Visages

By Lucie Desoille

This booklet is authored by Lucie Desoille, wife of Robert Desoille who is known for his pioneering work with the Waking Dream. Psychologists, therapists or students working with the Waking Dream will find this book nice complementary reading to more theory focussed works on the subject. The stories in this booklet make better sense by 'experiencing' them rather than by understanding them, as they seem to speak to the soul rather than our intellect and some might be considered hermetic in nature, especially the stories bundled in the third part.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Moreh Derekh
• Release date: Jun 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9789461630551

Book preview

Visages

by

Lucie Desoille

Translated by Moreh

Inner Garden Press

L028

Preface

Visages, the title of this collection, was not chosen by Lucie Desoille who died prematurely at the age of 47 on 20 January 1945.

We have chosen this title for want of a better one because, to us, it captures the impression given by the characters portrayed.

We have classified these short plays, as the author wanted, under three distinct subtitles thus providing three very different avenues of inspiration.

The first section, which we have called ‘Angevin Tales,’ concerns stories inspired by scenes from real life with minimal ‘editing.’ In these tales, the reader will sense the strong attachment of Lucie Desoille to Anjou, the region where she grew up. The countryside of Anjou is one of calm lines in different nuances with which Lucie Desoille was personally and deeply imprinted.

Gifted with an exquisite sensitivity and a generosity of heart that nothing could deter, she loved simple people, understood them immediately and had the gift of making them like her from the first contact. She was happy to introduce us to many of these people from her native countryside.

She loved life passionately and gave herself unreservedly to it while maintaining a wonderfully balanced life.

She lived life to the fullest and unreservedly surrendered herself to it. At the same time, she maintained a marvellously balanced character thanks to the harmony she could achieve between her highest spiritual aspirations and the legitimate attractions Nature exerted on her. It will therefore not surprise the reader to see the transition from the sometimes truculent tone of the Angevin Tales to the solemn reverie of ‘Fatigue’ and the mystical appeal of ‘Three Golden Initials.’

Under the title of ‘Poems,’ we have gathered those pieces which are simply the expression of her desire to commune with Nature and the beings that surrounded her while remaining grounded in the realm of reality.

The ‘Initiatory Tales’ bundle the compositions whose inspiration comes from dreams only, such as the ‘King of Imbroglie’ and ‘The Three Golden Initials,’ or from a mix of dreams and reality such as ‘The Storm’ and ‘The Poet Who Is Said to Be Ill.’ These last tales may seem hermetic. The reader should allow themselves to be carried away by the visions they provoke. So as to express a feeling, the stories speak the language of pure imagination whose workings held no secrets for the author. We are confident that whoever seeks to make sense of these stories by experiencing them rather than by understanding them will undoubtedly fall under their spell.

R.D.

Part 1: Angevin Tales

The Beautiful Relationship

The Morin couple had no children. Some siblings scattered in distant provinces possibly had started a family but the Morins cared little about these parents who had gradually become strangers. When they remembered, they concluded among themselves that some serious dissension had separated them, that they were people of modest means who had not been successful in life, no doubt because they did not deserve it. This was an indelible blemish and the Morins, at peace with themselves and with humanity, looked towards the future.

They were approaching sixty. Their limbs began to feel heavier and former joys like the warmth of their slippers and the blissful admiration of their neighbours were fading. Their house seemed to be less spacious. It had become so stuffed with furniture bought in Faubourg (the best there is) and piles of knick-knacks that they could hardly see what else they put in.

It seemed that the house was ready to burst like an overfull stomach. And they were bored.

One day, their closest neighbour died. For quite a while, the couple had not been on speaking terms with each other but this event provided a distraction. Over a period of three days, from behind the curtain, they watched the comings and goings and did not miss a single detail of the ceremony. The neighbour had done well; the funeral was a success. The lunch was so lavish that friends and relatives did not have one quite like it for years. This made the Morin couple think. They talked for a long time. They made plans and agreed that they would begin to prepare for their passing in an orderly fashion. They wanted to do better than their neighbour and imagined it could become the talk of the day for a long time in the area. For this occasion, of course, brothers, nephews and cousins would all be invited. They would then see how the elders had succeeded! They imagined seeing their faces ... they would laugh with joy!

And so it was decided. They went to the funeral parlour which had served their neighbour so well. They struck a good deal in return for some nice thousand-franc-bills folded into four. At the cemetery, they selected the highest corner at the summit. They took an interest in the work of the gravediggers and thereafter in that of the masons who adorned the walls of the vault with white and pink mosaics.

Finally, a monument was erected, quite large and sculpted, according to the fashion, with intertwined hands and palms. Eternal regrets were chiselled into the stone. Red geraniums and purple heliotropes, golden chrysanthemums, according to the season, were planted on the grave. And the Morin couple,