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Impressionism as a Literary MovementAuthor(s): Beverly Jean GibbsSource: The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 36, No. 4 (Apr., 1952), pp. 175-183Published by: Wiley on behalf of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations
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Impressionism
s
a
Literary
Movement
THIS
articlehas as its
objective
discussion
of
mpressionism,
hich
choose
o
classify
as a
literary
movement.
It
is
my opinion
that,
when
it
began,
impressionism
as
more
secondary
n
nature
than
it
was
primary;
t
was
a
movement
which had
its
genesis
n
the
literary
movements
n
France
of the
19th
century
known
as realism
and
naturalism,
derivative of or a
hyper-realism,
hese
being
the
primary
movements
and
impressionism
the
secondary.
Primary proportions
were
reached in this impressionisticmovement
only
when
this
current
could be viewed
in
isolation. After
discussing
ts
genesis,
shall
turn o
impressionism
s
a
primary
movement
considering
ts
particular
characteristics,
ts
relationship
o
expressionism
nd
causalism,
and its
linguistic
conception
and conclude
with
a
discussion of
impressionism,
n
the
writings
f the
Goncourt
brothers,Daudet,
and Gabriel
Mir6.
In
order to
arrive
at
impressionism,
feel
that it
is first
necessary
to
understand
the
methods nd
the
goals
of
realism,
nd
subse-
quently
naturalism,
or
feel
that
mpression-
ism s
a
direct
utgrowth
f
the
atter wo. This
being
the
case,
what are
the
aspects
that im-
pressionism
ossesses
n
common
with
realism
and
naturalism
and
where
do
they
differ?
Realism...
aims
to attain truth
which
is
attainable
only
by
observation
scientific
nd
impersonal)
of
reality..
.
and
by
the
un-
adulterated
epresentation
f that
reality
n
the
work of
art. '
Like
naturalism,
t
consists
of
l'6tudede la realit6, onsideree bjectivement
et
reproduite
pour
elle-mbme. 2
Naturalism,
too,
emphasizes
objective,
cientific
reatment
to
represent
material
objects
and
subject
matter
ust
as
exactly
as
possible.
Es el mas
exacto
retrato
posible
del mundo exterior....
Exactitud es
triunfo.
El
naturalista
no nos
revela
nada
de su
participaci6n
n a
escena
que
describe
. .
. Le
naturaliste
descend aux
minuties,
pourvu
qu'elles
soient caracteris-
tiques;
l ne
fait
pas
de
choix
esth6tique
... 4
Thus
realism and
naturalism
have
as their
purpose
the
exact,
impersonal
eproduction
f
material
objects;
yet,
their
ntent
s
still
to
create
the
mpression
f these
objects,
but
the
characteristics
hat
they
take
on are inherent
in
them-they
are
as near
to
photographic
reproductions
s
can
exist n
literary
reation.
On
the
contrary,
mpressionism
es
la
repro-
ducci6n
de
la
impresi6n
de las cosas. No
es
cuesti6n
de
c6mo
sean
ellas
objetivamente,
sino c6mo
se
aparecen,
qui
y
ahora,
al
ojo
del
observador. l impresionista,l ver un objeto
no
se
pregunta
cuiles
son
sus
origenes
ni
sus
antecedentes;
o
lo enlaza
a sus causas
ni
a
sus
efectos....
El
impresionista
o rectifica
ada;
traduce
la
impresi6n
de
un
determinado
n-
stante
singular,
pero
sin reservas
y..
.
con
absoluta
honestidad. I
herefore,
ealism ould
be
thought
f as a
style
of
expression
n
im-
pressionism,
for
the
impressionist
puede
describir
ealisticamente
insinuar
ugazmente
su
impresi6n....
3
Las
cosas
provocan
impresiones
ensoriales
y emocionales,y
son
estas
impresiones
as
que
el
impresionista
oma
ahora
como
objeto
o tema
de
su arte. En
este
sentido
de
objeto-tema,
rente
l
objeto-cosa,
los
impresionistas
on
tan
objetivos
como los
realistas;
ellos
representan
u
objeto elegido
(las
sensaciones)
con
tanta
fidelidad
omo
los
realistas
el
suyo
(las
cosas),
.
..
son
subjetivos
por
no
interesarse
mAs
que
en
la
experiencia
humana
de
las cosas
y
son
objetivos
n cuanto
que
procuran
reproducir
sa
experiencia
con
toda
fidelidad. '
n this
respect mpressionism
is related to realismbut with the distinction
just
mentioned.
Both
deal
with
objective
reality;
in
both,
observation
and imitation
play
a
major
role;
and
in
both,
minutedetails
are
important.
Nevertheless,
n
their
very
similarities,
here
re differences
o
great
that
impressionism
akes
on a
distinctive haracter.
In
realism,
the
whole
object
is
carefully
observed
in all
its
detail, and,
if
the
artist
succeeds,
the result
will be an exact
replica
of
the
original.
n
impressionism,
he observa-
175
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176
BEVERLY JEAN
GIBBS
tion
is,
shall we
say,
of
shorterduration-it
is a
vistazo,
a
flash
perception
f
an
out-
standing
aspect
of
the
object,
and the
sensa-
tion
gained
from his nstantaneous
erception
is reproducedust as carefully nd in just as
great
detail
as
is
the
total
object
of the
realist.
Therefore,
ontrary
o
realism,
n
impression-
ism,
there
s
an elementwhich
s
entirely
ub-
jective,
nd
thiselement s the sensation
tself.
Todo se
ve
a
travys
de
un
temperamento 3
would be
an
apt
way
to describe
the initial
sensation
f the
mpressionistic
rtist.
There
s
always
something
n
the sensation which
is
unconsciously
n interior
uality
of the
artist,
and
in this
respect ndividuality
r
subjectivity
is
evidenced
in
impressionism,
hereas
it is
excluded from realism and naturalism. It
would
be
theoretically
ossible
in a
given,
controlled
ituation
o
have
several writers
f
the
realistic
chool
observe
he same
phenome-
non or
object
and
have
them
reproduce
t
in
the same
manner,
or each is
of
necessity
n-
gaged
in
pure
imitation.
However,
the
result
would be
quite
the
opposite
f
the
experiment
were
attempted
with
group
of
mpressionists.
The
resulting
representations
would
be as
varied as the number
f
writers
resent.
Each
is a
prism through
which the
sensation
of
the
object passes,
and
by
individual,
per-
sonal
refraction,
ach
response
will be
unique.
But,
interrelated
with
this element
of
sub-
jectivity
s
also
a
special
kind
of
objectivity,
which s
closely
orrelated
with
hat
of realism.
Once
the sensation
has been
received,
t
is this
which becomes
objectively
contemplated
nd
described.
hus,
have
attempted
o showhow
impressionism
with its roots
in realism
pro-
duced
a
flower
which
n maturation
ecame
a
new
iterary
movement.
It has been shownhow impressionismif-
fers
from
realism
and
naturalism,
nd
it will
now be of nterest o
discuss
the
meaning
f it-
erary
impressionism.
.
.
.
l'impressionnisme
litteraire
est)
une
transposition
ystimatique
des
moyens
d'expression
'un
art, qui
est
l'art
de
peindre,
an
le
domaine
d'un
autre
art,
qui
est
l'art
d'6crire. '
It
is a
highly
personal
manner
f
writing
n which
he
author
presents
characters
r
scenes
or
moods
s
they ppear
to
his
individual
temperament
rather
than
as
they
are
in
actuality. 6
The
characteristics
f
impressionism
re: la
representaci6n
e la
realidad externa
trav6s
de las
sensacionesde
los
personajes y
la
trasposici6n
metaf6rica
e
la
experiencia
psiquica
en
sensaciones.
. . 3
AccordingoLerch, Los rasgosprincipaleson:
exclusi6n
del
propio
yo,
ficci6n de
que
el
narrador s
un
testigo
cular,
reproducci6n
e
las
impresiones
escartando en
lo
posible
la
reflexi6n,fantasia,
ilusionismo. 3,7).
oesch
says:
Son
impresionistas
os
escritores
o
poetas,
1)
que
tienen deas
est6ticas
analogas
a
las de los
pintores mpresionistas,
)
que
tienen
andloga
concepci6n subjetivo-sensorial
del
mundo,
3)
que
emplean
en
la
'6criture
rtiste'
una
tecnica
de estilo
perfectamente
aralela
a
la
t6cnica
pict6rica
impresionista. 3,8
Sum-
marily, el impresionismo upone una per-
cepci6n
nstantanea
y
dinamica,
un aferrarse
la sensaci6n
ctual.
... 3
A discussion
of
impressionism
ould
be
in-
complete
without
some
reference
o
expres-
sionism,
for
although
both
deal with
percep-
tion,
ensation,
nd
representation,
he
methods
ofone are
quite
distinct
rom
hose
ofthe
other.
As
it
would
appear
from
he
prefixes
f
the two
words,
nd indeed
t is
the
case,
the one
is in
some
way
the
opposite
f
the other.Theodor
A.
Meyer
has formulated
n
interesting
istinc-
tion between the two from an
etymological
point
of
view based
upon
the German
quiva-
lents.
The
same
distinction
s
evident
n
Eng-
lish,
yet
perhaps
not as
strikingly
o.
In
Ger-
man,
mpressionism
s
translated
s Einsdruck
and
expressionism,
s
Ausdruck.
n
my
opinion,
the two seem
to
operate
much
the same as an
alternating
urrent,
nd this
fact
is of vital
importance.
n
the
first,
m-
(in-)
or
Eins-
represents
he
nwardflow
nd ex-
or
Aus-
the
outward.
Obviously,
he
mportant
uestion
n
this argument s-the inward and outward
flow
f
what?
wish
to
advance
the
hypothesis
that this
factor
in
question
is
simply
the
impression
r
the
sensation,
the
complicated
mechanism
f which
shall now
try
o
demon-
strate.
As
an introduction o
the
discussion
f
this
mechanism,
should
like to
state
that what
the artist receives from
the
material
world
shall
be
known s
impressionism,
nd what the
world eceives
rom
he
artist,
s
expressionism.
In
the
first
ase,
the
mind
receives
omething
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IMPRESSIONISM AS A LITERARY MOVEMENT
177
from
he material
world,
nd in the
second,
t
is
the material
world
which
cts as a
receptor
and
gains
something
from the mind of
the
author.
Respectively,
hey
can
be
denoted
as
tal como o veo (and) tal como lo vivo. 3
In the case of
impressionism
n
object
is
necessarily
nvolved which
acts as a stimulus
in
order
to
produce
the
sensation
which
the
observer
eceives. n other
words,
s it
appears
to
me,
the external
world
s,
figurativelypeak-
ing,
mposed
upon
the
receptor,
which
n
this
case is the
artist;
. .
. il s'6tablit comme
un
perpetuel
ourant
d'impressions
ntre e
monde
extdrieur
ui agit,
l'homme
physique
qui
est
agi
et
I'homme
moral
qui reagit
.. du
dehors
vers
le
dedans
....
That
is,
the
impres-
sionist, n contemplating material bject ex-
periences
n
impression
f
some
outstanding
aspect
of this
object
whichhas
been
caused
by
it,
and which an
therefore
e conceived
f
as
belonging
o
t. t is
this
mpression
r
sensation
that
travels n an
inward
direction rom
he
object
to the mind of the observer
where
t
is
retained
s the
nitial,
ure sensation,
nd it
is
this
which s
reproduced
y
the
impressionist.
In the
case
of
expressionism
here s
also
an
object
acting
as a
stimulus.
However,
n
this
instance, he artist mposeshimself pon the
material
thing
and
absorbs
it
into
himself
n
its
exact,
original
orm.
Once
within he
artist,
the
object
loses its
individuality
nd
acquires
the
personality
f
the artist.
Thus,
the
object
is
consciously
ransformed
nto
a
purely
ub-
jective
impressionby
means of
the artist's
judgments,
tc.
t is
thistransformed
ensation
which
is
the
outward flow
n
expressionism,
and
it
s thisthat the
expressionist
eproduces.
Therefore,
t
can be
said that
everything
efer-
ring
o
appearance
s
mpressionistic,
nd
every-
thingreferringo speculation nd intuitions
expressionistic.
El
expresionista
tiende a la
sugesti6n
y
el
impresionista
la
impresi6n. 3
As a final
clarification f
expressionism,
should
like to
quote
the definition
f the
term
iven
y
Elise Richter: Es la
reproducci6n
de
representaciones
de sensaciones
rovocadas
en
nosotros
or
mpresiones
xternas
internas,
sin
que
entren
n
consideraci6n
as
propiedades
reales
de los
objetos
que
suscitan tales
impre-
siones. El artista
expresionista
o
dice lo
que
ocurre lo
que
ve,
sino
o
que
a
61
e
conmueve
a la
vista de
un acontecimiento
de una
cosa;
expresa
u
sensaci6n
personal
y
su
juicio
sobre
las
cosas.
Renuncia,
desde
un
principio,
toda
verdad
natural;
no lleva al circulo e sus
imi-
genesel mundoexterior omo tal; se refiere
su estado de animo en
esta
o en
aquella
oca-
si6n
...
El
arte
expresionista
barca todos os
recursos
para
exteriorizar
o
interno,
o
no
sensible.... La
actitud
expresionista
puede
considerarse,
omo la
objetivaci6n
de
lo
inter-
namente
ntuido. a
I
should
ike to
add that
this
fine-line
is-
tinction between
impressionism
nd
expres-
sionism
xists
only
n
theory,
or
actually
the
two
co-exist.
n
reality,
he
difference
etween
the
two
s
one of
degree,
or ll
impressionists
are to a certain xtent xpressionists,nd vice
versa. In
the
wordsof the
Goncourt
rothers,
La
s6duction 'une
oeuvre d'art est
presque
toujours
en
nous-mime,
t
comme dans
l'hu-
meur du moment
de notreoeil. Et
qui
sait
si
toutes
nos
impressions
e choses
exterieures
e
viennent
as,
non
de ces
choses,
mais de
nous?9
A further
efinement
f
mpressionism
an be
made
by
a
study
of the
relationship
f
mpres-
sionism o
causalism.
As
I
have
previously
stated,
n
impressionism,
he
sensation
nspired
by
the
object
s
acceptedbythe artistwithout
qualification.
f
it
should
happen
that the
artist hould
rectify
he
mpression
r
sensation
whichhe
has received
o that t
corresponds
o
reality,
n
order
o
arrive
t
impressionism,
e
would then
have to
rectify
he
rectification,
so that
the
original, ure
sensation
s all
that
would
remain,
or his
s
a basic
tenet
f
mpres-
sionism.
Theoretically,
o
attempt
s
made
by
the artist
to
ascertain he
cause of
or
the rea-
son for he
sensation
whichhe
has
experienced;
his
only
oncern
s
to
reproduce
t
as
objectively
and impersonallys possible.
This
is,
however,
ot the
case
with
causal-
ism
as
the word tself
uggests.
There
is
an
agent,
maginary
r
real,
which s
always
seen
to be the
cause of
any
sensation
hat
may
have
been
produced.
As
in
impressionism,
isual
perception
plays
a
dominating
role,
but in
causalism,
there s
what
shall
call
a
hyper-
visual
perception.
All
sensations
received
by
the sense
organs
are
translated to
a visual
frame
f
reference,
ut
with
he
chief
ttention
paid
to discern
he
cause.
Una
impresi6n
el
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178
BEVERLY
JEAN
GIBBS
oldo,
del
olfato,
del
gusto
y
del
tacto
necesita
de la vista
para
ser
referida
claramente a
un
objeto, y
en
ausencia
de
una
percepci6n
visual
simultanea,
ha de
asociarse a
imagenes
visuales adquiridas anteriormente. 3hus in
causalism
as in
impressionism,
n
order
hat
there be
any
representation,
he
visual
object
must be
present,
ctually
or
mentally,
ut in
the former
here must
be a
known
agent
to
have
produced
he effect
hichhas caused the
sensation.To
concludethis
topic
should ike
to add the
distinction
which
Charles
Bally
makesbetween
mpressionism
nd
causalism.
Impressionism,
ccording
to
him,
is
that
in
which
no se
distingue
o no
se
separa
con
precisi6n
l
fen6meno
e su
causa;
( causalism
is that in which)el fen6menoe
percibe
como
acci6n
transitiva
ejercida por
un
agente
en
direcci6n
un
objeto. 3
As the
next
phase
in
this
tudy,
should ike
to turn to the
linguistic
onception
f
mpres-
sionism,
nd
in
this
shall
make use of
various
aspects
brought
out
by
Amado
Alonso
and
Raimundo
Lida
in
their reatment
f
this
opic.
The
fundamental
roblem
n
this rea has
been
whether
r not
anguage
n
itself s
impression-
istic-is there such a
thing
s
impressionistic
language? am inclined o think hat there s
not.
Certain
yntactical
onstructions
nd
pat-
terns of
expression
may
be
preferred y
an
impressionist
which
tend
to
distinguish
his
writing
rom
hat
of
a
writer
f
another
chool,
but
this
preference
s
purely
n individual
ari-
ant and in no
way
sufficientause
for
designat-
ing
language,
as
such,
impressionistic.
an-
guage,
n
myopinion,
s a
classification
f
reality
as
phyla
are classificationsf
the
animal
world
in
zoology.
Nominar
es clasificar . .
3
Lan-
guage
s
a
system
f
ymbols
which re relative
tomaterial bjectsand abstract deas,and it is
around
these
symbols
or words
which
all ex-
periences
revolve.
In
impressionistic
reation
the
artist must transmithis
impressions
r
sensations o the reader
by
means
of
anguage
which
s
but the means
to
an
end-this
being
the
communication f
the
faithful,xact,
ob-
jective
expression
of
these
impressions.
But
the mereuse of
anguage by
a
writer alled
an
impressionist
oes
not
appear
to
me to be ade-
quate
cause for
its
being designated
mpres-
sionistic
anguage.
Is
the
language
of a
me-
chanic,
mechanical
anguage?
t
may
be
that
he
is
speaking
or
writing
f
matters
dealing
with
mechanics,
making
the
content
mechanical
n
nature
but not the
anguage.
The same
is
true
in impressionism;puede ser impresionistaa
experiencia
representada,
pero
no
lo
es la
experiencia
de
representarla
expresarla
que
Ilamamos
forma
idiomatica. '
The
following
quotation
from
Gabriel
Mir6's
Novela
de mi
amigo
will
serve to
demonstrate hat s
meant
by
impressionistic
ontent: Los
campos
la-
brados
se
rasgaban,
haciendo
una
rambla
honda
y
seca;
las
mirgenes
e
amurallaban
n-
domablemente
de
viejos
nopales,
plantas
hordalicas
que parecen
sorprendidas
n una
contorsi6n
e ira o de
danza
grotesca. 10If the
object
contemplated
e other hanthe
tone or
intonation
atterns
r
the
musicality
of
the
words
f
specific
anguage,
he
processes
which
I
have
already
discussed
as
being
in-
herent
n
impressionistic
reation
cannot
be
applied
to
language.
f
the
object
in
question
be
one of
the
aspects
ust mentioned,
hen
t
is
this that
produces
an
impression
upon
the
artist,
nd in this
respect,
yes, anguage
could
be
thought
f as
being
impressionistic.
ther
wise,
el
representarse,
structurar
diomatica-
menteyformularna experienciampresionista
es
una
nueva
experiencia
spiritual
n
que
ya
no
hay
nada
de
impresionismo ;3
la
impresi6n
pura,
de
virgen riginalidad
de autenticidad
rigurosa,
n
el
instante de
adquirir expresi6n
idiomitica,
s
ntervenida
or
a
montafia
e
re-
cuerdos
y experiencias
cumuladas en las
for-
mas del idioma
...
y
el
lenguaje
mismo es
desimpresionista. 3
Turning
now from he
unimpressionistic
ide
of
anguage
to
the
anguage
actuallyemployed
by
the
impressionist,
feel it is
possible
to
discern various preferencesf style, syntax,
figures
f
speech,
and
tendencies n
general
which re
evident n the
writing
f
an
impres-
sionistwhich re absent or which
do not
play
as
important
role
in that of
another
writer.
There
is an effort n the
part
of
the
impres-
sionistic
rtistto be
impersonal
nd
impassive
when
reproducing
is
purely ubjective mpres-
sion
of as
object
or
event,
and
the
language
which
s
the
outcome f this
ttempt
will
tend,
in
my
opinion,
o be also
non-subjective
n
the
sense
that
el narrador se
(disimular6) ..
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IMPRESSIONISM
AS A LITERARY MOVEMENT
179
detris de
los
personajes
que
hace hablar
o
pensar
. .
However,
t is
not
possible
that
the
writer achieve
absolute
objectivity,
for
el
objetivismo
ingtilstico
61lo
e alcanza
en
algunoscaso extremos e la exposici6n ienti-
fica.....
En el uso vital
y
en
el artistico
del
lenguaje,
sto
es absolutamente
mposible, or-
que
la
palabra
no es mera
designaci6n
del
objeto
sino
tensi6n
entre
sujeto y
objeto. 3
Nevertheless,
his
language
is an
attempt
o
reflect
bjectively
he
sensorial,
nstantaneous
perceptions
f
the
impressionist.
s
Amado
Alonso and Raimundo Lida
point
out,
it
is
language que consigna
a
impresi6n
nstan-
tanea sensorial
sin
que
le
deforme a
com-
prensi6n
del
objeto,
la
memoria o el
saber
impirico. 8
Particularly
noticeable
in
the
language
of
the
mpressionist
s the
schematic
yntax
s
opposed
to the
classic,
structured
yntax.
t
seems that
his
language
abandona la
estruc-
tura
regular
de
la frase
y
del
periodo,
on
su
orden
16gico
de
palabras y
sus
conjunciones
subordinantes
coordinantes,
construye
on
toques
dispersos:
squematismo. 3
hus
there
is
a
predominance
f
invertedword
order
and
anacoluthon. he
value of the
supression
f
the
conjunction ccording
o
Brunetiere
s
that it
gives
to the sentence
quelque
chose de
libre
et de
flottant;
'est
un
moyen
de
faire
irculer
l'air
dans le tableau. '
He
goes
on
to
say
that
the
function
f the
demonstrative
djective
n
impressionistic
riting
s
to
distinguish
ex-
press6ment
e tous les
autres traitsdu
meme
genre,
e
trait,
ou
plut6t
le
contour,
que
le
peintre
eut mettre n
umiere....
,
I tend
to
agree
with
his,
ut s
thisnot ts
usual
function
in
any
-ism?
It is
possibly
valid,
yet
still
uncertain,
o
supposethat the activevoice wouldpredomi-
nate over the
true
passive
in
the
writing
f
the
impressionist
ecause of
the
natureof
im-
pressionism
nd
the nature
f the
passive
voice.
Since
there s
no
agent
or cause
considered n
impressionism,
nd
since here s
an
agent
ither
expressed
r
understood
when
he
passive
voice
is
used,
t
would
eem
quite llogical
n
passages
dealing
with
the
impressionistic
eproduction
of
sensations
hat
the two
could
occur
concur-
rently.
And,
when
considering
he
following
examples,
t
is
the
active
voice
which
appears
to be dominant.
. .
. recibia la unci6n
de
palidez
de
luna,
como vertida
amorosamente
s6lo
para
su
carne. 10
Llegaba,
desde
muy
hondo,
a
fragosa palpitaci6n
de las
entrafias
del buque. 11 ... ils marchaientvers ce
grand
morceaude ciel se levant
tout droit
des
pavs
...
12
Considering
ow the tenses
which seem
to
have been
preferred y
the
impressionist,
feel that the
one whichmost concurswith
the
nature of
impressionism
s
the
imperfect.
Brunetibretates
that the
imperfect
s
chosen
due to the fact that
it sert
a
prolonger
a
duree de
l'action
exprimee
par
le
verbe,
et
l'immobiliser
n
quelque
sorte
ous les
yeux
du
lecteur.... Le
parfait
st
narratif,
'imparfait
est pittoresque. ' Lo que el narrador xpresa
mediante
el
imperfecto
s la
impresi6n
del
viajero
al recorrer
ntoncesl
camino. 3
Thus,
as it is the function
f the
mperfect
o
describe
an
object
or
scene,
o
it is also the
function
f
impressionism,
hich
imilarity
an
be
demon-
strated
by
the
following
asage:
Las
luces
de
gas
sacaban
un estrecho
spectro
de la
bestia
del
carruaje;
lo
tendifann
la
tierra
y
en las
paredes,
lo
doblaban,
lo
arrugaban
entre
as
jambas,
canales
y
fenestras,
o
hundian n
os
hoscos
portales. 1'
Much the
same
thing
can
be said
of the
historical
resent
ense
as was
said of
the im-
perfect,
n
addition o the
fact
that
the former
gives
the
reader the
impression
hat he is
an
actual
witness f the
event
which s
being
de-
scribed.
n this
sense,
t also
conforms
o
the
nature
of
impressionism.
Another
lementwhich s
present
n
the an-
guage
of he
mpressionist
s
fantasy
r
magina-
tion,
but
again,
it is
not the
language
itself
which s
fantastic
r
unreal but
the
image-
thecontent.Withreferenceo thisEugenLerch
has
gone
o
far s to
state
that,
Es sind
Hallu-
zinationen;
as
Bermerkenswerte
abei
st,
dass
diese
Halluzinationen icht
ls
Halluzinationen
dargestellt
ind .
. sondern
wie
wirkliche
at-
sachen. 7 From
this
statement
t
must
be
in-
ferred
hat
he
believesthat
for
he artist
hese
halluncinationsr
fantasies ose
their
maginary
character
when
they
have been
expressed
nd
become actual
reality.
Thus
according 'to
im,
not
only
is
the
language
real,
but
so are
the
impressions
n the
opinion
f
their
writer.
am
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180
BEVERLY
JEAN GIBBS
inclined
o
regard
his as an
extremist
oint
of
view
which
n its
entirety
acks
validity.
feel
that
the
anguage
which
he writer
mploys
s,
of
course,
eal
but
that the content
s
not,
that
imagination rfantasy ervemerely s a device
to
call
forth
particular mage,
and
that
the
writer
imselfooks
upon
these s such
and not
as
reality.
Amado Alonso
and Raimundo
Lida
state
that
the
language
of
the
impressionist
s
the
lenguaje
de la
fantasia,
(but
that)
los
escritores
mpresionistas
engan predilecci6n
por
os
giros
e
lenguaje
de contenido antistico
no
nos
permite
nvertir
ue
los
giros
magina-
tivos
sean
impresionistas. 3
In
addition
o the
othermechanisms
lready
discussed,
he
impressionist
lso
makes
use of
figuresfspeech n order oconveyhis mpres-
sions,
the
metaphor
nd simile
being
the
most
frequently
mployed,
for
they
allow a
great
amount
of freedom
f
expression. y
means
of
the
metaphor, provided
of
course
that
he
chooses
the
right
ne,
the artist an
reproduce
a
sensation
n
such
a
way
that
the
same
im-
pression
which
he received
will
be transmitted
to
the reader.
t is
a means
of
actuallypainting
images
with
words,
and
as
Brunetiere
ays,
Il
n'est
possible ue
par
m6taphore
e
peintre
avec des
mots
..
I
Examples
of the
usage
of
the
metaphor
nd
the simile re
the
following:
...
(los)
blancos
tlamos
..
semejaban
can-
delabros
de
plata
movediza ;11
sus
rizos,
ne-
gros
y
espesos,
aleteaban
como
golondrinas
bulliciosas... ., n;
sobre
el
azul
viajaba
una
nube
como
una
montafia
e
espumas. 11
lso
by
interrelating
he
sensory
perceptions
by
means
of
metaphors
nd
similes,
new
and
un-
usual
images
can
be
expressed,
but
I shall
postpone
his
topic
and
deal with
t more
fully
with
eference
o
GabrielMir6.
Another eviceused by the mpressionisto
convey
n
impression
o thereader
s
animation,
whose
effectiveness
an be
shown
by
these
quotations.
No
hay
mais
ue
noriasde
ruedas
y
arcaduces
ansados
que gimen
e
vejez
...
o
Comme
la
mer, 'exil
a sa
torpeur;
l
abat
et
engourdit. 13
La
ciudad
retiembla,
hierve,
resuena
y
abrasa
con
un
impetu que
no
en-
cuentra
nchura
donde
expansionarse,
on
una
impaciencia
que
se
devora
a si misma
mito-
16gicamente
ara
crecer
mis
con su hambre
y
su
mantenencia. '
Lastly,
it will be of value to
investigate
he
place
of the word
tself
n
impressionistic
rea-
tion.
Of
its two
possible
senses,
one abstract
and neutral nd
the othercoloristic nd sono-
rous, twould seemquitevalid to say that the
latterwould be
the
choice
of
an
impressionist,
keeping
n mindthe function f
mpressionism.
It
is
myopinion
hatthe
mpressionistic
riters
tried o do withcolor
what
the
mpressionistic
painters
id with he effects f
ight
nd
shade;
rendre a couleur
des
choses, etait)
rendre
a
vie
meme
..
2
To demonstrate
his,
have
chosen one
passage
from the
Goncourts nd
one
from
Gabriel
Mir6.
Le ciel
est
bleu
pile,
d'un
bleu
presque
vert,
omme
i
une 6meraude
y
6tait
fondue
..
,
El
riego
de sol
penetraba
en el humo de las tinieblas,y bajo la quieta
blancura
produciase
un
alborozo
de oro
que
resucitaba
el verdor de los Arboles
y pra-
dos
. . .
To
summarize:
anguage
tself s not
impres-
sionistic;
here re certain
lements
f
grammar
which
eem
to
lend themselves
more
readily
o
the
impressionistic
pproach
than
others;
nd
the
mpressionist
eemsto use certain
igures
f
speech,
tc.,
n
preference
o others
onsidering
some
more
compatible
o his
purpose.
But
in
impressionism,
s
in
any
other
iterary ism,
the
final hoice
of
the
style
of
expression
s a
purely
personal
matter o
be decided
by
each
individual
artist.
Hence,
one
can
only
make
broad
generalizations
s
to
the
nature of
a
linguistic,
mpressionistic
tyle.
It
is
Edmond
and
Jules
de
Goncourt,
who
especially
epresent
hefact
hat
mpressionism
had
its
genesis
n
realism,
or,
lthough
hey
n
many
respects
followthe credo
of the
latter,
their
writings
lso
show
many
mpressionistic
characteristics.
. .
.
pour
les
Goncourt
..
le
stylen'estqu'un moyend'exprimer, onseule-
ment
l'idee-sensation,
mais..
. la
sensation
elle-m^me,
ans
tous
ses
d6tails,
et
de
nous
traduire
usqu'aux
impressions
es
moins
con-
scientes,
aussi
intigralement
ue
possible. 2
What
theGoncourts
earched
or
nd
what
hey
attempted
o
reproduce
was
the
pure
sensation.
I1
ne
s'agit
pas
d'en donner
'id6e,
ni mtme
l'image
approch6e,
mais
d'arriver
usqu'a
la
sensation
igub. 4
Thus
one
finds n
expression
like,
Sur
le
siege,
e dos
du cocher
tait
etonn6
d'entendre
pleurer
si
fort
...
12
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IMPRESSIONISM
AS
A LITERARY MOVEMENT
181
According
to
Delzant,
Chez les Gon-
court...
les
mots
prennent
une valeur
pic-
turale
nd6pendante
e leur sens
grammaticals
mais
d6pendante
de leur
sonoritY... , 2,15
Because ofthepictorial alue ofthewords, he
impressions
voked are
highly
oloristic:
Les
couleurs 'chantent'
.
.
comme
une
sym-
phonie. '6-2
Furthermore,
Gustave
Lanson
statesthatthe
style
f the
Goncourt rothers
s
an
artistic
tyle
...
qui
sacrifiea
grammaire
a
'impression,
ui, par
la
supression
e tous es
mots
incolores,
inexpressifs,
ue
r6clamait
I'ancienne
r6gularit6
e la
construction
ram-
maticale,
par
l'61imination
e
tout ce
qui
n'est
qu'articulation
e
la
phrase
t
signe
de
rapport,
ne
laisse
subsister,
uxtaposes
dans une
sorte
de pointille,que les termes
producteurs
de
sensations. '7
And in
the words
of the Gon-
courts,
...
le
style
doit
tre,
omme a
sensa-
tion,
musical
et
color6;
il
doit
r6unir
n
lui,
r6sumer
ous
les
autres
arts,
et
nous
donner
l'6motion
et
l'illusion
de la
vie
et
du
move-
ment. '
Desprez
says,
C'est
I'allure
meme
de
la
phrase
qui peint, phrase
desoss6e,
bond6e
d'adjectifs,
ar
l'adjectif
st
le
mot
pittoresque
par
excellence,
ouvent
depourvue
de
verbe,
d'ou
les
conjonctions,
e
et
banal,
sont exclues
autant
que possible. 4Of this same matter,
Paul
Sabatier
writes
hat in
the
writing
f the
Goncourts there
are .
.
.
suppressions
des
conjonctions
de
coordination,
6p6titions,
n-
sistances,
pour
appeler
I'attention
du
lecteur
sur les
points
es
plus
saillants
du
tableau. 2
In
Germinie
acerteux
des
Goncourt,
e
con-
tinues
hat
n
their
writing
here s
a
recherche
du
pittoresque
de
l'expression
rare
.
, '9
I
feel that
this
s
very
ture,
for
n
their
Journal,
they
hemselves
ffirm
hat n
iterature,
.
. .
le
tout est
d'inventer
ne
lorgnette
vec
laquelle
vous faitesvoir es6tres t les chosesh travers
des verres
qui
n'ont
point
encore
servi,
vous
montrezdes
tableaux
sous
un
angle
de
jour
inconnu
jusqu'alors
vous
cr
ez
une
optique
nouvelle. 20
Particular
attention has
been
paid
to the
place
of
repetition
n
the
tyle
f
the
Goncourts.
Ils
forcent
ncore
'attention
du
lecteur
par
la
r6p6tition
es
termes
uxquels
ils
attachent
une
mportance
articulibre
t
par
la
rep6tition
de
la
mgme
mage.
Sa
robe
noire
en
forme e
fourreau
aissait
pointer
es
os,
plissait
maigre-
ment ur la
maigreur
e son
corps
et
tombait
tout droitde ses
genoux.'
19
Since the
function
of
repetition
s to make
outstanding
ome
spect
of
a
scene or
object,
and since
mpressionism
s
concernedwith thereproductionf certain a-
lient
mpressions,
t can well be said that
this
device
has its
place
within he
scope
of
mpres-
sionism,
nd
decidedly
n thatofthe
Goncourts.
Turning
now to
Alphonse
Daudet,
it is
of
importance
o establishhis
relationship
o
the
impressionistic
movement
nd
to show
char-
acteristics
f it which re evident
n his
style.
As
it
would be
expected,
Daudet
considered
the
mpressions
hemselves o be of
primary
m-
portance.
n Notes ur la
Vie,
he writes:
Fal-
lait-il
que
je
fusse
poreux
et
p6netrable;
des
impressions,
es sensations remplir es tas
de livres et toutes
d'une
intensit6 e
rive. 2'
According
o
Desprez,
L'essence
du talent
de
M.
Daudet 6tantdans la vivacit6de
I'impres-
sion
premiere,
l a soin de fixer
a sensation
u
l'idee dans toute eur fratcheur.... II
traduit
seulement ans un
paysage
ou dans un
groupe
I'aspect qui
le
frappe... 4
Continuing,
he
says,
and I
agree,
that
the
originality
f
the
style
of
Daudet
is la
delicate
originalit6
es
images 4
which
s
caused
by
the extensive se
of the metaphor nd simile.Consider, orex-
ample,
the
followingpassages.
. .
.
c'6tait
tout
un
pohme,
a cravatede
Jacques,
un
pokme
d'amour rdent
t
contenu,
uelque
chose
com-
me
un
selam
d'Orient,
un de ces
bouquets
de
fleurs
embl6matiques
ue
les
Bach'-agas
of-
frent
leurs
moureuses t
auxquels
ls
savant
faire
exprimer
outes
les
nuances de la
pas-
sion. 22
Bois,
flamme t
cendre;
d6monstra-
tion
de I'Ame t du
corps. 2'
Les
6toiles omme
des larmes remblaient
la
face
du
ciel. 2'
Lastly,
in
the
impressionisticwriting
of
Daudet, there is una transposici6nde la
pintura
la literature
..
I
in
which
s
notice-
able a
predominant sage
of
ights,
hades,
nd
colors
which,
when
combined,
orm
pictorial
sensation.
La
soiree
6taitchaude et
splendide,
le
jour
'
peine
6teint
dans
l'6blouisement
u
gaz
ouh
l
mourait
en lueurs bleues.
La
masse
noire
des marronniers
es
Tuileries
ntretenait
un souffle
'eventail autour d'elle
et
dans
le
ciel au-dessus avivait
l'6clat
des
6toiles. ''
As the
final
hase
n
this
tudy,
should
ike
to
discuss the
manifestationsf
impressionism
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182
BEVERLY
JEAN
GIBBS
in
the
manner
of
artistic reation
nd
in
the
writing
f
Gabriel
Mir6,
for
t
is in
the
writing
of this
Spaniard
that
impressionism
an
really
be termed
literary
movement
n
ts own
right;
it is herethat t takes on primary roportions.
It
is
said
that Gabriel
Mir6 had no
well
formulated
lan
for he
omposition
f
novel--
if
he
had one
at all. El
conjunto
de
sus
obras
no
surge
como resultado
del
pensamiento
inicial de
ese
conjunto,
sino
como
reuni6n
transitiva
de los
multiples
detalles
emotivos.
Estos
e
van
guiando
y
orientando
or
el
camino
que
61no ha decididode
antemano. 23
hus it
is,
that
these detalles
motivos,
he
ensations
or
impressions,
ctually
determined
he
pro-
gression
of the
literary
work,
a
method,
or
ratherwant of one, in my opinion,favorable
for
mpressionistic
reation.
It
will be
recalled hat
in
impressionism
he
material
world
is more
important
han the
artist,
nd
it
is
thiswhich
s
imposed pon
him.
In
the
case of Gabriel
Mir6,
the
sensations
whichwere
received
rom hismaterial
world--
el
paisaje
in
particular-were
so
intense,
and
the
object
was
so well fused
with
the
ob-
server,
that
it
appears
to
possess
him.
El
artista
e
entra
en
(el paisaje) completamente,
se le
aduefiay poco
a
poco,
va
descubriendo
todo
su
espiritu
asta
concretar u
emoci6n
n
algo
que
s61lo
quel
paisaje puede
tener...
23
Consider,
for
example,
the
following
assage:
En
lo
mas
intimo
de
los
Arboles,
e la
tierra,
del
cielo,
de
las
aguas,
entrenuestra
lma
como
la
abeja
se
anega
en la delicia de
una
flor,
y
nuestra
alma
prueba
el sustento de
la
miel .
.
0
Likewise,
there are
times
when
this
fusion
of the
author
and
the
object
has
caused the
object
to
be dominated
ompletely
by
the
personality
f he
uthor;
n
other
words,
Mir6has so completely rojectedhimself nto
the
object
that the latter
has
ceased
to exist
individually
nd
has taken on attributes f
his
own
personality-a
phenomenon
known
as
empathy
which
s a form f
expressionism.
In
the
case
of Gabriel
Mir6,
there
s
an
in-
terweaving
f the
two
with
first he one
and
then the
other
predominating,
ut
since
this
s
a
study
of
mpressionism,
shall
imit
my
com-
ments
to the
elements
n
his
writing
which
have
caused
me to
designate
him
as
the
repre-
sentative
f the
flowering
f
the
mpressionistic
movement.
t
can be said
that the
primary
ac-
tor
n
his
writing
s
its
mpressionistic
ontent-
the
representation
f
certain
impressions
o
evoke
a
desired
mage.
This is
clearly
hown
y
the following passages: . . . en sus abiertos
ojos
se
congelaban
os
gotas
de
la
iltima
clari-
dad
de
la
tarde...
;
De
pronto
un
pedazo
de
mar
centelle6
como
cuajado
de infinitos
pufiales
e
sol,
como
una
malla
de
oro
tr6mula
y
ondulante.
The
metaphor
nd simile
re seen
throughout
his
writings,
nd it
is
by
means of
these that
Gabriel
Mir6
is
able to
interrelate he various
sensory erceptions,
hich
re
such
an
impor-
tant
aspect
in
impressionistic
reation.
As
Chabis
says:
Cada artista tiene... mas
de
cincosentidos, orqueafiadeese sentido otal,
sutilisimo,
que
es el
sentido
suma de
los
otros. ..
Estas
cualidades de
los
sentidos
on
las
que
posee
Gabriel
Mir6
para
contemplar
l
paisaje....
Tan
agudos
como
61 de la
vista,
tiene
Mir6
los sentidosdel
gusto y
del tacto.
Muchas
veces 6stos
mismos
nos
dan
con su
revelaci6n
quellas
cualidades
del
paisaje que
s61o
podrian
percibirse
on la
mirada. Y
61
parece
que
las
siente
con
todo el
cuerpo,
omo
si
en su carnefuesen estilando u
sustancia. 2'
The
following assages
from
Las
cerezas
del
cementerio
re
examples
f this.
Las ramas de
los
cerezos,
nsangrentadas
e
fruta,
pasaban
doblindose sobre
a
frente
e
F6lix. '
Con-
templ6
F6lix
as cimas
y
se le
figur6 ue
bajaba
el
cielo,
dulce
y
pilido,
sobre u frente. s
que
vela
muy
cerca el
azul;
lo
veia
profundoy
blando;
creia
penetrarlo. '
t
is
my opinion
that this
hyper-perception,rising
from the
fusion f the observer
nd
the
object
observed,
and the
resulting
nterrelated
ensory mpres-
sions
are
the most
outstanding
elements f
impressionismn thewriting fMir6.
Thus
I
have tried to demonstrate hat
im-
pressionismriginated
n
realism
nd
naturalism
as a
purely econdary
movement;
hat
in
the
writing
f Edmond and
Jules
de
Goncourt
nd
Daudet this latent
forcebroke forth
nd ac-
quired
characteristics f
its
own;
and
finally
that
n
the
writing
f
Gabriel
Mir6,
t
reached
its
culmination nd became
a
literary
move-
ment
n
its
own
right.
BEVERLY
JEAN
Gibbs
University
f
Michigan
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IMPRESSIONISM AS
A LITERARY MOVEMENT
183
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The
Modern
Language
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and
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reviewing
hould be
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the
Managing
Editor,
Professor
Julio
del
Toro,
University
f
Michigan,
Ann
Arbor,
Michigan.
Prospective
advertisers n
The
Modern
Language
Journal
should
write
to the
Business
Manager,
Mr.
Stephen
L.
Pitcher,
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Louis 5
Missouri.
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