Novel
Monsieur Vénus
Rachilde · 1884
Synopsis
Raoule de Vénérande, a free and provocative young aristocrat who rejects the values of her milieu and adopts masculine ways, falls in love with Jacques Silvert, a poor young man of fragile beauty who makes artificial flowers. She dominates him and shapes him as she pleases, reversing the roles of man and woman. Around them, Marie, Jacques's sister, Baron de Raittolbe, a former officer who courts Raoule, and her aunt Élisabeth watch this liaison that defies convention.
Context
The novel appeared in 1884 under the joint signature of Rachilde and Francis Talman, a name that scholars regard as a front. Prosecuted by the Belgian courts, the author was sentenced in absentia to two years in prison. A revised version appeared in Paris in 1889, under her name alone, with a preface by Maurice Barrès. It is read today as a major work of decadent literature and an early reflection on gender identities.
Who it is for
A novel from the end of the nineteenth century, in an ornate style; the unease it provokes comes from the reversal of roles more than from the plot.
Prizes and reception
Reissued in 2024 by Gallimard in Folio classique; translated into English by Melanie Hawthorne for the Modern Language Association in 2004.
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