A-Infos (en) France, Monde Libertaire - IDEAS AND STRUGGLES: Aftermath of Defeat (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

After the Commune ---- The War of 1870 is one of those forgotten events 
in our country's history. One could even add that the 19th century is 
somewhat overlooked, except for the First Empire, the Revolution of 
1848, and the Paris Commune. This war originated in Napoleon III's 
passion for glory. Can this terrible year, to borrow Victor Hugo's 
phrase, be seen as a dawn or a twilight? Historians debate the 
cumulative effect of the fall of the Second Empire, the birth of the 
Third Republic, and the tragedy of the Commune. A defeated nation had to 
overcome a collective and private trauma and rise again. In his poem 
"The Vanquished," Verlaine exclaimed, "Allons, allons! Debout, debout!" 
and evoked "the pressing need for opportune tomorrows." Until 1914, a 
black mark remained on school maps of France, where Alsace-Moselle had 
become German.

The book "The Days After Defeat," subtitled "1870-1871 in the Imaginary 
of the Third Republic," edited by Marion Glaumaud-Carbonnier and Nicolas 
White, evokes the consequences of this defeat and this suffering in the 
arts. What becomes of the children of defeat? France must be rebuilt. We 
must rely on literature, while nevertheless remembering that many 
authors made sordid remarks about the Commune and the women and men who 
were involved in it. How can we unite? The working class is sidelined. 
But how can the peasantry identify with the republic after supporting 
the empire and a monarchist majority in February 1871? George Sand 
paints a picture of the peasant who could become the foundation of this 
republic, as Gambetta intended. The work is highly erudite, with a solid 
bibliography. The authors and artists are not necessarily well-known 
today, but they influenced the mood of the time.

A Sense of Chaos

These are based on children. Child informers, children involved during 
the Commune. Already, denunciations of the Church's behavior towards 
these children are spreading. They are invested with hope in children's 
literature, edifying and educational with strong ideological biases. 
Patriotism is largely tinged with anti-Germanism and revanchism, which 
permeates minds for the sinister aftermath.

The sense of chaos is animating minds. Obviously, the Commune is accused 
of all evils. A few authors, like Lucien Descaves, speak out in its 
favor. Jules Vallès is still in exile. And Zola is described as the 
leader of the literary Commune... When you consider what he wrote about 
it... The patriotic song appears to shine through in Bizet's Carmen, and 
the image of this free woman echoes the women of the Commune. Let's not 
forget that caution was necessary in these times of moral order and 
censorship.

Obviously, Maurice Barrès dwells on the memory of the defeat right up to 
the Great War, and Alphonse Daudet famously said: "The landscape has its 
wound in its side still bleeding." This sets the tone for his Contes du 
lundi (Monday Tales).

French painting becomes involved, for example, with the Battle of 
Champigny and Edouard Detaille's machine-gun fire. Auguste Lançon 
positions himself as a reporter-illustrator. Statues multiply, like the 
one in Strasbourg, which borders on idolatry.

A Cultural Mobilization

Still in literature, we are entering a literary war, seeking French 
genius even in the Middle Ages to demonstrate the superiority of 
Roncevaux over Sedan, mobilizing the Song of Roland...

Is the opening of French stages and translated publications by German 
artists conceivable? It is difficult to accept conductors conducting 
German works. The Action Française with Charles Maurras will be at the 
forefront of this rejection, which fades in 1913-1914... And everything 
will have to start again. We will experience this reluctance again after 
the Second World War.

Thus, this forgotten war will enliven French cultural life. As Marion 
Glaumaud-Carbonnier points out in her conclusion, "the various chapters 
of this book invite us to think more broadly about the links that are 
woven between war, emotion, writing, and culture."

* Collective
Edited by Marion Glaumaud-Carbonnier and Nicolas White
Aftermath of Defeat
Published by Presses universitaires de Lyon, 2042

https://monde-libertaire.fr/?articlen=8399
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S  N E W S  S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Subscribe/Unsubscribe https://ainfos.ca/mailman/listinfo/a-infos-en
Archive: http://ainfos.ca/en