The Girls

Les jeunes filles #1-4

by Henry de Montherlant, Terence Kilmartin (Translator)

English (translation)
Original French

Genres: Fiction, France, Literature, Modern

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1936

About the author

Henry de Montherlant (1895-1972) fut romancier, dramaturge, essayiste et poète. Il était membre de l’Académie française et peut être considéré comme un des plus grands écrivains du XXe siècle, à l’égal d’un Proust ou d’un Céline.

Reviews

[Richard Fulgham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A celebrated, rich, handsome, aristocratic writer pities the dozens of women who write desperate love letters to him. He deigns to see a few. This is a satire now but certainly wasn't meant to be when written in Paris in the 1940's.

[AlexandraC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy read for those who lack critical thinking or are in constant need of being reassured - particularly women. The male reader must be equally careful and not separate the story from its context - that of a France which the protagonists despises.
The book provides good insights into the psychology of the woman - mainly of its limits and "inferior" position. But it equally provides a critique of romantic love, marriage and christianity.
The protagonist is solely a servant of "Nature" - that is what encourages man to live and be as close as possible to his nature, as opposed to moral values, kindness etc. It portrays how such a character, when it decides to be "charitable" betrays his nature and eventually fails to continue on the illusory path of virtue.
His portrayal of women is mainly accurate yet he suggests these limits are mainly a birth-disadvantage rather than a choice. He observes a woman fighting her own nature (in some cases) as opposed to himself - who embraces his nature fully. He highlights how a man can win when he embraces his nature as long as he is devoted to this truth as opposed to the woman who cannot win when she embraces her nature or when she aims to fight it.
He is quick to recognise intelligence in a woman in the one instance when he finds it. Other than that it must be recognised that the character suffers of deep sadism which influences most of his beliefs and behaviours.
The main critique I have towards the book is that he does not develop much as a character. Therefore the read becomes boring at time - he is and remains the "villain" without any additions to his character in the end. He is stagnant and consistent in his approach to life and women and whilst I personally consider this to make the work incomplete, it is a good reflection of the character overall. He is and remains who he says he is - he does not change because he does not "have to". He is therefore a man in a constant pursuit of happiness and pleasure, dismissing all things which could jeopardise this: religion, women, marriage etc.

Not a book to be read by the fragile and easily offended. A book which is at times difficult to grasp, a book which will hurt your feelings if you are a woman and could have the power to "negatively" influence a man.

However - it is a good and informative read. It shows a more truthful image of what men actually think and feel about women (but taken to the extreme), it shows the dynamic between genders and the difficulty in navigating these differences.

It could show the female reader how she endangers herself through her own illusions, how pathetic her attempts to enslave a man or to make him submit to her own ideas of Love is inefficient and in the long run will make her fall ill. It encourages her to no longer pretend - to observe her own truth and stick to it - despite her tendency to cling onto the male. And more importantly, it shows women that they should believe men when they say they are who they are - do not question, try to change, or stay around - as all this will eventually disappoint.

[Jeff Bursey · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some parts lag, The Girls is a good tetralogy. Those who find it hard to read books that display misogyny should leave this alone.

[Andrew Weitzel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this a lot, but I can't think of anyone I know who I could recommend this to. It's a de Montherlant novel, so you have to know going in that it's going to be cynical and all the characters are going to be awful people. So if that sounds like your thing, give this a go. Otherwise you probably won't enjoy it.

[Dan Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

“But when it came to doing a job that encroached on her inner life, Andrée bridled – she could not help it. She could not work for half an hour without heaving sighs which infuriated her boss. She would spend twenty minutes at a time in the lavatory reading Nietzsche. She arrived late and left early. After three or four days, with a volume of Valéry lying in her half-open drawer, she would bury herself in ‘pure poetry’ as soon as her boss’s back was turned. Her habit of suddenly closing the drawer if he looked round gave her away.”

[Jovana Kuzmanović · Rating 3 out of 5]

Savršen stil i kompozicija; beskrajno dosadna radnja. Opšti utisak - negde na sredini...

[Tony DuShane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the voice and I laughed out loud often. Yet, it's probably the last I'll read of him as the follow-ups to this novel seem repetitive.
I say give it a go, especially if you're a writer.