Rimbaud Fictions: Jean-Michel Lecocq

Le squelette de Rimbaud Jean-Michel Lecocq's 2019 novel is a crime story revolving around the mysterious discovery of Arthur Rimbaud's grave, delving into the legends and legacy of the poet. The novel is set in Charleville-Mézières, Rimbaud's hometown, which is mired in a period of cultural inertia and economic austerity. This lethargy is abruptly interrupted when Georges Hermelin, the deputy mayor responsible for cultural affairs, proposes a daring and provocative idea: expanding the Rimbaud Museum with a special exhibition centered around Rimbaud's femur. He argues that this would enhance the exhibition's "authenticity."

This demand initially provoked disbelief, then horror and resistance, among the officials involved—library director Pierre Bourgeois, archive director Maxime Rousseau, and museum curator Paul Leterrier. The idea of ​​exhibiting a real human leg, especially that of Rimbaud, who famously had his right leg amputated in 1891, was perceived as a grotesque profanation. Despite massive public protest, national media attention, and the intervention of prominent intellectuals who feared a desecration of the "Sleeper of the Valley," the exhumation was forced through political connections and murky channels. The shock, however, was immeasurable when, upon opening the coffin, it was discovered that the skeleton inside had both legs intact and therefore could not belong to Rimbaud. This event plunged the city and the international Rimbaud community into a profound mystery and unleashed a torrent of wild speculation.

The unexpected discovery leads to the formation of a crisis team, jointly headed by the prefect and the mayor of Charleville, and including Lieutenant Pierre Vidal of the Reims criminal police. Vidal begins to systematically investigate Rimbaud's life, illness, and the circumstances of his burial, uncovering historical documents and the meticulous diary of Nurse Angèle from Rimbaud's last hospital stay in Marseille. This investigation confirms Rimbaud's amputation and the transfer of his body to Charleville, but refutes the theory that he faked his death to avoid military service.

Instead, Vidal focuses on a different lead, uncovered by cemetery caretaker Martin Paulet: During a cemetery renovation in the 1980s, employees of the funeral service may have been involved in grave robbing, and there was a cover-up by their then-director, Yves Lambert, and a current deputy mayor. As Vidal pursues this lead, Célestin Brunet, a Rimbaud enthusiast who harbored similar theories, and shortly afterward, Yves Lambert, are murdered. The investigation leads Vidal and the cynically brilliant Judge Julien Molinier to Michel Coste, a renowned Rimbaud expert and former city councilor for cultural affairs. Coste turns out to be the mastermind behind the grave robbing and the murders. He confesses to having secretly moved Rimbaud's skeleton decades ago to his private garden in Roche, Rimbaud's beloved home region, to fulfill the poet's alleged last wish not to be buried in the hated Charleville. Ultimately, Rimbaud's authentic, one-legged skeleton is found in Coste's garden and reburied in Charleville with great ceremony, thus solving the mystery and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Theses on interpretation

Intertextuality as a structural and thematic framework

The novel is rooted in Rimbaud's work, primarily manifested through the direct quotations from his poems at the beginning of each chapter. These quotations are not merely decorative; they are carefully chosen to foreshadow or comment on the tone and themes of the respective chapter. For example, "Le bateau ivre" (The Drunken Boat) is not only quoted as a line of poetry in chapters 1 and 2, but Molinier himself refers to the chaotic situation surrounding the skeleton as a "bateau ivre," thus underscoring the connection between Rimbaud's poetry and the absurd reality of the investigation. This creates a continuous dialogue between the fictional narrative and Rimbaud's oeuvre, encouraging the reader to view events through the poet's lens. The novel's title itself, Le squelette de RimbaudThis already points to a dual interpretation: it is about the literal skeleton, but also about the exposed essence or framework of Rimbaud's legacy and myth. The search for the physical remains is thus a metaphor for the ongoing search for the truth about the poet and the confrontation with his multifaceted personality.

Deconstruction and reconstruction of the Rimbaud myth

The novel opens with a radical questioning of a central biographical fact: the amputation of Rimbaud's right leg. The discovery of a two-legged skeleton in his official grave is a narrative coup that shatters the entrenched myth. This not only forces a re-evaluation of "historical facts" within the novel's plot but also confronts the reader with the fragility of historical narratives and the tendency to create or cling to legends. Through this "dismantling" of the amputation myth, Lecocq plays with the concepts of "supercherie" (fraud) and "imposterism," which also feature in the reception of Rimbaud's work. While the eventual discovery of the "real" skeleton with the amputated leg restores historical truth, it only occurs after a detective-like investigation that explores the boundaries between fact and fiction, truth and belief, and presents truth as something painstakingly won rather than a given fact.

Rimbaud's life and dislikes as motivation for action

Rimbaud's biography, particularly his dislike of Charleville, which he contemptuously called "Charlestown," and his alleged wish to be buried far from it, provide the direct impetus for Michel Coste's criminal actions. Coste, a self-proclaimed "true" Rimbaud devotee, acts in the belief that he is fulfilling Rimbaud's "last wish" by reinterring his remains at his idyllic estate in Roche, his mother's birthplace and Rimbaud's preferred place of residence. Rimbaud's adventurous life in Africa, his dealings as an arms dealer, and his attempts to evade military service are recurring themes in Vidal's investigation and are illuminated by historical documents, Rimbaud's own letters, and the diary of his sister, Angèle. The novel suggests that the controversy surrounding Rimbaud's mortal remains is a continuation of his rebellious spirit, which even in death defies convention and finds the "rest" he desired, albeit in an unconventional way.

The end of poetic creation as an echo

Although the novel does not address Rimbaud's renunciation of poetry as a primary theme, it is a subtle, philosophical undercurrent. The search for his physical remains, the emphasis on his "earthly adventure" on the gravestone, and Coste's mission to fulfill Rimbaud's "last will" (which concerned his burial rather than his verses) can be seen as a metaphor for the enduring significance and mysteries of his life after poetry. The novel raises the question of what remains of a genius when he turns away from his art. The fact that Rimbaud's "true" desires are related to his death and burial site, rather than his works, reflects a certain relativization of being a poet in favor of being human, particularly in light of Rimbaud's later mercantile existence.

Death and “profanation” versus “sanctification”

The novel is centrally structured around Rimbaud's death and the perceived "profanation" of his grave. The initial planned exhumation of the femur is perceived by the public as a "sacrilege," reflecting a deep-seated societal fear of disturbing the dead. Interestingly, Coste's actions, though criminal, are portrayed from his perspective as an act of "sanctification" and reverence. He wanted to move Rimbaud's remains to a place that corresponded to the poet's wishes and freed him from "hated" Charleville. The multiple exhumations (the planned one, the actual exhumation of the "wrong" body, and finally the discovery of the "real" one) underscore the tension between the bureaucratic, official handling of death and the personal, almost cult-like interpretations of remembrance. The fact that the search for the skeleton leads to murders highlights the extreme significance attached to the poet's mortal remains, making them objects of both veneration and crime. The story thus becomes a macabre dance performance with death, which Molinier ironically calls "Danse macabre".

Rimbaud's style and imagery in the novel

The novel itself does not directly copy Rimbaud's avant-garde poetic style. The prose is rather clear, detailed, and follows the tradition of the detective novel. Yet the thematic resonances and imagery of Rimbaud are omnipresent. The poem titles, such as "Le bateau ivre" (The Drifting Boat) or "Le dormeur du val" (The Sleeper of the Valley), are not merely chapter headings but become leitmotifs of the plot. The idea of ​​the "Sleeper of the Valley" is taken up particularly succinctly in the epitaph created by Coste in his garden and in the entire search for Rimbaud's "peaceful" resting place away from Charleville. Molinier uses the term "illuminations" ironically in connection with the discovery. The descriptions of Charleville as "sinister" or of Rimbaud's "trou de verdure" (green hole) as an idyllic, hidden place reflect the moods and landscapes of Rimbaud's poetry. The contrast between the banal, bureaucratic world of the investigation and the grandiose, almost absurd search for the poet's remains reflects a Rimbaud-esque tension between the ordinary and the extraordinary that runs through the entire novel.

Longed-for peace

The novel's ending is a synthesis of factual resolution, ironic commentary, and the perpetuation of the Rimbaud myth. On the one hand, truth triumphs: Rimbaud's actual skeleton, bearing the evidence of the historical amputation, is found and officially reburied. This solves the central mystery and validates the traditional account of his injury. It is a victory for historical accuracy, albeit achieved under highly unconventional and criminal circumstances.

On the other hand, it is also a triumph of Coste's personal, albeit criminal, mission. Coste, convicted as a murderer despite his actions, fulfilled Rimbaud's "true" last wish in his own view by reinterring the poet from Charleville, a city he despised, to a "green oasis." His act, violent as it was, is portrayed as a twisted act of devotion. The official reburial in Charleville, orchestrated by the authorities, is an ironic twist: Coste's efforts ultimately lead to Rimbaud's public recognition in the city he despised, but also to a deeper understanding of his final wishes.

The novel also offers a sharp critique of the authorities and bureaucracy. The inability of the city administration, the "crisis cell," and even the public prosecutor's office to solve the mystery contrasts sharply with Vidal's tenacity and Molinier's cynical foresight. The authorities are portrayed as reactive, easily manipulated, and primarily concerned with maintaining public image and preventing unrest. Vidal's promotion to captain and Molinier's honorable retirement symbolize a reward for their unconventional approach and their ultimate pursuit of the truth, which transcends bureaucratic obstacles.

Despite the factual dissolution of the myth, the Rimbaud myth persists; indeed, it is reinforced by the bizarre chain of events. Molinier himself observes that even more than a century after his death, Rimbaud continues to sow “pagaille” (chaos). The novel implies that the search itself, the engagement with the myth, is as significant as the final outcome. The final line of “Le dormeur du val” alludes to the longed-for, eternal rest Rimbaud deserved, in stark contrast to the uproar his remains have caused. The novel leaves the reader pondering how truth and legend intertwine and how human obsessions, be they for fame, money, or inheritance, can shape the lives and deaths of great figures. It is a story about the ambivalence of veneration and crime committed in the name of a poet.