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Adolfo. Cecília
270 pages, Paperback
Published April 1, 1968
About the author
Benjamin Constant
535 books75 followersHenri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born, nobleman, thinker, writer and French politician.
Constant was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, to descendants of noble Huguenots who fled France during the Huguenot wars in the early 16th century to settle in Lausanne. He was educated by private tutors and at the University of Erlangen, Bavaria, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the course of his life, he spent many years in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain.
He was intimate with Anne Louise Germaine de Staël and their intellectual collaboration made them one of the most important intellectual pairs of their time. He was a fervent liberal, fought against the Restauration and was active in French politics as a publicist and politician during the latter half of the French Revolution and between 1815 and 1830. During part of this latter period, he sat in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower legislative house of the Restoration-era government. He was one of its most eloquent orators and a leader of the parliamentary block first known as the Independants and then as "liberals."
From Wikipedia
Constant was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, to descendants of noble Huguenots who fled France during the Huguenot wars in the early 16th century to settle in Lausanne. He was educated by private tutors and at the University of Erlangen, Bavaria, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the course of his life, he spent many years in France, Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain.
He was intimate with Anne Louise Germaine de Staël and their intellectual collaboration made them one of the most important intellectual pairs of their time. He was a fervent liberal, fought against the Restauration and was active in French politics as a publicist and politician during the latter half of the French Revolution and between 1815 and 1830. During part of this latter period, he sat in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower legislative house of the Restoration-era government. He was one of its most eloquent orators and a leader of the parliamentary block first known as the Independants and then as "liberals."
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 27, 2022
Dando continuidade à minha saga de desbastar a pilha TBR, cheguei a esta edição velhinha da Portugália, cheia de anotações a lápis feitas por um outro leitor, que me deram quase tanto prazer ler, como o livro propriamente dito.
Não conhecia Constant, nem a sua ligação a Madame de Staël, que aparentemente serviu de inspiração para estas duas obras, e apesar de não ser grande admiradora do romantismo, cujas influências se podem notar aqui, há que reconhecer a mestria de Constant na descrição dos estados de alma (com frequência exasperantes) das suas personagens.
Gostei bastante do romance Adolfo, muito menos da novela Cecília, não só porque termina de forma abrupta (foi publicada postumamente, pelo que possivelmente estaria inacabada) mas principalmente pelo facto de o narrador (inspirado em si próprio) se comportar de forma execrável. Como forma de autocrítica é louvável, mas para quem lê, a indecisão, volubilidade e falta de carácter deste personagem tornam-se exasperantes. O que, reconheço, é sinal da qualidade da escrita de Constant, que não por acaso, é considerado um dos precursores do romance psicológico moderno.
Não conhecia Constant, nem a sua ligação a Madame de Staël, que aparentemente serviu de inspiração para estas duas obras, e apesar de não ser grande admiradora do romantismo, cujas influências se podem notar aqui, há que reconhecer a mestria de Constant na descrição dos estados de alma (com frequência exasperantes) das suas personagens.
Gostei bastante do romance Adolfo, muito menos da novela Cecília, não só porque termina de forma abrupta (foi publicada postumamente, pelo que possivelmente estaria inacabada) mas principalmente pelo facto de o narrador (inspirado em si próprio) se comportar de forma execrável. Como forma de autocrítica é louvável, mas para quem lê, a indecisão, volubilidade e falta de carácter deste personagem tornam-se exasperantes. O que, reconheço, é sinal da qualidade da escrita de Constant, que não por acaso, é considerado um dos precursores do romance psicológico moderno.
August 11, 2015
Adolphe is the only novel of Benjamin Constant; written in 1806, between the classical and romantic eras, it is considered the last important novel of the classical period in French literature.
Like Stendhal's Le rouge et le noir, it is a psychological novel about a young man who begins an affair with an older woman out of vanity and then becomes caught up in the consequences; but unlike the later novel, it deliberately suppresses anything unusual or melodramatic, everything that the romantic novel emphasizes. The characters are also very different; while Julien Sorel is always very decisive, even impulsive, Adolphe is a caricature of indecisiveness and vacillation, unable to either decide to stay with his mistress or to break with her. Where Sorel is often somewhat blind to his own motives, Adolphe is perfectly clear about his own character and weakness, but unable to change.
Cécile is a manuscript which was discovered a century after Constant's death; it was written about 1811 and is very similar to his published novel; perhaps that was why he never finished or published it.
Both works are considered to be somewhat autobiographical, and Cécile in particular has a character based on Mme. de Stael -- perhaps another reason he never published it.
I read this for a challenge at the library to read a classic I have never read before; at my age there aren't a lot of classics I haven't read, and even fewer that I'm sure I haven't read; but I know I've never read anything by Benjamin Constant, and I guess a book written in 1806 has to count as classic.
Like Stendhal's Le rouge et le noir, it is a psychological novel about a young man who begins an affair with an older woman out of vanity and then becomes caught up in the consequences; but unlike the later novel, it deliberately suppresses anything unusual or melodramatic, everything that the romantic novel emphasizes. The characters are also very different; while Julien Sorel is always very decisive, even impulsive, Adolphe is a caricature of indecisiveness and vacillation, unable to either decide to stay with his mistress or to break with her. Where Sorel is often somewhat blind to his own motives, Adolphe is perfectly clear about his own character and weakness, but unable to change.
Cécile is a manuscript which was discovered a century after Constant's death; it was written about 1811 and is very similar to his published novel; perhaps that was why he never finished or published it.
Both works are considered to be somewhat autobiographical, and Cécile in particular has a character based on Mme. de Stael -- perhaps another reason he never published it.
I read this for a challenge at the library to read a classic I have never read before; at my age there aren't a lot of classics I haven't read, and even fewer that I'm sure I haven't read; but I know I've never read anything by Benjamin Constant, and I guess a book written in 1806 has to count as classic.
June 13, 2023
Adolphe 4 stars
Cécile 5 stars + partie de l'intrigue se déroule en Franche-Comté
Cécile 5 stars + partie de l'intrigue se déroule en Franche-Comté
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews