Ingénue is an entertaining hybrid,
part historical romance, part novel of
character, part melodrama, and perhaps partly a prank. It is explicitly
billed as a retelling of a perhaps autobiographical novel by the prolific
18th century writer, Nicolas-Edme Restif, (1734-1806) who used the pen name
Restif de la Bretonne. Dumas' contemporaries, however, viewed Restif as a
pornographer: his works had been removed from French libraries in the
1820s, and most remained out of print (officially) until the Twentieth
Century.
Indiana University Library has posted an illustrated version of Restif's
Les Contemporaines ou Aventures des plus jolies femmes de l'âge présent
along with a short
biographical sketch, which may help give a sense of what the Dumas' readers
might have had in mind when they thought of an adaption of a book by
Restif.
Restif's 1789 novel, Ingénue Saxancour, ou la Femme Séparée, dealt with
the marriage of Restif's oldest daughter to a scoundrel. Dumas was clearly
aware of Restif's reputation, and it is the source of a great deal of sly
humour in the book. The biggest joke of all is on the reader who buys
every installment of the feuilleton looking for the spicy bits, which, of
course, never appear.
The novel opens in Paris in 1788, as two future revolutionaries, "the
repulsive dwarf," Jean-Paul Marat (1743-1793), surgeon to the household of
the Comte d'Artois, and the lawyer Georges-Jacques Danton (1759-1794),
become acquainted in a park. They eat a lovingly-described gourmet dinner
together (attended by Camille Desmoulins, Jacques-Louis David, Andre
Chenier,
J. F. Talma, and Dr. Guillotin), go to two meetings (on abolishing
the slave trade and on the rights of man), Marat tells Danton a long story
about his sojourn in Poland, and....
Fourteen chapters later, the novel truly begins, with the introduction of
the widower Restif, making a living by journalism and novels, and his
beautiful and virtuous daughter, Ingénue. Restif is a republican, and
swears that his daughter will only marry an honest workman. However, the
daughter loves Christian, who, as we later learn, is a Polish aristocrat
and page to the libertine Comte d'Artois (1757-1836). (The Count would
later became Charles X, King of France 1824-1830). Restif rejects
Christian's suit, and Christian is subsequently desperately wounded in a
riot. Christian is treated by Marat, but is kept incommunicado by the
severity of his wound.
Ingénue is caught up in the same riot, but is rescued by the Comte
d'Artois, who lusts after Ingénue, and directs his staff procurer, Auger,
to bring Ingénue to him. Auger visits Restif and proposes a financial
arrangement, which Restif indignantly rejects. Restif then attempts
kidnapping, is badly beaten, and subsequently sacked by the Count for
incompetence.
Auger then visits Restif's parish priest, confesses his sins, and asks the
priest to beg Restif and Ingénue's forgiveness. Over a period of a month,
Auger builds a reputation as a repentant sinner and industrious workman.
Having won Restif's friendship, he asks for Ingénue's hand in marriage, to
which Ingénue consents, since she is in despair over the mysterious
disappearance of Christian. Auger then contacts the Comte d'Artois, and
offers the Count the opportunity to substitute for Auger on the wedding
night.
Auger and Ingénue are married, but the plot goes awry when Ingénue
recognizes the Count and throws him out, and the convalescent Christian
shows up in time to see the Count go up the stairs and down again. After
innumerable plot twists, Auger is hung for attempting to murder Ingénue,
and the widowed Ingénue and Christian (who turns out to be Marat's
illegitimate son) escape to Poland and live happily ever after.
Despite its discursive nature and ridiculously complicated and implausible
plot, this book has many charms: the writing, unmistakably that of Dumas,
is filled with snappy dialogue, great set piece scenes, and suffused with
Dumas' trademark good humour and wit.
The principal male characters are despicable: Marat is a monster, the
Comte d'Artois an accomplished liar and immoral conniving scoundrel, Auger
a murderer and thief, Restif a libertine and fool. Even the hero,
Christian, lies to Ingénue about his background. In Ingénue, Charlotte
Corday (who makes a cameo appearance), and Christian's mother, however,
Dumas creates three strong woman characters who are brave, virtuous, and
steadfast even in the wreck of all their hopes.
Dumas' closely observed, affectionate, but unblinking portraits of Restif
and his friends are reminiscent of Dumas' later pastoral novels, while the
French revolution seems to have occurred primarily for the purpose of
getting Christian out of the way so that Ingénue can marry Auger. Thus,
despite the extensive use of historical characters, and setting the book in
the midst of great historical events, it is only nominally a historical
romance.
