248:«The worship of money is the lowest of all human emotions, but it is shared not only by the bourgeoisie but also by the great majority of us… Little people, humble people, even those who are practically penniless. And I, with all my indignation, all my passion for destruction, I, too, am not free of it. I, who am oppressed by wealth, who realise it to be the source of all misery, all my vices and hatred, all the bitterest humiliations that I have to suffer, all my impossible dreams and all the endless torment of my existence, still, all the time, as soon as I find myself in the presence of a rich person, I cannot help looking up to him, as some exceptional and splendid being, a kind of marvelous divinity, and in spite of myself, stronger than either my will or my reason, I feel rising from the very depths of my being, a sort of incense of admiration for this wealthy creature, who is all too often as stupid as he is pitiless. Isn't it crazy? And why... why?»
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192:: that is already subversive in itself. Through her eyes, which perceive the world through keyholes, he shows us the foul-smelling hidden sides of high society, the 'moral bumps' of the dominating classes, and the turpitudes of the bourgeois society that he assails. Mirbeau's story undresses the members of high society of their superficial probity, revealing them in the undergarments of their moral flaws: their hypocrisy and perversions.
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Ending up in a Norman town at the home of the
Lanlaires, with their grotesque family name, who owe their unjustifiable wealth to their respective 'honourable' parents' swindlings, she evokes, as she recalls her memories, all the jobs that she has done for years in the swankiest households, and draws
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Octave
Mirbeau denounces domestic service as a modern form of slavery. However, he offers no sentimentalised image of the underclass, as servants exploited by their masters are ideologically alienated themselves: « D'être domestique, on a ça dans le sang... ».
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With its fractured exposition, its temporal dislocations, its clashing styles, and varying forms, Mirbeau's novel breaks with the conventions of the realistic novel and relinquishes all claims to documentary objectivity and narrative linearity.
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a conclusion that the reader is invited to make his own: «However vile the riff-raff may be, they are never as vile as decent people.» (« Si infâmes que soient les canailles, ils ne le sont jamais autant que les honnêtes gens. »)
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couple, Lanlaire, and is perfectly aware that she is entangled in the power struggles of their marriage. Célestine ends by becoming a café hostess, who mistreats her servants in turn.
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679:« The Chambermaid – Mirbeau to Buñuel »
361:In 2004, a new American theatrical adaptation of
451:, ou la redécouverte du modèle picaresque »
436:, Ă©d. du Boucher, 2003, chap. XVII, p. 354.
266:1916, in Russia, by M. Martov, under the title
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33:1915 Bibliothèque-Charpentier edition.
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671:, Harper Collins Publishers, 2007.
655:« Fetishist Art in Mirbeau’s
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995:Le Journal d'une femme de chambre
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633:, n° 2, 1995, p. 101-124.
318:Journal d’une femme de chambre
188:gives voice to a maidservant,
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180:CĂ©lestine, by Octave Mirbeau.
514:, Éditions du Boucher, 2003.
16:1900 novel by Octave Mirbeau
397:Dictionnaire Octave Mirbeau
235:using the Transwiki process
20:The Diary of a Chambermaid
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889:L'Amour de la femme vénale
779:The Diary of a Chambermaid
539:The Diary of a Chambermaid
280:The Diary of a Chambermaid
112:The Diary of a Chambermaid
184:As a libertarian writer,
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1000:Novels by Octave Mirbeau
459:, n° 2, 1995, p.101-124.
277:1946, an American film,
763:Les MĂ©moires de mon ami
470:"Octave Mirbeau Quotes"
132:, published during the
965:Cahiers Octave Mirbeau
630:Cahiers Octave Mirbeau
578:, Olympia Press, 2008.
456:Cahiers Octave Mirbeau
363:Diary of A Chambermaid
325:, in French, starring
304:, in French, starring
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563:A Chambermaid’s Diary
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830:Business is business
625:une femme de chambre
308:, Georges GĂ©ret and
905:Combats littéraires
838:Farces et moralités
822:Les Mauvais Bergers
268:Dnevnik gornitchnoi
227:is a candidate for
49:Original title
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771:The Torture Garden
474:notable-quotes.com
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857:Other works
731:Le Calvaire
637:(in French)
612:(in French)
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518:(in French)
503:(in French)
479:13 November
345:Andre Heuse
327:LĂ©a Seydoux
302:Luis Buñuel
287:, starring
285:Jean Renoir
253:Adaptations
166:upper class
162:chambermaid
31:Title Page.
989:Categories
948:Jean Roule
916:Characters
739:Abbé Jules
597:"Foreword"
370:References
172:Commentary
923:CĂ©lestine
873:La 628-E8
233:Wikiquote
190:CĂ©lestine
158:CĂ©lestine
148:in 1900.
128:novel by
115:(French:
80:Fasquelle
77:Publisher
497:The Book
231:over to
126:decadent
59:Language
661:, 2005.
659: »
616:«
447:«
392: »
388:«
229:copying
121:) is a
103:5323544
938:Lucien
908:(2006)
900:(1990)
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884:(1918)
876:(1907)
868:(1885)
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825:(1897)
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790:(1900)
782:(1900)
774:(1899)
766:(1899)
758:(1893)
750:(1890)
742:(1888)
734:(1886)
723:Novels
604:
351:, and
315:2015,
294:1964,
208:Quotes
160:R., a
62:French
39:Author
928:Clara
814:Drama
795:Dingo
643:, in
600:(PDF)
394:, in
338:Stage
321:, by
300:, by
67:Genre
846:Home
481:2016
408:Cf.
382:Cf.
329:and
258:Film
152:Plot
123:1900
97:OCLC
90:1900
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