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June 15, 2003
IN BRIEF
Thais
By Anatole France
Translated into Urdu by Inayatullah Dehlavi
Fiction House, 18-Mozang Road, Lahore. Tel:
042-7249218. 208pp. Rs130
Anatole Francois (1844-1924) who is known better by his pseudonym Anatole France is a major figure in French literature of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known for his literary criticism and psychological novels. Ideological skepticism was a constant in his early works. France went through considerable turmoil throughout his life. His sixteen-year marriage ended in divorce in 1893 due to his liaison with Madame Arman de Caillavet, a patron of art and the great love of his life. The period inspired his best remembered novel Thais (1890), a Christian fantasy about beauty and wisdom.
The story of Thais is set in Egypt in times when the Roman Empire had given up in despair its suppression of Christianity. During this time, a courtesan who had become a monk comes out of seclusion to reform Thais, a beautiful and popular dancer of Alexandria, who succumbs to his persuasions by entering a nunnery after burning all her ‘sinful’ belongings.
Lucid in expression, beautiful in words and satirical at times, the story recalls and captures through a dialogue among its different characters, the pagan and religious mind and outlook on God, love, wisdom and beauty in the socio-cultural milieu of ancient Rome. The pen pictures of various settings, events and characters are very absorbing. The novel is also reflective of the commonality in various matters of faith, outlook and approach in all the monotheistic religions.
According to noted critics of French literature, France’s works are considered remarkable for their wide ranging erudition, wit and irony and their passion for social justice and classical clarity — qualities that make France, an heir to the tradition of Denis Diderot and Voltaire. Thais in Urdu translation has not lost its flare in any way. The novel is indeed worth reading. — Ahmed Razi Siddiqui
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