Frédéric Rimbaud
Frédéric Rimbaud, born 7 October 1814 in Dole, and died 16 November 1878 in Dijon, was a French infantry officer.[1] He served in the conquest of Algeria, the Crimean War and the Sardinian Campaign.[2] He is best known as the father of the poet, Arthur Rimbaud.
Rimbaud, a Burgundian of Provençal extraction, was a captain in the 47th Regiment of Infantry; he had risen from the ranks, and he had spent much of his service outside of France.[3] From 1844-1850, he participated in the conquest of Algeria and in 1854 was awarded the Légion d'honneur[3] "by Imperial decree".[4] Captain Rimbaud was described as "good-tempered, easy-going and generous".[5] He had literary ambitions, had written guides for Arabic learners[6] and had translated the Quran into French[3] (Rimbaud later used his father's material for his own Arabic studies.)[7] In October 1852, Rimbaud, then 38, was transferred to Mézières when he met his future wife then 27, Marie Catherine Vitalie Cuif (10 March 1825-16 November 1907), while on a Sunday stroll.[8] On 8 February 1853, they married. They had five children:
- Nicolas Frédéric ("Frédéric"), born 2 November 1853[9]
- Jean Nicolas Arthur ("Arthur"), born 20 October 1854[9]
- Victorine-Pauline-Vitalie, born 4 June 1857 (she died a few weeks later)[10]
- Jeanne-Rosalie-Vitalie ("Vitalie"), born 15 June 1858[10]
- Frédérique Marie Isabelle ("Isabelle"), born 1 June 1860.[10]
Though the marriage lasted seven years, Rimbaud lived continuously in the matrimonial home for less than three months, from February to May 1853.[11] The rest of the time his military postings – including service in the Crimean War and the Sardinian Campaign (and earning medals for both)[12] - meant he returned home to Charleville only when on leave.[11] He was not at home for his children's births, nor their baptisms.[11] After Isabelle's birth in 1860, Rimbaud never returned to the family home.[13] After their separation, Mme Rimbaud called herself "Widow Rimbaud".[13] Rimbaud left the army in 1864 and retired to Dijon, where he died 14 years later.[14]
Notes and references
- Notes
- ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 11 & 35.
- ↑ Starkie 1973, pp. 25-26; Lefrère 2001, p. 31.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Starkie 1973, pp. 25-26.
- ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-28.
- ↑ Starkie 1973, p. 31.
- ↑ Lefrère 2001, p. 14.
- ↑ Robb 2000, p. 346.
- ↑ Lefrère 2001, pp. 16-18 & 1193.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-28; Starkie 1973, p. 30.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Lefrère 2001, pp. 31-32; Starkie 1973, p. 30.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Lefrère 2001, pp. 27-29.
- ↑ Lefrère 2001, p. 31.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Robb 2000, p. 12.
- ↑ Lefrère, pp. 33-35.
- Bibliography
- Delahaye, Ernest (1974) [1919], Delahaye, témoin de Rimbaud (in French), Geneva: La Baconnière, ISBN 978-2825200711
- Godchot, Colonel [Simon] (1936), Arthur Rimbaud ne varietur I: 1854-1871 (in French), Nice: Chez l'auteur
- Godchot, Colonel [Simon] (1937), Arthur Rimbaud ne varietur II: 1871-1873 (in French), Nice: Chez l'auteur
- Ivry, Benjamin (1998), Arthur Rimbaud, Bath, Somerset: Absolute Press, ISBN 1-899791-55-8
- Jeancolas, Claude (1998), Passion Rimbaud: L'Album d'une vie (in French), Paris: Textuel, ISBN 978-2-909317-66-3
- Lefrère, Jean-Jacques (2001), Arthur Rimbaud (in French), Paris: Fayard, ISBN 978-2-213-60691-0
- Lefrère, Jean-Jacques (2007), Correspondance de Rimbaud (in French), Paris: Fayard, ISBN 978-2-213-63391-6
- Nicholl, Charles (1999), Somebody Else: Arthur Rimbaud in Africa 1880–91, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ISBN 0-226-58029-6
- Rickword, Edgell (1971) [1924], Rimbaud: The Boy and the Poet, New York: Haskell House Publishers, ISBN 0-8383-1309-4
- Robb, Graham (2000), Rimbaud, New York: W.W. Norton & Co, ISBN 978-0330482820
- Starkie, Enid (1973), Arthur Rimbaud, London: Faber and Faber, ISBN 0-571-10440-1
- White, Edmund (2008), Rimbaud: The Double Life of a Rebel, London: Grove, ISBN 978-1-84354-971-0
External links
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