Cap 16. Chi era Aélis /Amélie? (5)
In quest’ultima sezione vengono date alcune informazioni su chi era Aélis, la mia narratrice
Ad Amelie l’ incarico di mezzana/procacciatrice oramai non procurava più troppo dolore, mentre invece le montava ancora una gran rabbia quando arrivavano le signore d’alto bordo. Allora sì che si lasciava stritolare da una gelosia malsana e nevrotica, soprattutto perché in quei momenti non era più lei ad avere il controllo della situazione.
E pensare che il Vate cercava ogni volta di smorzarla, quella sua gelosia, sostenendo a spada tratta la sua teoria secondo la quale la lussuria non doveva essere concepita come peccato ma come sublimazione del piacere. Non aveva forse confessato anche : “Nessuno mi conosce per quel che sono. Tutti credono che il mio libertinaggio mi sminuisca, mentre esso mi serve ad avere ancor più sete della mia arte”?
O anche: “La mia vera forza, la mia potenza immortale di artista è nella mia sensualità”.
Altre volte propinava anche a lei quelle scuse assurde, cioè che la sua insaziabilità era dovuta a una tremenda “infermità ereditaria”. Ammanniva anche a lei la storiella ormai nota secondo la quale era in preda a un “male orribile, ma non riesco a vincerlo. Per giustificazione ho la ricerca dell’ignoto, del mistero che è in ogni creatura. Averne rivelato una parte, nei miei libri, non è il mio più alto pregio?”.
Aélis sapeva dell’esistenza del motto latino “Repetita iuvant” che, tradotto letteralmente, significa “le cose ripetute giovano”, cioè l’idea che a forza di ripetere un concetto lo si fa meglio apprendere da chi ascolta.
Ma forse le sorgeva anche il dubbio che la ripetizione non sempre determinava la veridicità e fondatezza di qualcosa.
Forse non sempre era certa che tutto ciò che diceva il suo Comandante fosse la verità, anche perché aveva letto una sua annotazione in cui definiva i suoi desideri “come un gregge nel deserto che, per ingannare la loro fame, montano l’un su la groppa dell’altro e masticano la lana polverosa”.
E lo aveva spesso sentito pronunciare parole difficili come tedium vitae o coazione a ripetere, in quel suo voler “vivere voluttuosamente, con delle interruzioni non brevi di tristezza immensa”.
Comunque, in cambio della sua disponibilità e fedeltà Amélie venne sempre trattata con rispetto, e restò fino in fondo al suo fianco, sulla scena della “vita inimitabile” di quel “porco alato e geniale”, come si compiaceva di autodefinirsi.
Purtroppo quella esistenza alla fine non rispondeva più al suo desiderio di “possedere la vita” senza tuttavia farsi possedere da essa.
Lo aveva sostenuto anche nel suo romanzo “Il piacere”, rifacendosi all’aforisma latino “Habere non haberi” (possedere, non essere posseduto) tratto dal filosofo greco Aristippo, vissuto circa 400 anni prima di Cristo.
Questo pensatore lo utilizzò per esprimere un certo distacco dal piacere, in risposta a una critica che gli era stata mossa riguardante la sua assidua frequentazione di Laide di Corinto, una famosa etera dell’antica Grecia, rinomata per la sua bellezza.
“La posseggo, non ne sono posseduto” aveva detto, anche perché “la cosa migliore non è l’astinenza dai piaceri, ma il dominio su di essi senza esserne sconfitti”.
A chi poi lo censurava sul fatto che lei fosse una cortigiana, rispondeva:
“Non è forse vero che non ci sarebbe alcuna differenza tra il prendere una casa in cui hanno già abitato molte persone o una in cui non ne sia abitata neppure una? E poi? Ci sarebbe differenza tra il navigare su un’imbarcazione a bordo della quale innumerevoli persone hanno già navigato, oppure nessuno? Allora non fa nessuna differenza nemmeno stare con una donna con la quale molti hanno avuto a che fare oppure con una con cui non abbia avuto a che fare nessuno.”
E a chi gli diceva che Laide non lo amava dichiarava : “Io non credo che il vino o il pesce mi amino, eppure li uso entrambi con piacere”.
continua
Who was Aélis /Amélie?
In this last section some information is given about Aélis, my narrator
Amelie was no longer so saddened by her role as an intermediary or a procuress, whereas she was still very angry when the high-society ladies arrived. That’s when she allowed herself to be crushed by unhealthy, neurotic jealousy, especially because in those moments she no longer had control of the situation.
And just think that the Poet always tried to dampen that jealousy, advocating his theory that lust should not be conceived as a sin but as the sublimation of pleasure. Hadn’t he also confessed: “No one knows me for who I am. Everyone believes that my libertinage diminishes me, while it helps me to be even more thirsty for my art”? Or even: “My true strength, my immortal power as an artist, lies in my sensuality”.
At other times, he would also give her those absurd excuses, such as his insatiability being due to a terrible “hereditary infirmity”. He even told her the well-known story about being in the grip of a “horrible illness, but I cannot overcome it. To justify it, I have the pursuit of the unknown, of the mystery that is in every creature. Is it not my greatest merit to have revealed a part of it in my books?”.
Aélis knew of the existence of the Latin motto “Repetita iuvant”, which literally translated means “repeated things are beneficial “, that is, the idea that by repeatedly stating a concept, this is better understood by the listener.
But perhaps she also had the doubt that repetition didn’t always determine the truth and validity of something.
Perhaps she was not always certain that everything her Commander said was the truth, especially because she had read his note where he described his desires “like a flock in the desert which, to deceive their hunger, mount one on the other’s back and chew the dusty wool”.
She had often heard him utter difficult words like tedium vitae or compulsion to repeat, in his desire to “live voluptuously, with not brief interruptions of immense sadness”.
However, in exchange for her availability and loyalty, Amélie was always treated with respect, and she remained faithfully by his side until the end, on the stage of the “inimitable life” of that “winged and brilliant pig”, as he delighted in defining himself.
Unfortunately, that existence ultimately no longer responded to his desire to “possess life” without, however, being possessed by it.
He had also supported this idea in his novel “The Pleasure,” referring to the Latin aphorism “Habere non haberi” (to possess, not to be possessed) taken from the Greek philosopher Aristippus, who lived around 400 years before Christ.
This thinker used it to express a certain detachment from pleasure, in response to criticism he had received because he enjoyed the favours of Laïs of Corinth, a famous courtesan renowned for her beauty, with whom he spent a lot of time.
“I possess her, I am not possessed by her,” he had said, also because “the best thing is not abstinence from pleasures, but mastery over them without being defeated by them.”
To those who criticized him because she was a courtesan, he would reply: “Isn’t it true that there would be no difference between taking a house where many people have already lived or one where no one has lived at all? And then? Would there be a difference between sailing on a boat aboard which countless people have already sailed, or none? Therefore it doesn’t make any difference to be with a woman with whom many have already slept or with one who has never been with anyone before.”
And to those who said that Laïs did not love him, he declared: “I do not believe that wine or fish love me, yet I really enjoy them both.”
to be continued
Dare I say there is some “food for thought” in those last words!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you, Randy: words to think about carefully 😉🌷
LikeLiked by 1 person
Poverette tutte quelle donne che sono passate tra le mani del Vate. Un traditore del genere (avrei una parola più forte per definire quest’uomo ma mi limito, 😉) meritava solo e solamente dei chiari e secchi “no” appena iniziava a provarci con qualcuna.
Chissà che cosa ci trovavano di bello in lui, 🤔.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Purtroppo, a quanto pare, erano quasi tutte molto felici di essere “usate” da lui: alcune per i benefici economici che potevano trarne, ma molte realmente attratte da lui, quasi possedesse una forza magnetica a cui era impossibile resistere
Grazie per la tua osservazione, Ele cara, e buona domenica 🌞
LikeLiked by 1 person
È proprio il caso di dirlo: quando si cercano dei benefici economici “pecunia non olet” e pur d’avere questi guadagni hanno mandato a farsi benedire la propria dignità in cambio del vil denaro.
Di nulla carissima Luisa e buona domenica anche a te, 🩷😘🌷🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ti ringrazio anche per questa ulteriore riflessione, e ti auguro un felice pomeriggio 💗❣️💗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Grazie, e a te l’augurio di una buona serata carissima Luisa, 🤗😘🌷🩷⭐️🌼🌛.
LikeLike
I do like his distinction between consuming something but not being consumed by it. For many people that could be food, not just sex. Vate was brilliant among other less savory adjectives and adverbs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
D’Annunzio was a great man of letters!
My stories are just the tales of the maid, gossip and little more😉😉😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Brilliantly and most fascinatingly told. 🤓😇🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you so much, my dear Pat 💗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buona domenica, un affettuoso abbraccio, Luisa 🥰😘
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buona domenica pomeriggio anche a te, Dani
🤗💕🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
The self absorbed and addicted will use all manner of explanations to excuse their actions. They may be artists, but they are detached from real life and empathy. Happy Sunday Luisa. Allan
LikeLike
Thank you very much for sharing this wise reflection, dear Allan
Wishing a happy Sunday to you too
LikeLiked by 1 person
You wonder why it is only men whose libido is often connected to and thought even essential for their artistic – and perhaps even other kinds of – achievement. Or this just all just another justification of (their) libertinage.
And do you think there are women creatives who would also put themselves in this category?
Or maybe we just don’t know? Sarah
LikeLiked by 2 people
In my opinion there are also female artists who draw part of their inspiration from their libido,
But perhaps they do it in a much more elegant way, erotic but not pornographic, as happens with men
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have not been getting the sense of inspiration from libido for this poet; more the actual engine of his work without which he could barely have written.
But then I have not read his poetry. Perhaps it is inspiration in the ordinary sense. Sarah
LikeLike
To my way of thinking Luisa “Repetita iuvant” means that if somebody says something often enough, the gullible will believe that it must be the truth.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Unfortunately it often happens in politics too: the constant assurances from our government that everything is fine has convinced many who have turned off every connection between ears and brain
LikeLiked by 1 person
I couldn’t have put it better myself 😀
LikeLike
Those last two paragraphs are strokes of genius, Louisa.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so glad you liked them, dear Don
Wishing you a lovely new week!
LikeLike
Each installment of chapters of the Vate’s life, apart from a great artistic contribution, does not prevent him from being a completely controversial character due to moral confusion. It’s like we were watching a very well produced TV series that one would never want to end because of how entertaining and well narrated it is. It makes one think that the word “continue” will continue to appear forever. A big hug Luisa
LikeLike
Il ragionamento finale è perfetto
Buona serata
LikeLike
I feel a bit sorry for Aélis. D’Annunzio certainly had some interesting excuses and thoughts.
LikeLike
Very nice
LikeLiked by 1 person
[…] Le donne del mio Vate – ☾ CXX ☽🖋️ […]
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks a lot for reblogging!
As always, much appreciated 🙏
LikeLike
prosegue la storia della mezzana del Vate.
Bella serata Luisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Grazie per il messaggio
Buona giornata a te, carissimo Gian❣️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bel pomeriggio Luisa
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting as this is, talented as he may be, he’s swine in my mind.
Now he’s making me think of Harvey Weinstein.
Thank you for writing this.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Too kind of you, dear Resa!
I thank you very much for your generous appreciation
I’m happy to hear that these posts piqued your interest 🩵🙏🩵
LikeLiked by 1 person
They certainly do. Thank you fr writing them! ❦❦🌹
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙏🌹🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person