Lionel took the newspaper and saw that it was the La République, with which he had recently developed a good relationship. The headline read:
"From the Alps to the Sorbonne Dome, a Myth of Public Education: Lionel Sorel"
The report enthusiastically praised the excellent French public education system, using him as an example:
"…At the Lalagne public middle school, Lionel received systematic training in French, history, mathematics, and science. It was this secular, rational knowledge that forged his keen observation skills, rigorous logic, and critical thinking, laying the foundation for his later creation of masterpieces like 'the old guard' and 'letter from an unknown woman'!
Public education proves that wisdom and talent are not the exclusive preserve of the aristocracy and the church; they are hidden within thousands of ordinary French children, waiting to be illuminated and discovered! Let more children enter such schools, and France will surely produce countless 'Lionels'!
This is the Republic's most valuable investment, and the only right path to combat ignorance and shape the French citizenry!"
Lionel was not surprised. From the moment he decided to attend Count Rohan's ball, he was prepared to be drawn into it.
In 19th-century France, no writer with influence would shirk his social responsibility; on the contrary, they often actively participated in the burgeoning social reform movements.
If Lionel were to declare: "France's education reform has nothing to do with me; I can only represent myself…"
Then he would be abandoned by the French the next day and considered a complete coward.
Moreover, the education reform promoted by Jules Ferry, the current Minister of Public Education and Fine Arts, not only aligned with Lionel's ideals but would also benefit France for a hundred years.
"Lionel, look…" Alice pointed to a corner of the newspaper: "'Each province must establish at least one normal school, especially for women…'"
Lionel looked at the report, which was one of the focal points of recent parliamentary debates.
Implementing free compulsory education required a large number of teachers; and the system of separate classes for boys and girls created a strong demand for female teachers.
Currently, there are 140 normal schools for men across France, covering the entire country; but only 15 normal schools for women, concentrated in large cities like Paris and Lyon.
This meant that at the time, girls' education primarily relied on nuns from religious orders.
According to statistics, only 28% of female teachers from religious orders were qualified, while 93% of secular female teachers held certificates.
In the future, professionally trained teachers will replace the priests and nuns in existing schools, making education completely secular.
The church, of course, was unwilling to easily give up this ground, wanting to maintain the influence granted to them by the 1850 "Falloux Law," so it organized considerable forces to resist.
Lionel looked up at Alice: "You want to be a teacher?"
Alice's face flushed, then she said disappointedly: "What if I do? No school would take me…"
Lionel sighed, saying nothing more.
Non-manual labor positions for women were extremely scarce in this era, and teaching was one of the few positions with decent income and status.
Alice had been with him for half a year, lacking a normal social life, and was already showing signs of depression.
If it weren't for Petty at home, whom she could teach to write and talk to every day; if she didn't have to copy various manuscripts every day, which gave her a certain sense of being needed…
Lionel folded the newspaper and handed it to Petty: "The La République is softer and doesn't smudge, so use it in the toilet from now on. Le Petit Parisien can be used to wrap fruit."
Although this apartment had an independent toilet, the cleaning equipment provided was a coarse hemp rope, and Lionel simply couldn't stand it.
In fact, "toilet paper" produced in Britain and America was already on sale in high-end department stores in Paris, but a roll or a box would cost half a franc or 15 sous.
Lionel did want to buy some to try, but Alice and Petty firmly pulled him away—both girls couldn't accept the extravagant behavior of wiping away half a centime just for going to the toilet.
Petty happily took the newspaper. She would first crumple it to soften it, then cut it into small pieces, fold them, and put them in the iron box in the toilet.
After lunch, Lionel began writing "father milon."
This novel was originally not to be written by Maupassant for at least a few more years, and it was considered, along with "dumpling" and "Mademoiselle Fifi," to be Maupassant's best work depicting the Franco-Prussian War.
The greatest value of "father milon" was its portrayal of a vengeful peasant who was a "non-French nationalist," breaking through the previous limitations of such novels.
Moreover, the entire story is full of twists and turns, thrilling and exciting. Although it lacks the panoramic, group-portrait-like breadth of "dumpling," it is extremely explosive and possesses an equally captivating literary charm.
Early the next morning, as the aroma of Petty's fried eggs wafted through the door crack, Alice's voice sounded in the living room: "Lionel, you're in the newspaper again; and there's a letter."
Lionel put on his coat and came to the living room, where Alice handed him a LUnivers and an envelope.
Lionel first opened the LUnivers.
This was a church newspaper, with low circulation but considerable influence; conservative upper-class figures were its loyal readers.
"The Cradle of the 'Sorbonne Conscience'—Church Schools, the True Foundation of French Civic Education"
Lionel frowned. How had he become a positive example for church education again? He patiently continued reading—
"…The La République deliberately ignored a crucial fact: Mr. Lionel Sorel's ability to express compassion in his works is because Mr. Sorel's earliest and most important formative stage in life was spent at Saint Joseph's School in his hometown of Montiel!
It was under the meticulous guidance of those devout nuns and priests that young Lionel learned to pray and understood eternal, faith-based moral principles such as honesty, kindness, compassion, and responsibility.
Church schools not only impart knowledge but also shape the soul! It was this experience of growing up in the embrace of the church that sowed the seeds of love and justice in his heart, laying the moral foundation for his future upright character and compassionate spirit!
Lionel Sorel's success precisely proves the indispensable role of the church's power in education! If citizens miss this lesson at the most critical stage of their lives, they will be tempted by 'poisons' like 'the decadent city' and fall into the abyss of hell!"
Lionel, upon reading this: "…"
He had indeed received his early education at Saint Joseph's School and had been recommended to Lalagne Public Middle School.
However, the angle the LUnivers found was quite tricky. In reality, in this era, any literate Frenchman would have received some form of religious education.
But this does not mean that only religious education can shape character.
Immediately after, Lionel saw a preview in the LUnivers:
"The Holy See Appoints Father Jean-Joseph Fourcade to Perform a Great Exorcism on Édouard-Benoît de Villeneuve. The event will be open to the public, demonstrating to the citizens of Paris how divine power expels the demon possessing this author of obscene books!"
Lionel then remembered that Inspector Claude—oh, he was now to be called Chief Inspector—had informed him that the swindler's real name was Édouard-Benoît de Villeneuve, from a bankrupt minor noble family in the Normandy region.
In his youth, he had attended a church school, where he learned French rhetoric and basic Latin, and had published poetry; later, he spent years swindling people in various provinces, which precisely confirmed his identity as "An Honest Parisian."
A few days ago, the Paris court had already sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison and agreed to the church's request for an exorcism ritual.
The LUnivers simultaneously delivered him one bad news and one good news, causing him to turn his gaze to the envelope with mixed feelings, and this truly surprised him.
The letter was signed "Société des Gens de Lettres," SGDL.