Papillon (book)

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Papillon is the first of two novels by the French writer Henri Charrière , who was sentenced to life in forced labor in French Guiana for manslaughter . In the book, first published in 1969, which combines autobiographical elements, historical facts and fiction, he describes his captivity in French Guiana, including on Devil's Island , and his numerous attempts to escape.

overview

The narrator Henri Charrière, known as "Papillon" because of the butterfly tattoo on the base of his neck, wrote in 13 issues in 1967/68 in Caracas, where he lived with his wife and daughter. the chapters of the novel, his memories of the hardest time of his life written down: his conviction, the difficult conditions in the prisons in French Guiana, Colombia and Venezuela, the everyday life of the prisoners, with fade-in of their crime stories, the mostly unsuccessful and the few successful escape attempts as well the escape routes through the Caribbean. He accuses the harsh system of the French judiciary with lifelong exile in the labor camps on South American islands: “I would rather be a convict than a prison guard.” (Chapter 6) In contrast, the narrator praises the hospitality and helpfulness of the mostly poor population, be it Europeans Colonists, Indians, blacks, Asians or mixed race of different ethnicities, who met the fugitive criminals without prejudice and offered them a new chance in their village community. At the end of his odyssey, this natural humanity is more important to him than life in the industrial civilization of France, where the thirst for ever more comfort "[kills] the soul and compassion, understanding for others" (Chapter 13). The plot begins with his conviction in Paris in 1932 and ends with his release in Venezuela in 1945.

content

Kp. 1 The way to hell

In Paris in October 1932, Henri was sentenced to life imprisonment or banishment to French Guiana for murder, despite the protest of his innocence. During his entire prison time, the thought of revenge on prosecutor Pradel was the mainspring of his escape attempts. While still in prison, he befriends the forger Louis Dega, who has managed to hide a large sum of money in a "plug", a metal cylinder, in his anus, and with Julot Marteau, who for the second time after a failed outbreak is on his way to Guyana and informs him about the dangerous life in the penal colony . Henri equips himself with such a money capsule and finances his escape with it. The convicts are transported via Caen, La Rochelle to Saint-Martin-de-Ré , where the ocean voyage begins.

Kp. 2 On the way to the Bagno

Upon arrival in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni , French Guiana, all three learn that they are to be sent to the Îles du Salut off the coast, which is considered escape-proof because of the sharks and the current. That's why they want to escape from prison beforehand. They simulate illnesses and with the help of bribes come to the less guarded hospital. Julot is the first to escape. Papillon plans to flee together with fellow inmates Joanes Clousiot and 19-year-old André Maturette. Dega doesn't believe in her plan and wants to try his luck from the island, but he doesn't succeed. Henri met him there on his return.

Kp. 3 and 4 First Escape Attempt and First Escape

Clousiot, Maturette and Charrière use a trick to lure the supervisor into the hall and take the keys from him. The escape by boat first leads them to the pigeon island of the lepers in the river Maroni. From there your journey begins with a seaworthy boat to the then British colony of Trinidad in the Caribbean. After a short stay in Trinidad, the journey continues to the Dutch Curaçao . At all travel stations, they are treated in a friendly manner by the residents and are not handed over to the French authorities. However, they do not receive a right of residence, they are deported by assistance with their onward journey. On the coast of Colombia everyone is arrested by a police patrol and put in prison in Riohacha . Together with the local smuggler Antonio, Papillon manages to escape to a politically independent Indian area between Colombia and Venezuela . There he was accepted into the community of the Goajira tribe, who made their living from pearl fishing, and married to two girls, Lali and her sister Zoraima. But he doesn't want to spend the rest of his life there. Therefore, after six months, he says goodbye to the village with a public ceremony.

Kp. 5 Back to civilization

Henri rides back across the border to Colombia, hitchhiked to the west, got shelter in a monastery, but was betrayed, arrested by police and taken to the prison in Santa Marta. There he meets his companions from the Caribbean sea voyage again. Through bribes and with the help of the Belgian ambassador, he was able to leave the dungeon basement, which was flooded by high tide, and prepare for an escape from prison and an escape across the sea. This attempt failed due to unforeseen weather and he was transported to the fortress in Barranquilla together with Clousiot and Maturette to prepare for extradition to French Guiana . Here he continues his imaginative liberation actions, but all end unsuccessfully: through the chapel during a Sunday mass, with ropes over the wall, through a hole blasted in the wall. When jumping into the depths, he breaks both feet. In November 1934 he was injured and shipped to Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and sentenced to two years in prison for his escape.

6 and 7 islands of salvation

He is first brought to the Île Saint-Joseph , the middle one of the Îles du Salut, known as the "ogre-eater", where he has to serve two years of solitary confinement without speaking to other people. He keeps himself physically and mentally fit by regularly walking around in the cramped cell and by remembering past adventures and immersing himself in a fantasy world. In June 1936 he served his sentence and was sent to the Île Royale , the largest of the three islands. There he formally takes over the task of emptying the latrines, but lets others do the work for a fee. In his spare time he fishes fish, which he exchanges for other food. He saw through the new storage system very quickly. While he has so far benefited from the solidarity of the prisoners with one another against the guards, he sees that in the labor camp everyone tries to rise in the group hierarchy, to form clanships and to do business in order to gain an advantage, e.g. B. playing poker or with handicrafts, money lending, prostitution, services, trade. The overseers are the links with the outside world and allow the convicts to indulge in their self-sufficiency and self-justice as long as there is peace in the camp and they have their profit. Henri stays out of the dangerous fights and denunciations, supports friends, treats the guards politely and often acts as mediator in disputes. Only after five months does he carefully plan an escape with a raft, which he has made piece by piece in the workshop and hides near the coast. Shortly before completion, the plan is revealed by fellow inmate Bébert Celier. Charrière takes revenge by provoking him to attack and stabbing him, disguised as a defense. Therefore, he is not sentenced to death, but is sentenced to eight years in solitary confinement on the island of St. Joseph for both offenses. After many inmates there commit suicide or develop scurvy , the conditions of detention are eased. The prisoners are now allowed to bathe in the sea every day. At one of these exits, Papillon tries to save Lisette, the little daughter of the island commander Granduits, from drowning and is released from solitary confinement after nineteen months.

Kp. 8 Return to Royale

He returns to Royale Island and uses a buffalo cart to transport water from the sea to the camp every day. With the start of the Second World War, security measures are tightened to prevent outbreaks. Since Henri is considered to be particularly ready to flee, he comes to the island of St. Joseph, which is considered to be better secured than the other islands because of the sharks on the coasts. There he witnessed the shooting of three rebellious prisoners who wanted to start a rebellion by storming an arsenal. The guards then crack down on all camp inmates and lock them up in their homes. As a mediator, Henri is able to convince the commanders of the islands to explain the action to the investigative commission as a rampage with suicidal intent, which is advantageous for both the uncontrolled guards and the prisoners who are not directly involved.

Kp. 9 Saint-Joseph

After the murder of his friend Matthieu Carbonieri and the revenge on the perpetrators, Henri and the Italian Romeo Salvidia plan to escape from the poorly guarded ward of the mentally ill. His friend applies there for employment as a carer, Charrière simulates delusions and is admitted to the asylum. One night they try to escape with a raft made from two large barrels. But the sea is stormy and throws them against a rock. Salvidia drowns, Charrière can slip back into the hospital unnoticed. He now fakes his healing, comes back to the camp and makes friends with the doctor who looks after him, Germain Guibert and his wife. He understands his thoughts about fleeing and arranges for him to move to the Île du Diable, the Devil's Island .

Kp. 10 and 11 On the Devil's Island and Bagno, goodbye!

In 1941, Henri escaped for the ninth time. Since the Devil's Island is surrounded by a stormy sea, it is considered escape-proof and the prisoners have more room to move than in the other camps. Charrière takes advantage of this situation and sets sail with his comrade Sylvain on two rafts made of large jute sacks filled with buoyant coconuts. Taking advantage of the ebb and flow, they reach the Guayan coast after two days. Sylvain tries to wade ashore in the marshy shallow water and sinks into the swamp. Henri struggles through the jungle alone. According to the plan of the Chinese Tschang, who helped him with the preparation, he roams the jungle near Kourou to the Indochinese camp Inini, contacts his brother Quiek-Quiek, who is hiding on an inaccessible island surrounded by mud, and flees with him and his partner Van Hue by boat across the river Kourou into the Atlantic.

Kp. 12 Georgetown

Henri and the two Chinese are discovered by an English torpedo boat off the coast of British Guiana and taken to Georgetown . There they receive a residence permit, but are not allowed to leave the country. They find support from their immigrant scene and earn their living first as greengrocers. Then the narrator wants to earn more money, trades in rare butterflies, takes over a harbor pub and soon afterwards the striptease bar "Bambus-Cabane" in the remote Mackenzie mining area. His 19-year-old lover Indara, the daughter of a deceitful Javanese necromancer, supports him in his establishments as an attractive waitress. However, she gets on his nerves more and more because of her demands on him. After brawls with guests who feel ripped off, Charrière has to give up this lucrative and dodgy business and prepares his forbidden onward journey with four other French people. They buy a boat, paint it so that it becomes a copy of a registered fishing boat, get out to sea unmolested, then get caught in a typhoon that breaks their mast and sweeps away their food, and after about a week they are on the coast of Venezuela driven.

Kp. 13 Venezuela

In the fishing village of Irapa on the Gulf of Paria they are welcomed and nursed back to health, but the police prefect of Guiria arrests them and has them transported to Bagno El Dorado inland, where they are interned for observation. Here Henri experiences the toughest forced labor colony, even though he and his friends, unlike the local convicts, are spared the flogging and are allowed to create a garden to supply vegetables. With the diamonds found in the sand of the neighboring Rio Caroni River, Henri built a new existence after his release in October 1945 and permission to become a citizen of Venezuela. He realizes that he got on the wrong track in France through his own fault, but complains that he was punished too harshly for this. Now he vows: "[I] n the country that gives me confidence, I would be ashamed to do something criminal."

Research on the author's biography

The truth of what the publisher calls an autobiography story is the subject of much controversy. Research into the author's adventurous life began shortly after the novel was published. They revealed that the novel is a mixture of history and fiction. In 2005, Charrière was accused by Charles Brunier, an ex-inmate in French Guiana, that parts of the story told were not experienced by himself but that he was told by other inmates, including Brunier. Brunier's biography matches the biography of the fictional character Papillon in some respects , and Brunier even has a butterfly tattoo on his left arm.

Charrière's role in the murder in Paris that brought him to the prison camp is also unclear. Although he denied all his life to have had anything to do with it. Georges Ménager investigated the case, interviewed police officers and lawyers and published his book Les quatre vérités de Papillon in 1970 . Then several witnesses (not like in the novel: a single) incriminated Charrière and left little doubt about his perpetration.

Book editions (selection)

continuation

Shortly after the great success of Papillon , Charrière published the novel Banco , which tells of what happened after his release and before his conviction.

Adaptations

Film adaptations

The book was filmed in 1973 by Franklin J. Schaffner with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in the leading roles, see Papillon (1973) .

However, the film differs in the following points:

  1. in the film he was imprisoned for two years after an attempt to escape and not after the first major escape (which lasted almost a year),
  2. In the film he was only sentenced to five years in solitary confinement for attempting to escape and not for murder,
  3. in the book he did not have to serve the five years in full (see above),
  4. In the book, in contrast to the film, his friend Louis Dega (in the film: Dustin Hoffman) never accompanied him on an attempt to escape, even if the two had planned the escape together (Dega thought Charrière's plan was too risky),
  5. in the book, Louis Dega served his entire sentence on the Île Royale and was never on Devil's Island,
  6. In the book, the refugee Julot (called L'homme au marteau ) was not murdered while trying to escape, he managed to escape and Charrière saw him again years later by accident,
  7. in the book, Charrière was never at Camp Kilo 40 or any other labor camp on the mainland,
  8. the film ends with the escape from Devil's Island, which means that about a fifth of the novel has been left out.

In 2017 a remake was made with Papillon, directed by Michael Noer . The main roles were played by Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek .

Audio book

On February 14, 2011, an audio book read in by Oliver Rohrbeck was published .

Others

The title of the novel All Seven Waves by Daniel Glattauer references the flight of Papillons on a coconut raft with the special seventh wave.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pinned Pin by Gérard de Villiers and Les Quatre Vérités de Papillon by Georges Ménager. Roger-Jean Ségalat visited the setting of history: Sur les traces de Papillon . Hans Hass : The Devil's Island (ARD, ORF, 1972). 2008 on DVD Hans Hass - Unterwasserreport published. The marine researcher showed that the described escape on a raft filled with coconuts is possible in principle. However, he did not see any sharks in these waters.
  2. ^ Hugh Schofield: Papillon alive and well in a Paris retirement home . In: Mail & Guardian. June 26, 2005. [1] .
  3. ↑ Colin Randall: Ex-convict aged claims to be Papillon . The Daily Telegraph. June 27, 2005.
  4. ↑ Georges Ménager (1970). Les quatre vérités de Papillon
  5. ^ Daniel Glattauer: All seven waves. Novel. Deuticke Verlag, Vienna 2009, ISBN 978-3-552-06093-7 . Page 149