Querelles De Famille
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''Querelles de famille'' (Family Quarrels) is a novel by
Georges Duhamel Georges Duhamel (; ; 30 June 1884 – 13 April 1966) was a French author, born in Paris. Duhamel trained as a doctor, and during World War I was attached to the French Army. In 1920, he published '' Confession de minuit'', the first of a serie ...
published in
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
by
Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...
, dedicated to Roger Martin du Gard.


Summary

Georges Duhamel, the narrator, in a caustic and purposefully ultra-conservative tone, criticises the technological progress of the close of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, and the beginnings of
consumer society Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...
.Georges Duhamel
in the
Encyclopædia Universalis The ''Encyclopædia Universalis'' is a French-language general encyclopedia published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., a privately held company. The articles of the ''Encyclopædia Universalis'' are aimed at educated adult readers, and writte ...
'', 1968, vol.5, p.833-835.
Its omnipresent and haunting sounds, in particular that of the
phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...
, drive him to promote the creation of a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
of silence. The "grime" which, according to him, surrounds the cities, due essentially to what he calls the "société du fer blanc" (the tinplate society), is an annoyance to him. Inventors, who continue to create superficial objects, are called on to no longer submit new patents. The Church seems to Duhamel to be the next target of technological progress, and he fears the introduction of the phonograph into religious establishments for the purpose of playing chants and sacred music, and even, ultimately, replacing the sermons of the priest. Man in this society of uncontrolled
technological progress Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...
loses his bearings, hungers for the latest invention and ends up hypochondriac on its behalf, waiting feverishly for its smallest malfunction and bringing it in at the slightest sign of failure. Through several characters who become slaves to their appliances, moving from the electric pump to the car or the " téhésef", Duhamel vehemently attacks interwar French society using a backward-looking tone. Ultimately, he submits two measures to the President of the Republic, which according to him, would counter the
consumerist ''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of ''Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's focu ...
trend in the population. In one, he proposes the creation of a ''Ministry of Advertising'', charged with verifying the validity of corporate slogans in order to scientifically validate the "measurable and non-measurable" assertions which these corporations use to sell their products. In the other, he asks for the creation of a ''Ministry of Noise'', charged with legislating schedules for the use of musical appliances and radios on beaches, with studying the impact of noise on health, with proposing industrial procedures for the neutralization of noise, and finally, his dream, with creating a national park of silence.


Analysis

This novel directly follows '' Scènes de la vie future'' (Scenes of Future Life) which recounts his trip to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the years 1929 and 1930 and the excesses of the consumer society that he discovers there.


Editions

*
Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...
, Paris, 1932 (reprinted in 1959).


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Querelles De Famille 1932 French novels French historical novels Works originally published in Mercure de France