Rimbaud Fictions: Samuel Benchetrit

A Day with Rimbaud

the novel Le coeur en dehors (Grasset, 2009) by Samuel Benchetrit takes us into the world of Charlie Traoré, a ten-year-old boy of Malian-Black descent growing up in a French suburb, a "cité." His daily life is defined by the affection of his mother, Joséphine, his crush on Mélanie, his friendships with his friends, and his worry for his drug-addicted older brother, Henry. The story begins dramatically when Charlie's mother is arrested by the police because her papers are not in order. The novel then depicts a single, formative day in Charlie's life, from the early morning hours until late at night, as he wanders through his neighborhood in search of his brother Henry and to uncover the events surrounding his mother's arrest. This odyssey leads him through the poet-named towers, dilapidated shopping malls, and bleak neighborhoods of his surroundings.

In his search, Charlie encounters various characters who offer him glimpses into the harsh realities of his neighborhood, including drug use, poverty, and a sense of being lost. At the same time, Charlie reveals a remarkable power of observation, a rich imagination, and a unique sense of humor that transcends the misery of his surroundings. He reflects on the absurdity of naming ugly buildings after famous artists, and his thoughts often drift to fantasies about Mélanie and his future as he grapples with the frightening reality surrounding his family. Ultimately, Charlie learns from Henry that his mother lacks valid residency and work permits, and both mother and son are threatened with deportation. Despite his childlike fears and the uncertain future, Charlie decides to go to the deportation center to see his mother and understand the situation—an act of maturity and affection.

Given the prominent references to Arthur Rimbaud, the question arises as to what extent the novel Le coeur en dehors It can be read as a modern "Rimbaud fiction." Which aspects of Rimbaud's life and work are taken up and integrated into the narrative about Charlie? Does Charlie himself, or another character like his brother Henry, embody elements of Rimbaud's personality or his life circumstances? How is Rimbaud's radical understanding of poetry and his "farewell to literature" reflected in this youthful perspective? What significance do Rimbaud's biographical milestones, such as his voluntary life in the colonies or his violent death, acquire in the context of Charlie's Cité experience, and are Rimbaud's homosexuality or his actual death addressed? And finally, what role does Rimbaud's literature play in the novel's moving conclusion?

Readings from the Rimbaud Tour

Samuel Benchetrit's novel Le coeur en dehors It is an exploration of identity, loss, and perseverance, reflecting on the life and work of the French poet Arthur Rimbaud. The intertextuality here is not mere name-dropping, but a complex web of allusions that significantly shape Charlie's development and his perception of the world.

Charlie explains in more detail his initial misunderstanding and the irony that such a famous poet as Rimbaud had to lend his name to a "damn ugly" tower in his high-rise housing estate. He jokes that it would have been better for Rimbaud to have died before the tower was built. This establishes an important motif of the novel: the discrepancy between idealized cultural names and the often bleak reality of life in the banlieue.

The Cité as an intertextual space: poets' names on concrete facades

The most obvious level of intertextuality is the poet-named buildings of the Cité where Charlie lives. He resides in the "Tour Rimbaud" and also notices other names like "Tour Verlaine," "Cité Hugo," and "Centre d'activité Guillaume-Apollinaire." Initially, Charlie is naive; he believes "Rimbaud" is simply the name of an apartment block. His friend Yéyé informs him that Rimbaud was a famous, long-deceased poet. Charlie's reaction is symptomatic of the alienation between high culture and urban reality: he finds it absurd and tasteless to name ugly, dilapidated buildings after poets. This discrepancy between the lofty ideal of poetry and the bleak reality of the Cité becomes a central motif. The poets' names become a metaphor for failed utopias, or at least for a culture alienated from its own origins. They are there, but their meaning has been lost or perverted. Charlie, living with this contradiction, is forced to confront it.

Charlie as a modern “poet” and Rimbaud’s influence on his perception

Charlie himself can be understood as a kind of modern "poet" or "seer" (voyant) in Rimbaud's sense, even though he doesn't write verse. Rimbaud's concept of the "dérèglement de tous les sens" (disruption of all the senses) aimed at achieving an expanded, visionary perception. Charlie possesses an extraordinary imagination and sensitivity that allow him to experience the world in a way that transcends mere reality. His ability to lose himself in stories, whether imagining his romance with Mélanie or creating a dark horror fiction about Henry's drug problem for his French assignment, testifies to an inner world richer than his external circumstances. He finds beauty even in what he doesn't fully understand, as in the works of Baudelaire or Chopin. His teacher, Monsieur Hassan, described Henry's withdrawal as "dépression," a kind of inner explosion. Charlie's own imagination is his defense mechanism and his way of processing life's hardships by transforming them into stories, which he then even shares with his friends. He is a dreamer who gazes at the world from the "Tour Rimbaud" and longs for the vanished stars that were once seen from this highest tower. This yearning for the lost and the beautiful, as told to him by Madame Franck (the "old Victoria"), is profoundly poetic.

The Encounter with Rimbaud's Works: The Proust Library and the "Theft"

A pivotal moment is Charlie's visit to the Proust Library, where a shady man sends him to find Henry. There, Charlie stumbles upon Rimbaud's works, namely "Illuminations" and "Une saison en enfer." He opens "Illuminations" at random and reads a line that deeply moves him: "Un pas de toi, c'est la levée des nouveaux hommes et leur en-marche." Although he cannot grasp the full meaning, he finds the words "beautiful" and remembers them. This is a moment of realization: Rimbaud's poetry speaks to him, bridging the gap between the poet and the ten-year-old boy in the Cité. Poetry is not merely the name of an ugly building, but a living force.

Charlie deliberately searches the library for Rimbaud and finds his works. This demonstrates his desire for knowledge and understanding beyond his immediate surroundings. The selection and random opening of a book underscore the playful yet profound way in which Charlie approaches literature. “Un pas de toi, c'est la levée des nouveaux hommes et leur en-marche.” This line by Rimbaud, which Charlie reads by chance, deeply moves him, even though he doesn't fully understand it. He considers it a “gift” to save for later. The quote itself, which speaks of “the raising of new men” and their “departure,” can be understood as a seed of hope and change in Charlie's life, which is marked by poverty and insecurity. It symbolizes the potential for a better future or personal transformation.

The "theft" of "Une saison en enfer" is also significant. Charlie doesn't consider it theft in the strictest sense, but rather a kind of "borrowing," since he doesn't have a library card and therefore no regular access. This act reflects Rimbaud's own disregard for bourgeois conventions and authorities. It is an act of appropriating knowledge and beauty in an unconventional way, driven by an inner necessity. The book becomes a companion on his further journey.

Henry as a failed Rimbaud or his “descent into hell”

One character who embodies aspects of Rimbaud's life circumstances, particularly his "descent into hell" (Une saison en enfer) and his downfall, is Charlie's older brother, Henry. Henry was once a brilliant student, a "true genius" who could memorize books and recite entire volumes. But then he changed, began to refuse and skip school. His drug use is his personal "festin," which has turned "bitter." Henry's state of addiction and despair, his existence as a "zombie" roaming the Cité, is a modern interpretation of Rimbaud's "Season in Hell."
The crucial connection is revealed at the end of the novel: when Charlie opens the stolen Rimbaud book, a loan slip falls out, bearing the inscription "Henry Traoré – July 2003." This is a profoundly moving revelation. It shows that Henry, despite or perhaps because of his addiction, felt the same intellectual thirst for Rimbaud's works. It suggests that Henry, in his own "hell," sought solace or understanding in poetry, just as Charlie does now. This shared, hidden intellectual connection between the brothers, both "outside" the norm in their own way, is a poignant element of the novel. Henry's earlier life as a "rocket" in a sprint, "slowed down" by drugs, can also be interpreted as a metaphor for an early, promising beginning that then, in Rimbaudian fashion, abruptly ends or takes a "turn."

Rimbaud's farewell to literature and life in the "colonies"

Rimbaud's "farewell to literature" at a young age and his later life as a trader in the African colonies find a thematic parallel in the novel, though not a direct imitation. Henry's drug addiction and withdrawal from society can be interpreted as a form of "voluntary life in the colonies" of addiction and misery. He lives in a kind of spiritual exile. The Cité itself, an isolated and often neglected area, can be seen as such a "colony" or marginalized space. Charlie's reflection on finding a forest should his mother not return also suggests a desire for a radical break and an escape into the wilderness, similar to Rimbaud's more exotic phases of life.
Rimbaud's homosexuality is neither addressed nor projected onto the characters in the available text. Nor is Rimbaud's violent death a direct theme, although the harshness and dangers of life in the Cité (drugs, violence, a "vampire" neighbor, the death of the family patriarch Montales) are omnipresent and heighten awareness of the fragility of life.

The novel's ending: A "season in hell" as the beginning of enlightenment.

The novel ends with Charlie sitting on the steps of the deportation center where his mother is being held. This place of involuntary confinement and uncertainty is Charlie's most personal "hell." He places the red rose, a gift from the Rolands and a symbol of tenderness and beauty amidst adversity, beside him. Then he opens the book borrowed from Henry and begins to read the opening lines of Rimbaud's "Une saison en enfer."

This ending possesses great literary depth. Charlie reads the opening of Rimbaud's "Une saison en enfer," a passage that speaks of a once festive life that turns bitter, culminating in an escape from justice and into the abyss of "witches, misery, and hatred." These words reflect the chaotic and painful experiences Charlie has had throughout the day and the tragedy of Henry's life. The repetition of the opening line at the end of the passage reinforces the sense of a cycle of hope and disappointment. For Charlie, this text is a mirror reflecting his own feelings of fear, shame, and the yearning for strength and triumph.

But perhaps Rimbaud's prologue should be translated here into street language for Charlie, something like this:

Back then, if I'm honest – my life was like a party. Doors open, hearts open, drinks without end.
The other day, in the evening, I put the baddie on my knee.
I felt them. Bitter.
So I confronted her. Spit on her. Pushed her away.
Justice? I've got myself all fired up, ready to shoot.
I ran away. Witches, misery, hate – here, take all my shit.
I killed all hope within me. I strangled every vibe like a dog.
I called the cops so I could bite their guns when I kick the bucket.
I summoned Sickness so they could smother me with dust and blood.
Only pain and chaos – that was my god, brother.
I lay in the dirt, breathing in the stench of crime.
I fooled the madness, I fucked it up in my own way.
Spring is here – and the guy is laughing really ugly.
Recently, almost on my deathbed, I realized: Maybe there's a key back to the old party. Maybe I'll get hungry again. […]

Charlie's act of reading in this bleak environment is not a sign of escape, but of confrontation and processing. The lines of Rimbaud he reads reflect his own childhood experience: life, once a "feast" full of openness and joy, has proven "bitter" in the encounter with the "beauty" of reality (his love for his mother, but also the harsh truth of her situation). Charlie is forced to denounce the "beauty" of life—or the illusion of it—because it confronts him with the bitter truth. The "coeur en dehors" (heart outside) becomes palpable here: Charlie's vulnerable, open heart is defenseless against this cruel reality.

Yet within this bitterness lies a form of insight and growth. The novel offers no easy solution or happy ending; Charlie's mother is still imprisoned, the future uncertain. But the act of reading, the connection to Henry through the same book, and the symbolism of the rose demonstrate that Charlie, despite everything, does not break. He finds a way to understand and process the tragedies of his life through the lens of poetry. The book "Une saison en enfer" becomes a tool for him to name and interpret his own "hell." The novel suggests that even in the deepest misery, a profound humanity, tenderness, and poetic sensibility can exist, enabling the individual not only to endure reality but also to extract deeper meaning from it. Charlie does not become Rimbaud, but he learns, like Rimbaud, to live through his own "season in hell"—and perhaps, one day, to emerge from it stronger.