Mallarm and the Chimres

Author(s): Madeleine M. Smith

Source: Yale French Studies, No. 11, Eros, Variations on an Old Theme (1953), pp. 59-72
Published by: Yale University Press
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MADELEINE M. SMITH

Mallarmeand the Chimeres

A jarringnote,perhaps,in such a litanyof love as this"Eros"number,
will be a reporton thesentiments
of Mallarmewithregardto thetheme
of man's weaknessfor woman.It will be the apparitionof the grim
specterstalkinginto the blazing banquet-hallof such a symposium.
We knowthatthe passionof Mallarme'slife was directed,not toward
anythinghumanbut towardthat sphereof purityexemptfromthe
curvesand swervesof Hasard.CapriciousHasardmeansall thatis human
and of thehumancondition;it is timeand thecorruption
bredof time;
it is alterationand changeability,
motionand accident;it is sin and
injustice,deviationsfromrectitude;but it is also the spice of life and
the nourishment
of art. Hasard is the obviouslyindispensable
Woman,
sinuoussiren,commanding
thedevotionof Man in his misguidedidolatry,
by her crooked,maddeningsmile.Mallarmewishedthatman could be
his true,thinkingself and standerecton his own feet,reachingthus
the fall staturewithwhichhe was endowedat his creation.Mallarme
chosetheheadovertheheart.A star,he believed,stonyand detachedand
impersonal,
the calme bloc, alone is worththe adorationof men who
can think,thatis,who are able to projectthemselves
intoremotereaches
of space to conquertheirown goldenvision.He believedthathe must
cut his naturalattachments
to personsand passions,as the youngboy
musttear loose fromthe apron-strings
beforehe can rise to manhood
and realizehis inheritance.
His "renunciation
of love"was precisely
like thatof thedarkAlberich
when he had spied the Rhine's gold and quicklyknownthat human
desireis thepriceof thepurerreality,
the impossibledream.To therare
heroes(rare but neverabsentfromthe world,an unbrokensuccession)
who are willingto accept these evidentbut almostimpossibleterms,
the behaviorof the medievalalchemistsis altogetherunderstandable;
theycan never dismissthe "philosophers"
as deluded fools,however
unanimousmay seem men's shallowverdictto that effect.They know
thatthealchemists
knewtheirglimpseof gold wouldforeverelude their
underthe disguiseof a
grasp but also that to themwas vouchsafed,
dreamof the highestgood,life'sonly reality.So it was thatMallarm6
of his hopes,as materialfor use
confidedto Verlainethis description
in theMen of Todayseries:
Aside fromtheproseand versepiecesof myyouthand theirecho
in thelaterthingsI havepublishedhereand therein all thenewest
"littlemagazines,"I alwayshave dreamedof and workedat a

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patientlabor,beingprepared
project,withan alchemist's
different
to it,
everyformofvanityand everyformof satisfaction
to sacrifice
and
as in theold daysmenwouldcastintothefiretheirfurniture
of theirhouseto feedthefurnaceof theMagnumOpus.
therafters
Thatwas in 1886.Muchearlier(1867) he hadusedthesamecomparison,
whichis theWork.
in endinga letterto HenriCazalis: " . . . mylife-work,
MagnumOpus, as our ancestorsthe alchemistsused to say." Alberich
The vanityand thesatisfacMallarmewas an alchemist.
was an alchemist.
impulsesthatlead us to
tionshe speaksof are the impureand unworthy
and
he likensthemto the creaturecomforts
love. Metaphorically
glorify
of lifesuchas chairsand chestsand beds,and to thesecurity,
adornments
we can hardly
thewarmthprovidedby a roof,something
theprotection,
a wife,the
do without.A mistressis such a comfortand adornment;
memoryof a mother,our guardianangels,are thesewarm,protective
"roofs"to shelterus and blotout theburningazure.Love is an everyday
whichmustgo when Art
luxury,formostmen a minimumnecessity,
demandsit-that is, if you are an "alchemist."
Mallarmeand the Magi Kings were of this privilegedarmyof
To him theirlife-longquest is what art is. But, unlikemany
martyrs.
in thelonelycaravan,thispoet possesseda wholesome
familiartravellers
He reallywantedlove,and,
social natureeasyforanyoneto understand.
however,for the staticor
in fact,foundit. He reservedit carefully,
"ecstatic"periods (see our note 3 below,on "ecstasy"),and did not
of his creativeendeavor.
withthedynamicmoments
allow it to interfere
who trulyenjoyedhis friendship.
his manyfriends,
He alwaysflattered
In youthhe was gay and ebullient,good to be with; when the years
makingthatmoodimposand spiritually,
had wornhimdownmaterially
sible,he stillwas fullof thatinwardsparkleand good nature,firedby a
steadyand a subtlesense of humor,which commandedthe affection
of thosewho knewhim.He was eversearchingfor
and loyaladmiration
friendswho
kindredspiritsto whom he could confidehis aspirations,
on thelittleevents
commentary
hiswittyand discerning
wouldappreciate
in his life,a pretextfor practicingthe art of elevatingthe trivialby
developingits analogieswiththe sublime.
of
Graduallythe lettersthatstandas signsof thislavishgenerosity
his giftsare being made availableto loversof Mallarme'spersonality;
and a gold mineforthemwas uncoverednot long ago in some letters
enshrined
by Dr. HenriMondorin a littlebookdevotedto theiroriginal
with Mallarme.The
recipient,Eugene Lefebure,and to his friendship
The
lettersare few but long and packed with poetic germ-thoughts.
is
dated
to
1865,
Lefebure
February,
from
Mallarme
firstextantletter
already
whenthe greatpoet was teachingin Tournon.At twenty-three,

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
well intohis careeras a writer,his criticalsenseis active;he does not
of Lefebureand
sparehis frienddes Essarts.Yet the mutualenthusiasm
Mallarm6for Baudelaire,whichhad begun in theirlyceedays at Sens,
is as vigorousas when the firstappearanceof Les Fleursda Mal had
excited the fifteen-year-old
Stephane Mallarme and his schoolmate.
he writesat this
("When you read the 13enof Villiersde l'Isle-Adam,"
time,"You will get a thrillat everysingleword,as you do reading
Baudelaire").Three yearsbeforethis Februaryof 1865 Mallarmehad
apparently
lookedintoa boundvolumeof the Revue franfaiseand read
Baudelaire'spresentation
of Poe's Raven and Philosophyof Composition
and also his stimulating
Salon de 1859. He mayhave been rereadingthe
latternow; at anyratewe see in theseexcerptsfromhis long letterthat
a freshattitudetowardthe emotionsand a pungentchangefromthe
saccharineoverdosesof love offeredin more conventionalpoetryare
amongthesensations
forwhichhe is especially
grateful
to themaster-poet.
He is commenting
on some poetryby Lef~bure:
... one faultto find:Love is too muchthe objectof yourpoems.

... Except when it is spiced with some exotic condiment,lubricity,

ecstasy,morbidity,
that sentiment
to
seems,indefinite,
asceticism,
me unpoetic.

. . . love, uncomplicated,is too natural a feeling to provide any

specialthrillfortheblase poeticalpeople who read verse;and for

you to discourseto themaboutit is as if you wereto offercool,
deep-flowing
springwaterto the palates,burningwith whiskey,
inflammable
at the touchof a match,of ancientdrunkards.
. . . thestupidity
withwhichfiveor six clowns-and I am including
des Essarts-haveset themselves
up as thehighpriestsof thatbig
baby,blowzyand puffy-cheeked
like a butcher-boy,
thattheycall
Eros,staringecstatically
at one anotherlike martyrs
everytime
theyperformhis easily-mastered
ritesand advancing
Xlewdly
upon
womenseducedby him as to so manyburningstakes!In a word,
conveyingthe impression
thatthis is all of life,whereasactually
Love is onlyone of thethousandfeelingsthatassailour spiritsand
has no rightto take up any more territory
than fear,remorse,
ennui, hatred,sadness.'
in reply,couldonlyvoicetheprotestsof theworldat large,
Lefebure,
in love withlove,and defendhis own poetry,
whichMallarmehad found
too fullof the love theme:
In thiswayour generation
has,movingthrougha verywell-known
seriesof causes,produceda bodyof poetryhaving"spleen"as its
1All the passagesquoted are foundin Mondor,EugeneLefebure(Gallimard,

1951), p. 343.

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servetwomasters,
itfollows
rootandaim;and,sincea mancannot
or
capableof feeling
thatthepoetsof spleenidealizedarehardly
returning
love.Becauseof thisE. Poe bansPassionfromArt,as
...
beingtoo vulgar[familiere]
forthecuriously-wrought
Still,whilelovingthosepoetswhostrive
humanandwhose
I do notabhorthosewhoremain
sensory
effect,
suchas MmeValmore
outoftheheart's
fullness,
mouth
speaksforth
or indeedlikeAubanel.2
withsuchfierceness
and
wouldperhapsnothavewritten
Mallarme
pinklittle
andagainst
desEssarts
bitterness
against
his"livingantithesis"
fromBaudelaire,
who
baleful
passages
Cupidif he hadnotbeenreading
unorthodox
as he. Baudelaire's
disposition
hadno suchearnest-yet-sunny
the
viewof thetender
passionhasindeedmuchto do withtherespect
of artists
haveall feltforhim.Theycraveoriginal
latergenerations
of love
and oftentheyhavecometo hatesuchmanifestations
themes,
theyoungmodern,
The moresensitive
to observe.
as theyhaveoccasion
of organic
themoresubjectis he to thenewnauseaat thetrop-plein
theworld,moreand morecrowding
lifeand itsmeansof controlling
of themindfromtheirplace
and thekingdom
kingdom
themineral
ofhonor.
The strongly-worded
passagein theSalonde 1859to whichwe have
pp.299esthetiques,
vol.I, Curiosites
alluded(Conard(EGuvres
completes,
with
ofthelove-god
association
no doubt,
forMallarme's
302) accounts,
and in generalforthe figures,
butchers
words,and toneused in the
letter
to Lefebure.
the other(non-amorous)
As to Mallarme's
analyzing
affirmations,
he himself
had
we observehowseriously
moodsthathe recommended,
Each of the
been striving
poeticdevelopment.
to give themworthy
oneofhisearlypoems.
asceticism-flavors
perhaps
"condiments"-except
in its
parle demonsecouee"(alreadywritten,
"Unenegresse
Lubricity:
in 1863
(written
ecstasy:
earlier
version,
'Imagegrotesque");
Apparition
in honorofMissEttieYapp,whomCazaliswooedbutwhomMallarme
colors
or sickliness:
loved);3 morbidity
Angoisse.Asceticism
secretly
Ibid., pp. 189-190. Aubanel was a mutual friendwhose poetryboth liked.
3 Mallarme's literaryuse of the word extase discloses a special meaning (not
conveyedin Apparition) by which it designatesthe passive dream-stateof oblivion
and relieffromfear,remorse,and harassmentwith the problem of evil-a period
of "prose" or repose, of receptivityto inspiration,the necessary relaxation to
alternatewith the active, willed, vital thrustthat is "Poetry." Its true force is
embodied in a non-love-poem,"Las de l'amer repos," a poem which also substitutesan ascetic concentrationon art for easy; worldlydesire- and even betterin
Prose pour des Esseintes,which was composed in 1885, much later than the time
of this writingto Lefebure. There the smiling "sister," "sensee et tendre,"represents the part of inspiration,and the man, that of hard effort,in the birth of a
work of art; it is both an art poem and a love poem.
2

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
the strangesupposedlove of St. Johnfor Herodiade;and when,many
yearslater,he comes to writethat hero's hymnof release,Mallarme
the head as de jernes Wvre
(dizzy and in
remindsus of it by describing
a transportwith fastingand long desire). With these refinements
out of vacuouscalf-love.
Mallarmeproposedto take the indefiniteness
Livingin our day he mighthave calledthemby cynical,clinicalnames:
etc. For preceding
complexes,hangovers,
masochism,
sadism,perversions,
him in the injectionof such new elementsand revealingto him the
theBaudelaireof Duellum,Le Portrait,
in them,he cherished
possibilities
de la Lune,A Celle qui est tropgaie, Une Martyre.
Les Bijoux,Tristesses
When Mallarme'sworkacceptedforthe firstParnassecontemporain
made his nameknownin 1866,it was apparentthatthe rival"gods"he
named,whose "rites"would be less easily masteredand more worth
in thevariousofferings
mastering
thanthoseof Eros,werefitlyenshrined
These were"intuitive
revelations
of mytemperaof theyoungdissenter.
ment,"notintendedto fitintothegreat(Euvre,as he explainsto Cazalis
on the day of theirappearanceas a collection.They representlyrical,
and forMallarmethe onlytrueBeautymustbe that
personalexpression,
cut off,in a way humanly
whichis divorced,removed,and altogether
impossible,fromthe personal.But, at any rate,we findhere,for the
and terror): Tristessedete and
different
formsof fear (timorousness
L'Azur; for a refugesoughtfromremorse:L'Azur and Angoisse;for
and hatred:Aumone
ennui:Renouveauand Brise marine;forperversity
("I hateanycharity
thatgoes forusefulpurposes");forsadness:Soupir,
Tristessed'e't.
To widentherangeof emotionstreatedin poetry,to get away from
a too-simplethemethat cloyed and palled, these were the aims of
Mallarme'slittle revolt.There were loftierreasons,however,for his
annoyancewith the idea of the "clingingvine." If one is absorbedin
and thatentanglingone of
any high endeavor,the passionsgenerally,
and a deterrent
to
are but a distraction
love forwomenin particular,
and
the mind'spure activity.
Woman'swaysare all bends,fluctuations,
whereasa man characteristically
wants to stand erect,to
deviousness,
thinkstraight,and to blunderdirectlytowardthe target,hittingthe
markhead-onor not at all. It is in facteasyto understand
the tendency
to representEvil by curves,curls,waves, and S's, and Good by the
courseof "rectitude,"
or by theletterI. Someof themostuniverstraight
sal myth-heroes
have had thedefectof one crookedleg and one straight,
as if to typifythe moralhandicapinflictedon man, againsthis better
nature (Jacob and Oedipus,Vulcan, Byron,and Capt. Ahab). Many
men agree with Baudelaire,whose diagnosisof Madame Bovarywas
in theseatof "theheart[or instinct],
thatwithhertheheadsitsenthroned

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where reasoningpower has commonlyno place and which generally
dominatesin womanas amongthe animals;. . ." Emma could not be
a believablewomanbecauseshe mingledimagination(ambition),willpower,and reasonwithher passion.
Not all womendespiselogic (as a memberof the earthysex I feel
bound to assuremasculinereadersthatonlythosedespiseit who don't
knowwhatit is-but, alas,theyaremany),notall menlove it and use it;
butthosemenwho do, havea deep bondin commonundissolved
by time
or deathor blood or water,stronger
thanany humantie. Likewisethe
love of the rightand independentuse of man's reason,his pride in
"logic,"or in themeansof pursuingthe"absolute,"
his thrillin working
on a magic-carpet
plane of separationfromearth,woman,humancondition,hasard,certainly
engendersa passionwhose pleasureand whose
cannotcomparewithanyearthbound
emotionsand makesthese
intensity
seembase indeed.
Here is the basis of Mallarme'sdevotionto Descartes,the lucid
the independent
thepoet-philosopher,
the explorer
geometrician,
thinker,
andorganizer
of theuniverse-andto Leonardoof thewide-ranging
faculties.Of thisdoubleloyalty
we havebutfewtraces;but,whencollectedand
as it
ponderedover,in connectionwith Mallarme'swhole personality
variouschannels,
dose
is revealedto us through
theyconstitute
something
It formsan important
to certaindemonstration.
partof our poet'sporof Valerywith thesesame two heroes
trait;we know the deep affinity
of the mind.Mallarmemay be ultimately
who knows,for
responsible,
initiatinghis youngdiscipleinto thatdual cult in whichValery,long
afterhe ceased to be anyone'sdisciple,became notablyand nobly
articulate.Thus the humanisticprocession,of which I spoke earlier,
advancessteadilythroughthe centuriesby the self-projection
and recognitionalheredityof the spirit.
But Mallarme'shead was as all-embracing
as anymother'sheart.His
rejoicingin the will's pursuitof the highestgood was, by the strict
Cartesiandefinition,4generousenough to take the place of common
It was his head thatdictatedhis kindlyconduct,so thathe
affections.
man." Like Herodiade,as she
mightbe describedas a "kind-headed
theNurse,whostandsforeverything
dismisses
well-meaning
butunworthy
and impure,Mallarmeseemsto beg his friendscollectively:"Pardonne
a ce coeurdur."Yet in Les Fen~treswe see him turninghis back,not
onlyon thedrearyunpleasantness
of life,but withmuchgreaterdisgust,
on the dotardwho can finddelightonlyin sensuousescapes;while he,
the poet, contemplates
the pure, inward,lost-paradise
beautyin full
4 Traite des passionsde l'dme,?? 152-153.

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
awarenessthat he risksgrowingdizzy and risksmost gravelya great
falland a damnationof eternalfalling.
Justas his doubt of orthodoxdoctrinegave him a more fervent,
thoughnegative,
faith-hisown ("Luxe,o salle d'ebene,"),so a reasoned
rejectionof the sensualaffections
thatmostpeople hold dear brought
his serenepassionfor intellectual
concentration
to a pitchof intensest
enthusiasm.
Some excerptsfromletters(all addressedto Cazalis) will
illustrate
and plainlydefinein whatthisconsisted.I translate(and ruin
Mallarme'sdelicatetracery):
FromTournon,March,1865:
I am notgettinganyenjoyment
. . . Unfortunately
out of thecharm
thatflitsroundabouta cradle. . . I am too mucha poet and too
muchin love withPoetryalone,to have a taste,at timeswhenI
cannotwork,for any inner peace; such a feelingbothersme
becauseit seemsalwaysto be crowdingout the other,the great
peace,thatwhichtheMuse (of activeeffort)gives. . .5
(the nextis not actuallya quotationfromMallarmebut seemsto paraphraseor indirectly
quote, as Dr. Mondor'swritingfrequently
does, a
letterof May, 1865,whichI believeis not otherwiseavailable)
He is not willingto granthimself-lovingonly cold Herodiade
and beingcontinually
martyrized
by her-any warmth,
distraction,
infidelity,
or otherformsof self-indulgence.6
FromBesanqon,May 14 (or 24, as it shouldmore probablybe
dated), 1867:
Since you are luckyenoughto be able, above and beyondPoetry,
to love,byall meanslove: . . . For myself,
Poetrytakestheplaceof
love, becauseshe is in love withherself,and becauseher delight
in herselfkeepsfallingback rapturously
withinmyconsciousness.7
IMondor, Vie de Mallarme(Gallimard,1941), p. 160. The cradlehere men-

tionedis thatof thepoet'ssmalldaughter,

bornin November,1864; he cannot
appreciate
the domesticsentimentality
it calls forth.

Ibid.,p. 164.
7 Ibid.,p. 238. The figureimpliedis thatof a fountain
perpetually
gushingand
falling.With this quotationcf. Wyzewa'sNotes on Mallarme,takenfromLa
Vogue,June-July,
1886, an appraisalwritten
in close consultation
certainly
with
Mallarme,wherethe latter's"banal subjects"of some earlypoems are listed.
of courseto Herodiade,this listingincludes"a womanin love with
Referring
her own lasciviousbody." Let no one protestthat this could not have been
Mallarme'sown definition
of his subjectsincethereis so muchmorethanthat
in the poem. Mallarmewell knew how manyseeds were hiddenin his own
but it pleasedhim to pretenda greatnaivete'abouthis own poetry
pomegranate;
and an ignoranceof his own profundity.
This leftall the feelingof superiority
and all thedelightof discovery
to his readers.
6

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The samespiritcarriedto a logicalextreme
drovehim,in thedynamic
connected
phasesof his creativelife,to seek a severancefromeverything
withthebesetting
contingency
of organicand mortalexistence.Speaking
of his Herodiadeto Lefeburein the letterof February,
1865, Mallarme
to link
saysthathe does notwantto use the nameSalomeor otherwise
her with anecdotalelements:"My desireis to make of her a creature
ofdreams[purement
strictly
of history."
independent
reve] and absolutely
When she was eventually
revealedto readers,it was dear enoughthatso,
in fact,thisvirginempresswas-a sheerabstraction.
Her creatordevelops
this themein his mind until in May, 1867, he confidesto the same
correspondent:
There is no personalmeritin thisforme [in the conceptionof
Herodiadeas the modern"synthesis"
to completea trio,withthe
Venusof Milo (thesis) and theMona Lisa (antithesis),of epochal
symbolsof Beauty],and it evenmaybe said thatit is the motive
of escapingfromremorse(for havingviolatedthe slow action
of naturallaws) thatcausesme to take refugein impersonalitya consecration,
as it seemsto me."
Mallarmeseeminglyreconciledthis ideal of impersonality
with a
proudhumanism,
whichhe certainly
adheredto,bymeansof theparadox
that man's ultimatetriumphwill be the achievementof a utopian
cleavageof the head fromthebody (containingthe heart)-man's goal,
the denial of his humannature,by a suicide beau. Impersonalism
is
thegoal,and it is whatis meantby "abolishing
Chance"and stillingthe
passions.Mallarmewas mindfulof Poe's claims to have achievedthis,
as,forexample,in his"Berenice":
In the strangeanomalyof my existence,feelingswithinme had
never been of the heart,and my passionsalways were of the
mind . . . and I had seen her [Berenice"duringthe brightest
days of her unparalleledbeauty"]. . . not as a thingto admire,
but to analyze;not as an objectof love,but as the themeof the
mostabstrusethoughdesultory
speculation.
This, in everydetail,as he makes amplydear in the Philosophyof
is also Poe's attitudetowardpoetry."I had seen her
Composition,
not as a thingto admirebut to analyze. . ."
Poe moreover,
as "husband"and as ladies' man, did, for the most
part,extendinto his personalrelationsthis chill,disembodiedkind of
ladies a girlishthrillwith
loving.He gave severalgenteel,middle-aged
love
letters.
In
this
sort
of behaviorMallarme,
lustless
and
his glossy
8 Mondor,Eugene Lefebure,p. 350. This "consecration"
amountsto a
evidently
forthepoet.
of absolution,
sacrament,

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
fortunately,
did not followhim. He loved his familyand his goldensincereand normal;moreover
hairedMeryLaurentwith a tenderness
inducedby melloweryears.He required
thiswas no merecompromise
the banalityof everyday
reality,this "ecstasy"on the plane of "prose"
the
that
for
relaxation
shouldsave him frommadness.Thus the waverhythm
whichhe knewto be the whole truthof life consistedforhim
in occasionalquiet momentstintedwith melancholyor humoramong
of his cruciblehis intimates,
alternating
withthe joyousincandescence
refined
passion,whichwas all forart.Accordingto Teodorde Wyzewa's
Notes,alreadycited,Mallarme'searlypoemshad subjectsthuspurposely
and franklyborrowedfrom
chosenfor their"banality"or "emptiness,"
from
Baudelaire;Wyzewaconcludes:"He knewthatArtis toil,different
banalLiving,and thiswas whatmadehimcherishArt."The teacher-poet
complimented
Coppee, in a letterwrittenfromAvignonin 1869, for
thesimplicity
of his verse,whose"light"was attenuated
by an "indispensthoughperhapsit was ironic,
able elementof banality."His mention,9
theaterart
of a "basalticveil of the banal" withwhich"vulgar"official
could mitigatethe public's overwhelming
jubilation,parallelsthe desforblackcolumnsof smoke,
perately-earnest
plea in thepoem of L'Azuwr
Matter,to hide the cruel
fog,mists,"cherEnnui,"and matter-of-fact
of the compellingIdeal. Brise marinelinksthe banal Ennui
brightness
to the thoughtof desolateness-a sort of Neant; and this,to close a
circleof thought,
of his wife;
lightsup our poet'sdelicateappreciation
forwe read thathe said of her: "She has overher face thattinytouch
of desolateness[ce rien de desolation]whichis all we need. We ask
only thatmuch."'0If this betraysa shadowof sadism,I supposethat
StephaneMallarmemay have been guilty.
love theme,the physical
Mallarme'simpatiencewiththe overworked
to the mind
urge,is an important
aspectof his vibrantself-dedication
in action;for this purposewas entangledsometimes(thwartedby the
intellectual
veryenergiesit generated)by the strictly
passionsde l'Pdme
whichhe enumerated.
These,as he implied,are as commonto thinking
men as is love, and theyshouldreceivemoreattention."For example,
one who continually
his mentalcapacitiesin futile
strainsand stretches
au theatre,"
UEuvrescompletes(Gallimard,1945), p. 298.
9In "Crayonne
documentsiconographiques,
Vesenaz'0Mondor, Introductionto MaJllarrme,
Geneva:PierreCailler,1947,p. 13.
11Dr. Mondor,paraphrasing
a part withheldfromboth the Vie de Mallanrme
and thePropossur la Poisie (Monaco,Editionsdu Rocher,1946) of Mallarme's
letterto Coppee of April 20, 1868-or else writingon his own withthe rare
thathe has-says plainlyof Mallarme
of his poet's temperament
discernment
"He aimsat the reader'shead,not at the heart,the
on p. 257 of his biography:
glands."
belly,or thelachrymal

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Yale FrenchStudies
to overcomethisMinotaur
wrestling
withtheproblemof evil,determined
and thento threadhis way,unaided,out of his privatelabyrinth,
will
surelybe consumedby anguish,and the exasperating
sense thatthere
mustbe a mysterious
wise woman,bound to the heartof Earth,who
holdsall theanswersand will nottell,Sibylor Sorceress,
like theone in
Rimbaud'sApresle Deluge. Many have suffered
fromthesesensations.
Inevitablythe writhingworriesare visualizedin some characteristic
shapes,re-invented
and re-recognized
by all who have met them.The
symbolsare thereat hand,alreadyshaped,similarlyin everymind.The
artisthas but to tracetheirforms,thepoet needsonlyto give theman
articulate
name,perhapsone whosesoundsin the languagehe uses and
theshapeof whoseletterswill also contribute
to thecentralimpression.
The passionshave becomelivingcreatures,
or livingforms.Two of the
are flowersand monsters.
commonest
Though on firstthoughtit may
not seem so, bothof thesesymbolsare beautiful,
men'sgaze
attracting
It mightbe maintained
bydifferent
means,and bothare destructive.
that
the formerare like the sensuousemotionswhile the latterare creations
of the mind,"intellectual
wouldprobably
passions";but thatdistinction
prove more confusingthan helpfuland would be carryinga good
idea too far.
The flame-like
formsof manyplants,the contorted
designsof roses,
the voluptuouscombination
of color-appealwithodor-appealin flowers,
thebell-likeappearanceof some,or theresemblance
of othersto women's
skirtscontribute
to abstractassociationswith flowers,especiallyroses,
so thattheybecomenaturalsymbolsof love, of haughty,
cruel,raging
passionthatdestroys
the severestraightness
of a man'spurerdesirelike
Jack'sbeanstalk
orMallarme'sAnastase,
sonof Woman,theover-towering,
overpowering
gladiolus.This is, in a word,the insinuating
presenceof
womanimplantedin the life of man,whetherwelcomeor obnoxious,
alwaysa surprise,in any case ineradicable,
a "thorn"in his side, a
sprouting
rib.
Familylife,humanpity,sentimentalism
thusseemto be characteristically vegetablein theirnature,so seen by otherwritersthanMallarme.
They can be like the cheap,destructive
aloe-plantin Gautier'sPot de
/Ieurs,with its shaggyroot and spiny,sword-likeleaves, growingat
riotousrandomto shatter
thefarmorepreciouspieceof Orientalceramics
thathad housedit. The smallpot was beautified
by man'sskill and by
decorativemotifscarefully
plannedand formedout of his imagination,
by the projectioninto space of his creativewill: artificial
blue flowers
thatnevergrewand dragonsthatwereneverspawned.
Ainsi germal'amourdans mon ame surprise:
. .
Je croyaisne semerqu'unefleurde printemps;

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
This is the Parnassianview of ruinouslove,and it was Mallarme's.He
wrotehis vindictive
mock-heroic
PetitAir (guerrier)abouttheseselfish
not as aloes,
fiercein theirviciouspossessiveness,
individualaffections,
but as nettles,againstwhose "invasion"he drawshis makeshift
blade
(his baguettenue-a nakedor not-so-naked
or other
ramrod,
drumstick,
equallyinoffensive
weapon). In a mannerrarewithhim he attachesto
the nettletheperfectly
plain "label"of "sympathy."
A la finque me veut-on
De trancher
ras cetteortie
Folle de la sympathie.
In its eagernessto clingto the poet,it has onlyinfuriated
him.
Certainconsistent
waysof readingothercelebratedfloraldetailsin
Mallarme'swork add now new truthto the botanicalsymbolism.
The
"triumph"
of line 7 of theFaun'sDream can be takenas theevanescent,
illusorydelightprovidedthroughthe quiveringof the branchesbefore
theysettledinto thick,lifelesscertainty-that-it-could-not-be:
a glimpse
of passionspurifiedand living in the ideal thoughabsentto reality.
The fauteidgalede rosesis like the beautyof the nymphsvaguelyand
momentarily
espied,unprovable,
yetleavinga poignantcertainty
in the
memory.
Theyare thefictions
fraught
withglory,theglorieuxmensonges
of art.Turningonce moreto theProsepour des Esseintes,we findthe
too-obsessing
presentlovelinessof a fast-growing
"stemfulof multiple
lilies" (gladiolus,crowdedwithflorets,
each of whichis by itselfa world
forcontemplation,
like a poem witha profusionof images) standingin
the way of the cavernoustruththat Death holds simple,imperious
Beauty.In the myth-enriched
finalsectionof Toast funebrewe see a
new life grantedby poetryto lily and rose (intellectualpassion and
sensuousdesire), so thattheywave solemnlyin a transcendent
atmosphere,havingsprungfromthe blood of the slain monsterin the very
momentof his finalshudder.The dragonfelledby the hero-Siegfried,
Act II, re-enacted
forthe thousandth
time-is describedas "of Eden the
unquietmarvel,"one withthe "suffering
monsterof gold" of the same
poem.The ideal existenceof the Lily and the Rose is again the vision
of passionspurified.
As the flower-flames
come throngingand leap higherfromtheir
garden,we haveencountered
thedragon-myth
we havebeen approaching,
like knights"seekingtheirfortune";it cannotbe deferredany longer.
It was seen as a marvellousdecorativedesignin the poem by Gautier
In factthechimaerais a favoriteheraldicdeviceor
we have mentioned.
Chinesemotifwith Gautier.He hintsthat chimeresand sirenesserve

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Yale FrenchStudies
the same visual purpose,and even are perhapsthe same symbol,'2in
L'Art:
Fais les sirenesbleues,/ Tordantde centfasons
des blasons;
Leursqueues,/ Les monstres
by himself"The writer,
of his ownwoes thedragonslovinglynurtured
to 'cast' himself,in
or of a deep joy he has known-is duty-bound
on the stageof his mind."
his writing,
into the role of vanquisher-hero
like thatin a key-passage
of the essayL'Action
Mallarmesayssomething
restreinte,
whosetitlealso gives a pictureof a leapingmonstertamed,
a towering
passionstilled.The morewe wrestlewithour own charming
andtenderly
themorepiteously
(as grimFafnerdoes in Siegfried)
desires,
theywoo us in theiragony,becomingvocal, like the swan, in death.
as well as for thatwhichis
They standforwisdomand guardianship,
But the resolutehero muststrikethem in spite of all
reprehensible.
for
his reluctanceto stab into his own heart,and watch,detachedly,
the anguishedfrissonfinal.From it gushessuddenlythe marvelof the
as a complete
floweror the articulateprophecy-bird,
blood-colored
surpriseand revelationto the artisthimself.This, or his lady's image
he prizesfarabove
(Herodiade,mermaid)lookingout fromhermirror,
the dragon-trophies
leftupon silkenbanners,suchas he had seen among
the mostancientand preciousByzantinepossessionsof Sens cathedral
("Quelle soie aux baumesde temps").
are things
The shimmering
chim~res,twistingback on themselves,
of terrorthatbecomehandsomeand powerfuldesigns.Alreadyendowed
withplasticvalueby Gautierand richwithtreasures
of meaningburied
in themby Nerval,theseheraldicsymbolsare further
developedby the
the
subtleMallarme:presentedby him theysuggestGreek mythology,
dragon-ensign
of the ancientChineseEmpire,and the imperialpower
of Rome. To the Churchtheystand for heresy,which comes as the
resultof the ascendancyof head over heartwith which we are conthe Chimaeraof the
cerned.Perhapsthat is one meaningunderlying
sonnet"Surgi de la croupe et du bond": the virgininspirationand
untastedcup reservedforMallarmeonly,by the accidentsof chancein
12Cohn, in his (Euvre de Mallarme, Un Coup de Des (Les Lettres, 1951),
as self-evident.In connectionwith
p. 234 and p. 324ff.,assumes this identification
the phrase en sa torsion de sirene he discusses the chimeres.Likewise Gautier's
poem La Chimere describes a sirene but calls her a chimere; and other writers
who talk on symbolismagree that theyare twin types.This is entirelylegitimate
physical aspect of these imaginary
inasmuch as the hybrid, self-contradictory
of the
creatures,as well as their moral referencesand the similar sound-effects
two words, all tend to blend their representationalvalues. Colin Still, in The
Timeless Theme (London: Ivor Nicholson & Watson, 1936), p. 37, differentiates
between the two in the same way as I have suggestedfor flowersand chimaeras.

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MADELEINE M. SMITH
his begetting,
wherebyhe is foredoomedto be a sufferer
and witness
of the rose unacknowledged-of
a pure heresy-a martyr
who will not
savehimself
byprofessing
a hopehe cannotdiscern.Forhe hasfoundhimself,in the precedingsonnetof the sequence,heirto "maintrichemais
chu troph&e"(many a rich but fallen pictorialmonumentto signal
victoriesof earlierpoet-heroes),
thatis, to manydead chimaeras.
Essentially
thechimaerais an absurdand unnatural,
evenan impossible,
fusionof incongruous
membersintoone body,the matingand mingling
of opposites (herein lies its kinshipto the mermaidsand all other
hybridmonsters).Mermaidsare somethinglike Aphrodite:melodious
dream-visions
of classicbeauty;but the chimaerais a ravingnightmare
indicativeof starkmadness,thewordbeingused oftenenoughwiththat
connotation
in ordinary
French.A man drivenmad by the riddleof life
mightview the worldas just such a formleapingat him,spiralin its
generalmovement,
butdistorted
withunpredictable
gyrations.
Mr. Cohn,in the passagealreadycited,has not failedto pointout
that the chimaerasare not only one (thoughcontrasted)with sirens,
but also with the twistedgarlandsof frequentreferencein Mallarme,
guirlandescelhbresthatmaybecomefixedin the strange,
endlesschains
thatare constellations.
Luxe,6 salle d'eb>ne,ouipour s~duireun roi
Se tordent
dansleurmortdesguirlandes
celebres,
-these are mostcertainly
achievchimres-flowers-women-passions,
ing,as stars,inorganicbodies,theirimmortality
withthe sacrifice
of a
grovellinglife on earth.This in itselfrepresents
a strange,paradoxical
transformation
in Mallarme,thathis "a'melamartinienne,"
afterreceiving
a vivid impressionfromthe Fifteenth
Vision in La Chuted'un Ange,
shouldhave eventuallyrenderedit in such a chastestylization
as the
above.We can imaginetheoriginalimpulseas derivingfromtheselines
(and otherswiththem):
des guirlandes
Millefemmesformaient
obscenes,
surces scenes.
Dansaienten secouantdes flambeaux
The torchesof Lamartine's
Orientalslaveswill becomethestars
suffering
in
the
implied
guirlandes
celebresof Mallarme'smidnight
sky.
It shouldbe said that,like all his leadingsymbols,the chimaresof
Mallarme'spoetryand prose cannotbe equatedsimplywith one word
(passions) or one idea (subdueddesiresfromwhosedeath-throes
arises,
by some mysterious
magic charm,a speakingbeauty). In Igitur,for
will makeit posthePast,whoseexpiration
instance,
theyseemto signify

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Yale FrenchStudies
siblefortheheroto "become,"
andto enterintoobjectivereality
subjectively.Sometimesthemeaningmustbe narrowed
to designatethe orchestra,
as he plainlyputsit in severalof his Variationson One Theme,theforce
of musicwithoutwords-or widenedto represent
the whole of inarticulatenatureopposedto man,thehero-or broughtcloserto its common
meaning (a universalvalue in Mallarme'ssymbolism)of dreamsor
fondly-cherished
illusions.They are, by the same token,Hasard,in all
itsmyriadmanifestations.
But we havehad to be contentwithdeveloping
one important
aspect.We have seen how Mallarme,in constantcontemplation
of a possiblemastery,
thena freezing,
of his turbulent
emotions,defiantof control,into enduringformsof art,frominspiration
into the creativehumanwill,fromHasard into Nombre (the triumph
impossiblewithoutthe Adversary),pressedforwardsingle-mindedly.
Whatevermaybe the feelingsof thosewho love the idler,morepassive
poets,Mallarmewas a sternand obdurateworshipper
of an impersonal
Beautywhich could be revealedto the eyes of self-denying
human
or lack of feeling,will explain
initiates.This,ratherthansheerbrutality
and excusethe undeniablydim view he cast upon that sweet,chubby
littleromanticidol,Eros.
MADELEINESMITH wasone of thefoundersof Yale FrenchStudies.Her
was on Mallarme.
doctoraldissertation

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