Erich Maria Remarque - triumphal arch. Arc de Triomphe by Erich Maria Remarque

28.04.2019

Very briefly A few years before the Second World War, a repressed German surgeon, a staunch anti-militarist, escapes from a fascist concentration camp and ends up in Paris, where he falls in love, loses his beloved and takes revenge on the enemy.

Ravik met her late on a November evening on the Alma Bridge. It seemed to him that the woman was going to commit suicide - her face was so pale. Ravik was very tired after a day of work, but he could not leave the woman. He took her to a small cellar not far from the Arc de Triomphe, treated her to Calvados (apple brandy) and waited until the woman calmed down. Her appearance did not attract Ravik. The woman had a dull, pale face and full, but colorless lips. The only thing Ravik liked was the natural golden color of his hair.

After drinking Calvados, they left the cafe. Ravic was bored, but again he could not let the unfortunate woman go alone into the rain and fog. They crossed the Place de l'Etoile in front of the Arc de Triomphe, turned into an alley and approached the Hotel Internationale, where Ravik lived. There was no free room at the hotel, and he had to shelter the woman at his place. He never had time to go to bed - he was urgently called to work.

Ravik was a talented surgeon. Several years ago he managed to escape from a fascist concentration camp to Paris. Since then, he has operated illegally at Dr. Weber's clinic. That evening, the patient - a girl after a failed abortion - died on the operating table. Ravik took such failures hard. He came home tired and broken, hoping that the woman had already left, but apparently she had nowhere to go. On the way, Ravik drank, and for him “suddenly everything became simple - morning, woman.” He called her to bed and she agreed.

Afterwards he fell asleep, and when he woke up, he found that the woman was still nearby. She said that she lives nearby, at the Verdun Hotel. The man with whom she came to Paris suddenly died, and the woman was seized by panic. Ravik took her to the hotel, called Dr. Weber, who helped settle all the formalities with the police, and rescued her things from the greedy clutches of the hotel owner. He then helped her get a room at the Milan Hotel. There she wrote her name on a piece of notebook - Joan Madu. He tore it as soon as he left the hotel.

Time has passed. Ravik continued to operate at the clinic and lived in the Internationale, whose owner did not require documents from refugees. He could not rent an apartment - for this he needed a passport, which Ravik did not have. Having been caught by the police the first time, he could have gone to prison for several weeks, the second time - for six months. He went through this vicious circle more than once and learned a lot. He didn't want to have anything or become attached to anything. All Ravik needed was work. The “leading” surgeon of the clinic was the old and mediocre Professor Durand. He put the patient to sleep, and then Ravik came and performed an operation that the professor could not handle. Durant made a name for himself by paying Ravic a meager share of his royalties. Ravik did not object - he could not help but operate. In addition to “assisting” the professor, every Thursday Ravik had to examine the girls from the Osiris brothel, whose services he often used.

Ravik's only friend was Russian emigrant Boris Morozov, who works as a doorman at the Russian nightclub "Scheherazade". They often met in the Internationale's dining room, which the guests called the "catacomb". The room was located in the hotel basement and had access to the courtyard, which was used during police raids. Ravik and Boris were sitting in the corner of the “catacomb” under a stunted palm tree in a tub and playing chess when the doctor was brought a package from an unknown lady, which contained a small wooden Madonna. Ravik remembered seeing such a figurine in Joan Madu’s room. Morozov considered the figurine a “cry for help,” because the woman was left completely alone in a strange city. He persuaded Ravik to come to her.

Ravik found Joan in severe depression. He spent the evening with her, still not having any interest in the woman. Joan turned out to be an actress, and Ravik gave her Morozov’s address - he could get her a job at Scheherazade. Having done this, Ravik was relieved - “the weak sense of responsibility that he still felt disappeared.” The woman did not want to be left alone, and Ravik spent the night in her room on a narrow and shaky chaise lounge.

Ravik noticed this man a few days later when he was sitting in a bistro on Boissiere Street. A man flashed behind the rain-drenched glass, and Ravik rushed after him, but did not catch up. He remembered Berlin in 1934, a windowless room in the Gestapo, the pain of torture, “the face of Sybille, full of despair,” being held by the executioners, and another face - well-fed, smiling. Ravik remembered this man’s voice explaining to Sibylla what would happen to her. The girl hanged herself in a concentration camp three days later. The man's name was Haake, and it was him that Ravik saw behind the wet glass. After talking with Morozov, Ravik decided that he had made a mistake.

The next evening, Ravik came to Scheherazade with Kat Hegstrom, an American Swedish origin, his first Parisian patient - two years ago he cut out her appendix. Since then, things went well for Ravik, and he considered Kat his talisman. She returned to Paris to have an abortion and asked Ravik to entertain her a little.

Joan sang in Scheherazade. In it “there was not a trace left of the colorless, erased expression familiar to Ravik.” Now the woman’s face “was illuminated by some kind of exciting, disastrous beauty.” Ravik spent the evening listening to Kat make plans for the future. She couldn't give birth now because of the bleeding, but she wanted children. The next day, while performing an operation, Ravik discovered that Kat had inoperable cancer.

Trying to come to terms with this, Ravik remembered “one of the greatest lessons of his life”, which he received on the front of the First World War near Ypres. Then, during a sudden artillery attack, three of his friends died, but Ravik himself miraculously remained unharmed and learned: help while you can, but if nothing can be done, forget and move on. This is the only way to survive.

In the evening he went to Scheherazade and met with Joan. Now Ravik was admired by her “bright, mysterious face.” Their romance began under the silver-shimmering bulk of the Arc de Triomphe.

Joan plunged headlong into her love, “she gave herself entirely to what she was doing at that moment.” Ravik kept himself aloof - he was afraid to get attached to someone, his life was very unstable. But the further their relationship went, the more he fell in love with Joan and felt that he was losing his independence. He was fifteen years older than her and felt that sooner or later she would leave him. Morozov did not like Joan, considering her a bitch, and she felt it.

Soon, sitting with Morozov at a table in front of the Fouquet restaurant, Ravik again saw a man similar to Haacke, and again lost him in the crowd on Place de l'Etoile. Morozov tried to calm Ravik down. He advised his friend to draw up a plan for revenge and strictly follow it. Morozov himself did this, dreaming of meeting the people who destroyed his family during the Russian Revolution. Ravik sat for a long time in front of the restaurant, looking out for Haake and remembering Sibylla. She was “a pampered, beautiful creature, accustomed to an absent-minded, easy life.” They were caught trying to leave Germany and tortured for three days. Haake demanded a confession from Ravik, but he had nothing to admit. After the Gestapo he was sent to a concentration camp, then he was taken to a hospital, from where he escaped. Now his dreams were full of “the horror of fascist dungeons, the frozen faces of tortured friends.” Having never seen Haake, Ravik decided not to rummage “in the slag dead years, brought to life thanks to an absurd, damned similarity,” and not sacrifice Joan’s love to a random illusion.

After a while she started talking to him about her own home. Joan did not know that Ravik was an illegal immigrant. He told Joan that he could be arrested at any moment. To calm the frightened woman, Ravik suggested that she go on a short vacation to the south of France, to Mediterranean Sea. Ravik obtained two thousand francs for vacation from Professor Durand, threatening to leave the clinic when the patient was already lying on the operating table. The patient turned out to be “a certain Leval, who was in charge of the affairs of the emigrants,” a man indifferent to the fate of the refugees. While operating, Ravik thought that he was holding Laval’s life in his hands, just as he was holding the lives of thousands of illegal immigrants. Before leaving, Ravik met with Kat. She left for Italy, not knowing that she was terminally ill - the doctor could not tell her about it.

They had already lived in Antibes for eight days, but it seemed to Ravic that he had spent only eight hours in this sun-drenched world. To extend his vacation, Ravik sometimes won a small amount at the casino. Joan liked this life, and Ravik felt that sooner or later she would find a man who could provide it for her. Not wanting to be abandoned, Ravik decided to be the first to break up with Joan upon arrival in Paris.

He didn't have time to do this. About a week after returning, on his way to the clinic, Ravik saw the scaffolding collapse near a building under construction. A woman was seriously wounded, and the doctor could not stand aside. When Ravik was providing assistance, the police arrived. It quickly became clear that the doctor had no documents. Ravik managed to inform Doctor Weber, Morozov and Joan that he had been caught. Weber tried to help Ravik through Professor Durand, to whom Laval was very grateful for the successful operation. Durand, however, could not forgive two thousand francs, and only made Ravic's situation worse. He served two weeks in prison and was then expelled from France.

He returned to Paris three months later. During this time, Germany occupied Czechoslovakia, and he himself suffered from pneumonia and was caught by the police twice. He kept the surname Ravik for himself - he liked it more than the others. At Internationale they did not know about his troubles: Morozov told everyone that the doctor had left for Rouen. He also told Ravik that Joan no longer worked at Scheherazade. She stopped asking about Ravika about five weeks ago. Morozov heard out of the corner of his ear that Joan was acting in a movie.

After suffering all evening, Ravik went to the Milan Hotel, but Joan no longer lived there. He realized that it was all over and called Weber - he needed his favorite job to calm down and forget. Ravik met Joana two weeks later at the Cloche d'Or restaurant. She was with two strangers, and her shoulders had already become covered with a southern tan. They quarreled. Joan accused Ravik of not even thinking about looking for her, and he was looking at her southern tan. She came to him at night, and he did not have the strength to drive her out. Joan fell asleep clinging to Ravik.

In the morning, Joanne left and did not appear for several days, and Ravik waited longingly for her call. He continued to work in the clinic, operated, and this made his life easier. Ravik continued to inspect the girls from Osiris, where, despite the “low” season, there was excitement.

Joan called the clinic and invited Ravik to her place. Now she didn't live in a cheap hotel. Joana's new friend, an actor, rented a tastelessly furnished apartment for her. Finally, Ravik realized that Joan assigned him the role of a coming lover. This did not suit him; Ravik, a pleasant man with a narrow face and penetrating, deep-set eyes, was already over forty, and he wanted either everything or nothing. After a long and difficult conversation, he left. After spending another night with her, Ravik realized that he would be lost if he did it again.

Soon Kat Hagström returned from Italy. She already knew that she was dying and was going to “take everything she could from life.” Ravik offered to help her. He tried to distract himself with work or long walks, but he could not forget Joan - she was in his blood. One day his feet brought him to his beloved's house. He looked at her windows for a long time, feeling unbearable, sharp pain as if someone was tearing his heart out. Suddenly it started to rain. Standing in the rain, Ravik suddenly felt the beat of life. It was as if the shell shackling his soul had burst, and life, “desired and blessed,” broke through. Without looking back, he walked away.

Some time later, sitting in the Fouquet restaurant, Ravik saw Haake again. This time the doctor was not going to let him go, but he did not have to give chase - Haake himself approached him, mistaking him for a fellow countryman. Miraculously maintaining his restraint, Ravik introduced himself as von Horn and volunteered to show Haacke the hot spots of Paris. Much to Ravik’s regret, his enemy was hurrying to catch a train to Berlin. However, he promised to contact “von Horn” in two weeks, when he returned to France.

These two weeks Ravik was preparing for revenge. He had no time for Joan, but she still did not leave him alone, came to his house, and staged scenes of jealousy. Ravik did not give up, realizing that having won, Joan would abandon him like a useless thing. One night she called him and asked for help. Deciding that Joan was in trouble, Ravik packed the doctor’s suitcase and went to see her, but the alarm turned out to be false. Another actor-lover made a scandal of her, threatened to kill her, she got scared and called Ravik. Joan admitted that she is in too much of a hurry to live, changes lovers, friends and cannot stop. Ravik realized that he had lost her forever, and his soul became easy: now no one would stop him from taking revenge.

In the morning he moved to the Prince of Wales Hotel - this address he gave to Haake. Ravik understood that his enemy, “a little official in the department of fear, in itself means little, and yet it was infinitely important to kill him.” Ravik thought that Haake might call during the operation. This thought unnerved him so much that he had to give up work for a while.

With Morozov's help, Ravik hired a car and made a plan, but Haake still didn't call. In the end, Ravik despaired: the Nazi might not come or he might have forgotten the address. He saw the enemy one evening, accidentally turning into the Osiris, and lay in wait for him at the entrance - no one should have seen that they left together. Haake was delighted to meet him. He didn't call because he got the hotel name wrong. Ravik promised Haake a walk through cheap but chic brothels, took him to the Bois de Boulogne, stunned him with a blow to the head and strangled him. He buried the body and clothes in different places in the Saint-Germain forest, and burned the documents. Haake didn’t even understand why he was killed, and this tormented Ravik for some time, but then he calmed down and experienced extraordinary relief. “The jammed, tightly locked, covered with dried blood door to his past suddenly opened, easily and silently, and behind it again lay a blooming garden, and not a Gestapo dungeon.” Something was melting in Ravik, filling him with life.

Morozov tried to persuade Ravik to leave Paris, but he refused - he had nowhere to go. He knew that after the declaration of war he would be sent to a French concentration camp and was ready for this. Soon he accompanied Kat Hagström to Cherbourg: she was sailing on a huge white ship to the USA to die. Returning to Paris, Ravik discovered that the city was darkened. Only the Place de l'Etoile with the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees behind it were illuminated.

That same night, Joan called Ravik again and asked him to come. This time he didn’t believe her and stayed at International. Soon his frightened lover Joan knocked on the door. He shot her, seriously wounded her, and now he didn’t know how to save her. Ravik hurried to her and took her to the Weber clinic. Having started the operation, he saw that the bullet was stuck in the cervical spine, and it was impossible to save Joan. With helpless pain, Ravik watched as paralysis took over the body that he loved so much. When Joan began to choke, he administered a medicine that made it easier for her to die - she herself asked him for this when she could still speak.

At the moment of Joan's death, World War II began. When Ravik returned to International, the police were already waiting for him based on a denunciation from one of the clinic’s nurses. This time he said his real name - Ludwig Fresenburg. He left Paris in pitch darkness, even Triumphal Arch was not visible.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http://www.allbest.ru/

ERICH MARIA REMARQUE "THE ARCH OF TRIUMPH"

Remarque was born into a poor family in the province of Lower Saxony. His family roots were French.

Erich Maria Remarque is one of the most famous German writers of the 20th century. Mostly he wrote novels of the war and post-war years. In total, he wrote 15 novels, two of them were published posthumously. Quotes by Erich Remarque are widely known and attract with their accuracy and simplicity. Erich Maria Remarque is a pseudonym. Present - Erich Paul Remarque (in honor of his deceased mother). The writer brought with him the concept of “lost generation” into literature. This is a group of “angry young men” who went through the horrors of the First World War (and saw the post-war world not at all as it was seen from the trenches) and wrote their first books, which so shocked the Western public. Such writers, along with Remarque, included Richard Aldington and Ernest Hemingway.

For a long time, Remarque suffered from an aneurysm and after many months of treatment, the great writer died in 1970 at the age of 72.

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous novels Remark. Remarque wrote the novel in 1945 under the impression of his relationship with Marlene Dietrich. They had a short, but very bright love- it was preserved in correspondence between the writer and the actress.

Work on the novel has been going on for several years. The novel began to be published in the magazine Kolyes in 1945. Soon, a year later, the novel “Arc de Triomphe” was published in book form. The novel was translated into Russian and first published in the USSR in the magazine " Foreign literature", 1959.

Film adaptations

Arc de Triomphe is a 1948 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer;

Arc de Triomphe is a 1985 film. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Lesley-Anne Down.

“TA” is a poignant story of love against all odds, bringing pain, but also giving endless joy.

In it, Remarque addressed the topical problem of humanity in Europe, which manifests itself or, on the contrary, disappears in people against the backdrop of war.

The setting of the novel is Paris on the eve of World War II.

The main character of the novel - a refugee from Germany, without documents, hiding from both the French and the Nazis, in the past one of the country's leading surgeons, bearing the fictitious surname Ravich (real name is Ludwig Fraunseberg, changed names many times) - is a typical example of a person with great letters. Disobedience to fascist laws led Ravich to the dungeons of the Gestapo (political police of the Third Reich), where he experienced cruel torture, the death of his beloved girl Sibylla, and deportation to a concentration camp because of the Gestapo man Haacke. Escaping the concentration camp gave him hope. He has lived in France for 5 years. The Arc de Triomphe shows us Last year from the peaceful, Parisian life of a doctor, which began with an acquaintance with Joan Madu (Italian actress and singer, surrounded by fans, hot-tempered, beautiful and irresistible).

All the actions of the novel take place at night or late in the evening. The gloomy streets of Paris create an atmosphere of tired loneliness and numbness.

A meeting with a desperate woman on a bridge immediately determines main feature hero - philanthropy. Despite his fatigue, disappointment, alienation from everything and everyone, and the awareness that it is impossible to help everyone, Ravich, step by step, keeps the stranger near him, helping her survive not only the most terrible night of her life, but also resolve problems - with her deceased lover, moving to another hotel, searching new job. In their first meeting, it is described how unhappy she was (she smoked greedily, staggered, looked through somewhere) He understands that p. 11. Joan Madu quietly enters the doctor’s life. At first, Ravich does not attach importance to the night he spent with her: he does not see Joan’s face, does not remember her appearance - for him she is just a woman with whom he can satisfy his physical needs in order to forget for a while, to get “a piece of someone else’s life”, filling his joyless the existence of “drops of alien heat.” She is a very strange, fickle, mentally unstable woman.

The love between the heroes begins with physical attraction, but is born under the influence of internal spiritual kinship. Joan, like Ravich, is rootless. She has no home, no friends, no attachments. Her life begins from the moment she falls in love. Like Ravić, Joan acutely feels her loneliness and all the meaninglessness of life filled with simple physical actions - for example (page 31 about undressing quote)

But now, it seems that there is hope for the best. Love. Will she save the hero from the darkness of loneliness? But it's all in vain. Ravich's soul, like gloomy Paris, became numb and frozen. These utopian relationships only bring new suffering to the heroes. Constant quarrels devastate Ravich and Joan Madu. Love story not developing. The author simply shows the feelings and experiences of the characters. The break in the relationship between the main characters is long and painful. Despite decision Without sharing his beloved woman with another, the doctor can neither refuse her closeness nor his love, which forces him to run to Joan’s aid at any time of the day or night. But soon death approaches Ravich again. Loss of Joan. (You can tell how she dies). The death of the actress is symbolic. It matches the start date new war. The world seems cruel, mired in the darkness of madness and loneliness. Only in the face of death does Ravich realize how strong his attachment was to this woman, who was for him something much more than just love - Joan became life for the doctor. (p. 627)

At the same time, from the very beginning, Ravich knows that sooner or later his relationship with Joan will end. As long as they met as single, independent people, everything between them was simple and clear. As soon as Joan wanted stability in the form of her home and position in society, Ravik realized that she would leave him.

One of the symbolic images is rain, which is a way of life in the novel. It rains during the nights Ravić spends with Joan; During the rain, he realizes that love has brought him back to life.

As I said, all the actions of the novel take place at night or late in the evening. Another symbolic image the novel - night - is associated with two borderline constants: love (the acquaintance and meetings of the main characters take place in the dark) and a key murder (Ravich kills Haake before dawn: The main character perceives this as something natural. Ravich destroys not a person, but The beast does not take life, but gives it to dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people, whose existence is threatened by people like Haake. Ravich kills Haake shortly before the declaration of war. The historical situation serves as an additional justification for the action of the protagonist. )

You can often hear that Erich M. Remarque's novel Arc de Triomphe is recognized as one of the most tragic works of the twentieth century. That's a moot point. After all, all the art of the crazy century, which survived two large-scale and bloody wars at once, is literally saturated with pain, a feeling of loneliness and doom.

The image of the Arc de Triomphe is symbolic. It is an expression of the freedom and independence of France and all humanity in general. Built for the ceremonial passage of Napoleon and his army through it after his campaign against Russia, it survived his inglorious return. The author is sure that the anti-fascist struggle concerns everyone, so that the universal spark of love, capable of warming people, does not go out.

The famous writer uses many phrases in his work that have become catchphrases. Among them are discussions about love, from which, according to Remarque, women become smarter, and men lose their heads, and without it everyone is just dead men on vacation. The proof of love is not explanations, but actions. About money that should not be in the hands of a wife, about the cheapness of everything that is settled with its help. The author advises to take everything lightly, because few things in the world remain important for long. Remarque also subtly noticed that the trouble and charm of a person lies in the greatness of his plans and the weakness of their implementation.

I was also delighted with some phrases, with the so-called “deliciousness” of the language. I'd love to read this, maybe it will give you some ideas. Page 47, p. 98, p. 125, Ravich’s first lesson - 138. dispute between Morozov and Ravich (the world of fakes and canned food p. 209), Contradictions of man p. 365

This book leaves a heavy “metallic” residue on my soul. The novel is filled with beautiful and long-lost phrases, the feelings of the characters are conveyed with fullness and depth. The author managed to describe them in such a way that you begin to feel like one or another character, completely merge with him, as if you were reading about yourself in a past life. But it is also frightening at the same time.. While reading, all this depresses, suppresses and upsets, but at the same time it does not allow you to tear yourself away, immerses you headlong and makes you forget about everyday troubles. But for many, I think, this kind of work can lead to depression and long, languid thoughts. So if you're in a bad mood, you wait beautiful story love and want to get inspired, then it’s better to put this book aside until more appropriate times.

The book by Erich M. Remarque makes an indelible impression, leaving in the reader the desire to change the world in which there should be no place for war! Remarque wanted to show, emphasize, highlight that people do not need war, it is senseless, unnatural, inhumane, this should not happen again. remarque triumphal novel hero

Reading it (and rereading, of course) makes us a little wiser and a little brighter through sadness. And it makes you think about the fragility of the wonderful things and feelings that make our lives worth living.

But for the sake of fairness, I must note that the same image of Joan made me think a little about my behavior. The story about the wave and the cliff was especially brainwashing. It seems to me that all women suffer from this. We undermine, “saw”, and then cry when the rock crumbles into small pieces. An illustrative parable...

Once upon a time there was a wave that loved a cliff, somewhere in the sea, say, in the Bay of Capri. She showered him with foam and splashes, kissed him day and night, and wrapped her white arms around him. She sighed and cried and begged: “Come to me, O rock!” She loved him, doused him with foam and slowly undermined him. And then one fine day the cliff, already completely undermined, swayed and collapsed into her arms.

And suddenly the cliff was gone. No one to play with, no one to love, no one to mourn. The cliff sank in the wave. Now it was just a stone fragment on the bottom of the sea. The wave was disappointed, it seemed to her that she had been deceived, and soon she found herself another cliff.

Posted on Allbest.ru

History of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

As mentioned above, the architect Jean Chalgrin, who developed the design of the Arc de Triomphe, died almost immediately after laying the foundation of the future structure. The construction of the structure was constantly suspended, as the emperor began to suffer defeats on the battlefields. It is for this reason that the arch took so long to build.

Napoleon himself did not live to see his great Triumph: all work on the arch was completed in 1836, already at that time Louis Philippe ruled France. The work was led by a new architect, Abel Blouet. However, the dream of the great warrior, or, as many call him, the tyrant, nevertheless came true. In December 1840, a cortege passed under the arches carrying a coffin containing the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte, who died far from Paris on the island of St. Helena in early May 1821. Not only Napoleon was awarded this honor: under the arches designed to celebrate the Triumph, coffins with the bodies of Victor Hugo, Gambetta, Lazare Carnot and other equally famous personalities later stopped.

Arc de Triomphe in Paris side view

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, alas, became a symbol of triumph not only for outstanding military commanders, writers and rulers of France. In 1940, a procession of fascist invaders passed through the Arc de Triomphe, to whom Paris surrendered with virtually no resistance in order to somehow preserve priceless historical and architectural monuments. Hitler knew very well the meaning of the word “triumph” and what the legendary Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees meant to the French.

The dictator and evil genius of the 20th century ordered his army to march ostentatiously through the Arc de Triomphe and then march victoriously across Champs Elysees. Thus, the fascists Once again enjoyed their own triumph, for which millions of people had to pay with their lives. But this is already a story that, by the way, Parisians do not like to remember, because for them that parade was nothing more than humiliation and shame.

Sculptural group from the side of Avenue de la Grande-Arme “The World of 1815” by sculptor Antoine Etex

Arc de Triomphe today

If we look at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris today, we can see a majestic structure, the height of which reaches almost 50 meters and the width of 44.82 meters. However, these dry numbers, naturally, cannot convey all the majesty and beauty of the arch. The architect's project was brought to life in an antique style. Glory and triumph are symbolized by beautiful maidens with wings who blow fanfares.

These sculptures on the arch were made by the architect Jean-Jacques Pradier, born in Switzerland, who at one time was awarded the Rome Prize for his achievements not only in sculpture, but also in painting. On the arch you can also see a sculpture called “Marseillaise”, which symbolizes the protest of volunteers against the Prussian army, which captured Lorraine. The “Triumph of 1810” also attracts attention - this sculpture by Cortot, dedicated to the signing of the Peace of Vienna in 1815. The arch is decorated with both the “Peace” and “Resistance” sculptures, owned by Etex.

Sculptural group from the Champs Elysees side “Marseillaise” by sculptor Rud

The last sculptor is known only in narrow circles; he, alas, never received world recognition, although his creations adorn the legendary Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

A tourist viewing the arch will certainly see on its walls the names of bloody battles that were won by France at various times. The names of the greatest French commanders are forever engraved on it. The arch itself is surrounded by one hundred pedestals connected to each other by heavy chains made of durable cast iron. This is not just a decoration or a fence for a Paris landmark.

It is one hundred pedestals that are intended to symbolize “one hundred greatest days» during the reign of the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the arch itself there is also an interesting, albeit small, building in which the museum is located: in it the visitor can get acquainted with the history of construction and learn about the triumphal processions that took place under the Arc de Triomphe.

Sculptural group from the Champs Elysees side “Triumph of 1810” by sculptor Cortot

Even if you get acquainted with the Arc de Triomphe in Paris without the help of a guide, it is impossible not to pay attention to the grave under its arches. It is not the greatest ruler or commander who is buried there: in 1921, an ordinary ordinary soldier was buried there, who died on the battlefield during the First World War, whose name still remains unknown. To all visitors of the greatest architectural monument It is proposed to climb the arch, from which you can enjoy the panorama of Paris. Naturally, the view from a 50-meter height cannot be compared with what can be seen from the Eiffel Tower, but it can delight any tourist. A traveler who comes to Paris for an experience should definitely know that the best way to get to the Arc de Triomphe is through numerous underground passages, since the flow of vehicles near it does not stop even late at night. You can climb the arch any day of the week; it is open for tourists from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. However, to familiarize yourself with it you will have to pay a small fee of 10 euros.

The novel was published in 1945 in the United States. The German edition appeared a year later. In 1948, Arc de Triomphe was first filmed, starring Ingrid Bergman. In 1985, the novel was filmed for the second time. the main role goes to Anthony Hopkins. The 1948 film adaptation was considered more successful.

The novel takes place in France on the eve of World War II. Ravik, a German surgeon and veteran of the First World War, lives in Paris without citizenship or documents, under constant threat of deportation from the country. The surgeon operates on patients, replacing less qualified French colleagues. Ravik was forced to flee Germany because he organized the escape of two innocent people. For this, the surgeon ended up in the Gestapo, where he endured monstrous torture. The surgeon's girlfriend, Sibylla, was also arrested and later died in prison. Ravik is hiding in France. It was believed that life in this country would be much easier for emigrants.

One November night, the surgeon meets a stranger. The woman is desperate. Ravik brings her to his place. The stranger's name is Joan Madu, she is an actress by profession. Joan's lover died. The surgeon helps the woman get a death certificate, her money and belongings, and pay the bill for the room.

Ravik tells his colleague Weber that he is an illegal immigrant from Germany. He has no right not only to work, but also to simply stay in France. The surgeon lives in a hotel where registration is not required, since he cannot rent an apartment. Ravik also reports that in his homeland he held a significant position in one of the large hospitals. He hides his real name.

Joan and Ravik become lovers. The woman admits that she is very tired of the life she is forced to lead and would like to live peacefully in her own home with her loved one. The surgeon explains that this is impossible: he is in the country illegally and has no rights. Throughout the entire story, the lovers either quarrel or make up. One of the most major quarrels occurred after Ravic was arrested, expelled from the country, and then returned to Paris after three months spent in Switzerland.

On the streets of the French capital, the surgeon meets his old enemy - Gestapo man Haake. Ravik hunts for Haake for a long time until they finally meet. The fascist does not recognize the surgeon, but is very happy that he met a compatriot in a foreign country. Subsequently, Ravik managed to meet his enemy again. The surgeon offers the Gestapo man a joint visit to an elite brothel, and he himself takes him to the Bois de Boulogne, where he kills him. The surgeon then takes Haake to the Forest of Saint-Germain. Ravik disfigured the body of his enemy and destroyed documents and belongings.

At the end of the novel, Joan is shot by her next lover. The woman is mortally wounded, but removing the bullet will only hasten her death. Joan and Ravik last time They confess their love to each other, then the doctor gives her a lethal injection to save her from further suffering. During the next arrest, Ravik does not resist the police and even gives his real name.

Characteristics

The real name of the surgeon is Ludwig Fresenburg. This is a very ambiguous character, revealing himself to the reader from different sides.

On the one hand, Ravik, aka Ludwig Fresenburg, is presented as positive hero. In Nazi Germany, Ravik held a high position. To save your high position It was enough for him to simply agree with the policies of the new authorities, or at least look at their actions “through his fingers.” However, Ravik could not make a deal with his own conscience. He did not want to allow innocent people to suffer and die. The surgeon takes a risk by hiding the unfortunate ones. Ravik understands perfectly well how this could end for him, but does not back down. As a result, main character loses everything: a high position, the location of the authorities, his beloved girl and his homeland.

Having miraculously survived, Ravik begins new life in Paris. The torture that the surgeon had to endure in Germany did not harden the protagonist or change his character. Ravik still remains an honest man capable of selflessly helping those in need. Having met a stranger at night, Ravik tries to take on all her problems without expecting anything in return.

However, the author does not deny: torture, concentration camps and wanderings could not help but leave their mark. Remarque shows the German surgeon from another, less pleasant side. The reader learns that Ravik is vindictive and vindictive. Having met his old enemy in Paris, the surgeon begins to develop a murder plan. The hatred he felt for Haake did not disappear even after several years. Ravik coldly and without a shadow of pity kills the Gestapo man and mutilates his corpse. The author does not support his hero in his actions, but does not condemn him either. For a person who has lost the most precious thing, it is quite natural to feel hatred towards the one who deprived him of everything.

Joan Madu

Presumably, the author was inspired to create the image of Joan by Marlene Dietrich. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Remarque and Dietrich lived in Paris.

Ravik doesn’t give any credit special significance meeting an unfamiliar woman who needs his help. The surgeon helps people every day. Help to a stranger It’s completely natural for him. However, Madu gradually enters his life. The rapprochement between Joan and Ravik began with mutual sexual attraction. However, gradually the surgeon begins to understand that Joan can be not only a passionate lover, but also a sincere interlocutor. Madu, like Ravik, has neither homeland nor relatives. Joan grew up in Italy, with a Romanian father and English mother. Since childhood, Mada has been surrounded by “strangers.” Now she again finds herself among “strangers,” this time in another country.

We bring to your attention another outstanding work by Erich Maria We bring to your attention another outstanding work by Erich Maria Remarque “Shelter of Dreams”, which tells about a quiet boarding house where patients live a measured life, without delving into the problems of the world around them.

Our next article is devoted to the biography of the famous prose writer Erich Maria Remarque, a representative of the writers “ Lost Generation”, who created many talented works that are still popular today.

The lives of both main characters have long been meaningless and have turned into a routine struggle for survival. Both lost their loved ones. Only after meeting each other do Ravik and Madu feel that their lives finally have meaning. They give themselves over completely to the new feeling. But after a short period of time, quarrels begin between the lovers. Joan is tired of uncertainty. She wants to find a stable place in this world, despite the fact that the war breaking out in Europe is pushing the world into chaos. Joan has waited too long for her happiness to wait any longer. She wants to have a family and be a legal wife with whom she can appear in society, and not a random mistress who they want to hide from prying eyes.

Main symbol novel is the Arc de Triomphe. This landmark of Paris is not as popular as the Eiffel Tower, but is also widely known. Not all readers understand why the author chose the Arc de Triomphe to give the title to the novel. She is not actor and does not play a particularly significant role in the work. However, Remarque opted for it, and not for the more familiar Eiffel Tower. He also did not use the name of one of the main characters for the title.

First of all, the author is trying to divert the public's attention from the stereotypical image of Paris. Even in the minds of those readers who have never been to the French capital, this city is associated with pleasure, unbridled fun and forbidden pleasures. These are the associations that the Eiffel Tower can evoke. The author wants to show Paris from a completely different side. On the eve of World War II, the French capital continues to be a city of dreams. But now they come to it not for pleasure, but for the sake of saving lives. Immigrants from Germany find shelter here. These were mainly Jews, as well as those who did not share the views of the fascists who came to power.

By calling his novel “Arc de Triomphe,” Remarque carefully makes it clear that, despite all the efforts of the fascists, victory will not be theirs.

The novel “Arc de Triomphe” by Erich Maria Remarque: summary

5 (100%) 1 vote

The novel “Arc de Triomphe” was written by the famous German writer E. M. Remarque (1898–1970). The author talks about tragic fate a talented German surgeon who fled Nazi Germany from Nazi persecution. Remarque with great art analyzes complex spiritual world hero. In this novel with enormous power The theme of the fight against fascism is heard, but this is a lone struggle, not an organized political movement.

Erich Maria Remarque

Triumphal Arch

I

The woman walked diagonally across the bridge straight towards Ravik. She walked quickly, but with some unsteady step. Ravik noticed her only when she was almost there. He saw a pale face with high cheekbones and wide-set eyes. This face was numb and looked like a mask, in the dim light of the lantern it seemed lifeless, and in the eyes there was an expression of such glassy emptiness that Ravik involuntarily became wary.

The woman passed so close that she almost touched him. He reached out and grabbed her elbow. She staggered and would probably have fallen if he hadn't held her.

Ravik squeezed the woman’s hand tightly.

Where are you going? - he asked, hesitating a little. The woman looked at him point blank.

Let me in! - she whispered.

Ravik did not answer. He still held her hand tightly.

Let me go! What is this? - The woman barely moved her lips.

It seemed to Ravic that she didn’t even see him. She looked through him, somewhere into the emptiness of the night. Something just bothered her, and she repeated the same thing:

Let me go!

He immediately realized that she was not a prostitute and not drunk. He unclenched his fingers slightly. She didn't even notice it, although she could have easily escaped if she wanted.

Ravik waited a little.

Where are you going, really? At night, alone, in Paris? - He asked calmly again and let go of her hand.

The woman was silent, but did not move from her place. Once she stopped, she seemed unable to go any further.

Ravik leaned against the parapet of the bridge. He felt damp and porous stone under his hands.

Isn't that right? - He pointed down where, glistening restlessly in the grayish darkness, the Seine flowed, running into the shadows of the Alma Bridge.

The woman didn't answer.

It’s too early,” said Ravic. - It's too early, and it's too cold. November.

He took out a pack of cigarettes, then fumbled for matches in his pocket. There were only two of them on the cardboard. Leaning slightly, he covered the flame with his palms from the light wind from the river.

Ravik straightened up and showed the pack.

Algerian. Black tobacco. It is smoked by soldiers of the Foreign Legion. Perhaps it's too strong for you. No others.

The woman shook her head and took a cigarette. Ravik brought her a burning match. She took several deep drags. Ravik threw the match over the parapet. Like a small shooting star, the match flew through the darkness and went out when it reached the water.

A taxi slowly drove onto the bridge. The driver stopped the car, looked at them, waited a little and moved on, up the wet Avenue George the Fifth, glistening in the dark.

Suddenly Ravik felt how tired he was. He worked all day long and, when he came home, could not sleep. Then he went outside - he wanted to drink. And now, in the chilly dampness of the dead of night, he felt irresistibly tired.

Ravik looked at the woman. Why exactly did he stop her? Something had happened to her, that was clear. But what does he care? He never knew enough women to whom something happened, especially at night, especially in Paris. Now it didn’t matter to him, he only wanted one thing - to sleep.

“Go home,” said Ravik. - What are you doing here at this time? Still, good luck, you won't end up in trouble.

He turned up his collar, intending to leave. The woman looked at him with blank eyes.

Home? - she repeated.

Ravik shrugged.

Home, to your apartment, to a hotel - anywhere. Do you really want to go to the police?

To the hotel! Oh my God! - the woman said. Ravik stopped. Again, someone has nowhere to go, he thought. This should have been foreseen. It's always the same. At night they don’t know where to go, and in the morning they disappear before you have time to wake up. In the mornings, for some reason they know where to go. Eternal cheap despair - the despair of the darkness of the night. It comes with darkness and disappears with it. He threw away his cigarette. Isn't he just fed up with all this?

“Let’s go somewhere and have a glass of vodka,” he said.

The easiest way is to pay and leave, and then let her take care of herself.

The woman made the wrong move and tripped. Ravik supported her again.

Tired? - he asked.

Don't know. Maybe.

So much so that you can't sleep?

She nodded.

This happens. Let's go. I'll accompany you.

They walked up Avenue Marceau. The woman leaned heavily on Ravik - she leaned as if she was afraid of falling every minute.