La civilité puérile et honnête de Maurice Boutet de Monvel ; contraintes bourgeoises et turbulence enfantine

Résumé 0

In 1887, the publisher Eugène Plon brings out in Paris La Civilité puérile et honnête, expliquée par l’oncle Eugène (that means himself), a picture-book illustrated by the famous French artist Maurice Boutet de Monvel. The title links this picture-book to a long French tradition of books of Courtesy, inherited from the De Civilitate morum puerilium (1530) by Erasmus, but quite old-fashioned by the end of the century. This paper examines how Boutet de Monvel, in spite of a co-called classical "handbook of manners" introduces a constant ironic comment of "good manners" taught to children of the upper middleclasses, and how the artist stands up for children againts grown-ups’ injonctions. Boutet de Monvel uses with a tremendous skill the frame of the book – left and right pages facing each other – to lay out his couples of "do" and "don’t". It is, of course, much funnier to be a naughty child than a good bunny. Boutet de Monvel’s choices do not contradict Oncle Eugène’s advice, for instance being not unworthy of Lewis Carroll’s. In its diversion of the tradition, this Civilité puérile et honnête may be considered as a testimony of a new image of the child, an image more respectful of his rights to live the time of his childhood... as a child.