| Deeply agitated by the death of his friend Flora Tristan, he published ''L'Émancipation de la femme ou le Testament de la paria'', followed by his pacifist manifesto ''La Fête-Dieu ou le Triomphe de la paix religieuse'' a year later (1845). He intensely studied the humanistic and the utopian ideas of the time, particularly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Simonianism Saint-Simonianism] and the theories of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_fourier Charles Fourier]. But neither could convince him: Saint Simon taught religion without religiousness, which he found repulsive. And Fourier's approach of man's necessity for acting out his drives he considered absurd and foolish. | | Deeply agitated by the death of his friend Flora Tristan, he published ''L'Émancipation de la femme ou le Testament de la paria'', followed by his pacifist manifesto ''La Fête-Dieu ou le Triomphe de la paix religieuse'' a year later (1845). He intensely studied the humanistic and the utopian ideas of the time, particularly [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Simonianism Saint-Simonianism] and the theories of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_fourier Charles Fourier]. But neither could convince him: Saint Simon taught religion without religiousness, which he found repulsive. And Fourier's approach of man's necessity for acting out his drives he considered absurd and foolish. |
− | In the small town Choisy-le-Roi, located a few kilometres outside of Paris, he used to meet with a supervisor of a girls' school (presumably, see note). But while they were making plans to get married, her being pregnant from him, one of her friends fell in love with Constant, a minor by the name of [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Noémi_Cadiot Marie-Noémi Cadiot]. After some fiery love letters she escaped and hid in his attic. Faced with the choice between marrying her or being tried for seducing a minor, Constant married Cadiot on July 13, 1846. She gave birth to a daughter who died aged seven in 1854. Shortly after the death of their daughter, Cadiot left Constant. | + | In the small town Choisy-le-Roi, located a few kilometres outside of Paris, he used to meet with a supervisor of a girls' school (presumably, see note). But while they were making plans to get married, her being pregnant from him, one of her friends fell in love with Constant, a minor by the name of [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Noémi_Cadiot Marie-Noémi Cadiot]. After some fiery love letters she escaped and hid in his attic. Faced with the choice between marrying her or being tried for seducing a minor, Constant married Cadiot on July 13, 1846. She gave birth to a daughter who died aged seven in 1854. Shortly after the death of their daughter, Cadiot left Constant.<ref>The events described in this paragraph ought to be taken cautiously, since most of what can be found on Constant in the internet seems to have been copied from the same source. As one example, all of them note a so-called "Institution Chandeau" in Choisy-le-Roi. However, even a lengthy research over several hours did not reveal any information on that institute, but identical wordings time and again, all of them apparently taken from the French Wikipedia (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Éliphas_Lévi). Chandeau is, as might be expected, a proper name, but nowhere mentioned with even a geographical connection to Choisy-le-Roi. Only one hint could be found: if "Institution Chandeau" is supposed to have been the name of a girls' school at the time in question, http://fr.topic-topos.com/ecole-emile-zola-choisy-le-roi might give at least a vague possibility for an explanation.<ref> |
− | In dem kleinen Ort Choisy-le-Roi, wenige Kilometer außerhalb von Paris gelegen, traf er sich seit seiner Rückkehr aus Évreux regelmäßig mit einer Aufseherin eines (vermutlich, siehe Anmerkung) Mädchenpensionats. Während er mit ihr Heiratspläne schmiedete und sie von ihm schwanger war, verliebte sich ihre Freundin in Alphonse, die noch minderjährige Marie-Noémi Cadiot. Nach einer Reihe heißer Liebesbriefe entfloh sie und versteckte sich in seiner Mansarde. Er wurde vor die Alternative gestellt, sie zu ehelichen oder ein Verfahren wegen Verführung einer Minderjährigen zu gewärtigen. Am 13. Juli 1846 heirateten sie. Sie gebar ihm eine Tochter, die 1854 mit sieben Jahren verstarb. Bald darauf verließ ihn Marie-Noémi.[3]
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| The revolution of February 1848 brought more liberties for Alphonse-Louis too. Just one year ago he had once more been convicted for one of his pamphlets, ''La Voix de la famine'', now nothing could hamper his roaming the political stage any longer. He headed the left-wing magazine ''Le Tribun du peuple'' which died after the fourth issue, founded a political workers' association named (in revolutionary tradition) ''Le Club de la montagne''<ref>In the first National Assembly in 1791 the deputies of the political left were seated on the upper ranks, hence the name ''La montagne'' ("Mountain Party").</ref>, then in June, when the political reaction felt uneasy about the latest developments and tried to turn back the wheels, he nearly got killed by a firing squad. Luckily they took someone else for him and shot the wrong fellow. He tried to be elected to the National Assemply, but a friend of his made the race, after which the friendship broke. Under financial aspects however the couple Constant was well off now, because Marie-Noémi was emancipating herself. She published literary feuilletons, and received lessons from the sculptor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pradier James Pradier] who had already been promoted by the Roi Citoyen and now helped her open the doors to the Parisian society. In this wake of hers Alphonse too was commissioned by the government with two paintings for the ministry of the interior. | | The revolution of February 1848 brought more liberties for Alphonse-Louis too. Just one year ago he had once more been convicted for one of his pamphlets, ''La Voix de la famine'', now nothing could hamper his roaming the political stage any longer. He headed the left-wing magazine ''Le Tribun du peuple'' which died after the fourth issue, founded a political workers' association named (in revolutionary tradition) ''Le Club de la montagne''<ref>In the first National Assembly in 1791 the deputies of the political left were seated on the upper ranks, hence the name ''La montagne'' ("Mountain Party").</ref>, then in June, when the political reaction felt uneasy about the latest developments and tried to turn back the wheels, he nearly got killed by a firing squad. Luckily they took someone else for him and shot the wrong fellow. He tried to be elected to the National Assemply, but a friend of his made the race, after which the friendship broke. Under financial aspects however the couple Constant was well off now, because Marie-Noémi was emancipating herself. She published literary feuilletons, and received lessons from the sculptor [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Pradier James Pradier] who had already been promoted by the Roi Citoyen and now helped her open the doors to the Parisian society. In this wake of hers Alphonse too was commissioned by the government with two paintings for the ministry of the interior. |