MADAME CHRYSANTHEME is divided into four books and 55 chapters.
Book One: The book starts with two men talking aboard a ship on their way to Japan: one, an officer in

the French Navy on the way to Nagasaki, Japan, with the

idea of getting a wife through an arranged marriage; the other, an already married officer in the Navy. The narrator tells

his traveling companion Yves that he wants a "little" wife, not

much bigger than a "doll" and pretty with dark hair and cat's

eyes. The main character later elects to marry an older girl, more for her

demeanor than her doll-like being, instead of the youngster

chosen for him by the marriage-broker, M. Kangourou, who also

arranges his household affairs. After the

marriage, the narrator isn't very happy with his wife and he

remembers other more charming companions he was with in

other countries. On the day of celebrating French

Independence, however, he finds reason to approve of her.

Madame Chrysantheme is an expert markswoman with bow

and arrow and she shows her skill in archery.
Book Two:
The foreigners have been taking on these oriental women as

wives only on a temporary basis, like playthings, as long as their stay as

Navy officers dictated it. "As a matter of course, we are on

visiting terms with all these ladies." From here on, the

narrator begins to see his wife as being more

human-like than the other doll-wives. Still, after elaborating on

the Japanese way of life, to which he's getting accustomed,

he tells of his amusement over the friendship among

Chrysantheme and Yves. In the beginning, the narrator

shrugs off Yves's interest in Chrysantheme. Later though, he

suspects him being in love with her. When he feels that

Yves's interest is reciprocated, he cares only about losing

his best friend. He doesn't care at all for Madame

Chrysanthemum. When he goes to his ship 'Triomphante' to

take care of its repairs, he's relieved to be without her for a few days.

Book Three:
After an outing when Yves stays over as a guest at his

house and is besieged by mosquitoes, the narrator and

Chrysantheme invite him to their bed to take cover under the

mosquito netting. The narrator puts Chrysantheme's pillow

next to Yves, but Chrysantheme removes it to exchange with

that of the narrator for propriety's sake. So the days pass by for the narrator between being on duty at the ship and his carefree Japanese life with friends and outings.

Book Four:
The narrator decides to face Yves about his relationship to Chrysantheme, just before a rumor of their ship's departure surfaces. One evening, the narrator tells Yves that probably Yves will miss Chrysantheme more than he would and he offers: "You know, after all, if you have such a fancy for her, I haven't really
married her; one can't really consider her my wife."
Yves answers him assuredly, "But she is your wife." The narrator believes in Yves's word and decides never to mention the subject again. Suddenly an order comes for the ship to start for China, to a place in the Gulf of Peking. Just before the ship leaves, the narrator recognizes how much he has become "Japanized," but he's not sad for leaving Chrysantheme but rather upset with himself for not recognizing the romantic feelings of his much older landlady, Madame Prune. When the narrator returns to bid one last goodbye to Chrysantheme, he finds her enjoying herself and counting the silver dollars he left her according to their agreement, without any feeling for his departure.

reading it as a travelogue-novel written by a colonialist in the nineteenth century to show the Japanese way of life then, also as a testament to colonialism's abuse of the Orient and the callous regard of the West of other cultures.

the direct style, the wonderful vocabulary, and the detailed descriptions of nineteenth century life in Japan.

The condescending tone of the main

character. "it seems to me that my betrothal is a joke,
and my new family a set of puppets." "They are so laughing,

and so merry, all these little Nipponese dolls!" "Moreover, it is

a hundred to one that she has no thoughts whatever. And

even if she had, what do I care? I have chosen her to amuse

me..." etc. Having read excerps from Pierre Loti's other travel books and novels,

I had a very high opinion of this author until I started reading this

book. Had this book been written in this day and age, it would

attract the wrath of quite a few women's groups. Maybe that this

book is written by a man born in 1850, whose origin is from a

colonialist country, can explain why it rubbed against my

gender sensitivities. The writer also talks of the "little men

and little women" of Japan and this may irritate some people as being

racist, but Loti himself was of small

built. While in the French Navy, he was nicknamed as Loti

meaning tiny and that's how this name became his pen name. Perhaps, the writer was identifying with the Japanese.

entertained some but also a bit shocked because I had thought of Pierre Loti as the most open-minded Frenchman of his time who was accepting of other cultures. In this book, the narrator definitely looks down upon the Japanese and some of his phrases and expressions are downright disturbing, to say the least. Still, given the values of the nineteenth century, this book can be considered enlightening.

Julián Viaud, more commonly known by his pen name PIERRE LOTI lived between 1850 - 1923. He was a
writer and a French naval officer, born in Rochefort, W

France. He entered the navy in 1869, and served in the East,

retiring as captain in 1910. He wrote many books based on his travels. His first novel, Aziyadé (1879),

gained the respect of critics and the reading public. He

continued to write throughout his naval career, using

experiences and observations on his voyages as source

material for his books. His best-known novel is Pêcheur

d'Islande (1886, Fisherman of Iceland), a descriptive study of

Breton fisher life in Icelandic waters. Other works include

Rarahu, published in 1882 as Le Mariage de Loti (The

Marriage of Loti) Siam, A Tale of the Pyranees, The

Desert/Le Desert, Jerusalem, Aziyade, tahiti, Morocco, India,

Japan and Corea, The Sahara, Japan: Madame

Chrysanthemum, Egypt, Tale of Brittany (Mon Frere Yves),

Hacia Isfahan (Towards Isfahan), Pilgrimage to Angkor.

It has historical significance and amazingly detailed descriptions of rituals, settings, and people. The characters are not complex and the plot is next to nothing but the setting makes the book. Also the writer's style and expression gives the book a dreamlike quality that juggles the imagination.

This book was very impressive on other writers, musicians, and artists of its day. Puccini based his Madame Butterfly on Madame Chrysantheme and Van Gogh, upon reading this book, went through a Japanese print period in his artistic development.

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Created Dec 27, 2003 at 1:23am • Submit your own review...