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Messalina: A Novel of Imperial Rome
Translated by John Harman, with glossary of explanatory notes.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1901
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About the author
Alfred Jarry
249 books263 followersAlfred Jarry was a French writer born in Laval, Mayenne, France, not far from the border of Brittany; he was of Breton descent on his mother's side.
Best known for his play Ubu Roi (1896), which is often cited as a forerunner to the surrealist theatre of the 1920s and 1930s, Jarry wrote in a variety of genres and styles. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, essays and speculative journalism. His texts present some pioneering work in the field of absurdist literature. Sometimes grotesque or misunderstood (i.e. the opening line in his play Ubu Roi, "Merdre!", has been translated into English as "Pshit!", "Shitteth!", "Shittr!", "Shikt!", "Shrit!" and "Pschitt!"), he invented a pseudoscience called 'Pataphysics.
From Wikipedia
Best known for his play Ubu Roi (1896), which is often cited as a forerunner to the surrealist theatre of the 1920s and 1930s, Jarry wrote in a variety of genres and styles. He wrote plays, novels, poetry, essays and speculative journalism. His texts present some pioneering work in the field of absurdist literature. Sometimes grotesque or misunderstood (i.e. the opening line in his play Ubu Roi, "Merdre!", has been translated into English as "Pshit!", "Shitteth!", "Shittr!", "Shikt!", "Shrit!" and "Pschitt!"), he invented a pseudoscience called 'Pataphysics.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 13, 2014
This novella (hardly a novel, at 78 or so pages) is an interesting mix of history grounded in several ancient Roman writers' accounts, with dream-like scenarios and imagery prefiguring the writing of Borges and Calvino. The Surrealists saw a kindred spirit in their predecessor Alfred Jarry, and here it is easy to see why.
The eponymous heroine of the book is third wife of the Emperor Claudius and a notorious nymphomaniac, who meets her death when she pushes her luck too far by staging a public marriage ceremony with her favorite inamorata, and the oblivious and besotted Emperor finally is informed of her many adulteries and is compelled to act.
Messalina's sexual escapades, which include frequent evenings posing as a courtesan in the slums of the Subura, are here given a metaphysical cast, as her fevered pursuit of the god Phales/Priapus, with whom she seeks a mystical communion. While the language evoking sex here is coded and rather tame by modern standards, it must have been titillating to its late Victorian audience. The book's overall tone is very much in keeping with the French Decadent writers of the period; a mood of menace coupled with terrible beauty suffuses the book, leaving a distinctly sensual impression.
The eponymous heroine of the book is third wife of the Emperor Claudius and a notorious nymphomaniac, who meets her death when she pushes her luck too far by staging a public marriage ceremony with her favorite inamorata, and the oblivious and besotted Emperor finally is informed of her many adulteries and is compelled to act.
Messalina's sexual escapades, which include frequent evenings posing as a courtesan in the slums of the Subura, are here given a metaphysical cast, as her fevered pursuit of the god Phales/Priapus, with whom she seeks a mystical communion. While the language evoking sex here is coded and rather tame by modern standards, it must have been titillating to its late Victorian audience. The book's overall tone is very much in keeping with the French Decadent writers of the period; a mood of menace coupled with terrible beauty suffuses the book, leaving a distinctly sensual impression.
May 26, 2020
If we disregard surface aspects of the subject matter (which is lewd and violent), this book contains some startling 'pataphysical insights and some of the most beautiful writing I have ever come across. Jarry was a true master of language and allusion, and all the exchanges that go on between the lines here will take some time to appreciate. Loved it from the first time I read it, but find myself loving it more and more.
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August 13, 2023„messalina“ is what one might call a difficult read. being just shy of 100 pages, it's extremely dense. imagine an orgiastic ancient rome told through the fever visions of a decadent modernist/symbolist around 1900, called alfred jarry.
of course, alfred jarry is not entirely a clean slate. he is known today for his play „ubu roi“ /„ubu rex“, & even more so for his bizarre text „exploits and opinions of dr. faustroll, pataphysician“ (& subsequently for an anti-philosophy called „pataphysics“). so i knew that this guy was a madman, but phew, what a gifted madman jarry was!
„messalina“ is an orgy of language. sure, it's prose, but that doesn't mean it's prosaic. it's a lyrical achievement. but while it's formally something like a novella that indulges in lyrical prose, its dialogue is of dramatic, scenic quality. it's like jarry merges the 3 forms of writing, something characteristic for european literature around 1900, where those 3 forms began to intermingle, in order to create something truly unique.
one can clearly see that there's a correspondence going on, a correspondence between style & content, as messalina's (caesar's 3rd wife) dissolute, voluptuous lifestyle is described in equally orgiastic language.
as I said, it‘s not an easy read – the text's rather unforgiving. i had to read almost every chapter twice, & if you‘re not heavily into classical philology or you don't have an annotated edition, you should at least have a lexicon of ancient rome (or a search engine) right beside you, as this text will break you otherwise.
of course, alfred jarry is not entirely a clean slate. he is known today for his play „ubu roi“ /„ubu rex“, & even more so for his bizarre text „exploits and opinions of dr. faustroll, pataphysician“ (& subsequently for an anti-philosophy called „pataphysics“). so i knew that this guy was a madman, but phew, what a gifted madman jarry was!
„messalina“ is an orgy of language. sure, it's prose, but that doesn't mean it's prosaic. it's a lyrical achievement. but while it's formally something like a novella that indulges in lyrical prose, its dialogue is of dramatic, scenic quality. it's like jarry merges the 3 forms of writing, something characteristic for european literature around 1900, where those 3 forms began to intermingle, in order to create something truly unique.
one can clearly see that there's a correspondence going on, a correspondence between style & content, as messalina's (caesar's 3rd wife) dissolute, voluptuous lifestyle is described in equally orgiastic language.
as I said, it‘s not an easy read – the text's rather unforgiving. i had to read almost every chapter twice, & if you‘re not heavily into classical philology or you don't have an annotated edition, you should at least have a lexicon of ancient rome (or a search engine) right beside you, as this text will break you otherwise.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews