculine, English ideology. It is this very opposition that will eventually tear Corinne and Oswald apart. Corinne cannot be what Oswald wants her to be, and he therefore abandons her. Herein lies one of many conflicts in the work. The text presents Corinne as the epitome of strength and independence in a woman and then destroys her for those very qualities that are not acceptable in English socie ty. This contradiction, instead of granting our heroine a free in-between place, ultimately undermines what the majority of the work has posited. The freedom of movement and ideas is gone and replaced with the cold, hard reality of the day.
Sibyl versus Madonna Imagery We see a similar contradiction in the narrators use of the sibyl as an image of Corinne. Marie-Claire Vallois explains that the choice of the sibyl [. . .] as a literary model is an act of provocation (Old Idols 83). Not only is it a provocation of the patriarchal
9
Here we have an example of the way readers have often compared Corinne with Stal. This salon-like gathering in the work apparently parallels Stals own literary salon, both in Coppet and in Paris. Such a reading introduces an autobiographical element of the work, but also dangerously rehearses that old adage that women can only write what they have personally experienced.
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order, it is also a dangerous act because of the sibyls association with a dragon who is half serpent, half woman, with the troubling gift of an enigmatic voice (Old Idols 88). This use of the sibyl as an image of Corinne calls to mind the siren luring men away from shore with their enigmatic voices only to have them drown. Is this our positive representation of woman? Granted, at the beginning of the work, Corinne is only vtue comme la Sybille du Dominiquin (52). However, by the end of the work, Oswald makes a disturbing comparison between the sibyl and the Virgin Mary, one that logically leads us to think of the virgin/whore dichotomy. Upon seeing his wife Lucile with their child, in front of a painting of the Madonna, Oswald remarks: dans cet instant lattitude de la mre et de lenfant se trouva par hasard presque la mme que celle de la Vierge et de son fils. La figure de Lucile avait tant de ressemblance avec lidal de modestie et de grace [sic] que Le Corrge a peint, quOswald portait alternativement ses regards du tableau vers Lucile, et de Lucile vers le tableau; elle le remarqua, baissa les yeux, et la ressemblance devint plus frappante encore [. . .] (558) The imagery becomes even more striking whe n we remember that Lucile and Oswalds child physically resembles Corinne and not Lucile. The fact that Juliette does not look like her mother, gives the mother an even purer more virginal aspect. If the child does not really look like her, maybe it is not her child, and maybe she is still a virgin. Later, Oswald stops in front of a painting of a sibyl and contemplates it a little too long for Luciles comfort. She dares to ask him if the sibyl speaks to him more than the Madonna. Oswald disturbingly responds: La Sibylle ne rend plus doracles; son gnie, son talent, tout est fini: mais langlique figure du Corrge na rien perdu de ses charmes; et lhomme malheureux qui fit tant de mal lune ne trahira jamais lautre (562). In other words, the sibyl (Corinne), now having grown old and lost her talent, can never compare with the timeless purity of the Madonna (Lucile). Discard the sibyl (whore?); keep the virgin. While Corinne is certainly not a whore and Lucile is obviously not a virgin (having had Oswalds child), that seems to be the correlation the narrator asks us to make. Most upsetting, though, in Oswalds comment is that he is right. Corinne has indeed lost her genius, her talent, and this loss undermines the works feminist project. Corinne literally dies 42
of heartache Oswald has abandoned her, she has consequently lost all of her talent, and therefore she must either join a convent or die. Stal chooses the more popular ending of the time, one where the heroine dies. While dying of heartache does not necessarily connote an anti- feminist message, the loss of talent and genius is disturbing. For it is this very talent that gives Corinne her individuality and that allows her to step out of previously conceived ideas of masculine and feminine it is this talent that allows her to refuse colonization. However, when her talent dies, so die her individuality and her freedom. She is broken, colonized, and feminized. Some of her final thoughts include this very point: jtais ne avec quelque talent; je mourrai sans que lon ait aucune ide de moi, bien que je sois clbre. Si javais t heureuse, si la fivre du cur ne mavait pas dvore, jaurais contempl de trs haut la destine humaine, jy aurais dcouvert des rapports inconnus avec la nature et le ciel; mais la serre du malheur me tient; comment penser librement quand elle se fait sentir chaque fois quon essaie de respirer? (521) This section of the work is the truly heartbreaking moment of Corinne ou lItalie, but it is even more so because, as already mentioned, it is the moment that undermines Stals feminist project. By ending the work thus, Stal implies that Corinnes talent was not enough to sustain her, that what she really needed was a man, specifically Oswald, to complete her. As Madelyn Gutwirth has pointed out: Like La Nouvelle Hlose, and nearly all of the literature of love, Corinne or Italy reaffirms the absolute primacy of couplehood, even as it breaks out to assert the right to female singularity (Media trix 21). The woman needs the man, and therefore the colonized needs the colonizer. In the words of Whitman: What has become of Corinnes literary discourse is the result not of some intrinsic conflict or infirmity, but of the enforcement of patriarcha l authority at the site of her public voice (68). Patriarchal and colonial rule have won here and thereby negated the perceived freedom of gender seen earlier in the work.
Oswald and Lady Edgermond While we have seen that Corinnes dual national and gendered identities at times open up an in-between space for her, the work denies such a privilege to the secondary 43
characters. The gender roles, therefore, that characters like Oswald and Lady Edgermond play are much simpler and yet more rigid. Oswald, of course, symbolizes the perfect Romantic man. He is noble, honest, sensitive, caring, and brave. He has all the characteristics masculine and feminine that a man of the nineteenth century was supposed to have. The most important addition to his masculinity is his role in the military. This role exemplifies his position as an upholder of both patriarchal and colonial rule. It exemplifies patriarchal rule in the sense that by defending his patrie, his fatherland, he carries out the wishes of his now dead father. Furthermore, it exemplifies colonial rule in that the military rules the colonies. Lady Edg...