The Effects of Success

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Recommended: Anderson b the forming of imagined communities summary

Catel and Bocquet’s Kiki de Montparnasse explores the transition of Alice Prinn, the title character, from an innocent-minded child to a renowned artist, "Kiki," who believes that there are more opportune and exotic places in the world she should discover, specifically America. As a youthful schoolgirl, Alice’s view of her country was undeveloped and incomplete, and was primarily influenced by her Grandmother and her grandmother’s generation’s perspective. For example, at the Bastille Day fair, Alice was filled with euphoria only because she was going to mingle with all of her friends, wear a beautiful dress, and dance endlessly. Meanwhile, the older generation solemnly expressed their nationalism with formal attire and a holiday celebration for their homeland, France. As Alice Prinn moves from her naïve country life to a more independent lifestyle in Paris, her views on nationalism change. Kiki demonstrates a rejection of nationalism, which was explored by Anderson in his theory of “imagined communities,” through her ambition to become famous.
Throughout the graphic novel, the reader is constantly reminded of Kiki’s longing to settle somewhere other than France. Comparatively, Kiki’s rejection of nationalism is similar to Arthur Rimbaud’s perspective. Both Arthur Rimbaud and Kiki de Montparnasse originate from France, and hold the same belief that life would be better elsewhere. For example, Kiki expresses this belief when she answers the question, “The lives of American movie stars would be incredible, don’t you think?” (Catel & Bocquet 182) with the one word response, “Obviously” (Catel & Bocquet 182). She feels life in America would be far better because of the potential to become well known. While Kiki does not “loathe the ...

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... mindsets shared by people all over the globe. Their shared mindset being that France was not the place for freedom from societal norms nor was it the place that they belonged. Kiki’s determination to become famous and feel free stimulates a rejection toward French nationalism that is shared by Arthur Rimbaud and opposed by her grandmother and Gertrude Stein.

Works Cited

Anderson, Benedict. "Chapter 3." Imagined Communities. New York: Verso, 1991. 37- 46. Print.
Catel, and José-Louis Bocquet. Kiki De Montparnasse. London: SelfMadeHero, 2011. Print.
Rimbaud, Arthur. A Season in Hell. A New Directions Paperbook, 7-25. Print.
Said, Edward W. Orientalism. London: Penguin, 1978. Print.
Stein, Gertrude. "Composition as Explanation (1925)." Poetry Foundation. N.p., 15 Feb. 2010. Web.
Wallace Fowlie, “The Rebel as Poet”, Duke University Press Durham and London, 1993

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