Corinne, or Italy (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Madame de Staï¿1/2l (Author), Sylvia Raphael (Translator), John Isbell (Introduction)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0192825054 | ISBN-13: 978-0192825056 | Publication Date: January 7, 1999

Corrine, or Italy, is both the story of a love affair between Oswald, Lord Nelvil, and a beautiful poetess, and an homage to the landscape, literature and art of Italy. Stael, the subject of recent feminist rediscovery, weaves discreet political allusion into her romance, and upon its publication Napoleon renewed her order of exile. Sylvia Raphel's new translation preserves the natural character of the French original, while the notes and introduction place this extraordinary work of European Romanticism in its historical and political context.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This biography of Stael opens by asking 'How does writing beget exile, and exile writing?', and in response the nine chronologically ordered chapters offer insightful and bold analysis of Stael's life and mentality. Forum for Modern Language Studies --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192825054
• ISBN-13: 978-0192825056
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,637,999 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for lovers--of Italy, that is!, February 13, 2009

By 

J. Myers (Springfield, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corinne, or Italy (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Corinne is an interesting book, indeed. I can't think of many books which might stimulate more lively discussions between male and female readers. And so, I report the reactions of a male reader (MR).

No MR with any degree of discernment can read this book without being irresistibly attracted to Corinne, who is accomplished, intelligent, independent, creative and cultivated, and is beautiful, rich and virtuous to boot. (No Paris Hilton, she!) Nor can the MR help but take an immediate dislike (tinged with jealousy, perhaps) for the complete stiff, Lord Nelvil, for whom Corinne dies of unrequited love. Midway through the book, the MR gets angry, saying "C'mon, no REAL Corinne would put up with this guy." Or, "If I were Corinne's beau, I would never treat her that way." So, the MR (especially if he has lived in and loves Italy) consoles himself with the fascinating travelogue aspects of the book, which not only describe Italy as it was in 1807, but if you add autostrade, calcio and TV to the mix, perfectly and beautifully describes Italy as it is today.

But then, having thought it over and perhaps discussed the matter with a significant other, the MR realizes that he has known accomplished, intelligent, cultivated and attractive women who have damaged their lives chasing after the knuckleheaded Nelvils of our current world--and indeed, chasing after far worse men than he. Projection, in the Jungian sense, damages many a life, as does its near cousin, the fatal attraction of opposites. The MR then realizes that Mme. de Stael is on to something, and he wonders if perhaps she hasn't completely nailed down (albeit with near-Sturm und Drang hyperventilation characteristic of the times) the psychology of a superior but lonely woman in the company of inferior men. The MR can only speculate, however, since his brain and heart are thoroughly infected with the y-chromosome.

Hmm, thinks the MR--if Mme. de Stael knows something of female psychology, what can she also tell me about male psychology? Thinking it over some more, the MR begins to realize that Mme. de Stael has thought deeply about and has much to say on the subject. The MR begins to pity Nelvil, and he begins to pity himself. What man in his early adulthood with a strong father has not been deeply influenced by his father and failed on occasion to follow his own true self? What man has not blundered about in his youth, missed opportunities, and failed to recognize fool's gold for what it was? In the final sentence of the book, Mme. de Stael says of Nelvil and indeed, all men who miss life's opportunities by conforming to others' expectations: "I want neither to blame nor absolve him."

This book, of course, also works on a whole different level--that of allegory. We lovers of Italy will all agree that Corinne is perfectly cast as the personification of Italy itself. Nelvil is also cast as the personification of England. (Or is he Scotland--Mme. de Stael is vague on this point) He's a Redcoat to his very core--the very reason the 13 Colonies revolted!

Incidentally, the 1833 translation of this work by Isabel Hill is available free on the internet, and I believe it to be a superior piece of literature (and truer to the Romantic weltanschauung) than this, the Sylvia Raphael translation. When you are reading the Raphael translation, make sure you skip to the Hill translation whenever Corinne starts to do poetry! Of course, I can't justly compare either translation with the original French (if I could, I wouldn't need a translation) so I can't say which is more literally accurate, but I get a sense that Sylvia Raphael might well be. But in the end, this is a poetic work, and Ralphael is perhaps sometimes prosaic where she should be poetic. The Hill translation also contains a fascinating and not-to-be-missed Memoir of Mme. de Stael. Also, the 1833 translation spells "Nelvil" as "Nevil." So which is it, ladies?

All in all, this is a must-read for all lovers of Italy. And, if you are a fan of Goethe's "Sufferings of Young Werther," this is a very interesting counterpoint to that seminal work of Romantic fiction.