Beachcomber Magazine 04

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre’s novel chimed with the bourgeoisie who saw it as an expression of Rousseau’s values extolling the virtues of a life surrounded by nature above the corruption of civilisation. The novel embodied the ideology of the Enlightenment andwas latermentioned in works by writers such as Lamartine, Flaubert, Maupassant and Balzac. Over the centuries, it also inspired a rich iconography of paintings and various objects from clocks to wallpaper, crockery and tapestries. A TOMB FOR FICTIONAL CHARACTERS In Mauritius, Paul and Virginie are very much part of the country’s history despite the fact that there was no one called Virginie on board the Saint-Géran and Bernardin de Saint- Pierre completely invented the story of impossible love. In Poudre d’Or, there is a seafood restaurant called Paul et Virginie as well as a Paul et Virginie Street leading to a beach of the same name. There, looking out to sea, is a gravestone erected in 1944 by the Historical Society of Mauritius, which reads: “Off this coast on the night of the 17 to 18 August 1744 the Saint-Géran perished, a shipwreck that was immortalised by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in his novel Paul and Virginie .” It doesn’t seem to matter that the shipwreck actually happened in December… A short distance from the shore, 6metres down, lies the wreck of the Saint-Géran , discovered by divers in 1964. A number of objects found on the ship, including the wrought iron bell that announced to passengers that the ship was sinking, are displayed in the Naval Museum in Mahébourg. Next to the church in Pamplemousses, where Bernardin de Saint-Pierre buried his young hero and heroine, there is a statue of the lovers on what is said to be their grave. It is a strange place indeed, you might say, that raises fictional characters to the rank of historical figures. Although some see the novel as a cheap romance, Paul and Virginie continues to feed the collective imagination for what it tells us about the impossibility of love between two people from different social spheres, its antislavery stance and what it teaches us about the past botanical riches of Mauritius. It plumbs the depths of historical truths and raises issues that are still relevant today.  L e Saint-Géran , navire de la Compagnie des Indes, quitte la France en mars 1744. À son bord, 12 passagers – dont deux jeunes filles de retour de France où elles étaient parties faire leur éducation –, et 180 membres d’équipage. À ce chiffre vont s’ajouter une trentaine d’esclaves embarqués à l’île de Gorée, au Sénégal. Au terme de 9 mois de traversée, le navire parvient en vue de l’île Maurice, alors île de France. Mais dans la nuit, le bateau talonne les brisants au large du village de Poudre d’Or. Seuls huit matelots et un passager en réchapperont. Quand Bernardin de Saint-Pierre arrive à l’île de France en 1768, l’île bruit encore du récit de ce terrible naufrage. Rentré en France après deux ans, le jeune capitaine ingénieur du roi écrit Voyage à l’île de France , suivi des Études de la nature en cinq volumes, où apparaît Paul et Virgini e. S’inspirant du naufrage du Saint- Géran , Bernardin de Saint-Pierre y déroule une histoire d’amour tragique qui va immédiatement devenir un « best-seller » de la littératuremondiale. ROMAN PASTORAL SUR FOND D’EXOTISME Le public se passionne en effet pour ce roman pastoral qui raconte la relation malheureuse entre Virginie, fille de Mme de la Tour, une aristocrate dont le mari a connu la faillite avant de mourir, et Paul, fils de Marguerite,  BEAUTIFUL STORY 14