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Interesting facts about Prospera Merimee. Loving heart of Prospera Merimee

Prosper Merimee was born on September 28, 1803 in the family of an educated chemist and painter, Jean François Leonor Merimee. After completing a legal course in Paris, he was appointed secretary of Count D'Arthou, one of the ministers of the July Monarchy, and then chief inspector historical monuments France. In this position, he contributed greatly to the preservation of historical monuments. During his first trip to Spain in 1830, he became friends with the Comte de Teba and his wife, whose daughter later became the French Empress.

Mérimée, as an old friend of the family of the Countess of Montijo, was during the Second Empire a close person at the Tuileries court; Empress Eugenia had a heartfelt affection for him and treated him like a father. In 1853, Mérimée was elevated to the rank of senator and enjoyed the full confidence and personal friendship of Napoleon III. Service career and politics played, however, minor role in the life and work of such a writer-artist as Merimee was by vocation. While still studying law in Paris, he became friends with Ampère and Albert Stapfer. The latter brought him into the house of his father, who gathered a circle of people devoted to the sciences and arts. on his literary evenings There were not only French, but also English, Germans and even Russians. At Stapfer's, Merimee met and became friends with Stendhal and Delecluse, who headed the criticism department at the Revue de Paris. Merimee's literary tastes and views were formed under the influence of the Shtapfers and the Delescluze circle. From them he borrowed an interest in studying the literatures of other peoples. Versatility literary education Mérimée markedly distinguished him from other French writers of that time. Merimee was one of the first in France to appreciate the dignity of Russian literature and mastered the Russian language in order to read the works of Pushkin and Gogol in the original. He was a great admirer of Pushkin, and in 1849 he translated his “The Queen of Spades.” In 1851, his sketch about Gogol was published in the Revue des Deux Mondes, and in 1853, a translation of The Inspector General was published. Mérimée was also interested in Russian history: in the Journal des Savants he published several articles about “The History of Peter the Great” by N. G. Ustryalov and essays on the history of the Cossacks (“Les Cosaques d’autrefois”). The history of the Time of Troubles is reflected in “Le faux Demetrius” and the dramatic scenes of “Les Debuts d’un Aventurier” (1852). Merimee was a great admirer of I. S. Turgenev and wrote the preface to French translation"Fathers and Sons", published in Paris in 1864.

On literary field Merimee made his debut very early, when he was only 20 years old. His first experience was historical drama"Cromwell." It earned Stendhal's warm praise as a bold departure from classical rules unity of time and action. Despite the approval of his circle of friends, Merimee was dissatisfied with his first work, and it did not make it into print. Subsequently he wrote several dramatic plays and published them under the title “Theater of Clara Gazul” (Th??tre de Clara Gazul), stating in the preface that the author of the plays was an unknown Spanish actress of a traveling theater. Merimee's second publication, his famous “Gusli” (Guzla), collection folk songs, was also a very successful hoax.

In 1828-1829 the dramas “Jacquerie” and “Famille Carvajal” were published. historical novel“Chronicle of the times of Charles IX” (Chronique du temps de Charles IX) and the short story “ Matteo Falcone» ( Mateo Falcone). At this time, Mérimée actively collaborated with the Revue de Paris and the National and had the closest relations with the editors of these publications. The Revue published his story “The Capture of the Redoubt” (Prise de la redoute), the story “Tamango” and “The Pearl of Toledo”, the story “The Etruscan Vase” (Le Vase Etrusque) and a number of letters from Spain. In the magazine "Artist" he published articles about the Madrid Museum, the story "Jacqueline" and the story "Double mistake" (Double m? prize). In 1834 he moved to the Revue des deux Mondes and published here the story “The Souls of Purgatory” (Ames du purgatoire), testifying to a masterful study of the life and customs of Spain, and the story “Venus d’Ille”. At the end of 1839, Merimee took a trip to Corsica. The result of this trip was “Notes de Voyage en Corse” and the story “Colomba”. Life polished according to a general template big cities, centers of civilization, was disgusted by Merimee. He was always much more attracted to wild, original customs, which retained the original and bright color of antiquity.

One of Merimee’s most famous works was the short story “Carmen”, where he was so good at describing gypsy morals, as well as the image of the gypsy Carmen. The novella is based on the plot of the opera of the same name by Georges Bizet, the music of which is incredibly popular in our time.

Yu. M. Lotman in one of his last articles, referring to the work of Merimee, wrote:

Merimee published several works on the history of Greece, Rome and Italy, based on the study of sources. His history of Don Pedro I, King of Castile, is respected even among specialists.

The last story, published during Merimee’s lifetime, - “Lokis”. After Merimee's death, " Latest Novels"(Derni?res novelles) between them best story"Blue Room" (Chambre bleue) and his letters. In 1875, “Lettres ? une autre inconnue.”

He died in Cannes, where he was buried in the Grand Jas cemetery.

Creation

Stories and short stories

  • 1829 - “Tamango”, short story
  • 1829 - “The Capture of the Redoubt” (L’enl?vement de la redoute), story
  • 1829 - “Matteo Falcone” (Mateo Falcone), short story
  • 1830 - “The Etruscan Vase” (Le vase ?trusque), short story
  • 1830 - “The Backgammon Party” (La partie de tric-trac), short story
  • 1833 - “Double mistake” (La double m?prise), short story
  • 1834 - “The Souls of Purgatory” (Les ?mes du Purgatoire), short story
  • 1837 - “Venus of Ille” (La V?nus d’Ille), short story
  • 1840 - “Colomba”, story
  • 1844 - “Arsene Guillot”, short story
  • 1845 - “Carmen”, story
  • 1869 - “Lokis”, story
  • "Djouman", short story
  • "Blue Room" (Chambre bleue), short story

Plays

  • 1825 - “Theater of Clara Gazul” (Th??tre de Clara Gazul), collection of plays
  • 1828 - “The Jacquerie” (La Jacquerie), historical drama-chronicle
  • 1830 - “The Dissatisfied” (Les M?contents), play
  • 1850 - “Two Inheritances or Don Quichotte” (Les deux h?ritages ou Don Quichotte), comedy

Other

  • 1827 - “Gusli” (Guzla)
  • 1829 - “Chronicle of the reign of Charles IX” (Chronique du r?gne de Charles IX)
  • 1835 - “Notes on a trip to the south of France” (Notes d’un voyage dans le Midi de France)
  • 1837 - “Study on religious architecture” (Essai sur l’architecture religieuse)
  • 1863 - essay “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” (Bogdan Chmielnicki)

The first translations of Merimee's stories into Russian:

  • “Venus of Ill” (“Library for Reading”, 1837)
  • "Colomba" (ibid., 1840)
  • “Double mistake” (“Contemporary”, 1847)
  • “Bartholomew’s Night” (“Historical Bulletin”, 1882)
  • “Carmen” (“Road Library”, 1890).

French literature

Prosper Merimee

Biography

MERIMET, PROSPER (Mrime, Prosper) (1803−1870), French novelist and short story writer. Born September 28, 1803 in Paris. From his artist parents he inherited the typical 18th century style. skepticism and subtle artistic taste. The parental influence and example of Stendhal, with whom Merimee was friends and whose talent he admired, formed a style unusual for the heyday of romanticism - harshly realistic, ironic and not without a share of cynicism. Merimee was preparing for the legal profession, while seriously studying languages, archeology and history. His first work was the book The Theater of Clara Gazul (Le Thtre de Clara Gazul, 1825), passed off as the work of a certain Spanish poetess, whose plays were allegedly discovered and translated by Merimee. Then another one appeared literary hoax- “translation” of Illyrian folklore Guzla (La Guzla). Both books had great value for development early romanticism. But the most significant contribution to French literature compiled masterpieces of later times, including the Chronicle of the reign of Charles IX (La Chronique du rgne de Charles IX, 1829), the most reliable of all French historical narratives romantic era; a ruthlessly realistic story of Corsican life Mateo Falcone(Mateo Falcone, 1829); excellent descriptive novella The Taking of the Redoubt (L"Envement de la redoute, 1829); an indignant story about trade African slaves Tamango (Tamango, 1829); an example of a romantic mystification, Venus of Ille (La Vnus d’Ille, 1837); the tale of the Corsican vendetta Colomba (Colomba, 1840); and finally Carmen (Carmen, 1845), the most famous French short story. All these works are permeated with deep pessimism; They are also characterized by a cult of feeling and decisive action, close attention attention to detail and the cold dispassion of the story. Mérimée died in Cannes on September 23, 1870.

Prosper Merimee - famous French writer, novelist (1803−1870). Prosper Merimee was born on September 28, 1803 in Paris, into a family of artists. From his parents he inherited skepticism and subtle artistic taste, typical of the 18th century.

Mérimée completed a course in legal sciences in Paris and was appointed secretary of the Comte d'Artoux, one of the ministers of the monarchy, and later the chief inspector of historical monuments of France. In this post, he intensively contributed to the preservation of the country's historical attractions. Mérimée was preparing to become a lawyer, studying in depth foreign languages, as well as archeology and history. In 1853, Prosper Merimee was appointed senator. Enjoying full confidence, he enjoyed personal friendship with Napoleon III.

Prosper Mérimée's first work was the historical drama Cromwell, which he wrote at the age of twenty. However, the drama was never published, since Merimee was not happy with this work. In 1825, the writer published several dramatic plays, combining them into a book: “The Theater of Clara Gasul.”

Prosper Merimee, whose biography and work are presented in this article, is one of the brightest short story writers of the 19th century. Thanks to his education, he was noticeably different from the French writers of his time. But the stereotypical life in the center of civilization could not seduce such an inquisitive and energetic person as Prosper Merimee was. The biography of the creator of “Carmen” contains several years spent away from his homeland. He dedicated most of his works to residents of provincial towns in Spain and France.

Early years

Prosper Merimee, short biography which is described below, was not only a talented writer and playwright, but also a researcher, wrote several essays on the history of antiquity, and made a significant contribution to the culture of France.

He was born at the very beginning of the nineteenth century. From father future writer inherited skepticism and a love of creativity. As a child, Prosper Merimee did not think about studying literature. His brief biography records his years of study at the Faculty of Law. After graduation, he was appointed inspector of historical monuments. But if you believe the biographers, it was as a student that he realized that his real calling was philology. He studied English, Greek, Spanish. And in order to read Pushkin in the original, the French short story writer, being a fan of the poet’s work, also mastered the Russian language.

The beginning of a creative journey

Where did I start my literary activity Prosper Merimee? His biography, as a rule, mentions the collection of plays “Clara Gazul’s Theater”, with which he allegedly began his creative path. In fact, the French classic created his first dramatic work earlier.

Prosper was barely nineteen years old when he presented a rather bold play for those times to the judgment of his colleagues and friends (among whom was Stendhal). At the beginning of the nineteenth century, French drama began to be burdened by the rigid canons of classicism. But even in such conditions, the work of the aspiring playwright seemed extremely bold and unusual to his colleagues. They approved of the play, which was written by the young Prosper Mérimée. His biography still speaks of a later literary debut. Merimee decided not to publish the work, which Stendhal greatly liked, because he considered it far from perfect.

Inspector of Historical Monuments

Thanks to this position, Prosper Merimee, whose biography tells of numerous wanderings, had the opportunity to travel a lot around the country. But he learned to enjoy provincial landscapes later, at a more mature age. And after graduating from university, Merimee published a collection of plays called “Clara Gazul’s Theater.” But he published it under a pseudonym.

Clara Gazul

How did contemporaries characterize the writer and playwright named Prosper Merimee? His biography says that among his friends this outstanding personality stood out significantly. Merimee loved not only travel and adventure, but also hoaxes. Thus, the first collection published by him was signed female name. And on the cover there was a portrait of Merimee, but in a female form.

Iakinf Maglanovich

What else unexpected can the biography of Prosper Merimee tell? Interesting facts relate to early periods his life. If Merimee published his first collection under the name of a certain Clara Gazul, then on the cover of the second book one could see the pseudonym Iakinf Maglanovich. It was a collection of Illyrian ballads called “Gusli”, telling about witches, vampires and other devilry. The book caused a lot of noise in Europe, but today it is considered a clever and witty imitation folk poetry Western Slavs.

Historical literature

Later Merimee published books under his own name. He presented to the readers works on historical topic- “The Jacquerie” and “Chronicle of the Times of Charles XIX.” And then Merimee took his fans to distant lands. Novella "Matteo Falcone" - cruel story from Corsican life. “The Capture of the Redoubt” is a work dedicated to the steadfastness of the Russians in the war with Napoleon. And finally, “Tamango” is an indignant story about the African slave trade.

At court

In 1830, Mérimée traveled extensively throughout his beloved Spain. Here he met the Count de Teba and his wife. Their daughter, Eugenia, later became the French Empress. girl with early years had warm feelings for Merima. Therefore, over time, the writer became “one of the people” at court. By the age of forty, he was awarded the title of senator and enjoyed the full confidence of Napoleon III. Politics and career could not play a primary role in the life of Prosper Merimee, but they took up a lot of time. Perhaps that is why in ten years he wrote only three works.

George Sand

In 1844, the short story “Arsene Guillot” was published. In it, the author showed the moral superiority of a fallen woman over an aristocrat, which caused a big scandal in society. Merimee’s affair with the writer also became a reason for gossip. He courted her for two years. And yet he was able to awaken feelings in the soul of an emancipated woman. But this novel had no continuation. Subsequently, Merimee claimed that his beloved’s complete lack of modesty killed all desire in him.

"Carmen"

In 1845 the world saw the light famous work Merimee. "Carmen" formed the basis of the famous opera of the same name. In the novella we're talking about O passionate love former officer, and now a smuggler named Jose, to the cunning and cruel gypsy Carmencita. In the work special attention Merimee devoted his attention to the morals and customs of the freedom-loving people. The girl who does not want to submit is killed by Jose. Merimee's novella has been filmed many times. According to literary scholars, the French writer was inspired by this topic after reading Pushkin’s poem “The Gypsies.” But it is worth saying that Merimee managed to create an image that is not inferior in strength to Don Quixote or Hamlet.

Recent years

Merimee almost did not create the last twenty years works of art. He devoted himself to literary criticism. He was engaged in translations and wrote several works dedicated to Gogol and Pushkin. It is Merimee who owes French readers their acquaintance with Russian literature. In 1861 he published journalistic work, dedicated to the peasant uprisings in Russia. Among other books, the theme of which touches on Russian culture: “Episode from Russian History”, “Ivan Turgenev”, “Nikolai Gogol”.

Other works

Merimee created six dramatic works and more than twenty short stories. In addition, he published several essays on travel. Novels by Prosper Merimee:

  • "Federigo."
  • "Backgammon game."
  • "Letters from Spain".
  • "Etruscan Vase".
  • "Souls of Purgatory"
  • "Double fault."
  • "Venus of Illa".
  • "Abbé Aubin."
  • "Colomba".

Among the works written by Merimee for the theater are “The Enchanted Gun,” “The Discontented,” and “The Adventurer’s Debut.”

"Lokis" is the last work that Prosper Mérimée published.

Biography (death)

In 1870, in Cannes, the great French writer Prosper Merimee passed away. On his gravestone there is a plaque with the inscription: “With love and apologies. George Sand." After the writer’s death, two more of his short stories were published: “The Blue Room” and “Juman”. And five years later, the world listened with admiration dramatic story gypsy woman, embodied by Meringue in music.

Hello my regular readers and guests! In the article “Prosper Merimee: biography, interesting facts and video" - a short biography and interesting facts from the life of the famous French writer.

Biography of Merimee

Merimee Prosper (1803-1870) – master of the short story, author of Russian translations classical works, curator of French architectural monuments, writer.

He came from the family of a French chemist and painter, Jean François Leonor Mérimée. He was a student majoring in jurisprudence at the university, where by luck he met Ampere. After that he worked as the count's secretary.

Later he took up the duties of inspector of historical and architectural monuments of France. There is a Merimee list, which includes the most significant monuments history of his country.

The translator and writer traveled to many European countries. In 1830 he was presented in Spain to the Count and Countess de Teba. He was very close to the empress of the Tuileries court, she had filial feelings for him.

Government activity and creativity

The writer became a senator in 1853, benefiting from the trust of Napoleon III. Being in good relations with A. Shtapfer, Prosper worked mainly literary creativity without leaving the service.

He often visited his friend Albert Stapfer. Representatives of the multinational creative intelligentsia gathered there, including Stendhal and the head of the department of reviews of literary works of the Revue de Paris publication.

Communicating with cultural figures of that time, Prosper Merimee adopted the way of thinking and traditions different nations peace. This was subsequently reflected in his works.

Already at the age of twenty he wrote “Cromwell” - dramatic work on a historical topic. Stendhal spoke well of this work, indicating a new twist in the description historical events, inconsistent in time and place.

In 1849 he translated into French " Queen of Spades"Russian poet. Prosper himself had a good command of the Russian language and could speak it fluently. Gogol's "The Inspector General" in his translation was published in 1853.

But he also wrote his own articles, for example, on the history of Russia during the time of Peter the Great, as well as on the origins of the Cossacks in Rus'. The publications were published in local newspapers.

Works by Mérimée

He identified his own collection of plays, “Clara Gazul’s Theatre,” as authored by a little-known artist from Spain. His “Gusli” is also known as a collection of several folk poems and music. "Chronicle of the Times of Charles IX" in style refers to a novel on the history of the French king.

In the mid-nineteenth century, his books were published one after another. French magazines publish short stories Merimee about the capture of the redoubt, the story of Etrusia, as well as the so-called Spanish letters. Articles about the activities of the Spanish museum, as well as the work “Double Fault,” appear in the “Artist” publication.

In 1834, his work “The Souls of Purgatory”, also about Spain, was published in another publication. Five years later, the author leaves for the island of Corsica, where, inspired, he writes the story “Colomba” about ancient customs and morals, which greatly attracted Prosper, who was already quite tired of the bustle of the city.

Another work is a short story about Carmen with the same name. The author successfully described the image of a young gypsy, her life and the customs of gypsies in general. It was this work by the author that formed the basis for the opera production by Georges Bizet. This opera has become very popular; it is staged in many theaters around the world even in the twenty-first century.

Death overtook the writer in Cannes in 1870. After his death, the collection “Last Novels” was published, as well as correspondence with writers and addresses to the public.

The name of Prosper Merimee in the minds of most readers is associated with the image of Carmen, the heroine of the opera of the same name. Meanwhile, he rightfully occupies a place in the gallery of the largest French writers, and the collection of his literary works alone exceeds twenty volumes. The author's life was bright and interesting, and therefore the biography of Prospero Merimee can be read as a fascinating novel.

Merimee was born into a successful family French artist in 1803, and under the influence of his father took up drawing from an early age. Obviously, the boy not only adopted the skills from his father, but also had good abilities himself, since when nine-year-old Prosper entered the Napoleonic Lyceum, the teachers paid attention to his talented watercolors.

After graduating from the Lyceum, Merimee entered Henry IV College, but then became interested in jurisprudence and in 1823 received the title of licentiate of law. At the same time, Merimee began to study literature. In 1820, together with his school friend J. Ampere, he translated the work into French English poet J. Macpherson's "Poems of Ossian", and the following year he wrote his first dramatic work - romantic drama"Cromwell." Since then, Merimee developed a passion for studying the history of different times and peoples.

The gifted young man attracted the attention of the famous French writer Stendhal, with whom he then continued to be friends throughout his life. It was under the leadership of Stendhal that Merimee developed a unique style for his stories and short stories.

In the mid-twenties, Merimee entered the circle of French romantic writers, met V. Hugo, E. Delacroix, F. Liszt, as well as the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev, most of lived his life in Paris.

It is curious that in his work Merimee resorted to hoaxes several times, releasing collections of his works under the names of fictitious authors. Thus, in 1825, Merimee published a collection of plays, “The Theater of Clara Gasoul.” In each of the books, he even placed a portrait of a fictional author, for whom he himself posed for the artist in suitable for fiction suit. Merimee even published one of his works under an assumed name. spanish actress. The writer needed this in order to carry it out in his plays, as if dedicated to Spain, caustic allusions to contemporary French reality. This hoax was not immediately unraveled even by such an attentive reader as Stendhal.

Merimee's next book - the collection "Guzla" ("Gusli" in Russian) - turned out to be an even more successful hoax. A deep study of the folklore of the South Slavic peoples allowed Merimee to create songs so similar to genuine folklore that even A. Pushkin was convinced of their authenticity and rearranged several ballads written by Merimee as folk ones. Another major writer, J. Goethe, also considered the songs published by Merimee to be authentic.

Interest in history soon became Merimee's profession, since in the late twenties he was appointed chief inspector for the protection of historical monuments in France. On duty, the writer makes several trips to various regions of the country, during which he visits archaeological excavations, city archives and supervises the work of restorers. These trips provided the writer with material not only for several books of travel essays, but also for scientific works on the history of architecture and culture of the Middle Ages, as well as the history of Spain.

In their literary works Mérimée first of all turns to the events of French history. Mérimée wrote the dramatic chronicle “The Jacquerie,” which tells about the peasant uprising of the 14th century, and the novel “The Chronicle of the Reign of Charles IX” in the form of memoirs, which were especially popular at that time. Using the memoirs of one of the writers as a basis, Merimee successfully integrated the adventures into the historical background fictional characters. This book laid the foundations for a new type of adventure genre. A few years later, Merimee’s experience would be brilliantly continued by another French writer, A. Dumas.

Prosper Merimee wrote not only large works- novels and chronicles. He was a wonderful master of short stories and knew how to turn these small works into real art. His short stories always contain an acute dramatic conflict; they are filled with action and elegant in language. Merimee brilliantly builds the intrigue of each short story; we will later see the techniques he used in Conan Doyle’s detective stories, and in horror novels, and even in science fiction.

It is no coincidence that many of Merimee’s short stories later became the basis for the works of composers and playwrights, and later screenwriters. So, already in 1875 French composer J. Bizet creates a wonderful opera “Carmen”.
Throughout his life, Mérimée was also interested in Russian literature and history. He not only knew the Russian language perfectly (he had a passion for learning languages ​​since childhood), but also translated the works of Russian writers. In particular, Merima owns the first translations into French poems by A. Pushkin, as well as N. Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General” and stories by I. Turgenev.

At the end of his life, Merimee even wanted to write a novel based on a plot from Russian history, for which he collected materials about the uprising of Stepan Razin and the transformations of Peter I. The writer believed that without scientifically mastering the history of a foreign country it is impossible to write about it reliably.

The last few years of his life, Merimee almost completely stopped writing, taking up political activity and was even elected senator of France. He later reflected his impressions of behind-the-scenes intrigues in the highest spheres of French society in the play “Two Inheritances.”

One of latest works Merimee's play “The First Steps of an Adventurer” was a dramatized story of the adventures of Grigory Otrepyev. Based on the plot of A. Pushkin’s drama “Boris Godunov,” Merimee created a fascinating story about the adventures of an impostor in Russia.