Analysis of the poetic representation of the weaver in the works of Marceline Desbordes-Valmore and Paul Valéry, highlighting their connection with nature and the divine.
Extract
[...] The spinner seems to attach great power to the act of naming things, especially naming God. The term 'name' is evoked twice, first in verse 19 and then in verse 21. The poet makes a comparison in verse 21 by comparing this name to a 'fire' to evoke its power in some way. God allows us to further develop our thoughts. It is then compared to the sun in verse 22: 'similar to the sun that ripens the golden wheat'. The term 'wheat' is an archaism used here poetically to designate wheat. [...]
[...] These elements of nature are, by the way, personified since they are presented as capable of hearing and especially understanding statements made by humans. We also notice the alliteration in in 'carry the word', which allows to intensify the statement. This personification of the different elements of nature, of this bird as well as these meteorological phenomena continues, by the way, in verse 5 since they are presented as 'all light, all proud' whereasa priori, only human beings are capable of developing such feelings. And only human beings are, by the way, equipped with 'knowing lessons'. [...]
[...] It is in some way no longer than a specter of a woman who attaches herself to her work in the two poems. But in the two poets, death is never evoked in a brutal manner. Indeed, the two poets, Paul Valéry and Marceline Desbordes-Valmore, use poetic and euphemistic formulas to avoid directly naming death. The profession of spinner thus proves to be a powerful literary figure that has inspired both poets, which is not surprising given the strong symbolic dimension of this profession, which can effectively evoke the Moirai, those sisters who were considered to be weaving the future of everyone. [...]
[...] We find the use of the imperative 'never pass' (verse 16) which evokes an order or a counsel. The metaphorical formula 'rays of your eyes' expresses the idea of a kind of divine power that would inhabit human beings in a religious perspective. God appears as a guide in this perspective: 'to enlighten you' (verse 18). God seems to merge with the world in a religious perspective where it is indeed God who is the origin of Creation. The simple formulation of God seems to allow a kind of communication with the beyond, as expressed by the spinner through the poet. [...]
[...] This profession also evokes, of course, the Fates, these goddesses who wove the destiny of men and women. It will be interesting to study how the two poets, Marceline Desbordes-Valmore and Paul Valéry, treat this profession of spinning. The poem by Marceline Desbordes-Valmore titled 'The Spinner and the Child' is a long poem of 14 quatrains from the collection Unpublished Poems published in 1860 and of which we will only study a part. The verses in question are alexandrines. Paul Valéry's poem is composed of 8 tercets and a final last verse. [...]
