Aziyadé : suivi de Fantôme d'Orient

by Pierre Loti

Pierre Loti was a young man of twenty-five when he first came to the great city that links Europe and Asia and he fell immediately under its spell, donning Turkish robes to pass unnoticed through the secret byways of the Sublime Port. Aziyadé is the result of his travels there -- a great Orientalist romance and a true story of forbidden love in fabled Constantinople in the last days of the Ottoman Empire.

Genres: France, Roman, French Literature

176 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1879

About the author

Louis Marie-Julien Viaud was a writer, who used the pseudonym Pierre Loti.

Viaud was born in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, France, to an old Protestant family. His education began in Rochefort, but at the age of seventeen, being destined for the navy, he entered the naval school in Brest and studied on Le Borda. He gradually rose in his profession, attaining the rank of captain in 1906. In January 1910 he went on the reserve list.

His pseudonym has been said to be due to his extreme shyness and reserve in early life, which made his comrades call him after "le Loti", an Indian flower which loves to blush unseen. Other explanations have been put forth by scholars. It is also said that he got the name in Tahiti where he got a sun burn and was called Roti (because he was all red like a local flower), he couldn't pronounce the r well so he stuck with Loti. He was in the habit of claiming that he never read books (when he was received at the Académie française, he said, "Loti ne sait pas lire" ("Loti doesn't know how to read"), but testimony from friends and acquaintances proves otherwise, as does his library, much of which is preserved in his house in Rochefort. In 1876 fellow naval officers persuaded him to turn into a novel passages in his diary dealing with some curious experiences at Istanbul. The result was Aziyadé, a novel which, like so many of Loti's, is part romance, part autobiography, like the work of his admirer, Marcel Proust, after him. (There is a popular cafe in current-day Istanbul dedicated to the time Loti spent in Turkey.) He proceeded to the South Seas as part of his naval training, and several years after leaving Tahiti published the Polynesian idyll originally named Rarahu (1880), which was reprinted as Le Mariage de Loti, the first book to introduce him to the wider public. This was followed by Le Roman d'un spahi (1881), a record of the melancholy adventures of a soldier in Senegambia.

Loti on the day of his reception at the Académie française on 7 April, 1892. In 1882, Loti issued a collection of four shorter pieces, three stories and a travel piece, under the general title of Fleurs d'ennui (Flowers of Boredom).

In 1883 he entered the wider public spotlight. First, he publish the critically acclaimed Mon frere Yves (My Brother Yves), a novel describing the life of a French naval officer (Pierre Loti), and a Breton sailor (Yves Kermadec), described by Edmund Gosse as "one of his most characteristic productions".[1] Second, while taking part as a naval officer in the undeclared hostilities that preceded the outbreak of the Sino-French War (August 1884 to April 1885), Loti wrote an article in the newspaper Le Figaro about atrocities that occurred during the French bombardment of the Thuan An forts that guarded the approaches to Hue (August 1883), and was threatened with suspension from the service, thus gaining wider public notoriety.

In 1886 he published a novel of life among the Breton fisherfolk, called Pêcheur d'Islande (Iceland Fisherman), which Edmund Gosse characterized as "the most popular and finest of all his writings."[1] It shows Loti adapting some of the Impressionist techniques of contemporary painters, especially Monet, to prose, and is a classic of French literature. In 1887 he brought out a volume "of extraordinary merit, which has not received the attention it deserves",[1] Propos d'exil, a series of short studies of exotic places, in his characteristic semi-autobiographic style. The novel of Japanese manners, Madame Chrysanthème— a precursor to Madame Butterfly and Miss Saigon and a work that is a combination of narrative and travelog— was published the same year.

During 1890 he published Au Maroc, the record of a journey to Fez in company with a French embassy, and Le Roman d'un enfant (The Story of a Child), a somewhat fictionalized recollection of Loti's childhood that would greatly influence Marcel Proust. A collection

Reviews

[Jennifer Hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in Istanbul after finally unearthing an English translation in a bookshop in the old city.

In Azyiade Julian Viaud, a young naval officer writing under the alias of Pierre Loti, documents his time in Old Stanboul and his clandestine relationship with Aziyadé - one of the Harem women - in a series of letters and diary entries. From what I can gather it is a fictionalised account of his actual experiences in the city. And, at the same time as his relationship with Azyiade, Loti gradually cuts his ties with the navy and assimilates to Turkish life in the old city. It's a romance steeped in the problematic yet very pretty Orientalist tradition from the 19th century: the time when continental Europeans ventured (for travel or battle) to the Near East in search of exotic and erotic experience and objectified all the inhabitants accordingly. In particular he does this to the object of his desire Aziyadé, who is delicate, mysterious and utterly devoted to Loti. It is the desire he has for her and her body that doubles as his desire for the Turkish lifestyle.

While the story itself is compelling for me it is the structure of this text that makes it really great. The character of Loti is a tragic and moody figure, he would have been very difficult to actually associate with, but he seems to only write in his diary when things are going really badly or very well. The result is a story that is both impressionistic, with irregular ellipses and fragmented 'plot,' but at the same time yet full of dramatic romantic sensations. You rarely get both impressionism and high drama in such close proximity. So, rather than a linear narrative of love and conquest it is an affective journey into the mind of a poet in the Orient whose clandestine relationship, assimilation into a culture are underscored by a much larger socio-political turmoil in the region at the time. And the intermittent letters from his friend and colleague in the Navy, Plunkett, and his deeply christian sister are also highlights.

[Saloua AZOUZI · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai aimé cette découverte, un livre acheté au supermarché à 10dh, j'ai commencé à le lire car je m'ennuyais dans les transports à Paris..
C'était une découverte, un style charmant, une histoire émouvante, une autobigoraphie sincère et transparente...Une description fidèle, séduistante et captivante, des faits, des lieux, des sentiments, des personnages..

Les lettres de Plumkett à loti m'ont très touchée, c'était un plaisir!

[Duru · Rating 4 out of 5]

tabiki Fransızca okumadım ama güzel kitaptı

[Ranou · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'histoire d'amour interdite entre Pierre Loti (anglais athé) et Aziyade (turque musulmane).
J'ai aimé toute la romance et la pudeur de leur histoire d'amour qui ne sortait de nulle part mais c'est ce qui est beau
J'ai moins aimé tout le côté très clichés sur l'Orient même si à cette époque ça ressemblait pas mal à ça, j'ai pas accroché avec la personne qu'est Pierre Loti mais j'ai quand même réussi à m'attacher à son couple avec Aziyadé finalement
La fin me brise le coeur je ne m'attendais pas à ça même si je n'avais pas d'attente particulière
Le côté autobiographique & l'ajout de correspondance avec les membres de sa famille étaient cool ça nous permet de plonger dans son monde et dans sa découverte d'Istanbul

[Nathan Espie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pierre Loti est le Digne heritier des croisés qui ont pris constantinople en 1204, ils auraient participé la tête la première à la 4eme croisade vu comment il déteste les grecs (et pas que eux malheureusement) + il est en plein delire orientaliste le gadjo + c'est un peu une histoire de pointeur et il est grave toxique dans ses relations le boug

mais point positif du livre c'est la description d'istanbul qui est faite, ça permet de voyager dans des lieux que l'on connais mais 150 ans plus tôt.

[Adriana Melo · Rating 4 out of 5]

While sitting in a famous narghile cafe in Istanbul this past August, this book was recommended by some friendly smokers after a long discussion of popular writers. English books are hard to find in the city but thanks to the help of some locals we finally found an English copy in a shop in old Istanbul.
What I like most about this book are the vivid descriptions of that beautiful country. The memories of my visit come flying back with every mention if the marmara or the roof tops on the houses. The writing is unique and captivating as it is based through letters and his diary. Many descriptive words are used which makes it easy to relate and visualize the surroundings they are in. The ending came to me as a shock as I am sure it has surprised many other readers.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants a little more passion in their lives.

[Iman Hasanbegovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got the hold of this book in Pierre Loti Cafe in Istanbul, after searching for it for a few months, without success.
The way it is written, which is basically a mixture of diary entries and letters, was something I haven't encountered before, and I must say, I loved it.
The story itself was already familiar to me, although I must say it still kept me interested.
The style and vocabulary is also on a high level, and the narrative parts were very inspirational.

[Carolina García · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Oriente todavía tiene encanto; se ha mantenido más oriental de lo que creemos”. Aziyadé es el relato de un viaje por el que nos guía la idea orientalista y romantizada de Oriente, encarnada en la joven circasiana del mismo nombre y enamorada del crápula aventurero Pierre Loti. Este es el personaje principal de una novela corta, cuya narrativa impresionista descansa en las vívidas experiencias recogidas a modo de un diario personal, que se entrelaza con el género epistolar. Loti, mientras se hace pasar por Arif Effendi en el barrio de Eyup, se mantiene conectado con su verdadero “yo” a través de la correspondencia con su hermana en Inglaterra y un amigo.
Nuestro protagonista, punto de vista hegemónico de la novela, es el alter ego literario de su autor: el oficial de la marina francesa Julien Viaud y sursuncorda, aquí, del colonialismo. Loti construye una representación de lo oriental para ser poseída por el occidental, ejerciendo el paternalismo más condescendiente sobre figuras locales infantilizadas y deslumbradas por su audaz ejercicio de identidad fluida y portátil. No olvidemos que, detrás de todo, se halla un escritor francés que se representa literariamente como un británico, haciéndose pasar -a su vez- por otomano en misión como oficial de la marina en Estambul.
Todo empieza en la primavera de 1876 con el accidente de Salónica, en el que los cónsules de Francia y Alemania fueron asesinados, y termina en 1878 como solo puede terminar la persecución de un espejismo.
Cuando visité Estambul, hace ya mucho tiempo, disfruté de un memorable atardecer con vistas al Bósforo en el Café Pierre Loti. Confieso que no he podido evitar sentirme subyugada por las descripciones de una ciudad, cuya belleza arrobadora es difícil plasmar en palabras. Particularmente estremecedor me ha resultado el fantasmagórico Eyup de Loti, que pese a la riqueza de su paisaje humano, es tan distinto al que conocí.

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Aziyade" est le récit basé sur le journal intime de Pierre Loti, pseudonyme et identité de plume de Louis-Marie-Julien Viaud, publié en 1879.
L'idée est assez simple : Pierre Lotti revient sur sa passion amoureuse avec Aziyade, une femme de harem, durant les années 1876 et 1877, à l'aube de la guerre russo-turque de 1877 et 1878.
Sur la forme, le recit comporte des notes de voyages, des lettres épistolaires et est  basé sur le système de parataxe, Donnant une mise en forme assez aérée, diversifiée et presque polyphonique, mais aussi, et surtout fragmentaire.

Si ce récit se veut contemporain des œuvres de Zola, Pierre Lotti se veut bien moins naturaliste et renoue avec des éléments baroque et s'inscrit également dans le style de fin-de-siècle, préfigurant des tropes déjà propre au décadentisme. Le Pierre Lotti narrateur et personnage est un homme qui veut s'amuser et jouir des plaisir de la vie, tout en ne cherchant que son intérêt propre. Celui-ci se déclare dénué de foi, d'espérance et d'amour. Il se complaît dans l'observation des mises en scènes, des déguisements, des plaisirs faciles.
La dimension historique et politique n'est pas à négliger : Pierre Lotti semble éprouver une certaine attache à la Turquie, qui se révèle devenir un pays de cœur, où il apprend la langue locale et la retranscrit, et pour lequel il est prêt à s'engager, défendant la Constitution qui s'impose dans l'empire Ottoman.

Je regrette le manque de profondeur psychologique relatif à Aziyade, qui est décrite comme un beauté de chair sensuelle, mais qui finalement, correspond bien à la perspective très masculine de Pierre Lotti et au fantasme de l'exotisme de l'orientalisme. La perspective est absolument misogyne, fondée sur l'égoïste et la volonté d'une virilité d'obtention et d'exercice d'une forme de pouvoir, puisque Lotti est un militaire. Nous pouvons aussi lire une forme de conquête du pays, par la métaphore de la femme, et qui octroie aussi une maîtrise sur la condition de vie de la jeune femme, qui meurt dans son absence.

Amour tragique d'un mythe romantique orientaliste, "Aziyade" se rapproche de "Histoire d'une Grecque Moderne" , de l'abbé Prévost  : dans les deux cas, un agent Français s'éprend d'une beauté turque à Constantinople (aujourd'hui Istanbul). La modalite de rendu peut varier, par le journal de Lotti et les mémoires chez Prévost,  mais les deux récits démontrent une forme d'anatomie de la chute par l'amour.
Dans les deux cas, le réel et l'invraisemblable se mêlent au point de flouter les frontières et de fonder une forme de légende orientale, dans laquelle le personnage français est à la fois le regard fondateur et participant. Cependant, le récit de Prévost se veut plus critique sur les pratiques orientales, qui cachent aussi des critiques sur la place du pouvoir en France.

La suite, "Fantôme d'Orient", est publiée une bonne dizaine d'année après le récit initial, soit, en 1892, pour proposer les retrouvailles funestes d'un pays qu'il a tant aimé et apprendre la disparition de la femme de qui il s'est épris. Ici, le journal se veut plus expressif, plus expansif.

Pour ma part, j'ai apprécié le contexte de fond politique dans "Aziyade" mais en préfère la qualité poétique typique des orientalistes du XIXème siècle croisée à l'expression de la mélancolie dans "Fantôme d'Orient". Les deux récits se complètent bien, et montrent aussi une certaine évolution dans la réflexion de la forme littéraire chez Lotti. Le personnage même de Lotti croise toute l'ostentation de l'orientalisme et du dandy du XIXème siècle.

[rumeysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fransız bir yazarın gözünden milli mücadele dönemi Türkiye'de bulunmuş bir bir İngiliz askerinin deneyimleri ve aşkını okumak güzeldi aslında her ne kadar sinir olduğum birtakım hareketleri olsa da. Öncelikle bu doğu aşkı halis midir? Aşk maşk diyoruz ama Loti doğuyu ve doğulu insanları incelenmesi, üzerine oturup düşünülmesi gereken bir varlık gibi görmüş gibi. Geldiği memlekete dönmek istememe nedenini de Türkiye'de bir Avrupalı olarak kendini özel hissetmiş olduğu bence. Buraya her ne kadar askerî bir görev neticesiyle gelmiş olsa bile tatile gelmiş gibi geçirmiş. Mantıklı düşünme ve bu doğrultuda kararlar alma yetisini (ki Avrupa'ya özgü olduğunu düşündüğünden bence) ardında bırakmış, burada zevk, sefa içinde düşünmeden tasalanmadan macera yaşayabileceği bir memeleket görmüş. Bir de oryantalist bir gözle, doğuyu tasvir ederken ağzından düşürmediği zavallı, vahşi, yıkık dökük gibi bazı kelimeler var.
Gel gelelim burada edindiği dostluklar, insan ilişkileri. Samuel ve Ahmed için ne kadar dostum dese de ilişkilerinde bir hiyerarşi var aslında efendi köle gibi takıldıkları. Aziyade'ye gelecek olursak ah körpe kızım, sana çok üzüldüm bilesin. Kardeşim bu kadınların çektikleri nedir be demek istiyorum. Loti'nin başka bir kadına gözünün kaymasından sonra ne yapsa gözüme itici geldi. Sana şunu söylüyorum Loti, ne göze alabildin ne gözünü alabildin. Kitabın sonlarında Aziyade'ye olan aşkın kalbime dokundu yalan yok. Böyle aşklar, aşıklar gerçekten var mı, sorgulattı. Biraz abartı romantizmi seviyo da olabilirim.
Sonuç olarak Aziyade'ye olan aşkı aslında doğuya olan sevgisinin sembolü idi. Tekrar Türkiye'ye döndüğünde Aziyade'nin öldüğünü ve ülkenin bitik,harap durumunu öğrenmesi birbirlerine paralel gördüğümüz gibi. Aslında onun aşık olduğu cennet vatanımızdı, zaten kendisi bizim cephede yer alan bir asker oluyor daha sonra (abla slay). Helal dedirtti doğrusu.

[Minareadings · Rating 2 out of 5]

J’étais à ça 🤏🏻 de mettre une seule étoile. Je n’ai lu qu’Aziyadé donc on peut parler d’abandon. L’écriture is okay mais sans plus. Les descriptions ne m’ont rien fait alors que Dieu sait combien je suis sensible à la Turquie et à l’atmosphère qui s’en dégage. Cette histoire d’amour tombée de je ne sais où a plutôt été source de « wtf ! » que d’enchantement. Mais ce que j’ai le moins aimé c’est la personne qu’est Loti : tout de lui m’exècre. Exotique dans sa façon d’être ? Il y aurait plusieurs autres adjectifs pour le décrire… je vais m’abstenir.

[bezzysworld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loti'nin daha fazla kitabının çevirisini görmek mümkün olsa keşke! Osmanlı'nın son yıllarında ve Türkiye'nin ilk yıllarında ülkemizde yaşamış ve burada gördüklerinden yola çıkarak bir sürü kitap, makale yazmış önemli bir insanı tanıtmak lazım ülkemize! Aziyade kitabında da dönemin kadınlarının nasıl bir hayat sürdüğünü görüyoruz, bu açıdan çok güzel bir kitap.

[Pierre Marié · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lire absolument.

Les descriptions des lieux faites par Lotti sont absolument transportantes. J’admets avoir été nostalgique d’une époque, d’un endroit, peut être même d’un souvenir que je ne connais pas.

[punpun · Rating 1 out of 5]

oryantalizm dersi için zorla okudum içimi baydı

[Kaan Hızlısoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

İ love this type of book because it is like going to past. We dont need time travel books open the doors of past. This book like travel the Ottoman empire capital İstanbul. Like guidance for city. Have a good read

[Harlan Whatley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the novel while in Istanbul and visited the Pierre Loti Cafe overlooking the city and a cemetery. A nice romantic tale of a French naval officer in 19th century Istanbul who falls for a harem girl. Great descriptions and details.

[Jean-Pascal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Délicieusement suranné et une forme très dynamique de narration. Un bijou.

[Dirk Bal · Rating 5 out of 5]

very interesting story, almost English like.

[Elif · Rating 4 out of 5]

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