Uncovering Secrets in Jean de la Fontaine's Fables with Savvy Mom Ruth Paget
The morals that are stated or are implied by many of Jean de la Fontaine’s (1621 – 1695) Fables often criticize the powers-that-be of 17th century France, notably King Louis XIV (1638 – 1715).
La Fontaine was astute in criticizing the government in the form of fables; it most probably saved his life. Louis XIV and his courtiers evidently found nothing in common with the animals and insects described in the Fables.
La Fontaine likely formed his dislike of Louis XIV when his patron, the Superintendent of Finances, Nicolas Fouquet (1615 – 1680) was tried and imprisoned by Louis XIV for corruption. La Fontaine suffered after Fouquet’s disgrace as well by having to pay a large fine for using an aristocrat’s title in his name and having to seek a new patron.
La Fontaine begins his Fables with the story of the grasshopper and the ant. The grasshopper asks the ant for food, which the ant refuses to give him.
The implicit moral of the fable is to economize to prepare for difficult times. The financial vocabulary that La Fontaine uses all point to an economic interpretation of this fable with words such as interest, principal, debtor, and borrower being used in the text.
The lesson here is that small-scale economies apply to the kingdom as well. Louis XIV’s projects such as diverting the Eure River to supply the fountains at Versailles with water were expensive.
La Fontaine’s ultimate moral in the grasshopper and ant fable may have been that kings should manage their treasury and save money rather than divert rivers and engage in wars.
The absolute power of Louis XIV may have served as the subject of La Fontaine’s fable of the wolf and the lamb. The lamb tries to persuade the wolf not to eat it using reason and logical arguments. However, the wolf eats the lamb without remorse, using force to do so.
Force appears to win the day in La Fontaine’s Fables, because rulers, subjects, and La Fontaine’s animals are susceptible to flattery. In La Fontaine’s fable of the crow and the fox, a crow holds a piece of cheese in its beak.
When the fox flatters the crow, the crow opens it mouth to show off its beautiful voice. When this happens, the crow drops its meal to the fox below. The moral of the fable is that flattery harms those who listen to it and believe it, which suggests how Louis XIV was able to divide and conquer his once-powerful nobles.
Looking for veiled political criticisms such as these in Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables adds another level to appreciating La Fontaine’s work and to understanding the era of Louis XIV.
By Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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