Resembling alternations of seasons are also observed, however, in the lives of many other famous people. We continue with the example of great French author, poet and playwright Victor Hugo. Hugos early years were bad ones. His father -an army officer- had to move incessantly during the campaigns of Napoléon I, and at same time he had taken up with another woman. In 1814 -Hugo was 12 years old then- his father asked his wife for a divorce, which was granted four years later. Hugo, together with his mother and brother and sister, then went to a poorhouse, where years of misery followed. When Hugo was 19, in 1821, his mother -who was everything to him- died suddenly of the flu. In despair, Hugo ran to his girl friend Adela Fouché for consolation, and a year later they were married. The young couple had no means of support, however, so they lived with her parents. But from 1825 on, things improved. At first, Hugo was awarded a royal grant of 3,000 francs per year, allotted to him for his novel Han the Icelander, published two years earlier. With this money, the couple moved to a bigger house. Around the same time, his novel Han the Icelander attracted the attention of a famous literary critic, who opened his house to Hugo. Thus Hugo suddenly found himself mingling with many other novelists, poets, and artists. The same year, the young writer was named by the king of France as Knight of the Legion of Honor, at the age of 23. In 1830, Hugos drama Hernani ran for a hundred performances and brought him huge earnings. This allowed him to purchase a mansion big enough to entertain large numbers of writers, artists, and other creative people. The next years, things improved even more. In 1831, Hugo published his work Notre Dame de Paris, a novel of about 700 pages, with unforgettable characters like Esmeralda and Quasimodo, sold out almost immediately. In 1833, Hugo formed a close relationship with the actress Juliette Droué that would last more than 50 years. She remained devoted to him for the rest of her life. At the age of only 30, Hugo was recognized as the greatest living author. His literary output was prodigious, and at the age of 39, he was elected a member of the French Academy. But from 1842 on, a bad season started for Hugo. He published his play Les Burgraves, but the critics pronounced it the beginning of Hugos decline. Cruelly, they suggested that at the age of 41, Hugo had said all he had to say. From a literary perspective, he was considered dead. In 1845 Hugo began his great social and historical novel Les Misérables. But he soon put it aside and he didnt take it up again for ten years. Instead, he got involved in politics, and with a newspaper he published he supported the bid of Louis-Napoléon to become president of the French Republic. But when Louis-Napoléon finally became president, he disappointed Hugo deeply by eliminating democracy, restoring the monarchy, and proclaiming himself Emperor of France, taking the name Napoléon III. Hugos enraged reaction was to be expected: he assailed Napoléon III openly in 1851, calling him Napoleon the Small, he joined the mobs demonstrating against Napoléon III in Paris and spoke out openly against him. But soon the rebellion turned bloody, then Hugo secretly escaped from Paris in 1852 -with the aid of a forged passport- and went into exile. He, Juliette, and the whole family moved, first, to the British island of Jersey, and later to the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel. But in 1859, Hugos this bad season finally ended. In August 1859, Napoleon III gave general amnesty to all French exiles. Hugo could now return to France - and soon he did so. And in the years that followed, he was recognized as one of the greatest authors of the world. Hugos biographical sketch has shown that in 1825 a good season started in his life (the previous poverty level has ended, and now he begun having significant profits from his works), while a bad season begun for him in 1842 (he was forced to leave France and go to exile). Finally, another good season started in 1859 (he returned to France and was recognized one of the greatest authors). Resembling alternations of seasons are also observed in the life of great French sculptor August Rodin. When Rodin exhibited in Paris in 1877 his famous work the Age of Bronze, he faced unbelievable reactions. Rumors said that he had used his models body as the mold of the sculpture. Next year, his misfortunes continued. A work he had done for another sculptor was exhibited at the Paris Salon, and ironically the other sculptor won a gold medal, while another work by Rodin, The Man with the Broken Nose (later considered a masterpiece) -and exhibited at the Paris Salon under Rodins name- failed to win an award.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 20:48:48 +0000
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