Rabelais

1) His Biography:

There is no solid proof of François Rabelais’ birthplace or date of birth. While some academics date his birth to 1483, he was most likely born in November 1494 at Chinon, Touraine, where his father worked as a lawyer. A Rabelais Museum is located on the estate of La Devinière in Seuilly, in the modern-day Indre-et-Loire, which is said to be the writer’s birthplace.

Rabelais studied Greek and Latin, as well as physics, philology, and law, as a Franciscan novice and then a friar at Fontenay-le-Comte in Poitou, where he was already well-known and regarded by humanists of the day, notably Guillaume Budé (1467–1540). Rabelais was harassed by his professors and frustrated by the Franciscan order’s ban on studying Greek (due to Erasmus’ commentary on the Greek version of the Gospel of Saint Luke), so he petitioned Pope Clement VII (in office 1523–1534) for permission to leave the Franciscans and enter the Benedictine order at Maillezais in Poitou, where he was more warmly received.

Pantagruel King of the Dipsodes, the first in his Gargantua series, was published in 1532 under the alias Alcofribas Nasier. The legendary tale of les Grandes chroniques du grand et énorme géant Gargantua, which were distributed as popular literature at the period in the form of cheap booklets by colporteurs and at Lyon fairs, inspired Rabelais to base an allegory on the lives of giants. Pantagruelisme is a philosophy of “eat, drink, and be merry,” which caused his works to fall out of favor with the church while also bringing them great acclaim and the appreciation of subsequent critics for their emphasis on the body.

The earliest recorded appearance in French of the terms encyclopédie, caballe, progrès, and utopie, among others, can be found in this first work, which is critical of the current monastic and educational system. Despite its popularity, both the book and the precursor book (1534) about Pantagruel’s father Gargantua’s life and deeds were condemned by the “Sorbonne” in 1543 and the Roman Catholic Church in 1545. In 1534 and 1539, Rabelais taught medicine in Montpellier. Rabelais delivered an anatomy lecture using the body of a hanged man at Lyon’s Hôtel-Dieu in 1537; Etienne Dolet, with whom Rabelais was close at the time, wrote about these anatomical sessions in his Carmina.

Rabelais visited Rome regularly with his friend and patient Cardinal Jean du Bellay, and stayed briefly in Turin (1540–) as part of du Bellay’s brother Guillaume’s household. Rabelais also went into hiding for a while, fearful of being accused of heresy depending on the health of his different guardians. After the Sorbonne condemned Rabelais’ work, only the protection of du Bellay saved him. Rabelais was appointed Master of Requests in June 1543.

François Rabelais stayed in Metz, then a free imperial city and a republic, between 1545 and 1547 to avoid being condemned by the University of Paris. He was appointed curate of Saint- Christophe-du-Jambet in Maine and Meudon, near Paris, in 1547. Rabelais had secured permission from King Francis I to continue publishing his collection, thanks to the help of members of the famous du Bellay family. The academic élite frowned on Rabelais following the king’s death in 1547, and the French Parliament banned the sale of his fourth book (Le Quart Livre), which was released in 1552. In January 1553, Rabelais resigned from the curacy and died in Paris later that year.

2) His Main Works:

Gargantua and Pantagruel:

The story of Gargantua and Pantagruel describes the exploits of the two characters. The stories are daring and intelligent, celebratory and revolting, universal, and hardly ever for an extended period of time, solemn. According to the order of the novels, Pantagruel came first. The Gargantua and King of the Dipsodes that are referenced in the Prologue don’t refer to Rabelais’ own writings, but rather to children’s books that were available for purchase at the Lyon fairs in the early 1530s.

A few rather serious passages have become famous for conveying the humanistic values of the time, despite the fact that the majority of the chapters are hilarious, wildly fantastic, and usually ludicrous. A particularly thorough view of schooling is presented in the chapters about Gargantua’s boyhood and his fatherly letter to Pantagruel.

Theleme:

The Abbey of Theleme, which the gigantic Gargantua constructed, is described by M. Alcofribas in the second book, Gargantua. The abbey is open to both monks and nuns and deviates significantly from the monastic standard in that it contains a swimming pool, cleaning service, and no clocks in sight. Only attractive people are allowed inside. Who is not welcome is initially stated in the inscription on the abbey’s gate: hypocrites, bigots, the polio-infected, Goths, Magoths, straw-chewing law clerks, usurious grinches, elderly or stern judges, and those who burn heretics.

The Third Book:

Rabelais continues in the guise of a dialogue where Pantagruel left off in The Third Book of Pantagruel. After discussing Pantaurgruel’s wastefulness, Panurge decides to take care of his debts. Panurge, who is debt-free, decides he wants to be married and seeks advice. Panurge is presented with a wide range of advice and prognostications, which he consistently rejects, until he decides to consult the Divine Bottle. There are preparations made for a trip there.

The Fourth Book:

Rabelais continues Pantagruel’s story in The Fourth Book of Pantagruel where The Third Book left off, with Pantagruel and his company setting sail on their journey to the Divine Bottle, Bacbuc (which is the Hebrew word for “bottle”) They continue sailing, passing interesting locations or making landings there, until they run into a storm, which they endure until they can make another landing. They slay a sea monster after getting back to the water and drag it to land, where they are attacked by chitterlings. A flying pig-monster interrupts the fierce gastronomic conflict, which is then peacefully resolved. Once more, they continue their journey, passing by or landing at interesting locations, till the novel concludes with a salute from the ships and Panurge wetting himself.

The Fifth Book:

The Fifth Book of Pantagruel, which details the rest of Pantagruel and his companions’ travels, was released posthumously about 1564. The business discovers birds on Ringing Island that are arranged in a similar hierarchy to the Catholic Church. On Tool Island, the inhabitants are so obese that they have cut slits in their skin to let the fat bulge out. They are held captive by Furred Law-Cats on the next island, and the only way to free themselves is by solving a riddle. They uncover a group of attorneys nearby who live off protracted legal battles. They incomprehensibly see a living-figure chess match with the prolix and miracle-working Queen Quintessence in the Queendom of Whims.

They arrive in the realms of darkness after passing the elephants and monstrous rumours of Satin Island, as well as the abbey of the sexually active Semiquavers. They descend far below the surface to the oracle of Bacbuc under the direction of a guide from Lanternland. They arrive at the sacred bottle itself after spending a lot of time admiring the architecture and attending numerous religious rituals. It only says the word “trinc.” Panurge comes to the conclusion that wine motivates him to take the appropriate course of action after consuming liquid text from a book of interpretation, and he immediately swears to be married as soon as possible.

3) Main Themes in his Writings:

Satire:

The five-volume narrative of Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais satirizes many facets of Renaissance society, but among all the subjects satirized, Rabelais concentrates on the classes, particularly monarchy and the upper classes. Within the narrative, the primary royal heroes, Gargantua and his son Pantagruel, are true giants. Gargantua and his parents are characterized at first as gluttons who eat inexhaustibly and spend unfathomable sums on clothes, housing, and other stuff.

Although the upper classes are born into privilege, Rabelais emphasizes that being born into privilege does not guarantee intelligence or good manners, which is why Gargantua is depicted as an ignorant, disgusting, and uncouth whelp who must work hard to acquire good manners, discipline, and education. Pantagruel is reared with superior manners, but Rabelais satirizes him to highlight how people of the higher classes often connect themselves with undeserving followers. Panurge, Pantagruel’s dearest friend, is a genuinely terrible guy, yet Pantagruel encourages him and rewards him with property and titles.

Humour:

Despite the fact that Rabelais’ tales have been published for 500 years, the comedy is still widespread, even if it is of a lowbrow type. The sheer size of the major characters is one of the key aspects of comedy. They can nearly devour people by mistake, urinate torrents that drown people, and fart with such power that they produce life. These stories, like other Renaissance stories, include several sexual innuendos, particularly jokes that make negative remarks about female body parts, which result in a nasty style of comedy. Because innuendos play on words or sounds that were historically connected with sexual slang phrases but are no longer in use, many of the sexual innuendos are sometimes missed on current audiences.

Pranks, especially those perpetrated by Panurge on his unsuspecting victims, are another source of amusement. Many jokes are made about Friar John in particular, or about monks in general. To Renaissance audiences, these digs at the clergy made sense since, inside the Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy, monks and friars were generally seen as vulgar and aggressive characters because they had the legal right to beg for money and food in public.

Marriage and Cuckoldry:

The third through fifth books are on marriage and if it leads to cuckoldry. Panurge takes a more sexist approach to these issues, claiming that women inevitably succumb to temptation, citing Eve’s sin as the catalyst for the Fall. Although Panurge and several other characters advocate for criticizing and humiliating women, Panurge also says that he is afraid of being cuckolded as a kind of karmic punishment since he has slept with numerous married women and turned their husbands into cuckolds.

Fear of cuckoldry also reflects men’s dissatisfaction with their inability to govern women’s bodies, since cuckoldry is a problem because it might result in illegitimate offspring. Blaming women for cuckoldry also indicates a shift in women’s perceptions, indicating that they are no longer only objects, but also have the capacity to make choices, which may or may not coincide with patriarchal views.

Rabelais presents varied ideas on marriage in the Renaissance via his discussion on cuckoldry. On the religious side of the debate, being married was required to enter heaven. Furthermore, a guy who marries a virtuous woman will never have to worry about her being disloyal to him. Panurge cannot embrace the concept of a good woman since he is a gloomy guy who lacks faith and does not trust women.

Pantagruel acknowledges that there is always the option of marrying or being a bachelor, but he does not advocate for either, thereby promoting the humanist stance of selecting one’s own destiny. Gargantua, who represents the elder generation, promotes the concept of planned weddings, which were still common at the period, but it was also a time when individuals began to marry for love rather than riches or political ties.

Classism:

Not only is there classism in the books’ characters, but Rabelais’ method to his five-volume tale generates a classist impact that assumes a certain sort of reader. The characters’ classism is not unusual in Renaissance literature, with the more aristocratic characters belonging to the higher classes. Each of the groups is exaggerated as satire, particularly the worst features of each social or occupational class.

Many classes are portrayed in the novel since it is set in both a feudal mediaeval context and a Renaissance educational one, representing the shifts in class structure that happened throughout the Renaissance. However, there is an idealized class depiction that suggests Gargantua and Pantagruel, as rulers and princes of their own nations, would openly mix with people from lower social classes.

There is also the possibility that people who are not born into a certain social class but are well educated might ascend beyond it, which reflects the changes in social structure throughout this time period. The way Rabelais constructs the narrative and narrates it reveals his classism. He employs a great deal of Latin idioms and legal jargon. Only audiences that have been trained in these types of speech would comprehend his humour, whether it is hilarious or not. He also draws allusions and symbolic similarities to ancient legendary legends.

Some of these tales were well-known throughout the Renaissance, since they became famous sayings or were depicted in popular plays. Rabelais’ use of these allusions, on the other hand, suggests that he expects his audience to be well-versed in ancient literature. As a result of Rabelais’s classism and elitism, his writings are promoted as only acceptable for the educated classes. It’s hardly surprise, therefore, that Rabelais utilizes education to civilize Gargantua and better Pantagruel’s, which were still common at the time, but this was also the period when individuals began to marry for love rather than riches or political ties.

Absence of Women:

Women are conspicuously absent throughout the whole five-volume collection. Only a few of female characters are given names. Once the specified girls have completed their plot-related duties, they vanish. Gargantua’s mother, Gargamelle, gives birth to him in the most gruesome manner possible, manages to live, and then disappears until Gargantua comes home. Badebec, Pantagruel’s mother, dies in delivery.

Gargantua is very saddened by his wife’s death, but he chooses to concentrate on his kid and intends to find him a new mother. When Entelechy, the Queen of Whims, is no longer required in the narrative, she unexpectedly vanishes from Pantagruel and his friends. The priestess Bacbuc, one of the few women in the narrative who has a little more prominent role, is a female who has no contact with the outer world and instead remains underground, symbolically in the womb of the earth, imparting heavenly direction to weary travellers.

The novel’s lack of female characters portrays a strongly masculinized environment, which may explain why there is more conflict and brutal bloodshed in the story. This viewpoint also highlights how, throughout the Renaissance, women were often barred from particular settings. These locations included, but were not limited to, educational institutions, sailing ships, and battlegrounds. Within these tales, the areas defined as effeminate or for women seem to be limited to those related with childbirth, child raising, nunneries, brothels, or secretive religious settings.

There are places where Queens rule instead of Kings, but these are usually remote islands far from the Western world, and they are mostly fictitious, which emphasizes the theme of pushing women away and only calling on them when they are absolutely necessary for their physical functionality (childbirth or sex), or for including the foreign presence of Otherness (e.g. monarchies in foreign lands or divine oracles).

4) His Legacy:

François Rabelais was a French Renaissance author, physician, humanist, monk, and Greek scholar who lived from between 1483 and 1494 to 9 April 1553. His writing style has traditionally been characterised as fantasy, satire, the bizarre, bawdy jokes, and songs. Gargantua and Pantagruel are two of his best-known works.

Western literary scholars regard him as one of the greatest authors of world literature and among the founders of modern European writing due to his literary prowess and historical significance. His literary legacy is so significant that the term “Rabelaisian” has been established today to describe something that was influenced by his writing and life. The definition of the term given by Merriam-Webster is “marked by gross robust humour, extravagance of caricature, or bold naturalism