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Bouvard and Pécuchet: A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life, part 1 cover

Bouvard and Pécuchet: A Tragi-comic Novel of Bourgeois Life, part 1

Chapter 22: Transcriber's Notes:
By Gustave Flaubert
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French LiteratureNovels

About This Book

Two clerks retire to the countryside and embark on a series of earnest experiments and hobbies—agriculture, chemistry, archaeology, literature, drama, politics, and various domestic projects—each pursued with methodical zeal but usually ending in confusion or comic failure. Their habit of adopting expert opinions without true understanding, literal-minded logic, and restless encyclopedic curiosity drives episodic misadventures that expose the limits of amateurism. The narrative accumulates a catalogue of well-meaning but ill-applied practices, blending satire of bourgeois pretension with a steady, understated sadness at persistent frustration.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Roughly speaking, about 93 acres.—Translator.

[2] Cuscute—dodder.

[3] One hectare contains 2 acres 1 rood 38 perches.—Translator.

[4] The [Text missing in original.—Transcriber.]

[5] Raspail, the author of the work here referred to, was called in to attend Gustave Flaubert's sister Caroline before her death in 1846.—Translator.

[6] A decalitre contains over two gallons.—Translator.

[7] A myriamètre is over six miles.—Translator.

[8] This would, roughly speaking, be about eleven yards.—Translator.

[9]

Oui, prince, je languis, je brûle pour Thésée—
 Je l'aime!

[10] The Vinegar Merchant's Wheelbarrow.

[11]

Des flammes de les yeux inonde ma paupière.
 Chante-moi quelque chant, comme parfois, le soir,
 Tu m'en chantais, avec des pleurs dans ton œil noir.

[12]

Soyons heureux! buvons! car la coupe est remplie,
 Car cette heure est à moi, et le reste est folie!

[13]

N'est-ce pas qu'il est doux
 D'aimer, et savoir qu'on vous aime à genoux?

[14]

Oh! laisse-moi dormir et rêver sur ton sein,
 Doña Sol, ma beauté, mon amour!

[15]

Que dans tous vos discours la passion emue
 Aille chercher le cœur, l'échauffe et le remue.

[16] La savate—a military practice of beating with an old shoe soldiers unskilful at drill.—Translator.

[17]

A nous l'animal timide!
 Atteignons le cerf rapide!
 Oui! nous vaincons!
 Courons! courons! courons!

Transcriber's Notes:

Page 12: Bartholemée sic

Page 15: Bartholemée sic

Page 36: The text of the second footnote on this page is missing in the original edition of the book.

Page 111: Single opening quote changed to double quote (... returned Pécuchet, "has disappeared...")

Page 114: Heurteaux amended to Heurtaux

Page 133: Heurteaux amended to Heurtaux

Page 150: Full stop added after "well-balanced idea"

Page 167: comma added after Mauprat

Page 218: abbê amended to abbé

Page 221: parlimentary amended to parliamentary

Page 250: Loadstone sic

Page 259: Full stop added after "imagination"

Page 276: Comma added after "Yet"

Small discrepancies between the Table of Contents and the chapter headings have been retained.

Hyphenation has been standardised. Where the hyphenated and unhyphenated version of a word occur an equal number of times, both have been retained: cocoa-nuts/cocoanuts; cross-beam/crossbeam; foot-warmer/footwarmer; night-cap/nightcap; sugar-loaves/sugarloaves; tri-coloured/tricoloured; wash-house/washhouse.