The Poet and his Public in La maison fermÚe

Abstract

T he question of the poet's relationship with society is one that lies at the heart of Claudel's 5th Ode, la Maison fermee. From the beginning to the end of the Ode the poet strives to find his place, define his role and fulfill his responsibility vis-a.-vis his fellow human beings. For the poet, society can be divided into two major categories: on the one hand there are those who reject both God and God's faithful people (the drama-loving public, the rationalists, the pillagers), and on the other hand, there are the actual or potential members of the Church who center (or will center) their lives upon God (the living faithful, the saints and the souls in Purgatory). The poet's relationship with the former (enemy) group is combative; he persistently resists and distances himself from them because they refuse to accept his spiritual word and try to dissuade him from producing it. With respect to the latter (friendly) group the poet has a three-fold mission or responsibility which revolves around the creation of relationships through the communication of a spiritual word which emanates from his own intimate connection with God: first he tries to draw each believer (or potential believer) into a rapport with God that parallels his own; second, he strives to create the community of Church, that is, an affiliation between those individuals who are personally and collectively cultivating an affinity with God; and finally, he endeavors to establish an intimate tie between himself and these members of the Church to whom he ministers. The Ode traces a dramatic evolution from a relationship of confusion and alienation between the poet and an enemy public to one of harmonious and mutually supporting communion orchestrated by the poet between himself, God and all living and deceased members of the Church.! The Ode opens with the angry voices of the poet's former public who, in a tirade directed towards the poet, announce a complete breakdown in their relationship with him. The poet was once, they explain, one of them, and he offered them a word that responded to their needs and desires; but he has since changed his ways and thereby sorely disap-