quant a la Silvia dujeu de tAmour et du Hasard, dont le 'ce n'est pas ma faute' (acte III, scene 3) est
assurement moins naif, elle ne vise neanmoins qu'a eprouver l'amour de Dorante: sa desinvolture
n'est que feinte, et travaille pour la bonne cause.
s
Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses, ed. par L. Versini, op. cit.; Versini, L., Lacks et la tradition, op. cit.;
Versini, L., Le Roman le plus intelligent, Les Liaisons de Laclos (Paris, Champion, 1998).
6
Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses, ed. par Yves Le Hir (Paris, Gamier, 1961).
7
Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses, ed. par Rene Pomeau (Paris, Garnier-Flammarion, 1981).
8
Laclos, Les Liaisons dangereuses, ed. par Beatrice Didier (Paris, Librairie Generale Fran^aise, 1987).
9
Seylaz, J.-L., Les Liaisons dangereuses et la creation romanesque cbe^ Laclos (Geneve, Droz; Paris,
Minard, 1958).
10
CEuvres Completes, ed. citee, p. 487.
11
Voir Versini, L., Laclos et la tradition, ouvr. cite, p. 113,136,199 n. e t 6 n . II semble bien par ailleurs
que la petite niece de Madame de Tencin, Louise-Francoise-Alexandrine Guerin de Tencin, ait pu
etre 1'original de Mme de Merteuil.
12
Versini, L., edition citee des Liaisons dangereuses, p. 1378.
DANTE'S DIVINE COMEDY AS INTERTEXT OF BAUDELAIRE'S LES
FLEURSDUMAL
FRANCESCA LA MARCA, Toronto
To assert that Dante's monumental trilogy had an influence on the poetry of
Baudelaire appears obvious, given that the rich and vivid imagery of death present in
the Inferno in particular is in keeping with the topoiwhich one finds in LesFleurs du mal.
To study the impact which Dante had on Baudelaire's lyric poetry as a whole would
represent an onerous endeavour indeed as Dante's Divine Comedy pervaded all
Western literary traditions subsequent to its publication and echoes of Dante may be
found everywhere throughout Les Fleurs du mal. It is for this reason that I have
chosen to focus exclusively on those Baudelairian poems which allude directly to
Dante while ignoring the multitide of others which are merely dantesque in flavour. In
this paper, my aim is to bring to light the manner in which Baudelaire manipulates
and often distorts dantesque images, that is, the manner in which he reworks said
images into the fabric of his text so that they might be in keeping with the underlying
framework of Les Fleurs du mal. In my attempt to demonstrate this, I shall limit
myself to three poetic texts which I consider to be most evocative of Dante's
Comedic style, those being 'Don Juan aux enfers' (I, 19), 'Le Lethe' (I, 15 5) and 'La
Beatrice' (I, 166).1
'Don Juan aux enfers', poem XV of Les Fleurs du mal, represents one of the poems
most evocative of Dante's imagery and style as its tide clearly suggests, despite
having been inspired by a broad range of works. Baudelaire borrows the legendary
character of Don Juan but proves innovative by placing him, as well as a host of
eclectric characters, in a most dangesque milieu. Although inspired by a number of
works, it is believed that the painting Le Dante et Virgile aux enfers by Eugene
Delacroix represents Baudelaire's main source of inspiration in composing his
poetic text. The French poet critiqued extensively die art of Eugene Delacroix, a
man whom he greatly admired, in his 'Salon de 1846'. Baudelaire held a particular
admiration for the painting in question, about which he wrote:
Aucun tableau ne revele mieux, a mon avis, Pavenir d'un grand peintre que celui de M. Delacroix,
representant Le Dante et Virgile aux enfers. C'est la surtout qu'on peut remarquer ce jet de talent, cet
elan de la superiority naissante, qui ranime les esperances un peu decouragees par le merite trop
modere de tout le reste. (I, 427).
[89] 9
One could argue that Delacroix's Le Dante et Virgife aux enfers represents a Virgil of
sorts, guiding Baudelaire in the composition of his poem while allowing him to
distinguish himself from his predecessor. 'Don Juan aux enfers' recounts the
seducer's descent into hell by depicting a scene so dantesque in flavour that it is safe to
affirm that it was inspired by Cantos III and V of the Inferno. Like the souls of the
damned in Canto III, Don Juan is transported across the Acheron River by the
mythical ferryman Charon. As in Canto III, the souls of the damned assemble along
the bank of this infernal river as they wait to be transported to their final destination.
However, dantesque imagery in this poem seems to carry a very different significance
from what it was originally intended to suggest widvin the context of the Inferno. In
other words, what we experience in 'Don Juan aux enfers' is a reversal of the clearly
defined moral order which had governed Dante's universe. While the damned in the
Inferno are frantic and terrified of their imminent journey into the underworld and
even appear remorseful, Donjuan remains every bit as calm, proud and disdainful in
death as he had been in life: 'Mais le calme heros, courbe sur sa rapiere,/Regardait le
sillage et ne daignait rien voir' (19—20). These last two verses highlight Don Juan's
complete lack of remorse while emphasizing his heroic status. In the upside down
universe o£ Les Fleurs du mal, Don Juan's philandering lifestyle warrants him the tide
of hero, as Peter Collier suggests: 'It is the righteous and wronged who suffer in
Baudelaire's hell'.2 In other words, this text represents a parody of Dante's Inferno. In
stark contrast to die solemn tone of the Inferno, one finds in this poem overt signs of
disrespect for figures of goodness and authority as well as a trivialization, on the part
of characters, of die gravity of their sins. While Dante's souls shriek (III, 25-26,
curse and gnash their teeth (III, 101—103) in anticipation of the horrible destiny
which awaits them beyond the Ante-Inferno, Baudelaire's characters react cynically
towards the same stimuli, seemingly unaffected by their hellish ambiance.3 Besides
Donjuan who, as we have already demonstrated, appears completely unaffected by
his surroundings, the character of Sganarelle laughs cynically as he asks for his
wages. Don Luis, another character, represents a parody of Dante's majestic guide
Virgil. In contrast to the stately yet compassionate Virgil whose purpose consists in
guiding his sole disciple through hell in order that he might profit from such an
experience, Don Luis singles out Donjuan with the intention of mocking him in the
face of die masses:'... Don Luis avec un doigt tremblant/Montrait a tous les morts
errant sur les rivages/Le fils audacieux qui railla son front blanc' (10—12). Unlike
Virgil, who is guided by purpose, Don Luis proves fruitless in his actions in that the
damned cannot benefit from his example and rectify their immoral behaviour. Much
like the character of Sganarelle, who is characterized by cynicism, Don Juan's wife
and lover Elvire lacks any sense of remorse for her immoral behaviour. In fact, she
continues to behave in a most proud and lustful manner as she longs for her former
lover to bestow upon her 'un supreme sourire' (15) and to bring back the sweetness
associated with his first seduction. The juxtaposition of 'chaste Elvire' (as she is
characterized in line 13) and 'amant', which is found in thefollowingverse, serves to
emphasize the dual nature of her relationship with Don Juan.
By playing on the notion that the relationship between Elvire and Donjuan was
carnal yet non-compromising to Elvire's chastity, the text appears to allude to Paolo
and Francesca, the most famous lovers of Dante' poem. Paolo and Francesca, who
appear in Canto V of the Inferno, are portrayed as both willing participants in the act
of sin and innocent victims of their love for each other. Although guilty of indulging
10 [89]
their licentiousness, Paolo and Francesca's sincere love and devotion to one another
move Dante,fillinghim with such pity that he loses consciousness (V, 140-142). In
this respect, Donjuan and Elvire represent the counterparts of Paolo and Francesca
respectively, in Baudelaire's text, but it is here that the similarities between the two
couples end. Dante's lovers experience a sense of remore for having indulged in
illicit behaviour, as the following citations clearly demonstrate: '[...] Nessun
maggior dolore', Francesca laments to Dante, 'che ricordarsi del tempo felice/ne la
miseria(V, 121—123) ... Mentre che l'uno spirito questo disse,/Faltro piangea.. .'(V,
139—140). ('... There is no greater sorrow/than thinking back upon a happy time/in
misery ... And while one spirit said these words to me,/the other wept .. .*)
(Mandelbaum, p. 47). Whereas Francesca's love for Paolo appears almost spiritual
in the afterlife, Elvire's love for Donjuan is stricdy sensual, as suggested by the verb
'frissonner' (13). The juxtaposition of 'epoux perfide' (14) and 'supreme sourire' (15)
serves to highlight Elvire's lack of moral depth. The fact that she solicits a beautiful
smile from her perfidious spouse (the adjective 'supreme' modifying 'sourire'
furdier highlights Elvire's superficial character) indicates that she will continue to
behave as licentiously in death as she had in life.
The entire poem, in fact, contains erotic overtones, thus allowing Baudelaire to
distinguish himself from his Medieval predecessor by carrying out a reversal of
Dante's moral order. The second stanza of this poem, for example, depicts a scene
which clearly draws its inspiration from Canto III of the Inferno. In Canto III, Dante
portrays the masses, that is, the souls of the damned, in the following light:
Quivi sospiri, pianti e altri guai
risonavan per l'aere sanza stelle,
per ch'io al cominciar ne lagrimai.
Diverse lingue, orribili favelle,
parole di dolore, accenti d'ira,
voci alte e fioche, e suon di man con elle
facevano un tumulto [...] (Ill, 21—28)
[...] Poi si ritrasser tutte quante insieme,
forte piangendo, a la riva malvagia [...]. (Ill, 106—107)
Here sighs and lamentations and loud cries
were echoing across the starless air,
so that, as soon as I set out, I wept.
Strange utterances, horrible pronouncements,
accents of anger, words of suffering,
and voices shrill and faint, and beating hands —
all went to make a tumult [...]
Then they forgathered, huddled in one throng,
weeping aloud along that wretched shore [...]. (Mandelbaum, 21—25)
Consider, for a moment, the parallels between Dante's description of pandemonium
which we have just cited and what is represented in the second stanza of'Don Juan
aux enfers':
Montrant leurs seins pendants et leurs robes ouvertes,
Des femmes se tordaient sous le noir firmament,
Et, comme un grand troupeau de victimes ouvertes,
Derriere lui trainaient un long mugissement. (5—8)
While the wailing and infernal setting highlighted in this description is reminiscent
[89]
..
of Canto III, there is no mistaking its distinctive Baudelairian flavour. The anguish
felt by Dante's souls lacks the erotic quality which is so acutely present in
Baudelaire's portrayal of the damned. Dante's sinners are asexual; at the very least,
the group is heterogeneous, comprised of both males and females. Gender is not an
issue at this particular moment of the Inferno and Dante does not digress from his
focus which is the repercussion of sin. In 'Don Juan aux enfers', on the other hand,
Baudelaire renders explicit that the group of sinners is comprised exclusively of the
female victims of Don Juan's sexual exploits (5-8). Baudelaire's focus on the erotic
quality of the victims' anguish is central to his thematics of Hell and plays an
important part in all three of the poems analysed in this article.
Unlike Dante's sinners who display signs of sheer terror as a result of the horrible
conditions which they are obliged to endure in hell, Baudelaire's women behave in
an equivocal manner. It is in fact unclear whether they suffer as a result of
recognizing the horror which awaits them or rather, derive sensuous pleasure from
convocating in a most orgiastic fashion as they lament the death of Don Juan. The
verb 'se tordre' (6) followed by the simile 'comme un grand troupeau de victimes
offertes' (7) serves to dehumanize the women in question by suggesting that they are
as morally base as animals. By baring their flesh, the women indicate that not only
have they fallen prey to the seductions of Don Juan but that they long nostalgically
to resubmit themselves to his desire just as they had in life. That the contortion and
wailing of the women takes place under the firmament and behind Don Juan
respectively, serves to highlight their status as victims in that they are unworthy of a
spatial location which is at par with that of Don Juan's: they are either underneath or
behind him.
As it has been suggested by our analysis of the texts in question, Baudelaire
borrows dantesque images and situations while ignoring the moral implications
associated with the question of good and evil which lie at the heart of The Divine
Comedy. While the character of Don Juan would likely be subjected to severe
chastisement in Dante's hell, he enjoys the status of hero in Baudelaire's universe. In
accordance with the title Les Fleurs du mal, 'Don Juan aux enfers' represents a
celebration of everything that Dante condemns, notably pride, licentiousness and
fraud. Bearing this in mind, let us now turn our attention to the next poem selected
for our analysis, number IV in the subcategory 'Pieces condamnees tirees des Fleurs
du ma! entitled 'Le Lethe'.
'Le Lethe' appears to represent an allusion to Canto XXXI of Purgatorio in which
Dante is immersed in the stream Lethe, whose waters obliterate his memory of sin.
The title of this poem/w.redoes not necessarily conjure up dantesque images, as the
stream of oblivion does not represent an innovation on Dante's part and had already
existed in Classical Greek mythology.4 However, as one advances in her reading of
the poem, it becomes more and more evident that the source of inspiration for this
poem is without a doubt Dante's Lethe and the feminine quality which he ascribes to
the purification process. In Canto XXXI of Purgatorio, Dante depicts a scene in
which, subsequent to the confession of his sins, he finds himself immersed in Lethe.
As the final step in the process of purification of his sins, Dante is obliged to drink
from the oblivion-producing waters of this stream (XXXI, 100—102).5 In so doing,
the memory of sin is obliterated, rendering him worthy of gazing upon Beatrice's
eyes in which the beauty of God's light is reflected (XXXI, 133-145). Central to this
passage is Dante's purging of his carnal desire for Beatrice, which is viewed as a
necessary step in the process of spiritual renewal and hence represents a condition
12
[89]
which must be met if he wishes to attain paradise. Once again, The Divine Comedy
provides Baudelaire with a framework which serves as a pretext, enabling him to
compose his particular brand of poetry. As is the case with 'Don Juan aux Enfers',
the French poet borrows Dante's framework while subverting the highly structured
moral order which is central to our appreciation of the Comedy.
By bathing in Lethe and drinking from its waters, an act which recalls the
sacrament of baptism, Dante engages in spiritual purification. In Baudelaire, the act
of drinking is devoid of religious significance and takes on erotic connotations. It is
not the memory of sin which the narrator of the poem seeks to obliterate but the
bitterness of life, which he achieves by drinking of the mouth and breasts of his
mistress: 'L'oubli puissant habite sur ta bouche,/Et le Lethe coule dans tes baisers'
(15—16), 'Je sucerai .../Aux bouts charmants de cette gorge aigue' (21—23).
Baudelaire's use of the word 'gorge' (23), which possesses abstract and erotic
connotations, appears to parody Dante's literal use of 'gola' (XXXI, 94) so that 'Je
sucerai.. ./Aux bouts charmants de cette gorge aigue' represents a perverted echo
of line 94 of Canto XXXI: Tratto m'avea nel fiume infin la gola'. In Purgatorio,
Dante's immersion in Lethe is followed by a singing so sweet and so divine that he
has difficulty remembering it. In other words, it is suggested that the celestial melody
produces a sedative effect on Dante's mind and senses, causing him to slip into
sweet slumber. In 'Le Lethe', Baudelaire's narrator attempts to reproduce the
sensation experienced by Dante while attributing to it distinctive erotic connotations: 'Je veux dormir!' Baudelaire's narrator affirms, 'dormir plutot que
vivre!/Dans un sommeil aussi doux que la mort' (9—10). The moral significance
which the life-death antithesis carries in Dante's universe is reversed in Baudelaire's.
Dante's immersion in Lethe allows him to escape the horror of death by restoring
his spiritual life. Baudelaire's narrator, on the other hand, longs for the sweetness of
death to appease him by replacing the bitterness of life. The woman's body
represents both a source of life and death: it is through her body that he attains 'la
mort', that is, sexual gratification which obliterates, albeit temporarily, the hardships
of his earthly existence, thus restoring his life.
The fact that this poem is saturated with religious imagery also reinforces the idea
that it draws its inspiration from Purgatorio. Examples of such terminology are
'l'oubli' (15), 'endolorie' (6), 'martyr' (19), 'condamne' (19), 'supplice' (20) and the
equivocal use of 'remords' which is preceded by 'sans' (11). 'Sans remords' in this
context suggests paradoxically both a lack of remorse and an effort to not reoffend
(the literal defintion of 'remords' being 'to bite again"). By utilizing religious
terminology in a sexual context, Baudelaire distorts the significance of Dante's
experience. The female character of Baudelaire's poem, whose importance consists
solely in her ability to produce oblivion in her lover by means of sexual pleasure,
represents a subversion of the figure of the Virgin Mary (as represented by Beatrice)
with the figure of the base whore. By praising her ability to bring him soothing
oblivion from the agony of life, Baudelaire elevates his base mistress to the level of
Dante's Beatrice. Nowhere is this perversion of the Dantean moral scheme and
subversion of sexual values (which we have explored thus far in 'Don Juan aux
Enfers' and 'Le Lethe7) more pronounced than in 'La Beatrice', poem CXV of Les
Fleurs du mal, as we shall see in the following stage of our analysis.
It is interesting to note that, of the three poems in question, 'La Beatrice' is the
[89] >5
one which contains the most explicit reference to Dante. The subversive and
satirical flavour of this poetic text is suggested by its very tide as Claude Pichois
explains:
C'est par derision que la femme aimee recoit ici le nom de Beatrice - qui fait bien allusion a Dante [...]
La Beatrice avait ete en 1855, dans la Revue des Deux Monties, le titre du Vampire. La Beatrice de la piece
CXV est un autre vampire. (I, 1066).
Specifically, it is Baudelaire's choice of the Italianized 'Beatrice' for his tide, rather
than the French 'Beatrix' which appears to challenge the notions associated with the
woman responsible for inspiring Dante's heavenly journey. While Beatrice is
certainly the poet's mistress, as Pichois suggests, she is no 'deite' (1067). Let us now
proceed to examine the subversive elements of this poetic text. There are a number
of features present in 'La Beatrice' which suggest that it was inspired by Canto
XXXII of Purgatorio. Central to this Canto is the allegorical cortege led by Beatrice in
which the Sacred Chariot is suddenly transformed into a hideous-looking horned
monster upon which sits a brazen whore. The whore, who represents the corrupt
papal curia, leers at Dante as she is beaten and dragged off by a giant, a symbol of the
French monarchy. In this Canto, Dante is an eye witness to the corruption and
kidnapping of the Church. This represents an important stage in Dante's journey of
spiritual renewal: God will carry out His vengeance against the whore and the giant,
and Dante will be cleansed of his sins in preparation for entrance into Paradise.
Much like Canto XXXII of Purgatorio, 'La Beatrice' describes a horrible cortege as it
unfolds before Baudelaire's eyes:
Je vis en plein midi descendre sur ma tete
Un nuage funebre et gros d'une tempete,
Qui portait un troupeau de demons vicieux,
Semblables a des nains cruels et curieux. (5-8)
However, while the cortege featured in Canto XXXII is key to Dante's spiritual
rebirth, the cortege in 'La Beatrice' is responsible for plunging Baudelaire into a state
of emotional disarray. This is foreshadowed from the beginning of the text by such
dysphoric terms as 'descendre' (5), 'nuage' (6), 'funebre' (6), 'tempete' (6), 'troupeau'
(7), 'demons' (7) and 'vicieux' (7). The theme of redemption, which is central to this
Canto and to the Divine Comedy as a whole, is absent from Baudelaire's text.
Baudelaire alludes to and subverts the image of Dante turning his eyes away from
Beatrice, as though struck by the sun's force. Compare 'Je vis en plein midi
descendre sur ma tete/Un nuage funebre [...]' (5-6) with
[...] e la disposizion ch'a veder ee
ne li occhi pur teste dal sol percossi,
sanza la vista alquanto esser mi fee. (XXXII, 10—12)
And the condition that afflicts the sight
when eyes have just been struck by the sun's force
left me without vision for a time. (Mandelbaum, XXXII, 10-12)
Unlike Dante who observes the cortege in order to grasp its deeper significance,
Baudelaire becomes the ultimate focus of the horrific participants in the procession.
Rather than being die observer, Baudelaire is die observed:
A me considerer froidement ils se mirent,
14
[89]
Et, comme des passants sur un fou qu'ils admirent,
Je les entendis lire et chuchoter entre eux,
En echangeant maint signe et maint clignement d'yeux. (9-12).
'Les aigles, les grillons, les ruisseaux et les fleurs' (20), all of which are present in the
final Cantos oiPurgatorio, take on a different meaning in Baudelaire. As the observed
and not the observer, Baudelaire is mocked for trying to influence the members of
the procession with his cry of anguish. Whereas Dante proceeds with modesty in his
spiritual journey, Baudelaire's pride is 'aussi haut que les monts' (2 3). In Baudelaire's
poem, it is Beatrice herself who is transformed into a whorish figure and this
represents the ultimate subversive element of this text:
Si je n'eusse pas vu parmi leur troupe obscene,
Crime qui n'a pas fait chanceler le soleil!
La reine de mon cceur au regard nonpareil,
Qui riait avec eux de ma sombre detresse
Et leur versait parfois quelque sale caresse. (26—30)
The importance which Dante places on Beatrice's gaze is echoed in the verses which
we have just read. However, while die Italian Beatrice's 'occhi rilucenti' (XXXI, 119)
('radiant eyes') (Mandelbaum, 293) and 'occhi santi' (133) ('holy eyes') (Mandelbaum, 293) guide Dante and lead him to spiritual salvation, the 'regard nonpareil' of
Beatrice is contemptuous, derisory and leads him to corruption. The ironical
depiction of Baudelaire's mistress as 'la reine de mon cceur' (28) (for she has proven
to be more of a whore dian a queen) is, without a doubt, an allusion to Dante's
Beatrice. Beatrice's perfidious gaze and treacherous behaviour can be tied into one
of the most common thematic isotopes in LesFkurs du mal: the poet as a victim of his
art, forced to endure the treachery of society who misunderstands and derides him,
as does his mistress. Instead of being a source of comfort and understanding to the
poet, she mocks and rejects him and in so doing, heightens his suffering and sense of
solitude. 'La Beatrice' highlights Baudelaire's fundamental misogyny which underlies many of die poems found in Les Fleurs du mal.
Whereas Dante exalts Beatrice for her virtues, Baudelaire degrades her by
rendering her a vile and perfidious figure. The French poet's attempt to parody the
Beatrice figure is again in keeping wth that set of principles which govern Les Fleurs
du mal. The poems contained in this collection are centered around one principle,
that being the subversion of nineteenth-century socio-cultural norms and values. By
subverting the Dantean ideal of Beatrice, Baudelaire exposes his nihilistic views
while encouraging his reader to cultivate beautiful flowers from a garden of vice and
squalor. As our analysis has demonstrated, Dante represents a source of inspiration
to Baudelaire. It is, however, Baudelaire's spirit of subversion which compels him to
rework Dantean themes and images into the fabric of his text, thus creating an
entirely fresh and original literary product.
1
OEuvres completes, ed. by Claude Pichois, Bibliotheque de la Pleiade, 2 vols (Paris, Gallimard,
'975-76)"Baudelaire and Dante', Studifrancesi, 34 (1990), 417-35 (p. 420).
3
Dante Alighieri, Inferno: a verse translation trans, by Allen Mandelbaum (New York, Bantam, 1982).
4
Pierre Grimal, Dictionnam de la mythologie grecque et romaine, 3rd edn (Paris, Presses Universitaries de
France, 1963), p. 259.
5
Dante, Alighieri. The Purgatorio: a verse translation for the modem reader, tians. by Allen Mandelbaum
(New York, Bantam, 1984).
[89] M