The Revolt of the Angels · Chapter
II explained
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.
What happens
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.
Themes in this chapter
Knowledge and Enlightenment
The library represents the pursuit of universal knowledge, yet the chapter hints at the limits of human understanding and the futility of cataloging the Absolute.
Class and Hierarchy
The library is a symbol of aristocratic wealth and intellectual legacy, with family members and clergy exerting authority over its use.
Human Nature and Folly
Sariette's obsessive possessiveness and the family's squabbles over the library illustrate human folly and attachment to material and intellectual property.
Characters to notice
- Baron Alexandre d'Esparvieu
Founder of the library, which he formed with 360,000 volumes, and established a legacy for its expansion.
- Fulgence-Adolphe Bussart d'Esparvieu
Eldest son who carried out his father's wishes to add to the library.
- René d'Esparvieu
Guardian of the library, who bought out his sisters' shares and continued adding to it, though with diminishing enthusiasm.
- Gaétan d'Esparvieu
Enriched the library with modern works, showing good judgment, though his brothers doubted his taste.
- Monsieur Julien Sariette
The devoted and jealous librarian, who catalogued the collection with a complex system and guarded it fiercely against any borrower.
- Père Guinardon
A scene-painter and picture-restorer, friend of Sariette, who discusses the Chapelle des Anges and his devotion to Saint Michael.
- Madame Paulet de Saint-Fain
One of the Senator's daughters who wanted to sell the library, but was bought out by René and Gaétan.
- Maurice d'Esparvieu
Mentioned as the young pupil to whom Sariette became tutor in 1895.
Key passages
“There is no man whose brain is equal to containing all the knowledge which is piled upon these shelves. Happily it doesn’t matter.”
No one can hold all this knowledge in their mind, but that's fine because it doesn't really matter.
Cardinal Merlin's remark underscores the theme of the limits of human knowledge.
“The borrowing of the smallest book seemed like dragging his heart out.”
Lending even the tiniest book felt like a painful extraction to Sariette.
Illustrates Sariette's extreme attachment to the library's volumes.