Sainte beuve

1859 · 65117 — Honfleur 1859. Fine. Honfleur 28 février 1859 13.10 x 20.50 cm 3 pages sur un feuillet remplié Remarkable autograph letter signed by Charles Baudelaire to Auguste Poulet-Malassis publisher of Les Fleurs du Mal dated 28 February 1859 and written in Honfleur. 64 lines in black ink some passages underlined housed in a modern black half-morocco folder. Baudelaire appears preoccupied with the “Sainte-Beuve/Babou affair” one of the many controversies following the Fleurs du Mal trial in which the writer Hippolyte Babou accused Sainte-Beuve of failing to defend Baudelaire during the proceedings. Excerpts from this letter were quoted by Marcel Proust in his celebrated Contre Sainte-Beuve where he lamented Sainte-Beuve’s cowardice during the trial of Les Fleurs du Mal and the undue esteem Baudelaire continued to show him. The poet writes from Honfleur where he had retired in January to live with his mother a revered figure “who haunts her son’s heart and mind.” This letter was written eight days after a new development in the aftermath of the Fleurs du Mal trial. Torn by conflicting emotions Baudelaire confides in Malassis after his friend Hippolyte Babou had on 20 January published an article in La Revue française attacking Sainte-Beuve for failing to defend Baudelaire during the trial: “He will glorify Fanny by Ernest Feydeau the honest man and remain silent about Les Fleurs du Mal” he wrote. Despite Baudelaire’s pleas Sainte-Beuve had never published anything in support of the collection. In response to Babou’s attack Baudelaire received a “horrible letter” from Sainte-Beuve: “It seems the blow . struck Sainte-Beuve deeply. I must do him the justice of saying he did not believe I had prompted Babou in any way.” Although outraged by the accusations Sainte-Beuve did not hold Baudelaire personally responsible. Baudelaire is surprised by the critic’s vehemence writing to Poulet-Malassis: “Truly here is a passionate old man with whom it is dangerous to fall out . You cannot imagine what that letter from Sainte-Beuve is like. It appears that for twelve years he had been noting every sign of malice from Babou.” Baudelaire stands helpless amid the quarrel between two respected men while expressing a clear attachment to Sainte-Beuve now jeopardised by Babou’s article: “Either Babou wanted to help me which would imply a certain degree of stupidity or he wanted to play a trick on me; or he simply pursued a mysterious grudge without any concern for my interests.” Baudelaire indeed held Sainte-Beuve—“Uncle Beuve”—in the highest regard. A senator an academician and the undisputed master of literary criticism Sainte-Beuve’s opinions carried great weight in Parisian literary circles. For years Baudelaire had awaited a formal sign of approval from Sainte-Beuve which might have bolstered his fragile career still tarnished by the scandal of Les Fleurs du Mal. The poet thus finds himself torn between his admiration for Sainte-Beuve and his long-standing friendship with Hippolyte Babou—who according to legend suggested the title Les Fleurs du Mal. To Poulet-Malassis he confides: “What made this situation dangerous for me was that Babou appeared to be defending me against someone who had done me a great many favours.” It remains unclear what Baudelaire meant by “favours” given that Sainte-Beuve had done relatively little to advance his career. This letter was later quoted in Marcel Proust’s posthumously published Contre Sainte-Beuve 1954 a fierce and famous indictment in which Proust reproaches Sainte-Beuve for failing to recognise Baudelaire’s poetic genius and highlights his cowardice during the Fleurs du Mal trial. To preserve his position in the Senate Sainte-Beuve refrained from public support and provided only a “defence strategy which the lawyer was authorised to use provided Sainte-Beuve’s name was not mentioned.” Nearly two years after the verdict the disastrous trial of Les Fleurs du Mal still haunted B unknown