Rabelais and His World (Taschenbuch)

Mikhail Bakhtin, in his classic work Rabelais and His World, goes even further, however, in saying that the concept of the carnival was lost in literature much further back in time. He passionately defends the novels of Francois Rabelais, a writer considered to be repulsive by many of the great authors and philosophers of history. Bakhtin even attacks Rabelais' admirers because he believes that they do not understand the concepts of Rabelais' works.

Elementary and junior high school English teachers constantly infuse into their students the mantra of writing an effective introduction in order to lure the reader into reading on in the story. Bakhtin, in a sense, achieves and does not achieve this task. His passion is obvious and his enthusiasm is great. He is also insulting, crass, and irascible. While some may continue reading just to see what he says next (ala Howard Stern), there is likely to be an equal number of people who would close the book and put it away forever after the first thirty pages.

My suggestion- read the introduction if you think you have thick skin. Bakhtin really is very effective in summarizing the concepts of the book in those first sixty pages, but that is often lost in the midst of his constant attacks on Romantic and modern authors. You will, however, get a very good image of what Bakhtin believes is the true carnival spirit. He does not play with words. He will get his point across, even if it bears repeating twenty or thirty times. If, however, you don't have very thick skin and you simply want to know what he is talking about, you would be well advised to skip the 58-page introduction (in the Midland Book edition).

Both Rabelais and Bakhtin are not ones to play with words. There is no shame in what they say, particularly with Rabelais. He freely depicts his characters in the acts of sex, urination, childbirth, and others which would probably garner an "MA" rating on television screens. Bakhtin, too, in describing and defending Rabelais, is unafraid to make his thoughts known.

Bakhtin first identifies the most vital aspects of the carnival and uses Rabelais (particularly his most famous works, Gargantua and Pantagruel) as examples. He immediately makes clear the concept of the carnival as a non-hierarchical gathering, where kings are just as likely to be ridiculed as fools. This image is difficult to comprehend in today's heavily class-based society, but Bakhtin does as good a job as can be in implanting that thought in our minds.

His other thoughts may shock you and they may surprise you, particularly if you did skip the introduction. He proceeds to describe what we today may call "bathroom language (very vulgar)" as the carnival language. He is simply fascinated with the imagery of people drowning in urine. The shock you may receive by reading about various forms of human waste is only the beginning, too.

His thoughts on popular-festive forms are really quite interesting. Perhaps never has cannibalism seemed so commonplace. He uses such images in a way that ties into his main theme in this particular chapter, that theme being freedom. This is not freedom as in democracy, but, basically, a temporary freedom from repression, from that class-based society mentioned beforehand. You cannot help but feel that the carnival was a fun place to be, despite some of the events he describes. At the same time, you cannot help but be shocked with certain examples he gives, particularly when discussing the prevalence (and justification) of morbid violence in the carnival. Mutilation and dismemberment as wedding tradition? He certainly knows how to capture one's attention. His thoughts, however, on popular-festive forms became perhaps his most well-written chapter.

The grotesque body really brings an interesting light. Bakhtin believes the grotesque body is essential to the carnival, but he needs to explain it first, and explain it he does. If you want sexual imagery, it's here. If you want other bodily images, it's here. If you want death, it's here. Yet, it is a body part we would perceive as non-sexual and non-violent which captures the most of Bakhtin's attention. It is here that he basically reaches his pinnacle- we really feel like this book is not for just pure entertainment, but actually has real intellectual value.

Bakhtin also attempts to somehow interpret Classical and medieval times with the carnival. Keep this thought in mind, because it is very easy to get lost in the repetitiveness of his other thoughts. He essentially tries to attack them, but you get the sense that even he does not quite know what is bad and what is good, or even what can be considered truly Classical, medieval, or, especially, Romantic.

This book has a lot of questionable points, but it also has a lot of good points as well. Keep in mind that this book was not necessarily intended for public reading- it was actually his dissertation. It certainly does not sound like one most of the time, but it is. This book is not a must-read and it is not a should-read, but perhaps somewhere in-between. It is definitely not a library-read. If you plan on reading it, buy the book, because there will definitely be many instances where you will simply want to highlight a phrase and mark the page. The book should be read in a carnivalesque way, for you cannot enter the world of Rabelais with high-class standards and a closed mind.