The Revolt of the Angels · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for The Revolt of the Angels by Anatole France.
Chapter 1
I
The chapter introduces the d'Esparvieu family history from 1789 to the present, focusing on the family mansion in Paris and its notable members: Alexandre Bussart d'Esparvieu, a statesman and author; his son Fulgence-Adolphe, a senator; and his three grandsons: Marc-Alexandre (a general), Gaétan (a country gentleman and agnostic), and René (a devout Catholic and liberal republican). René's household is described, including his wife Marie-Antoinette and their children, particularly Maurice, a young man of lukewarm faith and moderate zeal who is a barrister without practice. The chapter sets the stage for the family's religious and political tensions.
Chapter 2
II
This chapter describes the vast d'Esparvieu library, its origins under Baron Alexandre d'Esparvieu, and the efforts of subsequent generations to maintain and expand it. It introduces the librarian, Monsieur Julien Sariette, his obsessive devotion to the collection, and his daily routine, including his friendship with the painter Père Guinardon. The library is depicted as a treasure trove of knowledge, but also as a place of peculiar obsessions and hidden tensions.
Chapter 3
III
Monsieur Sariette discovers his library in disarray with valuable Hebrew, Greek, and Latin texts scattered and damaged. Despite exhaustive inquiries, he finds no explanation and becomes increasingly anxious. He eventually suspects a monkey, but upon finding a sickly captive macaco, he is overcome with pity and abandons the idea.
Chapter 4
IV
Two months after the mysterious disturbances in the library, Monsieur Sariette, the Catholic archivist, becomes increasingly paranoid, blaming Freemasons and Jews for the thefts. He resolves to spend a night in the library to catch the culprits, but is knocked unconscious by a flying book. His health deteriorates, and his reports are dismissed by Monsieur René d'Esparvieu and Abbé Patouille, who believe his mind is failing.
Chapter 5
V
In the chapel, Abbé Patouille, Gaétan d'Esparvieu, Maurice, and old Sariette discuss the frescoes by Delacroix, focusing on the depiction of wrathful angels versus guardian angels. Patouille laments the absence of peaceful celestial messengers, while Gaétan defends Delacroix's aesthetic. Old Guinardon extols the primitives and condemns Renaissance art. Later, Gaétan vents to Sariette about Guinardon's views, championing the nude and classical art over Christian primitivism.
Chapter 6
Wherein Père Sariette discovers his missing treasures
Monsieur Sariette discovers that a very old manuscript of Flavius Josephus, sixty volumes, a Lucretius with Voltaire's notes, a manuscript of Richard Simon, and Gassendi's correspondence with Gabriel Naudé have disappeared from the library. Monsieur René d'Esparvieu rebukes him harshly, fearing the loss of these treasures to foreign scholars. Later, Maurice tells Sariette that books are cluttering his garden-house, and Sariette finds all the missing items there, weeping and laughing with relief as he restores them.
Chapter 7
VII
The mysterious disappearances of books from the d'Esparvieu library continue despite new locks and security measures. Monsieur René d'Esparvieu, reluctant to create a scandal, consults his friend Monsieur des Aubels, who suspects the librarian Sariette and hires a detective named Mignon. Mignon's intense surveillance disrupts the household, but he finds nothing. A trap using talc reveals only faint bare footprints of extraordinary beauty, which Gaétan identifies as divine or antique. Maurice hears a voice sighing about knowledge and thought.
Chapter 8
VIII
Maurice, feeling a void in his heart despite his various romantic encounters, becomes infatuated with Gilberte des Aubels at his mother's gathering. After a failed first attempt to arrange a secret meeting, he succeeds during a library tour, where they share a kiss. Their tryst is interrupted by the librarian Sariette, who frantically chases a flying book—a Flavius Josephus—that he claims escaped by itself, collapsing in distress.
Chapter 9
IX
Maurice awaits his mistress Gilberte in his flat, growing impatient at her lateness. When she arrives, they reconcile and make love, but afterward she mentions a bracelet she desires, which Maurice deflects. As they prepare to leave, Gilberte sees a mysterious figure in the room and screams in terror.
Chapter 10
The Angel's Confession
Arcade reveals to Maurice and Gilberte that he is a fallen angel who has lost his faith through study of the library's books. He declares his intention to rebel against Ialdabaoth (the God of the Jews and Christians), whom he describes as a limited and ignorant demiurge. He explains that his rebellion is inspired by science and the desire for freedom, not pride, and cites theological authorities to justify the possibility of angels falling from grace.
Chapter 11
XI
Arcade, now dressed in a suicide's cast-off clothes, reveals his angelic nature to Gilberte and explains the hierarchy of angels. He leaves Maurice, who realizes he no longer has a guardian angel, and discusses the spiritual consequences of this loss.
Chapter 12
XII
Arcade meets with Théophile Belais, a fallen angel who left Heaven for love of a music-hall singer named Bouchotte. Théophile, still faithful to God in his heart, avoids politics and revolution. Arcade reveals his plan to lead a new revolt against Ialdabaoth and seeks allies, but Théophile refuses to join. Arcade later visits a restaurant frequented by revolutionaries, searching for other rebel angels.
Chapter 13
XIII
Arcade meets the archangel Zita in a tavern, where they discuss the potential for a rebellion in Heaven. Zita outlines her strategic approach, emphasizing the need to appeal to the passions and interests of the angels rather than relying solely on scientific enlightenment. Afterward, Théophile shows Arcade his moth-eaten wings, preserved in a cupboard.
Chapter 14
XIV
Arcade, now incarnated, stays with Prince Istar in a garret. Istar, a Cherub who rebelled against Ialdabaoth, works for humanity's welfare through chemistry and anarchist activism. Arcade becomes a printer, struggles with poverty and desire, and meets with Zita and other rebel angels. He grows disillusioned with their apathy. Zita takes him to Nectaire, who offers solace.
Chapter 15
Chapter XV
Maurice, distraught over the loss of his guardian angel Arcade, seeks counsel from Abbé Patouille, who dismisses his experience as a hallucination and warns against the dangers of dissipation. Meanwhile, Arcade and Zita discuss the suffering of humanity and Zita reveals her past earthly incarnations and her mission to liberate Heaven, inspired by Nectaire's flute.
Chapter 16
XVI
Maurice, frustrated by his failed attempts to find his angel through orthodox means, turns to occultism and consults the seeress Madame Mira. He obtains a talisman—a Lucretius volume from the library—which the angel had touched. Meanwhile, Zéphyrine bursts in to report that Michel Guinardon has abandoned her for Octavie. Later, Maurice retrieves the Lucretius from Madame Mira, but the librarian Sariette, distracted by the day's events, inadvertently allows the binder Amédée to take the precious book away, leading to its loss.
Chapter 17
XVII
Arcade and Prince Istar seek funding from the financier Max Everdingen (the fallen angel Sophar) for their revolution in France and Heaven, but Everdingen refuses, defending the financial system and offering instead to fund a revolt in Heaven alone.
Chapter 18
XVIII
In an arbor at the far end of the orchard, Nectaire begins his story for Arcade and Zita, recounting the first rebellion in Heaven. He describes Lucifer's beauty, intelligence, and pride, and how he himself, then called Alaciel, was drawn to Lucifer's love of liberty and knowledge. Nectaire tells of the war in Heaven, the battle between Lucifer's forces and those of Iahveh led by Michael, and the eventual fall of the rebels. After their defeat, Lucifer consoles his followers, teaching them that pain has revealed love and pity unknown in Heaven. Nectaire then describes the formation of Earth and the rise of humanity, whom the fallen angels aided by teaching them skills and fostering their intelligence.
Chapter 19
XIX
Nectaire continues his story, describing the idyllic life of ancient Greece and Rome, the rise of civilization through art and wisdom, and the eventual decline as barbarians and new religions, particularly the cunning Iahveh, threaten the old gods and the beauty of the classical world.
Chapter 20
Chapter XX
Nectaire recounts the history of the ancient demons and their interactions with humanity from the time of the Gauls through the barbarian invasions and the rise of Christianity, describing how they preserved knowledge and subtly guided people away from blind faith in Iahveh.
Chapter 21
Chapter XXI
Nectaire recounts the history of religious conflict, the Reformation's destruction of beauty, the rise of science and reason, the intellectual salons of the Enlightenment, the disappointments of Napoleon, and his eventual retreat to a pastoral life awaiting the return of Dionysus.
Chapter 22
XXII
Père Guinardon opens a curio shop in the Rue de Courcelles with the fair Octavie, having abandoned Zéphyrine. The shop attracts various visitors, including Comte Desmaisons, Monsieur Blancmesnil, and Gaétan d'Esparvieu. A discussion about El Greco's astigmatism leads to a debate on suffering and faith. Zéphyrine, driven by jealousy, attacks Octavie and destroys several paintings, accusing Guinardon of forgery before being arrested.
Chapter 23
Chapter XXIII
Prince Istar visits Bouchotte to hide bombs in Théophile's cupboard, but his forceful advances are violently rejected. After he leaves, Maurice d'Esparvieu arrives on behalf of Madame de la Verdelière to hire Bouchotte for a charity event. Maurice and Bouchotte grow intimate, and she eventually yields to him. Théophile returns, and Bouchotte thanks Maurice for the offer.
Chapter 24
XXIV
The chapter traces the journey of the Lucretius of the Prior de Vendôme after it is mistakenly omitted from a binder's list. The volume passes through several hands: the binder's son Ernest steals it to fund a date, sells it to a secondhand dealer, who sells it to an expert, who sells it to a collector, then to a bookseller, then to a bibliopolist, and finally to the Comtesse de Gorce. During her absence, a thief steals it from her mansion, and it eventually ends up with Père Guinardon, who buys it for a pittance.
Chapter 25
XXV
Maurice finds Arcade again after the performance at Bouchotte's dressing-room. He expresses his longing and demands his guardian angel back, but Arcade reveals he has become a revolutionary spirit fighting against Ialdabaoth, the demiurge. Maurice offers to be Arcade's guardian angel and takes him for oysters.
Chapter 26
The Conclave
Arcade and Zita convene a conclave of rebellious angels in a dilapidated hall at La Jonchère. Nectaire is elected president in absentia. Arcade denounces Iahveh as Ialdabaoth, a barbarous demiurge, and calls for war. A loyal angel is expelled. Debates ensue over strategy, resources, and leadership, with Prince Istar ultimately claiming victory lies in a bottle of chemical formula rather than traditional warfare.
Chapter 27
XXVII
Arcade and Zita discuss the nature of evil and the limits of their rebellion, while Baron Everdingen urges them to arm. Meanwhile, the innkeeper Barattan reports the rebel angels to the police, who suspect a plot against 'Alaballotte.' Maurice, jealous of Arcade's intimacy with Bouchotte, argues about morality and religion. Eventually, Maurice helps Arcade evade surveillance by moving him to a safe flat in the Rue de Rome.
Chapter 28
Chapter XXVIII
Maurice's family confronts him about his relationship with Bouchotte, a music-hall singer, and his financial misconduct, leading to a heated domestic scene where Maurice retaliates by exposing his family's own hypocrisies.
Chapter 29
Chapter XXIX
Arcade and Gilberte begin an affair, leading to a confrontation when Maurice discovers them. Maurice challenges Arcade to a duel, but Arcade claims invulnerability. Maurice leaves in despair, wandering the streets in the rain.
Chapter 30
The Wounded Angel and the Skeptical World
Maurice, recovering from a duel, is visited by Arcade, Gilberte, and family members. Arcade reveals his rebellion against Ialdabaoth, while Gaétan and Sariette react with skepticism. Maurice reconciles with Arcade and Gilberte, and Arcade defends angelic love with historical references.
Chapter 31
XXXI
Monsieur Sariette visits Père Guinardon to reclaim a stolen Lucretius from the d'Esparvieu library. Guinardon refuses, claiming he bought it, and a violent struggle ensues. Sariette strangles Guinardon, takes the book, and flees. Guinardon's body is discovered, and his death is initially attributed to apoplexy. Zéphyrine, his former lover, mourns him through the night and dies of grief.
Chapter 32
XXXII
Madame de la Verdelière visits Maurice to solicit a subscription for French churches but is driven away by Arcade's irreverent remarks. Abbé Patouille offers spiritual counsel, but Maurice mocks him. Later, Maurice, Gilberte, and Arcade enjoy a peaceful outing. Zita arrives to rebuke Arcade for his idleness and summons him to a revolutionary meeting at Clodomir's tavern. There, Nectaire plays his flute, causing a cosmic vision, before vanishing.
Chapter 33
XXXIII
After a night of revelry, Maurice, Arcade, Zita, Prince Istar, and Théophile are confronted by Inspector Grolle. A violent brawl erupts, resulting in the death of Inspector Grolle and injuries to several others. Prince Istar throws a bomb to cover their escape. Maurice and Arcade return to the flat, where Maurice expresses guilt and blames Arcade. The news of the crime spreads terror across Paris, leading to mass hysteria, arrests, and political crackdowns.
Chapter 34
XXXIV
Maurice d'Esparvieu learns that Inspector Grolle's death was due to a natural cause, relieving him of murder charges. However, he is arrested along with Bouchotte for involvement with the rebel angels. Judge Salneuve investigates but is pressured by the Minister of Justice to release them. Meanwhile, Monsieur Sariette goes mad and destroys the d'Esparvieu library by throwing books. The rebel angels, including Arcade, Zita, Istar, and Nectaire, prepare to depart Earth for a second rebellion in Heaven, leaving Maurice in sorrow.
Chapter 35
XXXV
Satan dreams of leading a second rebellion against Ialdabaoth, conquering Heaven, and being crowned God. However, he soon becomes corrupted by power, repeating the tyranny of his predecessor—proclaiming himself a triune god, banishing Arcade for smiling, and embracing dogma and suffering. In the dream, he spares Michael, but ultimately awakens to realize that true victory lies in destroying Ignorance and Fear within oneself, not in conquering Heaven.
