Madame Thérèse. Erckmann-Chatrian
who find the road to knowledge arduous he made good use of his opportunities, after he had once obtained them. He was at the head of every class of which he was a member and was graduated with first honors. So remarkable a student had he been--though his native ability was only fair--that for years he was mentioned by the professors as a model worthy of close imitation. Born and reared among a population which was essentially German, in spite of the most persistent efforts to denationalize it, he had German characteristics of body as well as of mind. He had a heavy frame, golden hair and beard, a rather broad face, blue eyes, fair complexion, and a meditative expression, all of which would easily cause him to be taken almost anywhere for a professor from a German university rather than for the Frenchman which he really was. He combined Alsatian-French vivacity with German method and minuteness; yet he hated the Germans, though he was German in name and characteristics.
After finishing his course at Phalsbourg he went to Paris to study law, following this work intermittently for fifteen years. Later he revisited the old college at Phalsbourg. Here he heard the president lament the fact that among the students he had only one worthy successor of Erckmann, namely a certain Alexandre Chatrian. Chatrian was sent for and the three dined together that evening. Erckmann was shown an article by Chatrian bristling with novel ideas on society and its organization. He was so well pleased by it that he immediately suggested to Chatrian the joint establishment of a democratic paper. This paper was suppressed by the police after eight issues.
Erckmann returned to Paris to study law, which at times he gave up for the pursuit of literature, from which in course of time he returned to the law. Meanwhile he and Chatrian had jointly written a play called Alsace. It was presented, was successful, but was suppressed (1848). This disappointment delayed for two years Chatrian's removal to Paris to join Erckmann. They wrote a volume of stories, of which L'illustre Docteur Mathéus was the principal one. When this volume appeared, they were on the verge of need. The capricious public bought three editions of the volume and gave the "name" that meant permanent fame for the authors.
Chatrian finally reached Paris, and the collaborators wrote on busily. In 1858-1861 they worked on subjects drawn from their usual pastoral sources, and made from them a series of longer tales which they named Romans Populaires. These were well received. Emboldened by their steady gain in popular favor the literary partners resolved in 1861 on a larger venture. They conceived the idea of writing a series of historical novels under the title of Romans Nationaux, the subjects of which were to be taken from the most dramatic episodes of modern French history after the outbreak of the first Revolution. To this happy design they became indebted for their greatest triumphs. By 1869 they had added eight volumes to the series.
In 1869 they had ready for the stage Le Juif Polonais, in which the tortures of conscience were dramatically described, and offered it to theatrical managers. It was finally put on at the Cluny Theatre in Paris, and met with immediate success.
There was nothing notable in their joint career from their assured success till the rupture of their lifelong friendship in the late eighties, an account of which is given in the next biography. After the death of Chatrian, Erckmann continued to write successfully with all the oldtime vigor that had characterized the work of the two. He died March 14, 1899.
Alexandre Chatrian was born in Soldatenthal, a village near Phalsbourg, December 18, 1826. Like Erckmann he was of an humble family, whose members had long followed the occupation of glassmaking. Chatrian's parents were intelligent and determined to educate their son. They accordingly sent him to the college at Phalsbourg, where he remained three years. Owing to business reverses his parents were unable longer to support him in school, so they set him to glassmaking in Belgium. He had here an unusually good opportunity to secure a part interest in the factory, but when he came of age, he returned home, thoroughly dissatisfied with his occupation. His parents were disappointed at his giving up such an opportunity to establish himself in business, but he had made up his mind that his career ought to be a literary one. By chance there was a vacancy at that very time in the college at Phalsbourg. The President, who had always taken an interest in him, gave him the appointment with permission to continue his studies in the college. So he was installed in charge of the study hall to supervise the work of the students and assist them in their lessons. One of his pupils has left the following account of him:--"He was of middle height and of strong but well-proportioned build. His rich auburn hair was cut short enough to bring out the outlines of a remarkably fine head. His full but closely trimmed beard framed a most intellectual face. A high forehead, large piercing eyes of brilliant black, a fine Greek nose, and a firmly set yet handsome mouth were the striking features of a countenance in which thoughtfulness, determination and nobility of purpose were reflected as from a mirror. Altogether his appearance was such that even an inexperienced observer would have pronounced him at once a more than ordinary man. The feeling of respect with which his striking exterior inspired me, as well as the other students, became warmer as I learned to know him better in the course of my private lessons.... Among the students he had the reputation of being reserved and taciturn. But I soon found out that, though not mirthful, he was really very sympathetic and communicative. In these moments he always spoke of a dear friend, Émile Erckmann, a graduate of Phalsbourg, who was then following the study of law at Paris as one who shared his ambition and who had been and would be a partner in his efforts for literary distinction. He told, with no little pride, that already the year before they had made their debut with some tales, written conjointly, in a daily published at Strasburg. One day he handed me a small volume containing the tales in question, which had attracted so much attention that a Strasburg publisher had reprinted them in a more enduring form. The tales interested me the more, in that their subjects were either incidents in rural life in Alsace and Lorraine or some of the popular saws, with which the borders of the Rhine abound. I recollect very well the fascination which the simple narrative, the charming description of scenery, the lifelike painting of characters, the quaint humor and the fanciful imagery of these first fruits of my friend's genius exercised upon my mind. I have reread the tales since and can truly say that my riper judgment does not differ much from that first impression."
Here at the college Chatrian met Erckmann, as already noted, and from here he went to join him.
In Paris, Chatrian took a position with the Eastern Railway paying him $300 a year. He held it long after the need of it had passed. During the earlier years of his stay in the metropolis this income, slender though it was, must have been a necessity to him.
In the late eighties Chatrian's health began to fail. In time he was afflicted with a stubborn and insidious ailment, which causes its victim to grow morose and suspicious. Unfortunately his suspicions directed themselves toward his old friend Erckmann, whom he suspected of cheating him in the management of their joint interests. Finally an ill-advised friend published an attack on Erckmann, accusing him of being unpatriotic. Erckmann sued the paper for libel and recovered heavy damages. The ultimate responsibility for the attack rested at Chatrian's door, and he did not long survive this melancholy incident. He died Sept. 3, 1890.
Much has been written about the wonderfully uniform style of Erckmann and Chatrian. It is true that one can hardly say of any passage in their work, "Erckmann wrote this" or "Chatrian wrote that" merely on the basis of internal evidence.
Many writers have succeeded in securing statements from one or the other of the literary partners, telling how they collaborated. But if one reads all these statements side by side, one is convinced that they had no uniform method of work; that sometimes they worked together in one way and sometimes in another. It would also appear that each was slightly jealous of the other, fearing that he would receive more than his proper share of credit for the work. These facts remain--that Chatrian was better fitted to market their wares and see them through the press than was Erckmann; and that Erckmann wrote and published both before and after his partnership with Chatrian. It may therefore be fairly accurate to say that without Chatrian Erckmann could have produced, without being able to sell the works; while Chatrian without Erckmann could have sold without being able to produce the works.
The stories of Erckmann and Chatrian are noteworthy by reason of the purity of their subject matter. There is nothing in any of them to offend the most fastidious, and their popularity in the family circle is permanent. In the matter of style the authors were not so fortunate.