Georges Rodenbach encuentra la belleza en los tranquilos pueblos flamencos de su infancia y juventud, dándoles vida en sus obras como seres vivos conectados a los estados de ánimo del espíritu. Su escritura está imbuida de un idealismo apasionado, que contrasta con su trabajo como abogado y periodista. Rodenbach utilizó técnicas literarias para evocar la atmósfera y explorar la conexión entre el lugar y la psique humana, creando obras con una profunda resonancia emocional.
Bruges was Rodenbach's muse and poetic source, the landscape in which he attempted to reveal the significance of what appeared lifeless or unconnected to art. Using the symbolist devices of suggestion and mood, Rodenbach sifts the elements that make up the decaying Bruges which he sees as a medieval corpse laid out for him to 'rescue'.
Hans Cadzand's father dies when he is an infant and he becomes the centre of his mother's life. As he grows up from a pretty child to a serious young man with deep religious convictions, she hopes she will remain the centre of his life. This long novella is supplemented by shorter pieces from the collection 'Le Rouet des Brumes'.
There are three loves in the life of Joris Borluut, the town carillonneur of Bruges. He marries the fiery Barbe, whose dark beauty is a reminder of Belgium's Spanish heritage. Repelled by her harshness and violence, he starts an affair with her sister, the gentle, soulful, fair-haired Godelieve. When her sister discovers their affair, Godelieve enters a Beguine convent and Joris devotes himself to his first love, the old city of Bruges. His opposition to a proposal to sacrifice part of the old town to economic advance loses him his position as town architect, and he withdraws to the belfry and his beloved carillon that, for him, expresses the soul of Bruges.
Hugues Viane is a widower who has turned to the melancholy, decaying city of Bruges as the ideal location in which to mourn his wife and as a backdrop for the narcissistic wanderings of his disturbed spirit. He becomes obsessed with a young dancer whom he believes is the double of his beloved wife, leading him to psychological torment and humiliation, culminating in a deranged murder. This 1892 work is a poet's novel, dense, visionary and haunting. Bruges, the 'dead city', becomes a metaphor for Hugues' dead wife as he follows its mournful labyrinth of streets and canals in a cyclical promenade of reflection and allusion--the ultimate evocation of Rodenbach's lifelong love affair with the enduring mystery and mortuary atmosphere of Bruges.
Set against the backdrop of the hauntingly beautiful city of Bruges, the novel follows Hugues Viane, a widower consumed by grief who becomes infatuated with a dancer resembling his late wife. His obsession leads to eerie visions and a blurring of reality and fantasy. The richly poetic prose captures Bruges' melancholic atmosphere, reflecting Viane's inner turmoil, while themes of grief and obsession unfold through vivid symbolism, particularly the swan. This classic work explores the depths of human emotion and has garnered comparisons to other decadent European literature.
V této studii vášní jsme se především snažili evokovat Město, Město jako hlavní postavu spjatou se stavy duše, postavu, která radí, odrazuje, podněcuje k činu. A tak se ve skutečnosti Bruggy, které jsme si vyvolili, vynořují v podobě téměř lidské...Jejich vliv dopadne na každého, kdo zde pobývá. Tvarují jej podle svých zákoutí a zvonů. To jsme se tedy snažili navodit: Město, které usměrňuje činy; městská krajina nikoli jen jako plátno v pozadí, jako popisná témata vybraná tak trochu náhodou, ale spojená přímo s dějem knihy. Slavný román Georgese Rodenbacha vychází téměř po sto letech v mistrovském překladu Jany Dratvové, oceněném literární cenou, a s originálními ilustracemi Jany Hakenové, dokreslujícími ponurou a mystickou atmosféru díla.
Préciosité et romantisme décadent. "Une évocation hallucinante de la ville de Bruges" et une sombre histoire d'amour, un veuf tente de faire de sa maîtresse la réplique de son épouse. Dossier (lecture, contextes, etc.), p. 107-167.
Extrait : "Je n'oublierai jamais les impressions de ce dernier déménagement. Ceux qui changent souvent d'habitation s'aguerrissent, n'éprouvent pas cette douleur d'arrachement et d'adieu. Ils n'ont pas le temps de s'attacher aux lieux. Moi, je vivais là depuis dix années. Tout un morceau de ma vie qui, semblait-il, allait disparaître et s'y engloutir comme dans l'Éternité. Que de souvenirs suspendus en guirlandes fanées sur ces murs !"
Die Erzählung spielt in der melancholischen Kulisse von Brügge und thematisiert die Einsamkeit und Trauer des Protagonisten, der von der verlorenen Liebe geprägt ist. Rodenbach verbindet meisterhaft die Stadt mit den inneren Gefühlen seiner Figuren, wodurch Brügge fast zu einem Charakter wird. Die eindrucksvollen Fotografien der Erstausgabe ergänzen die düstere Atmosphäre und verstärken das Gefühl der Vergänglichkeit. Diese Kombination aus literarischer Tiefe und visueller Kunst schafft ein einzigartiges Leseerlebnis, das die Leser in die Stimmung der Stadt eintauchen lässt.