Perrigaud, Martha

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Irony as Dissimulation in the Heptaméron The Heptaméron by Marguerite de Navarre depends heavily on the theme of dissimulation for the basis of its intrigues as well as for the develop-ment of its narrative and rhetorical techniques. Trickery, knavery and disguise of motive create the traditional plot lines in which the characters utilize a variety of dissimulating tactics, such as the mask, the screen of religion and tromperie ~ finesse. The discussion among the ten devisants who relate the nouvelles also frequently revolve around the topic of dissimulation, and their interpersonal relationships illustrate its functioning. Indeed, the creation of these ten devisants, whom Marguerite placed on a different level of reality through their suggested identifi-cation with actual friends of the author, represents an important instance of dissimulation on the part of the implied author. The use of irony in the Heptaméron off ers another opportunity to observe dissimulation at work in the narrative and rhetorical techniques of the implied author. As Vladimir Rossman has pointed out in Perspectives of Irony in Medieval French Literature,I irony usually appears in dictionaries and theoretical treatises under three headings: Socratic irony, irony as a rhetorical device and irony of fate. I will discuss Marguerite's use of irony according to this classification. It is clear· that the use of irony involves dissimulation by the implied author. In fact, etymologically, the Greek word for irony, eironeia, means dissimulation or pretense, a connotation which was preserved through the Renaissance.2 Its presence is theref ore of more than cursory interest in a study of the use of dissimulation in the Heptaméron. . 28 Larousse def ines Socratic irony as "Méthode de Socrate qui. feignant l'ignorance, questionnait ses disciples, et par ses questions les amenait à reconnaître leur erreur. 113 For Aristotle eironeia represented 11 self-depreciation," the opposite of boastfulness. With these clarifications in mind one can discover Marguerite's use of Socratic irony. First the choice of genre indicates an attitude of self-depreciation. since the nouvelle ranked low in the hierarchy of literary forms. We also note the lack of literary pretense expressed in the prologue of the Heptaméron, where Parlamente suggests the pastime of storytelling, an idea she received from the court: " ... et d'assembler jusques à dix personnes qu'ilz pensaient plus dignes de racompter quel-que chose, sauf ·ceulx que avaient estudié et estaient gens de lettres; car monseigneur le Dauphin ne voulloit que leur art y fut meslé, et aussy de paour que la beaulté de la rethoricque feit tort en quelque partye à la vérité de· l'histoire" (Prologue, 9). 4 But Socratic irony also provides a governing structural theme in the Heptaméron. It has long been recognized that love, its many forms and aberations, joys and misuses, provides the basic subject matter of this work. That Marguerite illustrates these diverse facets, saying "Et nostre boucquet sera plus beau, tant plus il sera remply de dif ferentes choses 11 (XLVIII, 317) , without really taking a stand on love per se, indicates an attitude of Socratic ironY:-- She is indeed feigning ignorance, questioning her disciples or perhaps allowing her disciples to question each other, in an attempt to lead them to truth through this thought-provoking process. Krailsheimer has suggested that Marguerite, had she finished the projected ten days of her work, would have led her 29 devisants to a final consensus. 5 Even if such speculation were to be proved erroneous we certainly observe in the Heptaméron an implied author who refuses to dictate ber views to ber narrators, but leads them through experimentation in multiplicity to recognize their errors. This dialectic represents the true function of the debates which follow the nouvelles. Rossman states that irony as a rhetorical device consists of the equation of two opposed elements.6 These elements may be single words constituting verbal witticism or they may be longer speeches used to portray dichotomy in characters or ideas. This constitutes the broadest definition of irony, recognizing it simply as a divergence between what is said and what is meant. Sarcasm, then, also falls under this classification. For example when Saf fredent tells the tale of "Roy Alphonce, duquel la lascivité estait le septre de son royaulme" (III, 22), who seduces the wife of a gentilhomme who "feit un fort grand deuil, dont elle fut reconfortée par le Roy le plus souvent qu'il luy fut possible" (III, 23), a tangue in cheek interpretation imposes itself thanks to the ironie tinges of words like septre and reconfortée. In the tale of the dame de Pampelune, this woman's feelings for a religieux elicit an ironie inter-pretation, for we know that this woman's love is carnal rather than spiritual: "Croyant asseurement que un tel amour spirituel et quelques plaisirs qu'elle en sentait n'eussent sceu blesser sa conscience, elle ne fallait poinct tous les jours d'aller au sermon et d'y mener son mary" (XXXV, 255). Such examples of the implied author saying the opposite of what she means abound in the Heptaméron, working together towards an ironie presentation of certain characters and ideas. Identification of irony in any writer requires the ability to state with certainty the views of the implied author on a .given subject. This 1 3o problem is complicated when dealing with an author from an era whose sociological norms diff er greatly from our own. Furthermore Marguerite de Navarre possessed the intelligence and the intellectual freedom af f orded by her royal birth to alter her position from the accepted norm. How then can we identify her views in order to contrast them with the position she takes in the Heptaméron. The critic must use his sense of intuition, basing his analysis on his knowledge of the lift and times of the author, as well as on the text in question, to determine the presence of irony. Religieux in general and cordeliers in particular.are clearly the butt of Marguerite's ironie appraisal. For example, the inconsistency of the prieur from Sainct-Martin des Champs (XXII) implies irony. On the one hand, "le bruict de sa saincteté courut par tout le royaume" (XXII, 176), and in reality he violently attempts to rape a young nun. Although the implied author uses the technique of presenting these religieux in wicked acts to demonstrate their true personalities rather than implying the opposite of her statements, the reader infers an ironic.context. Since the reader is aware of the traditional presentation of religieux in the Heptaméron he automatically suspects any praise of a religious persan. When Marguerite speaks, for example, of "ung grand et beau Cordelier que le dict gentil homme avait prins pour son confesseur, lequel avoit telle puissance de commander en la maison du dict gentil homme" (XXXI, 237), the reader immediately mis-trusts this individual. When Oisille describes a Cordelier named De Valé as "estimé homme sçavant et grand prescheur" (XLVI, 308), we surmise that he will prove just the opposite. Marguerite's handling of women involves a more subtle irony. What is woman's role in society? How far should she go in protecting her virtue? What sort of treatment should she expect from men? 31 Would Marguerite agree, for example, with Oisille, who insinuates that a woman should pref er death to forced submission (II), or would she side with Longarine, who joyously tells the story of the woman who happily chooses dishonor over death (LXII). In one case the expression of the implied author must be ironie, for she allows her narrators to paint a sympathetic portrait of both women who choose opposite courses in similar situations. Does woman's role consist of a subservience to man exemplified by the wife of Bernage, who is forced to drink from the skull of her lover (XXXII), or of a boldness typical of the wif e of Bornet who tricks her husband by replacing her chambermaid in the "extramarital bed 11 (VIII)? Again, Marguerite's attitude is slightly ironie towards at least one of these women, for she cannot sincerely praise two opposites. On this subject the voices of the implied author and of the narrator are in contra-diction. It is therefore impossible to deduce Marguerite's exact position on this subject, but only to affirm, in the presence of these opposites, that an ironie treatment exists. The implied author is slightly more def inite in her ironie treatment of love. Even though she extolls love, this exultation sours under the examination of most tales, in which an unhappy end to love is either stated or implied. Love may last "selon la coustume, conune la beauté des fleurs des champs" (XIV, 114). Marguerite states her opinion concerning happiness based on love through wise Geburon: "Et, conune si la volunté de l'hommB estait immuable, se jurerent et promirent ce qui n'estoit en leur puissance: c'est une amityé perpetuelle, que ne peult naistre ne demorer au cueur de l'honune; et celles seulles le sçavent, qui ont experimenté combien durent telles oppinions!" (XVI. 132-33). Marguerite's entire attitude towards love is ironie, as the traditional unhappy endings of ber love staries 32 illustrate. She may lead the reader to expect a happy ending, remarking that two lovers symbolize all that is virtuous or that their love bas never been equaled. The repeated f ailure of love in the nouvelles leads the reader or the listener to interpret this information ironically. The staries of Amadour and Floride (X), Rolandine (XXI) and Elisor (XXIV) show instances where true love f ails because of character flaws, whereas the failure of potentially perfect love may be ascribed to society, as is Dagoucin's first tale (LX) or the story of Rolandine's aunt (XL). Whatever hope for love is given by the author, the reader learns to interpret it as an ironie eue. The difficulty in the inter-pretation of irony is brought out by Parlamente's story of an English lord, which may be Marguerite's most ironie statement concerning love in the Heptaméron. In this tale an Englishman explains to the seigneur de Montmorency that the tiny jeweled glove attached to bis coat was left by a beloved young woman who once touched bis heart with ber gloved band, but refused further favors. Does Marguerite share Parlemente's delicate irony as it appears at the end? Le seigneur de Montmorency, qui eut mieulx aymé la main que le gand d'une dame, luy loua fort sa grande honnesteté, luy disant qu'il estait le plus vray amoureux que jamais il avait veu, et digne de meilleur traictement, puis que de si peu il faisait tant de cas, combien que, veu sa grand amour, s'il eut eu mieux que le gand, peut estre qu'il fut mort de joye. Ce qu'il accorda au seigneur de Montmorency, ne soupsonnant poinct qu'il le dist par mocquerye (LVII, 355). Marguerite's position remains unclear in this passage. Is she laughing with Montmorency, or 33 implying disapproval of his pragmatic views? As this passage indicates, Marguerite's use of irony as a dissimulating rhetorical device has given depth to the Heptaméron by increasing the number of possible interpretations. The limited clues concerning Marguerite's exact position on the all-important subject of love in the Heptaméron suggests a goal not only of ambiguity, but of dissimulation. The use of irony also proves important in the narrative technique of the Heptaméron. Johnathan Raban, in The Technique of Modern Fiction, cites W. Fowler's definition of irony from bis Dictionary of Modern English Usage:7 Irony is a form of utterance that postulates a double audience, consisting of one party that hearing shall hear and shall not understand, and another party that, when more is meant than meets the ear, is aware both of that more and of the outsider's incomprehension. Raban goes on to observe that in irony, the out-sider thinks that he has grasped what is going on, because the ironie statement makes sense in its "open form .. " Bath the "open message" understood by the outsider and the "secret antithesisn unger-stood by the privileged reader must hold true. This def inition applies to a technique that the implied author uses extensively, that of dramatic irony, a plot device in which the reader knows more than the protagonists. The story of Oedipus pro-vides the classic example of dramatic irony, for the spectator of the play knows long before the king what the messenger will reveal. Classical theater often equated dramatic irony with irony of f ate_, for the discrepancy between reality and appearance in events was created by the gods. C.G. Sedgewick provides clarification and amplification on this point: 34 Circumstances are wrongly interpreted by man, they seem otherwise than they really are. Similarly, things bear a promise upon their face that is at variance with the actual issue. A man who becomes conscious that he has been duped thus, may readily conceive that circumstance--the Scheme of things--has been mocking him, "saying one and giving to understand the contrary."9 In dramatic irony in the Heptaméron, however, the element of destiny seems to have been replaced by the concept of evil in man, which in its multi-plicity provides the reliable force which the innocent characters often seem unable to recognize, but of which the reader is constantly aware. Through this dissimulating narrative tactic, Marguerite bides information from the personages she creates, just as she suppresses facts vis à vis her readers to produce suspense. Dramatic irony exists in most nouvelles in the Heptaméron to a limited degree, as a result of structure based on dissimulation. If one character is going to trick another the reader can be either aware or unaware of what is going to occur. In the first case dramatic irony is present; in the second suspense is brought about. The most interesting examples of this technique of dissimulation occur in certain nouvelles which are entirely based on dramatic irony. Different from situations in which the reader shares some bit of information with at least one character, in this case only the reader can properly interpret the confused communication between characters. Bornet (VIII), for example, beliàves that he is seducing his chambermaid. His wife, who has substituted herself for the maid, simply wants to teach ber husband a lesson, and bas no reason to suspect that the second man who lies down with her is no longer her 35 husband, but his friend. Only the reader is privy to all the information. Similarly, the tale of the Cordeliers from Grip (XXXIV) is a study in ambi-guity which derives its humor from the device of dramatic irony. In this nouvelle, two Cordeliers spend the night at the home of a butcher. Curious about the discussion between the butcher and his wife, thay put their ears to the wall, only to hear about killing the Cordeliers: "Et combien qu'il entendait de ses pourseaulx, lesquelz il appelait cordeliers, si est-ce que les deux pauvres freres, qui oyaient ceste conjuration, se tindrent tout asseurez que c'estoit pour eulx .... " (XXXIV, 251). Marguerite's talent is evident in that she does not simply end the tale here with the resolu-tion of the rnisunderstanding, but places the butcher in an ironie position also. One of the religieux has injured himself in an attempted flight, and seeks refuge in the pig pen. The reader receives great satisfaction in being able to construct the climax properly. For when the butcher arrives the next morning to slaughter his "Cordeliers," he cries out "ô miracle" upon find-ing a religieux, believing that Saint Francis has punished him. Irony, then exists in its many different forms in the Heptaméron. Marguerite's use of dramatic irony as a narrative and structural technique and of Socratic irony and disguise of ideas as rhetori-cal techniques points again to the importance of dissimulation, eironeia, in her style and thought. 36 MARTHA PERRIGAUD UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS NOTES 1vladimir Rossman, Perspectives of Irony in Medieval French Literature (The Hague: Mouton, 1975), p. 14. 2Ibid., p. 14. 3Pierre Larousse, Grand Dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle (Paris: Larousse et Boyer, 1866-70), IX, p. 793. 4Marguerite de Navarre, L'Heptaméron (Paris: Garnier, 1967). All references refer to this edition. 5A.J. Krailsheimer, "The Heptaméron Reconsider-ed," The French Renaissance and Its Heritage (London: Methuen and Co., 1968), p. 85. 6 Rossman, p. 20. 7Jonathan Raban, The Technique of Modern Fiction (London: E. Arnold, 1968}, p. 180. 8Ibid. , p. 180. 9c.G. Sedgewick, "Dramatic Irony: Studies in Its History, Its Definition and Its Use Especially in Shakespeare and Sophocles," Diss. Harvard, 1913, pp. 214-15. 37 

Irony as Dissimulation in the Heptaméron

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Irony as Dissimulation in the Heptaméron

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