Premium Maîtres Isabelle GOXE & Laurent BELAÏSCH
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JALOUX (Edmond), French writer and literary critic (1878–194…
See original version (French)
23
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JALOUX (Edmond), French writer and literary critic (1878–194…
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
JALOUX (Edmond), French writer and literary critic (1878–1949). Signed autograph manuscript entitled ‘Observation on the Psychology of Suicide’, with numerous corrections and revisions. 11 pp. folio. A highly interesting study of suicide, not in the philosophical sense of the term but in the psychological sense. It examines each human being’s relationship with death, the unconscious mechanisms at play, and the various vulnerabilities that trigger this act. He draws on numerous literary references to support and illustrate his arguments. ‘The first problem that arises is that of the sincerity of the person who commits suicide. It seems absurd at first, but would Robinson Crusoe kill himself? Suicide appears to be an essentially social act. Dostoevsky, who, on this point as on all others, went further than almost anyone else, has Von Stavrogin say at the end of *The Possessed*: ‘I know I ought to kill myself, to wipe myself off the face of the Earth like a wretched insect, but I am afraid of suicide, for I fear I might show greatness of soul’’ [...] Thus, suicides committed by sane individuals differ from those of the insane only in that their motives are comprehensible to us [...] Napoleon attempted suicide twice: first in Marseille, driven by poverty whilst he was still a young man living there with his mother and sister; and then on the eve of his departure from Fontainebleau. But when all hope was lost, and he had nothing left to look forward to but the hell of St Helena and the ravages of cancer, he no longer thought of suicide, but fell in love with a young girl. He would ride out on horseback to meet a sixteen-year-old girl, taking with him, so as to catch a glimpse of her from afar, the spyglass from Jena and Austerlitz...’.
See original version (French)
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Ref. : 212807/765
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