Irony in “Jean de Florette”
and “Manon des Sources”
by
Emily Goodwin
The entire story of “Jean de Florette”
and “Manon des Sources” is based upon the “do unto
others …” adage. Through two men’s greed, other people die, and the whole plot
comes back full circle to wreak ironic justice upon the two.
César (or Papet) and his
nephew Ugolin are the last of the Soubeyran
line. Above all, Papet is devoted to his family and
the standing of the Soubeyran family name. His
biggest desire in life is to see a son and heir to that name.
In order to gain more eminence for their Soubeyran name, Papet and Ugolin approach the owner of a neighbouring farmstead to
buy his land from him. When he refuses, they accidentally cause his death.
This, in itself, is wrong but what is truly reprehensible is that they feel no
guilt or conscience at their actions, and position the body so that it looks
like the man fell out of a tree.
When Jean Cadoret, his wife
Aimee, and his daughter Manon inherit this
neighbouring farmstead from his mother Florette, Papet decides that he will drive them away, with Ugolin’s help. He does this by plugging the source of a
stream on Jean’s land, so that the farm will receive no water,
and turning the townspeople against Jean so that they will shun him and not
reveal the stream’s location.
Papet and Jean are very similar characters, which is
unfortunate for both of them. The fact that he cannot find the stream does not
deter Jean. He continues to search for it, even buying dynamite to help him
achieve his task. Sadly, the dynamite sends him to his death as the act of
blowing up the ground causes some rocks to fall on his head, killing him. The
fact that Papet drove him to this extremity shows how
he, too, is headstrong and determined, and will stop at nothing to achieve his
goals.
It is in the sequel, “Manon
des Sources” that the irony which was built up so painstakingly in “Jean de Florette” is developed, and is then brought to fruition.
The first instance of ironic vengeance is when Ugolin falls in love with Manon,
Jean’s now adult daughter. However, Manon is aware of
the part he played in her father’s death and, understandably, despises him for
it. Thus, Ugolin is doomed to love a woman who will
never reciprocate that love; a truly harsh punishment, but the death of a
person is a harsh crime. He watches her as she falls in love with the
newly-arrived schoolteacher, and must control the jealousy and pain that he
feels.
With Manon’s discovery of
the cause of her father’s death comes hatred, not just of Papet
and Ugolin, but also of the entire population of the
town. At the same time, she also accidentally finds the source of the stream
which supplies water to the town. In true ironic fashion, she has her revenge
by shutting off the town’s water supply with the aim of showing them exactly
how hard it was to survive for her and her parents. As a result of this, Papet and Ugolin especially
realise the consequences of their actions.
Ugolin hangs himself for the guilt of Jean’s death and
self-pity for the lack of love from Manon, but the
most vicious irony presents itself to Papet after
this point.
After a visit from a childhood acquaintance, Papet discovers a mind altering fact: that his former
lover, Florette, had carried his child while he was
away in the army. After receiving no correspondence from him, Florette moved away and had the child. The child grew up
and inherited Florette’s house, living there until he
died trying to find a water source on the land.
Thus, the greatest irony in the entirety of “Jean de Florette” is the fact that Jean Cadoret
was in fact Papet’s son, and that Papet’s
actions to gain land for the Soubeyrans indirectly
killed the one thing he desired above all else. As a result, Papet dies a broken man, fully realising the consequences
that he brought upon himself by killing his own son.
The continuation of Manon’s
life is made easier as Papet leaves the entire Soubeyran legacy to her and she marries the schoolteacher.
This does not make up for the theft of her father at such an early age, but it
appeases it in some way. This too, is a form of irony.
“Jean de Florette” is full
of irony, most of it very cruel and vengeful. It is an ironic turn of justice,
that for killing others, the killers must also die in an extremely tortured
fashion. However, there is a clear link to their victims’ fates.