Clarimonde and Other Stories by Théophile Gautier

It is quite long, but I will publish it in three parts, with images in the appropriate breaks. For those of you who have never read this story, you are in for a treat! It’s neo-Gothic setting and the way the protagonist moves in and out of an opulent, magnificent parallel dimension to be with his mysterious lover, the famous courtesan, Clarimonde, puts this story under the age- old spell of Gothic Faery Tales. Rather, it is Gautier’s obituary for his friend, the tragic and gifted poet, Gerard de Nerval.Clarimonde is one of my all time favorite vampire stories. The Poet is not truly a fictitious story.

That night, he finds himself transported back to Ancient Pompei in order that he can spend one night with his beloved. While visiting Pompei, he is enchanted with the imprinted form of a beautiful female body which has been cast in the volcanic rock. The Tourist is about a young man travelling through Italy with friends. His performance is a great success, much to the chagrin of the real devil, who turns up to teach him a lesson or two. The Actor tells the story of an aspiring young thespian who is delighted to receive the role of Satan in a new play. The Opium Smoker is a surreal account of a man’s exotic dreams, full of beautiful, doomed girls and exotic colours, under the influence of the drug. Gautier leaves it unclear whether he is right, or whether he is simply losing his mind. The Painter concerns a young, eccentric artist, who slowly becomes convinced that he is being haunted by the devil. The element of Decadence lies in Gautier’s clear sympathy with the beautiful vampire, rather than the merciless and cruel elder priest. It is only when his mentor, an older priest, learns of Clarimonde, and banishes her spirit, that the duplicity ends, leaving the young priest heartbroken and desolate. He begins to lead a double life – holy man by day, aristocratic lover by night. But his despair soon turns to fear, and then to delight, when his lover returns to him in vampiric form. He is saddened to learn, some months later, that Clarimonde, the object of his affections, is dead.

He is thrown into a spiritual crisis, but proceeds into the priesthood nonetheless. It tells the story of a young man who, on the eve of his ordination, sees and falls in love with a mysterious young woman. The Priest, elsewhere known as ‘Clarimonde’ is perhaps the best known of Gautier’s shorter fiction. He is more than a little astonished when his attentions are returned, and the woman pays a nocturnal visit to him. The Adolescent tells the tale of a young man who, while staying in the house of his uncle, becomes enchanted with a lady depicted in the tapestry hanging in his room.

Clarimonde and Other Stories by Théophile Gautier