Bureaucratic in
appearance; bearing in heart
a seething desire
unsatisfied, he finds some
peace in this land's great beauty.
Kyakuchuu
Author's Notes/Comments:
This is based on Louis Chaigne's biography of Paul Claudel. Claudel's love for Rosalie Vetch, which resulted in the birth of their love child, never achieved peace because they were unable to be together intimately for most of their adult lives. Chaigne quotes Claudel as stating, during his tenure as France's Ambassador to Japan in the early 1920's, that everyone in Japan was an artist; and that the very landscape partook of the essence of Art. His greatest play, the Satin Slipper, which metaphorizes his relationship with Rosalie, was first drafted in Japan; although an earthquake caused the loss of his files without backup copies later during his ambassadorship.
