Alfred Jarry
A French Symbolist writer, best known for his play Ubu Roi (1896). This work is often cited as a precursor to the Dada, Surrealist, and Futurist movements of the 1920s and 1930s, and later to the Theatre of the Absurd of the 1950s and 1960s. He also founded the term and philosophical concept of 'pataphysics'.
Jarry was born in Laval, Mayenne, France, though his mother was from Brittany. He wrote in a variety of genres and styles that foreshadowed postmodernism, including novels, poetry, short plays, opera bouffe, absurd essays, and speculative journalism. His work is considered a representative example of absurdist literature and postmodern philosophy.
Biography and Works
His father, Anselme Jarry (1837–1895), was a salesman who later fell into alcoholism. His mother, Caroline (née Quernest, 1842–1893), was interested in music and literature, but there were signs of mental instability in her family, and both she and her brother were institutionalized. The couple had two children: a daughter, Caroline-Marie (Charlotte, 1865–1925), and Alfred. In 1879, Caroline left Anselme and moved with the children to Saint-Brieuc in Brittany.
In 1888, the family moved to Rennes, and Jarry entered the lycée at age 15. There, he led a group of boys who enjoyed teasing their well-meaning but obese and incompetent physics teacher, Hébert. Jarry and his classmate Henri Morin wrote a play called The Polacks and performed it using puppets at a friend's house. The protagonist, Uncle Hébert, was a klutz with a large belly, three teeth (stone, iron, and wood), one recessed ear, and a clumsy physique. In Jarry's later work, King Ubu, Old Man Hébert grows into Ubu, one of the most monstrous and extraordinary figures in the history of French literature.
At 17, Jarry passed his baccalauréat and moved to Paris to prepare for entrance to the École Normale Supérieure. Although he was not admitted, he quickly gained attention for his original poetry and prose poems. His collection of works, Memorable Black Days, was published in 1893.
That same year, Jarry contracted influenza. His mother and sister nursed him, but after he recovered, his mother fell ill and died. Two years later, his father also died of influenza, leaving Jarry a small inheritance, which he quickly spent.
Around this time, Jarry discovered the joys of alcohol, calling it his 'holy herb,' and referring to absinthe as the 'green goddess.' It is said that he once painted his face green and rode his bicycle through town in honor of (and perhaps under the influence of) the god.
Drafted into the military in 1894, Jarry, gifted with a talent for subverting concepts, defeated every attempt to instill military discipline in him. His appearance as a small man wearing a uniform too large for his less-than-150-centimeter frame (the military did not issue uniforms that small) was so comically ridiculous that he was exempted from parades and marching drills. Eventually, the military discharged him for health reasons. His military experience later became the source of inspiration for his novel Days and Nights.
In his youth, Jarry had homosexual tendencies, but like many bohemians, he rejected gender distinctions. His brief but passionate relationship with the future poet Léon-Paul Fargue was the source of inspiration for his semi-autobiographical play Haldernablou (1894).
Returning to Paris, Jarry immersed himself in writing, drinking, and socializing with friends who appreciated his witty, gentle, and unpredictable conversation. This period was marked by his deep involvement with Remy de Gourmont in the publication of L'Ymagier, a luxurious 'art' magazine specializing in the symbolic analysis of medieval and popular prints. At the time, Symbolism as an artistic movement was at its peak, and L'Ymagier became a hub for many major contributors. Jarry's play Caesar-Antichrist (1895) takes this movement as its subject. This work serves as a bridge between sincere symbolic meaning and the critical absurdity with which Jarry would later become deeply involved. Starting from the biblical Book of Revelation, Caesar-Antichrist presents a parallel world of extreme formal symbolism where Christ returns not as an agent of spirituality, but as an agent of the Roman Empire seeking to dominate spirituality. It is a unique story that effectively links the control of the soul with the progress of Egyptology at the time, such as the 1894 excavation of the Narmer Palette, an ancient artifact used to position riddles within a hermeneutic framework. The character of King Ubu appears for the first time in this play.
In the spring of 1896, Paul Fort's critical journal Le Livre d'Art published Jarry's five-act play Ubu Roi. It was a revised and expanded version of The Polacks, which he had written as a student. The intense humor and sheer absurdity of Ubu Roi were unlike anything ever performed in French theater, and it was thought that it would never actually be staged. However, the impulsive director Aurélien-Marie Lugné-Poe took the risk and staged the play at his Théâtre de l'Œuvre.
On the opening night (December 10, 1896), in an audience mixed with traditionalists and avant-gardists, King Ubu (played by Firmin Gémier) stepped forward and uttered the opening line, 'Merdre!' (often translated as 'Pshit!' or 'Shittre!' in English). A chaotic scene ensued for about 15 minutes. The outraged shouted, booed, and whistled, while the more bohemian crowd responded with cheers and applause. These interruptions continued throughout the night. At the time, only the dress rehearsal and the premiere were held, and the play was not revived until after Jarry's death.
The play brought 23-year-old Jarry fame, and he became immersed in the fiction he had created. Gémier created his performance of Ubu by modeling it on Jarry's own staccato, nasal vocal style. This vocal style emphasized every syllable (even those that were silent). From then on, Jarry always spoke in this manner. He mimicked Ubu's comical and pedantic metaphors. For example, he referred to himself as 'we,' called the wind 'that which blows,' and called the bicycle he rode everywhere 'that which rolls.'
Jarry moved into an apartment built in an unusual way, where the landlord divided the large room with horizontal partitions rather than vertical ones. The small Jarry could just barely stand, but guests had to stoop or crouch. Jarry began carrying a loaded revolver. When a neighbor complained that his shooting put her children at risk, he replied, 'If that happens, Madame, we will be happy to help you raise new children.'
Together with Franc-Nohain and Claude Terrasse, he founded the Théâtre des Pantins, where the marionette play Ubu Roi was performed in 1898.
Deepening in poverty, in poor health, and indulging in excessive drinking, Jarry wrote the novel The Supermale, which satirized the Symbolist ideal of self-transcendence.
The novel Gestes et opinions du docteur Faustroll, pataphysicien (Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician), which remained unpublished until after his death, depicts the exploits and teachings of a kind of anti-philosopher who was born at age 63, traveled through a hallucinatory Paris, and adhered to the doctrine of 'pataphysics.' Pataphysics deals with 'the laws which govern exceptions and explain this universe supplementarily.' In pataphysics, every event in the universe is accepted as a special event. In 1969, Paul McCartney used the word 'pataphysical' in the song 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer'.
In his later years, he was a legendary and heroic figure to the young writers and artists of Paris. Guillaume Apollinaire, André Salmon, and Max Jacob visited his modest apartment. Pablo Picasso was fascinated by Jarry. After Jarry's death, Picasso acquired his revolver and carried it on his nocturnal expeditions in Paris. Later, he purchased many of Jarry's manuscripts and also made wonderful drawings of Jarry.
Jarry died in Paris on November 1, 1907, from tuberculosis exacerbated by drug and alcohol abuse. When he could not afford alcohol, he drank ether. It is recorded that his last request was for a toothpick. He was buried in the Bagneux Cemetery near Paris.
The complete works of Alfred Jarry were published by Gallimard in three volumes and are part of the Bibliothèque de la Pléiade collection.
Selected Works
Theater
César-Antéchrist (1895) – (Caesar Antichrist) – Introduces Père Ubu and his symbolic significance.
Ubu Roi (1896, revised from 1888) – (Ubu Rex) – A work depicting the ambitions of Père Ubu.
Ubu Cocu, ou l'Archeopteryx (1897) – (Ubu Cuckolded) – Depicts the instability of Ubu's closest associates.
Ubu Enchaîné (1899) – (Ubu in Chains) – Depicts Père Ubu on duty.
Ubu sur la Butte (1906)
Novels
Les Jours et Les Nuits, roman d'un déserteur (1897) – (Days and Nights, Novel of a Deserter). The first part of a fictional (or pataphysical) autobiography depicting military life.
L'Amour en Visites (1897) – (Love in Visits). The second part of a fictional (or pataphysical) autobiography depicting life and theater.
L'Amour Absolu (1899) – (Absolute Love). The third and final part of this autobiography.
Messaline (1901) – (Messalina in English translation) – Set in ancient Rome.
Le Surmâle (1902) – (The Supermale) – Depicts a superhuman bicycle race where the protagonist is fueled by a perpetual motion food (alcohol).
Gestes et Opinions du Docteur Faustroll, Pataphysicien (Exploits and Opinions of Dr. Faustroll, Pataphysician) – Published posthumously in 1911. The symbolism of this novel defines the symbolic meaning of Pataphysics.
La Dragonne – Edited and published posthumously in 1943.
Other Works
The short story 'The Passion Considered as an Uphill Bicycle Race' (La Passion considérée comme course de côte) has been widely distributed and imitated by authors such as J.G. Ballard and Robert Anton Wilson.
The comic operetta 'The Pope's Mustard-Maker' (Le Moutardier du pape) received its first English translation by Doug Skinner (2019).
The speculative essay 'Speculations' was translated into English by R.J. Dent (2022).
Les Minutes de Sable Memorial (1894) is a collection of early short works including the symbolist play 'Haldernablou'.
The Green Candle: Light of the Flow of Time is a collection of absurd essays that reverse his pataphysics. It discusses contemporary issues using absurd methods. The first edition was published in a literary review and was collected in 1969.
Almanach illustré du Père Ubu (1899).
Almanach illustré du Père Ubu, 2nd edition (1901). Both the 1899 and 1901 editions are available in French at http://alfredjarry.fr/jarry/.