Dickens and the French Debate over Realism: 1838-1856

Joseph T. Flibbert

Comparative Literature, Vol. 23, No. 1. (Winter, 1971), pp. 18-31.

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J O S E P H T. FLIBBERT

Dickens and the

French Debate over
Realism: 1838-1856

B E N E A T H his signature of a letter to John Forster written from

France in 1847, Charles Dickens styles himself "Frangais natu-
ralisC, et Citoyen de Paris."l His affection for France is clearly ex-
pressed in correspondellce with Forster and others during his visits to
that country. That the French reading public reciprocated is evident in
the great popularity of Dickens' works in France during his own life-
time: a popularity that continues today, as Sylv6re Monod has noted:
"Je crois qu'il [Dickens] est-Shakespeare toujours mis ipart-le seul
Ccrivain anglais & avoir connu et i connajtre encore, plus que la
cClCbritC, une durable popularit6 dans notre pays."3
The approval accorded to Dickens' worl<sby the French public did
not ensure, in the beginning, favorable notice by French professional
1 John Forster, T h e Life of Charles Dickelts (Philadelphia, 1873-1874), p.
450.
2 Early French translations of Dickens' worlcs, mostly pirated editions for
which he received no compensation, include Pickzpn'ck Papers, 1838; Nicholas
Nickleby, 1840; Oliver T w i s t , 1841; Old Czcriosity Shop, 1842; Christtfzas Tales,
1847; Dolnbey a d Son, 1848; David Copperfield, 1851. Several of these appear
in more than one translation ; Christnzas Tales appears in four between 1847-1550.
Among the more popular of Dickens' works in France were Oliver Twist, which
went through 29 editions by 1912, and David Copperfield, 21 editions by the same
year. During his trip to Paris in 1855-1856, Dickens negotiated with the Librairie
Hachette for translation and publication of all his major works. T h e project was
begun immediately and the first six works were completed in 1857. Ten more
would join the series before its completion in 1874 with Edwin Drood. For fur-
ther information on French translation of Dickens' works, see Floris Delattre,
Dickens et la France (Paris, 1927), pp. 45-53; M. G. Devonshire, T h e English
Novel in Frame, 1830-1870 (London, 1929), pp. 290, 313-316.
3 SylvPre Monod, Charles Dickens (Paris, 1958), p. 52.
 D I C R E N S AND F R E N C H R E A L I S M

critic^.^ Early French criticism of Dicltens is decidely uncomplimentary.

In 1840, Philar6te Chasles says Dickens belongs to a group of "talens
secondaires" that have recently gained a following in Er~gland.~ Jules
Janin, commenting upon a French dramatization of Nicholas Nickleby,
condemns the disorder of the novel i t ~ e l f .Another
~ critic, writing
during the revolutionary upheaval of 1848, says that the depiction of
the vulgar classes in Dickens' works lacks "le bon goGt fran~ais."~ The
disparity between popular and critical response to Dickens' works in
France continues until 1856, when a favorable analysis by Hippolyte
Taine in the Revue des deux lnondes establishes his reputation in
France as a major English novelist.
A study of French critical reaction to Dickens before Taitle's essay
should consider certain factors that influenced the critics' judgments
and that do not pertain directly to Dickens' actual achievement: ( 1 ) a
majority of French critics writing between 1838 and 1856 were still
under the spell of English romantic literature written during the first
two decades of the century ; (2) most of them reacted negatively to the
"realistic" portrayal of common subjects, the tendency to describe
the vulgarity and the misery of humble people rather than to idealize
their condition; ( 3 ) a number of critics identified "realism" in litera-
ture with democratic and revolutionary forces which, they feared,
would lead to political and social chaos. I t is impossible to isolate
French criticism of Dickens from these circumstances; for it is in the
larger perspective of social upheaval, philosophical and scientific in-
quiry, and literary production that Dickens is judged by his French
contemporaries. The fundamental issue, as already hinted, revolves
around the term "realism." What, in the view of mid-nineteenth century
"wo ~ r e v i o u sstudies of French critical response to Dickens, though ade-
quate as chapters in works of larger scope, have shortcomings. Floris Delattre's
Dickens et la France (1927) exalllines only six articles on Dickens criticism
between 1839 and 1848. One of these contains only a few lines of commentary
on Dickens and another is a two-page preface to a translation of "Le Baron de
Grogzwig." Delattre docs little more than summarize the content of the articles,
M. G. Devonshire's T h e English Novel in France (1929) is admirably detailed
and its two chapters on Diclcens contain much information. However, his ap-
proach is primarily statistical and he devotes more space to listing French trans-
-
latio~lsof Dickens' works than to analysis of French-English interaction through -
French criticism of Dickens.
5 Philar6te Chasles. "Revue litteraire de la Grande Bretame." Reaue des deux
mondcs, Jan. 1, 1840, p. 491 (Documentation for second references from this and
other articles in Rez~ueare incorporated in the text).
6 Jules Janin, "Thejtre de lJAmbigu-Comique; Nicolas Nickleby, melodrame
en six actes," Jourrzal des dkbats, Jan. 31, 1842.
7 Arthur Dudley, "PoPtes et romanciers modernes de la Grande-Bretagne :
Charles Dickens. Dombey and Son," Revzre des dezrx m o d e s , March 1, 1848, p.
902.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

French critics, is realism in fiction? What place should it have in fiction?

And what place did it have in Dickens' fiction? The following study is
not an exhaustive survey of French critical views toward Dickens
during the period 1838-1856; it is instead limited to one of the most
representative reactions to his work-the one which places him closest
to a developing French literary tradition of the time.8
Chasles' estimate of the state of English fiction as a whole in the 1840s
is not very complimentary. H e calls the period "un temps de transition
et d'enfantement,"D "l'kpoque des annotations, des notices, des com-
mentaires, des lettres posthumes, des biographies" (RDM, Jan. 1, 1840,
p. 494). H e says there is no originality and no grandeur in the fiction
of that period ; that it is characterized by diffuseness, misdirected analy-
sis, excessive detail, and imitation. While maintaining this view, he
frequently reflects nostalgically on the period 1790-1820, which, he
asserts, in the brilliance of its literary output was equalled only by the
Elizabethans. Its greatest poet was Byron ; its greatest novelist, Scott ;
and no one in the present period, including Dickens, has the talent to
equal or surpass Scott's achievement.
High regard for Scott by the French was nothing new. Earlier
French critics were generally as appreciative, the following statement
being a characteristic one.
I1 etait reserve A notre sitlcle de produire un homme qui ne se bornit ni iun genre
ni & une epoque, qui ne se fit pas le peintre ou des aventuriers, comme Lesage, ou
de la famille, comme Richardson, ou des idees, comme Rousseau, ou des sentiments
exalt&, comme Mme Stael, mais de l'humanite entiere; un homme qui, portant
le genie de l'observation dans tous les temps, fit un drame de chaque epoque. Cet
homme est Walter Scott, le romancier des peuples, si universe1 par la variCt6 des
sujets, si dramatique par leur execution, si brillant par leur coloris, enfin si
extraordinaire comme historien et comme moraliste.'O

French critics of the 1840s continued to consider Scott a great moralist,

an epic-novelist, and a historian of consequence. Moreover, they saw in
the idealisill of his works a higher and a more tasteful function for prose
8 I have chosen the year 1856 as the turning point in French critical opinion
toward Dickens partly because of the impact of Taine's article on critical attitudes
toward Dickens. But the year 1856 also marks a turning point in French critical
attitudes toward realism. The charges of scandal and inlmorality that resulted
from the serial publication of a badly crippled text of Madame Bovary in the
Revue de Paris rallied the more eminent critics and artists to the defense of the
novel, a defense that became, in effect, an acknowledgment of the place that
realism had won in the literary tradition of France.
9 Chasles, "De la litterature anglaise actuelle," Revue des deux nzo~zdes,March
1, 1839, p. 686.
10 Mignet in Cotbrier Frangais, Oct. 19, 1822, quoted in Marguerite Iknayan,
T h e Idea of the Novel in France: T h e Critical Reaction, 1815-1848 (Paris, 1961),
p. 110.
 D I C K E N S A X D FRENCH REALISM

literature than the contemporary vogue for displaying the coarseness

and brutality of lower-class city dwellers. In an 1842 analysis of the
English novel since Scott, Chasles states the case for Scott against the
petty and fragmented concerns of the present. "Pour que le roman
excelle et s'isole, il faut clu'il contienne la vCritC et qu'il la dkpasse, qu'il
touche A la rPalitC et qu'il atteigne l'idCal ; que le detail y soit, et que la
la grandeur de 1'idCe reEve le dltail : a$uvrerare et exquise ! Si la rCalitC,
I'histoire, le fait, sont plus intkressans clue le roman qui les choisit pour
texte, ce roman est niCdi~cre."~~ Dicke:is was, in this context, capital-
izing on a prevailing fad, achieving popularity by adopting material
that was fashionable with the reading public.12 The French critics re-
sponded with a characteristic rebuff of the professional literary criti-
cism of any age : the most popular writer of a period is not necessarily
the best; the recent past seems of a better quality than the present; the
new or different is transient and will not last.
I t should be no surprise then that Dickens is reproached by Chasles
for depicting "escrocs et les cochers de fiacre" in his works ( R D Z I ,
March 1, 1839, p. 672) ; that Dudley refers to the rogue or vagabond
literature in which he classifies Diclrens' novels as "cette deplorable
litterature" (RDM, March 1, 1848, p. 902). Dickens' works, in their
view, laclc the taste and refinement of the earlier romantic efforts of
Scott. One of the most devastating coi~~ii~ents on this point comes from
the pen of Jules Janin.
Ici [in Nicholas ATicklcbyl passent en riant de bonnes gens si bons qu'ils en sont
tout-i-fait bPtes; plus loin bondissent et blasphement toutes sortes de bandits, de
fripons, cle voleurs, et de miskrables si afireux qu'on ne sait pas comment pour-
rait vivre, seuletnent vine-quatre heures, une societi. ainsi composee. C'est le
plus nauseabond melange qu'on puisse imaginer de lait chaucl et de bierre tournie,
d'ceuis frais et de bceuf salk, de haillons et d'habits brodes, d'ecus d'or et de gros
sous, de roses et de pissenlits. On se bat, on s'embrasse, on s'injurie, on s'enivre,
on meurt de faim. Les filles de la rue et les lords de la Chatnbre haute, les porte-
faix et les poetes, les ecoliers et les voleurs, se prombent, bras dessus bras des-
sous, au milieu de ce tohubohu insupportable.13

Janin's reaction, like that of most of his French colleagues, is tacitly a

criticism of what Diclcens' novels laclr-the pomp and pageantry, the
broad landscape sweeps, and the heroic action of Scott's novels. Even
-
11Chasles. "Du Roman en Analeterre depuis Walter Scott." Revzte des d e w
~iho~zdes, July 15, 1842, p. 201.
l q e e , for example, Chasles, R e z w des dettx nzondes, March 1, 1839, p. 675;
~ x March 1, 1848, p. 902, for reactions to Dickens'
Dudley, Revue des d ~ nzoitdes,
popularity with the English masses.
13 Janin, Joztrnul des dibats, Jan. 31, 1842. Thackeray objected strongly enough
to the tone of Janin's article to write a rebuttal in the March 1842 issue of T h e
Fraser's Magacine, pp. 342-352.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

favorable commentary like the following suggests Dickens is breaking

from recent literary tradition and is the leader of a new movement in
.
English prose fiction. "Nous avons dit .. qu'il s'opCrait en ce moment
dans la littgrature anglaise une &action contre le genre de Walter Scott
.. . I1 fallait que le don quichotisme littkraire des imitateurs de Scott
ameniit t6t ou tard son Cervantes. M. Charles Dickens est venu rembar-
rer cet amour du passC, dont s'Ctaient Cpris toutes les tCtes romanti-
ques."14 The French critics fail to associate Dickens' representation of
the minute and the peculiar, his humanitarianism, his imaginative ap-
peal, his depiction of unstable social patterns, his interest in eccentric
and abnormal behavior, or his use of simple language with the romantic
tradition, although they remark upon these qualities in his work. They
also fail to note that English novelists of their generation (Disraeli,
Bulwer-Lytton, Thackeray), in their use of historical background, are
very much indebted to and in the tradition of Scott. Charles Kingsley
and Charles Reade would soon enrich the tradition. And in 1859, Dick-
ens would publish A Tale of Two Cities, a historical romance superior
in quality to most of Scott's.
T o the French critics of the 1840s and early 1850s, Dickens is not a
romanticist but a realist. The term "realism" has a complex history in
nineteenth-century French criticism, reflecting differences in the nature
of realistic writing by Balzac, Champfleury, Flaubert, the Goncourts,
and Zola.15 I t is frequently used interchangeably with the term "natu-
ralism," at least until Zola's works begin to appear, and, in its early
use, often has a derogatory sense. The latter tendency is explained by
Emile MontCgut in 1859 as a reflection of traditional French animosity
toward realism.
L e peuple f r a n ~ a i est
s de tous les peuples le plus dknuk de temperament; il n'a que
des passions de t6te et des ardeurs d'espirit. De 1 i le caractere essentiellement
idkaliste, abstrait, utopique de sa littkrature, ce quelque chose de froid et de
brillant qui marque ses conceptions, cette absence de chaleur physique, d'odeur de
sang et de chair qui distingue ses expressions des sentinlens humains. Ainsi
s'explique le peu de faveur que la peinture de la realitk a toujours trouvk parmi
nous. Depuis quelques annkes, il est vrai, il y a eu dans notre littkrature certaines
tentatives de realisme; mais en fin de compte ces tentatives n'indiquent aucune
modification skrieuse dans notre caractitre, elles ne sont qu'un accident qui cor-
14 " M i ~ ~ e l l a n k eLe
~. Baron de Grogzwig," Revzde britannique, March 1839,
pp. 164-165.
1 5 One of the most thorough studies of French criticism and realism is in
English : Bernard Weinberg, French Realism: The Critical Reaction, 1830-1870
(New York, 1937). Emile Bouvier, La Bataillc rkaliste (1847-1857) ( Paris, 1914)
is primarily concerned with the impact of the Champfleury group on French prose
fiction. Other standard studies in the area include Ferdinand Bruneti6rc. Roman
naturaliste (Paris, 1896) ; Pierre Martino, Le Rontalz re'aliste soz~s1k Secortd
Empire (Paris, 1913) ; Edouard Maynial, L'Epoque rkaliste (Paris, 1931).
 DICKENS AND FRENCH REALISM

respond Q certains phenomenes politiques de notre socikt.5 dkmocratique et la

derniere consequence litteraire du romantisme agonisant. Tout autre est le peuple
anglais ; il aime la reilitC avec ardeur ; c'est son element favori.10

Although MontCgut weakens his observation by trying to account for

the great critical success of Madame Bovary by the end of 1857, French
criticism of Dickens before Flaubert's novel and Taine's article seems
to bear him out.
The notion of Dickens as realist in early French criticism has two
aspects to it. In the first place, realism is associated with reproduction
of the physical world by accumulation of facts and details and con-
tinual reference to sense experience. It is precisely this notion of realism
in literature that Chanlpfleury is advocating at that time when, in the
preface to his Contes dowzestiques, he says, "Ce que je vois entre dans
ma tGte, descend dans ma plume, et devient ce que j'ai vu." As a realist
in this sense, Dickens is found deficient in a number of ways. First,
Janin claims that the clutter of details is a disruptive feature and con-
tributes to a general impression of disorder in the work. Paul Forgues
makes a similar observation in the Revue britanniqzle.l7 Chasles objects
to the disproportionate emphasis Dickens places upon facts as opposed
to ideas. "M. Dickens n'einploie pas beaucoup de mots pour une idke ;
~naisil accumule trois mille dCtails pour un fait et souvent de la plus
1Cgire importance."ls Although Chasles concedes that the details give
vividness to Dickens' descriptions, he also says that Dickens' ability
to reproduce the physical details and the peculiar quality of a scene
does not compensate for the thinness of his characters or for other
weaknesses in his works. At this point he declares that Dickens is "plus
amusant que durable" (RDM, A'larch 1, 1839, p. 675). Dudley also
objects to the preponderance of physical details and to the lack of a
sustained sense of the spiritual in Dickens' works. Unlike Janin, how-
ever, he says that Dickens intentionally displays the disorder in the
lives of his characters to gain the reader's sympathy for them. But he
does so by appealing exclusively to elements of terror and brutality.
This is, in Dudley's view, the weakness of Dickens' use of realistic
detail; it suggests an inability to analyze and depict inner moral con-
flict and disorder (RDM, March 1, 1848, p. 903).
Occasionally, French criticism of the period does associate factual
realism in Dickens with a kind of truth-seeking. For a few, the truth
16Emile MontCgut, "Le Roman rialiste en Angleterre," Revue des deux
mondes, June 15, 1859, p. 880.
17 0. N. (Old Nick) [Paul Forgues], "C61CbritCs contemporaines. Charles
Dickens," Revue britaitznique, March 1843, p. 341.
18Chasles, "Review of Pickwick Papers," Journal des dkbats, Oct. 13, 1838.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Dickens strives for is of a moral nature, as suggested by the following

comment from L e M o r z i t e u r zt-iziversel.
A u x yeux de M. Charles Dickens, comme pour Sir Walter, la mission de 1'Ccrivain
est grande et sainte, et sa thche est essentiellement moralisatrice; aussi jamais,
dans ses ouvrages, il n'entoure le vice d'un tel prestige que le lecteur charm6 le
trouve moins hideux; toujours il cherche, au contraire, i instruire en amusant;
non pas qu'il se complaise en descriptions minutieuses des habitudes dCpravCes et
criminelles de certains membres corrompus de la sociCtC, mais il montre la fibre
sensible qu'il faut toucher pour les rendre plus sains et moins dangereux pour
leurs semblables.19

More often, the notion of truth in Dickens is viewed in the sense of

fidelity to the actual conditions of life in contemporary England, as in
the allusion to "des scPnes d'une vCritC dCchirante" in an article in
C o r r e ~ p o n d a ? z tMontCgut
.~~ develops this idea and says it is character-
istic of English prose fiction.
C'est cette qualit6-la vCrit6,--qui a donne au roman ang!ais son incontestable
superiorit& sur les romans de tous les autres pays, qui a fait du roman anglais
une reproduction plus fidkle des mceurs de chaque Cpoque, un rkcit plus vrai de la
vie et des tendances de la Grande-Bretagne que tous les mtmoires historiques. Les
romanciers modernes copient ce qu'ils ont v u ; ce n'est pas leur faute si la sociCtC
anglaise a p e r ~ o i tdes taches dans le miroir. Charles Dickens, par exemple, s'avise
d'ecrire une histoire de voleurs : il n'ira pas inventer de fantastiques brigands ou de
poCtiques assassins; ... mais il preildra les types mkmes qu'il a reilcoiltrCs dans
sa vie.21

O n the whole, this view predominates. Truth in Dickens grows out of

a talent for portraying the visible life of the present rather than the
invisible realities of thought and elnotion. The prevailing impression
among French critics at this time that Dickens is a fad, that his popu-
larity will not last, is based upon this view-that the vividly presented
London street scene is a true-to-life picture but as evanescent as the
street signs and shop fronts it depicts.
The second aspect of early French criticism of Dickens as realist
focuses upon the subject matter of his novels-lowly scenes and char-
acters. Eruneti6re later calls this "le realisme sentimental" and attrib-
utes its origin in France to D i c k e n ~ Montigut
.~~ explains it in the fol-
lowing manner :
19 E. B. "Varitt6s. Romancier anglais, M. Charles Dickens," Le Monitcur
universel, Sept. 12, 1849, p. 2860.
20 "Coup d'ceil sur la littkrature Ctrangkre," Correspondant, Jan. 25, 1845, p. 245.
21 MontCgut, "Le Socialisme et la litt6rature democratique en Angleterre,"
Revue des deux mondes, May 1, 1851, p. 436.
22 "D'autres enfin ont invent6 ce qu'on peut appeler le rCalisme sentimental,
qu'il nous sexnble que l'on definirait assez bien par la sympathie A peu prks ex-
clusive qu'il Cprouve pour les humbles et les dCshCritCs de ce monde. On peut
 DICKENS AND FRENCH REALISM

Les heros des romans modernes sont des charity boys, des voleurs, des habitans
futurs de Botany-Bay, des filles perdues. Les amoureux n'y ont plus qu'un r6le
insignifiant, les heritages tombant du ciel n'y paraissent plus liigers, la peinture
de la high life est abandonnee; mais l'antre du procureur, la maison pour dettes,
la boutique pour l'apothicaire, l'hbpital, voire les lieux inlimes, sont exploriis,
decrits; les victimes des juifs rapaces, les holocaustes humains oiierts B l'industrie
remplacent le gentlertzan sentimental, la nonchalante lady des anciens romans
fashionables. Dickens surtout abonde en narrations navrantes et en peintures
diichirantes [ R D M , May 1, 1851, p. 4351.

But it is again in Chasles that the predominant tone of French reaction

to the depiction of low life in Dickens is found.
Personne en Angletere n'avait encore osC descendre aussi bas que 14. Charles
Dickens .. . Voici la riialiti brutale de ses mceurs, le jargon des rues, la caricature
un peu chargCe, mais vraie quant B ses traits gi-niiraux, du bourgeois, du pale-
frenier, du colporteur, cie l'homme de police, du recors; il s'C1Cve jusqu'i la
maitresse de pension et l'apothicaire; mais il ne va pas plus haut.23

Here, it is suggested that the subject of Dickens' novels is offensive to

the sensitive reader. In another comment, Chasles suggests that the
subject matter is not appropriate for art. "C'est le roman-canaille, que
M. Charles Dickens exCcute supirieurement, et dont le dCtail infini et
vulgaire dPpasse les liniites de I'art vCritable" (RDil4, July 15, 1842, p.
206). The inatter of taste and propriety is also mentioned by MontCgut.
"Les Ccrivains anglais ne savent pas dPfigurer la rCalitC sous prCtexte
d'idCal et fausser la vPritC sous prCteste de bon gofit" ( R D M , May 1,
1851, p. 435). MontPgut's comment implies that criticism of Dickens
on this score may be rooted in the previously mentioned preference for
literature which idealizes humble life. Moreover, Dickens unwittingly
gets caught in a critical controversy raging in France at the time, long
in the making but intensified by the appearance of Champfleury's fiction
and realist manifestoes in the 1840s and 1850s-approximately span-
ning Dickens' best imaginative p r o d ~ c t i o n Balzac's
.~~ brand of realisin
had won, like Dickens' works, popular acceptance; but even after his
death in 1850, he was attacked by a number of influential ~ r i t i c s . ~ W n e
of the most frequent charges against him was his delight in depicting
vice. Champfleury, although neither equal to Balzac in scope nor similar
to him in intention, was to inherit Balzac's mantle as chief proponent
rattacher les romanciers de cette iicole, et, tout le premier, M. Alphonse Daudet, Q
quelques-uns des romanciers anglais contemporains, B Dickens en particulier."
L e Roman naturaliste, p. 8.
2Whasles, Journal des de'bats, Oct. 13, 1838.
24 For a thorough account of the controversy, see Bouvier, La Bataille rkaliste;
Weinberg, French Realisnz, pp. 145-155.
25 See, for example, Thaddeus E. DuVal, Jr., T h e Sttbject o f Realism in the
"Revue des deux mondes" (1831-1865) (Philadelphia, 1936), pp. 83-90.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

of realism in the decade from about 1845 to 1855. I t is no coincidence

that the chief objection to his works by French critics is the same voiced
against Dickens-his selection of lowly subjects and his portrayal of the
baser qualities of humanity. Criticism of Dickens as realist in this sense
is somewhat abated by the fact that, as Montegut remarks, "il [Dick-
ens] a peint ce qu'il a vu et s'il a peint le mal, il n'a pas voilC le bien"
( R D M , May 1, 1851, p. 436).
Equally important as a reason for negative early French criticism of
Dickens as realist, that is, as depictor of low life, are the social and
political implications of this type of literature in the France of the
1840s and early 1850s. A connection between political unrest and
literary production is evident in Chasles' and Dudley's view that the
great literary figures of England between 1790 and 1820 were inspired
by the conflict with Napoleon and tension between the ideals of democ-
racy and aristocracy in England (RDM, March 1, 1839, p. 657 ; March
1, 1848, p. 904). In this case, they view political turmoil as a cause of
good literature. When they consider the literary production of their
own times, potentially inflammatory literature is suspected of con-
tributing to an unstable political climate. I n reviewing poetry that de-
cries the miserable conditions of the English working classes, Chasles
warns against "les dangers imminens dont la litt6rature socialiste,
comme on l'a vu tout A l'heure, semblerait menacer 1'Cdifice constitu-
tionnel du pays."26 Dudley attributes Dickens' popularity to the cur-
rency of democratic sympathies in England and to the trend of the
times toward social unrest and the displacement of traditional institu-
tions by popular movements (RDM, March 1, 1848, pp. 901-902). The
article in which he makes this statement appears a month after the
February Revolution of 1848.
The criticism of the period that insists on decorum in selecting and
treating subjects, that expresses a preference for the elegant in litera-
ture rather than the vulgar,27 that praises past literary figures with
aristocratic associations (Scott, Byron), promotes a literature of and
for the elite.28Furthermore, it is a reflection of conservatism that, in a
26 Chasles, "De la poesie chartiste en Angleterre," Revue des deux ~~zondcs,
Oct. 15, 1845, p. 337.
27 The battle for elegance in literature is carried on primarily in the arena of
style. Chasles says ironically of Dickens, "Le style de M. Paul de Kock est le
mod6le de 12klt.gance,si vous le comparez au style de M. Dickens." In addition t o
de Kock, Chatnpfleury and Eugene Sue are frequently criticized for their inept
styles. Balzac, writing at a prolific rate, also came under attack.
2s See Albert Cassagne's interesting chapter, "Le Sentiment aristocratique"
in La The'orie de I'nrt pour E'art en France chez les demiers ronzantiques et les
prenziers rkolistes (Paris, 1906), pp. 147-200. See especially pp. 159-167 on the
critic a s the voice of the bourgeoisie, which demands that the critic align himself
 DICKENS AND FRENCH REALISM

political context, defends the status quo, appeals for order, and con-
demns what were then considered the dangerous excesses of democratic
reform and socialist theory. Dickens made no secret of his espousal of
social reform. His portraits of the aristocracy and the ruling powers of
England are anything but flattering. But it is his scenes of crushing
poverty, filth, disease, and ignorance among the poor that disturb critics
of Chasles' disposition. "Quant B la poCsie de la prison, de la pauvrete,
de la faim, nous le r&pCtons,elle est . . . un symptBme politique inadmis-
sible dans le monde de l'art (RDM, Oct. 15, 1845, p. 337).
The argument that literature which too ambitiously portrays the
reality of suffering degenerates to propaganda is only one aspect of the
criticism of this type of realism. The successful thief who turns out well,
the ragamuffin who rises to respectability is a threat to the social hier-
archy and, as a result, to order. Janin's objections can be recalled in
this context. "Les filles de la rue et les lords de la Chambre haute ...
se promhent, bras dessus bras dessous, au milieu de ce tohubohu in-
supportable." Moreover, the continuous representation of antisocial
behavior in literature occasions an atmosphere in which violence and
anarchy prevail. Chasles insists that the solution to the problems of the
poor is not in advertising their plight in literary works but in doing
something in a practical manner to relieve their condition.
Pourquoi vous faire des haillons un jeu pobtique et exploiter les plaies sociales au
profit du succes litteraire? A vos contes legislatifs, B votre philanthropie qui se
revele en k i t s imaginaires, je prCf6re les soins reels dont les classes laborieuses
sont maintenant l'objet B Londres, ces bains publics qui leur coiitent si peu, et qui,
pour quelque pcnce, leur assurent le plus delicieux et le plus utile des luxes,
celui de la proprete et de la santC [RDiCI, Oct. 15, 1845, p. 3391.
In his view, the ends of literature and social reform are incompatible.
MontCgut examines the question from another perspective, suggesting
that the dangers of socialism in England have been exaggerated.
Quand bien mcme le socialisme serait dominant en Angleterre, quand bien mCme
il aurait, comme en France, sa voix au parlement, il n'y aurait pas B s'exagerer
le danger ni B craindre pour les destinees de l'empire britannique .. .
S'il y a dans
le monde un pays oil le socialisme soit peu dangereux, et mEme oil il puisse faire
quelque bien, B coup s f r c'est 1'Angleterre. Des esprits ClevCs comme Carlyle,
Dickens ou Disraeli, des ecrivains de talent comme miss Martineau et l'auteur
$Alto% Locke s'en emparent, lui enlevent ses dents venimeuses et s'en servent
comme de moyens politiques pour ar~pelerl'attention du gouvernement sur les
souffrances du peuple [ R D M , May 1, 1851, p. 4331.
The increasing number of pamphlets, articles, and books denouncing
with the middle-class ideals of morality and respectability and denounce the
vulgar. See also LCon Lemonnier, "Le Sentiment aristocratique" in Edgar Poe
et la critiqztc f r a n ~ a i s ede 1845 d 1875 (Paris, 1928), pp. 44-57.

27
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

capitalism in the 1840s, advocating the forn~ationof a republic with

power for the working classes, proposing a return to the revolutionary
spirit of 1793, and detailing the morally debilitating effects of the pov-
erty of the lower classes were not, on the whole, received enthusias-
tically by the literary critics. A striking indication of this is the attitude
of the influential literary periodical, R e v u e des d e u x mondes, toward
socialist theory, democratic reform, and realistic l i t e r a t ~ r eA
. ~liberal
~
organ until the late 1830s, it began at that time to wage an intensive
campaign in its editorial section, "Chronique de la quinzaine," against
agitation and extremism in literature. During the last two years of the
Second Republic, its policies became more tolerant, as evidenced in
Monthgut's 1851 R e v u e article on socialism and democratic literature
in England. It is during this span of conservatism that criticism of
Dickens as realist is most consistently negative, and much of the criti-
cism appears in the R e v u e des dez6.v nzondes.
By 1856, the climate for the reception of Dickens in France had
begun to change, partly because of the continued success of his works
at the bookstalls. During this year, the Librairie Hachette announced
its intention of translating and publishing his complete works. But
other factors, apart from the achievement and success of Dickens, were
equally responsible for the more favorable reception accorded to him
at about this time. Although the press continued to be censored under
Napoleon 111, rapid economic progress after 1852 tended to convey the
impression of political stability. Consequently, fear of the revolutionary
effect in the portrayal of misery among the working classes had sub-
sided. This circumstance may have been partly responsible for the
relaxation of the R e v u e des deztx fqzondes' policy against realism in
literature by 1856, as the publication in the September 1855 issue of
one of Champfleury's Sensations d e Josqziin suggests. At the same
time, the predon~inanceof current publications that could be designated
as realistic was sweeping away conservative critical reaction as quickly
as it could be voiced. Among the more eminent and controversial of
these works was Flaubert's hladagrze Bovary. Taine's article on Dick-
ens appears in the February 1 issue of the R e v u e d e s d e u x ~zzondes,in
the very midst of the controversy, trial, and vindication of Flaubert's
masterpiece. Later in the same year, Champfleury's disciples would
attempt a theoretical defense of literary realism in L e Rtalisnze, the
journal begun on December 1 of that year.
Much of the earlier criticism of Dickens as realist had focused on the
reproductive quality of his works, the tendency to duplicate a scene in
29 For a full account of the Revue des deux ntondes' attitudes from 1831 to 1865,
see Du Val.
 DICKENS AND FRENCH REALISM

all of its detail. In referring to this feature, critics frequently drew anal-
ogies to photography or to painting, particularly, in the latter case, to
the paintings of I-logarth and the Flemish realists of the fifteenth cen-
t ~ r y . ~Taine's
O analysis of Dickens changes the focus from the quickness
of Dickens' eye to the intensity of his imagination, from the reproduc-
tive to the transformative quality of his talent, from the objective to
the psychological realism of his work.
Taine's essay does not break from the tradition of French comment
on Dickens as realist. Rather, it completes it. Whereas early evaluation
criticizes verisimilitude of external detail, Taine lauds Dickens' ability
to capture the mental and emotional qualities of the environment he
describes. H e asserts that Dickens is not striving for precision of detail
but attempting to make the environment complement the state of mind
of his characters. Dickens is not a realist, then, in the same way in
which the Flemish painters are, but more so in his ability to capture
the temperament, the attitudes, and the ideas of his race and to reflect
them in his works. In his Notes sur I'Angleterre, Taine describes his
conception of the English state of mind.
On peut comparer assez exactement l'interieur d'une ttte anglaise & un Guide de
Murray: beaucoup de faits et peu d'idees; quantite de renseignements utiles et
prCcis, petits resumes statistiques, chiffres nombreux, cartes exactes et detaillees,
notices historiques courtes et skches, conseils moraux et utiles en guise de preface,
nulle vue d'ensemble, point d'agrenient litteraire ; c'est un simple magasin de bons
documents verifies, un memento commode pour se tirer tout seul d'affaire en
voyage.31

These are the qualities earlier critics objected to in Dickens as super-

fluous and unliterary. Taine emphasizes the affinity between profusion
of detail and the English mentality.
The frequently expressed view that Taine was the principal the-
oretician of realism in France from 1855 on is probably justified.32 This
does not mean, however, that his analysis of Dickens exaggerates the
degree of realism in his works, as has been suggested by at least one
observer.33 Rather, by returning constantly to the nature and quality
of Dickens' imagination, he succeeds in delimiting the boundaries of
30 See, for example, 0. N. "Londres. Correspondance litteraire," Revue de
Paris, X X V I (1841), 28; N. Martin, "LittCrature. Les Contes de Noel de Charles
Dickens," Le Moniteur zcniversel, Dec. 29, 1846, p. 2804; E. B. "Varietes. Ro-
manciers anglais. M. Charles Dickens," Le Moniteltr universel, Sept. 12, 1849,
p. 2860.
31 Hippolyte Taine, Notes szfr I'dngleterre (Paris, 1910), p. 324.
32 Pierre Martino. for e x a m ~ l,e exDresses
. * this view in Le Roman re'aliste sow
le Seco~tdEmpire, dp. 213-226:
33 George H . Ford, Dickens and His Readers (Princeton, 1955), pp. 146-147.
146-147.
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

Dickens' realism better than any critic before him. According to Taine,
Dickens' imagination, "dkrkglke, excessive, capable dJidCes fixes,"34
is selective, seizes upon the things that appeal to it, and avoids the rest.
The ugly, the vulgar, and the foolish are the main objects of interest
to his imagination ( R D M , Feb. 1, 1856, p. 626). This is his domain,
his world, but not the whole world and therefore, contrary to earlier
views, not the indiscriminately accumulative world attributed to his
works. If it is a world that contains the commonplace, it is also a
poetically rendered world, for "cette imagination si lucide, si violente, si
passionnkment fixCe sur I'objet qu'elle se choisit, si profond&nent
touchCe par les petites choses" ( R D M , Feb. 1, 1856, p. 622) transforms
common experiences into objects of admiration, tenderness, and terror.
Taine's emphasis is always on how Dickens sees the world, and with
what force. H e acknowledges the selective character of Dickens' world,
the exaggeration in his caricatures, the idealization of youth and love.
But in attributing to his creative productivity the power of disturbed
imagination, he rightly observes that Dickens is most at home as a
realist in the realm of the hallucinatory. His parallels between Dickens
and E. T. A. Hoffmann in this context are accurate. The frenzied obses-
sion of Jonas Chuzzlewit is an unforgettable experience because it is
rendered with such chilling realism. I t is in creating the illusion that
the grotesque, the bizarre, and the fantastic are real that Dickens is a
"realist." Although earlier French critics had observed these eleinents
and acknowledged their attraction to them, none had analyzed the rela-
tion between the real and the fantastic in Dickens' works. Unlike Taine,
concerned with re-creating the psychology of the English through the
scientific study of their literature, earlier critics had looked more to
their own literature and to their own society, and analyzed and judged
Dickens in this context.
Both views have legitimate historic value and interest. They reflect
a crucial period of transition and change in the subject matter of litera-
ture, from the self-indulgence of Byron and Balzac to the detachment
and distance of George Eliot and Flaubert, from the panoramic de-
scriptions of Scott to the clinical detail of Zola. Dickens as realist
bridges the gap between the romantic and the naturalistic; his works
are as emotionally extravagant as Byron's and Ralzac's, but as detailed
as Zola's. The two views of Dickens as realist in France also reflect a
change in critical technique and theory, brought about by the impact
of positivistic discipline on the study of literature. If Taine is significant
in setting the tempo of future French (and English) criticism of Dick-
34 Taine, "Charles Dickens: son talent et ses ceuvres," Revue des dezlx mondes,
Feb. 1, 1356, p. 625.
 DICKENS AND FRENCH REALISM

ens and is closer to the function Matthew Arnold would shortly espouse
for the critic-the dissemination (in an objective and open-minded
manner) of the best works of the time-earlier French critics of Dick-
ens capture as well the spirit of Arnold's theories by knowing a second
literature and challenging the literary efforts of Dickens in the larger
context of social and political history.
Massachusetts State College at Saleqn