Polyphony and counterpoint : mechanisms of seduction in the diaries of Helen Hessel and Henri Pierre Roche
Date
2015-06-25
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AOSIS Publishing
Abstract
Henri Pierre Roché (1879–1959), the author of Jules et Jim, has been called a general introducer,
an exemplary amateur, a collector of women and art and one of the most prolific diarists and
active lovers in recorded history. Author of a collection of vignettes about Don Juan, Roché
was fascinated with the figure of the seducer and in his twenties planned to devote his life
to the creation of a body of work which would examine moral, intellectual, social and sexual
relations between women and men. To this end, he would transform his life into a laboratory
where real-life experiences would become the main source of reference. Roché’s diary spans
sixty years and abounds in tales of seduction. However, the most intense and captivating
intrigue of seduction and betrayal in his diary, is his relationship with Helen Hessel. At the
start of their affair, Roché suggested that she too should keep a diary of the maelstrom of
passion into which they were plunged. Written in French, German and English, Helen Hessel’s
diary captures the drama of seduction and functions on several levels: realistic, visionary,
absorbed in her thoughts and emotions and yet critical of herself and others. A juxtaposed
reading of the two diaries generates a fascinatingly dense texture, revealing the mechanisms
of seduction at play. The counterpoint created by these two interdependent voices becomes
ever more complex as one becomes aware of the intertextual references that contribute to the
emerging polyphony of recorded life and love.
Description
CITATION: Du Toit, C. 2015. Polyphony and counterpoint : mechanisms of seduction in the diaries of Helen Hessel and Henri Pierre Roche. Literator, 36(2), doi:10.4102/lit.v36i2.1193.
The original publication is available at http://www.literator.org.za
The original publication is available at http://www.literator.org.za
Keywords
Polyphony, Hessel, Helen, 1886-1982, Roche, Henri Pierre, 1879-1959, Seduction in literature, Seduction, Diarists
Citation
Du Toit, C. 2015. Polyphony and counterpoint : mechanisms of seduction in the diaries of Helen Hessel and Henri Pierre Roche. Literator, 36(2), doi:10.4102/lit.v36i2.1193.