Portraits caricaturaux du gouvernement de Vichy sous la verve démesurée de Céline

• Published in: Quêtes Littéraires (Online) no. 10; pp. 197 - 206
• Main Author: Alves, Ana Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; French
• Published: Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II, Instytut Filologii Romańskiej & Wydawnictwo Werset 30.12.2020; The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Institute of Romance Studies & Werset Publishing House; The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & Werset Publishing House
• Subjects: caricature; comique; Comparative Study of Literature; Céline; démesure; French Literature; grotesque; Language and Literature Studies; Literary Texts; Sigmaringen; Studies of Literature; Theory of Literature; Céline; Sigmaringen; caricature; grotesque; comic; excess
• ISSN: 2084-8099; 2657-487X
• DOI: 10.31743/ql.11543

In his three novels, commonly referred to as the German trilogy, Céline evokes the story of his dangerous exodus to Germany, from 1944 to 1945, then to Denmark from 1945 to 1951. Our purpose is not to take the whole journey back, but to dwell on his stay in Sigmaringen where almost all the outstanding figures of the Collaboration are depicted and caricatured by Céline in a tone of contempt particular of him and of his exceptional singularity. We will use a few examples to show how the writer amplifies his characters’ features, to strengthen his descriptions. Céline paints their portraits, exaggerating their characteristics or, sometimes, endowing them with ridiculous attitudes. By hilarious, burlesque, comical details, Céline manages to caricature certain figures of the Vichy government in an atmosphere where absurdity, chaos and decadence mingle.