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Loading... Camille: The Lady of the Camellias (1848)by Alexandre Dumas
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A view into the life of a sex worker in Paris in the 19th century. Her lifestyle required $100,000 francs a year to support; you can imagine the balancing act she had to keep up. She was 20 years old, beautiful, intelligent, but sick with tuberculosis, and a young man of modest means wanted her all to himself. The sh*thead never realized the sacrifice she made for him. Ah well. Dumas fils writes so descriptively of Marguerite; what is hard to take is the attitude on the part of men that she is somehow less than her non-sex-worker counterparts. Shades of Sor Juana...Why do they create this job in society yet want to blame the woman who fills it? Alejandro Dumas representa lo más significativo de la novela francesa del romanticismo, y la Dama de las Camelias es una de sus obras más célebre. Las veleidades de una cortesana voluble se convierten en amor verdadero y capaz de suscitar un drama en el que las apariencias y las convenciones sociales desempeñarán un papel decisivo. I feel like my criticism of this book can't help but be unfair, but even with a generous eye towards its time and society of origin I still didn't like it much. It is a tragedy that simply takes too long to get to the point. After finishing the book I have learned that it was the basis for a variety of adaptations including the opera "La Traviata" and the film "Moulin Rouge!", and having seen the latter I recognize the parallels. The author definitely wrote the book with a sympathetic bent towards "kept women", but the general negative attitudes of the characters towards women in general are tedious to me as a modern reader. In the opening frame story, which lasted far too long, the author quoted Jesus's statement to a woman who tradition holds was a prostitute, "Much shall be forgiven thee, because thou hast loved much." After this Biblical quote, the narrator of "Camille" asked, "Why do we make ourselves more strict than Christ?" While the story doesn't answer that question directly the events of the story clearly argue that harshly judging others is unfair and cruel. No matter what one might suspect, people's true motivations and circumstances are never certain and might justify or even necessitate their choices. Words I learned in this book: cabriolet - A two-wheeled carriage with a hood, drawn by one horse. phaeton - An open four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage. A major spoiler here at the beginning. Fifty-seven years of my life and I never realized that the lady wasn't named Camille. This is a romance from the mid-1800s set in France. A woman who is a courtesan has died and the rest of the book is about her lover coming to terms with it. Much of it reads like a young girl's diary full of emotion, angst, despair and elation. There are moments though when the narrator speaks trying to explain his compassion for women who have "fallen" that are full of human understanding. This was a quick read, although some of the angsty bits became annoying (I really wanted to give the young man a good shake), it was an interesting glimpse into a culture and time very unfamiliar to me, although thoughts of the movie Gigi kept popping into my head. I doubt I will read it again, although I wrote down several quotes in my reading journal. I will possibly read something else by this author if it falls into my lap. I recommend it to those who enjoy reading classics because it is a reference to so many other works since its time. Also to anyone who likes a good romance. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesAmstelboeken (87-88) Berömd litteratur (Baltiska förlaget) — 15 more Gallimard, Folio (704) insel taschenbuch (0546) Modern Library (69) Newton Compton Live (30) Oxford World's Classics (999) Tus Libros. Anaya (56) Is contained inCamille and Other Plays: A Peculiar Position; The Glass of Water; La Dame aux Camélias; Olympe's Marriage; A Scrap of Paper by Stephen S. Stanton International Collector's Library Classics 19 volumes: Crime & Punishment; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; Mysterious Island; Magic Mountain; Around the World in 80 Days; Count of Monte Cristo; Camille; Quo Vadis; Hunchback of Notre Dame; Nana; Scaramouche; Pinocchio; Fernande; War and Peace; The Egyptian; From the Earth to the Moon; Candide; Treasure of Sierra Madre; Siddhartha/Steppenwolf by Jules Verne Is retold inHas the adaptationIs abridged inInspiredHas as a study
Classic Literature.
Fiction.
HTML: Men of great wealth bought her love. She gave it to only one. Marguerite Gautier, the greatest beauty in Paris, was known to all as "the Lady of the Camellias" because she was never seen without her favorite flowers. She was luxuriously kept by the richest men in France, who thronged to her boudoir to lay their fortunes at her feet. She lived violently, spending herself and her money in reckless abandon. She had many lovers, but she never really loved??until she met Armand Duval. Realizing that her only assets in life were her face and figure, Marguerite had learned how to make men pay. But what happens to a cool, calculating beauty when she herself suffers the wound of love? No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.8Literature French French fiction Later 19th century 1848–1900LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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Anyone interested in sample this short, florid tale is highly recommended to read Manon first. You won't be disappointed! Having enjoyed that masterpiece, one of my all-time favorite books, I predict you will then find this one a tasty bonbon. ( )