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Fanes de carottes
25 mars 2008

The escape from La Rochelle, Max Maatmosis

Part four

La Rochelle

After establishing that... that they were constantly re-juvenating or rather ageing far slower through the help of what seems secret ancient wisdom, I tried to stay rational and asked:
"So what happened to you two? What happened after Baruch left you behind in the marshes outside of LaRochelle?"
"I gathered some weed, sowed the seeds in an inconspicuous place, and returned, telling the guard that Baruch would come a bit later. The guard wasn't aware how many people exactly were out in the marshes that night anyway. There were others as well, as nearly every night. I gave the guard a percentage of my harvest as what he called tax."
"So you only survived on ...what? ...grass?"
"There is something that I am not proud of, but under the same circumstances would do again. Throughout the ages I learned many trades and profession, but one that proofed to be more useful than any other, particularly at that time, was my knowledge of the human body. I practised as physician then... ...Terrible times make you do terrible things. The piece of meat that we had on the morning before Baruch left us, was not meat from an animal."
"What do you mean?"
"It was still meat from the butcher, but meat that I had supplied to him... When I visited my patients that day, I found 3 of them dead and 1 dying in my arms. 2 of them had no family and 1 of the 2 did not die of a disease but purely of lack of nutrients... I knew that if Baruch wants to make it, he will need more than mental strength, he will need food, real food. That's why I did it."
"I knew nothing about that until almost a year later."
"I didn't tell anyone where it came from --apart from the butcher-- because people would have rated their irrational feelings higher than their own life. I have not survived for so long to be beaten by a situation such as this... Week after week the same happened, but it quickly had got easier, easier with every time, and week after week we were one of the few households who had more than just grass. Outside and all around us, many died of contagious or other diseases because their immune-system was virtually incapacitated, because the rations were too small, but some died purely out of malnutrition and exhaustion. In fact out of about 25000 inhabitants around 15000 died during the last six months of the siege when the food ran out. At first only a few who were ill or poor, but quite soon those numbers grew, and despite attempts by the town council to distribute the supplies fairly, those who had wealth and power were less likely to die - as always in these cases. The butcher although not entirely selfless did a great job, and probably saved many lifes."
"It was patronising of you..."
"But it got us through."
"Yes. It took me a long time to accept what he had done to us, what he had turned us into."
"I am sorry for that. I only tried to..."
"It's alright, dear."

I tried to ease the tension by diverting their attention:
"I thought you were alchemists, what were you doing at that time in La Rochelle in the first place?"
"Calvinism was still a new thing at the time. It was progressive (if you like), and had opened up the way to a new and different life-style and to individualism, although as it later turned out only to fill the freedom with other conformist ideas and more sublime and psychological methods of control than the ones that catholicism had at its disposal... I never got on with the hardliners on either side, but there were many very open-minded and cosmopolitan people among the Huguenots. More than among the Catholics. After all they were sailing the seven seas and trading with the world. La Rochelle was the busiest port in France and culturally well ahead of most other cities. At that time you were not allowed to practice anything else but catholicism or calvinism. So I associated myself with what I thought to be the more flexible, cosmopolitan movement."
"Why did you not leave -- e.g. with Baruch?"
"Baruch was still young and we were even biologically already 55 and 56."
"You could have left like many others did when the siege started."
"I may be old and have witnessed more things than anyone alive, but I'm still not all-knowing. Throughout the first few months there was a genuine anticipation that the English wouldn't let us down, that they would break through and lift the siege. As it turned out they had other things on their mind. And before we realised it, it was too late, and Richelieu's soldiers wouldn't even let our women through."
"And not to forget, we were also trying to make a point. Although it was certainly one of the hardest times of our lives, we still think it was a very tight gamble and everything could easily have swung in favour of La Rochelle... History is not pre-destined, at least not to our knowledge. Therefore to come with the benefit of hindsight and to claim for what by then were mere possibilities to be necessary facts/outcomes, is unfair and false. Do not confuse the single historical outcome of a situation with the myriad of possible future outcomes. Imagine what would be if we had won; if Richelieu had run out of money; if the King had lost interest and abandoned the siege; or if the English had attacked and got supplies through... If Richelieu had failed then he would soon have been replaced, and his nationalist policies and the movement that it inspired --not only in France-- would have been put on hold and behind the religious theme. There were things worth fighting for and we lost only very narrowly."

The end

* * *

Acte quatre

La Rochelle

Après avoir admis cela… qu'ils se régénéraient constamment, ou plutôt qu’ils vieillissaient beaucoup plus lentement, à l'aide de quelque antique sagesse secrète, j'ai essayé de rester rationnel et ai demandé :
"Et donc, que vous est-il arrivé, à vous deux ? Qu’est-ce qui est arrivé après que Baruch vous ait laissé dans les marais à l'extérieur de La Rochelle ?"
"J’ai ramassé quelques algues, semé les graines dans un lieu quelconque, et je suis revenu. J’ai dit au garde que Baruch reviendrait un peu plus tard. De toutes façons, le garde ne savait pas combien de personnes exactement se trouvaient dehors dans les marais cette nuit-là. Il y en avait d'autres, comme presque chaque nuit. J'ai donné au garde un pourcentage de ma moisson, ce qu'il appelait l'impôt."
"Donc vous avez survécu seulement grâce à ... quoi ?... de l’herbe ?"
"Il y a quelque chose dont je ne suis pas fier, mais que, dans les mêmes circonstances, je ferais à nouveau. A travers les siècles j'ai exercé beaucoup de professions, mais celle qui m’a été le plus utile, particulièrement à ce moment-là, a été ma connaissance du corps humain. J’étais médecin, alors... Des temps épouvantables vous font faire des choses épouvantables. Le morceau de viande que nous avions mangé, le matin avant que Baruch nous  quitte, n'était pas de la viande animale."
"Que voulez-vous dire ?"
"C'était bien de la viande venant de chez le boucher, mais une viande que je lui avais moi-même fournie... Quand j'ai fait la tournée de mes patients ce jour-là, trois d'entre eux étaient morts et un est mort dans mes bras. Deux d'entre eux n'avaient aucune famille et l’un des deux n’était pas mort d'une maladie mais simplement de dénutrition...Je savais que si Baruch voulait réussir, il avait besoin de quelque chose de plus que sa force mentale, il avait besoin d’une vraie nourriture. C'est pourquoi j’ai fait ça."
"Je n'en ai rien su, jusqu'à presque un an plus tard."
"Je n'ai dit à personne – à part le boucher - d’où venait la viande, parce que les gens auraient placé leurs sentiments irrationnels plus haut que leur propre vie. Je n'ai pas survécu si longtemps pour accepter la défaite dans une telle situation... Semaine après semaine, la même chose se répétait, mais c’était rapidement devenu plus facile, plus facile à chaque fois - et semaine après semaine, nous étions l’un des rares ménages qui mangeait autre chose que de l’herbe. À l'extérieur des murs et tout autour de nous, nombreux sont ceux qui sont morts de maladies contagieuses ou autres, leur système immunitaire frappé d'incapacité, parce que les rations étaient trop maigres, mais d’autres sont morts simplement de sous-alimentation et d'épuisement. En fait, sur environ 25000 habitants, près de 15000 sont morts pendant les six derniers mois du siège, quand il n’y a plus rien eu à manger. Au départ,  quelques-uns seulement étaient faibles ou malades, mais rapidement laur nombre a augmenté, et malgré les tentatives du conseil municipal de distribuer équitablement les réserves de provisions, les riches et les puissants avaient moins de chances de mourir - comme toujours dans ces cas-là. Le boucher, même s’il n’était pas entièrement désintéressé, a fait du bon travail et il a probablement sauvé beaucoup de vies."
"C’était une conduite bien paternaliste de votre part ..."
"Mais ça nous a sortis d’affaire."
"Oui. Il m'a fallu longtemps pour accepter ce qu'il nous avait fait, ce en quoi il nous avait transformés."
"J’en suis désolé. J'ai seulement essayé de ..."
"Tout va bien, mon cher."
J'essayai d’alléger la tension en détournant leur attention :
"Je croyais que vous étiez des alchimistes, que faisiez-vous à ce moment-là à La Rochelle, pour commencer ?"
"Le calvinisme était encore une nouveauté à cette époque. C'était un mouvement progressif (d’une certaine façon) et il avait ouvert la voie à un style de vie nouveau et différent et à l'individualisme - bien qu’il se soit avéré, plus tard, que c’était seulement pour remplacer cette liberté par d’autres idées conformistes et par des méthodes de contrôle plus subtiles et plus psychologiques que celles que le catholicisme avait à sa disposition ... Je ne me suis jamais entendu avec les intransigeants de chaque parti, mais il y avait beaucoup de personnes très ouvertes d'esprit et cosmopolites parmi les Huguenots. Davantage que parmi les Catholiques. Après tout ils sillonaient les sept mers et négociaient avec le monde entier. La Rochelle était le port de France qui brassait le plus d’affaires, et culturellement, il était bien en avance sur la plupart des autres villes. À cette époque, on n’avait d’autre choix que d’être catholique ou calviniste. J’ai donc rejoint le mouvement qui me semblait le plus flexible, le plus cosmopolite. "
"Pourquoi n'êtes-vous pas partis - par exemple avec Baruch ?"
"Baruch était encore jeune, alors que avions déjà, biologiquement, 55 et 56 ans."
"Vous auriez pu partir, comme beaucoup d'autres l’ont fait, quand le siège a commencé."
"Je suis peut-être vieux et j’ai été témoin de plus de choses que qui que ce soit de vivant, mais je ne suis toujours pas omniscient. Pendant les premiers mois, nous étions persuadés que les Anglais ne nous laisseraient pas tomber, qu'ils forceraient le blocus et mettraient fin au siège. Il s’est avéré qu'ils avaient autre chose en tête. Et avant que nous l'ayons compris, il était trop tard et les soldats de Richelieu ne laissaient même plus passer nos femmes. "
"Et il ne faut pas l'oublier: nous essayions aussi de prouver quelque chose. Bien que ç’ait probablement été un des moments les plus difficiles de nos vies, nous pensons toujours que c'était un pari très serré et tout aurait très facilement pu tourner en faveur de La Rochelle... L'histoire n'est pas prédestinée, du moins pas à notre connaissance. Et donc, profiter de l'avantage d’une sagesse rétrospective et tenir pour des faits inévitables ce qui, à ce moment-là, étaient de simples possibilités, est un procédé injuste et faux. Ne confondez pas le seul résultat historique d'une situation donnée avec la myriade de futurs résultats possibles. Imaginez ce qui serait si nous avions gagné; si Richelieu avait été à court d'argent; si le Roi s’était désintéressé du siège et l’avait levé ; ou si les Anglais avaient attaqué et nous avaient ravitaillés... Si Richelieu avait échoué, il aurait rapidement été remplacé, et sa politique nationaliste et le mouvement qu'il a inspiré – et pas seulement en France – seraient passés au second plan, après le thème de la religion. C’étaient des choses qui valaient la peine que nous nous battions pour elles, et nous n’avons pas perdu de beaucoup. "

Fin

(traduction ekwerkwe)

The escape from La Rochelle: part one, part two, part three, part four.

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M
Possible Interpretation<br /> <br /> <br /> The story is neither made in Hollywood, in which case Baruch would get to the English fleet + live happily ever after, <br /> nor made in Bollywood where the townsfolk despite their misery would erupt in occasional dancing.<br /> It intends to lean towards the "(film) noir" genre.<br /> <br /> The story more or less splits in 2 parts: the Escape + Baruch's story on one hand, + Mercurius + Selene the Alchemists (who travel through time) on the other.<br /> Baruch's Escape has all the features of a tragedy, while the Alchemists' story is largely undetermined + can only be labelled very unspecifically as a drama (or possibly as fictional fantasy).<br /> <br /> The idea that one story can have more than one 1st-person narrator rolled into one, may look bewildering, but surely has been done before. The effect is partial confusion on the part of the reader, but this confusion gets dissolved if the reader gets into the story. At the same time it is intended to cause a certain suspense + surprise, + to draw the reader better in (as opposed to a distant narrator re-telling + re-gurgitating an old story).<br /> <br /> Selene was a Greek/Hellenistic goddess + an oracle. She has the last (quoted) word. <br /> This turns the story ultimately away from a parable + into an oracle; i.e. into sth that can be interpreted very widely + still (or because of that) is true.<br /> <br /> The metaphor of LaRochelle is obvious: As Mercurius describes it at the end of "Escape". It is any dead-end situation, any foodless plight. (Food can also be seen as spiritual food.) It symbolises any situation that one can find oneself in, where one does not have the minimum that one needs to live/survive (in the long-term) + where there is no obvious way out.<br /> <br /> As to what could be the meaning, we have to split the story again into Baruch's Escape + the Alchemists.<br /> It has to be said that with such an excellent metaphor as LaRochelle, it is by far easier to find meaning in the story about Baruch's Escape, than in the story of the Alchemists.<br /> + yet the meaning of Baruch's Escape can go in many different (+ sometimes even opposing) directions.<br /> From a don't believe in what smart-dressed middle-class people (like Gaspard) tell you (because they have no clue about real life, because they view everything from a safe distance, because they can talk about being tough, because they have plenty of food stashed away); <br /> over to a don't try to escape, escapism ends in failure; <br /> or a you need to be resourceful to survive (+ eat/use whatever there is, however disgusted you may be); <br /> to ultimately a view that it was a tight gamble, + that everything is down to luck, + some loose + some win.<br /> <br /> It is probably safe to say that the story of the Alchemists does not really have a meaning of its own. Apart from the vague quote "there are more things under the sun than most people would believe". It is just an exploration into the implications of such a tiny difference (i.e. what if there was a way to slow the ageing-process significantly?). <br /> It only draws our attention on the issue that human life is limited to a certain number of years + asks why?<br /> <br /> There are other minor metaphors in the text, such as the sea/current. Although the term current is never used, it was the current that led Baruch astray + exhausted him + thereby killed/drowned him. There is a short reference to individualism in that context. Therefore the sea/current symbolise the masses the mob/crowd which doesn't like or tolerate individualism, while the swimming head clearly is the individualist. + in this (Baruch's) case, the fate of the individualist is to be forced to merge with the masses + hence die. Baruch's physical death underlines/emphasises the idea that the individual must die when it merges with the multitude.
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