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Micheline's Blog

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Monthly Archives: September 2013

The Fox & the Crane, or Stork

30 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Beast Literature, Fables, Illustrations

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Art Nouveau, farce, illustrations, Jacques Offenbach, Lex Talionis, limerick, Perry Index 426, the Golden Rule, trompeur trompé, Walter Crane

4900407892_060b2145d1_b
 
The Fox and the Crane, by Walter Crane (1845–1915)
Photo credit: Gutenberg [eBook #25433]), p. 19
Perry Index 426
Aarne-Thompson Classification Systems 60 (now ATU [Uther])
 
 
You have heard how Sir Fox treated Crane:
With soup in a plate. When again
They dined, a long bottle
Just suited Crane’s throttle:
And Sir Fox licked the outside in vain.
 
THERE ARE GAMES THAT TWO CAN PLAY AT
 
5Cover Page: Baby’s Own Æsop
Photo credit: Gutenberg [eBook #25433] 
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.) 
 

Walter Crane: a Limerick

We are still in the “‘Golden Age’ of British illustration”[i] (see Arthur Rackham, Wikipedia).  Walter Crane (1845–1915) created illustrations for Baby’s Own Æsop (1887), Æsop‘s Fables adapted for children. The above illustrations are examples of Art Nouveau  (curves…). Famed engraver W. J. Linton (7 December 1812 – 29 December 1897) provided Walter Crane with the limericks, which does not mean he is their author. To the best of my knowledge, the limericks are anonymous. In Æsop and Jean de La Fontaine, the crane is a stork. Consequently, these are functions.

As for the text, it is a limerick version of the Æsopic fable “The Fox and the Stork” and Jean de La Fontaine’s retelling. Limericks are five-line poems and, typically, nonsensical, which is not the case with “The Fox and Crane.” The fable has simply been adapted for children.  Limericks can be learned easily and then recited. Their rhyme scheme is AABBA and their meter, the tri-syllabic anapest: two short and a long. Interestingly, the shortened text is inserted in the illustration, suggesting the growing importance of illustrations. Therefore, the limericks have a dual purpose. They suit children and allow for large illustrations.

“The Fox and the Stork,” by Æsop

In Æsop’s fable, the crane (la grue) is a stork (la cigogne) and the limerick, a genuine fable.  It is number 426 in the Perry Index and type 60 and AT type 60.  The following is V. S. Vernon Jones’ translation of Æsop’s “The Fox and Stork.” [eBook #11339]

A Fox invited a Stork to dinner, at which the only fare provided was a large flat dish of soup. The Fox lapped it up with great relish, but the Stork with her long bill tried in vain to partake of the savoury broth. Her evident distress caused the sly Fox much amusement. But not long after the Stork invited him in turn, and set before him a pitcher with a long and narrow neck, into which she could get her bill with ease. Thus, while she enjoyed her dinner, the Fox sat by hungry and helpless, for it was impossible for him to reach the tempting contents of the vessel.
 

preface

Preface, by illustrator Walter Crane
Photo credit: Gutenberg [eBook #25433]
 

deco05

La Fontaine’s “Le Renard et la Cigogne”

« Le Renard et la Cigogne » (I.18)
“The Fox and the Stork” (I.18) 
 
Old Mister Fox was at expense, one day,
To dine old Mistress Stork.
The fare was light, was nothing, sooth to say,
Requiring knife and fork.
That sly old gentleman, the dinner-giver,
Was, you must understand, a frugal liver.
This once, at least, the total matter
Was thinnish soup served on a platter,
For madam’s slender beak a fruitless puzzle,
Till all had passed the fox’s lapping muzzle.
But, little relishing his laughter,
Old gossip Stork, some few days after,
Returned his Foxship’s invitation.
Without a moment’s hesitation,
He said he’d go, for he must own he
Never stood with friends for ceremony.
And so, precisely at the hour,
He hied him to the lady’s bower;
Where, praising her politeness,
He finds her dinner right nice.
Its punctuality and plenty,
Its viands, cut in mouthfuls dainty,
Its fragrant smell, were powerful to excite,
Had there been need, his foxish appetite.
But now the dame, to torture him,
Such wit was in her,
Served up her dinner
In vases made so tall and slim,
They let their owner’s beak pass in and out,
But not, by any means, the fox’s snout!
All arts without avail,
With drooping head and tail,
As ought a fox a fowl had cheated,
The hungry guest at last retreated.
You knaves, for you is this recital,
You’ll often meet Dame Stork’s requital.
 
Jean de La Fontaine
(Photo credit: La Fontaine, ancien site officiel) 
 
RENARD-ET-CIGOGNE(Photo credit: La Fontaine, ancien site officiel)
 

The Deceiver Deceived or “le trompeur trompé ”

The structure of this fable is that of the “deceiver deceived” or “trompeur trompé.” The fox, as host, serves the crane (la grue) her meal on a flat plate. So the crane, as hostess, serves the fox (le renard) his meal in an urn. Molière used this structure in shorter plays (one to three acts) known as farces, as opposed to grandes comédies (five acts). These shorter plays resemble French medieval farces and facéties as well as comedies belonging to the Italian commedia dell’arte, an improvised comic form where the characters were stock-characters or archetypes, i.e. they always played the same role in plays following the same formula, or plot, as in “Harlequin” Romances.

In short, “The Fox and the Crane” is a farce; a trick played on one character is played on the trickster.  It is as though “The Fox and the Stork” were reversed into “The Stork and the Fox,” a mirror image æsthetics.

The Moral of “The Fox and the Stork”

At its simplest level, the moral of this fable is that what harm we do unto others can be done to us. The trickster may expect retaliation (lex talionis),[i] but not of a military nature. So this fable is a cautionary tale. The stork having been fooled by the fox, the fox can expect anything, and it is fooled the stork.  

Yet, what this fable has to teach is an all-encompassing rule.  It is the “do not do unto others what you do not wish others to do unto you.” According to Wikipedia,

“[t]he moral drawn is that the trickster must expect trickery in return and that the golden rule of conduct is for one to do to others what one would wish for oneself.”

Wikipedia emphasizes the universality of this rule (see Golden Rule). Let’s scroll down to the Sanskrit tradition.

“In Mahābhārata, the ancient epic of India, comes a discourse where the wise minister Vidura advises the King Yuddhiśhṭhira thus, ‘Listening to wise scriptures, austerity, sacrifice, respectful faith, social welfare, forgiveness, purity of intent, compassion, truth and self-control – are the ten wealth of character (self). O King aim for these, may you be steadfast in these qualities. These are the basis of prosperity and rightful living. These are highest attainable things. All worlds are balanced on dharma, dharma encompasses ways to prosperity as well. O King, dharma is the best quality to have, wealth the medium and desire (kāma) the lowest. Hence, (keeping these in mind), by self-control and by making dharma (right conduct) your main focus, treat others as you treat yourself.’”
 

—ooo—

 

“In the best of all possible worlds” (Candide [Leibniz], Voltaire), would the stork or crane have tricked the trickster?

_________________________  
[i] Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Sir John Tenniel, etc.
[ii] “talion”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Sep. 2013

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/581485/talion>.
 

Sources

1. V. S. Vernon Jones, (tr) G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Rackham (ill)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm
[EBook #11339]
 
2. George Fyler Townsend, translator
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21/21-h/21-h.htm#link2H_4_0210
[EBook #21]
 
3. Harrison Weir, John Tenniel and Ernest Griset, illustrators
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18732/18732-h/18732-h.htm
[EBook #18732]
 
4. Milo Winter, illustrator
The Æsop for Children
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm
[EBook #19994]
 
5. Walter Crane, illustrator
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25433/25433-h/25433-h.htm
[EBook #25433]
 
Crane_toybook  
Walter Crane’s Alphabet of Old Friends
(Featured in the video.)
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
 
Walter Crane
Jacques Offenbach (20 June 1819 – 5 October 1880)
Barcarolle, “Belle nuit, ô nuit d’amour”
 
 
deco04© Micheline Walker
30 September 2013
WordPress

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“Le Chêne et le Roseau” (The Oak and the Reed): the Moral

28 Saturday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Æsop, Fables, French Literature, Jean de La Fontaine

≈ 49 Comments

Tags

Achille Michallon, Avianus, Æsop, Elizur Wright, Jean de La Fontaine, l'honnête homme, Le Chêne et le Roseau, Louis XIV, Maëlle Doliveux, Perry Index, The Oak and the Reed, Vaux-le-Vicomte

the_oak_and_the_reed_by_achille_michallon  
 Achille Michallon (1796-1822; aged 26) 
(For Michallon, the “Oak and the Reed” could be used to describe the fate of Napoleon I.)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
 
The Oak and the Reed 
 
Jean de La Fontaine (Wikipedia)
The Oak and the Reeds (Wikipedia)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Oak_and_the_Reed
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/index.htm (texts, etc.)←
 
Aesop’s Fables 
Perry Index (#70)
 
 
“That proud, old, sky-encircled head,
Whose feet entwined the empire of the dead!”
 
mdoliveux_The%20Reed%20and%20the%20Oak%20Tree
The Reed and the Oak Tree
Maëlle Doliveux
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
 

“I bend, and do not break”

In an earlier post on the “The Oak and the Reed,” I commented on this line, the moral of the “The Oak and Reed:”  ‘Je plie, et ne romps pas.’  (‘I bend, and do not break.’)  This line illustrates La Fontaine’s uncanny ability to tell what he is not telling (dire-sans-dire).  In fact, it was long believed that this fable expounded the importance of humility and little else:  

“Written in the autocratic time of Louis XIV of France, this was so successfully achieved that it appeared to teach the value of humility at the same time as suggesting that rulers may not be as powerful as they think themselves.” (“The Oak and the Reed” [I.22], Wikipedia)

La Fontaine as a Protégé of Nicolas Fouquet

La Fontaine had been a protégé of Nicolas Fouquet/Foucquet (January 27, 1615 – March 23, 1680), the Superintendant of Finances, from 1653 until 1661, the year Louis XIV became King of France.  After 17 August 1661, the day Louis XIV attended a fête at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Fouquet’s magnificent castle, Louis XIV accused Fouquet of embezzlement.  Fouquet was convicted and condemned to banishment, a sentence Louis XIV himself, then aged 22, commuted to life imprisonment, at Pignerol (now Pinerolo, Italy), a sadder fate than banishment.  La Fontaine had written his “Élégie  aux Nymphes de Vaux,” in the vain hope of obtaining a degree of clemency towards his former patron, Nicolas Fouquet.  He also wrote “Le Songe de Vaux.”

oak-and-reed
The Oak and the Reed
(Photo credit: oldbookillustrations.com)
 

The Moral of “The Oak and the Reed”

As a university teacher, I often taught La Fontaine’s “Chêne et Roseau” and would ask my students to provide a moral for La Fontaine’s fable.  What did “Je plie, et ne romps pas” (I bend, and do not break) mean?

  • At first, they saw a fable about “the value of humility.”
  • They also said that it was about the mighty.  They could break.
  • Third, they commented on the underlying structure of fables and farcical comic texts, the formulaic “deceiver deceived” (“le trompeur trompé”).  People who allow themselves to boast, even moderately, are punished.

However, they did not see that “The Oak and the Reed” was about human behaviour and, in particular, about the importance of flexibility.  He who bends does not break.   The meaning of La Fontaine’s fables does not jump off the page.

“Je plie, et ne romps pas.”  (I bend, and do not break)

Earlier in the history of this fable, this moral, “I bend but do not break,” was expressed more explicitly.  According to Wikipedia, such was the moral of Avianus‘ (400 CE) telling of this fable, and the moral of earlier Greek retellings.  It is the moral expressed in Geoffrey Chaucer‘s (c. 1343 – 25 October 1400) Troilus and Criseyde, (II.1387-9) [EBook #257].

 A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall.

In footnote 28 of Gutenberg’s version of La Fontaine’s Fables, classified as [EBook #7241], American translator Elizur Wright and J. W. M. Gibbs, editor, state that “[t]he groundwork of this fable is in Æsop, and also in the Fables of Avianus.”  Flavius Avianus lived in the 5th century CE (the 400s) and translated 42 Æsopic fables. Famous translator and printer William Caxton (ca. 1415~1422 – ca. March 1492), translated “The Fables of Avian” into “Englyshe.”[i]

Two Traditions:  Phædrus and Babrius

Phædrus (Latin) and Babrius (Greek)  

Yet, it should be pointed out that, although Flavius Avianus‘ translation was in Latin verse, his main source had been Babrius who translated Æsop’s Fables into Greek. It could be, therefore, that Babrius’ moral was more explicit.  European sources of Æsopic fables were either the Latin translation by Phædrus‘ (c. 15 BCE – c. 50 CE) or Babrius‘ Æsop’s Fables. In fact, Avianus became a source to fable writers as did Névelet, whose Latin translation of Æsopic fables La Fontaine used, the Mythologia Æsopica Isaaci Nicolai Neveleti, Frankfurt, 1610.  (See lafontaine.net.) 

According to Wikipedia’s entry on “The Oak and the Reed,” flexibility was the teaching of the Rabbinic Talmud and the moral of earlier versions of “The Oak and the Reed,” all of which are rooted in “Near Eastern dispute poems.” The Talmud‘s “Be pliable like a reed, not rigid like a cedar” is attributed to Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar. The same moral is expressed in a Chinese proverb “A tree that is unbending is easily broken,” and the saying goes back to the Tao Te Ching. (See The Oak and the Reed, Wikipedia.) 

 i033

(Photo credit: Gutenberg (EBook #25357]
Percy J. Billinghurst)
 

“L’Honnête Homme”

Moreover, this moral, “[h]e who bends does not break,” could be associated with a French seventeenth-century ideal, that of l’honnête homme.  “L’honnête homme” or the concept of “honnêteté” was first described in Baldassare Castiglione‘s Il Cortegiano (1528), The Book of the Courtier, but Castiglione’s courtier underwent changes in Paris salons and in the works of the Chevalier de Méré, Nicolas Faret and Guez de Balzac.

In France, l’honnête homme is the perfect gentleman and courtier and he is, furthermore, as he seems. There is very little, if any, sprezzatura, a form of studied carelessness, about  “l’honnête homme.” “Honnêteté,” in its literal sense, that of “honesty,” militates against the idea of a mere façade.  I should think there were exceptions, but, in theory, l’honnête homme was well-educated (but not pedantic), had fine manners, dressed well, spoke well, never boasted and avoided all extremes, favouring modération.[ii]

Salomon_quercus
Bernard Salomon‘s woodcut of “The olive tree and the reed” from a French collection of Æsop’s Fables in rhyme (Lyon 1547)
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
 

The Oak, the Cedar and the Olive tree

Trees have been rigid for a very long time, but they have not been oak trees consistently.  The Talmud features a cedar and fabulists Gilles Corrozet (1547), Gabriele Faerno (1564) Giovanni Maria Verdizotti used an olive tree.  As for Swabian translator Heinrich Steinhöwel, he also used an olive tree.  His 1480 translation of Æsopic fables is rooted in Avianus, Babrius (Greek) and Romulus (a 5th-century Latin-language fabulist).  Romulus may be a legendary figure, which may also be the case with respect to Æsop himself.

Conclusion

I must close, but the above illustrates the depth of “The Oak and the Reed,” its age, not to mention its universality.  It is not only about the doomed pride of the mighty, but also about the flexibility humans require to function in society, under Louis XIV especially.  As for the ambiguity of its moral, it illustrates La Fontaine’s mute eloquence and may point to the Latin source of this fable.  However talkative animals, trees and willows can be in literature, they do not speak.  La Fontaine himself gave everyone the impression he was absent-minded and he was often referred to as a “bonhomme.”  After Vaux-le-Vicomte, the fall of Nicolas Fouquet, he let animals, trees, willows and, at times,  humans retell a fable that had been told for centuries and, perhaps, millennia.

RELATED ARTICLES

  • La Fontaine’s “Le Chêne et le Roseau”
  • Vaux-le-Vicomte: Fouquet’s Rise and Fall 
  • Il Cortegiano or “l’honnête homme”
  • A Few Words on “sprezzatura”  

_________________________

[i] [EBook #7241], Elizur Wright (translator), J. W. M. Gibbs (editor)

  • 28. The groundwork of this fable is in Æsop, and also in the Fables of Avianus.  Flavius Avianus lived in the 5th century.  His Æsopic Fables were written in Latin verse.  Caxton printed “The Fables of Avian, translated into Englyshe” at the end of his edition of Æsop.
  • 29. This fable and “The Animals Sick of the Plague” [I.7] are generally deemed La Fontaine’s two best fables. “The Oak and the Reed” is held to be the perfection of classical fable, while “The Animals Sick of the Plague” is esteemed for its fine poetic feeling conjoined with its excellent moral teaching. [EBook #7241]

[ii] If you can read French, you may wish to visit Larousse’s site: honnête homme.

Sources

Recent studies

Patrick Dandrey, (2nd edition) La Fabrique des Fables (FR) (Paris: Klincksieck, 1992).
Marc Fumaroli, Le Poète et le Roi. Jean de La Fontaine en son siècle (FR) (Paris: Le Fallois, 1997).
Jürgen Grimm (various articles) 

Texts

MythFolklore.Æsopica 
etc. 

Translations (Gutenberg)

La Fontaine’s Fables

1. A Hundred Fables of La Fontaine, Percy J. Billinghurst
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25357/25357-h/25357-h.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25357/25357-h/25357-h.htm#Page_60
[EBook #25357]
2. The Fables of La Fontaine, Elizur Wright, J. W. M. Gibbs, 1882 [1841]
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext05/8ffab10h.htm 
[EBook #7241]
3. The Fables of La Fontaine,  Walter Thornbury, Gustave Doré
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/50316/50316-h/50316-h.htm
[EBook #50316]
4. Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks, From the French of La Fontaine
John Rae & W.T. (William Trowbridge) Larned
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24108/24108-h/24108-h.htm  
 

Æsop’s Fables

1. V. S. Vernon Jones, (tr) G. K. Chesterton, Arthur Rackham (ill)
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#030-2
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#THE_OAK_AND_THE_REEDS
[EBook #11339]
2. George Fyler Townsend, translator
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21/21-h/21-h.htm#link2H_4_0210
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21/21-h/21-h.htm#link2H_4_0128 (The Oak and the Reeds) 
[EBook #21]
3. Harrison Weir, John Tenniel and Ernest Griset, illustrators 
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18732/18732-h/18732-h.htm
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18732/18732-h/18732-h.htm (The Oak and the Reeds)
[EBook #18732]
4. Milo Winter (illustrator)
The Æsop for Children
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm
[EBook #19994]  
5. The Baldwin Project: The Tree and the Reeds
http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=baldwin&book=fables&story=tree
 
 
mdoliveux_The%20Reed%20and%20the%20Oak%20Tree 
The Reed and the Oak Tree
Maëlle Doliveux
 

Aesop-title

© Micheline Walker
28 September 2013
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La Fontaine’s Fables Compiled & Walter Crane

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art, Fables

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

Arts and Crafts Movement, Franz Schubert, Jean de La Fontaine, Neptune's Horses, Posts on La Fontaine, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Ständchen, Walter Crane

5_4crane-babys-own

The Baby’s Own Æsop, illustrated by Walter Crane  (London, New York: Routledge, 1887)
Photo credit: http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/crane/
 
Crane_toybook
Crane’s interest in Japanese art is evident in this 1874 cover of a 
toy book, printed by Edmund Evans. 
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
 

Illustrator: Walter Crane

I have endeavoured to collect all my posts on Jean de La Fontaine (8 July 1621 – 13 April 1695), most of which are also discussions of Æsop‘s Fables.  We have now discussed many fables by La Fontaine and Æsop. My list may therefore be incomplete.

The ‘Golden Age’ of British book illustration

The illustrations shown in this post are by Walter Crane (1845–1915) who illustrated Æsop‘s Fables adapted for children. Crane lived during the ‘Golden Age’ of British book illustration. His contemporaries were Randolph Caldecott, Kate Greenaway, Arthur Rackham, Sir John Tenniel (Alice in Wonderland), and other celebrated illustrators.

Japonism of Toy Books

Crane was influenced by Japonisme: ukiyo-e prints. In England, Japonism was called the Anglo-Japanese Style. The Alphabet of Old Friends, shown above, one of Crane’s toy books, is an example of Japonism both from the point of view of subject matter (e.g. the heron or crane, the oranges) and style: flat colours, etc.

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the Arts and Crafts Movement

The Healthy and Artistic Dress Union

However, Crane is usually associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (middle of 19th century onward) and the Arts and Crafts Movement (1860 and 1910), movements that incorporated the decorative arts and design.  William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896), a leading member of both movements, designed wallpaper and tiles.  Interestingly, Walter Crane designed not only wallpaper, etc., but clothes for women, looser-fitting clothes.  He was in fact a Vice President of the Healthy and Artistic Dress Union.  This, I would not have suspected.

At first sight, Walter Crane’s moral for the “Fox and the Grapes” seems rather negative, if one focusses on the word disappointment: “The grapes of disappointment are always sour.”  However, this moral may serve to lessen cognitive dissonance, if the grapes are deemed sour.  Since Æsop‘s Fables are for anyone to retell, morals may differ from author to author.

La Fontaine’s illustrators

Walter Crane was a fine artist. He is the creator of “Neptune’s Horses,” an artwork that is somewhat reminiscent of Hokusai‘s Great Wave off Kanagawa. “Neptune’s Horses” is featured at the very bottom of this post. However, although Crane illustrated Æsop‘s Fables, and, by extension, some of La Fontaine’s Æsopic fables, the most famous illustrators of La Fontaine’s Fables are Jean-Baptiste Oudry, François Chauveau, Jean Ignace Isidore Gérard Grandville, Gustave Doré, and others, some of whom I have already mentioned and some I will mention in future posts.

The Video

YouTube has a lovely video featuring Walter Crane’s art. However, it does not show his illustrations of fables. It does not fully belong to this post. The music is Franz Schubert‘s (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) Ständchen, D. 957.

FABLES by Jean de La Fontaine 
(I like the fable entitled “The Man and the Snake” [X.1])
 
  • The Cat’s Only Trick, “Le Chat et le Renard” (IX.14) (The Cat and the Fox)
  • The Cat Metamorphosed into a Maid, by Jean de La Fontaine, “La Chatte métamorphosée en femme” (II.18)
  • “The Cock and the Pearl,” La Fontaine cont’d (I.20), “Le Coq et la Perle” (I.20)
  • La Fontaine’s “The Fox and the Grapes,” “Le Renard et les Raisins” (III.11)
  • The Fox & Crane, or Stork, “Le Renard et la Cigogne” (I.18)
  • The Fox with his Tail Cut Off, (see Another Motif: The Tail-Fisher) (V.5)
  • The Frogs Who Desired a King , “Les Grenouilles qui demandent un roi” (III.4)
  • The Hen with the Golden Eggs, “La Poule aux œufs d’or” (V.8)
  • The Man and the Snake, “L’Homme et la Couleuvre” (X.1)
  • The Miller, his Son and the Donkey: quite a Tale, “Le Meunier, son fils, et l’âne” (X.1)
  • A Motif: Getting Stuck in a Hole, “La Belette entrée dans un grenier” (III.17) (The Weazel in the Granary)
  • Another Motif: The Tail-Fisher, “Le Renard ayant la queue coupée” (V.5)
  • The Mouse Metamorphosed into a Maid, by Jean de La Fontaine, “La Souris métamorphosée en fille” (II.18)
  • The North Wind and the Sun, “Phébus et Borée” (VI.3)
  • The Oak Tree and the Reed “Le Chêne et le Roseau,” (I.22)
  • (The Oak and the Reed):  the Moral “Le Chêne et le Roseau” (I.22)
  • The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse, “Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs” (I.9)
  • La Fontaine’s “The Two Doves,” “Les Deux Pigeons” (IX.2)
  • The Two Rats, the Fox and Egg: The Soul of Animals, “Les Deux Rats, le Renard, et l’Œuf” (IX. last fable)
  • You can’t please everyone: Æsop retold, “Le Meunier, son fils, et l’âne” (X.1)

11_600

  • “La Belette entrée dans un grenier” (III.17) A Motif: Getting Stuck in a Hole (“The Weazel in the Granary”)
  • “Le Chat et le Renard” (IX.14)  The Cat’s Only Trick (“The Cat and the Fox”)
  • “La Chatte métamorphosée en femme” (II.18) The Cat Metamorphosed into a Maid, by Jean de La Fontaine
  • “Le Chêne et le Roseau” (I.22) The Oak Tree and the Reed
  • “Le Chêne et le Roseau” (The Oak and the Reed):  the Moral (I.22)
  • “Le Coq et la Perle” “The Cock and Pearl,” La Fontaine cont,d
  • “Les Deux Pigeons” The Two Doves (IX.2)
  • “Les Deux Rats, le Renard et l’Œuf” (IX.last fable) The Two Rats, the Fox and Egg: The Soul of Animals
  • “Les Grenouilles qui demandent un roi” (III.4) “Les Grenouilles qui demandent un roi,” (The Frogs Who Desired a King)
  • “L’Homme et la Couleuvre” (X.1) The Man and the Snake
  • “Le Meunier, son fils, et l’âne” (III.1) The Miller, his Son and the Donkey: quite a Tale
  • “Le Meunier, son fils, et l’âne” (III.1) You can’t please everyone: Æsop retold
  • “Phébus et Borée” (VI.3) The North Wind and the Sun
  • “La Poule aux œufs d’or” (V.8) The Hen with the Golden Eggs
  • “Le Rat de ville et le Rat des champs” (I.9) The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
  • “Le Renard ayant la queue coupée” (V.5) Another Motif: The Tail-Fisher (“The Fox with his Tail Cut Off”)
  • “Le Renard et la Cigogne” (I.18) The Fox & Crane, or Stork
  • “Le Renard et les Raisins” (III.11) The Fox and the Grapes
  • “La Souris métamorphosée en fille” (IV.7) The Mouse Metamorphosed into a Maid, by Jean de La Fontaine
9_600606px-Can't_please_everyone2

Franz Schubert: Ständchen, D. 957

  
Crane© Micheline Walker
24 September 2013 
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Neptune’s Horses, 1892
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La Fontaine’s “The Fox and the Grapes”

23 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Fables

≈ 40 Comments

Tags

Arthur Rackham, Æsop, cognitive dissonance, Des vertes et des pas mûres, green, La Fontaine, Marianne Moore, subtext, The Fox and the Grapes, vert

11,1
The Fox and the Grapes, by illustrator John Rae (1882-1963)[i] 
 
“The Fox and the Grapes” is classified as AT 59 in the Aarne-Thompson motif index.  In the Perry Index, it is Æsop’s fable number 15.
It finds antecedents in Æsop’s Fables and the Roman de Renart, br. XI, v. 257-333 (FR), or Reynard the Fox.  It is Jean de La Fontaine‘s « Le Renard et les Raisins » and Æsop’s The Fox and the Grapes.
 
11,3
The Fox and the Grapes, by illustrator John Rae  
 
The Fox and the Grapes, by Æsop
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#030-2

A hungry Fox saw some fine bunches of Grapes hanging from a vine that was trained along a high trellis, and did his best to reach them by jumping as high as he could into the air. But it was all in vain, for they were just out of reach: so he gave up trying, and walked away with an air of dignity and unconcern, remarking, “I thought those Grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour.”  (V S Vernon Jones, translator [EBook #11339])

Le Renard et les Raisins, by La Fontaine
(Château-Thierry)
 
Certain renard Gascon, d’autres disent normand,
Mourant presque de faim, vit au haut d’une treille (Mourant: Dying)
Des raisins mûrs apparemment
Et couverts d’une peau vermeille.
Le galant en eut fait volontiers un repas; (un repas: a meal)
Mais, comme il n’y pouvait atteindre : (atteindre: to reach)
« Ils sont trop verts, dit-il, et bons pour des goujats. » (verts: green)
Fit-il pas mieux que de se plaindre ?
(III. 11)
 
The Fox and the Grapes, by La Fontaine
[EBook #50316]
 
A fox, almost with hunger dying,
Some grapes on a trellis spying,
To all appearance ripe, clad in
Their tempting russet skin,
Most gladly would have eat them;
But since he could not get them,
So far above his reach the vine
“They’re sour,” he said; “such grapes as these,
The dogs may eat them if they please!”
Did he not better than to whine?
(III. 11)
 

Cognitive Dissonance: incompatible Ideas

“The Fox and the Grapes” is one of Æsop‘s as well as Jean de La Fontaine‘s (III. 11) better-known Fables.  La Fontaine’s “Fox and Grapes” was published in the third book of in his first collection of Fables (1668).  According to Wikipedia, this fable “can be held to illustrate the concept of cognitive dissonance.” (See The Fox and the Grapes, Wikipedia)  “In this view, the premise of the fox that covets inaccessible grapes is taken to stand for a person who attempts to hold incompatible ideas simultaneously.  In that case, the disdain the fox expresses for the grapes at the conclusion to the fable serves at least to diminish the dissonance even if the behaviour in fact remains irrational.”[ii]

“When the fox fails to reach the grapes, he decides he does not want them after all.  Rationalization (making excuses) is often involved in reducing anxiety about conflicting cognitions, according to cognitive dissonance theory.”  (See The Fox and the Grapes, Wikipedia)

621-20162
The Fox and the Grapes, by Gustave Doré, 1870 (below), 1880 (above)
(Photo credit: Google images)
 
2786759
 

Linguistic Dissonance: ‘vert’ and ‘sour’

La Fontaine writes that the grapes were ‘vert(s)’ (green) instead of ‘sour.’  Vert is associated with a lack of maturity or naivety, in both French and English.  In the French language, ‘vert’ may also refer to female immaturity.  In Wikipedia’s entry on “The Fox and the Grapes,” the author mentions an illustration by Gustave Doré (6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) that reveals the second meaning of ‘unripe,’ ‘vert,’ and, consequently, also reveals the story’s “subtext:”[iii] 

“Gustave Doré‘s illustration of the fable for the 1870 edition pictures a young man in a garden who is looking towards the steps to a mansion in the distance on which several youung women are congregated. An older man is holding p his thumb and forefinger, indicating that they are only little girls. The meaning of this transposition to the human situation hinges on the double meaning of ‘unripe’ (vert) in French, which could also be used of a sexually immature female.  From this emerges the story’s subtext, of which a literal translation reads

“The gallant would gladly have made a meal of them
But as he was unable to succeed, says he:
‘They are unripe and only fit for green boys.’”
 

Des Vertes et des pas mûres

The French expression « Des vertes et des pas mûres » (the green and the unripe) may refer to difficult experiences, but it may also refer to things racy (saucy) and shocking.  Babrius‘ Greek “Fox and Grapes” has the same “ambiguity.”  The literal meaning of the word(s) ‘omphakes eisin,’ ‘Omphax,’ is unripe grape.  Metaphorically, however, it describes a girl “not yet ripe for marriage.”

As for the English expression “sour grapes,” it is from the fable “The Fox and the Grapes,” and would mean: false pretenses.  (See The Fox and the Grapes, Wikipedia)

The Moral

The translations of the Moral

  • “I thought those Grapes were ripe, but I see now they are quite sour” (Æsop, V S Vernon Jones)
  • « Fit-il pas mieux que de se plaindre ? »
  • Did he not better than to whine?
  • “Better, I think, than an embittered whine.” (La Fontaine, Marianne Moore)

American modernist author Marianne Moore (15 November 1887 – 5 February 1972) provided a lovely prose translation of La Fontaine’s last line.  Marianne Moore’s translation “sings” and it moves: alliteration, consonance: b, t, r; and assonance: i, e(r).  It is therefore a truly poetical English-language moral.

Cognitive dissonance and linguistic dissonance

“The Fox and the Grapes” illustrates the theory of cognitive dissonance (the perversion of rationalization).  There is cognitive dissonance when a person “attempts to hold incompatible ideas simultaneously” (Jon Elster).  However, according to this theory, expressing scorn for what cannot be attained “serves to diminish the dissonance,” which makes it a rather useful ‘perversion.’  It would seem that such a moral is consistent with the popular moral of “The Fox and the Grapes,” which is that, from a practical point of view, it is quite appropriate to lessen one’s disappointment by finding imperfection with what is beyond one’s reach.

But, although this fable is part of the Roman de Renart, where the fox is a trickster, the fox featured in “The Fox and the Grapes,” is a rather philosophical character.  Playing tricks requires savvy or savoir-faire, as does negotiating the various events of life, some pleasant but some not so pleasant.  So if our fox can find fault with what he coveted, he is a happy fellow and, to a certain extent, he is also wise.  As for the young girls of the subtext, they were undoutedly too ‘vertes’ (green).

In “The Cat’s Only Trick,” the cat’s claws allow the cat to climb a tree and thereby escape the hunting dogs who kill the fox.  In that fable, the trickster is fooled.  It is a comic text.  As for our fox, he is not the wise fox featured in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry‘s (1900-1944) The Little Prince (1943), but he is emotionally competent, a form of wisdom.

Green is the colour of hope, and hope, the finest of virtues.  I will always remember discovering Charles Péguy‘s petite fille espérance, the little girl hope, the second virtue: faith, hope and charity.

030-1
The Fox and the Grapes, Arthur Rackham
(Photo credit: Project Gutenberg)
[EBook #11339]
 
Sources
 
-La Fontaine’s Le Renard et les Raisins
(Château Thierry)
-Æsop’s “The Fox & Crane, or Stork”
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/25433/25433-h/25433-h.htm#Page_9
Æsop’s “The Fox and the Grapes” or
“The Fox and the Grapes out of Reach” 
–http://www.gutenberg.org/files/21/21-h/21-h.htm#link2H_4_0210
[EBook #21]
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11339/11339-h/11339-h.htm#030-2
[EBook #11339]
The Æsop for Children 
–http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm
[EBook #19994] 
“The Fox and the Grapes”
–http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19994/19994-h/19994-h.htm#Page_20
[EBook #19994]  
Babrius‘ Greek Translation 2nd century CE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babrius
Phædrus‘ Latin Translation Book IV –  III. De Vulpe et Vua (c. 15 BCE – c. 50 CE)
http://mythfolklore.net/aesopica/phaedrus/43.htm
La Fontaine: The Fox and the Grapes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes
Wikipedia’s entry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes
 
___________________________________ 
[i] Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks from the French of La Fontaine
W.T. (William Trowbridge) Larned (translator)
[EBook #24108]
[ii] Jon Elster, Sour Grapes: Studies in the Subversion of Rationality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983).
[iii] The Fox and the Grapes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fox_and_the_Grapes
 
Louis-Nicolas Clérambault (19 December 1676 – 26 October 1749) 
Simphonia [Sonata] n. 4 for violin and basso continuo
Chaconne
Les Solistes du Concert Spirituel, Hervé Niquet (conductor)
 
030-2

The Fox and Grapes,
by Arthur Rackham
[EBook #11339]
(Photo credit: Project Gutenberg)

 
© Micheline Walker
22 September 2013 
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Peace

20 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bashar al-Assad, clarification, exceptional nations, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Syria, the United Nations, the United States, war crime

picasso peace

Peace Dove, by Pablo Picasso, 1949 (Photo Credit: Google Images)

“After a strike, one can expect anything:” clarification

I received two comments from persons who did not understand the meaning of a quotation.  In an interview, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”  The statement is not mine and it may be unclear.

After a strike, i.e. the gassing to death by sarin of 1,429 Syrian citizens, by forces under the command of Bashar al-Assad, Syrian President Assad can expect anything: retaliation.

Similarly after a “punitive” strike on Syria by the United States, the United States can expect retaliation on the part of ?

Strike A:  Assad on Syria (civil war) = Strike B:  the US on Assad

Danger: Since President Assad is a protégé of Russian President Vladimir Putin, we do not know who would strike after strike B, but in all likelihood, there would be retaliation and Assad may be helped by his ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Strike C = unknown

Assad: “You can expect everything.”
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/video/2013/09/09/bachar-al-assad-attendez-vous-a-tout_3473648_3218.html
 

“Exceptional” Nations

Because of its status as a “superpower” the United States is currently expected to intervene in the Syrian crisis.  Therefore, at the moment, the US’ status as superpower is placing a heavy and perhaps unfair burden on US President Barack Obama and on his people.

Moreover, the US has now been called an “exceptional” nation, which would give it not only the right to strike but also the responsibility to do so.  Is this acceptable?

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Fundamentally-Freund-Yes-Mr-Putin-America-is-exceptional-326415

A War Crime

However, on 16 September 2013, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon  reported that it had been determined by the United Nations that 1,429 Syrian citizens were gassed to death near Damascus, on 21 August 2013.  This is a “war crime.”  Therefore, it would be my opinion that matters have changed.  It is now official that Assad’s forces acted in violation of an international law. Theoretically, this is a matter for the United Nations to deal with.

http://webtv.un.org/watch/ban-ki-moon-syria-security-council-media-stakeout-16-september-2013/2676128008001/

The Last Post on the Syrian Crisis

I did not intend to write a post on Syria today.  In fact, I did not intend to write any more posts on the Syrian crisis.  This link will take you to the latest development:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/09/19/an-e-mail-to-the-united-states-from-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad/

I will close by saying that I grieve profoundly for those who have had to flee Syria, for those who have been prevented from fleeing Syria, and for the families and friends of those who were gassed to death.

* * *

Joseph Haydn (31 March 1732 – 31 May 1809)
Cello Concerto No. 1 in C major, H. 7b-1- Adagio
Jacqueline du Pré (26 January 1945 – 19 October 1987)
 
picasso-pablo-dove-of-peace© Micheline Walker
September 20, 2013
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The Syrian Crisis & the United Nations

19 Thursday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Ban Ki-moon, diplomatic solution, exceptional nations, John Kerry, Lex Talionis, retaliation, Syria, The Middle East, United Nations, Vlaldimir Putin

1379449220988.cached 

Vladimir Putin

(Photo credit: Valeriy Melnikov/Host Photo Agency via Getty)
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/17/mckeon-responds-to-putin-in-the-moscow-times.html
 

Retaliation or the Lex Talionis 

Life teaches us not to let ourselves be provoked.  Indignation has its place, but if someone gets angry, it is best to leave the room and let that person simmer down.  Whether or not he or she is right or wrong, the first response to anger may well be to get out of harm’s way.

Retaliation, the lex talionis, an eye for an eye, is at times applicable.  For instance, Assad may have to compensate the Syrian citizens who have left the country and the families of those who have been killed.  However, in all likelihood, retaliation, i.e. a strike on the part of the US, would, at the moment, make matters worse.

When George W Bush entered Iraq, he entered a sovereign nation.  This was a transgression.  We may therefore be witnessing an instance of retaliation (lex talionis).

Using Chemical Weapons: “war Crime”

However, forces under Bashar al-Assad’s command now stand accused of a “war crime.”  The use of chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction, is a criminal violation of international law.  Given that Assad’s forces killed indiscriminately 1,429 Syrian citizens using a chemical weapon, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad may have to face the International Court of Justice, at The Hague, as may Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Matters have changed

In other words, on 16 September 2013, when the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, reported that sarin gas had been used, matters changed.  It is now for a united world to act.  A strike on the part of the United States may no longer be the appropriate course of action.

http://webtv.un.org/watch/ban-ki-moon-syria-security-council-media-stakeout-16-september-2013/2676128008001/

US Secretary of State John Kerry

US Secretary of State John Kerry pared the problem down to the use of a chemical weapon, the “war crime.”  In an “off-the-cuff” remark, John Kerry stated that if Syria put its chemical weapons under international control and destroyed them, there would not be a strike on the part of the United States.  The world welcomed this idea, including Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The Deal of a lifetime

In the meantime, as mentioned above, it has been determined by the United Nations that Bashar al-Assad’s forces used sarin, a chemical weapon, to kill 1,429 Syrian citizens.  On 16 September 2013, Ban Ki-moon, reported that a “war crime” had been committed.  If it is acceptable to the international community, Mr Kerry’s deal may be the deal of a lifetime for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.  At any rate, President Assad has accepted to put his chemical weapons under international control.  They will be destroyed.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/19/syria-chemical-weapons-bashar-al-assad-tv-interview

The US viewed as “exceptional”

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Fundamentally-Freund-Yes-Mr-Putin-America-is-exceptional-326415

According to Michael Freund of the Jerusalem Post, “America is truly different, both because of its principles and its performance on the world stage.”  The United States has been and remains a superpower, but should the world entertain the notion that certain states are exceptional?  This concept warrants serious analysis.

For one thing, the US’ status as “superpower” has been a burden on US President Barack Obama and his nation.

::

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  • Syria
  • Syria, cont’d
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  • “After a strike, one can expect anything.”
  • The Agreement and the Criminal Element
Felix Mendelssohn (3 February 1809 –  4 November 1847)
Song without Words, opus 109
Jacqueline du Pré (cello)
 
449px-Mendelssohn_BartholdyPortrait of Felix Mendelssohn by the English miniaturist James Warren Childe (1778–1862), 1839
Photo credit: Wikipedia
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
 
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September 18, 2013
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The Agreement and the Criminal Element

16 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East, United States

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

a war crime, Ban Ki-moon, Bashar al-Assad, chemical weapons, Professor Richard Price, the Agreement, The Middle East, the United Nations, Vladimir Putin

_69859949_69859948

President Obama has exchanged letters with Iranian president
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24102915
 

A) Why Chemical Weapons are Taboo

Why chemical weapons are taboo, by Professor Richard Price

UBC (University of British Columbia, Canada) professor Richard Price, author of a history of chemical weapons, discusses why they’re considered so heinous with The Sunday Edition.  Host Michael Enright.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/World/ID/2406448455/

B) Timeline

1) Assad violates an international law.  Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a protégé of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On 21 August 2013, Syria allows the wanton killing of 1,429 Syrians, including more than 400 children, using a chemical weapon: sarin.  Chemical weapons are weapons of mass destruction.

2) The international community and the US are outraged.  Syria “warns” that “after a strike, you can expect anything.”

By and large, United States citizens oppose a military strike on Syria.  Military action, however narrow and targeted, is dangerous: “after a strike, you can expect anything.”

http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/video/2013/09/09/bachar-al-assad-attendez-vous-a-tout_3473648_3218.html (in an interview, EN)

3) An agreement to put Assad’s chemical weapons under international control is reached.  A dangerous strike would not be necessary. (9 September 2013)

US Secretary of State John Kerry makes an “off-the-cuff” remark.  If Syria puts its chemical weapons under International Control, the matter is resolved.  President Putin calls on President Bashar al-Assad to put his chemical weapons under international control and destroy them.  Bashar al-Assad agrees to put his chemical weapons under international control.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/16/world/middleeast/deal-represents-turn-for-syria-rebels-deflated.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4) Putin publishes a warning in The New York Times. (12 September 2013)

On 12 September 2013, Putin uses The New York Times to warn the US that it cannot break the law, the law being a decision not to strike by the United Nations’ Security Council.  However, the Assad regime has acted criminally.  Does one even vote under such circumstances?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10305483/Vladimir-Putin-warns-America-to-obey-international-law-over-Syria.html

5) However, it is the Assad regime that broke not only the law, but international law.  Bashar al-Assad is now a suspected criminal and could be arrested.  There is an International Court at The Hague, in the Netherlands.  Let us return to 21 August 2013.   

On 21 August 2013, forces under Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s command gassed to death 1,429 Syrian citizens using a weapon of mass destruction: a chemical weapon.  Assad broke the law and Russia is backing Assad.  Therefore, how can Russian President Vladimir Putin ask Americans to respect the law?

6) An Agreement has been reached, but Assad is trying to back out.

US President Barack Obama has respected the law.  The US is nearly finished pulling out of the Middle East.  Since 2008, President Obama and former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have done everything in their power to respect the sovereignty of the various countries of the Middle East.  Current US Secretary of State John Kerry is also doing all he can to respect the sovereignty of the countries of the Middle East.

C) A Larger Threat

1. Danger:  If the world allows President Bashar al-Assad to use chemical weapons, one can expect further attacks by chemical weapons. 
2. Danger:  In the event of a strike on the part of the United States leading a coalition, “one can expect anything.”
3. Danger:  Russian President Vladimir Putin is Syria’s ally.  The Syrian crisis does not begin and end in Syria.  What if after a strike, Russia becomes the United States’ foe ?
4. Danger:  Iran
 
President Obama has exchanged letters with Iranian president
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24102915 
 
Obama’s Middle East dilemma, by Dr Marwan Al Kabalan
http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&pageid=606&catid=21
       

Conclusion

I still think it would be prudent on the part of the United States to insist that Assad put his chemical weapons under international supervision, at which point they will be destroyed, as he agreed to do.  I have yet to exclude provocation on the part of the Assad regime.  It could be that 1,429 Syrian citizens were gassed to death so the United States would feel motivated to intervene. Throughout the history of mankind, nations have killed their own people and made it seem the work of an enemy, thereby inviting hostility.

However, I still believe a strike can be avoided.  There is an Agreement, and the entire world knows there is.  Moreover, I am adding a new element: criminality.  If there has been a crime against humanity and there is an identified suspect, what role should the Security Council play?

Breaking News: a “War Crime” (Ban Ki-moon)

http://webtv.un.org/watch/ban-ki-moon-syria-security-council-media-stakeout-16-september-2013/2676128008001/

We have an Agreement, but we also have a suspected criminal.  If I were Bashar al-Assad, I would respect that Agreement without further delay.

___________________________________
Sources:
– CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/World/ID/2406448455/
– BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24102915
http://www.bbc.com/news/?ocid=global-news-pinned-ie9
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23967669
– Syria online
http://www.syriaonline.sy/?f=Details&pageid=606&catid=21
– The Telegraph (UK)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10305483/Vladimir-Putin-warns-America-to-obey-international-law-over-Syria.html
etc.
– United Nations
http://webtv.un.org/watch/ban-ki-moon-syria-security-council-media-stakeout-16-september-2013/2676128008001/
 

RELATED ARTICLES

  • Syria
  • Syria, cont’d
  • Syria on my Mind
  • “After a strike, one can expect anything.”
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1 April 1873 – 28 March 1943)
Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5
Andre Kostelanetz and his Orchestra 
 

433px-Sergei_Rachmaninoff_LOC_33968_Cropped

© Micheline Walker
September 16, 2013
 
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“After a strike, one can expect anything.”

15 Sunday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East, United States

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Barack Obama, Bashar al-Assad, Frédéric Chopin, John Kerry, one can expect anything, Pablo Picasso, Syria, Vladimir Putin

olga-in-a-hat-with-feather-1920.jpg!Blog

Olga in a Hat with Feather, 1920[i]
Olga au chapeau à la plume
(Photo credit: Wikipaintings)
Artwork: Pablo Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973)
 

On Thursday, I went to Montreal to share lunch with a friend of many years.  She had come from Ottawa and I, from Sherbrooke.  Our friendship dates back to the year I studied in Montreal.  We did, of course, discuss the weather and spent an hour or so shopping.  But we then found a café and simply talked.  We discussed Pauline Marois, the current “separatist” premier of Quebec.  I told my friend that a few months ago Pauline Marois had hired someone to identify the wrongs currently inflicted on Quebec by Ottawa.  My comment put an end to that part of the conversation.  We laughed.  However, I have since read that Pauline Marois and Justin Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, “may have just buried” separatism.

http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/09/12/michael-den-tandt-pauline-marois-may-have-just-buried-separatism-and-crowned-justin-trudeau/

Assad’s Agreement

We went on to speak about Syria.  We were both delighted that an “off-the-cuff” remark by US Secretary of State John Kerry (born 11 November 1943) had led Russian President Vladimir Putin (born 7 October 1952) to call on President Bashar al-Assad (born 11 September 1965) to put his chemical weapons under international control and to destroy them.  There is an end to this intervention, which is its main but very real virtue.  President Bashar al-Assad has warned that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/syria-chemical-weapons-deal-reached-by-u-s-and-russia-1.1835170

portrait-of-olga-1920_jpg!BlogPresident Barack Obama (born 4 August 1961) has been described as “ambivalent” by CNN’s Gloria Borger.  Given the events of the 2000s: two wars, a huge debt, not to mention the loss of life and limbs, one can understand why President Obama is a reticent warrior.  Had there been a strike on Syria, the US would have led an international coalition and no one would have entered Syria, a sovereign country.  Yet, a strike is dangerous.  President Assad has warned that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”

 

Portrait of Olga, 1920
(Photo credit: Wikipaintings)
 
 

The use of chemical weapons, i.e. weapons of mass destruction, is prohibited under international law.  Yet, on 21 August 2013, the Assad regime allowed 1,429 Syrians, including more than 400 children to be gassed to death.  Can the international community simply stand by?  Assad committed a crime and may have done so to draw the United States into a conflict with Syria and, possibly, with Russia.  I would prefer to dismiss the idea of a setup, but I suspect political wranglings on a larger rather than smaller scale.

cc303a442f57f291496ae467b65a8bf5woman-reading-olga-1920

Mother and Child, 1922 and Portrait of Olga reading, 1920 (Photo credit: Wikipaintings)
 

Despite its debt, the United States remains a “superpower” and it has a formidable arsenal.  But it is a weary superpower and, by and large, US citizens oppose any action that could lead to yet another war.  Consequently, President Obama had been seeking the support of Congress and that of his nation before entering into a military engagement: a strike.  But there has now been an agreement.  Russia has called on Syria to put its chemical weapons under international control and to destroy them and Syria has agreed to do as President Putin proposed.  So why is President Putin entertaining the thought of a possible strike?

The Security Council

Russian President Vladimir Putin is indeed urging the US to “‘obey’ international law and not strike Syria without the approval of the United Nations.”  On Thursday, 12 September 2013, he in fact “used the editorial pages of the New York Times to make his own personal address to the American people.”  How very noble, but confusing!  Again, hasn’t Russian President Vladimir Putin persuaded Syrian President Assad to put his chemical weapons under international supervision and to destroy them?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10305483/Vladimir-Putin-warns-America-to-obey-international-law-over-Syria.html

As I wrote in my last post, Syria on my Mind, the UN may serve rather than hinder Assad’s regime.  If the Security Council votes in favour of a strike, Russia can veto that decision.  Moreover, China is one of the five nations that may veto “punitive” — I do not like that word — action against Syria.  The US owes China a fortune.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_veto_power

Back to Assad’s Agreement

I may be wrong, but I sense a motivation on the part of Russia to make itself a superpower intent on obstructing another or other superpower(s).  Therefore, it may be prudent on the part of the United States to concentrate on making sure Syria puts its chemical weapons under international supervision and destroys them, as President Assad has agreed to do.  I believe it would be wise on the part of the United States to insist that Assad keep his word or forever be mocked for lying to the world.

In other words, it would be my opinion that the US may be well-advised to pare the problem down to its smallest, yet enormous and central, component: the use of chemical weapons, weapons of mass destruction.  It just could be that Secretary of State John Kerry’s off-the-cuff remark can be used as an off-the-hook opportunity.

The Shoe is on the other foot

On my way home, I kept thinking that it was hugely arrogant of President Assad to be warning the international community that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”  The shoe is on the other foot.  President Bashar al-Assad has violated an international law by using chemical weapons to kill indiscriminately 1,429 citizens of his country.  It therefore seems that it is now the international community’s turn to tell President Assad that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”

Conclusion

Yet, as I wrote above, I believe that an intervention on the part of the United States should be limited to insisting that President Assad keep his word and put his chemical weapons under international supervision, ensuring they are destroyed.  As I have noted above,  Secretary of State John Kerry’s off-the-cuff remark and Assad’s compliance just may take the United States “off the hook.”  John  Kerry’s suggestion — that President Assad put his chemical weapons under international control — targets the offense, i.e. the use of a weapon of mass destruction, which, in my opinion, makes it an appropriate response.  Not only does such an intervention have a foreseeable end, but it also addresses Assad’s warning that “after a strike, one can expect anything.”

_________________________

[i] Olga Khokhlova, a Ballets Russes ballerina, married Pablo Picasso in 1918 and is the mother of his son Paulo.  The marriage was not a happy one.  The two separated in 1935, but Picasso would not consent to a divorce as Olga was entitled to one half of his wealth.  Olga died in 1955.

—ooo—

 
Frédéric Chopin (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849)
Nocturne No. 11 in G Minor, Op. 371
pianist: unidentified
 
picasso peace© Micheline Walker
14 September  2013
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Syria on my Mind

09 Monday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in The Middle East, United States

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

a dead end, ambivalence, Asher Brown Durand, chemical weapons, Hudson River School, recent news, Russia, weapons of mass destruction

The Catskills , by Asher Brown Durand

hb_95.13.1
 
The Catskills (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In the Woods (Photo credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art)
 

9/11

This week, we remember the attacks of 9/11: the World Trade Centre, the Pentagon and flight 93.

I was in my office.  A colleague came rushing in and pulled me to a television set.  The second tower was about to crumble and, to everyone’s horror and disbelief, it did crumble.  The person who had filmed the catastrophe had started filming before the attacks.  Therefore, when the video was replayed, we saw the first plane hit one of the towers and then people jumping out the windows.  Another plane hit the second tower.  Firefighters were now on the scene and many died when the second tower crumbled.

What does one do when one loses the one person who makes a difference in one’s life?

::

Ironically, this year, the United States is facing another attack.  It did not take place on American soil but it is a serious violation of international law.

  • One cannot use chemical weapons and citizens of a nation do not attempt to exterminate fellow citizens.  What is happening in Syria is genocide.  Those are crimes against humanity and such a matter requires the attention and intervention of a united world.

This is what I am now seeing.

  • The citizens of the US oppose another war in the Near East, now called the Middle East.
  • President Obama is demonstrating “ambivalence,”  with respect to a strike.  I am quoting CNN’s Gloria Borger.
  • There is little the United Nations can do because of the presence in its midst of powerful nations that can veto decisions that could help the Syrians.  In other words, paradoxically, the UN may serve rather than hinder Assad’s regime.
  • Despite its debt, the US remains a superpower and possesses a formidable arsenal.

::

  • What I know is that Syria crossed the line by using chemical weapons, i.e. weapons of mass destruction.
  • I suspect that the wars waged during a previous administration may have been interpreted as provocation or “meddling” on the part of the Middle East.
  • Given that Russia supports Assad’s regime, I am tempted to say that old habits die hard, but I could be wrong.

I will therefore conclude by stating that, in my opinion, the current situation is a dead end.  I cannot see just how a military engagement on the part of the US can be narrow, limited and targeted.  There has to be another resolution.

However, what do I know?  There is information a government cannot disclose without jeopardizing a “narrow” but possibly successful intervention in Syria.

May this be the moment when superpowers close shop?  What precisely did the historical Jesus of Nazareth mean when he said “turn the other cheek,” and what is the meaning of Leo Tolstoy‘s The Kingdom of God Is Within You (first published in Germany in 1894)?

In the News

-The UN Charter
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/view_from_chicago/2013/09/_the_u_n_charter_is_broken_what_should_replace_it.html
-The Reluctant Salesman
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/09/the-reluctant-salesman-how-president-obama-can-win-enough-votes-on-syria.html
-Assad: “You can expect everything.”
http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/video/2013/09/09/bachar-al-assad-attendez-vous-a-tout_3473648_3218.html 
-La Russie a appelé la Syrie à mettre sous contrôle international ses armes chimiques et à les détruire.
-Russia has called on Syria to put its chemical weapons under international supervision and to destroy them.
http://www.lemonde.fr/
 

::

 
179768851_jpg_CROP_article568-large© Micheline Walker
9 September 2013
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A Lesser-Known Toulouse-Lautrec

06 Friday Sep 2013

Posted by michelinewalker in Art

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

Bois de Boulogne, genre painting, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Japonisme, Longchamp, paintings of animals

Chien-de-chasse (1)

  • Chien de chasse (Hunting Dog), by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1881?)
  • Little Dog (1888)

LIttle-Dog-large

Montmartre’s Chronicler

Most art lovers associate Edgar Degas with dancers and Toulouse-Lautrec (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) with le Moulin Rouge and can-can, Aristide Bruant‘s Mirliton and Le Chat noir, the main cabarets of a somewhat “decadent” fin de siècle, the end of the 19th century in France.  These images have left an indelible imprint on the memory of art lovers.

However, from time to time, I enjoy looking at many artworks executed by the same artist in order to see whether or not I will find an aspect of his or her legacy I had not noticed or paid attention to earlier.  For instance, although I knew that Japonisme had an immense impact on the art of Toulouse-Lautrec, I did not know to what extent he had been influenced by Edgar Degas (19 July 1834 – 27 September 1917).  Nor had I seen the horses!

Toulouse-Lautrec had art teachers.  The first one was René Princeteau, an animal artist or peintre animalier, and an acquaintance of Henri’s father.  His other teachers were Léon Bonnat and Fernand Cormon, “academicists.”  But when he rented a studio in Montmartre and became Montmartre’s chronicler, he produced artwork that differed substantially from the work of his teachers.  He made posters showing the Moulin Rouge, Aristide Bruant and the various entertainers of Montmartre.  Bruant was a colourful singer and composer and the cabaret he owned, the Mirliton, became a showroom for Toulouse-Lautrec.  Toulouse-Lautrec also illustrated Bruant’s songs and other songs.

Degas’ Influence

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec enjoyed painting people, including nudes, but like Degas, he did not embellish his models.  He painted people not necessarily as they were, but as he saw them, which excluded idealization and rule-governed art.

“Lines were no longer bound to what was anatomically correct; colours were intense and in their juxtapositions generated a pulsating rhythm; laws of perspective were violated in order to place figures in an active, unstable relationship with their surroundings.”[i]

“The Woman with a Tub” brings to mind Degas’ various depictions of bathers.  One cannot say that Toulouse-Lautrec’s portrayal of a woman pouring water into her tiny tub is flattering.  But it is fine genre painting, i.e. depictions of people going about their daily activities.  Toulouse-Lautrec’s portrayal of “Madame Palmyre with her Dog,” is a true-to-life ‘snapshot.’  As for “Woman at her Toilette,” it has long been a celebrated painting.  But no one is posing.

  • The Woman with a Tub (1896)
  • Woman at her Toilette (1896)
  • Madame Palmyre with her Dog (1897)

Elles--Woman-with-a-Tub-large (1)

Woman-at-Her-Toilette-IMadame-Palmyre-With-Her-Dog-large

Horses, Dogs an a “Poney” named Philibert

Then come the horses.  Both Edgar Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec painted horses.  In this regard, Toulouse-Lautrec’s first art teacher had prepared the artist for depicting animals, horses mainly.  Besides, Toulouse-Lautrec was an aristocrat.  Aristocrats ride horses and go to the races.  In Paris, the racecourse would be Longchamp, in the Bois de Boulogne.  You will find, below, a painting of le comte Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri’s father, driving horses.  There are horses in Toulouse-Lautrec’s “bestiary.” The “Jockey” was painted two years before Toulouse-Lautrec died.  And there are dogs.  But the only cat I found is the one you will see if you click on May Belfort, Jardin de Paris, 1883.  Lautrec was an extremely prolific artist, so there may be more.

count-alphonse-de-toulouse-lautrec-driving-a-four-horse-hitch-1881_jpg!HD

Le-Poney-Philibertthe-jockey-1899_jpg!Blog

  • Count Alphonse de Toulouse-Lautrec driving a four horse hitch (1881)
  • Le Poney Philibert (n.d.)
  • The Jockey (1899)
  • La Charrette anglaise (The English Dog Cart) (1897)
  • Coffee Pot (1884)

As for the Coffee Pot (1884), it is a somewhat unexpected subject matter for Toulouse-Lautrec, but it is a reassuring and familiar object.  Life unfolds a day at a time.

(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
la-charrette-anglaise-the-english-dog-cart-1897
 
 
RELATED ARTICLE
  • Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: the Can-can (michelinewalker.com)
______________________________
[i] “Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 30 Aug. 2013.           
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/600695/Henri-de-Toulouse-Lautrec>.
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9X3c73enixQ

coffee-pot.jpg!HalfHDCoffee Pot 1884
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
(Please click on the image to enlarge it.)
 
© Micheline Walker
6 September 2013
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