Liberty, equality, fraternity…for some!

When Alex Dumas returned to revolutionary France in June 1801, after spending two years in an Italian prison, he returned to a different country.

 

For years Dumas had served in a military where he was judged on his skill and bravery and not on the color of his skin.

 

Now Napoleon was in control and his “financial backers” had decided they needed the wealth the sugar plantations in the colonies, such as Saint Domingue, could produce to keep the military/country going.  The plantations needed black slaves, so France could no longer support a color blind society.  “Revolutionary ideas simply cost too much”

 

In Dec 1799 Napoleon proclaimed “The regime of the French colonies is to be determined by special laws.”  There goes equality.  In the same month he began building a new armada which would be sent to Saint Domingue to “re-conquer” the colony, destroy any black military/power figures and force blacks back into slavery to support the sugar plantations.

 

Back in France, because Dumas was black he needed a special permit to live in town with his family.  His town, Villers-Cotterets, was part of the zone forbidden to retired men of color.  Too close to Paris.

 

Black officers were being deported and Dumas had to pull strings with former army comrades so he was able to stay in France with his family.

 

His wife, Marie-Louise, was white so in the current day he would not have been able to marry her.  No mixed marriages.

 

Napoleon refused to give him a military assignment and he refused to give him a pension.  The family was destitute.

 

.The black & white French had fought a revolution to get rid of a king but they end up with an emperor, Napoleon.  Was it all worth it?

Recreational Shopping, Blame It on the French

In Deborah Davis’ book Strapless she describes Paris, the “City of Lights”, of the 1870’s.  Emperor Napoleon III had hired Baron Georges Haussmann to tear down the old neighborhoods and build a beautiful modern city worthy of a French emperor.

 A part of this Paris facelift is the building of the first “grand passage” a multi-floor covered shopping arcade.  Shopping had always been a key to Paris’ economic wellbeing.  Now a retailer could make more money from one piece of property.

 

These arcades or “passages” offered several stores under one roof, sheltered, comfortable, and safe.  The merchandise was diverse & abundant.  The arcades extended from block to block, with brief interruptions for street crossings, shoppers could avoid weather by strolling from one protected corridor to another.

 

Parisian women were seduced by these “jewel-box” arcades which introduced the concept of recreational shopping.

 

Emile Zola’s character “Nana” shows signs of addictive shopping:

 

“When she walked through the corridor of colorful shops on her way to work, she was compelled to buy something, ANYTHING, to satisfy her desire for material goods.”

 

Sound familiar?  We all know that feeling.

 

The “grand passage” was a good idea.  The department store or “grand magasin” was a great idea. Instead of lots of small stores with many owners, the Bon Marche, the first department store, was a large store owned by entrepreneur, Aristide Boucicaut.

 

Zola presents the interaction between the store and its customers as a seduction. The owners entice the customers by creating a relatively private and comfortable setting where women could spend time as well as money.

 

“Inside the department store, ladies could sip wine cordials at a buffet, or write letters in a large room stocked with paper and pens, and furnished with lounge chairs,  Their notes, including clandestine communications to lovers, were quickly delivered by messengers while the women stayed in the store to await a reply.”

 

How things have changed.  Nordstrom’s just offers a great shoe department.  But perhaps a great pair of shoes is all we want today.

 

The Bon Marche was so modern it offered “personal accounts”, shoppers didn’t need cash and you could return any item you bought. This policy “encouraged them to buy more because they knew they could always change their minds.  Women who shopped just for the thrill of shopping were liberated from their conscience; they could tell themselves they would return the merchandise even if deep down they knew they never would.”

 

“Kleptomania” another Parisian creation.  In 1883, psychiatrist, Henri Legrand du Saulle, describes respectable women who would never consider breaking the law, stealing from department stores.

 

“When questioned, they claimed to have been overcome by dizziness and an almost sexual feeling, incapable of resisting the impulse to take what they wanted from an overwhelming array of merchandise, they surrendered, despite knowing it was wrong.”

 

And now we have to control our “online shopping”.  The “grand magasin” of the internet.

 

Which is more dangerous?

 

 

 

 

A gift from the past…

When I was growing up there was always a copy of Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s “A Gift from the Sea” in the bookcase.  My mother had read it, probably as part of a bible study group, and liked it very much. When I was a teenager she had recommended I read it.

 “Who wrote it?” I asked.

 Anne Morrow Lindbergh, she’s a poet and Charles Lindbergh’s wife.  Even though these people were famous I knew they were real old.  I was not interested.

 Looking back I wouldn’t have liked or appreciated the book.  It’s definitely written for women who have experienced years of marriage, child raising and LIFE.  As a teenager I had not experienced any of these.

 Teenagers are not looking for harmony and balance in their lives.  They want to take off, listen to the Beatles endlessly, eat too much spaghetti and stay up all night watching TV.

 Many years later, I have enjoyed reading “A Gift from the Sea”. AML is what my mother would have described as a lovely person.  This is the first book in a long while where I hear such a personal voice.  I feel like I know her, she’s talking to me.  She is a warm and generous. Having grown up writing poetry her prose are sparse and choice of words delicious.

 “The beach is not the place to work, to read, write or think…Too warm, too damp, too soft for any real mental discipline or sharp flights of spirit.”

 Take me to that beach!

 Sea shells are the skeleton of the book.  They are treasure AML finds on the beach.  Channelled Whelk, Moon Shell and Argonauta. She describes their colors, shapes and they become a metaphor for stages in her life.  She then takes them home to sit on her desk to remind her of her beach holiday.

 It’s so tidy.

 Even though it is written in 1955 she writes about women with their over busy, fragmented lives.  Stress even back then.

 “Saints are rarely married women” AML humorously makes the point that a single man or woman will have much more time for meditation, prayer and good works.

 In support of an ever current argument she points out that women are not paid for their work at home so they are often overworked and underappreciated.

 Another surprise!

 “For women much of this new awareness is due to the Women’s Liberation movement…The best “growing ground” for women however, may be in the widespread mushrooming of women’s discussion groups of all types and sizes.  Women are talking to each other, not simply in the private kitchen, the nursery or over the back fence, as they have done through the ages, but in public groups.  They are airing their problems, discovering themselves and comparing their experiences.”

 My mother would have found it inappropriate to “air her problems” in a group.

 I have found reading this book such a gift.  The language is beautiful and she discusses that balance and harmony we all need in our lives. It was like taking a little restful brake in a beach cottage on Captiva.

 

Wilderness for the people

One of the good things which came out of the devastating 1910 forest fire described in The Big Burn is the public realizing no one is taking care of our wilderness.  Disasters will happen and no one is responsible for preventing them or taking charge during them.

Roosevelt used the fire as a wake up call to voters and congress.  He felt it was important that lands be set aside and protected for the American public.   An avid outdoors person, he recognized the need for people to be able to get away from civilization and enjoy the beauty and peace of the wilderness.  Forests, mountains, empty land was being bought up and exploited without control.  He saw this was a time to put the brakes on and set some land aside before it was all gone.

I was surprised to discover John Muir was so involved in the “national” conservation movement.  When visiting New York, Egan describes Muir as an influential man “whose company was sought by everyone from Ralph Waldo Emerson to New York Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt.  He had just started the Sierra Club in 1892.

I wonder if he had to box and wrestle with Roosevelt, too.

Looking forward to the movie!

The Hare with the Amber Eyes would make a great movie.

Imagine all the locations Japan, Russia, Paris, Vienna, England and back to Japan.

In some ways perhaps the story is too complex for just a two
hour movie. Not only do you have the netsuke moving around from city to city you’d have to tell the story of the owners and their relationships. People coming together, people loosing one another. The most complicated story being Viktor and Emmy in Vienna.

A screenwriter might even start the story in 1880's Japan to explain how the hare becomes part of the collection…all down just visually under the beginning credits.

Perhaps it’s too big for a movie. It should be an opera. Imagine the wonderful music representing cities, history with the constant theme of the netsuke connecting it all.

It could be a cycle. Not the Ring Cycle but the Hare of the Netsuke.

I’ll have to send this idea off to Peter Gelb at the Metropolitan
Opera before someone else does. Quick get me his address…

The Nazi’s win again.
Our April book is “In the Garden of the Beasts” by Eric Larson.

Appropriate. I think Hitler’s birthday is in April. If only he had been accepted to art school…the world might have been a different place.

the further adventures of the netsuke...

Back to our story...In Vienna the netsuke are rescued from the Nazi’s by the Ephrussi’s loyal maid, Anna, who stuffs them into her mattress. Soldiers storm through the Ephrussi Palais stripping the walls of paintings and emptying the cabinets of silver and porcelain but they do not steal the netsuke.

Phew! they're safe. It is perhaps the one small thing Anna can save to pass on to the Ephrussi children.

After the war when the daughter, Elizabeth, visits Vienna, Anna returns the netsuke to her. A welcome gift bringing back happy childhood memories. After returning to England,
her new home, she shares them with her brother, Iggie.

At this point Iggie has been offered jobs in Japan or another country. The netsuke seem to persuade him to pick Japan. He wants to take them back to their home.

It is a good decision. Although Japan is a mess after WWII, he enjoys the country, meets his life partner, Jiro, and becomes a successful banker, like his father.

Our author, Edmund De Waal, visits Iggie in Japan and is first introduced to the family's netsuke collection. Iggie has begun research to discover who has made these small carved figures.

“This is when the netsuke carvers regain their names and start to become people with families, craftsmen in a particular landscape.”

He has catalogued the collection and it is “surprisingly valuable.” Several pieces where made by well known and respected artists.

After Iggie’s death De Waal inherits the collection. As an artist he appreciates their unique "beauty". In England, another new home, they are enjoyed by his children and family.

But once again the netsuke cannot sit quiet or peacefully in their glass display case. For De Waal the netsuke propel him on this journey to discover his family history and write the book, The Hare With Amber Eyes.

Perhaps we should just call them Japanese "action figures" since they do seem to prod their owners to "act".

Why objects are handed on....

Before starting our book I usually check out a few reviews just
to get my mind primed for the read ahead.

I’m recommending Object Lessons, a review by Tanya Harrod
and published in The Times Literary Supplement.
It’s beautifully written and it has really helped me appreciate some of the finer points of our book.

Harrod explains that the netsuke collection was available
for sale in 1880 Paris because the objects had lost their purpose in Japan.

“They functioned, modestly, as a toggle, threaded with cord
tightened with a bead, from which hung useful objects such as tobacco pouches, sake flasks and boxes containing seals or medicines. But when Japanese elites began to Westernize intellectually, industrially and sartorially, a great many objects lost their purpose – most obviously Samurai armour and swords and sword fittings, but also elaborate brocade robes and sashes and the whole world of sagemonon or “hanging things”, suspended chatelaine – like and secured by netsuke.”

Charles Ephrussi enjoys his netsuke collection for awhile
but then sends them on to Vienna, Austria as a wedding gift to his nephew, Viktor and bride Emmy. They are handed on because;

“as small tactile objects…they stood for a fashionable
collecting mania and also, for a love affair.”

Charles had collected and shared the netsuke with a mistress
who has moved on. He is also changing the decorating style of his fashionable home. Japanese objects were new and popular in the 1880’s but in 1899 they were “yesterday” so the netsuke had lost their “purpose” in Paris.

At one point Edmund De Waal, our storyteller, describes each netsuke as a storyteller of Old Edo, Japan;

“…the barrel-maker framed by the arc of his half-finished
barrel; the street-wrestlers in a sweaty, tumbling embrace of dark chestnut wood; the old, drunk monk with robes awry; the servant girl cleaning the floor; the rat-catcher with his basket open.”

These characters are working people, others are animals. Definitely out of place in a wealthy woman’s Viennese dressing room.

The children are allowed to take them out of the virtine and play with them. They are toys and characters in their stories. A new use for the netsuke.

So where will the story take them next?