The Provincial Life

We are now extremely fortunate to be spending two weeks in the center of France - the wonderful region of the Loire Valley. Paris was magnifique, of course, but it is lovely to be away from the hustle and bustle and from the unique smells and dirt of the métro!

I am attending a two week program on the literature and culture of the region at the Université François Rabelais in the city of Tours. Yesterday, we began our study with one of the greats of French literature - Honoré de Balzac - 19th century author known for his "comédie humaine" and his novels of "manners". Balzac was born in Tours, so this is particularly poignant as he evokes much about this area in his novels even though he lived most of his life in Paris.

Today's excursion to the château where Balzac would regularly visit friends when he was back in Tours was one of the most refreshing and inspiring outings I have had in a long time. Just being here, surrounded by the nicest, clearest French in the country (this area is known for having the most "refined" language, without a disparaging or distinct accent which can be found in the south or north) was inspiring enough, but to walk through the rooms and see the chair, desk and handwritten manuscripts where Balzac began or finished so many of his masterpieces was quite surreal for me. After a wonderful guided tour of the château and the accompanying museum, we walked along the grounds and continued our study of the novel Le Lys dans la Vallée in the garden, reading passages aloud. Now, I don't think it gets more authentic than that! Not only was I inspired as a teacher with all of the realia around me and how I was going to incorporate this into my forthcoming literature class, but I was reinvigorated as a student of literature, as an academic, a writer, a reader, a creative person - these interior elements which often lie dormant behind the more pressing committments and priorities of everyday life and work. I feel a bit indulgent and maybe even selfish, but at the same time, I want the feeling to continue, it is exhilirating in many ways.

As you can see in the photos, there are six of us in the group: 3 of us are from the USA (I will include myself in this group, although I have readily identified myself as Canadian through my passport and my university ID card which has my nationality stamped front and center), 1 from Poland, 1 from Albania and 1 from France. We are all females, this will prove interesting when we begin studying George Sand (nom de plume of a well known female 19th century author who wrote of the hidden feelings, desires and plight of women of her époque) with a lone male professor! The Madame Bovary comparisons are already foreshadowed...