Montesquieu Encourages His Readers to Identify with or Distance Themselves from the Characters - Essay Example

?Discuss the way in which, Montesquieu encourages his readers to identify with or distance themselves from the characters in the "Persian Letters" The Persian Letters (Letteres Persanes) is one of the best remembered works of Charles de Montesquieu. It is a satire published in 1721, about France but narrated through the eyes and exploits of two Persian noblemen. The two leading characters, Usbek and Rica, were vacationing in Paris and their various correspondence contained in-depth and critical perspectives and opinions about the laws, government and morals of France during their time. The opus is considered an epistolary novel because the narrative took the form of letters. This literary style and the socio-political content of the novel as told by two foreign figures enabled its readers to identify with the characters at the same time feel separated from their stories and experiences. It also allowed Montesquieu to achieve his objective in writing the novel. Detachment The first prominent variable that affects the way readers perceive and interpret The Persian Letters is its form. As a collection of letters, which contain discourses and essays on diverse issues, it made the novel disconnected to the readers because the emotional involvement is stunted by the interrupted presentation. This is best explained by Theodore Braun who commented that the novel "moves along in an apparently unpredictable manner from letter to letter, from theme to theme, from interior plot to the exterior plot" making the readers fumble particularly in making sense or identifying the coherence of all the parts provided (Runyon 2005, 13). Readers can also feel the detachment when Montesquieu used Persian characters in his narrative. Their characterizations were depicted as alien for the original intended reading public. They are Persians and that their way of life and their perspectives on the French lifestyle represent a glaring difference that is easily identified and sympathized with by the readers. Montesquieu, wrote Hulliung (1976), substituted Persian travelers with psyches that are long written full by Eastern culture and that the interaction between the East and the West could lead to the threat on the Eastern language of despotism (117). By transplanting the two Oriental characters in Paris, there was a depiction of a striking polarity in culture and ideas. Say, when Montesquieu portrayed the Persians as exotic, with sufficient allusions to their cultural norms and their harem and so forth, the reader naturally sided with the West and/or the French society and that the two protagonists - including all that they stood for - came to constitute otherness, the unknown and the unidentifiable. There was an imposed detachment that came with the double plot of the novel. At one point, there was the criticism of the Parisian way of life. On the other hand, there was the Oriental storyline (e.g. the disorder in the protagonist's seraglio back home). This approach enabled Montesquieu to highlight his themes more effectively, more specifically the kind of skepticism and relativism that he obviously wanted to express about the important questions that characterized his time. Furthermore, the differences and the detachment that the author encouraged were necessary in order to explain his ideal social theory. This is when Montesquieu was able to successfully reject the European social theory and advocate the actual expression of human nature as the ultimate solution to the issues and problems that confronted his day (Rossides 1998, 72). Connection It is, however, important to underscore that even though The Persian Letters assumed a degree of disconnect from its readers, there are times when its characters - or the themes and issues they discussed and were involved in - came close to the readers’ hearts and own concerns. As a political allegory, the novel explored, examined and commented on themes and issues that are relevant to the times. For example, there is the issue about love, social institutions, gender equality, religion, philosophy, social developments, ideas, freedom and melodrama. Readers can easily identify with these themes. The use of the Persian characters and the imposition of detachment are seen as necessary in order for Montesquieu to express his critique of France in his work. There was a repressive environment during the publication of The Persian Letters and steps were taken in order for the novel to get published and achieve its objective in the most effective manner without getting censored, banned or confiscated. Through the innocent/ignorant and “fresh” perspective provided by the Persian guests, Montesquieu was able criticize the French government without being self-righteous or preachy and moralizing. For instance, in the novel, the Persians marveled: The king of France is the most powerful of European potentates. He has no mines of gold like his neighbour, the king of Spain; but he is much wealthier than that prince; because his riches are drawn from a more inexhaustible source, the vanity of his subjects (Gordon 2005, 43). The above depiction was a critique of the French people as much as that of the sovereign. By using the Persians, the satirical approach was achieved with overly angering the French public. They could afford criticism of that kind coming from an outsider without having to worry about an injured pride that comes with an attack from one of their own. Never mind that is merely fiction and a concoction of Montesquieu himself. What this point demonstrates is that, as an allegory, as a satire and through the Persian characters – Montesquieu was able to get away with his many claims and critiques. In fact, they were widely and positively received. In The Persian Letters, Montesquieu attempted to challenge the existing issues of his day as well as encourage the rethinking of what is real. The Persian characters are central to the success by which his thoughts were expressed. Crucial to his arguments are the concepts of despotism and the potency and role of observation. The Persians were products of despotic upbringing and the letters were their observations. These variables resulted in a kind of juxtaposition that allowed Montesquieu to enlighten his readers. By becoming both detached and involved, the reader is able to comprehend each of the author’s points. Had the satire been The English Letters or The Italian Letters, the whole affair would not have achieved the same amount of reception from the reading public. Consider: if an English nobleman would attack the French lifestyle or its government, would it not sound hypocritical when the same dynamics and socio-political system permeate in his own country? So, all in all, the Persian characters are Montesquieu’s tools. And they did function effectively, judging from the way The Persian Letters is now recognized as a contributor to the development of modern political thought. Bibliography Gordon, Susan. Montesquieu: the French philosopher who shaped modern government. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. Hulliung, Mark. Montesquieu and the old regime. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976. Rossides, Daniel. Social Theory: Its Origins, History, and Contemporary Relevance. New York: General Hall, Inc., 1998. Runyon, Randolph. The art of the Persian letters: unlocking Montesquieu's "secret chain". Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Press, 2005. Read More