A brief retelling of the Arc de Triomphe. My opinion about the book Arc de Triomphe

Address: France, Paris, Place Charles de Gaulle (Place des Stars)
Start of construction: 1806
Completion of construction: 1836
Architect: Jean Chalgrin
Height: 49.51 m.
Width: 44.82 m.
Coordinates: 48°52′26″N 2°17′41″E

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris is one of greatest monuments history and architecture, which any more or less literate inhabitant of our planet knows about.

It is located in the legendary eighth arrondissement of the French capital, on a square called Place Charles de Gaulle, or Place des Stars. If we consider these two names, it becomes clear that one of them the square received in honor of the great commander of the Second World War, but the “Star” square was named because of the twelve even rays-avenues that diverge from it in different sides Paris. One of these twelve avenues is the famous Champs Elysees.

View of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was built over 30 years from 1806 to 1836. Its construction began on the orders of the greatest French conqueror and strategist Napoleon Bonaparte. Paris was supposed to become a symbol of the great victories of the emperor and the man who “redrew” the map of the Old World along with his fearless army. True, Napoleon made the decision to build the arch back in 1805, inspired by his own talent as a military strategist, who helped him win a difficult victory in the Battle of Austerlitz. The project for the future historical monument was developed by the architect Jean Chalgrin, who, alas, was not able to see his brainchild with his own eyes: he died back in 1811. However, the great Arc de Triomphe, which is one of the main attractions of Paris, immortalized his name for posterity.

Arc de Triomphe... People have been accustomed to this name for a long time. By the way, Paris is not the only city where you can see a triumphal arch.

Bird's eye view of the Arc de Triomphe

There are quite a few of them, however, they are not as famous as the one located in the center of the “12-pointed Star”. Let's be honest, not everyone knows the origin of the word “triumph”: where it first appeared, what it means, and why the arch in Paris is called Triumphal. The word "triumph" comes from Latin language, and became widespread in the Great Roman Empire. Triumph meant the entry of the great commander and his army into the capital in victory.

Moreover, the victory had to be won unconditionally, quickly and with the least losses for triumph. Triumph is also the most precious reward for a commander, without which he could not call himself and his legion great. Only after his Triumph was Gaius Julius Caesar taken seriously by the people and recognized as a great emperor. It is from the times of the Roman Empire that the word “triumph” dates back to its history, and the arches through which commanders and their armies passed began to be called triumphal.

View of the Arc de Triomphe from Avenue de la Grande-Arme

History of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris

As mentioned above, the architect Jean Chalgrin, who developed the design of the Arc de Triomphe, died almost immediately after laying the foundation of the future structure. The construction of the structure was constantly suspended, as the emperor began to suffer defeats on the battlefields. It is for this reason that the arch took so long to build.

Napoleon himself did not live to see his great Triumph: all work on the arch was completed in 1836, already at that time Louis Philippe ruled France. Supervised the work new architect Abel Blue. However, the dream of the great warrior, or, as many call him, the tyrant, nevertheless came true. In December 1840, a cortege passed under the arches carrying a coffin containing the remains of Napoleon Bonaparte, who died far from Paris on the island of St. Helena in early May 1821. Not only Napoleon was awarded this honor: under the arches designed to celebrate the Triumph, coffins with the bodies of Victor Hugo, Gambetta, Lazare Carnot and other equally famous personalities later stopped.

Arc de Triomphe in Paris side view

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris, alas, became a symbol of triumph not only for outstanding military commanders, writers and rulers of France. In 1940, a procession of fascist invaders passed through the Arc de Triomphe, to whom Paris surrendered with virtually no resistance in order to somehow preserve priceless historical and architectural monuments. Hitler knew very well the meaning of the word “triumph” and what the legendary Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysees meant to the French.

The dictator and evil genius of the 20th century ordered his army to march defiantly through the Arc de Triomphe and then march victoriously through Champs Elysees. Thus, the Nazis once again enjoyed their own triumph, for which millions of people had to pay with their lives. But this is already a story that, by the way, Parisians do not like to remember, because for them that parade was nothing more than humiliation and shame.

Sculptural group from the side of Avenue de la Grande-Arme “The World of 1815” by sculptor Antoine Etex

Arc de Triomphe today

If we look at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris today, we can see a majestic structure, the height of which reaches almost 50 meters and the width of 44.82 meters. However, these dry numbers, naturally, cannot convey all the majesty and beauty of the arch. The architect's project was brought to life in an antique style. Glory and triumph are symbolized by beautiful maidens with wings who blow fanfares.

These sculptures on the arch were made by the architect Jean-Jacques Pradier, born in Switzerland, who at one time was awarded the Rome Prize for his achievements not only in sculpture, but also in painting. On the arch you can also see a sculpture called “Marseillaise”, which symbolizes the protest of volunteers against the Prussian army, which captured Lorraine. The “Triumph of 1810” also attracts attention - this sculpture by Cortot, dedicated to the signing of the Peace of Vienna in 1815. The arch is decorated with both the “Peace” and “Resistance” sculptures, owned by Etex.

Sculptural group from the Champs Elysees side “Marseillaise” by sculptor Rud

The last sculptor is known only in narrow circles, he, alas, never received world recognition, although his creations adorn the legendary Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

A tourist viewing the arch will certainly see on its walls the names of bloody battles that were won by France at various times. The names of the greatest French commanders are forever engraved on it. The arch itself is surrounded by one hundred pedestals connected to each other by heavy chains made of durable cast iron. This is not just a decoration or a fence for a Paris landmark.

It is one hundred pedestals that are intended to symbolize “one hundred greatest days» during the reign of the empire of Napoleon Bonaparte. In the arch itself there is also an interesting, albeit small, building in which the museum is located: in it, the visitor can get acquainted with the history of construction and learn about the triumphal processions that took place under the Arc de Triomphe.

Sculptural group from the Champs Elysees side “Triumph of 1810” by sculptor Cortot

Even if you get acquainted with the Arc de Triomphe in Paris without the help of a guide, it is impossible not to pay attention to the grave under its arches. Not buried there greatest ruler or commander: in 1921, the most ordinary ordinary soldier was buried there, who died on the battlefield during the First World War, whose name still remains unknown. To all visitors of the greatest architectural monument It is proposed to climb the arch, from which you can enjoy the panorama of Paris. Naturally, the view from a 50-meter height cannot be compared with what can be seen from the Eiffel Tower, but it can delight any tourist. A traveler who comes to Paris for impressions should definitely know that the best way to get to the Arc de Triomphe is through numerous underground passages, since the flow of vehicles near it does not stop even late at night. You can climb the arch any day of the week; it is open for tourists from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. However, to familiarize yourself with it you will have to pay a small fee of 10 euros.

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ERICH MARIA REMARQUE "THE ARCH OF TRIUMPH"

Remarque was born into a poor family in the province of Lower Saxony. His family roots were French.

Erich Maria Remarque is one of the most famous German writers 20th century. For the most part wrote military novels and post-war years. In total, he wrote 15 novels, two of them were published posthumously. Quotes by Erich Remarque are widely known and attract with their accuracy and simplicity. Erich Maria Remarque is a pseudonym. Present - Erich Paul Remarque (in honor of his deceased mother). The writer brought with him to literature the concept of “ lost generation" This is a group of “angry young people” who went through the horrors of the First World War (and saw the post-war world not at all as it was seen from the trenches) and wrote their first books, which so shocked the Western public. Such writers, along with Remarque, included Richard Aldington and Ernest Hemingway.

For a long time, Remarque suffered from an aneurysm and after many months of treatment and in 1970 great writer died at the age of 72.

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous novels Remark. Remarque wrote the novel in 1945 under the impression of his relationship with Marlene Dietrich. They had a short but very bright love with him - it was preserved in the correspondence between the writer and the actress.

Work on the novel has been going on for several years. The novel began to be published in the magazine Kolyes in 1945. Soon, a year later, the novel “Arc de Triomphe” was published in book form. The novel was translated into Russian and first published in the USSR in the magazine " Foreign literature", 1959.

Film adaptations

Arc de Triomphe is a 1948 film starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer;

Arc de Triomphe is a 1985 film. Starring Anthony Hopkins and Lesley-Anne Down.

“TA” is a poignant story of love against all odds, bringing pain, but also giving endless joy.

In it, Remarque addressed the topical problem of humanity in Europe, which manifests itself or, on the contrary, disappears in people against the backdrop of war.

The setting of the novel is Paris on the eve of World War II.

Main character the novel - a refugee from Germany, without documents, hiding from both the French and the Nazis, in the past one of the country's leading surgeons, bearing the fictitious surname Ravich (real name is Ludwig Fraunseberg, changed names many times) - represents typical example person with capital letters. Disobedience to fascist laws led Ravich to the dungeons of the Gestapo (political police of the Third Reich), where he experienced cruel torture, the death of his beloved girl Sibylla, and deportation to a concentration camp because of the Gestapo man Haacke. Escaping the concentration camp gave him hope. He has lived in France for 5 years. The Arc de Triomphe shows us Last year from the peaceful, Parisian life of a doctor, which began with an acquaintance with Joan Madu (Italian actress and singer, surrounded by fans, hot-tempered, beautiful and irresistible).

All the actions of the novel take place at night or late in the evening. The gloomy streets of Paris create an atmosphere of tired loneliness and numbness.

A meeting with a desperate woman on a bridge immediately determines main feature hero - philanthropy. Despite his fatigue, disappointment, alienation from everything and everyone, and the awareness that it is impossible to help everyone, Ravich, step by step, keeps the stranger near him, helping her survive not only the most terrible night of her life, but also resolve problems - with her deceased lover, moving to another hotel, searching new job. In their first meeting, it is described how unhappy she was (she smoked greedily, staggered, looked through somewhere) He understands that p. 11. Joan Madu quietly enters the doctor’s life. At first, Ravich does not attach importance to the night spent with her: he does not see Joan’s face, does not remember her appearance - for him she is just a woman with whom he can satisfy his physical needs, in order to forget for a while, to get “a piece of someone else’s life”, filling his joyless the existence of “drops of alien heat.” She is a very strange, fickle, mentally unstable woman.

The love between the heroes begins with physical attraction, but is born under the influence of internal spiritual kinship. Joan, like Ravich, is rootless. She has no home, no friends, no attachments. Her life begins from the moment she falls in love. Like Ravić, Joan acutely feels her loneliness and all the meaninglessness of a life filled with simple physical actions- for example (page 31 about undressing quote)

But now, it seems that there is hope for the best. Love. Will she save the hero from the darkness of loneliness? But it's all in vain. Ravich's soul, like gloomy Paris, became numb and frozen. These utopian relationships only bring new suffering to the heroes. Constant quarrels devastate Ravich and Joan Madu. Love story not developing. The author simply shows the feelings and experiences of the characters. The break in the relationship between the main characters is long and painful. Despite decision Without sharing his beloved woman with another, the doctor can neither refuse her closeness nor his love, which forces him to run to Joan’s aid at any time of the day or night. But soon death approaches Ravich again. Loss of Joan. (You can tell how she dies). The death of the actress is symbolic. It matches the start date new war. The world seems cruel, mired in the darkness of madness and loneliness. Only in the face of death does Ravich realize how strong his attachment was to this woman, who was for him something much more than just love - Joan became life for the doctor. (p. 627)

At the same time, from the very beginning, Ravich knows that sooner or later his relationship with Joan will end. As long as they met as single, independent people, everything between them was simple and clear. As soon as Joan wanted stability in the form of her home and position in society, Ravik realized that she would leave him.

One of the symbolic images is rain, which is a way of life in the novel. It rains during the nights Ravić spends with Joan; During the rain, he realizes that love has brought him back to life.

As I said, all the actions of the novel take place at night or late in the evening. Another symbolic image novel - night - is associated with two borderline constants: love (acquaintance and meetings of the main characters take place in dark time day) and a key murder (Ravich kills Haake before dawn: The main character perceives this as something natural. Ravich destroys not a person, but a beast. He does not take life, but gives it to dozens, if not hundreds, of innocent people whose existence is under threat because of people like Haake. Ravich kills Haake shortly before the declaration of war. The historical situation serves as an additional justificatory background for the action of the protagonist)

You can often hear that Erich M. Remarque's novel Arc de Triomphe is recognized as one of the most tragic works XX century. This controversial issue. After all, all the art of the crazy century, which survived two large-scale and bloody wars, literally saturated with pain, a feeling of loneliness and doom.

The image of the Arc de Triomphe is symbolic. It is an expression of the freedom and independence of France and all humanity in general. Built for the ceremonial passage of Napoleon and his army through it after his campaign against Russia, it survived his inglorious return. The author is sure that the anti-fascist struggle concerns everyone, so that the universal spark of love, capable of warming people, does not go out.

The famous writer uses many phrases in his work that have become catchphrases. Among them are discussions about love, from which, according to Remarque, women become smarter, and men lose their heads, and without it everyone is just dead men on vacation. The proof of love is not explanations, but actions. About money that should not be in the hands of a wife, about the cheapness of everything that is settled with its help. The author advises to take everything lightly, because few things in the world remain important for long. Remarque also subtly noticed that the trouble and charm of a person lies in the greatness of his plans and the weakness of their implementation.

I was also delighted with some phrases, with the so-called “deliciousness” of the language. I'd love to read this, maybe it will give you some ideas. Page 47, p. 98, p. 125, Ravich’s first lesson - 138. dispute between Morozov and Ravich (the world of fakes and canned food p. 209), Contradictions of man p. 365

This book leaves a heavy “metallic” residue on my soul. The novel is filled with beautiful and long-lost phrases, the feelings of the characters are conveyed with fullness and depth. The author managed to describe them in such a way that you begin to feel like one or another character, completely merge with him, as if you were reading about yourself in past life. But it is also frightening at the same time.. While reading, all this depresses, suppresses and upsets, but at the same time it does not allow you to tear yourself away, immerses you headlong and makes you forget about everyday troubles. But for many, I think, this kind of work can lead to depression and long, languid thoughts. So if you're in a bad mood, you wait beautiful story love and want to get inspired, then it’s better to put this book aside until more appropriate times.

The book by Erich M. Remarque makes an indelible impression, leaving in the reader the desire to change the world in which there should be no place for war! Remarque wanted to show, emphasize, highlight that people do not need war, it is senseless, unnatural, inhumane, this should not happen again. remark triumphant romance hero

Reading it (and rereading, of course) makes us a little wiser and a little brighter through sadness. And it makes you think about the fragility of the wonderful things and feelings that make our lives worth living.

But for the sake of fairness, I must note that the same image of Joan made me think a little about my behavior. The story about the wave and the cliff was especially brainwashing. It seems to me that all women suffer from this. We undermine, “saw”, and then cry when the rock crumbles into small pieces. An illustrative parable...

Once upon a time there was a wave that loved a cliff, somewhere in the sea, say, in the Bay of Capri. She showered him with foam and splashes, kissed him day and night, and wrapped her white arms around him. She sighed and cried and begged: “Come to me, O rock!” She loved him, doused him with foam and slowly undermined him. And then one fine day the cliff, already completely undermined, swayed and collapsed into her arms.

And suddenly the cliff was gone. No one to play with, no one to love, no one to mourn. The cliff sank in the wave. Now it was just a stone fragment on the bottom of the sea. The wave was disappointed, it seemed to her that she had been deceived, and soon she found herself another cliff.

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Remarque, author of the book

How to characterize this novel? An extremely honest work about yourself, about your inner world, “a piece of smoking conscience.” For several generations now, they have been admiring a book on the cover of which it is written: Remarque, “Arc de Triomphe.” Reviews from people who met her indicate that their readers not only read, but, having tested their souls with the tuning fork, believed every line of this work.

After all, the creator of the novel wrote as if he felt and perceived what was happening with all his being. This is not how graphomaniacs from literature write, boasting of a perfect but soulless style and flaunting sugary-juicy artistic descriptions. The writer was extremely frank; he revealed his soul to the reader. The parallels are obvious: the outcast Ravik and the outcast Remarque, female actress Joan Madu and Marlene Dietrich.

This author, like no one else, conveyed the spirit of the time in the middle of the last century, and with his frankness practically changed the consciousness of all of post-war Europe. His books were the best-selling books in the Old World for three decades.

A novel loved by many generations

It is no secret that, according to classical philosophy, we are also a lost generation, because we live in an era of change. Loneliness becomes our scourge. Much around is virtual, unsteady. Simple decency requires courage. Neo-globalism is destroying centuries-old foundations. Exposure to social cliches leads to the fact that extremely disoriented people cease to understand not only common sense in politics. Many, the worst thing, stop believing in love, replacing it with all sorts of surrogates.

What can help us get out of such an absurd state? Remarque gives us a hint, speaking of love as a torch flying into the terrible abyss of the surrounding reality and illuminating its entire depth.

It will help many people of present and future generations to decide on their present life values reading the novel "Arc de Triomphe". Reviews from our contemporaries, who are no longer accustomed to hearing the truth in the media and trusting the words of strangers, testify: many of them keep the novel about an emigrant doctor in their libraries, re-reading it periodically. And it is so natural for people to thirst, like a sip of water in the heat, for words of consolation, words of hard-won truth.

Such a review of the work “Arc de Triomphe” is not alone. An adult who has his own personal experience life, having read Remarque's thoughts about love, about fate, about life, he discovers that what the writer said is in tune with the movements of his soul.

The plot and features of the translation of the novel

The plot in literature means the actual actions that the heroes of the work carry out. For the novel “Arc de Triomphe,” it is expressed in the author’s description of the stay in Paris of an illegal German emigrant, the brilliant surgeon Ludwig Fresenburg, who fled to a neutral country from persecution by the Nazis. He's hiding under fictitious name Ravik. The qualification allows the refugee to earn a living by secretly operating in a French clinic. Exhausted by troubles, he lives as if by inertia. Love transforms him. However, the woman who awakened this feeling in Ravika is an actress by nature. She is flighty in relationships and is not created for family comfort.

Popular in the Old and New Worlds, Remarque's novel was first published in 1945 in the USA. The following year, German readers met him. In Russia, the book was published in translation by Schreiber and Kremnev (1978) and in 2014 by Rudnitsky. Experts say that Remarque's works are difficult to translate. The thing is in a creative manner, extreme imagery of thoughts. The classic innovatively borrowed expressive elements of stylistic expression from colloquial speech.

Ravik, like Remarque, is a refugee from Nazi Germany

Remarque wrote the novel “Arc de Triomphe” about himself, about his inner world. Press reviews immediately after its publication boiled down to one thing: one of the greatest novels XX century. Classic German origin, like his hero Ravik, hated war. She took her mother and sister from Remarque, and her beloved girl from Ravik.

A former front-line soldier of the First World War, a future writer, miraculously survived after being wounded in battle. Doctors then determined his condition as hopeless. Mom Maria saved me. She arrived, took the 18-year-old hero home and went out and cured him. And the next year she died, because the mother’s heart could not withstand the shock she received. Future writer after that he changed his name from “Paul” to “Maria” in order to carry with him the name of his mother until the end of his days.

There is an analogy between the author and the hero and in social status. Before World War II, after the publication of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque was a famous and recognizable European writer. According to the novel, his hero Ravik also succeeded; he was considered one of the leading surgeons in Germany.

Under the fascist regime, the writer was subjected to real persecution, he younger sister Elfriede Scholz was guillotined for anti-Hitler statements. The elder sister was sent a bill for the unfortunate woman’s stay in prison with a demand to urgently pay... At the same time, it was said that her brother Henri had disappeared for the time being, but that he would ultimately suffer the same fate as Elfrida.

According to the plot of the novel, Ravik saved two compatriots doomed to death, for which he was locked up in the dungeons of the Gestapo. To break the detainee, his fiancee Sibylla was also arrested, who was tortured and raped, and the girl committed suicide.

The atmosphere of pre-war France

Why is the novel called “Arc de Triomphe”? Reviews of the book from readers express different assumptions. What is the allegory here? After all, for France this building is a symbol of victory and rejoicing. Remarque's work is filled with tragedy.

Indeed, during the course of the novel, the arc is mentioned several times, namely at its special, plot-shaping moments. Is it only in these inclusions in the outline of the narrative that the link between the book’s title and Paris is hidden?

The writer talks about the capital of France, living and having fun madly, as if by inertia. There is already a premonition of a coming war in the air, but it is customary to remain silent about this. As the novel progresses, with just a few strokes, the artist-Remarque shows a multifaceted picture of the surrounding life.

The secondary characters are striking in their artistic perfection. Luxurious lady Kat Hegstrom, who is being eaten up from the inside by cancer. The boy Geno, who lost his leg, but is rejoicing because with the insurance benefits he can open a shop and live by trading. Girls with reduced social responsibility who are afraid of going to the hospital because the money they previously earned will be spent.

Ravik at the beginning of the novel. A man without a future

How to start new life when everything inside is burned out? When you are in exile, and in your homeland there is tyranny and violence?

This question is answered in the novel “Arc de Triomphe” by Remarque. Reviews from readers who accepted his revelation express this conceptual idea of how to “believe in yourself,” to feel like “not a grain of sand in history, but a person.”

Remarque's hero secretly makes a living in France as a surgeon, which he performs brilliantly and talentedly. He is an illegal immigrant and could be arrested and deported back to Germany at any time. Ravik is depressed morally, he feels like a man without a future. His free time associated with Calvados and smoky restaurants.

And throughout the novel this man manages to believe in himself again, to rise above the crazy world in which he lives. Based on the difficult experience of his life, Remarque crystallized and formulated the conclusion that Man is stronger than Fate. Having entered into battle with her, he is able to change her, often even when he is one step away from despair.

Parallel: Ravik’s love - Remarque’s love

The main character of the novel “Arc de Triomphe” suddenly embraces love. Reviews from readers about the feelings of Ravik and Joan are consonant with the author’s: the suffering, persecuted doctor finally found his refuge, his home in an agitated loving heart another man. And this love revives his soul, incinerated by suffering and loss. Even though Joan, an actress by nature, is not faithful to him and is frivolous.

Many literature lovers agree that to understand many of the nuances of true love, you don’t need to delve into the maxims of philosophers; just read Remarque. The thought of time, which is constantly dying, is worth a lot, and loving people continue to live forever.

Ravvik's Revenge

At the same time, the novel “Arc de Triomphe” poses difficult philosophical questions to the reader. Reviews of the book that concern them sometimes contain diametrically opposed views. Let's ask ourselves at least one of these questions: can there be a murder for good?

It would seem, no, under no circumstances! However, let’s touch on the outline of the author’s narrative. Gestapo man Haaki, interrogating the main character in the SS dungeons, arrested a person completely uninvolved in this case - his fiancée. By tormenting her, the fascist drove Sibylla to suicide. Undoubtedly, a lot of human blood was on Haaki's hands.

Exhausted Ravik, who illegally emigrated to France, longed for reprisals against the Gestapo executioner. And now it has happened. An officer of the German intelligence service carried out a secret mission in Paris and at the same time had fun with prostitutes. The main character of the novel noticed him and put his plan into action. At the same time, the avenger feels that he has performed a sacred act, realizing that by killing the scoundrel, he saved dozens of people from death in the future.

The book is intense

Many readers found reading the novel “Arc de Triomphe” difficult. Reviews of the work from readers who have not previously encountered serious literature sometimes boil down to the idea that this book is special. Let us clarify this idea: the novel is so filled with various vividly presented themes, conveys them so organically and expressively that it forces the reader to strain his mental strength.

Reading about Ravik’s suffering, it is impossible to be in a complacent mood. In Remarque’s lines there is only truth salty with tears, there is not a single gram of the notorious and now glorified by neoliberal scribblers cloying positivism. The writer does not recognize halftones: “If it’s Calvados, then it’s double, if it’s sadness, then it’s sadness in everything...”

Indeed, reviews of Remarque’s Arc de Triomphe often indicate that most readers were able to read the book not immediately, but gradually, chapter by chapter. And this is the right way. After all, just understanding Remarque’s quotes about love takes time. And here for a thinking person there is no place for speed reading.

Remarque's incredible syllable

It was unusual even for himself to write the novel “Arc de Triomphe” by Remarque. Reviews from fans of this book mention that even small, everyday details of the work are transformed by the master’s pen into real masterpieces. Quite unexpectedly, in the course of the main presentation, the author suddenly brings forth thoughts that are striking in their depth. For example, faced with philosophical quote: “Without love... a person is a dead man on vacation,” many readers paused to comprehend this separate thought, divorced from the main context of the action.

Erich Remarque (“Arc de Triomphe”) filled his novel with bright, colorful and sharp dialogues. Reviews from readers compare their accuracy according to the phrase of Daniil Kharms: “If you throw them at a window, the glass will break!” In particular, they succinctly and clearly speak about religion and faith, about the just desire not to show off one’s thoughts. There are countless such dialogues in the novel. Indeed, you can sit down to read with a pen, writing down the fragments you like.

The book is a refrain of time

Remarque wrote his novel (“Arc de Triomphe”) not only about the fate of the German outcast emigrant. Reviews of the book in the press indicate that the book conveyed the spirit of a timeless era. Formally, the action takes place in a peaceful country, but it is felt that the formidable sword of war is already hovering over this deliberately carefree Parisian life.

The writer managed to feel and convey to readers both the unsteady and fatal spirit of this time, to talk about people who “had the courage to live on the edge of the abyss.”

The book Arc de Triomphe by Erich Maria Remarque simply cannot leave the reader indifferent. It belongs to those works that, when read, certainly touch the human soul. Perhaps that is why, after a while, there is a need to re-read the work.

Conclusion: why - “Arc de Triomphe”?

It’s not for nothing that it ends with a quote that “hid in the darkness Triumphal Arch", novel. Reviews from true connoisseurs of Remarque's work contain a guess about the idea of Remarque's work.

Thinking objectively, there is no triumph in war, there are only victims. Bloodshed destroys people's lives and destinies. Therefore, in a truly honest narrative about her, the theme of heroism is invariably eclipsed by the theme of suffering. The arch hiding in the darkness symbolizes the approach of trouble, a global war.

However, the horror of her does not fetter Ravik; he boldly looks fate in the eye and is firm in his decisions. Love transformed the German surgeon; his inner core was again revived. He, full of human dignity, now ready to go to the test. And this is the real triumph of an unbroken, reborn man.

An excellent novelist, whose gloom and cynicism is justified by his deep knowledge of people and life in general, Erich Maria Remarque seems to me somewhat underestimated in our latitudes. It would be even more accurate to say - incorrectly assessed. After all, his two most “promoted” novels, “Three Comrades” and “All Quiet on the Western Front,” do not seem to me personally to be the best examples of his work.

A completely different matter is the brilliant Arc de Triomphe, a book about love and the deepest devotion, which can be even stronger. The book is about the monstrous power of the past, forever living in our souls, and about despair so deep that it allows us to come out “on the other side” and see peace and light.

1938 of the last century. The main character of the book, the German surgeon Ravik, lives in Paris and drinks the bitter emigrant cup to the bottom. Unable to prove his qualifications with proper official documents, he is forced to assist an incompetent and stupid local surgeon. He wanders around hotels, escaping police raids, and communicates with the same hopeless poor fellows. He thinks about two people saved from the clutches of the Gestapo, for whom he pays with his own exile. You can't wonder if it was worth it Noble act such a sacrifice - the painful death of a beloved. And Ravik wanders around the indifferent city at night, smoking and watching strange scenes nightlife- after all, at night people are not at all the same as during the day. Night changes everything. On one of the bridges he meets the Italian Joan - an equally restless soul with equally banal insoluble problems in her mediocre emigrant life...

The depiction of the love story of Joan and Ravika is so real that their feelings can literally be understood and almost experienced when reading. They say that Remarque brought himself and Marlene Dietrich under these names - just before the start of World War II, these two wonderful characters met in the same romantic Paris.

However, as in life, at the moment of meeting your only and beloved person, no miracle happens and the cruel wheel of life does not stop spinning. Lovers do not harbor hopes or illusions, and oddly enough, this deprives them of the inevitable poison of mutual grievances - love is initially affected by the bitterness of hopelessness, and nightly Calvados with cheap cigarettes does not particularly soften this aftertaste. In addition, a new passion appears in Ravik’s life, absorbing and burning him - a fatal meeting with a former Gestapo tormentor sets in motion completely different gears of the mechanism that pulls the puppets of life by the strings...

Remarque's incredible humor - not so much mocking as deep and wise, allowed the book to be filled with many amazing quotes. And from his deepest understanding of the mechanisms that move our souls, it hurts through admiration. “Arc de Triomphe” is a multifaceted book populated by living people, all of these amazingly convincing minor characters will live forever thanks to the genius of the writer. And reading it (and rereading, of course) makes us a little wiser and a little brighter through sadness. And it makes you think about the fragility of the wonderful things and feelings that make our lives worth living. Take care of love, ladies and gentlemen.

“Nowhere does anything wait for a person; you always have to bring everything with you”- Erich Maria Remarque.

The novel tells us about a surgeon from Germany who for a long time was with the Nazis in a prisoner of war camp, from where he successfully escaped and worked illegally under a false name in France.

From the first pages of the work we see how Ravik, returning late from work, passing across the bridge, met a stranger who, it seemed to him, wanted to die. He could not allow this and invited her to sit with him and talk in one of the drinking establishments. In the light, our hero could finally see the woman. Of all her appearance, he liked her hair, which was unusually golden in color.

When they left the cafe, it turned out that the woman had nowhere to go, and Ravik decided to invite her to his hotel, where he lived. He was never able to rest, since he had to go to work again.

Ravik was considered an ideal surgeon. Long ago he escaped from a concentration camp and took refuge in Paris. Here he worked illegally at Weber Hospital. This evening was unsuccessful for the doctor; the operation went poorly and the patient died. He didn’t want to go home, but he was very interested in the woman left at home. A bad mood forced the man to buy alcohol and get drunk. He came home at drunk and seduced the stranger, to which she agreed calmly.

In the morning, the woman said that she came to France with her lover and settled not far from his hotel. But suddenly her partner died, and she was left alone. Alone, without money, she was ready to take her own life, but a doctor saved her. The doctor, having listened to her whole story to the end, called his owner and he helped settle all the issues regarding payment at the woman’s hotel. And Ravik put her in another hotel, where she told him that her name was Joan Madu.

So it went day after day. Ravik was constantly at the clinic and continued to live in his hotel, where the owner was calm about the fact that undocumented refugees were staying with her. He had already been in police custody several times over this, and he didn't want to go to jail again.

In the hospital everyone turned to Professor Duran. However, he only put sick people into hypnosis, and Ravik performed all the operations. But no one knew about it, and Durant was considered a famous surgeon. But he still did not forget his assistant and gave him a small part of his earnings. One day, while talking with his friend Boris Morozov, who worked at the Scheherazade nightclub, Ravik saw a statue of Madonna. And he remembered the stranger, who was probably waiting for help from him.

When he came to the woman and saw that she was in bad mood. Then the doctor, through Morozov, helped her get a job at Scheherazade. One day, while having lunch in a cafe and watching passers-by on the street, Ravik recognizes Hitler’s executioner, who had long interrogated him and tortured a girl. Sibylla soon hanged herself in the camp. He shared his suspicions with Boris, but he said that apparently his friend had made a mistake.

Ravik and Joan begin a deep relationship. Walking under the Trimfual Arch, they realized that they were born for each other. But at times Ravik pulled away from Joan, knowing full well that this romance would not last long. She will break up with him anyway, since she is younger than him.

Besides this, he also thought about the fascist who tortured him in the Gestapo. And when they were sitting with Morozov in a street cafe, the surgeon saw Haake again. He became nervous, and the picture of the days spent in captivity and Sibylla’s exhausted face again appeared before him. After all, they fled from Germany together, but were unsuccessful; they were caught by the Nazis. He was able to withstand all the tests, but the girl died.

But the doctor drove away all these thoughts about the past and decided to go and relax with Joan Mediterranean Sea. After living in Antibes for a week, Ravik became bored, although he sometimes played in the casino. Joan liked life here. The man broke up with her and returned to Paris.

His responsiveness and Hippocratic oath as a doctor fail Ravik. He helps a woman injured when part of a building collapses. And then the police appear and check the doctor’s documents. He is arrested and deported to Switzerland.

Upon returning, Ravik learned that the Nazis were in control throughout France. From Morozov he learns that Joan is becoming an actress. Having met Joan one day, Ravik sees her with two strangers. She was cheerful and beautiful. There was a quarrel between them, but then they made up.

Ravic does not like Joan's attitude towards him, and he asks Weber to hire him again in order to forget this woman. He worked as hard as he could and tried not to think about her. But Joan reappeared on the horizon and invited him to her place. He came to her and saw that her lover was filming for Joan nice apartment. He didn’t like that the woman was playing with his feelings, and he left.

One day he sees his enemy again. Ravik can’t stand it and approaches him, calling himself by a different name. The Doctor has long outlined a plan for how he will take revenge on Haake. The Gestapo man did not recognize his former victim and was very glad to meet him, because he thought that this was his old acquaintance. Ravik makes an appointment for him in one of the brothels, but he himself brings him to the Bois de Boulogne and kills him. Finally. His tormentor is dead. But that's it tragic events in the life of our hero do not end.

He learns that Joan is wounded. She was shot by a jealous lover. Ravik is sure that even if he pulls out the bullet, the woman will still die, and to ease her suffering, he gives her poison.

Having lost faith in everything, Ravik voluntarily surrenders to the police and gives his real name.

The novel teaches us to remain merciful, persistent and be able to overcome all kinds of hardships in life, not to betray friends in difficult times and to be able to love.

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