celine madness fascist

Upload: massiel-garcia-alonso

Post on 14-Apr-2018

227 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    1/10

    Madness and Fascist Discourse in Cline's Voyage au bout de la nuitAuthor(s): Rosemarie ScullionSource: The French Review, Vol. 61, No. 5 (Apr., 1988), pp. 715-723Published by: American Association of Teachers of FrenchStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/393386 .

    Accessed: 03/07/2013 10:00

    Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

    .JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of

    content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

    .

    American Association of Teachers of French is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend

    access to The French Review.

    http://www.jstor.org

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=frenchhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/393386?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/393386?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=french
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    2/10

    THEFRENCHEVIEW,ol. 61, No. 5, April 1988 Printed in U.S.A.

    Madness and Fascist Discoursein Celine'sVoyage u boutde la nuitbyRosemarie cullion

    IN A RECENT INTERVIEW,Philippe Muray focused attention on the ambivalentpolitical discourse given voice in Louis-Ferdinand Celine's writing. Noting theincongruity between Celine's ostensibly revolutionary assault on literary con-vention and social order in Voyage au bout de la nuit (1932), and the extreme-rightist and anti-semitic invective so prominent in his polemical tracts MeaCulpa(1936), Bagatellespour un massacre(1937), L'Ecoledes cadavres(1938) andLes BeauxDraps (1941), Muray asserts:

    L'oeuvre e Celine fait toujourspenseraux effetsqueproduit e pole Nordquirendfolleslesboussoles.... Celineaffolelesboussolespolitiques t litteraires uiperdentle sens des directions,celle du nord et celle du sud, celle de la droite et celle de lagauche.(36)The image of an ideological compass gone haywire, thereby rendering in-operative prevailing modes of reading political orientation, conveys the mannerin which Celine's texts resist conventional distinctions between Left and Right.Muray further counters the tendency on the part of critics to bifurcate Celine'sworks into those of the praiseworthy novelist and the objectionable pamphlet-eer,1 suggesting that traces of the socio-political views expressed in the tractsare indeed present in the early novels. In this essay I will argue that Celine's

    volatile vacillation between the discursive space of the Left and the Right,rather than being construed as simply the expression of a profound anarchism,2can be linked to the ambiguity underlying nascent forms of fascist ideologywhich emerged in interwar Europe. I will further seek to demonstrate that thefascist elements in Celine's critique of modern society are not specific to hispolitical writings, but are adumbrated in his early fiction.Celine's position with respect to fascism closely parallels that of writers likeWyndham Lewis whose literature is the subject of FredericJameson's FablesofAggression:WyndhamLewis, the Modernist as Fascist (1981). Jameson prefaceshis study by stating that although Lewis was not an "official fascist ideologue,of the type of French collaborators like Drieu la Rochelle or Brasillach, or theNazi and Italian intellectuels" (14), in cultural and ideological terms, his novelsare protofascist. Jameson's definition of protofascism incorporates what might715

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    3/10

    716 FRENCH REVIEWbe understood as an ideological haywire effect:

    If ... it defines itself against Marxismas the fundamentalenemy, protofascismgrasps itself consciouslyas the implacablecritiqueof the various middle classideologies and of the parliamentarysystem in which they find representa-tion..... Thestructuralnconsistencyf these first wofeaturesopens upanambiguousspace n whicha critiqueof capitalism an be displacedand inflected n the directionof the characteristic eaturesof classicalpetty bourgeoisideology. (15, emphasisadded)

    Protofascism involves the takeover of an anti-capitalist and anti-liberal rhet-oric, historically associated with the Left's critique of the bourgeois order, by amilitant, anti-democratic and nationalist Right. In Nicos Poulantzas's view, thisstructural inconsistency contributed to the "popular impact"3of fascism, that is,its appeal among the most exploited and economically vulnerable sectors ofsociety. A similar ideological dualism is found in Celine's pamphlets where theauthor advocates Labiche Communism4 but is highly contemptuous of both theliberal democracies and the egalitarian aspirations of the Marxist Left. Morestriking, however, is the fact that this discursive slippage from Left to Right,rather than surfacing only in the pamphlets, is discernible in what appears tobe one of the most politically confusing passages of Celine's first novel, Voyageau bout de la nuit.In the early stages of his long journey into night, Bardamu finds himselfincarcerated in an insane asylum. As a young soldier, he has been exiled to theArmy's makeshift mental institution at Issy-les-Moulineaux after experiencinga brief psychosis at the shooting gallery Le Standdes nations. Militaryauthoritieshave confined him in order to determine his state of mental health. Thesymptoms of mental defect displayed by the patient are a conspicuous lack ofnationalistic fervor and intense fear of dying at the front. In the military asylum,insanity is the only legitimate excuse for failing to rally to the defense of thefatherland. Large doses of patriotism are required to bring the patient back tohis senses.While convalescing at Issy-les-Moulineaux, Bardamu befriends Princhard, afellow madman and former professor of History. Princhard owes his incarcer-ation to the peculiar habit of pilfering canned goods from military supplies.Army officials would prefer to expedite court martial proceedings against theyoung corporal in order to ensure swift punishment for his heinous crimeagainst state property. Princhard's family maintains that such outrageous dis-respect for law and order is uncharacteristic of their loved one's "normal"behavior. They believe he is suffering from shell shock and is unable toappreciate the gravity of his offense. Bardamu is reluctant to offer an opinionregarding Princhard's mental health, for he firmly believes that the boundariesbetween reason and madness have been entirely swept away by the war: "Etait-il fou vraiment? Quand le moment du monde a l'envers est venu est que c'estetre fou que de demander pourquoi on vous assassine, il devient evident qu'onpasse pour fou a peu de frais"(Voyage 64).

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    4/10

    FASCISTDISCOURSE 717While awaiting a final decision on his case, Princhard is placed under

    psychiatric observation. He eventually confides in Ferdinand, revealing themotivation for his recent criminal/lunatic activities. With a total lack of remorse,Princhard explains that in stealing substantial quantities of canned meat he hasnot committed a crimebut rather a gaffe. As a professional observer of history,he recognizes that criminality is defined by law and that law, rather than beinginspired by sacred moral precepts, is the product of complex processes of classdomination and social control. Princhard summarily dismisses the ethical andlegal implications of his actions. He admits only to having seriously blunderedby believing criminal charges would render him unfit for military service.Learning that his insane crime has been pardoned by authorities and that hewill soon be free to return to the front, Princhard is disconcerted by theunforeseen development. He also quickly recognizes the reason for the in-dulgence shown him by his superiors: "Il faut que la folie des massacres soitextraordinairement imperieuse pour qu'on se mette ' pardonner le vol d'uneboite de conserves! Que dis-je, a l'oublier!"(V 67) The military's unsolicitedpardon compels Bardamu's learned companion to deliver a treatise on therelativity of theft in human history and to expound upon the hypocrisy andcorruption of the established order:

    Certes,nous avons l'habituded'admirer ous les joursd'immensesbandits,dont lemondeentiervenere avec nous l'opulenceet dont1'existencee demontre ependantdes qu'on1'examined'un peu pres,commeun long crimechaquejourrenouvele,maisces gens-lajouissentde gloire,d'honneurs,et de puissance, eursforfaitssontconsacresparles lois [...]. (V 67)Princhard notes that affluent members of society systematically appropriatevast quantities of wealth and yet are respected, admired, and enjoy a greatmany prerogatives as a result of such thievery. This situation contrasts markedlywith the lot reserved for the venial thief, particularly one caught stealing"aliments mesquins, tels que croiites, jambon ou fromage" (V 67). Generallyspeaking, petty thieves emerge from the ranks of the destitute. Their crimes areunanimously condemned by the community and meet with the most severeforms of punishment:

    [...] la repressiondes menus larcinss'exerce-t-elle,remarquez-le, ous tous lesclimats,avecune rigueur xtreme,commemoyende defensesocialenon seulement,mais encoreet surtoutcomme une recommendationevere a tous les malheureuxd'avoira se tenir a leurplaceet dans leurcaste,peinards, oyeusementresignesacrever outau long des siecleset indefinimentde misereet de faim.(V 67-8)Insisting that all human societies have functioned in such an unjust manner,Princhard concedes that until most recently, the modern republic offered poorpilferers of foodstuffs an important benefit: exemption from fighting warswaged by their social superiors. Regrettably, the current regime, a republicembroiled in a national war effort, has altered its standards of moral rectitudeand is now willing to overlook the misguided deeds of its young soldiers ("de

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    5/10

    718 FRENCHREVIEWpasser l'eponge sur ce qu'ils appellent mon moment d'egarementf[V 68]). TheRepublic, both as an historical phenomenon and a political concept, abruptlybecomes the focus of the corporal's recrimination.Princhard accurately associates the Republic with efforts in recent history toaccord the poor and exploited masses a political voice. He is, however, deeplysuspicious of reforms, often initiated by members of society's elite, seeking tobring democracy and freedom to the poor. He recommends that the dominatedand powerless masses of the world exercise great caution when encountering awealthy or socially significant individual with a propensity for an "'attendrisse-ment sur [...] la condition du miteux' " (V 68).

    Jevous le dis,petitsbonshommes,couillonsde la vie,battus,rangonnes, ranspirantsde toujours,je vous previens,quand les grandsde ce monde se mettent a vousaimer,c'estqu'ilvont vous tourneren saucissonsde bataille .. C'estle signe ... I1est infaillible. V 68)Outright scorn for the poor and indifference to their needs and interests are, inhis view, more beneficial than tender-hearted attempts to enlighten and em-power le peuple:

    C'estpar 'affectionquegacommence.LouisXIVui aumoins,qu'ons'ensouvienne,s'en foutaita toutrompredu bon peuple.Quanda'LouisXV,de mime [...] On nevivait pas bien en ce temps-la,certes,les pauvresn'ont jamaisbien vecu, mais onne se mettaitpas a les etriperavec l'entetementet l'acharnementqu'on trouve anous tyransd'aujourd'hui. 1n'y a de repos,vous dis-je,pour es petits, quedans lemeprisdes grandsquine peuvent penserau peupleque parinter&tu sadisme.(V68-9)In retrospect, the absolute monarchy's disregard for the welfare of its subjectswas more salutary than political attempts in recent history to redress theinjustices and social inequalities of the past. Though the Republic has presum-ably sought to expand the political rights and improve the material conditionsof the poor, it has succeeded only in transforming the popular classes into

    cannon fodder for patriotic wars. The professor situates this historic shift fromthe politics of insouciance to the politics of affection in the 18th century,attributing much of the change to the Englightenment and the progressiveideals of the philosophes:Lesphilosophes,ce sont eux, [...] qui ont commenceparraconterdes histoiresaubonpeuple... Luiquine connaissaitquele catechisme. lsse sontmis,proclamerent-ils, a l' duquer... Ah!ils en avaientdes verites lui reveler!et des belles![...] Quibrillaient!Qu'onen restait out eboui![...] "ViveDiderot!" u'ilsont gueule et puis"BravoVoltaire!"V 69)

    With equal passion, he proceeds to denounce Danton, the egalitarian tenetsof the French Revolution and ridicules republican reforms such as universal

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    6/10

    FASCIST DISCOURSE 719suffrage, mandatory scholarization, and the secularization of the state5 ("lareligion drapeautique remplaga promptement la celeste," V 70). Princhard'svision of history conveys a deep-seated contempt for a long tradition of politicalstruggle for democratic rights and social equality most often perceived aspromoting the interests of society's disinherited. The French Republic is pre-sented not in its opposition to arbitrarypolitical power and rule by divine right.Rather, it is portrayed as a national war machine which, after producing aliterate and voting mass of exploited individuals, le peuple, felicitously turnsthem into battle sausage.Princhard's speech materializes a revolt that is ambiguous and indeed con-fusing: confusing in an etymological sense of producing a fusion of disparateelements. On the one hand, his pronouncement is highly sympathetic to theplight of the poor and unpropertied and is clearly subversive vis-a-vis theestablished liberal order. Yet it is also profoundly anti-democratic and carriestraces of a political discourse that is authoritarian in its aspirations and reac-tionary in vision. More specifically, Princhard condemns the mechanisms bywhich class power is exercised over the poor, but he also implicitly valorizesthe anti-democratic principles and authoritarian practices of the Ancien Regime(i.e., "Louis XIV lui au moins ... s'en foutait a tout rompre du bon peuple"-emphasis added). This haywire movement from the ideological terrain of thepolitical Left to that of the Right might be considered evidence of Princhard'simpaired reason. Yet his confused articulation can also be seen as a thirdinstance of ideology arising from the structural ambiguity to which Jamesonrefers in his definition of protofascism. From this perspective, Princhard'svociferous attack on the French republican tradition also becomes more intelli-gible since it too is very much in keeping with the fascist discourses whichemerged in France in the interwar period.French historians have frequently noted that the final decade of the ThirdRepublic was a period of deep intellectual, socio-economic and political crisis.6The 1930s, and particularly the early years of the decade, were animated by aspirit of rebellion, one that was most pronounced on the extreme right of thepolitical spectrum. In his studies of the revolutionary Right in France, ZeevStemhell has argued that insurgence on the Right was motivated primarily bya will to eradicate a materialist past deemed responsible for the social ills of thetime.' Sternhell's use of the term "materialism" ncompasses two major currentsin modern French thought. First, it refers to the philosophical principles ofrationalism which guided the rise to power of the bourgeoisie throughout theeighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Second, it denotes, somewhat paradoxi-cally, the principles of historical and dialectical materialism fundamental toMarxist thought. Thus, as Jameson observed, both bourgeois liberal ideologyand Marxism are targeted by the revolutionary Right, or more appropriately inthe French context, by the "droite fascisante."8 Although the insurgent Rightcategorically rejects these two systems of political representation, it nonethelessappropriates elements from both, creating an amalgam which becomes the

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    7/10

    720 FRENCH REVIEWfoundation for what Sternhell has called "une eclosion de l'ideologie fasciste":

    Cette ideologie constitue avant tout un refus du materialisme,c'est-a-dire del'essentielde l'heritagentellectuel urlequelvit l'Europedepuis e XVIIeiecle.C'estbien cetterevoltecontre e materalismequi permet a convergencedu nationalismeanti-liberal t anti-bourgeois t de cette variantedu socialismequi, tout en rejetantle marxisme,reste revolutionnaire.. ..] Cette synthese symbolise le refus d'uncertain ypede civilisationdontle liberalisme t le marxismene representequedeuxaspects.Elle emane d'un reniement total du XVIIIesiecle dont le liberalismeet lemarxisme ont heritiers, lle est fond&e ur une visiontouteautredes rapports ntrel'hommeet la nature,entrel'hommeet la societe.(Sternhell291)

    Princhard's seemingly contradictory political discourse has many of the sameideological traits as Sternhell's conception of the fascism phenomenon for it isboth viscerally anti-bourgeois, and equally at odds with the progressive andegalitarian tenets of Marxism. Although the speech is not in any positive senserepresentative of doctrinaire fascism (i.e., positing alternatives to the establishedorder), it does reflect many of the political and ideological negations9 commonto fascist movements throughout Europe in this period.In the final moments of his oration, Princhard, the disaffected "soldat-citoyen," becomes more frenetic in his denunciation of the patriotism andmilitarism which have fuelled the war effort he so imaginatively seeks to evade.It could be argued that such militant pacificism is wholly incompatible with themuscle-flexing nationalism often associated with fascist demonstrations of force.It is important to recognize, however, that there are distinct historical momentsin the fascist experience ranging from its incipient rebellion against the liberalorder to seizure of state power in its mature forms. Frustrated in its quest forstate power and limited in its political possibilities, the French radical Rightwould throughout the 1930s focus its invective on the beleaguered ThirdRepublic, a regime which had reigned over a catastrophic world war andmultiple crises of the capitalist economy. In their denunciation of a systemwhich had produced these ills, forces on the extreme Right would revileexclusively the Republic, along with the democratic institutions it had establishedand solidified in the previous half century:

    En effet, si la IIIeRepubliquerepresentealors une realitequ'il est fort difficilededefendre,un regime qui degoutetous les dissidents, ous les contestataires,ous lesrevoltes,unregimeoui egne e materialism, uipredomine 'argentet ouiabourgeoi-sie gouverne,elle demeurecependant e regimede la democratie.Etc'estainsiquele refus des mauxqu'engendre e capitalisme, ntraine e rejetde la democratie llememe.Lescontestataires.. .]se lancent,aucontraire, la recherched'unequatriemeformuleau-deladu liberalisme,dumarxisme,du socialismedemocratique:ettevoieconduit nevitablement des variantesde fascisme.(Sternhell310)The political and social order decried by Princhard bears a striking resem-blance to the French Third Republic. Responsibility for the war he finds so

    repugnant is laid squarely at the doorstep of just such a Republic and is viewedas a product of this decaying social order. Moreover, Princhard's frenzied

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    8/10

    FASCIST DISCOURSE 721condemnation of republicanism carries with it an implicit refusal of all demo-cratic solutions to society's ills (i.e., "C'est par l'affection que ?a commence")and as such parallels the authoritarian solutioris formulated by the fascist Rightin the wake of the First World War.Bardamu remains unimpressed by his fellow inmate's oratory skills and theperformance he has just witnessed. As Princhard is whisked off by authoritiesto an undisclosed destination, Ferdinand dismisses his speech with indifferenceand declares him "futile"(V 71). The narrator finds an absence of meaning inPrinchard's intellectualization of the human experience and rejects the affecteduse of rhetoric in his attempt to ascribe meaning to existence. Yet, in accordingsubstantial narrative space to what might be considered the lunatic ravings ofa madman, there is nonetheless an implicit valorization of his discourse ofmadness. Furthermore,for all that he renounces Princhard'spedantic posturing,Ferdinand has been marked by the episode and later refers to the tirade andthe professor's view of social history stating "Princharda cet egard avait eubien raison"(V 82).In his initial presentation of Princhard, the narrator pointed out this charac-ter's curious habit of wearing opaque sunglasses both inside the asylum and inthe garden surrounding it:

    Enentranta lachambre e trouvaiPrincharddevant la fenetreessayantdes lunettescontre la lumiere du gaz au milieu d'un cercle de soldats.[...] Le lendemainPrinchardnsistapourqueje l'accompagneusqu'a a terrassepouressayer es belleslunettes.L'apres-midiutilait plendidesurPrinchard, efendu arces verres paques;[...] (V 66, emphasisadded)

    The sunglasses have the important metaphorical function of shielding Prin-chard from the blinding rays of "lalumiere,"the discourse of Reason which hasconfined and excluded him. Furthermore,the sunglasses symbolize his absoluterefusal of a modern civilization founded on the principles of the Enlightenment(Le Siecle des lumieres). He consequently sees history through glare-resistantlenses and boisterously challenges the political practices and social valuesinspired by the Age of Reason's "verits a [. . .] reveler, et des belles! ... Quibrillaient!Qu'on en restait tout eboui!"In the final passage of this episode, Bardamu recalls with remarkable claritythe image of his surroundings on the night that Princhard disappeared: "Cesmaisons du faubourg qui limitaient notre parc se detachaient encore une fois,bien nettes, comme font toutes les choses avant que le soir les prenne" (V 71).The "maisons du faubourg" typify the social order that has engineered Prin-chard's "disappearance." From the narrator's vantage point, the exclusion ofPrinchard and his unreasonable discourse presages the dissolution of theboundaries safeguarding the order of the "maisons du faubourg" from that ofthe asylum. Situated tenuously on the frontier of a delimited space of excludedmadness, that order will be textually envelopped by the obscure and frighteningNight of "lad&raison."

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    9/10

    722 FRENCH REVIEWThe profound ambiguity underlying this episode of the Voyage is echoed inBardamu's final judgment "C'estmieux qu'il soit disparu"(V 71). Although thenarrator claims to have been unmoved by Princhard's arguments, he appearsnonetheless to find his discourse of unreason both compelling and terrifying.As such, he leaves the reader with the haunting question, "mieux pour qui?mieux pourquoi?" The narrator's sense of relief notwithstanding, Princhard'srebellion proves to be irrepressible, for it is a voice strikingly similar to the madprofessor's which explodes in Celine's pamphlets several years later. As onecritic has remarked, "Princhard's diatribe against patriotism could fit intoBagatelles as easily as into Voyage (McCarthy 130). I have sought to illustrate,however, that Princhard goes far beyond a denunciation of patriotism to indictan entire social order and that it is through an understanding of the protofascist,

    ideologically haywire characterof his revolt that one can trace Celine's trajectoryfrom Voyageau bout de la nuit to Bagatellespour un massacre.UNIVERSITYOF IOWA

    Notes1A good illustration of the tendency to treat C1elineas the "bon romancier" and "mauvais

    pamphletaire"(Muray 32) is found in the editor's preface to the Balland edition of C61ine'sCEuvres.Jean Ducourneau states that "[T]outen reconnaissant l'in6galable verve du pol6miste, nous nousdeclarons en opposition avec certains des id6es qu'il exprime." Consequently, he stipulates that theedition includes all of C61ine'sknown texts except Bagatellespour un massacre,L'Ecoledes cadavresand Les BeauxDraps. See CEuvresde Louis-FerdinandCeline. Paris:Andr6 Balland, 1966.

    2 See the review of Voyageau boutde la nuit republished in Paul Nizan, Pour une nouvelle culture.Ed. Susan Suleiman. Paris: Editions Bernard Grasset, 1971. Nizan is unenthusiastic about C61ine'sportrayal of the impoverished popular classes and declares that Voyage "n'est pas un romanr6volutionnaire."With respect to the political import of the novel and writing from a position onthe Left, Nizan states: "C61inen'est pas parmi nous: impossible d'accepter cette profonde anarchie."

    3 In this short essay, Poulantzas analyzes the different factions of the popular classes in whichfascism gained support in Germany and Italy following World War I. Poulantzas argues that fascistsuccesses in mobilizing these sectors are the responsibility of the Left which "(a) laiss6 ces massespopulaires desorientees et desarmees face a la recuperation ideologique devoyee par le fascismed'aspirations populaires profondes" (107).

    4 In Les Beaux Draps, C61inedefines Labiche Communism as "du communisme petit bourgeois,avec le pavillon permis, her6ditaire et bien de famille, insaisissable dans tous les cas, et le jardin decinq cents metres, et l'assurance contre tout. Tout le monde petit proprietaire"(137).5 For further discussion of the concept of the Republic and analysis of its importance in modernFrench political, intellectual and social history, see Claude Nicolet's L'Ideerepublicaineen France(Paris:Gallimard, 1982). Nicolet traces the semantic and ideological development of republicanismin France from the Reformation to the Enlightenment and from the French Revolution to the Third

    Republic.6 For an extensive bibliography on the history, politics and ideologies of the 1930s in France seeHenri Dubief's Le Declin de la troisiemerepublique(Paris:Seuil, 1976).7 For a discussion of the "anti-materialist"foundations of fascist thought in France, see thechapter entitled "Le fascisme spiritualiste; contre la droite et la gauche" in Sternhell's Ni droite ni

    gauche.8 The term "fascisant"is often used in speaking of the fascist tendencies which found their

    This content downloaded from 131.178.157.97 on Wed, 3 Jul 2013 10:00:47 AM

    All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
  • 7/27/2019 Celine Madness Fascist

    10/10

    FASCIST DISCOURSE 723expression in French political life following World War I. Although the violent demonstrations ofthe rightist Ligueson 6 February 1934 were perceived by the Left as an attempted fascist putsche(i.e., 'L'aspiration a la dictature antiparlaimentaire ne pouvait etre que fasciste" [Dubief 57]), thereare differing opinions among French historians on whether these groupusculescan be consideredfascist.

    9The "fascist negations" include antiliberalism, anticommunism and anticonservatism and arepart of a more generic definition of fascism provided by Stanley Payne in Fascism:ComparisonandDefinition. (Madison: U of Wisconsin P, 1980): 7.

    Works CitedC61ine,L.-F. LesBeauxDraps. Paris: Nouvelles Editions Frangaises, 1941.Voyageau bout de la nuit. Paris: Gallimard, Bibliotheque de la P16iade, 1981.Dubief, Henri. LeDeclin de la troisiemerepublique.Paris: Seuil, 1976.Jameson, Frederic. Fables of Aggression:WyndhamLewis, the Modernist as Fascist. Berkeley: U ofCalifornia P, 1981.McCarthy, Patrick.Celine. New York:Viking Press, 1975.Muray, Philippe and Francois Lagarde, "LeSiecle de Cl1ine."Infini 8 (Fall 1984): 31-40.Poulantzas, Nikos, "A Propos de l'impacte populaire du fascisme" in A.-M. Macciocchi Elements

    pour une analyse dufascisme. Paris:Union G6n6rale d'Edition, 1976.

    Thi d l d d f 131 178 157 97 W d 3 J l 2013 10 00 47 AM

    http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp