1、Those Beautiful Flowers -Book Review: “Camille” I read the Chinese version of “Camille” a few years ago. At that time I was deeply moved by the main character Marguerite Gautier. “Camille” or “The Lady of the Camellias” by Alexandre Dumas, fils, is the story of Marguerite Gautier, a young courtesan,
2、 or kept woman, in Paris in the mid 1800s, and how she falls in love with a young man, Armand Duval, and then tries to escape from her questionable past. Unfortunately, it comes back to haunt her and she ends up returning to that life and dies painfully and alone, but with the knowledge that she was
3、 a noble woman at heart. When I first began to read the book, I did not care for Marguerite or her attitude or lifestyle, but as I got further into the narrative, I realized that her saucy attitude was a front to cover the lonely woman that she really was. She felt used, abused and unloved, until th
4、e gentle Armand Duval came into her life and showed her that he loved her as a person and not for what she could do for him. It must have taken great courage for Marguerite to leave the life she had lived for so long, knowing all along that it was probably too good to be true and would not last inde
5、finitely. And it also showed that Marguerite really loved Armand Duval for she could even change herself for him. However, happiness didnt last for long. When M. Duval, Armands father, came to her, pleading for her to leave Armand to save both Armands reputation and that of his younger innocent sist
6、er, Marguerite saw a way to become pure of heart, if not in body. She felt that it was her duty, because she loved Armand so much, to do this even though it meant giving up her own happiness and hurting Armand temporarily. She reluctantly returned to her former life, knowing that some day Armand wou
7、ld forgive her. Sadly, she died in debt and basically alone, except for her one female friend, Julie Duprat, who helped her during her illness. She had her journal sent to Armand after her death, explaining why she had made the choices she had. I think Dumass last few lines about Marguerite being th
8、e exception, not the rule were quite true, and I also agreed with his view that while her lifestyle could not be condoned, we as a society assume that all of these type of women are cold and heartless, while this may not always be the case. A person can make the wrong choices in life when they are y
9、oung, and try to redeem themselves, but sometimes past situations prevent them from changing their lives, even though they desperately wish to do so. This applies to both men and women in many different types of circumstances: involvement in crime; drug or alcohol abuse; gambling; prostitution; fina
10、ncial problems; poor marriage choices; etc. And this is the fact, which exists in the whole society. As far as the other characters in the book, I think Marguerite was right in saying that no one truly cared about her, but only wanted something from her, the only exceptions being Armand and Julie Du
11、prat. Of course, the Comte de G. and Comte de N. wanted her body and appearance. The Duke needed to “wake up and smell the coffee” and realize that she could never replace his dead daughter. If he truly cared, he could have helped her leave her lifestyle without “keeping” her himself. And lastly, Pr
12、udence was a blood-sucking leech who used Marguerite almost worse than the men. I also think she was jealous of the fact that Marguerite had so much more courage than herself and someone truly loved her. Last morning, when tiding my bookshelf, I took this book out of the shelf, and a dried flower fl
13、ew away from the book. It was pale blue, very transparent, with thin fine veins. a driedflower flew away from the book. It was pale blue, very transparent, with thin fine veins. I held it against the morning light and blew on it. The soft breeze carried it away. Camille is just like the camellia, sh
14、e could never escape from the destiny of withering. But it wasnt her fault; its because of the evil of Capitalism and the hideousness of that society. Suddenly, I remembered a saying: “Women are like the flowers”. Those pretty women are like those beautiful flowers; their delicate beauty makes peopl
15、e feel they are the miracle of life. However, even the God envies their beauty. It seems that beautiful women always have tragic endings. As we are normal persons, even we can see the hideousness of humanity that results in their fate of withering, we can at most ask quietly in our hearts: Where hav
16、e those beautiful flowers gone? Where have they gone? “The Lady of the Camellias“ is a French tragic play based on Alexandre Dumas (the younger) 1848 novel by the same name, (it is sometimes referred to as “Camille“). The play was adapted for the theater by Dumas in 1852 and then for the opera by th
17、e composer Verdis La Traviata in 1853. The play became a favorite of audiences in the late 19th century.The story is set in Paris during the mid 1800s. The lead heroine is Marguerite Gautier, a young beautiful courtesan who is a “kept woman“ by counts and dukes - men of “Fashionable Society“. She me
18、ets a young middle class lover Armand Duval who does the unpardonable thing of falling jealously in love with her and breaking all convention of whats expected between a courtesan and her admirers. He, of course, has no way of sustaining the standard of living which she is accustom. In her fragile p
19、hysical state (Marguerite has tuberculosis which we learn later) she moves to the country. There in her new house, a confrontation between the jealous Armand and her rich admirers and “benefactors“ takes place. For the first time she sticks up for her lover - making a life choice - and they are left
20、 indignantly and alone. Armand becomes depressed, his career seems doomed by the intolerance of French society, and knowing he will never be able to support Marguerite to the level she deserves. Unbeknownst to Armand, his father comes to plead for her to leave Armand to save both his sons reputation
21、 and that of his younger innocent sister - whom is also tainted by the scandal. To prove her love, she agrees and leaves Armand. She returns to Paris where she despairingly throws herself back into her old lifestyle. Armand cant believe shes left and searches for her - finally finding her in Paris i
22、n the arms of a new lover. Time passes. The two accidentally meet again in public. Marguerite is now in the company of a another beautiful courtesan and Armand begins “paying court“ not with her but with her friend trying to strike back at Marguerite out of his own sense of hurt. Deathly ill, Margue
23、rite visits Armand one last time to plead that he stop humiliating her, and they make love again - both unable to deny the passion for each other. But Marguerite is haunted by guilt that she can only harm Armand and remembering her promise to his father - she abandons him yet again as he sleeps. Arm
24、and is incensed when he wakes. Finding Marguerite at a grand ball with all society around, he approaches her and hands her an envelope stuffed full of money “Here! Payment for your services.” She collapses as he walks out. Abandoned by all her friends from the humiliation of Armand act, exposed publicly for what she really is, she dies penniless, painfully and alone - cast off by all the men that used her. In prologue, Armand is given Marguerites diary in which he finally learns of her illness and her undying love for him along with the extent of anguish that he caused.
