Palombe, ou la femme honorableto opublikowana w 1625 r. powieść Jean-Pierre Camusa, w której autor przedstawił model chrześcijanina światowca (mondain). Na przykładzie głównego bohatera, rozwiązłego hrabiego Fulgencia, Camus ukazuje, że nawet libertyn może stać się dobrym chrześcijaninem. Możliwość ta jest jednak dostępna dla osób dojrzałych psychicznie, które potrafią odróżnić występek od cnoty i świadomie z niego zrezygnować. Małżeństwo mondains nie powinno polegać na poszukiwaniu uciech i rozwiązłym trybie życia. Stanowi rodzaj kontraktu, wymagającego wyrzeczeń. Fulgencio nie jest do niego psychicznie przygotowany i dlatego cierpi, gdy po ślubie musi starać się być wierny żonie. Stanie się dobrym chrześcijaninem i mężem dopiero, gdy zrozumie, jakich wyrzeczeń wymaga jego eksponowana pozycja społeczna. Pozbywanie się libertyńskich nawyków to powolny proces, podobnie jak dojrzewanie do wypełniania obowiązków.

Between Vice and Virtue: The Mondain’s Difficult Path in Jean-Pierre Camus Palombe, ou la femme honorable

Abstract

Published in 1625, Palombe, ou la femme honorable, is a novel by Jean-Pierre Camus showing the model of a mondain, or worldly, Christian. With the example of count Fulgent, an immoral rake, who undergoes a spiritual transformation, Camus demonstrates that even a libertine courtesan can become a good Christian. However, such coexistence is possible only for those who have achieved spiritual maturity and who can distinguish vice from virtue, consciously renouncing immorality. Camus represents the marriage of mondains not as a source of pleasure or opportunity for a libertine lifestyle, but rather as a contract demanding certain commitments and renouncements. On entering marriage, Fulgent is not initially morally prepared for the social position and responsibilities that he must assume. He only becomes a good husband and Christian once he accepts the commitments of his social position, This is indeed how Camus defines virtue: as a conscious renouncement of licentiousness and a conscious acceptance of duties imposed by society. To turn back from the path of debauchery is a slow and difficult process, just as it is to learn to fulfil one’s moral duties.

Published in 1625, Palombe, ou la femme honorable, is a novel by Jean-Pierre Camus showing the model of a mondain, or worldly, Christian. With the example of count Fulgent, an immoral rake, who undergoes a spiritual transformation, Camus demonstrates that even a libertine courtesan can become a good Christian. However, such coexistence is possible only for those who have achieved spiritual maturity and who can distinguish vice from virtue, consciously renouncing immorality. Camus represents the marriage of mondains not as a source of pleasure or opportunity for a libertine lifestyle, but rather as a contract demanding certain commitments and renouncements. On entering marriage, Fulgent is not initially morally prepared for the social position and responsibilities that he must assume. He only becomes a good husband and Christian once he accepts the commitments of his social position, This is indeed how Camus defines virtue: as a conscious renouncement of licentiousness and a conscious acceptance of duties imposed by society. To turn back from the path of debauchery is a slow and difficult process, just as it is to learn to fulfil one’s moral duties.