Sidonie-Gabrielle Collete was born in 1873 in Burgundy, France to her parents Sido (Adèle Eugénie Sidonie Landoy) and Jules-Joseph Colette. In her lifetime, Colette was a “mime-drama” actress (performing such places like the Moulin Rouge), a journalist, and a beautician (this profession was financially unsuccessful because she was constantly signing and discussing her books with whoever came to the shop).
However, she is renown for her some 50 major works of fiction, which include the Claudine series, Chéri, its sequel La Fin de Chéri, Dialogues de bêtes, and Gigi.
Her work is known for the use of nature, a love she had developed in her childhood. Another one of her loves were her numerous pets who were the characters of Dialogues de bêtes. Perhaps the best-known work of hers to Americans is Gigi and it’s Oscar-winning musical adaptation by the same title. Colette wrote this up lifting novel during World War II, a time when literature tended to reflect the war in form or another. Gigi has no reference what so ever to the war. A third interesting fact about her work is that many of them are autobiographical in one way or another. This is seen in the Claudine series (despite how her first husband twisted the truth to make the plots risqué), Sido (which is about the relationship with her mother) and a common theme is love rebuked (which can reflect here unsuccessful first two marriages).
Because of her success Colette gained high honors in the world of literature. In 1945 she was first woman admitted to the Académie Goncourt, four years later she was elected president of the Académie Goncourt, and a year before her death, she became Grand Officier de la Légion d’honneur.
Her last honor was given to her upon her death. In 1954, she became the first woman in France to be given a state funeral. However, much like when she was alive, her funeral caused controversy. Because she had been divorced twice and did not receive the last sacrament, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Paris decided that the church would not be involved with the funeral. Thus, when visiting Colette’s tomb in the Père-Lachaise Cemetery, you will not see a cross.
To learn more about this fascinating author here are my suggested readings:
Colette: A Taste for Life by Yvonne Mitchell. – This is a wonderfully detailed book about Colette’s life in its entirety.
Close to Colette: An Intimate Portrait of a Woman of Genius by Maurice Goudeket. – Her third husband, who was one husband that loved her for who she was and never tried to exploit her, wrote this lovely biography.
Blue Lantern by Colette. – This was the last book that she wrote before she was too weak to write. This is basically an autobiography. The title refers to the blue lamp that was mounted to the wall above her divan-bed (affectionately called the “raft”.)
Gigi by Colette. – This story is lovely about a girl growing up and falling in love. This heartening story is unique in the fact that it ends well.
Barks and Purrs by Colette. – This is a wonderful English translation of her Dialogues de bêtes that is available via Project Gutenburg. This is a charming book that is filled with conversations between her pet dog and cat. Illustrations are included!
Personal Note: I highly recommend the biographical books above for one main reason. They give a less altered and harsh/critical point of view on her life. Several sites on the web have stated that she was lesbian, which may have been true because certain friendships with women; however, this has never been fully proven. The second claim accuses her of having an affair with her second husband’s seventeen-year-old son, which caused her second divorce. The latter accusation is false (according to a few sources). She divorced her second husband because, like her first husband, he had several affairs with other women. This widely used claim was actually developed by a man (who turned out to be a friend of her first husband Willy) who Colette refused to sleep with. Believe what you will.
3 comments:
Yes, indeed, happy birthday to one of my favorite writers and women, ever. Her short stories are good examples of writing that may remind one of Maupassant and she uses the genre very nicely.
I regret that the one thing that is difficult to find, without some work, is the multi-faceted quality of her character, which is deeper than expected and quite beyond words to express.
If you read Genevieve Dormann's biography on Colette's life ( A passion for life , 1985, Thames and Hudson publishers)( and in several French acclaimed literary books) it was definitely true that she had both relationships with men and women (cf: Missy a.k.a. Mathilde de Morny). Her late husband Willy has made drawings/sketches of Colette with other women ( where they are not having tea..) and ofcourse Colette already wrote of love between women in her Claudine series. She also had an affair with Bertrand de Jouvenel (the son of Henri de Jouvenel, her husband). I am sorry but if you are denying this, did you sleep under a rock since a century?
You may want to take a look at Trintignants tv-film about Colette's beautiful, authentic, courageous and talented personality.
Take care,
Helga Walop, author, Amsterdam
Thank you for your comments both, R. Elgin and Ms. Walop. Having briefly read through a select few of her works, I agree that she is an excellent writer. And, yes you're right, R. Elgin, she does remind me of Maupassant, another great French writer. I have not read too many French literary works in my lifetime; however, I know that writing style and eloquence found in such works has much to do with the surroundings that "artists" are in. France is so beautiful.
I love your comment of "It is difficult to find, without some work, is the multi-faceted quality of her character, which is deeper than expected and quite beyond words to express." Colette is quite the fascinating and deep woman. And, it would almost take an entire lifetime to know everything about her. :-)
I am aware of but (regrettably) have not fully read Dormann's biography Colette: A Passion for Life. Due to many changes in life, my research on Colette has taken the back burner. I agree in saying that she did indeed have relationships with men and women, especially with Missy (the sources that I used for my research did not deny this and tells of the famous scandal of them performing the mime-drama Rêve d’Egypte where they passionately kiss each other on stage at the Moulin Rouge). And yes, her writings do indeed involve affairs between two female characters. As for the affair with Henri di Jouvenel, I've read both sides of this story. One side - yes, she did have the affair with her second husband's seventeen-old-son - and the other side - no, she did not.
Some sources say that she indeed have sexual relations with women while other say that she did have relations but do not provide a great amount of details to explain this. Was is sexual or was it more of female companionship? Did she really have the affair with Henri or was it a rumor started by her ex-husband's chum? It's left up to the readers’ opinions in quality of research done for the biography to decide the true story.
No, I haven't been sleeping under a rock for a century (if only own my personal little stories and opinions were other people's business such assumptions and little sayings would not be necessary :-) ). I believe Colette's lifestyle makes her that much more unique and fascinating of a person. She reminds me a lot of the other French female author George Sand, who was quite the feminist and adventurer in her own lifetime.
If I had the opportunity to continue my research on Colette I would have more of a "critical" and "scholarly" response to all areas of her life and works. However, all I have to go on is from what I researched for an undergraduate French language class project. From what I have read, her late husband Willy was quite the notorious philanderer (even when married to a woman like Colette) and collected "questionable" materials with images of non-tea-drinking scenes. He also (as people will learn upon researching and finding copies of her work) took control of publishing her Claudine series (and adding his own personal touches of course) and had them published under his pen name Willy. She did not publish under her own name, Colette Willy, until Dialogues de bêtes. It is said that Willy actually ran the business of publishing works of ghostwriters under his name.
I am sure the fans of Colette know much of the information that I just shared, including you Ms. Walop (I have read of your extensive knowledge in French literature). Forgive me if I sound opinionated in any form or fashion. My post "Happy Birthday Colette" is a very simple one that provides some major literary points about this wonderful author. By leaving it simple, I have the ability to leave out as much personal and subjective opinions as possible in hopes that people would become intrigued and continue to educate themselves about her.
My "personal note" is only meant to encourage people to not judge because there may be the select few that may be offended by her lifestyle (and even some of her work) - something that I do not want. I encourage free thinking and reading. Like art, literature as well has people’s interpretations of authors from by gone days are subjective. I leave it up to the readers to form their own opinions. I am here to introduce and share the information that I know about such authors and their works.
Don't judge a book by its cover, and certainly do not judge a person by hearing one version of the same story.
Thank you again for the comments and bearing with me in this long comment reply. TTFN to all!
~ Dorothy :-)
P.S. ~ Thank you for your suggestion on the TV-film. It has been my list films to watch for quite sometime, and I hope to watch it soon.
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