The Temptation of Saint Anthony - Gustave Flaubert

Summary

Gustave Flaubert's "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" is a dramatic prose poem recounting the harrowing night-long spiritual struggle of Saint Anthony the Great, an ascetic hermit in the Egyptian desert. Plagued by solitude, weariness, and spiritual doubt, Anthony is subjected to a series of overwhelming hallucinations and visions that assail his faith, resolve, and sanity. These temptations manifest as a parade of historical figures, mythological creatures, ancient gods, philosophers, heresiarchs, personified vices, and symbolic beasts. He is tempted by lust, power, knowledge, wealth, doubt, and the very dissolution of his being into the universe. Through each elaborate and phantasmagoric vision, Anthony grapples with the allure of worldly pleasures, intellectual curiosity, and spiritual despair, ultimately striving to reaffirm his devotion to God as the dawn breaks and the sun rises, revealing the face of Christ in the disc of the sun. The work is a profound exploration of human doubt, faith, temptation, and the boundaries of imagination.

Book Sections

Section 1: The Hermit's Solitude and Initial Doubts

Saint Anthony, an aging hermit, lives in isolation near the village of Colzim, Egypt. He is weary from fasting and prayer, troubled by the temptations of his past life and the mundane world he has renounced. He dreams of his youth, his family, and the lost pleasures of the world. The mundane objects in his cell transform into sources of temptation: his hair shirt becomes soft silk, his mat a luxurious bed. His past disciples appear, taunting him with the ease and comfort of their lives. He yearns for knowledge, for miracles, for power, and feels a profound sense of loneliness and spiritual inadequacy.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Saint Anthony	Hermit, ascetic, devout Christian, vulnerable to doubt, imagination, and weariness. Old but with an enduring passion.	To maintain his faith and monastic vows against the onslaught of temptation; to achieve spiritual purity and salvation.
The Devil	Shape-shifter, deceiver, manipulates Anthony's fears and desires, embodies worldly corruption and intellectual doubt. Appears in various guises.	To corrupt Anthony's faith, drag him away from asceticism, and claim his soul through temptation and despair.

Section 2: The Seven Deadly Sins and Lust

The visions intensify as the Seven Deadly Sins parade before Anthony. Following this, the Queen of Sheba appears, attempting to seduce him with promises of immense wealth, exotic pleasures, and political power. She recounts her vast riches, her beauty, and her ability to fulfill his every desire, urging him to abandon his desolate life for a life of luxury and sensual gratification. Anthony struggles immensely against the allure of her beauty and the vivid imagery of a life of ease and indulgence.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Queen of Sheba	Beautiful, seductive, regal, wealthy, represents worldly luxury, power, and sensual pleasure.	To tempt Anthony with the allure of wealth, power, and carnal indulgence, thereby corrupting his piety.
The Seven Sins	Personifications of Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, and Sloth.	To overwhelm Anthony with the manifest evils and weaknesses of humanity, inciting him to yield.

Section 3: The Heretics and False Doctrines

Anthony is then confronted by a multitude of heresiarchs and their followers, each presenting their own twisted interpretations of Christian doctrine. They accuse him of ignorance, rigidity, and fear, offering alternative paths to enlightenment and salvation. Among them are the Gnostics, Marcionites, Manichaeans, and followers of Apollonius of Tyana, each advocating their own cosmology, dualisms, and esoteric rituals. Anthony feels overwhelmed by the sheer volume of conflicting beliefs and the intellectual challenge they pose to his simple faith.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Apollonius of Tyana	Ancient Greek philosopher and miracle-worker, presented as a rival to Christ; embodies pagan wisdom and magic, an alternative path to spiritual power.	To challenge Christian truth with pagan philosophy, demonstrating the possibility of power and wisdom outside of God.
Various Heresiarchs	Historical figures who founded divergent Christian sects (e.g., Marcion, Mani). Dogmatic, articulate, and zealous in their alternative doctrines.	To confuse Anthony with a multitude of conflicting theological views, sowing doubt about the absolute truth of mainstream Christian dogma.

Section 4: The Pagan Gods and Ancient Mythologies

The visions shift from Christian heresies to the vast pantheon of ancient pagan gods. Roman, Greek, Egyptian, and various other deities appear, each introduced by the philosopher Apollonius, who presents them as once powerful beings now diminished but still possessing fragments of ancient wisdom and beauty. Anthony witnesses the rituals, myths, and sacrifices associated with these gods, from Zeus and Aphrodite to Isis and Osiris. He is torn between his condemnation of idolatry and a strange fascination with the beauty and grandeur of these fallen divinities, realizing the universality of humanity's search for the divine, however misguided.

Character	Characteristics	Motivations
Greek, Roman, Egyptian Gods	Diverse deities (e.g., Zeus, Venus, Isis, Osiris), once revered, now presented as fading powers or symbolic archetypes. Represent ancient beliefs.	To allure Anthony with the beauty, power, and emotional resonance of pre-Christian spiritualities, challenging the singularity of his Christian God.

Section 5: The Philosophers and Intellectual Doubt

After the gods, a procession of ancient philosophers appears, from the Skeptics and Stoics to the Cynics and Epicureans. They question the nature of reality, truth, and purpose, offering various explanations for existence that often contradict each other and Christian dogma. They challenge Anthony's simple faith with logical arguments, questioning miracles, creation, and the afterlife. This parade of intellect aims to undermine Anthony's certainty by showing him the endless, often contradictory, pathways of human reason.

| Character | Characteristics | Motivations
| Philosophers | Diverse figures representing different philosophical schools (Skeptics, Stoics, Cynics, etc.). They argue against certainty, God, and traditional morality. | To entice Anthony with the power of human reason and doubt, aiming to dismantle his faith through intellectual challenge and logical contradiction. |
| The Ape-Men | Primal, bestial precursors to humans; represent humanity's raw, animalistic origins, and the challenge to divine creation. | To lure Anthony into accepting a materialist, evolutionary view of humanity, thereby diminishing divine creation and human special status. |

Section 6: Satan and the Desire for Power

Satan appears in various monstrous and majestic forms, attempting to persuade Anthony to abandon his God for ultimate power and knowledge. He offers Anthony dominion over the earth, the ability to perform miracles, and the satisfaction of all his worldly desires. Satan mocks Anthony's asceticism, painting God as a cruel and restrictive master, while he, Satan, represents freedom, self-exaltation, and the true understanding of the universe. This is a direct assault on Anthony's humility and his renunciation of worldly authority.

Section 7: The Sphinx and the Chimera

In a highly symbolic and allegorical section, Anthony encounters the Sphinx and the Chimera. The Sphinx represents the enigma of existence, the impenetrable mystery of the universe and human fate, challenging Anthony's desire for ultimate truth and knowledge. The Chimera, a monstrous, fantastical beast, symbolizes the wild, untamed imagination, the ever-shifting, elusive nature of dreams and illusions. These two creatures engage in a cosmic dance and dialogue, embodying the eternal struggle between rationality and imagination, reality and illusion. They question the very foundations of Anthony's perception and understanding.

Section 8: The Transformation into Animals and the Desire for Dissolution

In his most extreme temptation, Anthony is urged by the Devil to experience existence in all its forms, starting with animal life. He imagines himself as various creatures—a tree, a bird, a fish, an insect—experiencing the primal sensations and instincts of each. This leads to a desire to dissolve completely into matter, to become one with the universe, relinquishing his individual consciousness and human form. This is the ultimate temptation of nihilism and pantheism, a desire to escape the burdens of self and faith by merging with the indifferent cosmic whole.

Section 9: The Microscopic World and The Face of Christ

Just as Anthony is on the verge of succumbing to this desire for dissolution, the Devil reveals the microscopic world. Anthony witnesses the teeming life within drops of water, the intricate beauty of cells, and the complex processes of decomposition and regeneration. This scientific vision, initially overwhelming, reveals the incredible wonder and order of creation even in its tiniest forms. As the sun begins to rise, bathing his cell in light, the face of Christ appears within the disc of the sun, radiating peace and reaffirming the divine presence in all of creation. Anthony's temptations finally cease, and he is left with a renewed sense of faith and purpose.

Literary Genre

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" primarily belongs to the genre of dramatic prose poem or philosophical fantasy. It combines elements of a dramatic monologue (as Anthony is the primary speaker and experiencer), visionary literature, and historical-religious fantasy. Its rich, descriptive language and focus on internal experience also give it qualities of psychological fiction.

Author Facts

• Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) was a renowned French novelist, considered one of the masters of realism.
• He is best known for his meticulous writing style, his relentless pursuit of the "mot juste" (the right word), and his objective, impersonal narration.
• His other famous works include "Madame Bovary," "Salammbô," "Sentimental Education," and "Three Tales."
• "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" was a lifelong project for Flaubert, spanning over three decades of revisions. He wrote three distinct versions, with the final one published in 1874.
• Flaubert was highly influential on subsequent generations of writers, including proponents of naturalism and modernism.

Moral of the Story

The "moral" of "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" is complex and multi-faceted, reflecting Flaubert's own nuanced views on faith, knowledge, and human nature.

1. The Resilience of Faith: Despite facing an onslaught of doubt, lust, heresy, and despair, Anthony ultimately reaffirms his faith. The book suggests that true spirituality is not the absence of temptation but the constant struggle against it, leading to a deeper understanding and acceptance of one's chosen path.
2. The Universality of Temptation: The various forms of temptation (flesh, power, knowledge, doubt, nihilism) represent universal human struggles. Anthony's journey is an allegory for the spiritual and intellectual trials faced by all individuals, especially those seeking profound truth or self-discipline.
3. The Dangers and Allure of Knowledge: The book explores the double-edged sword of knowledge. While curiosity can lead to heresy and doubt, it can also lead to a deeper appreciation of the divine (as seen in the microscopic world). Flaubert seems to suggest that while knowledge can challenge faith, it also reveals the wondrous complexity of creation.
4. The Power of Imagination: The entire narrative unfolds within Anthony's mind, highlighting the immense power of the human imagination to both torment and enlighten. The visions are so vivid that they blur the line between internal experience and external reality, suggesting that our internal world is as real and impactful as the external.

Curiosities

1. Lifelong Obsession: Flaubert began writing "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" in his early twenties and continued to revise it for over thirty years. He even took a trip to Egypt in the 1849-1850 period to research local color and history for the book, although it's set in the 4th century.
2. A "Dump" for Ideas: Flaubert described the work as a "dump" where he could deposit all the philosophical, religious, and historical readings that fascinated him but didn't fit into his realist novels like "Madame Bovary." It's a vast synthesis of ancient history, mythology, theology, and philosophy.
3. Reaction of Friends: After completing the first version in 1849, Flaubert read it aloud to his friends Louis Bouilhet and Maxime Du Camp for 32 hours over four days. Their verdict was harsh; they advised him to throw it into the fire and stick to "real life." This criticism led Flaubert to write "Madame Bovary" instead, but he never abandoned his 'Temptation'.
4. Influence on Art: The work's vivid, hallucinatory imagery has made it a significant source of inspiration for Symbolist and Surrealist artists. Painters like Odilon Redon and Félicien Rops created illustrations and paintings directly inspired by Flaubert's text.
5. Critique of Dogma and Progress: While seemingly a religious text, Flaubert uses the parade of heresies, gods, and philosophies to critique the limitations of all dogmatic systems and the often-illusory nature of human progress. The sheer volume of conflicting beliefs suggests a kind of relativistic despair, even as Anthony clings to his own truth.
6. Literary Experiment: The book is highly experimental in its form, blending drama, poetry, and prose. It foreshadows modernist techniques through its stream-of-consciousness narrative and its focus on interiority and psychological states.