Shigeru Kashima, "I Want to Buy a Carriage! Summary and Impressions - If you want to know about the French dream of young men and life in 19th century Paris, this is the book for you!
This time we would like to introduce "I want to buy a carriage!" by Shigeru Kashima, published by Hakusuisha in 1990. published by Hakusuisha in 1990.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
In nineteenth-century French novels, young men who came to Paris with high aspirations - Rastignac in "Grandpa Goriot," Lucien de Lubanpre in "Disillusionment," and Julien Sorel in "The Red and the Black" - all had a common desire. "I want to buy a carriage!"
The horse-drawn carriage was a status symbol dreamed of not only in novels but also in real life by young men of the time, and it was also a serious issue that concerned everything from daily life to love and career success. Using the protagonists of the novels as examples, the author uses a wealth of data to reveal the realities of food, clothing, transportation, and various forms of entertainment in 19th century Paris from the viewpoint of the people living there. How much could they actually live on their food and rent? How much money did they need to send home to live in boarding houses? How much did a carriage cost and how much annual income was needed to maintain it? Through concrete figures, descriptions, and explanations of monetary values, the world of the time and the structure of people's consciousness emerge in a realistic manner.
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In this book, Balzac'sOld Gorio."andDisillusioned."Stendhal'sRed and Black."The book explains Paris as seen by a young man who comes from the countryside to the glamorous city of Paris and hopes to succeed, using the protagonists of "Les Misérables" as clues. Marius from "Les Miserables" also makes an appearance in this book.
The book begins with a description of a carriage coming up to Paris from the provinces. To get from the countryside to the capital, a means of transportation is necessary. In those days, there were no railroads, so they used horse-drawn carriages. And since they had no money, they had to come by horse-drawn carriages. There are various ranks of horse-drawn carriages. What kind of carriages are available for these poor young men? Mr. Kashima gives us a detailed explanation of the carriages. It is not just a list of facts, but he explains a lot of background and "why" behind the facts, which makes it very interesting.
The book begins with a description of the means of transportation, followed by a narrative description of the procedures for entering Paris, finding lodging, and what to do with your daily meals.
And from there it leads to the story of how they move on to become dandies and why, as the title says, "I want to buy a carriage!" and why they come to truly believe that "I want to buy a carriage!
Previous Article"Why are French men so popular?In the first part of the book, we talked about the "dandy," the Parisian dandy, and in this book, you can learn about the life of a dandy from his early years. We tend to imagine the glamorous world of Paris, but most people did not have access to that glamour. The "ordinary life" of ordinary Parisians was lived right next to the opulent activities of the upper class. Of course, the same was true for the poor.
It will also tell the story of Marius in "Les Miserables," which we have already introduced, and of Jean Valjean when he was poor. The book also talks about the life of the poor in Paris and their food situation that forced him to steal bread.
It is a valuable book that provides an insight into the lives of ordinary people as well as the elegant "French".
This book is a fascinating look into the lives of young people of that time who were striving for success. Highly recommended.
The above is "Shigeru Kashima, 'I Want to Buy a Carriage! The French Dream of Young Men and Life in 19th Century Paris! The above is "Shigeru Kashima's "I Want to Buy a Carriage!
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