Ceci n'est pas un conte

This is not a story ( the original title is in French Ceci n'est pas un conte ) is a narrative of the French philosopher, encyclopedist and writer Denis Diderot.

General

Together with Madame de La Carlière and the Supplement au voyage Bougainville the narrative belongs to a three-piece group " Moral Stories " which Diderot had in 1772 compiled and completed. " Moral " is not to be understood in the language of the 18th century in the sense of a general ethics, but as a " moralistic interest of the author at the human characters and their behavior in certain, often moralkasuistisch pointed situations of life. "

Diderot had announced the conclusion of the three little dialogue stories his friend Melchior Grimm in a letter dated September 23, 1772, who received an abbreviated text 1773 in his Correspondance littéraire. The story was published in full for the first time in the published edition of Diderot's works Naigeon of 1798.

Content

The story consists of two parts that complement each other, although they are apparently independent of each other: is shown an example, the thesis of the narrator, the protagonist of the first part are fictitious persons involved, " namely, that man and woman are two very vicious animals. " the second story, among them Diderot himself, are historical.

In the first part of the poor but honorable Hicks Tanie in a Parisian courtesan Mme Reymer who does not lack wealthy admirers love. She leads him on a leash and take him out by force. Financially ruined, he decided to emigrate to the colonies to make a fortune. He confesses indeed to to take a new admirer, but takes her to promise not to enter into marriage, but to wait for him. In San Domingo he is a successful businessman, he supports them regularly with money and returns ten years later returns as a rich man to Paris. You yourselves have succeeded in the meantime, to amass a considerable fortune, composed of a stately series of lovers, but what they conceal him. The two live together in peace for a while, but the lady complains constantly about her allegedly meager financial situation and urges him to accept a lucrative spot in St. Petersburg. He realizes that in their relationship just the money plays a role: " Since it is gold that you love them is to be brought gold. " Wistful and full of foreboding, he bids farewell and dies three days after his arrival in St. Petersburg of a fever.

The protagonists of the second story are historical persons. Jean -Baptiste Gardeil was a physician, scientist, mathematician and a member of several scientific academies. His partner and a research assistant Mlle de la Chaux († 1755) has translated the first selected texts from David Hume's economic writings into French. Diderot correspond with her and was involved in the creation and editing of their Hume translation. Antoine Le Camus (1722-1772), the physician, was the author of medical works, translators of Greek literature, and well acquainted with Diderot.

Mlle de la Chaux is the main character of the story: She comes from a wealthy and prestigious family she has left for her lover Gardeil. It supports Gardeil not only financially and provides for everyday comforts; to relieve him in the scientific work, she even learns sequentially English, Italian, Greek and Hebrew. Finally, she takes him to work completely, so he can rest and scatter. One day he tells her that he " tired " has. To be by her lover, for which she has done everything violated, takes her life any meaning. In desperation, she turns to the narrator, who witnessed the cold-heartedness Gardeils is. It is sick, the doctor Antoine Le Camus (1722-1772) cares passionately about her. Le Camus falls in love with his patient. These gradually summarizes new lease on life, begins to write again, but rejects the marriage proposal Le Camus ' from. Ungrateful and cold she dismisses him because she can not love him, but still mourns Gardeil. You missed from shyness or shame, a financial and professional support of Mme de Pompadour to accept, and eventually dies impoverished in a Parisian garret.

About the telling

As in Jacques the fatalist is a subject of the narrative of the process and the meaning and purpose of storytelling is Introduced himself a listener, who plays the role of the reader. He interrupts the author with questions to which the narrator responds offended might, he goads him to finally start, while the narrator by forces excites his curiosity and at the same time all sorts of pretexts and tricks attaches to distract the listener and suspense. The progress of the story is, says each of narrator and listener, which also have different prior knowledge about the events. Thus, the listener is one of the successors Taniés as a lover of Mme Reymer, it has also facilitated him to make a fortune. Here it is not the narrator, who has the overall view of the history, but in a reversal of traditional roles falls the role of the Omniscient the listener.

Text output

• This is not a story. Transmit by Raimund Rütten. In: Diderot: The narrative oeuvre. Edited by Hans Hinterhäuser. Bd 4, 1987, ISBN 3-548-37145-0, pp. 131-151.
• Full text of output Diderot. Oeuvres completes. Edited by Jules Assezat. 2 Bd Paris 1985-77.