His motto during this time was “humanitas, libertas, felicitas” or “humanity, freedom, happiness.”Īt age forty-eight, Hadrian meets and falls in love with a fourteen-year-old Greek boy named Antinous. Hadrian also oversaw the construction of his eponymous wall, which served as a symbol of his commitment to peace. What follows is a so-called “Age of Gold” during which he institutes a number of reforms including the abolition of torture and forced labor, the development of a more bureaucratic system of government, and the promotion of a more multicultural society. Hadrian makes peace with Parthia and has his enemies executed. Trajan dies following a failed military campaign in Parthia and Hadrian replaces him as Emperor of Rome at the age of forty-one. The violence he witnesses during his military service sours Hadrian on Rome’s policy of military expansion, preferring a more diplomatic strategy. Hadrian also marries Trajan’s grandniece, Sabina. During this time, Hadrian impresses Trajan and secures his position as the emperor’s successor with the help of Trajan’s wife, Plotina. Then, as a young man, Hadrian becomes a soldier during the Dacian and Sarmatian campaigns under his cousin and guardian, Emperor Trajan. He also details the time he spent studying in Athens which originated his lifelong passion for Hellenistic culture. The son of a Roman official, he describes his early interest in astrology and the humanities. He describes his earliest memories as a child in Italica, a Roman city on the Iberian Peninsula. In the first chapter, Hadrian, now sixty years old and close to death, explains in a letter to Marcus Aurelius that he is writing his memoirs to make sense of the “shapeless mass” of his life. The book was incredibly well-received and years later, in 1981, Yourcenar would become the first woman to be inducted into the Académie Franêž”aise. Yourcenar first began writing Memoirs of Hadrian at age twenty-one but abandoned the novel before rediscovering and completing it two decades later. Hadrian reflects on his relationships, reign, and legacy as he approaches the end of his life. The novel is a work of historical fiction narrated in the first person by Roman Emperor Hadrian in the form of a letter to his successor and adopted grandson Marcus Aurelius (“Mark”). Yourcenar was also a literary critic and translator.Memoirs of Hadrian, published originally as Mémoires d’Hadrien in 1951, is the magnum opus of acclaimed French author Marguerite Yourcenar. Her works were translated by the American Grace Frick, Yourcenar’s secretary and life companion. Her masterpiece is Mémoires d'Hadrien, a historical novel constituting the fictionalized memoirs of that 2nd-century Roman emperor. ![]() In her most important books she re-creates past eras and personages, meditating thereby on human destiny, morality, and power. Yourcenar’s literary works are notable for their rigorously classical style, their erudition, and their psychological subtlety. The name “Yourcenar” is an imperfect anagram of her original name, “Crayencour.” ![]() Her masterpiece is Mémoires d'Hadrien, a historical novel constituting the fictionalized memoi Marguerite Yourcenar, original name Marguerite de Crayencour, was a french novelist, essayist, poet and short-story writer who became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française (French Academy), an exclusive literary institution with a membership limited to 40. ![]() The name “Yourcenar” is an imperfect anagram of her original name, “Crayencour.” Yourcenar’s literary works are notable for their rigorously classical style, their erudition, and their psychological subtlety. Marguerite Yourcenar, original name Marguerite de Crayencour, was a french novelist, essayist, poet and short-story writer who became the first woman to be elected to the Académie Française (French Academy), an exclusive literary institution with a membership limited to 40.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |