Was the "black lily" an expression of the owner's pride in his African
? roots
Alexandre Dumas invents a Dutch novel, a history and a night-colored flower to profess his love for his grandmother
Alexandre Dumas Sr. (Getty Images)
The Black Lily, which Alexandre Dumas co -wrote with Auguste Maquet and published in 1850, may not be the most famous of this great French writer's novels, but it is undoubtedly his novel that has been read more than any of his other novels, including The Three Musketeers.and "The Count of Monte Cristo", but it soon disappears from memory when it always comes to mind and regains its literary glory. Perhaps the reason is because it narrates events that have nothing to do with either the French history on which he used to focus his attention, nor the French reality itself. As soon as the novel is remembered anyway, it is recalled and its subject is recalled, and how much it has created in its readers feelings of pleasure and satisfaction from reading it, and very early for most readers.It can be said, of course, based on our knowledge of this father's politeness - and father as distinct from his son by name. himself, and was famous for his play "Ghada the Camellia" - it is an adventure novel that uses history and its action in the lives and destinies of individuals more than it does the opposite, that is, more than it talks about history and the role of individuals in making it. Contemporary and satisfactory to readers of all times and in which languages it was translated into.The black lily" is another feature that I loved for readers, and it is represented in its reasonable length compared to other historical novels that belong to the time of its writing, which was famous for its historical prolongations. On the other hand, let us add that the location of the novel's events played a role in its rapid exit from the memory of its readers upon reading it.
Between science and love
But the bright side in this novel is related to its scientific and romantic dimensions in their intertwining. What are you talking about, "The Black Lily"? Specifically, about an agricultural scientific miracle achieved by a prisoner who never knew why he was imprisoned, but when he was imprisoned, he was so clever that he was escorted with him into his cell, and in unawareness of the jailer of two flower bulbs he was working on before being sent to prison. This enabled him to continue his work in secret in the cell until he came to the production of the black lily which the agricultural authorities of the Netherlands, where he lives and the events take place, had launched a competition for the prize of 100,000 florins, which the prisoner was seeking to obtain. It was fortunate for him that inside the prison he was able to deposit one of the onions with the warden's daughter, Rosa, with whom he soon became associated with a love story. However, before we continue here with this story, we must first answer an obvious question that the reader is looking forward to getting an answer to:
? Who is the prisoner? In what circumstances did he get here
A scene from a cinematic adaptation of the novel directed by Christian-Jacques (movie site)
A victim of politics and its twists and turns
The prisoner is a young man named Cornelius Van Byerley, who studies medicine to a level that is considered today as a trained doctor, but he chose to go to the study of horticulture, not interested in anything else in life, not even in the political events that afflicted the country at that time, despite the fact that he is the son-in-law of the politician Cornell de Witt, who was overthrown by Prince William of Orange and his brother while they were exercising just republican rule in the country. And as William was eliminated thanks to a popular uprising that he led in the country, nominally, but thanks to the support of the English and their King Charles IIPractically speaking, it was only natural for everyone connected with the de Witt brothers to be persecuted. Thus, one day the soldiers entered the home of the young gardener to find family letters addressed to him from his defeated godfather. That was enough to arrest him without being told why. In fact, Cornelius did not care about what was happening to him, precisely because he was able to smuggle the onions, and then deposit their gifts with Rosa, the warden's daughter, as we mentioned, and secondly, because his association with a hidden Rosa from her father made it easier for him to be imprisoned.
The old man who sneaks into the night
This leads us, of course, to that scene, which is the most famous in the novel. One evening, as the wind blew all around the Lowenstein concentration camp, where the main events were taking place, the old jailer, nicknamed "Grifus", Rosa's father, slipped secretly, without making any noise, into the cell of his prisoner, who was evident to him He is of a position that can justify his imprisonment in the midst of the dark political conditions, and it is all about wanting to know what the prisoner does and hides it all day and night. The old man, with his wicked intuition, felt from the start that he had to be very careful about what he assumed was the fierce enemy of the new ruler. The jailer had tried to search and investigate for a long time during the past days, but he was not able to find out what was happening. But this evening it will surprise Cornelius unexpectedly, so be it. Thus he slowly opens the door and looks in astonishment before letting out a terrible cry of victory that escaped him against his will. In the middle of the cell, the prisoner was seated, with an object in his hands that Grievous rushed to snatch from him. And when he snatched it increased his surprise. That mysterious secret object was nothing but a pot full of dirt. And when Grievous's simple mind ran up, all he did was stick his palm into the pot and pull out a black onion, while Cornelius cried out in terror: Bring me back my lily! Bring me the lily! Immediately here, and without understanding what he was doing, Grievous threw the onion to the ground, as the prisoner attacked him, and trampled on it with his thick shoes, amid the shriek of Connelius.
Those happy endings
Grievous needed a while before realizing that what had destroyed him was not an ordinary lily, but precisely that legendary lily: the black lily! Cornelius was overwhelmed with anger and sadness, but he quickly calmed down when he remembered that there was another onion deposited with Rosa that would certainly not lead to the secret to her father or to anyone, but the new question here remains, amid an amazing suspense from the novelist: Was Rosa able to To take good care of the black onion so she saves the whole enterprise and becomes Cornelius's woman, and not only because she saved his lily, but because he really loves her? That is the question now, and here Alexandre Dumas' strength as a unique novelist is evident, even if we, as readers, know how the novel will end. In the end, historical or non-historical novels were distinguished at that time by their endings that must be happy, but here we will certainly not continue telling the story to preserve the element of suspense, but we will stop turning to talk about that suspense style that has always printed novels, but As well as the symbolism of the black color, which we often find present in his novels, up to its main presence here. As it has always become known, blood with African roots flows in his veins, from which his immediate grandmother, who was the woman of his grandfather, the general who fought fierce wars in the name of France in various regions of the world, including Central America, descended. And our writer will remain proud of these roots, wishing to express his attachment to them.
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