When faced with the choice of true love or a soul mate, not many people would know what to choose until the last possible moment. They dream of a romantic beginning and a happily ever after ending. These are often found written in the dark and twisted romance novels. One of the many favorites is written by Gaston Leroux, and is one of his best works, The Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra), which is a notable example of the Gothic genre, which was popular in the end of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century. By studying his early life,
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux was born on 6 May 1868, in Paris, France. He was the son of Marie Alphonsine and Julien Leroux. Leroux’s grandfather owned a ship-building company in the small coastal village of St. Valery-en-Caux in Normandy, France, around the area which young Leroux grew up (Merriman). This influenced Leroux’s great love for sailing and fishing.
Leroux attended an Arts school in Caen, studying the works of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Pere and writing short stories and poetry. He later abandoned his dreams to become a writer to please his father and travelled to Paris where he obtained a law degree in 1889, but lost interest in the profession after his father passed away. He then sunk into the world of alcoholism, and after gambling almost all of his inheritance, got a job as a journalist in the L'Echo de Paris and Le Matin, where he found inspiration for the falling chandelier, by one of articles written by him which described the 1896 events surrounding the death of a patron at the Paris Opera House when one of the chandelier's counterweights fell (Merriman). Sometime between 1896 and 1901 Leroux married Marie Lefranc, but later on, while in Swi...
... middle of paper ...
... novel that they can understand.
In conclusion, the choice between true love and our soul mate, may not come until a long time into the future or hopefully not come at all, but if it does the decision still remains would you choose True love or your soul mate. Gaston Leroux was one of the lucky ones; he found his true love in his soul mate, Jeanne Cayatte.
"Gaston Leroux - Books, Biography, Quotes - Read Print." Read Print Library. Web. 06 Sept. 2011.
“Leroux, Gaston (May 6, 1868- April 15, 1927)." Milestone Films - Welcome to Milestone Films! Ed. Scott MacQuee. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
Liukkonen, Petri. "Gaston Leroux." www.kirjasto.sci.fi. Ari Pesonen. Kuusankosken Kaupunginkirjasto, 2008. Web. 06 Sept. 2011.
Merriman, C. D. "Gaston Leroux - Biography and Works. Search Texts, Read Online. Discuss." The Literature Network. Jalic Inc, 2009. Web. 06 Sept. 2011.
Caemmerer, H. Paul. The Life of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. New York: Da Capo Press, 1950.
In the short story “An Adventure in Paris” by Guy De Maupassant an unnamed woman seeks for adventure, love, and excitement. An unnamed narrator starts to explain the inner nature and curiosity of a woman. The story transitions to the point of view of an unnamed lawyer’s wife which allows us to see her deepest desire to travel to Paris and be part of the lavishing life she has seen in the magazines. To escape her regular routine she makes a plan to go to Paris; however, her family members are only middle class and cannot help her fulfill her desire to live the life of a celebrity, fame, and fashion. Just when her trip seems to be monotonous she comes across the chance to live the life of an extravagant person. This chance happens when she meets Jean Varin, a wealthy author, in a store wanting to purchase a Japanese figurine. When Varin decides that the figurine is too expensive the lawyer’s wife steps up to buy the figurine which causes Varin to notice her. She flirtatiously invites herself into Varin’s daily activities which intrigue Varin. As the day closes she invites herself to Varin’s house and has an affair with Varin; however, she doesn’t feel she is satisfied because of his many needs. She anxiously waits till morning to come so that she can leave which only confuses Varin. When Varin asks her why she is leaving after all they have been through she states that she wanted to know what depravity felt like; however, it was not what she expected. The central idea of the story is about a woman’s psychological desire for romance, adventure, and an opulent lifestyle that leads to curiosity and the immoral act of adultery.
Meursault is a fairly average individual who is distinctive more in his apathy and passive pessimism than in anything else. He rarely talks because he generally has nothing to say, and he does what is requested of him because he feels that resisting commands is more of a bother than it is worth. Meursault never did anything notable or distinctive in his life: a fact which makes the events of the book all the more intriguing.
[2] Kennedy, J. Gerald and Bryer, Jackson R. French Connections: Hemingway and Fizgerald Abroad, pg 6
Louis L’Amour was born Louis Dearborn LaMoore on March 22, 1908 as the last of seven children. His father and mother are Dr. Louis Charles LaMoore and Emily Dearborn LaMoore, for the first fifteen years of his life Louis lived in Jamestown, North Dakota; a medium sized farming community in the valley where Pipestem Creek flows into the James River. His grandfather, Abraham Truman Dearborn, told Louis stories of battles in history and his own personal experiences as a soldier. As a child Louis spent a great deal of time in a nearby library where his eldest sister, Edna, was a librarian, he was interested in the study of History and always went beyond the scope that was taught in the schools. In addition to the study of History and Natural Sciences, Louis was interested in the fiction writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Edgar Rice Burroughs and others. The members of the L’Amour family were intelligent and had a part in Louis’ education. Emmy Lou, his sister, taught him how to read, his father taught him about animals, taught him the benefit hard work and the fact that “a man could always find a way to solve a problem”. The basics of learning he got from his mother who had once trained to be a schoolteacher, and from Edna he got insights into libraries and research. His elder brother Parker provided examples of a reporter’s speed and simplicity of prose and the public relations savvy of a veteran political aid. Yale, his second brother, showed Louis a love of life and a gift of improvisation. Louis’ adopted brother John was an example of a natural survivor, quick of wit and sharp of tongue. Hard times uprooted the family from their everyday lives and the family, the father, mother, Louis and john, had to take their fort...
In The Lais of Marie de France, the theme of love is conceivably of the utmost importance. Particularly in the story of Guigemar, the love between a knight and a queen brings them seemingly true happiness. The lovers commit to each other an endless devotion and timeless affection. They are tested by distance and are in turn utterly depressed set apart from their better halves. Prior to their coupling the knight established a belief to never have interest in romantic love while the queen was set in a marriage that left her trapped and unhappy. Guigemar is cursed to have a wound only cured by a woman’s love; he is then sent by an apparent fate to the queen of a city across the shores. The attraction between them sparks quickly and is purely based on desire, but desire within romantic love is the selfishness of it. True love rests on a foundation that is above mere desire for another person. In truth, the selfishness of desire is the
Verne, Jules. "Jules Verne at Home." Twentieth Century Literary Criticism: Volume 6. Detroit, Michigan: Book Tower, 1982. 522. Print.
explored the genre in his 1902 Le Voyage Dans La Lune. While even as early an
Verne was born on February 8th 1928, in a small city in France named Nantes.His parents were, Pierre Verne and Sophie. Pierre Verne was a prosperous lawyer and Jules was his oldest son. Born in a middle class family,Verne despised how his parents would try to achieve middle-class respectability.
Since the internet is like a library except without the late book fees, I was able to use this as my main support for my research. As stated in my previous research paper I started with Wikipedia however, knowing that Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information, I used the resources given there to find the rest of my information. I read numerous sites about Louis Pasteur, even though I didn’t cite them; again I found the m...
Charles Hermite was born on December 24, 1822. He was born in Dieuze, Moselle with a deformity in his right foot, although this never affected his cheerful personality. His father’s name was Ferdinand Hermite; he worked in the mines, and then moved to the draper’s business, like his in-laws, but he always wanted to take up art instead. Charles’ mother’s name was Madeleine Lallemand. Charles was the sixth of seven children. When he was seven years old, he and his family moved about fifty-five miles south to Nancy for business purposes. His parents never believed that a high education was very important, but they schooled Charles and his siblings well. Also, Hermite studied at three colleges. These were Collège de Nancy, Collège Henri IV, and Lycée Louis-le-Grand, where Galois studied a few years before him. Hermite was taught mathematics by the same teacher as Galois, Louis Richard, and is often compared to Galois because they had the same tendency to read work by Gauss, Euler, and Lagrange instead of s...
It is hard for the reader not to jump to a quick conclusion about the subject of the novel, given the highly public sibling rivalry exhibited by the older generation of the Theroux family. Marcel is Paul Theroux's son; a section of his father's uproariously entertaining book about V. S. Naipaul, ''Sir Vidia's Shadow,'' elaborated with what seemed like relish on the theme that one brother is always the other's literary inferior. Many readers felt that these passages drew on feelings about Alexander Theroux, Paul's writer brother. And then there is the fact that Marcel's own brother, Louis, has achieved fame in Britain (where both of them were brought up) as a host of TV documentaries. As Sherlock Holmes might have said, these are murky waters, Watson.
Le Corbusier was born in a small town in Northwest Switzerland Known as La Chaux-de-Fonds on October 6th, 1887. Le Corbusier was born Charles-Eduard Jeanneret-Gris only to later change his name to Le Corbusier in 1920. He was born second son to a watch maker Eduard Jeanneret who painted the dials on every watch in their home towns renowned watch factory. His mother Madame Jeannerct-Perrct was a piano teacher and musician. Both parents obtaining artistic careers made Le Corbusier inept to have a career in which he would use his artistic skills. Growing up in the Jura mountains and his families love for the arts are what would later influence his career.
Who was the most important writer of France in the nineteenth century? Who was the leader of the Romantic Movement, a playwright, a poet, and the author of novels among the most incredible in existence, such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame? None other than Victor Hugo, who was also a political thinker, a painter and an architect. When asked whom Victor Hugo is, most people would probably ask, “Who’s that?” or respond by saying, “A dude who wrote books.” It is quite unfortunate that one of the most talented authors has become so lost in our modern world. Perhaps awareness can be spread and the ideas in his works can be considered by our modern society.
Does True Love Exist? “I love you.” These three little words might possibly be the most powerful statement one can make to another person. In life, most yearn for the intimate affection that a certain someone can provide them. Women dream of their Prince Charming to come and sweep them off their feet, while men search for the love of their life that sets their hearts on fire.