Tartarin de Tarascon | Page 5

laws of a realism which he had mistakenly accepted as his guide.
The composition of "Les Rois en exil" is defective, but its charm is great. In "Numa Roumestan" (1881) the technique is better. Daudet's first intention was to entitle this work "Nord et midi," his idea being to contrast the north with the south, a theme for which he always had a predilection. Numa is a refined Tartarin; Daudet sends him to Paris, and studies the result. Numa carries all before him by his robust vigor and geniality. The "mirage" effects of the southern sun pursue him to Paris; quick to promise out of the fullness of his hearty enthusiasm, he encourages and disappoints those who trust themselves to him. He deceives his wife, begs her forgiveness with abundant tears, and in a disgusting manner deceives her a second time. The book ends with the picture of Rosalie Roumestan bending over her new-born son. "Will you be a liar too?" She asks. "Will you be a Roumestan, tell me?"
"L'��vang��liste" (1883), a psychological study rather than a novel, is a heartbreaking picture of the inhumanity of religious fanaticism. "Sapho" (1884) is so essentially French in spirit that it can hardly be understood by American readers. Daudet dedicates it "To my sons when they are twenty." It is intended as a lesson, and if naturalistic works ever can carry a lesson this one certainly does. It is a striking picture of the evils of faux m��nages. On the whole "Sapho" is disagreeable, yet of the novels it seems to be Daudet's masterpiece, perhaps because it is the most romantic. The truth may be photographed in its most minute realistic details, as in Zola, or it may be colored by poetic fancy; this has happened in "Numa Roumestan" and especially in "Sapho," the two novels of Daudet which appear most likely to live. In "Sapho" there is a tender note which is lacking in "Jack" and in "Fromont jeune et Risler a?n��"; Daudet's nature fitted him to inspire pity rather than indignation. And we must remember that while writing "Sapho" he had in mind the future of his own sons. He looks forward, and in hope of a fortunate issue tells frankly, in a kindly manner, a true story which he hopes may be fruitful of good results. If, instead of assuming the role of inquisitorial censor, naturalists would show sympathy for erring mankind, if they would look forward with hope instead of fixing their horrified eyes on the present or the past, their judgments would not tend to make us give up in despair, but might encourage and instruct. "Sapho" is the last of the great novels.
"L'Immortel" (1888) is a weak and unjust satire directed against the French Academy. "Rose et Ninette" (1892) is a study of the evils of divorce; "La Petite Paroisse" (1895), the only one of the novels with a happy outcome, is a study of jealousy. In "Soutien de famille" (1898, posthumous) two brothers are contrasted; the older, as a matter of course recognized as the head of the family, is weak, and the younger is the real "prop of the family."
Just after "Sapho" (1884) Daudet's health had begun to decline. Long years of suffering follow, but, although in almost constant pain, the indefatigable worker remains at his desk.
In "Souvenirs d'un homme de lettres" (1888) and "Trente Ans de Paris" (1888) Daudet tells the story of his life and literary activity. It is through these works that we become intimately acquainted with our author, and we are not disillusioned. "Entre les frises et la rampe" (1893) contains studies of the stage and its people.
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Daudet claimed to be an independent,[1] and was indignant when an attempt was made to class him with any school. He was certainly independent in his youth, but in his second period, after the war, he became a realist with Flaubert and Zola and an impressionist with Goncourt.
[Footnote 1: He consistently refused to have his name placed in candidacy before the Academy. In a foreword prefixed to "L'Immortel" he declares: "Je ne me pr��sente pas, je ne me suis jamais pr��sent��, je ne me pr��senterai jamais �� l'Acad��mie."]
It is, however, the southerner in Daudet that remains most pleasing. It is in those works which are directly inspired by his native land of dreams that he is most completely himself, and therefore most charming. It is here that he discloses his kinship with Musset. With all the delicacy of Musset and at the same time a saneness which Musset did not always possess, what might he not have accomplished if he had only continued as he began? Even as it is, the best Daudet is the young Daudet, the brother of Musset. In his so-called great works, the long novels where questions