The waters of the hills

The Waters of the Hills (L'Eau des collines) is a romantic diptych by the French author Marcel Pagnol , published in Paris in 1963 . The title refers to the water in the hills of Provence .

Emergence

The novel is made up of the two books Jean de Florette (Jean Florette) and Manon des sources (Manon's Revenge) and was initially published in two separate volumes before it was also published in full. Both volumes can be read independently of each other, but are directly related to their content.

Pagnol used his own two-part film Manon des sources , published in 1952, as a template . This film, in which Pagnol's wife Jacqueline Pagnol plays the main role of Manon, already includes in its two parts (L'Eau des collines and Ugolin) the theme that Pagnol will later base the second part of his novel. The first part of the novel, however, refers to the prehistory and addresses the arrival of the Manons family in the hills. According to Pagnol, the story was inspired by true events, which, however, could not be verified. Marcel Pagnol said he was told a similar story.

The story set is a fictional location near Aubagne in the 1920s. The landscape is characterized by the limestone massifs of the Garlaban and the Sainte-Baume .

action

Part one - Jean Florette

Tax officer Jean Cadoret decides to give up his job in the city and move to the Provencal countryside, home of his mother Florette, with his wife Aimée, a former opera singer, and his daughter Manon. There he wants to indulge in the "authentic" nature and build a modern rabbit farm. The decision is favored by the inheritance of a farm that his mother bequeathed to him. That is why he is called "Jean von Florette" in the village.

At the same time, Ugolin Soubeyran, who has returned from military service to his home village, reveals to his uncle César, known as “le Papet” ( Provencal for grandfather), that he would like to make wealth by raising carnations. Convinced of the economic possibilities of the project, the wealthy uncle supports his nephew.

Ugolin and le Papet identify the ideal terrain in Jean Cardoret's agriculture for their carnation, as it is equipped with a suitable source. In order to get to the courtyard that Cadoret had legitimately taken possession of and which had been ameliorated with great enthusiasm, they blocked the source before the latter's arrival in order to sabotage the newcomer's plans and urge him to sell at a reasonable price.

Meanwhile, the residents of the village are silent about the existence of the spring and Jean Cadoret is forced to laboriously fetch the necessary water during a period of drought that has dried up his cistern. Finally, Jean Cadoret dies while attempting to build a well as a result of falling stones as a result of a dynamite explosion he caused.

Part Two - Manon's Revenge

The second part of the novel begins about six years later. Manon lives with her mother and a friend in the remaining part of the former property. In the midst of the rugged landscape, Manon grew up to be a 15-year-old girl. A recluse calls her the 'source girl' (Manon des sources). In the perception of the villagers, the young goat keeper and trapper is stylized as a mysterious savage.

The situation changes when Manon accidentally overhears two villagers talking about the spring on Jean Cadoret's former property and is amazed at how Ugolin got the allegedly seeped spring so shortly after Cadoret's death and the acquisition of his farm can find. Thereupon Manon swears revenge on Ugolin, who is meanwhile fiercely courting.

Gradually, and above all under the pressure of a sermon by the old pastor, the villagers deal with the fate of Jean Cadoret. Finally, Eliacin, an eyewitness who claims to have seen Ugolin and le Papet clog the spring, speaks up.

In the meantime, Manon happens to come across the source of the spring that feeds the entire water supply on the way to the village. She decides to plug this source and take revenge on Ugolin and the passive villagers for the agony and death of her father. In fact, the well in the village is drying up and the farmers' pools are drying up. In the confusion surrounding the search for the alleged culprits of the catastrophe, the truths about the source of the Camoins emerge. Plagued by a guilty conscience, some are ready to repent and put Ugolin and his uncle on trial.

Badly hit by Manon's rejection and the allegations in the village, Ugolin takes his own life and bequeaths all of his property to Manon. With the support of the recently arrived teacher, she decides to release the source again.

A short time later, le Papet learns from an old friend that he is Jean Cadoret's father. Many years ago, Florette entrusted her with a letter that should have reached César during his military service in Africa, but never arrived. In it, Florette confesses her love for him and that she is expecting a child from him. On his return from Africa, however, César had to be surprised that Florette, who suspected a rejection in the non-response to her letter, had meanwhile married in order to give herself and her child Jean a livelihood. At the end of the book, le Papet dies because he is tired of the tragedy of his story of life. He bequeaths all of his property, the property of the Soubeyrans, to Manon.

main characters

First name	Surname	Nickname	origin	Profession / activity	Relationship / characteristic
Jean	Cadoret	Jean von Florette, the hunchback	Crespin	Tax officer, rabbit breeder
Ugolin	Soubeyran	Galinette	Bastides Blanches	Farmer, carnation grower	Nephew of 'le Papet', 25 or 30 years old
César	Soubeyran	le papet	Bastides Blanches	Winemaker	Uncle von Ugolin, was in a relationship with Florette in his youth, the wealthiest farmer in the village, is approaching his sixties
Aimée	Cadoret		Crespin	Opera singer	Wife of Jean Cadoret, mother of Manon
Baptistine			Piedmont	Hermit, herbalist	Wife of Giuseppe
Giuseppe			Piedmont	lumberjack	Husband of Baptistine
Manon	Cadoret	Spring girl	Crespin		Daughter of the Cadorets, 9 and 15 years old
Philoxene		Philoxene by Clarisse	Bastides Blanches	Mayor, tobacconist	47 or 53 years old
Pamphiles		Pamphiles from Fortunette	Bastides Blanches	Carpenter, carpenter, wagon builder	35 or 41 years old
Ange		Ange from Natalie	Bastides Blanches	Well master
Fernand	Cabridan	Big head with a small butt	Bastides Blanches	Farmer
Casimir			Bastides Blanches	Blacksmith, gravedigger
Florette	Camoins		Bastides Blanches		Childhood love of 'le Papet', then married to Crespin
Bernard	Olivier			Teacher	25 years old
Magali	Olivier		Lachau		Mother of Bernard
	Belloiseau	Monsieur Belloiseau, the notary		retired notary public
Dolphins			Bastides Blanches		old friend of 'le Papet'
Marius	Camoins	Pique bouffigue	Bastides Blanches		Brother of Florette
Martial	Chabert	the Baker	Bastides Blanches	baker

German edition

The two parts of the novel were translated by Pamela Wedekind in 1964 and have since appeared in different editions by various publishers, both individually and together in one volume. Most recently since 1997 as an unabridged version in a paperback volume by Piper-Verlag.

Adaptations

filming

In 1985 the novel by Claude Berri was filmed in two parts ( Jean Florette , Manon's Rache ) under the title L'Eau des collines . Gérard Depardieu played the leading roles as Jean Florette, Yves Montand as César Soubeyran (le Papet) and Daniel Auteuil as Ugolin. Depardieu's wife Elisabeth played Aimée. Emmanuelle Béart received a César for the role as Manon .

Comic

The story of the novel was adapted for a comic by Jacques Ferrandez in 1997 (L'Eau des collines) .

Trivia

Jean Giono's novel Der Hügel (1932) is also about springs in the hills of Provence, their sudden drying up and the search for water.