Alfred Jarry: Liquidizing Paris and Debunking Verne
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ness, and in which demonstrable (if limited) powers of telekinesis are
linked to Sengle’s vision of the world as a boat with himself as the
helmsman (I, pp. 793-5). This is consistent enough with the more explicit exposition of pataphysics in Faustroll, and it is also worth noting the following reservations for later reference:
Et quant à sa vie pratique, il [Sengle] avait sûre confiance, ayant expérimenté
toujours, à moins que le principe de l’induction ne soit faux, mais alors les lois
physiques seraient donc toutes fausses aussi, qu’il n’avait qu’à s’en remettre au
bienveillant retour des Extérieurs […] (I, p. 794; my italics)
In both of the works cited above, “la pataphysique” is a more or less
incidental element in the text as a whole. In Faustroll it is brought into
the foreground and “explained” early in the novel, but is also a pervasive presence throughout; this latter aspect is not so widely recognized, which is understandable given the more than eclectic character
of the text. Thus the general definition of pataphysics is well known,
and is the essence of the physicalized manifestations of the science in
the section of the novel on which I shall concentrate: the pataphysical
voyage around Paris, in which the imaginary and the symbolic become “real”: “La pataphysique est la science des solutions imaginaires, qui accorde symboliquement aux linéaments les propriétés des
objets décrits par leur virtualité” (I, p. 669).
While Les Jours et les nuits is played out within the realistic
confines of Bohemian Paris, a provincial army barracks, and a military
hospital in the capital, the voyage of Dr. Faustroll presents a Paris
which, on first impression, appears entirely fantastical. Ostensibly, the
voyage remains almost entirely within the physical confines of Paris.
Given that pataphysics, as defined above, allows the imaginary to become real, these confines can include not only writers and artists, etc.,
but also intrusions of elements of their work into the world of the
pataphysician’s voyage, which starts in the conventionally real world,
where Faustroll is evicted from his home in the rue Richer. The pataphysical concepts of dimensions and existence are limited and defined
only by imagination, and are thus remarkably flexible. The voyage is
best known for its literary and artistic aspects, but also has conceptual
and methodological debts to physical science; both sides are used to
distort and redefine perceptions.
Dr. Faustroll and his two companions, the bailiff narrator
Panmuphle and Bosse-de-Nage, a monkey of few words (limited to
205
ness, and in which demonstrable (if limited) powers of telekinesis are
linked to Sengle’s vision of the world as a boat with himself as the
helmsman (I, pp. 793-5). This is consistent enough with the more explicit exposition of pataphysics in Faustroll, and it is also worth noting the following reservations for later reference:
Et quant à sa vie pratique, il [Sengle] avait sûre confiance, ayant expérimenté
toujours, à moins que le principe de l’induction ne soit faux, mais alors les lois
physiques seraient donc toutes fausses aussi, qu’il n’avait qu’à s’en remettre au
bienveillant retour des Extérieurs […] (I, p. 794; my italics)
In both of the works cited above, “la pataphysique” is a more or less
incidental element in the text as a whole. In Faustroll it is brought into
the foreground and “explained” early in the novel, but is also a pervasive presence throughout; this latter aspect is not so widely recognized, which is understandable given the more than eclectic character
of the text. Thus the general definition of pataphysics is well known,
and is the essence of the physicalized manifestations of the science in
the section of the novel on which I shall concentrate: the pataphysical
voyage around Paris, in which the imaginary and the symbolic become “real”: “La pataphysique est la science des solutions imaginaires, qui accorde symboliquement aux linéaments les propriétés des
objets décrits par leur virtualité” (I, p. 669).
While Les Jours et les nuits is played out within the realistic
confines of Bohemian Paris, a provincial army barracks, and a military
hospital in the capital, the voyage of Dr. Faustroll presents a Paris
which, on first impression, appears entirely fantastical. Ostensibly, the
voyage remains almost entirely within the physical confines of Paris.
Given that pataphysics, as defined above, allows the imaginary to become real, these confines can include not only writers and artists, etc.,
but also intrusions of elements of their work into the world of the
pataphysician’s voyage, which starts in the conventionally real world,
where Faustroll is evicted from his home in the rue Richer. The pataphysical concepts of dimensions and existence are limited and defined
only by imagination, and are thus remarkably flexible. The voyage is
best known for its literary and artistic aspects, but also has conceptual
and methodological debts to physical science; both sides are used to
distort and redefine perceptions.
Dr. Faustroll and his two companions, the bailiff narrator
Panmuphle and Bosse-de-Nage, a monkey of few words (limited to