学匠詩人 オーギュスト・アンジュリエ

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  • ガクショウ シジン オーギュスト アンジュリエ
  • Auguste Angellier, the scholar and the poet

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This essay is comprised of four chapters : (1) The study of English literature in Japan-past and present (2) Auguste Angellier in Japan (3) The reminiscences of Prof. Kinji Shimada (4) Auguste Angellier, the man and his achievements. It was in the twenties of the Meiji era (i.e.1880s) that the study of English literature in Japan started both at a university and popular level. However the English ability of general academics was not high enough to specialize in English literature. The scholars and students weren't likely to go any further than trying to read and understand the original texts. In other words, their English was not good enough to appreciate or study English literature. The writings of general scholars of English literature in Japan were borrowed straight from the pioneers in England or in the United States. They wrote after the fashion of Western scholars. Generally this is still the marked tendency in Japan. The Japanese aren't rich in originality, and poor language skill has arrested the development of technical study of English literature in the country for generations. For the French, English literature means a foreign literature. It is the same way for the Japanese. However the French have made distinguished services in the study of English literature in France, making free use of their aesthetic appreciation and psychological approach as well. The key to their success is of great concern for us, so I have taken up Auguste Angellier (1848~1911) , the anglicist, as a case study. Angellier took a doctorate in 1893 by writing "Robert Burns : La vie et les oeuvres". However the opinion fiercely differed on his dissertation in the judging commitee at Sorbonne. Nevertheless it was due to the tutorage from Prof. Angellier that his disciples produced remarkable works in later years. Auguste Angellier is not well known in Japan. Some anglicists in the country took interest in Robert Burns as written by him in the Taisho era (i.e.1920s) . One of the most eager scholars of Angellier was a lecturer in English at Taihoku Higher School in Taipei, Formosa. Lecturer Shimada (Professor at Tokyo University after the Second World War) was engaged then in studying the French school of English literature and was publishing short essays on it now and then. He first published, "The French school of English literature-The Achievements of Auguste Angellier" in the annual reports of the literary course (no.3) , published by the department of literature and political science at Taihoku Imperial University in 1937.He reissued it with major enlargements in the "Travaux d'Auguste Angellier" (Hikaku Bungaku Kenkyu [i.e.] Etude de Litterature Comparees No.15) in 1969, based on "La personalite d'Auguste Angellier" by Floris Delattre and other books. When Shimada's study on the French school of English literature was almost completed, all of his manuscripts were destroyed by the American bombers in Taipei. Nevertheless, we must keep his name in mind as an introducer of Auguste's writings to Japan. Prof. Kinji Shimada visited France twice in 1978 and in 1980. He visited such cities in Flanders as Dunkirk, Calais, Douai and Boulogne-sur-Mer with his French friends. However he didn't conduct any survey of Auguste in these cities, except making photocopies at the municipal library in Lille. Later on he published his travel sketches twice in the "Rising Generation" published by Kenkyusha Publishing Co., in Tokyo. My essay on "Auguste Angellier, the man and his achievements" was written on the basis of "La personalite d'Auguste Angellier" by Floris Delattre and a field investigation conducted by me both in England and in Northern France. I was able to clarify in detail not only the East House in Greenwich (London) , where Auguste taught French in his twenties, but also the woman' T' who often appears in his pocket notebook. With so few historical records, the woman's identity was cloaked in mystery. As regards this mysterious woman, Floris Delattre says; "Elle appartenait a la riche bourgeoisie locale-Elle avait fait un mariage malheureux et, apres la naissance de son second enfant, etait revenue,a vingt-cinq ans,vivre apres de sa mere." (1) Though she was a woman of noble presence, she seemed to be sunk in grief."les yeux bleus dans un visage de brune pale, le regard net, les sourcils eleves sur un front large, un nez droit de patricienne, la levre fine, le menton un peu avacant, avec une allure generale de distinction altiere et triste, et d'intelligente fermete" (2) Many people were interested in identifying the woman but in vain. A short description titled 《"Amie perdu" amie retrouvee 》in the article of 《 Le 1er Juillet 1848 naissait a Dunkerque Auguste Angellier qui devait devenir le" Petrarque Boulonnais" 》published in the Revue de Boulogne (No.267,1960) , however, gave me a clue to unravel the mystery. The "coffrets" (chests) deposited at the municipal library in Boulogne-sur-Mer do not disclose the woman in mystery. The above-mentioned French article in the Revue de Boulogne was written by Guy Bataille, a journalist. Being spurred by the article appearing in "Le Bayou", the bulletin of Houston University, Texas, U.S.A., the French journalist decided to write on Auguste Angellier.The article in the bulletin was written by Prof. H.W. Izzard, a specialist of American literature, who tried to unveil "L'Amie perdu" (Lost Lover) in Douai. In Douai, Prof. Izzard found 《 a very old lady, who, when she was alone, or accompanied by her housekeeper, always clothed in black, leaving her old house in the rue Massue to go to the church 》. The lady was tall, straight, with deep blue eyes. It was ambiguous whether the lady was the one whom Auguste Angellier designated as 'T' in his notebook. At the municipal library in Boulogne-sur-Mer, there are five chests containing many letters exchanged between Auguste and his lover. Most of which were written in cipher due to the scandalmongers. The letters were deposited by M. Marcel Laurenge, who was the husband of Angellier's sister. The chests were not open to the general public by 1980. Nowadays the secret letters have been deciphered by Mme Michele Mouret-Rougier living in the rue Pompidou, Boulogne-sur-Mer. At the municipal library in Boulogne-sur-Mer, I happened to find the name of "Mme Fontaine" and her photograph in one of the five chests. This clue helped me also to identity 'T' in Douai. The investigation seemed to be very difficult at first. However, due to the assistance of archivists, I had an unexpected good harvest.The findings were as follows; 'T' is Therese Marie Denys, who was born on 22 March 1857 in the rue Massue No. 15 and died on 16 May 1942 in Douai. She was a daughter of Francois Folquin Denys (?~1803) , a brewer in Douai. And her mother called herself Adelaid Therese Debuisson (1821~1888) . Her father was born in Eskerbeck and died on 1 April 1803 in the rue Massue No.15 in Douai. Her mother was born in Douai, 1821 and died on 1 April 1888 at Petite-Place No.9 in Douai.According to the Acts of Marriage in 1874, Therese Marie Denys married Felix Fontaine, 26, a merchant of iron and a resident in Solemes, at the age of 17. The bridegroom was the son of the brewer named Felix Fontaine in Solemes. Therese Marie gave birth to two children. The first child, named Paul Felix Folquin, was born 20 December 1876 in the rue of Massue No.9 in Douai. The second one, named Maxime Eugene Joseph, was born on 25 May 1878 in the same place as above.The bride and bridegroom were born of rich parents. The identity of 'T' , the learned madame of bourgeois in Douai, is most presumably Therese Marie Denys (1857~1942) herself.In the summer of 2005, I spent a month in England and in Northern France, making a field investigation on Auguste Angellier. I first visited Greenwich (London) , then Dunkirk, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Lille, Douai, Etaple, Berk-sur-Mer, Etretat, Yport, Fecamp, Rouen, Paris and so on. My main purpose of visiting some cities in Flanders in France was to find traces of Auguste Angellier as well as to find some new facts concerning him.Although there still remain some buildings related to Auguste both in England and in France, most of them have been destroyed. In Boulogne-sur-Mer, his palatial mansion, bequeathed by his uncle, remains intact in the rue Beaurepaire No.24. It is now owned by Dr. Jean David. The house was requisitioned for a German Commander during the occupation years. Mr. and Mrs. David kindly ushered me into the interior of the house.In conclusion, I'd like to express my profound gratitude to Mme Annick Degouy, archivist, Mme Rougier, M. Paul Navailh, a professor at a Lycee in Paris and many others, for providing every convenience for the benefit of my research, as well as to some of the municipal libraries and archives both in England and in France for providing assistance during my research. (1) Floris Delattre: La personalite d'Auguste Angellier, tome Premier, Paris, Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1939, p.248(2) ibid. p.249

収録刊行物

  • 社会志林

    社会志林 54 (2), 220-89, 2007-09

    法政大学社会学部学会

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