Chapter 60: Extraordinary Noble Friendship
Flaubert's summary resonated like a grand bell, shaking everyone present.
He elevated Lionel's technique to a new theoretical height: 'the confined perspective.'
This precisely encapsulated the state of the young clerk, a product of his environment, whose perceptions were limited and shaped by it.
Even Lionel was surprised to hear it; it wasn't until the birth of 20th-century modernist novels that writers and researchers began to systematically study the complexities of 'narrative perspective.'
While the other writers present were still immersed in the metaphysical creative ideas and moral views of 'the old guard,' Flaubert, through his fragmented exposition, was able to completely summarize and name a methodology that could guide creation.
This level of insight and ability to synthesize was astonishing.
He nodded: "Yes, the environment not only dictates what we do but more profoundly shapes how we see, how we think, and how we feel about the world. 'The confined perspective' is one such example."
Maupassant, in the back of the crowd, listened enraptured, his breathing quickening; Professor Hippolyte Taine looked at his student with complex eyes, much of his doubt about him now dispelled.
And the publisher Charpentier, keenly sniffing out the scent of a new literary trend, leaned close to Goncourt and whispered, "Edmond, do you hear? 'The confined perspective,' 'learned numbness'...
This will be the new trend! This Mr. Sorel has not only written a good story, he may have... defined a new way of writing!"
He then stood up and extended his hand to Lionel: "Mr. Sorel, I am Georges Charpentier, owner of 'Charpentier Publishers,' and a good friend of Mr. Flaubert and Mr. Zola.
Your 'the old guard' and what you've said today... these exciting words have deeply impressed me."
Lionel was a little bewildered but still politely shook his hand.
Georges Charpentier smiled, his delicate mustache twitching: "Lionel, I recently founded an illustrated newspaper called 'Modern Life,' with Émile Bergerat as editor-in-chief and Pierre Renoir as illustrator.
If we could receive your masterpiece, I believe they would all be very happy!"
As soon as he spoke, Lionel instantly felt several burning gazes on his back—from the young, aspiring writers in the room: Huysmans, Paul Alexis, Léon Hennique, Henri Céard, and Guy de Maupassant.
If there is one friendship in the world more noble for a writer than any other, it must be an intimate relationship with a publisher.
Georges Charpentier, not yet 40, took over his father's publishing house, "Charpentier's Bookshelf," in 1872 and began publishing adventurous contemporary writers, especially those called naturalists.
Furthermore, he was one of the main collectors of Impressionist painters; not only was the Impressionist stalwart Pierre Renoir his good friend, but even Paul Cézanne was a frequent guest.
What Lionel gained today was Georges Charpentier's admiration and friendship, so tomorrow he would gain francs!
An established writer like Émile Zola naturally wasn't jealous; instead, he sincerely stepped forward and embraced Lionel, patting his back affectionately: "Lionel, you are the most remarkable young man I have ever met.
If you're interested, when the weather gets a bit warmer, you can come with Guy, Paul, and Huysmans to my Médan villa; I'll prepare the most delicious food and await you."
Flaubert watched the two of them with a smile, and only after Zola and Lionel parted did he speak: "At this time next week, I will also be here to welcome you."
Georges Charpentier also extended an invitation: "Every Tuesday evening, on the third floor of 'Charpentier's Bookshelf,' if you, Lionel, could appear, it would excite everyone."
The eyes of the other young writers turned red—who would have thought that a previously unknown Sorbonne University student could become the darling of the Parisian literary salon in a single afternoon?
And most of them were still overjoyed to publish a few lines of poetry in a newspaper.
Maupassant's emotions were more complex than Huysmans and the others'—a little jealousy, but more relief.
This way, Lionel probably wouldn't have time to attend those gatherings of noblewomen and rich second-generation heirs, would he? Most of the 'Poor Léonard's Legend' skits he fabricated originated at these gatherings.
But why was Lionel, of all people, taken in by a noblewoman first?
However, Maupassant also knew that with Georges Charpentier's invitation for submissions, Lionel's performance time had come to an end.
Salon discussions typically don't revolve around a single work, a single problem, or a single character.
"No matter how eloquently you speak, you only have one 'the old guard' after all! Now it's my turn!" Maupassant muttered to himself.
Having endured for a long time, he finally found an opportunity. While everyone was still immersed in the afterglow of being shaken by the new theory, he pushed his way from the back of the crowd to the front, then pulled out a thick, simply bound volume, holding it high:
"Gentlemen, a strange book has recently appeared on the Parisian market, titled 'the decadent city'! It is currently being snatched up by citizens.
I managed to get a copy with great difficulty, and after reading it, I deeply feel that although the content is somewhat immoral, its description of worldly human nature is quite valuable..."
Before he finished speaking, Lionel was heard coughing violently several times on a nearby sofa, perhaps because the cigarette Huysmans gave him was too strong.
— — — — — —
[ To the Holy Father, your faithful servant reports to you with immense grief and anxiety:
Paris, this holy city once hailed as the 'City of Faith,' is now suffering the most severe and malicious spiritual assault in two centuries! A publication titled 'the decadent city,' like sulfurous fire erupting from the depths of hell, is furiously burning through the moral defenses and pure faith of the believers in this land!
...
This book meticulously describes how sacred priests are bought by worldly money, how solemn sacraments are exploited by base lies... The lines are filled with bitter hatred for the Church and its servants! Its malicious intent and vile methods are truly unprecedented in two centuries!
...
This book not only promotes lust but openly extols evil deeds such as bribery, fraud, and blasphemy! It distorts the definition of success, making the satisfaction of private desires and the trampling of rules the highest principle! Its poisonous influence has left the spirits of the flock in ruins!
Now, the air of Paris is permeated with a licentious, dangerous, indulgent atmosphere that scorns all that is sacred and authoritative!
...
Your humble servant has done his utmost, using all lawful secular means to resist, but as you know, the secular government of Paris has been eroded by liberal and indulgent ideas and is unable to take decisive action.
Therefore, your most humble and faithful servant earnestly implores the Holy Father's guidance and divine intervention! ]
An old man with white hair, dressed in a magnificent white silk priestly robe, looked at this with a confused expression, then turned to the simple, thick volume on the table.
It had arrived with the letter, using Europe's fastest postal system, covering the vast distance from Paris to Rome in just 60 hours.
However, regarding what was said in the letter, the old man, while not scoffing at it, believed that the writer was exaggerating.
But the next paragraph made him set aside his dismissiveness and become serious:
[ Your humble servant dares to suggest that this unprecedented crisis facing the Paris diocese profoundly reveals the severe lack and powerlessness of secular authority in regulating the spiritual realm.
This might be an opportunity... I humbly request that the Holy See, at an appropriate time, express the Church's deep concern to the Government of France and subtly yet firmly convey the idea that:
Only by re-empowering the Church with a clearer, more proactive role and voice in moral education and cultural instruction can such diabolical spiritual erosion be effectively resisted, and the souls of the faithful and the morality of society be protected.
Your most humble servant, Gibert Guillaume Mermet de Beauchamp. ]
The old man put away the letter, pondered for a moment, then rang the bell on the table.
The bell's sound was clear and long, seeming even louder than the great bells of an ordinary church.