The Passion by Jeanette Winterson
The Passion is a fascinating, thought-provoking novel. Set against the background of the Napoleonic wars, especially the disastrous Russian campaign, it tells of a young Frenchman, Henri, and a Venetian woman, Villanelle. Henri comes from a small village not far from Paris. He was educated by the local priest who inspired him with enthusiasm for Napoleon. He joins Napoleon's army, where he becomes a part of Napoleon's personal kitchen staff. Villanelle is from Venice, where she works in the casino. She has a passionate affair with another woman considerably older than she. Later she marries a man she is not in love with and comes to loathe. She leaves him, but he finds her and sells her to one of Napoleon's generals.
The story is told in the first person, alternately by Henri and Villanelle. They give accounts of their early lives, up to New Year's Day, 1805, when Henri is twenty (Villanelle must be about the same age, but we are not told exactly). After a gap of eight years, Henri, now in Russia, resumes his narrative.
Henri and Villanelle meet outside Moscow at the moment when Henri, disillusioned about Napoleon, has decided to desert. Villanelle joins him and they make their way eventually to Venice. Henri falls deeply and permanently in love with Villanelle, but her heart is still in the possession of her Venetian lover, and although she is fond of Henri "as a brother," and they do make love and eventually have a daughter, she is not willing to marry him, even after her husband is dead.
For me, the central thread of the book is Henri's spiritual journey: his recollections of his home and family, his passion for and disillusionment with Napoleon, his love for Villanelle, his resignation (if that's the right word) when she refuses him. He describes these things and (and others), reflects on them, evaluates them, and gains insight into them and himself, often in a way that I found quite moving.
The Passion is far more complex and interesting than my brief description shows. It is a book to reflect on and read over. I confess I was not particularly enrolled on my first reading, but because of Jeanette Winterson's reputation (I had not read any of her books before), I read it a second time (it is quite a short novel). I have now read it three times, and I strongly recommend it.
The story is told in the first person, alternately by Henri and Villanelle. They give accounts of their early lives, up to New Year's Day, 1805, when Henri is twenty (Villanelle must be about the same age, but we are not told exactly). After a gap of eight years, Henri, now in Russia, resumes his narrative.
Henri and Villanelle meet outside Moscow at the moment when Henri, disillusioned about Napoleon, has decided to desert. Villanelle joins him and they make their way eventually to Venice. Henri falls deeply and permanently in love with Villanelle, but her heart is still in the possession of her Venetian lover, and although she is fond of Henri "as a brother," and they do make love and eventually have a daughter, she is not willing to marry him, even after her husband is dead.
For me, the central thread of the book is Henri's spiritual journey: his recollections of his home and family, his passion for and disillusionment with Napoleon, his love for Villanelle, his resignation (if that's the right word) when she refuses him. He describes these things and (and others), reflects on them, evaluates them, and gains insight into them and himself, often in a way that I found quite moving.
The Passion is far more complex and interesting than my brief description shows. It is a book to reflect on and read over. I confess I was not particularly enrolled on my first reading, but because of Jeanette Winterson's reputation (I had not read any of her books before), I read it a second time (it is quite a short novel). I have now read it three times, and I strongly recommend it.