Brittany

Use in the book

Brittany’s emotional value changes within the journal. During the hesitant spring of 1833, Guérin complains that its sombre face needs greenery and that even its summer magnificence seems grudging beside the broad light of Languedoc. These comparisons belong to a disappointed observer of particular weather; they are not a stable dismissal of the region. Sea, friendship, and the long experience of its paths make Brittany the country of his sweetest dreams. At Le Parc, similarities of lanes, hedges, crops, butter, and cider revive it through a cluster of everyday signs. The regional name comes to hold both natural forms and a way of living among people. Its remembered goodness is therefore fuller than an opposition of northern and southern climates would suggest. Guérin’s coast is also local and differentiated: Saint-Malo, the Rance, the Ébihens, Quatre-Vaux, and the Arguenon organize distinct prospects and occasions, rather than serving as interchangeable picturesque names.

Places to read

1. 9 March 1833 · ¶1The appeal to Brittany to put on its spring clothing turns bad weather into an address to the country.
2. 13 June 1833 · ¶1The Breton sky is judged against the remembered generosity of Languedoc’s light.
3. 9 December 1833 · ¶4A solitary Breton cape is remembered through the fellowship and temporary inward peace of the evening.
4. 25 June 1834 · ¶1Le Parc revives Brittany through hedged lanes, vegetation, food, and the pleasure of recognizing likenesses.

Translation in this edition

The 1864 December 9 paragraph specifies a cap solitaire de Bretagne; the corresponding 1861 witness says only a solitary cape at that point. The later word localizes an already coastal scene. The main December 9 passage prints Ébihens; the supplied 1861 witness retains Hébiens [des Ebihens]. The bracketed wording is part of that witness’s presentation, not a new correction supplied by this lexicon.