167:
of war between the city-states and small states of Italy at the time and their ever-changing constellations of alliances. Neither the respective rulers nor their subjects achieve any real progress. Fosca gets the impression that these battles only go on endlessly because neither party has the time to permanently consolidate the power and rule it has won - and so the desire arises in him for a life that will last forever and thus give him the decisive advantage. In return for his pardon, he receives a magic potion from a beggar in his hometown who has been sentenced to death. After trying it on a mouse, he drinks it himself and promptly becomes immortal - but the hoped-for success does not materialize. Again and again a new opponent rises up; even his own son (when he has long since become an adult and wants to inherit the regency from his father) finally fights him, and Fosca kills him himself. Despite this, he does not want to give up and initially fights on for two centuries, but never gets beyond his role as lord of the city of
Carmona.
197:
interest in science and rises to become a renowned chemist. As a result, he first wins the affection of young
Marianne, who maintains an intellectual salon. He falls in love and marries her, but almost loses her when she finds out his secret. And he, for all his love, does not really understand her, for her actions and motives are those of a mortal, and Fosca is literally "free" of such motives, whereas no one else understands his ever-increasing fear of infinity, which no amount of activity can permanently subdue. As long as Marianne lives, Fosca clings to her, but he becomes increasingly aware of the insurmountable contrast with his fellow human beings, and becomes more and more indifferent to life. After Marianne's death, he finally abandons his scientific interests.
185:. At the imperial court, he finds that the same old intrigues for power and influence are being spun here, too, without the people necessarily being better off as a result. On the contrary, on a journey to the American colonies, Fosca is made vividly aware of all the misery of the inhabitants of this seemingly glamorous empire. He flees from this realization into the wilderness of North America.
27:
212:
The main tension exists between the meaninglessness of daily life, rituals, style from the perspective of an immortal man contrasted by the seeming trivial concerns of a mortal woman: the importance and the value they put on things are at opposite ends of the spectrum. From his perspective everything
204:
of 1830, Fosca is able to take an interest in the new trends of the time for a last time, partly because one of the revolutionaries is a descendant of his. But as before, he sees in the latter's efforts to improve people's lives mainly the recurring failure. He does not find any consolation for his
188:
There, by chance, Fosca meets the adventurer Pierre
Carlier, who succeeds in infecting him with his joy of discovery: The young man has set himself the ambitious goal of traveling to China and, on his way there, becoming the first European to cross the North American continent to the Pacific Ocean.
166:
Born the son of a patrician in the (fictional) 13th-century northern
Italian town of Carmona, the world presents itself to Fosca as a mixture of violence and intrigue: While in the city the influential families fight for supremacy, this struggle is repeated in the outside world as a permanent state
208:
When Fosca finishes his story, he tells that he suffers from nightmares in which the whole world is white and dead, populated only by two living beings: he and the mouse on which he tested the immortality potion. Regine finally understands the enormity of his fate; but she also realizes that she
196:
Paris carrying with him riches he acquired in North
America. In the decadent circles of the nobility there, he first becomes a ruthless gambler who outplays all opponents and cannot be killed even in a duel - but this behavior does not provide him with lasting distraction. He begins to take an
162:
in the 1930s. At first he is reluctant to make her acquaintance, but then he seems to fall in love with Regine and soon reveals his secret to her: he is immortal. Regine does not understand the dimension of this revelation and at first only thinks about how she herself could attain immortality
189:
Fosca joins him. Thanks to his immortality, he saves his new friend several times from dicey situations, but they get no closer to their goal. The adventurer eventually dies, and Fosca's search for further discoveries is thus spoiled. He retreats to the natives for several generations.
177:, Fosca had the idea of putting his forces at the service of a successful ruler rather than trying any longer to become one himself. He leaves his hometown, for which he has fought for so long, to the Habsburgs and serves as an advisor to Maximilian and later to his son
205:
personal fate in this either. Not even the love of the revolutionary Laure can reach him now. So one day he marches out of the city and lies down in the forest to sleep for sixty years. When he is found, he is not believed and is taken to a mental asylum.
109:
146:. It tells the story of Raimon Fosca, a man cursed to live forever. The first American edition of this work was published by The World Publishing Company. Cleveland and New York, 1955. It was adapted into a 1995
499:
504:
224:
is identified as a "metaphysical novel" by
Beauvoir's biographers Claude Francis and Fernande Gontier, who note that while it did not sell well, it was almost immediately translated into German.
509:
428:
286:
464:
163:
through the
Romance with him - in his memory. Fosca then withdraws from her, but when she seeks him out and confronts him, he tells her his story.
474:
454:
310:
494:
170:
Outside Italy, however, the world had changed during this time, and when a new, influential warlord appeared in Italy in the form of the
237:, a series of old legends about a Jew who is made immortal in the time of Jesus and cursed to wander the Earth until the second coming.
469:
479:
279:
174:
484:
182:
489:
459:
115:
449:
272:
158:
The beautiful, successful, but also vain and egotistical actress Regine meets the strange
Italian Raymond Fosca in
417:
147:
209:
means nothing to him. Fosca still gives her cold comfort, saying that for her it will pass. Then he goes away.
393:
411:
26:
369:
213:
is essentially the same. From her perspective even the most trivial is unique and carries significance.
122:
For the classic example of a logical chain of reasoning involving the eventual death of
Socrates, see
326:
178:
377:
361:
295:
143:
40:
193:
423:
318:
201:
135:
123:
385:
443:
342:
234:
108:
99:
95:
171:
264:
159:
107:
268:
500:
Cultural depictions of
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
505:
Cultural depictions of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
404:
353:
302:
90:
82:
72:
64:
56:
46:
36:
280:
8:
429:Place Jean-Paul-Sartre-et-Simone-de-Beauvoir
19:
510:Cultural depictions of Philip I of Castile
287:
273:
265:
25:
18:
254:Francis, Claude & Gontier, Fernande.
258:. Sidgwick & Jackson, 1987, p. 218.
247:
7:
311:When Things of the Spirit Come First
192:Tracked down there, he ends up in
14:
465:French novels adapted into films
16:1946 novel by Simone de Beauvoir
475:Novels set in the 13th century
1:
455:Novels by Simone de Beauvoir
140:Tous les hommes sont mortels
116:The World Publishing Company
51:Tous les hommes sont mortels
526:
121:
31:Cover of the first edition
470:Fiction about immortality
418:Sylvie Le Bon-de Beauvoir
24:
495:Éditions Gallimard books
480:Novels set in the 1930s
370:The Ethics of Ambiguity
139:
119:
148:film of the same name
142:) is a 1946 novel by
111:
485:Novels set in France
200:In the Paris of the
490:Novels set in Italy
460:Novels about actors
327:The Blood of Others
47:Original title
21:
20:All Men Are Mortal
450:1946 French novels
420:(adopted daughter)
412:Hélène de Beauvoir
378:America Day by Day
362:Pyrrhus and Cineas
335:All Men Are Mortal
296:Simone de Beauvoir
256:Simone de Beauvoir
222:All Men are Mortal
144:Simone de Beauvoir
131:All Men Are Mortal
120:
68:Metaphysical novel
41:Simone de Beauvoir
437:
436:
394:The Coming of Age
181:and his grandson
106:
105:
83:Publication place
517:
424:Jean-Paul Sartre
319:She Came to Stay
289:
282:
275:
266:
259:
252:
112:First US edition
74:Publication date
29:
22:
525:
524:
520:
519:
518:
516:
515:
514:
440:
439:
438:
433:
400:
349:
298:
293:
263:
262:
253:
249:
244:
230:
219:
202:July Revolution
156:
127:
124:quasi-syllogism
113:
91:Media type
75:
32:
17:
12:
11:
5:
523:
521:
513:
512:
507:
502:
497:
492:
487:
482:
477:
472:
467:
462:
457:
452:
442:
441:
435:
434:
432:
431:
426:
421:
415:
408:
406:
402:
401:
399:
398:
390:
386:The Second Sex
382:
374:
366:
357:
355:
351:
350:
348:
347:
339:
331:
323:
315:
306:
304:
300:
299:
294:
292:
291:
284:
277:
269:
261:
260:
246:
245:
243:
240:
239:
238:
229:
226:
218:
215:
155:
152:
104:
103:
92:
88:
87:
84:
80:
79:
76:
73:
70:
69:
66:
62:
61:
58:
54:
53:
48:
44:
43:
38:
34:
33:
30:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
522:
511:
508:
506:
503:
501:
498:
496:
493:
491:
488:
486:
483:
481:
478:
476:
473:
471:
468:
466:
463:
461:
458:
456:
453:
451:
448:
447:
445:
430:
427:
425:
422:
419:
416:
413:
410:
409:
407:
403:
396:
395:
391:
388:
387:
383:
380:
379:
375:
372:
371:
367:
364:
363:
359:
358:
356:
352:
345:
344:
343:The Mandarins
340:
337:
336:
332:
329:
328:
324:
321:
320:
316:
313:
312:
308:
307:
305:
301:
297:
290:
285:
283:
278:
276:
271:
270:
267:
257:
251:
248:
241:
236:
235:Wandering Jew
232:
231:
227:
225:
223:
216:
214:
210:
206:
203:
198:
195:
190:
186:
184:
180:
176:
173:
168:
164:
161:
153:
151:
149:
145:
141:
137:
133:
132:
125:
117:
110:
101:
97:
93:
89:
85:
81:
77:
71:
67:
63:
59:
55:
52:
49:
45:
42:
39:
35:
28:
23:
392:
384:
376:
368:
360:
341:
334:
333:
325:
317:
309:
255:
250:
221:
220:
211:
207:
199:
191:
187:
175:Maximilian I
169:
165:
157:
130:
129:
128:
50:
354:Non-fiction
444:Categories
242:References
194:absolutist
217:Reception
183:Charles V
100:Paperback
414:(sister)
228:See also
172:Habsburg
96:Hardback
57:Language
405:Related
303:Fiction
114:(publ.
94:Print (
397:(1970)
389:(1949)
381:(1948)
373:(1946)
365:(1944)
346:(1954)
338:(1946)
330:(1945)
322:(1943)
314:(1937)
179:Philip
160:France
136:French
98:&
86:France
60:French
37:Author
65:Genre
233:The
154:Plot
78:1946
446::
150:.
138::
288:e
281:t
274:v
134:(
126:.
118:)
102:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
