I've recently watched the two series of adaptations from Georges Simenon's Maigret stories; released in 1992-3 by the British ITV company Granada; and starring Michael Gambon as the eponymous detective.
I found these extremely enjoyable. They are excellently constructed TV plays, with good teams of actors; and Maigret as depicted by Gambon was a very decent, likeable, and impressive detective - which is (for me) a vital aspect in the enjoyment of any such series.
The setting of 1950s Paris was strikingly convincing (although it wasn't actually Paris!); and (being made more than thirty years ago - unlike these woke-preachy times!) the characters also fit their appropriate time-and-place in terms of motives and behaviour; so that I got the feeling of being transported to another world.
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Somewhat aside; I found it interesting that Simenon was able convincingly to create such a basically good man as Maigret - given that he was not himself such a person: at least not overall.
(...This negative evaluation of Simenon is from what I have gathered, and indeed it seems to be a general belief - I leave it to readers to explore this issue for themselves. By contrast; the goodness of Miss Marple is easily understood as exemplifying Agatha Christie's fine personality*.)
How is it that a mostly-bad man (as I think Simenon was) can write an essentially-good man like Maigret?
One answer is presumably that Simenon was, like everyone, a mixture of good and bad motivations; and he wrote Maigret from that which was good in himself - from the better part of himself.
Another aspect is that Maigret mysteries are light literature, in a minor genre - and do not attempt to tackle the greatest or deepest matters such as the conflict of spiritual good and evil, or the nature and implications of death.
It would - I think - be impossible for Simenon to write great literature. To attain greatness an author must draw upon his deepest nature, and for his vision of reality to be essentially good, would entail that he himself was personally committed to goodness.
In other words: the work cannot be greater than the man.
(The greatness of The Lord of the Rings is necessarily a product of Tolkien's greatness as a man; etc.)
But a man who was fundamentally petty, greedy, dishonest, unprincipled, selfish or the like - and one who was affiliated to such values - cannot produce genuinely great work - try as he might.
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Note: Of course, an author or other creative artist may be good when producing a masterpiece of greatness; yet may change, may become corrupted, later - and I suggest he would then become incapable of greatness.
Something of this kind has, I think, been the case for JK Rowling - whose Harry Potter series I regard as great (although at a lower level than Lord of the Rings).
The Potter books (especially "Deathly Hallows") were written when she was committed to Christian metaphysics and values.
But Rowling later rejected her former ultimately spiritual perspective; instead embracing and advocating this-worldly secular leftist values. Her post-Potter work is consequently (it seems to me) at a very much lower level.
*This difference between Simenon and Christie - deriving from their authors - could be encapsulated by saying that Maigret is a good policeman; while Miss Marple is a good person.
personally i consider The Man who Watched the Trains go By a great work of serious literature. definitely a very different kind of work from Tolkien of course, but great nonetheless. it is so much more realistically haunting than, say, Camus' Stranger, in my opinion. and while most people in the book are not good in the least, i think there is a moral center in the book, even though it is not embodied in any of the characters, and that's part of why it's haunting and disturbing.
ReplyDelete@Laeth - I've only read one collection of Maigret stories (less than 1% of Simenon's output, I suppose) and have never heard of the novel you mention. But from what you say, it's not the kind of book I would Want to read! I can only find greatness in books I actually want to read, which nowadays is not many novels.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased to see a mention of Inspector Maigret. As someone preparing for proficiency and certification exams in French those stories have been not only a good choice for exposure to French life and vocabulary but also an unexpected delight; and this for someone who does not actually go for detective stories generally.
ReplyDeleteOne was struck of course by the goodness of the character; and also by the casually humane way that the plot of the stories was interwoven with everyday life and its emotions and concerns. The portrayal of Maigret and his wife, and of the conversations about cases while having a pint, has stuck with me. I'm glad those novels were among the ones available to me, since I have a pretty small selection of novels in the languages I need offline in libraries; and the rest have to be purchased or found in ebook form.
May I ask for some more detail about Simenon himself morally speaking? I'm just curious because that aspect of him -- or indeed any other aspect other than his writing excellent 'romans de gare' (pop fiction, something you'd take along on the train) -- has not really obtruded on my notice. And I do prick up my ears when such things are mentioned, moral contextualization being a useful thing around the house.
We Divine Humanists / New Christians / Swedenborgians are very focused on the inside of the cup and platter needing to be clean, not just the outside. So we are perpetually hammered by the reminder that an evil person may speak well and do well; with rotten motivations or unbelief concealed within the outward show of righteousness and wholesomeness. I never used to evaluate the writers and artists from a moral point of view, of course, but it has become indispensable to one navigating the treacherous present while attempting to practice one's faith.
@TA - "May I ask for some more detail about Simenon himself morally speaking?" Do an internet search - that's all I know. I'm just speaking for myself here - not trying to make a definitive statement.
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