Mérimée, Prosper

(1803-1870)

   novelist, historian

   Prosper Mérimée, best known for his lengthy and realistic, yet also fantastic, short stories, was born in Paris. Raised in a cultured milieu in the tradition of the enlightenment, he studied law, then entered the civil service. Through his literary interests, he frequented the Parisian salons and became friends with stendhal. He soon successively published two works, Le Théâtre de Clara Gazul, comédienne espagnole (1825) and La Guzla ou Choix de poésies illyriques (1827), both being literary parodies. in 1830, there appeared an "historic sketch," La Chronique du règne de Charles IX, a cloak-and-dagger story set in the period of the Wars of Religion. In 1833, Mérimée grouped, under the title Mosaïque, a number of short stories, remarkable for their consistent plots and concise style. The same year, La Double Mépris appeared, followed the next year by Âmes du purgatoire. Named inspector of historical monuments, Mérimée traveled throughout France to catalog the nation's archaeological treasures, then journeyed through the countries of the Mediterranean (notably Spain), which inspired La Vénus d'Ille (1837), his taste for the fantastic, and his novellas, Colomba (1840) and Carmen (1845). Here, the coldness of his tone contrasts with the violence of his sentiments. Friend to Empress Eugénie and involved in the imperial court of napoléon III, Mérimée wrote other short stories, such as Lokis (1869), in which he displays a precise realism. Mérimée's sober and concise style has been compared to that of stendhal.