Details, A Very Close Look / “The Actor” & “The Opium Smoker”
Details, readily transporting the images and emotions of the piece, and yet, if the writer is not effective in the details, the work fails. In the writings of Gautier, details is one component of his craft that works.
How to write in details, without sounding like a list or a work for a business endeavor? Gautier wrote in poetry/prose, actually. His writings are fluid, are transformative and knowing how to structure the piece without the effort showing is a skill well worth the effort.
“….and a sharp breeze whirled among the saffron yellow leaves, blackened at the edges by the first nip of early frost. The rose-bushes along the flowerbeds were twisted and broken by the wind, their long stems left trailing disconsolately through the mud; but the main alley, with its graveled surface, still remained passably dry.” The Actor P.101.
The short stories in the anthology are phenomenally close up and detailed. The use of description and language that closes us in and around and very engaged is how the narratives are related and communicated. Why are all stories not as perfect? How does Gautier keep the pace and not bore the reader?
“Altogether it would have been the ideal place for a poet to have turned his meditative steps. Indeed at that very moment a young man was pacing up and down the central avenue, though with every visible sing of impatience. His dress was elegant to the point of theatricality, consisting of a black velvet frock-coat with gold military frog-ging and collar trimmed with fur, tight-fitting grey wool trousers, and a pair of soft leather boots reaching to the knee and decorated with tassels.” P.101. The Actor. Fabulous use of language and movement, of fluidity and a graceful introduction to the narration is the process that catches ones breathe as we read on.
The details in both stories enhance and develop the characters. How much more of a visual is portrayed in each story, than with the adjectives and phrases to describe all of it.
“Without hesitation I replied that her name was Carlotta (which was true). She then told me that she had been a singer, and that she had died so young she had never tasted any of the pleasures of existence.” P. 99. The Opium Smoker.
How does the flow of language and detail enhance the work without bearing down on it? When does Gautier realize that the phrase, the sentence, the thought have enough detail? Gautier was a critic and wrote in various genres, including short essays. The sense of use of space and the constraints of a short story or essay may allow Gautier only a few concise ways to articulate and to narrate, which is perhaps the best use of language and poetic word choices.
Works Cited:
Gautier, Theophile. My Fantoms. Translated – Richard Holmes. New York Review Books.NYC, NY. 1976.
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